Chapter Text
Castiel leaned against the checkout counter, swiping at a Candy Crush level on his phone. A few sips of room-temperature coffee sat in the to-go cup next to his computer, but Cas paid no attention to his forgotten drink. The counter was cutting into his stomach very uncomfortably, but company policy said he couldn’t sit down if there was a customer in the store. The lady in the back looking at breeding tanks wasn’t even paying him any attention, so really, it didn’t matter, but he didn’t want to get in trouble, so follow the stupid policy it was.
The bell above the door dinged and Cas instinctively put his phone down and looked up to greet the customer. The flannel-clad man who entered paid him no mind, instead heading towards the tanks before Cas could say hi or even get a good look at him. Cas sighed and reopened Candy Crush. He needed this job, but not enough to chase down customers just to tell them welcome.
Only a few minutes later, he was shocked out of his focus by a 25-gallon tank being set not-so-gently on the counter in front of him. Cas dropped his phone instinctively and looked up to see the flannel guy over the tank’s glass. The guy was younger and way prettier than he’d expect from someone wearing a plain green flannel, but close up, Castiel noticed that it matched his eyes, so maybe not a bad choice actually. The guy blinked, and for a second Cas couldn’t think about anything except how long his eyelashes were, was he wearing mascara or something? Then Flannel Guy cleared his throat and Cas snapped out of his thoughts, quickly averting his eyes. He grabbed the scanner and scanned the bag of rocks in the tank, and then the tank itself.
‘I should probably say something,’ Cas thought idly as the man searched for his wallet. “What are you putting in this?” he offered.
Flannel Guy paused opening his wallet. “Uh, a turtle, probably,” His voice was deeper than Cas would’ve thought.
“Oh, I have a turtle, too.” Castiel paused as the man took out cash to pay for the materials. “May I ask why it’s a ‘probably’?”
The guy glanced around sheepishly. “I got into a fight with my brother, and he said I wasn’t responsible enough, so I may’ve… told him I have a turtle to get him to shut up, and now I have to get one so he doesn’t know I was lying.”
“Why a turtle?” Cas asked, amused.
“First thing that came to mind.” Flannel Guy shrugged and handed Cas the money. “Hey, since you’ve got one, could you give me some tips on, like, how to take care of it? I don’t really have any idea.” He smiled awkwardly.
‘Again?’ Cas thought. So many people bought pets with no clue how to actually take decent care of them. It pissed him off, but maybe he could help this guy out.
“Well, they’re actually a lot of work,” he started, receiving a groan from Flannel Guy. “It’s very rewarding, in my opinion, but I’d advise to know what you’re getting into first.” He glanced at the man’s purchases. “You should probably go home and do some research first.”
“Shit. Alright, well, I’ll go do some research. Thanks, man,” the guy responded as Cas calculated his change. The cashier paused. “You could call the store if you have questions,” he offered, granting a smile from the other man.
“I might, thanks,” he grinned. He grabbed his change and picked up the tank. “Have a good evening, man.” As he left the store, the bell jingled again, and Cas stood at the counter, feeling faint and breathless from the man’s smile, before realizing that the other customer had left in those couple minutes without him noticing. He shook himself. He was 26 and getting his master’s, and this job was just for some extra money, not to find cute guys who may or may not be buying a turtle. Castiel picked up his phone and reopened Candy Crush.