abraxaslogs | (open) ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʀᴜɴɴɪɴɢ ʙʟɪɴᴅ

Um. Bathing, I'd hoped?

[ A beat as the water sloshes around Jo when her arms rush to wrap over her chest. An old man bumps into him, in all his nude glory, to shuffle out of the pool, and it all clicks. ]

Oh—

[ Everyone's naked, huh? Including Jo, and Cas jerks his head up, eye line now somewhere 5ish inches above Jo's hair. ]

Is disrobing a non-negotiable requirement?

[ Not that Cas feels any level of embarrassment, it's hard to with a body that isn't really yours and has no reflection on your actual being. But it's just a hassle, you know? Getting dressed, getting undressed, washing your clothes separated when you could just do all of it at once. ]

Not terribly efficient.

Uhhhhh, yeah.

[ The word snaps, even as Jo does a sharp and level best of continuing to stare at Cas, and only Cas, absolutely not looking at the guy's ass who nearly walks into him. Or his back. Or the fact. Yeah. Yeah. Walking covers nothing around here, and Jo's mouth might be turning an unpleased line again. And she'd been so close to relaxing. Instead, hackles follow on that first snap. ]

You are not getting in here like that.

[ Jo's not sure she wants him in here at all, but she doesn't get to dictate this weirdo werewolf bath house thing. One arm stays covering her, how ineffectual as the whole thing feels, given what her arm can and can't cover, given what the water probably doesn't at all, aside from some bare froth here and there caused by the steam. She points awkwardly. ]

Go rinse off over there, like every other sane, rational person.

Edited 2022-12-05 00:55 (UTC)

[ He is not getting in here like that. A younger Cas wouldn't have qualms arguing with her, or completely ignoring the command, but this one's more interested in social harmony. In some form of peace and perhaps even trust with Jo, though that's clearly a long road.

Shoulders slumping in what might be called petulance, Cas stalks off towards the showers Jo directs him to. The rinse isn't a bad idea, and Cas might've taken advantage of it, if he'd bothered looking around first. His clothes do come with him into the shower (not planning to leave without them washed off), and find a place to dry while he heads back to the pool, appropriately bare assed now.

There isn't a concerted effort to sit next to or even nearby Jo when he returns, nor is there much option otherwise. The hot spring is a popular destination, and the patrons that watched him almost bring monster guts into the pool with them aren't keen to have him in their water.

With an apologetic awkwardness, the angel eases into the steamy bath with at least a few feet from her. ]

The effects are more enjoyable this way, I suppose.

[ Jo watches him turn to go, a little exasperated, but most of it evaporates as his shoulders just slump and she wants to shake her head. She knows, personally, and from others, and from just being around him in short jags that he takes a lot of things far more literally than everyone else.

But it shouldn't be that hard not to drag monster entrails into bathing house water, right?

Call it complicated loyalty, but Jo glares daggers at the people that squirm further down the wall to get away from Cas—newly not guts covered and without clothes, with involves some mental-visual jumping jacks to stare across/past him without looking at him as he's getting in. He's family. She can yell at him for being an idiot. Other idiots being idiots, especially when he's following the orders, can fuck the fuck right off.

It's not exactly comfortable, but she's not about to shift away even an inch after watching the idiots and knowing he saw them just as clearly as her. ]

That's supposed to be the point. Even if the whole communal thing is a bit weird.

But you try to relax and ignore that. [ Jo might not be doing a good job of either of those, as she's still making a point of making direct, unwavering eye contact with anyone whispering and looking this way. ]

[ Cas doesn't miss Jo's evil-eyeing of their judgmental, temporary co-habitants, nor does he miss the way they squirm under the gaze.

so intimidating is her stare that several of the other spa patrons decide they've soaked long enough and it's time to get on with their vacation, grabbing at nearby towels and scurrying out of the water.

while part of him feels bad for ruining their hot spring night, the rest is touched that jo, who hardly has much reason to be fond of him, would come to his defense in such a way. a soft smile touches his lips, as retreating strangers send the water sloshing. ]

You are truly a force to be reckoned with, Jo Harvelle.

[ but they'd already known that, back home. there was never doubt in his mind about either of the Harvelle women, even for how briefly he knew them.

He sinks back, against the wall, glancing at Jo from the corner of his eye and trying to mimic however she's managed find her chill in this place. ultimately, not the most successful. ]

Relaxing never was a talent of mine. Any tips?

[ Jo doesn't have any sympathy for the people who've first moved away, and some of who are now abandoning the hot springs. Good riddance to bad rubbish. There's an odd twitch to her mouth at the words Cas chooses. As though glaring at someone is a genuine threat. It was something her mother used to scare people off with. A lot of them because they knew she could back it up by kicking them out or just by the sentiment of her own skill.

As if those thoughts never circled her ankle or neck like a chain
under the hot, rippling water, Jo said in a self-satisfied way. ]

And don't you forget it.

[ As to the rest, Jo cracks an eyelid, with mentally crossed fingers that he's at least stayed in the same place and she's not about to end up with more in her vision than is necessary. But he's still sitting there in the water. But. That's. Well, that's all he's doing, too. Sitting there ramrod straight, like this happens to be a different kind of chair with water. ]

Maybe close your eyes? Or sink in a little further, and let it get over your shoulders.

[ It's weird, but thinking about what brings her to a question, and it's weird. Because it's not exactly things they'd ever been near each other enough to talk about back home, and it edges things she still finds not exactly right. ]

[ as instructed, cas sinks down a little further, lets it get over his shoulders, and the warmth seeps into the tension in his arms and neck. funny, these things he usually electively ignores in his vessel, but there's something to be sad for a relief of physical ailments.

unbidden, a sigh slips from him, chest deflating and eyes lightly closing. never let it be said that cas isn't great at following instructions to a T. his limbs turn into noodles, weightless and drifting side to side with the water. ]

I'm beginning to see the appeal.

[ it's spoken half through bubbles as he slips into a slump in his seat, speaking to jo with heavily lidded eyes that don't track her next to him. ]

It's unfortunately Hunters don't regularly have access to such means of relaxation, considering the higher risk for muscle injury and tension.

[ Jo cracks her eyes open again at the sigh. A pale fringe of lashes, still mostly touching, her head hooked barely back against the edge of the pool, trying for all the world not to be insanely self-conscious even as she has to appreciate that this time he's actually starting to get it right.

She'll try not to laugh at the fact he looks like he's turning to putty. ]

Pretty sure they still got bathtubs wherever in the future.

Admittedly not as great as this. I like that this water doesn't seem to get cold ever.

Mh. [ is the distant, lazy agreement of appreciation for the ever warm spring. steam soaks into his cheeks, castiel's skin flushed and feeling delightfully at ease. ] Somehow, I imagine this greatly surpasses the economy sized, grime stained bath tubs in the Motel 6.

[ he imagines they'd fair much better with customer satisfaction if their baths were anything like this. perhaps that should be submitted on their customer comment cards. if cas remembers how to think again after this wonderful, foggy, mushy-brained feeling, maybe he'll do something about that. ]

I enjoy the size. It accommodates the need to stretch out. Not so tightly confined. [ as he mentions it, cas stretches out his limbs, pushing his feet out far and arching his spine as his arms do the same. unconsciously, he bumps one of Jo's hands with his, but isn't alarmed by it, just allows the brush mindlessly and lets his arms fall limp again at his sides. he settles back against the rocky wall behind them, as if it's the only thing holding him up at this point. ]

[ Jo briefly tenses up at the contact, but Castiel is literally the last person she thinks would be making a move in the middle of a hot spring he's only just beginning to understand. If anything, it's an extension of his jelly-fishing under the water. His body succumbed to the siren song of the piping hot water just like every other body already in here. She decides not to move. ]

Fair. Tiny bathtubs do kind of suck.

And you never know what's been done in a hotel bathtub before you get there.

[ There's not enough bleach in the world (or personal belief anyone charging that low a room cost is washing one that close between each set of people) to make her take a bath in one for anything more than the necessity of self-triage. ]

[ it is the jelly-fishing rather than move making. Cas living that relaxation life, committing fully, as he’s won’t to. ]

Ah, yes, of course. A motel bathroom in Wichita, Texas had clearly contained recently deceased corpses.

[ in case you needed some extra relaxing hot springs conversation, Castiel is here to deliver. ]

Either the murderer or cleaning staff washed it liberally with ammonia, but they missed the crevice between the tub and tile.

[ good ol’ angel super nose, here to tell you when you’re bathing with dead people particles. ]

[ Jo's eyebrows went up and combined into a crinkle of ludicrousness before her eyes opened, even as they each happened in circuit order. The last only opened back to two-thirds of the way, like she had to see if he was being serious right there. With that.

But he's still lying out in the water. Body-shaped blob, she was still doing her best not to look at so closely as the water made it far too easy to do from this close. The WTF of his mouth made it easy to stay on his face, beleaguered rejection of his necessity to throw things like that randomly out of his mouth.

Perhaps it was doubly good the people had all left. ]

Seriously?

Edited 2023-03-27 01:49 (UTC)

Yes?

[ Cas answers with dubious confidence. he blinks, then levers himself up from the water a bit to look over the jo. no eyes drifting south, just finding her face with knit brows. ]

Why would I lie about motel murders?

[ it does, after a beat, occur to him that bathtub corpses are not the most relaxing topic, and now that he's sat himself up, the spirit of refreshment and rejuvenation has left him. ah. ]

Did I ruin the relaxation?

[ The guy's—angel's—face is a problem.
From murder and body ditching to stricken concern. ]

You're kind of hopeless, you know?

[ She says it light, no judgement, letting her eyes close and leave the puppy face of sudden confusion behind her eyelids. ] No, body disposal is not usually the kind of thing you discuss in mixed company with normal people like it's normal.

[ Which isn't saying it's not normal,
but she grew up in a bar with nothing off-limits.
Who still didn't talk about this with them inside it. ]

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