Now I'm strong and I won't kneel/Except to thank who's watching over me

[fromfryingpantofire]

It had been a very long day so far. For Sam, that day mostly meant waiting, fidgeting with the present in his hands.

More than a few of the others had watched him as they waited, wondering what he was doing here and, more than once, Sam had found himself wondering the same. The Novaks were a family with a lot of wealth and a lot of connections, political and otherwise. He'd done his research. The family was full of Alphas and Betas, insinuated into massive companies and running more than a few of their own. They were old money and old power and most of those who had come to court were the same.

Not Sam. Certainly, the Winchesters were an old family, but they weren't wealthy by a long shot. They were involved in law enforcement, which wasn't exactly a rich occupation to begin with. Sam was going to law school, but his interest wasn't in making money but in helping people and putting away those who abused their positions and their power. But, long ago, John Winchester had made a promise to the Novak family because Mary Campbell had mated him rather than Michael Novak. That one of his children would be offered as a mate to the Novaks should there be a compatible one. It had been a sop, meant to quiet tensions between the families but nobody had thought much of it. Dean had been a Beta and Sam had been an Alpha and that seemed that.

Until the Novaks threw an Omega. Not unheard of, but rare. And, suddenly, Sam seemed to be the one Winchester with a chance, small enough though it might be.

He started when he heard his name called, pulling himself to his full height with the present clutched in his hands. He followed Zachariah Novak trying to ignore the feeling of unworthiness. He was an Alpha from a good line. There was no reason, other than money, to think he didn't have a chance here.

Comments

[freetobe]

"Why, Mr. Winchester. It seems you have no faith in the prize at all. Or your own virility." Crowley smirks though. If they're lucky, this will prompt the Winchester pup to drop out of the race, and they can all go back to regular business tomorrow.

Castiel knows all this. He's been tested, proven fertile, then promptly threatened. His family expects him to breed, and fast. Not for a happy, healthy marriage, not for the sake of his own wellbeing, but so they don't lose status. They rarely produce omegas - so the moment they have one, it has to be the best, most fertile, most obedient little bitch on the market.

He nods, slightly, looking just a tad crestfallen. "I see." He has no idea how to make a salad.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"It's simple biology, not anything about virility," he replies. "Omegas don't react well to stress and duress. It sets their cycle completely off kilter. That's why you rarely see children from an unhappy mating." He doesn't actually look to Crowley, but he is the one with the greatest number of former mates. The rest of them are looking for their first.

The look in Castiel's face, though, makes him wish he hadn't spoken about meals at all. "That's okay. I'm sure that my brother would love to have somebody to teach. He likes to cook to unwind from the business."

[freetobe]

"The omega's fault, naturally. There's no need to be overly caught up on being unhappy when you have an alpha to provide for you." Yeah. That would be Zachariah agreeing with Crowley.

Castiel is young. He's grown up with this kind of talk and way of thinking poisoning his mind. But when his eyes meet Sam's, one thing becomes very obvious - while he doesn't truly know better yet, he has the potential to. There's a spark of curiosity in his eyes, a wish to explore the world Sam sketches out.

[fromfryingpantofire]

Which is the important thing.

It's underhanded and Sam knows it. He really would have been quite happy just being Castiel's friend, even with what Gabriel had sketched out to him about his family. Seeing it in person, though? Sam wants to get Castiel out of here. Somewhere safer, where he can be himself and not try to live up to these ideals that will only end up with him unhappy or, at worst, dead at the hands of a Alpha who just doesn't give a shit.

Perhaps, he hopes, he can do both. Only time will tell. For now, though, he's willing to glare at Zachariah but settle back, the the rest of the room wash over him. And never take his eyes from Castiel, even though they can't have a conversation at the moment.

[freetobe]

They have no proper chance to speak for the rest of the night. Zachariah and Crowley dominate the conversation - and it's rapidly becoming obvious where Zachariah's preferences lie. Crowley, after all, would bring the Novak clan the most prestige.

Castiel has a duty to fulfill, a duty to his family. And yet he finds himself glancing at Sam mmore often than not, wondering about this world that Sam has mentioned, that seems to wait out there, that's open to omegas. Wonders if he has the right to want for more than a soft bed in which to fulfill his mated duty.

Sam knows about the law, it's what his family business is all about, after all. Castiel could tell him - that he's fertile, but that he's not very fertile, that unless conditions are ideal, he will have a hard time conceiving. Zachariah has not even told him this - but Castiel overheard the doctor tell his uncle so. It makes the contract almost impossible to fulfill unless by rare chance. He can have children - but it's more unlikely than with most omegas that it will happen within the first year of his mating. Or very soon at all if he's stuck in the arrangement his uncle sees fit. The clause is only there so Zachariah can terminate a match Castiel decides on that Zachariah doesn't agree with. It also means, by default, he's selling a working, but still slightly defective product.

Castiel wonders what Sam would make of that.

He decides to find out the next night. He's allowed to spend some time alone in the gardens with every suitor invisible. Sam is last, again, and once again Castiel is very exhausted by the time he meets him, surrounded by trinkets and gifts that are more for his uncle than for himself. He smiles when Sam is shown into the garden. Tired, but not unhappy to see the young alpha.

[fromfryingpantofire]

Having made his decision to pursue this as best he can, Sam finds himself at more of a loss as to what to get for the second gift.

When he arrives, it's with...what's probably an odd gift to some. It's a fairly large plant pot, though the early stages of plants in it. Once she'd known why he wanted it, Ellen had practically pushed it into his hands.

Not for the prestige of a Novak mate, but because Sam cared.

"Is there a good place for me to put this down?" he asks, looking around and knowing Zachariah and probably Uriel are around somewhere. Mostly, though, he's looking for a good place to set it.

[freetobe]

Castiel's eyebrows slowly crawl upwards. It's a change of pace from his usual frown-of-deep-thoughts, and goes to show is surprise at what he sees here. Still he gets up from where he was seated beneath a tree, and looks around.

"I suppose... over here might be nice."

He indicates a nice, and so far rather empty corner of the garden, following Sam as he moves to put the plant pot down. He should be unimpressed in comparison to the expensive gifts others got him, but only finds himself curious.

"What is that, Sam?"

[fromfryingpantofire]

It's a fairly large pot, really. It only looks small because Sam's a big man himself.

He looks a little embarrassed, reaching up to rub the back of his head. "It's a mix of local wild flowers," he replies after a moment. "I'm not sure exactly what they are, really. But I know that it's a mix that's meant to be good for attracting bees."

A gift idea brought on by a panicked phone call to Gabriel the night before. The man was nice enough NOT to sound as smug as he probably was feeling when he told Sam about how much Castiel had loved bees. He'd been lucky that Ellen was already growing a couple of pots of the mixture. She and her mate, Bobby Singer, were both still partners in Winchester Investigations, even if they took a backseat these days to let Dean and Sam and Jo take the lead. But she'd always been like another mother to Sam, just as Bobby had been another father.

[freetobe]

"Bees."

The says the word flatly, but one look at his face betrays the nonchalant, unimpressed tone. Castiel's eyes now take in the flowers in an entirely different kind of light, as if they've gained a beauty most wouldn't even see.

As a child, Castiel had a bee plushie, and blue PJs with small bees buzzing around on it. He remembers the flowery fragrance hidden in the crook of his mother's neck, and how she'd call him her little bee, humming to him as if she was one herself. He'd followed the bees around the gardens, endlessly fascinated by the patterns of their flight, and never once scared of their sting.

"Thank you, Sam. You have a talent for choosing gifts..."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I have my ways."

He owed Gabriel a good few beers after this. Something the other man would no doubt remind him of. But Sam also knew that the other Alpha worried about his cousin, which was why he was helping out Sam so much.

He glances around again before offering Castiel his arm. "This is one of your spaces, isn't it?" If he liked bees, gardens seemed to be the spot for it.

[freetobe]

"You could say that."

Castiel slips his hand through Sam's arm. It's old-fashioned, but it's what etiquette asks for. He's pleased that Sam is willing to do this, given that Zachariah and Uriel are never far. He's not sure if Sam would encourage Castiel to hang off his arm any other time, and that's... a rather dizzying thought.

He could grab Sam by the wrist and drag him. Or just start walking and expect Sam to follow.

And Sam... might even do that.

"I'm not allowed to do all the garden work myself. But the gardeners let me watch them and help with small things." He drops his voice. "Depending on whether someone is watching or not."

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam folds his other hand over Castiel's, starting to walk through the garden. "Show me your favorite spots, then?" he asks, keeping his steps short so that Castiel can keep up. Most of Sam's height difference is in leg, after all. It gives him a longer stride than might be comfortable.

He looks over the gardens as they walk. "Ellen Singer is more into gardening than I am. Her mate, Bobby, was my father's partner when he and my mother started Winchester Investigations. Dad and Bobby would do the leg work while Mom and later Ellen and Kate did most of the organization and accounting in the office."

[freetobe]

Castiel hesitates a little - not because of Sam, but out of thought. He knows what to show him, but doesn't know if Sam might understand. If anyone might. Finally, he leads Sam down a path that looks positively unkempt compared to the rest, half-hidden behind low-hanging willow branches.

"They did very important work, then." Strange, that. And... intriguing. "That's a very central part of any clan. We employ Betas there, exclusively."

The path opens up to a small, wild pond, surrounding by a seemingly randomly mass of flowers and plants and grasses. It's not planned, like the rest of the gardens are. It looks positively... grown, not planted. There's a crooked bench nearby, and assortments of flowers that don't seem to match one another even remotely.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I think Dean would make some interesting noises if you told him he needed to stay in the office and do the accounts." Since Dean was the only Beta in the office. "Jo, on the there hand, might pay you to do it, as long as she has time to sell tickets and get some popcorn ahead of time. Well...mostly the popcorn."

Sam's laughing as he ducks under a low hanging branch just as they round the corner to the pond. He pauses at the sight, looking around it for a long moment before looking down at Castiel. "It's beautiful," he says quietly before leading Castiel over to the bench. There's still plenty of open space for Uriel and Zachariah to watch them and Sam is careful to let Castiel sit before sitting as far away as the bench allows. "This looks like a perfect place to come out for some peace and quiet."

[freetobe]

"Yes."

Castiel is glad that Sam understands, though hardly even surprised. Sam is wonderful like that. Something aches in his chest, and he's not sure what to make of that, suspects that it might be the distance between them that he knows he can never bridge. He's been brought up differently, and for the first time truly feels like less for it.

"I like to read here."

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam smiles, turning to face Castiel. Yes, they were brought up differently, but that doesn't mean he thinks less of Castiel for it.

His family, maybe, but not Castiel himself.

"What sort of things do you read?" he asks, head tilted out of curiosity. "I've always tended toward speculative fiction, myself. Or the occasional horror novel. And some Tolkien." Elves and dwarves didn't seem to deal in Alphas and Omegas. Or, at least, it was never mentioned in the books. But, then, there was no need for that before the clans came out.

[freetobe]

"History, more often than not. Text books on matters that concern my role in the household. Fiction... but only sometimes."

It wouldn't do to let an omega dream of other places, yearn for more, think themselves capable of adventure. Most heroes are alphas or betas, but still, it's best not to let Castiel start... thinking.

Or at least that seems to be the general idea.

He folds his hands in his lap.

"Did you know that centuries ago, it was common for alphas to earn the right to an omega by chasing them through the woods, and only claiming them if they could catch them? Some omegas eluded their prospective mates indefinitely."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"It's certainly a more fair system in a lot of ways. Pitting brains against brains, speed against trickery. In those days, if you couldn't catch your mate, you didn't deserve to have one." Oh yes, Sam's read his history. "In Japan, Omegas were taught to fight with pole arms so that they would be able to defend the clan if necessary. They were also expected to keep the household accounts and keep things running while the Alpha was off at war or court."

Okay, so at some point Sam and Cas have to play catch in the woods :p

[freetobe]

"I'm a fast runner."

It's spoken softly, almost too faint to be heard at all. Castiel isn't looking at Sam when he says it, but gazing out over the pond.

There may or may not be a pleased little smile playing along his lips. Or is that just the warm sunlight softening his features? Who knows.

"There used to be cultures in which everything was passed down through the omega line. Greater importance was placed on the person to give birth to a child than to the person who allegedly sired it."

He'll get in trouble for sharing this. His library will shrink down further. But Castiel has never talked to anyone about the history of his own kind before. It's... too tempting. Too refreshing.

They really, really do.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"Well, it makes sense. You know for certain that the child is the Omega's. An Omega might have several partners during heats in those sorts of cultures. From what I read, the heats weren't considered a fault." Not like it is in their current culture, as evidenced just the other night by those who called Omegas sluts.

But it was probably dangerous territory to take the conversation into. Sam turned, watching the lake. "Bobby used to take Dean and me out fishing when we were kids. Our dad went through a really rough patch for a while and that was Bobby's way of getting us out of his hair."

[freetobe]

Castiel lets his eyes rest on the lake as well, allowing Sam's words to sink in. "He sounds like a good man. Bobby."

He doesn't know enough to judge their father one way or another. Just knows he's glad Sam and Dean had this Bobby in their life, because it's obvious that this meant a lot.

"I can't swim," he confesses, because he doesn't know what else to say. Hates making things about him, frowns, and shakes his head. "Is it nice? Fishing, I mean."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"He's a very good man. Though I admit, I might be a bit biased." Sam smiles over at him before looking back to the lake.

The confession makes something ache deep in Sam's chest. "Well, Bobby called it fishing. We didn't tend to catch much, though. I think it was mostly a good excuse to get us out of the house for a while, out in the open are and give us something to do for a while. But it was also his way to bond with us. And with Jo, too. He always brought her along with us." He pauses a moment, then offers, "Swimming isn't that difficult to learn. At least enough to get you where you want to go."

[freetobe]

"Well... not very far to go around here," Castiel admits, a somewhat wry sort of amusement settling around the corners of his mouth and eyes.

Time runs by fast as he has Sam tell him more about lake, about swimming and fishing and summers spent with friends. Soon they have to leave to prepare for the nightly feast.

Castiel has to attend it despite feeling somewhat queasy. Still, he knows his duty, and after raising the issue once, he accepts his uncle's word and goes along without a fuss despite the sting of cramps. He wonders if he ate something that didn't sit well with him, and consequently merely picks at his food, sips little from his glass of wine, and struggles a bit to follow the conversation at the table.

He's glad when the meal is finished and they're all left to mingle, though being handed from conversation to conversation is almost worse.

When he's led back to Sam, he's rude, and feels ashamed for it, especially with his uncle glaring murder at the back of his head. Before Sam even has the chance to speak, Castiel raises his hand to silence him. "Please, let's go to the balcony. It's too pleasant a night to stay indoors."

Truly, he's just feeling too warm to stay inside a second longer. Maybe he should have had as little wine as he had food, to keep his cheeks from flushing, too.

[fromfryingpantofire]

The nightly feast, this time, was larger than the last had been. The suitors had each been invited to bring a guest with them. Some of them had brought more than one. Nearly every one was a Beta, though he thought that Samadriel had brought a sister or close cousin who was an Omega.

Sam, of course, brought Dean. So when the supper breaks up into mingling, they split up and talk to the others, though both keep an eye on Crowley. Neither of them trust the Alpha and they've come across his name far too many times to just leave it lie.

When Castiel approaches for the mandated conversation (Sam notices he is last, which isn't surprising), he raises an eyebrow but nods, offering his arm as he had earlier that day. "It is a bit warm in here. Some fresh air might do you some good." Because Castiel's looking flushed and uncomfortable. Sam looks up at Zachariah. "Doors open and we'll stay in view of everybody."

Because Sam's still a suitor and he's not about to make things more difficult for Castiel if possible.

With that, he leads Castiel out to the balcony, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. "Here. I hope this helps."

[freetobe]

"It does. Thank you, Sam. Please give my apologies to your brother later, I know this was very rude of me."

He had been looking forward to meeting Dean Winchester, truth be told. So far everything about their family, their pack, has proven that much more interesting. He knows he can't possibly justify choosing Sam, his uncle would give him Hell for it. Still, it would have made his night end on a high note.

"Have you two been able to enjoy the feast, at least?"

Castiel steps to the banister to look out over the Novak grounds, let his gaze wander as the breeze fails to cool him down. He rubs at the back of his neck absent mindedly.