I can't begin to say how sorry I am that this took forever to put out! Craziness got in the way. This was a surprisingly hard chapter to get through so it's a bit on the light side. I'm hoping they'll be coming out at a more steady rate. Thanks for the reviews-I'm lovin' 'em!

~JustARedHerring17~

The Impala roared to life and with it came the familiar sounds of Zeppelin. Dean glanced over at Cas quickly to gauge his reaction to the music. Once again a smile spread across his face at Cas's reaction. He stared at the tape deck, cocking his head slightly to the side, listening intently.

"Now Cas," Dean spoke patronizingly, "this is what we call music."

Cas rolled his eyes at Dean, shoving him lightly. "Thank you Dean, I would have never figured that out on my own."

Dean chuckled softly, a wave of relief washing over him that Cas understood his humor. He turned the dial up as the opening riff to Ramble On started. With the windows down and the perfect autumn breeze rolling in, Dean couldn't picture a better start to a night. And then…Cas took hold of his hand. His stomach flipped and his foot dropped onto the accelerator. Deep Breaths…

They finally slowed down and pulled into the parking lot. Glancing over at Cas once more, Dean saw slight confusion in his expression.

"Dean, what is this place?"

"Seriously Cas, you've never been to the boardwalk before?" Dean looked at him incredulously. While it was very touristy here, he didn't think anyone missed going to the popular venue in town.

"I've never had the occasion to."

Dean shook his head, chortled and got out of the car. Cas, following suit, couldn't help but smile as he looked over the shiny black car to Dean. Cocking his head once more, he queried, "Dean, are you going to win me a giant stuffed teddy bear?"

Laughing, Dean just kept walking to the entrance, Castiel jogging to catch up. Taking Dean's hand, Cas continued, "Dean, are you going to buy me cotton candy and walk me along the beach?"

Dean gently squeezed Cas's hand and pulled him through the door. "Dean, are you going to kiss me on top of the Ferris wheel?" At that, a panicked expression flitted briefly across his face, quickly replaced by the smirk he'd been previously sporting. Confused by the sudden shift, Cas decided to let it pass and dragged Dean to the first roller coaster line he saw.

The day passed, filled with screaming rides, all the classic junk foods, and stolen glances across the arcade games. The whole time Dean skillfully avoided all things remotely close to the Ferris wheel, causing more and more suspicion in Cas. After funnel cake for Cas and a fourth hot dog for Dean, Cas's restraint finally broke.

"Ready to go on the Ferris wheel Dean?" He kept an eye out for Dean's reaction and was not disappointed. Panic once again passed over his chiseled face. Castiel grabbed his hand a pulled him towards the line.

"How about just you go up and…y'know…wave down to me?" Dean said sheepishly, completely avoiding Cas's gaze. Cas considered Dean for a brief moment, as he gazed anxiously at the slowly rotating ride. He carefully slipped his hand into Dean's and squeezed gently.

"Come on Dean, I'll keep you distracted." Dragging him over to the ride, they quickly were buckled in and the ride started to move. With the first jerking motions of the Ferris wheel, Dean was already white-knuckling the handle bar. Cas resumed their hand holding, rubbing his thumb across Dean's rough hands in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion. Dean looked over with a nervous grin and squeezed back.

As the ride slowly rotated, Dean's breathing started to become more erratic, and Cas could feel his heart rate pick up. As they neared the top, the wheel stuttered to a stop. Oh great. Before Dean's panic could escalate even more, Cas quickly slid his hand around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Smiling in triumph at Dean's gasp of surprise, he deepened the kiss, nipping slightly at Dean's bottom lip. Unable to control the quiet moan that slipped out, Dean finally relinquished his death rip on the handlebars in favor of fisting into Cas's shirt, bringing him even closer. They were so wrapped up in each other, they barely registered that the ride had resumed its rotation.

Castiel soon realized the need for air and they broke apart. Dean's eyes, though they always seemed to sparkle, were now lust blown. Just a thin ring of green even visible as Cas gazed into them. The silence persisted for the rest of their ride yet neither one felt discomfited about it; almost as if one word would break the spell around the couple.

"There now that wasn't so bad," Cas exclaimed as they left the Ferris wheel. Glancing back, Cas could tell Dean's knees were on the wobbly side, but he attributed it to their activities rather than the ride. "Don't worry Dean, your secret is safe with me."

Suddenly he was tugged quickly back into the warm cocoon of Dean's arms. "Don't ever change Cas." Smiling, Cas once more felt Dean's soft lips against his.

Having conquered the Ferris wheel, the pair wandered aimlessly through the crowd of people. The sun was coming down towards the horizon and the promise of a beach concert was now the main draw for the night. The couple headed down to the beach and picked a spot to wait for the show to start. They chatted idly, from Dean proudly talking about Sam and his academic triumphs at Stanford to Castiel's stories about Charlie's recurring antics.

The sun was low in the sky by the time the band started up. Cas leaned into Dean as he relaxed in the sand, listening to the music and the ocean. The night wore on and the crowd started to dissipate. It was going on 10 o'clock when Dean turned to Cas, running his fingers through his messy mop of hair and laying a chaste kiss on his lips. Before Cas could take it further, Dean pulled back, smirking at the way the blue-eyed man tried to chase his lips.

"Easy tiger, how about we go get a drink. I know a good place."

Nodding, Cas let Dean pull him up off the sand, brushing off his pants. He saw Dean's cheeks redden and a smirk firmly in place as he watched Cas situate himself. Cocking his head he looked to Dean for an explanation of his blush. Locking eyes, Dean reached forward once more, running his fingers up and down Cas's arms.

"Come on Angel, I'm not quite done with you just yet."