Warnings: OmegaVerse, Slash (Dean Ambrose/CM Punk), Previous Slash (Jeff Hardy/CM Punk), Profanity.
Being in the diner on his days off is something Phil's gotten used. He and Colt often go eat there, but being there waiting for a date isn't something he's familiar with. All week he'd been stressing over this date. Brock and Colt were much more helpful than he was in helping him feel more prepared for dealing with Dean. Brock had told him to be himself, then promptly turned crimson, and Colt had told something very similar to be honest. Good solid advice that Phil has the terrible feeling he's going to ignore in favour of trying to please Dean. He's almost convinced that this is a terrible idea, but he won't know unless he tries, and no matter how terrible it is, it can't be as bad as his relationship with Jeff.
"Sorry I'm late." Dean slides into the booth opposite him, jolting Phil from his thoughts. He looks harried, like he's not sure what to expect from this date. Phil pulls what he hopes is a sweet, nonthreatening smile at him.
"You're not late, I was just early." Which is entirely true. Colt and Kofi had been there until about twenty minutes ago, when they'd cleared out. Kofi had leaped at the chance to get away from his work when Phil had invited him for morning coffee. Apparently developing games is hard and boring work, and Colt took the opportunity to not be in Cena's company with both hands. He seems to be making no headway on actually learning to tolerating the alpha he has an undeniable crush on. It'd be so much better for all of them if Colt could stop being Colt for a minute and just accept that most alphas are assholes who will annoy you, and tell Cena he'd like his knot. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Confused, but good." Dean levels Phil with a curious look, his head tilted to one side slightly. "Why am I here, Phil?"
"I…in all honesty, Dean, I don't know." Phil laughs awkwardly, and shakes his head. "I think it's because I wanted to give you a second chance. You said you'd got excuses, and I suppose I can listen to them." Dean smiles at him, that brilliant smile that makes Phil's head feel light, and his panties damp. The other waitress delivers their orders, and looks at Phil oddly. They don't work together unless someone's sick, so Phil doesn't feel like he owes the other omega any kind of explanation for why he's been holding court in this corner booth all morning, or why this is his second slice of apple pie.
"I'm grateful you're giving me another chance." Dean looks awkwardly away, that smile still on his lips. "I don't deserve it at all though. I…I'm entirely certain I'm going to fuck this up again."
"Well, maybe you will, but maybe you won't." Phil smiles slightly, and pokes absently at his pie with the fork. "I don't know that it's something we should be talking about though. Neither of us are psychics, it's not like we can tell what's gonna happen."
"True, very true. So, what is it you do?" Dean changes the subject easily enough, and Phil winces slightly at the question.
"I work here most of the time, and clean in the evenings." Phil mutters quickly and quietly, hoping that his words are mostly lost in the chatter of the diner. His hopes are dashed though.
"Waitress, huh? I can see you in the frilly apron, very cute." Dean winks at Phil, a scandalous little smirk on his lips. "You work hard for your kid. I admire that. My ma wasn't anything like that. All she cared about was what she could put in her." Dean stabs his own pie, and takes the forkful of food almost viciously.
"I'm not-"
"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just there were so many shitty alphas in and out of my life that the idea of being one of those for someone else…it makes me uncomfortable." Dean takes another bite of pie, more calmly this time, his gaze focussed on the table.
"I'm thinking uncomfortable is an understatement really." Phil waves away what looks like might be Dean preparing an apology. He mostly, kind of, gets it. Dean had a hard upbringing, and he's still dealing with that. It's not uncommon, and Phil's just going to have to quieten the side of him that's rolling its eyes and scoffing at the indulgent side of him. "Seth's fifteen now. He's getting more and more grown-up every day, so I think things might be a little different to your situation."
"Yeah. He looks like a good kid. I've seen him a few times, with you, without you…he's taken after his papa." Dean smiles at him again, and Phil can feel his cheeks heating up. "On the subject of people I've seen you with, who's the big alpha?"
"Brock?" The expression that's fighting for dominance on Dean's face is one that Phil's seen before, on a different face in a different time, but he keeps that thought from gaining any traction, and focusses on the overall handsomeness of Dean.
"Big, red face, white hair, expensive looking car." Dean's lips might be smiling but there's something in his eyes that should have Phil stamping his fork down and leaving, but instead he finds himself nodding.
"That's Brock. He's a friend from my cleaning job. Not that he's a cleaner. I mean with a car like his that'd be silly." Phil laughs softly, and trails off when Dean doesn't even pretend to join in with him. "Why?"
"Huh, no reason." Dean's smile looks sincere this time, and Phil nods again. "I scare you." Dean reaches over the table and touches Phil hand lightly. "You try and hide it, but I can see it. There's something about me that unnerves you."
"Dean." Phil slowly withdraws his hand, and smiles awkwardly at Dean. "You remind me of my ex in a lot of good and terrible ways." Dean nods slightly, and leans back in his chair.
"It wasn't a storybook relationship?" He smiles encouragingly, and Phil shakes his head.
"I don't think this is a first date conversation, Dean." Phil mutters, and takes a sip of his coffee.
"Nah, probably not. So, you're a waitress slash cleaner, you wanna know what I do?" Dean changes the subject once more, that lazy, sexy grin back on his face.
"Sure. Although I already know. You're a radio man with a podcast too." Phil smiles as Dean nods slightly.
"Yeah… I guess we already had half a date, didn't we?" Dean runs a hand through his hair nervously. "I've wanted to talk to you for ages. You've got the best scent of any omega I've encountered in years. We do these live podcasts sometimes, and I've been all over the country, but there's never been a scent like yours." Dean shakes his head, and sighs. "I never know what to say to you…you throw me off."
"Sorry?" Phil's not entirely certain what Dean had been expecting him to say to that. There's nothing that springs to mind, so he sits awkwardly watching Dean, and considering if he's made a bad decision. He feels flighty, but not unduly unconformable.
"You've not done anything. It's all me." Dean shakes his head, and props his chin up on his fist. "I'm a journalist by trade. I work freelance mostly, but I've won a few awards."
"Oh? That's impressive." Phil smiles awkwardly. He's expecting Dean to launch into a long rambling monologue like most alphas, but he always seems to catch himself before he can. It's disconcerting really. Phil knows how to deal with the alphas he's attracted to, but only when they play by the right rules, and it seems like Dean's never even seen the rulebook.
"Meh, it's not hard really. I mostly write about omegaist issues, and even when most of the writers are omega, the awarding bodies will still conspire to give the awards to an alpha." Dean laughs, and shakes his head. "The reason I mention it I think is a second date topic though." Dean laughs again, and gestures towards the door. "You wanna talk and walk?"
"Sure." Phil polishes off his coffee, and gets to his feet. Dean heads straight for the counter to settle the bill. The server flirts with him, and Dean flirts vaguely back, a smile on his lips, although not the smile he levels Phil with. "We all good?" Phil rests his hand lightly on Dean's broad shoulder as he comes to stand by him at the counter. The server smiles tightly at him, and presses the receipt into Dean's hand.
"So, where you wanna walk to?" Dean starts ambling down the street, clearly with no destination in mind. Phil can't remember the last time he felt safe enough to just meander down the street. It was probably back in North Carolina. The streets were pretty safe for a married, white omega down there. Phil falls into step with Dean, and is only mildly surprised when he takes hold of his hand.
"This way's fine." Phil smiles over at him, a little flame flickering into life when Dean smiles back at him, and lightly squeezes his fingers.
"You had a date?" Seth sounds unexpectedly awake when Phil gets home that night. He's spent all night chattering Brock's ear off about his date with Dean, and the big alpha had been quietly supportive, but there'd been a hint of concern in his eyes. It seems Colt and Brock talk far too much, and Colt's spilled every concern and incident to Brock. The big alpha hadn't pushed, but Phil's got no doubts that should he need defending, Brock would be there.
"Yeah, I did." Phil nods, and smiles over at Seth. "Uncle Colt tell you?"
"Yeah…with the guy from before. Papa, I…I'm not happy about that." Seth folds his arms, and glares at Phil. "He scared you, and don't even pretend that he didn't. You might think you can hide things like that from me, but don't forget, I know you, Papa. Every time we've bumped into him, you've been white as a sheet and shaking. He scares you, and I don't think he's gonna be good for you." Phil can't think of a single thing to say to that. Seth's glaring at him, imploring him to speak, but Phil doesn't have anything to say.
"This date went really well." Phil mumbles. He's not used to feeling like he has to justify himself to his son. It should be the other way around, Seth should be trying to get Phil to see that his new date-mate is a good choice, not this. "Did you make me some tea?" Phil decides that changing the subject is the best thing he can do in this moment. Seth keeps his glare for a moment, and then relents, gesturing towards the pot, and the plate of toast on the kitchen table.
The next week goes smoothly. It's strangely pleasant how much of a comfortable pattern everything's fallen into. Seth's been quiet all week since his minor outburst on Friday night. He knows he should give some thought to it, but it's not important. He and Dean have been speaking by text all week, and he's not felt scared once. It's all been going well. The second date has been set for Saturday night, which Phil was a little surprised by because over the course of their conversing Dean admitted that Saturday was when he and Tom usually recorded their podcast. Phil's not asked the name of Dean's podcast yet. He possibly should, but he thinks that listening to it might give him an unfair advantage. Accidently information about the presenters is given away on podcasts, and Phil wants to learn Dean from Dean and Dean alone.
"You look great." Dean smiles broadly as Phil steps into the elevator with him. They arranged to meet there rather than him coming to apartment. Seth might not have said anything, but he'd levelled Phil with an unimpressed look as he and Colt waved Phil off. Colt had easily agreed to babysit Seth for the night. In truth Phil knows that Seth doesn't really need a babysitter, but he'd feel so much better knowing that there's someone there for him to talk to, and Colt might make a case for Phil dating whomever he pleases. There's something unsettling about knowing that his son disapproves of his romantic choice, but it's his choice to make, not Seth's.
"Ah, thank you. You look good too." Phil smiles slightly, and nervously touches the few curled strands of hair falling down the side of his face. Dean really does look good, dressed in a well fitted suit, and his glorious smile. "Where we going?"
"Surprise." Dean grins over at Phil, and gently takes his hand, leading him out of the elevator, and then the building. There's a cab waiting outside, and Dean gestures towards it. "In you get." Phil shakes his head, and gets into the cab. Dean slips in beside him, and takes his hand once more. "I think you'll like this surprise. I checked with Tom, and he thought it'd be a good second date." Dean's thumb rubs over the skin of Phil's hand, and his lips quirk in a smile. "He's kinda pissed that I bailed on recording tonight." Phil makes a vaguely enquiring noise, hoping to encourage Dean to keep talking. He's feeling strangely nervous, in a cab with an alpha he doesn't know well going to an unknown location feels dangerous, so he isn't sure he'd be able to carry off a good conversation. "We drop the episode on a Friday, so we're always like a week behind…I get why we can't record sooner, but really we could drop sooner. Well, if I did the editing I suppose. Poor Tom, he's working himself to death." Dean laughs softly, and looks over at Phil. "He's got two jobs too. One for some lawyer as an assistant, and then as my producer on the show at nights."
"Sounds like he's hiding from something." Phil mutters, and Dean squeezes his hand lightly. "He doesn't have kids, right?" Dean shakes his head. "Not in crippling debt?"
"Well, not beyond student loans." Dean laughs, and Phil nods slightly.
"Hiding from something then." Phil nods sagely, and Dean laughs softly.
"Very wise. Wanna throw any suspicion as to what, or are we just gonna assume he wants to be getting knotted by some hunky alpha?" Dean laughs, and Phil can't help the slightly overly amused giggle that leaves him. "You've got a pretty laugh." Dean tilts Phil's face up, and carefully tucks a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "And the prettiest blush." Phil laughs nervously, and ducks his head down once more.
"Flatterer." He mumbles, and the cabby chuckles softly. Phil pulls away a little, turning to look out of the window, not wanting to give the driver more a reason to be amused by him. Dean doesn't let go of his hand, and for now seems content to let Phil be, his thumb moving slowly over Phil's skin.
"We're here." Dean helps Phil out of the car, pays the driver, and leads the way into the building they've arrived in front of. "I don't know if you dance, but there's food too, and-"
"We're at a dance hall? Like one of those proper old-school dance halls?" He's charmed, stupidly charmed, because Phil's always wanted to something silly like go to one of the hipster-riddled tea dances that've sprung up in the gentrified neighbourhoods nearby.
"Yeah…you're okay with that?" Dean smiles at him, and Phil nods almost gleefully. He wishes he'd dressed nicer, but he'd done the best he could, and at least his hair and make-up look good enough to not be too out of place.
"I'm not the best dancer, but I'm very up for trying." Phil grins at Dean, and finds himself speeding up as the old forties/fifties music gets louder. "How bout you?" Dean laughs loudly, and once they're on the floor his arm wraps around Phil's waist.
"Watch your toes, babe." Dean winks, and they start trying to copy the other couples on the floor.
What feels like hours later, they finally sit down to eat. A couple of Dean's fellow podcasters are there with their mates, so they join them. They keep referring to Phil as the whiskey omega, and it definitely doesn't sit well with him at all. He supposes he could ask why, but Dean seems more embarrassed than anything, and in the end they seem like nice, if pushy people. One of the alphas asks Phil if he'd like to dance, and Phil readily agrees. The alpha might be a horrible dancer, but Phil really does enjoy dancing, so he can't complain, and his toes only got stepped on once. When they get back to the table, Dean takes his hand firmly, and with a stony expression, leads him back out onto the dance floor.
"I'm not gonna lie, I don't like seeing another alpha's hands on you. Date two, and I'm already being a jealous asshole." Dean laughs softly, and squeezes Phil's waist tighter. Phil has no idea what to say to this. Dean's at least acknowledging he's being an asshole, but there's nothing to say to that acknowledgement. "I'm sorry." Dean squeezes him again, clearly hoping for an answer.
"It's okay." Phil mutters softly, because he's mostly certain it is okay. Dean's done nothing wrong, and he does enjoy dancing with Dean more than his friend, because Dean's much better on the floor and on the eye.
They leave at the same time as Dean's podcasting friends, waving off their offers of a ride home. Instead, Dean hails a cab, and tucks Phil to his side closely. Phil lets his head rest against Dean. With his arm around his shoulders, Phil feels content. It's something he's not felt in a long time. The warm, soft rush of attraction, true attraction. Dean's scent is thick and all encompassing, it drowns out everything else around them. The thrill of passionate adventure that lingers in his scent, along with something fragile that calls out the nurturing side of Phil. It'd been in Jeff's scent, that little hint of vulnerability that'd called to the bits of Phil that'd always wanted to be a papa, the parts of him that wanted to support, and cherish, to keep someone else safe from harm.
"You okay?" Dean asks softly, tilting Phil's face up to him once they've settled in the cab, on their way back home. Phil nods, a small smile on his lips. "Good." Dean lightly draws a finger down Phil's cheek. The rest of the journey Phil spends with his eyes closed, lost in the mental images Dean's scent conjures. Mental pictures of lazy mornings spent in a sunbeam, and long nights with damp heat lingering in the air.
"Thank you for tonight, Phil." Dean stops in front of Phil's door, and tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. "I had the best time." His eyes flicker down to Phil's lips then back to his eyes.
"I should be thanking you." Phil smiles softly, ducking his head slightly. He's debating if the second date is too soon for a kiss. Jeff kissed him on the first, the last alpha he'd dated had kissed him half-way through the first date but to be fair the movie they'd been watching had been boring.
"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Dean's fingers linger on the side of Phil's face, his eyes flicker once more to Phil's lips, clearly asking permission or at least testing the waters when it comes to kissing.
"The gym." Phil smiles slightly, and Dean's gaze drifts lower. His eyes linger on Phil's slightly soft stomach, and he looks dubious for a second.
"You look fine." He smiles slightly but sounds confused, and for a moment Phil's mildly stung, but then he remembers that Dean has no idea that Seth's learning how to fight, and no idea that Sundays are his major training day. He'd of course assume that Phil was going to the gym for his own benefit, in fact he possibly should be in all honesty. Dean's fingers trail down Phil's face, and tilt his chin up. "Can I kiss you good night?"
"Please." Phil barely finishes speaking before Dean's lips brush over his, soft and gentle, leaving him waving Dean goodnight with a silly smile on his face.
Many thanks to lovergyul, takers dark lover, Rebellecherry, and ambroserollinsgirl.
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Next update - 2017/02/25