Sorry this took so long! Busy weekend. I won't waste time with excuses. Here's your story!
It turned out that they were only a few hours out from Singer's place. That was fine for Gabriel. His time on earth had given him a better appreciation for human things than his siblings had, and riding in cars was one of those things. Granted, it was slower, and it could get insanely boring, but it had its perks. Spending hours next to his favorite Winchester—even if said moose spent pretty much the entire trip quiet and angsty—wasn't exactly a hardship. At least the view was a good one. Gabriel sprawled himself out comfortably in the passenger's seat, a spot that he was amused to realize was very much becoming his, and he watched Sam through half lidded eyes, for once actually tuning out Sam's thoughts so that he could indulge in his own for a bit.
All annoyance with the older Winchester aside, he'd made a few valid points back there while talking about their plan. As had Sam. It gave Gabriel plenty of things to think on.
He hadn't really expected everyone to be all for his plan on trapping his brothers and making them human. Then again, the humans probably didn't understand just what that meant for an angel. Castiel did and his horrified reaction had been one that Gabriel had expected. Sometimes, when he let himself think about it, it was one he felt, too. But this was the lesser of many evils. Gabriel refused to kill his brothers. He absolutely refused. And if possible, he wanted to keep from locking either of them up. The idea of stuffing his brother back into his cage was a painful one.
Not just for him, either. His eyes traced over Sam's face as he remembered when the topic of plans had first been brought up. Sam hadn't seemed all that keen on the idea of locking Lucifer away, either. He was much more for Plan A than Gabriel had expected him to be.
That was just one of the many things about the hunter that continued to surprise him. Despite the fact that only months ago, he'd been pushed to the point of suicide just to try and stop all of this, to keep Lucifer from using him, Sam truly and honestly wanted to help try and save them. His brother and the little-angel-that-could seemed all set on trying to find a way to kill Lucifer, but Sam hadn't at all hesitated on the idea of saving them. If anything, he'd seemed relieved at the idea.
"Everyone deserves a shot at redemption."
"Even the devil?"
"I think especially him."
That definitely hadn't been the party line he'd expected Sam to take. Out of everyone, it would've been the most understandable for Sam to hate Lucifer. He was essentially the reason that Sam's life had ended up the way it was. No one could've blamed him for hating him. Yet, he didn't. Instead, he'd quickly and eagerly latched on to the plan that would allow them to try and save him.
The goodness inside of the younger Winchester never failed to amaze him.
"Punishment is supposed to teach you something. You're supposed to learn from it so you can do better. Only, what was he supposed to learn, locked away in a box, cut off from everyone? That's enough to drive anyone insane. I would think it'd be worse for an angel to be alone like that. Shut up without any contact from his family, any love, anything good, is it any wonder he's worse than he was? He's had so much time to sit in there alone and stew in his anger and his pain and his self-hatred."
How on earth could Sam possibly still have so much love and understanding inside of him after everything he'd been through? Everything his family had been through? It was mind boggling. At one point, Gabriel had considered it the hunter's weakness, the thing that would damn them all, sure that Lucifer would use it as a way to easily pull this hurt and angry and broken mortal to his side. Now, he thought that maybe it was Sam's strength. That maybe Sam was stronger than anyone, especially the angels, gave him credit for.
"You're thinking too hard over there." Sam said suddenly, snapping Gabriel out of his thoughts. Hazel eyes darted over to him and then back out to the road. "I can smell the smoke."
The corner of Gabriel's mouth quirked up. "Oh, someone thinks he's funny today. How adorable."
"Please, I'm funny every day."
"Just keep telling yourself that, kiddo."
Sam smiled at that and gave Gabriel an amused look before he took the next corner. Looking up, Gabriel realized that he'd been more caught in his thoughts than he'd realized. Singer's Salvage was just up ahead. Which meant that Sam's playful teasing had been a deliberate attempt to pull Gabriel out of his thoughts and lighten his mood before they arrived. Sneaky little Winchester. He must be worrying about things and hoping to put Gabriel in a good mood so there was less chance of him snapping and sending Dean somewhere fun and nasty.
The idea was tempting. Gabriel amused himself for the last few minutes of the trip by trying to figure out where exactly he'd send him.
But when they finally came to a park, not too far away from the impala that had already arrived, it wasn't Gabriel who was nervous. His human looked like he was working hard to keep calm. His hands shook only slightly as he pulled them off the wheel. Inside, however, his mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and feelings, the unfortunately familiar self-deprecation and guilt much louder than they usually were. Sam was afraid of what was going to happen here. Afraid of what Dean would say or do, afraid of how Bobby was going to react and what he'd do, but most of all, he was afraid for Gabriel.
Well, damn. That was, cute. Unnecessary, of course. He could very well handle himself. But still—cute.
He watched as Sam drew in a deep breath and then fell behind that shield he'd learned at his brother's knee, trading worry for humor. "Well, time to face the music." All of his worry was pushed down as far as he could shove it, until the smirk he gave would've passed muster with anyone who couldn't read the thoughts that still circled in his head. "You ready for this? I'm sure they've had plenty of time to prepare for us in there."
Playing along, Gabriel rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
"Most likely." Sam agreed. The bastard didn't even bother trying to hide his amusement now. Gabriel couldn't help his delighted grin as they started to climb out of the car. He took it as a great source of pride every time he got any kind of snarky reply out of the hunter. It was a hell of a lot better than his mindset had been when Gabriel had first come across him.
Meeting Sam's gaze over the hood of the car, he found his companion smirking at him. "Ready?"
That was just too easy. Gabriel's grin grew wider. "I was born ready."
Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head, waiting for Dog to finish hopping out of the car before he shut the door. "You're an idiot."
Still, he was smiling as they walked over to the porch, less tense, and that was exactly what Gabriel had been going for.
Twenty minutes later the group was all gathered in Singer's dusty living room. Gabriel was kicked back in his corner of the couch with his legs propped up on Sam, who sat on the opposite end, and Dog lying between them. After a few futile attempts to make him move, Sam had given in and was currently resting one hand on Gabriel's leg, thumb hidden just enough from view that no one could see it stroking over the skin of Gabriel's ankle. It was a grounding touch for Sam, he knew. A reminder he was okay.
Amusement tickled at Gabriel as he looked down at his chest where he'd sported a pretty impressive gunshot wound, a greeting gift from Papa Bear Singer over there when they'd first arrived. It had terrified the hell out of Sam initially.
It amused Gabriel.
A snap of the fingers had repaired his clothes. His body had healed quickly on its own. "Feel better?" He'd asked smugly. "All of you, so kind to old friends. You really wound me, Singer."
Yeah, he'd pretty much expected the next shot.
They were done with that now, though, and after some amusing bickering, they'd all settled down here in the living room where Dean was now laying out Gabriel's plans to Bobby. For the time being, Gabriel was content to enjoy the sucker he'd conjured and let the hunters talk. He'd already gone over the plan more times than he cared to.
Dean cut a few corners and left out a few of the smaller details, and some details he didn't know because Gabriel hadn't given them, but he gave Bobby a pretty accurate outline in quick and simple terms. The older hunter listened and nodded along, shaking his head here and there. When Dean was finally done, the room went quiet for a moment. Gabriel twirled his tongue around his sucker and watched the two hunters and the angel all try and decide what to do next. He wasn't really surprised with it was the older hunter who turned to him and started asking questions. The way Sam talked about him, the guy was smarter than he looked. Not, Gabriel thought to himself with amusement, that that was saying much.
"Who's gonna raise your kid archangels once this is all said and done?" Bobby asked him, a pretty damn good question if he had to admit.
The idea was one of the things that Gabriel had been thinking about in the back of his mind ever since Dean had suggested turning them into kids and not teens. Who would raise them? A young Michael and Lucifer couldn't be handed over to just anyone. They needed to be raised together, with a good family, someplace that they could see the good of humanity and rebuild the bond between the two of them. There'd been a time when those two were the closest of them all. They needed to be able to find that again. The family would also need to be one that was prepared to handle the supernatural in their lives. Not just bad, but good, because there was no way that Gabriel would just abandon his brothers. He'd be a part of their life, watching over them, interacting with them. "I'm working on that."
"What about their grace? Rippin' out an angel's grace and hiding it don't seem like somethin' easy."
Gabriel's lips quirked upwards. He could almost like this older hunter. He didn't waste time with arguments or stupid questions; he just got right to the point and asked the important things without sugar coating it. "Hiding their grace is the easy part. With those two out of commission, Rafe is gonna be the only one left close to my strength, an we were always evenly matched before. I've learned a few tricks since I left home. Their grace will be fine."
Surprisingly, Bobby nodded at that, not pushing it. He went a different route entirely. "What's this ritual that you've gotta do? Is it something my boys need to worry about?"
Ah, now they came to the important part for Bobby, and the archangel could respect that this was what was truly important to the older hunter. John may have sired these two but what Gabriel had learned from Sam made it clear who the true father figure in their life was. Because of that, and because he could feel just how tense Sam was, he kept his tone even, almost respectful, when he answered. "The ritual itself only needs a bit of blood from them. The blood of the old vessels to strengthen the new. It'll help call my brothers down, too. But otherwise, the rest of the ritual is on me. There's gonna be risks, though. I can't be disturbed while I'm doing the ritual and there's no telling if any other angels or demons are gonna show up an try and stop me."
"You need us playing defense." Dean said.
"I can call in a few favors, get you some backup, but, yeah, I'm gonna need you to hold the line."
"If you got all this planned out," Bobby interjected. "Then why are you still trying to hunt down the Horsemen's rings?"
"If something goes wrong, I'd like to be prepared with a backup plan. Something to keep my brothers from running around in brand new meatsuits." Gabriel said dryly. His tone was a loud and clear 'duh'. A squeeze on his ankle drew his attention to Sam and he caught the warning theme of the younger Winchester's thoughts. Most of them ended up boiling down to basically 'play nice'. Gabriel wrinkled his nose at that. "You're no fun, Sambo."
"I'll work on that." Sam deadpanned.
Cheeky little shit. Gabriel snapped his fingers and a sucker appeared in Sam's mouth. It was something he did often when he felt his partner needed to lighten up. The unamused expression on Sam's face just made it a bit funnier.
Before Gabriel could mock his companion, he was cut off by Dean's annoyed grumble. "You think you could stop playing house over there with your little trickster pal, Sammy? We're just trying to stop the apocalypse here. You know—the one you started?"
The effect those words had was immediate. All color drained out of Sam's face and he sucked in a low breath. Even Bobby and Castiel turned to look at Dean with surprise. Bobby hadn't exactly looked happy with Sam before, but he definitely looked pissed off at Dean now.
None of it compared to Gabriel's temper, though.
He personally didn't care about what any of these humans here thought of him. They could hate him if they wanted. But how they treated Sam—that was important. Sam as his. Neither part of him, the trickster or the archangel, were the type to sit back and let someone harm what belonged to him. The only thing that was saving Dean from flying back to make friendly with the nearest wall was the fact that there was honest regret on his face. Those words had been his temper speaking, not really him, and that was what kept part of the archangel's temper in check. Part of it.
Gabriel slowly drew his legs off of Sam and planted his feet on the floor. His eyes were locked on the older Winchester, but he directed his next words to Sam. "Pardon me for a minute, Sammy. Your brother and I are long overdue for a little chat." Briefly, he turned his eyes to Castiel, letting just a hint of his old command slip into his eyes and his voice. "Guard him well while I'm gone."
"Gabe…" Sam said slowly, warningly.
He didn't give him time to finish. With a snap, he and Dean were gone.
They reappeared in one of the many apartments that Gabriel kept around the country. This one wasn't one of his most lavish, a bit more of a relaxing space, but that didn't really matter at the moment. He wasn't here to hang out. He was here to have a long overdue talk with the stubborn Winchester. Gabriel was furious in a way he hadn't been for a very long time. Furious enough that he couldn't even take pleasure out of the way that Dean jerked back and looked around in panic at the change in location.
He gave Dean no time to recover and speak. With another snap, duct tape appeared over the hunter's mouth. He met Dean's affronted stare with a glare of his own. "Glare all you want, sparky. You're here to listen and nothing more, and this time, you better actually listen to me because I am seriously running low on patience. I promise you, you don't wanna see what happens when I finally run out."
There was just enough threat in his voice that he could see Dean actually take notice of it this time. The hunter went quiet and Gabriel gave a firm nod. Good.
"We're gonna leave your problems with me for a different time. You and I, we're not ever gonna see eye to eye with one another and that's just facts. You don't like what I did to you guys and I can't stand your bad attitude and the way you treat your brother. Whatever." He waved a hand, dismissing the protests that he could hear in Dean's mind and ignoring his scowl. "We'll both repress that until this whole shit storm is over and then we can blow up at each other. Until then, you can stew all you want. Your wellbeing isn't what I give a damn about. What I care about, what I won't stand by and watch, is you trying to destroy your brother."
That shut up the spin of Dean's thoughts. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and his mind actually blanked for a second. Then, the only clear thought that managed to break through was a loud and clear What!?
"I get that you're hurt. You feel like your brother betrayed you, you don't trust him, he chose someone over you, boo freaking hoo." Rolling his eyes, Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the man across from him. "Get over yourself, bucko. We could spend hours here tossing blame back and forth between you and your brother. You're both idiots. You both screwed up. Do you really think reminding him of it all the damn time is gonna do any good at all?"
He seems fine and frisky to me.
Gabriel caught that thought, as well as the images that came with it, little snapshots of those few moments that Sam was smiling at Gabriel, or relaxing around him, in Dean's presence. Relaxing with someone that Dean didn't approve of. Relaxing, showing a pretty big level of trust, not with Dean. Hurt and jealously were oozing through Dean's thoughts. Gabriel gave a little growl at the insane codependency between these two. Dad help him, these two were enough to drive the most patient of saints insane. "Of, for—would you untwist your panties a little there and open up your eyes?" He demanded. "Yes, Sam relaxes with me. I've worked damn hard to get him to that point. Do you realize just how fragile he was when I found him? How broken?"
There was one way he knew that he could make Dean understand. Sam would be pissed once he found out about this. He'd be absolutely livid. But, Gabriel wasn't all that concerned about that. He could deal with Sam's temper so long as it meant the kid stayed alive.
Blunt was the best way to do it. He put on his harshest voice, wanting his words to hurt, wanting them to cut deep so that Dean would finally understand. Dean, he was hurt by all of this, close to his breaking point, but he was holding on. He needed to know that Sam had already broken. Broken, and clawed his way back up, bit by bit. He needed to know so that he could stop doing and saying stupid things that shoved Sam right back down again. "When I found your brother, he was dead. Not dying—full on dead, soul gone, the whole shebang." He watched Dean stumble back a step in open shock and he sneered at the human. "Yeah, that got your attention, didn't it? See, Sammy figured everything was his fault, no one wanted him around anyways, and that it was the only way he'd be able to contribute anything. So he grabbed a gun and shot himself in the head. I cleaned his brains up off the wall. Bit messy, that."
He had to snap the tape away then as Dean started to gag. He brought a bucket into existence at the same time and Dean didn't hesitate to grab it and empty his stomach. The hunter ended up on his knees, retching until there was nothing left to bring up.
Gabriel stood over him the whole time. He hated seeing Dean brought down low. Despite how little he liked the man sometimes, he didn't outright loathe him. He didn't want to see the man brought this low. But it had to be done. Sometimes the harshest lessons were the best.
He waited until Dean stopped heaving and was just spitting before continuing on. His voice was still hard, still harsh, but with a hint of something else to it now. This wasn't exactly something he liked reliving. "I didn't heal him. I didn't have to. Luci was already doing it for me. He promised Sam he'd bring him back, but Sam didn't trust him, so of course he had to test it. See, Sam didn't do it because his life hurt too much or because he's tired, even though he is. He did it because he thought it was a way to solve this and he just doesn't consider his life important anymore in the grand scheme of things. He thinks he has no worth whatsoever except to stop what he started. He doesn't blame you, even though you broke the first seal. He doesn't blame the angels that have manipulated him since birth for this very thing. He doesn't blame Cassy, even though he's the one that let Sam out of the panic room that night. He doesn't even blame the brother that called him a vampire and shoved him out of his life."
That last line had Dean's head shooting up. Agonized green eyes clouded a little with confusion, barely peeking past the heartache there. "I didn't…I never called him that!"
Gabriel's lip curled up in a sneer. "No? That night my brother got free, a little phone call to your brother, that doesn't ring any bells?"
He listened as the thoughts raced through Dean's head and felt his own eyes go wide as he saw the truth of that situation. "Oh!" He drew back a little, looking down at Dean with a different light. "Huh. Interesting. You might want to bring that up with Sammy. I don't think the message you left him was the same voicemail that he got, Deano. Sounds like Zachy really was trying to give him a push."
Dean may be an idiot most of the time, but when pointed right at something, humans generally could see what was there. Gabriel watched it dawn on Dean and watched the fury that washed over his face. "That son of a bitch."
"Yeah. Never was the nicest."
He watched Dean for a second as the hunter tried to gain control of himself. With a sigh, Gabriel snapped, the bucket disappearing and a bottle of water taking its place. He was a bit surprised that Dean didn't protest it or even hesitate. He just picked the bottle up, opened it, and took a few swallows.
The trickster waited until the other man was on his feet before he spoke again. The harsh edge was gone from his voice, but the firmness stayed. This was important and he needed to make sure that Dean understood him. "Your brother is trying to do everything he can to try and stop this. But you keep pushing him like this, keep throwing out those shitty comments and snapping at him all the time, all you're gonna do is push him right into my brother's arms. I've been keeping Sammy going, keeping him alive, but I'm not enough. He needs his brother."
He could actually see it as those words struck home. As they hit the place deep down inside that would always be geared towards what Sammy needed. The part that had been created the day his baby brother had been born, strengthened on a night of death and fire when that infant had been shoved in his arms, handed to him to protect, and had been forged over the years where a too young child had been forced into the role of parent instead of big brother.
Dean's eyes were a little clearer and just a bit sharper when he blinked them open once more. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't." Gabriel said easily, with a smirk he couldn't quite help. "But Sammy does."
"Cas does too."
Now, that surprised him. He hadn't expected the little seraph's trust in this.
His surprise must've shown on his face because Dean made a sound that was half amusement, half snort. "Yeah. He gave me a bit of a speech on it on the way over here. I'm not the only one here that's got a kid brother to make things up to."
Well, well, well. "Touché, Deano." That was more accurate than Dean probably realized. He doubted Castiel had spoken of his younger years to this hunter. Dean wouldn't have any idea just how close Gabriel and Castiel had been before Gabriel left. "Looks like we both got some work to do."
Sam was hiding out outside when Dean and Gabriel returned. He'd been out here almost the whole time. Once they'd vanished, and Castiel had reassured Bobby they were fine, the older hunter had announced he had work to do and basically shut them out. Sam, unable to bear just sitting silently in a house where he felt sure he wasn't welcome anymore, had slipped outside. His feet had moved on autopilot and taken him back to a corner of the salvage yard where he and Dean had often come as kids. There was a giant tree back here, with branches thick enough to support even his adult weight.
It felt oddly good to hoist himself up here and stretch his body out on the branch. To lean against the trunk and look up at the branch above him where his initials were carved, not too far away from his brother's. "Not too close" Dean had once told an eight year old Sam. "Only couples do that kind of stuff. Put yours over there."
Sam's lips curved as the memory washed over him. Things had been nice back then. Simpler. He'd trusted Dean with all the fervor of a little brother and in return he'd had the biggest and most loyal protector/mother hen anyone could ask for. Sam may have doubted his place with his father sometimes but he'd never doubted back then that his brother loved him. The words didn't have to be said. His actions spoke clear enough.
He wasn't sure how long he drifted there, caught up in memories, before his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Damn, I haven't been out here for a while."
Sam looked down with open surprise to find his brother casually strolling towards him. He couldn't help it, he ran his eyes over him quickly, checking for any signs of, well, anything. Gabriel wasn't always the nicest when he was pissed off and Sam knew that he'd been pissed when he'd snapped him and Dean away.
His quick check wasn't all that discreet and it had Dean rolling his eyes. "I'm fine. Your boy toy didn't do anything but talk."
"That's not as reassuring as you think it is." Sam said reflexively. He knew exactly how sharp Gabriel's tongue could be when he was in the right kind of mood.
Dean snorted as he stopped at the base of the tree. "Yeah." Hands on his hips, he looked up at Sam for a moment, and Sam just stared back, not quite sure what to do. Something passed over Dean's face and then he was dropping his hands off his hips. "Right. Watch out."
Surprise kept Sam still as he watched his brother climb up the tree with a little less skill and grace than he'd shown when they were kids. He got up there, though, and perched himself on the branch that was just a bit above and beside the one Sam was on. It was the same way they'd sat when they were younger, too. They'd joked that the branches were set so close together just for them. Sam could remember hours and hours that they'd sat here together. When Sam was eight and angry at his father for getting left behind yet again. When he was twelve and had his first crush, this was where they'd sat as Dean had explained to him all about kissing a girl for the first time. It was where Sam had broken his arm when he was fourteen because they'd gotten into an argument and Sam had gestured too wildly and ended up falling out and right to the ground.
"Remember when you broke your arm?" Dean asked him suddenly.
It didn't startle Sam that his brother's thoughts were running on the same line as his. While he couldn't read Sam's mind like Gabriel could, they'd always been close enough to understand one another without words. At least, they had been, back before hell.
One corner of Sam's mouth curved up. "It was your fault."
"My fault? Dude, you were the one waving your arms like you were trying to fly!"
"You were the one who dyed almost all of my clothes pink."
A grin of pure big-brother pride lit up Dean's face. "Oh, yeah. Dude, that was hilarious."
"Dad was pissed. He grounded you forever."
Dean shrugged one shoulder. "Meh. Wasn't like I had big plans, anyways."
No, he hadn't. He'd had no real plans. At least, not any that didn't involve his little brother. Dean had spent quite a bit of time with Sam while his arm was in his cast. He'd felt guilty, Sam knew. He could remember clearly the pain in his arm when he'd fallen and the sound of the snap as bone broke. But what he remembered clearest of all was the horrified look on Dean's face when he dropped down at Sam's side and checked him over. He remembered how Dean had actually picked him up like he weighed nothing, like he was still some tiny little thing, and had carried him straight in to Bobby's house. Not once did he leave Sam on the drive to the hospital or as they casted his arm. He'd stuck right by his side the whole time. "You kept me from going insane that summer. You were a good big brother."
"Haven't been much of one lately, have I?"
That was the last thing he'd expected. His eyes shot up to find Dean staring off through the smaller branches. His brother didn't look at him, just kept staring out as he sighed and said "I don't know how to do this. I'm trying here, Sammy. I really am. But it aint easy. I can't just forget everything, y'know? Things…things haven't been right for a while now."
The shock of Dean actually sitting here talking about feelings was almost enough to keep Sam quiet. But he'd learned a long time ago that opportunities like this didn't come along but rarely and he had to take advantage of them when they did. This was most likely going to be his only chance for a while to make his point. "I'm not asking you to forget, Dean." He said lowly, ducking his own head. "I know what I did. What I've done. And I am trying to climb out of that hole, I am, but…" Honesty here. He had to be honest. "…you're not making it any easier."
He wasn't quite sure what that sound was that Dean made, but it brought his eyes back up to him and he found Dean was actually looking down at him now. "So what am I supposed to do, just let you off the hook?"
"No. You can think whatever you want. I deserve it, and worse." The smile Sam gave him was just a bit bitter at the edges, he knew. "Hell, you'll never punish me as much as I'm punishing myself. But, Dean…if we're gonna work together on these plans, if we really want to be able to stop the apocalypse, something's gotta give. If we work together, it has to be a two-way street."
"So we just go back to the way we were before?" Dean asked.
Sam shook his head. "No, because we were never that way before. Before didn't work." He saw the hurt flash over Dean's face and hurried to try and explain. "How do you think we got here?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
His tone made Sam wince. Was he doing the right thing here? He almost stopped, almost cut this off right now before he hurt Dean more than he'd already done. But…if he didn't say this now, he might never get the chance again, and this, it needed to be said. Drawing in a breath, he steeled himself for what he was about to start. "Dean, one of the reasons I went off with Ruby...was to get away from you."
"What?" Dean exclaimed. If he'd looked hurt before, it was nothing compared to what lit up his eyes now. His hands were clenching down on the tree branch and he'd turned almost completely towards Sam to glare down at him.
It was Sam's turn to look away. He couldn't look right at Dean as he admitted his own faults. "It made me feel strong. Like I wasn't your kid brother."
"Are you saying this is my fault?"
"No, it's my fault." This wasn't something he'd ever push off on someone else's shoulders. This was on him and he knew it. "This is on me. I made those choices. Ruby pushed, but I followed. The motivation doesn't matter, or any of those other things. I accept my blame for that."
Things fell quiet between them for a moment as his words sank in. Then, just when Sam was starting to get just a little nervous, getting ready to sneak a look up at him to try and read his face, he heard a low, humorless chuckle. "Boy, he wasn't kidding, was he?"
Furrowing his brows, Sam looked up through his bangs. "What?"
Dean shifted on the branch and drew himself into a more comfortable position. Then he ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Sammy. This isn't all on you. No," He held up a hand when Sam tried to speak. "It's not. I did break the first seal."
"You didn't know." Sam said softly.
"Yeah, well, neither did you." Dean pointed out. "I'm not saying demon blood was a great way to go, but, you did kill Lilith."
"And start the apocalypse."
"Which neither of us saw coming, I mean, who'd have thought killing Lilith would've been a bad thing? We've all done stupid things here, Sammy. Every single one of us. You, me, Bobby, Cas, most definitely your idiot trickster." His lip curled up there, like he couldn't quite help himself, but the fact that he restrained himself to just that gave Sam a bit of hope. "Point is, I can't keep punishing you for something you're doing your damndest to try and fix. And you shouldn't keep punishing yourself either."
The back of Sam's eyes burned and he had to look away and blink rapidly to try and push back the threat of tears. That was the last thing he wanted. But, he'd never expected this. He'd never expected this olive branch his brother was offering him. "Thanks."
"Yeah." Dean reached out, ruffling his hair, smirking as Sam ducked away from him and scowled up at him. "I don't know about you, but I've filled up my chick flick quota for the next five years. I'm getting out of this damn tree and going for a beer."
"Aw, but you two look so cute up there!" Another voice called out.
Sam looked down with a smile to find Gabriel was standing under the tree, near his leg. His foot dangled somewhere close to Gabriel's head and he contemplated for a moment trying to tip his toes forward enough to nudge him with his shoe. The look Gabriel gave him was both warning and amused. "Don't even think about it, kiddo."
Well, hell. Sam wasn't sure if it was his good mood at fixing things with his brother, or if he'd just spent too much time with a trickster lately, but he found he couldn't quite resist the challenge in those words. Almost without thought, he stretched his leg forward just the slightest bit and ran his shoe right over the top of Gabriel's head, covering his hair in dirt. The archangel jerked back and glowered at him while Dean let out a proud laugh.
Sam should've known better. He shouldn't had tried to screw around with Gabriel, with Loki, of all beings.
"You little shit." Gabriel grumbled at him. Reaching up, he caught hold of Sam's ankle and, before Sam could say or do anything to try and stop it, he gave a yank. Sam made a sound that definitely wasn't a shriek as he tried to grab at the branch to hold himself up and failed miserably. Gabriel yanked him right off the branch and was grinning broadly as he caught Sam without even a stagger despite their difference in size.
Above them, Dean was laughing so hard it was a wonder he didn't fall off his branch as well. Sam gave them both one hell of a bitch face and, in return, got a wiggle of the eyebrows from Gabriel and a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Hey, Samshine. Fancy seeing you here."
"Put. Me. Down." Sam grumbled. He'd already tried squirming only to find that Gabriel's hold was tight enough to keep him in place. There was no getting down until the annoying archangel put him down. There was no telling how long he could or would hold him for, either.
"Oh, I could manage it for quite a while. Angelic strength, handsome. And, no. I think I like you right where you are. Then again…"
It was in absolutely no way freaking hot to have Gabriel suddenly lift and move him, tugging and pushing at his limbs until he had Sam in the position that he wanted. They ended up with Sam's legs around Gabriel's waist and the trickster's hands firmly cupping his ass, holding him up easily. It probably looked ridiculous. It should've been impossible. But, like Gabriel had said—angelic strength. As Sam looked down into gold eyes that sparkled with humor and a hint of something else, something a little darker and just a bit pleased, he couldn't quite bring himself to be annoyed by it. Still, he couldn't help but point out "We look ridiculous."
One corner of Gabriel's mouth curved upwards in that smirk that should in no way be so damn sexy. "You like it. You like being manhandled." One of his hands slid up Sam's back, pressing finally between his shoulder blades until it brought Sam's face down to his. He lowered his voice until only Sam could hear him, murmuring against his lips "I could take you like this. It'd be easy. We wouldn't even need a wall to lean against. I could hold you just like this."
There was no denying the heat that pooled down low in his stomach at those whispered words. He'd done that before with women. Had done it with Jess. He knew how much strength it took to stand there and hold up another body without anything to help support it. The idea of Gabriel doing that with him sent a shiver down his spine.
A foot landed against Sam's shoulder and gave a shove that sent both he and Gabriel toppling down to the ground. They both hit and rolled, ending up on their backs and both glaring up at Dean, who just hopped down from the tree with a proud smirk on his face. It was an expression that Sam hadn't seen there for a long, long time, one of pure big brother pride at having successfully annoyed his little brother. "Go be gross somewhere I don't have to see."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Gabriel said easily. "See you in the morning!" With a grin, he flung himself sideways at Sam. As soon as he connected, the two of them vanished, and Dean was left shaking his head. He might not like the trickster archangel all that much, and he wasn't quite sure yet if he really wanted to trust him, but Cas trusted him, and from the sounds of things he'd saved Sam—more than once—and he cared about him. For all that, dean was willing to give him a chance. For now.
With another shake of his head, he set off to find his own angel and see if Bobby had gotten any leads on finding the other Horsemen.
You probably recognize a few lines in there from Fallen idols. I borrowed a bit of their conversation from there. Hope you guys liked this!