Chapter Two
Sam's fingers dug into Gabriel's shoulder as he moved closer, his free hand trailing carefully over the thick, darker stripe crossing Gabriel's midsection. They'd bound him to the tree with duct-tape. Sam bit back a growled sound.
"I'll kill them." he spat, fingers already searching for the loose end to start un-peeling, wishing he was like his older brother and carrying a switchblade.
Gabriel seemed to be climbing into consciousness in his arms, small, pained noises drifting into the air. Sam tried his best to steady his breathing and hush his friend, but anger was a burning, spitting thing in his gut, and he was sure he was going to explode.
"Who did this, Gabe?" he barked, stopping for a moment to raise Gabriel's chin so that their eyes could meet, "Who did this to you? I'll kill them, I swear, I'll fucking-"
"Sam." Gabriel said, still sounding disoriented and slurred, one hand reaching up to form a loose grip on Sam's hoody, "Heya, Sammm..."
"Gods, Gabriel. Are you okay? What happened? Who did this?"
Sam became aware he was crying when his words hitched in his chest and made the tears perched in his eyes fall. He returned his fingers to finding the edge of the duct-tape, situated far from Gabriel's reach, and he had to let go of Gabriel to start unwinding. The longer it took, the more pissed he found himself. Circling the tree, stepping carefully over Gabriel's legs each circuit, being much more gentle and soft-handed when he reached Gabriel, peeling it from him layer by layer until finally he had the second last layer, the last.
It dragged at Gabriel's skin painfully, making Gabriel whimper and Sam hiss, and as soon as it was done he had Gabriel in his arms, the shorter boy falling against him in an exhausted, shivering heap.
"Hey, hey," he hushed, one hand finding its way into Gabriel's hair and utterly unable to care right in that moment if it was inappropriate touching for just being friends.
Because Gabriel was shaking, his face pressed tightly into Sam's chest as he loosed tiny, bitterly hurt sounds. Sam held him close, one hand rubbing circles against his back and the one in his hair drawing slow, careful motions through the tangled strands.
"Hey, it's alright now. I got you, Gabe. I'm gonna get you home, okay? Hey, hey, sshh."
When Sam ducked his head to see his face, the fight momentarily left him. Gabriel's face was bruised and twisted in an uncomfortable expression, and there were silvery glints on his cheeks that belied his tears.
"Oh, Gabriel." Sam whispered, hugging him carefully but fiercely, swallowing hard against the sound of crying.
It wasn't like he'd never heard Gabriel cry before, or seen it. But it had been years since he'd seen anything other than tears of desperate frustration, from screaming matches with his father, his brothers. Gabriel hadn't cried liked this, raw and unchecked, since they were little kids. His thumb brushed back and forth over Gabriel's neck.
"Sam?"
Sam dipped his face to the side to press the edge of his jaw against Gabriel's temple, his eyes finding a lump on the moss nearby that could be Gabriel's shirt. They had to get out of this place, he knew, get Gabriel somewhere inside and safe. Somewhere warm and familiar. He doubted Gabriel would want to go home in his current state, but if Sam could get him to his house, maybe they could clean him up a little before he went home. Make him feel better first.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for coming."
Gabriel's voice was raspy, and Sam wondered how long he'd been stuck out there, duct-taped to a fucking tree without his shirt. He was probably starving. It had to be after one by now, maybe even two. He wished he'd brought water with him.
"'Course I came, idiot. Sorry it took so long to find you."
Gabriel's wet chuckle was almost more heart-breaking than it was reassuring.
"Guess I shouldn't disappear so often, then."
Sam sighed, pressing Gabriel closer before drawing back, rocking back on his knees to look down at him. He seemed more lucid now, his eyes open and looking up at Sam when he moved. His hands were fisted in Sam's hoody, but he relaxed them when he met Sam's gaze, and he forced a weak smile on his face.
"We should think about getting you home." Sam said, his eyes finding the shirt ring not so far away.
Gabriel followed his gaze, wincing when Sam shifted their combined weight and started to get up.
"Yeah, no. Don't go near that."
At Sam's puzzle glance, Gabriel swallowed and looked away, something about him feeling uncomfortable where he was. Sam reached for his face without thinking, seemingly losing all of his restraint because Gabriel was hurt.
"What? Isn't that your shirt?"
Gabriel winced, shifted, one hand leaving Sam's shirt to brush cautiously at his swollen, damp eyes.
"Yeah, but I don't want it any more."
"Gabe-"
"They made it unwearable." Gabriel cut him off, voice low and uncomfortable and… embarrassed.
Sam looked at him for a very long moment.
"What did they do?" he asked eventually, because they both knew he had to even if the air felt like he shouldn't.
Gabriel hunched very small, his voice shaky.
"They pissed on it." he whispered, and Sam's waylaid anger returned in force.
"Animals." the spat, arms finding their way around Gabriel again, giving him a brief, comforting squeeze, "Bastards."
And then he was leaning away, taking all his heat with him, because he was shucking off his coat, reaching for the zip on his hoody. Gabriel's hands reached up to stop him, but Sam only gave him a flat look and carefully moved his fingers away again. He slid from the hoody too, sorting the sleeves before draping it over Gabriel's shoulders and guiding Gabriel's arms into the sleeves like he was a little kid.
Gabriel let him, shivering violently, trying and failing at the zip with numb fingers before Sam's warm hands encased his own and helped him out. It was way too big on him, baggy even on Sam, who was a good bit taller than him, and the material fell far over his hands and past his waist. He hunched into it, allowing Sam to fuss and tuck the hood up over his head. It smelt comfortingly of the washing powder Sam and Dean used, and Sam's cologne, his deodorant, his sweat. The hood had a vague, faint scent of Sam's shampoo.
Gabriel pulled the too-long sleeves up to hold the collar to his nose and he breathed it in, all of it, letting the familiarity of it calm his roiling stomach and soothe the jittery nerves under his skin. He was suddenly really fucking tired, despite having drifted in and out for the last couple hours after screaming himself hoarse hoping someone would hear.
"How did you find me?" he queried, when Sam was securing his jacket over Gabriel's shoulders, fingers coaxing him to let go of the hoody to fit his arms in more sleeves.
"Process of elimination," Sam answered, and he sounded… off.
Gabriel looked up at him, the tightness of his jaw and the burn he could see in the normally placid hazel of his eyes.
"Care to elaborate there, Sam-a-lam?"
Sam's mouth twitched briefly, and it made Gabriel try to smile too, despite how it all hurt. Everything hurt. Everything.
"Tried everywhere. Had to find you eventually."
There were many reasons why Sam Winchester was his best friend, and that was only one of them. Gabriel leaned against his chest again when Sam was finished fussing with the second zip. Sam gave him a sigh, but he didn't deny the hug, tugging Gabriel further onto his lap and almost crushing him as he hugged hard.
"Was so fucking worried you'd gotten in a car with some perv who was gonna murder you."
Gabriel laughed. It seemed to surprise Sam when he did. Hell, it surprised Gabriel a little.
"Creative." he teased.
"Shut up." was Sam's reply, before he was moving again and Gabriel was being tugged to his feet, "Come on. We'll get you cleaned up at mine. Cas is going crazy, I promised I'd text him."
"But you haven't." Gabriel stated, looking at him as Sam helped steady him on his feet.
"We'll get you checked out first." Sam answered lowly, and Gabriel felt warm bloom inside his chest as he followed his best friend through the trees.
Sam was going to try and sort him best he could before his little brother had the chance to see him. On so many levels, Gabriel was utterly grateful. He didn't want to worry Cas any more than he had to. And his pride wouldn't take a blow like that well, Cas seeing him at his weakest. Sam was giving him time to get a grip on himself again.
"Who knew mooses were such caring types?"
Sam's smile was weak, but that time it was really there.
"Maybe little creatures appeal to our better natures."
Gabriel cracked a real smile too.
"Are you implying I'm short, Winchester?"
A startled, weak chuckle.
"Who, you? Never."
As Gabriel grinned up at him, Sam's arm draped over his shoulders and they manoeuvred through the remaining trees. The move was subtle, not uncommon in their long years of friendship, but timed right when they stepped out into the grassy expanse behind the school. Sam was letting him know he was there. He could have rolled his eyes and made some witty retort about being treated like a wilting flower, if it wasn't for the fact that it did make him feel better.
They were quiet as they made their way across town to Sam's house, both of them aware of the growing anger bubbling under Sam's blank expression. Gabriel had very rarely seen Sam truly angry. They'd been friends since… well, probably forever, far further back than Gabriel's memory served him, and yet he'd seen it a meagre handful of times. Always at righteous, truly deserving moments.
When they were twelve, Sam's father John bad-mouthing their friend Charlie, when he found out she liked girls.
Three years ago, at fourteen, when the court ruled Sam and Dean's newly discovered half-brother Adam was to be given fully to his incapable mother, despite her problems with alcohol and the dodgy company she deigned to keep.
Last year, when they'd seen Brady McPherson chasing a stray cat with firecrackers. Brady still hadn't quite managed to look at Sam without wincing.
Gabriel knew the anger in Sam's whole frame was because of him, and yet he couldn't find the energy to be upset, or annoyed, or logical. It made him feel warm and special, and right then that was something he was craving like his lungs craved air. He'd been beaten, verbally abused and left half-dressed and duct-taped to a tree. He was kinda digging special at the moment.