A/N: Another update! We're almost at the end folks, there should be 20 chapters in all if everything goes according to plan. Thanks for sticking with me, and thank you SO much for your lovely reviews (they mean the world!) Have a lovely week

Chapter Fourteen

When Dean and Castiel wake, the rain has given way to a dazzling sunlight. Dean is surprised at the amount of light leaking in through the living room windows, bathing their nest of blankets in a warm sunbeam. Dean stretches, enjoying the lingering peacefulness that is left from the night before. Cas snores softly behind him, his face buried in a pillow. Dean kisses his exposed shoulder blades gently before getting up and starting breakfast.

He's in the middle of flipping a batch of blueberry pancakes when Cas ambles into the kitchen in a pair of black briefs, sleepy-eyed, with his dark brown hair sticking up in a million different directions. He comes up behind Dean, wrapping his arms around Dean's bare waist and resting his chin on Dean's shoulder with a contented sigh.

"Morning, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" Dean asks.

Cas lets his hands roam over Dean's stomach, tracing the soft lines of his abs. "Mmm, good," Cas replies. "A bit sore, but really good."

Dean leaves the pancakes, turning around to kiss Cas. It's a slow, sloppy good-morning kiss, with all of the warmth from the night before slowly pulsing in the place where Dean's hand met Cas's jawline. Before its gets too deep, Dean pulls away and traces over the stubble on Cas's cheek with his thumb. "Good. I made you breakfast," he smiles, winding his arms around Cas's lower back. "I'll bring it out in a second."

Cas finds a spot at the small kitchen table, and sits smiling happily, staring out the window at the lake. Dean brings over a plate heaping with pancakes, and sets himself in the spot across from his boyfriend. The sky is completely clear, the kind of blue that seems to fill Dean's lungs, allowing him to breathe easier. The sun is beaming down onto the lake, making the small ripples in the water glitter like diamonds.

"It's beautiful out," Cas comments. "The lake is so blue."

"It's like your eyes," Dean says quietly. "So blue that you think there can't be an end to it. Like you could fall into them and keep falling forever."

Cas gives a half-smile and shakes his head. "You're being ridiculous, Dean. They're nothing special."

Dean stares at him across the table. "Every part of you is special, Cas. How do you not see that?"

Cas shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I just spent so long thinking that I didn't matter…" he trails off, staring out at the lake again. "I don't not believe you Dean, I just… I'm not used to hearing it."

Dean reaches a hand across the table, and Cas quickly offers his own. Dean squeezes his hand. "Well, I'm gonna keep saying it until you're used to it. And I'm never going to let you forget how amazing you are."

Cas looks down and smiles bashfully. He squeezes back and meets Dean's eyes with his warm gaze. "I love you, Dean."

"I love you too, Cas."

Hours later, after breakfast, lunch, and a much needed episode of Castiel fucking Dean into the mattress of the cabin's master bedroom, the pair find themselves outside, resting in a pair of wooden deck chairs, hands intertwined. Though it's November, the sun has made it warm enough for them both to be outside in jeans and light sweaters. Dean's busy drinking in the sight of Cas reclined with his eyes closed, sun on his face. As much as he wants to push it away, he's starting to feel time creep up on him, reminding him that he only has a day left with Cas before they have to go back to Aldhaven. Even though Cas isn't grounded anymore, Dean isn't sure if he'll be able to see him, or how often. Though the feeling makes his stomach squirm, he tries to forget it, and enjoy the time they do have.

"How's Sam doing?" Cas asks, opening his eyes to face Dean. "I mean, I see him at school, but is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine," Dean answers, not wanting to mention the incident with the basketball team or anything else for fear of making Castiel feel guilty.

"I worry about him sometimes," Cas admits. "I mean, I know it's not really my place. But it is, because I often feel that I'm making things worse for him. The more time he spends around me, the harder his days seem to get."

Dean sighs. He senses the same thing, when Sam comes home with his jaw locked, unwilling to tell Dean about his day. Dean assumes the reason Sam's hiding things from him is the same reason that he doesn't want to tell Cas. "He's tough," Dean says. "And he's a good guy, too. Even if I told him not to, he wouldn't stop looking out for you. You're important to me, so you're important to him." Dean's words don't seem to sooth Cas's worries, so he continues, "If things get bad, I'm sure he'll tell me. Then we'll take care of it."

"I just feel like it's my fault," Castiel says, sounding defeated. "I don't want him to get hurt because of me."

Dean brushes his thumb over Cas's hand. "It's not your fault, Cas. None of the shit that's happening is your fault. Don't ever think that."

Cas grips Dean's hand and stares off into the lake. "It's not like it was his choice to get saddled with the school loser, though. I've basically ruined his reputation."

Dean looks at Cas, but Cas refuses to meet his eyes. He can sense the pain that the other boy is feeling acutely, but he doesn't know what to say that would make it better. He can't think of any words that Cas would believe. "Come here," he says, giving Cas's hand a gentle tug. Cas stands and crosses to Dean's chair, where Dean pulls him down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around Cas's waist and kissing his temple. Cas settles on Dean's chest, letting his head fall onto Dean's shoulder. Dean traces circles onto his back until he feels Cas start to relax in his arms.

"Where is Sam looking at going to school next year?" Castiel asks after a while.

"Stanford, Berkely, and Princeton. I think he's applying to Harvard, too," Dean answers from memory. Some nights, choosing schools is all Sam talks about.

"Oh," Cas says, sounding hollow.

"What's wrong?"

"When he chooses a school, you're planning on moving out there with him, right?"

Dean realizes what Cas is asking, and his heart drops. "That's always been the plan, yeah. We've always stuck together."

Cas nods slowly into his chest, and sighs inaudibly. "I just… want to know how much time I have left with you. That's all."

"Cas, you don't think… you don't think I'd leave you here, do you?" Dean holds him tighter. "Plans change, and, well, I haven't talked to Sam about it yet, but my plan now is that you're coming with us. If you want to, I mean. I guess it depends what schools you're looking at, but I know we can work something out. I'm not just going to leave you, Cas. I'd never do that."

"Do you actually think they'd let me leave?" Cas scoffs. The bitterness in his voice cuts through Dean. "Nobody from our family has ever even gone to college, let alone gone out of the town to do it. Besides, you heard my father. I have my path set out for me. I can't leave. So yes, Dean, you are going to leave me, because there's no way in hell I'd ever ask you to stay in Aldhaven."

The anger in Cas's voice is more than Dean is used to hearing, and for a moment he doesn't know how to respond. "I would," he says moments later, and he isn't lying. "Sam doesn't need me hanging around anymore. If it meant we got to be together, I would stay."

"And we could just be together? Live openly? The preacher's son and the town outcast. Yeah, right." Castiel pushes himself off of Dean and walks down to the water's edge, his head down. He sits beside the water and traces lines in the sand with the tips of his fingers.

Dean follows behind. He can tell from Cas's hunched shoulders that he'd rather be alone, but Dean isn't willing to let the issue slide, or let it ruin the rest of their weekend. "Okay, then, we won't stay. Cas, I know you don't want to be a preacher. I know you don't want to stay here, and I know you don't want to keep hiding for the rest of your life. Look, it's only November, you don't finish school until June, and by then maybe things will have changed. Why would you want to stay in Aldhaven anyway? There's nothing here for you, and your family…"

"My family is awful. But they're my family. And them, this town… it's all I've ever known."

Dean sits on the sand beside Cas. "I know it's scary. Trust me, I know how terrifying it can be to leave everything behind. I did it for nineteen years. But some things need to be left behind. I'm not pressuring you, I just… I want you to be happy. You deserve to be."

Cas drops his face into his hands, combing them through his hair as a few tears roll down his cheeks. "Sometimes I think about telling them that I'm…" the words seem to catch in his throat. "I can't even say it out loud." Castiel's voice is raw and grating, and Dean can tell he's holding back a lot, and has been for a long time. "I could never do it. Even if I thought they wouldn't disown me… So then I think about running. Not looking back. But I don't know where I would go, or what I would do, or how I would survive. It's hard to make a choice when your options are being hated by your family and going up against a world that you know is going to beat you down." Cas turns towards Dean, his eyes rimmed with red. "My father won't even allow me to apply for colleges, Dean. I have no money of my own. Of course I want to leave, but it's not that simple. It's never been that simple."

Dean puts an arm around Cas's shoulders, gently pulling Cas towards him and letting Cas's head rest against his shoulder as he regulates his breath. "Cas, no matter what happens, I am not going to leave you. Remember that… you've always got me. And hey, we've got months before we've got to think about any of that, right? So what are we doing wasting our time here talking about stuff that's going to bring us down?" Dean nudges the dark-haired boy, gives him a soft smile and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Stop worrying. It'll be fine." Dean's own stomach still feels heavy, but he wants this to be the one weekend where Castiel doesn't have to worry about things like this.

Cas looks up at Dean, and his deep blue eyes search Dean's face. Dean lets them, holding Cas's gaze, and hoping Cas can find some comfort in his features, some relief in his eyes. Cas takes measured breaths, nodding his head slowly. "Okay. You're right, we can figure it out later. Besides, when we get back to Aldhaven, I won't be grounded anymore, which means I get to see you more often. So we can talk about it later. For now…" Cas raises his hands and grabs Dean's face, his stubble rough under his hands, "I just want to do this." Castiel brings his lips to Dean's, kissing softly before deepening the kiss and dragging his tongue across Dean's in a way that make's Dean's pulse race.

Dean kisses back with fervor, letting the scent of Castiel's skin fill his mind with calmness. Then, impulsively, he breaks the kiss and stands up, pulling off his sweater and the t-shirt underneath. He grins cheekily at Castiel as he pulls the fabric over his head.

Castiel laughs. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm repenting for all of my sins," Dean says with a wink, shedding his jeans. "Immersing myself in the waters of the Lord. You wanna help?"

Cas is grinning even as he rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Dean casts his arms open wide, feeling the cool air and the warmth of the sun mingle on his skin. "Yeah, but I'm your idiot."

Cas rolls his eyes again, but continues smiling, standing up and stripping down to his underwear like Dean. They stand on the deserted beach together, Dean reveling in the warmth of Cas's skin against his own, even as the breeze raises goosebumps along their arms. "You don't strike me as someone eager to stop sinning anytime soon," Cas jokes in between the kisses he's peppering down Dean's neck.

"Well, just you wait," Dean says as he scoops Castiel up without warning and starts walking towards the lake. Cas starts kicking and laughing as they get closer to the water, but Dean's not about to let him go. He wades into the lake, making it up to his thighs before the coldness of the water is almost too much to bear.

"Dean, I swear to god, if you…" Cas doesn't get to finish his sentence before Dean throws them both headlong into the freezing lake. The minute the water washes over him, Dean feels his head clear, even as the sheer cold of it forces the air out of his lungs. His head breaks the surface just in time for him to see a mock-angry Castiel getting ready to push him back under. They both tumble back down, grasping for each other as they go, only finding their footing when they're too cold to keep swimming.

When they rise, grateful for the sun beating down on their backs, they're both breathless and smiling. Cas playfully jumps into Dean's arm, wrapping his legs around Dean's hips, and their mouths collide with urgency, seeking out warmth and something more.

Cas buries his hands in Dean's hair as he kisses him more and more passionately. Dean's heart is hammering, and he's about to suggest moving things inside, when he hears something slam up behind the cabin.

Castiel draws back. "What was that?" He unwinds his legs and drops himself back into the lake, keeping a hold of Dean's hands.

"It was probably nothing," Dean says, leading Cas out of the water. "But I can check…"

They've barely made it out of the water when they both catch sight of Anna, car keys in hand, frozen next to the cabin. Her mouth is open, her eyes wide, and Dean knows without having to get any closer that she's seen all she needs to see.

Dean grabs his sweater from the sand, using it to cover his bare chest, and starts jogging towards her. "Anna, wait, it's not what it looked like…"

Before he can reach her, Anna turns on her heel, runs back to her car, and tears out of the driveway.