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Dean tossed his duffle bag next to the couch before falling onto said couch and sighing. Dean leaned back, his legs spreading. It was good to be home, even if he only lived less than ten minutes away from his dad. For the next week, Dean would stay here so John could have both sons under one roof for the holidays. It was nice, Dean was looking forward to spending Christmas as a family and plus, it was like a small getaway… Even if his apartment was only a hop and a skip away.
“Did you take off your boots?” John grumbled as he walked into the living room.
Dean gave his dad a big smile before kicking off his boots where he sat. “When’s Sammy gonna get his ass here?”
Dean was ready to get this holiday started! Tomorrow, they would all go out and pick out a tree, decorate it, and start their Christmas movie countdown. The next day, they’d go down town, look around the shops, and have lunch. Then there were games to be played, more movies to watch, and the night before Christmas, they’d bake sugar cookies and watch Die Hard one and two and drink spiked Eggnog. With Sammy so far away for school, Dean was going to count every moment they had together.
“Sam texted about half an hour ago. Said they were on their way.” John replied and Dean frowned.
“They?” Then his eyes lit up. “No way! Did Sammy finally find himself an alpha?”
“No, Sam’s bringing Brady to join us this year.”
Dean let out a deep long groan as he banged his head on the couch. “Noooooo! Come on, dad! Tell me this is some sick twisted joke!” John raised an eyebrow and yeah, his dad was not one to make jokes often. “This sucks!”
“I don’t know why you don’t like Brady, he’s a good kid.”
“He’s annoying!”
John chuckled. “Okay, he’s a little annoying, but he ain’t a bad kid.”
Dean's hands flew hair and he brushed his fingers through it before slamming his arms to his side. “You don’t get it dad! He’s always buggin’ me! Like he found me on Facebook once to ask about Sam’s birthday. Then he started to nick-pick everything I was planning! The guy blew up my phone twenty times a day!”
John only laughed, shaking his head, but when Dean asked what was so funny, his old man only told him to put his boots on the mat by the front door. Dean did, but he grumbled the whole time about Brady while he was doing it. All the omega wanted was to spend Christmas break with just his family. Now he was going to have to deal with an alpha who was always up his ass whenever he was around.
🌨️❄️☃️
Dean was on his third beer when the front door opened. Dean closed his eyes and wished he was more buzzed for this. Usually, Dean would be the one to drive John to pick up Sammy from the airport; however, Dean did not want to spend hours in a car with freaking Brady. So, John went alone and Dean stayed here, drinking and sulking in the kitchen.
Dean listened to all three of them talk, trying to bid his time, but it was cut short when he heard Sam asking where he was. Dean sighed and gripped the bottle tight before pushing out of the chair. He took a moment to breathe before putting on his most charming smile and stepping out into the living room.
“Sammy!” He called out lifting his arms up and expecting a hug, but the alpha was frowning, eyes narrowing in on Dean’s beer.
“Drinking already?”
“What? It’s the weekend! I don’t have to work!” Dean defended himself but Sam was unimpressed.
“Technically, the whole drinking after five rule was only on the weekdays when most people got off after five in the afternoon.” Brady said with his stupid annoying voice. “So really, the real rule is whenever someone gets off at work, it doesn’t matter the time and if they’re off, they could drink whenever they could.”
Sam crossed his arms. “Yeah well, it would have been nice to see you at the airport if you could have held off.”
Dean gave Sam the Of course I wasn’t going to come to the airport, you brought Brady with you look. In return, Sam gave Dean the He’s my best friend, get over yourself look which Dean rebutted with the I don’t care if he’s your best friend, he gets on my ever-lasting nerves look. Sam only shrugged and shot Dean the And I care why look so Dean gave Sam the Bitch look and Sam returned it with the Jerk look.
“Ummm…” Brady rudely interrupted them because the guy couldn’t take a hint they were having a silent conversation. “Thanks for having me, Mr. W.”
“Of course, glad to have you. Let me show you the guest room.” John started to walk away when his words caught up to Dean’s brain.
“Wait!” Dean yelped. “You only have two guest bedrooms! Where am I gonna sleep?”
“I got an air mattress, you could stay put in Sam’s guest room.” John tried.
“No way!” Sam cried. “Dean farts!”
“People fart, Sammy! Grow up!” Dean snapped and Sam’s face twisted.
“Not like you! You could kill someone with the gas that comes out of your ass!”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Please! Have you smelled yourself after you eat all that gross vegan food?!”
John shook his head. “Sam? Mind rooming with Brady?”
“Of course not.” Sam replied and smiled smugly at Dean. “We already share a dorm and Brady doesn’t smell.”
“I don’t smell!” Dean growled.
“I think you smell nice, Dean.” Brady said and it took Dean everything he had not to call the alpha weird.
Dean watched Sam and Brady follow John down the hall before the omega put the bottle to his lips and gulped down the last drop. He sighed when he reached the bottom of the bottle. “Dean… How the hell are you gonna make it a whole week with this guy?”
🌨️❄️☃️
Everyone piling into John’s truck and going to the Christmas Tree lots to pick out a tree was a Winchester tradition. They went to the same lot every year and Dean loved getting lost in a sea of trees, the pine scent filling his nose. Dean would find the biggest one he could and try to convince John that was the tree. Then John and Sammy would tell Dean there was no way something like that would fit in the living room. Dean would keep pointing out big trees until eventually finding one that was big but would still fit in the living room. John and Sam would agree with it because finally, Dean picked a smaller tree, but the omega would be laughing on the inside because it would still be bigger than the trees John and Sam would look at.
It was one of Dean’s favorite traditions and he was looking forward to it this year. Unfortunately, this year, there was Brady…
Dean sat in the front seat of John’s truck, with his arms crossed while Sam and Brady talked from the back seat. Dean loved hearing about Sam and what life at the big-shot college was like. Brady? It was like someone taking a cheese grater to Dean’s brain every time he spoke. Brady was weighing the pros and cons of finding a law firm in California or coming down to Lawerence and trying a firm there. Why the hell did Brady even want to move here?
“What do you think, Dean?” Brady asked.
Why? Big shot college boy needs someone to hold his hand? Dean wanted to say but he swallowed it down. “I dunno, man. You were born and raised in California. I don’t think Lawerence would be your scene.”
Brady hummed. “But you’re right, I’ve lived in California all my life. I think a change in scenery wouldn’t be too bad and Lawerence is a lot more chilled than Cali is.”
Dean closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. If Brady could bug him all the way from Cali, what would life be like with Brady here? Dean would no longer worry about getting messages about Brady bugging him for something or freaking out over the smallest things. Brady would just show up right at his door!
Oooooh Dean could see it now…
“Dean! The neighbor next to me, their flowers are orange and white and it clashes with my rose bushes! Do you think I should write a complaint and leave it on their door or should I be an alpha and just tell them face to face?”
“Dean! My sink is leaking and I’m too good and smart to fix pipes! Will you come over and fix it for me? If you don’t, I’m gonna call you on repeat until you lose your sanity.”
“Dean, I don’t need anything, I just wanted to come over so you can hear how awesome my voice is and look at my beautiful face.”
Dean’s head was pounding just thinking about it, but Sam and Brady still had a number of years before they graduated. If Dean was lucky, Brady would meet some pretty omega who lived far, far, far away. That thought made him happy and so did the sight of the tree parking lot. The second they were out, Dean went off looking for the biggest tree he could while the rest of them went to look at the smaller trees. It was a maze of trees and people, but it wasn’t long before Dean found himself, alone in the back.
The omega closed his eyes and hummed happily as he took in the pine scent. The scent brought up happy memories of when he and Sam were pups, chasing each other and playing hide and seek in the trees. This year, there was a new scent, a really earthy scent and Dean found himself taking a deep breath in to capture it all. The Christmas tree lot smelled more like a forest this year. There was a lovely scent of birch as well as a mossy smell. There was a juniper scent that gave it a fresher scent and Dean took it all in, wondering what was so different this year and why it smelled so good. Then came the musky scent of alpha and the realization hit Dean like a ton of bricks.
Dean whirled around to see Brady smiling at him and how the hell did the omega not clock it? Dean knew Brady’s scent! Well, kind of, he had never taken the time to actually scent the alpha before, and to Dean, the guy just smelled like a forest, but still! Dean should have known and he felt his cheeks heat up. Dean did not like Brady’s scent! The scent was as annoying as the alpha that came with it!
Only now that Dean had taken the time to really take in the scent, he couldn’t get it out of his head how pleasant it was and it pissed him off! “What do you want?!”
“I wanted to see what kind of trees you were interested in.” Brady looked at the tree behind Dean. “This one is way too big and the branches are a little too long.”
“It’s not the one I’m—” Brady wasn’t paying attention to Dean. The alpha was looking around until his eyes lit up.
He walked over to a tree that was three down from the one Dean was standing at. “Dean! Check this one out!”
Dean sighed and walked over to where Brady was. The alpha was smiling like he was proud of himself. The tree he was gesturing to was slightly smaller, but damn it, it was a good-looking tree. The fur was fluffed out, Dean couldn’t see much space through the branches, and damn it! This would be the perfect tree! One Dean would have picked out, but he wasn’t about to tell Brady that!
Dean scoffed and gestured to another tree, that was way bigger. “Now this is a tree!”
Brady gave it the once over before shaking his head. “No, that one would take up the whole living room! This one—” Brady gestured at the tree he picked. “Is big, but it’ll give you a lot of space. Plus, think about how much better the decorations would look on it.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “What do you know about picking trees? Do they even have Christmas trees in Cali?”
“Actually, yes! My dad takes me and my brother out into the woods and we find one to chop down and haul back to the house.” Brady proudly told Dean and the omega frowned.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
Brady opened his mouth, but before he could reply Sam and John walked up to them. “What did you find?” John asked and Brady grinned.
“What do you think about this one, Mr. W?” Brady asked, showing off the tree he picked.
John hummed as he looked over it. “I like it, not too big, not too small. What do you think guys?”
“I like it.” Sam agreed.
“But what about this one?” Dean gestured to a tree about the same size, but it wasn’t as good looking as the tree Brady picked and everyone knew it.
“Brady, stand next to that one while I grab Bobby.” John said before disappearing.
“Who’s Bobby?” Brady asked.
“The guy who owns the trees.” Sam told him.
Dean tuned Sam and Brady out as they talked. The omega crossed his arms and tried not to let it bother him that they listened to Brady over him. Dean didn’t even care if he did like the tree, this was supposed to be a family thing! Stupid Brady sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong!
🌨️❄️☃️
“What movie should we watch?” John asked.
“Die Hard!” Dean exclaimed but Brady’s face scrunched up.
“I thought we were watching Christmas movies.”
“Die Hard is a Christmas movie.” Dean snarked before sticking his tongue at Brady.
“How?” The alpha challenged.
“It takes place during Christmas, duh.”
“Oh! You know what movie we should watch?” Brady asked with a smile on his face. “National Lampoon: Christmas Vacation!”
“Ew gross, no!”
Sam’s brows furrowed. “Dean, you love that movie.”
“But we always do Die Hard first!”
“Brady’s a guest, he gets to pick what we watch first.” John said and it was final.
Dean grumbled as he took a seat and crossed his arm. For whatever reason, Brady decided that he just had to sit right next to Dean. They were so close, their shoulders were touching. Dean tried to elbow Brady away but the alpha wasn’t taking the hit. He stayed exactly where he was as Sam sat beside him. John sat down on the armchair and started the movie and now Dean was stuck watching this dumb movie right next to this dumb alpha.
A dumb alpha that smelled so freaking good that it made Dean’s omega swoon, but he tried to ignore it. If ignoring a scent that reminded Dean of being outside on a spring day wasn’t bad enough, Brady has this stupid laugh and this dumb smile that Dean found his eyes lingering on. Each time Dean caught himself admiring Brady’s smile or his laugh that left a warm fuzzy feeling in Dean’s chest, the omega scolded himself.
What the hell was wrong with him?
It was probably the upcoming heat, yeah, that had to be it. So what if his heat was a few weeks away? His body was probably just aware it’d go crazy soon. It didn’t matter that Dean usually didn’t feel it comping on until a day or two before his heat hit. That was it and no one could change Dean’s mind, not even Dean himself.
🌨️❄️☃️
Dean had a big smile on his face as he rode the buggy down the cooler aisle. When it started to slow, the omega would kick his foot, giving it a little extra push before planting his feet on the bottom rack and holding onto the handle. They had just passed the milk section, and as soon as they passed the cheese, bam! Cookie dough!
“Pre-made cookie dough?” Brady asked and Dean gritted his teeth.
When Dean said they, he meant him and Brady. Sam wanted to stay home and relax with John, and Dean was looking forward to going to the store alone. The omega could use a break from Brady but nooooooo, the alpha just had to come with Dean. Dean tried everything he could to get Brady to stay home, even going as far as telling the alpha he couldn’t come. Brady just laughed and got into the Impala, and seriously? Wasn’t Brady Sam’s BFF? Didn’t the alpha want to stay home with Sam so they could braid each other’s hair or something?
Dean had no idea why Brady wanted to be glued to his hip whenever he was around. Dean remembered when he first met Brady. He had rode up with John to drop Sammy off at Stanford and when they carried Sam’s stuff up to the room, Brady was there. Back then, the guy was normal! Brady barely paid attention to Dean, gave him one look, and ignored him the whole time. Too busy talking with Sam, and Dean was fine with that. Okay so maybe Dean was a little peeved about being ignored, but it was normal! Dormmates were supposed to want to get to notice each other. Dormmates weren’t supposed to care about their roommate’s brother.
After that day, Brady was just odd.
Dean took a week off from work to visit Sam in California during spring break. He had been excited to explore the city, with just his brother. But Brady just had to come along and the alpha spent the whole time blabbering away, asking Dean every single question under the sun.
What did he do?
What College did he attend?
What was his favorite food?
His favorite movie?
If there was someone he was seeing?
Worst of all, Dean couldn’t wrap his head around why Brady would want to know anything about him. They lived hours apart! Then summer rolled around and Brady decided to visit and by that point, the alpha had already friended Dean on Facebook. Brady would message Dean about anything and everything. From bugging Dean about what he was doing to complaining about any idea Sam had for what he wanted to do during summer break.
Each time, Dean had to calm the alpha down so he didn’t ruin Sam’s fun, but for the life of him, the omega couldn’t figure out why. Why was he Brady’s go-to? Most of the time the complaining was for nothing! It always turned out that in the end, Brady never actually had a problem so the alpha was just doing it to pull Dean’s leg.
Sometimes, the omega wanted to crack open the alpha’s skull so he could see what Brady was thinking. Like tonight, all Dean wanted to do was buy a couple of packs of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, but even something so simple was going to be a task when Brady was around.
“Why don’t we get supplies to make it from scratch?” Brady suggested. “My mom gave her my recipe and I’ve been practicing over the mon—”
Dean snorted and lifted a brow. “You? Mr. Big Shot Alpha, practice baking?”
Brady huffed. “What’s wrong with alphas baking?”
“Nothing! I dunno…” Dean shrugged. “Just not something a picture you doin’.”
Brady’s eyes lit up. “I’m really good at it! Let me bake you some and you’ll never go back to those packaged cookie dough.”
“Sorry.” Dean said, grabbing a sugar cookie pack that had Christmas trees on it and tossing it into the cart. “You got the tree you wanted.” Dean picked up a pack that had snowmen on it and tossed it in. “You got the movie you wanted. This—” Dean picked up a pack that had candy canes on it. “This you cannot control! I’ve been looking forward to these cookies all year long and I’m not gonna let you ruin this.”
Brady looked like Dean had slapped him across the face. Hurt flashed through his eyes. “You think I’ve been ruining Christmas break for you?”
Dean felt a ping of guilt, he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he was a softie or anything, but Brady looked so damn crushed. Dean opened his mouth to say something, but he wasn’t sure what to say. It didn’t matter, Brady was walking away from him, mumbling something about seeing him at the car and to get whatever Dean wanted. Dean just stood there, with a pack of stupid sugar cookie dough in his hands. The omega closed his eyes and sighed.
“Great goin’, Winchester. You’re a jerk…”
When Dean returned to the Impala, he acted like nothing happened. Or at least that was his plan, but Dean ended up trying to make Brady smile. From asking him questions or trying to make him laugh by singing along with the songs playing, but Dean got nothing. Brady stared out the window the whole drive back home and once they arrived, the alpha wouldn’t come out of his bedroom. Sam found Dean, his baby brother was furious, but it wasn’t Dean’s fault! Brady was stepping on Dean’s toes the whole time! But, that explanation didn’t go over well with his brother and it sure as hell didn’t make Dean feel any better. That night, the omega lay in his bed, confused with how he should feel. He was annoyed with Brady, but at the same time, guilt swirled around in his stomach. Dean just wanted to sleep and hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
🌨️❄️☃️
The next day did bring something better! When Dean woke up, it was snowing, and holy crap what a miracle! It was 2024! It didn’t hardly ever snow in 2024 so Dean quickly got dressed for the weather, running to the kitchen where his dad, brother, and Brady were sitting at the table. They were conversing over coffee, but Dean didn’t care, he had to tell them.
“It’s snowing! Come on! Let’s go play!” Dean excitedly shouted over their conversation.
“Breakfast first.” John tried, but Dean wasn’t having it.
“Dad, who knows how long the snow is gonna be here! It could melt by the time breakfast is done!”
“Knock yourself out, Dean.” Sam told him and if his brother wanted to miss this, then his loss.
Dean pulled the scarf tighter around his neck and practically ran out the front door. The ground was already covered, flakes were still falling to the ground, and it felt magical. Dean didn’t know where to start, there was so much he wanted to do. The omega’s gloved hand touched the snow, it was perfect for building a snowman, but there wasn’t enough on the ground yet. So, Dean got on his back and started to move his arms and legs. He laughed, loving feeling his inner child come out when something cold and wet hit his face.
Dean sat up and looked around, his eyes narrowing when he found Brady outside, dressed in his winter outfit, with another snowball in his hand. “What the h— hey!” Dean yelped when the snowball was hurled at his face, missing him by inches. Dean jumped up to his feet and glared at Brady. “What’s your damage?!”
“My damage is you, Dean!” Brady growled as he bent down, scooping snow up.
Dean ducked to his knees, quickly gathering snow and forming it into a ball. Before Brady could fully stand up, the alpha had snow on his face. “Is this because of last night? Why do you even care what I think?!”
“Ugh! You just don’t get it, do you?!” Brady shouted before throwing another snowball at Dean.
Brady might be an alpha, and his throws might be stronger, but Dean was quick on his feet. Dean dodged it easily and they both hit the ground to make another snowball. Brady was first on his feet, but Dean had just finished forming his snowball. The omega tried to jump up and get out of the way, but Brady clipped him on the shoulder. Brady might be an alpha and he might be faster than an omega, but Dean had one hell of an aim. The alpha tried to dodge Dean’s attack but the omega got Brady right in the center of the chest.
“What don’t I get?!” Dean shouted as he ran behind the safety of his dad’s truck (because no way in hell was he putting Baby in harm’s way). Now Dean could prepare a stock of snowballs, he just had to distract Brady. “You’re the one I don’t get! Why are you always bugging me? Why do you even care what some community college omega who works on cars think?!”
“You frustrate me, Dean Winchester! Why do you always have to put yourself down?!” Brady shouted and Dean felt his eye twitch.
“I don’t put myself down!” Dean stood up and threw a snowball at Brady over the truck bed, but he missed.
He had just enough time to clock that Brady had serval snowballs too before Dean had to duck down. The snowball Brady threw missing his head by inches. “You do! You just did! What’s so wrong about community colleges and working on cars?!”
A smile spread across Dean’s face, his omega practically dancing knowing Brady didn’t think less of him. Get a grip of yourself! Why do you care?! Dean got complimented all the time by handsome alphas and he didn’t care. So why did he when it came to this handsome alpha? It shouldn’t matter! Dean shook his head until common sense returned. He grabbed another snowball, but when he stood up, Brady and his snowballs were gone. Dean didn’t stand a chance, the alpha was behind him, throwing snowball after snowball at Dean.
“I don’t know why I try!” Brady shouted. “You’ve never noticed me! I’ve done everything I could think of! I try to talk to you all the time! I skipped Christmas with my family to spend time with you! I tried to pick out the perfect Christmas tree for you! I tried to pick a movie that was actually Christmas-y that you loved! I practiced baking sugar cookies because I knew you loved them but none of it matters! You just don’t like me back!”
Dean stood frozen as he listened to Brady’s rant. The snowball after snowball hitting his shoulder didn’t phase him because it all clicked then. Every interaction Dean ever had with Brady, he saw it in a new light, and the omega was shocked. How could someone from such a rich family, who went to one of the best colleges ever, like Dean? When Brady was out of snowballs, the two just stared at each other. Dean looked at Brady with wide eyes and mouth slightly ajar. Brady stared at Dean in horror, as if he couldn’t believe what he just said.
“You like me? Like, like-like me?” Dean stupidly asked as if he was some middle schooler.
“I…” Brady sighed, hanging his head. “I do…”
“Well… Why didn’t you ever just come out and say it?!” Dean shouted, throwing his hands in the air, but Brady just shrugged.
“You’re this cooler older omega who loves rock music and cars, and well, you’re beautiful! You have the best laugh and when you talk, you get so excited that you talk with your hands and your green eyes just light up. You could have any alpha you wanted, why would you go for your baby brother’s annoying roommate?”
“Because maybe I like you back, dumbass!” Dean snapped and Brady’s head snapped up, his eyes even wider.
“W-what?”
Okay, so maybe Dean hadn’t realized he liked Brady before. Or maybe he did and just tried to repress it because he never thought he stood a chance. It all made sense though. Why it got under Dean’s skin when Brady first ignored him. Every time Brady talked to him or blew up his phone, Dean always assumed the alpha was messing with him because he thought Dean was lesser than him. But, damn it, Dean thought the guy was smoking hot from the moment he first laid eyes on him. Dean loved the alpha’s scent, the way he smiled, and the way his eyes lit up whenever he was excited about something.
So yeah, Dean had been crushing on the guy, but he had tried so hard to hate him because he never thought Brady would return his feelings. It was stupid, realizing this at the moment, and Dean felt even sillier that he had convinced himself he didn’t like Brady when those feelings were always there.
“I do.” Dean sighed and they stared at each other for a few moments.
“What do we do now?” Brady finally asked.
“So… Those sugar cookies of yours really all that great?”
A shy smile spread across Brady’s face and the alpha shrugged. “I mean, I thought they were good but… I don’t know…”
“Well, let’s give it a try. How about we change into dry clothing and go to the store?”
“I would like that.”
Brady and Dean walked towards the door, but the omega stopped long enough to sneak another snowball to throw at the back of Brady’s head. The alpha turned around and there was a glint in his eyes. Dean ran, with Brady chasing him, and the alpha was fast. He tackled Dean onto the ground and the two stayed there, picking up snow, throwing it at each other, and laughing their asses off. They could go to the store later, for now, Dean thought they should take advantage of the snow.