A/N: I know absolutely nothing about Calculus. I think it shows. Anyway, enjoy. I appreciate the support this little fic has gotten.
The sounds of Dean's loud groaning and moaning could be heard coming from Cas' room.
Dean was sitting on Cas' bed, next to Cas, trying his damnedest to figure out Calc.
Cas rolled his eyes, obviously getting annoyed. "What don't you get, Dean? It's so simple. The derivative is the slope. The rate of change. Don't you remember that from Algebra?"
Dean growled in frustration, "It's like you're speaking Greek. Well, Geek."
"Okay, what if I put it in car terms?"
His ears perked up a bit. "I'm listening..."
"When you hit the gas really hard, the acceleration goes up along with the speed and the speedometer, right?"
Duh. "Of course."
"Well, the acceleration describes how fast the speed will change, so the acceleration is the derivative of the speed."
"Uh..."
"And the speed describes how fast the position will change, so the speed is the derivative of the position."
"I... guess?"
"The acceleration is measuring how the speed changes over time. If you are going 45 MPH and then speed up to 50 MPH, acceleration describes that change in speed. So that's why acceleration is the derivative of the speed."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"Who knew. Dean Winchester can learn. It must be a miracle." Cas patted him on the back. "It's okay. You're getting it. Don't sweat it too much. I'm here when you need me."
Dean smiled a bit. "Thanks, I guess."
Cas just stared at him for a bit. "What's that look for?"
"Castiel Novak has faith in me. I don't know how to process that."
"Oh shut up. Get out of here. Go get laid, or something. Gabriel is having another party. Just make sure to leave Chuck alone when you get back."
"It'll be hard to wash the geek off of my skin. The ladies can smell that, you know. Knowing Calculus is worse than having herpes."
"I'm sure you'll manage."
Dean left Cas' room rather conflicted. For once, Cas wasn't being a complete ass to him, and he didn't really know how to process that. Cas was actually being nice.
Dean didn't really need an excuse to get wasted. And he kind of wanted to challenge Cas to a drink-off again. The last time must have been a fluke, or Cas had a liver of steel. Then again, Cas mentioned the party, so maybe he would be there, anyway.
When Dean arrived, there was no sign of Cas anywhere. Dean wasn't disappointed, not one bit. He did manage to find some rum, though, and helped himself to the entire bottle as he sat alone on the couch.
A few girls occasionally approached, but Dean shrugged them off, claiming he was waiting for someone. But the night was nearing its end, and the bottle was nearing empty, and Cas still hadn't shown up. Figures.
He didn't want to pass out at Gabriel's again. The man was less than compassionate for hangovers, so he stumbled his way back to the dorms, hoping to find his bed, and sleep for a week