Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To say that Castiel was displeased would be putting things mildly. Very mildly. While art was only an elective at his high school and was often looked upon by colleges as a less than important class, it was his favorite class, and he took it every year, no matter that he couldn’t receive credit past the first two times.

So maybe it shouldn’t matter that he’d been paired with Dean Winchester on the midterm art project of his senior year — after all, he wasn’t receiving a grade, so it wouldn’t affect his status as Valedictorian. But it did matter. Castiel put his heart and soul into his artwork, and how was he supposed to do that when he was partnered with a student who didn’t even show up to class much of the time, let alone turn in the assignments?

“Hey, uh, Casteel?” Dean ventured, giving him a smile that would have half the cheerleading squad swooning — probably did, given his position as star quarterback of the football team. And honestly, it was truly unfair just how attractive the other boy was.

“It’s Castiel,” he corrected. The teacher had just pronounced his name correctly, so why couldn’t Dean have bothered to pay attention?

“Oh, sorry,” Dean replied, managing to look contrite. “Can I call you Cas? I’m gonna call you Cas. Cas…tiel is it? Kind of a mouthful, and this way I won’t be saying it wrong.”

Dean looked strangely hopeful, and while Castiel generally wasn’t one for nicknames — he hated it when his brother Gabriel called him ‘Cassie’ — ‘Cas’ was at least rather inoffensive. “Fine,” was all Castiel said. He almost felt bad for his curt tone when he saw Dean’s face fall, but then Dean was smiling again, so whatever. No harm, no foul.

“So, uh, you have any ideas for what we should do? I do my best with sketching, so I figured I could work with charcoal and focus on chiaroscuro and you could maybe add to that?”

Castiel blinked at him, taken aback. He hadn’t expected Dean to actually want to brainstorm their piece for the assignment, let alone have ideas of his own and know anything about art styles. At best, he’d figured that Dean would let Castiel come up with the ideas and follow his directions; at worst, Castiel would be left doing the whole project. Apparently it wasn’t going to be that bad.

“It could be interesting if we blended charcoal with oil paints,” Castiel offered. Oil paints were one of Castiel’s favorite mediums to work with, and he thought they could make a fairly interesting piece by combining the two for their mixed media project. “Perhaps you could draw whatever object we choose for the focal point, and I could paint the background.”

Dean grinned at him. “That would be awesome. Teach said we’re supposed to go with something we’re passionate about, so I figured I could draw my Baby and you could—”

“You have a child ?” Castiel interrupted. Of all the rumors he’d heard about the new kid at school since the school year began, him being a parent was not one of them.

Dean just laughed. “Nah, man, that’s the name of my car. You know, the 1967 Chevy Impala I drive?”

Castiel did not know. He knew approximately nothing about cars beyond the fact that he was frequently teased for his Lincoln Continental, and he hadn’t really paid much attention to Dean’s comings and goings from school aside from when he was absent from class. “I see,” was all he said. 

“Anyway, I figure it’s a good idea since I’ve sketched her a bunch before, so I’ve got practice. What, uh, what’s something you’re passionate about that you could incorporate into a background?”

Castiel thought for a moment. “I enjoy stargazing and art, so I suppose I could paint a night sky as the background, maybe style it along the lines of ‘Starry Night,’ or at least something post-impressionist,” he mused, thinking of one of his favorite Western art movements.

“Dude, that’d be awesome! And…” he hesitated. “You know any good places to go stargazing that aren’t too far from the city?”

Castiel found himself simply blinking at Dean again, unsure about the change in topic. Was Dean asking to hang out? “I know a few,” he said cautiously.

“If you could give me the addresses, that’d be sweet,” Dean enthused. “My baby brother is on an astronomy kick right now and he’d be thrilled if I could take him out somewhere to get a good look at the stars. He said something about a meteor shower coming up next week and I don’t want him to miss it.”

“The Orionids. They go from the end of September to the end of November, so they’ve already started, but the peak is typically near the end of October. This time around will be next Sunday night. Well, Monday morning, really. The best hours to watch them are after midnight though to dawn.” Castiel could already tell he was nervous, but word-vomiting facts like he’d just done was always a strong indication of such anxiety. Why was Dean making him so nervous?

“Man, you and Sammy would get along so well. If I give you my number, could you text me the info about good places to watch?”

Castiel had no idea why he said what he said next, but once the words were out, he couldn't very well take them back. “You could come with me. I’m already planning to go out to view them.”

Dean was clearly as surprised as Castiel was, but the smile that overtook his face was a thing to behold — broad and genuine, not the practiced smile he’d given Castiel to begin with that, while probably very effective at helping him get what he wanted, wasn’t nearly as breathtaking. “We could?”

“Sure,” Castiel offered, silently cursing himself. That more genuine smile was a dangerous, dangerous thing, and Castiel knew spending more time with Dean and getting to know the boy who was clearly more than the dumb jock façade he put on would be even more dangerous. Already his heart was starting to get invested, which was truly, truly unfair.

Castiel was brought out of his musings when Dean handed him his phone. “Just enter your contact info and I’ll text you,” he said, and Castiel did as instructed. Soon, his phone buzzed with an incoming text message and the bell signaling the end of class rang.

They both began packing up their things, Castiel casting furtive glances at the other boy. They stood up at the same time, and Dean gave Castiel a lazy salute. “See you tomorrow, yeah?”

“See you tomorrow, Dean.” Castiel waited for a moment as Dean exited the class, taking a deep breath. This was going to be better and yet so much worse than he expected, he just knew it.

Castiel did not see Dean in class the next day. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised — Dean’s truancy was notorious, and quite frankly, it was a wonder that he hadn’t been disqualified from the football team. But Dean had been the one to say “see you tomorrow” first — no, the fact that Castiel remembered that so distinctly had no meaning whatsoever — and the connection they’d made the day before over both art and stargazing had apparently gotten Castiel’s hopes up.

Castiel resolved not to let that happen again and set about finding a high resolution image of “Starry Night” he could use for reference. He wanted to make his part of the assignment his own, not just a copy of Van Gogh’s masterpiece, so he’d need to do some practice to figure out exactly how to manage that.

It was as he was packing up his work at the end of art class that he noticed his phone buzz in his pocket. Once he exited the classroom, he pulled it out to see a text from Dean.

Dean: srry i wasnt in class, sammy was sick and i had to take him home

Castiel read the message once, then twice. Why on Earth was Dean the one to be picking up his brother from school like that?

Castiel: Why didn’t one of your parents do that?

Castiel realized once he’d sent it that it was a rather invasive question, but it was too late to take it back. He watched the three dots indicating Dean was typing appear and disappear for what seemed like ages before a message finally came through.

Dean: long story. don’t know when ill be back but ill tell u then

Castiel: Alright. I hope Sammy gets better soon.

Dean: me 2. and dont call him sammy when we go stargazing he hates that, call him sam

Castiel: But you call him Sammy?

Dean: hell yeah big brother privileges

Castiel can’t help but snort at that. Gabriel at least would agree. His phone buzzed again before he could type out a reply.

Dean: anyway i gotta go, ill text you a pic of my sketches when i have a chance, k?

Castiel: I’d appreciate that, thank you.

Dean: no prob

The bell for the next class period rang as Castiel was putting his phone back in his pocket and he cursed silently, starting a fast walk in the direction of the social sciences building where his AP US History class was. He’d never been late before, so hopefully his teacher wouldn’t give him too hard a time.

As he power-walked toward class, he mused on the mystery that was Dean Winchester. He had a feeling that there was a lot more to him than the dumb, bad boy jock he was perceived to be, and he wondered just how much of that he’d be able to see. Despite his earlier disappointment, he found himself hoping that it would be quite a lot.

Castiel didn’t see Dean again until three days later, on Friday. The other boy arrived late, looking haggard and as if he hadn’t slept at all in the three days he’d been absent. He sat down next to Castiel, giving him a wan smile, then turned to listen to what the teacher was saying.

They had exchanged a few short texts over the last few days, mostly just pictures of their progress with the project plus a few clarifying questions and their answers sprinkled in here or there. Castiel had thought about initiating discussion about something more, perhaps the stargazing they’d talked about, but wasn’t sure it would be welcome, so he stuck to talking about the art project.

Castiel found it hard to concentrate during class, unusually aware of the presence of Dean beside him. There was just something about him that drew Castiel’s attention. Castiel couldn’t help but think back to Dean’s promise to explain his situation, and his mind was running rampant with possibilities. It was, quite frankly, ridiculous. He barely knew Dean and had no good reason to be this invested… and yet.

By the time the bell rang for the end of class, Castiel was fair vibrating out of his seat. With effort, he refrained from demanding answers immediately.

“Are you doing okay, Dean? You don’t look so, umm,” Castiel paused, unsure how to put his thoughts into words without being insulting.

“If that’s your way of trying to say ‘you look like shit,’ I know I do. Look, I said I’d explain, and I will, but if we’re gonna make it to our next classes on time, it’ll have to be after school. I’ve got some time between sixth period and football practice, if you don’t mind staying after for a bit?”

Dean looked so hopeful that Castiel would have said yes even if he hadn’t wanted to do as Dean asked, though of course he wanted to — this was his opportunity to find out more. “I can do that. Where would you like to meet?”

“Parking lot? I can show you my Baby so you’ll have a better idea of what I’m working from for our assignment, kill two birds with one stone.”

“Alright, I’ll see you there.”

Dean’s smile was much brighter this time, and Castiel could feel something warm unfurling in his chest, because he had done that.

“Awesome. See ya, Cas.”

“Goodbye, Dean.”

With that, they went their separate ways. If Castiel spent more time in his history class pondering what Dean might say to him than he did paying attention, well, no one had to know but him.

Castiel found Dean leaning against the chain-link fence separating the school from the parking lot, the collar on his leather jacket flipped up and his backpack over one shoulder while he looked down at something on his phone. Castiel tried not to be too obvious about it, but he couldn’t help but size up the rest of Dean as he walked toward him. It was unfair how attractive the other boy was. Between his bowed legs, his broad shoulders, and the adorable freckles that became more clear the closer he came to him, Dean was truly beautiful to behold.

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said as he reached him, causing Dean to look up and give him a sunny smile.

“Heya, Cas. Follow me, I’ll show you my Baby.” With that, Dean turned and walked through the gate to the parking lot, leaving Castiel to trail after him.

Castiel recognized the car before they got to it — he’d seen enough sketches of it by now to make it impossible to miss, and truly was a striking vehicle. “It’s beautiful,” he said once they’d arrived at it.

“ She’s beautiful, Cas. Baby is a lady and should be treated as one.” Dean was grinning though, clearly pleased with the compliment.

“Very well, she’s beautiful. I can see why you wanted to draw her for our assignment.”

“’Course I did.” Dean paused then, leaning against the side of the car and looking away as he rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh, I told you I’d explain what’s going on.”

The shift in topic was clearly making Dean very nervous, and suddenly, despite his desperate curiosity, Castiel wanted to ease that anxiety much more than he wanted to know the details of Dean’s situation. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business, really.”

“No, I… I want to,” Dean said, and for the life of him, Castiel had no idea why Dean was blushing while he said that, but oh, was it endearing. “So, you asked why one of my parents didn’t pick up Sammy from school. Well, Mom died when I was little, and Dad… after that, my Dad kind of fell apart. He tries, sometimes, but mostly he just fucks off to who knows where for days at a time and can’t be relied on when Sammy needs him. Now that I’m 18, I managed to get myself listed as Sammy’s guardian — don’t ask how, I have a friend who’s a computer whiz who did something in the system to make that go through — and when Sammy’s sick or whatever, I’m the one who takes care of him. He had some sort of stomach flu this time, which thankfully only lasted about a day and a half, but he gave it to me, so I was sick for a while too.” Dean pauses, stealing a glance at Castiel but quickly looking away. “Anyway, that’s my sob story. I’m not trying to make excuses or anything — I promise I’ll get my part of the assignment done. I just… thought it might be easier if you understood.” The blush was even stronger now, red suffusing Dean’s entire face and making his adorable freckles even more pronounced.

“Thank you for telling me, Dean,” Castiel began, knowing it can’t have been easy to open up about something so personal. Dean struck him as someone who didn’t trust easily, and he wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn that trust, but he was certainly grateful for it. “I can’t say I know what that’s like, but it doesn’t sound easy. And I’m not worried about the project — you’ve certainly been doing your part of the work.”

There’s a silence then, Castiel not sure what more to say and Dean presumably in the same boat. Finally, Castiel thought of what he hoped was a safe topic.

“Do you—”

“Would—”

They both talked over each other before Dean gestured at him and said, “You first.” 

“Do you still want to go stargazing Sunday night?”

Dean looked at him and grinned. “That’s what I was gonna ask about. Yeah, if you’re still up for it? I haven’t told Sammy yet, but if you still want to, he is going to flip his shit he’ll be so excited.”

“I would enjoy that, yes,” Castiel said, feeling a pang at knowing that Dean really only wanted this for the sake of his brother rather than to spend time with him. It would still be fun, he told himself. He’d still get to see the meteor shower, which was the whole point, right?

“Awesome. I should, uh, head to practice. I’ll text you about Sunday, though, cool?”

“That works. Have a good practice.”

Dean just smiled at him as he waved and walked away, that happy, genuine smile that once again had butterflies bursting to life in his stomach. Pointless, he told himself as he walked to his own car. He needed to let go of this stupid infatuation he was developing for the other boy. It was clear Dean didn’t reciprocate whatever it was that Castiel was feeling, so there was no point in it. Too bad that was easier said than done.

Chapter Text

Unlike his tendency in class, Dean was on time to pick Castiel up on Sunday night. They’d planned on him picking Castiel up at 11pm, and when Castiel exited his house at that time (not wanting a knock or doorbell ring to wake his parents, even if he had permission for this excursion), Dean was just pulling up to the curb.

Between the blankets and his binoculars, Castiel’s arms were full, and that must have been the reason that Dean got out of the car and ran around the hood to open up the passenger side door for him. With Sam along, it wasn’t like there was any chance of this being a date. Castiel’s traitorous heart sped up at the gesture nonetheless.

“Heya, Cas,” Dean said with a smile that wasn’t quite hidden by the shadows cast by the streetlight nearby.

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel replied, a small smile on his own face. They stood there looking at each other, and Castiel couldn't help but miss the freckles that were usually so easily seen, miss the vibrancy of his green eyes, both of which were currently obscured in by the darkness.

“Are we going or what?” came a voice from the backseat of the car, startling them both.

“Uh, yeah, course,” Dean said, then gave Cas one more smile before jogging back to the driver’s side. They both got in the car and Castiel turned to the backseat. He held out his hand to the young teen sitting there.

“You must be Sam. I’m Castiel.”

“Hey!” Sam replied, shaking the proffered hand. “Dean always just calls you Cas, I didn’t know you were named after an angel!”

Castiel blinked, surprised both that Dean had told his brother enough about him for there to be an ‘always’ in that statement, and because Sam recognized his name.

“Dean talks about me?” was what came out first, and he mentally kicked himself because how desperate does that sound?

“Oh yeah, he won’t shut up about—”

“Sammy,” Dean said warningly for some reason, and Sam changed the subject.

“But uh, he said you like stargazing? ’Cause I was looking at what things can be seen with the naked eye aside from the meteor shower and the Andromeda Galaxy is supposed to be one of them. Is it going to be dark enough where we’re going to see it? It’s always too bright in town to be able to make it out.”

Castiel smiled at Sam’s enthusiasm. “Yes, we’ll be able to see it, especially because I brought my binoculars. We should be able to see the Pinwheel Galaxy as well, and Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter, too.”

“Alright, you big dorks, before we can do any of that, we need to get where we’re going. Where to, Cas?”

As Castiel gave Dean directions, Sam chattered happily about the things he’d learned about astronomy from books from the library and all the constellations he wanted to look at tonight, asking how late they’re staying out because really, “I can handle a night without sleep, promise!”

“We’ll see,” Dean replied in a tone that suggested he was unlikely to grant that but, Castiel guessed, didn’t want to spark an argument.

Half an hour later, they were pulling up to the locked gate leading to a nearby county park in the hills outside of the city.

“Cas, you know I’m not a stickler for the rules, but I don’t exactly wanna get arrested for trespassing.”

“Don’t worry, I know the park ranger who makes the rounds to the local parks at night. I let her know I’d be here tonight, and whenever I do that, she conveniently forgets to check on this park.”

“Who knew you were such a rule breaker? She give you a key, too?” Dean asked, sounding amused.

“No, she’d get in too much trouble if she did that. It’s a simple lock, though, so it’s easy to pick.

Dean barked a laugh. “And I thought I was the delinquent between the two of us. Alright, go ahead and open that gate so I can drive through.”

Castiel exited the car and made quick work of the lock, pushing the gate open long enough to let Dean in and then closing it behind them before he got back in the car. “It’s straight ahead for about a quarter of a mile, then there’s a fork to the right that will take us to a good place,” he instructed.

Once they arrived, they piled out of the car and Dean headed for the trunk, popping it open and revealing blankets, a couple of pillows, a back of what looked like junk food, and a small cooler. With the moon only a few days past being full, they didn’t even need a flashlight to see fairly clearly.

“What’s in the cooler?” Castiel asked.

Dean smiled at him. “Energy drinks. Figured we could use them if we’re gonna stay out late.”

It was a good idea. Usually Castiel only stayed out until 1 or 2am, but with Dean… well, he wouldn’t mind spending more time stargazing now that he had company.

They laid down their blankets and pillows on a grassy area with a very slight incline, angled so that they’d be lying facing away from the car. Dean got comfortable right away, lying down in the middle of the blankets, and Castiel was so distracted thinking about how little room there was on either side of the other boy, how he’d be lying very close to Dean once they were all watching the meteor shower, that it took him a minute to hear Sam’s questions.

“Cas?” the younger boy asked, clearly not for the first time.

“Sorry. Perhaps I need one of those energy drinks sooner than later.”

“Oh, yeah, let me grab you one,” Sam said, doing just that and handing it over.

Castiel opened it and took a sip, carefully not making a face at the sickly sweet, fake fruit flavor. “You were asking me something?”

“Yeah! I was wondering if we could take a look at those galaxies and maybe the planets before the meteor shower starts to peak? That’s supposed to be after midnight, right?”

“Yes. There will already be some visible, but there should be more between midnight and dawn tonight than at any other time during the shower. Would you like to start with the galaxies you mentioned or the planets that are visible right now?”

“The galaxies!” Sam enthused.

Castiel turned to Dean. “Don’t you want to see too?” 

“Nah, you dorks have fun. I’ll watch for meteors. Gotta get my wishes in, you know?” he said with a wink. Castiel could tell that ‘dorks’ was meant fondly, and it did twisty things to his chest that he didn’t want to think about. To distract himself, he started helping Sam find the objects he wanted to look at, but every time Castiel snuck a glance over at Dean, Dean was watching them rather than the sky.

“Come on, you guys, it’s past 12:30,” Dean said a while later. “Didn’t you say the shower would start peaking by now?”

“Oh, yeah!” Sam replied, handing the binoculars back to Castiel. After just a little bit of direction, he hadn’t needed much of Castiel’s help, and his excitement had been infectious. Now that it was time to start watching for meteors, though, Castiel was reminded of just how close he’d need to be lying to Dean to fit on the blankets. 

He could have sworn he’d brought enough to cover more ground, but he supposed Dean had wanted more cushion beneath them when he arranged them. There were still a couple left, but given how chilly it was supposed to get that night, the extras were probably for covering themselves with. If it weren’t for Sam’s presence, he’d think Dean was trying to ensure they were lying close together so that… well, in any case, it seemed ridiculous to imagine Dean doing anything like that on purpose with his little brother along. And why would he even do it in the first place? It’s not like he was interested in Castiel at all.

“You joining us?” Dean asked, and Castiel mentally shook himself. Putting the long-empty energy drink can back in the cooler, he went to lie down on the side of the blanket not currently occupied — Sam had already lied down on one side — and found it impossible not to lie flush to Dean’s side if he wanted to stay off the damp ground.

Castiel was hyperaware of the warmth emanating from the other boy, even through their multiple layers, to the point that he was barely watching the sky.

“Hey, look!” Dean said, pointing up, and Castiel managed to look in time to see the tail end of what must have been a long-burning meteor. “You see that?” Dean’s enthusiasm, as bright as his brother’s had been, was infectious. “Gotta make a wish, now,” Dean encouraged.

“I wish—”

“No, you can’t tell us,” Dean interrupted. “If you tell anyone, it won’t come true.”

It was just as well. What he really wanted to wish for wasn’t going to come true anyway, but at least not saying it out loud would save him some embarrassment.

Castiel woke slowly, only becoming aware of his surroundings in pieces. He was lying on his side on a rather hard surface, cuddled up against something very warm and— His eyes flew open as he realized where he was.

“Come on, guys, we gotta go if we’re gonna get to school on time,” Sam said, shaking Dean’s other shoulder hard enough that Castiel, plastered to his side, was being shaken too.

Sam seemed entirely unphased at finding them cuddled up against each other, but Castiel was mortified. What was Dean going to think? He went to pull back, only to find that Dean’s arm was around him, pulling him back toward the other boy.

Dean blinked his eyes open, then looked at Castiel. “Mornin’” he said with a lazy smile, and Castiel could feel a deep blush suffusing his entire face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to— I don’t know why I— Sorry,” Castiel stuttered out as he pushed away from Dean, and this time Dean let him go, his face falling before going carefully blank.

“Yeah, no worries,” Dean replied, and oh, Castiel wanted to hear that happy, carefree tone he’d had back in his voice, but now it was almost without inflection. Dean levered himself to his feet, seeming to hesitate before offering Castiel a hand up. “Time to get going,” he said, letting go of Castiel’s hand quickly once he was up and starting to fold up the blankets.

The ride back was awkward and silent, and Castiel couldn’t help but feel he’d done something wrong, something to upset Dean, but for the life of him he couldn’t think what it had been.

“I’ll see you in art?” Castiel ventured hesitantly as he got out of the car once they’d reached his home.

“Yeah,” Dean replied, the half smile he gave not reaching his eyes, then quickly drove off once Castiel had closed the passenger door. He stood staring after the car until it rounded the corner at the end of the block, trying to sort through the mess of feelings running through him. Eventually, he shook his head sharply, shoving that all down and going inside. Whatever had happened didn’t matter. Things were always easy between them in art class when they were discussing their project. It would be okay.

Things were not easy between them during art. Oh, Dean was personable and polite, but he had on that fake smile he usually used with everyone except Castiel, and oh, did that hurt.

By the time they were parting ways after class, the finished drawing of Baby held carefully in Castiel’s hands, his heart felt bruised and he was more inclined to just go home than to go to his sixth period. It wouldn’t be worth the headache of contending with his mother’s concern, however, so he trudged on to his history class, knowing his mind would be spinning too much for him to really focus.

After school, he felt restless and unsettled, but decided if anything might put that special smile back on Dean’s face, it would be finishing their art project, which was due the following Monday. Sure, he could probably do it over the weekend, but it wouldn’t hurt if he finished early, right? Right.

He didn’t start in on the canvas Dean had handed to him that afternoon, though, not yet. He wanted to be absolutely sure he was happy with the way he was going to pattern his stars, and that it wasn’t just going to be some sort of copy-paste of the style of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” The beautiful charcoal rendering Dean had drawn of his car deserved the very best — Dean deserved the very best — and Castiel was going to make sure he gave it his all.

He’d tried several styles, sticking to post-impressionist sources to keep the inspiration for his portion at least somewhat confined. Finally, on Wednesday, he managed a pattern of brush strokes he was happy with — one that blended the rounded, multi-hued strokes of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” with the more angular, dual-toned style used on the dress in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s “La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge.”

On Thursday night, he stayed up until 3 in the morning finishing their project, painting a rural road in the foreground with a barn and hills in the background, topped with what he hoped looked like a brilliant night sky. He made sure to include several shooting stars.

The acrylic paint he’d decided he’d use instead of oil-based paint would be dry enough by morning to transport the finished piece to school, though it would take a few days to fully cure. He was sure their teacher would be fine with them turning it in early… at least if Dean approved of Castiel’s work.

By the time art rolled around the next day, Castiel’s eyes were gritty and he was regretting the fact that he didn’t drink coffee or energy drinks, at least outside of their stargazing excursion. He was both keyed up over what Dean’s reaction might be and exhausted beyond measure after two nights of little sleep in less than a week.

He was just contemplating putting his head down on the desk to take a little cat nap when Dean took his seat next to him, just as the bell rang.

“Hello, Dean,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey,” Dean replied, giving him a look of concern. “You okay, buddy? You don’t look so good.”

“Just tired,” Castiel said dismissively. “I was up late finishing our project.”

Dean looked confused. “But… that’s not due until Monday.” 

“Yes, but I wanted time to fix it if you didn’t like my part,” Castiel mumbled, suddenly self-conscious. What was Dean going to think of him? Could he tell just how desperate Castiel was for his approval, for the return of his sunshine smile? Well, if that was what it took to earn it back, Castiel was happy to embarrass himself.

“The mockups you were doing as practice before were all really good, so I’m sure I’ll like it,” Dean said, and was that a hopeful look on his face?

They were interrupted by a pointed throat-clearing by the teacher, so Castiel reluctantly faced forward. Whatever information he was supposed to be absorbing that day — something about cubism, maybe? — went in one ear and out the other, as Castiel was too busy running through possible scenarios in his head of how Dean would react.

Finally, finally , the class was over, and Castiel gestured to the back of the class. “It’s back there. I’ll show you,” he said, leaving Dean to follow him Turning back to Dean once he reached the canvas, which was leaning against a counter along the back wall, he made a cheesy gesture as if to present the painting, saying, “Ta da!” He promptly shoved his hands into his pockets to hide their shaking.

“Cas…” Dean trailed off as he took in the finished art piece, and oh fuck, he didn’t like it, Cas was going to have to— “Cas, this is incredible. I knew you were good — how could you not be? — but this is something else. If the focus of the piece weren’t my Baby I’d say you put her to shame, but nobody and nothing does that. No, you… this is beautiful.”

The shy smile Dean gave him then was a thing to behold. It was everything he’d been hoping for, and he knew the smile he gave in return was well out of proportion to the situation, but he was just so relieved . When Dean’s smile only grew, Castiel full on giggled , and wasn’t that embarrassing. But as he’d thought to himself earlier, embarrassment was more than worth it to see that happy, genuine smile return to Dean’s face.

“Hey, uh,” Dean began, then paused, seemingly unsure. “It’s no worries if you’re busy, but there’s a home game tonight, and if you wanted, you could maybe come watch?”

Castiel stared at Dean, his heart pitter-pattering as he tried to formulate a response. Was this… was this some sort of regular hangout, or was it supposed to be more?

Clearly he was silent too long, because Dean hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, stupid idea. Let’s just get to class,” he said, turning to leave.

Castiel grabbed his arm before he could. “No! It’s not. Not stupid, I mean. I’d love to come to your game.”

Dean looked back at him, and yes, it was definitely hope shining in his eyes. “Yeah?” he said, sunshine smile in full force.

“Yeah,” Castiel echoed.

“You two better get to your next class!” called the teacher, breaking the moment, and Castiel looked up to see most of the chairs filled with students who must be in sixth period art.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to make you late,” Dean said as they exited, but Castiel just shrugged.

“No big deal. My history teacher likes me, so I’ll probably be okay. And…” he hesitated. “And it was worth it. I’m glad you like how I painted our project. And I’m looking forward to watching you play tonight.” He could feel his face heating, but he barreled on nonetheless. “What time is the game?”

“Starts at six. I don’t know if I’ll be able to say hi while the game is still going, but if you’re willing to stay while the team gets showered and changed at the end, maybe we could hang out after?”

“I’d like that,” Castiel said, a bubbling, effervescent feeling taking up residence in his gut. Buoyed by that feeling, he decided to ask, “And… would that be a date?

“If you want?” Dean said it like a question just as the bell rang, his face turning uncertain once again. 

“I want,” Castiel confirmed, smiling wide.

Dean gave him a lopsided grin. “Awesome.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess we oughtta get to class. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yes, you’ll see me tonight.” Reluctantly, Castiel turned away to head toward history, that bubbly feeling accompanying him the whole way. It felt… it felt like happiness.