A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to post this chapter, real life took over. I haven't been able to proof this just yet, so I apologise for any and all mistakes. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 15
For the next hour Claire, Sam and Dean filled Gabriel in on their adventure, Claire giving a colourful recount of Dean's Braveheart speech and then his bravery in battle.
"Wished I'd been there to see it." Gabriel laughed, turning to look warmly at Sam. "Don't suppose you got a photo?"
"Actually there should be some on the website." Claire put in with a large smile, pushing her empty plate away.
"I'll be sure to look later." Gabriel replied, his gaze locked with hers. "Because you're band from the internet."
Claire gaped at him. "Seriously? What about school work?"
Gabriel leant forward on his elbows, his fingers steepled together like Mr Burns. "If you need to go on time for school work, you'll do it down here where we can keep an eye on you. – And no phone either." He added, holding his hand out to her.
Claire stared at him for a long moment before sighing dramatically and handing the device ever. "Can I go to my room now?" she grumbled.
"Yes, and bring your laptop down."
Grumbling under her breath Claire got up and marched petulantly up to her room, reappearing a few minutes later to hand Gabriel her computer then vanished again, Riot moping along behind her. Gabriel rolled his eyes at Sam, then got up and began collecting the dishes.
"I'll do that." Sam insisted.
Gabriel shook his head. "It's fine. You guys go relax." Carrying the plates to the sink.
Dean was on his feet heading towards the lounge in a second, while Sam grabbed a few other plates and walked over to join Gabriel. Dean paused in the doorway and looked back at the pair, frowning.
"I told you to go sit." Gabriel ordered with a wide grin.
Sam ignored him, lowering the plate into the sink and then heading back to the table, collecting the remaining dishes while Gabriel began to wash. It was all very domestic and Dean's stomach clenched tightly. He'd had that once, only to throw it away. What stung most though was thatwhile he missed being close to someone, missed the small ounce of normalcy, he didn't miss Lisa herself.
He dragged his palm down his face with a weary sigh and groaned. When it came away to reveal Sam pressed against Gabriel's back, his face buried in the man's neck and his hands all over him. His stomach churned making him feel sick. He ripped his gaze away and headed for the couch, dropping down with another moan, his head in his hands.
"Dean?" He looked up to see Sam standing staring at him. "You okay?"
"Fine." Dean grumbled, inhaling deeply and hurriedly getting to his feet. "I should get going."
"Uh? What? Why?"
Dean shrugged into his jacket. "I'll call when I find a case."
Sam stared at him, his face pinched into his trademark bitch-face. "Right." He grunted.
"See ya in a few days, Sammy." Dean murmured, marching to the door and yanking it open. He paused only a moment to look back at his baby brother, a tight smile on his lips.
"You could stay." Sam quickly announced, moving closer to the threshold, hope in his green eyes. "We've got a spare room."
Dean's breath caught in his throat and he sharply shook his head. "Maybe another time." He lied. "See ya, Sammy."
He took his time walking the few feet to the Impala, his feet dragging at the dirt, reluctantly to leave. He reached into his pocket for the keys, his mind drifting. The first name spring from the whirlwind of thought being Cas, but he hadn't heard from the angel. In weeks, no matter how many times he called him, Cas had seemingly been unwilling to make an appearance, that in mind Dean couldn't help but think of Benny. He'd listen, he'd understand, he'd help him forget for a few hours, just like he had in purgatory. – And Sam would never know.
He yanked open the door of the impala with a deep lung-filled breath.
"Dean."
His head snapped around to stare at Gabriel, watching him from the porch. "Gabriel." The ex-angel sighed, folding his arms and perching his shoulder of the beam. They silently stared at each other for a long tense moment. "Did you want something?" Dean demanded, resting his arms on the door frame and roof.
"I'm not going to apologise." Gabriel announced. "For anything."
Dean frowned. "I never expected you to."
"I did what I had to do. – I tried to stop it before it got started." Gabriel informed him casually. "And when that didn't work, I just wanted to get it over with, with as few causalities as possible."
Dean frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." Gabriel sighed. "It wasn't personal, well okay it was, I guess, but it was like I picked on you boys for the fun of it."
Dean stiffed. "Good to know." He huffed. "Can I go now?"
Gabriel struggled. "If you really want to."
"Well I don't want to stay here and watch you fawn all over my brother."
Gabriel smirked. "It's healthier than sitting in a room and just staring at him like some kind of creepy stalker."
Dean swallowed at the meaningful look in the man's eyes. "You think what you guys are doing is healthy?" he spat defensively.
"Don't." Gabriel warned firmly. "Don't play the homophobic brother, Dean-o, because we both know its bullshit. – Sam's told me all about your buddy Benny."
"Meaning?"
"You forget I was in purgatory too, Dean. I know what that place does to a guy. – I get it, you needed help finding Cassie, you were alone, things happened."
"Nothing happened." Dean growled.
Gabriel met his angry gaze challengingly. "Whatever Dean. I don't give a shit but don't you dare take your guilty conscious out on me and Sam, especially not Sam. You found your comfort, he found his." Gabriel straightened, his jaw tight. "Difference is, I'm not his consolation prize."
"Aren't you?" Dean snapped as Gabriel turned to head back inside. "You're never gonna replace Jessica, no one will. At best your just another Ruby."
Gabriel shot him a murderous look that made Dean glad the guy wasn't an all-powerful archangel any more. "And no amount of pussy is going to change the fact that you want to bend my baby bro over that car and fuck him raw!" he spat viciously, storming into the house and slamming the door violently behind him.
Dean stared after him in shock, his heart hammering painfully and his stomach churning acid and bail. Climbing into the Impala, he slammed the car door, started the engine and peeled away from the house like the armies of hell were after him, again.
_What Doesn't Kill You_
"Are you alright?" Sam asked from the bed as Gabriel moved around the room, getting his things ready for work the next morning.
"Fine."
"You've been quiet all night. – Are you still pissed about missing thanksgiving?"
Gabriel looked over at him softly. "No, you made up for that. – I was being irrational about that anyway. Sorry."
"Maybe just a little." Sam smiled, tugging back the covers. "But I'm not done making it up yet."
Gabriel met the hunter's heavy lidded gaze for a moment then looked away.
"Alright, what did he say?" Sam demanded, sitting upright in the bed.
"Who?"
"You know who, don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you." Sam snapped, frustrated.
"Nothing. – He was just being Dean. Protective big brother. It's nothing."
"If it were nothing, you'd be over here in bed with me, calling I your debt instead of over there bluffing your boots."
Gabriel stared down at the polished leather, they were already shining like the top of the Chrysler building. Tossing the rag aside, he set the left boot on the floor with a sigh. "Really, it's just Dean throwing shit around I didn't wanting to hear. – It was my own fault, I poked the bear."
"Meaning?"
"Cas."
Sam groaned, slouching back against the pillow. "Well that wasn't smart."
"He pissed me off." Gabriel defended angrily.
"So you went for the juggler."
Gabriel shrugged. "Well you know what they say, the best way to a man's heart is through his chest with a charving knife." He huffed humourlessly.
Sam shiik his head. "So what did he retaliate with?"
Gabriel pressed his lips together determinedly.
"Gabe?"
"He said I had bad hair." He lied, getting to his feet and hurrying to the bathroom in a desperate moment of cowardice.
He couldn't tell Sam what Dean said, he didn't want to see the truth of it in the man's eyes. Didn't want to hear Sam struggle to reassure him. If he even bothered to try. So he'd do what he always did, he'd run and hide from the painful truth, he was just a convenience.
"Whatever he said, it's bullshit. You know what, right?" Sam announced, interrupting his self-pity parade.
Gabriel startled, turning sharply to stare open mouthed as Sam leaning in the bathroom doorway. "Jeez, Winchester, don't do that." He snapped breathlessly, grabbing at his chest.
"Sorry." Sam smirked, stepping closer and reaching out to touch the shorter man, his hands settling on his hips, before lowering his mouth to Gabriel's.
The kiss was slow, leisurely. Gabriel could almost believe it was meaningful, that Sam was confessing to something he couldn't find the words for. You'll never replace Jessica. Dean's voice taunted, over and over. Angry and desperate to block out the sound, or maybe as a screw you to the older hunter, Gabriel tightened his fingers in Sam's lush hair, scrapping his nails over the scalp and deepened the kiss. Taking in from slow and comforting to frantic and possessive.
_What Doesn't Kill You_
It was two days before Dean made contact again. When Sam saw his brother's name flashing on his caller ID his stomach clenched up. He wasn't ready to head out again only a long hunt, and he had a feeling neither was Gabriel. Ever since he'd gotten back, the ex-angel had been acting…oddly. Distant yet possessive. The last two nights had seen Sam surrounding his body in a variety of way, some of which he hadn't even thought possible, another reason he wasn't ready to hunt, his body ached in places doctors probably didn't know existed.
Sam knew it had something to do with Dean. His brother had said something to Gabriel before he'd left, but he couldn't get the ex-angel to tell him just what it was. He probably would have called Dean himself in a day or two to demand answers if it carried on, even though he knew the second he did, he was waving goodbye to his R&R. – As it turned out, Dean beat him to it and Sam could see his relaxing time at home swiftly vanishing with each unanswered ring.
Taking a deep breath, Sam hit the answer button and lifted it reluctantly to his year. "Hey."
"Hey. So thought you'd like to know Kevin's working hard."
Sam frowned. "Has he found something?" they'd been waiting months for Kevin to decipher that damn demon tablet, it was getting tedious. But part of Sam wasn't really rushing to hear what it said because he knew he wasn't going to like it. After all closing the gates of hell wasn't going to be a walk in the park. There was going to be blood and pain, and he...mostly wasn't ready for that just yet. Especially now he had Gabriel and Claire.
"Nope." Dean said, his tone sounding as tired as Sam felt.
"Oh, well thanks for telling me." Sam sighed. The line went quiet for a long moment, either of them rushing to hang up. "Dean?" Sam finally said, deciding to ask.
"Yeah, Sammy?"
Sam looked down at the garbage disposal he'd been trying to fix the last twenty minutes. The question lodged in his throat. "Uh…"
"What are you doing?" Dean asked, clearly seeing Sam was struggling with something.
"Jammed garbage disposal. You?" Sam heard the tell-tell sound of a waitress and bottles, knowing just what his brother was doing he rolled his eyes and padded slowly over to the table, dragging out a chair and taking a seat.
"Nothing much, just relaxing."
Sam hummed. "Where?"
"Duluth. Why, you need help with that disposal?" Dean laughed, shallowly.
"No." Sam grunted. "But you know, if you want to come by and have a beer, you don't need an excuse."
"I don't want to interrupt your domestic bliss." Dean grunted.
Sam inhaled at his brother's tone, part disgust, part dismissal. "Dean." He growled, shaking his head and rubbed at his face. "We've been through this, I thought you were going to give me a break. Stop making this an either/or situation." Sam watching the clock on the wall tick by almost forty seconds before his brother spoke again.
"It's just hard to see you like that Sammy."
"What, happy?" he demanded harshly. "Or with a guy?"
"With him." Dean quickly clarified.
"Dean." Sam groaned. He'd tried to explain this too many times, he was tired of having to defend his relationship.
"Look he'd just….his so…."
"What?" Sam growled, wearily. Dean didn't finished whatever it was he was going to say, clearly reading Sam's tone. "Maybe if you spent time with him, got to really know him, maybe then you'd get off his case. – He might surprise you Dean. He certainly did me."
"I don't want that kind of surprise."
Sam knew a brick wall when he was hitting his head against it. Dean was never going to give Gabriel a chance, he was never going to accept their relationship, at least not without a hell of a fight. "What did you say to him?" he demanded, finally tiring of it all.
"What?"
"When you left the other night, you guys spoke, you said something Dean, what was it because Gabriel won't tell me but I know you, I know you said something?"
"I… I didn't say anything." Dean lied.
"I know when you're lying Dean, you said something, tell me!"
"What about what he said? Huh?" Dean growled back defensive and furious.
"HE said he brought up you and Cas." Sam replied matter-of-factly. "And he knows he shouldn't have."
"I got to go." Dean said instead of answering his question. "Later Sammy."
Sam opened his mouth to stop him from hanging up but the line was dead before he could even form the words, leaving him to stare down at the picture of himself, Claire and Dean. Gritting his teeth Sam opened up a blank message and typed.
This conversation isn't over Dean.
It was another week and a half before he got a reply reading.
Hunt. S & B. Kentucky. Pick you up in an hour.