Title: The Misunderstanding
Rating: PG-15
Characters/Pairings: Gabriel/Sam
Warnings: slight mental instability, hallucinations
Spoilers: Takes place in a fusion of Season Six and Seven. Sam is damaged like in S7 but Castiel and Gabriel are working on fixing Heaven together.
Word Count: 2382
Summary: Written for wolfish_willow as part of the Five Acts: Round Five. The involving prompts include: Hurt/comfort, Misunderstood(changed slightly to mean misunderstanding),with bonuscollaring;)

Sam really hoped this whole thing was just a misunderstanding. It was unlikely though and Sam can't ignore the signs. Not when Gabriel gave him nothing more then a quick kiss before disappearing and Sam was left alone in their motel room. There was a time not too long ago when Gabriel never left when they had an opportunity alone. Now, the angel left every time they got a spare moment. Sam, naturally, feared the worst. Not Gabriel cheating on him but rather that Gabriel was bored of him.

Or maybe the angel was just sick of dealing with him. After all, Sam wasn't the easiest person to be with. Not with his Hell dreams and neuroses and loose grasp on reality. Sam was more then damaged goods at this point, he was broken beyond repair.

He can't imagine the reason God brought Gabriel back was just to stick his angel with the human that had almost destroyed what the deity created. This situation wasn't something Sam would wish on anyone, let alone the angel he loved.

Depressed and hating himself for the selfish feeling, Sam curled up on his bed and hugged one of the thin motel pillows. He stared at the far wall and fought the urge to cry. Beside Dean, Gabriel was one of the few things left for Sam to hold on to. A thick shiver crawled over Sam's skin and the very air seemed to quiver.

"Poor Sammy," Lucifer's honey-dipped voice purred from close behind him, "has little brother abandoned you finally?"

Sam closed his eyes and whimpered, the image of the devil always appeared when Gabriel wasn't around for Sam to concentrate on. And when he showed up Lucifer always made the experience hard to shake.

"Do you miss it, Sam? Does Gabriel make a better or worse big spoon then me?" Lucifer pressed closer to his back until Sam could feel him all along his body. "I guess it doesn't matter though, does it? Gabriel isn't here. He flew the coup again because he can't handle you. You and all your issues and cracks and blatant insanity. So...I'm not real."

Sam felt Lucifer shrug and casually throw an arm over him, chin on Sam's shoulder.

"It doesn't change the fact you're still seeing me, you're still bat-shit insane. I mean, for as angry as I was at Gabriel for betraying us all I still wouldn't wish this sort of punishment on him. You're high maintenance and screwed up beyond belief. The only one who can handle you is me. Because I made you this way, because you're mine."

Sam curled in on himself tighter, fingers digging painfully into the pillow and he buried his face in it. There was no stopping the tears now, not when Lucifer was here saying everything Sam believed out loud and making it real. Not when it was obvious he was losing Gabriel.

"But did you ever really have him?" the devil whispered.

"Sammy?" Gabriel's voice made Sam startle guiltily and he didn't dare look up.

Lucifer chuckled and stroked a hand down the bare portion of Sam's arm.

"Sam," Gabriel repeated, gently calling for his attention, "come back to me, Sammy."

He heard the angel right in front of him, crouched by the edge of the bed and Sam took a breath before lifting his head. Gabriel looked concerned, mouth curled up encouragingly and amber eyes searching his face.

"Hey, Gabe." Sam muttered through a throat clogged with tears. Shuffling forward, Gabriel reached out and took Sam's face in his hands, wiping away the tracks left behind over his cheeks.

"What's the matter, Sammy?"

"Yeah, Sam. Tell him."

Sam flinched and closed his eyes in despair because telling would result in facing the truth and that could only end one way. Losing Gabriel, after all this, would only break him. Sure, he wasn't happy as things were but the angel was the only thing holding Sam together and even though he didn't deserve him he still wanted Gabriel. Needed him.

"C'mon, Sam. You know you can talk to me."

"Gabriel," he whispered helplessly and the angel touched their foreheads together, waiting with a patience that never seemed to end. Not with Sam.

"I just..." he trailed off and Lucifer sat up with a heavy sigh.

"You should get it over with so he can move on to something better already."

Sam jerked involuntarily, head snapping over to look at Lucifer with terror. "I don't want him to leave!"

"Quit being such a selfish brat!" Lucifer snapped.

"Sam! Hey!" Gabriel turned the hunter's head back toward him and framed his face carefully with his hands. "Stop it. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. No matter what he says, nothing could make me leave you."

God, Sam wanted to believe that so badly.

"Please, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. You know I can't read your mind anymore." Gabriel was pleading now, worried and looking helpless. It was true that Gabriel could no longer connect to Sam the way he used to. The current state of Sam's mind was too damaged for the archangel to form a link of that caliber without making things worse. It was something they both missed.

"I can't do this." he whispered in answer and Gabriel looked abruptly pained.

"Can't do what, Sammy?"

"Doing this to you and making you put up with me. I know it must be hard, I'm so freaking damaged that it's not funny and I know you're trying to help out Cas with Heaven, that can't be easy."

"Damn it." Gabriel sighed and climbed up onto the bed to settle directly in front of Sam. Using his superior strength he gently grabbed Sam and hauled him up to sit. "Listen Sam, we're going to have this talk and if you ever start thinking this way again you tell me and we'll go over it all until it sticks."

Sam kept his eyes on the blankets and nodded blankly, twisting his hands into the fabric. Behind him Lucifer moved in a quick, excited motion to Sam's side, settling down with crossed legs and looking eagerly between his brother and the human.

"Sam, trust me when I say that if I really didn't want to be with you, didn't want you, that I would not be here. You should know this. I ran from Heaven, from my brothers, from my whole life because I didn't want to deal with something. I am the best at not doing what I don't want to do." Gabriel smirked, a tad self-depreciating, and took Sam's hands from the blankets. "Seriously, doesn't that show how much I love you?"

That got a soft smile to turn Sam's mouth even though he still refused to look up and Lucifer made one of those mocking, lover sighs, as if he was deeply touched by this scene.

"Oh, isn't that just so sweet? Too bad for you it's all a lie." Lucifer muttered, fluttering his lashes at Sam. The hunter couldn't help the way his eyes flickered over to the devil, tentative smile turning into something of a grimace.

Gabriel caught the look and reached out to turn Sam's head toward him, gently making the human look directly at him. "What is he saying to you, Sam?"

Sam only shrugged one shoulder, stubbornly unwilling to reveal anything and dropped his eyes off to the side. "He's just mocking me."

"About?"

"Us."

Gabriel rolled his eyes in frustration, talking to Sam was like pulling teeth. "What about us?"

Sam squirmed uncomfortably and sighed, thinking maybe Lucifer was right and he should just get it over with. Gabriel wasn't about to let any of this go and he knew it. "I'm not good enough for you, Gabriel, I'm not. I know I'm not and I've been lucky to have you as long as I have but I'm too selfish to let you go before you leave on your own."

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" Gabriel snapped, incredulous. "I am not going to leave you!"

"Yes you will!" Sam said back, jerking free and glaring at the angel, ignoring Lucifer's grin. "Maybe not right now or whatever but you are going to leave, don't pretend otherwise Gabriel! Not when it's already started!"

Gabriel blinked with surprise and shook his head, "Sammy, what are you talking about?"

"You never stay with me anymore!" and yes, Sam knows exactly how that makes him sound like a clingy girl. "Whenever we get time alone you always leave. I don't know where or why but if you already can't wait to get away from me then how could you possibly want to be with me the way you say?"

The archangel's eyes widened and he looked to have suddenly figured something out. "Oh, no. Sammy, that's not what I was doing at all! I was looking for something, not avoiding you!"

"Looking for something?" Sam repeated, skeptical and wary as he eyed Gabriel.

"It's a present for you that I've spent a while trying to figure out and make work. In fact, I just got it all ready for you today. You wanna see it?" Gabriel looked eager, eyes wide and hopeful.

Sam felt a little out of his dept, this was the last thing he had expected to happen once he'd confronted Gabriel. A present? What kind of a present would keep Gabriel distracted for so long? A glance at Lucifer showed the illusion to be just as surprised and curious. Uncertain, Sam nodded and Gabriel snapped his fingers, summoning a medium black box to his hands.

Smiling, Gabriel presented it to Sam and the human accepted the box slowly, weighing it in his hands and stroking his fingers over the smooth case. There was a small latch on the front side and Sam flicked it to lift the lid back on silent hinges. Laying on a cushion of red silk was a two-finger wide strip of plush leather. Curious, Sam lifted it out and examined it. The thing was seamless and Sam's fingers felt out divots in the leather like those of symbols or sigils. There were looping etchings and connecting characters that Sam didn't recognize along the entire length of the gift. It was a beautiful thing even though Sam wasn't sure what it was.

"Gabriel." Sam breathed, "What?"

The angel looked pleased by his reaction and gently took the leather slip from Sam then moved it toward his neck and next thing Sam knows is that the gift was wrapped comfortably around his neck. Not tight enough to be restricting but clearly not something he could ever get off alone.

"Did you just collar me?" Sam demanded, not sure if he was insulted or touched. He kinda felt a little of both.

"If that's how you want to look at it, sure. Or you could just look at it as a very nice necklace with benefits from me to you if you prefer."

"Benefits?" Sam repeated, brows furrowed as he struggled to figure out what was going on.

Gabriel grinned and gestured to the room around them, "Notice anything different, Sammy?"

It was only then that he noticed Lucifer was gone, missing as if he'd never been there. Sam gently pressed his fingers against the leather at his throat. "What is this, Gabriel?"

"Just a little something I put together. That collar, necklace, whatever you want to call it, is infused with my Grace and the protection sigils are fueled by it as well. So long as you wear that you shouldn't ever seen Lucifer again."

Sam could only gape, disbelieving, but if there was one thing he knew it was that Gabriel didn't play around about things like this. And Lucifer was gone, it had to be legit. Overwhelmed by his gratitude and love, Sam lunged for Gabriel and wrapped himself tightly around the angel. "Thank you" he stuttered passed mounting tears, "thank you so much."

Gabriel rubbed his back soothingly and slid the fingers of his other hand into Sam's hair. "No need to thank me, Sammy. You know I'd do anything for you, this is nothing compared to what else I would do. Besides, I get something out of you so brazenly wearing my mark."

"What's that?" Sam asked into Gabriel shoulder, having shifted himself so that he was on his knees and straddling the angel's lap.

"Why, it shows anyone and everyone that you belong to me and only me. You're mine, Sammy and I'm never letting you go."

Sam cried then, hard but silent because for the first time he actually believed it. He believed that Gabriel was well and truly his just as he was absolutely only Gabriel's. The angel held him calmly as he cried, simply waiting it out and stroking his fingers over the collar at Sam's neck. He only wished he'd known that Sam had been taking his absences so hard and it never would have escalated to this point. He would have taken care of Sam's doubts long before.

Gabriel loved Sam, probably more then was safe for either of them but it was unavoidable. He felt that he was meant for this, deep down in his Grace, that which was everything that made him an angel, said that Sam was everything he needed. That was okay though because now that he had Sam, had this absolute happiness, there was nothing that would interfere. Not even the ghostly illusion of his long damned brother.

Sam ended up crying himself to sleep but Gabriel didn't mind. There would be time later to celebrate the way he'd intended, with Sam spread out beneath him and lost in a world of pleasure rather then Hell. For now though, his human needed the rest, needed to recover and until then, Gabriel would remain here, where he belonged and watch over the dreams of his mate.