Chapter Text
If you ask Dean how this situation could have been prevented, he would have denied having been involved in the first place. He is content to sit back, eat a slice of pie, and watch as both Castiel and Gabriel get more frantic as the days pass.
It all starts on Monday when Dean wakes up in pain, small cramps making their way up his abdomen. His skin is quickly becoming sweaty, and his breath is coming out in small pants. He whines and kicks his blanket off. What the hell? He squints his eyes open and is met with numbers on the clock that tell him it is entirely too early to be awake. The clock reads 7:30 AM. Dean groans and flips over to bury his head in his pillow.
The relief is short-lived, however, because not five minutes later, his stomach cramps again. They are small but enough to ensure he couldn't let sleep take him back in. Finally, he huffs and gives up. Dean rolls out of his bed and shuffles over to his duffel bag beside him. He throws off his shirt and grimaces when it feels slightly damp. He must have been more sweaty than he realized. He quickly finishes changing and moves to leave his room when he spots the calendar.
Dean keeps one hung next to his door to help him out in times like this. Dean gasps loudly when his eyes zero in on the date. A string of curses leaves him as he practically rips it off the wall for closer examination. Today is the 11th, and he is due for a heat on the 14th. The cramps he felt just now were his pre-heat cramps warning him of his upcoming misery.
Dean whines softly to himself. Of course, this had to happen now. He is so unprepared! He tosses the calendar to the side and begrudgingly leaves his room. The smell of bacon instantly fills his nose, and he practically runs to the kitchen. Sam and Cas are sitting at the table across from one another. Gabriel is in front of the stove, sporting an apron and a smile.
"Morning, Sammy, save any for me?" Dean asks as he falls into the chair to Sam's left
Casitel leans back in his seat. He's squinting at Dean, "Are you feeling well? You usually sleep longer." Dean dodges the hand that attempts to feel his face, "Cas! I just woke up early today." Dean grumbles as he looks to Sam for help, but pauses when he sees that Sam is also giving him a weird look. "I don't know, it is pretty early." Sam shrugs as his eyes never leave Dean
Dean huffs and crosses his arms, "Jeez, can't a man wake up early without being interrogated?"
Gabriel chuckles from where he is still frying the bacon, "Not you, Dean-o! You sleep like you're dead and never get up til-" Gabriel turns to peer at the nearest clock, his eyebrows meet his hairline when he does, and he fully faces the group with a frown.
Dean gapes at the reaction and shoves up from the table, "Fine, I'll just go back to bed." If he had been paying more attention, Dean would have been able to smell the amount of concern coming from his pack. He also would have realised that they all could see him heading in the opposite direction from his room.
Dean thought he was mindlessly wandering through the bunker; he was letting his instincts and feet lead him. He should've known that would take him to the laundry room. He wasn't angry, though. Dean was embarrassed at what his mind wanted him to do. His inner wolf was itching to dig through the baskets of dirty clothes and pull some out.
He eyes the door and hastily shuts it; if he is going to do this, nobody could know. And so it begins; his first findings include one of Sammy's flannels. It is a pretty red one that reeks of him and a little of Gabriel. It's perfect. Then he finds himself clutching a pair of Gabriel's jeans. Then it's a pair of Cas's socks.
Before his hands can get too full, Dean starts searching for a place to hide his new possessions. He tries his best to be quiet while searching, but it can't be anywhere near where any of them liked to relax. And that is how Dean finds himself inside their library, opening and closing doors. They have several rooms that connect to the main room. Finally, after what feels like hours, Dean finds the perfect spot.
It is tucked in the back corner of the room, behind a bunch of shelves. He knows for a fact that nobody ever comes to look at these books in particular. Dean makes his way inside and frowns. He will need to sweep and dust before letting his possessions inside.
So Dean finds the cleaning supplies and gets to work without anyone noticing. He smiles triumphantly at his work once he is finished and begins lining the walls. It is a small room, no windows, probably not bigger than a bathroom. Once Dean sets his loot around the room, his wolf pouts because there isn't enough. He needs more.
His first stop after dropping those off is Cas's bedroom. He wolf yearns for more and more of Cas and his delicious smell. Dean almost whines when he first enters the room, the scent hitting him straight on and leaving him breathless. He would have built his nest in here if he could. Surrounded by the comforting scent of rain and grass. Cas smelled like a walk in the park, and Dean's wolf loved it a little too much.
Dean has to move quickly, so he finds his targets and goes for it: a pillow and a blanket, straight from Cas's bed. At the moment, Dean decides he doesn't care if Cas notices. He would just deny having touched his stuff. He quickly leaves the room and goes back to his room in the library to place his new treasures.
After taking in his space, Dean decides he'd take one more sweater from Sammy and a pillow from Gabriel's room. He pulls a few blankets from his own room to add to the small space. He doesn't want to take too much in one day and risk them finding out. Dean's wolf is saddened at the thought of them taking the stuff back. He thought if he asked for it, they would tell him no, so he's going to slowly steal it. Dean lay at the start of his nest and sighs contentedly.
He can't wait until it is finished, but this will do for now. He notices the cramps have lessened, and he can doze off wrapped around the scent of his pack. Some time later, Dean wakes up, and he is in a good mood. He stretches and smiles to himself, for once, his wolf is happy right alongside him.
His stomach growling makes him decide to leave his space and head back to the kitchen. As soon as Dean leaves the library, he is hounded by another presence. "Dean! There you are, come with me, you need to eat." Cas grabs his arm and pulls him in the direction of the kitchen.
The spot where Cas is holding onto him feels a million times warmer, and his skin tingles. God, what Dean would do for some cuddling from Cas right about now. Not that he would ever say that out loud, it was bad enough that he desired it. But Dean can just picture how it would feel. He'd make them shuck their clothes and add them to the nest. Then he'd pull Cas down and wrap himself around him, make sure he wouldn't leave when he was asleep.
He is kicked out of his daydream by Cas, practically shoving him into a chair and placing a plate in front of him. It has the food Gabriel had made earlier: bacon, toast, eggs, and pancakes. Cas sits to his left and scoots his chair closer, eyeing Dean strangely. "Please eat, Dean. I was worried when you left and didn't return to eat." Now that Dean is staring at him, he can smell the blatant concern in the air.
Actually, it's coming from other areas as well. Dean turns slightly and sees it. Sam and Gabriel are tucked against each other on the couch.
When he doesn't pick up the fork, Cas takes it upon himself to do it. He can see the determined look in his eyes. Cas is possessive like that. He has to take care of those whom he thinks belong to him. Dean decides this isn't the time to protest; Cas needs to do this to calm down. He opens his mouth when the first bite of eggs comes his way. It's on his second bite that Cas reaches forward with his other hand and feels his face. "Cas! We talked about this earlier. I'm fine." All that got him was a disapproving look and a bite of pancakes to shut him up.
He hears movement from his right but doesn't look, "Let Cassie take care of you, you're being weird, Dean-o." Gabriel's hand ruffles his hair as he walks by. He hates to think it, but he's comforted by the actions. He loves being taken care of, and his pack knows. It's just something that is never said out loud.
Cas doesn't stop until the plate is clear, and Dean drinks a glass of water. After that, he drags Dean to the couch, where Sam and Gabriel still are. He sits to Sam's left with Cas to his left. "Is it Sammy's turn to pick a movie?" They all collectively agree, and Sam starts clicking through options. Finally, he picks "Ghostbusters," and they settle in to watch it as morning turns into afternoon.
Halfway through the movie, Dean feels his blinks start to slow. He just woke up from a nap; surely he won't fall asleep. But then Cas reaches up and starts combing his fingers through his hair, and he's a goner. Dean lets his head fall on Sam's shoulder as Cas continues raking his fingers through. Between the warmth and the touches, Dean lets himself fall asleep.
Sam's POV
I feel Dean's body go lax, and I turn the movie down slightly. Cas continues his combing to ensure he stays asleep. "Can we all agree that Dean is being weird?" I whisper, Cas hums in agreement, and Gabriel nods.
"It really is strange that he was up that early, a nightmare maybe?" Gabriel's chest rumbles beside him
Cas shakes his head, "No, we would have smelled the distress. He is acting odd, but let's give it a few days before we say something. Just keep an eye on him?"
I sigh and look at my brother; he looks so peaceful when he sleeps. I focus my attention back on the movie and relax against Dean and Gabriel.
Deans POV
That night, I try to sleep in my bed, I close my eyes and will myself to be comforted.
Hours pass, I toss and turn, but don't achieve anything. Besides burning up and cramping, but those don't count.
Finally, I decide to move where I know I'll fall asleep. My nest.
As soon as my back hits the floor, I'm out.