A/N: Thanks sidz2891 for the reviews. Also thanks to all of you for the favs and follows. I appreciate it. My posting may get a little less frequent as I am back to work tomorrow. So I thought that I had to get you all this little fluffy piece before I got too busy. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
It was midnight and he could not sleep. The week was dragging him through coals of fire. Friday was a distant fantasy, now it was just barely out of reach but so tantalizingly close. He would be lying if he said he wasn't terrified. He could just talk to Sam and find out if he was wrong to hope. The thought of having that conversation though, was way more terrifying. So, he avoided it. It couldn't be a date. He saw the way that he had danced with Anna. He had played the scene over in his mind and each time the dance became more and more sensual. She had called him hot. Clearly, she was interested he told himself.
He had said that he felt grateful to Cas for his friendship toward Sam. Maybe this was how he showed his gratitude. Hanging out on a Friday. Bro time, Anna would call it if she was trying to be funny about the few events that she had been excluded from in their friendship-like Gabe's poker nights. They only left her out twice, then they stopped being stupid. Cas smiled at the thought while he laid on the couch.
His phone buzzed. He flipped it over and saw the message icon. It was Dean.
Just making sure you aren't bailing on me tomorrow.
Okay, be intelligent. Be confident. He held the phone in front of him and tried to think of something witty to say. Really, stop trying to be funny. It never works. He waited a second more before typing.
Of course not.
That worked. Not too long. Not too stupid sounding. Maybe ask a question.
So, what are you doing?
He waited. The reply came back quickly.
Watching a movie. You?
Damn it. I am not doing anything. I need to do something right now. It is midnight. I could make a snarky comment about sleeping. No, that would end the conversation. I want to keep it going. Think, Cas. What the Hell should I be doing? I have just hit rock bottom. I literally have nothing that I can say. Make something up…
Reading. What movie are you watching?
That was safe. Good job, Cas. Tiny party for you. He started pacing around the room a little. Nervous energy was bubbling over with each step. When the message buzz happened again he almost jumped.
The Evil Dead. What are you reading?
He walked over to his bookshelf to see what he could honestly answer. Well, not honestly, but at least close to it. He scanned the shelves and felt like his selection was inadequate. This guy just said that he was watching a horror film, and he had shelves of period piece novels from the likes of the Bronte sisters. He closed his eyes then and decided to pick the book that his hand fell on first.
The Great Gatsby. Do you usually watch horror films?
The reply came almost immediately.
I vaguely remember that book from high school. I think that Sammy likes it. Horror films are my go to if I need to sleep.
Cas wondered if he should try to get information about Friday, but didn't know where to begin. Also, who watches horror films to sleep? There is an odd little fact to put on the Dean Winchester shelf. Let's set up Friday, Cas. Keep it simple.
So, I should be done at the office around 5ish tomorrow. Does that work for you?
There was a long stretch where no messages came through. He started to pace the room again. Then when the time passage was too maddening he sat, got up again, sat, then paced back to the kitchen. The phone buzzed.
Late start. I don't think that one day will be enough then.
What in the world did we plan? Can't be dinner or taking in a movie. What could possibly take more than a few hours. He let his mind wander over that one for a bit until the phone buzzed again.
Mind if I crash in your guest room tomorrow night then?
Mind, not at all. Don't mind me while I have this little heart attack over here. Sound cool. You can do this. Cas funneled through his varied thoughts until he felt like going with brevity and an indifferent tone.
Not a problem.
He regretted his tone as soon as he sent it. It was too disinterested. He did not want to sound like he was disinterested. He sent a follow-up.
I've been looking forward to your company all week.
Bah! Redo, Undo….Shit. What did I do? Why did I send that? That sounded so pathetic. I talked to him for like what 10 minutes...Breathe, Cas. Just breathe. Remember, you fell, had a concussion, maybe. We can totally blame the concussion.
Of course I did have a minor head trauma, so maybe I have just been confused all week. :)
There, that should fix things. I used the smiley emoticon. No one can read too much into words that are followed by a smiley face. The smiley face says, nothing to worry about here. It's all good. He read back through the last text again just to be sure that it was okay. Then the phone buzzed again.
Me too. See you Friday ;)
He got up again. Instead of normal pacing he practically skipped around the condo. He scrolled back up through the texts to read them again. He wondered if he should reply, but decided to cut himself off. No sense in risking it. Then, of course, he began over-thinking it. What did he mean when he said, "Me too."? Did he mean it as a response to Cas saying that he had looked forward to company or to the head trauma? At first he thought that it meant that Dean had been looking forward to Friday too. Did it matter? He wasn't sure. Regardless, he let himself bask in the glow of the winky-face emoticon. Nothing could be wrong with words followed by the winky-faced emoticon. Especially if it was sent by Dean.
He went to bed then, but his mind raced and it was a long time before he fell asleep.