2 - It's Friday

The day before was Thursday, and Saturday comes afterwards-

Carleen had complained a lot to Dean about Theseus messing everything up for her father's show on Saturday, but thankfully, she had an outfit ready for his best friend on the side, and he had agreed to cover for her. That, and the texts she shared with Horknath until then made everything better.
She had, of course, told Selena about her first meeting with Horknath, how it felt like love at first sight to her, and had been talking excitedly about her Friday night date.

They had agreed together that Horknath would come and pick her up at her flat, that was just a few streets away from his own. Thankfully, her brother only thought that she was now friends with Asterius' brother, and didn't question it when he saw her putting on a cute dress, or tying up her hair in a more elaborate way than usual. She was a bit nervous, but she was also quite excited about that night, to be honest.


Meanwhile, in the university's dorms, Castiel smiled to himself while sitting on his bed, and typed to the stranger that he now referred to as either Batman or Bruce, "You win, I'm in the history department. Though I'm fairly certain it has nothing to do with my 'old-fashioned' speech. How about you, then? Shall I guess as well?"

I will probably be writing this a whole lot of times, thus invalidating the statement, but screw it.
Horknath had never been this nervous in his entire life.
He had been fidgety for the whole week, only to grow more and more agitated as Friday (Friday, gotta get down on Friday-) approached.
And now there it was. The D-Day (Date Day) had finally arrived, and he was standing in front of Carleen's apartment door with a little bouquet of flowers in his hands - because he was a romantic, and also a little old-fashioned - and wearing the only shirt-and-jacket suit combo he owned. Carleen was a fashion designer, daughter of a fashion designer, so she was definitely going to notice how much those clothes had not been tailored on his figure.
He was sweating a little, but tried not to think about it and finally gathered the courage to ring the bell.

Dean was lazying around in his bed as well and smirked - making a little victory gesture to himself when he finally managed to guess Robin's Uni department. "Sorry to break it to you but it has a lot to do with your old-fashioned speech. But sure, yeah, try to guess if you can! It won't be easy!"

Carleen beamed and ran to the door as soon as the bell rang. She grinned at Horknath when she saw him there. "Hi- oh, wow! you brought flowers!" Her smile grew more shy, and she raised on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "That's sweet. Want to come in for a bit while I put them in a vase?" The too was nervous, and overcompensated a bit by talking a lot.
It was a family thing.

Castiel scoffed. "Alright, so first of all, given what you've asked me, I'll assume you're not into one of the literary departments you've been listing so far." He remained thoughtful for a bit, and browsed through Batman's likes on his app profile. "You like... old cars. Would it by chance have anything to do with your major, Bruce?."

Let's be honest, Horknath had probably offered the flowers at her as soon as she had opened the door and had not managed to utter a single word - especially after she had graced him with yet another gentle peck on the cheek. He melted a little bit on the spot, but managed to answer to her invitation before he ended up looking like a complete idiot. "S-sure, alright", he answered with a tentative smile, lowering his head to get inside the apartment. He shuffled a bit on his feet once he was there. "You look very beautiful", he tried then, cursing himself a little as soon as the words left his mouth because he was majoring in Literature and he had gone with 'beautiful'? Were was his vocabulary-
I probably didn't mention it, but it really, really did not help his confidence the fact that he had been elbowed in the nose during that day's rugby practice, and was now wearing a bandaid across it. Thank god at least it hadn't broken. THANK GOD HE WAS RESILIENT.


"Not in any Literary department, yep." Dean blinked when Robin seemed to... almost immediately guess what major he was getting at, probably after looking to his likes. He decided to play it cool. "Old cars!? How dare you. They're called vintage!" Way to play it cool, Dean. "But who knows! Maybe they're just a hobby. ; )" He felt like adding that winky face, just to be silly.

Carleen smiled at Horknath. "You look great too. I actually feel under dressed!" She bit her lower lip - although his clothes didn't fit him properly, she always liked a man in a suit - and went to fetch a vase for the flowers.
The flat she lived in with Theseus was quite big, and had two more rooms other than the bedrooms, plus a big kitchen and living-room area, in which they were currently in.
"Did you hurt yourself at practice today?" She asked him, gesturing to her own nose to indicate that she was talking about his band-aid.

Castiel smiled to himself. "A hobby? So you work on them, and not just enjoy them for their aesthetics? Ha! Then maybe he could figure Bruce's major faster than he had his own.

Horknath awkwardly waited for her while she fetched the vase she needed, smiling a little when she commented about being under dressed for the occasion. "I don't think you are", he commented. "I just over dressed to make a good impression." Then she mentioned his nose and he automatically winced. "Yeah, I got elbowed by a teammate during practice", he explained. "It happens sometimes. Luckily I'm tough - I think he hurt himself more than me", he joked.

Dean cursed. Damn it, he had given himself away! Robin was clever. "Fine, you smartass. I work on them", he replied while pouting. "What about it? It's still not a given that I would want to do that outside my free time!" He totally did, they both knew it, and this was a poor attempt at misleading.

Carleen eventually let out a soft chuckle, even if she had felt concerned for a bit! "Well... as long as it's not too bad, then." She held back a smile. "I have to admit that the... 'bad boy' look suits you well, in fact."

Castiel bit his lower lip, holding back yet another smile. Well- he certainly hoped he wouldn't ruffle Bruce's feathers the wrong way. "Let's see. From the little I know about you by know, I can tell you probably wouldn't have formulated this way were it not linked to your major. Now, what kind of studies could be linked to working on cars? Something to do with engines, I suppose. Are you studying some engineering branch, perhaps?"

Horknath looked a little taken aback. "Bad boy?" He scratched his chin embarrassedly, running his fingers through his beard. "I thought I looked a little silly, going around with a bandaid on my nose. But- I'm glad you like my looks anyway." He definitely didn't feel like a bad boy, though.

Dean was glaring holes in his phone now. Damn you, Robin. "... I'm either really obvious or you're way too clever for your own good, Robin", he typed, adding a pouty face to the message because why the hell not.

Carleen chuckled. "Well. You look like a really tough guy like this. But you're so sweet instead. That's something I like about you." She had walked back towards Horknath, and looked a little shy after that confession.
Thankfully, we could always count on Theseus to ruin the mood. He basically kicked the door of his fitness room open, humming with a towel around his shoulders. He had obviously been doing sports, and he took out his ear buds as soon as he spotted Horknath. "Oh, good evening Horknath!" Beaming, he walked towards them and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "How are you on this fine day!"

Castiel chuckled. He had feared for a moment that he might have driven Bruce away, but thankfully it seemed like his pouting might not be too serious. "What can I say. I've learned it all from the best detective, Batman." And winky face.

Horknath's expression had softened, and he had just opened his mouth to say something to her - but Theseus' sudden apparition honestly startled him and he could just watch him as he made his way towards the two of them with that large smile of his and grabbed his shoulder. "Hi, Theseus", he greeted him back a little awkwardly, but still smiling at him. "I'm fine, thank you. And you? Oh you were exercising?", he asked, eyeing his towel and noting the redness on his face. "Me and Carleen were just about to head out - we won't bother you for long."

Dean chuckled, failing to keep his pout up. "Ha! Well at least you know who to give credit to!", he answered with another winky face. "You got me, though. I'm studying to become an engineer, even though I prefer to actually put my hands inside cars rather than try to project an engine." He paused. "And you, what you wanna do with your degree?"

"Ah, don't you worry about me, have fun for your friendly night out!" Theseus winked at Horknath. "But I was exercising, yes! I like to do some basic exercises in the evening. Abs, push-ups, some cardio exercises, you know how it goes, right?"
Carleen squinted slightly. "Don't you have an assignment to work on, too?"
There was a pause.
"Well I'd better proceed to my ablutions now, then. I'll see you two later." Theseus basically fled towards the bathroom by now, let's be real.

"I see. Well, still, that's a very technical field either way, I think it's impressive you manage to do both." Castiel paused, looking on how to word out his answer. "I'm actually hoping I can become one of those historians who get to study encryptions or artefacts discovered by archaeologists." Would Bruce laugh at him for it? Well. He'd get to know that way whether it was worth to keep on talking to him or not.

Horknath watched, politely silent, as Theseus literally fled from his sister's judgmental stare and to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He let out a chuckle. "I am very impressed", he commented, nodding towards the bathroom door. "You're very good at putting him in his place." He smiled at Carleen. "Should we go now, then?"

"Thank you for the compliment!", Dean immediately answered, ginning widely. "Oh! So it's like, the people that work to put a date onto things that get found? Or translate tablets, put together what the crumbles of a vase used to contain? That sounds incredibly difficult!"

Carleen chuckled. "Well, I've grown up with him, so I know all about his flaws and where to poke at him. But yes, I'm ready. Let's go." She went to grab her purse, put on a light jacket, and hesitated just a split second before she took Horknath's hand in hers, with a soft smile. "So. Where are you taking me?"

"It is," Castiel replied with a smile tugging at his lips. "Especially when you have to study dead languages that you don't like. I swear I'm going to grow white hair from ancient Greek alone."

Horknath was ready for it this time - he had given himself many pep-talks, but had to stop doing that out loud since the day before Asterius had caught him staring at himself in the bathroom mirror and aggressively pointing at his reflection with his toothbrush saying "Get your shit together, Horknath!" - and gently squeezed Carleen's hand in his, feeling giddy about the physical contact. "I got a table at the thai restaurant I've told you about yesterday", he answered, walking with her out of the apartment. "It's cozy, and the food is nice! I hope you'll like it." And it was also very non-assuming, not fancy. Perfect for a first date.

"Ancient Greek!? Man I can feel my head explode just thinking about a different alphabet, let alone studying it", Dean answered. "I have some friends who study big brain stuff like you, and let me tell you I only have admiration for them - alright, I am also a little scared of them. I have this friend who's into informatics and they're more than capable of hacking into my pc and doing all kinds of crazy stuff if I make them mad!" He had silently decided not to drop any precise name in this chat, at least for now. He enjoyed chatting with Robin - the anonimity was kind of comforting, and this guy was really nice.

Carleen nodded. "Sounds perfect!" She leaned into Horknath just a bit when walking, feeling happy simply being at his side for now. She probably tried to ease him into small talk, asking about his week, and his plans for the week-end until they got to the restaurant.

Castiel paused for a bit. That sounded eerily like something Charlie would do... But then again, Charlie had many friends, and there probably were people out there at least half as talented as her when it came down to computers and hacking.
Eventually, he decided to play it safely. "I get you, I have a friend just like that. I can't even bring myself to understand a glimpse of what they do. My knowledge in the matter is limited to calling them for help anytime an odd window pops up on my screen. And half of the time it's their doing."

Carleen proved to be very good at easing Horknath into conversation - he told her about a couple of things that had occurred during his week, and that he didn't really have plans for the coming weekend except going on a couple of morning runs with Asterius and maybe meeting for a beer with a couple of friends. "And what about you?", he asked, letting her preceed him inside the restaurant and pulling the chair for her when they had been led at their table. "How did your show go, in the end? Did you manage to get your friend to replace Theseus?"

Dean laughed. Well, probably all the people in the Informatics department were all the same kind of lunatics. He wrote that to Robin, adding "We have dangerous friends Robin! Better not get them involved in our crime-fighting, or they might lead us to prison!"

Carleen smiled to herself. Horknath was such the gentleman! "I've managed to change my plans for tomorrow night, yes. That's when the show is taking place," she said, sitting down on her chair. "Dean is going to wear an outfit I've been working on for him for a while. It's not as impressive as I hoped this would be, but it's better than nothing." She took out her phone, and displayed a picture of Dean wearing a dark jean-based ensemble that had him look like both a very fancy man and a guy in his early twenties who liked to go out and party. The whole thing screamed 'rock'n roll'. "It's closer to what my dad does," she said with a small smile. "And at least Dean is used to modelling for him, so I didn't have to train him or anything."

Castiel smiled. "Oh, but I thought they could actually help us a bit. Alright, though, I won't mention it to them. I fear they might try to find out who you are before I do anyway, and that would deprive us of the thrill of this conversation." And the company was welcome. He didn't think Bruce was looking for them to develop a romantic affinity; they hadn't mentioned it so far even though they were on a dating app, but their interactions seemed quite friendly. That, and, well. Castiel kind of feared this might happen, given that he was pretty much certain that he was straight. Or. The term for 'not interested in girl at the moment', if there was one.

Horknath had sat in the place in front of Carleen, and leaned in to look at the picture she was showing. "Wow - it looks very... professional", he observed, looking very impressed. "The look fits him very well. I'm sure you'll make a great impression at your father's show." He smiled at her. "Do you also tailor some of your outfits?"

It was true - Dean tended to forget this was meant to be a dating app. Mostly because he didn't really use those to hook up with people. He liked to think he was plenty of charming in person already. Besides - he wasn't sure that Robin was interested in dating a stranger met over an app. "I agree with that. We'll be each other's secret then!", he typed, adding a winky face afterwards. "Just to change topic up a little bit - what do you enjoy to do on your free time? Aside from saving cats from trees, I mean."

Carleen nodded, with a smile. It wasn't a given that her date would show genuine interest in what she does! "Yes! I've made this dress myself, actually. And, well. We occasionally have to do some projects for class, so I either end up doing something for myself or Selena, my other best friend."

Castiel smirked. It somehow felt easy to open up to Bruce. He had been resentful at first, but- as Dean had reminded him, you could also form deep friendships with online strangers. "I'm afraid I'm quite boring. I play videogames, spend some time with my friends. I watch series," he pointed out. As an insomniac, he tended to binge watch anything he might come by to kill the time he spent alone and awake at night. "What about you, Bruce?"

Horknath blinked. "... you made that yourself?", he exclaimed, looking honestly impressed. "The one you're wearing? Wow, it's- I mean, I would have never guessed it could be something handmade. It looks like it's been bought in a nice high-end store", he commented awkwardly, not knowing if it sounded like a compliment or not. He sure hoped it did, because that's the way he meant it!

Dean snorted. Well - it didn't sound like boring hobbies, honestly. "Well, I guess that makes me boring too, probably" he commented jokingly. "I like to party with my friends and go out with them. I play a lot of videogames too, and I enjoy binge-watching movies more than series - oh, and I fool around with vintage cars too."

Carleen looked suddenly shy, and she definitely flushed at the compliment. "Thank you." She brought a strand of hair in front of her shoulder to twist it around her finger. "I quite like it. It's my favourite dress, so... I'm glad you like it too."

Castiel smiled when he saw that Bruce was mentioning vintage cars again. "Do you have any pictures? Of the cars you're working on, I mean. I'm curious to see what you actually do on them."

Horknath perked up when he noticed she had been receptive to his awkward compliment, and actually smiled brightly at her. "I like it. It fits you very well", he added - before a waitress interrupted them for a second to ask for what they wanted as a drink and leave them the menus. "I don't know many people that are good at making things", he added with a sheepish smile. "My mom's terrible at knitting, good at cooking. I am kind of terrible with everything", he wagged his fingers at her. "I like to say it's because of my giant hands, but my father is good at repairing little things, and his hands are even bigger than mine."

Dean quickly looked around in his photo library. "I don't really have pictures where I am working, but this is a before/after photoshoot I made of one car I restored all on my own!" It was an old Bentley - his own Impala was still not finished, so he was showing it to absolutely no one - that looked quite broken up in the first shot, only to look like it was fresh out of the factory in the other one. "Took me close to one year, but I did everything on my own. I'm quite proud of it!"

Carleen let out a soft chuckle when Horknath told her about his father. "Well- I don't think being good at manual things is something everyone should be able to do. I mean- it all depends on whether or not you got interested in it enough to train and get better at it, just like any other hobby." She smiled at Horknath, a little sheepish this time. "I, uh. Don't know how to cook, for example."

Castiel's brows quirked up. Alright, this guy was talented! "Wow! It looks like a brand new car, good job! is this your own, or are you planning on re-selling it now that you've finished working on it?"

Horknath let out a laugh. "Oh, I am a disaster, so we are on the same boat, me and you", he joked. "Asterius' decent at it, and that's the only reason for which we've been able to survive on our own. I can barely put together milk and cereals, let alone anything more complicated than scrambled eggs." Aria was the only one in the family who was actually really, really good at cooking - and with her fiancé being the heir to a very important winery and farmhouses-oriented business, it was just the perfect match. She wasn't half-bad at knitting either! "What about your parents? Is your father a designer, or is he more like you - I mean, does he actually make things himself?"

Dean felt himself puff with pride at the compliments. "Thank you! I've actually sold this one once I finished it - I know some people who work in the car business, and they were impressed with my work so they found me a buyer!"

Carleen chuckled throughout Horknath's explanations. "Oh, he's mostly a designer, but he knows the basics about sewing to be able to work on drafts. He isn't the one who does the final product, though, but that's something I want to be able to do myself. First because I like it, and second because he occasionally complains that he struggles to convey his thoughts to his coworkers." She smiled fondly at the thought. "But he's not really a manual. My mother isn't either. Neither is Theseus. To be honest, we order takeaway food on most evenings, or if we're coming back from home our cook is kind enough to prepare us a bunch of leftovers to last us a week."

Castiel smiled to himself. "Sounds like you could turn that hobby into a steady business. Have you ever thought about doing it professionally?"