once & done: destiel one shots

Cas doesn't realize it's a date (college AU)

Prompt: College AU, Dean tries to ask Castiel on a date but he always understands it wrong. So Dean decides to bring a date to him <3

+

It took half a semester before Dean asked Cas out. He couldn't get a read on him, uncertain if Cas was pretentious or shy or both, but Dean liked him - liked his messy hair and weirdly low voice and the way he looked at Dean. And if Cas's staring problem was any indication, the attraction was mutual. You didn't just gaze at a guy for no reason.

"You wanna grab coffee after class?" Dean asked when the professor took a breath.

Cas sipped from a stainless-steel thermos and raised his eyes from his neat, black scrawl.

"I have tea, thank you," he said with a smile and resumed taking notes.

Dean was too flustered to upgrade his invitation to lunch.

He tried again, but Cas passed up the movies (midterms) and live music on the weekends (evening library shift) and had always just eaten when Dean suggested burgers. And of course Cas was going home for Thanksgiving - why would he want to have dinner at the Winchesters? At least Cas was nice about it, tempering Dean's disappointment with a firm hand on his shoulder and wishing him a happy holiday.

Dean licked his emotional wounds over the holiday weekend and tried not to think about how the living room was just a shade off from Cas's eyes (seriously, fuck his life).

"Are you sure he knew you meant a date?" Charlie asked over beer while Sam and their parents watched football.

"I don't know," Dean said into his hands, drowsy from too much food. Maybe he could drown this feeling in pumpkin pie.

"Oh, Dean," she said, patting his back and taking a swig. "You have so much to learn."

+

Monday morning, Dean strode to lecture ten minutes early and sat in his usual seat. He swung Cas's desk into place and opened his bag, taking out a muffin, bottled orange juice, and a rose. He arranged them on a napkin and tried to swallow his nervous heartbeat.

Cas arrived two minutes before class and slowly lowered his bag to the floor as he observed the setup with a cautious expression.

"Hello, Dean."

"Hey." Dean smiled at him hopefully, but Cas shook his head.

"I can't, um..."

Dean cringed in preparation for what was coming next. This was a mistake. He knew this was a mistake - why'd he let Charlie talk him into this? Cas wasn't interested in him, of course he wasn't interested. Dean really, really needed to get out of this room before he made an even bigger ass out of himself but the professor was approaching the lectern.

Cas picked up the flower and the juice.

"I can't sit down with the desk like that."

It took a second for Dean to process his words, but he noticed the way Cas's fingers curled around the flower stem and the delicate flush creeping up his neck. Dean quickly moved the muffin to his own desk and Cas slid into the seat.

+

He got into the front of the Impala a few hours later when Dean picked him up for dinner. He wore a blue tie and jeans. Dean wore a gray button-down shirt. The rose had a front-row seat on the dashboard.