R.I.P. David Bowie
We could steal time, just for one day. We can be Heroes, for ever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish you could swim, Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim, though nothing, nothing will keep us together. We can beat them, for ever and ever. Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day. I, I will be king, And you, you will be queen. Though nothing will drive them away. We can be Heroes, just for one day, We can be us, just for one day.
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Several days went by before Dean could make good on his promise to provide a place where Castiel could get away from everything.
Impatience had built inside Castiel. The slow pace of pack decision making was extremely frustrating. No matter how much he wanted to beseech John Winchester for hourly progress updates, he bit his tongue. Knowing that giving Andy and Alfie more freedom was under consideration did not stop him from wishing he could wave a magic wand.
When Dean thrust a filled backpack into his arms and told him to swap his suit for his jeans and boots, Castiel double blinked in confusion before finding his feet retracing his steps to his bedroom. His compliance was assured by a gentle shove between his shoulder blades and an illogical chortle from Dean about getting a move on before the waterfall dried up on the first truly warm late May day.
With a burst of mischief, Castiel deliberately forgot his cellphone, leaving his link to Naomi and life outside Kripke's Hollow in the pocket of his suit jacket. V-necked midnight blue tee over jeans matched Dean's black tee, jeans and open light khaki shirt. They met nobody as they set off round the back of the Pack Alpha House and into the rising tree line. There was a distinct, if slightly overgrown, trail to follow.
For all the early summer woodland flowers where light broke through the leaf canopy, whip thin branches with the potential to whack arms and faces, occasional close quarters flight of disturbed songbirds, it was the ripple of Dean's muscles that snagged Castiel's focus. Their hike took them through the pack's forestry plantation from well-maintained pine scented mature acreage to sun kissed stands of shoulder height saplings and more recently cleared long grass filled openings.
Several times Dean stopped to check on Cas's progress, or to take a breather standing shoulder to shoulder appreciating valley or woodland views. They exchanged bottled water back and forth but talked little more than a few words of 'how you doing' and 'not much further' as they climbed. It was a companionable silence that permitted sounds of the forest to accompany their hike.
Finally the gradient increased, trees thinned, undergrowth was replaced by stony soil. The reason that their supplies were in backpacks was explained when they had to make use of handholds to climb over a steep rock formation.
As they breached the top the sound of rushing water filled Castiel's senses. As if gouged out by God's hand, a turquoise freshwater pool rippled from a stunning ribbon waterfall. The water plunged from higher than Dean and Castiel's approach into a rock sheltered bowl-like pool.
"It goes underground." Dean followed the track of Castiel's eyes, explaining why no stream appeared to flow outwards. "Appears again down and round a ways."
"It's… enchanting." Castiel could not properly express his awe this hidden place. One side of the small basin was shaded by overgrowth, on the other below them inclining flat gray rocks dipped into the rippled waters, and between to their left slim white falls cascaded from between leafy young trees.
Dean shifted his feet awkwardly. "It's alright."
Castiel reached out a hand, touching Dean's warm arm, "It is more than alright. Thank you, Dean, for sharing this pack secret with me."
"Huh?" Dean huffed but an almost shy pleased smile graced his features.
"This could be on the cover of National Geographic. You all could market this as a place to visit."
"Naw," Dean shook his head, "Wouldn't want that. Anyways, it's not a secret. This here is the actual for real Hollow that Kripke named after himself."
"I see." Castiel admired the rock basin, glimmering pond and rushing water, the location that Dean's pack took its name from.
It was an easy scramble down to the water's edge. Dean laid out a threadbare old army blanket on a conveniently flatter rock slab. He produced bottles of soda, a tube of chips, salami cream cheese and pickle sandwiches, and foil wrapped leftover fried chicken.
Sitting there in sunshine, the sound of babbling water, the presence of Dean, made all the knots tangled up inside Castiel uncoil. His shoulders eased. He chewed tasty chicken flesh leisurely. He removed his boots and socks causing Dean to grin, follow suit and wiggle their toes in unison.
"This is a wonderful escape," Castiel commented dreamily, tilting his head upwards to watch the progress of a lazy puffball cloud. "No one can disturb us here."
"No cell phone signal this far out," Dean agreed. "That boss of yours can't interrupt."
Castiel tittered like a naughty pup, "I didn't expect that. I left my cell behind."
"Castiel, you rebel!"
"What if your Dad is looking for you?" Castiel parried with a wink.
"Guess we're both rebelling. You're a bad influence, Cas." Dean grinned. He teased but with audible admiration. "Coming in here stirring the pot, speaking up to Dad, making us think about omega rights…"
"Equal rights."
"…Equal rights, justice, fairness…" Dean's voice trailed away. He sighed, "Dad subjects me to these talks, like by the fire once Sam and Adam are in bed but other times too. We could be happy as clams servicing the John Deere Forester engine and he'll launch into a spiel about judgement, or allocation of housing, or liaising with schools…"
"He's trying to prepare you…"
"Groom me to take over one day." Dean hissed and shook out his shoulders. "For a role I never asked for. Getting my hands dirty with motor oil or cooking grease is totally off the table…"
"I've been meaning to enquire, Dean." Castiel gingerly met the young alpha's eye, checking it was okay to continue. "Once your father is satisfied that he has trained you, shown you the ropes, could you pursue studies to your liking? He is a mechanic, yes? Surely he would agree that it would be beneficial for you to have a trade and qualifications."
Dean clicked his tongue. He reached over their heads with his right hand. "Dad's standards are up there. When we were on the road he'd have Sammy and me doing training. Exercising. Running. Wrestling and crap. This one place we had a cabin at the bottom this shit steep hill, like your calves would scream out loud at the sight of it. Four times up and down once schoolwork was done. I was angry with him, can't remember why, and I steamed up and down and again and again. My legs burned. Knees ached. Came and stood in front of him on the cabin stoop and said 'That was five, sir.' And he said, 'If you can do it five times then you coulda done it six,' gets up and walks into the house."
"He sets impossibly high standards." Castiel comprehended grimly.
"And doesn't tell you the benchmark." Dean barked. He scrubbed his hand over his mouth and chin. "It's not enough that I'm too freaking busy to spend time with my old gang, haven't kept in touch with the guys from high school, don't get to help Sammy with his studies… Gotta focus on what John wants for me, for the pack, so I understand my position, my responsibilities, know how to help a pack grow… Huh, listen to me rabbiting on. I don't really wanna poke this bear. Don't wanna ruin our day."
As he listened, Cas's heart pained at the stuffed down forlorn need for company, the plain loneliness that Dean lived with amid all his family. John was driving his son to be an exemplary nurturing pack alpha. He silently asked the question 'Who nurtured Dean?'
Castiel reached over to cup Dean's knee. "Sharing your troubles is an honor not a day ruiner. Any time you want to pour your dilemmas into a friendly ear…"
"That doesn't even make sense." A soft smile graced Dean's lips. He rocked backwards ready to change the mood. "Let's skip all the crap. Tell me something I don't know about you."
"Like what?" Castiel asked, finally and reluctantly withdrawing his hand. He took a swig of his now warm flat soda.
"First car you drove?"
Castiel laughed. "My parents bought me a Honda Civic so I wouldn't wreck my Dad's Buick. You?"
"My Baby… My first and only black beauty… I'm a one car guy."
"You're drooling." Castiel ribbed.
Dean rubbed his face on his shirt sleeve then looked at the dry material. "You punked me!"
"You believed me." Castiel snickered. "First girl or boyfriend?"
"Never really had one," Dean leaned back on the blanket. "Did some pup fun stuff, y'know, like kissy kissy holdy handies? Anna and I pretended we'd mate. Got to second base couple months before we both presented."
"Kelly Simmons on the back porch at my thirteenth birthday," Castiel revealed. The memory assaulted him of not knowing what to do with his hands and being surprised by Kelly's probing tongue while all the time crickets chirped unaffected by the momentous event in Castiel's life.
"Where'd you go?" Dean shuffled closer to bump shoulders. "And what kinda name is Kelly? Boy or Girl?"
"Ha! Wouldn't you like to know?" Castiel tapped the side of his nose.
"Come on, Cas. Don't tell me she was your true love or he broke your itty bitty pup heart?"
"You are incorrigible. He stood on my toe and he tasted of menthol cigarettes. Once I recovered from realizing I had participated in my first kiss, I nearly barfed."
Dean guffawed. "That's terrible. Terrible and brilliant."
"And memorable." Castiel agreed with his own dry laugh.
"First popsicle?"
"What the hell? I don't remember that." Castiel's ribs shook with continued mirth.
"Mine was cherry red on this baking hot day while we stayed with a New Jersey lupine family group. I unwrapped it like it was a magic wand."
Castiel gulped. Dean must have been quite small, but it must have been after his mother died. However the image his brain unhelpfully supplied was of present day all grown up gloriously alpha Dean with his lips sinfully wrapped around a long red Popsicle shining with melt water which would escape and trickle down his chin in drips between his red-blond stubble.
A pained moan emerged unbidden from Castiel's throat. He shifted his position to hide his uncomfortable full trousers.
Dean noticed. He prowled cat-like on hands and knees to face his companion. "You like that? Me sucking… long and deep."
A garbled noise was all Castiel could manage. He didn't know if he was begging for more or pleading with Dean not to torment him.
"You smell…."
"I smell?" Castiel recovered enough to offer a fake offended face.
"Let me finish," Dean eye-rolled, still hovering close. He took a deep breath. "Your pheromones are freaking intoxicating."
Castiel raised his brows. Surely he was being teased now. Dean must be exaggerating.
"Let me…" Dean inched closer.
He pushed his nose under Castiel's ear, taking a deep inhalation. His hand spanned Cas's spine keeping him in that position. Cas leaned back into the alpha's hold, letting Dean take his weight. Then chapped lips mouthed tender kisses along his freshly shaved jaw, telegraphing their intention, giving him an opening to refuse or pull away. Eyes fluttering at such un-alpha-like humble intimacy, Cas moistened his lips. He was ready, willing, wanted. When Dean's hot breath entered his mouth, he opened more, welcoming him in. Dean's tongue was like warm velvet, savory from their picnic but all Dean. They writhed and twisted on the blanket for better position until somehow Castiel was on his back, elbows under him while Dean braced his body over. Deep kisses became nipped caresses. Pupils blown wide to Castiel's perception sunlight haloed the young alpha so that his hair was a golden crown and he took on an otherworldly quality. With dancer-like smoothness Dean's shirt and tee disappeared, cast aside. Attentive hands rucked Cas's top upwards. He sat up, lifting his arms like a child. Dean smiled wide as he tossed the dark blue tee on top of his own clothes.
"Cas?"
"Yes, Dean?"
"You wanna lose the rest?" the alpha wiggled his eyebrows.
In record time, Castiel could view his intended lover in all his glory. Dean's length and sack were full and impressive. So much larger than the standard human guy, but not scary, more like Castiel couldn't wait to touch and taste and feel the weight of Dean's cock in his palm. Showing unbelievable trust the alpha lay sideways, lower than Cas, showing him his vulnerable back and neck. There were no words. Castiel carefully, reverently traced his fingers on each knob of Dean's spine, dotted caresses to his lower back, and ran a hand down the muscle of Dean's thighs. Seeking friction, Cas pressed his hard-on against Dean's hip.
His southwards progress was halted by a strangled yelp, "We can't do this."
Castiel rocked back onto his knees, looking up as Dean's twisted cheeks-flushed to face him. "What?"
"I want." Dean bit his lower lip. "I want you."
"I want you too," Castiel responded guilelessly. "Nothing we can do here is wrong, unless it is unwanted."
"I can't." Dean looked away. "My knot… it'd rip you open."
"Well that's like a bucket of cold water." Castiel commented as his erection flagged.
"Cas," Dean reached for him. "I'm treading water. I guess, I can't let you go into this blind… I don't know if I'd be able to, if I'd be capable of stopping myself…"
"Hey, hey," Castiel smoothed the soft skin under Dean's eye with his thumb, "We don't have to do that."
"I… I'm not a bottom… alphas don't… and I can't knot you."
"Are you trying to say we're sexually doomed just as we were about to enjoy our time in the sun in this beautiful place?" Castiel mildly chastised, hoping to lift Dean out of his sudden funk. "And don't you guys have gay relationships? What do alphas and alphas do? What about an alpha male and a beta male?"
"Geez, Dude, I wasn't expecting our date to turn into a lecture on lupine sexuality."
"Our date." Castiel repeated, the words warming him. "So this is a date?"
Dean shoulder bumped him, "You know it is."
"I am curious though, Professor Winchester, can you enlighten me on lupine sexual dynamics?" Castiel sagged back on his elbows again, but left enough room for Dean to recline beside him.
"What you humans call homosexuality isn't frowned upon so much by werekind." Dean began. "Don't get me wrong, as a species we want to procreate. Hell, the importance of omegas is the pinnacle of that mindset, but within a pack or a grouping of lupine families if a male beta couple mate or two female alphas wanna make a go of things, then there isn't a problem… especially if they've got siblings to carry on their family lines. Way back when parents died those couples would adopt orphaned pups. There's a famous tale in our lore of Alpha Dodi and Beta Kareem. Bobby'd tell it better, but they were a male couple who led a pack in a time of pestilence and ended up raising all the pups of those who succumbed."
"Such a history of tolerance is admirable."
"Bet you're still wondering about the mechanics." Dean teased with a lewd chuckle.
Feeling his cheeks heat, Castiel confessed, "I was hoping you would cover that area."
"There's areas of you I'd like to cover."
Castiel guffawed.
"Bad?" Dean winced.
"I've heard better come ons." Castiel sniggered, but he sneaked his fingers across the dividing few inches of blanket to lay his hand on Dean's warm thigh. "What about omega-omega matings?"
"Naw. Doesn't happen." Dean paused in thought. "Couldn't happen."
Castiel squinted, pondering. When there was more than one unmated omega, for years, sequestered away from all others… Who was he to presume what Andy and Alfie or any others in similar situations might indulge in for pleasure? He did not believe that the boys were so attached but he felt an ounce of pity for others who may have formed bonds while unmated. They would truly be doomed because they had no choice but to part and be mated to the alphas chosen for them.
"Lube." Dean blurted.
"Huh?"
"Buckets of it. Why do you think the premier lube manufacturers are owned by a lupine?" Dean snorted. "A helluva prep and buckets of SucroCorp's topline lube, hours of stretching and prepping you, Cas."
The feral noise that escaped Castiel's throat matched the sultry growl from Dean.
"Fuck," Dean gasped, flipping to retake his pose over Castiel's body. "We can do other things today… good things."
"Pleasurable things," Castiel agreed breathlessly, "But, Dean, will that be enough for you?"
His question was double edged, asking about beyond the moment.
"Will it be for you?" Dean met his gaze.
Castiel gulped under the alpha focus. He nodded, agreed to now and the unspoken tentative promise of more.
At that nod, Dean's natural dominance came out. He held Cas, manipulated him, biting, controlling their kisses. Cas dug his nails into the meat of Dean's shoulders. He gasped and rutted against him, wanting more. Dean pinned his arms to the blanket, sucking hickeys into the flesh of his stomach. It excited Cas, caused a thrill to roll through him, but he wasn't a natural submissive and he gave as good as he got, nipping at Dean's bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth. It was Cas who tugged at Dean's hand, bringing their fists together, sliding their erections in a frenzy of need, instigating mutual jerking that rose and consumed them.
Dean wrapped his fingertips in the slightly longer hairs at the nape of Castiel's neck, and tugged. Castiel's chin shot up. Their eyes met. Dean's pupils were pinpricks, almost feral in his desire. Tight chested, panting, Castiel intimately recognized the alpha's state. As his own passion reached the pain barrier, throbbing, wanting, wanton, Castiel let out a whining moan of pure need.
"I got you, Cas, I got you."
The calloused pull and twist of Dean's fist stole every word from Castiel's throat. He couldn't form a 'please' to plead or beg for release, but he didn't have to. Dean bent double taking Cas's head between sinful warm soft lips and sucking just, just enough. With an unintelligible shout, Castiel threw his head back as he came soul-wrenchingly hard.
"All for me," Dean's eyes twinkled. He had pulled back in time, but pearly spend decorated his chin and chest. He licked his lower lip, "Umm. Salty."
Sultry and sensual, Dean's praise reignited Castiel's heated desire. His own growl slipped between his teeth, not letting the size of Dean's erect cock faze him, he took both hands and felt the so very different, exotic, wondrous bulge of the beginnings of Dean's knot. Squeezing and releasing his grip on the hot straining skin and muscle, Castiel watched in breath held awe. Dean rutted into his hold arching back in peaking bliss.
"Like that, Cas, just like, Cas. Oh My God, you're awesome." Dean panted as his body coiled and strained. A full body tremble before stilling completely.
"Mine," Dean shouted out as he came copiously, hot release covering Castiel's hands and their bodies.
Eyelids closed, Castiel took a deep disbelieving breath, comprehending that he was really there, that Dean had been so taken in the moment he had shouted a claim, that they had really done it, and he was the luckiest sucker in the world.
When Castiel opened his eyes, Dean laughed loud. "We ruined the blanket."
Hilarity infected Castiel. They both collapsed onto their backs, side by side, laughing in pure joy under the blue sky.
A few moments after their titters faded away, languid but sticky, Castiel allowed Dean to grab both his hands and haul him to his feet. They tumbled into the rock pool with all the grace of flapping birds.
"Good God." Castiel yelped. The water was icy.
"It's bracing," Dean said with bravado as his teeth chattered. "It'll warm up."
Swimming round the alpha, to get his muscles moving to generate kinetic heat, Castiel blew a raspberry, "Bullshit."
Dean threw his head back laughing, spray of droplets shining in the slanted light. He dived under, proving himself a powerful swimmer by chasing and catching up to Castiel. They did a circuit of the deeper waters, flicking water at the other with their fingers. Under the plunging waterfall, they took turns pushing each other out of the way to have a natural freezing hydro-massage across their shoulders. When gooseflesh rose on Castiel's arms and he couldn't stop shivering, he swam across to the sunnier side of the hollow. Once his toes found pebbles in the shallows, Castiel heaved his body out onto their slanted rock.
Dean followed. He cupped Castiel's cheek with fingers cool from the water and planted a cherished close lipped almost grateful kiss.
Castiel inclined his head in question, but Dean had bent to unzip the backpack that the advocate had carried to the waterfall. He produced two decent sized towels.
"Ah-ha, now I know why my pack was softer and lighter." Castiel said gratefully while rubbing his cold skin vigorously.
Dean made quick work of his own drying and re-dressing. He pouted, looking at the rock pool accusingly, "It washed away my scent."
Castiel shook his head indulgently, picking his discarded tee from the rock where it had landed and pulling it over his head. The very second he was also dressed, Dean was on him, nuzzling into Castiel's neck like a demented large cat, licking a stripe across the last shade of faded bruises on his throat.
"Okaaaayyy?" Castiel asked warily, pushing the alpha away gently. "That was a bit unnerving."
With a half-laugh, Dean responded, "Just, kinda, instinct, y'know. Hope you didn't mind."
"Can't say I object to nuzzling, but some warning would be cool."
"Yeah, OK. Warning." Dean shifted his weight onto one leg. "Alpha's don't nuzzle or crap but I kind of liked it too."
Castiel furled his brow. "Bet alpha's do so cuddle and nuzzle their ma…."
He gulped hard, dropping his eyes to the messed up blanket at their feet. He couldn't go there. It would be like claiming to be Dean's mate.
Dean's fingers wrapped around his hand, stroking his palm ever so tenderly. "Cas? It's alright. I get it."
Castiel looked up meeting wide green hopeful eyes. "You do?"
Dean sucked a quick courage taking breath. "What you're feeling, I'm feeling."
Castiel nodded. "But others…"
"We can keep this between us. Only ours." Dean promised. "We don't have to tell anyone."
Castiel twisted his lip, a pinch of hurt that as a human he might not be good enough. "Do you want that? Do you want to hide?"
"No. Goddammit." Dean swore. "I don't give two fucks what anyone thinks, but I don't want you treated wrong. And my Dad… I don't know… I don't think he'd understand cross species loving'."
Sadly Castiel nodded his understanding. "You don't need to worry about how I'd be treated, Dean. I can take care of myself, but I respect your father's power to kick me out of the pack."
Dean's hold tightened to bone crushing. "That's it. Can't have him send you away. We gotta keep this secret. For now anyhow. Until I can think how to approach Dad. That's if you want to keep going," Suddenly diffident, Dean's eyes scooted away, "if you want…"
"I want." Castiel lifted his free hand, cupping Dean's jaw and drawing him in close. "It's not rational or cautious or socially acceptable or freaking sensible but, God in Heaven, I want you Dean Winchester."
Their kiss was long, deep and hungry, devouring any qualms, tightening the bond between them.
When they parted, white floaters dotted Castiel's vision and he gasped for air.
As they packed up and made their return to the main settlement, they bumped hips and stole pecked kisses. It was like something had changed for the better, some sort of dam had broken allowing their held back affection and desire to flow between them. They grinned as they slid down the steepest parts, chased each other through the flatter long grass, and pinned wild white bloodroot poppies behind each other's ears.
One perfect day. A vacation from all worries and restrictions. A refuge from pack life. An unparalleled afternoon in Castiel's experience.
In the final stretch, they smoothed down their clothing and removed their floral decorations. Castiel pretended not to see Dean stuff the two white flowers into a side zip compartment of his backpack.
Backs straight, hands grazing but not touching, almost out of the tree line, they were surprised to see Fergus Crowley in a black button down and trousers, sitting on a log, ankles crossed, making notes with a pencil in a small memo pad.
"What is he doing here?" Dean hissed.
Crowley looked up. Somehow his smile of welcome made Castiel's skin crawl.
"Dobie." The older alpha explained. "Gavin's best racer. The fool bet on her making her way back from Cannon in record time. He won his wager. A falcon snatched her just over the field here."
Castiel winced. Dean blew a puff of sympathetic air.
It seemed his sympathy was wasted though because Crowley dry chuckled, "Was just making note of her demise. Gavin's gone running like an infant in tears to Grandmother. He might be my spawn but how he presented alpha, I will never know."
"Your spawn?" Castiel imbued his tone with outrage. He corrected, "Your son. He must have treated this pigeon as a pet. Perhaps Rowena understands his loss."
Crowley snorted in disgust, rising to his feet, nose in the air. "We don't need your meddling. Gavin's of age, alpha, and works for me, so you can keep your human nose outta business that doesn't concern you."
"Crowley," Dean warned, "Castiel is our guest."
"And what hosting duties were you performing, alone, away from everyone?" So unexpectedly and brazenly did Crowley breach the distance between them, that Dean and Castiel did not have time to catch up, before the alpha was scenting Castiel's neck.
Dean grabbed him by the shirt sleeves and bodily lifted the shorter alpha, planting him a couple of feet apart.
"What the fuck was that? Why do you think you could do that?" Dean challenged.
"Ha!" Crowley triumphed. "He reeks of you and you're all bee-stung lips. He's marked you as his, Castiel Novak. Did he make that clear? Get your consent before he dumped his pheromones all over you - Pissed on his territory?"
"I was aware." Castiel replied conservatively. He refused to let this toad-like man besmirch and tarnish what was blossoming between Dean and him, or to dirty the memories of their cherished hours of sanctuary.
Catching Crowley making a curled lip smug smirk, he hoped the pigeon farmer's self-satisfaction was due to nothing more than getting one over on a higher ranked alpha.
"I'd advise soap," Crowley chortled, "Plenty of soap, if you don't want the whole pack, kit and caboodle, and Papa John to know your recreational activities."
Dean poked a finger hard into Crowley's chest. Full on alpha voiced he directed, "It's my turn to speak, and you will listen. You will keep your nose out of business that doesn't concern you."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Crowley replied, still with a taunt but he had dropped his eyes to Dean's chin rather than making a challenge.
"Good." Dean affirmed. He caught hold of Castiel's wrist, leaving the other alpha behind. "Come on, Cas, we've better places to be."
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