Chapter Text
“Sammy,” Dean yelled from the cramped desk in the bedroom he shared with his brother, “I need some help!”
Sam poked his head in from the hall with an eyebrow raised. Dean looked at the computer screen and mumbled something about stupid technology.
“I have an online test to take tonight,” he sighed. “Like, I have to be on video camera and everything for it but I can’t figure out how this works...,” he looked at Sam with a combination of plea and frustration.
“Oh, okay well I will see what I can do,” he waves Dean away, “Scoot.”
A few minutes later, Sam was out the door throwing Dean a thumbs up as he nervously fidgeted at the computer. He hated taking tests--it was the worst part of deciding to go to the local community college. He didn’t mind the lessons so much but test time always made him nervous and it didn’t help that now, apparently, he had to be observed on video camera. The school called it “proctoring”. Dean called it invasive.
He frowned a little as he looked at the screen.
Connected. Thank you for choosing ProctorU! Your proctor will join you shortly.
“Okay...,” he mumbled, glancing awkwardly at himself in the video reflection on the screen. He briefly considered that he should have changed clothes after leaving the shop. Oh, well. He guessed it didn’t matter.
Castiel N. has joined.
Dean waited, unsure what he was supposed to do next.
The video for the proctor flicked on and he found himself staring at a male, maybe a little older than himself, with dark hair and blue eyes he could see despite the guy not sitting all that close to the camera. He was wearing a tiny black headset and a bright blue polo shirt and appeared to be sitting in a small cubicle.
“Hello Dean, can you hear me?,” he spoke.
Dean nods before clearing his throat, “Uh, yeah. Yes. I can hear you.”
“Great, I’m Castiel and I will be your proctor today. Do you have a photo ID with you?”
“Yep,” Dean held up his student ID to the webcam.
“Thank you. Now, may I see a 360 degree view of the room please, including your workspace?”
Dean felt himself flush a little. Shit. He would have cleaned up a bit if he’d known this was a requirement. He stood and turned the camera slowly about the room and then focused on his desk area.
He sat down again, getting comfortable before Castiel interrupted him, “Do you have a mirror nearby? I need to see your computer screen.”
“Oh! Uh...hang on,” Dean hopped up and ran to the bathroom across the hall to dig for a mirror. “Found one!”
Castiel huffs a small laugh when he rushes back, flops back into his chair and holds the mirror up to show the computer screen.
“Thank you, Dean. Now, if you will, please click into the chat box and click ‘okay’ to give me control of your computer.”
“What?,” Dean blinked with a skeptical look. That didn’t sound safe.
The proctor smiled, “Is this your first test with us?” Dean nodded again, this time knowing Castiel could see him.
“Ah, okay. Let me go over how all this works then,” Castiel scooted his chair closer, adjusted his microphone and stopped looking all over his computer screen to look at the camera directly.
“Proctoring means you have to have someone watch you so that it’s proven you didn’t cheat on a test. For us to do that online, we also need to make sure that you aren’t using any kind of mirroring programs so that you can show us one thing but be looking at something else on the computer. To do that, we typically take control of the computer just for a moment so that we can see the settings but if you’re not okay with that, I can walk you through where to go so I can still verify your computer is secure.”
“Oh, okay,” Dean managed. “It’s fine then...”
“Great, can you click okay in the chat box?,” Castiel smiled at him.
Dean clicked and watched as Castiel moved his mouse around checking various settings on the laptop.
“Okay, Dean. I’m all done with that,” he smiled again, “you can navigate to the school website and login where you take your test. I just need to verify--is it Western Civilizations - Exam 1 you’re taking?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Dean followed the links bookmarked on his web browser and logged in to Blackboard. He found the exam link on the left hand side and opened it.
“Now, if you will click the test link I can put in the password.” Dean clicked, feeling nervous about the test itself as well as having to be watched while taking it.
“This test is closed book, no notes. There are no bathroom breaks to be taken during the test so if you have to go now would be a good time. Do you have any questions?” Dean shook his head.
“Great, can you type that you understand these rules in the chat box? Then you may begin your test. Once you’re finished just type in the chat box to let me know and I will walk you through the log out process. Good luck on your test!”
“Thanks,” Dean breathed out, acknowledging the rules. Then he clicked ‘begin’.
Forty-two minutes later, Dean found himself typing into the chat box.
Dean: All done.
Castiel: Excellent. Go ahead and hit submit. Once you do that you may log out of the website and close the browser.
Dean does both of these things and his computer screen flicks back to the tab with the open webcam. Castiel has just finished typing and leans back stretching a bit.
Castiel: Okay Dean, you’re all set. You can click the red X in the chat box to disconnect or you can wait for me to disconnect. Have a good evening!
Dean: Thanks, you too.
Dean smiled and hurriedly clicked the red X.
You’ve disconnected. Thank you for using ProctorU!
Dean breathed a sigh of relief. That was nerve wracking. He headed downstairs to tell Sam he was done with the laptop and to hand over the remote.
“How’d your test go?”
“Fine, I guess," he shrugged, flopping onto the now vacant couch.
“Was it weird taking a test on camera? Did you get a hot girl as your proctor?,” Sam nudged him with his elbow.
“Yes, it was weird and no, no hot girl. It was a guy," Dean tried not to smile.
“Was he hot?,” Sam snorted. Dean punched him in the arm.
“Go to bed or something. I’m gonna catch up on The Walking Dead.”
Two weeks later Dean schedules his second online exam for a different class and this time he makes sure to schedule it a little later than before. He wanted to be better prepared or at least that’s what he told himself.
A week after that Dean is finishing up work on a mid-80s Mustang when Jo claps him on the back roughly.
“Wanna grab a burger, Winchester?,” the blonde asked, grabbing her things from her locker.
“Nah, thanks Jo. I got a test tonight so I have to get home.” Dean wipes his hands on the cleanest rag he can find before slamming the hood closed.
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that, well good luck and I will see you on Monday!”
She waves and heads to her car as he begins to back the Mustang off the lift and park it off to the side. Inside he punches out quickly and says goodnight to Bobby before slipping out the door. He’s going to still need to hurry if he wants to get dinner on the table and have time to shower before his test.
Once at home, he walks through the door, the scent of garlic and onions wafting invitingly through the air. He calls to his brother while he kicks his shoes off by the door. Heading to the kitchen he looks around to find their dad asleep on the couch and Sam at the stove, stirring something that smelled amazing.
“You didn’t have to cook, Sammy. I was gonna do it,” he huffs as he begins to wash the grease off his hands.
“No shit, but we didn’t get finished with what we were doing in class today so I don’t have any homework. Besides, I felt like it,” Sam shrugged. Dean turned to dry his hands and was met with a wooden spoonful of what looked like tomatoes and rice in his face.
“Taste this?,” Sam nudges the spoon in his direction, “It’s called Tuscan chicken--it’s got chicken, garlic, onions, peppers and tomatoes over rice. I saw it on Pinterest.”
“On what?,” Dean takes the spoon from his brother and savors it before letting out a satisfactory groan.
“Pinterest, Dean. It’s like a website full of all kinds of stuff like crafts and recipes?,” Sam huffs, rolling his eyes.
“Oh man, that is good, Sammy! Shit.” Dean makes to grab another spoonful from the pot before Sam swats him away.
“Thanks,” Sam grins as he begins to dish it out onto plates.
“When did you grow a vagina, though?,” Dean chuckles to himself as he grabs forks and knives from the drawer.
“Do not make me dump the entire salt shaker in your plate, Dean.”
They slide into their seats at the table and Dean jokingly moves the salt and pepper shakers as far away from Sam as he can get them. They eat mostly in silence chiming in now and then about their day or school assignments. Once they were finished, Dean began clearing the dishes from the table and making a plate for their dad to eat when he woke up.
“Dean, I’ll get the dishes. You go take your test.”
“Nah, Sam. I got time. You cooked,” Dean reaches for the dish soap. He hated not feeling like things were distributed evenly between the two of them.
“I know that, Dean but you don’t have to do it. I can do it. You have a test to take,” Sam smiled at him, gently shoving him away from the sink.
Dean grumbles a bit throwing his hands up in defeat, gives Sam's shoulder a squeeze and begins to head upstairs. He heads to the bathroom, turning the water on in the shower before shucking out of his grease-stained clothes and jumping under the spray.
As he steps out of the shower, he gets a glimpse of his watch by the sink and starts.
“Shit,” he huffs. Quickly wrapping a towel around his waist and charging across the hall to log in for his test. He ruffles his hair as the program opens and he goes through the login process.
Connected. Thank you for choosing ProctorU! Your proctor will join you shortly.
Dean quickly straightens the desk area and makes sure his ID and the mirror are handy. He heads to his dresser and quickly slips into a pair of sweatpants. He’s got to hurry otherwise some random proctor is about to see him shirtless. He cringes at the thought and digs through the drawer for a t-shirt.
Castiel N. has joined.
Dean hears a small intake of breath and knows the proctor must have arrived. Damnit.
“Hello, Dean,” a familiar voice says. Dean swears there’s almost a hint of amusement in his voice. He turns around slowly, chest and hair still damp from the shower, his cheeks flushing slightly.
“Uh, hey Cas,” he fights a tiny smile and bites his lip. Castiel gives him a smile and glances around behind him at his cubicle before lowering his voice.
“Do you need a minute?," he whispers.
“No! No, two seconds... just... let me...,” Dean continues to glance around for a clean shirt, “...just uh, let me just grab a shirt.” His face feels even redder as he turns away feeling Castiel’s stare following him.
Dean gives up the hunt shrugging on a hoodie and zipping it most of the way up. He sits, clears his throat and ruffles his hair a bit.
“Okay, sorry about that. Lost track of time, I guess.”
“Not a problem,” Castiel can’t hide his grin this time, “I didn’t mind the view.”
Dean feels his eyes widen and his cheeks flush all over again. He huffs out a tiny, awkward laugh as Castiel begins the routine checks on his computer and asks to see his ID.
About thirty minutes later, Dean has finished and let’s Castiel know.
Dean: All done.
Castiel: Great. You can go ahead and click submit. Then log out of the webpage.
Dean: Done and done.
Dean: Hey Cas...
Castiel: Yes, Dean?
Dean: Will I always have you as my proctor? Or do you guys change things up?
There’s a pause where Dean is holding his breath in anticipation. He’s not sure why he asked in the first place but if this is going to be a regular thing then he at least wants to be prepared.
Castiel: Typically, we do change things up. However, we are short staffed right now and I’m picking up several shifts so the probability that I will continue to be your proctor is high.
Castiel worries for a moment that he overstepped his boundaries with his earlier comment.
Castiel: Is that okay? Is there a problem?
Dean bites his lip and smiles.
Dean: No. No problem. :) Just wondering.
Castiel exhales a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.
Castiel: Okay, Dean. You’re all done so whenever you’re ready to disconnect. Maybe I will see you next time. Have a good night. :)
Dean finds himself lingering over the red X to disconnect for several moments before he follows through. He’s not even worried about his grade as he lays down to sleep that night--instead, all he’s thinking about are big, blue eyes and that tiny quirk of a smile.