Sam had expected it to be a noisy and overall horrible twenty hour nonstop drive from Nevada to South Dakota, but surprisingly, it was actually fairly quiet. Dean was already fast asleep in the backseat and Castiel was simply staring out the window, head lolling limply as he sat there. The Angel of Thursdays looked awfully tuckered out and probably wasn't far from falling into slumber himself. And Gabriel had barely uttered a word ever since they got in the car either. Maybe being children had taken a toll on them that he had not expected.
Sam glanced over at the archangel, who was looking quite bored at the cars passing them on the interstate. The Winchester bit his lip. The drive was actually kinda awkward without the usual chatter of Dean, who was almost always driving while Sam sat in the passenger side.
Drumming his fingers absentmindedly on the steering wheel, Sam whistled a quiet tune. Gabriel, who seemed to have noticed this, looked over.
"Hmm?" Gabriel questioned.
"You, uh, you feeling okay? You seem kind of. . . subdued," Sam commented.
"Yes, seems that way, Sammy-Boy." His reply held no amusement, only a slight undertone of anger.
Sam smirked. "Are you. . . tired?"
"No." Gabriel huffed and crossed his arms. If anything else, he didn't want to admit to the guy that he was tired.
"Sure about that?"
"Yes, I'm sure!"
Sam's smirk widened. "I think maybe you're just grumpy because you're tired."
"Sam, for the last time, I'm not tired!" Gabriel snapped, flustered beyond belief as he sat in the passenger seat of that accursed vehicle. "I don't get grumpy."
"Really? Because I'd say what you just did proves that you're sleepy and you need a nap," Sam teased, further agitating the small angel. Gabriel wanted to growl something at the annoying man but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to have Sam know at all.
Yes, he was tired and angry but it really wasn't his fault, was it? He'd been changed into a ten year old and had to be looked over by one of the guys that actually knew his real identity. That in itself was humiliating enough without further adding onto the embarrassment.
"It's okay, I won't say anything else. You can sleep if you want," Sam continued after a moment, an underlying tone of amusement still evident in his voice.
Gabriel huffed and scowled at nothing, arms still crossed firmly over his chest. He desperately didn't want Sam thinking he couldn't control this new little body of his. Just because Castiel had already succumbed to being human on several different occasions didn't mean that Heaven's most fearsome weapon had to. But. . .
He was getting awfully tired.
Sam looked over several minutes later. Gabriel had fallen asleep, his head tilted back, mouth open, and hands in the pockets of his jacket.
He smiled slightly at seeing all the children asleep. Hopefully they'd stay like that for a while. The drive was a long one, and with eighteen hours still remaining, he was going to need all the peace and quiet he could get.
It was some time later when Dean finally awoke, saying he was hungry and had to go to the bathroom. Of course, now being the six year old that he was, he'd also gotten slightly moody after being asleep for so long. They'd been on the road for about seven hours.
Sam pulled the Impala into a gas station in some small town in Utah. When he parked the car, Castiel and Gabriel woke up, both looking still half asleep, with their mussed up hair and looks of confusion on their faces.
Castiel arched his back in the seat as he yawned, arms stretched above his head. "Where are we?" he asked groggily.
"Utah," Sam told the sleepy angel. He was currently unbuckling Dean. "Do you two need to come inside? Get a snack, anything like that?"
"Hmmph, something sweet would do me good," Gabriel muttered from the passengers seat. He opened the car door and yawned.
Sam grinned. "Of course you do." He looked at Castiel. "Come on inside, Cas. I shouldn't be leaving you in the car by yourself."
Castiel clambered out of his seat and followed Gabriel, nearly tripping over his own feet because he was so tired. The angel reached out for something to hold on to and latched onto his brothers nearby hand. Deciding not to rudely yank his hand away (mostly because he needed a bit of sugar to put up any fight at all), Gabriel just held onto Castiel's smaller hand.
Dean, being held in Sam's arms, was clinging onto his brother's broad shoulder, head tilted so he was leaning on him. The now older Winchester turned to the angels before taking Dean into the restroom.
"You guys can each pick out something to snack on and a drink," Sam said. "I'll be right back out with Dean." He entered the bathroom.
Castiel turned to Gabriel. "How long do you think we're going to be children?"
"I don't know, Cassie," Gabriel responded. "Hopefully soon because I cannot stand being a child for much longer. I mean, I always ate when I was the Trickster, but I was never actually hungry." He sighed. "I'm very glad now that I wasn't human beforehand."
"Being human is odd," Castiel agreed. "I had wished I would not be one again."
"Your wishes were not granted." At Castiel's slightly irritated glare directed towards the archangel, he cracked a smirk. "I'm joking, Cas. I haven't changed much, and neither have you. Still have that stick up your ass, huh?"
". . . That's not funny."
"My point exactly." Satisfied, Gabriel grabbed a Snickers and a bottle of Mountain Dew. Castiel decided on Starbursts and chocolate milk. When Sam and Dean emerged from the bathroom a couple minutes later, they picked their items (a Monster for Sam and a Bug Juice and skittles for Dean), paid, and proceeded to leave the gas station.
"Fourteen more hours, and we'll be in South Dakota," Sam said, taking a long drink of his Monster.
"Great. I'm oh so excited," Gabriel muttered, situating himself in the front seat once again.
"At least we'll be out of this metal trap," Castiel commented from the back seat.
"Don't you like the car?" Dean asked, leaning over to ask the angel.
"No, I would not say that I do."
Dean sank back into his seat. "I like the car."
In the front, Sam smirked. "Of course you do, Dean." He pressed his foot on the pedal and they were off.
"So what was that all 'bout, Bobby?" Rufus asked as the two men headed out of the hotel room.
Bobby shook his head, sighing. "Those two idiots got themselves into some trouble."
"You know, I wanted some sort of explanation."
"Yeah, I figured, but it's a bit complicated. Witches are involved, that's the only sure thing about this whole situation."
Rufus grunted. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Yep, we always do, in the end." Bobby nodded slightly. "But for now, let's concentrate on salting-and-burning this stupid spirit back into oblivion."
Yay, on the road to Bobby's! And don't question twenty hours. I googled it.