When Dean finally got back home Gabe was already there. The apartment was incredibly clean, there were some scented candles lit on the coffee table and two steaming hot mugs of god knew what were waiting next to them.

Dean let go of his suitcase and went to sit on the couch, letting out a huge sigh as he let himself fall on it. Everything smelled fresh. It was weird.

Gabriel, who had been following Dean around without saying a word finally sat down next to him. He was just looking at Dean, smiling.

"You cleaned my place." Dean just said.

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, I thought it would cheer you up. I don't know, I needed to do something while I was waiting for you. You made me kind of nervous actually."

Dean snorted.

"I'm not kidding!" Gabriel added. "You should have waited until tomorrow to come back."

"I didn't want to wait that long… The motel was shit anyway, I just wanted to get home."

Dean looked around. Even the TV had been dusted. "You really cleaned everything. You're crazy."

"Told you I was nervous."

"Dude, it's 3 in the morning."

"And?"

"You spent all night cleaning. I can't believe it."

Gabriel leaned forward, grabbed one of the mugs and handed it to Dean. "Shut up and have some hot cocoa."

Dean looked at his mug. It smelled awfully good. "You made hot cocoa."

Gabriel hummed affirmatively as he took a sip of his own mug.

"Is that a marshmallow?"

"Drink, Dean."

Dean shrugged and tentatively put his lips on the mug, trying to see if it was still burning hot or not. It seemed to be okay, though, so he sighed and took a few sips. He felt the taste of cinnamon linger on his tongue. It was surprisingly delicious.

He looked at Gabe wide eyed. "That's actually really good."

"Thanks."

A few minutes passed. They stayed silent, each drinking slowly. Dean just tried to enjoy Gabriel's presence for a while. He felt so tired, but he didn't think he could sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Charlie. It had been too good to be true, really. Turned out she was dating the girl from the comic book store. And he was happy for her, really. But it had been a huge blow. He didn't want to look for anyone anymore. He felt hopeless and alone. He didn't even care about Sam's wedding anymore, because now he knew he was just a failure. So showing up alone wouldn't really surprise anyone. Not his parents, not his brother, not Sam's friends either. He was good to fuck, but he was no boyfriend material.

And now even thinking about sex made him feel a bit sick.

"Dean."

"Hm?"

"Stop brooding."

He put his half-empty mug on the coffee table and turned to look at Gabriel.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabe asked, holding his gaze.

Dean kept his mouth shut for a second, trying to decide if he wanted to be honest or not.

"I'm gonna go to my brother's wedding alone. And I'm pretty sure the only one who's gonna be disappointed about it is me."

Gabriel just blinked. "I'll go with you if you want."

Okay, so that was something Dean hadn't thought about.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"In what universe would I mind getting free food and an entire pack of single people looking to get laid?"

Dean laughed, but it felt bitter. For a second there he had thought Gabe would actually enjoy going with him just for the sake of spending some more time together but… Yeah. He was practically living here anyway.

"What?" Gabe asked again.

He seemed to notice it didn't cheer Dean up much.

"Nothing. I'm sorry, I'm just… Sad."

Gabriel stood up so fast it startled Dean and made him jump a little. He put his mug down and look at Dean with such a determined look that Dean was almost scared of what was going to come out of his mouth.

"Let's take a walk."

"Sorry?"

"Let's go outside, breathe some fresh air, it'll do you some good. I know a place, Come on."

He walked around the couch, took his jacket that was lying on a chair and put it on. Dean just stayed on the couch.

"But it's the middle of the night."

"Who cares? You want to go to sleep?"

"No."

"Then come on!"

He threw Dean's jacket at his face. Dean had no choice but to follow.

#

"This is really creepy…"

Gabe snorted but still kept going. They had just broken into an old hotel. 'The Elysian Fields', it was called, whatever that meant. It had been a really chic one, apparently, but now it was just messy and dusty and Dean was actually a bit scared. He wouldn't have been surprised if suddenly a ghost just popped up from behind an old piece of furniture.

He heard something fall in the distance and he turned around, his heart beating like crazy.

"Seriously Gabe, I'm fucking scared! "

As he turned around again he realized Gabriel wasn't here anymore. He was alone. In the creepy hotel. Awesome.

"Gabe! It's not funny!"

He waited a few seconds but nothing happened and he didn't hear anything more. He noticed some broken chairs in a corner and walked to them, grabbing a piece of broken wood and held it close to his chest.

"Gabe?"

Still no answer. His grip tightened on the piece of wood.

He started walking, faster and faster with each step. It was the middle of the night and Gabe had just dumped him in the middle of what looked like a haunted hotel and really, nobody could blame him for panicking.

"Gabriel?!"

He was about to turn a corner into an even more creepy corridor if it was possible when something jumped in front of him and he felt like he was having a heart attack. He screamed like an eight year old little girl.

Turned out it was Gabriel. The fucker was laughing so hard it looked like he was choking.

"Shit! Gabe… Fuck! Don't ever do that again!" Dean fumed.

Gabriel was still laughing. He didn't seem to be able to stop. He tried to say something but he didn't seem to have enough breath left in him to manage a word. He bent forward, holding his stomach, still laughing his ass off.

Dean just held himself with one hand on a wall, the other still holding the piece of wood.

"Stop laughing!" Dean snapped.

He looked at Gabriel, waiting until he stopped, but he didn't. Dean started to smile. Gabe's laugh was really contagious. He tried to hold back the laughter he felt coming and keep sounding angry but he couldn't.

"Just… Stop…" He uttered between laughs. "Come on…"

"Your… Your face!" Gabriel managed.

He kept laughing so hard he ended up sitting on the floor, tears in his eyes. Dean just stared at him and kept laughing too, so much it felt like he was drunk after a while. He let the piece of wood fall on the floor.

"You're gonna- you're gonna get dirty sitting down here." He said.

The floor was literally made of dirt. Dean could see his footprints going all the way from where they had entered the room. It just occurred to him that he could have followed Gabe's footprints instead of panicking like he had.

He held out his hand to help Gabriel up but when Gabe took it he just pulled him down. Dean landed headfirst in the dirt, half of his body on the floor and the other half in Gabe's lap. He pushed himself up and finally sat next to Gabe, his back against the dusty wall, his shoulder brushing Gabriel's.

They both calmed down after a few minutes. Dean felt like he had just run a marathon.

"Let's play hide and seek." Gabe said after a while.

Dean closed his eyes. "Please, no, it's too creepy here."

Gabriel sighed. He was still holding his stomach and sometimes Dean could hear him hold a laugh.

"What do we do then?"

Dean shrugged. Then realized that Gabe wasn't actually looking at him.

"I don't know. Can we go home? I think I got enough fresh air for today."

A loud noise interrupted Gabriel as he was about to answer. They looked at each other, wide eyed.

"What the fuck?" Dean whispered.

Gabe shushed him and got up, giving a quick look at the door. Dean heard some footsteps suddenly and he looked too. There was a light, like one from a flashlight, coming from behind another corridor.

"Security!" Gabe whispered as he quickly got up.

Dean stood up too, panicked. "What do we do?" He asked in the same hushed tone.

Gabriel took him by the hand and started running. He was holding onto Dean so tightly that Dean had to run too if he didn't want his shoulder dislocated. They were running toward the light.

"What are you do-"

"Hey!" The security guard yelled when he saw them.

"Shiiiiiii-"

But Gabriel kept going and they ran past the guard without trouble. He looked so stunned Dean thought that he probably wasn't expecting this and was as scared as Dean had been earlier.

Soon they were out, and they kept running for a while until Dean pulled at Gabriel's hand.

"I can't- Please stop, I can't breathe…"

They stopped and Gabriel let himself fall on the pavement. Dean felt like he was going to puke his lungs out. He should really think about working out more, he thought.

He closed his eyes, trying to breathe in and out evenly. When he opened them, Gabe was completely lying down, his eyes closed. They were lucky it was late and it was a small street. He was lying in the middle of the road.

Exhausted, Dean sat down next to him and laid down too. The city was almost silent. He could hear some cars, really, really far away, but that was it. There was a street lamp not far from them that was half broken but it was still enough to see and it gave the surroundings a weird orange glow that made everything feel warm and oddly comfortable.

A drop of water fell on Dean's nose. Gabriel sighed.

"Tell me it's not raining." He said, sounding annoyed.

Rain suddenly started pouring as if it hadn't rained for years and Dean didn't even had time to blink that he was already soaking wet.

"Fuck." Gabe just said, matter-of-factly.

He sat up and took his jacket off. Then his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked as pushed himself up.

Gabriel was now standing up and unbuttoning his pants. He smiled at Dean slyly but didn't answer. He took his pants off and threw them on the floor.

Dean couldn't help but smile at how stupid it all looked. Gabriel raised his arms and closed his eyes, throwing his head back and letting the rain wash over him.

"You're crazy." Dean laughed.

He had to laugh really. He had to do something that would distract him from Gabriel because having him here, half naked and soaking wet just made all sorts of dirty, inappropriate thoughts run through Dean's head.

"Be crazy with me, Dean." Gabe just answered.

Dean hesitated for a second but finally stood up and took his shirt off in one swift movement. He felt goose bumps running up his arms and just stood there for a second, shivering under the cold rain.

"Okay, it's the worse idea you ever had." He said.

Gabriel opened his eyes and stared at him for a second. The he bent down and grabbed his pants, putting them on again.

"First one home wins!" He exclaimed suddenly, and started running.

Surprised, Dean just had the time to get both their clothes from the floor and ran after him.

#

Gabriel won. He was a pretty good runner, and Dean didn't like to exercise anyway, so it was no surprise to him that Gabe was already waiting in front of the apartment, sitting on his doormat, a little self-sufficient smile on his face when Dean reached their floor, feeling like every breath he took was burning his whole respiratory system.

Gabriel stood up, looking smug, and opened Dean's door with a key that Dean hadn't seen before and that looked suspiciously like his own.

"You had a- a double of my key made?" He asked between ragged breaths.

"Don't act surprised, Dean. How else do you think I got in when you weren't here?"

Well, that was true. Dean shrugged and pushed Gabriel inside. He threw their clothes on the floor and closed the door. When he turned around again Gabe was so close to him their noses were almost touching. He froze and stared at Gabe's lips.

"So… You wanna go to bed right away or…" Gabriel trailed off.

Dean swallowed hard before he answered. They weren't touching but he felt a shiver run up his body as if they were. His stomach tightened in anticipation.

"No."

He took a step forward and Gabriel took a step back, the same smug smile on his face.

"What do you want to do then?"

Dean took another step, and another, and another, and Gabriel kept walking backward as he did, keeping them just a couple of inches apart.

"I don't know… You have any ideas?"

They reached the living room. Gabriel couldn't step back anymore; the table was blocking the way. Gabriel lifted his hand and let it run up Dean's arm slowly.

"Maybe." He whispered, his smile getting bigger.

Dean let out a breath, half laughing, but he truly felt like his insides were melting. He felt his blood rushing down to his groin at the contact.

"Really?" He answered in the same hushed voice. He didn't even know what he was saying anymore.

He slowly bent forward, his mouth came to brush Gabriel's.

"Yeah…" Gabe said.

And he closed the distance between them. Dean stomach jumped as he felt Gabriel's lips on him and he closed his eyes. Gabriel held on to his hips and deepened the kiss. His tongue pushed against Dean's and Dean couldn't hold himself anymore. He pushed Gabriel against the table. Gabe chuckled and nibbled at Dean's lower lip, not hard enough to hurt but just enough that it set Dean's blood on fire.

"Bed." He managed.

Gabriel hummed his approval against his mouth and he pushed Dean slowly across the living room. They bumped into a few things on the way but they finally reached the bed without hurting themselves too much. Gabriel pushed Dean on the bed and stood there for a few seconds, looking at Dean as if he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Dean smiled slyly in return, pushing himself up so that he could let his head rest on his pillow. Gabriel finally moved, bending down so that he could crawl up Dean's body, leaving a trail of kisses from his belly to his neck, until finally he reached Dean's mouth and they started kissing again.

Gabriel pushed his hips against Dean's and Dean could feel that he was as hard as him. It sent a spark of desire running up his spine and he arched his back, trying to get more friction. Gabriel reached down and started unbuttoning Dean's jeans and his both with one hand. Dean had just enough clarity left to be impressed by it. When he was done he let go of Dean's mouth and pulled on his jeans until they were off. He threw them on the side of the bed and pulled off his own as quickly as he could.

Dean took that time to appreciate the view Gabriel was offering. He was a bit out of breath, his cheeks a nice shade of red, a strand of hair was falling in front of his eyes and he looked positively debauched. He was holding himself on his knees now, in nothing but his briefs, the muscle of his legs rolling under the skin as he came closer again. Dean could see his erection through the fabric of his shorts and he felt his mouth getting dry.

When Gabriel was close enough Dean took a hold of his neck and pulled him in, licking at his throat, kissing, tasting the skin under his tongue, sucking at it until he got a small whine out of Gabriel's mouth. He smiled, satisfied, and took Gabriel's face in both his hands. His eyes were gleaming with lust.

Dean didn't know it was possible to want someone as much as he wanted Gabe right now. He couldn't believe he was actually about to sleep with him. He had imagined it, fantasized it for so long, in every way he could think of, and now it was happening, it was real. Gabriel was here, half naked under his hands, and Dean had trouble understanding it fully. He let his hands run up and down Gabe's back as Gabriel started rolling his hips against his again. The feeling was overwhelming.

He realized he was panting and he tried to calm down a bit. Everything was going so fast, even for him. He stared at the ceiling as Gabriel started sucking at his neck, he needed to think about this before everything went to hell like it usually did. He didn't want to fuck this up. He always slept with people right away, maybe that was why they grew tired of him so fast. He didn't want Gabe to grow tired of him. Really not. He needed things to slow down. Now.

"Wait… Wait, Gabriel. Wait."

Gabe lifted his head, giving him a half amused, half questioning look. He kept rolling his hips slowly.

"I… We should… Take things slow, you know…" Dean tried.

Gabriel stopped moving and sighed. But he kept smiling.

"You sure?" He asked.

Dean nodded. It was for the best. If he could hold on for at least a day or two… Maybe it would help.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Gabe let himself fall on Dean's side and rested his head on his hand. Dean stared at him, wondering if everything was still fine between them. He could understand how frustrating it all was.

"You're not mad?"

Gabriel laughed lightly. "No. Why would I be?"

"I don't know. I mean-"

"Shut up, Dean. If you want to wait it's fine with me. I'm not going to get mad at you because you don't want to have sex right away, you know. I understand."

Dean tried to see if he was lying or not. He didn't seem mad, he didn't even seem disappointed.

"Really?"

"Yup. Plus think about it that way : we'll get frustrated a little, that way when we finally get down to business it'll be ten times better. We could even make a game out of it. Like, first one that initiates things loses."

Dean laughed. "And if one of us loses, what happens to the other? What does he win?"

"The right to top. And a blowjob. No that's too simple. Maybe… You ever heard of a rusty trombone?"

"Oh my god, shut up…"

"What?"

"That's disgusting."

Gabriel was smiling fondly now. "It's not. It's awesome."

"The way they call it is disgusting, though."

"True. But it's great. Trust me."

Dean laughed again and Gabriel bent down and gave him a small kiss.

"Okay, but what if I win and I don't want to top?"

Gabriel sighed dramatically. "The rules are the rules, Dean, I'm sorry. You'd have to lose on purpose if you want me to fuck you. And I wouldn't be very happy about that. I'm afraid I'd have to punish you if you do that. "

The words sent another spark of desire up Dean's body. He felt himself blush a little.

"Okay." He just answered.

He held on to Gabriel and started kissing him again. Kissing was okay, for now. It was more than enough.