Chapter 5

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"There are fish around your fingers," Dean whispered softly, watching Castiel's fingers as they grazed through the water as the boat slowly pulled along. Three silver fish darted alongside the appendages, often bumping them with their mouths and nibbling at the tips before swimming around each other. Castiel had a small smile on his face, the first that Dean had ever seen, and he could almost forget the threat of the guards that watched them carefully from their spot on the boat as he let his hands rest on the edge of the wood, keeping a hand on Castiel so he did not lean too far and fall in.


The other soldiers were asleep, having fallen one by one to the effects of traveling for several days on very little food and water. At first, Dean had slept as well, but only for thirty minutes at the most before he woke to the feeling of the boat shifting, and finding that the guards were getting too close for comfort, keeping him awake despite his efforts.


"Are they pretty?" Castiel asked, drawing Dean from his thoughts as he looked back down at the tiny fish thoughtfully. They weren't particularly eye-catching to him, but they did have a gracefulness about them that he had to appreciate as they moved through Castiel's fingers as if they knew every move he was attempting to make.


"Yeah, I would say they are," Dean replied softly, his skin tingling with the sense of danger when he saw one of the guards move closer, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was listening in on what they had to say. Dean shot him a glare, but the man only seemed amused by it. However, Castiel didn't even seem to notice, tipping his head with that ever present smile.


"The water feels nice," Castiel mumbled, taking his hand from the water momentarily and drawing a random pattern on the back of Dean's hand with it gently before returning his fingers to where they were. It managed to gain back Dean's attention, and he looked at the soft pattern that destroyed the dirt in its path, leaving little patches of clean skin in a sort of round shape with stripes through it, though Dean didn't really comment on the soldier's art skills.


"It does," Dean replied, letting his own hand reach out and touch the water for a moment, watching the ripples interact with the movement of the boat, "Would be nice to go for a swim, wouldn't it?"


Castiel let out a soft chuckle, his fingers stilling and just dragging in the water with the movements of the boat, "Yeah. A swim sounds amazing," He mumbled before the smile disappeared and he pulled his hand from the water, "How is your back?"


Dean rolled his shoulders at the question, feeling the soreness of the continuous beatings beginning to take a toll on his muscles, "It hurts like a bitch, but it's nothing I can't handle," Dean stated softly, glancing to the eavesdropping guard with a pointed look before turning back to the water, the fish dancing around his fingers now that Castiel's was no longer there.


Castiel was silent for a few moments, fiddling with the fabric on his thigh before sighing in regret, "I'm sorry," He whispered, his frown deepening as his head tipped in an almost child-like way, "It's my fault that you are hurt."


Dean sighed and removed his hand from the water, the coolness fading quickly under the warmth of the fading sun as he ran what little moisture was left on his fingertips over the back of his neck, "Cas, how could it possibly be anyone's fault other than them?" Dean asked, his eyes darting over the guard watching with a slight scowl on his face at the man's grin.

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