Work Text:
Dean had noticed something since he'd presented; people were just nicer to him. It was small things; the waitress would give him extra fries with his order, a teacher would praise his homework even though Dean knew it was crappy at best, a motel clerk would find him extra towels and soap without him asking. It was baffling.
It all started to make sense one day. He was sitting in a diner with his Dad and Sam. The waitress had slid an extra plate of fries in front of him with a joke about fattening him up. Dean had laughed, given her a wink, and moved the plate between him and Sam so they could share. Dean watched as she moved over to another table and performed the same song and dance with a woman Dean had clocked as an omega. The waitress was treating Dean like an omega!
Dean panicked a little (subtly, of course) when he realized that but as the meal went on he came to the conclusion that she was doing in unconsciously. With the other omegas in the restaurant, she would laugh and say things about “omegas sticking together”. She did nothing like that to Dean. Instead it seemed like she just saw him as a hungry teen she could help by giving extra food.
The incident stuck with Dean and the next time he talked to Bobby, the only other person in the world who knew he was an omega, he mentioned it. Bobby had hummed then said, “It could be omega pheromones. I’ll look into it.”
Dean hadn’t thought of that. Omegas produced pheromones that caused people to treat them better. It was thought to be an evolutionary holdover meant to protect omegas back when people lived in packs. Nowadays most people were aware of the effect so they could mentally counter it. Omegas weren’t treated badly or anything but they didn’t get as much preferential treatment. Scent blockers also blocked the pheromones so there was that too.
Dean didn’t wear scent blockers. There was no point, his scent was subtle and light, and most people thought he was a beta (that’s what it said on his paperwork). No one looked at Dean and thought omega. So no one had a defence against his pheromones.
Once Dean and Bobby had figured that out Dean had started to experiment with it. He realized early on that it worked best on alphas and other omegas. Also if it was something the person was already inclined to do, they wouldn’t stop to question why they were being so generous. A kind waitress who sometimes gave customers extra food would give Dean a plate of fries on the house. The volunteer working at the thrift store would lower the price by a couple bucks. It even worked on John to some extent; Dean couldn’t get money just asking, but if John was giving him cash to last a week while he was hunting, suddenly instead of a $50 he was giving Dean $100.
Dean also learned how to manifest stronger pheromones at will. If he focused on needing someone’s help it seemed to produce a stronger reaction than his normal existence did. He also found out, when sick with a flu, that being sick or injured also ramped them up. The amount of free stuff he got that week was impressive.
Dean was confident he had a handle on things but for all that he was nervous. Today he was, for the first time, going to use his pheromones deliberately for something he actually wanted. He just hoped it worked.
John had set them up in a motel in a smallish city. The case he was working was in a town small enough that he could drag two kids with him and keep up a cover. Instead he’d found a city about 2 hours away, got them set up with school and went to work. He’d swing by every few days but it wasn’t consistent. Luckily he’d been leaving enough money that Dean could keep him and Sam fed, plus their motel room had a kitchenette so it wasn’t just fast food.
A city meant more charities and Dean had been scoping out a few promising ones. He had to walk a fine line of people wanting to help him enough but not so much they’d call CPS on him and Sam. Finally he found exactly what he was looking for. He walked in alone, John was still on his hunt and Sam was at the library. As he walked past the decoration and billboards advertising services and jobs, Dean concentrated on pushing out as many please help me pheromones as he could. It worked. A grandmotherly looking omega came hurting towards him. “What can I do for you?” She asked.
Dean scuffed his feet and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I was told I could get a Christmas dinner here? To take home and make?” Only part of his nerves was acting.
The omega looked around. “Where are your parents? We only give to adults on our list.”
Dean knew this but he also knew that sometimes had extras, that’s why he’d gone there. “It’s just me, my dad and kid brother,” he told her. “My dad is working. Not sure he even knows what month it is let alone that it's Christmas Eve, he’s so busy. I thought maybe I could get something. Make it Christmas for him and my brother.”
The woman melted. “Well, if it’s just the three of you, we might be able to scrounge up something.” She found another volunteer and together they went into a back area.
While he waited, Dean looked around. On a table by a Christmas tree was a pile of toys both wrapped and unwrapped. Dean was tempted to go over to look, maybe take something for Sammy but he was already being given free food, it wouldn’t be right to steal more from them.
The omega from before came back out, empty handed. Dean felt his face fall. She saw and was quick to reassure him. “Someone will be out in a moment with a bag. I just had a question.”
Dean was willing to answer almost anything if it got him a proper Christmas dinner for Sammy. “Shoot,” he told her.
“You mentioned a younger brother. May I ask how old he is?” she asked politely.
Dean smiled. “Sammy’s 12 going on 30. Kid’s smart. Even now he’d rather hang at the library than an arcade. Don’t know where we went right with him.” Dean said with a shake of his head.
The woman smiled. “He sounds lovely.”
Someone called for her (apparently her name was Susan) and she went off to help them. Dean was back to waiting around. He read all the flyers on the bulletin board, making note of the ones that would be useful to him and Sammy.
About five minutes later Susan returned carrying two shopping bags. When Dean reached for them she pulled them back slightly and said “No peeking. I promise there is everything you need in there and I even included instructions.”
Dean thanked her and headed back for the motel. As soon as he was on the bus, he looked into the bag. He needed to know if he needed to pick up anything else with the little money he had.
Susan had been right. The bags really did have everything he needed. Dean hid the bags when he got back to the motel before heading out again to pick up Sam from the library.
They spent the night watching tv movies before heading to bed. As Sam settled in he asked, “Is dad going to be here tomorrow?”
Dean smiled sadly. “I don’t know Sammy, but I promise you I will be.”
He waited until Sam was asleep then got to work.
When Sam woke up the next morning, the motel was decorated with a paper Christmas tree taped to a wall as well as other decorations Susan had put in the bag for Dean. Breakfast was instant oatmeal packs, the good kind, like apple cinnamon. Sam was so excited he was nearly vibrating.
They spent the day watching more movies and playing in the fresh snow that had fallen the night before. To warm up, they drank hot chocolate that had also been in the bags.
Dinner was a small ham, instant mash potatoes, canned veggies, and jello for dessert. It wasn’t much but it was more than Sam and Dean could remember having for a holiday together. Dean was so glad he was an omega at that moment. He wasn’t sure Susan or anyone else would have been so generous to him if he hadn’t been.
Their dad never showed up but Sam and Dean didn’t mind. They had a good day. They cleaned up carefully and put the leftovers in the small fridge. There was enough food for a couple days still.
Right before they went to bed, Dean pulled out the last surprise from the bag. He handed a brightly wrapped present to Sam. Sam’s eyes went wide as he took it in. He carefully unwrapped his present and his face lit up when he saw it was a book. Dean glanced at the cover, it looked like a fantasy book. Sam threw his arms around Dean saying “I love it! Thank you.”
Dean squeezed his brother back, thanking Susan and his own omega pheromones in his head. “Merry Christmas Sammy!”