(Unfinished) I'll post more chapters. This was a prompt from Tumblr, hope you enjoy it!(: It can also be found on AO3(my username is WinchesterFaith) by the same title. As always feedback is greatly encouraged and appreciated.
The boss is out and it is after-hours so Gabriel finally has the chance to sit back and relax before he starts locking up. He ran his fingers through his sandy hair and leaned back in his chair, kicking his legs up on the counter and scattering some papers in the process. Today had been a long and extremely weird one. Some guy had busted in the door this morning, cradling a bloody German Shepard to his chest and calling for someone to help him, that he had hit the dog with his car. He must have been from out of town because he wasn't even in the right place. This was an animal shelter, not an animal hospital. But they did have one vet on staff just in case things like this turned up out of the blue. The man himself was at least six foot five and sweating like a whore in church. He had locks of brown hair falling into his eyes and sticking to his forehead, almost reaching his shoulders in the back lengthwise. Gabriel never did figure out who the guy was, he didn't even take the time to sign him in, he just hurriedly led him to their lead vet, Anna Milton, in the back and made sure to tell him the dog would be fine and it wasn't entirely his fault. Things happen. After leaving the dog with Anna, Gabe started leading the guy back to the front room and out the door. The whole while the guy kept muttering that he always manages to screw something up everywhere he goes and that he should have been watching the road more closely. Real sap, that one. Pretty though. Very.
Suddenly the bell rang on the door and Gabe almost feel right out of his seat at the surprise. The papers from the table flew in all differnent directions and a few folders were knocked over and scattered as well. It was a total mess but at least Gabriel didnt end up on his face. Gabriel cursed under his breath and rounded the counter, kneeling down to pick up everything. The man who had just walked in rushed over and started helping him, picking up the fallen papers and trying to pile them back nicely even though he didn't know the true order of them. Their hands kept brushing together as they both scrambled for the papers, the man's more than twice the size of Gabriel's. Gabriel was triying to tell him he didn't have to help but the man wouldn't have it. He continued reaching for the scattered papers and apologized quite frequently for causing this mess. Gabe was about to explain that he was just clumsy when he lifted his head up to see who it was and they bumped foreheads. Oh the irony...
"I'm so sorry, I-" Gabriel cut off short when he realized who it was, staring at the man unblinkingly. It was him. The one who had rushed in this morning with the German Shepard. And damn was Gabe wrong when he thought pretty... This man was gorgeous, his face that close, hair falling into his eyes as he was bent over, broad shoulders, hazel eyes, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Gabe had to remind himself to blink. He went back to helping with all the stuff he'd knocked over, trying to shake the weird feeling in his gut. The man said it was fine, that it was his fault, and gathered the rest of the papers before standing up and reaching out a hand to help Gabe up with him. He's never felt so short in his life. Gabe knew this man was tall, but now that he was standing so close to him it felt like he was completely towering over Gabe's five foot eight. He carefully stacked the papers back on his desk, trying to turn his mind away from where it was obviously going before he started blushing scarlet like an idiot.
"Sorry to cause you so much trouble in one day..." The guy said, shaking his head, "I was just wondering if the dog I brought in this morning was doing any better. I'm about to skip town to meet up with family in Sacramento and I wanted to make sure she was okay before I left. Guilty conscience." Dammit... Gabriel frowned and hoped the man hadn't noticed. Well there went all the possibilities going through Gabe's mind. It only took one second and two words... skip and town.
"Y'know... A guilty conscience is never a good thing for nice people like yourself... You must really like animals." Gabe said, cursing himself internally for stating the obvious and completely losing his touch. He was usually witty as hell but he couldn't seem to concentrate around this guy. It frustrated him more than ever. But he kind of liked it. The guy smiled and ran a hand through his long hair, moving the fallen strands out of his eyes and showing his dimples more clearly.
"You could say that. Never had much time for pets though. Wanted one but I was on the road too much, y'know?" Gabriel nodded his head even though he's never had the chance of traveling freely. He's always been stuck in this shelter, slowly making a living and only sharing an apartment with a small Jack Russell named Cassie. His life isn't that interesting. Never was. This was the most interesting thing that's happened to him for almost a year now and he felt like stalling the man to try an get him to stay longer. But for the life of him he couldn't think of anything to say. His mind was blank and his wit was gone. Instead of openly flirting as he always does he found himself acting more shyly, bowing his head to look at his feet so the guy wouldn't see his cheeks turn red. What did it really matter though? The guy was skipping town the next day anyway. There was no use at even trying. Realizing that he couldn't just leave the man hanging, he began leading him through the white hallways of the shelter, kennels on every side and dogs barking at them when they passed. He finally reached the large kennel the German Shepard was being kept in towards the back. The dog had been fine. Fractured leg, few bruises, and a little stitches. Nothing Anna couldn't handle. Gabe turned on the light and it flickered for a few seconds before turning on all the way. This place was so run down it must seem like a crappy motel to the animals staying here. Gabe hates it. He's always loved animals but he hates being stuck in this shelter. The man looked up at the light, which had started flickering again, as he made his way over to the large kennel housing the sleeping German Shepard.
"Lights causing you problems?" He asked nonchalantly as he kneeled down in front of the cage and tapped his fingers against the metal bars, whistling softly for the dog. She woke right up, wagging her tail and licking at his fingers. The man smiled and turned back to Gabriel who was standing awkwardly in the center if the room with his hands shoved in his back pockets. He would of answered his question except for the fact that he couldn't tell if it was rhetorical or not. Of course the lights were giving him trouble, you could clearly see them flickering. He usually would of said something sarcastic along the lines of that, but he couldn't bring himself to talk and he didn't want to come off as being rude to this man. He seemed too nice of a person to deal with people like Gabe. He seriously wasn't woth him.
"She seems great, you guys did a good job. Sorry for the inconvenience, I know this is just a shelter but it was the closest I knew of. I was just hoping you may of had a vet, and surprise, you did." The man smiled and Gabriel smirked back, a long strand of his messy hair falling into his eyes as he looked back down at his feet. He wished he was the one who got to patch the dog up. That is, in fact, what he had gone to college to do. He only got through about two years of it until his dad had a heart attack and died out of the blue, leaving his family completely imploded. Hints why he was now working at this shelter instead of the animal hospital a town over. He keeps applying there, almost every year. They were probably aggravated with him by now but he kept pushing so that maybe one day they'd finally give him a sort of sympathy job. It never happened though. Everyone else that applied always had more experience than him, more years in college than him, better qualities than him. There was always someone better...
Yeah, lucky huh? Anna is wonderful." He tried not to seem upset about it and faked a smile as the guy smiled back and said his goodbyes to the German Shepard before getting back up on his feet, towering over Gabe once again and standing too close for Gabe to keep his head from spinning wildly.
"Did you find the owner yet?"
"Nope. No tags, no chips, no nothing. She's completely ownerless. Once she heals up enough we'll just put her with the rest of the dogs, up for adoption. But more cases than none she'll probably end up at the pound. People usually come looking for the healthy ones and the puppies. It's not my call, trust me, but this shelter has been getting overcrowded lately." Gabe continued to watch his feet as they walked back down the narrow hallway, not daring to look up at the man. He was oddly quiet at his side for awhile until they made it back to the front room. This wan't like Gabe at all. He should have made his move by now, the guy was skipping down tomorrow. He'd probably never get a chance again. But something was stopping him and he couldn't explain it. The guy walked over to the door and was about to leave when his hand stalled over the handle. Gabriel felt a sliver of hope rise in his chest as the guy turned back around.
"You know what? I can fix those lights for y'all. I'm not asking for money or anything. Just wanna help out. Sacramento can wait anyways, who cares for family reunions these days. They always turn into huge fights and people faking smiles and beer being smashed against the wall. Well at least for my family." Gabriel smirked sideways at the guy from where he was leaning against the desk, hands shoved into his back pockets again. Bad habit.
"I couldn't ask you to-"
"It's not a problem man. Hey, one more thing... Is that Anna chick your girl?" Gabriel was stunned silent for a minute. That was it. That was his chance. But now he had a choice. Heads or tails? Now or later? Right or wrong? He ended up laughing it off and looking back up at the guy.
"Nah man, she's just a friend. Why do you ask?" Gabriel said hopefully, looking up to carefully watch for any hint of flirtation from the bigger man. As much as he tried though, he couldn't tell. And maybe that was a good thing.
"No reason." The man said with a smile that cut into his cheeks and made Gabriel shift uneasily. "I'll be here tomorrow morning. Hey, I never did get your name." Gabriel felt like he might be blushing even though he couldn't be sure if he even had a reason to. This man was simply smiling at him and it felt like he was lighting up the whole room. Gabe realized he was staring again and quickly dropped his eyes. He had made his choice. Tails it was. Who knows, he might actually have a chance with this guy if he takes the time to know him first.
"Gabriel. They call me Gabriel." The man was halfway out the door, head arched around the corner and laughing lightly.
"Well Gabriel, they call me Sam." He said with a wink and was gone. Gabe stood there for a few minutes in silence before gathering his stuff and locking up. He didn't know what was up with him. There was just something about that Sam guy. Gosh, he was pathetic... Swooning over the first attractive, nice, guy that walks into this shelter and smiles like he loves the world and everyone he meets.
But then again, there was something about him.