Eternally single, professor Castiel is quiet, nerdy, and keeps to his research. The one indulgence that he allows himself is spending hours on YouTube bingeing the vlogs of a handsome, reckless archaeologist. Hunter styles himself as a bit of an Indiana Jones type, and he reminds Castiel of the adventurous, free person he longs to be. Plus, he’s super hot.
Imagine Castiel’s surprise when he meets the new archaeology professor at the Humanities potluck.
This is his chance—he is finally in the same room as Dean “Hunter” Winchester!
Unfortunately, the best interaction shy, awkward Castiel can manage is to steal his new colleague’s Tupperware.
Drifting back toward the food table to dispose of his cup, Castiel decided to try and slip out before anyone else attempted conversation with him, for everyone’s sake. He stepped aside to let Garth, one of the TAs, squeeze past him next to the dessert table. As he waited, Castiel looked down and saw that there was a lone slice of golden, sugary apple pie sitting in a big, round Tupperware container.
Dean said he brought pie, Castel’s brain unhelpfully provided.
Tempted, and seeing no one else reaching for it, Castiel decided to help himself to the last slice of the delicious-looking, clearly homemade pastry. It was a traditional apple pie with a touch of cinnamon, and the smell of it made Castiel’s mouth water in comparison to the rubbery chicken and green bean casserole he’d begrudgingly chewed through earlier.
Biting into the pie, Castiel couldn’t help but let out a pleased moan. The pie was fantastic. He’d humiliated himself multiple times in front of his crush and coworker, but a pie like this made the day seem like less of a disaster.
Opening his eyes once he’d finished slowly savoring the mouthful of pastry, Castiel blushed again as he realized that Dean was looking straight at him from across the room. He was sandwiched between Lisa and Lydia, who were both chatting animatedly, but his gaze cut through the crowd to land on Castiel.
Bad enough that Dean probably thought that Castiel was an obsessive weirdo, now he was drooling all over the man’s baked goods. Poor Dean probably thought he had finally escaped him, but here he was, loitering in his eyeline. Feeling his flush grow more intense, Castiel dropped his eyes down to the table.
He should go. What he wanted, of course, was to talk to Dean again—have some kind of excuse to approach him and apologize for his awkwardness, see if maybe they could start afresh. But he had no good reason to interrupt Dean when he was having a good time with the adoring ladies of the staff.
Sighing, Castiel glumly swallowed down the last of the delicious pie and began to move the Tupperware off to the side, out of the way.
He looked down at the container in his hands.
He could…no.
No, he couldn’t. “Accidentally” taking Dean’s Tupperware home so that he’d have an opportunity to stop by his room on Monday to return it was utterly insane.
Another few seconds passed while Castiel endured a staredown with an inanimate object.
Oh, what the hell.
