hey guys! Yes, I'm alive.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please be aware that the fasten seat belt sign is now turned off, and you may move about the cabin as you wish."
Dean Winchester sighed and unbuckled his seat belt. He hated flying, always had, but on some occasions it was necessary. Occasions such as his brother's wedding in Hawaii. It's pretty hard to reach the island state without flying, he had mused, and he had tried to come up with any possible alternative. But there were none, and he couldn't miss Sam's wedding. So here he was, ill at ease and on the brink of a panic attack, flying across the pristine blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The recycled air in the cabin felt stale and suffocating, and the gentle whirring of the air was nauseating. He stood up, glad of the fact that first class ensured no seat neighbor to push past. Maybe walking around will clear my head, he thought, and pretended to have need of the restroom.
As he approached the restroom, he was somewhat irked to see that it was already occupied, merely moments after the announcement.
Whoever's in there must be even worse of flying than I am.
After a minute or two, the occupied sign slid away to reveal a vacant signal, and the door opened. Behind it stood a man who certainly did look quite motion sick. Despite the comfortable cabin tempurature, and the tropical destination, he wore a felted grey peacoat, a plaid scarf, and jeans. His complexion was ashen and his knees were trembling. Dean recognized the man from the check-in at the airport; at the time he had envied the stranger's confidence.
"You all right, man?" Dean asked. Something about this guy's total and utter lack of composure made Dean sorry for him.
The man took a deep breath and considered the expensive-looking pair of Ray-Ban aviator shades in his hands before putting them on and pushing them back onto his hair in a move of false confidence.
"Not a fan of flying," he responded shakily.
Dean scoffed gently.
"You look like you've been asked to tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, dude," he said. "No offense."
"You're looking a bit grey yourself," he responded defensively.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly a huge fan of flying either," Dean admitted.
"I'm Cas," the man introduced himself, gripping the fabric of his coat with his presumably sweating palms before offering the right one to Dean, who shook it firmly.
"Odd name," he remarked.
"'T's short for something even more odd," Cas said, but didn't elaborate.
"I'm Dean."
"What brings you to Hawaii?" Cas wondered, forgetting that he was still standing in the entrance to the bathroom.
"Wedding," Dean said simply.
"Me too. It's my second cousin. I don't really know her that well, but it's the first family gathering since my mother died."
"My brother's marrying his girlfriend of, like, a year and a half or something."
Cas regarded him with a strange look.
"You wouldn't happen to be attending the wedding of some guy named Sam Winchester and my second cousin Jessica, would you?"
Dean smiled. "I'm the best man."
Cas quirked an eyebrow. "Huh."
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around, then?"
"I guess," Cas said with a small smirk. But it was wiped off his face pretty quickly as the plane hit a small pocket of turbulence and they were thrown sideways. He grabbed onto Dean's arm automatically for support and gripped tight as his knees threatened to give way. Dean, meanwhile, had grabbed the side of the door and his breaths started coming fast and shallow and he concentrated his focus on the steady grasp on his arm.
Once the plane was steady again, they drew apart awkwardly. Cas cleared his throat weakly and made a move to apologize, but his throat was too dry.
"No worries," Dean said, guessing the sentiments. "Now, can I use the bathroom?"
To be continued. With longer chapters.