I didn't mean to overhear their conversation, Cas repeats to himself as he drinks Saturday morning's latte nervously the next week, I didn't even want to overhear that conversation. But Cas is, apparently, in the business of finding out things about Dean he wasn't supposed to know. He curses.
In an effort to be a mature, responsible friend and neighbor, Cas has visited Winchester's every day since his awkward return. And then he'd even invited Sam and Dean and, yes, Benny, out to watch the new Die Hard movie last night. Which is, he supposes, where his life went entirely wrong. Cas curses again. A lady at the next table frowns at him. He glares back.
The movie had been entertaining, and the company pretty fun, and afterward the four of them all agreed that nachos were in order. There was a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby, so they'd headed over. Sam and Cas got a table while Dean and Benny went…somewhere. Sam had rolled his eyes and whispered to Cas that it happened a lot, which didn't exactly make Cas feel better, but oh well. Cas realized after few minutes in that he'd left his wallet in his car, so he'd gone back out to the parking lot. His car was a few spaces over from Dean's Impala, so really, it was their fault they didn't notice him walking over.
"I'm just trying to figure out where I stand with you," Dean is saying as Cas gets up to his car. He stops.
"We've had this conversation. You're my boyfriend, right?" Benny says (and Cas did not flinch at the word). "That's where you stand."
"Benny. I saw her at the theater, too. And I saw the way you looked at her."
"I miss her. Am I not allowed to miss her?"
"Yes! But - I just want to know if that's – if that's all."
There's a pause. "Dean," Benny says softly, "Are you worried I'm gonna cheat on you?"
Dean makes a non-committal noise. Benny sighs. "I'll do lots of things, Dean, but if you think I'm gonna cheat on you, you're crazy." He says it lightly, but Cas bites his lip.
Dean growls low in his throat. "Don't you say that."
"What?"
"I am not. Crazy," Dean spits out, accenting every word. Cas hears boots scuffing on the asphalt.
"Woah, Dean!" Benny says, surprised. "I know you're not really crazy. Hey, darlin'. Calm down."
Dean breathes heavily and he doesn't speak for a moment. There are more footsteps, and Dean's next words come out muffled. "I'm not crazy," he says quietly.
"Yeah, I know, babe."
"…I want this to work."
"Then we'll try," Benny murmurs. "It's not the end of the line yet."
Cas knows he's blushing and he ducks his head like he can hide it. The silence stretches on uncomfortably until he hears the quiet but unmistakable sound of lips pulling apart. "Okay," Dean says. Benny huffs pleasantly.
Cas waits until the two have walked off before he pulls open his car door and retrieves his wallet. Then he returns to the restaurant. He doesn't have the nerve to look either of them in the eye the rest of the night.
So Cas sits at his window table today and curses. Benny had been in earlier, to drop Dean off for his shift. Dean is wearing the same clothes he had on last night, Cas notices mournfully. It's not so much that he cares that Benny is sleeping with Dean, he thinks stupidly to himself, as much as that he hates that Benny knows what Dean's tattoo looks like and he doesn't. It makes him unreasonably and irrationally jealous. He'll admit that he was sort of hoping that it wouldn't work out between them after last night – and yeah, he knows how terrible that makes him, and that's why he's trying to make himself look as inconspicuous as he can. Of course, Dean doesn't acknowledge this, and he sits himself down across the table as soon as he has a chance.
"Cas," he begins seriously. Then he pauses.
"…Dean."
Dean licks his lips and glances over his shoulder. Then he turns back to Cas. "I have this friend," he starts. "And his, uh, the person he's dating, they still like their ex." A pause. "If the person you were dating still liked their ex…what would you do?"
Cas stares at him. If only he knew just how much I don't want to be having this conversation. "I. Uh. I suppose it depends on how much they still liked the ex. And how much they liked you."
"Him."
"Right. Him." Cas clutches at his latte and tries to shrink into the seat behind him. "But that's sort of personal."
Dean ignores the hint. "But what if you liked someone else, too?" he asks suddenly, and he stares at Cas like he holds all the answers to his future. It makes Cas squirm and his mouth hangs open slightly. He doesn't respond for a long moment because he doesn't know how to respond.
Dean is still staring at him.
"Then you might have reached the end of the line," Cas says lowly.
Dean tilts his head. His eyes look sad again.
"Okay," he says, and he gets up to make someone else's coffee.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand there we go. Now the only thing I have to decide is how long to make you wait for the next one...hehehe. Heh.
(The answer is "probably not long.")