Sorry for the wait. Couldn't write for a while. Too busy with RL, which sucks. Things seem to be calming down. Gonna be busy around Memorial Day but then should be good after.

Need to go camping to clear my head. Lol! Too much people, too much drama, too much adulting. ;)

Dean left the Impala in the bus depot parking lot, locking the keys in there, knowing Dad has a spare set, left a small letter - note really - in the glove compartment, and purchased a ticket to Seattle. It's a straight shot to the city with no stops, a rarity if there ever was one. He sent a text to Sam and Dad where the Impala was and shut off his phone once it was sent. He took out the battery, pulled out the memory card and snapped the tiny thing in half before dropping them under the seat. No going back now.

He's got to be insane thinking the crazy woman's words but he just can't shake the feeling she's telling the truth. There has been a few people he's run into in the world that do have the gift of Sight or prophecy, and his instincts are telling him she's one of them.

Risking Dad and Sam's life is not something he'd let come to fruition, even if it sounds completely crazy.

The apocalypse? Really? How in the hell is his family become a part of the apocalypse? A pretty integral part from the sounds of it, which is a scary thought because they're just run-of-the-mill hunters. Nothing impressive about that, at least nothing that would explain the goddamn apocalypse.

They're going to hate him. They may never want to see him again but he can't just put the woman's words out of his mind or write them off. He just can't, and with them never wanting to see him again, it would be a good thing. The woman said that if they were together bad things would happen. So listening the to potentially crazy woman is a good thing as well. Okay, and maybe the whole thing is a fantastic excuse to go back to Hawaii with Steve, guilt free.

Almost guilt free. Close enough where he can sleep at night at least.

The bus rumbled away from the depot and Dean felt a weight lift off his shoulders when the city limits sign flew past. Guilt is there, probably will always be, but he could live with it. Sam never regretted, when he was away, his choice to leave them for Stanford, and Dad never seemed apologetic for taking off on a moments notice for a hunt or a whisper of a rumor of the demon that killed Mom.

Why should he feel it when they didn't?

Chin had told Dean that his family still couldn't look him in the eye, despite being exonerated for the thievery, and he said it was because in their mind they had every right to doubt him and believe what HPD said about him. Him covering for a family member didn't change how they essentially abondoned him and no one said sorry.

Sometimes you just got to move on and let things lie in the past. Easier said than done. Because Dean's family is just like Chin's. They think they did nothing wrong.

Snorting to himself, maybe Crazy Lady was right about him being more compatible with Chin than the others. Well, actually, she said that his best choice of mate would have been Catherine or Kono, both seemingly worthy of a warrior like himself since they are warriors as well.

He wonders what'd Steve think if he told him?

Oh, shit! Steve. He just destroyed his phone and memory card. He's going to have to wait until Seattle to purchase a new phone and get in contact with his...SEAL. He just hopes Super SEAL doesn't do anything drastic in the seven hours it'll take him to Seattle, but knowing Steve as he does, that poor city just might be leveled by the time he arrives.

ALK

Grumbling about the overcharged price of a damn burner phone, Dean dialed Steve's number from his recent purchase. It rang four times then Dean hung up. Waited until a count of seven then dialed again and waited six rings then hung up again. He did a mental count of fifteen and grinned when his phone rang out with Steve's number on the screen.

"You know our code isn't exactly the hardest to break or figure out," Dean said in lieu of hello. "Seriously, Steve, Grace could figure it out. It's just sad that that's the best a Navy SEAL could come up with."

There's silence then a huff of amusement.

"Whatever you say, Dean, but it works," came the husky reply. It sent a fission of warmth through his body at the sound. He must have woken Steve up. "Why am I staring at a new cell number for you? What happened to your old one?"

Rubbing at the back of his neck, which heated up in embarrassment, Dean answered honestly. "I broke it. Memory card too. I'm in Seattle, looking for you actually, and I want to come home, Steve. I love my dad, and I love Sam, but they're not home for me. Not anymore. I - I have a lot things to say to you about my behavior last year but I'd rather say it to your face. Wanna meet up?"

Steve fell silent but it felt more of an alert silent than a I-don't-know-what-to-think silent.

"I can come to your hotel," Dean offered. "I know it's ass o'clock in the morning but if you'd rather meet on a neutral territory. I'm game. I'll crash at the local shelter until you wanna meet up."

Now the silence feels angry. He totally gets Danny saying he can tell Rachel's mood from the kind of silence she gives him over the air waves. He gets that now. He wonders if it's a genetic thing, an evolved trait left over from the time when they were all instinct and silence because being loud meant death in a world full of predators.

That's interesting really. If he were inclined to go to college, he'd probably major in Anthropology or something similar, and learn all about it. His line of work, his life, has him constantly actin' and reactin' to outside stimuli in ways normal people don't. He'd be sociologist's dream. Psychologist, too.

He wonders if he can make money from that; being a lab monkey for those ivory coats.

"Or not," Dean replied to the angry silence. "I'll just call you later."

He hung up and tapped on the Google icon to look up the nearest shelter. He hopes there will be some place that had an opening. He's not looking forward to sleeping in the park, not on a full moon night, otherwise, yeah, he'd prefer the park. The knives he has, and his new gun, won't be sufficient for any creature using the park as its hunting grounds. Brute force would only get him so far and he hasn't slept since he left Dad and Sam behind with a note in the glove compartment addressed to them, so his strength would only last so long.

His phone rang before he even found a nearby shelter. It's Steve. Oh, thank God.

"Yes?"

"Why did you hang up? You never let me digest and respond to that little bombshell," Steve chastised lightly. "Give me more than 20 seconds, geez."

Dean grinned into his phone. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Steve assured him. "Look, are you messing with me? Do you really want to come home with me? To Hawaii? That home? Because if you're fucking with me, Dean, I swear to god I will find a way to make your life a living hell."

"Like that'd be any different than what I deal with on a daily basis," Dean quipped, earning an amused snort from Steve. "I'll be there in 20."

"You better," Steve threatened, "I'm timing you."

Huffing, Dean hung up and hoofed it until he found a busier street then flagged down a taxi, secretly praying he wasn't about to disappear into the night and end up on tomorrow's evening news. Dad and Sam would laugh their asses off before coming to find and save him from a most terrible and completely mortifying fate of being killed by a civilian. He'd never live it down.

Neither would his ohana back home.

He would bet Five-0 would learn how to communicate with the dead and yell at him for being a colossal idiot, and then they'd figure out a way to bring Dean back to life, consequences be damned. It would probably be the first time his two families would get along quite well.

Although, maybe him dying might just solve the whole apocalypse thing, and probably more likely to work since Dean honestly can't trust himself not to seek out his family in the future. Family's family. He's not like Dad and Sam, who seemingly can turn that part of them off. It's not in Dean's nature to forsake the people cloesest to him. Case in point, him returning to Steve and going back to Hawaii...again. For the third time. And without a one-time shapeshifter lover.

God, he hopes Daniel is okay and safe and not succumbing to murderous instinct.

Dean hoofed it to a busier street and flagged down a cab that dropped him off at Steve's hotel, giving the cabbie a generous tip before knocking on room 107, and tried in vein to tame the butterflies that erupted in his stomach. His knuckles barely rapped on the door once before it got thrown up and Dean got tugged into a fierce hug then got promptly got punched in the face.

Staggering back a couple of steps, Dean gave Steve a rueful smile because, yeah, he deserved that and then some. Steve reached forward again and pulled him in for a desperate kiss that had Dean's face flaming and heart attempting to burst out of his chest and join Steve's at the pure emotion behind the kiss. Their teeth clacked together and Dean swore he tasted blood.

He had never been kissed like that before. Never. Nothing even close to being this feeling.

His good old friend Guilt made its prescence known - and just after swearing not to feel that particular feeling again - wrapping familiar bands around his chest and gave it a hard squeeze in hello. It had Dean surging forward, deepening the kiss into something a little less desperate and a lot more relaxed with a hint of concupiscence that promised a lot more later, once words were spoken and feelings made known.

Steve pulled back first, a trace of blood on his bottom lip. Dean licked his lips at the sight, finding out that he was the one with the cut lip. He reached out and gently wiped the blood away. He went to the hotel sink, filled up a plastic cup of water, waved Steve over and had him rinse his mouth out. The SEAL did without hesitation, although he did keep his eye on Dean the entire time.

Dean doesn't blame him for doing that. He would have done the same thing, had done the same thing when his dad left him and Sam for two weeks when he was supposed to be gone for only three days. He didn't let his dad out of his sight for months.

Whether or not Dad ever felt guilt over leaving them for 14 days instead a mere 3, Dean'll never know for a fact but Dad let them stay in Flagstaff, Arizona for five months. It made Sam ridiculously happy and Dean felt the first tug of hiraeth; a word he came across online that hit him hard in the heart when he read the definition. It's a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return; a home which maybe never was.

And if that doesn't describe Dean's past, he doesn't know what would.

Steve stepped close enough where their breaths mingled, Dean can feel the heat radiating off the older man's body, and Dean swore he can hear Steve's heart beating. The thought settled Dean's heart back down from its attempts to participate in an allegro movement.

Large, strong hands settled onto his waist, the grip tight enough to most likely leave bruises, sending a bolt of arousal through his body like a bolt of lightning. It reminded him of their first encounter a year and a half ago - coming up to two years, if he's being technical. That night set everything into movtion. It was the first time Dean felt like he found someone who'd fight for him, to want him as something more than a fun fling, and he was right.

A connection had been made that first night, and with completely idiotic moves, miscommunications, and Dean's inability to let himself be happy and sabotaged what he had with Steve. The thing with Danny...that was pure asininity on his part, but it was the best (and worst) way to make things between him and Steve just fall apart.

When they get back to Hawaii, Dean has a lot of apologizing to do to everyone. Starting with Danny, then Catherine, Kono, Chin and Kamekona. And Grace. Possibly Rachel as well. That woman is terrifying.

Steve leaned forward so his forehead rested on Dean's, a shuddering breath ghosted against Dean's lips; a pool of heat started in his stomach and slowly spread out to the rest of his body, suffusing every inch with a warm glow and languidness. Dean pressed a small kiss to Steve's jaw then tucked his head into Steve's neck, arms lazily wrapping around the SEAL's torso.

A part of him wanted to escalate things, to indulge in that earlier feeling of libidinousness but he's not sure if he should. They need to talk. They do. Definitely they should talk about...things and such.

But then again. This warm, liquid languidness is new. It's nice.

"Fuck, where have you been?" whispered Steve brokenly, tightening his grip on Dean. A shuddering breath escaped the SEAL, rattling through the Hunter from how closely pressed together they were. "I swear to God, if you're fucking with me, I will never forgive you."

"'M not," Dean mumbled into Steve's shoulder. "I wanna go home."

"About time," breathed Steve.

A rush of adrenaline and a strong urge to just go now hit Dean. He pulled away from Steve and started packing the older man's items into the duffel bags on the hotel dresser, and Steve let him. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Dean, almost like he was afraid that Dean might disappear if he so much as shifted his attention away from the Hunter.

Once Dean packed up Steve's things, he grabbed the older man's hand and tugged him out the door, stopping abruptly, causing Steve to crash into his back. Dean did a head tilt, thinking, then went to the front office and checked out of Steve's room, Steve still clinging to him in an impressive impersonation of a limpet. The night manager quirked a look at them but he took the hotel room keys out of Dean's hand.

Dean dug into Steve's pockets until he found the car rental keys and clicked the fob to unlock the car and popped the trunk. He threw the bags inside and shoved Steve into the passenger seat before hopping into the driver's and peeled out of the parking lot like Hell was nipping at his heels.

And considering what he knows about Hell, and what the future could possibly hold for him, Dean found it an apt metaphor.

ALK

As far as allowing someone you've been looking for for the past couple of months to drive like a madman on a jailbreak, Steve thinks he's deserved a moment to completely have a brain malfunction. There is absolutely nothing going on in his head - something Danny would claim is all the time - nothing beside the white static. He honestly doesn't know what to think. He's just letting Dean, literally and figuratively, drive the car until he can grapple together a response.

Miles and miles flew by while Steve's brain refused to get its shit together.

Dean's back, yes. Steve is no longer looking for him. He no longer has to "hunt" anymore. The few jobs he accidentally came across don't have to be handled by him. Dean'll take care of it. Not that he had a hard time handling them himself but he's man enough to admit that the hunting thing is so beyond his ken that letting Dean handle anything "ooky spooky" is fine by him.

His hunter is freaked out, that his brain processed, but he has no clue how to approach the topic. Whatever it is, if it's freaking Dean out, then it'd be best if he left it alone.

Dean's world is far more vast and scary than he ever thought it could ever be.

So, if something scared him, then Steve should be friggin' terrified out of his mind and should be thinking of ways to leave the planet before shit hits the fan. Is that cowardly? He doesn't think so. At least he should hope so.

A speed bump jolted Steve's brain back on track, and blurted out, "I am not a coward!"

"Oh-kay," Dean drawled uncertainly. He blinked at the statement, unable to comprehend why the hell Steve would say that.

Face flushing, Steve shook his head and looked down at his knees in a rare moment of true embarrassment. He couldn't look at the hunter. He feels like a damn high schooler on his first date and saying and doing everything wrong. Nerves in control. Not good.

Dean reached over and patted him on the knee.

It helped marshall his thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Steve let it out slowly, doing it over and over until he felt his equilibrium return. He could feel Dean's concerned gaze on him like a light caress. He's not someone who really likes to be the object of worry and concern. It's not in him to be worried over. He wasn't raised or trained to be that way. He's the worrier, not the worry-ee. The protector, not the protected.

"Why are we driving further in-land instead of towards the bay? Why are we driving East instead of further West or even South to California? California would be best. I know a few people at the docks who'd slip us onto a ship without having to pay. They owe. Or we could book a cruise? That'd be different. I've never been on a cruise ship before," Steve babbled. He babbled. Seriously unlike him. What is wrong with him? He damn near never babbles. Ask his team.

But Dean is already shaking his head.

"No," he shook his head, "not gonna happen. It'll take too damn long and I don't know if we'll beat my Dad and Sam back to Oahu. If they're there when we arrive, they'll just take me back, and they won't let me out of their sight again. We need to go now."

"Then why are we going East?"

"I gotta make a withdrawal," came the vague answer.

Well, then. If that wasn't a wall slamming down on the conversation then Steve's an elephant. He let it drop.

He picked up a different topic.

"Why did you leave? Why did you stay on Maui? Why did you ever come back to Hawaii then leave when your dad came from you?" Steve asked rapid fire once he got going. "And why the fuck did you have a damn shapeshifter with you?!"

Okay, he did not mean to shout that last question, and he absolutely did not mean to ask it.

"I left because I was being a drama queen and a dick," Dean answered honestly, startling Steve. "I stayed on Maui because I didn't think you guys would look for me on the other islands, and well, you never took me to Maui like you said you would." Steve frowned at that and opened his mouth to argue, only to shut up when Dean raised his hand for him to shush.

"I mean, what was the deal, Steve? You promised to take me there and see the island. You said you'd find the time take and we spend a long weekend there, just the two of us with no work, from either of us. That never happened. But when Danny promised to take me to his favorite haunts, he made time, something you never did, might I add," Dean pointed out. "And you said you'd take me deep sea fishing, though Danny said that would be a Bad Idea, capitals and all "

Steve broke in, because, no, he is not the only one who broke promises in their relationship.

"And what about you, Dean? You promised you wouldn't keep anything from me. You promised that if anything was bothering you, you would tell me so we could fix it together. If you wanted to hunt, all you had to do was tell me and..." he trailed off.

Dean picked it right up. "...You were, what? Going to come with me? Wait at home like a nervous wife? Yeah, right. I didn't want to hunt, Steve. Not really. I liked domestic life. At leat until we drifted."

Silence reigned for a mile or two. Steve trying to marshall his thoughts again while Dean shoved the memory of Crazy Lady from his mind. He's not throwing away her words of warning. He's not.

"I screwed up, I know that," Steve started, "but I didn't get the chance to apologize before you just took off. I spent the last year looking for you, Dean. Or almost a year. More than half, at least. You were in Hawaii. You, at least on some level, wanted to come home. Why didn't you just come home, Dean? Most of us already forgave you.

"Catherine misses you like crazy. Kamekona, though he won't outright admit it, he misses you as well. Chin and Kono. Grace." Here he paused, pulling Dean forward. "Danny. He misses you far more than I care to admit. You guys were friends. Good friends."

Dean sighed but kept his gaze focused on the road. "I missed them, too, Steve."

That was it. Steve felt anger grow in his stomach. That's all they get? A simple, 'I miss them, too?' Really. That's it?

"You know what, screw you, Dean. That's not enough."

"I know."

"You know? Oh, he knows," Steve exploded, channeling Danny. "That's good. That's great. He knows just how much of a jackass he's been by running and staying running while me, and my team, searched for him for months. He knows that we have been put through an emotional wringer while he played house with a shapeshifter and then ran off with Daddy and baby brother."

Panting, Steve shook his head and clenched his hands to keep from reaching out and throttling the hunter. He took a few minutes to calm himself down to more serene and calm level.

"I - I just want to come home, Steve. I need to come home. If only to keep everyone safe," he muttered the last part to himself. "I will do all the penance you and the others want. Just as long as we're back on the island instead of here. Now, shush. I need to think."

Steve's mouth dropped open in outrage but no words came out. He feels immense sympathy for Danny for whenever he pissed him off enough that he was rendered speechless. This is not fun. All the words of indignation that he's currently feeling but all of them are jumbled up because he can't figure out which ones he wants to say first. Alas, Dean's already in Brooding Mode. Even if he found the right words, the hunter wouldn't hear them.

They're going to have words later, and this time Dean won't be able to piss him off so much that he forgets his words.

Miles passed by, daylight brightening the dreary sky that threatened to rain, Dean hummed along to a song only he can hear, his face relaxed and posture completely at ease, like they're back on Oahu and going for a day drive, traveling aimlessly. Those days were rare. Steve's fault. He can admit that. Sometimes work just took priority, and he knows Dean knew that, it doesn't make it any easier to swallow that he couldn't just unplug and spend a day with his boyfriend.

Danny made time. For Grace. For Gabby. For Dean. Chin did for Malia. Kono for Adam. He was the one that couldn't do it. Catherine even urged him to take a day after she went on a hike with Dean.

Everyone on his team made time for his boyfriend when he wouldn't. So, maybe when they do have the Talk, Steve's going to have to be a bit more upfront about his on short-comings. Danny'd faint while the Wonder Twins would share that silent language of theirs and Catherine would be laughing her ass off and filming the whole ordeal. They're all jerks but it's not like he wouldn't've acted the same way if they had to do it too.

Taking out his phone, Steve shot off a text to Chin because if he asked anyone else, they'd make a Big Deal about it. He asked if he could clean out his place and air it out, he's bringing a surprise back.

Are you f*cking with me? -Chin

Okay, then. So even Chin's going to make this into something bigger than it needs to be.

Not messing w/you. Can u do it? -Steve

Dean glanced at him while he texted. Steve shook his head at him and continued texting Chin, who replied in all caps: I SWEAR TO GOD MCGARRETT IF UR LYING I'LL SIC KONO & CATH ON YOU

Not lying. Need you to do this on the DL. No one else can know. NO ONE

Fine. But u better hurry ur ass. They're gonna know
And b4 u ask how, they'll just KNOW
They're psychic like that

Steve sighed audibly, earning a look from Dean. He waved him off and begged Chin to get it done without telling anyone. It's a tall order, considering his team, but if any of them could pull this off it would be Chin. No one'd suspect the older man to hide something this important from them. It's why he's the perfect person to go to.

Gonna be home in 2-3 days.
Keep quiet until then

Can do. See you in a few

He didn't need to send a response. Good thing. Dean's now staring at him instead of the road. Granted, there's no traffic anywhere in sight but it still made Steve slam a foot down on an imaginary brake, and he gestured for Dean to look at the road.

He has never felt more sympathy for Danny than at this moment.

Dean rolled his eyes at him but he did look back to where he's driving. Good, because Steve's heart threatened to burst out of his chest. He will never do that to Danny again. Geez.

The sun finally peeked out behind some clouds, temporarily blinding Steve and earning a pained grunt from Dean. Both men hunched down and raised an arm to block out the light, stupidly forgetting to put down the flaps that actually blocks out the light. Not that it mattered, clouds quickly blocked out the eye-stabbing sunlight, leaving them with spots dancing around their retinas.

"That was fun," Dean muttered sarcastically, pulling a smile from Steve.

More miles rolled by as Steve's rental steadily ate up the distance to wherever Dean's going. He doesn't like that he's not the one driving or that he doesn't know where they're headed to. It's the ingrained habit of being the one in charge, or, as Danny would say, him being a control freak.

By the time they finally stopped, the sun is high in the sky and their in a quaint little town in a low valley surrounded by towering mountains, kind of reminding him of the Alps.

Dean gestured for him to stay in the car while he went inside the bank. Steve counted the time until Dean came back out with two bags full of money and a nervous expression, one that had Steve tensing and sitting up, hand automatically going to his hip where his gun would be if he had bothered to put his holster on before they left Seattle. His eyes swept the front of the bank then the surrounding area, looking for any hostiles that threatened him and Dean's safety.

Finding nothing worth worrying over, Steve switched his attention back to Dean and his nervous expression. He catalogued every inch of Dean's person and reactions and an image started to form in his head that maybe Dean just robbed Roman Cahill's account again.

His dad won't be happy about that. Or the others that helped set up that account.

Steve knows Dean just managed to pay back what he spent of Cahill's while he was in Hawaii. He also knows that Dean and the others consistently put money in the "fake" account as an emergency contingency of some kind. Low on ingredients to catch the Ooky Spooky? Need a place to crash that isn't infested with bed bugs and cockroaches? Gas money? God knows they all like to drive all over the country. Medical emergency? But why Dean as Cahill and not an older hunter?

If he really wants to know, Steve could just ask. Dean's right here, throwing the bags of cash in the back, and looking like he just pulled off a heist that went off without a hitch.

Grinning at him with that Devil-may-care smile that never ceases to make his heart jump and his cock harden, Dean gunned the engine and they peeled out of there like they really did just rob a bank. The guys back home would have a field day with that information.

Dean drove back towards the coast, his body completely and utterly relaxed and a small, happy smile on his face. There were no shadows in his eyes.

"Ready to go home?" Dean asked, lolling his head to look at Steve and Steve gave him the wide, goofy smile Danny says he has when he's genuinely happy, and replied simply, "Yes."