The first thing Gabriel did when they got to the park was find a camera. It only took a couple of minutes for Dean to grow wary of being surrounded by so many strangers, and he tugged gently at Castiel's trench coat until the angel glanced down at him. Dean held his arms up expectantly and Castiel lifted him obediently, settling Dean on his hip much like he had the night before. A confused frown flashed across his face when Dean tried to scramble up higher and Sam covered his mouth to hide his laugh.

"I think he wants up on your shoulders, Cas. Like that." He nodded towards a man standing about twenty feet away from them who had his daughter up on his shoulders. The little girl had her hands fisted in her father's hair and was shrieking with laughter. Castiel studied them for a moment before he loosened his grip on Dean and shifted the child around, lifting him so that Dean's body was settled across his shoulders. Dean grinned broadly at them from his new height, though Gabriel noticed that he was much more cautious about touching Castiel's hair than the little girl was.

Seeing Dean riding around Castiel's shoulders was too precious to not have a photograph of, both for future blackmail material and because the tender expression on Sam's face as he watched Castiel and Dean was one that Gabriel wanted to preserve. He'd never put much thought into it before, but the brothers would have lost all of their childhood pictures in the fire and it was extremely unlikely that John would've bothered taking any to replace them. He was half-tempted to take a trip into their past just so that he could take a few pictures to present to Sam at a later date, and he ended up filing the thought away for future contemplation. For the time being, he settled on taking a photo of Castiel and Dean before handing the camera over to Sam.

"Alright, what do you want to do first?" Gabriel said, blackmail material secured. "Cotton candy? Candy apples? Caramel corn?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Can't you think about anything other than food?" he complained. "Besides, I don't think it's a good idea for any of us to eat anything before we go on the rides, but especially Dean. He was sick last night. I don't want him to get sick again today."

"He'll be fine. You worry too much. But if that's the way you want it, we'll do rides first." Gabriel turned his eyes towards the gleaming set of rides in the distance and smiled. He wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but he had never visited an amusement park before. When he first came to Earth he'd overindulged in everything that humans had to offer, but as the centuries passed he'd become more jaded the further he fell into his Trickster persona. It was only after he'd met the Winchesters and started acknowledging the archangel side of him he'd denied for so long that he had again developed an interest in more than just playing pranks on humans. He was looking forward to having fun, particularly with Sam. It wasn't very often Sam let himself go.

"Sounds good to me," Sam said easily. "Cas?"

"Some of those rides appear to be too dangerous for a child Dean's age," said Castiel. He'd been examining the rule board that was posted beside the little gate people had to walk through to get to the rides portion of the park. "I do not believe he is old or tall enough. I will wait here with him while you and Gabriel go."

Sam frowned at that. "You don't have to do that, Cas. You've never been here before, right? It'll be a good experience for you. Look, I'll wait with Dean and you and Gabriel can go." He started to reach towards Dean, but it became immediately obvious that Dean wasn't on board with that plan. He hunched his shoulders and clung to Castiel's forehead, arms wrapped around it protectively. Gabriel couldn't hold back a snort.

"It's fine, Sam. I don't mind. There are rides for children, correct? Dean and I will wait for you over there. You can join us after you're finished." Castiel waited patiently until Sam had stepped back and Dean deemed the danger over, straightening up and removing his arms from where they'd been covering Castiel's eyes. "Go ahead. Enjoy." He caught Gabriel's eye with an expression that was, again, far too knowing. Gabriel winced inwardly, well aware that he now owed Castiel big time.

Castiel walked away from them as soon as they'd stepped through the gate. Sam watched them go until they were swallowed up by the crowds, and only then did Gabriel punch his arm lightly. "Come on, Samsquatch. You know Cassie would never let anything happen to your big… well, baby bro."

"I know. It's just… I hate the fact that Dean doesn't recognize me. And I know, he and Cas have that profound bond thing going on." Sam glanced in the direction that Castiel and Dean had gone and then stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking like a sad little moose that had been abandoned on the side of the road. "But… Cas has never handled a kid in a big crowd before. Dean could wander off or someone could try to take him."

Considering Dean's iron grip, there was little chance of that happening. But… "Just because he doesn't know you doesn't mean you can't have fun with him," said Gabriel. Sam had finally been loosening up a little. He was willing to sacrifice the rides if it meant that Sam would be up for a little fun, even if it wasn't with Gabriel. "We don't have to go on the rides if you don't want to. You can take Dean-o through the haunted house if you can pry him away from Cassie for more than ten seconds."

There was a strange look on Sam's face, one that Gabriel couldn't identify but which made him desperately curious to dip into Sam's thoughts - though he didn't. Sam said, "You sure?"

"I make my own fun," Gabriel boasted with an easy smile. He was disappointed about the rides, but there was nothing saying he couldn't just snap them all back for round two after Dean was back to normal.

"Thanks," Sam said, his shoulders relaxing. He turned to walk in the same direction and Gabriel fell into step easily beside him, their shoulders bumping together. Was it a coincidence that their arms seemed to brush even when he made an attempt to keep his distance?

It wasn't that difficult to track down Castiel and Dean. There was a small exhibit of farm animals and Dean was carefully stroking a lamb under Castiel's watchful eye. Sam stopped by the gate and just stood there, making no move to alert his brother of his presence. He appeared to be content to just watch and take pictures as, after a quick glance around, Castiel brushed his fingers against the food machine. Pellets rained down into Dean's hands and he laughed with delight, green eyes wide with awe as the lamb greedily ate from his palms.

"Cute kid. He yours?" The speaker was a young woman with dark hair. She was wearing a red plaid shirt that was artfully tied so as to best show off her breasts. She was smiling at Sam and Gabriel twitched, irritated.

"He's my little brother," Sam said, lowering the camera and smiling back.

"What a sweetheart. Most kids prefer the rides. You don't see a lot of them taking the time to appreciate an animal anymore." She ran an appraising eye over Sam as she edged a little closer, and it was obvious that Dean wasn't the only one with an appreciation for fine specimen.

"Dean's never really been one for animals either, not unless they're on a plate," Sam admitted.

She laughed. "That's okay. What about you? Do you like animals?"

"I always wanted a dog when we were growing up, but my family moved around a lot." In a move that could've been casual, Sam leaned back against the fence and put his arm behind Gabriel. There was so little space between them that Gabriel could've easily leaned back an inch or two and closed it. As it was, from the front it looked like Sam had put an arm around him. The woman's smile tightened a little at the corners and she glanced at Gabriel for the first time.

He stared back at her, trying to decide. Would it better if she was struck with a sudden desire to eat every animal in existence, or if she wanted to roll around in the hay until she smelled like one?

A large hand palmed his hip and all thoughts went sailing out the window as Sam said, "Sorry, it looks like my brother's done. Come on, Gabe."

Gabriel let himself be towed along, speechless. Sam's arm was still around him, hand on his hip, thumb inching under the hem of his shirt. Dean grinned at them both as they approached and held a few pellets out to Gabriel. He took them automatically and offered them to a little pony. Warm lips brushed against his palms as the pony delicately accepted and Sam's thumb pressed tight.

"Did you like the animals, Dean?" he asked. "You didn't want to go on the rides?"

Dean shook his head and pressed back against Castiel's legs, one hand twining into the fabric of the coat. He was biting his lip, tears welling up in his eyes, and Castiel stooped down to pick him up. Dean hid his face immediately and Sam looked at Castiel.

"There was a haunted house that was supposed to be for children by the rest of the rides," Castiel said by way of explanation. "One of the caricatures wore a dark hood and had yellow eyes."

Sam's jaw tightened. "You know what, I think Gabe had the right idea all along. What do you say we go get some food?"

They left the animals behind, and maybe Gabriel had left his brain behind too because he still couldn't fathom an explanation for why Sam's arm was still around him. It was easy, felt right, to be walking along at Sam's side. He fit there, at just the right height for him to be able to lay his head on Sam's shoulder if he wanted to, and he savored it just because it was going to end too soon.

And it did, as soon as they reached the food stalls and Dean's head popped up. The tears had disappeared, but he still clutched at Castiel's neck tightly as he looked around at the brightly colored displays. His gaze became particularly fixed when he spotted the display of deep fried candy bars.

"You never change," Sam muttered, amused, dropping his arm and reaching for his wallet. Gabriel swallowed disappointment as Sam pulled some cash out. He trailed Sam over to the vendor, listening with half an ear as Sam put in an order.

This was weird. He'd been angling to get Sam into bed for months, figuring that one shot at him was all he'd get. It had been worth it; last night would stick in Gabriel's memory for a long time. Sam had yet to mention it, which made sense, but now there was this. Did it mean anything? He doubted it. More likely Sam just being a little more tactile, a little more affectionate, because Dean wouldn't cuddle with him. Maybe he was just a substitute for a little kid.

"Gabe?"

Gabriel looked up. Sam was watching him, one eyebrow raised. "What?"

"I thought you'd be going crazy," Sam said, nodding at the candy and treats: cotton candy, candy apples, caramel apples, popcorn balls, caramel popcorn, deep fried candy bars, chocolate covered bacon, licorice, regular candy bars, ice cream, slushies: the list went on. It should've been heaven, but Gabriel was far too distracted to enjoy it.

"Whatever you ordered is fine."

The other eyebrow lifted to join the first one. Gabriel ignored it, taking the first tray that was handed over and returning to Castiel and Dean. Sam was right behind him as tiny hands grabbed eagerly for one of the deep fried candy bars, steaming hot and covered with powdered sugar. Gabriel touched a finger to the sticky mess and cooled it with a thought before he let Dean take it. Dean took a huge bite, beaming as chocolate and sugar oozed around his mouth.

"Looking good, Dean-o," Gabriel said, grinning. Sam was still watching him, but there was something softer there now. Something equally unidentifiable that made Gabriel's heart race. He pretended not to notice, instead offering a deep fried candy bar to Castiel. "Here, bro. It'll do you good."

Castiel looked at the bar like it was going to bite him, but took it gingerly. He took a tiny bite and his blue eyes widened slightly. "That's… good," he said, sounding very surprised.

"You have no idea what you've been missing," Gabriel told him, and really he was including Sam and Dean in that too. Sex and alcohol had a place, and his Father only knew how much the brothers had indulged over the years, but sometimes there was nothing like having candy or chocolate. He plucked a good handful of his pink cotton candy and popped it into his mouth, humming with pleasure as the sticky-sweet sugar immediately began to melt on his tongue. He smacked his lips loudly.

"Good?" Sam asked hoarsely.

"Delicious. Try some."

"I think I'll go for something marginally healthier." Sam picked up a candy apple and Gabriel snorted. Sam smirked and glanced at his brother, but Dean was preoccupied now with some of the popcorn. "Maybe I will try it," he said, and leaned over to lick his way into Gabriel's mouth.

Gabriel let it happen at first, too stunned to reciprocate. Sam was already pulling back by the time his frozen brain kicked into gear. "You're right," Sam said, licking his lips, heat in his eyes. "That is good."

He winked. It took everything Gabriel possessed not to blush.

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