Chapter Twenty-One

The next few days were rough. Dean did decide to take the time off, but they had to keep every door in the house, except the front, thrown wide open.

Cas knew Dean was doing his best, but it didn't stop his shaking, or prevent him from getting stuck switching the porch light on and off over and over again before bed.

They watched movies together mostly, curled up under a blanket on the couch. Dean made him eat at least a few bites at every meal, and though he was rarely hungry, he didn't want to lose what he'd worked for, so he ate as much as he could.

On the fourth day, Cas went back to checking his schedule and writing on the whiteboards, and even took Hoagie for a short walk. Then, slowly, he levelled out again. He had a couple of long sessions with Penny once the nightmares subsides, and finally forced Dean back to work.

'Are you sure?' Dean asked, the morning he was supposed to go back.

Cas put a hot mug of coffee in Dean's hands. 'Yes. I'm all right.'

'You're amazing,' Dean smiled.

'You need to drink your coffee.'

Dean chuckled. 'Yeah.'

'That client's car is still waiting, you know.'

'Hey, you remembered!'

Cas nodded. 'The memory clinics are working.'

'Yeah, I noticed.' Dean took a gulp of his coffee. 'Listen, I'm sorry about what happened to you.'

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you,' Cas replied. 'I'm starting to think that the old me was a little closed off.'

'Just a smidge,' said Dean.

'It's okay if you're angry with me.'

'I meant it when I said I'm not mad. I'm just glad you're okay.'

Cas raised an eyebrow.

'Okay, maybe I'm a little mad,' Dean admitted, 'but it's not a big deal.'

'You can tell me the truth, Dean.'

'Look, I want my husband to tell me things and talk to me, but I knew this about you when I married you.'

'I'm honest with you now.'

'Yeah, you are.' Dean finished his coffee. 'All right, I gotta go. See you later.'

'Have a good day, Dean.'

Cas painstakingly worked through his routines until he felt more grounded, even going back to the gym. He knew that Dean was satisfied with his progress when paperwork for their vacation started appearing around the house.

'Hey, so I talked to your doctor today,' Dean said over dinner one evening. 'He says that your brain will be fine with the pressure on the plane, but he said that it might give you a headache, or make you dizzy or sick, and it could trigger a seizure.'

'Right.'

'So it's totally up to you, but is that something you think you can handle? Do you still want to go?'

Cas thought about it carefully. 'I'll have Hoagie with me?'

'Yeah, I mean, I have to check with the airline and make sure we get the right seats, but yeah, Hoagster can come.'

'Then, I want to go.'

Dean grinned. 'Sweet.'

Dean went about his preparations, making his own lists and notes of things they would need, which he would then struggle to decipher. Cas sat at his easel, frowning at his painting, and translating Dean's notes for him every now and again.

He ended up painting the beach again. 'What is this, Dean?' Cas asked, as he painted grass on the same sand dune he'd painted before.

Dean looked at it and shrugged.

'You still don't want to tell me?'

'What can I say? I'm an optimist, I think you'll remember it.'

Cas sighed, but finished his painting. 'I've painted at least five of these now,' he said.

'Yeah, that's why I think you'll remember.'

'Mm.'

After a flurry of activity a couple of weeks later, they had everything packed into the Impala, ready to go.

Cas, in an attempt to make himself useful, packed their carry-ons.

'What's this?' Dean said, picking up a large bottle of sunscreen. 'You don't burn.'

'No, but you do,' Cas said, taking the bottle from him.

'What? No I don't.'

'Yes, you do,' Cas insisted. 'Your freckles get darker first, and you start to get some more, then you start to burn right here.' He brushed the bridge of Dean's nose and smiled.

'All right, I guess we can bring it,' Dean said, blushing as he put the bottle in his bag.

Sam came over to help make sure they had all their paperwork, and the three of them climbed into the car, Sam in the back seat to take a nap while they were driving.

Cas had Hoagie in his lap, all dressed up in his service dog uniform. 'Mary's wearing him out, I see,' Cas said, glancing at Sam in the back seat.

'Yeah, she's teething,' Dean grinned.

'Maybe we should have her to stay more often.'

Dean nodded slowly. 'Yeah, I think we could do that. Set up a crib in the office, or something.'

'Sounds good to me,' Sam mumbled in the back seat.

Dean laughed and threw a wrapper over his shoulder at Sam, who barely even moved.

Dean shoved Sam awake when they arrived at the airport in Seattle, and all of them got out of the car. 'Here,' Dean said, throwing Sam the keys once the bags were unpacked. 'You better be careful with my car. If I see so much as a scratch-'

'Yeah, yeah, murder, disembowelment, blah blah blah, whatever, I'll take care of it.'

'Okay, she's a her, not an it.'

'Rookie mistake, Sam,' Cas said, clipping on Hoagie's leash.

'Really, Cas? Whatever, I'm going now.' Sam got in the car and rolled down the window. 'Have fun being gross and sweaty in Hawaii.'

'Joke's on you, we got our own pool.'

'We do?' Cas asked.

'Yeah, didn't I tell you?'

Cas shrugged. 'Could go either way.'

'You guys are hilarious. I'll be here when you get back.' Sam pulled away in the car, and they went into the airport.

Cas was fine most of the way, and only wobbled in security when one of the agents asked him to let go of Hoagie. Dean reminded them that they weren't allowed to separate anyone from their service dogs.

'My brother's a lawyer,' Dean said smugly. 'He knows what he's talking about.'

The agent rolled his eyes and let Cas hold Hoagie's leash through the scanner.

Cas noticed Dean's nerves as they took their seats on the plane, and settled Hoagie at his feet. 'Are you all right?'

Dean nodded, but he was already gripping the armrest tightly.

Cas put his hand over Dean's. 'It'll be fine. Flying is very safe.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Take-off is the worst part,' a friendly woman dressed in the cabin crew uniform said, as she came over to them. 'You won't even feel it once we're in the air.'

Cas smiled at her.

'Let me know if you guys need anything, okay? The airline told us all about you, and we're going to take good care of you.'

'Thank you, I appreciate that,' said Cas.

Once everyone was on board and all the doors closed, the seatbelt light switched on and Dean tensed even more.

'Deep breaths, Dean,' Cas said softly.

Dean nodded and did as Cas told him, but he started to sweat as the plane moved down the runway.

Cas put his hand over Dean's who squeezed his eyes shut as they picked up speed. 'You can do it,' Cas said. 'It's almost over.'

As the plane rose in the air, Cas felt a dull ache in his head, spreading out from the right side. He ignored it, focusing on getting Dean through their ascent, but his eyes watered.

Finally, the plane levelled out and Dean released a huge breath, relaxing his hands. 'Phew, well that sucked,' Dean laughed, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. 'Whoa, hey, are you okay? You're really pale.'

Cas shook his head, making it hurt more.

'Does it hurt?'

'Yes.'

'Here.' Dean pulled some pills out of his bag to give Cas, but Cas pushed them away, groaning. 'What?'

Cas put a hand to his head, then his stomach.

'Oh, okay, barf bag it is,' Dean said, hastily grabbing one and thrusting it into Cas's hands.

The friendly flight attendant took Cas's bag when he was done.

'I'm so sorry,' Cas mumbled.

'Oh, don't be silly,' she said. 'It's no problem, let me get you some water.'

Cas leaned back in his seat and held Dean's hand. 'I'm dizzy,' he mumbled.

'All right, just try to relax. Ride it out.'

The woman returned with water for Cas, and a treat for Hoagie

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,' Cas said, pressing a hand to the side of his head.

'Yeah, maybe you're right,' said Dean. 'We can do it though. Lean back a little more, maybe a nap will help.'

Cas did his best, calming his stomach with sips of water. He tried to help Dean through the descent, but it hurt his head too much.

They finally touched down on the tarmac, and Cas and Dean were the last to leave the plane. The cabin crew gave them an extra few minutes to pull themselves together. It was harder for Cas, and as soon as they were off the jetway, his legs turned to jelly.

'Oh, going down,' Dean said, catching him under the arms and lowering him to the floor.

Some staff came over to check on them. 'Great start to the vacation, huh?' Dean grinned, sitting next to Cas on the floor.

'Let's never fly anywhere ever again,' Cas said, resting his head against the wall.

'I'm all for that, but we do still need to fly home.'

'Ugh.'

'Hey, do you guys want us to transport you through security?' one of the staff asked.

Dean grinned. 'Dude, do you want to ride the airport cart?' he said excitedly.

Cas raised an eyebrow. 'Do you want to ride the airport cart?'

'I so do.'

Cas rolled his eyes. 'Yes, thank you, sir, we would like to be transported.'

The man went away to get one for them, and Cas sighed.

'Don't feel bad, man, we're on vacation,' said Dean. He winked at Cas and put on his sunglasses.

'Are you going to be this childish the whole time?'

Dean held up a finger. 'The Castiel voice is not allowed in Hawaii.'

Cas blinked. 'Oh. Sorry.'

'It's cool. Relax, man. Enjoy the ride,' he added as he spotted the cart slowly coming over to them.

'Okay. Help me up?'

Dean stood up and pulled Cas to his feet, not letting go until he and Hoagie were safely on the cart.

By the time they got through security and out of the airport, Cas felt much better. The headache lingered, but the shaking and nausea had disappeared.

He was hit by the heat as soon as they walked outside. It felt nice on his skin.

Dean flagged down a cab, which drove them through Honolulu to their hotel.

The hotel itself was quiet, just on the outskirts of the city, near the beach. The sun was hanging low in the sky by the time they got there.

'Welcome!' the receptionist greeted from behind the desk.

'Aloha,' Dean grinned, and Cas rolled his eyes.

'Let's get you all checked in.'

Their room was on the ground floor. Dean hadn't wanted any obstacles in case they did happen to need a paramedic at some point, and he insisted on carrying all of their bags through the hotel.

'Oh, Dean, its beautiful,' Cas breathed as they walked in.

The room itself is was quite simple. It had a large bed in the centre, a wardrobe for them to hang their clothes, and a bathroom with a shower and a tub. There was a comfortable-looking couch in one corner, and a TV mounted on the wall in front of it.

The best feature of the room were the huge glass windows and doors, that opened out onto a large, fenced off terrace.

It had a pool with a couple of lounge chairs around the edge, and a view of the beach in the distance.

'You like it?' Dean asked.

'I love it.' Cas immediately went through the doors to inspect the pool. There was a slight breeze to push away the humidity.

'Ooh, room service,' he heard Dean say from inside. 'We should just hang out here for the day, what do you say? Give that noggin of yours a rest.'

'Sounds good to me.' Cas called Hoagie to his side and took off the vest.

Hoagie shook himself off, sniffed Cas, and shot off, running around the terrace.

Cas laughed at him, and gazed around, taking in the view.

Eventually, Dean came outside as well, wearing shorts, a gaudy Hawaiian shirt, and holding a tall drink of something pink, complete with tiny umbrella and neon coloured straw.

'What the - what?' Cas said, staring at him. 'I don't even know where to begin.'

'What?'

Cas gestured at the shirt. 'What on earth is that?'

'We're in Hawaii now,' Dean said. 'You gotta do Hawaiian stuff.'

'That is not Hawaiian. That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.'

'My point still stands.'

'Oh, all right, should I order you a Hawaiian pizza, then?'

'Don't you dare, those are an abomination.'

Cas chuckled. 'What are you drinking, anyway?'

'Mai tai. I think,' Dean said, sniffing it. 'Non-alcoholic. You want one?'

'No, thank you.' Cas moved away from the pool. 'I know it's early, but I'm quite tired.'

'Oh, sure,' said Dean. 'You want something to eat before bed?'

'All right.'

They ordered themselves a seafood platter from their room service menu, but Cas barely made it through the meal before his eyelids began to droop. He let Dean tuck him in.

'You don't mind if I watch TV for a while?' Dean asked.

'It's fine,' Cas murmured, already half asleep. Dean's lips brushed his forehead, and he sunk into the pillows.

Cas woke up in the morning, as the sun peeked over the horizon, but everything was wrong. Nothing around him was familiar, and he didn't know where he was. He pushed himself up in the bed, quickly dissolving into panic.

'Cas?'

Cas jumped. He hadn't noticed that someone was in the bed with him.

'What's wrong?' The man sat up as well and looked at Cas blearily.

'Where - who?' Cas couldn't get it out, he could barely breathe.

'Hey, it's me,' said the man, putting a hand on Cas's arm. 'It's Dean.'

Then it clicked in Cas's head. 'Dean,' he said. 'Where are we? What's going on?'

'We're in Hawaii,' Dean said patiently. 'Come on, work it through. I know you can do it.'

'I - I was - we were packing.'

'Uh huh.'

'We drove in the car with Sam, and then - and then we got on the plane. I threw up.'

'You did.'

Cas relaxed as he talked it through, finally remembering where they were.

'You got it,' Dean smiled, stretching out his arms.

Cas rubbed his face. 'Dean, I - I didn't mean to - I didn't recognise you.'

'It's okay, I'm not in context,' he said.

'What does that mean?'

'You know me from the house mostly, you just didn't recognise me here. Like that time you didn't recognise Sam when we bumped into him at the store.'

'I don't understand.'

'It's just a little brain lag, that's all,' Dean said, wrapping and arm around Cas and kissing him on the side of his head, where his wound had been. 'You want to get up now or do you want to stay in bed? We've got time.'

Cas wrung out his hands and pulled himself together. 'I think maybe a walk on the beach might be nice,' he said. 'It's quite early. It'll be quiet.'

'You got it.'

After they both showered and dressed, they walked down to the beach at a leisurely pace, and Cas curled his fingers through Dean's. The sand was warm under his feet, and the sound of the waves soothed him.

'This reminds me of something,' Cas mused, looking out at the ocean.

'Like what?'

'I don't know…' Cas sighed. 'Nevermind.'

Dean squeezed Cas's hand. 'The hotel has a pretty nice restaurant, you wanna go for dinner tonight?'

'Sure.'

The rest of their walk was quiet, and Cas even let Hoagie off his leash, and threw a ball around for a while.

Once back at the hotel, Dean decided to go back to bed for a while, but Cas wanted to go swimming, so he changed into his trunks and slid into the pool. Hoagie followed him around the pool, his nose close to the water.

'Ew, you're actually swimming?'

Cas stopped and looked up. 'I thought you were going back to sleep?'

'I am,' Dean said smugly. 'I got one of these.' He dragged a large, inflatable pool lounger over and threw it into the pool. 'Don't worry, I'm already wearing sunscreen.' He climbed onto the lounger and leaned back, hands behind his head. 'This is great.'

Cas smiled and swam closer to Dean. 'You're not going to wear that to dinner tonight, are you?' he asked, nodding at the shirt Dean was wearing; different than the one he'd worn the day before, but equally as awful.

Dean peered at Cas over the top of his sunglasses. 'You bet I am.'

Cas rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Instead, he seized the lounger and tipped it, and Dean fell into the pool with a splash.

Dean surfaces, spluttering.

'Oh no, your shirt is ruined,' Cas laughed.

'You're so gonna get it,' Dean said. He threw water at Cas, splashing closer and closer until he had Cas against the edge of the pool.

Suddenly Cas's heart was beating fast. Dean was very close, and he could see droplets of water all over Dean's face, clinging to his stubble. Heat surged through him. Perhaps it was the sun or their surroundings that made Cas feel safe, so when Dean's eyes travelled down to Cas's mouth, Cas tilted his chin, inviting Dean to continue.

Dean hesitantly inched closer, but as the gap between them closed, Hoagie, who had been sitting at the edge of the pool near Cas, barked twice, and pawed the ground.

Cas pulled away from Dean and sighed.

'Going up,' Dean said lightly, and lifted Cas out of the pool.

Cas scooted away from the edge, and Dean jumped out after him.

'I've got you,' was the last thing Cas heard.

When he came around, he was lying on the bed, with Dean sitting beside him. He rolled over and found the trash can that Dean had left for him next to the bed, and Dean gently rubbed his back as he used it.

'How did I get here?' he asked eventually.

'I had someone help me carry you in. I didn't want you lying out in the sun.'

'That's very thoughtful of you,' Cas mumbled. He was still slightly damp from the pool.

'I'm a thoughtful guy,' Dean grinned. 'How are you feeling?'

Cas pushed himself up, shaking slightly. 'I'm all right. Can I get some of water?'

Dean had a glass ready and gave it over.

'I think I'm done with swimming for the day,' Cas said. 'Will you wake me in a couple of hours?'

'Sure.'

Cas leaned back. After a moment, he heard music, and opened one eye.

Dean was sitting at the open door with a ukulele, strumming experimentally.

Cas smiled, and fell asleep to the sound.

He felt much better after a nap, and a sweet smell filled his nose as he woke. He sat up and saw a vase of brightly coloured flowers had appeared at his bedside.

'Dean?' he called out, but there was no answer.

The sun was beginning to set, so Cas showered and got dressed, ready for their dinner.

Dean came back in, just as Cas finished combing his beard.

'Where were you?' Cas asked.

'Nowhere. Just checking out the hotel. You like the flowers?'

'They're beautiful. Can you take a picture so I can paint them when we get home?'

'Already done,' Dean grinned. 'Come on, I'm starved, let's go eat.'

Cas didn't eat much, distracted as he was by Dean's intense stare, his green eyes glittering. 'What are you looking at?' Cas asked eventually.

'You,' said Dean. 'Duh.'

'Why?'

Dean leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. 'Am I making you uncomfortable?'

Cas squirmed slightly. 'No, I just - I just…'

Dean chuckled, and finally looked away. 'Are you gonna eat that?' he asked, pointing at Cas's dinner.

'No.' Cas watched him eat the rest of the food, and the same hot feeling he'd felt in the pool washed over him again, though not as strong this time. He didn't talk much for the rest of the evening, and climbed into bed with Dean afterwards.

'Goodnight,' Dean whispered, stroking the side of Cas's head.

Cas reached out and returned the gesture, caressing Dean's cheek. 'Goodnight.'

Cas's sleep was disturbed that night, but not by his own dreams. It was dark when his eyes opened, and he was confused for a moment, but then he noticed Dean rolling around. Cas rubbed his eyes, and Dean moaned in his sleep.

'Dean,' Cas whispered. He went to shake Dean's shoulder to wake him from his nightmare, but Cas's face blazed as he realised Dean was having an entirely different kind of dream.

Cas quietly slipped out of the bed and went out to the pool. The sky was clear, and Cas dipped his feet in the water. It was pleasantly cool, and the moon was high. He didn't know how long he was out there, but Dean joined him and put his own feet in the pool.

'You were dreaming,' Cas explained. 'It seemed like a good one, I didn't want to disturb you.'

'Sorry I woke you up.'

Cas shook his head. 'I hope I was in it,' he said after a moment, smirking at Dean.

Dean snorted. 'You always are.' Dean splashed the water with his foot. 'Not to rush you, but where are you with… that?'

Cas clasped his hands in his lap. 'Every time I think maybe I could… I know it's not rational, but I just get this fear in my head, and all I can think about is the look on your face when I woke up and I didn't know you.'

'You remember that?' Dean asked, surprise.

'It's my first real memory. From after the accident, I mean.'

'Wow. That explains a lot.'

'I'm sorry, I'm just not there yet.'

'It's okay, I just wanted to check in,' Dean smiled.

'I think - I think I'm getting closer, though.'

'Glad to hear it.' Dean stretched. 'I'm going back to bed. You coming?'

'I think I'll stay a while.'

Dean went back inside, and Cas looked up at the sky.

The moon was bright, and a gentle breeze pushed tiny clouds across it. The sound of the ocean soothed him, as it did at home, and he could hear people laughing in the distance. He could see Cassiopeia and thought of Gabriel, and how much they had been through. Then he looked down at the water, the moon reflected in it, and thought again of Dean.

Everything he felt for Dean was a tangled up mess in his head, but some of the threads were loosening. He took a deep breath, and worked on it some more, until he fell asleep in one of the chairs outside.

The parasol over the chair had been opened for him by the morning, but he didn't move straight away. Instead, he listened to Dean strumming the ukulele again, humming quietly.

'Where do you keep getting those?' he asked eventually, making Dean jump.

'What?' Dean said, turning around and putting down the instrument.

'Those shirts. They're terrible.'

'I know,' Dean grinned. 'How're you doing?'

Cas pushed himself up. 'Fine,' he said. 'Just kind of blurry.'

'You want some breakfast? That always helps me when I feel blurry.'

Cas let Dean help him up, and they went down into the restaurant for some food.

A few days, and several awful shirts later, Cas was staring at Dean from the pool.

'What?' Dean asked, without sitting up in his lounger.

'Aren't you hot? You never take off your shirt.'

'You want me to take my shirt off?' Dean smirked.

'I don't want you to get hot.'

'Oh, but I already am,' Dean laughed.

'Come on.'

'I'm a layers man,' Dean shrugged.

'Do you… not like being shirtless?' Cas asked, something stirring in his memory. 'You don't like being… exposed?'

'Got it in one.'

'Not even for me?'

Dean finally sat up and took off his sunglasses, and Cas swam to the edge of the pool. 'What are you saying, Cas?'

'You see me naked all the time,' Cas said. 'I don't think it's very fair that I haven't seen any of you.'

'What? You totally have seen me.'

'I've seen - certain parts of you.'

'We don't need to bring that up again.'

'You don't have to,' Cas said, 'but it might help.'

'Don't lie, you just want some eye candy,' Dean chuckled.

'Maybe I do. Is that so bad?'

'You know, maybe I'll work on my tan.'

Cas jumped out of the pool and grabbed a bottle of sunscreen from their room.

Dean had removed his shirt by the time Cas came back out, and Cas admired him in the sun.

'What do you think?' Dean asked, winking at Cas.

'Not bad.' Cas sat next to him at the side of the pool. 'Sunscreen?'

'Go for it.'

Cas squeezed it out on to his hands and began working it into Dean's warm skin.

'I think you're enjoying that a little too much,' Dean sniggered, as Cas massaged his shoulders.

'And you're not?' Cas moved around the front, to make sure every inch of Dean was covered. 'I didn't know you had a tattoo,' Cas said, as he rubbed Dean's chest. 'What's it for?'

'Oh, my mom was into this sort of stuff. She had it on a necklace, and she said it was supposed to protect you from demons and stuff.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. Sam has one too.'

Cas stopped for a moment. 'It's a lot less sexy now that you told me your brother has the same one.'

'Damn. Struck out again.'

'I would avoid getting matching family tattoos in the future.'

'Yeah, you're probably right.'

Cas continued. 'How come you're so soft?' he murmured.

'Cas?' Dean said, giving him a meaningful look.

Cas sighed and let go of Dean. 'Dean, I… How am I supposed to tell if I'm remembering you, or if I'm… falling for you again?'

Dean took a deep breath, gently took Cas's chin and smiled. 'You want to know what I think? I think it doesn't matter which it is. You're here, and I'm here.' Dean looked Cas in the eyes. 'Are you really…?'

'I don't know. Maybe. What does it feel like?'

'Uh, I don't know,' Dean said, letting go of Cas's face and holding his hands instead. 'I guess it - it feels like butterflies all the time. You get all warm inside, and you want to be around the other person all the time.'

'Was it like that for you?'

Dean laughed. 'You want to hear about what I was like with you?'

'Yes.'

'All right then,' Dean said, laughing nervously. 'I fell pretty hard, you know. Like, I saw you, and I was gone.'

Cas watched him closely.

'I wanted to be around you all the time. I was a little clingy, if I'm honest. But it was just like, everything was better just because I was near you.' Dean looked around, grasping for words. 'It's like being anxious, but you don't mind it, and when I'm with you, nothing else seems all that important.'

'That sounds…'

'Yeah, it's a tough one… Is it anything like what you're feeling?'

'I'm just confused, I think,' Cas said slowly. 'Do you still feel that way?'

Dean gently cupped Cas's face. 'Of course I do. You're my world.'

Tears rushed to Cas's eyes, and he tutted impatiently. 'I feel like I wasn't quite this emotional before,' he said apologetically.

'You were,' Dean smiled. 'You just had more trouble sharing it.'

Cas wrapped his arms around Dean and leaned into his slightly slippery shoulder. 'You'll wait for me?'

'You bet.'

Cas sighed. 'I don't know what I'm missing.'

'You'll figure it out.'

'How can you be sure?'

'Because I know you.' Dean extricated himself from Cas and stood up. 'How about some ice cream on the beach?'

'Really?'

'Yeah, we're a total smokeshow. We'd be giving the people what they want.'

Cas laughed at him. 'Ice cream sounds good.'

They both stood up, and Cas looked Dean over. 'You sure you don't want your shirt?'

'Nah, you've talked me out of it now,' Dean winked. 'And you'll be with me.'

The rest of the vacation passed in much the same way. Cas made Dean take a boat over to the main island, and hike Kīlauea with him, so they could look at the wildlife. Dean in turn made Cas try as much food as they could find, wandering through the streets of Honolulu.

The last day came, and they decided to spend it on the beach, but didn't quite make it the whole day, when Cas had a seizure and they had to go back to their room so he could have a nap.

Dean was playing the ukulele again when Cas woke up, standing out by the pool, silhouetted in the light of the setting sun.

Cas quietly got up and crept closer to take a picture with his phone, then listened to his soft singing. He couldn't understand what Dean was singing, it sounded as though he was singing in Hawaiian, but it sounded reflective and sombre.

Dean turned slightly and saw him, but didn't stop playing, so Cas came over to him, and stood in front of him. He kept playing, and they both slowly swayed on the spot.

'Aloha ʻoe,' Dean sang, as Cas carefully leaned his head against Dean's. 'Aloha ʻoe, E ke onaona noho i ka lipo.'

Cas rested a hand at Dean's waist.

'One fond embrace, A hoʻi aʻe au,' Dean sang, his voice almost a whisper. 'Until we meet again.'

'It's lovely, Dean,' Cas whispered.

Dean's voice hitched slightly, but he didn't stop.

Cas listened intently to the rest of the song, and stared at Dean. The music gave him butterflies, and he was nervous, but in a good way. He came so close to kissing Dean, but he still couldn't bring himself to do it.

'It's okay,' Dean whispered, when he was finished. 'Don't push it.'

Cas nodded. 'Will you watch the stars with me tonight?'

'Yeah.' Dean put away the ukulele, and laid some blankets out on the terrace for them.

Their last night in Hawaii was spent under the night sky, their limbs tangled together.

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to VegasGranny, Eyum daRelmera and AGirlIntheGalaxy for the reviews!

Thanks again for reading, I'll see you again soon!