Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 35

Dean has texted Castiel a few times since he swooped in and stole Jo, but just enough to barely consider them friends. That's why, especially after his conversation with Meg last night about always having to be the one to initiate a conversation, he is very confused to get a call from Castiel after no prompting of his own. Confused, he answers it immediately.

"Hey, Cas," Dean greets him. "What's up?"

"Don't you dare tell me you slept with my ex to get back at me for a fake feud."

Oh.

Right.

That.

Dean chuckles awkwardly. "I mean, technically, no, I did not sleep with your ex to get back at you for a fake feud."

"There was a 'technically' in there," Castiel observes. "What's the 'technically' for?"

"I went out on a date with your ex to get back at you for a fake feud," Dean tells him. "That one's true. It didn't feel like breaching the peace or anything, though, 'cause she's just a fake ex, right?" Did he fuck this up? He just wanted to get to know the guy better, and maybe make a few headlines as an added bonus. That's not a crime, right?

"Yeah, no, that part was fine," Castiel says. "Hang out with whoever you want; I don't care about your dating life as much as you pretend to care about mine."

"Oh, cool." So he didn't fuck up, right?

"But there were pictures of you going home together last night, and pictures of her leaving this morning," Castiel continues. "That part's got me a little worried."

Ah, shit.

"How did you even find out about those?" Dean asks. "What, are you searching my name on Instagram or something?"

"I am not a social media-savvy person, so no," Castiel says. "My friend keeps me up to date on -- actually, you know what? Never mind. That's not important right now. Did you actually sleep with my ex?"

Ah, shit. Again.

"Possibly, but that was a heat of the moment type deal," Dean says awkwardly. "So I didn't lie; I didn't sleep with her because of a fake feud." He braces himself for whatever Castiel's going to say next. He's not entirely sure he wants to know.

But all Castiel says is, "Oh, okay, that's fine then."

Dean scoffs. "Seriously? Then where was your problem with it?"

"I thought it was just for a stupid feud," Castiel says. "And that's a little much, even for a real feud, so I was going to have a long talk to you about it. I'm glad I was mistaken."

Dean's a little surprised by that. He wouldn't have thought Castiel would care about how far Dean takes this. He's said some pretty shitty things about the guy lately, and Castiel has yet to raise a single complaint. Does he just not know, then? Does this mysterious friend that is apparently keeping him updated not updating him on everything? Should Dean even ask? He doesn't exactly want to tell the guy that he's been bashing him at every turn.

After a pause, Dean says, "If I ever do something you think is too far, definitely let me know. I'm all for putting on a show, but I'll dial it back if you want."

"Oh, no, you're fine," Castiel says. "You keep doing what you're doing. I have to admit, it's kind of entertaining."

Dean can't help but smile. So he's fine. They're fine. That's all he wanted to hear.