The airport around them bleeped and squeaked and generally emitted noises that made Dean uncomfortable. There was a child next to them on a bench that had been crying for ten solid minutes while her mother continued to flip pages of a Daniel Steele in utter oblivion. A voice suddenly spoke over the intercom system that zone three on the flight to Omaha was now boarding. Dean shifted anxiously through it all.

"A damn plane," he muttered. Sam huffed a laugh out next to him and paused reading something off his laptop to turn.

"This is your own fault, Dean," he said, an obnoxious little smile on his lips. Dean glared at him. There wasn't much he could retort with, unfortunately, as this was actually his own fault. Cas cleared this throat on Dean's other side.

He was sitting straight up in the airport's uncomfortable blue leather chair, arms tucked tightly against his sides. The now familiar brown coat he had been sporting these days was missing from his shoulders, along with the nice suit pants. He was now wearing a pair of brand new jeans and a Hawaiian shirt so loud that people were giving him odd looks as they passed. The current duds were courtesy of Dean, along with their present location.

"Dean, we could easily skip the cumbersome plane journey if we—"

"No, no," Sam cut off. He smiled at Dean again. "If we are doing this without any angelic help then we are doing it right. No angel mojo. Starting from vacation day one." Dean resisted the urge to smack Sam over the back of the head. But only barely. Using his own words against him, the little bastard.

"I just don't understand," Hannah interrupted. She was sitting up as straight as Cas, though she looked even more uncomfortable – if that was possible – across the way from them. "This so-called 'hunt' would be taken care of in mere minutes if you allowed Castiel and myself to handle it with Heaven's aid." Dean wasn't sure when Hannah had joined them. After they got rid of the Mark of Cain, and after Cas got his grace back, with the addition of wings for all of heaven's abruptly outcast, she just kind of stuck around. Not that anyone minded. Sure, Hannah was a bit weird, but when Cas was your basis for comparison… Well, she fit right in.

"Because," Dean ground his teeth. They were all making this more difficult intentionally, he was sure of it. "This is a once in a lifetime kind of hunt, ok? I mean, a vamp on a goddamn cruise ship? Who gets that chance? And we are taking advantage of it. This is the only excuse we have ever had to go on vacation, and we are enjoying it like the goddamn vacation that it is. End of discussion." Sam rolled his eyes lightheartedly and returned to his laptop.

"I still don't understand," Hannah said, lowering her voice just slightly. She knew by now that, when it came to the Winchesters, Cas would go along with basically any suggestion. Although even she questioned his choice of shirt, which was yellow with large pink flowers across it. Another voice sounded over the intercom which made Dean jump a bit in his chair. He settled again just in time for another female voice to make him jump even higher.

"Alright!" Charlie came up behind Dean brightly, "that's us! The vacation begins now!" Dean stood up on his legs unsteadily and grabbed his bags. This was his own damn fault. The only bright decision he had made thus far was getting Charlie in on the scheme. After all, now they got to sit in first class, thanks to a bit of Charlie money magic. Plus she was much less moody than Sam. She cheered everyone up. She was just a good presence for the group. She was also unfailingly in a good mood at this point, leading the group like a damn tour. Dean thought it was cute, secretly, but outside Dean was just trying not to spill his lunch before they got on the flying death trap.

Sam and Hannah stood and followed Charlie, slinging their individual bags over their shoulders. Hannah watched Sam first, then tried to follow his nonchalant body movements in the familiar gesture. Dean was a bit stuck, standing, but unwilling to move forward. A hand settled on his shoulder.

"Dean, are you alright?" Cas asked. His own bag was a light backpack which was pulled over both of his shoulders, stark black lines against his colorful shirt. The sight of Cas wearing the outfit was such a preposterous difference to his cold, serious demeanor that Dean couldn't help but laugh. It burst out of him uncertainly with the terror of flying still swirling around his stomach, but it helped a bit.

"You know, I'm probably not," he said with the end of his laugh. He looked up at Cas, who seemed even more concerned. "But I think I'll get through it." Cas stared at him for a moment and then a small smile ticked up the corners of his mouth.

"Very well," he said. "You know, I have never had the opportunity to ride on one of these machines. They have always fascinated me." Dean swallowed a grimace.
"Let's just… let's just get this bit over with, ok?" At the gate, the others waved for them to hurry up and Dean forced himself to move. You can do this, Winchester. Dean thought to himself. You took on the fucking devil. You can get on a plane. He gave his ticket to the stewardess at the desk and she smiled and wished him a good flight.

Yeah, right.

Dean was pretty sure he blacked out for a while after that. It wasn't that he passed out and Cas had to carry him bridal-style to his seat or anything so dramatic, just that for years afterwards Dean couldn't remember the plane actually taking off. He couldn't remember sitting down. And he couldn't remember at what point he had ordered a drink, and yet the first memory he ever had of the plane was gripping tightly to the large seat with one hand and taking a swig of whisky with the other.

The five of them took up half of first class, spread out along the large chairs nearest to the front. When Dean came-to (or first started being aware of his surroundings, he was never really sure) Charlie and Hannah were sitting across the aisle from him. Charlie was gesturing widely and talking as Hannah leaned forward, utterly rapt. From the words Dean caught, he thought Charlie may have been talking about Oz. Or a video game. He wasn't paying very close attention.

Behind the girls, Sam was fast asleep. He was splayed all over his chair, legs taking up an absurd amount of space, and his neck was wrapped in one of those weird pillows that airports offer. Dean didn't really get it. Then again, Sam had always had the ability to fall asleep anywhere at all. And the damn guy looked dead to the world, which Dean envied. Next to Dean was Cas.

Now, Cas had been through a lot in his time. Even just in the seven years that Dean had known him, the guy had done some insane shit. He killed angels, he told off the devil, and, hell, for a while he had been God. So Dean assumed he could handle just about anything. Apparently he was slightly wrong. It turns out that Cas's limit was not killing his brothers and sisters. It wasn't wading through hell, or, you know, dying. Cas's limit was aligned with Dean's: air travel.

He was gripping his seat tightly, his eyes clenched firmly shut. He was muttering under his breath rapidly but Dean couldn't catch any English words. Probably Enochian. Dean shakily sat his whisky down in the center console cup holder.

"Hey, Cas?" he said. The angel breathed in and out slowly but didn't open his eyes.

"Yes?" He very nearly sounded calm. Nearly.

"Remember when you said airplanes were fascinating?" The plane shook with turbulence and they both grabbed onto their chairs more tightly, Cas's eyes clenching more tightly closed, and Dean's opening more widely. They both took a minute to breathe.
"Dean?" Cas said.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Dean almost laughed. He just wasn't quite in that laughing mood right then. The plane shook turbulently again and Cas actually began to shake in his seat. Dean's fear turned to concern.

"Hey, buddy," he reached over and grabbed onto Cas's arm, squeezing tightly. "It's, uh, it's gonna be ok." Cas's eyes cracked open slightly to look at Dean.

"You also have a fear of flight, Dean," he said. Dean glared at him.

"I'm trying to help," he said. Cas's eyes lost some of their suspicion. He looked down at Dean's hand, holding onto his arm.

"Oh." He said. He stared at Dean's hand for another moment and took a couple of breaths before he looked up. "Thank you."

"No problem," Dean removed his bone-breaking grip from Cas's arm, clearing his throat at the same moment, and returned it to his own arm rest. They both looked forward in silence for a few moments. "You want some whisky?"

"Oh, yes," Cas breathed like a prayer. He grabbed Dean's drink like he had just been waiting for the invitation and downed the whole cup in a single gulp. "Thank you. That helped." Dean just raised his eyebrows. Across the aisle he caught Charlie smirking at him for whatever reason and just returned it with an eye roll. Sam snored loudly.

The docking port for the ship was huge. The ship was even bigger. It rose above them like a wall, tall enough to give Dean vertigo when he looked up to the top. He whistled as the group let their eyes take the whole thing in.

"Damn," Charlie said. She raised her little green digital camera to take a picture but a guard of some kind approached her quickly and said, in clipped tones, that pictures from the dock were not allowed. Charlie lowered her camera sadly and nodded as the guard moved away.

"That was very rude," Hannah said. She patted Charlie arm in a robotic movement, obviously trying to comfort her. "I am sure you will be allowed the opportunity to… take more photographs later."

"Oh yeah, I'm not letting those guys get me down," Charlie grinned. A smile ghosted over Hannah's face.

"You guys ready to actually board?" Sam said.

"Anything is better than a plane," Cas muttered. Dean tried not to laugh. He looked over their group. Charlie was wearing jean shorts and a green tank top with a backpack sitting on the ground next to her. She had a camera on a strap around her neck 'like a real tourist' as she had put it. Next to her stood Hannah, also in shorts. She was wearing a purple tank top with a little palm tree on it. Apparently when Charlie had been told she was picking out clothes for Hannah she had decided not to take the opportunity to pick out the fugliest clothes she could find. Which, hey, her loss.

Next to Hannah was Sam, in worn jeans and a thin, white, V-neck shirt. He had sunglasses tucked into his hair and was smiling. And then Cas, in his floral monstrosity. Like Dean was going to miss the chance to dress him like a colorblind father of three on his first island vacation. No, no. No opportunities missed there. Above them the ship blared a horn loudly.

"I have one rule for this week," Dean said. Sam scoffed.

"Besides the no angel mojo thing?"

"Yes, besides that," Dean said with a glare. He looked at each of them seriously and everyone began to sober up in response. Then he took a breath. "Absolutely no Celine Dion for the duration of this cruise." Sam and Charlie groaned loudly and rolled their eyes. Dean just grinned proudly.

"God, I should have known you were going to be intolerable," Sam said. Dean flipped him off with a smile.

"Alright, gang," he said, looking back up at the ship, "Let's do this."

"Damn, this is nice," Sam said. They had set sail only a few hours ago, but there was no land in sight anymore. The sun had gone down and now the boat was alive with Caribbean music and drunk, dancing cruise guests. The group of them all leaned over the side of the boat, looking out at the water.

"It is very beautiful," Hannah said. "Although I am unsure about the smell of the ocean." She scrunched up her nose a bit.

"Alright, we have a slight break in vacation time," Dean said. "Can't be helped. But we have to go over the game plan." Charlie sighed.

"You better not drag this vacation down in business, Winchester," she said. Dean snorted.

"Oh, please. A vampire is an easy catch. We'll have him by tomorrow and then we can really enjoy the rest of this week. No big deal."

"So what's the game plan?" Cas asked.

"So, this guy is getting one vic a week, right? All women?" He asked. They all nodded. "So, he's finding one chick a week, seducing them, and then eating his fill. So all we have to do is sniff him out. He's getting these chicks somewhere. So we hang out at all the cruise-y activity shit tomorrow and spot him. Pie. Everyone got it?"

"Got it. Can I get drunk now?" Sam asked. Dean sighed. Four sets of eyes were trained on him.

"Yeah, go nuts." The group let out a round of cheering and Dean couldn't help but join in. A smile broke out across his face and he grabbed onto Cas's arm, leading him towards the bar. "Cas, we are getting you drunk." He glanced back and saw that small smile of Cas's spread across his cheeks.

They got up to the bar and Dean marched confidently forward. He usually had a rule about colorful drinks, but all bets were off in the land of dancing drunk people on boats. Hell, Sam had something yellow in his hands with an umbrella sticking out of it and he looked like he might make a move over to the dance floor at some point. So, after a glance over the menu, Dean waved over the bartender and asked for two Haupias, heavy on the rum. They ended up being white, but were served in bright blue glasses with a little flamingo in each. Dean made his way back over to Cas and handed him one of the glasses, which the angel eyed dubiously.

"Hey, Cas?" The angel turned at the sound of his name. Dean raised his glass, "bottoms up," he smiled. Cas raised his own glass and brought the two together. And then downed the thing in one steady stream of gulping. Yeah, this was going to work out just fine. Dean quickly downed his own cup. The rum burned in his stomach. He took Cas's empty cup from his hands.

"Can I have another one of those?" Cas asked with interest. Dean grinned.

"I think that can be arranged."

At the other end of the bar, Charlie had a Hawaiian Margarita sitting in front of Hannah. The angel looked to Charlie for some indication that something might be wrong, but just got a smile in return. Charlie was nice, Hannah had decided on the plane ride. They hadn't met before this trip, but the conversation during the flight had been very nice. Hannah hadn't followed most of it, but Charlie was very excitable and seemed much happier than Sam or Dean ever did. She lacked their severity, which was a nice change. She hadn't yet had the experience of knowing a human who was genuinely happy a good deal of the time. Charlie just seemed brighter than the Winchesters. Like she gleamed from inside.

She picked up the oddly shaped glass in front of her and took a sip, first scrunching up her nose, then looking down at the drink appreciatively.

"This is nice," she said. Charlie laughed, mouth open and teeth shining.

"Yeah, it's really sweet," she said. "I thought you'd like something sweet." Hannah nodded and took another drink, a much longer one this time. It was a nice mix of what she thought Charlie was referring to when she said 'sweet' along with something sharper. Charlie sipped her own drink.

"Actually," Hannah said, letting the drink drop from her lips, "I don't know much about what I would…" she thought for a moment, trying out the new word like a new taste on her tongue. "Like. What I would like. I have very few experiences that are human." Charlie laughed again. It was a very nice sound. Hannah liked it a lot when Charlie laughed. It created a little heat in the middle of her vessel's stomach.

"That's true," Charlie said. She finished off her drink with a practiced flair and waved her hand, which brought the bartender back to give her a fresh glass, along with another for Hannah. "I sort of forget that. You know what, I have a new goal for us this week." Hannah finished her drink and picked up a new one. The music around them got slightly louder. She saw Castiel ingest a few of his own drinks with Dean, and thought she saw Sam drinking his own alcohol out of very small glasses.

"What goal?" She asked. Yes, this drink she really liked. It was complex in its diverse flavors. And the pineapple on the side burned her mouth a bit, which was also nice in a different sort of way.

"This week, we get you to try as many human things as possible," Charlie said. She was at that wonderful level of excitement again, gesturing a bit more widely, almost knocking a man over as he passed her. "That way, you know a bit more of what you like. What do you think?" She looked at Hannah a bit nervously, biting her bottom lip. Hannah considered how much she liked Charlie talking and how she liked the warmth in her stomach.

"Yes, that sounds like a nice idea," she said with a nod. She took a deep swallow of her drink. "Does that mean we can try different types of drinks also?" Charlie grinned, although she looked a bit more scheming now. Somehow it didn't make Hannah worried.

"Oh yes," she said, rubbing her hands together. "We can try a lot more drinks. You've had some tequila now so how about we try a bit of vodka next?" They were interrupted when a man approached them, stumbling a bit. He was tall, thin, and had his hair mussed up in a way that looked very intentional.

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?" he asked in a slur. Hannah squinted at him in confusion, trying to understand his offer despite the fact that both she and Charlie already had drinks in their hands but before she could say anything, Charlie did.

"Thanks but no thanks," she said. The man frowned a bit and opened his mouth to add more, but didn't get the chance. "If you're getting ready to drop a line, I'd advise you pick it up prematurely. I'm not buying what you're selling." The man shut his mouth with an audible click before stumbling away, muttering.

"That was strange," Hannah said. Charlie waved a hand at her.

"So, where were we? Oh yeah, vodka!"

Meanwhile, Sam had come to the end of a line of shots that had all been very good. They burned in his stomach and blurred his mind. He was on his way to being well and truly drunk, thank god. It wasn't that he didn't want to be on the vacation – he really did. In fact, he was excited to clock in some down time. It was just that he was very apparently the odd man out.

He knew going into this that Dean and Cas were going to be all buddied up. That was just them. Once Cas was around, Dean's focus shifted drastically. Actually, the angel didn't even have to be in the room for Dean's mind to be on him, but that was beside the current point. They had their 'profound bond' and no way in hell was Sam going to try to crash that party. Way too much eye sex for his taste. Then there was Charlie and Hannah, but Sam knew from the moment they met they were going to buddy off too. Charlie just seemed to click with her. Which left Sam.

The alcohol pumped through his blood quickly. He was already feeling loose and happier than he had in a while. Dean was right when he said they needed this. The dance floor swayed in front of his eyes in an almost tantalizing sort of way. He didn't consider himself a dancer, really, but get him drunk enough? Shit happens. But he didn't think he was quite there yet. He signaled for another drink.

Next to him, a woman with straight black hair that came to just below her shoulders pushed her way to the bar. She was olive skinned and tall with thick lips, which were coated in a dark red gloss. Her cheekbones were sharp and striking. Sam swallowed thickly and tried to keep his eyes focused on his shot when it arrived. She ordered a strawberry daiquiri and sat down on the stool next to him with a small smile in his direction, which he clumsily returned. With an appraising glance up and down, the woman turned in her chair so she was facing Sam.

"So," she asked, "you one of the cruise loners?" Sam was moderately taken aback by her abruptness but recovered in time for her drink to arrive.

"Uh," he stumbled, "no. I'm here with my, uh, family. Well, I mean, my brother. And some friends." The woman looked around behind Sam, obviously teasing.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. Sam coughed and shifted in his chair. "They don't seem to be keeping you company."

"I was looking for a solo drink," he said. She blinked and started to turn away from him. "No, that's not, uh…" Sam mentally slapped himself. "I was escaping. Too much time with the same people, you know." The woman smiled again. She held out a hand to him.

"I'm Eva," she said. Sam turned in his chair and grasped her hand.

"Sam," he said, smiling in a hopefully less awkward way than before. Her eyes tilted upwards when she returned the smile, which he took as a good sign. "So, what about you? Also escaping?" He asked. Eva shook her head. She took a drink of her daiquiri and licked her lips.

"No, no," she said. "Full on loner. And not at all ashamed."

"You don't seem like it," Sam said with a light laugh. She raised an eyebrow.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I just, uh," Sam was drowning again. It had been too long since he had last done this, the flirting thing. He hadn't exactly had time to go to bars in recent months. "You're just really confident. You don't look like you are ashamed of something easily."

"Oh, good answer, Sam," she said. She smiled again, showing off her teeth. They were pearly white against her dark lipstick, which Sam was having a hard time not looking at. "So, your name is Sam. And you're here with a brother and some friends, supposedly," she said. She raised another eyebrow at him and Sam laughed, ducking his head. "Anything else I should know about you?"

"This is my first cruise?" he said with an uncomfortable laugh. Eva shook her head.

"Oh, come on. That's a bullshit answer," she said. Her drink was nearly empty, but Sam's still sat in front of him, untouched. "Let's hear the basics."

"Alright, uh," Sam said. He turned to fully face Eva in his seat, and then leaned towards her slightly. "My name is Sam Winchester, I work with my brother, I'm from Kansas, and… my favorite color is yellow?" Eva laughed and nodded.

"That'll do. My turn," she finished off her drink. "I'm Eva Carlton, I'm a photographer, and I'm very pleased to meet you. Would you like to dance?" Sam balked. This woman was fast and totally had him. She was striking and cool and why the hell not? He grabbed for his drink and downed it in a gulp, grimacing. He had already given both his real name and actual place where he was born, so why pretend he was sober now?

"Absolutely," he said. She smiled and stood up, holding out a hand for him.

"Shall we, Sam Winchester?" A new song came on and Sam grabbed her hand, standing up next to her. He still had about half a foot on her even with her heels. He just smiled and followed her out to the floor. He caught Dean's eye as he made his way through the people and his brother just gave him a thumbs up before handing Cas another drink. God, they were impossible. He didn't have time to think much else before Eva grabbed onto his arm more firmly and flipped him around to face her. It was a damn good thing he was as drunk as he was.

From her position at the bar, Charlie could tell that Sam was already wasted. She didn't want to think about how much alcohol it took to get a man that tall that drunk. The math was too much for her to do – and that's saying a lot because Charlie could do some damn big math. Although she did have an angel with her who could probably figure out the exact numbers.

"Hey, Hannah," Charlie said. The angel in question had been downing drinks like there was no tomorrow. Charlie had thrown most of what the bar had at her, which had the bartender slightly concerned. They were going to have to split soon or the guy was going to cut them off. Or call a medical professional to figure out how a thin woman that hit, at most, 5'9" was drinking enough to knock out a linebacker.

"Yes?" Hannah asked when Charlie didn't immediately continue. She was looser than she had been before, some of the tension in her shoulders gone. Maybe the obscene amount of drink mixing was finally getting to her.

"How much do you think Sam has had to drink?" Charlie jutted her chin in the direction of the dancing Winchester, which was a sight to behold. He did have an absolutely incredible woman dancing with him, which Charlie had to give him props for. They were practically trying to occupy the same space as they danced, which was, frankly, embarrassing to watch.

"Oh, a copious amount," Hannah said. She sounded scientific, like she was sharing calculations on a nuclear device and not on a human being's drunkenness. "He is very intoxicated." Here, she slurred her words slightly, which brought Charlie's attention back to her new friend.

"How you doing over there?" she raised an eyebrow. Hannah furrowed her brows and gave the question the level of thought she felt it deserved.

"I may be intoxicated," she said, just as seriously as before.

"I can get behind that," Charlie said. The bartender gave them a curious look and Charlie took the hint. "Hey, you want to go stick your feet in the pool?"

"Is that a human custom?" Hannah asked. She looked sadly at her empty cup, which Charlie was fairly sure had contained a piña colada.

"Oh yeah," Charlie said. "100% human thing to do. You in?"

"It is something I haven't done before," Hannah said. "So, if you think it will be a good experience, then I trust you." Charlie gave her a grin and grabbed her hand, leading her from the bar and to the ship's on-deck pool. At night it was lit up with glowing lights, which twirled around across the whole deck. The water was clear and when Charlie dragged her hand through it, it felt perfectly cool. She sat down next to the pool and began to pull off her sandals, having more trouble with the buckles than she would have had a couple of margaritas ago. Hannah plopped down next to her and followed suit, right down to the confused fingers. When they both had their shoes off, they put their feet into the water at the same time. Hannah let out a long sigh.

"This is very soothing on my feet," she said. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. The colorful lights roved over her skin, throwing bursts of green and purple and blue against her throat and face. Charlie smiled at the sight and wiggled her toes in the water. It felt dreamily cold against her skin. The air was just warm enough, with a light breeze blowing through their hair.

"Yeah, this is really nice."

Dean and Cas stared out at the water again, both with drinks in their hands. Dean had lost track of what drink they were at, but he wasn't feeling stumbly quite yet. That was to come later, probably. Cas was just feeling the light buzz at the tips of his fingers, the warmth in his stomach. The moon was shining off the water in front of them.

"It is very beautiful," Cas said. Dean's mouth tilted up at the corner.

"Yeah, view ain't half bad," he said. He glanced at Cas, his eyes wandering over the angel's new duds for possibly a few seconds more than he normally would. But it definitely was just because the angel looked ridiculous. Dean couldn't get enough of the tropical look on Angel-of-the-Lord Castiel. It reminded him of the first time he'd talked to Cas on the phone. The absurdity of it. Like seeing a kangaroo riding a bike.

"You're still cool with this whole vacation thing, right?" Dean asked. Cas took his eyes off the water below them to look at Dean.

"Of course, Dean. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. His head didn't tilt as much as it used to, but Dean still noticed it. A barely-there head movement to one side. His I-don't-really-get-you-sometimes face.

"I don't know," Dean shrugged. "You got Hannah. Probably more important stuff to be dealt with than seeing the open sea with us." He purposely changed the final word before it came out 'me'. He did that sometimes, almost saying 'me' when he meant 'us' or 'we'. It wasn't that he forgot about Sam, just that, well, sometimes his mind processed Cas as being his. Which was concerning.

"But you asked me to come," Cas said. His head tilt continued, which meant he still wasn't totally getting the conversation. This happened less often than it used to, Dean would admit. What he wouldn't admit was that he missed the head tilt sometimes. He missed Cas's squint when he missed a reference and then Dean would have to explain it or just give him a hard time. Now Cas was in on the joke, although he still didn't always get it.

"Yeah, I asked you to come," Dean rolled his eyes a bit, but it was good-natured. "But I would have understood if you said you couldn't. I know I'm—we're not the most important thing on your plate." Dammit. He really had to work on that.

"I told you before, I always come when you call," Cas said, with a slight shrug that almost suited him, but not quite. "And besides," he glanced away from Dean for a few seconds, then looked back, "I missed your company." He accompanied the sentiment with a small smile, one of his one-sided ones. The kind that Dean really could use more of in his life. A Cas smile was rare, which meant they were special. They were earned. And he liked earning them. Dean coughed, and gave Cas a small nudge.

"Yeah, buddy, missed you too," he said, brushing off the comment a bit. Cas's face fell, but Dean didn't see it. He was looking out at the water again. "I still can't really believe we're out here."

"Do you mean the location or in the grand scheme of your life?" Cas said. Dean glanced at him to make sure he really had heard the wry tone he thought he had in that question. Sure enough, Cas's eyebrows were raised in the middle in an amused sort of way. Dean chuckled.

"Both, you jackass," he said. Cas nodded once and that little smile pinched at his lips again.

"We do still have a vampire to take care of on this trip," Cas reminded him. Which was fair. He had forgotten to even try to keep an eye out. Dean turned around and scanned the dance area and bar quickly. Lots of people. So many. And all very drunk. Sam was out on the floor dancing with someone in a very drunken fashion. So, go Sammy. And he spotted Charlie and Hannah by the pool, Charlie with her head leaned back in a full-bellied laugh while Hannah smiled softly at her. Huh.

"I don't see him," Dean said, turning back to Cas. The angel was looking at him straight-faced, which Dean was realizing more and more meant he was teasing and less that he was just oblivious to everything. Being human had brought out a bit of Cas's sense of humor, apparently.

"I don't suspect he will be wearing a sign that says 'vampire', Dean," Cas said. And yeah, the guy had picked up a bit of sarcasm too, which threw Dean for a loop. But instead of bantering right back he just laughed loudly, letting himself release some of the tension he still held on to. Cas continued to hold an unimpressed expression.

"Good point," Dean said when he finally stopped laughing. He wiped at the corner of his eye. "Maybe we should have the captain announce that all supernatural beings have to wear labels now. Our job would be much easier than it is already going to be." Cas nodded like he was considering the idea.

"They may complain of unfair treatment," Cas said.

"And then we could have a riot on our hands of angry cruise-going monsters who just came out to have a good time!" Dean laughed. Cas tilted his head in agreement.

"So perhaps our time would be better spent in just hunting the single vampire," he said.

"You just might be right," Dean agreed seriously. They both held their serious expressions for around five seconds before breaking into smiles. While Dean laughed, Cas actually chuckled, which was a wonder on its own. Dean grabbed Cas's shoulder firmly and looked at him head on.

"I'm really glad you came," he said. Cas looked slightly bashful.

"As am I." They both smiled at each other for a little while before Dean cleared his throat and looked down and away. He didn't know when they had drawn so close, but they were both heavily entrenched in what Dean would label 'personal space'. Then again, they hadn't really cared about where that line ended for a while now. Some rules just didn't apply to Cas. So he didn't bother to move away while they both looked out at the reflective ocean.

"You catch sight of Sammy down there on the dance floor?" Dean suddenly asked. Cas turned first to look at him and then back behind them to the floor. Sam was really into it now, flowing with the music with his hands all over the woman in front of him. She stood in front of Sam, arms reaching up and around his neck while they both swayed to the music. Sam's hands were down on the woman's waist, moving along with her. Dean whistled but it went unheard over the music.

"He is very intoxicated," Cas said, with a glint in his eye.

"Oh yeah," Dean agreed. "He'll feel that tomorrow. But it looks like he's doing fine for now. You want to take one last look around for Dracula?" When Cas nodded, they both leaned off the boat's railing and moved back towards the group of people closest to the bar. They wound their way around a few groups, mostly drunk, and came out on the other side to stand next to each other.

"Still no one wearing a sign," Cas said. Dean smiled at him. So he was getting the hang of running jokes now too. Perfect. They were probably rubbing off on those of the angelic persuasion far too much these days.

"Alright, jackass, you ready to head in for the night?" Cas surveyed the scene and then looked at Dean.

"I wouldn't mind going someplace quieter for a while. Perhaps to watch some television." Dean grabbed Cas's arm and walked them a door that led back inside, the moved towards the elevators. He let go of the angel's arm once they were out of the really crowded part of the ship.

"I think television can be managed," Dean said. He pressed the elevator button and they both waited. Back in Dean's room, they both sat on the bed nearest the TV, leaned up against the headboard. Dean flipped through the channels until he came across one that was showing an old Jim Carey movie.

"This good?" he asked. Cas nodded. They sat in silence while the movie was on, Dean occasionally chuckling. By the time the credits rolled, Dean was asleep. His head lolled over and fell on Cas's shoulder, breathing calmly. Cas looked down at him for a while as the music played on the TV and names scrolled upwards. When the music faded and commercials transitioned into another movie, Cas unhappily made his move.

As gently as possible, he extricated himself from beneath the weight of Dean's head and delicately moved the hunter into a position more suitable for sleep. He laid him down softly and pulled a blanket up over his resting form. At the end of the bed, Cas took a moment to indulge in a guilty pleasure he hadn't enjoyed in some time. He watched Dean take long breaths in and out, utter peace on his face in sleep. Cas smiled, both corners of his mouth turning up. His stomach was warm and he was completely happy as he opened the door and took his leave, heading to his own empty room next door. Hannah must have still been out with Charlie. Good for her. He hoped that Charlie's bright influence would rub off on Hannah. Not to mention he didn't mind having a few minutes of quiet to himself.