A Time For Us {Destiel AU}

Act 3: Falling

Song: Falling by Florence and the Machine

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Rehearsals began, and Castiel became close friends with everyone that he practiced with. However, he was the closest to Dean. Mercutio and Romeo did have scenes together, and Castiel had to keep his mind in check whenever he was onstage with Dean.

Instead of maintaining a professional or friendly relation with him, Castiel was slowly but surely falling in love with the boy who was playing the melancholy yet romantic character. While he wasn't a jealous person, Castiel couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest whenever Dean's role required him to kiss the girl who played Juliet. Amara, her name was. She was nice enough, but he found himself wishing that behind the scenes, he could be in her place.

Dean was oblivious to how Castiel was falling, but he was informed of Castiel being gay. He had acted indifferent to it, maybe even a little bit joyful at finding out. But it wouldn't matter anyways. If Dean wanted a friendly relationship with him, then that was what he was going to get. Nothing more, nothing less.

They had developed a habit of visiting the coffee shop nearby the Eden Theatre after every rehearsal, and they would talk and laugh for hours at a time. These times may have urged Castiel's feelings for Dean, but he stifled them up every time. He wasn't going to jeopardize their friendship.

That day, Castiel sat down at one of the small green coffee tables as Dean got their coffee. He had both his and Castiel's orders memorized at that point, they had gone so many times. He flipped through the pages of his script in wait, until a cup of steaming coffee was placed in front of him. He looked up in greeting to a grinning Dean. He sat down with his own coffee across from him, but he drew his chair closer to Castiel, around the small round table.

"We're more than a month away from the premiere, huh?" Dean asked conversationally, and Castiel quietly nodded and thanked him for the coffee as he picked it up. He gently put down his script, taking a small sip of the scalding hot drink.

"I have most of my parts memorized. You have a lot more lines than I do, however," reminded Castiel, wrapping his hands around the warm cup.

Dean groaned, but his smile remained ever so consistent. "Don't remind me. Romeo has so many long romantic speeches."

Castiel shrugged casually. "You should've known what you were walking into. It's your fault for acting so well."

He faked a look of indignation, exaggeratedly putting a hand over his heart as if in shock. "Well, at least Romeo doesn't go on and on about stuff like Mercutio does."

Castiel rolled his eyes, drinking some of his coffee. "You insulting my character isn't necessarily going to affect me in any way. And also, the only difference between the structure of our lines is that I tend to speak without anyone interrupting me, you usually speak for a paragraph and someone else speaks." Dean tapped his fingers against his coffee cup, a small smile on his face as he watched Castiel. He tilted his head in confusion as his friend stared at him with the most interest-filled look. It made him feel strange. "What?"

"I..." Dean hesitated a bit, but kept speaking. "I love the way you analyze things."

Castiel dearly hoped that the blush growing on his cheeks wasn't as visible as he imagined it to be. He watched Dean form the words "I love" right in front of him, and not onstage for the play. He tried to play it off by chuckling a little and rubbing the back of his neck. "O-Oh. Thank you, I guess."

He drew his hand through his hair, a habit he must've picked up from Castiel. He tried to drink some of his coffee to hide the remaining redness in his cheeks. "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm coming on too strong or something-"

"Oh, no. You're not," said Castiel hurriedly, hoping that his friend wasn't regretting the words he spoke. Dean was prone to keeping his inner thoughts and feelings inside of him, but he wanted him to feel like he could truly be himself around him. "It's just that... No one's ever said anything like that to me."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Really?" He got up to throw out their empty cups, and sat back down, leaning forward and giving Castiel his full attention. His green eyes were shining under the lights of the shop.

He shrugged as casually as he could. "Not my family." Dean still seemed confused, so he spoke on. "They kicked me out when they found out I was gay."

He let out a breath of air, nodding his head slowly. Castiel had informed him of his sexuality already, but he couldn't help but still feel as though Dean would get up and leave his life just as everyone else had. "I'm sorry about that." He spoke sincerely but he hesitated again, blurting out his next words. "Have you... Have you ever had any boyfriends?"

Castiel had been staring at the finish on the lime green table, but his gaze shifted up to look at Dean in confusion. An inexplicable blush was dusted across his freckled face, making them more prominent. "Well, I've had a few. None of them serious, though. Why?"

He could have been mistaken, but the blush seemed to deepen. "N-No reason. I was just wondering."

Castiel smiled at him, and it seemed to visibly ease him. They both got up from the table, walking outside as the soft rays of orange sunlight was slipping beneath the horizon. They walked side-by-side for a couple minutes, basking in the silence. Dean would have to go to the train station to take it back home, and Castiel would simply have to walk the rest of the way to his apartment. Dean turned to face him as they stood a couple feet away from the station.

"I'll see you later, Cas," he said softly, and Castiel smiled in return. He seemed as though he was ready to leave, script in hand, but he gently leaned in and kissed Castiel's cheek. Castiel, meanwhile, couldn't breathe. Dean grinned at him as if it was nothing, and walked off to catch his usual train. He brought his hand up to graze his cheek, a smile growing wider and wider on his face. Dean kissed his cheek.

He was practically floating as he made the rest of the walk home.