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Dean really wants to punch himself sometimes.
He and Cas have been best friends for so many years now, such an integral part of each other’s lives, he doesn’t think anyone knows him quite as well as Cas does — except for maybe Sammy, to another extent.
Maybe that’s why Dean assumes he doesn’t need to explain anything to Cas after he kisses him that first time.
It’s so easy to just keep on kissing him — they already spend most of their time together, so no one suspects anything when rather than continue debating over the merits of the extended edition of his Lord of the Rings DVDs versus the original books, Cas finds himself spending a lot more time on his back instead, getting increasingly familiar and cozy with Dean’s tongue (an activity which Dean very much approves of).
So Dean doesn’t think to question it.
… Until it’s a month before prom and he finds Cas and Charlie in the cafeteria, the latter excitedly asking the former about his having been asked by none other than stupid Balthazar with his stupid accent and his stupid designer clothes— and okay, Dean doesn’t have a complex, he’s aware he’s a fairly (very) handsome individual himself, but this guy just can’t seem to catch the hint that Cas is very much taken and unavailable and off limits, and sometimes Dean wants to introduce him to his fist every time he catches them chatting after their shared Advanced French class. But he is not a neanderthal and he doesn’t own Cas and his boyf … Cas is allowed to have friends other than Dean (even if Dean wishes said friends would suddenly develop a horrible case of food poisoning).
"Wait, what?” Dean asks as he drops his tray on the table next to Cas’ a little more forcefully than necessary.
"Balthazar asked Cas to go to prom with him!"
And damn it, Charlie’s giving him that look, because she knows how Dean feels about Cas and maybe Dean’s told her they’re kissing now but she hadn’t been as excited as he’d expected her to be after he’d told her they weren’t going public with it — and that they’d yet to have an actual conversation about it or labels, but hey — Cas knew him, he didn’t need to actually spell it out for him or anything, right? They’d been finishing each other’s sentences since they were 12.
"And I told him I had to think about it before giving him my answer." Cas adds helpfully, clearly the only one at the table who isn’t either trying to make a point through glaring or busy choking on his food, seemingly completely at ease with the whole situation as he resumes calmly eating his lunch.
"You did what?” And there goes Dean’s lunch because he’s just completely lost his appetite. He doesn’t remember standing up and overturning his tray in the process in a completely justifiable (overly dramatic, Charlie would later say) display of his shock, storming out of the cafeteria in a huff and feeling completely justified in knowing that Cas will most likely be cleaning it up (he’s a neat freak like that).
———
"Why did you leave? Today is cheeseburger Wednesday. You love cheeseburger Wednesday."
Dean’s not sulking, mind you, he’s just sitting outside beneath the school’s largest oak tree (and not because it’s their tree, which they climbed and carved their initials into when they were 10, despite tree climbing being strictly forbidden), enjoying the mild weather and waiting for the bell to ring.
He doesn’t look up at Cas and pretends not to hear him, turning up the volume in his Walkman until Robert Plant is all he can hear and feel in his bones —- which, okay, he knows is childish, but who cares right now.
"Hey!" Cas doesn’t even give him a second before he’s pulling off Dean’s headphones, and Dean gives him the least amused glare he can come up with before returning to his quiet sulking. "Fine. What do you want?"
"You are upset."
No kidding, Sherlock. Dean snorts and it draws a puzzled frown from Cas.
"I do not understand."
Oh, that’s it. That’s all Dean can take. He stands and presses and accusing finger to Cas’ chest, “Dude. Why didn’t you just tell Balthazar to take a hike? That is not cool.”
Cas’ confusion, rather than disappear, seems to increase.
"But his proposal seemed to have some merit. I do not have a date to prom yet and he is a good conversationalist. The other day, when I told you I was thinking of not attending, you told me I should go."
Yes, Dean thinks at Cas with all his might, with me. That you should go with me. “I didn’t mean you should go with Balthazar of all people!”
Castiel starts to interrupt him, “But no one else has asked—-“
Dean doesn’t even let him finish. “You don’t just… go with some other guy when you’re already,” He fumbles here, “You know, when you,” Cas is gazing at him blankly so Dean gestures quickly between the both of them. “Y’know, with someone else.”
Dean’s not sure if he’s seeing things right, but Cas’ eyes seem to have widened marginally.
"What?"
That is probably about as speechless as he has ever seen Cas get, and if circumstances were different he’d be gloating, but right now he’s just baffled at Cas’ confusion and still a little annoyed.
"Y’know. When you’re. A thing with someone."
Now Cas’ frown is more prominent — that expression he gets on his face when faced with a particularly difficult math problem.
"What sort of thing?"
"Agh! Are you gonna make me spell it out or something?" Dean gives a frustrated groan, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "We. We're a thing Cas. You don't just make out with all your friends, do you?” Now that Dean's thinking about it, he's a little worried.
The frown has left Cas’ face at last, but now he’s just staring at Dean blankly. “We are a couple?”
"Well, duh.”
Oh, what the, now Cas looks angry, and he’s stepping closer and getting all up into Dean’s personal space, his voice dropping down to that low growl that does weird things to Dean’s senses, “You said it was meaningless!”
What? “What?" He wouldn’t have said that to Castiel of all people. Dean had been pining after him for years! "No, I didn’t."
"Around two weeks before you kissed me. After I found you behind the bleachers, making out with Daisy Simmons." And oh, Cas still sounds so very pissed about that, and Dean only has a second or two to enjoy the fine undertone of jealousy in his voice before Cas continues, "You said and I quote ‘It’s just kissing, dude. These days it doesn’t mean anything. Don’t be such a prude’."
Oh shit. Now that Cas has brought it up, he does remember saying that. Dean groans, “I didn’t mean us! You know me, man, I wouldn’t have just kissed you if it wasn’t gonna mean something.”
Cas looks a little less angry, but still very much frustrated, “How was I to know? You never said anything after that.”
So Cas had only had his little speech to go on. And all this time, he’d been letting Dean kiss him, despite Cas thinking it didn’t mean anything to him?
Damn, Dean needs to make amends.
Starting now.
He carefully cradles Cas’ face in his hands and feels a little bit of a thrill when he feels soft skin warming up beneath his palms, leaning his forehead forward to press it against his best friends’, voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m bad with words.”
What Cas lets out is a mix between a sigh and an exhalation, but it does seem to release some of the tension in his shoulders, “You are horrible with words.”
Dean chuckles and shuffles a little closer, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart, “Forgive me?”
Cas’ next sound is more of a grumble, but he does nudge his nose gently against Dean’s, “Always… assbutt.”
Dean’s smile only grows when he feels an answering one pressing briefly against his own, “Go to prom with me?”
Cas’ arms bring him even closer, “Yes.”
They finally kiss again. It’s both as wonderful as usual and a thousand times better than before.
A pause, after they part for air.
"… Can I tell Balthazar to take a hike for you?"
A sigh.
"Dean Winchester, you will do no such thing."
Yeah, everything’s right with the world.