Sam shifted his head, resting his forehead against Gabriel's neck. He couldn't tell whether or not his archangel was asleep yet, but he whispered anyway, "I love you. I love you more than I can comprehend some days. And sometimes I see you making this face, like, 'is this the thing that'll make him leave?' and it breaks my heart, Gabe. All I want is for you to be happy, and sometimes I wonder how it could possibly be me that makes you happy, but I trust you. Maybe you'll tire of me, maybe you won't, but I trust that you would tell me, that wouldn't just disappear into the unknown. But I wish you would trust me, because there is nothing that would make me cast you aside, archangel mine. You could have a secret lair with your supposedly monstrous children and not only would I still love you, but I'd love them too. And they would be beautiful."

Gabriel didn't move, and Sam dozed off, never thinking about whether or not Gabriel ever heard his words.

"Come on, Sam! We're going to be late!" Gabriel paused, taking a second look at Sam's attire. "And there's no way you're going anywhere looking like that. "

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Sam was wearing his normal everyday clothing. Jeans, a t-shirt, and his leather jacket.

"You'll stick out." Gabriel shook his head. "I'll fix it. Ready to go?"

Gabriel waited for Sam's tentative yes before taking his arm and snapping.

The first thing Sam noticed when they reappeared was the noise. People, lots of people that he couldn't see, talking, and the sound of clinking glasses.

The next thing he noticed was that his mate was wearing a suit. Not one of the cheap suits they used when impersonating the FBI, but something a little more exquisite.

And then Sam looked down. He was wearing a black waistcoat with a long sleeved shirt that was a dark green. His tie was of similar color.

He looked up at Gabriel to find the archangel licking his lips as he stared at him. When Sam raised an eyebrow, Gabriel said, "You look so good. I can't wait to help you take it off."

"So what are you waiting for?"

Gabriel smirked, but shook his head. "Nice try, but we are here for a reason. Come on."

Sam dutifully followed the archangel through a doorway leading towards the bulk of the noise.

The ballroom was crowded. Sam didn't know anyone and he'd never seen so many well dressed people all at once.

The women wore fancy, tasteful, dresses and the men wore fancy suits, mostly black, grey, or blue, with other colors appearing occasionally.

There were some women in black (tasteful, modest, flattering, simple, shic, conservative, sleek, elegant) cocktail dresses with trays of champagne flutes drifting among the crowd.

"Gabriel!" Sam hissed. "Why are we here?!"

"Why, to have fun, Samalam! Why else?"

Sam didn't have it in him to be surprised by Gabriel's answer. Gabriel was an archangel, he lived for the moment. Instant gratification and all that. "Do you know anyone here?"

"Sure. Dionysus never misses a good party."

The hunter swallowed. "Is everyone here a pagan?"

"No, no, don't be absurd. At least half are demigods or their mortal company." Gabriel paused. "Yeah… it's a pagan party. And as my entourage, you're my disguise."

"They won't try to eat me again, right?"

"Nope, humans are strictly off the menu tonight." Gabriel looked around for a second, and then took Sam's hand. "We can't just stand here, we'll stick out."

Sam followed as Gabe pulled him through the crowd. He kept his head down, but he watched as Gabriel quietly greeted some of the figures they wove through as the archangel led him who knew where.

"Faðir! I'm so glad to see you!"

Sam looked up, finding a young woman in a black cocktail dress standing in front of them. The dress was sleeveless with a modest drape neck. Her black hair was braided intricately and none of it hid her brown eyes. She was holding a platter of what he could only guess were champagne flutes. Sam knew that the word she used was some form of father, and that he should be able to place her, but he couldn't.

"Like I'd miss it, you know how much I love extravagance." Gabriel turned with a look towards Sam. Sam couldn't quite read the expression on his face, but it was almost like, 'Well, here is a child of mine, what do you think?' But there was a concerned aspect, not just like he was daring Sam, but also like he was afraid how Sam was going to react. "Sam, this is Hela, one of my fosterlings."

Sam was pretty sure he knew exactly why Gabriel was afraid. Because sometimes, like now, he did hide an expression not unlike this one, like he was preparing for the news that his heart was going to shatter into a million pieces. Gabriel's tone had conveyed excitement, because he loved this woman and was happy to see her again, but also worried about how he would react.

He appreciated Gabriel's honesty as far as finally introducing him to his fosterlings, but Sam wished that Gabriel hadn't experienced so much pain as to think that this might be enough for him to break it off with Gabriel. It wasn't, but he wished Gabriel hadn't found the guarding of his heart to be so necessary.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hela. I'm Sam."

The woman gave him a critical look, but she must have found what she was looking for because she nodded. "I've heard only good things about you, but my brothers and I won't hesitate to maim you if you hurt Faðir."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sam said, and he knew he spoke the truth. He loved Gabriel, and he wanted Gabriel to be happy, and the thing that made Gabriel the happiest was Sam getting along with his family. What did it matter if that family included all the archangels and any pagans he might have helped raise? Family was more than blood, it was anyone Gabriel considered to be his family and there was nothing wrong with that.

"Would you like any of this champagne?" Hela asked.

Sam glanced at Gabriel for direction, and watched as the archangel took two of the champagne flutes, passing one to him.

"I don't mean to run you off," Sam said, "But could you excuse us for a moment?"

"Of course." Hela flashed the mortal a knowing smile. "I have rounds to make. Have fun."

Sam put his free hand on Gabriel's arm and pulled him in the direction of the least crowded area he could find. "I love you," he said firmly. "I love you, and I want you to be happy. I don't care if your fosterlings were a kitten or the world serpent, or the goddess of death, because I'm going to love you regardless and as long as they all reasonably behave themselves, I promise to make a concerted effort to get along with them for you. But I want you to trust me too. I don't know if you heard me when I said this the other day, but it breaks my heart when you look at me with that expression of preparing yourself for me to leave you. Because I'm not leaving Gabriel. I'm not going anywhere, and sometimes I wonder what it would take for you to go, but I trust you."

Gabriel swallowed, hard, at his intended mate. He would dwell on how perfect Sam was, and then he'd do something like this that made his human seem even more perfect and he had no idea how he was supposed to deserve that. So instead of trying to form words, he surged forward, standing on the balls of his feet and pulling Sam down so that he could kiss the man he wanted nothing more than to stay with for the rest of their lives.

And then Gabriel flew them away and they made love for the first time, which consummates their mate bond.

The End.

No. My apologizes, we've gotten ahead of ourselves.

"Daaaaad, Fen ate my steak again- OH GODS GET A ROOM!"

Gabriel pulled away, looking over his shoulder at the boy standing there.

Sam would have had a hard time guessing the age of person, except physically, he looked like a young teenager.

"Someday, Narvi, you will find someone that you love, and you will understand that finding a room is not always convenient. Narvi, this is Sam. Sam, this is my youngest fosterling."

Sam reached to shake the child's hand with his free hand but Narvi waved him off.

"I don't want to know where your hands have been! EW!" He rolled his eyes.

"You said something about Fen stealing your steak?" Gabriel asked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

The kid shrugged. "Make him give me more?"

"Did he steal your whole steak?" Gabriel asked, looking confused.

"Just a few bites out of the middle. But that's the best part!"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Sam asked.

Narvi tilted his head. "What secret?"

"Food you steal from your siblings always tastes better than your own food."

"Really?" He watched aptly as both Gabriel and Sam nodded solemnly. "I'ma steal Fen's adult fizzy drink!" He turned around and ran off into the crowd.

Gabriel choked, laughing as he tried to sip his champagne.

Sam blanched. "Gabe, can you hold this?" Without waiting for a response, he put his glass of champagne in Gabriel's empty hand and tried to hurry into the direction Narvi had gone. He didn't condone underage drinking, and didn't want to be the reason Gabriel's youngest fosterling got into trouble. How was he supposed to know that the kid would make the leap from food to drink?

On the other side of the room there were a few tables set up out of the way with chairs. He saw Narvi at one of the tables, a glass of what he could only guess was champagne in hand. Next to him was a tall and muscular man, he guess to be about Hela's age.

Sam swallowed. He didn't really want to walk over there and intervene.

"Sam? It's okay that Narvi has Fen's champagne. Let's leave them be."

"But he's underage!" Sam knew that Gabriel had masqueraded as a pagan for a long time, and that the pagan kid was probably just fine, but he felt it necessary to argue anyway.

"They're actually getting along in public for once, and I'd reeeeeally like to not have to pay for damages just this once." Gabriel held out Sam's glass of champagne. "Please drink some of this? We're here to have fun."

Sam took the proffered glass. "But…"

"They already all changed their glasses from the god powered stuff to the human stuff. No one at that table is getting drunk tonight, especially off of something as weak as human champagne." Sam sighed and Gabriel continued, "If you really don't want to drink, say no and I'll put it back and say nothing more about it."

Sam glanced at his glass. "What is it?"

Gabriel smirked. "Exactly what you can handle without getting drunk, but more than enough to let you feel a good buzz. Trust me. We're here to have fun and getting you blackout drunk would not be my idea of a good time, okay? It's just something to help you relax and be able to stop worrying about everything so much. Let me do the worrying, even if it's just for a few hours. I promise. No loss of control, no waking up three days later wondering where your pants went and where you are. We're just relaxing, and having a good time without any stress."

"No more surprises, just you and me having a good time?" Sam was almost begging. He wanted to have a good time here with Gabriel at this cocktail party where knew no one. Gabriel was right. He didn't often have the opportunity to put all his worries aside and let Gabriel take control of everything and he knew it would be nice, if he really could just relax .

"I can't promise that there won't be any surprises, I am a trickster and all my fosterlings are present and accounted for. But I can promise that I won't let anyone hurt you. Go on, try the champagne." The archangel brought his flute to his mouth, demonstrating the process for Sam.

With another look of trepidation at the champagne flute, he took a tentative sip. The fact that it was chilled at all surprised him, especially since he was certain they'd been walking around with their flutes long enough for the liquid inside to warm to room temperature. But no, it was perfectly chilled.

It had a fruity taste, and he guessed that it was the smoothest alcoholic beverage he'd ever tasted. Despite the chill, it left that pleasurable heat in his belly. It was fizzy, like Narvi had described it, and as he looked closer at the contents, he noticed that it was slightly darker and more golden in color than he would have expected champagne to be. "What is it?" he asked, certain Gabriel would know.

"Nothing your poor mortal mind needs to analyze right this second. I still want to have some fun!" Gabriel put a hand on Sam's arm and led him in a random direction. "But wait. First, I need to improve my disguise." He reached into a pocket a pulled out a pair of fake sunglasses and a fake red nose and put on both. "How do I look?"

Sam laughed. What was he supposed to say? The angel that he fully intended to mate with was beautiful, even when he looked as silly as he did right then. "You look delectable," he decided. "I can't wait to help you remove it, along with the rest of your clothing." They hadn't had sex yet, but he felt that since Gabriel had said it first and it didn't make him uncomfortable, then saying something like that wasn't off the table.

"Touche." Gabriel nodded to himself. "Would you care to dance?"

"That sounds like fun," Sam agreed, taking another sip of the champagne. He didn't think it was something he'd order for himself, but it wasn't bad, if a little sweet.

Gabriel led the way towards the center of the room where people were dancing.

"Dad? May I have your fizzy drink?"

"Vali! That's not Faðir, don't be silly!"

The two people in front of them were another kid, this one looking identical to Narvi, and a medium height slender young man, possibly a little older than Hela.

"I'm almost disappointed in you Vali, to try and steal a stranger's drink..."

"Slip, it's Dad!"

"What are you talking about?! I'm sorry sirs, my brother is a menace."

Sam glanced at Gabriel, who was clearly holding back a grin.

"It's okay, Sleipnir," Gabriel said, this time smiling widely. He tapped his finger on the rim of his glass. "He's welcome to it."

"But, Sir!"

Sam was enjoying watching the exchange, because while he had seen a side of Gabriel similar to this when his archangel played with Samandriel, these were children Gabriel had helped raise and had known for far longer than the fledgling he hadn't met until returning to Heaven. Gabriel was good with children, and he loved his fosterlings and Sam was happy that Gabriel had brought him because otherwise he might have missed this.

There was a crash, and they all turned to look as someone dropped their crystal champagne flute. The broken glass glittered like a handful of diamonds.

There was a muttered thank you and an apology, and a moment later when Sam turned back towards where Sleipnir and Vali, they were gone. "Who was that?" he asked quietly.

"Sleipnir, my oldest fosterling, and Vali, Narvi's twin. I'm not sure why they were acting like that. They're usually friendlier. Then again, Vali's been stealing Slip's and Jorm's champagne since they arrived. They always do that."

Sam took another sip of his champagne. The burn of the alcohol was a little stronger this time, but it was warm and he liked it. He didn't think he'd have any more, once he finished this glass. It bordered on a little too sweet and as much as he trusted Gabriel about it not being too much for him to handle, he knew he didn't want to drink too much. Not here.

Gabriel turned around when the champagne flute fell from Sam's hand, shattering onto the floor much like the one earlier had. "Sam? Are you alright?"

"Just dandy," Sam replied, and Gabriel almost couldn't tell whether his human was being jovial or sarcastic. He vanished the glass on the floor, but not before swiping a finger through the spot wet with what was left of Sam's champagne. It smelled like the diluted mixture he'd taken from Hela's tray for them both, but as he stuck his finger in his mouth to taste it, his eyes widened. Someone had switched Sam's drink for the stronger stuff the deities preferred. And he was pretty sure he had a 1 in 6 chance of guessing correctly. He snapped what remained of the liquid into a vial.

"Sam, Sweetheart? We're going to go sit for a spell, okay? I'd like you to drink some water."

"Oakey dokey," Sam agreed amenably.

Gabriel was pissed. He'd promised Sam a good time and Sam had seemed genuinely happy about meeting the children he'd raised during his time as a pagan. And he'd thought that they'd been pretty happy about meeting the person he intended to stay with for eternity. But this- this was bad. Sam hated being drunk, and from his last experience with Sam coming back down from the height of drunkenness, he could understand why. It wasn't about the fact that he had nothing to fear from Sam, because obviously Sam wasn't a mean drunk, not like his father had been. No, the problem came from the fact that Sam had told him, in great detail, that the feeling of being out of control, something a lot of people enjoyed being drunk, for, left Sam feeling similar to how he'd felt the entire time he'd been influenced by demon blood, or the few times he had been possessed.

Sam had explained once that the nice buzz that came with consuming just the right amount of alcohol was nice, sometimes, when they were celebrating or having fun, but otherwise he preferred complete control over his faculties. Gabriel that thought that encouraging him to have one flute of diluted pagan champagne would provide that, but some idiot had switched it for something stronger. The stronger stuff which even Gabriel had chosen not to consume for the sake of looking out for Sam.

On their way to the quiet corner by the tables, Gabriel flagged down Hela, who was still serving champagne.

"Faðir," she said.

"Can you get me a glass of water?" he asked. "It's for Sam."

"Sure." She selected a glass from her platter and moved to give it to Sam, but Gabriel moved to take it from her. While she watched him curiously, he ran his finger around the rim of the glass to check the contents. Just water. Good.

"Sam, could you drink this for me, please?"

The hunter took the glass obediently and drained it in a few swallows. His human was like a giant puppy, why would they do this to him? He refilled the glass with a thought. "Somebody put the strong stuff in his flute."

Hela cursed colorfully in an ancient language. She was his daughter all right. "Do you need anything else?"

She hadn't done it, that much he knew. Not that he'd suspected her for certain. "No, thank you."

He continued leading Sam to the corner of the room, calling silently to Aziraphale as he went.

"What happened?" Aziraphale whispered when he was next to him. Gabriel glanced at Sam to see that the hunter hadn't even noticed the appearance of the other archangel.

"Someone gave him strong pagan spirits. I'm pretty sure I know who it was."

"Your fosterlings?"

"I think the boys decided it would be a good prank. I'm not amused, and I'm pretty sure Sam's not going to react well when he comes out of it. He's had a lot of bad experiences with losing his autonomy. And Ipromised this wouldn't happen." They reached the corner of the room. "Sam, can you sit down for me?"

Sam sat down against the wall, and Gabriel handed him the champagne flute full of water. "How do you feel?" Gabriel asked.

"Fuzzy," Sam answered, sipping the water. "Why am I so dizzy? It's like the whole word is spinning. I don't like it."

Gabriel looked across the room to see that all of his fosterlings, with the understandable exception of Hela, were sitting at one of the tables on that side of the room.

"Sam, I'm going to be right back, okay? I'm just going over there, but Aziraphale is going to sit here with you and get you some more water if you need it, alright?"

Sam nodded, but Gabriel wasn't sure his intended understood what he was agreeing with. But the archangel didn't repeat himself, just moving in the direction he said he was going. He had some fosterlings to chew out for inappropriate behavior.

"All five of you are grounded for the next decade," he said slowly when he was standing at the end of their table and holding up the vial of contaminated champagne. "And I want someone to tell me what thefuck this was all about, or we might make it a century. And don't think that just because most of you are adults means that I can't still figure out ways to make your lives unbearable. Because this? This is the height of unacceptable behavior. Tricksters are supposed to stand against this kind of thing. I swore an oath to not lay a hand on a single hair of a single one of you, and I intend to uphold that until my dying breath, but this? I have killed people for less than this, and one of you decided that my intended mate was a reasonable target."

"If you're afraid of him when he's drunk, then he's not the right mate for you," Fenrir said.

Gabriel blinked. "That doesn't make it okay! I know what kind of drunk he is! He's the kind that wants to have a drink and not get drunk because he's had the kinds of bad experiences that mean that out of control is not a pleasant feeling! I invited him to this cocktail party for a nice relaxing evening, and so that he could meet all of you and get off to the right foot and what did you decide to do? You drugged him!"

"I am disappointed," Gabriel said. "Because one of you took something I said, out of context, and have very likely ruined my evening. The other day, my intended told me that even if I had a lair of monstrous children he'd still love them. I think that metaphorical lair of children would have treated him a little better than the five of you did today."

"Gabe?"

Sam was looking around, trying to find his angel, but he couldn't find him, and he was confused and dizzy and really not feeling good at all.

Someone was next to him, whispering something about something he couldn't make out, but he didn't feel in danger. Whoever was next to him was safe, and he knew it. He blinked slowly, barely able to pay attention to what was happening as he started falling towards whoever was next to him, slightly surprised when they pushed him back to sitting up straight.

"Careful, can't have you getting hurt while your Mate is defending you."

Sam looked up in confusion at the person sitting there. He knew that he was supposed to know them, but he couldn't place who they were. Someone tall and with white hair and why couldn't he remember them? "Who'r you?"

Despite the facial features of the person sitting there not changing, Sam was certain that they were feeling worry, and that made him sad because that was his fault.

Everything was always his fault.

"I'm Aziraphale, Sam. I'm Gabriel's older brother."

It took Sam a while to process that. He knew that his mate had older brothers, of course, he'd met them all, but he was pretty sure he couldn't name them right now, if anyone asked.

But that name. "Oh! You're Crawly's mate! In Good Omens!"

The archangel's head tilted. "Are you familiar with Good Omens?"

"It's my favorite book," Sam slurred. "You and Crawly and the antichrist saved the world. I wish I could do that." He felt sad. But the sadness was underneath his earnest desire to do just that.

But the road to Hell was paved with good intentions.

"I think my Crowley would prefer you didn't call him that."

"My Crowley stole his name." How was their Crowley doing? They hadn't heard from him since Retail Hell. Despite the fact that he was a demon and likely technically their enemy, Sam kind of hoped he was okay.

"I'm sure my Crowley didn't care too much for that, either. If he knows." There was a moment of silence. Then he said, "How are you feeling?"

"Where's Gabri'l?" He wanted his mate. It didn't matter that it wasn't official yet, it was going to be and that's the only person he wanted anywhere near him.

"He's over there." Aziraphale pointed.

Sam didn't see Gabriel, and that didn't surprise him because there was no way this could be real. He didn't get to meet his heroes because he didn't deserve them.

"I always wanted to see your bookstore. Not to shop, not to separate you from your books, just to see it."

"It's not there anymore."

"Of course not," Sam agreed. But not sarcastic. "It's fiction. Fantasy."

"It's just as true as the Winchester Gospels and those are also marked fiction."

"They are fiction."Sam nodded to himself. "They left out the best part about the demon blood." Sam didn't want to continue on that vein of thought because it was sad and he didn't want to dwell on all of his mistakes.

Aziraphale didn't say anything either, concerned that anything he said would simply further Sam's spiral. "Are you still dizzy?"

"A little." It was uncomfortable, but the sick feeling was worse. He just wanted Gabriel to come back and hold him.

"Would it be okay if I eased it a little for you?"

Sam shrugged, but remembered angels usually needed more consent than that. "Just a little."

Aziraphale brushed the edge of Sam's shoulder. He could see a little clearer and his brain wasn't quite as muddled, but the touch had done nothing for the unease brewing in the pit of his stomach. Sam swallowed heavily. The champagne flute still had some water left, so he swallowed it. Good wet water.

"I'm going to use the restroom," he said, slowly, firmly, as he carefully stood up. He didn't think he was going to puke, but it was always a possibility after the consumption of alcohol. "Do you know where it is?"

"That way."Aziraphale pointed. "Out the door you and Gabriel came in when you arrived. Would you like me to escort you?"

"No!" The answer came out faster and harsher than Sam intended. "No, I'm fine. You should stay here, I'll be right back." He headed in the direction Aziraphale had said before the archangel could have the opportunity to argue into escorting Sam. Sam didn't want to be escorted to the bathroom, he wanted to slip out and have a moment alone.

The corridor outside the ballroom was significantly quieter and he exhaled a sigh of relief. Now to find somewhere dark.

It took him a few minutes wandering around to find a broom closet, but it was dark inside and he doubted anyone would think to look for him there, so he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. It was roomy enough that he didn't bump his head.

The alcohol in his blood was burning, leaving him feeling hot and sick, so he stripped, uncaring that Gabriel had promised delightful foreplay after the party. He just wanted to be a little cooler and a little less broken.

Once naked, he laid down on the floor of the broom closet and curled up underneath the waistcoat he'd stripped out of. No reason to scandalize whoever found him.

Gabriel had nothing left to say to his disobedient children, so he turned around and started walking, fully intending to return to his brother and his intended.

"You have to calm down."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Samael, who had more or less materialized next to him.

"If you don't calm down, you're going to terrify your mate and you know you don't want to do that."

"I need to see Sam."

"I'm not disputing that. Sam needs to see you too. But if he sees you like this, he is going to panic. And I know you don't want that."

"Samael, they… they hurt him. The children I raised hurt the man I'm going to mate ." Gabriel's lip quivered, but that was the only physical display of emotion he allowed himself.

Crowley hugged his little brother. "They'll get what's coming to them, no injury to a single hair on a single head. But Sam needs you right now."

"I know," Gabriel replied returning the hug stiffly.

Crowley held onto Gabriel until his baby brother relaxed into it, accepting the comfort he rarely offered. "Let's go check on Sam and Azi," he said, deciding that Gabriel was probably calm enough that he wouldn't send Sam into a panic attack.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST SAM?!"

Aziraphale swallowed, looking a lot like a deer caught in the headlights. He also had nothing to say in his own defence because Gabriel was right. He should have known better than to let the intoxicated human wander off when he should have known Gabriel had good reasons for not leaving him along.

Crowley at first looked like he was going to say something, either in Aziraphale's defence or telling Gabriel to calm down again, but he sighed and shrugged his defeat. "Yeah, I've got nothing in your defense Zira."

"You're not helping!" Gabriel yelled at Crowley. "If you hadn't gotten in my way, we would have been back here before Sam wandered off and ended up who knows where!"

"In which case we would have entirely different problems on our hands." Crowley rolled his eyes. "Zira, did you see which direction Sam went?"

"He went out the corridor towards the bathroom, but I didn't see him once he left the ballroom."

"I'm going to go look for him, and if anything untoward happened to him because you left him alone, I will fry you both in holy oil. "

Gabriel found Sam naked and crying in a broom closet. His clothes were draped over him enough to keep his modesty and his angelic senses told him that no one had touched Sam. He would have smote anyone who had dared lay a finger on him, and then he would have fought whichever one of his fosterlings had done this, to hell with the consequences for oath breaking.

"Sam, Sweetheart, is it okay if I join you down there?"

Sam sniffled, shifting in an attempt to find the voice of the person he'd been waiting forever and ever for. "Gabe? That you?" He made grabbing hands towards the one he wanted, but didn't dare allow himself to actually touch, lest he accidentally sully the archangel.

Gabriel closed the door behind him and laid down on the floor, drawing his long limbed mate into his arms. "I love you, Samuel Winchester, and I am so sorry that the alcohol content of your drink was higher than I said it would be."

"It's okay," Sam said, because yeah, he felt like crap, but he had never been out of control. But mostly, he just felt sick and uneasy and it wasn't Gabe's fault he couldn't hold is liquor.

"No, Sam, it's not okay. One of my fosterlings got it into their head that I was afraid of you when you got drunk so they thought that getting you drunk was acceptable behavior, and it wasn't."

Sam sniffed again, leaning his head towards the crook of Gabe's neck because he liked to feel safe. "What did I do wrong? Why do they hate me? I just wanted them to like me, you love them so much." Sam whispered.

"They don't hate you. And you didn't do anything wrong, Sam. This is not your fault." Sam didn't seem inclined to agree, but Gabriel kissed his cheek and his neck. He got an idea. "You are beautiful, Samshine, may I show you how much I love you? Not sex, not while you're feeling like this. I just want to lavish you with the attention you deserve."

"Why?"

Gabriel's heart broke . Sam's tone conveyed loss and fear and hurt and pain, and so much self loathing that it physically burned. It made him want to wrap Sam in a cocoon of grace blankets and smite everyone who had ever so much as looked at Sam wrong, let alone actually hurt him.

He kissed Sam's collarbone, and then his shoulder. "Because I love you and because you are worth it." He moved to pull the clothing away from Sam's body. "Is it okay if I uncover you?" He waited for Sam's very clear consent, and pulled the coverings off his intended.

He'd seen Sam naked before, of course, but this seemed more intimate, somehow. It was completely dark in the small closet, but being an archangel, he could see perfectly well.

Sam had various hunting scars, which was to be expected. The largest were the one on his back and one near his appendix.

"I want to show you how much I love you," Gabriel said. "I want to show you how much you mean to me." He ran his fingers across the back of Sam's neck shoulder, and then repeated the motion, this time gently massaging the muscles. "You are beautiful, and strong, and I intend for you to be my lifelong mate. "

Sam wasn't sure how much of Gabriel's words he was actively comprehending, but he relaxed against the archangel he was completely and totally in love with. He felt safe, in a way that he had never felt until after the apocalypse was cancelled, and only felt when in the arms of his archangel. This was home. " Love you. "

"My brothers all like you, and you're amazing with Sami." He continued massaging Sam's back, slowly removing most of the alcohol from his blood as he did so. "If we both decide we ever want to have children, I want to have them with you."

Saw purred. "I love how much you adore your family. I love watching you play with Sami, and how you spend so much effort trying to make sure that everyone is happy and healthy and cared for." He closed his eyes, leaning back against Gabriel's touch. "I'm glad you let me help you ease some of your burden, but also, I'm glad I don't have to be strong all the time with you."

Gabriel leaned forward to kiss Sam, but Sam turned at the last second so he was kissing Sam's neck. In return, Sam kissed Gabriel's head and continued on to say, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I love that you would want to spend the rest of your immortal life, with me. "

This time, Sam leaned forward to kiss Gabriel full on. There was no battle for dominance, just two ridiculously in love people surrendering.

And the mate bond formed.

There was no shattering of light bulbs or explosion of grace. And there were no orgasms or sex or consumation.

There was only love.

As much as Gabriel and Sam might have liked to remain in the broom closet for awhile longer, that wasn't entirely feasible.

"Would you like me to take you home?" Gabriel asked quietly into the hair of the one snuggling in the crook of his neck.

"You didn't undress me properly, I'm disappointed," Sam snarked. "We can't leave yet."

Gabriel grinned. "I could snap you the clothes back on and undress you here."

"We are not high school students and we are not having sex in a broom closet."

"But it would be fun!"

"Gabriel, do you really want your first time to be in a broom closet, when your partner can't see?"

"But Sam, there's no need for you to see if I do all the work for you!"

"But what if I like helping?" Sam's tone was light, open to whatever Gabriel wanted to do. He pressed closer to Gabriel. "A bed would be better."

"And you're sure you want to go back out there?"

"How are you ever going to look your brothers in the face again if we don't go back out there."

Gabriel pouted, not that Sam could see it. "That's a low blow, Samalam. But if you're sure you want to do it…" The archangel snapped.

A second later, the closet door swung open and Sam stumbled to regain his balance. He was dressed, but his tie was missing and he just knew his hair was mussed from lying on the floor, and he was going to murder his mate with love.

There was a soft pop, and he couldn't see because there was confetti everywhere.

"Congratulations!" Crowley exclaimed. "May you have many long and happy years together."

"Don't gloat, dearest, it's unbecoming," Azi said. "But I would also like to offer my congratulations."

"You're gloating too," Gabriel said. "Sam, my brothers are being mean."

Sam smiled. Older brothers- they were all as similar as they were different. "They're just jealous they didn't think to have sex in a broom closet."

"You think so?"

"Mhmm. So… are you going to introduce me to the rest of your children?"

"Uh… no. They're grounded for the next century and you almost had a panic attack. But, I would like this dance. And we can say goodbye to Hela before we leave."

Sam wanted to argue, didn't want to let the unfortunate alcohol ruin Gabriel's reason for bringing him, but at the same time, he was feeling better and Gabriel was happy and pushing would only ruin the good mood. "I would like to have this dance," he said instead.

Gabriel smiled widely and took Sam's hand, leading him back into the ballroom to where other people were dancing.

Sam didn't know the dance, but Gabriel took the lead and walked him through the steps.

It was fun, and Sam knew that Gabriel was in his element. The archangel was beautiful, glowing and while he hadn't figured out the mate bond yet, he could feel his mate's joy. And it was contagious.

The dance ended so they danced another and both Sam and the archangel developed a healthy flush from the exertion.

"Oh, Sam," Gabriel whispered after pressing a gentle kiss to Sam's cheek. "I love you so much."

Sam moaned and kissed Gabriel back. "I'm glad you brought me. I had a good time."

"Good." Gabriel hugged him. "What if we just went home now?"

"So you can undress me properly? Please? I'm so game." What Sam wanted, really wanted, was for Gabriel to keep the control he'd been taking. He wanted to give in, for Gabe to protect him and keep him safe.And maybe take care of him. In a lot of his past relationships, his partners had all wanted Sam to take control because he was so "big and strong" but it wasn't him. It was emotionally draining to have to be that way all the time.

"Oh, Sam," Gabriel repeated, even softer than before. "I will absolutely take you home and undress you properly. I want to take such good care of you. I picked up this mint lubricant that doubles as a body lotion, and I think it would make your skin smell absolutely divine. "

" Please ," Sam whispered. "Please take me home and make love to me."

And Gabriel did exactly that.