Down the Hall, To the Right

Chapter 6

Dean set his things on his desk messily, too busy watching Castiel type furiously at his keyboard. He was wearing a blue shirt and gray slacks, washed and ironed perfectly. Dean looked at his hair that seemed to be sticking up from different sides. His hair was messy and not fixed, but somehow seemed to complete the look with a sense that just seemed like Cas. Castiel leaned back in his chair as he stopped typing to review his work. He noticed Dean staring at him out of the corner of his eye and turned to smile at him.

"Hello Dean."

"Hey Cas." Dean licked his lips. "I like your hair." Castiel looked at his monitor to find out what was different about his hair. He realized that he had forgot to comb it. His face reddened as he cursed his family for being so welcoming and supportive that they simply thought he wanted to try out a new hairstyle when in reality he had completely forgotten about it. Now Dean was laughing at him and he would never live this down. He rushed to fix it and Dean cried out. "No, what're you doing? I like it, it looks really good!" Castiel stopped hands still in his hair. "Here, wait." Dean reached over and pushed parts of his hair down while pulling up others and then running his fingers through most of it.

"Dean I-" Lucifer stopped mid-sentence when he saw Dean standing above his brother, concentration clear on his face, and Castiel flushing bright red. A smirk crept across his features, and Lucifer walked back into his office. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to his older brother. He set a bet with Michael, on whether or not Castiel and Dean would be dating. Michael had said that although they seemed like a couple, it would never happen because Dean is "so obviously straight".

"There." Dean took a step back. "Perfect."

"Sorry. I thought you were being sarcastic." Castiel mumbled looking down.

"No, really. It looks good." Dean bit his lip as he thought about how the longest step was running his fingers through his dark hair. It wasn't necessary, but he had taken time with it, and had felt a strange sense of affection with it. He thought about running his fingers through his hair once more and Dean felt warmth on his face. He quickly sat at his desk, and peeked over at Castiel's computer screen. "What's that?"

"I was recently accepted to Harvard. I'm writing an email to reply." Castiel's smile showed off his pink lips and Dean couldn't help but smile, too.

"Harvard? That's amazing, Cas." Dean thought about his own future for a moment. He mind crossed the topic of college and he realized he hadn't even told Sam he wasn't going.

"Have you thought about any universities, Dean?" Castiel's words snapped Dean from his thoughts.

Dean looked at Castiel. "Oh, uh, no. Not really."

"That's alright. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon." He answered gently. Dean looked at the offices, and when he was sure that Michael or Lucifer weren't leaving anytime soon, he replied.

"Cas, I'm not going to college." Castiel tried not to display his shock.

"But why not, Dean? You're the football captain. You could easily get a football scholarship."

Dean continued with a sigh. He had heard this from everyone. "I can't. Even if I got a full ride, I wouldn't have as much time to help my mom out with bills." He looked again. "That's why I'm taking up this job. What I told your brother in that interview..." Castiel didn't blame Dean for avoiding the truth. But if he had stated the truth of his situation Michael would have awarded him with the job on the spot. He would have been able to connect with Dean, having to take care of his family with every chance given.

"You'll find something you like to do, Dean. And that's all that matters." Normally, Dean would groan at the cheesiness of the statement, but he felt sincerity in Castiel's statement.