deancasbigbang:

Title: The Stars, They Shine
Author: kradarua
Artist: EmmalenaGrace
Rating: Explicit
Pairings: Castiel/Dean (brief Dean/Lisa, very brief Castiel/Meg, implied Lisa/Charlie, implied Sam/Jess)
Wordcount: 44000
Warnings/Tags: Alternate Universe – College/University, Theatre, Homophobia, Misappropriated Christianity, Astronomer!Castiel, Accidental Actor!Dean, Gay Panic, Misunderstandings, First Time, Mutual Pining
Posting: 11/14/2018

Summary:

Dean Winchester just wants to work on cars. Castiel Novak spends his time holed up in the school’s observatory piecing together his dissertation. They’ve never had any reason to cross paths.

Until they get roped into participating in the college theatre group.

Dean couldn’t say no to a pretty face when Lisa invited him to join her at the mass meeting. The joke’s on Dean when he accidentally lands the male lead in No Exit and has to try not to make a fool of himself on stage. And despite his best attempts to stay interested in Lisa, there’s no denying the strange gravitational pull he feels around Castiel.

Castiel is just here to prove to Charlie that he’s capable of leaving his research now and again; it should be easy, except he finds himself becoming interested in Dean in a way he really, really did not expect.

Dean is trying to navigate being way outside his skill set, and Castiel just wants to hold onto his scholarship without pissing off the religious organization that gave it to him. It’s going to be a long semester, especially if Dean keeps forgetting his goddamn lines. The show must go on!

---

“So how’d you get stuck on this job, Cas?” Dean asked, “I thought your job was lighting.”

“It is,” Castiel said, voice slightly muffled by a safety pin between his teeth, “Balthazar’s job is to scrape together whatever old costumes we already have and decide which pieces are usable for this production.”

He nodded towards the racks of clothing and Dean turned to see that Balthazar was indeed shuffling through items with Donna, stopping to pull one out for consideration now and again.

Castiel finished scribbling down the remaining measurements from the previous person and flipped to a clean page. “Ideally, he wouldn’t need to buy anything new, but apparently whatever play they did last semester involved a lot of shockingly loud colors.” The safety pin was plucked from its place and dropped onto the nearby table.

Dean snorted. “Sounds like he’s got his work cut out for him.”

Castiel’s mouth quirked up in a sort of wry smile. “Balthazar is finishing a master’s degree in fashion; I have no doubt he’ll find a way to make it work. Arms up.” It took Dean a moment to register the command, but finally, he brought his arms up to form a T.

“You guys good friends?”

Castiel nodded, wrapping his measuring tape around Dean’s bicep and then his forearm. “We met in our freshman year. He takes some getting used to, but he’s a good person.”

Dean found himself following the way Castiel’s mouth moved as he spoke. At first glance he would have described his lips as chapped, but when his mouth made certain shapes the creases smoothed out as if they’d never been there. Maybe not so chapped after all.

Castiel had finished jotting down measurements and was standing directly in front of Dean now. “I’m going to measure your chest and waist,” he informed, waiting for Dean’s nod of approval before leaning close so he could catch the measuring tape behind Dean’s back. Dean breathed in and caught the smell of sandalwood.

He cleared his throat. “That doesn’t explain why you’re stuck taking measurements instead of playing with lights.”

Castiel pulled his eyes away from the tape around Dean’s chest to look at him directly.

“He has plenty to do. I’m happy to help him with the more mundane tasks,” he explained, lowering his gaze back to his work. The measuring tape fell slack as Castiel readjusted it around Dean’s natural waist.

“Mundane, huh?” Dean put a provocative note into the question and Castiel quirked an eyebrow, smirking at him; Dean watched his lips stretch to accommodate the expression.

“What, do you consider taking people’s measurements thrilling?” he challenged. Dean grinned cheekily.

“Depends on the person I’m measuring.”

Castiel snorted and stepped back, indicating that Dean could lower his arms. He did so, feeling Castiel’s fingers brushing against his forearms as he snaked the measuring tape around his hips. A small shiver went down his spine.

What was he doing? This was suddenly weirdly close to flirting.