"No, no, no," you whispered. Sam's voice kept fading in and out. You knew what that meant. Your hearing aid batteries were dying...again. You gestured to your ears and shrugged at Sam. He knew a little sign language and you really couldn't read lips as you were only partially deaf. You never bothered to learn because you'd been relying on hearing aids all your life. Now, you were kicking yourself.

Sam smiled and grabbed the nearest piece of paper. "There's someone coming. Cain. He's going to help us on this hunt." You nodded and told him that you understood. "I'm going to go order some new batteries for my hearing aids," you said. You knew you were probably yelling, so you decided not to talk after that. Not until you got new batteries.

Like Sam said, your visitor arrived a couple hours later with Dean. You waved to them, but didn't say anything. Dean gave you a strange look and you gestured to your ears. He nodded and smiled. He turned to the visitor and said something.

Cain's blue eyes never left you as Dean introduced him. "Cain, this is Y/N. She helps us out on hunts and lives in the bunker with us." Cain greeted you, but you didn't reply. Instead, you walked over to Sam. Cain's brows furrowed and he wondered what he had done to upset you already. "Don't mind her," Dean told him, "Let's get you set up. We can't go after whatever this is until tomorrow."

Cain ended up being in the bunker longer than a couple days. Those few days were filled with confusion. You had yet to talk to him. Not one single word. It didn't make any sense to him. He couldn't recall doing or saying anything to offend you. In fact, every time he tried to talk to you, you'd get this look on your face and ignore him. It confused him, but it also upset him. At first, Cain didn't understand why it bothered him so much, but it didn't take long for him to figure out.

The whole soulmate thing was something Cain never understood. He didn't start getting any signs of soulmate until over a decade before. So many years on this earth and Cain had never thought he had a soulmate. It wasn't until he came to the bunker that he realized he did.

He was sitting in the kitchen drinking a beer when he saw it. You came in and headed for a cabinet. You let out a strangled groan before you reached up. That was when Cain saw the bruise. One rather large bruise that you sustained during the hunt. One that matched the one on Cain's back. Soulmates shared marks and bruises. For a moment, Cain was frozen. Then, he got up and helped you get what it was you were reaching for.

You turned to him with a soft smile. Then, you brought your hand up to your chin and angled it down. Cain's brows furrowed and you groaned again. Pushing past him, you left the kitchen in a huff. Once more, you left Cain in a state of utter bewilderment. What had he done? Why did you treat him like you couldn't stand him?

"Morning, Cain. Why do you look so down?" Sam asked as he walked into the kitchen. "What have I done to upset her?" Sam frowned for a second. "Y/N? Nothing." Cain scoffed. "Then why does she treat me like I killed her favorite pet?" Sam contemplated for a minute. "I'm not sure. Look, let me talk to her, see what we can do."

That night, Sam and Dean called a "family" meeting. You sat down across from Cain, your eyes glued to him. Sam sat next to Cain and Dean sat next to you. "What's going on?" you signed to Sam. Sam smiled at you. Dean wrote on a piece of paper about the problem. "Cain thinks you hate him." You looked over at Cain in surprise.

"I don't hate you," you said, knowing full well that you were speaking louder than necessary. Cain just stared at you. It was the first time he'd heard your voice. "I..ugh!" You looked to Sam and signed something quickly. "Slow down!" Sam told you with a laugh. Sighing, you signed slower.

"Got it," Sam said, turning to Cain. "Y/N doesn't hate you at all. She hasn't had a chance to hate you." Cain chanced a glance at you. He rolled up his sleeves and asked why you ignored him then. "Not on purpose. She can't really hear what you're saying. Her hearing aid batteries died, the new ones haven't come in yet, and she never learned how to read lips."

"You can't hear me..." Sam signed to you, but you weren't paying attention. Your eyes were glued on the mark on Cain's arm. The mark you'd been born with. Dean tapped you on the arm. "Y/N?" Without taking your eyes off Cain, you rolled up your own sleeve. "Whoa," Sam breathed out. The Winchesters hadn't seen that mark before.

You opened your mouth, but closed it again. You reached over and grabbed up your paper and pen. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding! I thought the boys would tell you. I didn't mean to hurt you." You handed the paper over to Cain. "I think our job is done here," Dean said, getting up, "Let's get out of here before I have to witness any more chick flick moments." The two brothers left the room.

You and Cain sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, you got up and moved to sit next to him. You took his hand in yours and gave it a squeeze. It wasn't much, but that gentle gesture was enough to make Cain understand what you were trying to say. The two of you sat there, holding onto one another's hands, just enjoying each other's company. That is, until Sam returned.

He tossed a box to you and you squealed lightly. Ripping open the box, you sighed happily. You got up to go grab your hearing aids, but Sam returned with them in his hands. You thanked him and put the new batteries in. After fixing them in your ears, you turned back to Cain with a radiant smile.

"Say something, please? I want to hear your voice," you asked him. Cain stood up and walked over to you. He took your hands in his again. "You are the most beautiful creature I have ever met." You flushed, not only at the compliment, but at the sound of his voice. It was like velvet. "Cain, I am so sorry." He chuckled. "No, I am. I should have known. I would like to get to know you a little better know that you can hear me." You grinned. "That sounds fantastic."