Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, AnninaSA, QuietCrash, Maddy Love Castiel,Treeni, random yet lovable, CherylB1964, emebalia, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack, eiahlaie and gothichic for last chapter's reviews!
Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!
Unfortunately I have to tell you that I won't upload another chapter before next week. My cat just died and I honestly couldn't get myself to write on. I'll need a little more time.
1
"It's only ice cream, Michael. Pick a flavor already!" Hope groaned, rolling her eyes at the indecisive man next to her. Hope spent a lot of time over the past five days protecting Michael -especially his often strange behavior and the fact he did not want to speak about his life- from her aunt and uncle's prying ways, but in all honesty she was dying to learn more about him too. It was more a matter of principle to insist he didn't have share if he didn't want to, only budging on the question if Michael might be searched for by the police -as a missing person or otherwise- because that was admittedly something they definitely had the right to know.
Hope thought she was taking the sneaky approach, just taking Michael with her as often as possible and observing the way he acted in different situations. There were a lot of things you could learn about a person just watching their everyday life. He complied with whatever they told him there was to do. He was awkward around people, like he didn't know what was expected of him in normal social situations. He had managed to cut himself badly with a razor the second day pretty badly, but he calmed down when she showed him it was easy to clean up. What Hope noticed most of all was that Michael followed all rules -mostly coming from Hope's uncle- nearly religiously. All in all, Hope just didn't know what to make of her handsome stranger.
"Vanilla," Michael replied quickly, throwing a side-glance at Hope to see if he made the right choice. The former archangel supposed there was no real right or wrong answer in this case, but one thing he learned in the past few days was that humans were much more complicated than he ever anticipated. There were so many little things Michael never paid attention to when he was still in heaven. Actually, Michael hardly spent attention to humanity as a whole in ages.
"Should've known," Hope grinned, handing the money for their two ice cream cones over to the vendor and accepting her frozen cookie dough flavored treat in return. If the young woman had to guess what kind of flavor Michael would go for, she'd have bet on something basic you couldn't go wrong with. Besides, Michael seemed like a vanilla kind of guy. Not that she'd tell him that and it didn't look like he understood the innuendo. Hope chuckled to herself as she went toward an empty bench, her companion following her in that lost puppy-like way of his.
"Why did you say that?" Michael asked, furrowing his brow as he sat next to the woman, "Hope, what does that mean?"
Hope shook her head and didn't answer. It was never a good idea to explain the joke, especially if the explanation likely would be embarrassing. Besides, they both had melting ice cream cones that needed their attention.
"I don't like this," Michael broke the silence between them a little while later. Just sitting there in silence while eating ice cream had given the former archangel time to assess the situation, which he was beginning to learn was a bad thing sometimes, especially when it involved Hope.
"Just your luck, huh? 20 flavors and you pick the one you don't like," Hope replied in a casual tone. She considered offering her own cone to Michael, so he could try if he liked another flavor better, but that seemed like an awkward idea. They didn't know each other well enough to share saliva, even if it was only over ice cream.
"I don't mean the ice cream," Michael clarified with a deep sigh. For all it was worth, the ice cream was enjoyable, so the former archangel couldn't honestly say he regretted stopping for the sweet treat. Not that Hope had left him much of a choice in the matter.
"We were meant to bring Mrs. Murphy the books and return," Michael added when Hope gave him a quizzical look. One of the things the former archangel found hard to understand was that the young woman clearly loved her aunt and uncle, but had no qualms going against their wishes. Michael had no bond to the older couple other than gratefulness for giving him food and shelter, but he couldn't imagine disregarding any of the rules they had given him on his own accord.
"So? We brought the books to Mrs. Murphy and we're going to return," Hope shrugged lightly, giving Michael a challenging look before she added, "Later."
It wasn't like they had been given a strict time frame and even if they had, Hope wasn't known to be punctual to the second. She had a feeling that Michael wouldn't understand that though. Hell, in the days since he was there, Michael was the one who ended any conversation they might be having at 10 p.m. sharp to retire in the guest room as her uncle told him to do. Without even a goodnight at that! Hope tried to distract Michael by telling him an outrageous story about a party she went to once the other night, but was left to talk to herself as soon as the clock struck ten.
"Your uncle wouldn't..." Michael started to argue predictably.
"Do you always do what you're told?" Hope interrupted him with a groan. The young woman didn't need to hear her companion's answer to know what it would be. Not that it came as any surprise. "C'mon Michael, live a little!"
Despite her words, Hope wiped her hands off on her jeans and stood up, offering her hand to Michael. She couldn't ask for too much disobedience from the lost man at once. They had their little 'not pre-approved' activity for the day.
"You are a... peculiar woman," Michael shook his head as he took her hand.
"Careful, you might learn to appreciate it," Hope chuckled, leaning against Michael's side playfully for a moment.
Michael didn't say it, but he had no doubts her assumption was correct.
"I got food," Gracie announced as she pushed the door to her playhouse open with her shoulders. The little girl's arms were full of things she had collected for her angel around the house. Her mother had one of her awfully busy days, so it was the perfect opportunity to get as many useful things as she could to the angel. "And more blankets and new clothes."
Lucifer's eyes snapped open as soon as the door was opened. The devil spent most of his time dozing on and off, but he hadn't managed a deep sleep. Not that he wanted to. He needed to stay as alert as possible at all times, especially now that he had somehow lost his powers. Lucifer didn't know how it happened exactly -though it seemed like a safe guess that the Winchesters and their posse had something to do with it- and it shouldn't even have been possible, but there was no use denying it happened.
"Mommy keeps daddy's stuff in the basement, y'know?" Gracie explained as the angel slowly sat up on the bed. She wasn't even sure he was listening to her, but with adults you never knew. Gracie's mother often caught her doing or saying things she shouldn't, even when it looked like she was completely emerged in something else. The same went for Gracie's teachers. It stood to reason that an angel would notice at least as much. "It's all in big boxes."
It wasn't hard to get clothes and other things from the boxes without her mother noticing. Gracie knew her mom wasn't looking into them. Her mother once admitted that she couldn't bear to give her father's things away, but she couldn't stand to see them all the time either.
"Daddy woul'n't mind sharin' with ya," Gracie stated with conviction. It couldn't be bad to give some of her father's things to the angel, because she knew her dad would've allowed her to, if she could've asked him.
"Are you feelin' alright?" Gracie asked a moment later when the angel didn't say anything, "You're all quiet. Mommy always says she can tell when I'm not feelin' good, 'cause I'm all quiet then."
"That's awfully hard to believe," Lucifer deadpanned.
"I like you better when you're grumpy than when you're all quiet," Gracie shrugged, smiling at the angel before her expression became thoughtful, "Why're you always grumpy anyway?"
"I can't possibly expect you to understand," Lucifer snorted. How could a little girl understand what it was like to be shunned and wronged the way Lucifer was? How could she ever understand everything he lost? How could any human for that matter? Lucifer was certain that humans didn't have the capacity to understand, even if they tried. Most of them wouldn't bother trying to understand the devil in the first place. Most humans would run.
"Try me," Gracie replied with a daring look, nodding to herself as she sat on the edge of the bed the angel was half sitting, half lying in, "I understand much more than people think!"
"Forget it," Lucifer huffed. How could he possibly explain anything about his life to a child? What good would it do? Why would he even want to? She was an annoying, overly chatty, human abomination that was convenient to have around for the moment, nothing more.
Lucifer was startled out of his thoughts when the girl wrapped her arms around his upper body all of a sudden. He was about to tell her to quit the crap when the realization hit him that she was taking extra care to avoid applying pressure that might hurt him. Lucifer wasn't one to give people credit for anything, but no matter how hard he tried the former archangel couldn't deny that it felt good to be hugged by someone who was so considerate of his wellbeing.
"Is it nice in heaven? Ya think my daddy likes it there?" Gracie asked nervously, once she let go of the angel to sit on the edge of the bed again. She was a little scared of the answer she might get, since the angel had already crushed her hopes that her dad was an angel himself.
A nasty reply was on the tip of Lucifer's tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He vividly remembered the stinging bad feeling it gave him to see her cry the last time. Lucifer didn't need a repeat performance of that. Besides, the truthful answer was incidentally just what she wanted to hear. He'd have to lie to the girl just to be mean and while it may have been the drugs talking, looking at recent events, she simply didn't deserve that. "Yes."
"I'm sorry, this took longer than it should've and the ghoul smashed my phone. I brought pi..." Sam started to explain before he even fully opened the door to the motel room he shared with Gabriel. Bobby called Dean about a hunt in Miami while they were in the close vicinity already and they had taken it. Gabriel insisted he could come along and help, but Sam had vetoed that. The younger Winchester simply didn't want his boyfriend to get in over his head while Gabriel still didn't fully know where his limits were with his newly fully human body. Hell, Gabriel managed to eat M&Ms until he felt sick just two days ago, he was clearly still far from knowing the new limitations he had to work with.
"What is all this?" Sam asked with a frown, setting the pizza carton he was holding down at the rickety table all motel rooms seemed to come with. Gabriel was sitting cross legged in the middle of their double bed, Sam's laptop by his side, the telephone book by his other side -with obviously missing pages- and a number of origami figures scattered all over the bed. Sam and Dean had been gone a couple of hours, but it never crossed the younger Winchester's mind that the former archangel might keep himself occupied like this. It was actually pretty amusing.
"Don't you laugh at my mighty mouse army!" Gabriel did his best to glare at his boyfriend, but in all honesty he always loved it when Sam laughed, so he couldn't even properly pretend to be mad. The former archangel had known that a hunt could always take longer than anticipated, but he never knew how hard it could be to stay behind when he couldn't just reach out with his powers and know that everything was okay.
"Mighty mouse army?" Sam asked, the corners of his mouth still twitching traitorously.
"I was going for tigers first, but the instructions were -to say it with little bro's words- insufficient," Gabriel shrugged, putting the half-folded mouse in his hands aside as he hopped off the bed to wrap his arms around Sam and greet him properly with a kiss.
"Are you okay?" the younger Winchester asked when they parted for air. Sam ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair -a gesture the archangel always enjoyed- and made sure to establish eye contact before he added, "I won't pretend I understand what you're going through, but I'm sure it has to be complicated."
"You say complicated, I say challenging," Gabriel replied in an animated tone, before he leaned in to place another quick peck on Sam's lips. Dean complained that they were even worse with the PDA since Gabriel's humanization and the former archangel wouldn't dream of doing anything to prove the older Winchester wrong. Not in this matter, anyway. Then again, he was hungry and there was a -probably- perfectly good pizza on the table. Sam wouldn't get them one of his broccoli pizzas, would he? That would be cruel! Gabriel decided he had to check to make sure, even if that meant parting from his friendly giant of a partner for a bit.
"Okay," Sam gave a small smile, as he watched the shorter man inspect the content of the pizza carton. The younger Winchester was pretty sure Gabriel would be all for pineapple chunks on pizza, adding some sweetness. It was obvious to Sam that his boyfriend wasn't ready to talk about their situation at that moment, but there was one more thing that had to be said on the matter. "Look, if you really see things that way, that's awesome. Just know that..."
"I know," Gabriel replied seriously. He knew he could always talk to Sam, or ask for help in things that weren't quite as easy as he always thought they were, but Gabriel was dealing just fine. So maybe he couldn't fold complicated paper tigers because step 12 was incomprehensible, but it wasn't like that was a skill he had to possess. Besides, with different instructions or more patience for trial and error he was sure he could learn. The fact Gabriel generally didn't like making things -especially ordinary everyday tasks- hard for himself didn't mean he shied away from a challenge. "Stop worrying so much."
The former archangel took a bite out of his pizza slice, chewing thoroughly. It was obvious that Sam wasn't fully convinced. Gabriel couldn't have his boyfriend worrying about him all the time, especially when it was over nothing!
"I knew what I was getting into," Gabriel stated after a moment of consideration. The spell was supposed to de-power all archangels. Gabriel knew -if he survived casting of the spell- he'd lose his powers. Maybe being fully human instead of a powerless angel came as a surprise, but it didn't really make a difference.
"And I made preparations," Gabriel added with a self-satisfied grin, "Soon as we swing by Celebration I'll have everything I need."
The former archangel wasn't stupid. He made sure he had supplies -documents, money and other things humans generally needed- waiting for him. Chuck wouldn't notice the box in the basement and the prophet's roommates obviously hadn't found it either.
Gabriel also wasn't inconsiderate. He made preparations for his brothers as well. Gabriel had legal papers and bank accounts ready and waiting for Michael, Lucifer and Raphael. They just had to find them first. Bobby was looking for signs of them, but they had to be discrete. There were too many beings and hunters who'd just love to get a piece of the former archangels, if they heard of their predicament.
"I guess we'll leave tomorrow morning, so you won't have to make do with my stuff much longer," Sam answered with a smile as he secured one of the pizza slices for himself. The hunter wasn't so much hungry as he was tired, but he knew he'd wake up early from hunger if he went to bed on an empty stomach.
"Thinking about it, I might want to keep some of your clothes. They are very spacious," Gabriel grinned, looking down at the old Stanford shirt he had been wearing to bed the past few days, "And I love that look you get when I wear them."
"Oh yeah?" Sam chuckled, moving closer to the shorter man.
"Mhm," Gabriel hummed, closing the gap between them to kiss Sam again.
The former archangel couldn't find it in him to complain about his mighty mouse army going flying everywhere -and some of them getting squished- as Sam pushed Gabriel down onto the bed. If the shorter man thought he liked the look in Sam's eyes before when he wore the taller man's clothes, he downright loved the look the younger Winchester got when he took them off him. Not that Gabriel's look was any less appreciating -not to say adoring- once Sam started losing pieces of clothing.
One of the things Gabriel really appreciated about being human was that he felt things differently. This body was his own now, he was one with it, completely. Sure, paper cuts were a bitch that way, but the feeling of Sam's lips pressed against his naked chest made up for things like that completely.
A moment later Gabriel hooked his leg over the younger Winchester's hip and used his partner's surprise at the move to flip them over. The former archangel was too worked up to draw things out, immediately starting to roll his hips against Sam's. It didn't look like the younger Winchester had any complaints, as he was right there with the former archangel, panting and moaning (and proving Dean right in demanding a room that wasn't directly next to theirs).
"Sorry about your army," Sam chuckled once he caught his breath, brushing some stray hair out of Gabriel's face as the archangel tried to gather the energy to roll off his partner.
"They were good mice, taking one for their commander," the former archangel replied seriously, finally flopping on his back next to Sam. Physical exertion having a very noticeable effect on him was something Gabriel really had to get used to still, but he was far from complaining when the physical exertion was this satisfying.
Gabriel watched Sam collect boxer shorts and sweat pants for both of them -couldn't be caught pants-less in case they had to make a quick escape; shirtless was half as bad, but pant-less a no go- as a thought suddenly hit him. "Hey, while we're in Miami already, you don't think we could swing by the beach before we leave?"
Sam could already hear Dean complaining about sand in the Impala, but on the other hand there was the prospect of Gabriel half-naked and wet. In the end, it wasn't a hard decision to make.
