"Dean, take me to the closest bar." Gabriel stated matter-of-factly once they had settled into the nicer hotel room that the god had paid for. The tension in the room was thick, Samuel had taken the seat next to the door. For the most part the angel stayed silent and avoided the conversations between the brothers and the god. Instead he spent almost all of his time staring uncomfortably into Gabriel. It was as though the angel looked past his human body, instead seeing straight into his soul. It wasn't that far off of a possibility either which made it worse.
Meanwhile Cas was sitting on his bed with his back pressed to the headboard, staring longingly at the god. Dean was at the foot of the same bed flipping through the channels on the TV looking for something to watch. Yes, they were technically supposed to be hunting a witch but they had agreed to begin the hunt the next day. The witches still had a week before they could start the ritual so there was plenty of time for them to be irresponsible. Where better to do that than a bar?
"Nope. You can walk." Dean responded with disdain. He wasn't there for Gabriel. He held Cas' soul as a hostage.
Gabriel pouted, sounding petulant in his response. "Are you serious?"
"What can I say? I don't feel like zapping you around just because you're too lazy to walk a block. If you don't like it, make the angel take you." Dean waved him off before returning his full attention to the TV, finally finding Dr. Sexy and snapping the remote away.
Gabriel really did not want to ask the angel, who had lifted his head slightly in Gabriel's peripheral vision.
"Sorry that I don't want to be here when Cas tries to jump you again." That had been a bit out of line and he knew it. It was one of those many things that slipped out before he could stop it and the flinch of his brother was proof enough that he'd screwed up. The comment definitely had an effect on the god who stiffened his back.
Before Gabriel could open his mouth the two of them were gone from the room and Gabriel was standing with his back to a wall, Dean inches in front of him. It was clear he was pissed, just as Gabe opened his mouth to say something he felt his vocal cords blocked.
"That was a shitty thing to say, Gabriel and you fucking know it."
Gabriel did know it. When the entire mess with the god had begun he had made it clear to the brothers that he had no interest in Cas for more than a physical relationship. Even that had been cut off a year before Gabriel had made his trip into the lake of fire. Unfortunately for all of them, Cas had fallen head over heels for him. Any comment revolving around it usually ended with Cas taking off for a few hours or Dean snapping Gabriel away. One time he had been sent clear across the globe and nearly killed in an active warzone.
"You aren't going to talk. You're going to listen. I am bound into this contract with your brother for the rest of his life unless one of us chooses to back out of it or we both agree to it. Technically this contract should be null and void but some dumbass sold his Soul. We both know he's too damned obsessed with me to do back out but if your big mouth gets too damned obnoxious I will back out and leave that taint to destroy his Soul." Dean kept his distance as he lay the threat down, his words holding that godly power that Gabriel rarely heard. It sent ice down running down his spine and reminded him that Dean wasn't their friend. If he wanted to, he would leave. It very well could destroy his brother to lose the god.
With a flick of Dean's wrist Gabriel's voice returned, he chose his comeback carefully, not in the mood to anger the god but also not going to let him be an ass. "Whatever you say Dean-o. What I know, because he told me, is that after I died you held him every night for four months. You didn't have to do that. You could've left him to destroy himself and break out of that contract. You don't have to keep him alive and you know it. Whether you like it or not, you may not love him back but you sure as hell care about him."
Dean glared at him before snapping his fingers and disappearing, leaving Gabriel in an alley alone God knows where. With any luck it was at the very least still the same town.
With a bit of unease, he pushed himself off the wall and headed in the direction of the light that signified the town, shoving his hands in his pockets. The time alone allowed him time to think. Which wasn't always a good thing.
They were helping stop The Apocalypse. The concept was a bit overwhelming to say the least. The brothers were hunters. Even with Dean hanging around with them none of that had changed. They didn't get involved in big picture stuff. In fact, they avoided it at all costs.
It didn't pass their notice. Rumors ran down the wire about the world ending, it had started around three years previous. Some demon had lured several children Cas' age into this battle to the death, the lone survivor had opened a Devil's Gate and the only thing that kept Hell off Earth was a small group of hunters directed by Bobby. The girl who had opened the gate had been referred to as the Antichrist. She had been hunted down and killed.
It obviously hadn't stopped the world from falling apart but at the same time Gabriel and Cas chosen not to care. It wasn't their problem. They'd stuck to the background, doing basic hunts since they were in their early teens. Up until the day Cas had gotten sick. Dean had told him there was nothing he could or would do. Gabriel had called bullshit because the god had let some of his emotion fall through. Since the god refused, Gabriel had done what he had to. The bitch demon he'd dealt with had given him two hours before the hellhounds ripped him apart. However, Cas had lived. It was worth the price. At the time. Then Hell had torn Gabriel apart down to the very core until the day he broke.
The day you started The Apocalypse. Part of his mind reminded him unhelpfully.
"Gabriel." The hunter nearly jumped out of his skin, turning around and grabbing for the knife on his belt until his brain caught up to his instincts and his shoulders slumped as he glared at the angel.
"You gonna steal this knife too or do you only do that to rare ass blades that kill demons?" It was all he could think to say, not the greatest conversation started but maybe if he was rude to the, admittedly handsome, angel it would leave him alone.
The angel blinked, frowning. "What are you-oh."
Gabriel watched as the angel pieced together what he was talking about. It was cute in a way. Like a confused puppy realizing it had just run into glass. Dammit he was supposed to not be enjoying the angel's presence. "The knife that kills demons, Sammity Sam. Nice little piece of metal that you sent off to God knows where."
"It destroys Souls." The angel said as though that explained everything. All it did was confuse Gabriel. Destroys souls? The angel seemed to catch onto his confusion as he continued on in his explanation. "That knife is capable of not just destroying demons and demonic entities but the human Soul. Should a creature you were fighting to obtain the blade from you and stab you with it, it would have killed not only you but destroyed your Soul. A fate worse than death."
Gabriel shook his head, turning away from the angel before he could comment on how not existing sounded a whole hell of a lot better than going back to Hell. Even if the angel was right about his purity. It didn't change the fact that some demon held the contract to his soul, he was still damned to return to Hell when the time came. With The Apocalypse looming overhead that sounded a lot closer than he liked to think about.
"You should stop belittling yourself."
"Are you reading my mind?" The hunter demanded and when he turned the angel flinched, clearly offended by the accusation.
"No. I would never read your mind without permission."
"Then-"
"I am reading your behavior."
"Well stop that." Gabriel muttered as a terrible retaliation. "Since you're stalking me. Where are we?"
"Jenks, Oklahoma." The angel responded without hesitation.
Oklahoma. Gabriel hated the state. Especially this particular town and Dean knew it. It was filled to the brim with dicks that walked with their heads so far up their asses they could smell their own brains. Of course he was still in the states so there was a plus there. He could easily con money off the backs of some yuppie and get himself a plane ticket or steal a car and find his way back.
Well under normal circumstances. Now he had an angel stalking him. Which was a bit unsettling, especially with the angel already being an uncomfortable presence. However, maybe it meant he had his own guaranteed long distance transportation.
"Could you take me to a bar?" He asked the angel, purely wondering if he could. To the hunter's surprise a hand came down on his shoulder and they appeared in the middle of a bar. Immediately Gabe wanted to crack up because he knew this bar a bit more than he'd ever admit. Not because he was ashamed of his sexuality but because he kept it under wraps that he made an active effort of visiting gay bars. It was busy enough that the people didn't really notice their abnormal arrival, which Gabriel would have to explain to the angel at a later point as something he shouldn't do.
Actually, he was wrong. They were drawing attention, well the angel was, and when Gabe looked over at said angel he understood why. It hadn't really crossed his mind when they'd met and again when the angel had shown up randomly at their motel. It was mostly due to the fact that Gabriel didn't notice things like clothing, anytime he had looked at the angel he had seen a mutantly tall man, which was even worse when Gabe himself was a shorter man, with a built body and hair longer than what was average. Now that he made himself notice he understood why people were staring at him. He was wearing torn up sweats that looked like they belonged on a homeless man and a shirt in the same condition.
Without thinking Gabe wrapped his hand around the angel's wrist and dragged him towards a darker area in the bar. He couldn't do much for the angel's appearance but at the very least it would cut down on the people staring. He had to ask.
"What's with the homeless getup?" He questioned the angel as he slipped out of his jacket, the angel blinked and Gabe sighed, rolling his eyes. "Your clothes, Sammy. What's with the clothes."
The angel looked down at himself, scrunching his eyebrows and he'd be damned -again- if it wasn't adorable. And dammit. This was an angel. He had no right to be thinking of how adorable he could be when clearly he was innocent to most of the world. "It's my Vessel's clothing."
Gabriel opened his mouth then shut it again. His vessel? Like a demon? Gabriel stared up at the angel a little dumbfounded and confused. Also a bit uneasy. "You're riding around in somebody's skin? Like a demon?"
Samuel's expression hardened and while he'd seemed offended by the accusation of reading Gabriel's mind the look the angel gave him for this was a hundred times worse. "I am not a demon."
Gabriel cringed at the high pitched noise that hung beneath his words, barely there but potent. An agonizing sound that Gabriel had heard once before, a brief moment before he had opened his eyes in that god forsaken grave his idiot brother had buried him in. Which begged a brief question, was that the angel's real voice? "Okay, sorry. Not a demon." Gabriel held up his hands helplessly and immediately the angel's expression softened. "What makes you different from a demon?" He needed to know. A vessel was a human body. He was well aware of that. Dean had explained it to them years ago.
"Our Vessel must consent to the possession. They must agree to it."
Gabriel wasn't quite done asking questions yet, "So you're riding around in some guy…and what? He's just sitting in the passenger seat?"
"No. Currently he is…" The angel paused, his expression going distant for a moment before he blinked and returned his attention to Gabriel. "In a dream, having dinner with his ex-wife and children. When I came to him he was sitting in an alleyway near a road in Colorado. He was poor and lonely and yet he was praying to our Father. He had lost everything to his ex-wife. The woman he continues to love. When I asked his consent all he asked of me was protection for his family. Jared is a good man, Gabriel. If he were to request so, I would vacate his body. Consent means everything to an angel." The angel smiled sadly at him, as though there was something he was keeping from his story.
While the idea that the angel was possessing a man was slightly unnerving it was what it was. The angel had said he would vacate his vessel if his vessel asked and there was no reason to think he was lying. "Alright. Well put this on. We'll buy you something civilized tomorrow." He held out his briefly forgotten jacket and the angel took it, awkwardly pulling it over his shoulders and struggling to put his arms through the sleeves.
They were at a bar and he'd be damned -again- if he didn't test the angel's alcohol tolerance levels. What was even better about this particular bar had drag shows and he was curious how the angel would act at the sight.
"Alright, Sammy. Let's do this." He wrapped a hand around the angel's wrist and drug him into the main part of the bar.
.-~*~-.
Gabe was a bit disappointed at how the night had gone. Sam had rather bluntly told him he did not see the point of the drag shows, his exact words being, "I do not see the point. It is," Gabriel was surprised by the word that followed, "ridiculous." In fact, he'd been so surprised by the terming he had ended up cracking up and ordering the both of them drinks.
In the end Sam had also decided he didn't particularly like the alcohol but he definitely preferred the taste of the beer over the fruity drinks that Gabriel ordered for himself. What could he do? The angel was older than he cared to think about and if the angel didn't like it then he didn't like it.
The most comical part of the night had led to the end of Gabe's fun when Samuel had pissed off one of the drag queens. A very attractive one had approached Samuel and attempted with all of her might to get the angel to talk to her until at last the angel had, very bluntly, and a bit loudly, told the poor drag queen that he was not interested in spending the night with her. The drag queen had shot Gabriel daggers with her eyes, like it was his fault, and dumped her drink on Sam before taking off. The man that Gabe had nearly convinced to come back to his motel with him changed his mind. In the end Gabriel had been forced to drag Sam out of the bar because of all the stink eye he'd been getting for the angel's behavior. Which was ridiculous. It wasn't like the angel was on his leash. He had no control over him.
"Alright, take me back to the hotel." Gabriel was defeated. The angel didn't do alcohol. Social situations clearly weren't his forte. And apparently the angel didn't find the drag queens as fascinating as he did.
The angel rested a hand on his shoulder and they disappeared from in front of the bar, reappearing in the hotel room that he felt like he had left years ago.
He really wished he'd had the angel transport him outside the room. The things Gabe saw in that moment before Dean had flipped the lights off were something he'd never forget.
.-~*~-.
"So you're fucking him again...or…I guess he's…whatever…" Gabriel shoved that memory away, as he stated it rather than asking. The room was awkwardly quiet, the lights were out and the two beings had left for the time being. Cas was curled up in his bed, where Gabe had seen things he wished he'd never seen, and Gabriel was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling.
"No. I mean…this was different. I know why he did it and…" Gabe listened as his brother choked on the end of his sentence and immediately he regretted bringing it up. While they were close, more dependent than was probably healthy, the emotional roller coaster Dean created in his brother was uncomfortable territory and he tended to avoid it at all costs.
Either way, he pushed himself out of the bed, longing for the mattress and sleep but knowing he needed to comfort his brother. As he'd done for years since their father had died. Sighing softly, he sat down on the edge of his brother's bed. "Talk to me, Cassie."
"We both know you don't care." Castiel muttered as he pulled his pillow over his head, acting like an overgrown child.
Gabriel couldn't help but roll his eyes, feeling ashamed because his brother was partially right. He didn't care about the fact that his brother was head over heels for the stupid god. It was a known fact that all the god would do is break his heart and still he continued to follow him around like a lost puppy. "For the love of God. Of course I care. I sold my damned soul for you. If I didn't care, I'd have left you in that hospital bed."
"You don't care about me and him." Cas clarified and Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at it slightly and grimacing.
"I care if the asshole is hurting you deliberately." Gabriel was certain that wasn't the case here but it was the truth, which is what Cas was looking for.
"He did it because of you. As an apology for what you said. Because it was fucked up." It was rare that Cas dropped any swear words, he didn't cuss and hearing him drop the f-bomb meant that it really had hit home. From what Cas had said it had been a year and four months since they'd had sex, when Dean had cut him off he'd given no reasons other than he was done. It had actually had a healthier effect on Cas than Gabe would admit. Sure, his brother was more on edge, probably on account of him not getting laid, but he didn't veer towards the god quite as much. Occasionally his brother would even visit strip clubs with him. Up until when he'd gotten sick.
"I'm sorry." It was all Gabriel could think of to say that was true. He was sorry.
"Go to sleep, Gabe."
"I mean it. I am sorry. Cas, I can never say I understand what you see in the god. He's an ass and if it wasn't for your contract with him I'd run a stake through his heart for not just leaving so you can get past this infatuation."
"Infatuation." Cas snorted, Gabriel could hear the smile in his brother's voice and knew he'd chosen the right wording. That had been the intentions. "Great choice of words."
"I'm glad I can amuse you." Gabriel was smiling now as well.
"It's not infatuation." So much for the subject change. Gabe sighed, resting a hand on his brother's arm.
"I know. He's going to destroy you because you love him. Now go to sleep, Cassie." He pushed himself off his brother's bed, returning to his own. If he heard his brother crying after that, well what else could he do? They'd talked. It was uncomfortable territory and Gabriel had no idea how to help.
.-~*~-.
As it turned out Dean wasn't coming back for a while, something Cas hadn't bothered mentioning the previous night. On top of that, Sam was MIA. Gabriel was unsure where either of them went but figured that maybe it was for the best, for the time being. Probably the most interesting fact was the lack of nightmares. Since he'd come back from Hell what he'd done had been haunting his dreams. His nightmares had been focused on both the torture he'd gone through and the torture he'd enacted on the other souls. That night had been peaceful. A solid night of sleep. Gabriel was almost positive the angel had done something, which he'd intended on interrogating him about. Unfortunately, said angel was MIA. This wasn't over. He would find out.
After a silent morning of getting dressed for the day the brothers made their way to the local diner and settled into one of the booths. Cas had this distant look to him that Gabriel hadn't seen in years and he would beat the god's ass for what he'd done the night more. Cas hadn't looked like this in over a year.
"What can I get you boys?" The waitress asked when she came up to the table, her voice was overly cheerful and Gabriel wasn't awake enough for it. At the moment he didn't even have the energy to appreciate her too low cut top.
He glanced over the menu in front of him before speaking up, since it became abundantly clear that Cas had no intentions of speaking up. "Two coffees. Anything with meat for mopey over there and I'll take the chocolate chip pancakes with a bowl of whipped cream on the side." He listed off, managing to give the woman a charming smile.
He was going to kick Dean's ass. Pining Cas was much better than this broken ball of emotion. After the waitress disappeared towards the kitchen Gabriel decided he needed to break his brother's mood. "Alright, Cas. There is a very important question I need to ask you. It may be a life or death scenario." Pause, three, two, Cas lifted his gaze, "Is Dean a good lay?" Try as he might, Gabriel could not keep the straight face he was attempting. While the emotional crap between his brother and the angel was something he avoided touching with a ten-foot pole, he could handle this conversation.
Just like that Cas jerked his head up completely, staring at his brother and opening then closing his mouth, at a loss for words. Which wasn't his intended reaction. After all, he was trying to get his brother to talk.
"Look. You've been sleeping with him for, what? Five? Six years? In all this time I've never gotten the juicy details. Does he let you-"
"Gabriel." Cas' voice was pleading as his face reddened.
"Well stop with this moping crap. Your god will be back at some point, for some stupid reason he can't leave either of us alone."
"I'm sorry." Castiel muttered, staring down at the table.
"No you aren't. Now let's focus on our current task." In honesty, Gabriel would've rather spent another week lounging around and avoiding thinking about anything revolving around a hunt.
"So you aren't going to talk about your night on the town with the angel?" Castiel had a mischievous look in his eyes, there was something he knew and something told Gabriel he wouldn't be happy when he found out what.
"We hung out at a wonderful bar in a town I never want to return to. Not much to talk about"
Castiel wasn't buying the evasiveness. The look in his eyes said it all. "Dean told me that you were trying to get him to enjoy what you like. Are you trying to find common ground with an angel, Gabe?"
"That isn't what it was about!" Gabriel defended immediately, though he wasn't sure if it was accurate. If Gabriel could get past the whole vessel thing it didn't change the fact that the angel was attractive. But he was an angel. Clearly a naïve one at that.
"He's an angel, Gabe."
"And I'm a hunter. And you're a hunter. You're fucking a god and you don't hear me judging you for it."
"You aren't that stupid, Gabriel and you know it. An angel." Castiel's tone said it all.
The attractiveness of the angel's vessel didn't matter. It was an angel. Angel were meant to be symbols of purity or whatever and defiling said angel, even if it was in a human vessel, was a line. Gabriel wouldn't promise his brother that he wouldn't end up trying to screw the angel. He couldn't lie about that. In the past Gabriel didn't tend to let anything, including species, get in the way of what he wanted. That fact alone probably meant something about their visit to the bar since he'd let the angel's social ineptness ruin his chances with the man he'd been talking to.
"I won't deliberately make a promise I can't keep, Cassie. I'd say sorry but I'm not." Gabriel kept his tone light though inside he was unsure if he was being honest. Would he try to pursue the angel?
"Your honesty is not very promising. You're going to destroy that angel." Castiel stated bluntly, a frown appearing on his face.
"But at least he'll enjoy it!" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows and his brother groaned. As if on cue the waitress returned to their table, setting their coffees in front of them and effectively ending their conversation.
