A/N: Hope you all had a good Christmas! Next update should be today or tomorrow :)
Heaven had been a bit of a bore recently. Strictly speaking, Gabriel isn't even allowed back in Heaven since he ran away from home and started being so naughty, but occasionally he'd sneak back, distracting the seraph at the gates with whatever he could muster up at short notice (this time it had been a velociraptor), and slipping between the bars. He had to do some artful dodging of course; he couldn't risk Michael or Raphael seeing him up here – he'd probably be flung into a cage too for daring to question Daddy.
So that's how Gabriel found himself in the personalised Heaven of a particular soul, who on earth had been known as Henrietta Violet. In life she'd been an avid gardener, planting her lobelia's and tulip seeds faithfully every spring, right up until the ripe old age of 86, when she'd passed away in her sleep. It was no surprise therefore, that her Heaven was a bountiful garden, lush and vibrant with colour, the ever-shining sun pouring life into every bud she planted. Gabriel watched from the shade of a tree at the end of the garden, mildly amused by the sight of her lavender sun hat and matching gloves working furiously as she dug her fingers into the rich, moist soil. This sort of thing never usually interested him, but there was one thing about Henrietta that left him utterly dumbfounded.
There was movement from behind Henrietta, and a man began to cross the grass towards her, his pace leisurely, his smile utterly contented. He held two glasses of what looked like lemonade in his hand, and from where he stood across the garden Gabriel could see the clouded condensation clinging to the glasses from where the sun was beating down. Henrietta's back was to him as she knelt down before one of her abundantly full flowerbeds, and when he approached he sat down beside her and tapped her shoulder.
Gabriel tensed, unprepared for what he knew would happen next. He felt uncomfortable, and utterly bemused. Henrietta turned to face the man, and her eyes both softened and lit up at the sight of him. She flung off her lavender gloves and turned towards him, their heads bowed together as though they were seeing deeply into each other's eyes. She accepted the lemonade graciously and took a long sip, him mirroring her movements – unconsciously or not Gabriel couldn't tell. She leant her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, utterly at peace. The man set down his glass and reached up to stroke her hair, marvelling at the change from wispy white to the rich coconut brown of her youth. Age was transient in Heaven. Gabriel was well aware of this.
The man leaned down to touch her forehead with his own, still smiling. He whispered something softly to her and she smiled, her eyes fluttering open and gasping at his proximity. When she leaned forwards a little to press a soft kiss to his lips, Gabriel thought it was time to go. He turned from the couple, feeling no clearer about what he had just witnessed and extended his wings, poised for flight. That was when he noticed the other figure in the shadows. How long had he been there? Watching Gabriel spying on this couple sharing their own piece of Heaven? He had no right.
"Castiel." Gabriel acknowledged, nodding at the other Angel.
Castiel said nothing, he simply walked forwards to look at the scene Gabriel had been watching. The younger Angel flexed his wings, and his brow furrowed further. He was silent for a few more moments, and Gabriel considered leaving, but Castiel would find him. Besides, after all the stuff he'd been putting his brother through over the past couple of weeks, he supposed Castiel deserved… whatever it was he was here to do. Castiel sighed, suddenly.
"What are you doing here, Gabriel?"
"Oh, you know me. Always doing what I shouldn't." Gabriel replied, coming to stand next to Castiel, both of them facing the laughing couple on the grass in front of them.
"But why here? There are many other places in Heaven, I'm sure you know of more than I do, where you would be less likely to be found. There are many Angels watching over the departed souls in Heaven. One of them could easily spot you." Castiel said, and his voice was teeming with barely restrained curiosity. He genuinely didn't understand his brother. Gabriel supposed it was quite sad really, that nobody did.
"I…" Gabriel began, about to brush Castiel's question off with a witty remark. He glanced up at his brother's vessel, the fire blue eyes so expressive, so pure. Just like him. He deflated, and looked back out towards Henrietta and her partner. "I've never understood." He confessed.
Castiel looked confused; how could a centuries old Archangel, much older and more experienced than himself not understand something in the Heavenly realm?
Gabriel couldn't help chuckling at Castiel's expression. "Soulmates, Castiel. I've never understood soulmates. Why are they the exceptions to the rule about every soul getting their own Heaven? What can it be that so intrinsically links them, that it would be cruel for God to keep them apart in the afterlife? I don't believe in it, I'm afraid. Nobody could understand somebody else fully and love them unconditionally forever."
When Castiel said nothing, Gabriel looked up, surprised. He'd expected Castiel to let out a horrified spiel about trusting God's decisions. Little goody-goody. What he saw instead shocked him to the core. Castiel looked sad. Sad for him in fact. Pitying. It made Gabriel want to run away, to take back what he'd said, to do something stupid like smite someone nearby to show that he was a powerful Archangel and was not to be pitied.
Gabriel took a deep breath, and readied himself for Castiel to lecture him. He knew of course, the technicalities of soulmating. He knew, just like any Angel knew, that upon meeting, your souls would quite literally intertwine, and you'd each take a part of the other from then on. He knew that it was difficult for soulmates to stay apart from each other for this reason, but that some did, out of necessity, whilst on earth, only to re-join each other in Heaven. He also knew that it was a rarity for humans to find their soulmates – sometimes they just didn't look hard enough and settled for less, sometimes their soulmate could be on the other side of the world, or born in a different time period, or dead already. Gabriel knew this, and prepared to hear it again, from Castiel's lips.
Instead, Castiel said, "I have come to request that you leave Sam Winchester alone."
Gabriel blinked. He tossed one lingering look towards the couple, now laid back on the grass, their hands as entwined as their souls. He looked up at Castiel and smiled. "No."
Castiel looked exasperated. "Why? What can you want from him? He is struggling right now, Gabriel-"
"Yeah. I know! With our big bad brother. Don't you think him having an Archangel around might be a good thing?" Gabriel replied, cutting Castiel off.
"I am there. I will protect Sam." Castiel said firmly, his wings puffing out in a protective stance.
Gabriel laughed loudly, and Castiel quickly cloaked the air around them, muffling the sound of their conversation from the souls reclined on the lawn. The last thing they needed was to draw attention from other Angels. "Oh right. You'll protect him. Is that in between your make out sessions with the other Chucklehead? Do you even know how Lucy is getting to Sam? Or how many times it's happened?"
Castiel's mouth opened, ready to retort, but no words came out.
"That's what I thought." Gabriel said condescendingly. "In his dreams, genius. Didn't think of that one did you? I guess I understand though, I mean, it must be difficult to concentrate when your tonguing a Winchester."
"Gabriel-" Castiel warned, and Gabriel smirked.
"Listen, bro," Gabriel interrupted, moving forwards to put a friendly hand on his brother's trenchcoated shoulder, "I mean him no harm! I can be nice, really I can. I just… well… at first this was for the lol's yes, I'll grant you. But that boy… he interests me. I can't figure him out, y'know? He's such a smart kid, he'll figure it out eventually. I wanna protect him. That is my primary objective I assure you… but at the same time he's so delicious. I can't keep my hands to myself. Who knows? Maybe he'll come around on that front too." Gabriel grinned at Castiel, who looked mildly horrified, but seemed to be contemplating the protection offer.
"Don't give me that look, Cassy. You have to learn to share. If you get a Winchester in your bed, I want one too!" Gabriel said in him best pouty voice.
"You'll… you'll protect Sam?" Castiel asked hesitantly, unable to deny even to himself that he needed the assistance on that front.
"Tell you what kiddo, I'll keep an eye on Sasquatch, you keep your eyes and hands and whatever else you want on your little piece of man-candy." Gabriel said, leaning in dangerously close to Castiel's face. Castiel looked unsure for a moment, and then nodded once, and disappeared.
Sam only closed his eyes for two seconds, but when he opened them again, he was in a 70's chick flick movie. Well, probably not literally he reasoned, but it was still friggin' weird. He was sat in the passenger an open top car, in a huge field filled with thousands of other very similar looking vehicles, all facing towards an enormous screen, upon which a black and white movie was flickering half-heartedly – which nobody seemed to be actually watching. The blood ran cold in Sam's veins.
A 'drive-thru'.
Sam gulped and looked down at himself, because he was under no illusions as to why he was suddenly here – he longed for a Djinn or a witch, but no of course it was their own personal Archangel – and he knew from experience that Gabriel seemed to prefer having Sam partially naked when he visited. This time, thankfully, Sam was fully dressed – a little too fully dressed perhaps; Sam thought the white shirt and his best pants might be a little much for watching a terrible movie in a muddy field. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the inevitable, Sam turned to look at the driver's seat of the car. In it, sat Gabriel. Sam was a little stunned at first; he'd expected some kind of trickery at least – a disguise perhaps, some kind of sick joke – who knows? He wasn't a damn trickster.
Instead, Gabriel sat staring at the screen in front, looking mildly bored by the movie but otherwise fine, his elbow resting casually on the low door by his side. He was wearing a shirt himself, his one black, the sleeves rolled up a little way. Sam couldn't help noting that it looked good on him, though he dismissed the thought instantly, mindful of who it was in the car with him. When he caught Sam staring and smiled at him, Sam went scarlet, turning away, and thanked the Heavens it was 'night' in wherever they currently were, if it even was a real place.
The movie flickered on for several more minutes. Sam tried to make sense of the plot, but it seemed to him to be completely random, focusing in on characters that had nothing to do with the previous people on screen. He supposed they did it this way because nobody cared what movie they were seeing: everyone knew that wasn't the point of the 'drive-thru'. Sam allowed himself to wonder if a centuries old Archangel knew that, and then could have smacked himself because hello! This was Gabriel, of course he knew that.
Sam's attention was caught by some movement in the car next to him, and he looked over to see a couple of teenagers making out furiously, parked so close to him that Sam could have reached out and prised them off each other if he were so inclined. Instead, he blushed and tried to ignore them as he watched the couple on screen making out instead. It took Sam far too long to realise, considering he was supposed to be the smart one, but after a couple of scans around the lot, it dawned on him that everyone was making out in their cars, save for him and Gabriel. He reddened further and refused to look over at the driver's seat, knowing that he would be confronted with a knowing, flirtatious smile and that he wouldn't be able to stop himself slapping it off. He peered at a car about three rows down, realising with further horror that he could see his brother in it, and he didn't have to guess who he was snogging within an inch of his life.
"Gabriel!" Sam hissed, leaning slightly towards the other passenger of the car, but still not looking at him
"Alright babe?" Gabriel replied, shifting a little closer to Sam.
"Stop it. Stop it now." Sam said in what he hoped was a threatening tone.
"Stop what, Sammy?" Gabriel asked innocently, his thigh now pressed against Sam's.
Sam shot him a look, and immediately wished he hadn't, because initiating eye contact was clearly what Gabriel had been hoping for.
"Take me home." Sam said, and then cursed himself for the phrasing. Gabriel chuckled, and began to dance his fingers delicately on Sam's knee.
"Aw, Sammy you'll get me all hot and bothered talking like that." Gabriel said, and Sam closed his eyes, willing this to be a bad dream. "I would, of course, nothing would make me happier, but I thought you might prefer to do things the traditional way. This is our first date, baby. Thought we'd start with some on top of the clothes stuff for now."
Sam opened his eyes just in time to see Gabriel wink, clearly very amused. He was crowding Sam's personal space, and Sam longed for the strength to push him off; he wasn't going to embarrass himself by trying, that would just amuse Gabriel further.
"Fine. How about I stab you with another bloody wooden stake – on top of your clothes?" Sam hissed, getting close to Gabriel's face to try and scare him off.
"Oooh! I say." Gabriel exclaimed, leaning back slightly and putting a hand over his heart. "Someone's a little frosty today! Maybe I'd better turn on the charm." Gabriel said, running a hand through his hair.
"Fine." Sam said loudly, not caring if any make out sessions were interrupted because of him. "You want this to be a first date? No problem. Doesn't mean I have to like you."
Sam folded his arms defiantly and turned to stare at the screen again, gritting his teeth. He'd prefer a nonsensical plotline and a flawed, badly made film to making out with Gabriel in this car. No matter how good that black shirt looked, or clung to his shoulders.
Out of the corner of his eye Sam noticed Gabriel staring at him again, in that odd way he seemed to save for Sam – like Sam was unexpected, surprising, unusual. It was a freaky stare. Sam tried to ignore it.
About an hour into the film, Gabriel leaned over to whisper in Sam's ear. Sam tensed, ready for a stream of filthy innuendo's and sexual advances, but instead Gabriel just said:
"Be right back, Sammy, going to get some popcorn."
Sam nodded and didn't watch him go. Honestly he didn't. About two minutes later, a thought occurred to him and he suddenly jerked upright in his seat, looking over his shoulder to see if he could locate Gabriel in the distance. He couldn't see him, but he reasoned he had a few more minutes before the Archangel's return, so he opened the passenger side door, stumbled out, and began to weave through the cars, narrowly avoiding flailing limbs as people drove their tongues into each other's throats.
He approached the car that held Dean and Cas with trepidation for two reasons: one, he didn't want another front seat experience of the Dean and Cas tonsil wars so soon after the last one, and two, he couldn't actually see them in the car. Which meant… well Sam didn't want to know what that meant.
He quickly found out though, when he peered over into the front seats and found Cas sprawled underneath Dean, who was busily sucking what would probably turn out to be a large hickey on his Angel's neck. Sam made a noise of disgust, and Dean looked up, shocked.
His eyes met Sam's and his mouth fell open in an attempt to explain himself, but Sam just shook his head and gestured for them to get up.
"Dean?" Sam heard Castiel say, although he'd turned away from the spectacle by this point. "Why have you stopped? That was most pleasant."
Sam considered digging his fingers into his ears.
"Later, Cas. Come on, we need your mojo to get us outta here." Dean replied, and his voice sounded rougher than usual.
"But Dean, I promised you I'd repay you for last night with-"
"Later, Cas!" Dean interrupted, and Sam was so glad he didn't hear the end of that sentence. In moments, Cas and Dean awkwardly clambered out of the car, and stood in front of him looking extremely ruffled. Sam tried not to let his gaze linger on the impressive bruise forming on Castiel's throat.
Sam took in a deep breath (he seemed to be taking in a lot of deep breaths lately) and tried to clear his mind as Castiel gave Dean a lingering eye-fuck for good measure. Sam was confused when a singular thought swam into his brain, overwhelming his body and sending a rippling wave of sadness through him:
Gabriel, returning to the car to find it empty, and realising that he was alone in his fabricated world once more.
