Dean stirred as the bed dipped, the familiar warm weight of Shane, freshly returned from another Smackdown, settling in behind him. Reaching blindly backwards, he felt around for the alpha's arm, drawing it back over himself like a blanket.
"What time is it?" Dean mumbled sleepily.
"Five thirty. Go back to sleep."
"Kay. G'night."
Asleep again in seconds, Dean didn't wake again until his bladder hijacked his attention several hours later. Wriggling out of Shane's embrace he slipped out of the bed, heading for the ensuite in a daze. Finished, he plodded back to the cocoon of the bed, halting abruptly as he suddenly realized...this was not his room.
Alarm fought through the haze as he recalled stretching out on Shane's bed last night. He had only wanted to lie down for a moment or two to revel in the deeply ingrained scent, the scent he had slept next to in the cabin. He never meant to actually fall asleep there.
As Dean hovered, frozen to the spot by his own dismay at crossing the clearly established boundaries of his and Shane's temporary cohabitation, the alpha stirred. Stretching out and finding only an empty space next to him, he slowly blinked awake, sitting up just in time to catch a mumbled apology as the sleep rumpled omega rushed from the room.
Scurrying down the hall, leaving trail of the harsh scent of distress in his wake, Dean dashed for the sanctuary of his own room. Closing the door firmly behind him, he perched on the end of his bed, heart racing, head buried in his hands.
The expected relief at being in his own space didn't come.
This room felt...not quite wrong exactly, but definitely not right. Dean's own scent was here, well settled into the fabric of the room, with an undertone of Shane's presence, filtering in from the rest of the apartment, but it wasn't enough. Not after the closeness of the past week.
The cabin was probably bigger than the apartment when he thought about it, but something about the feeling of being tucked away from the world, safe and cosy, seemed to have cast its influence over the pair. Their regular walks into the woods and occasional car rides to the nearest little town were inevitably followed by time spent together on the sheltered porch or comfortable sofa, sharing a blanket and a mountain of pillows and if the meals that the alpha made weren't brought out to the omega in his fluffy cocoon then he and Shane had flittered around each other effortlessly in the kitchen to prepare them together, enjoying the fruits of their effort knee-to-knee at the little dining table.
And at night time…
At night time, they had shared the big king sized bed upstairs, the careful measured distance they had observed when Shane first slid under the covers lasting all of five minutes. Dean had gravitated towards Shane, drawn to his warmth and scent only to be met halfway by the solid presence of the alpha.
It hadn't felt weird or awkward then. It had felt good, better than good really. It had felt nice, comfortable...everything last week had felt nice and comfortable...Dean had felt like he was living the life he had never envisioned for himself, happy domestic with his caring thoughtful alpha by his side.
Dean wasn't sure at what point he had began to see Shane as more than just his roommate, but here he was...
"Dean?" A tentative knock sounded at his door. "Is everything ok?"
His heart stuttered at the concern in Shane's voice. His alpha was worried about him...no...not his alpha! With a loud groan, Dean fell backwards onto the pristine covers of his unused bed.
No sooner had his head made contact with the smooth cotton than the bedroom door opened, a panicked looking Shane bursting into the room, dropping to his knees at the bedside close to Dean's head.
"What's wrong?" Shane reached for Dean's hand with one of his own, the other hovering over the soft curve of his belly.
"Nothing." Dean turned his face away from the alpha's worried eyes, unable to let go of his hand despite himself.
"You want to try that again. We can't fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong."
At the mention of we, Dean groaned deeply once more. It wasn't Shane's fault though, he didn't know how much that simple little word had affected Dean, he didn't know that Dean had gone and caught feelings.
"You've what!?"
"Fuck! I didn't realise I was thinking out loud, nice one Deano," Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Dean rolled over into his side, bringing himself face to face with the kneeling Shane. "I'm sorry. It's probably just the hormones. I didn't want to make it weird, I know that's not what any of this is about."
Dean closed his eyes, shielding himself from the expected reaction of disappointment and distaste, opening them in shock when he felt instead the gentle press of lips to the knuckles of the hand Shane still held.
"You're not mad?"
Shane laughed softly. "Mad? Why would I be mad?" He gently brushed a stray curl off Dean's crinkled forehead. "The smart, funny, gorgeous omega I've got feelings for had feelings for me too. What's to be mad at?"
The air in the room began to change, the acid sharp notes of Dean's earlier discomfort being gradually replaced with a warm contented fragrance that took both alpha and omega back to their time in the cabin.
An almost shy smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Dean clasped Shane's hand tighter, his own quiet laughter echoing the alpha's amusement.
"We've done this all the wrong way round you know...here I am knocked up with your kid already and we haven't even gone on a date. Hell...we haven't even kissed!"
"Very true. We really should do something about that."
"We should."
"Let's start now then...Dean, can I take you out for brunch?"
"You certainly can."
Shane grinned. "It's a date," he hesitated for a brief second before continuing. "I know we've started out backwards, and I do want to get this right, but can I just…"
Slowly, giving Dean plenty of time to stop him, the alpha leaned forwards, his lips capturing Dean's in a brief careful kiss, pulling away before it gathered any real heat.
"You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to do that." Shane caressed Dean's cheek. "I'm not glad you got upset, but I am glad for everything else...and I'll be even gladder once I get off this floor. These old knees of mine…" He swayed to avoid Dean's playful swipe.
"Okay old man, do you need help getting up?" Dean swung his feet to the floor, and standing, held out a hand to help Shane rise. Without letting go, he made his way to the door, the slightly confused alpha following behind.
"Isn't it a bit too early to start getting ready?"
Dean paused, turning to face his alpha before speaking.
"It is, but I'm pregnant and you're apparently old, so we're going back to your bed. I want a nap and some cuddles and maybe, just maybe...another kiss."
More than happy to indulge, Shane stepped closer, and scooping Dean up into a careful bridal carry, spirited him through the apartment to the comfort of his...of their bed.
