Part Three B
Dean and Cas walked into their morning group session determined to ignore the looks and whispers. Dean noticed how the angel tensed when all eyes turned their way. He shifted closer to his friend and laid a supportive hand on the shorter man's lower back. Cas leaned into the support.
Dean sent a glare out to the assembled group. Seriously, what was this, high school?
Hannah walked in and offered Dean the sappiest, most pitiful smile he'd ever seen, then turned her gaze on Cas. Dean frowned when her eyes turned hard. Who the hell did she think she was?
Dean led Cas over to two empty seats Alec and Jack seemed to be saving for them. Acting on impulse and wanting to give those gossips something to think about, he leaned over and pressed an innocent peck on his angel's lips before taking his seat.
Cas glanced down at him, shock and confusion evident on his face, before taking the seat next to the hunter. Dean reached over and squeezed his friend's thigh then left his hand there. Maybe it was a little pathetic, but he felt better just touching Cas, he felt... grounded; and at least in public like this, he could pass it off as putting on an act. Cas slowly moved his own hand over the taller man's. When Dean felt the angel's grip, he turned his hand and intertwined their fingers. Apparently his angel could play a part as well.
Then it dawned on him; Dean was holding hands with another man. If Sam ever found out about this he'd never hear the end of it. He forcefully shoved all those thoughts to the back of his mind so he could just... enjoy the moment before the psycho opened her mouth and ruined it.
Hannah glanced around the room before greeting them. Her sickly sweet smile was out in full force.
"Good morning! I hope you all are still enjoying your stay. Today's topic is going to be a little... deeper, possibly even hard for some of you to discuss. No one will think less of you if you feel the need to leave the room," she told the group. Well, if that wasn't ominous.
"So many relationships fail due to fear; fear of commitment, fear of rejection," Dean felt Cas's grip tighten on his hand, "fear of loss. One partner, unable to be honest with the other, unable to deal with some irrational fear, will pull back and end a relationship that could have been saved if only the partner had been honest and open. That being said, we will be discussing our fears this morning. Hopefully, some of you will realize that you are not alone in your worries, that others have the same concerns."
"Now, we will start with Mike and Tom and work our way around. Mike, I want you to share a fear you have with the group."
Mike gave a dramatic sigh before addressing the assembled couples.
"I guess my biggest fear is boredom. I'm worried that one day I'll just wake up and... be living this ordinary, boring life. That thought scares the shit out of me."
"Very honest. Thank you, Mike. Tom? What about your fears?" Tom fidgeted for a second before starting his spiel.
"I'm afraid that the day will come when I'm not enough for Mike any more... I worry about the day when he's finally had enough and leaves," Tom told the group quietly. Dean watched Mike give his partner a surprised look.
"Thank you, Tom. We can discuss these fears later in depth," Hannah offered. "Lauren, why don't you go next?"
Lauren shifted in her seat. Dean thought she looked uncomfortable.
"I'm afraid... do I really have to do this?"
"No one is forcing you, Lauren. I think being honest with Allie about your fears is important, but I'm certainly not going to force you to say anything here in front of everyone," Hannah told the irate woman.
"I'm afraid I'm never going to be enough for Allie," Lauren blurted out and, seriously? If Dean had just been given an out like that, he'd take it! In fact, he was seriously thinking about using that out himself. Because there was no way he was answering this honestly. It would go over so well for him to say something like well, see, I'm afraid of Cas finding out I might actually love the winged wonder over there who definitely doesn't return my feelings. Yeah, not happening. Dean realized he'd missed Hannah's response and Allies fear when he heard Jack's voice rolling over the subdued group.
Dean listened to Jack tell the group about his fear of losing Alec, and, yeah, Dean could really understand that. Alec went on to explain about his fear that Jack was going to wake up one day and realize that being with him was not what he wanted, that he knew how much Jack wanted a family and how that was something he obviously couldn't give him.
While Alec's voice rolled over them, Dean felt Cas tensing up beside him. He glanced over at his friend and was shocked at the naked hurt he found in Cas's eyes. He offered the angel a comforting squeeze and was a little hurt when the angel pulled his hand away. What the hell?
"Cas? Perhaps you'd like to go next?" Hannah asked. His angel cleared his throat.
"I... I'm afraid of being powerless," Cas told her.
"I'm sure you are," she replied, shooting Dean a glare, and how was that fair? He thought he was supposed to be the victim here. Wasn't Cas the cheating bastard? Cas scoffed, drawing Dean's attention back to him.
"And I fear well-meaning idiots sticking their noses in where they don't belong," he added with a hostile glare. Dean fought his smirk. When did Cas grow a pair?
Hannah looked taken back by Cas's words. The whole room felt tense.
"Dean? What about you?" Dean looked Hannah right in the eye before answering.
"I'm deathly afraid of chick-flicks," he deadpanned. Cas snorted next to him as the room burst into laughter. Immediately, the place felt lighter. Cas reached over and took his hand again, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"Very amusing," Hannah muttered before turning her attention to the last couple. Fine, if she didn't want to know what he was afraid of, so be it. Easier on him, that way.
Sarah gave some sanctimonious answer about fearing wrong choices or some shit and Anne responded with a fear of bigots. Dean didn't hold out much hope for that relationship.
"Well, thank you all for being honest this morning. Overcoming these fears is an integral part of making your relationship work. We can discuss these fears more in depth at our private sessions. I will see all of you later," Hannah told them with another of her sickly fake smiles.
Jack leaned over when Hannah left the room.
"Nice one, Dean," he told him with a genuine smile.
"She was getting on my nerves," he replied.
"You and me both. You guys wanna go for a walk before lunch?"
"I think fresh air would be nice," Cas answered for them, relief evident in his voice.
The four friends made their way out of the large house and into the vibrant sunlight. Dean took a deep breath and let some of the stress and worry he was feeling melt away.
They walked around the lush grounds, staying far from the woods because Dean really didn't want to deal with wannabe hellhounds right now, and talked about aimless things. Cas and Alec got into a friendly argument about Dante's accuracy and Jack and Dean rolled their eyes and shared commiserating smiles. There was a peace about the morning that Dean couldn't remember feeling in a long time. He could almost forget for a few minutes that he was in the middle of a case and that all of this was one big scam.
As they were rounding the last bend that would bring them right back up to the main house, Jack fell back slightly, allowing Cas and Alec, who were now discussing Galileo's writings, to walk on ahead. The dark hailed man motioned with his head for Dean to walk beside him. The hunter mentally shrugged and fell into step with the other man.
"You guys okay?" he asked. Dean thought about that question.
"Yeah. We're good," he answered, wishing he really meant those words. Maybe he and Cas were a little off right now, but they could fix that, right?
"Good. I was hoping you weren't gonna let Hannah get away with that shit." Dean smirked.
"I'm half tempted to just skip the next session. Does she seriously have a degree in this crap?" Dean asked.
"Well, I heard she wasn't actually licensed any more. Apparently, she and her hubby hit a rough spot a few years ago. A bunch of miscarriages that led to an affair that led to divorce. She supposedly went off the deep end, ended up depressed and addicted to pain pills. She lost her license to practice so she turned her money and time into this place. I guess she wanted to help other couples from going down a similar path. If you ask me, she's still riding the crazy train," Jack told him.
Dean was still processing all of what Jack had just said when they reached the main house. It was nearly lunchtime so they decided to go ahead and head for the dining area.
Dean really wanted to talk to Sam about what Jack had just told him. If Hannah was as unhinged as the rumors made her out to be, then maybe they had their first suspect. He made a mental note to call Sam as soon as he had a minute alone.
He and Cas chose once again to sit with Jack and Alec and by now Dean figured it was a habit, because, really? Were there any other people here he'd want to spend a considerable amount of time with?
Lunch was an assortment of pastas and other Italian dishes. When Cas came back to the table with a plate full of spaghetti, Dean couldn't help but make a Lady and the Tramp joke. Which of course led to Jack telling them exactly which man would star as the lady and which man fit the profile of the tramp. The situation further escalated when Alec burst out into a horrid rendition of "Bella Notte". Cas's confused face only made Dean laugh harder.
"Seriously, you never watched that movie as a kid?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Hey, back off, he, uh, had pretty strict parents. He didn't really get to watch TV or go to the movies," Dean told them when he recognized Cas's embarrassed expression.
"Hey, that's cool, man. I didn't mean to offend. It's not a big deal," Jack was quick to assure the pair. Dean offered him a smile in thanks.
"So, Alec and I were talking this morning about skipping the big group dinner. There are grills on the back decks of the cabins and we ran out and bought a few things last night that we could cook on them. We also picked up some more beer. You guys wanna ditch the uncomfortable staring and join us?" Jack asked, changing the subject.
Dean glanced at Cas to see what the other man thought. Sure, they could probably do more research, but really, they were kinda limited in that capacity while stuck here playing their parts. A little fun wouldn't kill them, right? The angel just shrugged so Dean took that to mean he didn't mind the break.
"Sure. That sounds awesome. What time?" Dean answered.
"How about seven?" Alec suggested.
"Sure! We'll be there," Dean told him before turning back to the pizza on his plate. Granted, it was probably the fanciest pizza he'd ever had, but it tasted good, so he wasn't going to complain.
After lunch, Dean and Cas said goodbye to the other couple so Jack and Alec could head off for their own one on one session. Cas glanced over at his companion. This morning had been very... stressful and confusing. Dean was not acting like he expected and it threw Castiel a bit. He was almost afraid he had offended his friend this morning, but he'd only been trying to help. He knew Dean held no affinity for speaking about emotions and feelings and he had been trying to save his friend from having to go through with that. Perhaps he'd miscalculated.
He had greatly enjoyed their encounter the night before, but it had brought up feelings and thoughts he wasn't accustomed to and didn't know how to deal with. He'd been sure of one thing, though. He'd been sure Dean didn't reciprocate those feelings. His friend might be curious, but that was as far as the hunter would go. The taller man had a great appreciation for the female form and Castiel was pretty sure he still harbored a secret desire for the "apple pie life" as Sam like to call it, or at least some close proximity of it, complete with wife and child. The angel really wasn't sure what he could offer Dean that the hunter would want, aside from sexual release while they were stuck in the middle of this case.
He needed a bit of space. Being so close to Dean all the time was... confusing. Everything about this place was confusing and he would very much like a few moments of peace to settle his frantic thought and emotions. Last night had given him a lot to think about. Making up his mind, he turned to his friend.
"I think I will go for a walk. I noticed on a few symbols around the grounds that I don't believe were here when we first arrived and I'd like to take a closer look," he told the hunter. Dean just shrugged.
"Okay. No problem. We don't really have anywhere we need to be. Lead the way." Castiel felt irritation well up inside of him.
"Actually, I thought I would go alone. Perhaps you should find Sam and tell him what we learned about Hannah this morning. I believe that is something to be looked into," he told the taller man, trying to keep his irritation out of his tone. Dean face was a mixture of confusion and something the angel couldn't identify.
"Um, okay, sure. I'll meet you back at the cabin later then?"
Castiel nodded before turning and walking away briskly. He decided to head for the tree line directly behind the main house first. He really had no desire to venture too deep into the woods alone without either Dean or Sam for protection. He hadn't been lying earlier when he said he feared being powerless. It was one of the worst fates he could imagine.
He entered the forest, staying as close to the edge as possible. He carefully looked at each symbol, trying to remember, without access to his grace, the intricate symbols engraved into the trees. His mind was occupied when a low moaning sound caught his attention.
He froze by the tree he was currently examining and listened carefully. He could barely make out a low grunting sound interspersed with gasps. It sounded like someone was in trouble, perhaps fighting or wrestling with something. He was reminded of his earlier encounter with the dog-like creatures.
Cas hurried through the wood line towards the sound, being as silent as possible and only hoping that whatever he found he would be able to handle in his weak human state.
He stumbled around another large fir and froze at the sight that met him.
Mike, the one resident that he could barely stand, was leaning back against a large pine tree, penis out and very erect. His hand was wrapped around his manhood and he moved it harshly up and down, breaths coming out in harsh pants as he stared intently at something that was out of Castiel's sight.
Cas started to move back, sure that this was something private he should not intrude upon when his foot hit a branch. The loud crack caused Mike to whip his head around. Wide, shocked eyes met Cas's. The angel was trying to come up with a suitable apology when the other man's face broke out into a dirty smile.
"Well, well, well… Cas, right? Hope you don't mind. Couldn't resist, I can see why you go for a little side action with him. Well, come on, grab a seat, enjoy the show," Mike told him, hand resuming it's movement over his penis.
Cas froze, not sure what he was supposed to do in this instance.
"What show?" he finally asked, curious as to what held the other man's rapt attention.
"I always had a fantasy about the plumber… this is pretty damn close," Mike told him, nodding to something that Cas still could not see.
Cas took a step closer and peered around the large tree that had been blocking his view. From his new vantage point, he could see the large house that held the group meeting room and the dining hall. There on the back porch, wielding a hammer and a few pieces of wood, was Sam.
"Does he know you are watching him?" Cas asked incredulously on behalf of his friend.
"Hell no. Awww... are you getting all jealous?" Mike asked with a sneer. Castiel chose to ignore that absurd question.
"Does your… partner, Tom, know you are watching him?" Cas couldn't help but ask.
"Does it matter? A little voyeurism never hurt anyone," he explained, voice starting to sound wrecked as his hand sped up. "Besides, you getting upset about this is like the pot calling the kettle black."
"You're disgusting," Castiel all but spit out, quickly losing his temper with the vulgar man.
Mike turned to look at him once more. He gave the angel a knowing smirk.
"Hmmm... You're a little firecracker. Oh, wait, I get it… you're getting all hot and bothered and now you're gonna run back to the big man to make it all better? You're so cute."
Cas frowned at that and turned, quickly making his way back the way he came. As he rounded a corner in the wood line, he heard Mike call out an expletive and a loud moan. A shiver ran down his back at that, and not in a good way.