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Dean is reaching for a loaf of bread when he smells it. Alpha. But not just any alpha. His alpha. He knows it.You’ll just know, people always said when he was younger and asked how he’d know if he’d found his true mate, and Dean always thought it was bullshit. How the fuck can you know something like that just from looking at someone? But Dean knows, and he hasn’t even seen the alpha yet.
The shopping list that Sam spent half an hour on flutters to the floor, forgotten, as Dean stares at the bread. What should he be doing right now? Should he go find the alpha? Should he play it cool? Fuck, what if he’s just going crazy and this person isn’t even his mate?
His heart beats erratically. He can’t have a mate now, right? He’s 28. He still lives with his brother. He’s been on suppressants for over a decade. Dean’s mind waffles back and forth. He can’t decide if he’s too young or too old to be finding his mate. Maybe he can just ignore this. Maybe it really is all in his head. He reaches out and grabs the loaf of bread with shaking hands, dropping it to join the other items in his cart. He crouches down to pick up the list, and he realizes the scent is getting closer.
Rapidly.
Dean turns toward the end of the aisle, and there they are. There he is. The man looks to be Dean’s age, maybe older. His dark brown hair is in disarray, same with the dark suit and the rumpled tan trench coat, and his arms are full of what looks like twenty different boxes of tea or coffee. The closer he gets to Dean, and he is slowly moving closer, the more Dean can see the vivid ice blue of his eyes, and he feels caught and overwhelmed and relieved and a million other things. He knows there are at least two other people in the aisle and that they’re probably watching this unfold, but he can’t tear his eyes away from this beverage-bearing alpha staggering towards him.
When the alpha is just a few feet away he stops, panting and staring at Dean in bewilderment. Dean feels himself flushing, a miniscule amount of sweat forming at his hairline, and embarrassingly, he can feel his boxers starting to get damp with slick. He’s in public for God’s sake, no one told him his body would act like this. The you’ll just know people didn’t mention anything about dizziness, about aching arousal, about the fact that his thoughts are becoming less linear and more jumbled and messy by the minute, or the sheer amount of crushing want he feels.
Worst of all, he can’t move, he can only stare, slack jawed at the trembling alpha, whose gorgeous blue eyes are becoming more red by the second, and that’s both arousing and terrifying. He’s had alphas stare at him like he’s a piece of meat before, but this look is so beyond hunger that part of Dean wants to turn and run.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dean is vaguely aware of some asshole teenager recording them with their cellphone. Great, he’s going to end up on YouTube, or that stupid CandidMates website with all the other dumbstruck omegas seeing their alpha in public for the first time. His body is getting warmer and warmer, and holy shit, he knows this feeling. It’s been ten years, but he knows this feeling. He’s on medication specifically designed to stop this feeling. He’s descending into heat rapidly, it never came on this fast when he was a teenager. He can tell the alpha is aware of it too, because the man’s nostrils flare and he drops his armful of tea boxes. He moves closer to Dean, growling at the idiot with the cellphone, and baring his teeth until the kid runs away.
The alpha moves closer to Dean until he’s right in his personal space, barely any blue left in his eyes. He buries his nose in Dean’s neck, inhaling deep and shuddering. Dean should say something. Dean wants to say something. Instead he breathes in the alpha’s scent, mind going even fuzzier as he’s overwhelmed by hints of sage, rainwater, and woodsmoke. He can feel more slick coming out of him, and oh God, he’s never showing his face at this store again.
The alpha opens his mouth, breathing against Dean’s neck like he’s going to lick him, or maybe bite him, and oh God, Dean wants him to bite down, tear Dean’s clothes off, knot him right in the fucking bread aisle. He jumps minutely when he feels two hands sliding up his arms, gripping his biceps tight. Fuck, he’ll take the fine for mating in public, he wants it that bad. He feels the alpha’s tongue press against his neck and then suddenly his nose is filled with the unpleasant scent of flowers. Fake, cloying flowers. His head clears slightly and he and his alpha turn to face the two workers holding up aerosol freshener cans.
“We’re sorry, we know this is...but you can’t do this here. This is a business, there are children here,” one of them says gently. Dean stares at her, trying to understand what she wants him to do.
“You have to leave,” the other one says. Dean looks at his groceries, at the alpha’s dropped items, then back at the man still speaking. “We’ll take care of this, you should go home,” he says, also gently, like Dean might hurt him if he’s not careful. He glances at the alpha and realizes they’re being calm for him, because the alpha looks pissed, glaring at the two workers like he’s trying to decide whose head he’s going to tear off first. Dean waves a hand in front of the alpha’s face until his eyes lock on Dean’s.
“Hey. Don’t...they’re just doing their jobs, okay? We should--” Dean shudders, another wave of heat passing through him, “--go, we should go somewhere.” The alpha nods slowly, and Dean watches in amazement as some of the blue starts to trickle back into his eyes.
“Alright,” the alpha says, and woah. Dean doesn’t know if he’s just affected by what’s happening or if that’s how he normally is, but the guy sounds like he gargles with broken glass for kicks and it’s hot as fucking hell. Dean can feel more wetness seeping out of him, he’s going to have to throw these boxers away. He grabs the shopping list Sam gave him, stuffing it in his pocket. He reaches for the alpha’s hand and pulls him in the direction of the exit. He hears one of the workers yell “Congratulations!” as he gets to the end of the aisle, and God, this is embarrassing.
When they reach the parking lot, Dean stares at his car, shaking slightly.
“Did you drive?” he asks the alpha, who nods absentmindedly.
“I-- yes, I did.”
“I did too, should we… take our cars somewhere?” Dean asks, but even as he’s talking he can feel the heat fucking with his focus. There’s no way he should drive. “Strike that. I can’t...I need you to take us somewhere.”
“To your home?” the alpha asks. Dean hopes the alpha is a little more in control than he is, because he doesn’t want to die in a car wreck before his mate even has a chance to knot him.
“No, I live with my brother… he’s home right now, working on...something...finals, maybe? He’s uh… in school. For lawyers,” Jesus fucking Christ, Dean sounds like an idiot.
“My place then,” the alpha says, and he pulls Dean towards some dull little silver car a few slots away from his.
Dean feels like he loses a chunk of time because suddenly they’re in the car, at least a few blocks away from the store. It’s a cold day, but the car’s windows are rolled down, probably to help the alpha keep a clearer head while he drives.
“Dean,” Dean croaks out, and the alpha swerves slightly in surprise at the sound of his voice.
“Excuse me?” the alpha sounds so flustered, it’s fucking adorable.
“My name. It’s Dean,” Dean supplies. The alpha nods.
“Castiel,” he says shakily. Dean feels a strange sense of power at the effect he’s having on the alpha. On his alpha.
“That’s a nice name, Castiel. Can I call you Cas? Or should I just call you Alpha?” Dean practically purrs, smiling lazily. Castiel’s grip tightens on the steering wheel, and Dean’s pretty sure he heard it crack.
“You can… Cas is fine,” Castiel says.
“Are we far from your house, Alpha?” Dean drawls. Damn, he feels...slutty. He’s finally stringing whole sentences together, and this is what he’s saying. He’s been in heats before, but it was a long time ago, and he was alone for all of them. He had no idea he’d be like this. He could swear he sees flickers of red in Castiel’s eyes every time he calls him Alpha.
“We’re close,” Castiel says, and if Dean’s not imagining things, the car speeds up a little.
“That’s good,” Dean says, “because this is my first heat in ten years, and I feel like I’m going to explode.”
“T-ten years?” Castiel sounds so nervous, Dean is reminded of some of the more timid omegas he went to school with.
“I’ve been on suppressants, but I guess they stopped working when you showed up. You know, I remember my doctor warning me it was a rare possibility, but I never thought it would happen,” Dean says with a dreamy sigh. He closes his eyes, leaning back. He knows another wave of his heat will hit any minute, and he’ll be back to a horny babbling mess, but right now he feels a little drunk on his own power. Castiel whimpers softly, and Dean definitely heard the steering wheel buckle slightly. He pulls out his phone, sending a quick ‘really sorry, something came up bbl’ text to Sam before he can forget.
After a few more minutes that Dean mostly loses to another burst from his heat, they arrive at a house. Castiel sighs in obvious relief when they’ve pulled into the driveway, and Dean feels a little guilty about teasing the alpha so much when he was trying to get them to their destination safely. He’s impressed with his alpha’s force of will, Dean would have crashed the Impala fifteen minutes ago. But they’re off the road now.
“Alpha,” Dean whines slightly, and since when does he talk like this, really, “I think I got my slick on your car seat, I’m really sorry.”
That seems to be the breaking point for Castiel, who rips at his seatbelt so hard it breaks the hook off the ceiling of the car. He growls at it as he wrestles with the buckle, and Dean decides to unbuckle himself and save the guy some trouble. He exits the car, and watches through the window as Castiel stares at the damp spot Dean left behind like he’s actually considering doing something to it, which is both disgusting and hot at the same time. Castiel shakes his head slightly and climbs out of the car, rushing past Dean to unlock the door to his home.
As soon as Dean steps through the threshold and closes the door, he can feel his heat kicking back into gear. He’s surrounded by his alpha’s scent in here, and he needs, he needs to flatten himself to the floor and bare himself for his alpha. He needs to spread his scent all over this room, fuck, he needs a damn knot.
“Cas,” he croaks, “please tell me you live alone.”
“I do,” Castiel says shakily. The red in his eyes is back, and Dean wants him so fucking much. He shudders and pulls off his jacket, which has gotten gross and sweaty in a hurry. Castiel’s eyes are roaming over Dean hungrily, like he can’t decide where to start, and holy shit Dean isn’t going to survive this experience. When Dean licks his suddenly dry lips, Castiel moves, rushing into Dean’s space and shoving him up against the door.
Dean’s heart tries to beat its way out of his chest when Castiel tilts his head and moves in to kiss him. His lips are perfect, this kiss is fucking perfect. Castiel forces his tongue into Dean’s mouth almost immediately, and Dean lets him claim what ever part of his mouth he wants, leaning against the door and moaning. The alpha reaches down, gripping Dean’s thighs and hoisting him up so that Dean wraps his legs around his waist. Dean can’t help but be impressed by the show of alpha strength, but damn, why isn’t he being fucked yet? They continue kissing, Castiel palming at Dean’s wet jeans with his right hand while his left hand presses bruises into Dean’s thigh.
“I didn’t believe,” Castiel says, pulling away from Dean’s mouth to lick at his neck, “I didn’t believe in the fireworks, and the need that people told me I might feel someday...and I thought even if it was real, I might --”
“-- never find your mate?” Dean finishes for him. He knows the feeling. Castiel’s hands squeeze Dean harder.
“Yes,” Castiel sighs. He sets Dean down, then gestures toward a door. “Please, Dean,” he says, and oh fucking hell, he’s pleading. Like Dean would deny him anything.
They make their way to the bedroom, kicking off shoes and socks, pulling off Castiel’s ridiculous number of layers, peeling off Dean’s shirt and frankly disgusting jeans and boxers. They collapse onto Castiel’s bed naked, kissing, and grabbing at each other, dicks grinding together. Dean is already impossibly slick and open, skin flushed with his heat, and Castiel rolls on top of him, dipping two fingers inside of Dean’s hole. Dean shudders with his whole body, riding another wave of heat.
“Please, Alpha,” he begs, and now he’s the one pleading. Castiel pulls his hand away, gripping Dean’s hair and pulling his head back to bare his throat. Dean’s cock twitches painfully at the display, and when Castiel leans in to breathe in again he lets out a breathy whine that he’ll deny to his grave. “Need it, Alpha, don’t make me wait. Fuck me until I’m a fucking mess with your come,” Dean babbles, and Castiel nods.
“Yes, yes Dean, of course,” he promises, reaching down with his other hand. He lines his cock up with Dean’s obviously needy hole and shoves in, easy as anything. Dean wails, clawing at Castiel’s blankets and pillows. He used to think he didn’t want a mate, didn’t want to give himself over that completely to another person. He was out of his fucking mind, this is bliss. Castiel’s thrusts are already erratic, and rough, and perfect.
Dean wants to help, wants to thrust back, but mostly he’s too busy enjoying the ride to do much other than wrap his legs around Castiel’s waist, tilting his hips up to get him even deeper. He threads his fingers through Castiel’s hair, pulling him down towards his neck.
“Please, Alpha,” he implores, “bite me. Mark me, wanna know I’m yours, Cas.” Castiel shudders violently, ramming in harder and biting down at the juncture between Dean’s neck and shoulder almost immediately. Dean fucking howls, gripping Castiel with his entire body as he comes in thick, messy stripes, slicking their torsos as Castiel continues pounding into him.
“Dean,” Castiel growls.
“Come on, Alpha, let me have your knot. Fill me up,” Dean moans, body twitching. He won’t be sated until he can feel Castiel spill inside him. Castiel’s thrusts become frantic,and Dean can feel his alpha’s knot starting to swell, and it’s so close, so close to what he needs. “Don’t make me wait any more, Castiel,” Dean orders, and Castiel’s hand bangs down against the headboard behind them, and Dean can hear the wood snap as Castiel slams in one last time, knot swelling up and locking them together as Castiel growls and comes in strong spurts that Dean can almost feel in his entire body.
Dean stares at the ceiling, mind completely blank as his breathing begins to slow down to normal levels. His heat has calmed down for the time being, and Castiel is wrapped around him like an octopus, lapping gently at the wound bleeding sluggishly on Dean’s neck. It’s several minutes before his brain comes back online.
“I’ve never been with an alpha before,” and Castiel groans when he hears Dean say that, “but I think that went pretty well.”
“Yes, I’ve...never done that either,” Castiel says, sounding surprised.
“Wait...never done it...at all? Like, I just took your virginity?” Dean stares at the tufts of hair in his field of vision.
“Yes,” Castiel says, and he sounds embarrassed now.
“But you’ve gotta be like, 30!” Dean protests.
“Actually 32, and I guess I just never had occasion. I have always been focused on other things. School, work, that sort of thing.”
“But you’re really fucking hot!” Dean is baffled. Castiel chuckles against his neck.
“I appreciate that, Dean.”
“It kind of seemed like you really knew what you were doing, though. Either your alpha instincts are amazing, or you’ve watched a lot of porn,” Dean says with a tired smirk.
“I never had an occasion for sex, I said nothing about watching pornography,” Castiel mutters. Dean snickers, wiggling his hips just to feel the knot still in place. Castiel whimpers and nuzzles against him.
“So like...what was with all the tea?” Dean asks, because seriously, that was a lot of tea. Castiel pulls back slightly to give Dean a shy sort of smile.
“I’ve been very bored today. I cleaned out and consolidated my kitchen cabinets,” Castiel begins, and narrows his eyes when Dean laughs.
“Sorry, it’s just… that’s really boring,” Dean says with a grin.
“Regardless, I had all this extra cabinet space, and got it in my head that having a tea cabinet would be…” Castiel sighs. “I am bored just telling this story,” he grumbles. Dean wiggles his hips again, just to pull the pout off of Castiel’s face.
“Well, I’m sorry your day has been such a snoozer. Wish there was something I could do to make it more interesting,” Dean says, batting his eyelashes in an exaggerated manner. Castiel smiles, huge and heartbreaking and leans to whisper in Dean’s ear.
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he purrs. Dean shudders.
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I might have a few ideas.”