(Untitled)

[un_gloved]

Rogue had taken a lot of care in prepping for the day’s excursion. She’d had to find a new bathing suit, for starters, since her last good one had been stolen by a literal wave of bad luck. She’d packed a bag with water and sangria she’d left soaking for a whole day, two towels and a chewed up paperback edition of The Firm. Sarong firmly in place

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[weary_head]

He's been getting up for seven a.m. biology classes all school term long, and still the hour feels no less punishing, no less impossible for its earliness. Dean's had at least four cups of coffee, but it's not until his turn with Cori after class that he truly wakes up.

Between entertaining her and getting his chemistry homework done, washing and donning his scrubs for Clinic duty after, Dean's as awake as he's going to get. Now he's traipsing towards the beach, Cori on his back and so excited about the promise of sandcastles that he can feel her little feet drumming against him through the padding.

"Easy, kid," he murmurs, almost to the treeline when he sees them, three women laid out by the volleyball net. Time was, the sight would be all Dean needed to be happy in the world, but now he only lifts his hand in a wave, the smile on his lips more habit than anything until his eyes land on a hot pink bikini. Spandex is a stretchy material to be sure, but Dean's sure science would back him up if he described the pink fabric as straining now, only just managing to contain the ample bosom of one...Faye Valentine.

Dean jerks his eyes away, but it doesn't stop him walking face first into a tree.

[ooc: all three!]

[un_gloved]

Rogue lifted her head up, eyebrows raising. She'd seen the guy around, mostly at island parties. He was a looker and a half, but the little girl he was toting around was pure adorable. They made an interesting pair.

"Woops," she murmured, then curled up to sit with her elbows on her knees.

"Y'alright, sugar? Might wanna watch out there's a... tree... there."

[velation]

It's a pretty hefty task indeed, not to burst out laughing as soon as Dean runs into the tree. The best thing about sunglasses may very well be the fact that Faye can watch just about anything from behind that pair of shades, and with the sun like this, no one's any the wiser. She's not quite sure how to feel about the fact that he was immediately recognizable to her, that she could spot him through that walk alone, but that's a thought that she shakes off as she bites her lower lip, stifling a chuckle.

She takes her time in sitting up, but soon can't help herself; the shades come right off, one of the arms carefully positioned between her teeth as she gets a better look for injury. Of the ego or otherwise.

"Well, if it isn't Dean Winchester," she calls out, voice cloyingly sweet. "A little distracted today?"

[justsookie]

While it takes a few seconds to get over the shock of someone actually walking straight into a tree (it's the sort of thing you only expect to see on TV, really), as soon as Faye's teasing tone rings across, Sookie immediately gets to her feet. On her part, she's almost entirely focused on the little girl Dean's got on her back- Cori, if she remembers correctly- and quickly races over the beach, carefully until she's out of the other girls' way, then kicking up more sand as she picks up the pace.

"Fudge," she exclaims, eyes wide as she approaches, carefully pinning an arm so that her bikini top stays in place. "Dean, you okay there? And you, Cori? Gosh, that was a real... collision just now."

Her brow furrows once she's close, head tilting to check for any scrapes or loss of balance.

[weary_head]

Dean's heart climbs right into his throat, but already he can feel Cori's hands tapping at his shoulders, peals of laughter erupting from her now that the shock has passed.

"Again!" she calls, slapping at the back of Dean's head, which, frankly hurts enough.. Dean peels his palm from his eyebrow and stares blankly at the tiny splat of blood. It's only a scrape, he can tell already, but hell if he's going into the Clinic later if he has a concussion. Rollie will friggin' skin him either way.

"Uh, we're good," he says, letting Sookie lead him closer to the other women, his eyes now cast determinedly downward. "Cori keeps pulling on the straps," he adds, mumbling, "Makes me walk funny."

[un_gloved]

"Girls do figure out pretty quick how t'turn heads," Rogue said blithely, doing her damnedest to keep her grin a grin and not a laugh.

"One way or th'other. Looks like everyone here's all acquainted 'ceptin' myself- name's Rogue, sugar. Y'all two wanna take a load off?"

[velation]

The further Dean's gaze lowers, the more unabashedly Faye grins. If he thinks that he can climb out of the fire that simply, he has something else coming to him. Part of Faye is quietly pleased; although she understands- and respects, more importantly- the reasons behind Dean's melancholy as of late, she can't help thinking that this is the first real sign that he's given of noticing that she's a woman. (Maybe it's an exponential thing; the more attractive girls there are around, the more impossible it is to leave any of them behind.)

"Forehead's bleeding," she points out in an obvious tone of voice, before scooting back on her towel. "But yes, by all means. Stop and chat a while."

[justsookie]

Funny, how just a couple of minutes already keys Sookie in on the fact that Faye Valentine is probably the type of girl to eat a man alive. She stares from one to the other, from Dean and back over to Faye, unable to figure out exactly what's going on, but not exactly willing to interrupt. It doesn't take much to figure that Cori, at least, is probably safer off Dean's back- Sookie wonders if there's a tactful way to go about managing that. (Wonders if she might be a bit biased, too; she loves children, and the prospect of getting to play with Cori is one that she's already hoping for, an even better distraction than the rays of the sun for the thoughts that have been churning in her head as of late.)

Figuring that Faye probably isn't any more harmful than Dawn, Sookie smiles sweetly at Dean, wishing that she had a handkerchief on her to wipe at his scrapes. "Gotta third the girls. If you'd like, I can watch over Cori for a while?" She turns her grin to the little girl. "I'm not as big as Dean here, but I can still manage a piggyback. Won't promise to run into any trees, though."

[weary_head]

"Dean Winchester," he tells Rogue, shooting Faye an irritable look after, recognizing all too clearly the amusement she's done nothing to hide. "Is that what that stinging is?" But he slides the backpack carrier's straps from his shoulders and lowers Cori to the ground, sure to keep one hand on her so she doesn't make a beeline for the surf.

"If you're in the mood to make sandcastles," he tells Sookie, small smile reemerging at last, though it's hard to see with Dean bent double, rummaging through the pack pockets until he finds her shovels and bucket. Plopping a pink sun hat on her head, Dean turns her, presenting her to the ladies. "Can I coordinate or what?"

[un_gloved]

Rogue offered up a light round of applause.

"Pretty as a picture, 'n no lie. So where were y'all headed 'fore you got... sidetracked?" she asked Dean with a bright smile.

[velation]

Catching his look, Faye wrinkles her nose right back at him, more playful than anything else, her arms draping over her knees as she leans forward and pulls her legs to her, gesturing for him to come closer. The little girl is mildly interesting to her, probably more than most kids are thanks to her relation to Dean, but Faye's never been good with children. Doesn't know what to do with them. And for a girl who Dean cares so deeply for, mistakes seem like they're even more worth avoiding.

"Cute as a button too," she nods in agreement. Kiddie compliments are easy enough. Faye grins over at Rogue, glancing from the corner of her eyes. "Let's hope that bump to the head hasn't affected his memory."

A fleeting glance in Dean's direction is, she hopes, enough to let him know that she's just trying to be a pain in the ass.

[justsookie]

"You can indeed," Sookie says, looking up at Dean for a moment before she just has to drop to a crouch to take a better look at Cori, practically beaming from ear to ear. "And lucky for Cori that I've got a lot of experience with sandcastles, believe me. I have this big brother, Jason, he liked to make a thing of destroyin' sandcastles, and I always felt so sorry for the things that I kept on building them right back up."

She reaches out to give Cori's sunhat a playful little tug down. "So we're gonna have lots of fun, aren't we? Cori and Sookie- our names even rhyme, look at that," she laughs, hoping she isn't coming off as too forward for the child.

[weary_head]

Cori listens with wide eyes, tendrils of her dark hair all but blowing back with the force of Sookie's enthusiasm, but she doesn't seem unnerved. In fact, by the time Sookie's done, she's nodding and smiling, leaning in to put her head against Sookie's shoulder, small hand tugging at her hair. It could mean anything - there aren't many talkative people left in Dean's home these days, Cori might just be glad for the conversation, but it's blond hair she's touching, and Dean can't help but wonder. He looks away, hiding a swallow with a speculative glance at the ocean. Could be the kid's just missing Angua.

"Here, actually," he says, still watching the waves crash down. Turning back to Faye and Rogue, Dean musters a grin. "Hard to forget you promised to build sandcastles when you got a toddler to remind you every three seconds."

As if on cue, Cori chirps, "Cassel!"

[un_gloved]

Rogue propped her chin on the heel of her hand, watching Cori all but disappear into Sookie's arms.

"She's awful sweet. Is she yours?" Rogue's definition of family was fairly broad, and as far as she was concerned 'yours' could mean all kinds of things. There were kids on the island, she knew, that had adopted parents because their own had disappeared, but Dean looked about the right age to have a toddler, so it could go either way.

[velation]

The more time passes, the more Faye's starting to spot them. Dean's eyes, as they lose focus, as they look elsewhere. At first, they were only vaguely reminiscent of Spike, of the way that he was apparently looking to the past all along, and unable to see what was right in front of him. But now, even though they've only really talked a few times at all, it's starting to claw at something deeper in Faye. To the point where a part of her just wants to stand up, to grab his arms, give him a good shake, because he's starting to feel like one of those people. One of those people who, if he turned away now, would be a loss to Faye. Not just people coming and going in the way that people always do. But someone who's specifically walking away from her.

Her eyes linger on Dean the entire time he looks off into the ocean. And while no one else watches closely enough to notice, she shivers. Lets her gaze skirt over to Cori a second after Dean looks back.

"Half-sister," Faye elaborates without even thinking.

[justsookie]

There's a good chance that Cori doesn't even process half of what Sookie's just rambled on with- sometimes, the blonde goes about things quickly enough that it's hard for even fully grown adults to follow her words, but the important thing, Sookie feels, is the tone. And that much, Cori's gotten. Just the way that the little girl nods already has Sookie's heart melting, a soft inhale as Cori's head rests on her shoulder, as a tiny hand grabs at her hair. It's enough to make her forget about everything else. The towel back near the other girls, wrinkled in her quick attempt to get to Dean. The former vampire that's still got it out for her blood on the island. It all just disappears while Sookie lets Cori hug her for as long as the girl needs, then perks right back up as Cori chimes in, reiterating her desire to build a castle.

"Cassel is right," Sookie agrees, mimicking Cori's pronunciation before reaching out for the brightly colored pails and sitting herself right down, encouraging Cori to do the same. "We're gonna build the biggest castle ever, aren't we?"