Castiel: Do you want me to pick you up in the car today or should we walk?

There was nothing at all strange about the questions so there was no reason to hesitate in answering, but after yesterday's little bout of omega hysteria where he'd embarrassed himself with the amount of messages, Dean was wary of how he answered Alf today. He tried to make his texts sound... normal.

He himself didn't even know what had happened yesterday. Sure, he'd gotten used to a certain rhythm with Castiel. Alpha always answered him before he left for school and then in the afternoon, but he could keep talking until three in the morning and never forgot to say goodbye to going to bed. That's why it was a little strange that he didn't get answers from Alpha for hours after eight in the evening for his occasional outbursts of frustration over working at the diner.

He figured right away that he probably didn't want to be disturbed, so he turned on airplane mode or something. As he passed the food between the tables, he wondered what Alpha was probably doing. First he thought of a properly wild party at Blue Sky, a thought that made his Omega growl furiously at the thought of the beautiful Omegas that must have been there with Alpha. He didn't even know why he pictured them there. And why they annoyed him so much. So he'd rather suppressed that vision so he didn't have to deal with a feeling that was too much like jealousy and fixated on something else.

And, my friend, that's when the trouble came.

First it was the humorous images of Alpha sitting in a smoky room with other mob bosses, plotting to take over the city. They were all wearing expensive suits and holding fat cigars, just like in the old gangster movies.

Then his thoughts turned to something more believable and he pictured Alpha in the same old harbor warehouse where he'd had him brought in, cutting someone with a chainsaw or sticking toothpicks under their fingernails. But in the end... in the end he imagined Alpha lying dead. Dead and betrayed by his own people, shot by the police or killed by some other mobster.

It could have been stupidly funny and it should have been. He should have brushed it aside with a contemptuous snort as nonsense. Only his instincts suddenly went haywire and his Omega panicked like perhaps never before. He could absolutely hear her howling over and over, dead, dead, as if Castiel lay lifeless in a pool of blood before him.

Finally, he managed to push the feeling away, pushing Omega back and calming himself down, because he certainly wasn't going to be some hysteric who broke down in the middle of her shift just because of bad thoughts. But when Bill offered him a chowdah, he didn't refuse for once, enjoying the pleasant numbness progressing through his brain. It made him feel a lot calmer, but only until his phone vibrated in his pocket, announcing that the messages had finally been delivered.

Without a single hesitation, he dialed Alf's number, and when Castiel actually picked up, he didn't really know what to say. He just felt like a fool or a pervert sniffing the phone. At least hearing his voice and the reassurance that everything was okay really calmed Dean's inner Omega at last.

He was angry at himself for this stupid behavior and, as always, hated the nonsensical Omega biology that had caused all this. It made him forget too often that he and Castiel... that it wasn't real.

Dean: car

Dean: ?

He finally typed out a reply, suitably elated of course, lest Alpha think he was still the stupidly needy Omega he was yesterday. He'd probably like that. Which Alpha wasn't impressed with an Omega hanging on him, but Dean wasn't about to admit it. He'd rather cut off his own right hand.

Castil: Okay. I'll be at the entrance to the car park at six.

Dean: ?

He looked at the time. It was only 4:30 pm. Just enough time for him to heat up the pizza for Sammy and make sure he ate it properly before he had to go get ready. He needed to shave before the date. His beard may have been growing thin and slow (and it always would, being an Omega), but this morning he already looked like he'd smeared something on his chin and upper lip.

He put his phone down on the table and went to get the pizza out of the freezer. Just as he was ripping open the wrapper, Sam came out of the bathroom.

He picked up the last apple lying on the counter, half tucked in the bag, and threw it at him. The little Alpha caught it deftly with one hand. If he wasn't such a little nerd, he would have made a great baseball player.

"I'm going to make pizza. Eat an apple so you can get some vitamins."

"It's early enough to eat," Sam pointed out, but he sat down at the table and bit into the apple.

"I won't be here tonight," he replied icily, sticking the pizza in the microwave. "Set it up."

"Are you going somewhere with him?"

"Yeah."

"Is he coming to get you?" He continued to question as he set out plates and glasses.

He glanced over his shoulder, just to check that he was, Sammy's face feigning casualness, just staring at the glasses he was setting out and gripping the apple tightly. It was immediately clear that if he'd told him he was coming, he'd have wanted to meet him.

"No. I'm going to him," he lied, not wanting to have to introduce his brother to Alf.

Sam looked up at him sharply, as if surprised by the answer, but then he averted his gaze towards the fridge he'd also gone to to get the juice out of.

"So..." stretched Sam, box in hand, and stared at Dean. "You'll be spending the night with him?"

He didn't answer right away, preferring to focus on the spinning pizza.

Sammy asked a damn good question. They'd seen each other twice now, not counting their first meeting and then the trip in the trunk of the car, and in all that time they'd gotten no further than kissing and some minor groping. This was their third date. He'd never had a third date with anyone without touching skin. Damn it. I mean, he'd never had a third date like ever.

Either his rough charm got him much further the first time or, and this was more common, they left town before any third date could happen. On the few occasions when they stayed somewhere for a long time... well, let's just say kissing in the backseat of Baby was fine. Holding hands in a school hallway, not so much. Not that he'd counted on Alpha Castiel wanting to hold hands, but he hadn't counted on holding back either. Even back then in the warehouse, he had half expected not to follow Sam back to the motel, and he certainly hadn't counted on coming back with an ass as virginal as the one he'd woken up with that morning.

So yeah, Sammy was right, he was definitely going to spend the night with Castiel tonight and if he didn't, he was probably going to start believing in goblins, werewolves and aliens. Because it would be a miracle for any Alpha to last that long next to an available Omega and no knocked him.

"Probably."

"Okay," Sammy muttered along with the cloud of scent of worry rising around him. "You're... safe with him, aren't you?"

He suppressed a chuckle.

Every time he'd been with the Alpha, at least two of his men had been in sight with guns at their waists, and two more had been on Dean's tail for days. Probably not even the President was that guarded. Except they weren't just guarding him from anyone who, who knows why, might want to do something to him. They were making sure he didn't run off and do something to Castiel. Not that he'd want to do anything to him. But he certainly did, it was very ironically safe around Alpha.

"Going out with Alpha has one advantage; shrunken knots don't dare."

"That's not what I meant," Sam retorted; Dean gave him a look away from taking out his pizza. Not only did the little Alpha look insecure, he also reeked of severe embarrassment. "I meant... if you... protect yourself when you're with him."

It took him a second to realize what Sammy was getting at.

"Wow...! Are you asking if we use an rubber?" He asked, gloating as he watched the puppy's cheeks turn red and enjoyed the whiff of utter despair and humiliation, but it was at odds with the suddenly determined look Sam was putting on.

"You know there's up to a one and a half percent chance that Omega will get pregnant out of cycle?" He said, though with a question mark, but in that thoughtful tone of his that, as always, made Dean roll his eyes.

"Don't worry about that. We're not at home base yet," he brushed off his concerns and set the freshly baked pizza on the table.

"You should think about that before it comes to...you know..." he didn't let Sam retort.

"I mean, okay? I'm stocked up."

That wasn't exactly a lie, because he had a couple of standard Beta-sized condoms he used himself somewhere in his pockets. Good thing nature had been as generous with his Omega in that department as it had been in height or muscle, or he'd have had to suck cock in horrible coloured tea bags. Oh, and they made condoms in bright colours to appeal to all Omegas, and the range was so small that it all fit on one narrow shelf. In some small towns and remote gas stations they didn't even have any. Just, sorry buddy, only one in fifteen Omegas are male, so there are too few of you to make it worth wasting money and ideas. And anyway... why would a male Omega need a condom anyway? After all, they were mostly interested in having Alphas of both genders fill their asses with their big dicks and knots.

So technically he had condoms, just...

There was a little problem. Regular size beta condoms were not recommended for Alphas, not only for comfort, but mainly because of the possibility of breaking during knotting. So unless Castiel had a really small canary for an Alpha - and he damn well didn't. More like an anaconda of perfectly standard Alpha proportions - or a strange desire to get fucked by an Omega - not that he'd resisted that option tooth and nail - so they couldn't use them. And Dean hadn't thought of that until now. In fact, he hadn't thought about any protection at all.

Sam was right. He should get some condoms, preferably today. He couldn't count on Castiel having any. Best to always be prepared, just like his dad had taught him. No rubber, no love.

"I'll have a piece and then I'll head out," he announced, putting a piece on his plate.

Sam grumbled in agreement and dragged the rest of the pizza onto his plate.

°°0°°

"... but the worst thing is that it will take three days longer. I wanted to break both his arms for that," Gabriel said and paused.

His silence stretched, causing Castiel to look over his shoulder to the stand that held his cell phone. On the screen was Gabriel's head, a bit of bare chest and shoulders, and behind him was the edge of the hot tub the other Alpha had been sitting in for the entire call, sipping a mimosa.

"And?" He prompted before turning back to his shirts.

His brother was mostly doing fine on his own in the discussion. He literally couldn't shut up, even when it was absolutely necessary. But occasionally he paused in anticipation of a reaction. Usually a hum, a grunt, or a murmur of assent or refusal was all he needed, but sometimes he demanded a little more significant prompting. Exceptionally, a real response.

"What?"

"Did you break his arms?" He asked, pulling out one of his shirts and starting to dress.

"Of course not...! Kali and I had a reservation, so I didn't have time to clean up the corpse," Gabriel replied casually. "But I did something far worse; I strongly advised against it to our neighbors."

He frowned through the mirror he was adjusting his collar in front of at the small reflection of his cell phone screen.

"That's it? You called me to tell me you didn't kill the guy who installed the wrong sound system for your new backyard gazebo?"

Gabriel shrugged.

"What can I say... I just wanted to see my favorite little brother."

"I'm your only younger brother," he reminded, adding the last button and looking himself over critically from head to toe. Since this shirt looked acceptable, he walked over to the drawers of cufflinks, watches, and other jewelry to pick one out. Unfortunately, the phone stand was right on top of the jewelry case, so he got dangerously close to Gabriel's prying eyes.

He ignored his brother's intent look and calmly chose the gold pins with the rough finish that weren't so noticeable. He also opted for a more understated watch, exchanging his usual cross for a smaller and older one that had been consecrated for him by the still old Pop Alexander Sergeyevich - may the Lord rest his soul by his side - back home in Moscow, and which had lost its luster through years of use.

Whichever of the three sports bars Dean had planned to take him to that were near his motel, none of them were the kind of establishments where people who wore gold cufflinks went. And since he planned to enjoy tonight, he tried to dress in a way that wouldn't draw undue attention. Part of the reason was that Dean's motel was too close to the edge of their territory, and at the moment he didn't want anyone to know who he was hanging out with. Whether competitors, allies, or government bitches. The longer his Omega remained anonymous, the better.

"That's the third shirt you've tried on. If I didn't know you, I'd think you were going on a date," Gabriel commented amusedly.

He paused slightly in the middle of fastening the button.

"And if I was?"

"I'd call Hell and ask if they'd gotten any snow."

He looked up into Gabriel's eyes and tilted his head a little.

"Wait a minute...you're seeing someone?" said Gabriel incredulously, and when Castiel nodded in agreement, he set his glass down on the edge of the hot tub and grabbed his phone with both hands. His image swayed as he rose from his comfortable semi-reclining position to a sitting position. "And he's a real, live person who knows you two are on a date tonight?"

"Of course he's a real, live person. And what do you mean, does he know we're meeting today?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, just... don't get me wrong, Cas. You're my brother, and I love you with all my heart," he put his hand theatrically on his chest, "but ever since I've known you, I know you're a bit of a strange bird. The kind that nails little animals to the fence and sets them on fire. I never thought you'd find someone to spend more than a night or two of hot horizontal mambo with."

He squinted slightly.

"Is that what you really think of me, Gabriel?"

"Well..." the other Alpha shook his head. "There's Balth, of course, but..."

He frowned in incomprehension.

"What does Balthazar have to do with all this?"

The other Alpha gave him a longer, somewhat searching look before shaking his head.

"Obviously nothing," he said finally. "I was just under the impression for a while... Well, whatever. My fault. I guess I was wrong. Embarrassing!" He added cheerfully, not looking embarrassed of course, because the last thing on Gabriel's mind was shame. He even had more conscience than shame.

Nevertheless, he understood what Gabriel meant, he just didn't understand where he got the silly notion that he and Balthazar were a couple. He'd probably be willing to call Beta his friend, but first and foremost he owned him. Ever since he'd bought him out of the Black Lily circle, he'd been his property. A personal whore with more freedom than any of his girls had, but he was still nothing more than a nice, lithe body he liked to enjoy in bed.

Perhaps Balthazar had hinted otherwise to Gabriel because he was confused by the marks he had a habit of appropriating, but no matter how satisfying it was to see Balthazar with his marks on his throat, it didn't mean they were a couple.

He should talk to Balthazar and explain to him that he shouldn't be spreading such delusions around. And he should do it firmly. Especially lately, Beta had been acting like an angry bitch and Castiel was slowly running out of patience with him.

"I pay Balthazar to keep me company and spend my rut with me. That's all. We're not a couple."

"But he's the only one of your... male friends," he chose his words carefully, because, although Gabriel was the most tolerant of all the brothers of his inclinations, there were still times when he felt uncomfortable, "with whom you've been sleeping for three years. That's why I thought it was serious."

"Well, now you know it isn't," he concluded these useless and mostly gratuitous speculations and pulled out his watch drawer. With a quick glance he glanced over the top row, which contained watches with metal bands, both gold and steel. He ignored the next two, which had watches with distinctive gold dials, and glanced down to the last two, which had much more subtle pieces, and began to choose between them.

"And this one... new," he ran his eyes over Castiel from head to toe. "Shaved, fresh manicure, parading around like a peacock." This time it was Castiel's turn to cast his brother a cold stare. "Who the hell is he to make all this worth your while?"

He hesitated.

He knew full well what Gabriel thought of the True Mates. Telling him what Dean was to him was like putting a gun in the other Alpha's hand loaded with would-be witty remarks and taunts that Castiel didn't want to spoil his evening with. Unfortunately, Gabriel was also his brother, so he would have met Dean sooner or later anyway. Besides, now that he knew someone existed, he would certainly make every effort to find out who Dean was. He had to at least tell him something.

"He's different," he replied vaguely, then hesitated briefly before deciding to add, "And he's an Omega."

The urge to brag about it was simply stronger than he was.

"An Omega, like a real Omega? A young, fertile one who could unleash half a dozen little Ivans into the world?" Gabriel repeated incredulously, knowing of course of Castiel's 'senseless and unnatural distaste' for Omega men, as Michael had once put it. And for which he also repeatedly and appropriately criticized him practically whenever the opportunity presented itself. And in a way, he had good reasons.

With none of them having any offspring that he knew of, and two of their three brothers in prison for life, it was looking more and more like their bloodline was headed for extinction. The only one of their brothers not imprisoned; Raphael, though Alpha, was a model of asceticism. And Gabriel had let it be known on more than one occasion that the last thing he wanted in life was a puppy, so he was always careful to dispose of any potential consequences early. This left a sort of unwritten obligation to keep the blood flowing on Castiel, the least appropriate choice of all.

The most ironic part of it all was that he was the only one of them who ever really considered puppies. Not only did he not have the slightest interest in women of any secondary sex. He even sometimes had trouble staying in the same room with them because of their smell. And unfortunately, it wasn't much better with the male Omegas. Female Alphas were the most desirable of the options for him, but even if he was willing to dope himself up with Viagra and cocaine to be able to do anything at all, the likelihood of two Alphas conceiving a puppy together was minimal. He just didn't stand a chance until... until he met Dean.

"Yes, the real Omega. Are there any other than real Omegas?"

"We're in America. Anything is possible here." The other Alpha shrugged. "What's his name?"

"Dean." The corners of his mouth twitched in a small smile as he said Omega's name.

A look of surprise crossed Gabriel's face.

"You're smiling!" he said in disbelief.

He furrowed his brows and cocked his head to one side in unspoken question and incomprehension.

"You never smile."

"Of course I smile," he argued, slightly offended but mostly uncomprehending.

He realized he wasn't the most pleasant, smiley, or funny person in the world. He also disliked useless talk, hated fools and had no patience with them, was austere and perhaps a little reserved, and was not usually in the habit of embellishing the truth or sparing anyone's feelings. In fact, he didn't even particularly care for most people. So he wasn't like Gabriel, who could dazzle with wit and come across as a friendly, Florida playboy with wild Russian roots, but... he wasn't that bad. Was it?

"No, you're not smiling. Not like that," he pointed a finger at his face. "You grin, you appreciate fangs, you sometimes have the smile of a sad clown, but you never smile like a normal human being."

"I laugh like - " he paused, unwilling to get into another pointless argument about nothing with his brother. Instead, with a bit of a resigned sigh, he asked, "What are we even talking about here, Gabriel?"

"About what?" The other Alpha chuckled. "Little brother... I've literally witnessed men pissing their own pants in horror because you smiled at them."

That was... technically true, but the losers Gabriel was talking about could hardly be called men. They were brainwashed wrecks or cowardly traitors who looked into his eyes and saw that he had come to mete out just punishment. It was not he himself that frightened them, but the wrath of the Brotherhood, for whom Castiel was a tool. So he certainly wouldn't blame their stinking accidents on his smile.

"I don't scare Dean," he pointed out, to some extent because he wanted to believe it himself, even though he knew it wasn't quite true. Omega didn't really seem to be intimidated by his job, which might not be all that surprising considering how he'd grown up. But something in Omegas still stirred a senseless fear that frustrated both Castiel and his Alpha, even drove them mad. Every whiff of sourness in the apple-pine scent was as if his inner Alpha had been grabbed by the back of the neck. He wanted to growl and fight, but he also wanted to bend down and try to make himself as small, as harmless as possible, just to prove to his Omega that he didn't have to be afraid of him.

Castiel had never felt such a contradiction, and to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure how to handle it. And that made him even more frustrated. He wasn't used to not knowing how to handle something.

"No? And you're sure he's self-righteous?"

"What?"

"I mean, if he's not a little..." he gestured vaguely around his head. "Or mentally retarded."

His brother or not, he wasn't allowed to talk about his Omega like that. A deep, menacing growl found its way down his throat all by itself and forced its way through bared teeth.

Gabriel blinked in surprise.

"Oh-oh! Easy, little brother. I meant no harm. It was just a joke," he held his free hand palm up in a clearly conciliatory gesture, and actually tilted his head a little to show his neck, a small detail that was enough to put Castiel's Alpha at ease.

"Don't you ever talk about him like that again," he uttered through still slightly bared teeth.

"He's yours. I acknowledge," Gabriel said, still as conciliatory as before and without the slightest taunt in his voice. In fact, he was unusually serious when he spoke again, "You're really serious about him, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Gabriel gave him a long, unreadable look that reminded him of the few years of their childhood together, and that made him want to lower his head and creep up on the older Alpha. To let his strong arm wrap around his shoulders and mark him with a scent that was familiar and safe. They'd been too old to do anything like this for a long time and he really didn't think he could take Gabriel's rum scent on him, but at least it made him swallow another growl and the itchy feeling in his gums began to subside.

"Okay..." the other Alpha uttered in a sort of colorless voice before his face brightened up with his usual somewhat mischievous expression. "Good for you and even better for me! I'm looking forward to playing the part of the funny, perpetually drunk uncle who will mock you for being swaddled in stinky diapers."

Castiel made a sound that was half sigh and half chuckle. His gaze slid involuntarily to the time in the corner of the screen as he did so.

"I have to go," he said, grabbing his cell phone from the stand.

"Call me when you're done for the day. Or tomorrow, if it goes well. I definitely want to hear how - "

He cut Gabriel's speech off with one push of a button before shoving the phone into his pocket and heading off to meet Dean.