Gabriel
When Gabriel saw Sam enter the coffee shop, his spirits instantly lifted. He was just finishing lunch rush, and he was exhausted, but Sam's smile brightened his day considerably.
It was only when Sam went to go sit down instead of waiting in line that he realized that there was someone with Sam. A devastatingly handsome someone. Probably one of the underwear models that were in Sam's league. Jealousy reared its head, but Gabriel swallowed it down. He had no claim on Sam. Sam could bring a date out for coffee if he wanted to. Though, perhaps bringing said date to Gabriel's coffee shop was a little heartless. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. Though how would he know, Gabriel? You're just friends. You haven't even asked him on a date. Gabriel glanced back at Sam. Why did Sam look so miserable? He looked like he wanted to disappear, hunched up over the table. Maybe the date wasn't going well. Gabriel glared back at Underwear Model. He had several inches of height (and likely a lot more muscle mass under the flannel which strangely matched Sam's typical aesthetic) on Gabriel, but that wouldn't stop Gabriel from beating him up in the alley out back. Or, spitting in his coffee, if he was being more realistic.
When the man ordered, however, he was polite and friendly. He seemed completely at ease, and utterly unaware of Sam's discomfort. Gabriel tried to discern if he was actually nice, or if his charisma just concealed the fact that he was an asshole who wasn't taking Sam on a proper date where he enjoyed himself instead of practically hiding under the table.
Gabriel made Dean's order and hurried through the rest of the line. He was going to go over to Sam and Underwear Model's table and rescue Sam if necessary. Not that he knew what he would say or do if he did figure out if this was in fact a date gone sour, but he'd figure something out. Sammy was obviously too nice to ditch the guy on his own. So Gabriel grabbed a scone and walked over to the table, attempting to exude confidence.
Sam appeared to have found something very interesting to look at outside the window, and Underwear Model was sipping his coffee nonchalantly - though he thought he heard him whisper something to Sam as he was approaching. Sam began doodling in the condensation on the window.
"Oi! You leave any fingerprints on that, you're cleaning it, Samsquatch!" Gabriel joked. Poor Sam was so twitchy he nearly fell out of his chair at Gabriel's voice.
Gabriel offered Sam the scone, invented a random innuendo on the fly, and was hoping to get more details on who Sam's date was, when Underwear Model said,
"Dude, we don't swing that way."
What?
So, unless both Sam and Underwear Model were very far in the closet, this wasn't a date. Oopsies. Gabriel took a good look at both of them. If they were friends, Gabriel would expect Sam to look a bit happier. They were too casually dressed for this to be a job interview. Both wearing flannel. Both handsome in a similar rugged way. Related, perhaps?
Gabriel made a flirty quip almost unconsciously, and Underwear Model - Dean, Sam had called him - implied that he was harassing Sam. Gabriel's stomach dropped. What if he had been making Sam uncomfortable, and Sam was just too nice to tell him to shove off?
"I'm your big brother, it's my job to look out for you…"
Ah. Elder brother. Evidently one with whom Sam did not have a good relationship, judging by the stress rolling off of him.
He listened absentmindedly as Dean was saying that he was going to get Sam laid. He thought that was probably his cue to leave, but then Sam said,
"I don't want to hook up with some girl, Dean!"
Well, that's interesting. Normally young, heterosexual men wouldn't refuse sex. So Gabriel thought, at least - he wasn't speaking from experience, exactly.
"Oh, but pudgy, horny baristas are ok?" Gabriel winced at Dean's voice even as he walked back behind the counter. It was true, after all. He couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, except for snippets.
" - doesn't mean you need to go gay!" Dean's voice was rising in volume. Gabriel peeked back at the brothers. Sam looked furious. If he were in Dean's place, he'd probably be beating a quick retreat, but Dean seemed unperturbed.
"I think you should take a walk, Dean," Sam's voice was low and insistent. Gabriel knew he should find an angry six-foot-four man intimidating, but dang, the way Sam took control of the situation and how the timbre of his voice became more gravelly was sexy.
Dean threw up his hands in a placating gesture, then actually left. Gabriel watched long enough to see Sam slouch in his seat, looking exhausted and defeated, then backed away into the kitchen, out of sight. His cashier could handle it if anyone came in.
He felt like a coward, but he didn't know how to comfort Sam. What would he say? "Sorry your brother just outed you in public?" If that's even what that was. Or, "are you even gay?" Or, "I think I'm in love with you?"
Gabriel froze at his last thought. Was he in love? He was certainly acting like it - cleaning his café specifically for when Sam came in, baking Sam's favorite desserts the night before, reading parenting blogs so that he knew how to talk to Mary and so he could feign understanding when Sam told him about the ways she had been testing his patience and her different developmental stages while he sipped his coffee, looking like a god.
Dang it, Gabriel.
Gabriel decided to reflect more on his feelings another time. Right now, he had to help Sam. But how? Gabriel remembered when he first officially came out, he had felt a bit adrift - in part he had defined himself through the way others viewed him, but if they viewed him differently… It was confusing to say the least, and it was difficult at times to cling to the truth of his identity. He could have used someone to ground him back then, and he could help Sam now. Gabriel was a tactile person, so he liked physical contact to relax, but he didn't think Sam would appreciate a gay barista all over him just after he had some sort of conflict with his moronic brother about his sexuality. If he would ever appreciate said gay barista being all over him at any time. Dean was right, after all. Sam could do much better - and not just in the sense of choosing female partners. Sam was going to be a lawyer, and Gabriel ran a dinky coffee shop that was still in the red. And Sam was an Adonis. Gabriel was, well. Pudgy and horny.
Gabriel took a deep breath and tried to think positively before trying to cheer Sam up. Pudgy was not a permanent condition - he was on a diet. And he was funny (sometimes), and caring (probably too much, as he was prone to manipulation), and Max liked him, at the very least. And, at least Dean thought that Sam was not exclusively attracted to women (though Sam had been pretty quiet on the matter), so maybe Gabriel would have the smallest of chances with Sam.
Feeling not much more confident but more resolved to talk to Sam - what the hell he would say, he still had no clue - Gabriel exited the kitchen and was going to stride toward the table in the corner, only to find it unoccupied.
Sam was gone.
