Sam was laying on the couch listening to music off the the smartphone Gabriel had gotten him. He hadn't really been happy about accepting such a gift, but as Gabriel had thrust it into his hands and refused to take it back. Besides there wasn't much else he could do. He couldn't even read anymore, which caused him a lot of bitterness. Reading was something he always loved to do. Now he had to learn to do it all over again a different way. Gabriel had gotten him several books in Braille and was teaching him how to read that way, but it was a very slow process.
Sam suddenly felt a tap on his arm that made him flinch. He had earbuds in, so he couldn't hear anything other than his music, and obviously he couldn't see that anyone was around, so he was taken completely by surprise.
Sam took the earbuds out of his ear. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry, kiddo. I had no other way of getting your attention. I was thinking we could grab dinner now," Gabriel said.
The very mention of food made Sam hungry. He was definitely on board with the dinner thing. "Okay. What are we having?" he asked as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the couch.
"Whatever you want to order off the menu at the French restaurant I'm taking you to," Gabriel said.
Sam went completely stiff. He hadn't been out since becoming blind and he had no desire to rectify that. "No, let's just eat here. You can snap dinner up if you don't wanna cook, or we can deliver."
"Nope, we're going out. It's time for your first adventure outside. You can't stay locked inside forever," Gabriel said firmly.
"E...Everyone will know as soon as they see me," Sam said.
"Yeah, and guess what? They'll keep walking after they figure it out. Except the waitress. She'll ask you what you want, you'll tell her, and then she'll keep walking," Gabriel said with a slight smirk.
"I don't want to. Go without me if you want to get out," Sam said.
Gabriel snapped his fingers and Sam's shoes on his feet, causing the man to give another flinch in surprise. "You're coming. Now, do I have to snap us there or will you get up and walk?" Yeah, he knew he sounded like an ass right now, but he knew very well that if he wasn't forceful, Sam keep himself holed up for the rest of his life. He needed to take back what those SOBs had stolen from them when they took his sight. His life. It wasn't going to be the same life, but it could still be a normal one. Sam needed to start taking the steps to reclaim it though.
"You can't make me go!" Sam growled. Of course he knew that Gabriel could though. As Gabriel had threatened, he could literally snap him where he wanted him.
Gabriel chuckled. "Oh, you know better than that. We both know there's less than a handful of things I can't do."
Sam huffed. "Why can't you just let it go? Let me handle things my own way!"
"If you were handling it, maybe I would. Now, come." Gabriel urged.
"I...I won't even be able to read the menu," Sam said bitterly.
"So I'll read it to you and you can tell me what you want," Gabriel replied.
Sam sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get out of this. "Fine," he said before grabbing his cane from the floor and standing up.
Gabriel steered him towards the door. "The door's straight ahead."
"Wait, are we driving?" Sam asked surprised. He figured Gabriel would just transport them there. Doing things normally didn't seem to be Gabriel's or any other angel's style. Well, except for cooking. Most of the time Gabriel did that normally.
"Nope, we're walking. The place we're going is only a few blocks away and this will help you get used to walking outside. Come on," Gabriel said before going ahead of Sam and opening the front door.
Sam walked towards him, feeling with his cane as he walked. After a few feet, he ended up hitting something solid, most likely a wall.
"Step a few feet to your left," Gabriel instructed. It would've been much easier for him to just lead Sam out the door, but Sam didn't need someone to lead him around. He needed to know how to do it himself.
Sam stepped to the side a couple of paces and when Gabriel didn't say anything, he walked forward again. The feeling against his shoes changed, telling him he wasn't on the living room carpet anymore. Then he heard a door shut behind him, telling him he'd made it out the door.
"You've got three steps off the porch coming up," Gabriel said.
Sam felt around with his cane until he hit air, indicating that he'd reached the steps. He stepped down three times and then felt grass underneath his feet.
"Keep going straight until you hit the curb. Then you'll turn to your right and walk straight," Gabriel instructed.
Sam did so, stopping when he felt his can hit pavement. He stopped onto the road and took a right. "So we're eating French tonight? I don't think I've ever had French food. We never really ate fancy."
"Well, French seemed like the best choice given that we're in France," Gabriel joked.
"We are?" Sam asked. He'd never asked before where they were. It didn't seem to matter. He'd just been in Gabriel's house the whole time and he'd spent most of that time in despair over his loss of sight. Their location didn't seem to matter.
"Yup, Bordeaux," Gabriel said.
"Wow. I get to go to another country and I can't even see what it looks like," Sam said with sadness in his voice.
"Eh, it's just another city," Gabriel said nonchalantly. "Take a right."
Sam did as he was told. He started to speed up and suddenly, he stumbled into the curb with his right foot and started to fall.
Gabriel grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up right before he could fall. "I got you. Walk a little more slowly and make sure to feel to the side with that cane."
"I was trying to hurry up. I didn't wanna hold you up," Sam said.
"Don't worry about that. I'm in no hurry. Go at a speed you're comfortable with," Gabriel urged.
Sam nodded and started walking again.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Sam and Gabriel were seated at a small table in the middle of the restaurant waiting for their food. Sam had ordered something called Pot-au-feu, which was apparently a beef stew. It was the safest thing Gabriel had read off the menu. Sam wasn't quite ready to try anything more exotic than that.
Sam found that Gabriel had been right that no one really bothered him about his sight. No one even asked about it. When he thought about it, it seemed about right. Normal people didn't go around asking about a stranger's disability. That didn't mean Sam wasn't still uncomfortable. Not just uncomfortable, but also on edge. There were people everywhere and he didn't know exactly where or what they were doing. He didn't like that.
"Sam, relax. No one's staring at you," Gabriel said. He noticed how uncomfortable the man was and how his head turned at the sound of the slightest thing.
"It's not just that. I...I hear people moving around, but I don't know where they are. I don't know who or what is here and what they might do," Sam said.
Gabriel understood within seconds. Sam didn't feel safe. It was understandable, even for a normal person. Losing a sense, especially one as dominant as sight, took away a huge sense of security. And as Sam was a hunter, it had to be even worse. "I see. You feel vulnerable."
"I am vulnerable. There could be a demon or something next to me and I wouldn't know it," Sam whispered so no one else would hear him.
"There are no demons here, Sam. There is nothing here but humans. I'd know if there weren't," Gabriel said.
"But I wouldn't. I can't defend myself. I can't even see to know that I need to defend myself," Sam said. That was one of the hardest things about this. He was useless. He wouldn't be able to do anything if he was attacked. He was a sitting duck. He hated that.
Gabriel looked at Sam for a minute and then reached his hand out. "My hand is directly in front of you. Take it."
Sam felt weird about holding another guy's hand, but he tentatively reached out until he felt the archangels hand and then he grasped it. He was kind of unprepared for how it felt. It didn't feel weird at all. It felt kind of good.
Gabriel gave Sam's hand a reassuring squeeze. He hoped it made the hunter feel a little safer. "You don't have to worry about protecting yourself, alright? I won't let anything touch you," he promised. He didn't know why, but he felt very protective over Sam. He was not going to allow anything to hurt him again, and that included his ass of a brother.
"You shouldn't have to protect me," Sam said.
"I don't have to. It's not about having to. I will do it," Gabriel said firmly.
"Thanks," Sam said. He actually did feel better with the archangel's words. He hated that he needed someone to keep the monsters away from him, but at the same time, it felt good to know someone had his back. And he did believe Gabriel when he said he did. He didn't know when it happened, but he'd apparently started to trust Gabriel.
Gabriel let go of Sam's hand as the waiter arrived with their food. Once he left, they both started eating.