Fic prompt: High school AU where Gabe gets really freaked out by a horror movie and Sam comforts him.
When Gabriel asked if Sam wanted to go and see a movie that Friday, the younger boy hadn't thought anything of it. Gabriel Novak was two years older than him, but they'd been next door neighbours for years. They'd grown closer when Dean and Castiel, their brothers, had started dating a year ago, resulting in Sam and Gabriel spending as much time as they could away from their homes. Bonding over a shared love of comic books and a hatred of cats, they had quickly grown into friends.
That was over a year ago. Gabriel was now a senior, and despite the massive workload Sam knew he had, the short teenager was always there whenever Sam called to see if he wanted to come over. Sometimes it seemed to Sam that Gabriel would drop everything he was doing for Sam, but he'd shrug and assume that his friend just didn't do any work. They met up most days, and the days they didn't they talked to each other on the phone for hours. Gabriel never seemed to think anything of their strange dependency on each other, but it made Sam secretly squirm inside.
The first time he'd realised that he liked Gabriel as more than a friend was when they'd been in Gabriel's room, pouring over the latest editions of the Batman and JLA comics three months ago. They'd been lying on the floor next to each other, Sam's tall frame far outstretching his friend's, when Gabriel turned to talk to him.
"Look at this!" he said angrily, jabbing a finger at Wonder Woman's pants. Sam glanced at them and raised his eyebrows.
"They're... shiny?" Gabriel rolled his golden eyes.
"Yes, and they're pants. Pants!" At Sam's blank expression, Gabriel sighed. "She's supposed to be a fearless and sexually empowering role model, and she's wearing pants. What happened to her all-American leotard, hmm?" He was staring at Sam with a pointed expression. It was then that Sam noticed quite how close they were. Their noses were only a few centimetres apart, and their sides were touching.
Sam's breath hitched in his throat. God, Gabriel's eyes were so golden. How was it even possible to have eyes that color? And his skin was smooth, his body was warm, his lips were inviting...
Sam jumped to his feet, surprising Gabriel. Hair falling down to cover his bright red face, he bolted out the room muttering something about using the bathroom. Running down the corridor and straight into the upstairs bathroom, Sam slammed the door shut and turned the lock. Stumbling over to the sink, Sam stared at his reflection.
As he'd thought, his cheeks were red and flushed. His eyes were wide and bright, his pupils... dilated? He could feel that his heart rate was up, and he felt oddly warm and tingly where Gabriel's body had pressed into his, and his jeans definitely felt tighter.
No, no, no! He thought in panic. This was not good, not good at all! Sam was straight, he'd always been straight! So why was he suddenly having weird romantic feelings for his best guy friend? Sam slumped against the door. He forced himself to calm down before closing his eyes and thinking of Gabriel. The way he smiled, the way he laughed, those goddamn golden eyes. The reaction was instantaneous – increased heart rate, blood rushing down and making his jeans even tighter than before and his breath hitched in his throat.
This was insane. Sam couldn't be feeling all these things for his friend; he'd never felt like that about him before! He must just be horny. Or hormonal. Either way, he figured that all he needed was to get home and jerk himself off as quickly as possible and let his emotions get back to normal. Yeah, that's what he'd do. No need to think that he actually had a crush on his friend, was there?
"Sam?" A cheerful voice that was laced with concern asked from outside the door. Sam groaned before he could stop himself as he felt Gabriel's voice go through him like melted chocolate. "Hey Sammy, are you alright? Not that I was worrying, but you did seem to rush off a little quick there." Leaning his head back against the door, Sam whimpered quietly as every inch of his body desperately wanted contact with Gabriel's. Oh man, he thought as his chest ached painfully. He was completely fucked.
"Hey kiddo, you ready to go?" Gabriel grinned as Sam nodded, shouting goodbye to his parents as they left the house. They walked over to Gabriel's old Mustang and Sam slid in shotgun as Gabriel got in the driver's seat. Gabriel switched on the cassette player, Bob Dylan beginning to play a few moments before the car started up. They drove to the cinema in comfortable silence, neither wishing to break the calm atmosphere. It was only when they went to get the tickets that Gabriel frowned.
"Err, excuse me?" He asked the guy at the ticket desk. The guy looked up with a bored expression on his face.
"Yeah?" Gabriel smiled awkwardly.
"It says that this cinema is now showing The Exorcist." The ticket vender blinked.
"So?"
"So I thought it was supposed to be showing Rocky Horror. That's what it said on Monday."
"It's Friday." Gabriel shifted uncomfortably, clearly losing patience with the sullen cinema worker.
"Yes, but it said that Rocky Horror was showing all week, and that was only four days ago." The vender glared at Gabriel, and Sam stepped in.
"Hey, it's okay." Gabriel's lips tightened.
"No it's not okay, Sammy. We drove here for nothing!" Sam shrugged.
"We could always watch The Exorcist. I've seen it before, but it' s quite a good movie and I wouldn't mind seeing it again." Gabriel froze for a moment. Sam frowned. "You're not... scared are you?" Then Gabriel was back to normal, though his laughter soundly slightly forced.
"Of course not! Alright then, I'll get tickets for- for The Exorcist."
Sam had believed him, he really had. Gabriel wasn't one to scare easily. He'd stood up to jackasses a foot taller than him before, when they'd been picking on Castiel. Many of Gabriel's pranks pertained to supernatural type creates, too. Sam didn't notice his friend's discomfort until the two priests began to exorcise the little girl.
A small, hopeful part of Sam had hoped that this going to see this movie together would somehow transform into a date, and that maybe Gabriel would try put his arm around Sam's shoulders or hold his hand, like in all the cheesy movies. But his life wasn't a cheesy movie, and throughout the movie Gabriel made no effort to touch him or suggest that their friendship was anything more than platonic. Knowing that his feelings were tragically one-sided, Sam risked a glance at his friend as the exorcism began on screen. What he saw shocked him completely.
Gabriel was white as a sheet, shaking ever so slightly, his golden eyes wide and fearful. His bottom lip quivered silently and he looked as though he was holding back tears. Glancing between the movie and Gabriel, Sam saw that his friend couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. Worried, Sam touched Gabriel's arm in concern.
Gabriel flinched violently. He looked at Sam in terror, his whole body even tenser than before, before his shoulders slumped and he shivered.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sam whispered anxiously. Gabriel didn't reply, only bit his shaking lip and looked at the ground. Sam was completely nonplussed. Gabriel... scared? The thought seemed so strange to him, and yet the sight in front of his eyes proved the statement to be correct. Suddenly not caring about the movie, Sam took Gabriel's hand gently. The older boy didn't flinch this time, but looked up with wet eyes in confusion. Standing up, Sam gently tugged his friend towards the exit.
They left silently, not disturbing any of the other few people who had come to watch the movie. It was only when the doors had closed behind them and Sam had led them into the bathroom that Gabriel whimpered. Letting go of Sam's hand, he pressed his own to his eyes and groaned. After a moment he looked up, clearly upset with a hint of embarrassment on his face. When he spoke, his voice was weak.
"Sorry kiddo. I probably should have told you I don't like horror movies, hey?" His smile was watery, his eyes still full of tears. Sam shook his head, his face full of concern.
"Gabe, I- Why did you let me push you into seeing it if they scare you so much? You know I don't think any less of you because of it." Gabriel chuckled humourlessly, turning away from Sam to stare into the mirrors that panelled the wall where the basins were. He looked at his rumpled reflection for a minute before smiling bitterly.
"Truth? 'Cause I wanted to impress you, kiddo." Sam's heart clenched and he froze.
"Umm... what?" Gabriel turned to face him this time, looking up into Sam's big brown eyes and shrugging.
"I like you Sam, more than I should. I guess I just wanted to pretend for a moment that we were oh, I don't know," he shook his head and let out a short, defeated laugh. "On a date? I took advantage of the fact that you didn't know how I felt about you to let me feel like we were more than friends. I'm sorry, Sam. I know you're straighter than straight, and that you'll never want to speak to me again, but that's fine. I can't keep lying to you anyway."
Sam was frozen in shock. Did Gabriel just... what? Did he just say that he liked Sam? His heart (which had been beating fast all evening thanks to his close proximity to Gabriel) tugged and he felt warm heat spread throughout his body. Feeling a little lightheaded, he leant back against the row of basins. Gabriel's words rushed through his head, setting his heart on fire. Gabriel wanted them to be on a date! The pieces clicked together in his mind as Gabriel's terrified expression floated into his mind. Of course! If Gabriel was scared of the movie then he wouldn't have been able to get comfortable with Sam- hold on, straight?
"Gabriel," Sam sad quietly. He looked up to see Gabriel wearing a defensive expression, as though he thought Sam was going to spurt some homophobic crap at him. After a moment of golden eyes meeting brown, Sam gave up trying to find the right words. Instead of correcting Gabriel's mistake, Sam simply stepped forwards, grabbed Gabriel and kissed him.
Gabriel's lips were wonderfully soft, far softer than Sam ever could have imagined. They tasted faintly of popcorn and Sam wanted nothing more but to get them open. He realised after a moment, however, that Gabriel wasn't moving beneath him and he quickly pulled back. Sudden humiliation ran through Sam as he looked at Gabriel's frozen face. Sam stepped back quickly.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry Gabriel! I thought you felt the same, I-"
But he didn't get to finish his sentence as Gabriel grabbed his head and pressed their lips together hungrily.
Gabriel had imagined kissing Sam many, many times. He'd imagined fireworks, soft lips, the smell of woodland trees... But the actual event was so much more. Sam's lips were softer than cotton and as warm as hot chocolate. He tasted of chocolate and sunshine, and Gabriel wondered vaguely in the back of his mind if there was anything on the Earth more wonderful. He could feel Sam's hair fall against his cheeks as the taller boy wrapped his arms around Gabriel's waist. His skin was impeccably smooth and the heat that radiated from it made Gabriel tingle right down to his toes. When Sam's tongue touched his lips he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam's neck to pull him closer, now not even the slightest gap between their bodies.
The kiss that had began desperately had slowed into one of passion and inexplicable delight. Sam tasted every part of Gabriel's mouth, moaning when the smaller man bit down gently on his bottom lip. The feel of Gabriel's mouth on his, the burning heat that ran across his entire body, made his head spin in euphoria. Time seemed to stand still whilst they made out in the bathroom of the cinema, the movie completely forgotten. Sam was only aware of the amazing things that he was feeling and of Gabriel's body pressed against his.
After what seemed like hours (though Sam thought it wasn't long enough), Gabriel pulled back, panting. His lips were bruised and swollen, but his eyes sparkled like Sam had never seen. They seemed brighter, too – their golden color shimmering and beautiful as they appraised Sam's face. Sam's heart felt like it could burst out of his chest at any moment, and he stared at Gabriel as though he were an angel; with pure awe and unadulterated adoration.
"I love you." He hadn't meant to say it, but when he did he put a hand to his mouth. "I mean, I-" Gabriel shook his head and put a gentle finger against Sam's lips, silencing them immediately. Instead of looking freaked out as Sam thought he would have, Gabriel smiled softly, moving his finger from Sam's lips to caress his face.
"I love you too, Sammy. Always have, always will." And Sam knew he was telling the truth. They kissed again, though this time with a gentle softness that Sam had never experienced before. They slowly moved closer, hands caressing the other's body. Sam tried to think of a word to describe the way it felt to be with Gabriel, and it suddenly came to his mind: Bliss. Pure and absolute bliss.
Perhaps professing their love for each other wasn't the conventional thing to do on what they would later deem their first date, but as Dean would say in his best man speech at their wedding eight years later, Sam and Gabriel Novak-Winchester were hardly conventional.
