On a hill, hidden by mountains of scrap metal and broken cars, a man stood to watch the sun rise.
The hill he stood upon was not a lush green, but instead a mottled brown, nothing but dirt and dust for miles.
He was somewhat small in stature, and his clothes did not stand out in the slightest. He had a small frown, a tired and lost look settled about him.
He seemed to be wound tight, a heavy weight, though intangible, rested on his shoulders.
Yet he looked upon the rising sun as if he was its equal.
Sam didn't know what drew him from his sleep.
He was accustomed to waking early, at this point in time.
Whether it be from the almost constant feed of dreams from Lucifer, or the nightmares he got when the devil was absent from his head.
Sam rolled from Bobby's couch, still wearing all of his clothing, and went to stand on the porch.
A low light spread across the sea of old cars, gentle pinks and yellows bouncing off of the dull paint jobs.
It was early, the sun just greeting the world, and another day to leave behind on the train wreck called Apocalypse.
The wooden stairs creaked as Sam went down them. He welcomed the cool dirt on his bare feet, digging his toes into the ground.
Sam started walking without purpose in between two stacks of cars, out further past the graveyard of vehicles.
He looked up onto a hill, where Gabriel was standing; looking out at the sun Sam couldn't yet see.
Gabriel flexed his shoulders, arms slowly rising and palms facing upwards.
Sam barely held in a gasp, as bright gold shadows appeared over the angel's back, the strong and proud silhouettes of Gabriel's wings spreading over the sky.
Gabriel looked free, truly free unlike the phantom mockery of freedom he had when he was the Trickster.
Gabriel was not in all his glory, far from it, and if he was Sam's eyes would've burned from their sockets.
Gabriel stretched upwards, a full body roll that made the golden shadows arch even higher, and once again Gabriel looked like he had been unchained.
The wings materialized from see-through to vibrantly shining feathers, just as the sun rose over the hill Gabriel stood on, leaving Sam breathless.
He ached somewhere inside, he wasn't supposed to be seeing this.
It was a most private moment for the archangel, and Sam was staring like a pervert.
"It's alright Sam." Gabriel said from above. "I wanted you to see."
Sam froze, heart stuttering in his chest. Something like this felt like time should stop, it was so big, too big, and the world should cease its spinning for it. "They're beautiful," He said quietly.
Gabriel laughed, and Sam could hear the smile in it. Sam felt the warmth of the angel's laugh surround him, a pleasing fuzziness spreading from the inside out.
Gabriel's wings faded, Sam forcefully ignoring the sense of loss to keep hold of the other whorl of feelings the angel caused him.
And still the sun steadily continued its ascension.