A/N: So I completely forgot I had this I was browsing through old Stories and then stumbled across this. Had it all planned out and everything but I guess it just slipped away. There was some trouble with tenses, I wrote this ages ago. They should all be fixed now
College AU. 26 year-old Sam. Human Sam / Archangel Gabriel.
Inspired by Aria_Lerendeair "Model Behaviour" - Didn't finish it because it was a little too NSFW for my liking but go check it out.
Sam's dedication is loosely based on my experience through a Photography Class I endured. Never passed out or anything, just nearly had a Breakdown due to teaching, miscommunication and not having clear instruction. But I bucked up and passed with Flying Colours (Suck It Charleston!)
Anyways, on with the Story.
Mind If I Take Your Picture?
Chapter 1: All Work and Little Play
Sam has been studying Photography for three years, he knows how to handle any camera given to him within minutes and he's top of his class. His portfolio has practically everything he needed for his dream job to become a Freelance Photographer, his drive was to be a Photographer for Models. In his haste he made his own stack of professional styled business cards:
Winchester Photography
Freelancer
S.W.
His number, a website link to his older but still great quality photos to allow a sneak-peak of his talent and email were placed on the back. His older Brother, Dean - who owned half of Singer-Winchester Salvage Yard with his adoptive Father Bobby Singer - promised to promote Sam by taking some of his cards and showcasing them around his workplace for additional support as their biological Father, John Winchester, couldn't have cared less as he'd driven himself mad from alcoholism and their Mother... Mary couldn't help due to being deceased but Sam tried not to think about that too much.
He was flicking through his photographs from the day, consisting more of Black and White compositions of his best friend Jessica lying around a flower field showing various poses he'd asked her to do.
"You know, your social life could be a little more productive if you got your head out of your lens" Jessica jibed at him packing up her books
"Well you do know I have to make five Contact Sheets before the end of this week" Sam replied, typing and clicking away rapidly
"Sam, it's only 14:15PM on Monday and you have four pages of work here"
"This is one Sheet, Jess. I gotta get all of this done for Friday morning"
"Do you want me to stay a little longer?"
"No, I'm going to work on some Still Lifes. Besides you have another class in fifteen minutes, I've already taken up all your spare time today, go. I'll survive without you for a bit and I'm not going to be responsible for you failing a class"
"At least eat something today, Sam" Jess loudly complained as she left.
Sam didn't bother to reply as he's already transfixed into his work, he plugged himself into his iPod for a bit as his Still Life Contact Sheets passed away another two hours of his day. Sam only had two classes in the morning and then he was free to go to do whatever he wanted and what he wanted to do was complete his all of his work well before it became an overwhelming problem.
Once he's finally pleased with his edits Sam noticed it's nearly 18:00PM and of course Sam hasn't stopped to eat a single bite or drink a little water. His stomach growled in fierce protest, which he listened to for a change.
As he was packing up and saving all of his work on Multiple USB sticks so he didn't freak out or have any excuse to not lose his work he noticed a stray sap green khaki jacket left behind on the back on a chair. Though it's not what Sam would chose for a "Lonely" composition something pulled him to this jacket, he took several pictures, some low key, some black and white, some with the Manual Colour change and some he allows happy accidents to develop which he was somewhat proud of.
While he was quickly scanning through them Sam missed the Studio door open and someone claiming the jacket until a voice asked him "Hey, you alright?"
Sam leapt out of his skin "Holy Shi-" He takes a deep breath "Yes, sorry. Was that yours?"
"Yeah, forgot I was in here earlier" The short stranger replies shrugging on his coat
"I uh... I may have taken some photos of it, is that OK or do you want me to delete them"
The guy shrugs, "It's a jacket, I'm fine with it. Thanks for asking though, not many people would"
Sam let out an internal sigh, he'd made a third Contact Sheet up in his head already and was beyond relieved he didn't have to start again
"I'm Gabriel, by the way" The man, Gabriel, introduced himself
"Sam"
"Winchester, right? Man the kid who never stops. I've heard about you"
Sam reels back a little, "What do you mean?"
"Well, apparently you're never out of here, twice some lecturers found you passed out on the floor because you were determined to get the right shot or edit or whatever and of course you forgot that you're Human. Your body shut down on you"
Sam remembered that, man what an embarrassing day that became "I hadn't eaten in nearly three days and I panicked about a deadline that I was weeks ahead of" Sam weakly defended himself
"Oh" Gabriel's reply came quietly
Sam's stomach demanded attention, violently
"Come on" Gabriel held out his hand to Sam
"Why?"
"Because I'm sure the entire College heard that, now save everything you've got and let me take you to get dinner" There was no room for negotiation in Gabriel's tone or his fierce golden stare down. He may a have been at least a foot smaller than Sam but that didn't mean he wasn't intimidated. He did as he was told and Gabriel practically swept him off his feet.
They hit a Diner that was only five minutes away, no-one seemed to be in so it made being served easy for Sam and Gabriel
"What up, Bitches!" Charlie - epic nerd, secret hacktivist and best friend of Sam - and surprisingly Gabriel - approached them to lead them to their seats "Usual for both?"
"Wait Red, what's his usual?" Gabriel gestured to Sam with his thumb
"Just a typical salad"
"Give him some Salmon or cheese or both on it too please, you should of heard it" Gabriel pleaded
"I'm right here" Sam defended himself
"I know, that's why I'm ordering for you, I'm not having you keel over on me Moose" Gabriel shot back confidently
"Coming right up" Charlie wrote something down and left with a spring in her step
"What did you do that for?" Sam asked
"Sam, when was the last time you had a decent meal or even a regular sized portion?"
The Winchester had to think which scared Gabriel even more
"I... honestly can't tell you, maybe after I collapsed" It had been nearly a month since then 'Jesus, Sam are you that much of a dumbass?' "Why do you care?" Sam wasn't sure why Gabriel was doing this
"Because I'm the one that found you Kiddo. I've been a spare Model around the Photography and Art side of the college. I watched as you worked yourself up into a state and before I could do anything," Gabriel slams his hand against the edge of the booth they are sitting at "bam! You go down like dead weight and I called in someone to help you after I made sure you weren't injured or worse. When you came through I nearly slapped you for being so reckless"
Sam could only stare with his mouth open, then something occurred to him "Wait, you left your jacket in the Studio, was that your way of keeping an eye on me like some creepy stalker?" Sam was jumping to conclusions, nearly racing out of the Diner in haste.
"No. I honestly forgot it was there, I was working with... Becky? I think was her name, she got excited and dragged me around the place, she's got heart and some skill but her head is in way too many places at once" Gabriel rattled off, distracting Sam in the process successfully as the giant had sat back down and loosened his vice grip on his portfolio bag which held everything including his camera.
"Becky? Oh, you get use to her... eventually. She tried dating me once, of course I didn't know this and when I found her stalking me while I was on a fake-date to tag alongside my Brother she freaked out and I had absolutely no clue how to handle the situation, she nearly conquered my head in with a waffle-iron"
Gabriel laughed, "No way"
"Yeah, that was... daunting, which is putting it lightly" Sam joined in laughing
Their food arrived, Sam's body took over automatically and inhaled his food
"Good, I didn't want you to starve"
"Sorry" Sam stopped, cleaning himself up. More than half of his Salmon salad with a side of grated cheese was gone
"Don't apologise, I've seen you work and I think you deserve to eat"
"What is that?" Sam asks as he slowly ate what was left of his food
"This is my Dinner"
"That's... do you a side of Cookies and Diabetes to go with that too?"
Gabriel chuckled "I have a high Metabolism, Kiddo. Gotta eat a lot of sugar to keep myself going" Gabriel dug into his array of chocolate and regular pancakes, covered in cream and sugar-coated syrups.
"And yet there's barely any of you there"
"Uh huh. I got a secret but I can't tell you" Gabriel wriggled his eyebrows twice making Sam laugh again, Gabriel loved it when Sam laughed.
"So, what's you theme of your Portfolio?"
Sam smiled, ducking his head down, scratching the back of his head "You'll think it's lame"
"Try me. My most recent shoot was to portray a Pagan God, I think I've got an open mind"
Sam head snapped up at the concept "Really?"
"Yeah Sammich, now come on, share"
"Oh, it's about living in the moment. I try not to stage my photos unless absolutely necessary"
"Can I have a look?" Gabriel asked "I mean, if you don't want to-"
"Sure, yeah but uh... mind if I hold the camera while I show you. It's nothing personal"
"I totally get, trust me" Gabriel soft expression made Sam relax
"OK" Sam scooted himself to sit next to Gabriel after pulling out his camera and pressing his 'View' button. He slowly flicked through all his photos of the day for Gabriel; Gabriel's coat, his Still Lifes - which consisted of old-looking books, most closed while one laid open on a random page, near the middle surrounded by a few low-lit dimming candles with antique-looking holders too and the next were his portraits of Jessica.
"She's cute" Gabriel mentioned
"Yeah..."
"You sound a little off there, Sam"
"Hm? Oh, she's my best friend. I nearly lost her to a house-fire a while ago. I make sure to keep her close but she's with a guy called Brady, he's a jerk to me but she's happy so I keep my mouth shut"
Gabriel subconsciously licks his lips "OK. As long as she's happy, right?"
"Definitely" Sam gives a miniature smile, packing away his items. Gabriel used the distraction to pay
"Come on" Gabriel repeated himself.
"Where now? What about our Dinner?"
"A. My apartment and B. Not in that way that you're thinking and C. I just paid while you weren't looking"
"Oh. Uh. OK" Sam timidly fired out
"Do you live close? If so I'll walk you"
"No, I uh..." Sam checked his watch, he'd missed he last bus to go home for the night "If it's not any bother"
"I'm offering, Sam. I live ten minutes away on foot"
"Alright" Sam accepted because at this point he didn't have any other options, he couldn't sleep in the college because now that he had left someone will have locked up the Studio and Dean was a far journey away, Sam would end up sleeping at the bus station of something, he'd done it before so along with some friends of his during a road trip so he knew that was a last resorted option
"Good, a Moose like you needs to get his rest"
Sam complied, they strolled at a steady paced silence and reached Gabriel's apartment in no time. It was actually one of dorm building that students use if their travelling cost was way too much, it saves time but not a lot of money as it was expensive to stay for the year of your course, Sam was thankful his buses were flexible from his own Studio apartment a few miles down the road.
They entered swiftly, the room... to Sam, it was picturesque, "Um..."
"Go ahead, I saw your eyes light up. I don't mind Sam"
The Winchester gave his new acquaintance a smile before taking various images, Gabriel's apartment was a mess but there was beauty behind it, there was a life under all of the strewn clothes, treats and underwear - Sam took those discretely, by no means was he embarrassed he just wasn't sure if they would be as accepted for his final portfolio project - located randomly about the place. At some point he realised something was following him, turning he spotted a black and white Jack Russell sitting at his feet.
Gabriel whistled it's attention "Oreo, leave him be"
"Oreo?" Sam wondered out loud
"Yeah, like I said, I've got a sweet tooth"
"I can see that" Sam mentioned, spotting Gabriel perching himself by a table that was full with trays of treats, a can of whipped cream and Gabriel himself had a sucker by his mouth Sam took another picture, Gabriel had timed himself to look towards Sam as the shutter clicked "What do you think?"
"You got me"
Sam deflated a little, "If you want I can delete it"
"Nah, keep it. I like it"
Sam sat down - after asking - and skimmed through his images for one last time tonight, he couldn't take his eyes off his last picture of Gabriel; it was a close up of Gabriel's upper body to his head, the treats were out of focus giving Gabriel all that more attention as he was staring at Sam's camera with the ruby sucker - that shone beautifully in the low-light - resting on his lips, Sam thought his mind was playing tricks on him that Gabriel eyes were shining gold, Sam didn't just like this picture, he loved it.
Gabriel had tidied up, made the couch presentable for Sam to sleep on, fed Oreo and sat down watching Sam in utter fascination, which he was oblivious to as his eyes never left he camera or glanced at a notebook, a mix of words and numbers that Gabriel didn't understand were jotted down repeatedly in a notebook. Gabriel noticed the time was bordering around midnight and decided the student should stop for a change.
"Sam"
He wasn't heard
"Sam!" He tried a little louder but to no avail "SAM!"
The Winchester fell out of his seat from fright "Huh! What?"
"I was thinking you should sleep, it's now after midnight"
"Oh, thanks. Sorry about that"
"It's fine. I don't think you give yourself much time to rest do you?"
"It's habit really..."
"OK. Well turn off and pack up everything for tomorrow and I'll leave you be for the night. Goodnight"
"Goodnight Gabriel" Sam did as Gabriel told him, he didn't even realise he was escorted to the couch and dropped down onto the soft cushions, Gabriel had forgotten to release one of Sam's arms and was pulled onto the couch with the mammoth of a man keeping him locked in a hold.
"Sleep well, Kiddo"