Act IV: Friendship!? Love!? Where are we, in a Shojo manga?? (yes)

Raphael held back a smirk - he was definitely having too much fun, since his mother had literally fled the room and left the two of them alone. "Thank you," he whispered to Selena. "I'll take the mark off- it shouldn't take long."

Castiel smiled and walked closer to Dean, since he had wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Since I'm completely new to them, I'll trust your judgement. Perhaps I could watch you play one time, and then try to play a game with you?"

Selena smirked back. "Good. I'll follow your mother out in the garden. ... and, yes, try to come back quickly." She turned and tried to follow Rachel - who was surprisingly fast for a woman on heels. But she was fast too, so she managed to be at her side in no time.

Dean smiled. "Hey, sure! We'll try a fighting game - I'll play against the computer first, alright? Then we'll play one against the other." He changed some of his money with a bunch of quarters, and guided Castiel to one of the machines. "See, you just choose your character and then sort of participate to a tournament. You attack like this-" He showed him how to play to that game (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He had picked Jotaro, of course), even though he did lose against DIO - much to his dismay.

Rachel was startled to see that Selena had followed her so fast! She forced another smile at her, though. "So, tell me, dear- how did you meet my dear son?"

Castiel had grown really interested upon seing Dean play. But what Dean and Castiel didn't know yet, is that he had the mind of a computer. He quickly got used to the game's dynamics, and proved to be a worthy if not difficult opponent.

Selena was expecting Rachel to try and make some 'polite' conversation, and she was also expecting that question. "Oh, we've met each other at the University", she answered. "I study in a different faculty, though. The Law department. We've met in the lunch hall, started chatting, discovered we had a lot of things in common, and. here we are", she concluded with a smile.

"-how is this possible!", Dean protested out loud, throwing his arms in the air. "In a matter of three matches you already defeated me! Are you sure you've never played this game before?", he asked suspiciously, pointing a finger against Castiel's chest.

Rachel's smile was still quite fake. "What did you find out you have in common, for example?" She felt like there was something fishy about her and Raphael, since her son seemed to be so... different, around her. She needed to gather information as fast as possible to talk Raphael into dumping that scandalous black girl.

Castiel looked at Dean, confused by his reaction. "I haven't. This is my first time playing it, as I told you. But you showed me how to fill my special move gauge and how to use the different buttons. I just- did as you told me." He took a step back from the game, worrying that Dean might be mad a him now.

Selena answered with a smile just as fake. "Well. Our life goals, for example", she answered slowly. "We both want to be successful. To reach the heights of our future professions. To become wealthy. On a more trivial note, we have the same favorite movie, and the same favorite restaurant, so that's a plus", she hummed.

But Dean wasn't angry, oh no. If anything, he was thoroughly impressed. "Wow. That's - you're basically gifted! That's awesome", he commented in awe. "Hey, let's try another videogame! I want to see if you pick up the gameplay as fast as this one!" He grabbed Castiel by the hand and pulled him over to another game machine. He quickly showed the mechanics to Castiel and then handed him a quarter, eyes shining. "C'mon - try!"

Rachel seemed perplexed, but almost jumped when Raphael came back. Before she could say anything to him, he offered his arm to Selena. "Come, I'll introduce you to everyone." They hadn't gone into the garden yet, where everyone was; but all eyes would certainly be drawn to them, especially to Selena. She was tall, she was gorgeous, black, and wearing a quite outrageously red short dress.

Castiel seemed reassured, but he refused Dean's money at first, arguing he'd rather try the game once before he played it seriously. And when Dean gave his quarter to Cas, he was in for quite a show. Cas even got offered to enter his name in the arcade game since he had scored among the 10 highest scores. He smiled at Dean. "I think I liked this one."

And Selena accepted Raphael's arm, shooting another venomous smile at Rachel before proceeding with him towards the garden. She liked having all that attention focused on her - then again, she was a little used to it, so she didn't feel uneasy.

Dean couldn't help staring at Castiel with his mouth slightly hanging open. As soon as he was able to get over the shock of him being the most naturally skilled videogame player he had ever seen, he insisted for Castiel to insert his own name. He had totally deserved it! "That was amazing", he said once again, shaking his head. "... and probably a little hot."

One of the persons there was eyeing Selena with both shock and definitely a hint of interest, giving how he was undressing her with his gaze. He was a tall blonde man, with a bit of similarity in his traits to both Raphael and their mother. And he was eyeing Selena with so little shame that even the the blonde woman at his side shot him a disapproving glare, before she walked away.
Raphael cleared his throat as soon as they got close enough to that one guy. "Michael. Hi. May I introduce you to my girlfriend Selena ?" He had emphasized the word 'girlfriend' with a tone that suggested a hint of jealousy. One might think he was a brilliant actor.
He was not. He was definitely jealous and disapproving of his brother's attitude.
Said Michael blinked a few times, and he scoffed, straightening up. "You're kidding. You got yourself a beauty like this? Pleased to meet you, miss. I'm Raphael's older brother," he said, offering his hand to Selena.

Castiel smiled and felt his face heating up at Dean's last comment. He had no idea if it would be appropriate to flirt back, but he decided to give it a shot. "More or less than when I'm covered in glitter?" He whispered to Dean, barely daring to make eye contact at this point.

Selena somehow managed not to scoff. Yes, she didn't like the way this other man was staring at her - it was so insistent, and it made her feel... uneasy, weirdly unclean. Under a glass case, under tight scrutiny. Still, she accepted Michael's hand, if nothing out of politeness. "Charmed", she answered, in the most neutral voice she could muster. "Actually, it was more me who got him first. But you got the gist of it."

Dean felt his mouth go a little dry. Alright, he wasn't expecting Castiel to flirt back - but, hey. Two could play that game. "Well", he murmured, wetting his lips, "maybe a little less. The plus to this particular situation is that I could touch you without being thrown out by the security", he joked, inching a little closer to the other man. Hand brushing against his.

Michael wasn't polite enough to not scoff at the thought of Selena going for Raphael first. "You've got to be kidding me. I mean- Don't get me wrong, Raphael is a good man." He winked at his brother, who only gave him a short, tense smile as an answer. "But he's never been the kind to attract women to himself."

Castiel wet his lips and let out a genuine smile, when he brushed his hand back against Dean's. He was aching to entwine his fingers in his, but he threw a glance around. In the end, he gently grabbed Dean's fingers with his, lightly enough so they could both pull away if needed. "I like that idea," he whispered back to Dean with a soft voice.

"Well. I like it better that way", Selena commented, resting her free hand on Raphael's arm. The arm she was still holding, by the way. "I am terribly jealous. If any other woman was to try and get his attention, I'd cave her eyes in." Was she serious? Who knew. Her smile was enigmatic enough to leave a doubt. "And a good man is exactly what I was looking for."

Dean held back an almost shy smile. "Good", he whispered. He held Castiel's hand in his - there wasn't too much risk, they were quite behind in the rows of machines - and leaned in to quickly leave a peck on his cheek. He wasn't nearly as bold enough as to actually make a move on the other man in such a public place, but he really, really wished he was.

"Well. Good for you, then," Michael replied, feeling suddenly quite uneasy after having heard a beautiful woman like Selena talking about gouging someone's eyes off.
"Speaking of love," Raphael suddenly said, "where's your fiancée?" Michael turned around as if he expected to find the woman from earlier at his side, and sighed, before he forced a smile again. "Ah, Catherine. She- well, she just likes to meet with everyone there, she can hardly stay in place!"

Castiel smiled pleasantly after that kiss. "I wanted to tell you, Dean- I've left my job at the dinner. That way, it'll be easier for us to find time to meet when I'm not working - if you'd still like to, of course." He gently squeezed his fingers in his, mostly to reassure himself a bit.

Selena threw a distracted glance towards the now empty space at Michael's side - and saw a little far a blonde woman whispering hastily with Rachel, who was clearly trying to make her keep quiet. "Doesn't she look lovely", she commented, just for the sake of saying something. "Fiancée, then. Have you already decided for a wedding date?"

Dean blinked. "Well - of course! I mean, of course I want to", Dean answered, a little ashamed of having sound so eager with his first answer. Damn, try to look a little less desperate Dean, will you? "But - I hope it will be alright for you, even if you left that job? I thought you needed both to pay for your expenses and stuff", he said, squeezing back Castiel's hand gently.

"Ah, not yet," Michael replied awkwardly. He was far from glancing at his fiancée with fondness. "With my whole campaign going on, we had to postpone our plans. Cathy's been comprehensive," he said, forcing a smile that read 'no she hasn't'.

"I did, but since I've started working at the club things got more... comfortable for me, financially speaking," Castiel explained. He smiled softly at Dean. "And it's the one that allows me to see you sometimes for dinner, or after our lectures. That is- when you're not working either, of course."

"Of course. I'm sure she understands", Selena answered, with a smile that read 'sure, totally believe you on that'. She turned to Raphael. "Honey, is there anything to drink here? I'm a bit thirsty", she asked, forcing her voice to sound warmer, and much gentler as she talked to her 'boyfriend'.

Dean managed to hide a pleased smile. "That's good to know. I hope we'll manage to finally find time to go out by ourselves. To know each better", he commented, looking at their joined hands. It felt so natural and nice... He briefly wondered how it would have felt to just hold Castiel in his arms for good. He cleared his throat. "So, want to see some other games?"

"Of course. Come this way." Raphael didn't even deign to look at Michael again, instead leading Selena away from him, towards a buffet. Thankfully enough his mother was above cooking and serving so many guests, so she always hired a caterer to take were of that for her.

Castiel nodded, still smiling. "Yes. I'd like to see which other games you like." He was especially eager to keep on having fun with Dean! And, hopefully, they'd find a game that he just wouldn't win in a blink, so that they could keep on playing together.

Selena threw a glance at Raphael as they got something to drink from someone of the catering staff. "I want to punch him", she stated, quietly. "I hate the way he looks at me. Makes my skin crawl. How did you even live under the same roof for so long?"

They indeed found a game that presented a challenge to Castiel too, and they kept playing for a while, having a bunch of fun both losing and winning. Dean did grow a little tired after a good while though, and he decided to invite Castiel over to the bar to drink a beer before they'd head back to the car to meet up with Carleen and Horknath.

Raphael scoffed. "Honestly? I didn't realize he or my mother were toxic people before long." He threw a glance at his brother from afar. "But I'll have to admit that Michael makes a lot of people feel uneasy. He goes around telling everyone he's the kind to believe in no sex before marriage, yet Catherine is not his first fiancée. They always find out that he's compensating on the side. That, or-" he sighed "-or Lucien decides it might be fun to seduce them."

At the end of the evening, when midnight was growing near and they had to walk back to the car, Castiel brushed his fingers against Dean's. "I don't know if that evening may qualify as a date, but I had a lot of fun. Thank you, Dean." He smiled at the other man - his boyfriend! the thought still made him giddy.

Selena huffed, looking almost baffled. "Well. Your family sounds messed up, for the most part", she observed in a low voice, sipping on her drink. "It doesn't surprise me that you want as far away from them as possible now." She stared at him pointedly, before asking, a little louder. "And you, when are you going to ask me to marry you? After we're done with University and we've found ourselves some jobs, right?"

Dean grinned at Castiel. "Hey, it totally counts as a date. We've spent a lot of time on our own, we've chatted a lot, and - yeah, I had a lot of fun too." He brushed his fingers back against the other man's hand. "I... really hope we can do this soon again. Just the two of us."

Raphael's eyes widened, as if he needed a few seconds to realize that yes, it was just part of their whole mascarade, but he was cut off by a sound of broken glass near the house. It was Rachel, who forced a laugh and said 'oh silly me' out loud, before she quickly got someone to clear up. Finally, Raphael caught on and winked at Selena. "You deserve a grand wedding, so of course we'll need to gather money beforehand."

Castiel nodded, and since they had reached the car, stopped by Dean's side. He wet his lips, clearly aching to close the distance between them, before he heard Carleen's cheerful voice not too far and took a step back.
"Hey there! Did you two have fun?" Carleen called out to them, with a bright smile.

"Well, that's the bare minimum." Selena threw him a smirk, glad that he had understood what she meant. She had turned to look at what the cause of the commotion was - and seen that it had been Rachel, she simply decided to keep on playing along those lines, and pretended not to have noticed the crashing. "Good. I'm happy to see we're on the same page, as always", she cooed. "I hope you won't be too upset if I've already thought of a couple of places where I'd love to hold the ceremony - I was thinking either the municipe or the place where my parents got married." She paused. "You know, that pretty chapel, with the gospel choir. In the black neighborhood."

Dean had been definitely eyeing Castiel's lips too, and he had been more than ready to lean in and just kiss him right there and then - but he almost jumped when he heard Carleen's voice calling for him. "Yeah, we did!", he answered. "I was expecting to just crush Cas at some videogames, but - turns out I've been the one who got his ass handed back to himself." He raised a brow. "And you. Did you have fun?"

Raphael smiled back at Selena, and replied loudly as well. "Oh, a gospel? That sounds lovely. Although you know me, I'm not too keen on marrying in a church," he said with a wince.
"Why not?" intervened Rachel, who had gotten closer to them because, hey, she needed to learn more about those wedding plans so she could hijack them. Right? Right??? She was definitely freaking out, and that much could be read on her face.

Carleen chuckled, and then smiled when she looked at Horknath. "We did! We took a walk in the park, and then went to a café together." She sighed. "I'm even quite bummed time flew by so fast." She looked at Horknath. "I suppose I can't invite you to stay at my place tonight?"

Selena felt forced to aknowledge Rachel's presence, since she was basically almost standing between the two of them now. But she didn't give her the pleasure to actually address her. "Well, I understand you on one hand", she sighed, scoffing a little. "Church ceremonies are so long and boring. Besides, I'm sorry, but I don't think there's a lot of space for Jesus among us. You know I like to have you all for me." She let that little bit sink in, before adding, turning to Rachel with a smile, "but I'm sure my parents would approve whatever choice we'll make in the end."

Horknath gave her a sorry smile. "I think your father would freak out a little bit", he chuckled, shaking her hand. "Do you remember the face he made when he understood that I had slept in my underwear, that night when I stayed over? He kept staring at us from above the newspaper at breakfast." It had been more funny than worrying, though.

Rachel forced a smile, that came out as awkward. "Aw, but there's a lot of good that comes with a church wedding! I find it very romantic, personally, when the bride walks down the aisle to meet her fiancé-"
"I hate stepping inside a church, mom," Raphael sighed, which only made Rachel chuckle a little. "Oh, now, you're just saying that because Gabriel forced that idea onto you-"

Carleen sighed, but then smiled at the memory of her father trying hard to politely make sure they hadn't done anything inappropriate during the night. "Alright, then. Guess I'll have to find myself a place to live soon, so that I may invite you without 'freaking him out'," she concluded with a smile. "Dean, you don't mind driving us all home?"