As much as Sam had reassured Dean that he was fine, his relationship with this person had been brief, and that the sad look he carried about with him would not be a permanent fixture; both Dean and Castiel worried about the boy. Sam stayed in his room most of the time, not usually one for quixotic fantasies; the behaviour, even after breaking up with someone, was a first and caused them both to fret. He was quiet at home and, according to Castiel who had asked around the teachers lounge, he was quiet at school with both teachers and friends. He'd asked his brother too, thinking that perhaps he would know more as they seemed to get on well, but he'd just shrugged with an offhand comment about love never going smooth. The past weeks had been very quiet without Sams constant chatter about school and college applications. They'd barely seen him and when they did he was almost silent. They saw him cringe regularly, as if embarrassed by the whole situation. Embarrassed that he seemed to verge on depression because of a relationship that had barely even started. The fallout to something so ephemeral seemed so huge. Sam's behaviour at school was no better than it was at home. He did his work but seemed uninterested and lacked any of his usual enthusiasm. The tension in the Senior AP English class was palpable. In the past few weeks Gabriel and Sam had barely spoken. When they did speak there was none of the usual humour they shared, nothing near the flirting that the class had become used too. They only discussed Sam's work as Gabriel suggested ways to improve the work he handed in. Gabriel attempted to keep his humour up but the even the most emotionally impaired in the class could tell it was an act. Something had happened and however much Sam was questioned no answer was forthcoming. On several occasions Castiel had entered the classroom with the guise of speaking to his brother but instead was checking up on both Sam and Gabriel he could feel the atmosphere thick with tension and heard the stilted laughter of students who also sensed something wrong with their teacher. After the third occasion of speaking to his brother in the classroom, 'Cas, do we really have to discuss Mothers Day right now? We don't even speak to our mother,' Castiel had decided to bring up the tension and Gabriel's recent quiet behaviour and lack of usual humour, he'd try and sneak in if Gabriel knew anymore about Sam whilst he was there. He had told Dean that he had planned dinner with his brother one Monday night after a staff meeting. When the Monday staff meeting came he walked out of the school at Gabriel's side, slipping into the car he looked at him. "Doesn't Deano usually pick you up?" Gabriel asked frowning, as he tried to smirk at his younger brother. "Yes, but tonight you and I are going to order a pizza and we're going to talk." Castiel's voice was usually gruff and occasionally threatening, not because of any intention but because his voice was like gravel and his mannerisms stilted. Gabriel had got past the tone of his brothers voice many years ago when they were still children but what was implied is what sent shivers down his spine. ~Sam~Sabriel~Gabriel~ The two brothers were silent on the ride home and then until the pizzas arrived. The silence stopped when the pizzas were in the house, a moan from Gabriel at how Castiel had ordered barbeque sauce rather than garlic, and a polite thank you to the pizza delivery boy from Castiel. "What's going on with you?" Castiel asked, cocking his head like a dog confused at his owners behaviour. It was a usual trick of Cas' to look as cute and innocent as possible when he asked something personal. The trick worked on everybody and despite 25 years together, a trick that Gabriel was unable to defeat. "What do you mean? I'm fine." He grinned at his brother before stuffing a slice of pizza slathered in sauce into his mouth. Castiel raised an eyebrow, he was not usually the most astute of people but since being with Dean his ability to read people had become a lot better. "You're lying, Gabriel." Gabriel sighed, his body leaning back into the sofa as he finished swallowing the pizza. He should have known as soon as his brother had slid into the car beside him that he wasn't going to get out of this evening with his dignity intact. There was something about his brother where he had always felt closer to him than any of his other siblings. Perhaps it was when they had both been kicked out of their house by their mother and Castiel's father when they had revealed they both liked men, perhaps it was because out of all their siblings Gabriel and Castiel were the only ones with a sense of humour. Whatever it was they were a close pair, and that brotherly closeness meant that Gabriel could rarely lie to his brother, but he could see no way he could tell the truth in this situation. The truth meant disastrous consequences. The whole situation was ludicrous, he should have said no to begin with, and when it ended he should never have felt this down. Seeing Gabriel's whole body change, from relaxing against the sofa to tensing as he thought. Castiel could see emotions flit through his brothers face, pain and sadness, and perhaps a hint of longing. "Gabriel…" he prompted, trying to get his brother to open up to him. Gabriel lifted a finger to him, as if using the time it gave him to organise his thoughts. He sighed once more, deciding on half truths and white lies to get his brother off his back, and a resolution to at least act far more upbeat than he had been the last couple of weeks. He knew even his students had noticed the change in his demeanor after his breakup with Sam. "I've been an idiot." he started slowly, playing on the idea of gathering his thoughts, hoping if he didn't keep eye contact that Castiel wouldn't notice that he was not telling the hole truth or press for more information that he was willing to give. "I did something stupid and now I can't get it out of my head." "Does this have anything to do with the man you have been seeing recently?" Castiel asked. Gabriel's head snapped up, he had certainly not mentioned anything to do with his and Sam's relationship to his brother or to anyone else. Not even that he was dating someone. It had been far too dangerous to entertain the idea. "You had seemed happier, you get a particular smile when you are seeing someone you like. You wore it every time I saw you up until a few weeks ago." Threading fingers through his hair, and rubbing at the scruff across his jawline that he had allowed to develop over the past few days, he stood up pacing slightly. "Yeah, yeah it has everything to do with that guy." He gave an unamused laugh, "God, Cas, I never should have dated the guy, only an idiot would have. I knew. I fucking knew." he shouted the last part, nodding his head at his unflinching brother unapologetically. "We broke up. I ended it, and despite knowing that I should never have dated him I've broken my own heart, Cas and its so stupid because we were barely together." He sat back down next to his brother, cradling his head in his hands and cried. Castiel moved to get a glass of water from the kitchen, knowing his brother would not want to be crowded as he wept. He placed the water on the table beside his brother as he waited for the older man to stop crying. Within a few minutes the unabashed crying had slowed to choked sobs. "Who was it that managed to make Gabriel Milton cry?" Castiel joked as his older brother looked at him with watery eyes. "It was a student." he said, his voice was stronger than he thought he could manage it, daring his little brother to reprimand him. Castiel didn't say a word; just sighed, rubbed his forehead, and slumped next to Gabriel on the sofa. They sat together in tense silence until it clicked for the youngest of the duo. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks with both his brother, and near brother-in-law. From their sudden happiness, to their sudden misery. He was unsure how he had not seen it before, being close to both of them he should have spotted it. "It's Sam, isn't it?" Gabriel just nodded as Castiel started to smile. It started off as a bemused twitch of the mouth until it grew to one of his rare grins. As the smile grew the more Gabriel frowned. "Why are you grinning? I was dating a student? I put a student at risk. Your boyfriends little brother, Cas! There's no reason to be grinning." Castiel continued to smile. "Of all the terrible people, to date you choose him. But really that's not too bad. He's mature and hadn't got too long until he graduates." Gabriel's eyes bugged as he heard what his brother was saying, "Are you mad?" he asked "He's 18, a student!" Castiel nodded at his brother. "Yeah, but he's heartbroken and so are you. I'm not saying you should date a student, but you need to fix this. If that means a not-strictly-legal relationship then that's the way its got to be. Its not worth your misery. I can see you and Sam together."