A/N: Hello, lovely readers. Miss me? Meandering through the woods is my specialty it would seem lately, so enjoy the longer chapter. I admit the Tony Stark reference used near the end-was inspired by the lovely RiaRose. She has amazing Stony fics and spectacular HP works. If these are your thing as well as SPN, check her out. You won't be disappointed.
Shot Through the Heart
Sam could hear the soft rumble of his brother's music as he approached Dean's room not long after leaving Jack's. He considered walking past, letting them have their moment. There was really nothing he could do right now as it was. But then, Sam rarely could leave things alone when it came to those he loved going through hard times. He just had to help somehow.
His boots thumped quietly down the empty corridor.
He should have kept walking. Went straight to Gabe's room and talked with the archangel. Apologized for his earlier actions. It was the right thing to do.
Cas had Dean. He didn't need the long-haired hunter butting in once again.
And, yet, Sam still knocked against his brother's closed door and waited for half a moment.
When the door opened a second later and revealed his older brother, Sam's eyes darted to the floor guiltily. His brother looked like absolute crap.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"It's fine," grunted Dean, giving him a quick once over before he turned back towards his room.
Sam followed his brother's gaze and quickly found the curled-up ball underneath the covers in the middle of Dean's bed. He felt ten times worse now. He had pulled his brother away from the clearly suffering angel.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Dean huffed, crossing his arms before he casually leaned back against the doorframe. The deep green focused intently on the ball. "If I knew that, Sammy . . ." His brother then let out a long, sad sigh a second later, his hands coming up to rub against his face. "We can't just be happy for once, can we?"
Then it wouldn't be their lives, would it?
"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Sam replied with a shrug, "I think I screwed things up with Gabe." He felt his mood sour at the admission before he snuck a glance through his long hair.
"What?" Dean scoffed. Clearly his older brother didn't think his situation with Gabe was as bad as it was with Cas. Which, Sam supposed, it wasn't really on second thought. Damn, he was insensitive sometimes. Why didn't he—damn. "So, give the dick candy or something. He'll get over it."
"Dean—" Sam started to apologize.
"No," his brother snapped back, the stress of everything clearly getting to him. "No!" He jammed his finger hard into the taller one's chest, taking a step forward with a cold, almost feral look. "Sammy, that douche—ah, fuck it!" He threw his hands up in obvious surrender. "Gabriel loves you, man! You could jam his damn blade into him, and he'd still be all heart-eyes and wanting to bone you. So, for fuck's sake, don't tell me you've screwed things up to the point of never fixing it. Because you haven't. So, whatever the hell you did or think you did, stop bitching and you fix it. Got it?"
Opening his mouth to say something back, Sam was cut off by a small whimper from the curled-up ball underneath the heavy blankets. He caught his brother's pained look before Dean whirled away and headed back towards the bed.
"Cas." His brother's voice cracked prior to a sharp, immediate inhalation, quickly gathering all his strength from within only to project it outward again. As if he was raising a shield to protect himself from the onslaught. For a moment after reaching him, Dean stood rigid at the angel's bedside, as if guarding a fallen soldier at the end of a firefight. He kept his chin tilted upwards, his eyes vacant and removed resting on the opposite wall. For a brief second, his hand hovered above the lump of a curled-up angel before he gently lowered it and rested it against what Sam assumed was Cas's shoulder. The gentleness of that one action screamed the hunter's emotional battle within.
His eyes closed heavily when he heard his brother's steady, yet stilted voice again.
"What do you need, Cas?"
Come back to me, man—was what Sam understand, though.
His heart thundered in his chest cruelly. They didn't deserve this. They were supposed to be happy, in love, fucking adorable, and grossing him out all the time. Not this. Anything but this.
Green eyes flitted up and met his. He had only seen his brother this lost once before. He swallowed down the lump that was in his throat, searching for any words. But there were none.
"Oh, Cassie," a voice suddenly sang out behind the tallest Winchester brother. Balthazar. Steely bluish gray eyes twinkled roguishly when the angel glanced at Sam and walked past. "Your amazing little brother Balthy has a present for you!"
"Dude," Dean growled, moving a few steps closer to Balthazar as if to protect Cas. Though, Sam didn't blame him. Anyone would at seeing Balthazar strolling in wearing a tight grey v-neck that said 'Proud little brother of the rainbow squad' complete with an intentionally destressed rainbow-colored cutout of angel wings, a pair of acid-washed jeans, and black cowboy boots. It was absurd and yet so totally the blond.
"Yes, hello to you as well, Hairless Ape," drawled Balthazar without so much as a glance, clearly rolling his eyes at the eldest Winchester. He then redirected his attention to the ball under the covers. "Come on, Brother. You've forced us to endure your emo phase long enough. Up you go."
"Hey, leave him—"
Sam blinked the second he saw Balthazar clap his hand over Dean's mouth and glare fiercely at him. He considered stepping in, knowing that he should. It was his brother after all. But the slight movement from the lump drew his attention from them. Wait a minute.
"If you come out, I'll let you have your present," promised the blond angel, half-singing it. Even Dean was watching, ceasing in his futile attempt. "And I know you'll love it, Cassie. So, come on." The lump moved a bit more, and Balthazar lowered his hand from Dean. "Come out and join us. Will you?"
There was a slight hesitation before the hiding former angel tossed the covers off soon after, blinking owlishly at his younger brother. The messy dark hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions.
"What . . ." Bleary blue eyes darted from Dean then to the blond. Squinting, his head then tilted all the way to the side as he obviously read Balthazar's shirt. "Rainbow squad?"
Balthazar snickered quietly, turning fully towards his withdrawn brother. "Hello, Castiel." The words flowed elegantly off his tongue in a tender, loving manner. "Good of you to join us finally." He flashed a gentle smirk towards him.
Cas, however, huffed, glancing about the room for a moment before returning to the blond. "Where is this present you promised?"
Sam glanced back to the blond, wondering the same thing.
With a flippant shrug, Balthazar held his hands up. "I lied. There's no present."
"You assbutt!" Cas growled, glaring at him.
"Yes, I know. I'm a wretched brother," the blond replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The battleship grays then glanced momentarily at Dean before they returned to Cas. "However, before you decide to go all prima donna on us again, perhaps you could hear me out first." He didn't wait for a reply. He just took another step forward and spoke. "You have a human here, a rather ridiculously annoying one I might add, who is at a loss on how to help you and desperately longs to do so. So instead of being your usual dramatic self, perhaps you could—I don't know—use your words, Castiel."
"I'm not dramatic."
"Oh, dear brother of mine, you're so dramatic you'd win the Best Picture of the Year yet again."
Cas blinked with his trademark head tilt. "What?"
Balthazar sighed exasperatedly in response, shaking his head. "Honestly, you make this too easy sometimes," he muttered under his breath.
Sam couldn't help but chuckle at that, hearing his brother's quiet subdued laugh join in a second later. Maybe having the sarcastic dick around wouldn't be as horrible as they initially thought. He did seem to help Cas snap out of this more than they could. Speaking of said former angel, he watched Cas then glance down and pick at the crumpled-up blanket for a moment. The mood soured once more as the unsettling sound of silence filtered in. Dean, for his part, quickly headed over to his angel not long after.
No words were said between the couple, but Sam knew none needed to be said. Those two had been in perfect sync for more than a decade. He watched Cas suddenly lean forward, his forehead pressed into Dean's midsection, wrapping his arms around him tightly and holding him as if expecting someone to snatch the green-eyed hunter. Still no words were said between them, but Sam could tell the exact second when the right word was said solely from the way Cas crumpled into his brother's chest when the man lightly carded the messy dark hair.
This was a moment for them alone, not Sam and Balthazar. He was intruding again. Like always. Though, at least this time he wasn't alone in it. He could find some solace in that. He glanced where he had last seen the self-indulgent angel, wondering if the blond even realized that they should leave. For a split second, his eyes met Balthazar's before the angel smirked and then zapped himself out of the room.
Show-off.
Knowing what he needed to do then, Sam turned away and silently slipped out of his brother's room. Team CasDean would be okay. He, on the other hand, needed to quit being a baby and man up like his brother was. Roz was right after all. He could have his white picket fence life. It just wouldn't be at all what he had imagined all those years ago. But it could be better. He just had one hurdle—the largest he had ever had to face in terms of dating. But it was the one tripping him up the hardest.
With his head held up high, the tall, long-haired man walked down the corridor towards the door next to his room. His footfalls echoed like a steady drum in a funeral dirge. The words wouldn't be pretty. But he didn't have time for pretty honestly. He needed to hear the words. Then he'd have all the information he needed to figure this out. And he was so close to doing it. He just needed to deal with the one thing—the thing that was holding him back—and then he could move on and decide. No more hiding. No more skirting the issue. No more ignoring it. He was going to rip off the Band-Aid once and for all. He just hoped it didn't end up with him bleeding all over the floor for nothing. Not that he—Damn it! He shook his head harshly and pushed it aside. No more stalling.
Gabe's door was closed. Deciding that he couldn't truly wait any longer, Sam opened the door and walked in after a short, curt knock against the wood. If he found the angel gone or—
"Yes, I know," groaned the sandy-haired archangel perched upon the bed sprawled out with his back against the wall and head tilted upwards to look up at the ceiling. He looked like a teenage girl talking to her best friend on a late Friday afternoon about a boy. All that was missing was the—never mind. Sam caught the pint of ice cream—Double Rainbow he noted with a snort—a second later on Gabe's right side. "I'll talk to her."
Who was Gabe talking to? And why? He honestly had half-expected to find the archangel watching porn or something, not this. Not that he—yep, Sam was just going to stop right there.
The rich warm amber eyes darted to the hunter instantly and then glanced away with a soft, dark smirk. "Look," Gabriel started, only to roll his eyes a second later at whatever the person said. "You can either continue—" He then scoffed unexpectedly, clenching his jaw. He was clearly not like what the person was saying. "Well, fine, bye to you too, Felicia!" he huffed angrily. "Yes, I know your name isn't—oh never mind, Anael!" He tossed his phone down onto the opposite side of the bed soon after, obviously done with his call. He let out a low growl, shaking his head before his voice softened. "I swear. I used to be respected by these damn kids long ago," he muttered before he turned his attention fully back to the tall human. "Need something, Sam?"
Sam? So, he was back to Sam again? That damn jerk was giving him whiplash from all this 'Sam' and 'Sammoose' crap and— He inhaled sharply and forced out an unamused laugh, his fingers flexing at his side into a fist before unclenching. Well, Gabe, you get your wish then. He took a few more steps towards the archangel, noticing the calculating, albeit puzzled, look he was receiving.
"Sam?" he repeated, his voice low in an almost threatening, growling tone. He caught Gabe's blink, which honestly was so ridiculous. Did that idiot forget he was an archangel somehow? Because Sam hadn't. He couldn't. "Sam," he huffed again, feeling his anger crash and then expel as he threw his hands out in front of him in utter disgust. "Sam," he said once more, his voice icy cold.
"Uh, yeah, that's your name?" Gabe's eyes never left his as the taller man stalked towards him.
"No."
"No?" The angel's nose scrunched up in the most ridiculous—it was like a damn bunny was staring at him. How could this—it wasn't—but he couldn't—so adorable and cute and . . . and . . . Gabe.
Hands suddenly seized forward catching the sandy-haired angel's t-shirt, a stupid normal blue plaid one with the first two buttons undone. It also wasn't lost on the hunter that Gabe allowed himself to be yanked forward into him. He filed that question away for later. Much later. If he didn't strangle the archangel first that was.
"This is the second time you've called me Sam—as if we don't have history. As if we're strangers. As if—" The words came out rapidly, tumbling all around them as the air crackled with a familiar energy. The deep earthy scent surrounded them, wrapping the hunter in a familiar embrace to remind him of the long ago dream of his. "As if we're nothing more than just acquaintances, but we're more than that, Gabe."
"What?"
If he wasn't spiraling and feeling his brain starting to catch up with him, he might have found the look of sheer speechlessness on the shorter man adorable.
"Cas and Dean couldn't get their heads of their asses for eleven years. Eleven! You and me, though—shit, I was just some snot-nosed hunter when we first met. Following my older brother around the country blindly because I didn't want to be alone. Because I didn't want to lose him either. I didn't give a damn about Dad, not really. But after Jess . . ." His voice cracked, and he felt the ache to his soul flare up again before it lessened. "I couldn't lose him too."
Gabe's eyes softened as his hand came up to rest gently atop of his.
"And then you—" Sam's voice shook as he remembered long ago the pain of losing his brother. He stared at the angel who understood his pain. "You forced me to watch my brother die time after time after time. And then you left me to live without him for months. I became numb, lost in my grief. I couldn't see straight. And just when I thought you couldn't be a fucking bigger dick, you almost convinced me that I actually killed Bobby—a man who was a father to me." His fingers curled tighter into the fabric of the angel's shirt. He wanted to shake him repeatedly. Hell, he wasn't above punching him either at this point. And yet he knew he couldn't.
"You wouldn't be wrong," Gabe quietly remarked, clearly hearing his thought process somehow. "I hurt you. And I know it."
"You allowed me to believe for months that Dean was dead, Gabriel! That there was no way I'd ever get him back. That I'd be forever alone. That—" He scoffed, drawing in a ragged breath. He could feel the coil deep within his gut loosen slightly as he unwound his pain finally. "That it was my fault he died. That everyone who ever loved me—" His voice wavered again. Hazel eyes instantly darted to the far wall to a picture of Cas and him laughing. "Do you know how badly that messed me up? To go through that? To think everyone I loved would leave me? Would die because of me?"
"Sam . . ." the archangel started, his voice hushed and regretful.
"No! No, Gabe. Not this time." He forced a barked chuckle, shaking his head in anger. "Because while that messed me up inside, it—and this is the really messed up part—helped me later when Dean actually was in Hell. Before Cas saved him."
"I shouldn't have done that, though. I knew what it'd do to you, but I didn't . . ." The sandy-haired man closed his eyes before he leaned forward. "I panicked, Sam. That's the honest truth. I panicked when I saw you two. You two knuckleheads had already tried killing me once. And you two were both smart. I didn't know how much you knew already or how little you didn't. All I thought about was how you'd draw attention, and my dumbass brothers upstairs would somehow then figure out about me. You know? And I didn't want to be drug back to heaven to go through it all again. So, yeah, I panicked and lied saying it was a lesson." He crowded more into Sam's space, searching the taller man's eyes. "I was wrong. Dead wrong to do that. I see that now. For that, I'm sorry. I wish I could snap my fingers and wipe it all off the table, but I can't. Well," he grimaced, "technically, I could, archangel and all, but—" He cut himself off sharply. "I don't want to because it's a reminder to me not to—I'm sorry."
Sam stared back, unblinking. Was— His jaw was slightly dropped. Not a single thought was coherent in his mind. Had— In complete and utter shock, his brows were furrowed with a deep crease running in between them. What? His head tilted to follow Gabe's look.
The sandy-haired man for his part stared back for a moment doing his best trout breathing out of water impression before he likely thought better on whatever he was going to say. His eyes fell to the floor. His head turned slightly to the right in a look of extreme uncomfortableness.
"Did you just apologize?"
"Uh, yeah?" Whiskey eyes closed minutely before they found Sam's again. "I-I do that occasionally." His shoulders lifted hesitantly in an awkward shrug.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Sam forced a smile and glanced at his feet. His tongue lightly ran over his teeth as he inhaled deeply. How had they gotten to this part? Gabe was apologizing to him. The damn archangel who was a pain in his fucking ass always, constantly barraging him with non-stop sexual inuendo, was actually apologizing, was actually showing he could be an—Oh!
His eyes literally went wide in a cartoonish-like way. Oh . . . He was an idiot. It suddenly all made sense. He stared at Gabe, unable to speak once more. That was the answer. When a synapse finally did fire, the hushed words tumbled from his lips, "Holy shit."
"What?" The angel's head jerked upwards, his warm eyes quickly sweeping over the tall hunter in obvious concern. "What's wrong?"
"I just got it." Gabe nodded slowly but said nothing. Sam could see that he had lost the archangel but pushed forward anyway. "What you're doing." It was so damn obvious. And sweet. Maybe. If he didn't think about it at least it was. "Why you're doing this."
One of the archangel's brows rose instantly and disappeared into his hairline. "Um, sorry, my sweet Samcrates. I'm not following you at all here." He then shook his head, his hair bouncing against his face, before he casually leaned back against his headboard again, sprawled out on display. Not at all distracting whatsoever. "What am I doing exactly?"
"Why you're calling me Sam."
"O-okay?"
At the slight hitch in Gabe's voice, the taller hunter rumbled a low chuckle. Got you. He walked closer to the fierce, wrathful warrior of God, having stepped away from him earlier. He caught the amber eyes widen slightly before the angel's eyes quickly darted to the far side of the wall. More chuckles bubbled out.
"You know, it's funny." He waited until Gabe turned back to him, noticing the angel's hesitant look. "Roz flat out told me, but I didn't want to believe her. I couldn't. But it's true, isn't it?" He bent down and leaned in towards the archangel. He was close enough to feel the heat radiating off the angel. "You're acting like this to show me that you can sacrifice for us. That I'm worth that in your eyes. That I'm worth every bit of effort on your part when you have rarely done anything in your life the hard way." When he caught the quick blink, his smirk grew. "Only there's a flaw in your plan, Gabriel."
"There is?" Amber eyes widened in horror momentarily afterwards. One could almost see the gears frantically turning in the man's head on how to spin this back correctly again. So far, the gears were still glitching.
"Yes." With an amused smirk, Sam Winchester stared down at the youngest archangel who held his gaze in half-panic and half-reverence. He leaned in more, hearing the man's slight but totally unnecessary inhale. He was obviously distracting the hell out of the so-called mighty archangel Gabriel. The thick earthy scent then started to envelope him warmly again, invading his every sense. "It ruins our thing, Gabe."
"Our thing?"
He forced himself to suppress his chuckle when he saw Gabe's harsh swallow. The poor angel was surprisingly overwhelmed by him. He took it a step further then, still testing the waters. Eventually, he knew Gabe's mind would catch up, and his fun would be over. But for now, he'd milk it, knowing if the tables were turned, Gabe definitely would be.
His hands curled around the sandy-haired man's shoulders gently, feeling the muscles underneath tense for half a second before they melted entirely into his touch. The archangel was pliant, submitting to him. That wasn't lost on Sam at all.
"Yes. Our thing." He locked eyes with the rich golden hues that were completely otherworldly and beyond all comprehension. "Where you make some overtly sexually suggestive thing like the relentless sexual deviant you are, and I roll my eyes at you, pretending to be annoyed when I secretly enjoy your attention." The second he saw it, the words hitting Gabe, and the archangel recognizing his declaration for what it was, he pulled back sharply and stood up. He brushed off the heavenly being's low groan of protest expertly. "Roz!" he called out, knowing she was likely somewhere nearby. She seemed to be usually. He needed to do this now. He had his answer.
A second later, the dark-haired younger woman appeared in the room with her arms crossed in extreme annoyance. She was wearing tight black jeans with her familiar boots sticking out from underneath the flared pant legs and a low-cut navy tank top with a black leather jacket half-zipped up to just below her breasts.
"Yes, Supreme Cockblocker?" she remarked dryly, lazily turning to glance at him as if he were a pest on the bottom of her boot. She then pulled back slightly at whatever she saw before she glanced at her older brother in surprise. "Wait a minute." Her dark eyes flitted back to Sam. "Are you fucking kidding me? Now?! You—Oh, Sam!" she growled prior to throwing her hands up and hissing something Enochian under her breath. Her eyes snapped back to him with a flash of Grace flaring up. "You seriously fucking picked now?!" She then scoffed. "Of fucking course you did!"
"If you're busy—"
She poked her finger at him and growled. "Don't you even start with me, Sam Winchester! I am so not in the mood right now for your idiocy!" She then huffed loudly before she stomped across the room towards them. "You are not going to ruin my goddamn night!"
"Rozlyn," murmured Gabriel in his softest, tenderest big brother voice. Sam had never heard him sounding so—this before.
"Don't you 'Rozlyn' me, jackass," she snapped, turning her righteous fury onto her older brother. "One night! One goddamn night free of you assholes! And you couldn't even let me have that, could you?"
"We missed you?" Gabe drawled with a languid shrug, obviously wanting to rile her up more.
Her hands clapped down hard onto their shoulders a second later.
Sam felt the sudden burn to his chest from her touch before the flicker of pain vanished again.
"There. You're welcome. Now leave me the fuck alone," she grouched, raising her fingers to snap herself away again.
"Aren't you going to ask—"
"No!"
"Seriously?" Gabe asked with a scoff. "You, the hopeless romantic, isn't the least bit curious—"
"Gabriel," she groaned petulantly, turning back to him. "I have a meeting I have to get to! A very important one. And he doesn't like to be kept waiting." She then crossed her arms again. "So, forgive me, but we can discuss how you both got your fucking heads out of your asses later! All right?"
"Who's your meeting with?"
Sam instantly winced, half-expecting her to attack Gabriel right then. He had seen her upset with her big brother before, but the archangel was definitely smashing all of her buttons at once right now for some reason. Unable to help himself, he lightly rested a hand against the sandy-haired man's forearm and shook his head at him.
"None of your damn business. That's who," she replied snottily. "Any other stupid questions?"
"Only one."
"Gabe, no," Sam groaned. "Let her go to her meeting." He felt his heart stop when he caught the other man's look. Oh no.
"Why do you smell like sulfur?"
Hazel eyes blinked before he instinctively inhaled, catching the slight hint of it as well. Gabe was right. It did smell like— He joined the archangel in staring at her soon after. What was she doing?
Roz death-glared both of them before she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine. You want the truth?" She shrugged flippantly. "You two idiots just pulled me from a rather intense make-out session with Mikahail, my on-again/off-again fuck buddy demon whom I used to have meetings with on behalf of Heaven." More words tumbled out quickly. "I don't anymore because Duma, the bitch, thinks I'm emotionally compromised or some such fucking garbage like that."
Sam's mouth dropped. He glanced towards Gabriel, noticing the archangel staring in horror at her. He winced, glancing down awkwardly. A demon and an angel? Well, it wasn't unheard of actually. In fact, Cas and Meg were pretty— He caught a flicker of irritation surge through him unexpectedly.
"A demon?" Gabe repeated slowly. It was almost as if he was holding himself back by a thread of self-control somehow.
"Yes, Gabriel. A demon." Roz met his intense look, not flinching in the slightest. "I figured if Cas could kiss a—"
"You're not Castiel!"
"Yeah. I know. Thank Dad for that," she drawled sarcastically. "I mean, I'd have hated to have that stick shoved so far up my ass for years, only to have it loosen after falling for a human like Dean Winchester."
"Rozlyn—" snarled the archangel with cracks of energy coming off him. His control was starting to slip unfortunately.
"You don't get to say anything to me, Gabriel! You lost that right when you ran."
Like a taut line, Sam felt something snap back suddenly deep within himself. He glanced towards the archangel and noticed the crumpled look on the other man's face. Gabe looked utterly gutted by that comment.
"I'm not running, Roz," the heavenly brother replied back a moment later.
"This time, sure." She waved him off. "What's to stop you from running again? Hmm? Sam?" She motioned towards the long-haired hunter. "After all, if Cas couldn't—"
"You never needed me!" Gabe shouted back, flying to his feet. "Never! Not once in all our time together. So, what is this? You being jealous?"
Sam winced, sighing inwardly as his head hung. This was going spectacularly well.
"I never needed you?" The younger angel scoffed loudly, rearing back. "Oh, you—Gabriel, you were too in love with your perfect little brother Castiel to see the rest of us. And you know what? That's not just me thinking that. Balthazar thinks it too. He's just too polite or whatever the fuck it is to say anything. But this line of bullshit that I didn't need you?" She flipped the strand of hair that had come loose back with a huff. "Well, you know what? You're right. I don't need you right now. I'll figure this out like I figured everything else out. On my own. You taught me that."
"Figure what out? You and the demon?"
"His name is Mikhail, Gabriel! If I can show your dumbass boyfriend respect, the least of all you can fucking do is muster up some for mine!"
Gabe's eyes darted to Sam instantly with a 'You caught that, right?' look. Boyfriend? That was a far cry from on-again, off-again friends with benefits demon she claimed earlier.
"Roz—"
Her shoulders hunched up, and her eyes glared murderously. Sam watched her for a few more moments before he glanced at Gabe and shook his head. She needed a moment. Clearly. They needed not to— Damn it, Gabe!
"Wait. So, you like this demon? As in . . . it's not just a sexual thing with him?"
Sam groaned, glancing upwards. How did this go so very wrong? He should have just left Roz out of it and left the damn arrow thing for later. This was as bad as when he had lost the rabbit's foot with the whole Bela saga, but instead of losing a shoe, he was going to lose a hot-headed archangel.
"I don't know!" she screamed, throwing her hands up. "It's not like Dad left us a fucking manual on this free will shit. Like, I enjoy being with him, sure." She started pace in front of them wildly. "He makes me laugh. He holds me and tells me sweet fucking crap when I'm wanting to murder you. So, recently, that's a lot lately. Like now. In fact, he's the reason I'm here—because he said I'd regret it if I ignored Sam's stupid summoning me like a damn dog. But I don't know. I don't—" Her voice started to tremble as her words came out frantically. "But I know it's against his nature. I do! He's a demon for Lucifer's sake. I'm an angel! It's fucking complicated! They're our enemies. They want to kill us. But—he's—I mean, fuck! Who even knows if demons were meant to be our enemies in the first place? Maybe Lucifer just wanted them for friends or something. Heaven only knows how alone he was. Plus, it's not like we can be really certain on anything considering how Dad's a fucking sadistic son of a bitch who wants to break all of us for the hell of it like some fucking psychopath!"
"Roz," Gabe murmured, stepping towards his spiraling little sister again.
"But, you know, I like the person I-I am when I'm with him. Like you with Sam! And isn't that—I don't know—isn't that the whole point of this fucking mess? Right?"
Sam glanced at her suddenly when her voice muffled. He watched Gabe wrap his little sister into a warm embrace, holding her tightly. He caught the amber eyes darting to him a second later and the silent apology mouthed to him. As if he was the one Gabe needed to apologize to here.
"Do you want me to give you two a minute alone?" Sam asked quietly, shifting his weight.
"No," Roz muffled back, her face nuzzled into her big brother's clavicle. "You can stay."
Forcing his smile, the man nodded awkwardly. All right then. He wasn't sure why she wanted him to stay, but he'd stay for her then. His eyes narrowed when he felt a rush of protectiveness and fondness flood him suddenly. Where the hell was that coming from? It was almost as if they weren't his. He then winced, figuring it out. Oh. Yeah that made sense he supposed. Somehow, he could feel Gabe's feelings now. Probably a result of the Cupid's arrow she had placed onto them if he had to guess.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?" He glanced back at the siblings, his eyes narrowing when he caught both of their looks.
Gabe's eyes bore deeply into his soul. "Could you maybe not think so loudly right now please? It's sort of distracting to me, my Sam-ilicious."
"Ugh. And moment over," Roz mumbled, pulling herself back sharply. She glanced from Gabe to Sam. "For the record, though, I am happy you two got your heads of your asses. I've always been Team Sabriel. Your chemistry is fucking amazing, and the lines you two have— It's the fluffiest damn stuff I've ever seen. And I do want to know how it came to be. I just . . ."
"Want to be with your demon lover. Got it," the older heavenly brother replied with a slight grimace, clearly still not okay with it but respecting her choice—or rather pretending to for the moment. "But, Roz," he said quietly, gently grabbing her face, "I want to meet him."
"What?"
"I want to meet this . . . Mikhail."
"Why?"
Sam felt the corners of his lips turn upwards as he observed. Yeah, Gabe, why? He caught the whiskey eyes darting to him instantly and smirked back.
Roz then bristled. "Tell me this isn't going to be another instance of you trying to assert your dominance. Because I can take care of myself."
"I know you can," Gabriel stated, dropping his hands to his sides. "I just want to, you know, make sure he knows I know about him now. Have a nice big brother-to-boyfriend talk."
"And?"
"No 'and."
She rolled her eyes hard. "I'll bring it up with him. Now, is there anything else? Or may I go?"
"You've got protection, right?"
The human instantly blinked. Did Gabriel seriously just ask—
"Yes, Gabe. Honestly." She pulled her slender blade out of her jacket a second later. "Happy?"
Sam bit his cheek hard not to burst out laughing. What the hell was it with angels for thinking that was what was meant all the time?
"Ecstatic," remarked the sandy-haired angel dryly. His eyes darted to her when she cupped his cheek tenderly.
"You're sweet. But I'll be fine. Trust me. And if I'm not, then I'll reach out to you and you can gloat about—"
"I don't want to gloat," he argued with a frown. "I want to make sure you're okay."
The hunter felt himself fill with warmth and happiness and pride at the words. He wouldn't deny that Gabe proved he was a good big brother at times. Because these moments showed it.
She laughed softly and shook her head, lowering her hand. "Gabe, just fuck Sam already. Please. Give the people what they want. Really." She then glanced at the hunter whose moth dropped and was staring at her with wide eyes and a slightly reddened face. "Oh, and, before I forget, do you boys have protection?" She snapped her fingers a millisecond later with a giggle, vanishing from the room.
Sam's mind instantly blanked as he tried to figure out what just happened. It was so . . .
"For the record," spoke up the shorter man as he approached slowly "I do."
Because of course that dick had to make that remark. "Your angel blade doesn't count, Gabe."
"I'm not talking about my blade, Sam," the archangel replied neutrally with a shrug.
"Wait." Sam's head snapped towards him. "You mean you have condoms?"
The angel raised a brow. "Um, you don't?"
"Uh, well, no, I do." His eyes instinctively went to his top dresser drawer. "I just . . . really?"
"Really." Gabe then snorted. "I also have some lube and some sex toys probably. Lots of porn. Some of it featuring yours truly. But you've seen my work." He then raked his eyes slowly over Sam's tall form before a smirk grew on the angel's face. "I like sex. I'm not ashamed of admitting it." He hooked a thumb into his pocket, looking utterly relaxed. "Why? Is that going to be a problem?"
"No. I just thought—I mean—" Sam winced, glancing down at his feet as he shifted awkwardly. He knew that. Obviously, he knew that. He could feel his cheeks redden more as he recalled Casa Erotica. Of course, that brought up an entirely different problem. But why would an archangel need condoms? At the sound of the low chuckles nearby, he glanced back down. "Shut up."
"You're so adorable when you're flustered," Gabriel snorted with a cocky grin and sparkling champagne-colored eyes. "For the record, though, the answer you're looking here for is that I have them not for myself but my partners. Remember? Archangel here? This is just my sexy vessel? I'm actually a pretty hot multi-dimensional wavelength being full of energy and—"
"Keep it up, and I'll call her back to break—"
"Nope! No take backs!" the former Trickster declared, leaning towards him. His hands pressed firmly against Sam's chest slowly pushing upwards to his shoulders. "You're stuck with me now, I'm afraid. Until end of time, oh, future bond mate of mine."
"Damn," Sam deadpanned, snapping his fingers. "I knew there was a catch." He could feel Gabriel's warmth again and smelled that familiar scent of candy and dirt mixed with pine trees that he associated with the angel. He couldn't help but lean in further, wanting more of that intoxicatingly weird—was that—
Relying on his baser instincts that suddenly roared with life and left his brain miles behind, he gently pulled the shorter man closer even still, bending down to meet him before lightly brushing his lips over Gabe's. He felt the angel slump against him almost instantly in response. His hand came up to pull the archangel even closer, quickly escalating their kiss to an almost desperate version. He lost himself soon after, slowly walking them back as he tasted the hint of bourbon on the man's lips.
"Sam," sighed contently the mighty fierce warrior of God, the word almost spoken so reverently, so lovingly.
The hunter breathed him in deeply, grunting when they both fell back onto Gabe's bed. It was a shorter walk than he had anticipated. Pulling back and chuckling at the man's low whine of protest, he smiled down at him and shook his head before he quickly unbuttoned his flannel and tossed it somewhere off to his left, showing off his bare chest proudly. He molded back against Gabriel, snorting unexpectedly when the angel's fingers brushed over a ticklish spot above his fifth rib. He caught the angel's brief pause before he felt Gabe's shit-eating grin take over. Oh no. He needed to distract him!
Sam's hands quickly flew to angel's pants as he deepened their kiss, tasting more of the smoky alcohol on his lips. His fingers had just found—
"Mmph!" grunted the hunter against Gabe when he suddenly found himself on his back instead when the archangel flipped them over. Damn superhuman strength. A moment later, he dissolved into a fit of laughter as the nimble fingers attacked relentlessly against the ticklish spot. "Gaaaaabe," he howled with laughter, trying to roll away from him. "Stoooop!" Only they'd go from making out to a tickle war. They were utterly ridiculous. And Sam loved every part of it.
When he felt the kisses against his neck, he squirmed more, snorting soon after when he felt Gabe marking him as his. He'd get such shit from Dean later if he saw the marks. Well, if the angel wasn't going to play fair . . . Squeezing his eyes closed tightly, he thought back to the smuttiest fic he could think of that he had ever read. It unfortunately had to be one set in the Casa Erotica storyline for some strange reason, but he knew it would have made even Balthazar and Dean blush horribly over it.
"Did somebody order the Angel food cake with extra whipped cream and strawberries—"
Within seconds, Sam found himself go from extremely aroused to confused when the familiar intense heat suddenly vanished and was replaced by startling cold. He reopened his eyes and frowned when he noticed that the archangel standing a few feet from him now in the middle of the room, breathing heavily and running a hand through his hair.
"Gabe?" He quickly sat up on his elbows and stared at him. "Are you okay?" Was the man having a panic attack or something? It certainly looked close to one.
"Yep." The archangel's voice cracked, however.
"You want to tell me what's going on?"
Gabe made a face before he reluctantly met Sam's eyes. "I, um—that is—I really want to." He nodded fervently with a strangled, albeit absolutely terrified, smile.
"But?" Sam instantly sat up the rest of the way and pushed himself up off the bed before he strode towards him. He could see the skittishness, wondering if Gabe would run. Gabe's Grace flickered to life again before it was quickly suppressed, and the blown thin amber returned.
"I can't. I'm sorry. I just . . . I . . ." The archangel held his hands up placatingly, taking a step back when Sam neared. "Believe me. It's not you. Fuck, Sam, it is so not you."
Sam paused for half a step. "Then what is it?"
"I, um, well, that is, I . . ." Gabriel groaned loudly all at once, tugging on his hair a second later. His shoulders slumped dejectedly. "I promised myself that if we got to this—" He lifted his gaze back up. "Sam, I—I always do this. I never wait. I just—" He clapped his hands together loudly. "Boom, I'm in bed. No dinner. No movie. No long walk. No goodnight kiss. Nothing but my lover and I making sweet love—all right—fine—fucking, just full on fucking until sunrise." He exaggerated his sigh. "And then I leave. I . . . I don't know how to . . . that is . . . and you . . ."
Sam laughed gently and grabbed the angel's hands, getting the gist of what was being admitted. "In other words, instead of all your past experiences of just skipping right to the screwing around, you want the full experience this time with me. An actual date you mean."
Gabe grimaced and reluctantly nodded, clearly hating himself over it.
"That's—" The younger man stopped himself and laughed awkwardly, releasing one of Gabe's hands to scratch at the nape of his neck lightly. "That's sweet of you." He bent forward and gently kissed the archangel's cheek. He told himself it was only so he could whisper the following, but he knew it wasn't. "But if you're doing it on my account because you think you're going to scare me off, well, Gabe, hate to break it to you, but I already know your dirty little secret." He caught the confused look. "That you are a perpetual sex fiend who would make Tony Stark blush most days."
The angel blinked instantly. "Wait. We talkin' comic book Tony or RDJ Tony here?"
Sam snorted, turning away. "You decide." He bent down and grabbed his discarded flannel from the floor, trying his best not to laugh in disappointment. The one time he was ready was the one Gabe wasn't. It figured. He glanced back, meeting the remorseful gaze. "What do you say to dinner tomorrow night?" He caught the flicker of surprise and smirked. "Good. I'll meet you at 7." Sam then did his best Gabriel leer, secretly enjoying the archangel's quick swallow and widening eyes in response. My, how the tables have turned. "Wear something nice. And maybe if you're lucky, well . . ." His voice trailed off suggestively before he brushed past. The grin engulfed his entire face as he stepped into the hallway. Without a doubt, he knew if he looked back, Gabe would be a stuttering mess. His work here was done.
A/N: I'm thinking we might have one or possibly two chapters left. Depends on the boys. Until next time.