Castiel stood at the exit, tapping his foot impatiently. He glanced up at the clock, which said it was a quarter past noon. They were supposed to have left fifteen minutes ago, and he was the only one at their designated meeting spot! If there was anything he could honestly say he despised in this world, it was being late.

"Where is everyone?" Dean wondered, wandering up to meet Castiel. "I thought I was going to be the last one to get here."

"What took you so long?" Castiel demanded. "When I left, you said you were going to be right behind."

"I couldn't find my basketball shorts. You forget how long it's been since I've had the opportunity to wear anything besides the ugly sweat pants they give us."

"I think I have an idea."

Castiel shifted his weight, sighing in annoyance. He finally got to leave this damn place and even their chaperone wasn't on time. Of course, Dustin was the orderly in charge of the trip, so it really was no wonder that it was already falling apart. The man couldn't tie his shoes properly, nonetheless herd a group of mentally unstable 'adults' into a van promptly.

"Dustin told us to meet at the front exit at twelve, right?" Dean asked, to which Castiel nodded. "Then why the hell isn't anyone else here yet?"

"Sorry!" Kim exclaimed breathlessly, running towards the boys. "I didn't have any tennis shoes, so I had to borrow a pair from Anna. I didn't mean to be late."

"It's all good, Kimmy. It's not like you're the last one to show up. We're still waiting on Dustin, Allen, George, Kevin, and Alex," Dean explained.

"How do George and Alex already have gym privileges? They only got here, like, two weeks ago," Kim said. Dean shrugged.

"I don't know, but they better hurry their asses up."

After another ten minutes, Dustin sauntered up with the rest of the missing group trailing behind. Dean had to keep from cracking up upon catching sight of Kevin, who had decided red, white, and blue sweat bands were a good fashion statement to make. Everyone else looks relatively normal in t-shirts and shorts.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Castiel exploded. Dustin waved him off, an unconcerned look on his face.

"I had to help these guys find some proper apparel. Most of them didn't even have shoes."

Castiel rolled his eyes at the obvious lie. If Kevin had time to find multicolored sweat bands, then everyone else should have had plenty of time to find a pair of fucking shorts. Dustin had probably been trying to convince another orderly to take his place on the trip; he hated heading these little outings. The only reason he'd agreed to this one was because they weren't going to an arts and crafts store or like library like usual. Dr. Perri had actually approved an expedition to the YMCA.

"Well, I think we've wasted enough time. Everybody into the van!" Dustin commanded. Every one shuffled out the door and piled into the van awaiting them in the hospital's circle drive. Dustin climbed into the driver's seat, counted the patients to make sure everyone had made it in, and they were off.

Castiel wasn't really one for sports or exercise, but Dean seemed so excited at the chance to go to the YMCA, Castiel couldn't turn him down. Since he hadn't played any sports in so long, Castiel was sure that he wouldn't remember the rules, but Dean promised to teach him as they went along. Castiel hoped he would be decent at whatever they decided to play, because he didn't need to embarrass himself. He'd already done enough of that in gym class.

Once they arrived, and Dustin explained that they needed to meet at the front entrance at four, the group scattered. Kim decided to run on the track, Alex and George went off to play racquet ball, Allen wanted to "pump some iron", and Kevin went for a swim. Dean asked Castiel what he wanted to start off with, and Castiel shrugged.

"Whatever you would like to play, Dean. I don't really care much for sports."

"How about basketball? The rules are pretty straight forward, and it's easy enough."

"Sure, why not."

After Dean explained the rules to Castiel, he got a ball from the front desk and they headed into the gym to play a game of one on one. Dean was a bit rusty, but after a few warm up shots, he was feeling good. Things weren't going as well for Castiel, however. In the ten practice shots he had tried, he hadn't made a single one. Dean stepped behind him and grabbed his wrist, guiding his hand into a proper layup and explaining the importance of the movement. Castiel tried again, this time making the shot.

"Good one, Cas! See, I told you it was all in the wrist!"

Castiel smiled, dribbling the ball away. Now the game began in earnest. For a while, Dean was quite a few points in the lead. He would snatch the ball from Castiel the moment that he got the opportunity, and he would throw it into the basket with ease. But soon Castiel learned how to defend himself better and he was making several shots. They were getting to be neck and neck, and the game was getting heated. Castiel wasn't particularly competitive, but he wanted to see Dean's jealous expression when he won, and that drove him into serious gameplay.

Castiel was up in Dean's face, waving his arms to block the ball's path to the basket. Dean tried to get past him, but Castiel moved with him. It didn't take long for Dean to get fed up and as he tried to push past Castiel, he ended up knocking his friend down and tripping in the process. He landed with a dull thud on top of Castiel; they were a tangle of arms and legs. Both of them were sweaty and panting heavily. Dean's eyes came to meet Castiel's, and for a second, his heart came to a halt in his chest. He scrambled to his feet before offering his hand to Castiel to help him up. He looked away, embarrassed, and apologized for knocking Cas down.

"It's… It's fine," Castiel muttered quietly, his cheeks blazing.

"Hey, Winchester! Novak! It's time to shower up! We're leaving in twenty!" Dustin called, poking his head into the gym. Castiel nodded while Dean waved him off.

"We best, uh, head to the locker room then," Castiel said.

"Yeah, right, right," Dean agreed.

They avoided eye contact as they walked to the locker room, and they chose shower stalls on opposite ends of the room. Dean showered quickly, hoping he could get dried off, dressed, and back into the van before Castiel left his stall. He had just pulled on his shorts when Castiel wandered in with only a towel around his waist. Castiel's stomach was surprisingly toned, with a light track of hair that started at his belly button and disappeared into his towel. Dean's heart shuddered to a stop again before running in double time. He didn't realize he was staring until Castiel cleared his throat. Dean turned around to pull on his shoes and hide his now flaming face. Did it just become suddenly hot in here, Dean thought to himself.

Much to Dustin's surprise, Castiel and Dean were the last to arrive. They sat with Kim between them on the ride home, still avoiding each other's eyes. When Kim asked Dean what was the matter, he said it was nothing with blushing cheeks. She turned to ask Castiel what had happened, but he shook his head, his cheeks red as well.

Whatever had transpired, Kim figured it had changed something between the two men. Perhaps they were finally willing to admit the lingering glances and blatant stares were due to more than curiosity?