The Year of Redemption

Chapter 18: Standing In Front Of You

"I win!" Dean exclaimed proudly, reaching the clearing and running straight into the shallow river. Amazingly, he had made it all the way to the bottom of the mountain without tripping, falling, or dying.

Castiel stopped at the edge of the river, panting. He eyed Dean curiously. "Congratulations," he muttered, still out of breath.

"Come on, the water won't bite!" Dean motioned for Cas to join him in the river.

Castiel widened his eyes. Dean had definitely lost it, he decided. "I don't think so," he responded definitively.

Dean walked over and bent down, barely touching the surface of the water. He came back up quickly, splashing a handful of water straight at Cas.

"Dean! My trench coat!" the angel yelled reproachfully.

Dean rolled his eyes. He strode out of the water and stood in front of Cas. "No problem," he said, and grabbed the front edges of Castiel's coat, swiftly removing it and letting it drop to the ground. In the same motion, Dean grabbed Cas's hand and yanked him towards the water.

Surprised at the suddenness of Dean's unexpected actions, Cas had no time to mount a resistance, and he stumbled into the river, losing his balance and falling on his side completely into the water.

Castiel stood up and glared at Dean, who was still standing at the water's edge, laughing at the now-drenched angel. Castiel grabbed Dean and pulled him towards the river, causing the hunter to fall face-first into the water. Dean caught himself on his hands before his head became submerged in the river. Cas splashed Dean's face, attempting to get his whole head wet. Dean splashed back, which instigated an extreme splashing battle between the two, neither of them willing to let up.

Castiel, however, proved to be a very forceful and merciless splasher, and Dean eventually raised both of his hands, yelling, "Uncle! Uncle! I surrender, ok?" Cas stopped his relentless splashing and grinned victoriously.

By this time, they had waded into the middle of the river, which was about up to their waists. Dean walked closer to Cas and pointed to the edge of the river. "Look!" he exclaimed. Castiel immediately glanced to the side, and Dean shoved him backwards into the water. Cas came up spluttering. "Gotcha!" Dean shouted, jumping backwards.

Suddenly, Cas was in front of Dean. He had a serious look on his face. "Remember when you almost chopped that tree down on yourself?" he asked.

"What?" Dean replied, confused and taken off guard by the random comment.

Castiel jumped out of the water and pushed down hard on Dean's shoulders, submerging him under the water. He let go, and Dean burst above the surface, spitting droplets out of his mouth. "You were an idiot then too," Cas said, earning him another forceful shove from Dean.

"You're an asshole," Dean said, smiling. He waded out of the river and started wringing his wet shirt.

Castiel smirked. "Likewise." He followed Dean out of the river and removed his wet tie, squeezing the water out of it, then draping it over his shoulder.

Dean picked up his backpacks and started wandering upstream, giving Cas another glare over his shoulder. Castiel picked up his trench coat and the other bags, then followed Dean along the river, their wet shoes squishing loudly with every step they took.

After a while, they came to another calm stretch of the river. Dean put down his backpack and unzipped it. "I thought I saw a fishing pole in here somewhere..." he muttered to himself. "Aha!" He extracted the parts for two fishing poles and a container of lures from the pack. He assembled one and handed it to Cas, then put the other together and began stringing line through its eyelets. "Here, like this," he said, demonstrating how he flipped the bail on the reel and pulled the line out to string it through the holes.