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“Heh-gNNXTh! Heh-kTSCHGgh!”
Dean's eyes flashed to Castiel as he continued his presentation. He watched the other man rub his nose with a tissue before his eyes fluttered closed and mouth parted, snapping forward again. For a moment, he frowned as a wave of worry flooded through him.
The University of Texas at San Antonio invited Dean to speak at several seminars on marital relationships for the week. He was ecstatic to present his research and glad Castiel was able to come. While San Antonio was beautiful with the varied greenery, Castiel allergies had been off the charts since they arrived.
Regardless of the medication that he took daily, he was an itchy, congested mess more often than not.
Dean felt terrible because of it. Of course, he knew that it wasn’t his fault that Castiel was allergic to tree and grass pollen - two allergens that had extremely high levels this time of year. He assumed it was because the other man could have stayed in Portland where the allergen levels were relatively low in comparison.
Now, though, it didn’t matter. It was Wednesday and there were still three more days until they would be back in Portland.
When Castiel looked up again, Dean made eye contact as a silent check-in. Castiel gave a small smile and a thumbs up before sniffling again. Dean returned the smile for a quick moment then turned to the whole audience once more, feeling his worry lessen.
Castiel's sneezes punctured the lecture throughout the rest of the seminar and as he led the Q&A at the end. Finally, once the seminar ended and the lecture hall was filled with applause, Dean looked to Castiel to see his glasses in one hand while he rubbed his eyes with the other.
Dean walked to the side of the stage as the department chair took his place to say a few final words. Honestly, they were drowned out by his thoughts as he kept his attention on Castiel. He watched as Castiel slipped his glasses back on then scrunched his face.
It was something Castiel did to alleviate the itch in his nose without touching it. Dean thought it was the cutest thing.
Once the department chair said their final words and audience members began exiting the hall, Dean walked off the stage and through the sea of people to get to Castiel.
“Hey,” Dean began, touching the other man’s shoulder before his hand traveled down to intertwine their fingers. He took in Castiel's reddening, watery eyes and the pink hue that colored his nose. “How are you feeling?”
“I knew you were going to ask that. snf!SNF!” Castiel said. “I’m as good-oh hold on,” he turned from Dean while his nose wrinkled and brows furrowed together until he pressed his shoulder to his face. “MptSSHHh! Eh-ISHMmmph!” after a moment, Castiel turned to Dean as he sniffled. “I’m fine, alright? This week isn’t about my allergies. It’s about you.”
“I just worry about you.”
“I know and I said I was fine,” Castiel pulled Dean closer as he smiled, keeping his voice low. “You were great, by the way. I love when you wear one of your suits and get into professor mode. You shined on stage,” Castiel peered into the sea of faculty then to Dean. “Looks like most of the professors are still here to mingle with.”
Damn, Dean thought as he peered into the crowd and saw the array of faculty members, he was right. The internal struggle of wanting to network with fellow researchers and leaving to let Castiel have some allergy relief at their hotel was immense. Dean turned to Castiel and took in the allergicness of his features. It looked like he hadn’t taken medication at all.
Castiel began before Dean decided to leave. “Come on. I know it’s one of your favorite parts of your job. I’ll be fine, okay? I’ll t-hehkTSHHgh! NktSHH! TssCHEW! Tell you if my allergies get to be too much. Besides, you can show me off to your colleagues. I clean up pretty well."
“You’re ridiculous but you’re right,” Dean rolled his eyes as a smile grew on his lips. “Although I’m biased, you look amazing.” he pressed a quick kiss to Castiel's lips then his nose. “I’ll be fast. Promise.”
Castiel's nose scrunched up as his breath hitched. “Hehhh… hehTSSHHew!” he rubbed his nose as a small laugh escaped. “Your kiss tickled my nose.”
“Oh, sorry,” Dean chuckled, trying to ignore his worry as he looked at the pink irritation in Castiel's eyes. He turned to the crowd and pulled Castiel's hand as they walked into it. “Let’s go. Hopefully, Dr. Eisenberg is still here!”