Waking up snuggled against Cas' chest was the best damn feeling in the world and Dean felt a slight ache in his heart, because he could not enjoy it. It would be too awkward and Dean reluctantly started to pull away, freezing the moment Cas stirred. He waited for a few seconds for the angel to settle back into sleep and then slipped out of the bed as fast as he could. Heart hammering in his chest, Dean practically ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
The sound probably woke the angel and that notion made the ache intensify, Dean felt overwhelmed. God, why did he have to be so stupid, why did he put himself into these kinds of situations? He needed to stop doing this to himself, stop thinking about Cas in such a way. So Dean did what he did best. He compartmentalized.
He shoved all those thoughts, ideas and feelings into a box, wrapped it up with duct tape, put it in another box, chained that one up and put it in a metal trunk which he promptly locked and threw into the ocean. A figurative one, of course.
Focusing on their situation and how best to escape it, Dean took a perfunctory shower and got dressed (goddamn Hawaiian shirts), then stormed out of the bathroom. Cas was sitting on the bed, looking a little lost, and Dean looked him over, face impassive and told him he was hungry and that he was heading to the mess hall now, then stormed out.
He felt a little bad for not waiting on Cas and hoped the angel would figure out to come to the mess hall. Dean just couldn't stay in that cabin for a second more. Rosemary and Earl were there, and he waved at them before going to the display cases, not really feeling like socializing.
Meredith wasn't there this time. Dean was greeted by another woman, a brunette with glasses and a wide smile. Her tag said her name was Leyla.
"What's good this morning?" He asked, looking over the offered food.
"Well, you seem like the eggs and bacon guy, so if you want I can reheat that for you. Or, if you're willing to wait a minute or so, Mer will be right out with pancakes… We got fresh strawberries and whipped creaaaamm~ " Leyla's tone made Dean huff a smile, so he accepted. Meredith was excited to see him and very pleased he waited for her pancakes. But when she asked him about his husband, Dean felt an onslaught of emotions hit him, from guilt at leaving Cas behind to slight embarrassment and a little thrill at having been called Cas' husband.
So he took a plate for Cas too, hoping that the angel will show up soon. Not five minutes passed when Eve and Brandon stepped into the mess hall followed by Cas and Dean breathed a sigh of relief. He even smiled when Cas took a seat beside him, for which the angel gave him an odd, quizzical look. Yeah, Dean was probably giving him a whiplash with the sudden changes in his expressions and moods.
He felt like a jerk.
"Good morning everyone!" Hannah's annoyingly perky voice sounded, making them all look up at her. "I hope you're enjoying your stay and your breakfast. I just came to remind you that our first activity begins in an hour and that you are all expected at the beach in your swimsuits." She rushed the announcement, then turned around and left in a hurry.
She might have breakfast waiting for her, or she still needed to set everything up, but it still looked very suspicious to Dean. He wished he could follow her, but he had no valid reason to leave the room. Plus, the pancakes were delicious and he didn't really want to leave half a plate full.
Cas seemed to be enjoying them a lot, too.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, Dean and Cas, along with the other couples, were heading towards the beach. Dean was mumbling internally because, of course, Dixon had to be the kind of a guy that wore speedos and not swim trunks like regular men. Cassidy's suitcase contained bikinis, which was an obvious no, so Dean let Cas borrow Dixon's. He felt naked.
And he kept looking at Cas.
At his muscled thighs, and his flat stomach and those damn speedos that hid absolutely nothing. Heck, even Eve and Rosemary were throwing him not so subtle looks; it made Dean grit his teeth.
Hannah was waiting for them on the beach; Jin right next to her, trying to draw a net between two poles. She smiled widely, and waited till they were all gathered around before she spoke. "Alright boys and girls, we decided to take it easy on you with this first activity. Today we are going to have a volleyball day, first on the sand and later in the water. Now, I know this is a couples bonding exercise, but we decided to split the couples and see what happens when they have to compete against each other."
"We will be evaluating each and every one of you, add points and the person who wins gets a special prize this evening! Not to mention that the points will be added to your overall score for the grand prize!"
Points? What points? What grand prize? Wasn't this just a simple couple's resort? Dean was so confused, but he didn't have time to question any of this as Jin blew in his very loud whistle and started yelling, obviously playing the referee.
"Alright, we have Rosemary, Brandon and Dixon on the blue team and Eve, Cassidy and Earl on the red team. Players, get into positions, the game will begin in one minute!"
The game was a disaster. Dean and Brandon were pretty good players, so they covered for Rosemary's frightful mannerisms, but the other team… Eve was really competitive, so she started boasting and excessively cheering on and it all fell flat because Earl was too lazy and disinterested to even move and Cas… Cas had no idea what was happening.
Dean felt like shit, because it didn't even occur to him that Cas wouldn't know the basics of volleyball. The poor angel stood there, confused and when Even told him to move, he tried to hit the ball, often causing his team to lose a point. Eve was getting more and more frustrated with him and Earl, while Brandon just laughed at them and even started messing around a little.
It all culminated when Cas lost a point by actually catching the ball. Eve was fuming and when the next ball came their way, and it was obvious Cas was going to miss it, Even took a dive for it. She save it, but started yelling about how incompetent Cas was. It distracted him and Brandon used it to go in for the kill. He took an aggressive jump, moved his arm back and spiked the ball directly into Cas' face. The force of the hit sent the angel flying backwards and landing on the ground with a loud thud.
"Cas!" Dean was on him in an instant, hands on Cas' shoulders, his instincts going haywire. Cas had his hand over his face and he swayed a little, and when Dean made him pull the hand away, he saw Cas' nose was bleeding. The glare he threw at Brandon was intense enough to kill, and as much as he wanted to shout at him and beat him senseless, he refrained, focusing on Cas instead.
"Come on, let's get you checked up," Dean said through gritted teeth after Hannah freaked out, then told him to go to the med cabin and that she'll call Meredith to check on Cas. Apparently, the lunch lady was also a doctor and a nurse.
Considering how everyone was acting on this island, Dean liked Meredith enough to trust her when she said that nothing was broken and that Cas should just take it easy the rest of the day, and put some ice to reduce the possibility of swelling. She was very gentle and careful, expressing his disapproval of Brandon's behavior.
Feeling guilty, Dean stayed with Cas in their cabin for the remainder of the day, harassing Jin into fetching their meals for them and dotting on the angel in any way he could think of.