Sam Winchester, by nature, was not a particularly extroverted person. He wouldn't say he was introverted exactly, but he was perfectly happy keeping to himself, and burying his nose in a good book. This was precisely why his job at the public library was, despite his brother Dean's endless teasing and eye rolls, just right for him: he wasn't required to talk much, if at all, and he got to spend most days reordering books, and writing little post-it notes with his recommendations. Sure, it wasn't the best paying job in the world, but it made him happy, and that's what counted right?

He'd been working there long enough to know pretty much everybody who came to the library on a regular basis, and even those who just popped in every now and again. He'd greet everyone with a smile, and it'd be returned - he didn't need to speak for people to be entirely charmed by him, something his co-workers groaned fondly at his obliviousness to. Needless to say, new customers piqued his interest, if only for a few moments, before they checked out a book, or enquired about a library card.

That was the only reason he was staring at the short man with messy brown locks, and an easy smirk. It had absolutely nothing to do with his impossibly tight jeans. Or the way he'd winked at him as he came in. Fine, he was attractive, but he was just another customer, and nothing particularly special at that.

He was totally ready to ignore him, and get back to his filing. But that was before he messed around with the books. Sam wasn't a control freak - neat, sure, but he could deal with a little bit of clutter. Turning the books upside down, however, was an entirely different matter.

So, for the first time in ever, he left his little desk. This was something that, unknown to him, would soon become the staffroom gossip, because it was widely known among his co-workers that Sam wasn't a talker, or an interacter in general, and a smile was worth bragging rights, let alone a whole step out from behind his home.

He didn't talk; he never spoke. He just stood behind the man (who, he now noticed, was slightly on the short side of average. Considering he was way on the tall side, he towered over him), who turned to him with a grin. His eyes were playful, a bright golden with a spark, eyes that told a story. Sam almost forgot why he'd gone over there in the first place.

"You're kinda racist here, huh?" That shocked him out of his reverie. He blinked, slightly bemused. "I mean," the guy continued, taking another book and flipping it, "you need to think of Australians."

It took a moment, but when it clicked, Sam smiled. An honest-to-God, teeth-baring, smile. Becky Rosen, the loud girl who worked Tuesdays and Wednesdays with him, would've had a heart attack.

Before Sam could find his senses, however, the other man's mouth was curling upwards as he spoke again: "Anyway, gigantor, I gotta blow." He took a few steps towards the door, before turning back to Sam: "Don't forget. Australians, kiddo. Down under." He winked, loading the last two words with innuendo, and then he was gone. Sam shook his head, as if that would erase the memory of the guy.

The next time he came in, it was late on a Friday night; 20 minutes before closing, in fact. Sam was listening to Jo Harvelle, the tough blonde who was almost like a sister to him, complain about her boyfriend, Ash.

"I mean, does he really think I won't notice? I'm not stupid- oh," Jo cut herself at the sight of the guy approaching them. Sam scowled slightly at the purple carpet. The man wasn't someone he'd particularly hoped to see again. In fact, he'd devoted a considerable chunk of his time in hoping that he wouldn't see those vibrant eyes again, the body they were in included. "Hey, dude. Can we help you?"

She smiled at him, all friendly and kind, and the guy smirked in return. "So, there's this book." He named some random novel that Sam was seventy-eight percent certain did not exist, and Jo nodded.

"Sam'll go get that for you," she said, turning to look at him. Normally, Sam would've nodded, and headed into the back without a second's hesitation, but even Jo had to realise this man just wanted to cause trouble. She raised her eyebrows at his uncharacteristic pause. "Right, Sam?" She stomped on his foot none-too-gently, and Sam made a mental note never to disobey Jo again. He nodded meekly, ignoring the smug look on the guy's face, and swung around.

"Gabriel," he heard the guy say before the double doors flew shut behind him. He spent the next five minutes or so searching through the I's in a futile attempt to find U. Iddyut, cursing Jo, and wondering what he'd done to this guy - Gabriel, he amended - for him to want to make his life so miserable. Maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration, but still.

When he returned empty-handed, it was to find both Jo and Gabriel crowded round his computer, giggling like five year-olds.

"Uh," he said. Both heads turned to him, and Gabriel gave him that trademark smirk.

"Hey, Sammy," he replied, as if it was perfectly normal for him - for anyone other than Sam - to be tapping away at his laptop. It was understood and respected that no one messed with anyone else's laptops. "Bustyasianbeauties, huh, kiddo? Didn't know you were into-"

He dissolved into laughter as Sam flushed bright red, pushing past them both to close his laptop lid, muttering something about 'my brother' and 'don't call me that'.

"Sorry, Sam," Jo said, once she'd recovered from her fit of the giggles. "Gabe wanted to add himself to the database, and we..." She started laughing again. "Well, he thought it needed reorganising." Gabe? When had they progressed to nicknames? He'd only been gone a few minutes, surely. He felt an uncomfortable rush of possession pass through him, but pushed it away, refusing to think about its implications further than it was purely because he was so protective of Jo.

Sam turned to Gabriel, who nodded, face totally solemn as he explained: "Second names are just so informal, y'know? I mean, first names are way more polite."

Maybe it was the thoughtful bite of a chocolate bar Sam hadn't noticed him biting into right after this statement. Maybe it was his perfectly straight face. Maybe it was the flicker of mischief in his eyes that betrayed his amusement. Either way, Sam couldn't help a snort. Jo looked at him sharply, taken entirely by surprise. For all his lack of talking, Sam wasn't mute (he just stuck to what was needed), but a laugh wasn't common, and a snort, of all things, was practically extinct, in that his coworkers were entirely unaware that he could do one.

"Closing time," was all he said. "Out."

Gabriel just grinned as he sauntered towards the door, leaving Sam to be needled by Jo for the rest of the night.

"Excuse me, sir?" A woman tapped politely at Sam's desk, pulling his attention from the files he was filling out with thin script. He smiled at her, nodding for her to continue. "There's a man reading very loudly in the quiet reading zone." She blushed a little, realising the childishness of what she'd just said. "I know it's not really a big problem, but you know, he's kind of defeating the point."

Sam stopped her by raising his hand slightly. "No, I understand. I'll sort it straight away." As if to prove this point, Sam rose, and started walking towards the area furnished with soft cushions and beanbags.

Sure enough, as he rounded an aisle, he could hear a familiar voice. "-couldn't put Humpty together again. What a tale." Inwardly, Sam groaned.

Jo might be charmed by Gabriel, but Sam was most definitely immune to any endearing features Jo insisted he had. As far as he was concerned, all he'd done was be a pain in the ass: the books had taken him forever to return to the correct way up, especially when he found out he'd done the whole other side of the bookcase before Sam had caught on, and the client base had taken him a whole coffee-fueled night to sort out. Sure, okay, maybe the guy had a sense of humour, but couldn't he demonstrate it on someone else?

When he rounded the corner, he found the man sprawled out on a fuchsia beanbag, throwing skittles in his mouth as he read children's nursery rhymes out loud, chuckling to himself at various points.

Sam counted to three internally, before saying: "Gabriel."

Not shocked in the slightest, Gabriel cocked his head upwards to grin at Sam. "Hey, Sammy, have you heard-"

"Don't call me that," Sam interrupted. "Out."

Gabriel's face fell in an exaggerated pout. "But, Sammy-"

"You heard me," Sam cut him short, pulling on one of what Dean liked to call his bitchfaces. Dean liked to number them.

Pulling a face, Gabriel resignedly pulled himself to his feet. By the time he was eventually upright (not that he had far to travel), he was smiling again. "I love it when you get all controlling, kiddo."

By this time, Sam had had enough. "Oh, bite me."

"Maybe later, big boy." Gabriel's grin was feral as he slapped Sam's butt on his way out. Sam turned scarlet, making a choking sound. He took a moment to compose himself before returning to his desk, still slightly flushed. Anna Milton, having gone to see what was taking him so long, fired off a text to Jo about some guy flirting with Sam, and, more importantly, Sam's reaction.

When Gabriel came back, he was not met by his favourite moose. Rather, ambushed by three of his female colleagues, all looking far too gleeful at the prospect of locking him in one of the back rooms, and interrogating him.

"Now, now, ladies," he said, leaning back against the wall, "I understand you just can't control yourselves around me any more, but really."

The redhead ignored him. "I'm Anna. This," she pointed to the blonde who was furtively looking around the door every few seconds, and generally making a nuisance of herself, "is Becky."

Jo, the third girl in their merry little party, pulled a face. "Ignore Becky. Everyone else does."

"Hey!" Becky glowered at her. "I just want what's-"

"Best for your Sammykins, yeah, yeah," Jo rolled her eyes, pretending to yawn. "We heard you the first five million times."

Anna looked exasperated. "Guys. Come on."

"Sorry," Jo said, looking anything but. "So, Gabe, hey." Gabriel waved, raising his eyebrows. "We wanted to ask you about Sam."

"Do you love him?" Becky whispered, suddenly far too close to him. Gabriel gulped.

"Becky, for God's sake," Jo gritted her teeth as she physically pulled her away from Gabriel. "Two strikes."

Becky looked at Anna as if asking for help, but the other girl just shook her head, turning to Gabriel. "Sorry," she said, looking genuinely contrite.

"Like I said," Jo muttered, "don't listen to Becky."

Gabriel saluted. "Gotcha."

Anna and Jo smiled at his easy lifting of the atmosphere, and, as Becky sulked by the door, they settled into a more informal conversation.

"Do you like him?" Jo asked, bold as ever. Anna elbowed her, but Jo just watched Gabriel carefully, trying to gauge his reaction.

Gabriel shrugged. "I like a lot of people." He folded his arms behind his head lazily. "Kind of a people person."

"Well," Anna said gently, "if you did happen to have a particular liking of Sam... you should know he doesn't really talk."

Gabriel snorted inelegantly. "Anyone with two ears knows that." He yawned, loudly. "Well, if that's all ladies..." He made to leave, but Jo blocked his way, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"We just wanted to say, you should try," Anna said softly.

Becky murmured from the door, something that sounded like, "he doesn't have mine."

"Out," Jo said, moving to push her out, and closing the door behind her, ignoring the loud 'but!". "Yeah, no, Gabe, go for it. Please. He needs to lighten up."

Anna nodded, as Gabriel looked between the both of them, eyebrows raised. "So you pulled me back here to tell me I have your blessing?" He made an indescribable sound, shaking his head. "Girls."

"Shut up." Jo said, but she was smiling. "Just be careful, y'know."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Careful's my middle name."

This time, both the girls collapsed in laughter as they headed back to their desk.

The first thing Sam noticed - that anyone noticed - was that Gabriel, this time, was not alone. He looked positively gleeful as he led a golden retriever through the sliding doors, happily ignoring the 'No pets please' sign that adorned it. Sam exhaled a deep sigh, fighting to find the patience. He shot a longing look towards Anna, who was working the day with him, but she just smiled, and gestured for Sam to go deal with it. He extricated himself from his paperwork like it physically pained him, but when Gabriel turned to him with a huge smile, he forgot to pretend to be weighed down for a second, and his whole form lightened. Which, if the way Gabriel's eyes traced his shoulders was anything to go by, hadn't gone entirely unnoticed.

"C'mon, Goldie," Gabriel said, scratching behind her ears, "say hello to Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes at the nickname, but he couldn't ignore the dog's pleading eyes. As he leant down to stroke her, he looked up at Gabriel, commenting, "Goldie."

"Yeah, well," Gabriel looked vaguely embarrassed, something Sam revelled in. "My brother named her, not me." Mentally, he cursed Castiel, and his ridiculous love for anything with four legs.

Sam laughed, shocking no one more than himself, and it was such a nice, full sound that Gabriel instantly wanted to hear it again. "When we were little," Sam said quietly, eyes still on Goldie, "we had fish, and my brother insisted that they were called Doctor, and Sexy." He chuckled again, his eyes lost in the memory. "They died, and he cried."

Gabriel's voice was uncharacteristically quiet when he replied. "Not an animal guy?"

"Not a fish guy," Sam corrected. "I love dogs." He scratched at Goldie's ears, and the dog panted loudly. Gabriel knew she'd fallen in love with Sam already, and rolled his eyes at his stupid dog. Sam seemed to realise what was happening, coming to his senses, and straightened quickly. "Not in the library, though." He met Gabriel's eyes, all business. "You both need to leave."

The shorter man laughed. "I don't see why she shouldn't be able to benefit from the same resources as me."

"Go," was Sam's parting shot, though it wasn't unaccompanied with a roll of his eyes, and a smile. Gabriel counted it as a success.

Gabriel only got halfway into the library next time, carrying a gas stove, before Sam's voice stopped him.

"Stop," he said, not quite shouting, but definitely loud enough to be heard from from his desk across the room. He stepped out, striding towards Gabriel. "What are you doing now?" He sounded tired, but Gabriel entertained the idea that there was a hint of fondness hidden away there, too.

Gabriel flashed a huge smile at him. "It's lunchtime." He held up the camping stove, all the while looking delighted. "I wanted to enjoy my lunch in the comfort of the library."

Sam sighed loudly. "Why are you doing this?"

"What?" That wasn't the reaction Gabriel had been expecting. "Doing what?"

Exasperated, Sam flung his arms around, gesturing to the entire library. "This... annoying me!"

Gabriel thought for a moment. "Am I annoying you?"

"I..." Flustered, Sam's words caught in his mouth. Was Gabriel annoying him? Sometimes (most of the time) he wanted to kill him, but he'd also made him laugh, and for some reason, start spilling his guts. "A bit."

"Wasn't my intention, kiddo," Gabriel said, sounding serious for once. "I work across the street." He pointed to a chocolate shop, exactly opposite the library. Of course Sam had noticed it before, but he'd never thought to go in. "I've watched you, Sammy, for, like, a year now." Sam looked at him in surprise, and Gabriel nodded, a familiar grin surfacing. "And you never laughed. Or spoke more than five words, to anyone."

"I-" Sam started to protest, but Gabriel cut him off with a laugh.

"No, you didn't," he said firmly. "So I thought I'd brighten your life."

Sam folded his arms, trying to look unimpressed, but Gabriel swore there was something else coming through. "If you just wanted to talk, you could've asked for my number."

Gabriel snorted. "Did you hear-"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Being quiet doesn't mean I'm like, dead or anything."

"So..." Gabriel started carefully. "If this is me asking for your number..."

Sam moved away, back to his desk, and Gabriel tried to ignore the crushing disappointment settling in his chest. Well, he tried.

Just as he was about to cut his losses, and head out, Sam spoke again. "Then this is me writing it down."

He returned to Gabriel, a post-it note in his hand. As he handed it to Gabriel, their fingers brushed, and, instead of pulling away, Gabriel entwined them, the post-it note stuck between their hands. Before Sam could ask what he was doing, he pulled Sam down, and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was barely even a kiss, really, just a quick brush of lips, but both of them pulled away with sparks from their head to their toes.

"Reservation," Gabriel said with a smirk, but Sam read his eyes, and knew he was just as flustered as Sam, really. "I should get back to work." He pulled his fingers out regretfully from Sam's, taking the post-it note with them. As he left, he turned back with that trademark smirk. "Don't go talking anyone's ears off."