Work Text:
The email comes through with a beep, late Tuesday night.
From: Red <[email protected]>
Subject: This is serious
The body of the message is nothing but a tinyurl link, no greeting, explanation, or context. Dean is no fool. He texts Charlie.
Dude, did you just send me an email? No message, just a link? Or am I being phished rn?
The reply is immediate.
Yes, I did send it, and ten points to Hufflepuff for checking in with me before you clicked – trust no one, my friend. This was in fact a test, and you passed, but you should also in fact click the link. Now leave me alone, I have company. Text me tomorrow, after you talk to Cas.
Okay, that's weird. “Company” probably means Dorothy is over, which means Charlie is unavailable to chat tonight. But why is she so sure he'd be talking to Cas?
Sure, he and Cas are friends, have been since college. (Maybe Dean wishes they could be more than friends, but he knows that's a pipe dream). They hang out every Friday night at his place, movies and pizza, and if any of their friends are free they join in. (Maybe Dean likes the weeks best when no one else shows and he can pretend it's a date). They text each other throughout the week, memes and weird news stories and bitching about their jobs. (Maybe Dean's mood improves every time his phone plays Cas's personal text tone). But they're not inseparable – they sometimes go days without contact when life gets busy. They have no upcoming plans that Dean can remember.
So what did Charlie mean by “tomorrow, after you talk to Cas”? Hoping that whatever is at the link will shed some light, Dean clicks.
The page loads, and Dean has a series of reactions in rapid sequence.
First, an eye roll: A Buzzfeed quiz? This is what you call serious, Charles??
Second, a scoff: A quiz to find out whether my crush likes me back? Okay, I'm all for staying young at heart but we're grown-ass adults here. This isn't middle school. “Does your crush like you back?” Jesus Christ.
Third, a tiny stirring of curiosity: But, well, does he?
Pipe dream or not, there have been moments between them, here and there, when Dean felt a glimmer of hope. There's a certain smile Cas has that seems to come out only for him, a particular way he has of meeting Dean's eyes that always sends a jolt across Dean's skin.
Even the dependable regularity of their Friday night movie “dates” is a little odd, now that he thinks about it. Why do they both have every single Friday free to sit on Dean's couch watching bad 50's horror flicks and scarfing down greasy pepperoni slices? They aren't monks, either of them, but Dean has never had a relationship that lasted more than a few months, and Cas's record is only slightly better. And no matter who they might be with or what's going on for them, they never miss a Friday, not in all the years they've known each other. In retrospect, the perfection of this record seems to be an indicator of... something.
Okay, what the hell, let's do this, he thinks and scrolls down. The quiz starts with the basics. “How Do You Know Your Crush?” “Does Your Crush Know Who You Are?” “How Often Do You Talk To Your Crush?” “Is Your Crush In A Relationship With Someone Else?” Click click click click. The answers come easily.
“Do You And Your Crush Have Any Inside Jokes?” Dean smiles, thinking about the dumb things they text each other, references no one else would understand. Click. “Have You Ever Made Your Crush Laugh?” He remembers last Friday, when he'd made Cas laugh so hard he'd almost choked to death on a piece of green pepper. Click.
“Does Your Crush Give You Hugs?” Ah, Cas's hugs. He'd never tell another soul this, but sometimes the bear-like hug he gets from Cas at the end of a movie night is the highlight of his entire week. Click.
“Has Your Crush Ever Touched Your Arm While You're Talking?” The question kind of takes him aback. I mean... Yes? Is that supposed to mean something? He and Cas have never been shy about touching when they hang out, even beyond the hugs. Someone grabbing the other one's arm when there's a jump scare. Playful wrestling over control of the popcorn bowl. Fond hair ruffles. The end credits of their weekly movie usually sees them sprawled across Dean's little couch, legs in each other's laps or arms resting side by side along the back.
Back when they were crammed into a tiny dorm room together, Dean hadn't given any of it a second thought. Space was limited, and cuddle puddles were a classic part of the homesick student experience. After his feelings for Cas had deepened, he'd gotten a little greedy about it, hoarding those moments of casual touch and letting them warm him from the inside all week. It had been one of his guiltiest little secrets, actually. He'd never considered that Cas might be doing the same thing. Click.
“Do You Feel Like You Notice Your Crush Looking At You From A Distance?” Dean has to think about this one for a minute, but... Well, yeah, actually. Casting his mind back over the years he is suddenly struck, remembering dozens of times he'd tried for a sneaky ogle, only to find those blue eyes already fixed on him. He's starting to feel like he's been blind to something important, that maybe he's been blind for a long time...Click.
“Does Your Crush Flirt With You?” I don't even... Maybe??? For the first time since he started this silly quiz, he has to really think before picking his answer. He wavers with his mouse, pointing to KIND OF and then hovering next to YES, back and forth and back and forth and then he cops out. I CAN'T DEFINE FLIRTING because apparently I'm a dumbass. Click.
The page scrolls to display the last question. “Do You Just Get A Vibe From Your Crush That They Might Like You?” He feels like that meme of the Brazilian actress trying to do complicated mental math because now that you mention it, Buzzfeed, I think I kind of fucking do, and there's a nuclear explosion happening in his brain and another in the vicinity of his chest, and he's reaching for his phone because he needs to talk to Cas, but his phone's already ringing, and he thumbs the answer button by reflex and–
“Hello? Dean?”
It's Cas.
“Hey! Hi!” his voice is a little bit strangled, and he can't seem to catch his breath.
“Are you... Are you busy?”
He tries for casual and misses by a mile, probably landing somewhere in the neighborhood of frantic. “Nah, nah, just hangin' out, chillin', you know, whatta 'bout you?”
“I, um...” There's a worryingly long pause. Just as Dean is wondering if the call dropped without him noticing, Cas starts again. “I needed to talk to you,” he says, all in a rush. “Charlie sent me an email–“
“Wait,” Dean interjects. “Was it a Buzzfeed quiz?”
Another pause. “How do you know that?”
“She sent me an email, too.”
“Oh, well... Was it about, um...?”
There's an awkward silence. Dean takes a deep breath and charges in. “It was 'Does Your Crush Like You Back,' Cas. And I think... I think my crush likes me back.”
“Same here.”
Another silence, but this one was comfortable, and full.
“You wanna come over, Cas? We could watch a movie, and then... you could stay the night?”
“I'll be right there.”
