A/N: Yes 2 updates in one day, but don't get used to it! ;)
The town of Kentan, Texas was very small and very secluded. It took about an hour to drive from town on a dirt road before you reached a highway. It had a population of just less than 1000 that got lower with every census.
The town was dying, and the few families that wanted to remain had just about given up hope. Then Fergus Crowley came to town from Scotland. He invited himself to what probably would have been one of the last town hall meetings that Kentan would ever have.
Obviously a born salesman, this slick talker painted a fantastic picture of a majestic small town revived. He stoked the fires of inspiration in the desperate people who had been grudgingly making plans to move. The money he brought would allow them to stay and keep their businesses. He wanted to renovate all of the buildings along Main street, but be sure to keep the original structures. The town had history and he believed that cleaned up and marketed correctly it could thrive once again.
The people wanted to believe it was possible, but they also understood that loans had to be paid back. If Crowley's idea did not work they would be the ones in financial ruin while he would simply move on to his next project.
Crowley was a shrewd business man, and had expected their resistance. Which is why he came armed with a new assistant to oversee the project, local golden boy Sam Winchester. He was the typical small town kid who dreamed his whole life of leaving to live in the big city.
Sam turned 18 and hit the road, bright enough to get into Stanford where he graduated with honors. He was working for a large firm in Chicago where he mostly handled divorce cases when Crowley found him. It was easy to convince Sam to come and work for him. Crowley knew that the ones who leave small towns spend most of the rest of their lives wishing they could go back. All he had to do was give Sam a reason to.
It was obvious that Crowley would succeed as soon as Sam took the podium. He had grown up with these people and they trusted him.
Crowley was confident that his plan would work. He would get back three times as much money as he put into it… once the new highway was complete. Luckily for him, no one else seemed to know about the highway expansion. It would bring all kinds of new people to the town and Crowley would make sure that they had plenty of things to spend their money on when they arrived.
"That was the most terrifying experience of my life," Gabriel proclaimed as he climbed out of the small plane and planted both feet solidly on the tarmac.
Castiel rolled his eyes at the exaggeration. It may not have been the smoothest flight, but they hadn't been in any real danger.
"And now we have to drive another thirty miles to get there? Are you sure you want to live this far away from civilization?" Gabriel demanded as they headed into the smallest airport they had ever seen.
An amused chuckle had Gabriel whipping his head around to tell off the eavesdropper, only to find himself speechless.
The man was very tall, built like he spent the majority of his time in the gym, had shampoo commercial worthy hair, and teeth so white they gleamed. If it wasn't for the unfashionably worn jeans and abundance of plaid, you would have thought he stepped out of an Abercrombie catalog.
The smile was genuine, and the guy had kind eyes. Gabriel had to be at least ten years older and began to wonder if the guy would mind the age difference. He immediately dismissed the thought, as he did every time he found someone attractive since he married Kali.
His whole body froze as it occurred to him that he didn't have to dismiss those thoughts anymore. Kali was gone. Not only was it okay to be attracted, he could actually act on that attraction. How terrifying.
"Sam. Thank you for meeting us," Castiel said, shaking the guy's hand.
"Not a problem. I'm just glad you guys decided to come check out the town," Sam said, eyes flicking to Gabriel curiously.
Gabriel opened his mouth to introduce himself but all that came out was an odd little squeak. He turned to look at Castiel for help, but his brother simply tilted his head at him in confusion looking like an overgrown bird in a trench coat.
Before the silence could get too awkward, Sam held out a hand.
"You must be Gabriel," he said.
Gabriel nodded, captivated by the sight of Sam's much larger hand covering his own.
"I suppose the flight affected him more than I thought," Castiel offered, frowning slightly.
At Castiel's words Gabriel snatched his hand back and cleared his throat.
"Flying... I uh, hate it," he muttered. Suave.
"Well, the flying part is done. Just about an hour and a half of driving now," Sam said, leading them out the door and to the small parking lot.
"Wow, that's the biggest car I've ever seen," Gabriel said when Sam unlocked his black Hummer.
The lawyer blushed and climbed behind the wheel.
"Shotgun!" Gabriel called knocking Castiel aside in his haste to reach the door first.
Castiel grabbed his brother's sleeve and yanked him away from the car.
"What is wrong with you?" He demanded.
Gabriel huffed and batted Castiel's hands away from him.
"I'm still a little shook-up from the flight, it's probably best I ride up front so I don't vomit all over the back seat," Gabriel lied.
It was clear by the look that Castiel gave him that he wasn't buying it.
"Just get in the car, Cassie," he huffed and climbed into the passenger seat.
He let out soft whistle at the interior.
"Not really what I pictured a big shot Chicago lawyer would drive," he commented to Sam, playing with the seat adjuster.
Castiel settled into the backseat with a disgruntled sigh and shut the door.
Sam nodded as he backed out onto the road.
"Yeah, it's not fuel efficient, or environmentally friendly but it's great on these roads. You do not want to get stuck out here."
They were quiet for a few minutes as Sam drove onto the highway.
"So what made you decide on the Hummer?" Gabriel asked trying to keep himself from staring at Sam's strong forearms as he drove.
"I had a Prius for a couple of months. I ended up getting stuck on a back road and had to walk almost ten miles just to get cell phone reception. Then it was another three hours of waiting before the tow arrived."
Gabriel snorted.
"What's so funny?" Sam asked.
"Just trying to imagine you crammed into a Prius," Gabriel teased.
Sam laughed with him.
"Well, I definitely don't miss the lack of leg room," Sam admitted, stretching slightly.
Quiet descended again, interrupted by a soft snore from the backseat. They shared a smile over that.
Sam continued his explanation a few minutes later.
"My uh, dad passed a couple of years ago and left me this monstrosity. I was going to sell it, but after one trip to the airport I realized I was never going to find anything I liked better."
Gabriel stiffened and turned to look out the window.
"Sorry about your dad," he mumbled.
He could feel Sam looking at him.
"Castiel told me about your wife," he said.
Gabriel nodded and kept looking out the window.
"No offense, Sam, but it's only been a few weeks and I just..." he stopped, unable to continue talking with the lump that had formed in his throat.
"No, it's fine Gabriel. We just met, and I wanted you to know that I know. You don't have to say anything, I get it."
Gabriel nodded, grateful.
"So Castiel seems to be holding up pretty well," Sam commented, changing the subject.
Gabriel seized the new topic with gusto, vilifying Micheal and Amelia probably more than they deserved, but Sam was good audience.
It was easier to talk about Castiel's misfortune than his own, though it did bring back his anger over the whole situation. Sam seemed to pick up on Gabriel's mood and subtly changed the subject to baking.
"I wish I could tell you how good that pie was, but my brother ended up eating the whole thing before I got a bite," he said.
Gabriel had sent Castiel home with several pies after the funeral, he wasn't aware that his brother had given one to Sam. He didn't mind, though he wished Sam would have gotten to at least taste it.
"He ate the whole thing?"
"Yes. In one sitting. But he had a really bad day and pie is kind of his favorite thing in the world. Well, other than his '67 Impala," Sam admitted with a fond smile.
"Well, I'll just have to make you another one," Gabriel said, before describing the different kinds of pie he liked to make.
Sam encouraged this topic and soon they were discussing the specifications of the different shops that were available to become Gabriel's new bakery.
"I still can't believe this might actually happen," Gabriel said, feeling his excitement grow.
"I've wanted my own bakery since I was a kid. Kali insisted on staying in San Francisco because that was where she could make the most money, but I knew I'd never be able to afford to open my own business there. I did enjoy managing one though, I never really had the freedom to try out a lot of ideas I had. And Kali would never eat my creations because she didn't want to get fat, so most of what I made I donated to local homeless shelters and soup kitchens..." he trailed off and sighed again.
"Sorry for rambling," he apologized, and hoped that Sam wouldn't start any new conversations as he was tired of talking.
Once again, Sam picked up on his mood and launched into his own ramble about the town, Crowley, and what they were hoping to accomplish.
Sam was obviously in love with his town and dedicated to restoring it. Gabriel would never admit it, but his decision to move to Kentan and open a bakery was made before they even crossed the town border.
A/n- Confession: I was going to write Gabriel as flippant and confident, but 'my muse' decided that one look at Sam should knock him off his game. The confidence will come back in later chapters, but I still like the idea of an awkward Gabriel with a crush.
Coming up next: Claire comes to town, and Dean and Castiel meet. I will try my best to get this out before the weekend. If work is cancelled again tomorrow, ( I live in Fort Worth, and it's very icy) then the next chapter will be tomorrow. If not, hopefully by this weekend. Reviews will inspire me to work on it tomorrow after work... ;D