Gabriel would barely believe his thoughts. It had been such a simple plan, all he needed to do was steal this one thing, and then he could be a competent villain, he could have finally talked to Sam, and maybe, just maybe, there'd be something there. The something that he always dreamed of.
Instead what did he do? He accidentally introduced Sam to that Miss Knife character and they'd hit off, and surely Sam had better judgment than that? Surely he wouldn't fall for some pretty eyes, sarcastic comments, and good reputation?
But he had, and Gabriel couldn't take it anymore, he had to see if it was true. Clutching his thoughts close to his heart he felt the song burst out of him:
"Any dolt with half a brain
Can see that humankind has gone insane
To the point where I don't know if I'll upset the status quo
If I throw alligators in the water main,"
He could barely breathe, he had to see what Sam was up to, he had to. He paced along the street behind the duo, watching them from afar, his mind never leaving the song he was singing.
"Listen close to everybody's heart
And hear that breaking sound
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart
And crashing to the ground"
There they were, in that restaurant for the homeless. Desperate for something that told him that his gut instinct wasn't right, Gabriel peered in at the window, and consequentially felt the sinking stones in his gut that told him that he was right, of course he was right. When did he ever get good news?
"I cannot believe my eyes
How the world's filled with filth and lies
But it's plain to see evil inside of me
Is on the rise"
He'd never really believed in the super-villain title before, except in the way that he opposed society, but right now he could so get into it. He… oh Gabriel gave up trying to quantify it even to his own head. He had to get inside, to see what was being said.
Sam, meanwhile, was cautiously hopeful. This was new, and perhaps-
"Look around
We're living with the lost and found
Just when you feel you've almost drowned
You find yourself on solid ground
And you believe there's good in everybody's heart
Keep it safe and sound
With hope you can do your part
To turn a life around"
He could barely believe it, Miss Knife, no Ruby, seemed like such a nice person and she was interested, and she had influence, and oh, it was too much to ask for. But maybe, just maybe…
"I cannot believe my eyes
Is the world finally growing wise?
Because it seems to me
Some kind of harmony
Is on the rise"
Sam looked around at the other patrons, many of which he knew personally and he knew what they'd been through, and oh, it was just so good to be able to be in a position to really help them. And Ruby seemed so nice, and so willing to help them, and oh, Sam knew this was going faster than it ought to, but he felt that when the hero of the city sits across from you grinning and stealing your French fries, he was allowed to go a little bit mushy. Never mind that cute guy from…. Never mind that guy, here was a real hero.
Gabriel couldn't work out what was worse: either Sam was as brilliant and intelligent and wonderful as he thought he was and yet still fell for that abomination Miss Knife's lies; or Sam was a stupid abomination and Gabriel himself had been tricked.
Gabriel began to sing again, in harmony with the unhearing Sam "Anyone with half a brain,"
Sam: "Take it slow"
G: Could spend their whole life howling in pain
S: She looks at me and seems to know
G: Because the dark is everywhere and
S: The things that I'm afraid to show
G: Sammy doesn't seem to know that soon the dark in me is all that will remain
S: And suddenly I feel this glow
G: Listen close to everybody's heart
S: And I believe there's good in everybody's heart
G: And hear that breaking sound
S: Keep it safe and sound
G: Hopes and dreams are shattering apart
S: With hope you can do your part
G: And crashing to the ground
S: To turn a life around
Eventually Gabriel gave up, it was no good. Giving up his position serving at the counter he wondered home, back to the lair, alone, completely unaware of the fact that Sam was doing exactly the same thing. The overwhelming emotions however, were quite different.
G: I cannot believe my eyes, how the world's filled with filth and lies
S: I cannot believe my eyes, how the world's finally growing wise
G: But it's plain to see evil inside of me is on the rise
S: And it's plain to see rapture inside of me is on the rise
Upset, for no justifiable reason as far as he himself could see, Gabriel slumped against the wall, until he eventually fell asleep, dreaming of a time when the world, or even a specific person, would see what he could not un-see.
Gabriel's mood only really picked up at the Laundromat the next day. He was perched on top of one of the machines, sitting next to a man so gorgeous and so kind that he'd have made God himself write a book series about him.
"So, have you always been a signature connoisseur?" Gabriel asked Sam lightly.
"What?" Sam answered, then gave a short laugh "No, no, I've er, just finished my law degree and looking for placements at the moment. No such luck at the moment though, so I'm trying to find a day job."
Gabriel gave a small laugh, it flowed so naturally out of him "I can't believe your having problems with that, a man such as yourself."
Sam shrugged, "Well in this economy, and it's not just the job market that has suffered, hence the signatures, it makes no sense that now is when they choose to deny people basic support."
"So I'm guessing you aren't going for corporate law then?" Gabriel asked.
"Ha, no." Sam smiled at him, "No, I wanted to be a barrister, but you know, that doesn't really seem to be working. I'm living with my brother at the moment though."
"Yeah," Gabriel said, digging into his bag and pulling out two salads which he'd carefully prepared, "How weird, I asked for one salad and they gave me two, I don't suppose you eat salad?"
Sam grinned, "Love it, my brother, Dean, always calls me a girl for it though,"
Gabriel smiled looking at Sam, he looked so happy, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, and oh god what eyes, he wanted to keep him smiling, and laughing all day long, Gabriel never wanted him sad at all, which is one reason why he needed to get a move on with his plan.
"Hiya kiddos," The Trickster greeted the camera. "it's been a good day for me, and I hope it's been a good day for you too. My freeze ray has finally been completed! I could sing or dance all day, except, you know, that'd be weird, and I still have work to do. But you know," The Trickster shrugged, "why waste a good weapon, and with the new statue to the mayor being unveiled tomorrow, well, why wait? So, I guess I'll let you guys know how I get on then." Gabriel closed the camera, he still had work to do before the big event.
Almost exactly thirty-six hours later, Gabriel turned on his camera again, running his hand through his singed hair. He coughed loudly, letting a few bits of debris that was irritating his throat fly free. "Well," he coughed again as the rub on his adams apple became worse "It seems I count both the hypocritical Miss Knife and what seems to be a large portion of the police among the viewers of this blog. For the rest of you, yeah that didn't really," A huge hacking cough escaped his throat, "work so well."
The embarrassment, Gabriel had been so hopelessly outmatched and the freeze ray had taken so long to warm up, he could only hope that Sam hadn't been in the audience, that he hadn't seen. Not that he was sure why he was even talking to his blog anymore, all it had ever got him was in trouble, and no-one liked him. His phone rang.
His trickster phone rang.
Puzzled, he pulled it out, "Hello?"
"The Devil is very disappointed in you." The cold harsh voice spoke in his ear, "He wants you to know that your application is not looking likely to be approved. The exception of course, would be a nice ice cold murder."
The phone hung up.
Gabriel turned the cameras off, and pulled his mask off, letting the dam thing drop to the floor. He didn't know. He needed to get into the league. He needed to, it was the only way any of this would work, but at the same time... He didn't know who he could kill. Sure, there was Miss Knife, but if she truly cared for Sam, and Sam for her, well then maybe she wasn't as bad as Gabriel had thought. Maybe she'd changed, or at least could change. He didn't want to kill anyone. How could killing anyone help the world?
Somehow he ended up back at the laundromat. He'd bought two salads again, god he hated that stuff, but it was worth it for Sam. Gabriel really wanted to say that he could see this becoming a thing, but he honestly couldn't. There was only so long that Sam would put up with the fuck-up that he was.
"So, you know, my girlfriend's supposed to be joining us,"
"What?" Gabriel was startled out of his despondency.
"Yeah, Miss- Ruby," Sam smiled dropping off the laundromat, "She should be here shortly, it'd be good,"
"Yeah," Gabriel tried to cover his sinking stomach, and mood.
"Yeah, for one of the important people of my life to meet another one." Sam smiled at him, at Gabriel, god, he could hardly believe his luck. Was he- was he one of the important people in Sam's life? Surely not, but then, who else could he mean. Unless he was talking in an abstract way about the laundromat, but then why would Sam do that?"
"Head up Gabe, I've seen you for an ungodly amount of time, it shouldn't be that suppressing."
"We've been talking for less than a week." Gabriel heard himself point out, then kicked himself. Why was he trying to throw out what he had! Although it did sound like Sam was straight, but it was basically all a delusional dream trying to be good enough for him anyway.
"Yeah, well, don't know many people in this corner of the woods." Sam shrugged. "Or is the awkward grin because you have an ex called Ruby, and you're terrified it's her."
"No." Gabriel declared emphatically. "I may be pan, but I haven't dated in a hell of a while." Or at all really. It wasn't his fault no-one wanted to go out with a 5ft6" candy addict.
"Yeah," Sam smiled looking him up and down, "I find that hard to believe. "I'm bi, probably, myself."
YES! Gabriel had great trouble not jumping up and down and running around the laundromat screaming, yes, he's bi, he's bi, he's bi, he's bi. He was in with a chance, the smallest of small chances, but a chance. So all he had to do was...
"Hey Sam," A voice drooled from the doorway.
Sam ran over to the short, curvy brunette pulling her up for a rather passionate kiss. She leant into it as it broke, smiling. Gabriel didn't like that smile.
"Ruby, meet Gabriel, he's an old friend of mine." Sam ushered her over to where Gabriel was sitting. He slipped off the laundromat. "Gabriel, this is Ruby, my girlfriend."
"Nice to meet you," Gabriel lied through his teeth, shaking her hand. He had to keep his nerve, if she knew who he was, he was, well, he was in big trouble.
"An absolute pleasure." 'Ruby' said, the corners of her mouth turning.
A light flashed on one of the laundromats "Oh," Sam spotted it, "Just a mo." He darted away.
"So, how do you know my boyfriend?" Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on Sam's figure, occasionally flitting her gaze to Gabriel.
"Oh you know, the laundromat, we kept bumping into each other and eventually we started to talk. How'd you meet Sam?" Gabriel kept his voice steady, and even polite.
"Oh, I saved his life, it was very romantic," Ruby smiled at him, deliberately looking down at Gabriel. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickling. Shoving Sam into a rubbish pile and then looking down on his friends is not what he'd call romantic.
"Sounds nice." Gabriel tried to keep his voice civil. He had to keep cover, and he wasn't causing a big scene in front of Sam, he wasn't going to cause a big scene in front of Sam. That's what he kept telling himself.
Ruby lent in closer. "Tell me, Trickster, how does it feel not to get something you want, because I don't know? That boy is so hot, I could lick him all day long."
Gabriel stared.
"The knife isn't the blade, it's my tongue." Ruby whispered conspiratorially eyeing up Sam hungrily, and objectively.
Gabriel couldn't - Seriously, she was doing this because he liked Sam, that was just, well. He ran from the laundromat, heading towards the lair. Anyone who behaved like that, anyone at all, deserved what was coming to them.
"This appeared as a moral dilemma,
Cause at first it was weird though I swore to eliminate,
The worst of the plague that devoured humanity
It's true I was vague on the 'How'
so how can it be that you have shown me the light?"
Gabriel made his way back to his lair, already plotting, already he had ideas. He sand loud and clear.
"It's a brand new day
And the sun is high
All the birds are singing
That you're gonna die
How I hesitated
Now I wonder why
It's a brand new day
All the times that you beat me unconscious I'll forgive
All the crimes Incomplete, listen honestly I'll live
Miss Cool, Miss Right, Miss Knowitall is through
Now my future's so bright and I owe it all to you Who showed me the light
It's a brand new me
I've got no remorse
Now the water's rising but I know the level
I'm gonna shock the world
Gonna Show The Devil
It's a Brand New Day
And Sammy will see the evil me
Not a joke not a dork not a failure
And he may cry but her tears will dry
When I hand him the keys to a shiny new Australia.
It's a brand new day
Yeah the sun is high
All the angels sing
Because you're gonna die
Go ahead and laugh
Yeah I'm a funny guy
Tell everyone goodbye
It's a brand new day"
