Dean smirked widely and his green eyes darted from Gabriel to Cas and back.
"I just love how Cas is the more responsible one, even though he's the youngest." he stated with twinkling eyes.
Cas could see his point, and even agreed to a certain degree, but he knew Gabriel wouldn't see it that way.
His brother was drawing himself up to his height, and his amber eyes were starting to darken.
"Shut up, Winchester. I could say the same for you two. At least Sam went to college..." Gabriel started, but to their great surprise, Sam piped up with a harshly barked "Hey!"
The tallest Winchester was glaring at Gabriel, and his eyes were a stormy, dark grey.
He took a deep breath, and then he let go.
"Dean didn't go to college, because he was working. He wanted to pay our way. Uncle Bobby didn't have much, but he took us in. Dean felt it was on him to help out. And my college tuition was only viable because Dean saved up for it. The first four years were not payed by a full ride. Pre-law is on the students themselves... or their family. So can it, Novak!" Sam snapped.
Cas loved that his brother got cut off so efficiently, and smiled. Gabe could get snippy when annoyed, and remembering what Rufus and Dean had already revealed about the Winchester boys youth, Cas agreed with Sam wholeheartedly.
Gabriel gaped at Sam, but was that a... hurt look in his eyes?
Cas took in what Dean said about being ok with it. Aparently the blunt statement Gabriel had uttered wasn't new to him, and he could shrug it off.
Sam, it seemed, had more trouble.
"I know," he answered Dean. "...but I hate when people act like you're stupid. You're not. You're smart too. Just not the kind of smart that gets taught in college."
Sam bit his lip, looking down at his hands.
Gabriel closed his mouth and swallowed hard. His eyes were a murky, honey colour, which meant he was sad to the core.
"I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to... I should've asked before drawing any conclusions." he amended, hand on Sam's knee.
Sam still seemed upset when he told Gabriel he wasn't the one Gabe should be apologising to.
Cheeks red, Gabriel apologised to Dean, who waved it off goodnaturedly, and Cas was ready to put it all to bed, when Gabriel suddenly stood.
"I know. But I'm your friend. I should have known better. Way better. There is no excuse." he bit out, and stormed off to the kitchen, abandoning his pie.
Alarmed, Cas glanced at Dean, who looked equally stumped.
His green eyes, ever full of expression, told Cas to take care of his brother. Dean would handle Sam.
Cas silently got to his feet and followed Gabriel.
He found his brother curled up on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, both arms hugging his head.
"Gabey... wat is er?" Cas asked, trying to assure his distraught sibling their talk would be private, even if one of the others would come in.
Golden eyes full of misery looked up.
"Cassie... waarom ben ik zo? Waarom kan ik niet normaal doen als ik vrienden maak?" Gabriel replied, anguished.
Cas sat down next to him and put an arm around his trembling shoulders.
"Och, Gabey... het valt vast wel mee. Ik weet zeker dat alles ok is met Dean en Sam. Ze zijn erger gewend."
A glare told Cas his brother didn't believe him.
"Gabriel, weet je nog? Dean accepteerde me, ondanks mijn vreemde uiterlijk. Hij vertelde me om mezelf te zijn. Hij waardeert je eerlijkheid vast."
Gabriel shook his head, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Dat is het niet alleen, Cassie... ik... Sam... OH! Alleen ik kan in één zin twee vriendschappen verwoesten!"
He threw himself on the counter again and hid his head in his arms.
"Dat geloof ik nooit, Gabriel. Weet je wat? Ik haal Dean. Misschien kan hij je geruststellen."
Gabriel just nodded his head and tightened his arms around his head.
Heart aching for his brother, Cas stood and quietly made his way back to the Winchesters.
He stopped dead, right in the archway.
Dean was whispering to Sam, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and then he winked, causing Cas to temporarily forget why he was there.
'Oh my goodness... I could ravish him right here, if only that dream had been real...UGH!'
With a slight shake of his head, Cas got to his senses.
"Dean..." he softly called, and Dean's eyes flicked over.
"What's up, Cas?" that gravelly voice asked.
On instinct, Cas glanced up. He never knew why people wanted to know that. It was irritating.
"The ceiling... Could you come here. Gabriel has a question for you."
When Dean patted him on the shoulder, his heart nearly stopped.
"Don't ever change, Cas." Dean chuckled and Cas swallowed hard.
Sam's smile was watery, but sincere, when Cas sat down next to him.
"Cas, did... did I hurt Gabe?"
His voice was soft, scared even.
Cas shook his head, sure of it.
"No, you didn't. Not really. I think Gabriel has a few issues right now. He is easily upset when he doesn't know what just happened. He didn't expect you, the easier Winchester, to blow up like that. Heck, I didn't."
Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I can understand that. Usually, I am the easier one, but... I don't know. I guess I have issues too. Lisa fucked Dean's mind up so bad. He stopped seeing his worth, Cas. He became this self depriciating guy, who was all talk, but didn't really care for himself. I'm glad he got out. Now he needs someone solid, who helps him remember that he is worthy."
Was it Cas' imagination, or did Sam look wistful as he stared up at him?
"I'm going to apologise to Gabe. I overreacted." Sam said and stood.
Cas just nodded and stared at Gabriel's uneaten pie, his mind buzzing.
Notes:
Dutch - English translatation
Wat is er? - What's wrong?
waarom ben ik zo? Waarom kan ik niet normaal doen als ik vrienden maak? - why am I like this? Why can't I act normal whenever I make friends?
Och, Gabey... het valt vast wel mee. Ik weet zeker dat alles ok is met Dean en Sam. Ze zijn erger gewend. - Oh, Gabey, it's probably not that bad. I'm sure everything is ok with Dean and Sam. They're used to worse.
Gabriel, weet je nog? Dean accepteerde me, ondanks mijn vreemde uiterlijk. Hij vertelde me om mezelf te zijn. Hij waardeert je eerlijkheid vast. - Gabriel, do you remember? Dean accepted me, despite my odd apearance. He told me to be myself. He's sure to accept your honesty.
Dat is het niet alleen, Cassie... ik... Sam... OH! Alleen ik kan in één zin twee vriendschappen verwoesten! - it's not just that, Cassie... OH! Only I can destroy two friendships with one sentence!
Dat geloof ik nooit, Gabriel. Weet je wat? Ik haal Dean. Misschien kan hij je geruststellen. - I could never believe that, Gabriel. You know what? I'll get Dean. Maybe he can ease your mind.