Work Text:
Dean was up to his elbows in dirty dishwater when the phone rang. He cursed and scrambled for a dish towel to quickly dry his hands.
It could be MAX Model Management calling.
Everyone had told him not to expect a decision from them for at least another week or so but he couldn’t get the hope out of his head. It would be so nice to be signed to an actual agency and not have to hustle on his own anymore.
took a deep breath before he answered. “Dean Winchester speaking.”
“Wow, so impersonal. I thought we were friends.”
“Oh, hey, Charlie.” He was only mildly disappointed. A call from the agency would have been great, but he was always happy to shoot the breeze with his second best friend. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing some engagement photoshoot today?”
“Not anymore. They cancelled last minute. I can’t believe I blocked off a whole Saturday for these assholes. I could have put together a LARP campaign and be out there with all my noble knights right now. But everyone made other plans because I wasn’t available today so now I’m stuck with nothing to do.”
“Ouch. You’re charging them a cancelation fee, right?”
“They put down a $75 non-refundable deposit so I get to keep that.”
“Good. So you’re basically making money for nothing.”
“Not as much as if I actually did the shoot. And I won’t get recommended to their friends and family, I won’t get new photos to show off on my site. Business is slow. You and Cas need to hurry up and get together already so I can take your engagement photos.”
“You know damn well that’s not going to happen.”
She sighed. “It’s a shame. You’re both so ridiculously photogenic.”
Dean chuckled. “We wouldn’t get work if we weren’t.”
He and Cas had met a few years ago at a casting call. Instead of seeing each other as competition, they had become best friends. They helped each other find jobs, gave each other feedback, and were just a general support system for each other. Nobody knew the reality of life working as a model better than another model. Living with his best friend was mostly awesome, but Cas was hot as hell and completely comfortable walking around their shared apartment in various states of undress. Dean had gotten to see a lot of Castiel’s body and he liked what he saw. He could only imagine what it would be like to touch those miles of perfectly firm muscles. Cas didn’t feel the same way, obviously. He wasn’t into dudes. But it was fine. Dean could deal.
“I don’t know how you don’t get more work,” Charlie said. “Cas does that dark smouldery thing so well and you do that cocky smirk. I’d think straight women would find that kind of thing sexy. But I’m just a lesbian so what do I know?”
“We’re working on it. It’s just one of those things, you know? We gotta have pictures to put together a good portfolio. But no photographer will work with us if we don’t have a good portfolio.”
“Same here. I’ve gotta have clients to get myself out there. But nobody wants to hire me if I don’t have enough pictures of past clients up.”
Dean stilled. “Hey, that’s an idea. You could photograph me and Cas. You get pics for your site, we get pics for our portfolios. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
“I don’t know, Dean. I do family photos and engagement photos. I don’t do professional model shoots. I wouldn’t know the first thing you’d need for your portfolio.”
“All we need are pictures from a professional photographer. Just pretend we’re one of your clients looking to commemorate our epic bromance. We’ll do whatever poses you need for your site because it’ll be good for us to practice taking direction from a photographer. And if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Not like you have anything better to do this afternoon, right?”
“You’re right. I should have been thinking of how to salvage this situation instead of staying home and feeling sorry for myself. You’re amazing, Dean. I’ll meet you at Danbury Park in an hour, okay? Wear whatever you want, bring whatever props you want. I’ll bring some food and beer. We’re all going to have a great time!”
Charlie’s enthusiasm was infectious and Dean was practically beaming as he poked his head into the living room. “Cas, I got us a gig.”
Cas looked up from his book with a raised eyebrow. “An audition, you mean?”
“Nope. An actual gig. It won’t pay much because we’re pretty much just doing it as a favor for Charlie. But a gig’s a gig, right?”
Castiel nodded. “I like Charlie. What kind of job does she have for us?”
“Easiest job in the world, dude. We just gotta be ourselves. Charlie just needs some photos of happy, smiling people having fun for her site. And we can do that easy.”
“I do need more smiling photos in my portfolio,” Castiel admitted.
“So do I. It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“What would she like me to wear?"
“Whatever you want. We’re just one of Charlie’s clients for the day.”
Dean himself was planning on just one of his nicer pairs of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. And maybe he’d bring along one of his comfy flannel shirts in case they made a day of it and stayed in the park long enough for it to get cold out.
Castiel carefully slipped a bookmark between the pages and rose from the couch with a long stretch that made the hem of his shirt ride up. “I’ll take a shower then. Let me know when you’re ready to go.”
Dean could only nod.
He got ready in record time, dressing and styling his hair before Cas finished his shower. Castiel wouldn’t mind if Dean was still in front of the sink when he got out, but Dean felt the urge to rush through his grooming routine and be out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. He was full of nervous energy and he didn’t know why. It wasn’t the first time he was going to be in front of a camera and Charlie was going to be an easy photographer to work with. What was he so worried about?
Dean was determined not to let his weird sense of urgency affect Cas. He wanted his best friend to have a good picture to add to his portfolio so he would let him take as long as he needed to get ready. After all, they had almost a whole hour to kill still. But Castiel was ready almost as quickly as Dean was. He too had decided to dress simply in jeans and his favorite blue button up shirt.
They didn’t need to eat first because Charlie was going to be feeding them so they were both ready a little early. There was really no point sitting around waiting since waiting made Dean’s inexplicable anxiety worse. So they went ahead and headed out to the park.
Dean was keenly aware of just how early they were when he saw Charlie standing over one of the picnic tables, photographing the spread of food from different angles. Of course she had other things to do with her time than photograph him and Cas and he probably shouldn’t disrupt her work, but damn he was getting hungry.
He cleared his throat. “So, do we get to eat any of that or is it all for looks?”
“Dean!” Charlie bounced over to them. “I’m so glad you made it.” She lightly punched Dean’s arms. “You both look great! Both of you. I mean, of course you do. You’re models. You always look great.”
“Not always. You should see Cas first thing in the morning.”
Castiel scowled. “You should see yourself.”
Charlie laughed. “Neither of you are morning people, I guess. It’s a good thing you’re living together. So I guess this is right around lunch time for you then. Help yourselves. I just grabbed all the leftovers from Glinda’s party last night. Anything you don’t want will go back in the cooler.”
Dean eagerly took a seat at the picnic table and loaded up a plate. There were almost enough leftovers for an entire second party. A six pack of assorted beers, sandwiches, a couple party size bags of chips, individual serving bags of mini pretzels, and a mostly untouched veggie tray. Dean avoided the veggies but took a little bit of everything else. Cas had a more balanced plate with a small serving of everything, even the broccoli and celery.
Charlie showed Castiel her photography blog as she munched on a carrot. “I haven’t been able to get a lot of photoshoots done lately so most of the pictures are of trees and birds or super close ups of random objects in my house to show off my camera work. But my photos of people are where I get most of my engagement, obviously.”
“We’re happy to help,” Castiel said.
Dean nodded as he swallowed his last bite of sandwich. “We’ll pose however you want us.”
“Awesome. We can get started right away. Oh, one more thing. Let me get everything set up first.” She took a stand behind the table, camera held up. “I brought pie.”
“Yes!” Dean said delightedly.
Charlie cackled as she snapped a few photos. “There’s got to be a bakery out there somewhere that could use you as their spokesmodel. The pure joy on that face could get the ladies I know on keto eating baked goods again.”
“Shut up,” Dean muttered. “Is there actual pie or are you just messing with me to get your shot?”
“There’s actual pie,” Charlie confirmed. She carried the leftover sandwiches back to her car and returned with half a cherry pie.
“Hell yes,” Dean said. He cut himself a generous slice and ate carefully, conscious that Charlie’s camera might be on him. But god was it delicious pie. He savored every single bite.
“I wish someone looked at me the way Dean looks at pie,” Charlie said with a wistful sigh.
“If only,” Castiel said.
The way the two of them were looking at him was weird and uncomfortable.
“Alright, enough of that.” Dean clapped his hands. “Time to photograph our epic bromance.”
Castiel frowned. “That’s not a word.”
“Yes, it is.”
Castiel shook his head. “Romance is a word. Bromance is…a ridiculous thing you made up.”
Dean sighed. “Charlie, back me up on this.”
“It’s an actual thing,” she said. “A really, really close friendship between two guys. There’s no sex or kissing and no big declarations of love, but it’s probably the closest two guys can get without dating.”
Castiel tilted his head to one side. “But Dean declares his love for me all the time.”
Dean choked on his beer.
“Oh my god,” Charlie squealed. “Nobody told me about this.”
“What the fuck, Cas?” Dean croaked. “I do not.”
He was pretty sure he’d never gotten drunk enough to accidentally confess his feelings. Unless he had started sleepwalking and talking, how the hell would Cas know?
“Yes, you do,” Cas insisted. “Every time I bring pie home from the bakery, you tell me ‘I think I love you right now’.”
“It’s pie,” Dean said defensively. “How can I not love someone who brings me pie?”
Charlie sighed. “That’s a different kind of love. The platonic kind.”
“Ah, I see,” Castiel said, in a tone that said he really didn’t.
“You’ll see,” Dean said. “Just follow my lead.” He slung an arm over Castiel’s shoulder and smiled at the camera.
But now that Castiel was confused and obviously looking to him for guidance, Dean found himself feeling less sure he could really define their relationship, especially in photographs. What separated their bromance from a regular friendship?
The first thing that came to mind was their shared movie nights. Every Friday night he and Cas made it a point to be home so they could watch a terrible movie together. They shared a big bowl of popcorn and when all the popcorn was gone, Dean sprawled across the couch with his feet in Castiel’s lap.
Charlie didn’t have popcorn for them to share, but there were bags of chips they could pass back and forth and they could toss mini pretzels at each other and see if they caught them in their mouths.
“Castiel Novak, will you accept this token of my friendship?” Dean held out a nacho cheese Dorito.
“I accept,” Castiel said solemnly. He took the chip and took a careful bite.
“If this was an actual romance, I wouldn’t have given you something so cheesy,” Dean said with a wink.
Castiel rolled his eyes.
Charlie giggled. “Okay, this is a great start. But let’s move away from the picnic tables for the next few. I had this really nice spot picked out the engaged couple.”
“Sure,” Dean said. “But the beer is coming with us.” He curled two fingers into the carrier. When he looked down, he realized Castiel had done the same on the other side. They both looked at each other, but neither let go.
Dean shrugged. They could both carry the beer he supposed.
They got up carefully from the picnic table and started walking along the path into the park, both moving slowly so they didn’t tip over the beer.
“Where exactly are we going?” Castiel asked.
Oh, that was a good question.
When he looked over his shoulder, she was following close behind, snapping pictures of them.
“Really, Charlie? I know my ass looks fantastic and all, but is that really what you should be photographing right now?”
“Don’t be so vain. I’m not taking pictures of your ass.”
“What are you taking pictures of then?”
She smiled enigmatically. “You’ll find out. Oh, take a left right past the playground equipment. There’s a nice patch of trees that’ll make a great backdrop.”
Dean immediately saw the space Charlie was talking about. It was one of the best kept sections of the park. The grass was thick and healthy and there were big, full trees bordering the edge of the park. It would definitely be a great photo spot, especially since no one was around.
They set the beer down between them and sprawled out together in the soft grass.
“Perfect,” Dean declared. He reached for a bottle of beer and clinked it with Cas. “This doesn’t even feel like work. We’re just chilling in the park, drinking the good-” He wrinkled his nose. “Ew, no, what is this shit?” He frowned down at the label. “Blueberry stout? What the hell?"
Castiel sighed. “I’m sure it’s better than the ‘Ocean Brew’ I accidentally grabbed.”
“I really doubt that, dude. Here, just try it.” Dean shoved his bottle towards Castiel’s face.
“As long as you try mine,” Castiel countered.
They sipped each other’s beers.
Dean licked his lips. “Yeah, that’s not bad. You wanna trade?"
Castiel nodded and they exchanged beers.
A shadow fell over them and when Dean looked up, Charlie was staring down at them with an unreadable expression.
He winced. “Ah shit, back to work. Uh, let’s think. What else can we do? Oh, we should do that thing I see in all the engagement pictures where people leap in the air for no goddamn reason.”
Castiel’s brow furrowed. “You mean frolicking?”
“Sure, frolicking, whatever you want to call it.”
It turned out trying to leap in unison was a lot harder than Dean thought. Charlie laughed herself sick at some of the first attempts and then became absolutely useless at giving direction. Who knew if she was even keeping the camera steady enough for a good picture? But Dean stopped caring about a good picture after the first few failures. If he couldn’t leap as gracefully as Castiel, he’d damn well make his fuck-ups memorable. And there was a certain fun in just barreling straight at Castiel and making him leap out of the way.
He wasn’t focusing on where the camera was or paying attention to his angles. He was just having fun clowning around with his two best friends.
At some point, Charlie got out her phone to play music, maybe in the hopes that it would give them some kind of direction. Well, the joke was on her. Dean wasn’t going to let the pacing of the music dictate anything.
Dean put his hands on Castiel’s shoulders and jumped up, wrapping his legs around Castiel’s waist. “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
Castiel grunted and listed a little to the side. “Dean, you’re heavy.”
Dean gasped. “How dare you. I’m not fat.”
“Never said you were.” Castiel adjusted his grip around Dean’s ankles. “I’m just not used to carrying something roughly my own body weight.”
“We could take turns,” Dean suggested. “You give me a piggyback ride for a bit and then I return the favor. It’s only fair.”
“I like it,” Charlie said. “The pictures are coming out real cute so far.”
Castiel’s gait was slow and measured, but he actually walked a hundred feet over to the children’s play area before he insisted Dean get down.
“My turn,” he said gleefully.
Staying upright with Cas on his back was a lot harder than Dean had thought. He took two steps before Castiel’s shifting weight unbalanced him and they both collapsed onto the ground giggling.
Dean rolled over onto his back. “Fuck, that was a bad idea.”
Castiel’s face was split open in one of his rare big, gummy smiles that Dean loved. “The shortest piggyback ride I’ve ever experienced, but still good.”
“Shut up,” Dean huffed.
Castiel’s expression softened into something fond. “Thank you for bringing me along, Dean. It’s actually been a very fun afternoon.”
He reached over and squeezed Cas’ hand. “There’s no one else I’d rather bring. You’re not just my roommate. You’re my best friend, almost like a brother to me, but more than that.”
Castiel looked at him attentively. His face was illuminated by a beam of sunlight, his eyelashes bright and golden and his eyes an otherworldly blue. He looked ethereal, more than human.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” Dean whispered helplessly.
“Not as gorgeous as you,” Cas whispered back.
Dean was hyper aware of just how close they were. Their faces were inches apart and he could feel Cas’ breath against his cheek. If he leaned in a little closer-Oh, they were kissing. Who had moved first? Well, it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was the warmth of Castiel’s mouth.
“Oh my god!” Charlie squealed.
Dean jerked away from Cas and stared up at Charlie in horror. Oh god, he had forgotten she was photographing them.
Charlie clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt the moment. I’m just so happy for you two! You’re going to be such the cutest couple. You really have to let me take your wedding pictures.”
Dean laughed nervously. “If it happens, you’ll be the first person to know. We owe you that much. Right, Cas?"
“When it happens,” Cas said calmly. He slid a pretzel onto Dean’s ring finger.
Dean was rendered speechless for only a moment. “Dude, you can’t propose to me with a pretzel. I’m way classier than that. There’s gotta be a real ring, a heartfelt speech, you getting down on one knee. The whole shebang.”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “It’s not a proposal. This is a promise. A promise that there will be a proposal, an engagement, a wedding. The whole nine yards. And of course, Charlie, you’ll get to take our engagement photos. But I don’t want you doing our wedding pictures.”
Charlie’s face fell. “Why not?”
“Because, you’ll be standing up on Dean’s side.”
Dean nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah. You have to be my best man, er, woman.”
She brightened. “I’d be honored. And my best woman’s speech is totally going to be about how I watched the two of you fall in love right before my eyes. It’s the most romantic thing ever.”
“I don’t know about that,” Dean said. “I was in love with Castiel before the whole shoot.”
“I as well,” Castiel said. “I didn’t think Dean would feel the same.”
“Are you kidding me? You should have seen the way you two looked at each other all day. I’ve never seen Dean look at anything with more love than pie, but we’re in the presence of a miracle.”
“Shut up,” Dean grumbled, but there was no real heat in it. Castiel was curled up at his side and having his best friend love him back was kind of a miracle in itself.