"Gabriel?! But, you're dead!" Sam was a mix of anger and suspicion.
"Clearly." Gabriel shot back with a sarcastic smile, still shaking the honey jar at Sam, the spoon slowly wobbling in the sticky honey.
Sams eyes went wide. "Oh my god. Gabriel, am I dead? Where the hell am I?" Panic rose up in Sams voice as he took in his surroundings again without the haze of an angel taxi service. "Where's Dean?" The gun that Sam held loosely in his hands was again trained on the archangel, and Gabriel only cocked an eyebrow at it.
"Relax Sam" Gabriel said as he returned the jar of honey to the table with a sigh. "Deans fine, and you're not dead. You two, I swear. Can't I just pop you into a mysterious pocket dimension without you being all paranoid?"
"Send me back! Right now!" Sam was shoving the gun closer to Gabriel with every word, but Sams feet stayed planted right where they were.
Gabriel set an elbow on the table and placed his chin in his hand. "Sam, not two minutes ago you thought I was dead. Aren't you at least a little curious as to how or why I am here in front of you right now?" He gestured to the seat that Sam fell into. "Why don't you have a seat. You know that gun cant hurt me, anyway. What were you thinking?"
Sam eyed the former trickster cautiously. He knew better than to trust this being, he had had enough of his tricks to last two more lifetimes. But this location, did he call it a pocket dimension? it seemed quiet enough. Sam quickly surveyed the fields, keeping Gabriel in his periphery vision. Nothing accept the archangel in front of him seemed like it was a danger.
He looked at the heavy gun, twisting his hands, seemingly questioning its usefulness against Gabriel. Which, he did in fact, know it was as useful as feather against a brick wall. Sams mind fought with itself, going over the pros and cons of sitting with the being that made Sams life miserable on more than one occasion and for months on end.
"Sam," Gabriels soft voice broke Sam away from himself. "you are thinking too loudly. Just sit down and eat with me."
The smells of the table made their way to Sam, and he noticed the food and the extra glass of hot chocolate for the first time since he arrived. He stared for a few minutes more, thinking through all the possible situations that could arise, escape routes, incantations on the tip of his tongue. A heavy sigh fell from Sam and he put his gun back in his pants. His face contorted into a frustrated scowl, but he reached up and pulled his chair a little further away from Gabriel and slowly sank into the chair.
"There you go," Gabriel sing songed. "I knew you'd get there eventually." Another spoonful of honey found its way to Gabriels cup. He held out the jar to Sam for the second time, but only received a look of disgust mixed with confusion.
"No thanks." Sam said flatly. Gabriel merely shrugged and deposited the spoon in his mouth, licking the honey and dripping chocolate off the utensil.
"Gross!" Gabriels eyes shot up at Sams outburst, and he was fast enough to see a smile on Sams face. Although it vanished as soon as Sam saw he was being watched.
Gabriel giggled around the spoon. "Saw that, Sammy." He pulled the now cleaned spoon out of his mouth and gestured with it towards the fruit and flaky hand pies that littered the table. "Eat, Sam. I promise the foods not poisoned or anything." He picked up a cherry filled empanada and took a large bite, sighing with pleasure at the taste. "Eat, drink and be merry and all that." He said through the food in his mouth, spreading crumbs everywhere.
And, as much as he hated it, Sam could feel himself relaxing. The smells of the food was intoxicating, and he was a little sick of diner food and Deans greasy cooking. His eyes roamed the table, taking his time making his decision. He slowly grabbed for the same caramel apples that Gabriel had eaten before.
"Ooh, those are so good!" Gabriel gushed. "I had some earlier. Cas made them. Did you know he could cook?"
"Cas made these?" Sam asked as he took a bite of the apple, thrown off only a bit by the wonderful taste of honey caramel and the golden apple. "Wow, its delicious."
"I know, right? Who knew he had a skill." Sams protective walls finally crumbled and he lost himself in loud laughter.
"So, where am I, exactly?" Sam asked when his laughter died down. "You did say pocket universe, right? Am I even on earth anymore?"
"Yes, Sam," Gabriel mocked annoyance. "Well, close enough. If you need an exact location, I suppose you can say we are earth adjacent." He caught more cherry filling in his mouth as it was falling out of its crusty shell.
"Earth adjacent?" Sams hand was seemingly stuck on its way up to his mouth.
"Don't worry your pretty little head, Sam you are perfectly safe with me." The dance that Gabriels eyebrows did seemed to break Sams body out of his trance, and his cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. "Easy, cowboy." Gabriel continued. "I'll behave." and he shot Sam a smirk that only served to deepen the red color on Sams cheeks.
"S-so what, is this where Cas lives?" the red color hadn't gone down from Sams face, and he was desperate to change the subject. "Seems like a nice place." He still wouldn't look back to Gabriel.
Gabriel brought the mug of hot chocolate up and took a long inhale of the rich chocolate drink. "I think it is more like a summer home. I'm house sitting right now. Don't tell him that I brought my boyfriend over, though." Another deadly smirk was sent in Sams direction. Sam sputtered his drink and choked a little.
"Shit!" Sams lap was burning slightly from the spilled drink. "What the hell?" He shot his own signature bitch face towards Gabriel, but it faded quickly, replaced by his own smirk. "You are flirting at an alarming rate. Are you sure I'm not dead?"
"No, Sam-a-lam." Gabriel huffed a laugh. "Trust me, your fine."
They sat for a while longer, eating and talking. Eventually Gabriel snapped the food away, and conjured up piles of flowers from the garden.
"What are these for?" Sam asked.
"Well, I don't want to get up from the table 'cuz I like talking to you, Sam, but I tend to fidget when I sit for too long. So I'm making flower crowns! Grab those shears and start cutting the steams, please."
Sam stared at the pile of flowers and greenery on the table, then at the archangel starting to weave flowers together and smiling contently. Eventually he did what he was asked and was trimming flowers as Gabriel asked for them.
"So, I gotta ask," Sam started, "whats with these bees? I know Cas has mentioned before that he watches them, but I didn't think it went this far. Eight hives seems like a lot. Plus, why are they leaving us alone? Is your grace keeping them away?"
"No, not really." Sams ever inquisitive mind always impressed Gabriel. "They are keeping an eye on you, but they like to keep their distance." Gabriels hands worked deftly weaving and placing flowers. But then he paused and looked up at Sam "You wanna see something cool?"
Sam looked terrified. "No."
"Shut up. Yes you do. Here," he tossed a crown to Sam "put this on. Yellow roses and periwinkle for you," he placed his own crown on his head gently, "and lavender for me."
"That's rather specific." Suspicion filled Sams voice.
Gabriel only answered with a knowing smile, not his usual sharp smirk. He called over his shoulder "Hey, sugar! Come up and see me some time."
"Who are you talking to?"
"Her."
Gabriel held out his hand and Sam watched a lone little bee land in his palm. "Hello again." He smiled down at her.
"They talk to you?" Sam leaned in closer.
Gabriel looked over to Sam and was startled at how close Sam was. "Sort of." he recovered quickly. "I know they can understand me, but they just project a light humming."
The honey bee in his hand flapped its wings and hovered around Gabriel, returning to the invisible halo above the flowers.
"You sure like it up there, huh, sugar."
Sam was watching intently, his eyes following the bees path. Gabriel tried something new, calling out with his grace to the other hives to see if they would respond.
Hey, come on out girls. Come see the new meat. But hands off. He's mine.
The hives flashed yellows, fading back and forth from bright sunny yellows, creams slightly tinted with orange and golden bursts. Colors of laughter and curiosity. Bees leisurely made their way over to the table, circling both of the men. Sam looked up and noticed they were surrounded. He lept up from his seat, not sure what to do. He started to reach for his gun on instinct, but Gabriel reached up and placed a hand on his arm.
"As cute as it would be for you to point a gun with a flower crown on, you're not in any danger, Sam" Gabriel looked to the wall of bees that enveloped them. You can come in a little closer. He won't bite. He looked back to Sam "Now, don't freak out."
Sam gave a quick nod, still not sure about the situation.
"Just a few at a time, please." Gabriel called to the bees. "Hold out your hands, Sam"
Once again, Sam did as Gabriel asked and held his hands up, flat and palms up. Small groups of bees came in slowly and landed on Sams hands, investigated him, even a few crawling up under his sleeves. They crawled around his large fingers, traced his veins on the back of his hands, and when they were satisfied, they flew off and new bees would come and take their place. Some would hover around his flower crown, sneakily gathering pollen. All the while, Sam had a look of wonder on his face. The feel of them on his skin was weird, yet pleasant. He was smiling the whole time, and the looks he sent to Gabriel made the archangels heart flutter.
Once the entire colony had their fill of the hunter, they returned to their hives or the flowers. Sam sat heavily into his seat again, out of breath and in a state of fascination. "Gabriel, that was amazing!"
Gabriel had a few of the bees around him still, around his halo and flower crown, some in his hands. He smiled towards Sam, another genuine smile, and it was Sams turn to feel warmed by the look.
A moment of peaceful quiet settled between them.
"So," Sam interrupted the silence, a little bit nervous. "should we head to the lake? you seem like the kind of archangel that likes to go skinny dipping."
He flashed an anxious smile that was slowly killing Gabriel.
"As much as I would love to, believe me, we better not, kiddo. Cas didn't say anything, but I'd bet my halo he would really hate me if we went messing with it. Lets head for the forest instead. You can ravish me against the redwoods, my sweet Sammy."
Sam turned an even deeper shade of red than before, and a shade he never thought possible on a hunter. Shy was never a word Sam would use to describe himself, but that was what he felt he was reduced to. A mountain of a man who could kill a vampire without a second thought, but around Gabriel he found himself not sure of himself, his hands fumbling and words failing him.
"Um, sure. Sounds nice." Realizing what Gabriel had said, Sam was falling over his words again. "I mean, well, you know," he took a deep breath. "A walk sounds nice."
"Off we go, then." Gabriel stood and out his hand out in a gesture that said after you and Sam awkwardly stood and headed towards the edge of the flower garden. He looked for a path or walkway, but found nothing but color blocking him.
Sam hesitated to take a step towards the flowers, his large frame was not made for skipping gingerly through the daisies. he looked pleadingly back to Gabriel. He really didn't want to crush Castiels beautiful flowers. But Gabriel encouraged him to press on, and as Sam brought a foot down, the flowers parted, and a stepping stone started to appear. It started as a pinprick and grew in size until it was able to hold both of Sams large feet comfortably. Sam put both feet down and rocked on the balls of his feet, testing the solidity of the stone under him, he cast another look to Gabriel, his eyes bright and a broad smile on his lips.
"Well that's one problem solved." Sam said, turning back towards Gabriel, "but it's still miles to the forest. I can barely see the edge of the flowers. We'll be walking all day."
"Just go, would ya. You'll see."
Sam shrugged lightly and turned back around. He took a few steps, then Gabriel got his attention again.
"Oh my dad, Sam! there's something on your back!" Sam twisted his neck dramatically to see what twas there. "Don't panic! I'll get it!"
Without any other warning, Gabriel lept up and wrapped his arms and legs around Sams tall body.
"Surprise! Its me! Now, onward moose!"
"Hey!" Sam tried to push him off, but Gabriel just clutched onto his sides even tighter.
"You think that I'm going to carry you the whole way there?! I'm not your pack mule!"
"I know. I said moose." Gabriel purred into Sams ear, making Sams stomach do a flip. "Plus its not as far as you think. Now go." A gentle squeeze to his hips had Sam regretting getting up this morning, and he slapped Gabriels thighs playfully.
"Stop, ass."
"You like it."
Sam gave up and trudged on, his arms hooked around and under Gabriels thighs. As he walked further and further, he noticed the forest getting closer and closer. It was coming up to them faster than it should be, based on how far away it seemed to be. They were only walking for about ten minutes before when they reached the forests edge.
"How was that even possible? It was miles away." Sam wondered out loud.
"This place bends around all the time. Cas and I may be able to fly around everywhere, but it looks like he designed it with you humans in mind. Or maybe just one human."
Sam noticed the man at the lake first. "Speaking of…" He twisted his body so Gabriel was looking in the direction of the lake as well. And even though they were impossibly too far away to see anything, they could both see a figure sitting on the edge of the dock. "Is Dean really here?" Sam asked.
"No, its just one of his dreams. I guess Cas is the protective boyfriend." Gabriel slipped off of Sams back. "Even when he cant be around him. He's just sleeping at your HQ."
"But why is Dean dreaming here?"
"Because sweet baby Cas is a hopeless romantic."
Gabriel cast his eyes up the long length of the hunter in front of him, taking in his strong yet soft features. He admired him through lashes as Sam watched the silhouette of his brother sitting on the lakes dock. Sam felt the archangels gaze on him, and turned to take in the affectionate look Gabriel was regarding him with. The gears in Sams head worked for a few minutes to decipher the meaning behind Gabriels scrutiny, but when he did, the redness crept back up into his face and he was fumbling over his thoughts.
Gabriel snickered lightly. "I can still hear you." he said as he tapped a finger to his temple. Sam tried to look anywhere but at Gabriel, and shoved his hands into his pockets, not knowing what to do with them all of a sudden.
"Shall we go, Sam?" Gabriel gestured his arm toward the wide trail leading into the forest.
"Yeah, OK." Sams voice was a few octaves higher than normal.
They turned to enjoy a leisurely walk in the woods.
Both men stopped immediately, motionless in the grassy part of the field, their eyes on a sight that was not there a moment ago.
One stared in wonder, the other in dread.