Meri was pissed. Dean noticed she had an argument with Hannah, but Meri wouldn't talk about it, not that Dean pressed the issue as he didn't want to seem too suspicious. Maybe it had nothing to do with why he and Cas were there, but Dean still doubted it as he overheard Hannah mention Gabby. He really needed to learn what the fight was about. Maybe he could talk to Leyla?

He shared his observations with Cas, who nodded and asked Dean what he planned to do. The hunter would normally either flash a badge or flirt with the 'witness', but since he couldn't do either here (he didn't have any badges lying around, and he was supposedly happily married) (to Cas!), maybe a more friendly approach would be better?

"I can talk to Meri, she seems to like me," Cas offered and no, Dean did not feel a slight pang of jealousy. There was nothing to be jealous about anyway, not like Mer could take Cas and run off with him or anything. He was here with Dean.

"Alright, I'll talk to Leyla then. She doesn't seem to be opposed to some friendly flirting. She kind of reminds me of Pamela actually, just a blond version of her." It registered a little too late, the name Dean so casually dropped. Cas ducked his head, sadness flashing in his eyes before they lowered to the table before them. Fuck, Dean just can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth.

And he really wanted to say something, to comfort Cas, and to tell him it was okay, but he didn't get a chance to since Meri just finished serving the last person and Cas abruptly stood to go talk to her. With a deep sigh, Dean shoved the last bite of his breakfast in his mouth and quickly chewed it before heading towards the kitchen area to find Leyla.

In the end, neither of them had much success. Leyla was all for some friendly flirting, though for some reason it made Dean blush like a freaking virgin and stammer through his conversation. Leyla seemed to be unhappy with her employment, but that was something normal - what worker was 100% happy with their boss and according to Cas, Mer was the same - she only mentioned something about the job conditions in general.

Fuck, what was Gabriel thinking dragging all these people here and making them work here? Dean could only hope they managed to come up with something to break free of this illusion or to at least reveal Gabriel so that he could punch the living daylights out of him.

Hannah was running a little late for today's challenge, so they spent their time swimming a little. Cas was getting pretty good at it and Dean was really proud. All the smiles the angels gave him whenever he praised him made Dean want to kiss him badly. Kiss him and hold him and just be close with him. It was something Dean wanted for a long time, but spending this much time with him, it made everything more intense somehow.

Which made the challenge a little bit awkward.

Dean, Brandon and Earl were standing in a line while Rosemary, Eve and Cas had their backs turned to them and in the process of being blindfolded. As Hannah explained it, the couples should be well versed and in tune with their partners and should be able to recognize their body easily.

They were going to be timed and they would have to touch-discover which person was their partner. Cas and the girls were warned not to grope the guys and refrain from any inappropriate conduct.

Rosemary was the first to stumble towards them, her hands extended as she tried to reach any of them. Brandon was in the middle, Dean on his left and Earl to his right. It should be relatively easy to figure out which one was Earl, as the man was a little short and had a little extra on the side. Rosemary touched Brandon's forearm and immediately knew he wasn't her husband. Luckily, she chose to move to her left and found Earl in a matter of seconds.

Eve was next. They shuffled them up so that Dean was in the middle now, Earl to his right and Brandon to his left. Eve managed to stumble upon Earl first and twisted her face in disgust as her hand brushed over his waist. She quickly moved on, but unfortunately, Dean was next.

Her hands slipped from his shoulders, down his forearms and then up to his chest, making him shudder unpleasantly. Normally, he would be all up for little playing, but this was just too awkward. Worst thing was that he and Brandon were similarly built and she really couldn't figure out Dean wasn't her husband. She huffed and puffed in annoyance when she lost and all Dean could do was offer an apologetic smile.

They got shuffled up again, Earl in the middle, Dean to his right and Brandon to his left. Cas took a step forward and stopped for a moment, almost as if he was listening in. But no one was allowed to make a sound so there was no way he could identify Dean like that. He moved forward again, some cosmic force steering him in Dean's direction.

Dean gasped, his heart hammering wildly as Cas' hand made contact with his chest. It was an electrifying feeling and all Dean could do was stare at the angel with wide eyes. He barely managed to suppress a very pleasant shiver, tingles erupting and spreading through his entire body as Cas' hand slowly moved across his chest and his collarbone to the top of his shoulder. From there it slipped lower and paused at the very spot the angel' imprint used to be. Cas leaned in, his breath ghosting over Dean's cheek, personal space be damned. And then he whispered just one word. "Dean…"

Dean blinked when Hannah squealed and pronounced that Cas guessed correctly and that they won. He felt a little dizzy, like he just came out of a trance, but Cas was right there, pulling off the blindfold and giving him this happy, gummy smile and Dean?

Dean was so screwed.

A/N: Just a little heads up, I might miss another week with updating this story. I am currently working on a project that is time sensitive and I really need to focus on that. But don't worry, I'll be back before you know it.