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Castiel is one of the first people on the scene. A terrified neighbor called 911 describing one unconscious alpha and one dead beta. Every single time Castiel has to do his job at a scene like this it breaks his heart, today being no different. No one should have to deal with something like this. According to what he’s been able to gather, the alpha, Dean Winchester, has been living with this beta, Allistiar, for two years, enduring indescribable abuse. Apparently, today was the day that Dean fought back, shooting the beta between the eyes.
Castiel opens the back doors of the ambulance, grabbing the stretcher and hauling it into place inside the vehicle. He finally gets a good look at the alpha and Castiel’s breath catches, he’s stunning. Behind the bruises and all the other wounds, Castiel can see an absolutely beautiful man. He takes a deep breath when it hits him, the musky scent of woodsy smoke, alpha, home, mate! Castiel whimpers at the back of his throat as what that means slams into him. Fuck! Dean is his true mate!
…
Castiel sits in his seat beside Dean’s bed. He’s been here the entire night, holding his mate’s hand, hoping and praying the alpha will wake up. The more Castiel sits here, smelling Dean’s enticing and musky scent, the more sure Cas is that this is his true mate. The instinct to protect and nurture are so strong that Castiel finds himself covering the alpha with a blanket, checking his pillow, making sure his IV’s are all set correctly.
Just as Castiel is about to lean his forehead down against the bed to rest his eyes, the hand in his own tenses. Joy fills the omega’s belly as he looks up and finds two wide, green eyes staring at him.
“Dean,” Castiel breathes as he hits the call nurse button.
“Who are you?” Dean asks as his eyes flit around the room, his voice husky and broken.
“My name is Castiel. I was one of the EMT’s that brought you to the hospital.” Dean’s eyes begin to water.
“Thank you,” he says so earnestly. “Is he-” Dean’s voice breaks as he looks down at their hands which are still clasped together.
“Yes, Dean. Allistair is dead. He can never hurt you again.”
Dean’s tears fall down his cheeks as the alpha looks beyond relieved, like a weight is being lifted away for good. Castiel’s chest clenches, wishing nothing more than to comfort his mate anyway he can. He squeezes Dean’s hand, letting the alpha know he’s here for him, comforting him.
“Sorry, man. I’m sure you have better things to do than sit here with me.”
Castiel shakes his head. “I don’t. I’d like to stay here.”
Dean’s face morphes, showing suspicion. “Why?”
“Because I care,” Cas answers without hesitation.
“But why?” the alpha demands. “You don’t know me. You have no reason to care.”
The alpha is becoming agitated and frantic so Castiel tells him the truth. “You’re my true mate, Dean. You’re my alpha.” Instead of calming Dean down, that news only makes him freak out even further. He begins thrashing and screaming ‘no’ over and over until a nurse comes in to sedate him, leaving Castiel flustered, confused, and in tears.
…
Castiel knows Dean’s name, being he was one of the EMT’s to respond to the scene, so he takes it upon himself to find and call Dean’s family. He finds a Sam Winchester. When he calls, Sam sounds confused since he hasn’t spoken to Dean in two years. Castiel has to steel himself when he hears Sam’s heartbreak when he finds out the truth. He promises to fly out from California and be here tomorrow.
With that taken care of, Castiel keeps close to Dean’s room, but doesn’t go in again. It break his heart not being able to comfort his mate but he refuses to stress Dean out any further than he already is. He’ll give the alpha time, he can wait.
…
Castiel greets Sam when he gets to the hospital. The alpha smells of worry and sadness but beneath all that, Castiel can smell the notes that match Dean’s own, smelling of family.
“He won’t let me see him,” Cas says, knowing he smells of misery. “I just wish I understood, I already care for him so deeply.”
Sam clasps his shoulder, “I understand. I remember what it was like when I scented Eileen for the first time. Just be patient.”
And so he is.
…
The next day, Castiel overhears Dean and Sam talking. He knows he shouldn’t be listening in but he’s selfish, he needs to know more about his mate. Holding the drink carrier filled with coffees for the three of them, Castiel sits outside the door listening.
“It was horrible, Sammy,” Dean whispers, his voice breaking.
“I’m so sorry, Dean. I wish I would have known! I feel so stupid for not putting the pieces together sooner!”
“It’s not your fault, man. This is his fault. And now he’s dead so no worries,” his mate says, trying to play cool. Even from out here, Castiel can sense how upset his mate it.
“Tell me about what happened, Dean. I know you don’t want to but it’ll help.”
There’s a long pause until finally Dean begins to speak and Castiel is glued to where he stands, hanging on Dean’s every word.
“He told me he was my mate. That’s how this all started. I don’t really get it since he’s a beta but he must have worn some sort of scent because it got my alpha hindbrain going real good. He treated me well at first. Taking me on dates and shit but it quickly turned bad real quick. I started to question him but he did something to me, Sammy.”
“What do you mean?” his brother prompts when Dean stops talking.
“He took away my sense of smell,” Dean chokes out. “He drugged me or something because I can’t smell anything, Sam.” The absolute terror in his mate’s voice makes Castiel begin to shed tears, letting them fall down his cheeks unrestrained.
“Dean,” Sam breathes.
“It’s okay. The doctor’s say there’s a chance it will come back with time.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“Then there was that omega here.”
“Cas.”
“Yeah. He was here, holding my hand, pretending to care about me.” And more tears fall because Castiel can tell his mate doesn’t want him.
“I don’t think he was pretending, Dean.”
“Well, I can’t take that chance because I will never go through something like that again, Sammy. I won’t.”
…
Castiel comes back the next day after berating himself for leaving after hearing what Dean said yesterday. He was just so scared and heartbroken that he didn’t want to put any pressure on the alpha. Today’s a clean slate.
“Good morning,” he says as he enters the room. Sam is sitting beside his brother on the bed as they chat. Both of them stop talking and look at him, nervousness floods his belly even with Sam giving him an encouraging smile. “I brought you both some coffee,” he says, putting them down in front of the brothers.
“Thanks, Cas.” Sam says, smiling as he sips at his coffee. Dean on the other hand stares at his cup in suspicion before shaking his head.
“No, thanks. I’m not really feeling coffee.”
Castiel just nods his head as he sits down in the chair at the side of Dean’s bed. “That’s fine. I’ll just end up drinking that one too. I’m a little bit of a coffee addict.”
“You’re not the only one. While in college, I used to drink the stuff like crazy. If they had a way for me to pop it right into an IV I would have probably tried it,” Sam says with a laugh, causing the tension in the room to break.
Castiel gives Sam a soft smile, knowing exactly what he’s trying to do and thankful for it.
…
It’s the next day that Castiel finally gets a smile from his mate. They’ve been sitting around, talking about Dean and Sam’s childhood antics. Their poor mother must have been beside herself raising two troublemakers.
“So then, I follow Dean’s lead and jump off of the roof. It did not end well.”
Dean huffs, “everyone knows Batman can’t fly, Sammy.”
“Right. That was the only reason it was a bad idea.”
“I have a twin,” Castiel blurts out, face immediately beginning to flame with embarrassment. But thankfully, he can smell Dean’s amusement and curiosity, filling Cas’ chest with a glimmer of hope. “Jimmy used to get me into so much trouble all the time,” Castiel says, shaking his head. “On one occasion, he decided to leave the house to sneak out of the house so he could see his girlfriend. Our parents were livid when they found out…. At me!”
“Why were they mad at you?” Dean asks softly.
“He tricked me. He convinced me to come into his room to watch a movie with him. After I’d fallen asleep, he snuck out. Our parents saw that my bed was empty and assumed it was me that was gone. In the morning, all four of us had a sit down where I got grounded for sneaking off and Jimmy got praised for his good decision making skills.”
Both Dean and Sam have giant smiles on their face but in all honesty, Castiel can’t take his eyes off of Dean, the alpha’s face looking brighter and more open than it has since they’ve met.
“The worst part was that Jimmy thought it was all fair since he’d given me compensation for what happened on a later day. He decided to sneak into one of my classes while I was sick and take a test as me.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Dean says, still sporting that gorgeous smile.
“Except he failed the test.”
Now the alpha is laughing and Castiel is positive he’s never heard anything so sweet in all his life. Dean’s scent matching his mood.
“I guess I’m glad you weren’t that bad growing up, Moose.”
…
After that day, their comradery comes a lot easier. They talk more about their childhoods, their parents, easy stuff. A few weeks go by and Castiel feels himself falling more and more for the alpha, his mate. His inner omega is getting antsier and antsier but he’s good at pushing them down, he can wait. But his heat can’t…
It’s just the two of them right now, Sam’s gone to Castiel’s house to get some rest.
“Dean,” Castiel starts, his inner omega twitchy with want. “Would you mind if I held your hand?”
Dean stares at him for a moment before nodding his head. “Sure,” he says, reaching out to Cas.
Castiel links their fingers together on the bed beside Dean. A peace settles over him and he lets out a sigh. This is good. This is exactly what he needed.
“Thank you,” he whispers. “I won’t be able to come visit you for a few days.”
“Why?” Dean demands, voice hard, but when Castiel looks up he can see the look of panic in his eyes.
“My heat is almost here so I’ll have to stay at home. I should be able to come back in about four days.”
Dean stares over Castiel’s shoulder for a few moments before he squeezes Cas’ hand. “Okay.” They just sit like that for a while, holding hands in silence, basking in the serenity and peace that their touching is bringing them.
Dean’s the first one to break the silence, “I’m going to miss seeing you,” he whispers so quietly that Cas almost doesn’t catch it.
“I’m going to be missing you too, Dean. I’ll be thinking about you the whole time,” he assures the alpha but then realizes what he just implied, face turning bright red. “Wait, I mean,” he stammers.
Dean laughs and Castiel can smell his amusement. “I doubt I’d live up to the fantasy,” he says, a self depreciating laugh at the end.
“I’m sure we’d be fine, Dean,” Castiel says, giving the alpha an encouraging smile.
Dean doesn’t answer right away but when he does, Cas’ heart breaks a little more hearing what his mate’s gone through. “I think I would be too afraid,” he whispers. “What Allistair did to me. He made me bottom a lot even though I hated it and it hurt so bad. And then sometimes he’d hold me down and ride me.” Dean shutters, no doubt remembering. “Sometimes when a nurse comes in and is standing over me I remember and start to freak out. I’m broke,” his voice breaking.
“We would never have to do those things, Dean. There are plenty of positions where you’re on top. Plus, I would never ask you to bottom. I immensely enjoy being the one who’s penetrated,” Cas blurts out. Then the rambling starts again. “Not that I expect to have sex with you, of course. This is all hypothetically. I would never assume something like that. I was just saying-” he’s cut off by a hand over his mouth and his face flushes, this time in a mixture of embarrassment and a small amount of arousal at having his mate touching his lips.
Castiel finally looks up at Dean and finds him with a giant grin on his face that crinkles the skin at the corner of his eyes, gorgeous.
“Thanks, Cas. I’m glad you found me.”
When Dean moves his hand Cas whispers, “me too.”
…
After Castiel’s heat is over, he showers off the remaining sweet and cum and heat smell from his skin. The entire heat was spent thinking and fantasizing about his alpha.
A giant smile plays at his lips on the way to the hospital. He can’t wait to see his mate again!
“Hello, Dean,” he greets as he walks in.
“Cas!” Dean greets excitingly, filling Castiel with warmth and affection. His mate is excited to see him. “Stay right there!” Dean demands and Castiel does as he’s told, standing by the door.
Cas watches with wide eyes as Dean slowly gets out of bed on his own two feet without any help. He takes shakey, slow steps, closer and closer to Castiel, the omega holding his breath. When Dean is close enough, he launches himself right into Cas’ arms.
Castiel whimpers into Dean’s neck, clutching the alpha tight. Being in his alpha’s arms is even more perfect then he ever imagined.
“I’m so proud of you, Dean. You are so amazing, baby,” the endearment slipping out but neither of them mention it, just continuing to hug.
“They’re letting me leave today, but I don’t have anywhere to go.”
Cas pulls back enough to look Dean in the eyes. “Of course you do. You will always have a place to stay, Dean. I will always take care of you.”
“Okay,” Dean whispers shakily.
…
Two weeks go by with Dean living with Castiel. They sleep in separate rooms but Castiel’s inner omega is just happy to have Dean here, in his living space.
One morning, Castiel wakes up to find Dean cooking breakfast in the kitchen. “Good morning, Cas,” Dean greets, handing Castiel his morning coffee and giving him a kiss right on the lips.
Castiel stares at him with wide eyes. It was only a quick peck but they’ve never done anything like that before.
Dean sheepishly looks down at the plate he’s put together. “Here, I made breakfast,” he says as he hands Castiel a plate like nothing happened.
Castiel’s smile doesn’t leave his face the entire day.
…
Castiel wakes with a start as he hears screaming come from across the hall. He’s in Dean’s room before he even realizes it, shaking the alpha awake from his nightmare.
“Hey, you’re okay. You’re safe. It’s me. You’re safe,” he whispers as Dean slowly comes back to himself. “You’re okay, baby. I’m here.” He runs his fingers through Dean’s sweaty hair until he’s calmed down enough to go back to sleep. Castiel slowly gets up to walk out the door but Dean’s strong fingers wrap around his wrist, halting him. When he turns and looks down, giving Dean a questioning look, the alpha blushes, staring at their joined hands.
“Stay?” Dean asks in the softest voice.
“Of course, Dean. Anything you want.”
Dean pulls the covers away on one side and Castiel slowly gets into bed. He turns his back to Dean so the alpha can spoon behind him. Castiel listens until Dean’s breathing evens out before he whispers, “I love you.”
He’s surprised but elated when he hears, “I love you, too,” right back.
…
After that night, Dean moves into Castiel’s room. They still haven’t done much physically but that’s okay because Castiel is positive they’ll get there. Healing takes time and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help Dean heal.
This morning is special though, Castiel can just feel it in his gut. He’s downstairs making breakfast when he hears a loud thump and Dean cussing, almost like he literally rolled out of bed and onto the floor.
“You alright, baby?” he yells.
Then he hears the thump, thump, thump of Dean running out of the bedroom and down the stairs. When Dean skids to a stop in the kitchen, his eyes are wild but there’s a giant smile on his face.
“Cas,” he says but his voice breaks. “I can smell again!”
“You can smell? Really?” Cas asks, his eyes beginning to water, knowing what this means.
Dean nods his head. “I can smell you! I can smell you, mate.”
Dean’s eyes begin to turn glassy as well as he makes the way into Castiel’s outstretched arms. “I love you, Dean.”
“I love you, too, Cas. And not just because I can smell. I’ve loved you for awhile now. I knew in my heart that you were my true mate. It’s just now my nose agrees too. Thanks for sticking with me, babe.”
“Of course, Dean. That’s what mates do.”
Dean kisses Cas, hard and hungry. “I think we should go upstairs and make this mating official, what do you think?”
Castiel nods his head, dragging Dean along by the hand. “Love that idea, alpha.” Then he stops for a moment. “As long as you’re okay and ready.”
Dean smiles down at his omega. “I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. But now that I can smell you, I know I’m ready. One hundred percent.” Then he hauls Cas up onto his shoulder and runs up the stairs to their bedroom, where they don’t leave until Cas is stuffed with his alpha’s knot, sporting a beautiful bite mark on his neck.