A/N: Thank you, once again, to my lovely reviewer last chapter. So this bit is rather fluffy after all that action. It's also the point that I worry Eloa is going a bit OTT Mary Sue, she didn't score that high on the litmus test when I did it but y'know...you can never be too certain. Sadly this may be my last update for about a week or as I'm going home this weekend so I won't have internet, and then when I get back apparently the uni is doing some maintenance thing with the internet and it won't be working for a bit. We'll just have to see. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

"And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming,
Or the moment of truth in your lies.
When everything feels like the movies,
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive." – Goo Goo Dolls, Iris.

A few minutes later…

-Dean-

He was pretty sure that it didn't matter but Dean was pretty sure they hadn't landed at Bobby's house. In fact he was certain because there was no room in Bobby's house decorated with bright purple walls. Dean shook his head to clear it and get his bearings. The purple walls stayed which probably meant they were actually there. He looked around carefully, noticing Eloa was nowhere to be seen but not worry too much. The angel could take care of herself. There were two queen sized beds against the opposite wall both with pine wood bed side cabinets and bed spreads to match the walls.

"I know it's not really your cup of tea but Balthazar and I both agreed it was for the best if we didn't go straight back to Bobby Singer's house," a familiar voice explained. Dean jumped a little in shock reaching for his gun until the speaker walked over to in front of him.

"Jesus Christ Eloa, a little warning?" he replied pointedly before making his way over to one of the beds and sitting on the edge. "Where'd you go anyway?"

"To put up warding sigils," she said simply.

"Is Sam alright?"

"Both he and Gabriel made it out relatively unharmed," she informed him while glancing around the brightly painted room. Her gaze moved to him quickly after as she continued. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he told her default answer at the ready as always. She frowned and tilted her head slightly as if she was studying him. She probably was.

"Are you sure? Most people would be traumatized by what just happened to you," she replied carefully. Dean scoffed and shook his head with a small and yet somewhat cocky smile, forced but usually convincing.

"Most people aren't hunters."

"Even hunters have their limits Dean," Eloa said delicately.

"Not this one," he disagreed, smile faltering a little before he looked away. The angel looked down at the floor for a moment then sighed.

"If you insist so be it but if you do need to talk feel free. I'm only a prayer away," she told him already getting up. He turned slightly to look at her with a frown.

"You're not staying?" he asked in surprise. He hadn't thought that she would leave so soon, particularly not after all that had happened. It was almost unsettling how fast she wanted to get away.

"No there is some business I must settle with Balthazar. He revealed himself today to save Gabriel and Sam from Lucifer," she explained, running a hand through her messy brunette hair. Dean swallowed the lump forming in his throat, unsure why it was even developing. All he knew was that he didn't want her to go. Without thinking his hand shot out to catch hold of her arm and he smiled weakly.

"Stay. Please." She blinked at him for a moment then inclined her head towards him with an almost thoughtful expression on her face, returning to her spot next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Dean broke it in a soft voice.

"It kind of hit me back there y'know? I knew that he'd gone to crazy lengths but I just didn't think he would go that far, even after everything that had happened with Gabriel. I know you and Sam said he would but until I had my back against that wall deep down I just couldn't bring myself to truly believe it," he admitted quietly. "The things he was saying… talking about Gabe and me like we were possessions. Not people. Hell he even said he wanted me to be his plaything. That I didn't have a choice. He was gonna force me."

"When an angel embraces their dark-" Eloa began hesitantly.

"Don't talk to me like you're reading out of some sort of angelic handbook Eloa. Not now. I don't think I can deal with that right now."

"Then what would you like me to say?" she asked gently. "Or would you rather I just listened?"

"I don't know," he replied running a hand through his hair uncertainly. "I just need you to stay because if I do need to talk then I can't tell Sammy. At least not about this."

"I understand," she murmured sweetly, twisting one of her brunette locks around her finger before letting it spring back in a curl. They lapsed into silence once more, uncomfortable this time after all they had discussed but somehow Dean didn't mind too much because, although it was tense, it was also therapeutic in a way, knowing someone was there if he decided to 'bare his soul'.

"Did you know that Lucifer is actually shit in bed?" Eloa said suddenly after a few minutes. Dean over to her and blinked at her uncertainly.

"What?"

"Well you know, with all his big bad reputation as the Morning Star, the once brightest angel in all of heaven and the King of Hell you would think he would be a good lay wouldn't you?" she replied, the words coming out rushed and almost slurred by their speed.

"Huh…" Dean huffed out in confusion and disbelief.

"But he just wasn't," the angel continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I mean, sure, he was average but you would think that an archangel would be mind-blowing or at the very least amazing not just run-of-the-mill. Maybe he picked up some tips from Sam when he-"

"Eloa, are you blabbering?" Dean interrupted incredulously, raising his eyebrows in a mixture of amusement, shock and a little bit mortified that she was about to mention Sam's possible sexual prowess to him of all people. Eloa gave him a small, embarrassed smile and bit her bottom lip slightly.

"Erm, maybe a little," she admitted, tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear. "Distraction from awkwardness attempt…ish?" The Winchester shook his head with a grin that threatened to turn into a smirk quirking at the corners of his mouth.

"Ish?" he mocked. "That's adorable. Since when do angels 'ish' anything?" Eloa rolled her eyes at him pointedly.

"You're a dick." Dean shrugged his shoulders, still having to hold back his smirk.

"It's a skill. Most angels have it as well y'know. Even the ones with girly parts like Anna," he told her good-naturedly nudging her with his elbow. Eloa snorted in a rather unladylike fashion in amusement and nodded.

"I must admit that most of my siblings are dicks," she confirmed brightly. "I think they learnt it off Michael. Blame Michael for everything – he's the eldest."

"Hey! The eldest isn't always to blame you know," Dean protested with a grin. "Personally I think it's the younger ones to blame for copying them."

"Not in my experience," Eloa teased with a small giggle while Dean shook his head. They carried on laughing for a little while longer before going quiet again.

"Thank you," the human eventually murmured the mood shifting to serious immediately as Eloa's brow furrowed in confusion.

"For what?"

"For coming to save me," he replied faintly. Eloa let out a quiet chuckle, expression softening into a gentle smile as she placed a hand on his unmarked shoulder. Green eyes met doe brown as he looked back at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You're welcome," the angel told him affectionately before tilting her head to one side with a mischievous smirk. The expression threw him a bit, uncertain what it meant. "Hey…doesn't this count as a… what do you call it? Chick flick moment?" Dean grinned and let out a breathless snigger.

"No, it doesn't."

"No? Definitely not?" she asked coyly. Dean frowned slightly studying her in a friendly way then shaking his head.

"Definitely and don't let anyone say otherwise. 'psecially not Sammy."

"Right…and what about if I do this?" she asked before leaning forward and pressing a soft, almost shy kiss to his lips and then pulling back. Dean blinked at her in shock, silent for a moment.

"Yeah…that definitely makes it a chick flick," he murmured before pulling her back in for another. Eloa giggled against his lips.

"Guessing you don't mind all that much."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Meanwhile…

-Gabriel-

One of the first things Gabriel noticed when he started to wake was that the arms encircling him and the muscular chest that he was using as a pillow wasn't Castiel's. His first emotion upon waking, therefore, was panic. Pure, unadulterated panic, because Castiel was going to be pissed and nothing good could ever come from that. Quickly he sat up, frantically looking around the room before the arms surrounding him gently pulled him back down and a familiar voice started murmuring soothing nonsense words in his ear. After a moment he relaxed and the past few hours caught up with him; Michael's visit, Sam saving him, using his limited grace to get Sam out of the house alive all coming back within the space of a few seconds.

"Sam?" he whispered shakily, looking up a little so he could see the youngest Winchester's face. He smiled back at him and moved one of his hands into Gabriel's hair, stroking gently. The archangel closed his eyes at the contact, pressing his face back into the muscles of Sam's chest and soaking it in after only having any kind of intimacy with Castiel since he'd first been captured.

"Hey Gabe," Sam replied quietly and Gabriel all but snuggled into him with a soft humming sound, trying to ignore the sick feeling that was starting in his stomach that was screaming wrong, wrong, wrong. Castiel's influence, of course, the bond was trying to drag him back to his master. (And maybe it wasn't so much drag as lead him back, although it would hurt like hell to admit it to anyone, even himself.)"How are you feeling?"

"Drained," Gabriel told him truthfully, his voice muffled as he was talking into Sam's chest. Hot tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes and on to Sam's shirt. "And I can feel him. Castiel. He's so angry Sam. He wants me back with him and he wants you dead because he thinks it's entirely your fault. He hates you more than anything in existence. It's kind of funny, feeling his emotions on top of my own. Kind of overwhelming." Sam's hand stopped moving in his hair and Gabriel swallowed thickly at the lie because it wasn't overwhelming in the sense that Castiel's emotions were strong or that they were opposing his own. Not really. No matter what he was trying to tell himself. It was more his own emotions, stretched and misshapen by the bond, that overwhelmed him and tore at him; the love he shamefully had begun to succumb to from the grace bond versus the love that had been in his heart for Sam for so long.

"Is that normal?" the youngest Winchester brother asked. Gabriel made a soft choking sound that was something akin to laughter.

"Across distance? Rare but possible. After all, I'm an archangel and he's a raging psychopath." He knew that wasn't quite what Sam meant but the human must have sensed his reluctance to talk about it and easily carried on with Gabriel's topic diversion.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Just…distract me. It'll pass eventually," the archangel muttered, burrowing further into the warmth and security of Sam's body, forcing himself to ignore the bond shouting in his head about disloyalty and adultery. The taller of the two men let out a small sigh.

"Gabriel, I know you probably don't want to talk about it right now but I need to know..." he began carefully. Gabriel cut him off weakly, pressing a kiss to the cloth of Sam's shirt.

"If there is one thing I do know Sam, it's that I love you. Just don't make me think about it too much right now. There are too many things that have happened to me recently." The words were almost painfully true but in a way it helped to say them out loud, dulling the other words that were screaming in his mind. He felt Sam nod above him and place the lightest of all kisses to his hair. A gesture he couldn't help but find sweet.

"Well, when you're ready and for what's it's worth, I know I love you too."