2 - It's Friday

Horknath hummed in understanding. "I see! And what kind of job does your mother do, instead?" He seemed to need a couple of seconds before he caught on another part of Carleen's answer. "... you have a cook?", he asked, looking a little impressed. And maybe a little nervous - even though Carleen had already kind of told him that her father was very famous, so he had assumed they were a little well-off at the very least.

Dean hesitated before answering. "I have, sometimes", he confessed in the end. "But even if I end up doing that in the end, I thought about it - talked it out with my parents - and decided that it would have been better to have a degree too. Just, you know, to cover my back in case I need it!" He straightened up on the bed. "And - why did you pick history, instead? Something you've always liked?"

Carleen looked a little sheepish once more. "Yes, we have a cook." And three gardeners. And a house keeper. And they used to have a nanny. But she kept that to herself, feeling that it would make Horknath really uncomfortable. "My mom is a prosecutor, in fact. One of the best." She let out a smile. "She's not often home though, sadly. But we try to gather every few weekend so we can all see each other and catch up on things."

"I think it's a wise decision indeed. It's nice that your parents support you in this." Castiel's expression softened. "Believe it or not- it started as a joke, but then I found out that I love deciphering ancient languages. Except ancient Greek, of course. So I decided to give it a try." He had actually been talking with Eileen about being the bookworm that would support the adventurer archaeologist she was to become. And there he was.

Horknath held back an apologetic smile. "It must not be easy to see your mother so little", he offered. He had been quite lucky in that respect - his mother worked ideal hours, and his father was always home by eight at least. "But both your parents seem to have very fullfilling jobs! That must be nice." He rested his elbows on the table. "My mom's an elementary school teacher, and my dad is an engineer. He used to work a lot as a foreman in building sites, but he doesn't do that a lot anymore - he's got a quieter office job now, still for the same construction company."

Dean smiled. "I see. Well - I hope you're just as supported as I am", he commented. "Honestly my dad wasn't too much on board at first, but he's mellowed out with the years. He's gotten much better."

Carleen nodded, and her face lit up. "Oh, but your parents seem to have nice careers too! Speaking of which- I've never asked you what you study, and why," she told him with a shy smile. She still had a lot to learn from Horknath!

"That's good," Castiel commented. "I know how important it is to feel supported in life. Thankfully, my parents were quite supportive. Especially given that I chose my studies on a whim. Truth be told... I had a completely different job in mind before I joined uni."

Horknath seemed to become a little sheepish with that question, for some reason. "I am in the Literature department", he answered. "The main idea is to become a teacher, like my mother. But what I'd really like to do is maybe write something of my own one day." 

Dean raised a brow. "Oh? What kind of job? Are you trying to keep a mystery from Batman?", he added then, sending him a gif of an overly-suspicious-looking Batman.

Carleen's face lit up. "Oh but that's great! What would you like to write about?" She leaned towards Horknath, forgetting about her menu for a big, given how excited she was. She loved reading! That was the reason why she had taken a few Literature classes!

Castiel scoffed. Oh. So gifs were a thing on this app. He'd have to look for a few of Robin then, if he kept on interacting with Bruce. "No. Maybe. I'm not telling you unless you swear you won't laugh or... you trade it from another embarrassing fact about you. That only seems fair."

Horknath was a little taken aback by Carleen's sudden enthusiasm, but - well, hey, at least she wasn't laughing at him! And it felt nice to have her be so enthusiastic about what he wanted to do. "I'd like to write something adventurous, maybe set in some ancient time - or even the future!", he started, encouraged by her interest. "But most of all, I want to write a decent romance story, because I am sick of reading the terrible ones that are being sold in these last couple of years!"

Dean scoffed as well, rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine. I won't laugh, and I will answer with something coming straight from my Embarrassments Catalogue." Robin seemed quite self-conscious at times. He briefly wondered if he had bad experiences with sharing stuff he enjoyed - it wouldn't have been the first time he heard that.

Carleen rolled her eyes at the mention of horrible romance novels. "Ugh, I get you so much! They're usually degrading for the woman, end up with bad porn thrown in there, or are just shallow of any real emotions! I'm curious to see what you're going to write," she told him with a smile, before her face lit up once more. "Oh! If you're looking for good romance books, I'm following a girl's blog- she's hilarious too. She's rating bad romance novels and offering decent ones to read instead! I've never been disappointed by her tastes so far!" Well. Like everyone following that blog, she assumed the owner was a young woman, at least.

Castiel actually hesitated a bit before answering. "I wanted to work in a nursery." He paused. Everyone had found it ridiculous so far when he had worded that out, safe from his family and close friends. He'd probably get to see what kind of person Bruce really was, that way.

"Those are exactly my points! The main leads end up having no real chemistry at all aside from 'I am a man, you're a woman, so we should be attracted to each other I guess', and nine times out of ten the man is an abusive piece of garbage!", Horknath exclaimed, beaming. Finally someone who shared his (very strong) opinions about romance novels and just how degrading and meh the most recent ones were, especially for women! He blinked though, relaxing a little - and suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious about his strong reaction to the topic. "Oh, that's interesting. What's the name of the blog?", he asked curiously. Because his own was named Romance is Not Dead (Yet) but. It surely wouldn't be that one. Right?

Dean stared at the answer for a little while, blinking. And feeling mostly really confused about why Robin would feel embarrassed about becoming - what, a nurse? An ostetrician? Those were jobs who required so much study and so many sacrifices that he felt a migraine incoming just at the mere thought! "But why is that embarrassing at all", he wrote then. "What, is it because the word 'nurse' made some people laugh when you told them? Because otherwise you're just telling me you wanted to get into the medical field!"

Carleen was actually rather excited to learn that Horknath was just as passionate, if not more than her on the matter! "Romance is not dead (yet)", she replied confidently with a grin. "I love it. I'm always waiting for new articles to come out, you should definitely check it out!

Castiel let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when he saw what kind of reply he got. Still, he couldn't help but think he needed to make sure. "Well. It's quite frowned upon when you're a guy. I'd be asked why I'd want to do such a 'girly' job. And everything else that goes with it."

Horknath felt his breath getting knocked out of his lungs when Carleen admitted being a great fan to his very own blog. He clearly hesitated to answer at first, but... ultimately, his pride didn't allow for him to keep it a secret from the girl that he could very possibly be calling his girlfriend after this evening, if everything went well. "... that's my blog", he answered, mumbling it out as if he was actually ashamed of it, half hiding himself behind the menu.


Dean snorted so loud that if he actually had a roommate he would have heard him from the other side of the apartment. "'Frowned upon'!? What is this, Pride and Prejudice? A doctor's still a doctor, even when his job is delivering babies - especially so, because babies are super delicate! Girly job, what the fuck-" He tried to relax, and to sound less aggressive. "Sorry. I just really think it's a stupid notion, to categorize jobs by sex."

Carleen blinked a few times, surprised by Horknath's sudden change of tone. She tried to lean towards him across the table. "I'm sorry, Horknath, I didn't catch that. I- do you know the owner?" He seemed quite embarrassed. Maybe he did. Maybe- oh no maybe it was run by his ex or something and she had just made him feel uncomfortable-

Castiel took a while to answer this time. He actually took the time to read and re-read Bruce's words, and think about them. They made him feel... valued. Supported. Although he had dismissed his family's concern about his change of heart regarding his dream job, it still occasionally hurt to have dropped it. "Thank you, Bruce. Not many people are as kind and open-minded as you." He hesitated, but decided he should ease up the conversation a bit to something less serious. "I won't ask for anything embarrassing on your side, then. Unless you want my comfirmation that one of the things you like or do is just as normal as my dream job."

"Yes- I mean no- well, kind of-" Horknath felt more and more flustered as he struggled to form a coherent answer. Maybe it hadn't been a great idea to try and confess that. He took a deep breath and slightly lowered the menu he had been using as a shield, sheepishly glancing at Carleen. "... I said that's my blog. As in- I keep it", he repeated in a somewhat steadier tone.

Dean felt himself soften. It was clear that Robin hadn't been treated kindly in the past, and that made him feel really bad for him. "Hey, no problem man", he answered with a little smile, still welcoming the other man's attempt to lighten up the conversation. "Eh, a promise's a promise - even though there is literally nothing that I did that embarrasses me. One time I got completely plastered at a party back in highschool, during my last year, and the following day I discovered I had apparently tried to make out with my classmate's fridge door and that literally everyone had taken a picture of that." He chuckled at the memory. "It kind of stayed with me for the whole rest of the year."

Carleen brought her hands to her lips, but it was soon obvious that she was grinning. "No way! Oh, I'm so lucky you never posted a picture of you, she chuckled. "Every girl that I've chatted with and follows the blog would have tried dating you by now! You know, I've read so many great books thanks to you!"

Castiel was glad Bruce couldn't see or hear him because granted, he laughed at that tale. Oh, wow. Thankfully he never drank that much. He only answered when he was sure he would manage to remain serious. "That was insensitive from them. We should be able to live our dreams, whether they involve sexy appliances or not". Damn it. Hopefully Bruce wouldn't mind it.

Horknath felt his face grow warmer by the minute. "It... was intentional not to publish any picture of me", he explained awkwardly. "It's a little project I've put up for my future thesis. Everyone on the web thinks there's a girl behind my blog, and almost nobody knows the truth - and at some point I will reveal my identity and observe heir reactions. I'll trust you to keep this secret." He smiled bashfully. "But I'm - I'm very, very glad you've enjoyed the books I suggested. Many of them are personal favorites of mine." He didn't comment on the dating part of her compliments because he was definitely not so sure girls would have wanted to date him just because he liked a good romance story.

Dean burst into laughter as soon as he read the words 'sexy appliances'. "That's exactly my point. I'm so glad you share such an open-minded point of view over my preferences", he answered, trying to keep the tone just as serious as Robin did.

Oh, Carleen was definitely thinking that a handsome guy like Horknath having a decent conception of love would have gotten many girls to swoon for him! She asked him about his personal favourites, and they probably had a passionate discussion over their dinner about this or that book, until Carleen let out a smug smile. "I've gotta ask, though. What's the most romantic thing you'd like to live one day?"

"Don't worry, I'm not judging people based on their orientation, as long as it involves a healthy relationship." Castiel might sound serious, but he was definitely laughing too. "Hey- we've mentioned hobbies earlier but I realize I haven't told you that I do a bit of photography."

Horknath was halfway through his dessert by that point - and looking leagues far more relaxed than he was when that evening had begun. He stopped midair with his spoon full of ice cream to tilt his head at Carleen. "What do you mean?", he asked. 

"My relationship with both the fridge and what's inside is extremely healthy and very loving", Dean confirmed with a smirk. He blinked, though. "Oh, photography? That's cool. You have anything of yours laying around to show me?"

Carleen's smile grew a little more shy. "I mean- We both love reading love stories, but are there things that you dream of, and that only happen in those novels? For example, I'm dreaming of a dinner under the stars. Not overly fancy or anything. But that just sounds disgustingly romantic, I love the thought of it."

Castiel smiled. "I do." He sent Bruce a few pictures of landscapes or wildlife he was proud of. And he hesitated before he added a second picture of that robin he had taken a few years back, the same one he used as his profile picture on the app. "Last one is a me, of course."

Horknath flushed. "Oh! Oh, you meant like that", he stuttered, finishing up his ice cream before resting the spoon in the bowl. "A dinner under the stars sounds amazing", he replied softly, smiling at the thought. "I... know it might sound a little more crazy than yours, but I've always wanted to do one of those very clichéd run-to-the-airport to stop my loved one from going away and sweep them off their feet at the very last moment."
Kind of foreshadowing dies


Dean hummed. He wasn't an expert in photography - but those angles, those lights and colors - they looked amazingly nice. Very professional, even. And he grinned when he saw the last picture, and Robin's comment. "You are very photogenic", he joked. "They're all great though! You've got a very good eye."

Carleen chuckled. "Well. If that may reassure you, I don't think I'm going to move away from here and go live in another state," she told Horknath with a smile. Completely forgetting for a moment that most of her family lived overseas and that she occasionally visited for long weeks at once.

"Thank you," Castiel replied with a soft smile. And he probably went on chatting with him for a while!

Horknath's smile got more shy. "That's good to hear", he answered in a low voice. Truth be told - this might have been the first date for them, but he was positively charmed by Carleen. She was beautiful, of course she was, like a ray of sunshine - but she was nice, witty, clever, funny and so very full of talents. He could definitely feel himself already falling in love with her. He threw a look at his phone. "... wow, when did it get this late?"

Yus!!

Carleen took a look at her own phone too, and chuckled. "Oh, oops. Seems like time does fly when you're having fun." She smiled at Horknath. "But we should probably go, yes, or they'll show us out by the time they need to close their doors."

Horknath chuckled. "Yeah, you're right." He got up first, and probably offered to pay for both their meals - but he wouldn't insist too much about it if Carleen wanted to split instead. He sheepishly offered her his hand, or his arm, once they got outside the restaurant. "I'll walk you home", he offered.

Carleen thanked Horknath - she insisted on paying for half of it though since she had basically imposed this date to him, but assured him she'd let him invite her next time.
It was cold outside, more than she had anticipated, so her thin jacket wasn't enough to keep her warm. She leaned into Horknath's side while walking, shivering just a bit.

Horknath bit his lip when Carleen shifted at his side, resting against him. He felt her shiver a little, and silently thanked his orcish blood for making him basically a living furnace - which allowed for a thoughtful gesture. He gently detachd himself from Carleen for a moment, shrugging off his jacket and mutely offering it to her. "Don't worry - I don't suffer the cold", he reassured her, anticipating her protests with a smile.