The lights were off when Gabriel walked through the front door. He leaned back with one hand on the door frame to look behind him to the driveway. That was Castiel's car parked there, lit up for a brief moment as the cab disappeared down the street. Gabriel glanced back into the darkened house, and shrugged. No point in worrying really, Castiel had probably just locked himself up in his room again. He walked inside, kicking the door closed and twisting the lock. He whistled tunelessly, tossing his jacket over the back of the couch.
Frankly, he was a little disappointed in his family. It had already been two weeks, and Sam wouldn't pay up on their bet until they knew for sure that Dean had started that little incident between their brothers. Since Dean wasn't answering his phone calls, and Castiel was less than forthcoming, it meant no nookie for Gabriel. So he'd done what any rational, loving man would do when his little brother was lost in a crisis.
He'd called his older brother.
Michael might have been busy, and generally a hard-assed bastard, but he had a soft spot for Castiel that he'd never had for Gabriel. It had taken a few days, and an hour of his life being talked down to that he would never get back, but he'd finally managed to find the right combination of "Castiel", "shame", and "regret" that convinced Michael to step in. Gabriel wasn't actually sure what his older brother might do, but somehow he had expected results sooner.
He didn't bother to turn on the kitchen light, making his way by memory to the fridge. The sound of the door opening was loud in the silence and he reached in for a beer. Noticing a slight movement out the corner of his eyes, he jerked up, cold bottle gripped tight and door still hanging open. Then he let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was only Castiel. "Hey, bro," Gabriel said, laughing a bit as he finally allowed the fridge door to close. In the dark again, he moved to the table, sitting in the chair across from his brother.
He hardly had time for his eyes to adjust when Castiel spoke. "You had no right," the man said, an underlying tone to the words that Gabriel had never heard from his little brother, and so made it difficult for him to identify.
He lifted the beer to his lips, taking a sip and a moment to arrange his face in his most innocent of expressions. Then he leaned back in the chair and set the bottle down, fingers playing lightly in the condensation building up on the label. "What are you talking about?" he asked, keeping the question light.
It was very clear that Castiel wasn't buying the act, but that wasn't actually new so it didn't really bother Gabriel. Castiel stood, glaring at him in a way that he could actually feel, even in the mostly dark room. "I do not know what you told Michael," Castiel bit out, and Gabriel opened his mouth to reply, but his brother wouldn't let him. "I do not care to know. My life is not a toy for you to play with or to break."
Gabriel leaned his chair back and reached for the wall, slapping at the switch until light flooded the room. Castiel was nearing a breakthrough, he just knew it, and he wanted to see the other man's face when it happened. He turned a grin to his brother. Castiel had gone still, the kind of still that meant he was really a raging boil of emotion who simply didn't know how to express any of it. Gabriel took that to mean that no other words would be escaping, so he decided to push it. "Cas," he started, trying very hard to sound sincere. "Is this about what happened with Deano?"
He almost wished he'd pulled out his phone to record it, but as it was he would just have to preserve Castiel's reaction with only his memory. All the blood drained from his brother's face, and Castiel took a step back, as if he'd thought for just one moment that he could run away. Then his brows furrowed and he looked away. "You saw… you saw Dean k-kiss me?" It was so difficult! Really, playing the concerned older brother wasn't exactly second nature to him, especially given that he'd finally uncovered the information that would grant him the release he'd been so desperately needing! But Castiel had stammered, and that in itself was strange enough. Castiel was very clearly spoken, except in the worst of times when he just said nothing. Stammering was heading into an area Gabriel had never had to handle before. For a brief moment, he wondered if he hadn't finally managed to stir something in his brother that there was no coming back from.
But Castiel shook it off, literally. His brother shook his head and stepped back again, taking deep breaths. "This has nothing to do with Dean. You called Michael."
And finally, like a bolt of lightning, Gabriel recognized that tone. Castiel was hurting. He frowned and stood. "Cas," and this time the concern was genuine, "what happened?" He reached for Castiel, but his brother pulled away, the move as effective as a slap to the face.
"I am a disappointment," Castiel said, his voice cold and something else, something so out of place with this man that Gabriel almost didn't hear the rest because he was too busy trying to make sense of what his brother wasn't saying. "I am a lost cause." Castiel's lips twisted in a way that Gabriel hadn't seen since they were kids, then his brother turned to the door. He paused for a moment, not looking back to say, "My life is not your concern," then he was gone. Gabriel could hear the soft footsteps, up the stairs and down the hall, then silence but for the steady ticking of the clock on the wall above the door.
Guilt, Gabriel decided, was a strange thing, and not just because he so rarely felt it. Guilt weighed on him, constricting his chest so that breathing became more of a chore than it should be. Guilt was difficult. He felt he should apologize. But guilt offered no explanation as to why he should apologize, only that he must tell Castiel the words.
Anger, on the other hand was simple. Anger, he understood. Anger didn't encourage him to head up those stairs with the desire to re-enact every brotherly love story ever created, falling to his knees and begging forgiveness for… for what? For pushing his brother to face something he didn't want to face? Because Gabriel was many, many things, mostly naughty, but he wasn't stupid. If Castiel was locking himself up and throwing himself to the mercy of an absent God, it was because he'd felt something when Dean had grabbed him. Dean must have too, if he really hadn't been home since. Maybe if it was his concern, he'd have done something more than call in Michael just to win a bet. As it was, he figured he'd done Castiel a favor! If his brother decided not to see this in the best possible light, well clearly that was his decision, wasn't it?
Gabriel realized he was still standing in the kitchen, beer growing slowly warmer on the table, clock still ticking incessantly. He needed to leave, and screw Castiel for being an ungrateful prick. He had better things to do.
Or better people anyway.
Having successfully drowned every last bit of guilt with self-righteous anger, Gabriel grinned and let it all go away. Because he had won the bet, and now, oh now! Sam was going to have to pay up. So he left, grabbing his jacket on the way out and hitting speed dial for the taxi company.
Thirty-two minutes later, Gabriel was knocking on the door to Sam's house. When there was no answer, he knocked again, using what he liked to call his 'cop knock'. Finally the lights came on and he could hear shuffling inside, then a muffled curse, and finally a loud, "God dammit, Gabriel!" The door opened, Sam looking adorably ruffled with hair sticking in every which direction, a hole in the shoulder of a worn Metallica shirt, obviously an old gift from his brother, and pajama pants that hung several inches short of his ankles. "What the hell, Gabriel?" he snapped.
Gabriel looked him up and down, then clicked his tongue. "What the hell with you, Sam?" he asked, pushing his way inside before turning back on the much taller man. "What kind of loser is in bed by ten?"
Sam groaned and pushed the door closed, locking it almost as an afterthought. "The kind of loser that has class at eight the next morning," he snarled, shoving one hand through his hair and stifling a yawn. "What sort of teacher is an asshole enough to wake that loser up?"
Gabriel grinned, spreading his hands out to either side. "The kind of asshole teacher who comes to collect on a bet!"
Sam went from annoyed to confused to embarrassed in quick order, and Gabriel's grin widened at the brilliant flush that went all the way down the man's neck, disappearing beneath his frayed collar. "Castiel…" he trailed off, his flush deepening so that Gabriel could almost feel the heat radiating from his face alone.
"That's right, Sasquatch. According to my dear brother Castiel," and if the words were a little less affectionate than usual Sam didn't notice, "Dean kissed him in a drunken passion." Gabriel shucked his jacket and kicked off his shoes. He hadn't gone out drinking but maybe once in the last two weeks, even spending most of this night at a half-price matinee. So he couldn't be sure that every woman in town still hated him, but since his mind was preoccupied with Sam's too talented mouth, Gabriel hadn't even thought to look for satisfaction elsewhere. Sober, abstinent, and perhaps the most terrifying, monogamous. Sam was a good influence on him.
Which meant that it was definitely time to be bad.
But when he looked back to the other man, Sam was still standing there, cheeks only slightly less red now. "I haven't heard anything from Dean about that," he said, crossing his arms over his chest in stubborn refusal.
Gabriel leaned against the back of the couch, pulling his socks off one at a time. "Technicality," he replied. He absolutely would not allow Sam wriggle his way out of the deal tonight. "Castiel doesn't lie. God would smite him down, you know."
Sam frowned his disapproval. "You shouldn't make fun of people's religion, even if you don't agree with it, and for God's sake would you stop undressing! Crap!" He shoved both hands through his hair and turned away, suddenly finding the wall very interesting.
Hands still on the button of his jeans, Gabriel chuckled. Even from halfway across the room, he could see the tips of Sam's ears glowing bright red under that shaggy mop of hair. "Aw, Sammy, there's no need for yelling. Yet." Sam turned back to him enough to give Gabriel an exasperated look, which he ignored. "If you wanted to undress me yourself, all you had to do was ask," he teased.
Sam rolled his eyes. "You're delusional," he said and walked to past Gabriel to the stairs.
"I'm horny, too!" Gabriel called after Sam's retreating figure, and grinned when the other man tripped on the bottom step. "Guess which one is easier to handle?" Sam straightened himself then turned to glare at Gabriel again, face bright red. Gabriel's grin widened. "Give you a hint," he sang, and pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it on top of his jacket, "It's the one you can actually handle."
"Gabriel!" Sam protested. "I told you it's not happening. You can take the couch for tonight," he motioned to it with one arm, "but I'm going to sleep, and so should you."
Gabriel pouted. "Come on, Sasquatch," he whined, following as the other man started up the stairs. "It's been two weeks. I'm already hard!" Sam stopped in his tracks and turned to say something, but Gabriel threw his arms around Sam's neck and pulled himself tight against the taller man. "Post-sex sleep is always the best sleep."
Sam dropped his arms, letting his hands rest on Gabriel's hips and tipped his head to the ceiling with a sigh. "You're not letting this go, are you?" Gabriel recognized resignation when he heard it, and he shook his head with a grin, wriggling against Sam until he felt the other man's response. His one night with Sam had been his only homosexual experience, but it had been enough to make him realize he'd been missing out. "Fine," Sam snapped, setting Gabriel back at arm's length with his hands still at the shorter man's waist. "Just once though, to get you to sleep."
Gabriel snorted, letting Sam lead the way to his room. "As if one time could knock me out."
Sam pulled Gabriel around, pushing him to sit on the edge of the bed and looking down with a confident smirk that Gabriel had never before seen on his face. "Once is all I need. Trust that."
And he did, the shivers running down his spine at the soft-spoken promise.
Sam's hands were large. Gabriel had never thought that feeling small would be such a turn on, but he'd only ever been with women, small and delicate and gentle on him. Even Kali, with her many kinks, hadn't brought him to the edge so quickly, or kept him hanging there for so long. The fingers on him now were rough, and for the first time Gabriel wondered just what Sam did when he wasn't at school, or indulging Gabriel's whims. He didn't wonder long though. As soon as Sam's mouth touched him, tongue hot and wet, all coherent thought flew out the window.
It could have been ten minutes, or ten hours. Sam wouldn't let him come, that broad hand wrapped at the base of his cock keeping Gabriel tightly in check, and he would never admit later to the frustrated cries that ripped from his throat. He pulled at Sam's hair, trying to urge the other man faster or harder or anything that would let him fall, but it only earned him one of those massive hands on his wrists, holding them so tight that he couldn't shake loose. But even with one hand, the pleasure was so intense that it bordered on agony. Unable to touch his companion, Gabriel's frustration grew, and he ignored the tears building in his eyes to lean up as far as he could. He bit the hand holding his wrists hard enough to taste blood.
Sam grunted, teeth grazing Gabriel's too sensitive skin and hand loosening only slightly, but it was enough. Gabriel came hard, whimpering around the hand clenched between his teeth and eyes shut tight against the waves of pleasure cascading over every nerve ending. He might have passed out for a moment, Gabriel couldn't be sure. When he finally opened his eyes, lids heavy with the desire to just sleep, Sam was leaning over him, mouth red and hair mussed, a damp rag carefully wiping sweat and spit and spunk from Gabriel's stomach and cock. Though the touch was gentle, Gabriel hissed at each brush against his sensitized flesh. "What about you?" Gabriel asked when he noticed that Sam was still hard under his thin cotton pants. He was too tired to even be concerned that his voice was rough from screaming.
Sam's laugh was soft. "I can take care of myself. I'm not an animal like you," he replied, holding up his hand. Even in the dim light spilling in from the hallway, Gabriel could see the dark imprint where he had drawn blood on the back of Sam's hand. He couldn't say anything though, just nodding as exhaustion overwhelmed him and he let his eyes close. He forgot about Castiel and their fight, and his guilt. He forgot that he had work in the morning, however far away or near that might be. He forgot even that Sam was right there, gentle hands still cleaning their mess. Gabriel just gave in to the darkness and slept more peacefully now than after even the most acrobatic sex he'd had with any woman.