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Castiel’s eyes dart back and forth between the labels of the boxes in his hands, eyes narrowing in scrutiny. What was the difference between chicken stock and bone broth anyways? He wanted to add bone broth because their doctor said extra collagen would be good for the pregnancy, but Dean specifically wanted chicken stock for a soup. His pregnant mate comes up behind him, and before Dean can protest, Cas puts both in their cart. He has the money and he wants to spoil Dean and their child rotten, but Dean just wasn’t raised that way.
“Find it?” Dean asks, and Cas hums his assent. Dean takes his right hand and his own cups the bottom of his swollen belly as Cas pushes the cart along. Dean smells content, eyes browsing canned soups as they stroll through their favorite grocery store. Cas can’t help beaming at him, so glad to be safe and happy with his beautiful, pregnant omega doing the mundane of everyday tasks.
Dean is growing day by day, and at nearly seven months, he is very visibly pregnant. He grumbles every morning as he forces himself into his jeans, moans when his back aches, and rests cookies he’s eating on the top of his baby bump when they're watching their series in the evening. Castiel finds all of this endlessly endearing and is happy to buy him maternity clothes, massage his aching feet, and keep him well supplied with pie (and whipped cream). Today he’s wearing his maternity jeans and his belly peeks out from an old Queen shirt, all wrapped in warm flannel. Cas knows it’s a stereotype, but Dean is honest to god glowing.
“Shoot,” Dean says, furrowing his brow. “We forgot to get the cream cheese.” It’s all the way back at the front of the rather large store and Dean has been on his feet all day.
“I’ll get it. Be right back.” Cas places a parting kiss on the back of his mate’s hand and relishes in the lovely blush that color his cheeks even after all these years. Cas hustles back to aisle one, knowing Dean is tired and they’re both hungry. Dean puts both his hands atop his belly and browses the stock as he guards the cart.
Castiel finds the cream cheese right away, but has to wait longer than he’d like for an elderly beta taking her time comparing butters. The moment she moves away, Cas has the block in his hand and is on his way back to the cart. He rounds the corner, and sees his sexy, gorgeous, incredible mate bending down to retrieve a can of some sort from a lower shelf and some huge, grimy alpha using the pretense of a narrow aisle to rub himself against Dean’s ass.
Even as Cas stalks down the aisle with red in his eyes, Dean is snapping to attention and shoving the creep back with one hand, protecting their baby with the other. “Fuck off,” he spits, and even as an omega his venom stalls the big alpha for a moment.
Not long enough, as the guy crowds Dean into the cans behind him and croons, “C’mon, baby. Be a good bitch for your alpha.”
One second later Cas has his hands around this fuckers throat, seeing red and snarling like a feral thing. The guy is clearly taken by surprise at his sudden appearance, and Cas thinks how pathetic and stupid he looks with his eyes bulging and hands scrabbling at the chokehold he has him in. “How dare you,” Cas begins, but he’s so angry he can barely speak, barely think.
He lets the guy go with a shove and he goes sliding back on the linoleum floor. Castiel is torn between teaching this fucker a lesson and checking on his vulnerable mate, freezes for a moment. “Jesus, man,” the alpha chokes out. “What the fuck?”
“You put your hands on my mate,” Cas seethes, rounding on the pathetic creature on the floor.
“I didn’t know he was spoken for,” he cries, exasperated, as if that’s some sort of defense.
“You thought he got pregnant by himself?”
“It’s just an omega, man. Pump em’ and dump em’, you know how it is.”
And if Castiel had for a moment thought to let this man go, he just dug his own grave. Cas stomps his hand and the alpha gives a weak howl. “I’ll kill you. I’ll ruin you.” He grinds his heel, feeling satisfaction at the crunch of bones beneath his shoe. As the man curls over to his ruined hand, Cas drops to his knees to sock him right in the face. It’s not often Castiel partakes in violence, but this stranger groped his mate. Frightened his wonderful Dean.
Dean. Cas turns around with sudden anxiety to see Dean standing there, agape but unharmed. He swallows. “Cas,” he chokes out, and the man on the floor is all but forgotten. Castiel is pretty sure he’s passed out anyways.
“Dean, my god, are you alright?” He’s tentative as he gets up and steps over, desperate to touch his mate, to feel him safe and real under his hands, but wary of upsetting him further.
His stomach plummets as he sees Dean’s big green eyes glitter and his lower lip tremble. “Oh, my dear, my Dean,” and Dean collapses into his arms just as he bursts into tears. He’s wheezing out big, broken sobs and clutches at Cas’ coat. “Shhh. It’s alright. I’ll make everything alright, my precious omega.” He cradles Dean, running a hand through his short, spiky hair and pressing his lips to his forehead.
Unfortunately, Dean bursting into tears is not uncommon these days. His hormones have been all over the place, and it's not unusual to see Dean crying over mismatched socks one moment and horny as all get-out the next. Cas never minds the rollercoaster of emotions; he knows it’s a lot harder on Dean than it is on him, and he’s carrying their child, for gods sake.
This doesn’t feel like a mismatched socks moment, though. “Tell me what’s going through your head, my love. You're angry at that man?”
“Y-yeah, I am, but- but-” Dean sniffles and scrubs harshly at his eyes. Castiel peels his fingers back and lets his thumb gently line the bottom lashes to clear the tears away. “I just- you could’ve pumped and dumped me. Nobody has ever- and I would’ve been all alone, all alone with a baby, and I can’t- I can’t raise another kid alone, Cas-”
“Dean-”
“And I could still lose you, because I’m stubborn, and moody, and you’re gonna realize that you could do better. You’re so smart and handsome and you come from money and I’m trailer trash, and now I’m fat, and my body is disgusting, and you won’t want to even touch me-”
“Hey-”
“-and that’s the one thing I had! My looks, and now I’ve got nothing, I am nothing-”
“Stop it, Dean, please.” He takes a deep breath, his heart constricted in pain. His Dean should never feel this way. Even if he is hormonal, Castiel knows these insecurities run deep. “I’m so sorry that you could ever feel that way. I’m sorry that I don’t show you how much you’re loved, everyday. How incredible you are-”
Dean shoves him back, frustration rearing its ugly head. “But you do. You’re always telling me such nice things, and taking care of me, taking care of us, and all I do is bitch and moan and cry, I’m always crying, and I hate that I make you feel that you’re not doing enough. You deserve a better omega.”
It seems like that’s the end of his rant, and he casts his eyes to the floor in shame. Cas is breathless in agony. He brings his hands up to cradle Dean’s jaw, saddened that his smart, sassy, brave brave omega could ever feel this way. Dean dares a flick of his eyes up to his alpha, waiting for what's to come. Unsure. “Listen to me, Dean Winchester. I am the luckiest man in the world to wake up with you in my arms. And while I can’t deny that you’re gorgeous, I wish you could see how selfless, how brave, how smart-” Dean gives a harumph at that. “Yes, Dean, smart. You’re one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.”
He levels Dean with a stern look, and the issue is not resolved but put to bed for now. “I don’t care that you cry. You’re pregnant, Dean. You’re carrying our pup, and I would love nothing more than to wait on you hand and foot. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, and I’ll tell you every moment of every day if you’ll let me. I love you. I love you.”
“Would you-” Dean starts, then deflates.
“What?” Cas presses, rabid with the need to prove himself to his Dean. He takes him by the elbows and tries to find his eyes but Dean is cagey with shame.
His voice is small and quiet when he finally asks, “What if I wasn’t pregnant. Would you still care about me?”
“Yes.” His answer is quick and sure. “You’re more than a means to children. You’re my person, my heart. If we didn’t get pregnant, if we never had a pup at all, I’d still dedicate every moment of my life to you.”
“I’m a bad person for even asking.”
“You’re not. You could never be a bad person. And you deserve to know that you're loved for being you.” He pulls Dean in once more and simply holds him. He aches for the man in his arms, and anger burns for the people that made him feel worthless. The years he spent alone, cold and hungry, before Castiel came into his life. Aches for the moments of doubt he still feels and renews his vow to show Dean just how much he’s loved.
Cas runs his hands down Dean’s back, over his voluptuous hips and back up to his chubby waist. “And another thing: your body is not ruined. You remain the sexiest thing I’ve ever set my eyes on. I want you, every moment of every day.” It’s true; he’s surprised Dean isn’t sick of him trying to jump his bones all the time. Dean was gorgeous with his lithe, thin body and is downright sinful now that he’s carrying more weight. Cas can hardly get work done at home anytime Dean goes about his day, mind blank as he ogles Dean’s perfect ass or the roundness of his belly.
Dean pushes forward in a sudden movement and kisses him and Cas is helpless but to respond. It’s not gentle but reaffirming, Dean putting what he can’t say into the press of his lips. They stand there for a long moment, pressed to each other like they’re bound by gravity in the weightlessness of the outer space that constitutes the rest of the world.
Dean pulls his lips away and gives a watery snicker. “What?”
“There’s an unconscious guy right over there and we’re making out.” Cas huffs in agreement and knocks his forehead into his mates.
“Come, my dear. Lets check out and then perhaps tonight I can run you a bubble bath.”
Dean breathes deeply. “Yeah. Thank you, alpha.”
“Anything for you, omega.” They move together towards the registers and along the way Dean stops an employee of the grocery to let them know about the “pile of trash” that needs to be addressed on aisle seven.