TLR CHAPTER 126

Coral and Ryan's Honeymoon

Written by Rosemarie and Snarks

View of Honolulu from an airplane

As the flight attendant announced their descent into Honolulu Ryan rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep. It had been a long flight and he'd been restless from so much inactivity. He had watched movies they had shown with Coral, listened to music and tried to read before finally falling asleep. The food on the flight was okay, but not as good as they had at the lodge. "We're finally here?" he asked Coral.

"Here at last, my love," Coral replied with a grin before kissing his husband on the cheek. "Let's get our carry-on's and begin our grand adventure." He looked around at all of the people scrambling to do the same thing and then leaned in toward Ryan.  "On the other hand, let's let them scurry so we don't have to hurry, hmmm?" 

The younger man's green eyes sparkled with excitement. "What will happen now? Will we go right to the ship?" he asked as he got down their carry-ons after the aisle cleared and headed for the door to deplane.

Coral had a hard time keeping up with his husband and followed with a grin. "We'll get transport to the ship," he said. "They'll deliver our luggage to our room while we have dinner. I don't know about you, but the food on this plane was... eh. Can't wait to get a real meal. How about you?"

Ryan grinned and as they entered the gate area there was a man in uniform holding a sign indicating their cruise line. The excited young man headed for him. "Let's go...they're lookin' for us!"

Smiling at the men heading his way the man welcomed them to the cruise line and asked, "Names please?"

Coral told the greeter their names, feeling a great surge of happiness as he introduced themselves as the O'Donnell-Okoros.

The representative checked his list and smiled.  "Thank you, gentlemen, if you give me your baggage claim tickets I'll make sure it is collected and placed on the shuttle. You won't need to worry with your luggage as it will be placed in your cabin on the ship."

Coral patted his pockets, pretending not to know which one had the tickets in it.  "Well... I'll be darned... guess we'll have to run around in the buff," he said, looking seriously at Ryan even as he slipped the tickets out and handed them stealthily to the man. 

The younger man looked petrified. "Coral! We'll need to buy a whole new wardrobe! We won't have time and we'll miss the cruise!" Ry panicked.

The older man leaned down and whispered in his husband's ear, “We have the clothes on our backs, and tonight we won't even need those." He grinned.

Seeing that Ry was becoming very agitated, Coral relented.  "Don't worry, sweetheart, everything is fine. The gentleman has our tickets. We have clothes, but I still think my first idea was good."

The younger man relaxed some then and biting his lip asked for his husband's ears only, "You did mean nude didn't you and not that we would have to go around buffin' all the floors on the ship, didn't you?" 

Coral couldn't contain a delighted laugh and leaned down to kiss Ryan before whispering back, "No buffing floors for us, nude or otherwise, ok?”

The young man smiled and hugged his husband, glad he had gotten the reference right.

Once the cruise line agent had taken the tickets from Coral he took two fresh flower leis and putting one around each of the men's neck with a smile he said, "Aloha, which means hello in Hawaiian and welcome."

Ryan replied in kind and sniffed at the fragrant flowers and grinned at his new husband because the colorful flowers brought out his dark skin in a way that made Ryan want to eat him up as his own personal chocolate bar.

"Aloha!" Coral replied with a smile. Then he pretended to sniff the flowers around his husband’s neck and nibbled on it instead. "Mmmmm, yummy," he murmured. 

The young man looked up and smiled at his lover.

The agent smiled at the newlyweds as he tucked the tickets away and said, "I'll see these are returned to you on the ship." He turned instructing, "If you follow me I'll escort you to the shuttle bus. There are still some others we are waiting to fly in before we leave for the ship, but you two are the only ones that were expected on this flight."

Coral said to Ry, “Now, I guess we really should get going or our luggage will be going to the ship without us." 

The man led them to the bus and once everyone had been collected and boarded and the luggage stowed, the bus left the airport and headed for the dock where their cruise ship was anchored.

"Cor! Would you look at that! It's huge!" Ryan said excitedly.

"More practical than a sailboat, I guess," Coral replied, trying his best to sound unimpressed and a little bored while inside he was marveling at the sight and size of the ship, and at his husband who seemed to glow with happiness. 

Ryan gave his husband a look. "Well...I guess you're right."  They were assisted off the bus and lined up to board the ship.

As they moved up the ramp, each person or couple were stopped. There was a photographer taking pictures of each guest as they boarded the ship. Ryan looked over at his husband as they got closer and he could see what was going on. "Why are they takin' pictures Cor?" he asked.

"A memento, hon. A keepsake for every guest who comes aboard, to remember this wonderful day." He smiled as he put an arm around his husband. 

Ry smiled up and said, "Can we get one then?"

"Sweetheart, if it makes you happy, we'll get two." Coral laughed, hugging Ryan closer and wishing they were alone.

Ryan said, "One is enough."

The cruise ship greeter smiled. "All the pictures will be mounted outside the ship's store and every guest can locate their own and then go inside to purchase it," he told his young man.

"Ready?" Coral asked as the photographer waited with a patient smile.

"Yes, I'm ready." The younger man grinned broadly.

Cor pulled Ryan close and leaned down a bit so that their heads were more on the same level. Grinning, and cheek to cheek, they posed a moment while the photographer took the picture. 

The photographer grinned. Personally, he thought, it was the best photo he'd taken so far today and he looked forward to developing it.

Once that was finished another staff member directed them to the dining room where a huge buffet was laid out. "Help yourselves gentlemen. We will let everyone know when your cabins are ready." He handed Coral two keys and smiled. "Eat hearty and enjoy yourselves." He left them and went on to assist other guests.

Ry's eyes widened at the array of food. There were fresh tropical fruits, breads, salads and traditional Hawaiian dishes, some of which he had no idea what they were.

"Well, my darling, you know what I say. You won't know if you like something if you don't try it," the older man laughed, getting into line and putting a small spoon full of the unknown foods onto his plate, and loading it with things he was more familiar with. "Eat up, Ry," he encouraged.

Coral was surprised when, after they finished their lunch and decided to take a nap before the night's activities, the steward led them past the cabins they'd originally rented and up to the bridal suite. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the living and dining areas. The man smiled and showed the two men around. Cor shook his head in disbelief as he saw the huge bathroom, walk in closets, and especially the private terrace which featured a hot tub the likes of which he'd never seen before.

Ryan whispered in his husband's ear, "I think he's made a mistake, this isn't the cabin we reserved on line."

The older man nodded at Ry and turned toward the steward, "I think there's been a mistake," Coral began apologetically, "this isn't..."

"No mistake sir. You are Mr.’s Coral and Ryan O'Donnell-Okoro?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then yes, sir. This suite is for you and your husband... from a... ah... admirer who prefers to remain nameless." He grinned.

Ryan bit his lip waiting for Coral to straighten out the snafu.

Coral was momentarily at a loss for words. "Are you sure...?"  he began to ask once he'd found his voice once again.

"Yes, sir," the steward said once more, trying to squelch the wide grin that threatened to burst out. "Your bags are already in your bedroom. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call on me."

Cor, still a little stunned, reached into his pocket for his wallet to tip the man. The steward smiled and said, "That won't be necessary, sir. Everything has been taken care of. My name is Richard if you need anything. My number is by the phone." Then with a friendly salute, the man turned and left the two men to adjust to their surroundings.

Ry smiled and whispered to his husband, "Another line drive by James?"

"Outta the park, triple play to win the game," Coral breathed as he shook his head slightly once again in disbelief. "No one else could have managed this on short notice."  He finally grinned at his husband and said, "Well, what do you want to do first... play in the bathtub or the hot tub?"

Ry blushed. He noticed a large basket of fruit on ice as well as some alcohol-free champagne and a beautiful bouquet of fragrant orchids. "I don't know...we should look at the cards attached to that stuff though," he told his husband.

The older man blushed. He'd been so taken by the suite that he hadn't paid the least attention to anything else.  "You're right, hon. Do you want to read the first card?"

Coral took the card out of the fruit basket and handed it to Ryan, then provided a drum beat on the table top as his husband opened it.  "And the winner is...." he announced.

The young man laughed. "JW."

Coral laughed as well, "And the home runs keep comin' in!" he said as he took the card from the bouquet, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh, clean scent of the flowers. He opened the card and grinned as he showed it to Ryan, "From Jeff and Mutt," he announced.  “’Hoping your honeymoon is as lovely as these. Relax and enjoy yourselves!’" he read.

Ry took the card from the champagne and grinned. "It's from Jake and Duke, ‘Enjoy, the very best champagne, and more in your fridge. Happy Honeymoon!’ "

Coral picked up the last box and breathed in appreciatively. Something smelled wonderful. He opened it and was a little confused when he saw fourteen differently shaped things that looked a little like chalk but which provided that wonderful aroma.  He found the card tucked inside and read, "'Thought the two of you would like these bath bombs as much as we do. One for each night. Put one in the tub whenever you take a bath and watch them do their work.  Love, Harry and Brody.'”

Ry looked at the box over his husband's shoulder. "What do we do with those? They look like chalk. Do we draw in the tub with them? You read that they were bombs... will they blow up when you put them in the water?" he asked concerned.

"No, sweetheart. Think of them as very pleasantly scented... Alka Seltzer for the tub." Coral grinned.

The younger man still looked at the objects dubiously. "Umm...I suppose so."

Despite Ryan's excitement, the two men fell asleep that night, contented and happy in each other's arms. They knew the next day they would be headed for Kahuluhi, Maui, to spend a couple of days there sightseeing and doing a little treasure hunting. Coral was glad that Ryan seemed to have his head on straight that morning, because he found himself in awe of the beauty surrounding them while Ryan took picture after picture.

                                                                               Hana Highway, Kahuluhi, Maui

"Coral...this place is so beautiful! I think it's my favorite island so far," he commented, kissing his husband.

Coral came back to the present when Ryan kissed him and smiled as he took out the brochure listing all of the things they could do for the next four days.  "It's going to be the busiest," he laughed.  "Take a look at all the things we can do here! I'd love to snorkel... and see the Haieakala Crater at sunset... the waterfalls, and rainforest..." he chuckled.  "I don't know about you but I can't decide where to start," he said, grinning down at his husband. 

Ryan looked overwhelmed. "Me neither, I wanna do 'em all."

"How about the Molokini Crater? The picture in the brochure looks great, then the rainforest hike... and between those and stopping to eat... something besides each other," he winked, "I'd love to see the sunset over the Haieakala Crater. Tomorrow... how about we take the motor coach to Lahaina and just… go wild. Shopping, anything."

Ryan smiled.  “Yes, I'd like that."

That evening, after a long day of sightseeing, hiking and doing a little bit of shopping, Coral and Ryan stopped at a quaint local place for dinner. The waiter, used to seeing the occasional nonnative come in, smiled and approached the two men to show them to their seats. "Welcome gentlemen," he said. "You can call me Luca, and I will be your waiter tonight. Please, may I get you something to drink while you look at your menus?"

"What would you suggest?" Coral asked, grinning, loving every minute of this day so far.

"We have excellent drinks. My favorite is one made from cacao beans..." 

"What are Cacao beans?" Ryan asked.

"Ah, they're the beans that chocolate is made from," Luca replied with a smile

Coral laughed at the look on Ryan's face at the mention of chocolate and knew that his boy was hooked already.  "I'll just have an iced tea, with lemon if that's alright?"

Ryan said, "I'll have that cacao drink, thank you."

Coral chuckled as Luca handed them the menus and went to fill their drink order.  "I heard that there's a luau nearby tonight. Sound good?"

Ryan's green eyes lit up. "That sounds like lots of fun!"

"There's supposed to be a lot of food at luau's," Coral said, "so we might as well eat light. Let's see what they have."

Ry nodded. "Sure, let's just get like an appetizer instead of a whole meal."

Ryan took a tentative sip and then smiled. "This is really good, tastes just like a YooHoo or somethin'," he told Coral.

Luca smiled and asked the men if they'd decided what they wanted to eat.

Coral and Ryan had agreed on something called Caramelized Maui Onion Dip. It was the lightest thing they could find on the menu and they wanted to save room for the luau.

"Coming right up," Luca smiled, then went to fill the order.

Coral sipped his iced tea and smiled at Ryan, "Having fun, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Yes, and this drink is really good." It was already half gone. "Can I get another one?" he asked.

Coral grinned, "Slow down, hon. I'm sure there's plenty. Of course, you can have another, just don't drink them like they're going out of style, ok?"

The younger man grinned. "I won't. Wonder if they'll have this at the luau too?"

"Could be," Coral replied with a shrug, "but I'm sure there will be all sorts of other drinks as well, so don't fill up on this one."

Ryan nodded. "Maybe I'll wait until we get to the Luau and then have another one."

The waiter brought their order and overhearing Ryan said, "Yes they usually do at a luau. It's a very popular drink."

"How about some water in the meantime?" Coral suggested. He'd noticed how relaxed Ryan was and couldn't help the swell of happiness that overcame him at the sight of his angel, so happy and smiling.

They finished their appetizer and shopped around a while longer before finding their way to the luau later that evening. They smiled at the sight of the bonfire and the people gathered around, sitting on the beach while dancers entertained the crowds. Coral wished, not for the first time, that he could learn to fire dance.

The younger man saw where drinks were being served as they gathered food into their plates and asked for another cacao.

 The bartender grinned. "Yes, this is a local favorite as well. Just go easy on them," he said as he handed the young man another.

Ryan sat with Coral and drank the drink. He began to have a bit of a silly grin on his face and when they asked for volunteers to try the hula, he was one of the first ones up there grinning at his husband.

Coral smiled but declined the offer, though he encouraged his angel to go up and dance. He sat back and sipped his own drink while admiring Ryan dancing with the others. He shook his head though, noticing that his husband was having a little trouble keeping his balance on the loose sand beneath his feet. He held out his arms and pulled Ry into a huge hug when the young man returned, swerving slightly, back to their spot.

<<<<>>>> 

 

While Ryan was dancing an old familiar feeling overcame him...he was feeling like he was buzzed and frowned slightly as he seemed to have difficulty with his balance. It couldn't be...he hadn't had any alcohol to drink. When he got back to his husband he gave him a silly grin and his eyes were slightly glazed over.

Coral couldn't help but to notice Ry’s eyes, even in the relatively low light provided by the bonfires, and he was immediately on the alert. He knew that his husband hadn't had a drop of liquor while they'd been together, and they'd been together the entire day... except for the few times one or the other of them had gone to use a men's room... but that had been a while ago. Ry couldn't have been sneaking drinks, and Coral refused to believe that his husband would drink, on the sly or otherwise, on their honeymoon.

"Ry, honey, what's wrong? You look...," he hesitated to finish the sentence.

His young husband said, "I feel odd...like I'm buzzed, but I didn't drink any alcohol Coral!  I swear!" he told him worriedly.

The older man pulled Ryan down onto the sand and held onto him. There was no obvious smell of alcohol on him and he began to worry. He'd heard of illnesses that could duplicate the symptoms of being intoxicated, and was worried that his husband might have contracted something.  He called for help and several of the native people who were hosting the luau came rushing over.

"I'm not sure what happened, he's sick, I think," Coral said, concerned.

One of the men looked closely at Ryan and then down at the number of drinks that had been consumed. He had to control his laughter. This was a serious incident, he knew, but it had happened so many times before to nonnatives. He pulled the two men aside and sat the young man down on a sturdy chair. "I know what is wrong, and don't worry, he's not ill. He's just had too much to drink."

Ryan looked very confused. "T-too m-much t-to d-drink?" he stuttered in surprise. "Can't have...the waiter at the restaurant said this was a healthy drink," he muttered, slurring his speech a bit.

Coral looked up at the man, unable to comprehend how his angel could have gotten drunk.

The man sighed and became serious, "It is a very healthy drink. Cacao has great properties that greatly enhance general well-being. This drink is made from the cacao beans, but they're fermented..."

Ry shook his head a little. "It don't taste like alcohol, leastways none I ever had 'fore," he complained, his green eyes looking pleadingly at Coral. 

"It is fermented differently than average alcoholic drinks. So, all of the nutrients remain."

"None of the menus mentioned that this drink was alcoholic," Coral said in disbelief.

The man nodded and replied, "Your server was responsible for telling you this, and for that oversight I apologize. May we call for transportation back to your ship? If you would be so kind as to come back tomorrow night, we can show you a very good time, and we will keep special watch over your young man."

"I just want to get him back to our room right now," Coral said, his heart pounding with worry over Ryan's well-being. "There's a shuttle on its way. It should be here in a couple of hours."

"In that case, sir, please allow me to call for transportation for the two of you." He took a cell phone out of the pocket of his shorts and made a quick call. "Your cab will be here soon and will take you to your ship.  In the meantime, allow me to get him some ginger ale or perhaps some water?"

Coral thought hard and looked again at the number of drinks that Ryan had consumed. "Water, please, and some of those pork rolls I think, if you would be so kind."

The man gave a quick bow and ran to get the requested items.

The older man knelt down beside his husband and looked at him worriedly.  "Are you ok, Angel?"

Ry looked at his new husband tears in his eyes.  He hadn't meant for this to happen and didn't want this to ruin their honeymoon. He shook his head at Coral and said, "I didn't mean it."

The older man sighed and sat beside his young man, wrapping him in a warm hug. "Of course, you didn't, sweetheart," he said soothingly. "I know you didn't do it on purpose, and if I'd known I'd have stopped you before the first one. It's my fault as much as yours, Hon. Just stay quiet and still until he brings the things back, alright?"

Ryan snuggled into the hug and said, "'Kay."

The native man was back at their sides as quickly as he was able, with a plate of the pork rolls, and several bottles of water tucked under his arm. "Eat, please, but do so slowly so you won't be sick," he cautioned the younger man.

Coral picked up one of the rolls while the other man opened a bottle of water. Cor slowly fed Ryan bites of the roll, hoping that it would help to counteract the alcohol, and praying that his lover wouldn't be sick all over the interior of the cab before they could get back to their room. 

Ryan drank the water and ate what his husband fed him. He said, "I've drunk lots more than this 'fore and I ain't got sick...I shoulda known though when the man at the drink bar told me to take it easy. I thought he meant it could make me have a stomachache, not that it would make me drunk!" he said a bit forlornly.

"We didn't know, Hon, and it's been a while since you've had alcohol. Add to that the fact that we were having fun and were being a little giddy to begin with. I'm not surprised you didn't feel it. Don't worry, baby, everything'll be all right," Coral assured his husband, glancing around for the promised cab.

"You'll be uncomfortable tomorrow morning, sir," the man who was helping them said a little sadly, "but it will be over soon."

Ryan nodded and then whispered into Coral's ear, "I'm not in any trouble, am I?"

"No sweetheart!" his husband said softly, nuzzling his angel gently. "Neither of us knew," he looked around and saw the familiar yellow lights. "I think I see the cab. Let's get you back and into bed."

The man provided them with more bottled water and a couple of towels, one of which was damp and cool. "Keep this on your face and neck during the ride, it should help with any upset stomach."

The older man didn't need to ask what the second towel was for and tried to surreptitiously place it over Ryan's lap. "Thank you," he said to the man before they got into the cab and headed back.

Ry shook his head at all the fuss. He leaned back and before they knew it they were at the ship with no incidents. 

Coral pulled Ryan into the shower and ran cool water over the two of them before dressing his husband in sleep shorts and a tee shirt. He worried about the hang over his husband might have the next day, and worried more if this incident was going to cause him to relapse. Well, the man thought to himself, it wasn't going to happen on his watch.

The younger man drank the rest of the bottles of water and then ate another pork roll Coral had brought back with them and then fell into a dead sleep, snoring gently after the shower. The next morning, he woke up and poked his husband. "Wake up sleepy head," he teased.

Coral, who had been watching over Ryan most of the night, woke with a start and sat upright so quickly that he made himself dizzy. He looked at his husband, looking him over for any ill effects from the night before and relieved to see his boy smiling. "Good morning, Angel. I'd ask how you slept but you were snoring like a buzz saw," he teased back.

Ry grinned. "Well, I didn't mean to keep you awake with my snorin', but I'm 'kay," he told his husband and kissed him.

Coral, relieved that Ryan didn't seem to be having any ill effects of the drinks the night before, grinned and kissed him back, his hand rubbing up and down    his    back. "It wasn't your snoring, believe me," he assured the younger man.  "What do you say we wash up and head down for breakfast?"

 <<<<>>>>

   

 WWII Memorial

Ry and Coral continued their tour of the islands, stopping in each port and seeing the wonderful things, especially the WWII memorial and the volcanoes and when their ship pulled into port at the end of the cruise were very relaxed. They however didn't really want to leave the beautiful islands.

Ryan was wide eyed throughout the rest of the trip and Coral's eyes fixed more on his husband and his reactions than on the scenery around him.  To his thinking, Ryan was the more exciting to look at, as his young husband glowed more beautifully than the sunsets they watched over the bow of the ship every night before going to dinner, dancing, and finally making love in their suite every evening.

They'd sent postcards and letters to their friends which included copies of pictures of the various islands and people they'd seen, and Ryan had found gifts for all of their resort friends.  Thinking carefully about each person, he picked out a gift that he thought would be most appreciated and fit the intended recipient's personality,

including a mortar and pestle made of volcanic stone for Heath, and a beautiful polished natural mahogany and black lava stone paperweight for James. 

When it came time to return to the mainland and make their way back home, Ryan burst into tears.

"I don't wanna leave here, Cor!  It's too beautiful! It's so... peaceful and relaxin'... can't we stay a little while longer?"

"No Angel, I'm sorry.  We were given two weeks to enjoy ourselves... you did enjoy yourself, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Ryan pouted.  "But I don't wanna go back, not right now. Can't we call and ask for another week?"

Coral kissed his angel and wiped his tears away.  "Duke and James were more than generous in allowing us to take the two weeks," he said, placing his thumb gently over his husband’s lips when he would have argued, "and as much as I'd like to stay, it wouldn't be fair to the others."

"It just seems like goin' back to workin' security on the resort isn't goin' to be as much fun as the past two weeks," Ryan said quietly.

"It won't be, but we'll soon get back into the rhythm of things and it'll be like we never left.  Besides, we have our anniversaries to look forward to, and lots of other places to discover."

"Are you sure? I mean, Mutt and Jeff are married and I don't remember seein' them goin' on any vacations for their anniversary."

"They're homebodies," Coral said with a smile.  "I'm sure that if they wanted to go somewhere they would. Perhaps all the pictures and postcards we sent will convince them that they want to take a vacation somewhere other than the resort as well.  Eh?"  

"Yeah, I guess.  And you're right. We do need to get back, I suppose, but I don't like it."

Coral kissed his husband again and hugged him. "That's my angel," he said approvingly.

"It'll be strange goin' back home. I kinda like the soft warm breezes and the wavin' palm trees, but I miss Cas and our friends too," he told his man.

“Too bad we can't have a resort wide hooky week and everyone comes to Hawaii." Coral laughed, then he clicked his fingers. "What do you say we host a luau at home?"

Ryan laughed. "Now that sounds like lots of fun...I can dance the Hula." He grinned and winked at his husband.

"We'll just replace the cacao drink with YooHoo, or Nestle's Quick." Coral laughed.  "Come on my angel, we have some planning to do," he continued as he got to work packing their clothing and gifts into their much heavier luggage.

The younger man smiled.  "Yes, no more of that Hawaiian chocolate."

<<<<>>>> 

James watched as the airplane touched down at the Bangor airport, ready to pick up the honeymoon couple.

Coral and Ryan found their bags, which were thankfully still closed. Cor grinned when he saw their boss at the door, holding a sign with their names on it. 

"Still not done giving us the royal treatment, James?" he smiled.

The resort owner laughed. "If I don't I may lose two of my best security officers to the lure of the Islands." He teased.

Coral chuckled, "You nearly did, but then what would we do with all this stuff we brought back with us?"

A porter approached the group. "Do you gentlemen need help with getting your things out to your vehicle?"

James smiled. "Yes, thank you sir." He allowed the porter to take the things the couple didn't want to carry and then winked at Coral and said innocently, "Ry, I have a surprise for you in the van."

Ryan's green eyes lit up. "You do? What is it?" he asked excitedly.

The older man laughed. "If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise."

The big black man hid a grin behind his hand, he was looking forward to seeing his husband’s 'surprise' as much as Ry was.  It had been a long time.

The two newlyweds followed their friend out to the van and loaded all of their bags into the back before getting into the coolness of the vehicle. Coral thought that James must have had the AC blasting on the way to the airport for the van to still be as cold as it was, but he wasn't complaining. 

James tipped the porter and thanked him for his help. As soon as Ryan climbed into the van there was a plaintive "Meeooww!" from a carrier next to his seat.

Looking down the young man's face lit up and his eyes brightened to a brilliant green, "You brought Cas!" he cried and couldn't get the feline out of the carrier fast enough. The cat, once released immediately draped his long now heavy self across Ryan's shoulders purring very loudly.

Coral scratched behind the cat's ears but left his young husband and his friend to do some catching up. Even though he'd thought it was a silly idea, Ryan had insisted on buying a new toy for Castiel to make up for being gone for so long. The young man fished into his go bag and brought out a furry, squeaky toy mouse.

Cas sniffed at the toy and then batted at it and bit it purring loudly, causing Ry to laugh at his antics. "I'd say he likes it, Cor."

James chuckled as he glanced back. "I'd have to agree," he said as he backed out and guided the van toward the resort.

"Thanks James for bringing Castiel."

"You're welcome. Shorty said he was missing you and thought it would be a good idea for me to bring him along instead of having to wait."

"Leave it to Shorty," Coral grinned, then turning toward the resort owner he smiled broadly and said, "and leave it to some unknown person to make our honeymoon even better than it had promised to be... now, you wouldn't have any idea who booked us the bridal suite... would you?"

The retired Marine put on an innocent look. "Now, I have no idea who that might have been...could have been a group effort...or any one of a number of people." The smoky blue eyes danced however with mischief.

The big black man stretched and yawned widely. They'd had to get up early to catch their plane and even though it would have been late morning Maine time, he was still tired from all the traveling. He was looking forward to getting home and passing out on his own bed, hopefully with his husband beside him.

Ryan had also fallen asleep with Cas purring in his ear and the toy mouse cuddled in the crook of his arm.

When James pulled up to the cottage he called softly, "Gentlemen, you're home!"

Coral woke with a start and smiled sheepishly at the older man, "Sorry to have fallen asleep on you, James."  He turned toward the still slumbering Ryan and woke him gently.  "Angel, we're home.  C’mon, honey, we'll get inside and take a nap. Plenty of time to unpack later, alright?"

James chuckled. "No problem."

Ry wriggled and smiled. "Home already?" he asked as he shifted Cas to his arms, being careful to keep the toy from falling.

Cor put his arm around his husband, supporting both him and Castiel. "You go on and rest, hon, I'll bring the bags in."

James helped with the baggage as well. As Coral got his husband into the house the retired Marine brought in a few of the bags and then went out to get more. He had made certain their refrigerator had been well stocked for the week and that the bungalow had been aired out and dusted in readiness for their return.

Coral looked around and grinned at his friend, "James, we can't thank you enough, you've been more than generous..." he didn't mean to but he suddenly broke out into a huge yawn.  "I'm so sorry," he said, blushing.

The resort owner clapped a hand on the big man's shoulder. "Go get some sleep now. I'll bring in the rest of the luggage and there's no need to worry. I've done it before and I'll continue to do it for any of my friends whom I love," he told his second in command security officer.

Coral smiled wanly, his fatigue catching up to him. He walked through the door and into their bedroom where he found his angel already fast asleep.  Cor quickly joined him in slumber. 

James smiled as he finished unloading the van, placing things carefully on the coffee table in the living room or on the sofa and the floor near it knowing the men would find their belongings there and safe and sound when they finally woke. He gently closed the door to the cottage and hopped into the van and parked it.