Gabriel woke up with a sense of shame. He looked around at the unfamiliar room, and realised after a moment where he was, what he had been doing. He'd come to Castiel's new husband's family home, and messed about with Castiel's new brother-in-law.

It hadn't been intentional. He hadn't come with the hope of hooking up with anyone. But he hadn't expected someone like Sam to appear in his life. Truthfully, he hadn't been sure what to expect from Dean's family in the first place when he'd barely met Dean before, but their father had the same authoritarian vibe as Gabriel and Castiel's, and their mother seemed nurturing. It was an unusual combination, Gabriel decided. But apparently it worked. And Mary had been nothing but accommodating, talking to Gabriel for most of their drive from New York to Kansas.

And then there was Sam. Sam who obviously didn't want a stranger crashing in his room over Christmas, who had a lot of questions and a mind that clearly worked quickly. Sam who seemed sad, and complicated, until Gabriel had given into that endearing, puppy-dog expression and … it wasn't meant to go that far. He had just been hoping for a roommate who didn't despise him.

Gabriel turned his head and looked up at the bed next to his inflatable mattress. Sam was still asleep, not quite snoring, but snuffling quietly. Even that was endearing, and Gabriel felt his resolve weaken. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he'd given Sam a hand job the night before. The guy was only after some experience after all, and with a coddling mother and demanding father, Gabriel supposed that Sam had ended up pretty sheltered. Especially after the way he was talking about his own brother.

Gabriel wasn't too bothered about Dean. Castiel knew what he was doing, he always had. Even after Gabriel rescued him and offered to have him tag along, exploring the world, Castiel was adamant that he wanted to earn his way to college. He'd found a small room to rent, and studied hard, working in the evenings and weekends and hadn't allowed his landlord to take advantage of him, despite his age. There was no way Dean was going to be anything other than genuine with Castiel, or there wouldn't have been a marriage ceremony.

Sam blinked his eyes open slowly, his gaze unfocused, and Gabriel felt his heart melt. Just for a moment, he wished that Castiel hadn't married Dean, that he had met Sam of his own volition and could just indulge. But he knew it wasn't the right thing to do. He resolved to acting impeccably for the rest of his stay, even if he was sleeping beside one of the sweetest guys he'd ever met.

"Morning," Sam muttered. Gabriel sat up, kicking the covers off and heading over to his rucksack as he answered.

"Hey. Did you sleep okay?"

He sounded like a mom. It was how he had sent Sam to sleep, wishing him a good night.

"I did. Thanks. So, what did you want to do today?"

This was going to be an issue. Gabriel pulled some fresh clothes from his rucksack and looked around at Sam, who was still sprawled in his bed, looking frankly indecent. He supposed he was going to spend a lot of time with Sam, with their brothers all loved up, but he didn't want to lead the guy on. Even if he did want to jump right into bed with him.

"What is there to do around here?"

"Fix cars? Dad and Bobby, our neighbour, they do it a lot."

"What do you do?"

"Study. Hang out with my friends."

Sam hadn't even tried to get out of bed. He was so freaking tempting, but Gabriel was doing his best to actually behave.

"Okay. Um, I'm going to go get some breakfast, maybe catch up with Cas."

Sam scrabbled to get out of bed, finally.

"Oh, right. I'll show you where the kitchen is, then we'll find them. When he was here for Thanksgiving, he and Dean spent nearly all their time out in the scrapyard talking."

Sam was standing in front of him now, looking irresistible. Gabriel forced himself to remember that, despite their nocturnal activities, Sam actually still had a girlfriend.

"Okay. Let me just get ready." Gabriel made himself go into the bathroom that separated Sam's room from his parents room, and changed quickly, brushing his teeth too hard and reminding himself over and over, like a mantra, that Sam was off-limits and that he was there for Castiel. And he could do this, he could keep his hands to himself.

Sam was feeling confident, cocky even, as he led Gabriel through the house, pointing out the different rooms. John was in the living room, watching a football game and drinking beer already. Mary was out, and Sam was looking forward to the time with just Gabriel. Gabriel who wasn't talking much, but had magic fingers. Sam wanted to ask him so many more questions. He hadn't been this interested in anyone, not even Jess, but there was something fascinating about Gabriel that held Sam's attention.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Sam asked, trying to sound casual, trying to hold back the burning need to ask Gabriel about his entire life. Breakfast was safe.

"I don't know. Can I see Cas before we eat? Is that cool?"

Sam nodded, although he felt a burning shame in the pit of his stomach. Maybe Gabriel didn't feel anything towards him, maybe he regretted the night before. He tried to cover his disappointment as best as he could.

"Come on, he'll be with Dean on the old Bug."

He led the way outside, and through the junkyard to where Castiel and Dean were indeed squashed onto the cap of the bug, the ridge of the hood the only thing separating them. Sam had seen them together like that all through Thanksgiving, their heads bent together as they whispered endlessly. Sam didn't get what they had to even talk about, but apparently they never got enough. He could see, as he approached with Gabriel walking behind him, that Dean and Castiel were holding hands. It was strange to see Dean like that, holding on to another person, like they were a lifeline for him. It was like looking at a stranger. Sam tried to refocus on Gabriel, who wasn't quite as confusing. He couldn't help but try to brag.

"Told you we'd find them out here. At Thanksgiving, they were glued to the Bug." He swung himself up onto the empty flatbed of the truck that faced the Bug, and Gabriel perched beside him quietly, his feet barely touching the floor.

Dean didn't allow Gabriel to respond, if he was even going to. He sounded like he was barely controlling his anger, even as he leaned into Castiel, their fingers tangled together tightly. He didn't even look at Sam.

"Jess didn't stick around, huh?"

Sam was a little taken aback.

"Jess?" He was trying to figure out when he was meant to have seen her last - as far as Dean knew anyway - and why it would piss Dean off. He didn't have any friends in town, it's not like Jess could have spread it around town already that Sam went too far when she was over. And it wasn't like her to blab either. And why would Dean be pissed off? He'd always acted like Sam and Jess together were a mild irritant that was easy to overlook. But there was no denying it, Dean was pissed.

"Your girlfriend?" Dean managed to make him sound like a total moron. "Unless you were screwing someone else last night."

Sam's face froze. How did Dean know? They were trying to be so quiet. Did he hear? But Dean was just getting started, and Sam knew he would hear the gory details put in the bluntest way possible.

"You know, Dad was chewing us out for that? For whoever you were boning. And you," Dean glared at Gabriel, and Sam tried to maintain some kind of poker face rather than look at Gabriel. How had John heard anything? Hand jobs weren't that loud, were they? Sam definitely hadn't shouted out as Gabriel made him come, they'd been so careful. "You were sharing a room with him. Why the hell did you let him do it?"

Castiel looked up as Dean finished snarling, his eyes darting between Sam and Gabriel, and Sam knew that he had gotten to the point already, even if Dean was still circling. Sam had no idea what was about to happen, he hadn't spoken to Castiel enough to know if he would overreact as much as Dean was about to.

Especially because Gabriel finally opened his mouth and contributed to the already-awkward conversation.

"He started it."

Dean gave Gabriel a look that said clearly that he didn't find it funny. Or understand what Gabriel was getting at. Which only made Gabriel start talking as he had the night before with Sam, making it sound like some kind of amusing anecdote.

"See, Sammy was saying that he didn't understand your one-eighty, how you could suddenly be all up in my brother, how you've stopped being all hump 'em and dump 'em just because of Cassie. And we got talking, trying to work it out, and then one thing led to another, and-"

Dean made to leap off of the Bug, fury flashing across his face, his focus entirely on Gabriel. Sam recognised it as 'over-protective brother mode' and felt a strange sense of relief. There was still a bit of the old Dean in there. Fortunately for Gabriel, Castiel seemed to anticipate what was coming, as though he had played it all out in his head when he realised what must have happened. He clasped Dean's hand tightly, and Dean was yanked back like a dog on a lead before he could reach Gabriel. Sam shifted slightly closer to Gabriel. Just in case he needed to protect him.

"You did WHAT?!" Dean snarled, angry not only at the revelations, Sam guessed, but at Castiel keeping hold of him so tightly.

"Because it's okay for you?" Sam couldn't help himself. He was sick of Dean, sick of being told what he should or shouldn't do, sick of every restriction placed on him because of Dean's actions. "Because you can sleep with whoever you want, whenever you want? Because you can suddenly decide you like guys? But the moment I try and experiment, see what's out there, it's a no?"

If Sam was expecting Dean to reconsider his anger, to calm down and discuss it rationally, then he was sorely disappointed. There were some things that Dean couldn't fake in front of his boyfriend.

"HE'S MY BROTHER-IN-LAW!" Dean's face was bright red, his eyes wide open. He looked like he was about to burst a vein, and he started tugging violently on his arm, trying to free himself from Castiel. And Sam was annoyed. If Gabriel was Dean's brother-in-law, that meant he married Castiel. When had that happened? Why hadn't he invited anyone? And why was Sam the one in the wrong when Dean had done that? Dean wasn't getting punished for having a secret wedding with his boyfriend of two minutes. "YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND! I just covered for you with Mom and Dad, so you could cheat on Jess? Did you tell him about her? Huh?"

Sam watched as his brother completely lost it, almost choking on the words he was screaming out, and Castiel gripped on his arm with his free hand, sliding a little on the Bug. It was clear that Dean was beginning to overpower him with sheer rage, and there wasn't much time to make him see reason before he laid into Gabriel.

"Dean, shut up, Bobby's outside," Sam tried to distract his older brother, to make him think rationally again. "If he hears you-"

"Good! Good if he hears me!"

"Dean, please calm down. I know you're angry and upset, but this really won't help anyone." Castiel didn't raise his voice at all. Sam realised he was doing it on purpose, it was nothing to do with the effort he was exerting to keep Dean and Gabriel apart. He was doing some kind of magic trick. He looked at his brother with the same calm, passive expression he'd had since Sam had led Gabriel outside, and continued talking in that measured tone. "Please, find somewhere else to be right now, Gabe. And Sam, I think it would help if you left too, but maybe not the same place as my brother?"

Dean whipped his head around to glare at Castiel, maybe spit out a few choice words, and Sam took the opportunity to leave. Despite Castiel's advice, Gabriel followed him, and Sam knew it was because Gabriel didn't exactly know where there was to go. Sam looked over his shoulder at the edge of the scrap yard, but Dean was still with Castiel, still clasping hands though Dean still stood in the space between the two cars and Castiel remained on the bug. Sam felt himself start to shake, and Gabriel leaned against an old lemon with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gabriel asked, looking Sam up and down.

"Yeah. It wasn't me Dean wanted to hurt. I'm sorry."

Gabriel shrugged easily. Sam wondered if it was a family trait, to seem so calm and placid. Even though Gabriel had said they were so different to their siblings, there had to be some things neither brother could escape from. But when Gabriel opened his mouth, there was nothing serene in his words.

"Nah, he wouldn't hurt me. Cas wouldn't let him. But that was some shitty stuff he yelled. I mean, telling me about your girlfriend just to hurt you," Gabriel shook his head. "Look, I get it if Dean's scared you off spending time with me, but if he hasn't, we could go out for breakfast somewhere? My treat. You drive."

Sam nodded, looking back once again at their brothers just in time to see Castiel reach up and begin kissing Dean.

"Yeah, let's go."

Sam drove to the nearby pancake house, a family run restaurant that he had been going to for years. They grabbed a booth and started poring over the menu.

"Is this place good?" Gabriel wanted to know.

"Yeah, it's real good. The pancakes are pretty big too."

Gabriel nodded, and tapped his menu. Sam placed his on the table, already knowing what he was going to order. He wondered if Gabriel would comment if he got a coffee, since his parents said no every time. Gabriel looked up after a few minutes, and gave Sam a smile.

"You're ready?"

"Yep. I always have the same thing."

Gabriel nodded easily, and Sam knew the coffee was a go. Gabriel just wouldn't care, and Sam wouldn't feel like a total child around him. Although, Sam felt very comfortable around Gabriel, like there wasn't an age difference between them. Like they were equals.

The waitress came and took their orders, filling their cups with coffee and sashaying off. Gabriel watched her go, and Sam felt a wave of jealousy that he knew he shouldn't have. He was the one with the girlfriend after all. Gabriel was allowed to look at whoever he wanted. But Sam couldn't help wishing that Gabriel would choose to just look at him.

"So, did you know?" He blurted. Gabriel looked around slowly at him.

"That you were going to order fruit with your wholewheat pancake?" He shrugged. Sam realised he must be coming out of left field a little, but he had to clear something up. He liked Gabriel, really liked him. Liked what they had done the night before, liked spending time with him now. But there was a chance they could now, technically, be related.

"No, did you know about Dean and Castiel? Dean called you his brother-in-law. Which I guess makes us brothers-in-law," Sam found himself over gesturing with his hands, as though they would help to fill in the gaps of his thinking. Gabriel shrugged.

"Yeah, I knew. Cassie was being weird on the phone when he invited me over, asked me to meet him in the weirdest place. At the town hall. He thought he was being so secretive as well."

"Wait, you were there?" Sam blurted, feeling hurt. Why had Gabriel been invited, and Sam not?

"Yeah. They got married yesterday morning." Gabriel shrugged again. "Like I said, it was in some town hall in upstate New York. Just them, me, and your folks. I think your pop wanted to stop it going ahead but your mom twisted his arm."

"Why didn't they bring me?" Sam couldn't help himself. Gabriel reached across the table and squeezed Sam's hand reassuringly.

"It's not personal, Sam. They wanted it low key. I think it was parent-only. And since Cassie hasn't spoken to Father since I helped him escape, I'm the next best thing he's got."

Their pancakes were delivered, and a caddy of syrups, and Gabriel began slathering his double chocolate chips with maple syrup.

"I was home alone for two days, they could have brought me."

"It would have been nice to meet you before the long car ride with your folks," Gabriel acknowledged, and began hacking into his breakfast. "But hey, two days to yourself! Did you throw a party? Trash the house?"

"I asked Jess to come over."

Gabriel had stuffed some pancake into his mouth, and he chewed slowly, nodding as he did. Sam waited for him to finish his mouthful, wanting to know what Gabriel thought.

"And it didn't go well and that's why you were moping. Right?"

Sam shrugged, and speared a blueberry, eating it slowly. Gabriel leaned closer.

"Look, Sam," he put his fork down on his plate. "I haven't known you that long, but from what I can tell? You're crazy smart. Like, not just book smart, you understand people's emotions real well too. That's a good thing. But you can't always take things personally, it's not always about you. Dean and Cassie weren't thinking of leaving you out of their wedding, they were thinking that they wanted to get married. Jess wasn't thinking that she wanted to hurt you, she's just not ready. But hey, remember what I said last night? Think about what you really want. Don't apologise for going out there and getting it. Don't hold yourself back because you're scared you'll hurt other people. Stop letting them hurt you."

Don't apologise for going for what you want? Sam could get behind that. He wondered if Gabriel knew he was thinking of him.

Gabriel had turned back to his meal, eating more pancakes and closing his eyes with sheer bliss. Sam made himself eat his own pancake while it was still warm, before he brought anything else up.

"So, if we're technically related, I mean, last night," Sam raised a shoulder uncomfortably, nudging it against his chin. Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"Technically related?"

"Well, yeah, with Dean and Castiel being married and all." It was still so weird to think about. Dean was married. Married to another guy. It was like the Dean Sam knew had fully ceased to exist.

"Right. So Cas is now your brother-in-law and Dean's mine."

"And what does that make us?" Sam pressed. Gabriel ran his fork through the syrup on his plate.

"Awesome?"

"Gabe," Sam could hear the pleading in his voice. Gabriel looked up again.

"Sam, lets not question it. We've got until Cas and Dean go back to college, why not just enjoy it?"

"Enjoy it." Sam said bluntly. Gabriel cracked a smile.

"Yeah, enjoy my amazing company. You got it for another ten days."

"And can we, I mean," Sam could feel the heat rising to his face. Surely Gabriel knew he wanted to fool around some more, wanted as much of Gabriel as he could possibly get.

"Maybe we should talk about that later, when we're not in a diner?"

Gabriel was smiling, and Sam knew he wasn't shutting him down. At least, not right then. He concentrated on the rest of his pancake, and Gabriel ate his lazily too.