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Castiel Novak is sitting in the library, studying for finals. He has this routine where he makes Master Copies of all his notes, and then reads them over the night before every test. Then he goes home and gets a good night’s sleep, not forgetting to arrange his clothes and breakfast for the next morning. Like his brother Michael says, an organized room is an organized mind.
This particular test is on Neuron functions in the brain relating to pain; Castiel is studying to become a neurosurgeon. He’s on the second floor of the library, slightly disgruntled because the guy sitting across from him is slightly distracting, to put it kindly. The guy has scattered his books and papers all over the table. His pencil and eraser sheds coat everything with a layer of grime that makes Castiel want to reach for a bottle of Lemon-scented Pledge.
It doesn’t help that the guy is muttering to himself and scratching his jaw, and every now and then heaving a terrific sigh and leaning back in his chair.
"Excuse me, could you please stop that?" Castiel asks, after the guy huffs for the tenth time.
The guy snaps his head up, his chewed-down pencil still in his mouth, and looks at Castiel. He does a slight double-take. “Yeah, sorry man,” He manages to say.
Castiel nods and looks back down at his paper. He tries to keep reading, but the hairs on the back of his neck are standing up. Castiel raises his head again. The guy across from him is staring, with his olive green eyes wide open and his pencil still in his mouth.
"May I help you?" Castiel asks.
"Uh, no," the guy answers. But he doesn’t look away. Castiel holds his gaze, irritated, then goes back to his notes.
"My name’s Dean."
Castiel looks up. “Castiel,” he says. He wishes this guy would just leave him alone; he has a schedule to keep to.
"What’re you working on?"
Castiel huffs and tries to ignore him.
"Aw, come on, man. I could really use a study break. And it doesn’t look like you’re making too much progress either."
"Only because you keep interrupting me," Castiel snaps.
"Woah, okay, dude. Just trying to make some friendly conversation," Dean says, putting his hands up and rocking back in his chair. "Thought you might need some of that too," he mutters a second later.
Castiel puts his notes down on the table and looks up at Dean. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
"Nothing. You just look tired, is all," Dean replies.
"I’m a college student commuting to campus and studying to be a doctor. I’m always tired." That isn’t exactly true; Castiel gets a good night’s sleep as often as he could, especially the days leading up to an exam. But white lies are common, and this one usually gets people to leave him alone.
"Touche," Dean says, "But you look kinda drained. Like… I dunno."
"You’re one to talk," Castiel replies, surprising both of them. It’s true; Dean has dark circles under his eyes and his hair looks like the aftermath of a tornado. And there’s some other darkness that Castiel can’t quite place in Dean’s strained eyes.
"Yeah, I guess you’re right," Dean says, running his hand over the back of his neck. "Hey, you know what we need? Coffee."
"It’s not allowed in the library," Castiel warns.
"And?" Dean is already getting up out of his chair and sticking his pencil behind his ear. He winks at Castiel and saunters away, stretching.
Castiel sits there for a minute, not thinking at all about his notes. He’s staring at Dean’s leather jacket, draped over the empty chair. It looks like it’s seen more battle than Castiel’s brother Raphael, and that’s saying something. Something about that jacket is familiar, but Castiel can’t figure out where he’d seen it before.
Dean comes back, quicker than Castiel had expected, with two coffees and a bag from CVS. Castiel looks around for librarians as Dean dumps his horde onto the table, scattering his papers everywhere.
"Okay, here’s your Java, extra black, two sugars. And we’ve got some extras: Five-Hour Energy, Redbull, Monster, and some Gatorade. To get your juices flowing. Drink up, Cas!" Dean winks at Castiel again.
"My name is Castiel. And I don’t drink coffee."
"What?"
"Or energy drinks." Castiel picks up a Monster can and reads the nutrition label. "This could kill you."
"Yeah, so could looking at a damned piece of paper too hard." Dean grabs the can away from Castiel. "Really, man, you don’t do energy shots?"
"I don’t have the need." Castiel says simply.
"What do you do, then? How do you stay awake studying?" Dean marvels.
"I study in the early mornings and afternoons and I get a good night’s sleep," Castiel says disdainfully, "And I drink tea."
"Well, everyone’s got their own routines," Dean says, shaking his head and pulling the energy shots closer. Castiel watches as Dean empties them into his coffee and raises his cup to Castiel. "See you on the other side, kid." With that, Dean downs the whole thing.