Chapter Text
Wandering into the garage, Dean set his essay down, and leaned against the counter as we waited patiently for Bobby to emerge from under the car he was currently working on.
Bobby rolled out from underneath the car, and glanced at Dean. “You going to Cas’s?”
“S’that okay?”
Bobby reached over and wiped his hands on the rag that had been previously lying on the ground. “Bring him over for dinner tomorrow and it is. I never get to see you anymore, ‘cuz you’re always with that damn boy.”
“Yeah well, I like that damn boy.” Dean said, a faint blush touching his ears.
Bobby smirked. “Yeah, I know.” He scooted back onto the board, and rolled under the car. “Hand me that wrench.”
Dean handed him a wrench.
“Not that wrench.”
Dean swallowed his smart-ass reply with a chuckle and handed Bobby the right one. He shuffled for a moment, unsure if he was dismissed to go.
“So, you gonna tell me what those papers are for?”
Dean froze. “Oh, that.”
Bobby harumphed. “Yes, that. It’s not as if you’re doing homework, there’s no school. What’re you up to, boy?”
He was going to surprise Bobby, but it was as good a time as ever. He took a deep breathe.
“I’m having Cas read my college essay,” he explained.
Bobby immediately rolled out from underneath the car, and sat up. “You’re applying to college?”
Dean nodded. They had never talked about it before. He had always just assumed that he’d work for Bobby his entire life, or back when he was still hoping his dad would pick him up, with John.
“I know it’s really expensive, but I plan on paying for all of it, which is why I’m going to start applying for jobs, too. I mean, I’ll still make time to work at the shop, so don’t worry about that. But I think that Gabe will give me a job at the gas station, and if not, maybe the McDonalds is hiring… and I know that there’s lots of scholarships available nowadays and Cas said that there might even be some for omegas who were teen parents like me-” Dean’s babble was cut off by Bobby standing up and pulling him into a hug.
“Boy, I’m so damn proud of you.” Bobby said, and if he look a little misty eyed, Dean wasn’t going to say anything.
“So it’s okay? I know it’s gonna cost a lot, but my grades really improved last year, so…”
Bobby shook his head. “Kid, I thought I’d never hear you say those words. Whatever you wanna do, we’ll make it work. Now go enjoy your summer.”
Dean grinned, and grabbed his bike. Jesus, he was glad he could ride his damn bike again. True, he didn’t usually ride it in the winter anyway, but it felt good to have the warm sunshine beat down on his back as he pumped his legs.
He rolled into Cas’s front yard just as he was getting the mail. He looked up when he saw Dean and broke into an absolute grin.
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean slowed down and stuck his foot out in the street to stop his bike. “Heya Cas.” He ditched his bike in the front yard and followed Cas out the the backyard.
They folded together on the old recliner, stuck back near the shed after Dean had left it in Cas’s yard earlier that year. It was much easier, falling together like this. Dean pulled out his essay, from his backpocket. He unrolled it and presented it to Cas.
“What is this?” Cas asked.
“My application essay!” Dean said proudly. “It’s only a state school, and I don’t even know if I’ll get in, but I want you to read it.”
Cas took the essay from Dean, and he handled it like he was something absolutely precious. Dean fidgeted nervously while Cas read over his paper, picking at the hem of Cas’s shirt, and biting his lip. Cas soothingly rubbed Dean’s knee, and it helped calm his nerves some.
He had worked pretty hard on his essay, but he wasn’t sure if it was exactly what colleges were looking for. The prompt was to explain the biggest challenge he’s overcome. Most kids probably wrote about a parent dying, or their siblings having cancer, right? Dean’s probably looked stupid in comparison.
“Well…?” he asked, once Cas finally looked up. “It’s shit, huh? It’s probably shit. I’ll rewrite it a bunch.” He reached for the essay, but Cas snatched it back.
“Dean,” he breathed. His eyes glistened. “Don’t you dare. Sure, there’s a few grammatical things I would fix, or maybe some rewording, you get a bit repetitive at the end, but other than that-keep it.”
“Are you sure? Sammy helped me a little bit.” Dean hadn’t written about anything like the samples he had found online. He never had some sort of learning disability or was abused, so he couldn’t whip out anything profound like other kids.
“Absolutely. They’ll love it. I love it.” Cas leaned over and kissed Dean on the lips sweetly.
“What needs to be fixed?” Dean asked.
Cas ran inside to get a pen. Dean watched his future mate go inside, and grinned to himself. Heh, future mate. He loved the sound of that. Dean was going to mate with Cas someday.
He looked over his essay again while he waited. Okay, Dean could see what Cas meant. Maybe what he had written was pretty good. Or at least okay. He closed his eyes, leaned back in the recliner, and felt the warmth of the sun beat down.
He was going to be okay.
***
“My Biggest Challenge”
By Dean Winchester
When I was six years old, I decided that no matter what, I was going to be an alpha. My dad had been an alpha, and he told me that omegas were weak, meant to be ruled by the big strong alpha. It was ingrained in me that the only way I would be acceptable, would be if I could make my dad proud.
Well, as fate would have it, at thirteen I presented as an omega, just weeks after my best friend Cas became and alpha. I was less than thrilled. As my Uncle Bobby would say, denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. I spent my first heat insisting that I was simply just sick, and that as soon as I got well enough, I’d become an alpha.
I didn’t want to be an omega, so I did my best to act as alpha as possible. Flirt with anyone with a heartbeat, act tough, get in fights, the works. It didn’t do me a lick of good, because when I turned sixteen, I slept with Cas and got pregnant.
I started this essay thinking that I was going to tell you all about how giving up the baby for adoption was my biggest challenge, but really, it wasn’t. Giving up the baby was easy. Well, I won’t say easy, but it wasn’t my biggest challenge.
No, my biggest challenge was learning to accept myself. Sounds cheesy, I know. But it’s true. Everyone had been telling my for years that Cas was in love with me, but even after we had sex, I was still convinced that I wasn’t good enough for him. I was a dumb omega, who could barely pass his classes. He was Castiel Novak: track star and science geek, destined for great places.There was no way I could be more to him than a friend and a good screw.
The adoptive parents of our baby, Charlie and Lisa, they loved each other despite their flaws. Lisa was a control freak, and Charlie couldn’t stand organization. If they could love each other, flaws and all, then maybe I could learn to love myself, flaws and all. Maybe Cas loved my flaws, too.
Well, now I know that he does. And I love his.
The baby is going to grow up happy, and now, I am too. I’m not just some dumb omega, I’m Dean Winchester. I’m funny, sometimes even smart, and I care about people. I care about myself.