p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"For three nights in a row, Sam Winchester slept alone. The word "slept" is used very generously in this context./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The lack of another body in bed with him made him restless. He suffered from strange dreams that left him with feelings of dread, and he found that he was getting better sleep when he accidentally dozed off in his college classes for a few minutes at a time. He wondered about Gabriel; he wondered whether or not Gabriel could sleep through the night in a hotel room cities and miles away from Sam. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Of course, it made Sam swell with pride and affection when Gabriel told him that he had been given the opportunity to attend a four day culinary course worth two credits. He didn't realize how much Gabriel's absence would interfere with his normal sleep routine. Sam considered picking up his phone and calling Gabriel, but ultimately decided it would be best if he didn't disturb him. Gabriel was probably busy, and the chef conducting the program was said to be rigorous./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"On the fourth and final day of being alone, Sam was slumped over a textbook, a small lamp shedding light across the pages and the desk. His eyelids were gaining density, it seemed, and there was no chance he was actually processing any of the words his gaze dragged over. The last message he had received from Gabriel was a short one. emi'm about to board my last flight, i'll see you soon/em punctuated with a winking emoji. That had been almost four hours earlier. Was it possible there was a delay at the airport? Was there something worse going on? Did Sam want to check the news for plane wreckage? He wanted all of those questions to be answered with "no," but the only one he felt was a solid "no" was the last one./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He raked a hand through his hair and tried to refocus his attention to his open textbook again. At eleven PM, the apartment complex was rather quiet. The footsteps and the closing of doors were muted, few and far between. He sent Gabriel a text. emWhere are you? Is everything alright?/em /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The text went unanswered./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Sam clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, wondering when he came to be this way. Did school really take so much of a toll on him that he became almost unreasonably concerned about the safety of Gabriel? /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"A key audibly slid into the apartment door. Sam jumped to his feet immediately as the door opened. Gabriel sprinted across the threshold and threw himself at Sam, who caught him smoothly in his arms./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Surprise," Gabriel spoke with a grin Sam could hear. Sam felt like he could breathe again. The embrace ended after a few more moments. Gabriel stepped back and gave Sam a once over. "Geez, kid, you look like you haven't slept in a century."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""That's about how I feel," Sam admitted, rubbing his neck./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I don't care what you've got left for homework, I think you're overdue for some real sleep. Bedroom's that way, get a move on," Gabriel let another goofy smile grace his face as he pointed towards their room, giving Sam a subdued pat on his ass. Sam said nothing, but did just what he was told./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He and Gabriel both left their shirts on the floor, and Sam traded his jeans for pajama pants. Gabriel left his undershirt on, but opted not to put anything else over his boxers before crawling under the covers with Sam. At first, he scooted close to Sam, who pulled the smaller man close with ease. Sam was silently incredulous about how much tension went away after Gabriel's return./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I know the Winchesters are emfantastic/em with emotional expression," Gabriel started. "So I emjust know/em you're going to tell me exactly what screwed with you these last few days. Is it because finals are approaching?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yeah, I think-" Sam hesitated before speaking at all./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""You're lying."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""It's not that important," Sam decided it was dumb for him to feel the way he did in light of Gabriel leaving. Abandonment issues were lame./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Well, considering you look like a zombie with insomnia and severe stress, no offense, I still think you're beautiful, I'd say it's important." Gabriel allowed Sam some more time to answer. After a minute passed, Sam told Gabriel the truth./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I guess I didn't realize how much it sucks to, uh, sleep without... you."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Well, I'm back, so you don't have to suffer anymore!" Gabriel pressed himself closer still, his forehead resting against the hollow of Sam's throat. His arm was across Sam's side, and Sam's arms were secure as ever, enveloping Gabriel's comparatively smaller frame. Gabriel kissed Sam's bare skin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Good night," he whispered. Sam murmured a "good night" in return./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"A few hours later, Sam's hold on Gabriel had relaxed, to Gabriel's relief. He slipped out of bed and down the hall, then into the bathroom so he could use the toilet. He washed his hands and dried them. When he returned to the bedroom, Sam was writhing in his sleep, eyebrows knit together and his jaw clenched, puffs of air escaping inconsistently through his teeth./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Sam," Gabriel knelt on the bed next to him, lightly shaking him. "Sam, wake up. I'm right here," Gabriel shook him again, harder this time. Sam's eyes finally opened and his breath started to even out. "Roll over," Gabriel instructed calmly, his short lived worry melting away in response to Sam waking up./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"When Sam was on his left side, his back facing Gabriel, Gabriel settled back into the bed. He mumbled soft affirmations to Sam and traced words and shapes on Sam's bare back using his fingers. He drew stars and swirls and hearts, whispering "It'll be okay," and "You are very loved." Gabriel kept on, keeping the shapes flowing together and keeping the pressure of his contact steady. He reassured Sam softly, taking in and learning the geography of Sam's back, feeling the way his muscles formed and spread under his warm skin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Gabriel couldn't even guess how long this went on, but he didn't stop until Sam's breathing became uniform and light and all of the tension in his muscles disappeared. He fell asleep shortly after, one arm lazily draped over Sam's form./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The lack of another body in bed with him made him restless. He suffered from strange dreams that left him with feelings of dread, and he found that he was getting better sleep when he accidentally dozed off in his college classes for a few minutes at a time. He wondered about Gabriel; he wondered whether or not Gabriel could sleep through the night in a hotel room cities and miles away from Sam. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Of course, it made Sam swell with pride and affection when Gabriel told him that he had been given the opportunity to attend a four day culinary course worth two credits. He didn't realize how much Gabriel's absence would interfere with his normal sleep routine. Sam considered picking up his phone and calling Gabriel, but ultimately decided it would be best if he didn't disturb him. Gabriel was probably busy, and the chef conducting the program was said to be rigorous./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"On the fourth and final day of being alone, Sam was slumped over a textbook, a small lamp shedding light across the pages and the desk. His eyelids were gaining density, it seemed, and there was no chance he was actually processing any of the words his gaze dragged over. The last message he had received from Gabriel was a short one. emi'm about to board my last flight, i'll see you soon/em punctuated with a winking emoji. That had been almost four hours earlier. Was it possible there was a delay at the airport? Was there something worse going on? Did Sam want to check the news for plane wreckage? He wanted all of those questions to be answered with "no," but the only one he felt was a solid "no" was the last one./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He raked a hand through his hair and tried to refocus his attention to his open textbook again. At eleven PM, the apartment complex was rather quiet. The footsteps and the closing of doors were muted, few and far between. He sent Gabriel a text. emWhere are you? Is everything alright?/em /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The text went unanswered./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Sam clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, wondering when he came to be this way. Did school really take so much of a toll on him that he became almost unreasonably concerned about the safety of Gabriel? /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"A key audibly slid into the apartment door. Sam jumped to his feet immediately as the door opened. Gabriel sprinted across the threshold and threw himself at Sam, who caught him smoothly in his arms./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Surprise," Gabriel spoke with a grin Sam could hear. Sam felt like he could breathe again. The embrace ended after a few more moments. Gabriel stepped back and gave Sam a once over. "Geez, kid, you look like you haven't slept in a century."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""That's about how I feel," Sam admitted, rubbing his neck./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I don't care what you've got left for homework, I think you're overdue for some real sleep. Bedroom's that way, get a move on," Gabriel let another goofy smile grace his face as he pointed towards their room, giving Sam a subdued pat on his ass. Sam said nothing, but did just what he was told./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He and Gabriel both left their shirts on the floor, and Sam traded his jeans for pajama pants. Gabriel left his undershirt on, but opted not to put anything else over his boxers before crawling under the covers with Sam. At first, he scooted close to Sam, who pulled the smaller man close with ease. Sam was silently incredulous about how much tension went away after Gabriel's return./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I know the Winchesters are emfantastic/em with emotional expression," Gabriel started. "So I emjust know/em you're going to tell me exactly what screwed with you these last few days. Is it because finals are approaching?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yeah, I think-" Sam hesitated before speaking at all./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""You're lying."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""It's not that important," Sam decided it was dumb for him to feel the way he did in light of Gabriel leaving. Abandonment issues were lame./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Well, considering you look like a zombie with insomnia and severe stress, no offense, I still think you're beautiful, I'd say it's important." Gabriel allowed Sam some more time to answer. After a minute passed, Sam told Gabriel the truth./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I guess I didn't realize how much it sucks to, uh, sleep without... you."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Well, I'm back, so you don't have to suffer anymore!" Gabriel pressed himself closer still, his forehead resting against the hollow of Sam's throat. His arm was across Sam's side, and Sam's arms were secure as ever, enveloping Gabriel's comparatively smaller frame. Gabriel kissed Sam's bare skin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Good night," he whispered. Sam murmured a "good night" in return./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"A few hours later, Sam's hold on Gabriel had relaxed, to Gabriel's relief. He slipped out of bed and down the hall, then into the bathroom so he could use the toilet. He washed his hands and dried them. When he returned to the bedroom, Sam was writhing in his sleep, eyebrows knit together and his jaw clenched, puffs of air escaping inconsistently through his teeth./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Sam," Gabriel knelt on the bed next to him, lightly shaking him. "Sam, wake up. I'm right here," Gabriel shook him again, harder this time. Sam's eyes finally opened and his breath started to even out. "Roll over," Gabriel instructed calmly, his short lived worry melting away in response to Sam waking up./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"When Sam was on his left side, his back facing Gabriel, Gabriel settled back into the bed. He mumbled soft affirmations to Sam and traced words and shapes on Sam's bare back using his fingers. He drew stars and swirls and hearts, whispering "It'll be okay," and "You are very loved." Gabriel kept on, keeping the shapes flowing together and keeping the pressure of his contact steady. He reassured Sam softly, taking in and learning the geography of Sam's back, feeling the way his muscles formed and spread under his warm skin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Gabriel couldn't even guess how long this went on, but he didn't stop until Sam's breathing became uniform and light and all of the tension in his muscles disappeared. He fell asleep shortly after, one arm lazily draped over Sam's form./p