By Chance

Persuasion: Day 1...

===3==

Castiel just finished his morning class—which was also his last for the day—at eleven o'clock. He knew that he really has to go to Central Park to meet up with Dean.

Dean has been... a little too persuasive after getting his number and Balthazar planning their lunch. He's already fixing his stuff when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi Castiel, it's Dean." great! Just what I needed! Ugh!

"Oh. Hello Dean." Please, please cancel.

"Um, yeah. Uh, so, Balthazar told me you teach at NYU?"

"Yes, that is true. Why?"

"Um," Dean started hesitantly, "I'm actually outside the University, thought I might as well pick you up since I'll be passing by anyway. Don't worry I have a car."

That caught him off guard. Going out as friends, huh? He thought. A smirk was slowly creeping up on his face. "Okay Dean. I'll be out in a few."

"Okay! I'll wait for you then." He replied gleefully and they both hung up.

Castiel stared at his phone with awe. It seems like Dean will be the one he'll be having troubles shaking off. He smiled and shook his head and fixed up his stuff. He swiftly slid into his black coat and slung his bag over his shoulder. When he got out of the room, he went straight to Balthazar's class. He was in the middle of a discussion when Castiel's figure leaned at the doorframe.

"Excuse me class." He said as he walked up to meet Castiel, a wide grin playing on his face. "What is it Cassy?" he said cheerfully to his friend.

Castiel snorted at his friend's act of innocence. He smiled smugly as he showed his car keys in front of his friend's face. "I see you also told Dean I teach here." He said as he put his keys into his friend's hand. "You are now obligated to pick me up later, after this lunch is over. He came here to pick me up."

Balthazar blinked at what his friend said, brows ever so slightly furrowing. "What?"

Castiel sighed and shook his head. "Pick me up. Call you to tell you what time. Your obligation." He said slowly, emphasizing each word as if Balthazar was the most stubborn—kind of true though—person or child or whatever in the world whose mind didn't really function quickly.

"Oh, okay." He muttered as a reply, earning another smug face from Castiel.

"It's your fault anyway." He said as he walked down the hall, away from his slightly dumbfounded friend.

===3==

Castiel got to the place where Dean said he would be parked. The said man was leaning his back on a beautiful black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. Dean did look very stunning leaning on his car. Castiel didn't seem to notice that though. His mind was too busy with a whole lot of other things.

Meanwhile, on Dean's side of the story, different female students that passed him were either giggling flirtatiously to get to him while the others flirted through their eyes. For some unknown reason though, Dean doesn't seem to notice what was going around him at all. It was like he didn't really care at all. All he could think of at the moment was seeing those beautiful blue eyes looking at him. Castiel's perfect face was stuck in his head. Absentmindedly, he grinned to himself while his eyes were glued to the ground; still not caring about the stuff around him.

He was thinking about his perverted dream that night. The way it felt so real. The way he truly felt loved by Castiel. It was just amazing that he couldn't get it off of his mind. The sound of Castiel's voice, the smug smile, his confident words, the way he was able to manipulate Dean—there were simply no words to how he felt about that dream. He simply hopes that that dream could be a glimpse of a future with the other man.

"Hi Mr. Collin." A group of girls said as they passed by. Their voices that were filled with extreme sweetness and lust snapped him out of his stupor, feeling reality set in.

"Hello girls." A familiar voice said from behind. Dean slowly turned to see that it really was Castiel, smiling smugly with a little touch of fondness as he waved back at the girls. The girls flushed as they giggled and teasingly push each other. Stupid beautiful college women. He thought to himself, seeing how comfortable and confident Castiel was, as if it was the most natural thing for him.

Dean froze to where he stood, eyes glued on Castiel, with his mouth hanging open. God! He looks even more stunning in daylight! He thought. He remained staring at Castiel, memorizing every detail of his face under the bright sunlight, seeing for the first time how bright those blue eyes really are. His gaze then slowly fell on Castiel's pointed nose and quickly down to his lips. They look so soft and kissable to him. He swallowed thickly and let his jaw drop a little. What would they feel like on mine? He thought as his heart rate tripled its speed. He seemed to be holding his breath because his shoulders and chest seemed to have stopped rising and falling.

Castiel slowly tilted his head to the side as his brows furrowed; wondering why Dean was staring at him that way with his face flushed. "Is there something on my face?" he asked as their distance shortened.

"Uh..." Dean, stammered as he got out of his trance and focused his eyes someplace else to avoid eye contact with Castiel.

Castiel chuckled at the reaction he got from Dean. "Is that all you can say to me? 'Uh'?" he laughed full heartedly as the other man's face redden a little more.

Castiel finally stopped laughing and laid his eyes on Dean's Impala. He gently ran his fingers on the hood and smiled thoughtfully. "This is a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, right?" he asked with a confident smile on his face.

"Yeah." Dean choked and cleared his throat. "Um, you into cars?" he asked sheepishly.

"Kinda. My brother loved cars and taught me everything I know about them." He gave a sad smile as he looked back at the Impala. "She's a beauty isn't she?" he finished with a heavy sigh and thoughtful eyes.

"Yeah, she is." Dean replied with a smile and looked at his car as well. A few silent moments later, Dean cleared his throat. Castiel gazed at Dean for a while but instantly looked back at the car. "Is that brother...Lucifer?" he asked reluctantly, very careful not to cross the line and offend Castiel. Castiel simply smiled and nodded his head, pain evident in his eyes.

"He was an amazing brother; Lucifer. He was named after the devil but he's the kindest and most thoughtful person I've ever known. He's a very selfless man and raised both Gabriel and I well." He sighed and became thoughtful for a while. He smiled sadly and inhaled deeply. He turned his gaze back at Dean. "Well, I think we should go. I know just the place." he beamed, changing the subject, gaining a fond smile from Dean.

===3==

Their drive was quiet but it wasn't awkward. It took them about half an hour to get to the diner Castiel was talking about. The diner was well lit and quite elegant but simple at the same time. The whole place screamed of family, friendship, safety and love.

They sat down on a table that lies beside the window. Castiel looked out the window thoughtfully when they sat down while Dean looked at the menu. "This is where Michael and I had our first date that led to us confessing each other's feelings." Castiel said—breaking the silence—as he looked back at Dean with a painful look.

Dean licked his bottom lip and became thoughtful for a while. "Are you sure you want to eat here?" he asked in a voice slightly above a whisper. Concern ghosted his face alongside came pain, sorrow and something Castiel couldn't figure out.

"Yeah." He said instantly. "This is one of the few ways I can still feel connected to Mike." He said with another pained smile.

"Okay. I can't take that away from you." Dean replied. He felt his chest tightening while his stomach seemed to flip violently inside him. Why he was feeling that way confused him in every possible way. He wasn't sure if it's because he can sense Castiel's pain and feel compassion towards the man or if it's due to the man's tight grip on his ex's memories. He wondered if this stabbing feeling in his chest was because he knew he couldnever be enough to replace Michael in Castiel's heart. That thought alone made breathing a little too hard for him. "Well, let's eat then." He said with a forced smile, trying to convince the man in front of him—and himself at the same time—that he's pretty much okay.

===3==

Their lunch took longer than they thought. They were just talking about all kind of stuff until they got to getting to really know each other by sharing about each other's past, their likes and dislikes and other stuff. They stayed there for about three and a half hours until Castiel made an excuse of having a lot of term papers to check. As soon as they got out of their seats, he took his phone out of his pocket and called Balthazar.

"Hello, Balthazar? Can you pick me up now? We're at thediner." Castiel said on the phone, emphasizing the last two words. "What? What do you mean you can't?" he said as his brows furrowed and there was a pause. "Fine," he grunted, "I'll just take a taxi then." He finished and sighed. He paused for a while to listen to his friend's respond. "Yeah, you too. Oh, wait, Balthazar... I hate you." He sighed and put his phone back in his pocket.

"No ride?" Dean asked, basing on what he heard from Castiel's side of the conversation. Castiel nodded at the question. "I can take you home if you want." Castiel frowned a little and raised his guard back up. Shit! He must've misunderstood! Although I do want to take him home with me. "What I meant to say is that I can give you a ride home."

Castiel tilted his head to the side as the frown deepened. "I understand that Dean. What did you think I thought?" he asked, confused at Dean's sudden defensiveness.

"Uh..." Dean stammered—again—not knowing whether to tell the truth or just make things up.

Castiel chuckled at his reaction. "I'm guessing that's your favourite word." He teased as his eyes shone brighter and his smile widened.

"Uh..."

"There it goes again." He said, laughing this time.

"I'm sorry. It's just..." Dean paused; looking around thinking then looked back at Castiel who was still grinning. He bit his lip and thought for another while. "It's just... Ugh!" he said with a roll of his eyes. "Never mind. Just, just let me take you home, okay?" he said, eyes full of hope and a slight tint of embarrassment.

Castiel would've declined but Dean's face was really hopeful and found it quite hard to decline. He doesn't really want to ride a cab as well, so he just sighed in defeat and got inside the Impala. Dean hid a smile and tried to hide the blush creeping up on him.

===3==

Castiel's house was about an hour away from the diner. Instead of dead silence, the car was filled with more stories about each other and some laughs. By the time they got to Castiel's place, they know at least half of each other's life before Dean pulled over in front of a six storey building.

"Thanks for the lunch, Dean. I enjoyed your company." He said with a smile.

"Yeah. And thanks for your time." Dean replied with a fond smile. Castiel nodded in return and opened the door to get out. "Castiel," he started as Castiel turned to look back at him, "Its Sammy's birthday this Sunday and I was kinda hoping you could go?" he asked hopeful... again.

"I'm not sure I could go."

"Please? Gabriel will be there as well. At least, that's what Sammy told me. It would really mean a lot." For me. He added in his mind.

"But you guys barely even know me."

"Just... please? I'll pick you up at six PM, okay?" his voice pleaded this time.

Castiel sighed heavily once more. He doesn't really want anything to do with Dean. No relationship with men, remember? He composed himself once more and smiled half heartedly at him, "Okay then." He replied, earning a wide grin from Dean.

"Thanks a lot Castiel." Castiel simply nodded as a response and got out of the car. He was a few more steps from the door when Dean suddenly called his name. He turned to see him running towards him. He tilted his head on one side, wondering why Dean was going his way.

As soon as Dean reached him, his question was answered by Dean's lips being pressed on his cheek lightly. Dean quickly turned back and ran faster back to his car and drove off quickly, as if someone's chasing him.

Castiel slowly raised his hand as his brows furrowed deep in thought and held his cheek; where Dean placed a soft kiss. His heart rate doubled but he doesn't know for which reason. It was either because he might like Dean or if it's because that was the exact same thing Michael did when he confessed to him.

Michael kissed his cheek and literally ran to the comfort room as if bullies were after him. He stayed there for a good one hour until Castiel got impatient and almost dragged Michael out of the comfort room. When he got out, both of them said 'I'm in love with you' literally at the same time.

This night could be another night filled with Michael in my head. He thought as he closed his eyes and his brows furrowed deeper.