Sam woke up the next morning in the guest room of Bobby's house. He sighed against the light that was against his closed eyes, most likely what had woken him up, and snuggled down into the blankets and the warm body that was in bed with him. Gabriel was curled up against his chest and their legs were tangled together. For someone who claimed that he didn't have to sleep—"I'm a god and an archangel, Sammich! I don't need sleep!"—he sure liked to indulge in it. He'd tried to claim once that he didn't actually sleep. Just, sort of meditated for a while. But Sam knew better. He smiled sleepily as he listened to Gabriel's sleepy murmurs as the trickster burrowed in against him a little more. Yeah, sure, he didn't sleep at all. The dork.
It still kind of amazed Sam that Gabriel was here. He'd slowly been getting used to him sticking around more while the two of them were on their own. But here at Bobby's, where it was obvious that the only people who really wanted him around were Sam and, surprisingly, Castiel, he hadn't expected Gabriel to stick around and put up with it. Who'd want to put up with that? He would've understood if Gabriel had taken advantage of dropping Sam off here after their little break yesterday afternoon and then gone and done his own thing. He hadn't, though. He'd brought Sam back and then stayed with him even with the whole awkward feel in the air.
Not that Sam was protesting. Being back with the others wasn't easy for him and having Gabriel's presence there helped.
Sure, after his talk in the tree with Dean, things were on the road to better there. They weren't perfect but that was fine. That would take time. Things with Bobby were…strained. The hunter was happy to have Sam back and happy he was okay. He just wasn't all too thrilled with Sam's choice of companions. And Castiel might've been happy to have a brother around who cared about him and who wasn't trying to kill him, but things between him and Sam had never been what one would call friendly.
Sam grimaced and buried his face a little more against the golden hair in front of him. He could only imagine what it was that Castiel saw when he looked at him. 'Sam Winchester, the boy with the demon blood.' That was what he'd seen when he and Sam first met. Was that all he saw now? Did he look at Sam and see the demon blood and the stained soul inside of him? Did he see just the abomination?
"If you don't knock it off, I'm going to bite you." Gabriel grumbled against his chest. He nipped lightly at the skin there, threat and promise.
Breath huffed out of Sam. He hadn't realized that Gabriel had woken up.
"You're thinking loud. Quit it."
Sam pulled Gabriel in a little closer and nuzzled against his hair in apology. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."
"I wasn't sleeping." Gabriel said, the heavy sleepiness in his voice contradicting his statement. He rubbed the tip of his nose over Sam's bare chest and then pressed a kiss against the skin. "Don't worry so much about Cassy. He's trained to see what Heaven wants him to see, but he's learning. He's young." Gabriel paused to yawn and his voice got a bit heavier. "'S too early for angst, handsome."
"Sorry." Sam apologized again.
"Mmm." The arm Gabriel had flung over his side tightened suddenly and Sam found himself rolled over just enough that he was lying on top of the trickster. Immediately he shifted his weight and braced himself on one arm so as not to squish his partner. Years of being the bigger person when in bed with someone had taught him how to do that even when mostly asleep. Gabriel didn't let him, though. He tightened his grip on Sam's waist and wiggled them both until Sam was firmly over him and they were able to see one another's faces. Their bodies slotted together and brought to Sam's attention that they'd fallen asleep without any clothes on. Sleep-heavy eyes looked up at Sam with amusement and that mischievousness that Sam so loved to see. "How about you make it up to me, hm?" The way he shifted his hips, pushing one thigh up against Sam while rubbing himself up against his hip, made it pretty clear what he wanted.
Sam's lips curved upwards. He didn't give himself time to think overly about his answer, or about what he was going to do, knowing that Gabriel could just pluck the thought out of his head. Hard to surprise someone who could read every single thought you had. So, best as he could, he blanked his mind and grinned down at his partner. "Well, if you insist." He teased. Then he grabbed the blankets and flung them up over his head as he ducked under and slid down.
Laughter echoed low and sleepy through the room as Sam proceeded to make it up to his partner in the best way possible.
It was almost an hour later that the two, cleaned up and dressed now, made their way downstairs. Dog followed with them, having spent the night sleeping at the foot of their bed, and Sam made sure to stop off at the front door to let him outside. "Be careful." He warned as Dog slipped past him and onto the porch. "And stay out of the other cars. You're small enough to get stuck."
The look Dog gave him just reinforced Sam's thoughts that the animal was way too smart to be just a simple dog. One of these days he'd get around to asking Gabriel about it.
While he'd let Dog out, Gabriel had gone straight to the kitchen to figure out their breakfast. Weird gods and their weird need to feed people. Sam wondered if it was a god thing, an archangel thing, or just a strange Gabriel thing. "I heard that!" Gabriel called out as Sam strolled into the room.
Sam's lips curved with good humor. "I know."
Bent over to look in the fridge, Gabriel cast him a look over his shoulder that was more amused than annoyed. "Sassy little shit."
"Pot, kettle."
Gabriel straightened up and shut the fridge door as he shook his head in mock consternation. "I've created a monster."
Somehow, that word didn't have as much sting coming from Gabriel. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he knew Gabriel didn't really mean it as an insult. Knowing that gave Sam the ability to tease back instead of flinch from the word. "I've learned from the best."
Laughter filled the room. "You are full of sass today, aren't you?" Hands on his hips, Gabriel smirked at him, his pleasure with their teasing showing on his face. "I've half a mind to take you away today. A mood like this is too good to be wasted."
Whatever reply Sam might've given was lost when Castiel arrived in a rustle of feathers. Sam couldn't quite help how he took an instinctive step back from the angel. The movement wasn't lost on Gabriel, who gave him a searching look before snapping his fingers. Sam found himself suddenly seated in a chair at the table—a table which was now covered in an array of breakfast foods. Gabriel ignored Sam's glare at being transported and instead smiled over at the other angel. "Morning, Cassy!"
"Good morning, Gabriel." Castiel said formally, albeit a little hesitantly.
There was something different about the angel, something that Sam couldn't quite place. Without realizing it, Sam furrowed his brows a little, staring at him as he tried to figure it out. Castiel didn't even acknowledge that there was anything strange about him staring. He just nodded his head in Sam's direction and greeted him with a low, rumbling "Sam."
"Hey, Cas." Sam said slowly. What on earth was it that was so different about him?
A chuckle slid from Gabriel. The trickster closed the small bit of distance between them and ruffled Sam's hair, nimbly dodging Sam's hand as the hunter tried to smack his away. "Quit staring, Samshine. It's rude."
Immediate color filled Sam's cheeks and he dropped down his gaze. "Sorry. I just…I mean…"
"I know, Cassy's a bit distracting. He's all new and shiny again. I gave him a top up yesterday."
"A top up?"
The new voice came from Dean. Sam looked up as his older brother came into the room looking more awake than Sam expected. "Oh, hey, breakfast!" He made a beeline for the table when he saw all the food and coffee sitting there. Whereas Sam hadn't served himself yet, Dean didn't waste any time at all. He plopped down in a chair at Sam's side and started to serve himself from the platter of eggs and the one of breakfast meats.
Gabriel watched him and rolled his eyes. "Gee, help yourself there, Deano."
"Thanks." Dean said with a smirk. "I will."
Before those two could start the bickering that Sam could see building, he decided to save them and bring them back to more important things. "What do you mean, top up?" He asked Gabriel, tipping his head to look at him. He hadn't moved from behind Sam's chair when he'd messed up his hair before.
One of his hands settled on the back of Sam's neck and started to rub lightly at the tension that almost always sat there.
It wasn't Gabriel who answered, though. It was Castiel. "He restored my grace to its former glory."
That definitely had everyone's attention. The brothers looked up with surprise. Sam watched as Dean and Castiel's gazes locked and his brother's expression changed into something softer than normal. "That's great, Cas."
Sam leaned back a little towards Gabriel and tipped his head so he could look up at him. "That is great." And really nice. His compliment got just the reaction he'd expected. Another eye roll and a small tug on his hair. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm awesome." Gabriel said, waving his other hand. "Praise me later. Repeatedly, if you'd like." He tipped his head and winked down at Sam.
"Oh, dude, gross. Not at the breakfast table." Dean groaned at them.
Gabriel turned his smirk towards the older Winchester. "Jealous, Deano?"
"Of what?"
"Okay, okay, woah!" Sam interrupted. That was an absolutely horrible question to ask someone like Gabriel and there was no way Sam wanted to find out what kind of answer he would give, and in how much detail he'd give it. "Can we save this until I've at least had some coffee? Or, y'know, I'm somewhere not in the middle?" he tacked that last part on for Gabriel, reminding him of the promise he'd made back at that convention to try not to argue with Dean with Sam right in the middle of them.
Gabriel remembered it then too because he cut off whatever it was he'd been planning on saying. He sighed gustily. "Fine." Reaching forward, he tapped his finger against Sam's forehead. "Eat your breakfast, handsome. A full plate, too."
The order was a familiar one to Sam. He saw Dean's look of amusement over it, though, and couldn't help but grin at his brother.
"He always like this?" Dean asked him.
"You have no idea." Sam said dryly. "Dean, meet Loki/Gabriel, the Norse god of mischief, archangel in hiding, and extreme mother hen."
The tug to Sam's hair was a little sharper this time. Gabriel pulled his head back until Sam was grinning up at him unrepentantly. Shaking his head, Gabriel mock glared down at him. "Watch it, kiddo. Remember—if I'm a mother hen, that makes you a baby chick, and I can make that far more a reality than you'd like."
"Yes, Gabriel." Sam said in his best 'I'm innocent, don't smite me' voice.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him and gave a low growl that only served to make Sam's smile grow a little. "Impertinent mortal." He grumbled before letting go of him. Sam straightened his head back up and then turned his attention to the food. Mocking Gabriel was one thing. Blatantly disobeying him on something like this that he considered so ridiculously important was a line Sam wasn't all that willing to cross. So he loaded up his plate with plenty of fresh fruit and some toast and eggs and ate it all while he listened to Dean first convince Castiel to sit down and join them and then as he tried to convince the angel to actually try and eat something, despite Castiel's insistence that he didn't 'require sustenance'. Gabriel was seated at Sam's other side, munching away on a monstrosity of a breakfast sandwich that made Sam wince just thinking about all the grease in it. Picking up on those thoughts, Gabriel smirked at him and then proceeded to take a giant bite. Sam's lip curled up in disgust. That was just nauseating.
"Oh, c'mon, Sambo." Gabriel said around his mouthful of food. He finished chewing and swallowed before flashing a huge grin. "Live a little. It's delicious."
Mouth full, Sam just cocked an eyebrow. That pile of grease and fat was most definitely not his idea of delicious. Not unless he wanted to spend the rest of the day getting sick. He'd never taken well to the type of foods Dean liked. Once in a while, yes, they were fine. But if he ate like Dean he'd spend most of his time in the bathroom. His stomach didn't take kindly to things like that.
"Huh. I don't have that problem."
Sam swallowed his bite and shook his head. Shut up.
"Make me." Gabriel said before taking another large bite.
It wasn't until Sam looked up that he realized they were being stared at. Dean was watching him confusion and concern while Castiel was simply looking back and forth between Sam and Gabriel with something that might be curiosity. Uncomfortable, Sam leaned back just a little, unconsciously shifting his weight towards Gabriel. "What?"
"I think we freaked out our brothers, Sammy boy." Humor rang in Gabriel's voice.
"Dude." Dean said, shifting his gaze to Gabriel and then back to Sam. "No strange telepathic conversations no one else can understand."
Oh! Sam flushed a little as he realized what had happened. He hadn't stopped to think about the fact that Dean and Castiel were stuck with a half conversation going on. "Sorry." He apologized honestly. "I wasn't trying to exclude you guys. I've just gotten so used to him responding to my thoughts that I don't always bother with answering out loud anymore. Especially when eating."
"It doesn't bother you, having him in your head all the time?" Dean asked. His question was both surprised and curious.
Sam shrugged one shoulder. "It did, sort of, at first. I just adjusted to it quickly. Sometimes, sometimes…" He stressed it the second time, glancing Gabriel's way to make sure he understood that was for him. "…it makes things easier. I don't even really notice it anymore."
Shuddering, Dean shook his head. "That'd drive me insane."
"Short drive." Gabriel quipped.
That was how the rest of breakfast went. Just a steady stream of banter and mockery that was only slightly strained around the edges. The talks between everyone yesterday hadn't made everything perfect. They had, however, started them on the road of healing. While there was still so much between them all, so many things that still should be said between Sam and Dean, the door was open now. They could make that effort. They were making that effort. Dean was trying; holding back some of the nastier remarks that Sam could tell he wanted to say, restraining himself from sneering openly at the way Sam and Gabriel were with each other. He was trying, and that meant more to Sam than anything. He'd never thought he would get to have this again.
When Bobby joined them, conversation didn't break, but it did dim slightly, and Sam found himself leaning towards Gabriel once more. The archangel sensed his agitation and responded by shifting his chair just the slightest bit and slinging his arm around the back of Sam's chair. It let him prop his elbow up on the back of it and reach his fingers up to toy with the long strands of hair there.
Bobby gaze cooled a little at that gesture and the look he gave them showed just how hard he was restraining himself. Grabbing his wheels, he started to wheel himself in towards the living room. "If you girls are done gossiping, maybe we could finally get to work on these crazy assed plans of yours."
Wincing, Sam watched him go, and then turned to look back at the table. He caught Dean's gaze and was bolstered slightly by the sympathetic look he got. "He'll come around." Dean tried to reassure him. It would've worked better if he sounded like he actually believed it.
Sam smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah." Suddenly, his breakfast wasn't quite so appealing anymore. He set down his fork and pushed his plate back. He'd gotten about half of it all eaten, which wasn't the full plate that Gabriel had demanded, but he didn't think he could put anything else in his stomach. "We should probably get to work. I'll go grab my laptop so you guys can see what I've found so far."
As he left the room, he heard Gabriel's low growl behind him, and the soft warning he gave to Dean. "I set your head on straight – this time it's your turn. Fix it, before I do. You know I won't be as nice."
"Bobby'll come around. He's worried about Sam; it's you he doesn't trust."
"Then let him take it out on me, not him."
Whatever was said next, Sam missed, too far away to hear it. He slipped outside and headed over to the car to get his laptop out of the trunk. They hadn't exactly unloaded anything. Gabriel had snapped in his bag with clothes and toiletries last night but he'd left the weapons bag and laptop out in the car. Once again, as Sam moved the weapons to get to his laptop, he thought to himself that he really should just break down and install something to hide the weapons before he got pulled over and busted one day. Might be a good idea to do it while he was here at Bobby's.
Dog came running up to him while he was closing the trunk and he took a moment to scratch behind the dog's ears. He wagged his tail and gave a happy bark before dropping down to follow at Sam's side. The hunter smiled down at him. "All right then, c'mon. We can't exactly hide out here." No matter how much he wanted to.
When they made their way back inside, it was to find that breakfast had been cleared and everyone was gathered in the living room. Bobby was at his desk, no real surprise there, and Dean was on the couch, while Gabriel was perched in his own chair near the empty end of the couch. Castiel was standing by the bookcase, fingers trailing over the spines of a few books, a look of concentration on his face. Chewing on his bottom lip, Sam made his way in to the open seat next to Dean. He hesitated only briefly before he sat down. Dog showed no hesitation and raced right over to Gabriel, hopping up in his lap and making himself at home. Gabriel just lifted a hand and started to scratch behind his ears.
"So," Dean said, breaking the silence over the room. "We're hunting Horsemen, then?"
Sam nodded as he set his laptop on his lap and opened it. "Yeah. We've already got War's; I've been trying to figure out a way to track Pestilence or Famine. Mostly so far I've been doing a lot of research and Gabe's been helping me sort what's real and what isn't. I've been trying to find anything to help."
"We handled War easily enough, these two shouldn't be too hard." As usual, Dean was confident, his tone suggesting that there wasn't really anything that could get in their way.
"These aint just your regular monsters, boy." Bobby reminded him, rolling his eyes at the older Winchester. "These're Horsemen. You got lucky with War."
"There's tons of lore on the Horsemen, but not really anything about how to take them out." Sam said, tapping a few keys on the keyboard to access what little information he'd found so far. "I've been looking as best as I can but I keep coming up blank."
There was a low snort from the side of the room. "We might've been a lot further on this if you'd bothered to pick up the phone and call once in a while." Bobby pointed out just a little sharply.
Sam hunched his shoulders and dropped his gaze down. He could feel it as the whole room tensed a little and he knew someone was going to say something if he didn't. He also knew this had to be brought out in the open now, before it went much further. He couldn't stay in a place with this much tension all the time. He just couldn't. "Honestly?" He said softly, still not looking up. "I wasn't sure you'd answer."
He snuck a look up and saw open shock on Bobby's face. It quickly transformed to annoyance, a kind that Sam recognized from many a time over the years when Bobby would glare at one of them after they'd said something he considered particularly stupid. "Why the hell wouldn't I answer, ya idjit? I don't care what happens or what you've done, you're family, and family don't give up on each other."
The sharp reminder, said so openly and so simply, was both reprimand and comfort. Sam warmed inside a little even as he ducked his head once more. "Sorry, Bobby. I just, I wasn't in the best frame of mind."
"That's an understatement." Dean said lowly.
He probably hadn't meant for Sam to hear his words, saying them as low as he had, but they were just loud enough for Sam to catch. He might've taken offense to them, thought that Dean was insulting him, if he hadn't been able to hear the aching quality to those words, one that left him with no doubt as to what his brother was referring to.
He turned slowly to look at Gabriel, who was leaning back in his seat and eating a package of pop rocks with apparent unconcern for the conversation around him. Sam glared at him. "You told him."
The trickster didn't even deny it. "Yep." He made his lips pop on the 'p'.
"That wasn't your place to tell him." Sam snapped, temper pulsing in him. That wasn't something that he'd wanted Dean to know about! There was no reason that Dean should've ever had to know about that. The only thing it'd do would hurt him. Why on earth would Sam want to tell him something that would only cause him pain? Dean was the type of person to blame himself for something like that and feel guilty. That wasn't what Sam wanted at all.
One of Gabriel's eyebrows lifted. "Like you were gonna do it."
"It was my business, my decision, not yours!"
This time both eyebrows went up and there was a flash of power in his eyes that was a warning. "Anything that concerns you is my business, handsome. You're mine, remember? He needed to know so he didn't come up with any more fabulous one liners that might push your broken little mind back down that path. I've worked too hard to pull you away from it. You don't get to die until I'm good and ready to let you go." There was threat and promise both in that.
Sam was caught between warring emotions after that speech. He was furious—and justifiably so, he believed—that Gabriel had interfered in things like that and told Dean something that he never should've told him. What good would come from telling Dean that Sam had killed himself? All it would do would give Sam yet another rabid watchdog. At this rate, any privacy he'd ever even hoped of having was going to be gone. No one was going to leave him alone. Yet, there was no denying that a part of him felt both soothed and reassured by that fierce protection that Gabriel gave him.
"Yours?" Bobby's sharp voice interrupted Sam's thoughts. He looked up, surprised by just how annoyed Bobby sounded, only to find the grizzled hunter giving Gabriel his best glare. "What do you mean, yours?"
"I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I mean." Gabriel said easily. The slight sharpness that had been there before was gone now and was replaced with laughter. Tipping his head back, he dumped in what was left of his pop rocks, the crackle of the candy echoing in the room.
Bobby winced and swore lowly. "Balls!" His glare shifted from Gabriel over to Sam. "Are you stupid, boy? You let yourself get claimed by a god? A trickster?"
"And archangel." said trickster added in, sounding smug.
"Does he even know what you did?" Bobby demanded.
"What do you mean?" Dean interrupted, gaze suddenly sharpening at the potential threat to his little brother. Sam sat up a little straighter, wanting the answer to that as well. He had his suspicions; he'd had them for a while now. But this was the first time it would come out in the open like this.
Bobby shot a disgusted look at the trickster and then spun towards Dean. "He's an archangel and a pagan god. You think there aint repercussions when something with that kinda power lays claim on someone? Someone who apparently don't even know better'n to resist? I bet he took something from you, didn't he?"
He demanded the last part of Sam, who was suddenly caught up in his own thoughts while a few things clicked into place. "Sacrifice." Sam murmured. His mind drifted to that first time, when Gabriel had laid him out on the bed and dragged his release from him almost violently. That night when Sam had struggled only briefly before surrendering himself. And, oh, Gabriel had accepted that surrender with great satisfaction. It wasn't something that he demanded every time they were together. Sometimes, things were just fun between them, a playful give and take. But there were times where they would fall into that fight, that rush of trying to take down the other, take them apart, and Sam would fight and fight with everything he had until there was nothing left in him, no choice but to surrender, and he would give himself over wholly and happily to the being he trusted with everything he had.
He saw the flash of heat in Gabriel's eyes as he followed along the trail of Sam's memories with him. Dark promise glittered in those heated golden depths that sent a shiver down Sam's spine and reminded him that this being was far more pagan than archangel sometimes.
Oblivious to the moment between the two, Bobby made a sound that was almost a growl. "Damn right, sacrifice. Dammit, boy, didn't you think? There aint no stopping his claim on you. You're his, hook, line and sinker. We can't change that."
"It is not as bad as you fear, Robert." Castiel interjected, speaking up for the first time. "Sam will not be harmed by it."
"Think of it like an engagement ring." Gabriel suggested with a chuckle. Unlike everyone else, he seemed to be enjoying this whole thing. His eyes glittered with laughter as he looked over at Sam, winking at him and then looking back at the others. "Well, with a side order of one really protective bodyguard. I've claimed him as mine, put him under my protection. None of the pagans would be dumb enough to mess with him. It won't matter to Luci, of course, but it'll matter to the other gods."
"Engagement ring? You trying to marry my brother, Gabriel?" Dean asked it like he was joking, but Gabriel responded like he was serious, answering without a hint of laughter to his words. "Table that conversation till after the apocalypse."
A look passed between the two and they shared a nod of understanding.
Abruptly, Gabriel scooped up Dog and set him on the ground and then pushed up to his feet. "Well! Fun as this has been, I've got to go speak with Coyote and see about picking up a few more ingredients for things we need. You humans behave now." Leaning over, he grabbed the front of Sam's shirt and used it to yank him up just enough to slam a fierce kiss against his lips, hard and hot, with just a hint of teeth. When he let go, Sam dropped back down, a little stunned and slightly dizzy. Gabriel seemed satisfied by that reaction judging by how big his smirk was. "Stay outta trouble, Samsquatch. I'll pop back in by bedtime."
With a snap, he was gone, leaving everyone just staring.
Dean was the one to break the silence. Snorting, he shook his head. "Let's get to work."
That set the routine for the next few days. They stayed at Bobby's, doing as much research as they could on how to take down Horsemen while Bobby put out feelers to try and find the Horsemen, while Gabriel spent chunks of the day out taking care of his end of things. He didn't really tell them what he did. While Sam was used to that, and wasn't bothered, it seemed to bug the others. Sam learned to just zone them out. It helped that Dean wasn't all that fond of research and often slipped outside to go and work on Baby while Bobby and Sam poured over books. Castiel offered some help here and there, but his time was consumed with his search for his Father, a search that Gabriel turned his nose up at. Castiel had asked him only once for help and Gabriel had told him plainly "Dad won't be found unless He wants to be found. No point wasting energy searching for him. He stopped caring a long time ago, bucko."
That was the only time Castiel bothered asking. Even he picked up on the hurt and bitterness in Gabriel's voice.
It was on their third evening there that Sam dreamt of Lucifer. It wasn't like his usual dreams. They didn't meet and talk. This was a vision, a true dream, and Sam knew it.
The last thing he remembered clearly was the group of them all sitting in the living room after Bobby had declared he was heading off to bed. Gabriel had firmly declared they needed to unwind a little and had snapped up an extra wide recliner for him, Sam and Dog to sprawl on, relegating Castiel and Dean to the couch, and he'd made the TV bigger before putting on Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Sam remembered seeing as far as the scene where Cameron was freaking out inside of his car before sleep really dragged him under. He didn't register Gabriel reclining the seat, or adjusting their position. He just knew that he was suddenly warmer and his head was pillowed on a familiar chest. Sighing, he slipped his arm over Gabriel's waist, turning in towards him and burrowing down.
From his spot on the couch, Dean watched with amusement and only a small grimace. Though he mocked his brother any time he was with someone, and he wasn't all that pleased with his choice of partners, there was no way he could deny just how at ease and happy Sammy looked right there. The giant was wrapped up against Gabriel's side as if it was the most natural thing in the world and he looked, peaceful. It was a look that Dean hadn't seen there for a long time. When he looked up, he found Gabriel watching him, his expression shuttered as if he were preparing for some smart remark. Dean hesitated, countless warnings and threats running through his mind, not quite sure if he really wanted to say them, but then Gabriel nodded at him and Dean knew—he'd heard all his threats, all his warnings, and was nodding his agreement. Dean nodded back and turned back to the movie.
All of that happened over Sam's head without him realizing. He was floating in the warm arms of sleep, content, for most of the movie. It wasn't until the end that things started to happen. As the regular dream faded away and the other dream took its place. He never felt it as Dog suddenly stood up and turned around in Gabriel's legs to push right up towards Sam's face, nosing at him and whining. He didn't notice as Gabriel's gaze sharpened on them both.
It was the clearest vision that Sam had ever had. He felt like he was there, right inside of Lucifer as the ritual was performed and the town of Carthage sacrificed to raise Death from his cage beneath the earth. He felt Lucifer's happiness at this next step in his plan, happiness tinged by a madness and a pain so deep Sam felt like he would be consumed by it. It reached down into him, gripping at his soul, and his soul cried out from it.
Lucifer stood atop a hill with the bodies of an entire town behind him and Death gripped by invisible bonds in front of him and he laughed. And as he laughed, Sam cried, lost under the feel of his cold grace in every inch of him and waves of fearpainlovehatealonealonealone.
He was still crying as the vision faded away and the real world returned around him. At first, he didn't register anything. Couldn't register it beyond the emotions still burning so coldly inside of him. He hadn't just watched as Lucifer, he'd be a part of him, feeling as he felt, seeing as he saw, and the intensity of those emotions, the strength of them, was just too much. Sam's whole body felt cold in a way he'd never known before, so cold that it actually burned.
Something warm was on his cheeks. It was holding him, cradling him like he was something precious, when al he felt was alone and afraid and broken.
Not alone, the warmth whispered to him. And faintly, oh so faintly, he heard the echo of it in words, words whispered right up against his lips, so softly he had to strain to hear them. "…not alone, Sammy. I'm right here. Come back to me, Samshine, right back here, I've got you…"
He knew that voice. Knew that touch on his face. Gabriel.
That realization brought with it an immediate sense of safety. If the archangel was here, he was safe. He wouldn't let anything happen to Sam. Holding on to that, anchoring in it, Sam let it lead him out of the last dregs of the vision and draw him back into reality. Slowly he became aware that he was lying flat on his back with a warm and solid body stretched out over top of him. His shoulders were being firmly pinned down by a pair of arms that were much, much stronger than they looked, and warm hands were holding his face, keeping him still as Gabriel pressed their foreheads together and murmured his steady stream of reassurances against his lips. Sam focused on those touches, on the gentle firmness of his words, on the sweet scent of candy and popcorn on his breath, all normal things that helped him remember that he was here, and he was Sam, and he was safe.
Sam opened his eyes finally and found Gabriel's glowing golden eyes right there in front of his. They were right there, fixed right on him, and it was like that one final piece of things clicked into place. It was like a switch flipped and the rest of the world returned around him. He could hear Dean calling out to him, demanding to know what was going on, and Castiel's voice trying to talk him down, and then he thought he heard Bobby's voice added to the mix. It was all too much and Sam was afraid he was going to be lost under this as well. His hands twitched uselessly at his sides and a name trembled on his lips. "G-Gabe…"
"I got ya, kiddo." Gabriel soothed him. And he did. He had him and Sam knew it. Huffing out a shaky breath, he nodded ever so slightly and let go of some of the tension that held him. As he did, he gave a full bodied shiver, that cold still inside of him.
Without breaking Sam's gaze, Gabriel called out a low "Castiel" that shouldn't have been able to be heard over the other voices, and yet suddenly the angel was right there beside them. The archangel kept his gaze on Sam. "Get them to quiet down. I'll explain in a minute. And have them collect blankets. I could snap them up, but I think that something that feels more of home might help right now."
The younger angel immediately moved to do as Gabriel had commanded. That hadn't been a request, either, but most definitely a command. Later, Sam might be curious about that. Right then, all his attention was turning to the shivers that were making his whole body shake and the icy cold that wasn't going away. Gabriel's body felt so warm against his and Sam pressed towards it to try and combat the cold. Gabriel went with it, slipping his hands off Sam's cheeks and then using them to twist them, drawing Sam against him into the position that they'd started this all in, with Sam draped over Gabriel, ear pillowed over his chest and Gabriel's arms wrapped around him, holding him in close. As soon as he was situated, Castiel was there, draping blankets over him, one right after the other, all the familiar quilts that Sam had seen over the years when they'd stayed here.
He wasn't surprised to see Dean there as well, straightening out the blankets over his legs, which were twined round with Gabriel's. His brother's eyes caught his and the worry there had Sam feeling bad. He tried to reassure him, but the shivers made it hard to talk. "I'm f-f-fin-ne."
"You will be." Gabriel said firmly. He drew the blankets in a little better and tucked them towards Sam's chest. "We just need to warm you up first. Popsicle is not a good look for you, Gigantor." He snapped his fingers and suddenly the blankets became so much warmer, hot water bottles now behind his knees and against his back.
"What the hell happened?" Dean demanded.
"L-Lucif-f-fer." Sam stammered out past his chattering teeth. "D-Dream."
Gabriel's hand rubbed over his arm and the trickster took over for him. "Not just a dream. You guys, connected, I guess would be the best term for it. A vision, just stronger, cause he's an angel and you're his vessel and there's that connection there. You weren't just with him, you were feeling him."
"That is why he is so cold." Castiel said with realization.
"Yep. Luci always did run cold."
"Wait, wait, wait a second." There was a shuffling sound as Dean moved closer to them. "You're saying he had some freaky vision dream thing and connected with Lucifer? Why? Did he do this? Pull Sammy in or something?"
The word 'freaky' had Sam flinching, which had Gabriel giving him a small squeeze. "Luci didn't do this." Gabriel told them. "I think…" For a moment, he sounded hesitant, like he wasn't quite sure, but it was just faint and Sam doubted that anyone else here would've even heard it in his voice. Then it was gone and he continued on in a much firmer tone. "I think they were both just open at just the right time and Sam's psychic abilities just latched onto it."
"I thought those visions stopped?" Bobby asked, voice gruff with worry.
"They're a part of him." Gabriel told them. "They were a part of him from the day he was born. They don't just go away because you want them to. Even if they go dormant, or get locked away, they're still there. But you're focusing on the wrong thing here. How it happened isn't important. What's important is what he saw. The ritual's complete—Death has risen, and he's bound to Lucifer."
The room went quiet at that. Sam's shivers had finally started to slow. The heat was soaking in finally and making him feel heavy. His eyelids didn't want to stay open. He knew he should stay awake, should talk with them about this, but sleep was calling him. A warm hand brushed over his forehead and he heard Gabriel's murmured "Sleep, Samshine" and then everything went dark.
This time, when he slept, there were no dreams.
Next chapter, we get back to business, and we'll see the boys out on a case and deal with my version of events with Anna.
