December 25th, 2015
It's Sam and Gabriel's first Christmas together, and Gabriel is stumped. He's one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and he's absolutely, completely, stumped. He wasn't even sure that was possible. He knows every detail about every culture, religion and ethnicity on earth. He knows the Winchesters are Christians- they don't practice anything, sure, but they're Christian nonetheless. He knows exactly what a traditional Christian Christmas is like, and that he is aware that he could easily replicate the 'perfect' Christmas: over-decorated, sparkling tree, sugary treats, excellent dinner and all. What he doesn't know is whether Sam will appreciate that or not. Something Gabriel knows is that the Winchester brothers have never been that big on Christmas. Even during their childhood, it wasn't a celebration so much as yet another reminder of how truly alone the brothers were. He also knows why it had been so- their father had never been there. The most that happened was Sam and Dean exchanging cheap gifts they'd bought at a convenience store a town back. It broke his metaphorical heart to think about a young Sam, sitting forlornly on a raggedy couch in a musty motel room in the middle of nowhere with Dean, his hopes of a Christmas celebration with his dad there dashed.
Gabriel banged his head on the desk repeatedly in despair, before sighing and rubbing a hand across his face. Anniversaries meant a lot to Sam, even though he'd never admit to it. They reminded him that yes, what was happening was real, it was there, and it meant something. It was written all over his face when Gabriel surprised him with little celebrations for their one, two, three, four week or month anniversaries. Gabriel groaned dramatically. It seemed as if he knew many things, sure, but not the things that would help him.
Do I get Sam a present? If yes, then what? Books? Nah, the Bunker has enough of those. Clothes? No! I'm better than that. Plaid shirts and worn jeans are what he wears on a daily basis, and they're not exactly the most appealing gifs. A holiday? No. Sam doesn't like being away from home, or Dean, for too long, and I can't exactly take the house and Sam's brother with us, he thought.
Once again, Gabriel banged his head on the desk. When Christmas went and became such a chore and how humans did it every single year without much of a failure rate was beyond him. He let his mind wander for a while, pondering his possibilities. Cas had told him that he and Dean had nothing at all in mind for Christmas when they were on the phone. He'd said that they had finally moved into their shared apartment, and they were going to a party one of Dean's old friends was throwing. Cas, being the ever-caring brother, had invited him and Sam to the party as well, a slight tinge of desperation colouring his voice. Gabriel couldn't blame him. Dean and Cas had only just gotten together, and this Christmas would mark the first ever major holiday they spent together. Gabriel had laughed, politely declined, and told Cas to let loose.
Gabriel ran through a mental list of all the dates he and Sam had he over the past four months they'd been dating. They'd been bowling, then to Hawaii the one time. They'd gone out for movies, had coffee, lunch, dinner, brunch, and everything in between. Gabriel had taken Sam to a bookstore one time, even though he couldn't stand being around so many books. He'd done it because he'd known Sam would like it, and he was right. The second Sam stepped into the store, his eyes had lit up and a wide smile had appeared on his face, warming Gabriel from the inside out. They'd gone to bookstores many times after that, and Gabriel would always stand to the side as Sam ran his fingertips along the spines of the books almost reverently. He would smile as he watched him, drinking in the warm look on his face. There had been other dates, all of which he'd loved every second of. Gabriel smiled and ran a hand through his hair. Gabriel himself didn't need much when it came to Sam, or their relationship. All he needed was to be with to him, and it would be all right. Gabriel could only hope this was true for Sam as well, because he had just figured out what to do for Christmas.
One long shopping trip with a tired, cranky Charlie and a complaining Kevin later, he was ready to set up for his very first actual Christmas. His two companions had moaned and groaned at first, but had perked up considerably when Gabriel had snapped up two steaming hot Pumpkin Spice lattes and cookies. They helped him carry the bags into the apartment he and Sam shared. They'd been curious as to why he didn't just snap up the supplies he needed, but he had just hummed the tune to Jingle Bells at them and said, "After millennia of doing things as an angel, I want to try doing something for Sam like a human would. He deserves the effort, don't you think?" He hadn't stopped to gauge their reactions, and turned around to dig in the bags. If he had seen them at that moment, he would have been surprised. Charlie was close to crying, and Kevin was grinning like the cat that got the cream.
"Sam's lucky to have you, Gabe," said Charlie. Gabriel raised an eyebrow in surprise and ripped the plastic packaging off a pack of glittery gold tinsel.
"Why do you say that?" Gabriel asked, confusion showing clearly on his face.
"Well, for one thing, you're doing so much for him on Christmas. I know no one except Dean has ever done anything like this for him, so this… this is going to make him happy, Gabe. And god knows he deserves that." Charlie wiped away a tear from her eye. "Okay, no chick flick moments, right? Let's get this Christmas party set up for Sam."
Charlie and Kevin got to work on the decorations, and hung the tinsel around the small room. Gabriel stared at Charlie in shock. He had certainly not expected for that to happen. He knew how much Sam meant to him personally, and by his Dad, that was more than he could even begin to express. He had always hoped that maybe, just maybe, he meant a fraction of that amount to Sam. He smiled. If everything went the way he planned today, it would all work out in the end. Chuckling, he shook his head and walked over to help Charlie and Kevin, who were currently bickering over the most efficient way to decorate the mid-sized Christmas tree Gabriel had bought.
Half an hour and many beers later, their intensive decorating session was interrupted by none other than Sam Winchester.
"Gabriel? I'm hom-" he stopped in his tracks with his mouth hanging open. Gabriel swore under his breath. Sam wasn't supposed to be home for a while now, and they hadn't even put the angel on the tree yet! He wiped his hands, suddenly sweaty, on his jeans.
"Hey, uh, Sam… This- I, uh, well, um, Merry Christmas?" he stammered. He didn't get much chance to explain himself before Sam, tears forming in his eyes, launched himself at his angel and wrapped him in a giant hug.
"Gabe? You did this for me?" He whispered into Gabriel's ear, smiling a shy, watery smile. Gabriel froze before hugging back in full force.
"Yeah, Sam, of course I did," was all he got out before Charlie and Kevin started whooping with joy. Charlie pulled up a chair next to the couple and held a sprig of mistletoe Gabriel couldn't remember buying over their heads.
"If you two lovebirds are waiting for Santa, then newsflash, he ain't coming. Get on with it!" She grinned, throwing her long red hair over her shoulder.
Sam and Gabriel broke apart and laughed. Sam cupped Gabriel's face in his hand and whispered, "Thank you, Gabriel. This is more than I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas." He leaned down and kissed Gabriel softly. Gabriel smiled into the kiss. He could feel the love and warmth radiating from Sam, and in that moment he knew that they loved each other, maybe more than he would ever know, and that was all Gabriel could hope for.