Roommates

Untitled Part 2

Castiel hated him, Dean was sure of it. Everything he did, the guy complained about it or got upset. They'd lived together six weeks, and he was ready to scream. All he wanted to do was focus on his classes and do his homework. He needed to maintain his GPA, but his roommate was making that next to impossible. From how he hung the hand towel in their tiny bathroom to the posters he hung over his bed (Castiel claimed that a print from the movie Donnie Darko bothered him), he nitpicked everything. This particular Thursday Dean was heading back to his dorm to study for a huge test he had the following Monday. He intended to get through his classes Friday and then spend the entire weekend studying. With luck Castiel would leave him alone. He didn't count on luck being on his side as most often it was miles away, deliberately ignoring him.

He walked into his room to find his roommate was not yet back from his classes yet. Breathing a sigh of relief Dean grabbed his laptop and his headphones, and curled up in bed to start studying. An hour later Castiel walked in the room. Dean looked up, watching the man as he closed the door and walked across the room to his own bed. Castiel removed his shoes, placing them neatly next to his desk and sat down in the chair. He pulled out his own laptop and notebooks, getting everything set up to do his own homework and as the laptop booted up, he turned to look at Dean.

Dean had returned his attention to his own laptop before Castiel had even reached his desk but he could feel the eyes on him. He pulled his headphones off and looked at his roommate.

"What?" he asked.

"Will you be home this weekend?" Castiel inquired.

"I am planning on it, yes. I have a test to study for," Dean replied.

"Do you plan to eat here in the room again?"

Dean had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. The last time he had used his microwave to heat up a burrito he'd bought at a gas station and Castiel had complained for hours afterwards about the smell, until Dean scrubbed the microwave clean and opened the window to air the room out.

"I have that right you know. I can eat if I get hungry."

"I wasn't going to say that you couldn't."

Castiel continued to stare at him for another full minute before turning his attention back to his laptop. Dean set his own computer aside and swung his legs over the edge of his bed as he sat up. He decided that he needed to get to know his roommate better if they were going to get along at all. They were going to be roommates for at least the rest of the year, and it wouldn't do either of them any good if they couldn't find a middle ground. The guy was ridiculously hot, even if he was socially awkward, and despite his apparent irritation with Dean over eating food in the room, he was actually nice. Just...standoffish.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Castiel turned away from his computer screen to look at Dean again. "Of course you can."

"I've noticed a few things since I moved in here. I know I'm organized, but you're even more organized than I am, and you complained that my music was loud, even when I wore headphones, until I got my new pair. The smell of microwaveable popcorn and certain other foods make you sick, and dude, you really stare. A lot. Do you have Asperger's?" Dean asked.

Castiel blinked in what was actual surprise. "You know what Asperger's is?"

"Of course I do. My youngest brother Adam has it, though it's barely perceptible to most people, and my brother Sam and I are on the spectrum but don't really display the symptoms of autism. We do, however, have related issues that we have to deal with," Dean replied. Castiel's eyes widened and he actually turned in his chair to face him.

"Yes, I do. I sometimes have difficulty with initiating conversations, especially friendly ones. And I apologize for staring. I have been told before that I do that too much. When my brother is with me he reminds me not to. You can do that as well if it bothers you."

"No, at this point I'm used to it. I mentally remind myself when I find myself staring so you don't really bother me too much. It's why I am in school to become a doctor. I want to work with children and adults with Asperger's and autism. And I'm on medication for my issues," Dean explained.

"I saw your medications, but I did not feel that it would be polite to ask what they were for," Castiel said.

"I am on an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety to deal with my OCD, and I'm on meds for my ADD and ODD." Dean glanced at the bottles that sat in a basket on the corner of his desk. "Are you on anything? Because I've noticed you're particularly sensitive to certain smells and sounds."

Castiel ducked his head in embarrassment. "I-yes, I do. I'm sorry. I know I'm not easy to live with. My last roommate packed up and left one afternoon while I was at class. Left me a nasty note about how annoying I am."

Dean felt bad for the guy, and bad for thinking maybe the guy was just an asshole after all. He really wasn't. "Well, I'm not going to run away on you. Asperger's? I can handle that. If you were an asshole on purpose, then yeah, I'd leave. I'm here to get a quality education, just like you, just like everyone else. I have a lot at stake so I need to focus, but we'll be ok as roommates."

"I am gay," Castiel blurted.

Dean arched an eyebrow. It was random but he understood, it was because his roommate was afraid it might be a deal breaker and might still make him leave.

"That's ok by me. I'm bi, so if you thought I was going to be a jerk, I won't be."

Castiel gave the first real, genuine smile Dean had seen since they'd become roommates.

"Oh good. Not everyone accepts it. I-I am gay but I don't date, so you don't have to worry that I will bring anyone back here."

Ok, now Dean was curious about the guy. "You don't date? Like, at all?"

Castiel shrugged. "I try. My brother likes to set me up a lot, but they never go past a first date. Conversations is usually stilted, and I have trouble continuing it. And I don't pick up on it when other people flirt, so I miss a great many opportunities to meet people who might be interested."

"Well, what kind of things do you like to talk about on a date?" Dean asked.

"I know I'm twenty three and I am told frequently that I should not still play videogames or read comic books, but those are some of my favorite things, and I don't want to give up my childhood completely. Plenty of adults like those things, so why can't I as well, you know? I don't believe that I should have to, but the people he sets me up with, they think those things are silly and childish," Castiel frowned.

"Well, then I must be very childish because I love comics and videogames." Dean got up and knelt down to pull a small tote out from under his bed. By the time he had pulled the lid off the box Castiel was kneeling on the floor next to him. He gasped when he saw the neat stack of comics sitting inside of it.

"Oh! Can I?" He was almost shaking with excitement as he eyed the books.

"Sure. I don't think I need to tell you to be careful." Dean sat down and crossed his legs as he watched Castiel gingerly lift out the comics one at a time.

"These....I have this series back at home, but not all of these."

"I only brought my favorites with, the ones I didn't want to leave at home. I have boxes and boxes of them still back at home," Dean said.

"I have a room in my parents' basement that is temperature and light controlled so that my comics and other collectibles don't get damaged." Castiel flipped through one of the comic books, humming with pleasure at the story as he read it.

"That's wicked cool. Wish I could see it," Dean murmured as he pulled another comic from the box. He'd read through them all dozens of times but it never grew old.

"What other things do you like, Cas?" he asked. Castiel looked up at him.

"You called me Cas."

Dean nodded. "I did. Is that ok?"

Castiel smiled softly. "I think I like it. But only if you call me that."

Dean grinned and bumped the other man's shoulder gently. "I think we're going to get along just fine."