Chapter Text
Dean strode into his mother's pediatrics practice on a sunny Thursday morning, humming softly to himself. He glanced around the small waiting room and smiled. God, he'd missed this place. Well, not just this place, but every place he associated with his family.
He drew in a quick breath through his nose, smiling at the familiar scent that he'd associated with his mother since childhood. He paused after a moment, sniffing again. There was a new scent filtering through the familiar blend. A very nice scent, comforting and appealing all at once.
He scented the air again, and realized that the scent was coming from the back. He headed toward the door that would take him to the back hall, and his hand was on the doorknob, when he heard someone call from behind him, "Sir, you can't go back there."
He spun around to find the receptionist looking at him sternly from behind the glass. Where had he even come from? He approached the counter, smiling at the omega. As he drew closer, he subtly scented the air and froze. The scent was coming from the receptionist, and damn if the man wasn't gorgeous to boot. He had big, blue eyes, pronounced cheek bones, and the prettiest mouth Dean could remember seeing in a long time. Dean's eyes flicked to the omega's neck to check for a mating mark, but he found none. Awesome.
Dean's smile turned flirtatious as he leaned up against the counter, "Hi. I'm Dean Winchester."
The omega's eyes widened in recognition of the name, and he smiled, "Lieutenant Winchester. Welcome home."
"Thank you," Dean leaned down to read the omega's name tag, "Castiel. It's good to be back. Listen, I'm here to take my mom out to lunch."
"Ah, yes! She had mentioned lunch plans." Castiel recalled, then indicated toward one of the chairs in the waiting area, "Why don't you wait there while I let her know you've arrived."
"Or I could just wait in her office?" Dean suggested, raising his eyebrows hopefully. Cas shook his head.
"Sorry, policy says no." The omega sounded apologetic, and Dean sighed internally. So, amazing scent, but total hardass for rule enforcement.
"That's okay; the view's better out here, anyway." Dean winked at Cas, and the man blushed. But he didn't flirt back.
"I'll, uh, just call her now." Castiel said, picking up the phone from its cradle and pressing in Mary's extension. Dean frowned as he studied the top of the omega's head. Yeah, it had been a while since he'd tried flirting with anyone, but he didn't think he was that rusty. Maybe the guy was dating somebody?
After a moment of speaking softly into the headset, Castiel looked back up at Dean and smiled, "She's on her way out."
"Thanks, Cas." Dean's tone was nothing but friendly, but the omega blushed again and nodded. Yeah, there was no way Cas was dating someone else. Dean's smile notched up a bit as he realized that.
Cas quickly looked back down at the file in front of him and began typing into the computer. Dean watched him for a couple moments before speaking again, "Hey, maybe you'd like to join us?"
Cas froze and slowly brought his eyes up to meet Dean's, hesitant and unsure. "I wouldn't want to impose on your time with your mom. I know how much she's missed you."
Dean hummed thoughtfully and nodded. "I suppose you're right. Might be kind of awkward to take my mom along on our first date. How about we go out, just the two of us sometime?" Cas's mouth dropped open and his entire face lit up bright red. "Uhhh-"
Cas's eloquent reply was cut off by Mary stepping out of the back area, her smile warm and welcoming as she moved forward to pull her son into a warm hug, "There's my handsome alpha soldier!"
Cas giggled at Dean's bright blush.
"Mom!" Dean groaned, "you're embarrassing me in front of your cute receptionist!" But he smiled as he wrapped his arms around Mary and hugged her tightly.
"I'm your mother; it's my job." She reminded him. She smiled at Cas, "When's my next appointment, cute receptionist?"
"You have Tyler coming in at noon." Cas said, and she nodded, looping her arm through her son's.
"Well, we'd better get going then." She pulled Dean out the door before he could follow up with Cas about the date.
As soon as the door had shut behind them, she arched an eyebrow at her son, "Cute receptionist, huh?" Dean blushed but did nothing to hide his grin.
Mary considered telling him about Alfie, but decided against it. It wasn't her place to tell.
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"Papa's home!" Cas called later when he returned home on his own lunch break. He grinned as Anna walked in from the den, Alfie against her hip. He took his tiny son from the beta and buried his nose in his hair, inhaling that fresh, clean scent that only pups have. He began to press sloppy kisses against his pup's chubby cheeks, smiling at his delighted squeals and giggles.
"Mom called. She says that Michael's coming into town this weekend with his new mate, and we all need to be there." Anna informed him as they moved into the kitchen. Cas rolled his eyes; Michael got a new mate every couple of years, at least.
Well, at least he has someone, the unhelpful part of Cas's brain supplied. Cas sighed, immediately chastising himself. He had Alfie, and that was enough; it had always been enough. One flirtatious alpha with bright green eyes and a handsome smile didn't change anything.
Cas knew from personal experience that alphas didn't go for single-parent omegas, and Dean Winchester, no matter how much he may have flirted, would not be an exception to that rule. As soon as he saw Alfie, he'd change his mind, and Cas would be the one to suffer.