When the group met in the morning for breakfast, Spencer and Remy got an idea as to how much of an effect they'd had around them last night. Logically, Spencer knew that his empathy and Remy's charm could be a dangerous combination together, especially when combined and then set free like that, but he hadn't been thinking clearly about it when it happened. He didn't really think about it at all until they walked into the diner the next morning and Spencer got his first look at the people waiting for them.
The first thing Spencer noticed was the emotions. After last night's events, not just the ghost but the release of all those emotions, Spencer's shields were horrible. It meant that he felt pretty much everything from the instant he walked in. Of course, that meant that he was almost blinded by the two angels, their beautiful light shining through even more than normal. The love that they were made of was a bit different this morning, though. Castiel's was also a bit content and very pleased. Gabriel's—well, Gabriel just radiated smugness and good cheer, and an aura not unlike the one that Remy was letting off right now.
Dean was just sort of staring down at his coffee from his seat beside Castiel. He looked kind of stunned, almost like he was in shock, yet at the same time completely content. Sam had a lazy smirk and a very, very pleased feel about him.
"Oh God." Spencer breathed out, stopping just barely inside the diner. He ignored the people brushing past him and just stared in stunned realization at the table ahead. When Gabriel looked up, catching his eye, the archangel grinned even broader and winked right at him. Spencer felt his cheeks burn. "Oh, hell."
Remy's arm slipped easily around his waist and he found himself pulled in against his partner's side. "What is it, cher?" There was real concern there. Remy knew how weak Spencer's shields were right now.
"I didn't…" Licking his lips, Spencer looked up at Remy, beyond embarrassed and wanting nothing more than to bury his face against Remy and just hide. "I didn't think about how badly we must've projected last night." He dropped his face in against Remy's shoulder and just groaned.
He felt Remy move and then felt the mirth fill him seconds before he chuckled. The arm around Spencer's waist squeezed and then started to drag him forward. "C'mon, cher, y' aint got a t'ing t'be embarrassed about. Hell, if deir night was anyt'ing like Remy's, dey oughta be buying y' breakfast!"
They were close enough now that the others caught the tail end of that and Spencer heard Gabriel's immediate response. "Oh, believe me. Breakfast is on me!"
Spencer looked up from Remy's shoulder about the same time that Dean's gaze snapped up towards him. The look on his face and the emotions rolling off of him had Spencer immediately shoving himself closer to Remy's side. Wariness, hostility, horror, panic, and an angry sort of embarrassment. It was a combination that Spencer knew far too well and was almost enough to send him out of here. He'd felt that from people before. Usually right before they started shouting or throwing punches.
The smile on Gabriel's face slipped just slightly before he hitched it back into place. Gesturing with the arm he had around Sam's shoulders, he pointed to the chair at Sam's side. "Here, boys, you can sit on our side."
On the other side of the table, Castiel slipped his hand down where no one could see it and laid it on Dean's thigh in an attempt to calm his partner.
Spencer let himself get pushed down into the chair by Sam, with Remy taking the other side, and he had to admit it felt a little better being sandwiched between the two. Sam, unlike his brother, didn't seem annoyed at all. He smiled warmly at Spencer and his emotions were heavy and a little fuzzy, like a warm winter quilt, or thick hot chocolate. Happy and easy and just, warm. "Morning, guys." The corner of Sam's mouth quirked up and turned his smile into a smirk he no doubt picked up from his partner. "You two look like you had a great night."
A strangled sound came from across the table. Spencer flinched, ducking his head down, but Remy just looked right at Dean and arched an eyebrow over the top of his sunglasses. "Y' got a problem dere, mec?"
It only took a second for the older Winchester to look up and snarl out an answer. "What the hell did you guys do last night?"
That was the wrong question to ask Remy. The grin that curved his lips was slow and devilish and so very smug. "Had some really great fuckin' angry sex. What about y'?" At the blush that immediately touched Dean's cheeks, Remy let out a smoky laugh.
Of course, that was when the waitress had to appear. The scandalized look on her face was enough to have Spencer sinking down in his seat. He ignored as everyone placed their orders and when it got to him, only mumbled out a request for coffee. Beside him, Remy sighed and shook his head. Then he flashed a bright and charming smile up at the waitress that had her smiling back without even realizing it. "Excuse him, s'il vous plait. M' partner's just a little embarrassed an tired dis mornin'. Long night, y'know." Though his sunglasses prevented him from winking at people, the tone in his voice made the gesture clear and the woman let out a warm laugh. Grinning, Remy settled back in his seat and flung an arm on the back of Spencer's chair. "He'll have his coffee an de Belgian waffles y' got, an I'll have de full Southern special, if it aint too much trouble." Again, that sound in his voice that was just as potent as a wink. "Gotta get m' energy back."
"Oh my God." Spencer breathed the words out lowly and tried to resist the urge to thunk his head down on the table as the waitress laughed an walked off with their orders. Glaring up at Remy through a screen of hair, Spencer very calmly told him "Remy Etienne LeBeau, I swear to you I'll stab you if you don't knock it off."
Remy pretended to shiver. "Oooh, pulled out Remy's whole name. Y' must be gettin' pissed. I'm shakin', cher."
Reaching up, Spencer closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "In the leg. I'm going to stab you in the leg. It's not fatal if done right."
"Promises, promises."
"With your own knife."
"Oh now dat's just harsh."
Staying mad at him was just too difficult. Especially with his good mood just wrapping right around the young genius. Spencer rolled his eyes and sighed, though his lips twitched up slightly in an almost-smile. "Why on earth do I put up with you?"
A low, husky laugh tumbled from Remy. He smirked and gave Spencer's shoulder's a quick squeeze. Before he even spoke, Spencer knew whatever was going to come out of his mouth was going to be inappropriate and embarrassing and, "Cause don't no one else fuck y' like Remy does."
It was almost worth the embarrassment to watch as Dean ended up spitting coffee all over himself. The rest of the table laughed—even Castiel was chuckling a bit.
Dean, however, didn't look amused. He looked pissed. "Would you two knock it off?" Grabbing a wad of napkins, he started mopping up the mess on the table in front of him even as he scowled at them. "It's bad enough we all had to hear you, or that you guys projected your shit all over the place and screwed with everyone's heads. We don't need to hear about it over breakfast!"
"Oh, je suis désolé, mec." Remy said dryly. "Excusez-moi. How dare we give y' de best fuckin' sex of y'r life. Y'r right, cher. We're monsters."
Dean growled and suddenly Gabriel was sitting up straighter, looking wary and just a bit hard. "Deano…"
"No!" Dean snapped lowly, cutting him off. He kept his voice pitched low so they didn't attract any more attention than they already had, but he was obviously determined to say his piece. His eyes locked on Spencer and the heat in them had the young genius leaning back. "We've had enough damn people trying to screw with our heads and make us do what they want. I don't care if you're a friend or not, that shit don't fly."
He was right. He was completely right. Spencer knew better than anyone the set of ethics and morals that went along with his empathy. He always made it a point not to truly influence the moods of his friends. At least, not beyond trying to cheer them up when they were upset or scared, little things like that. But something like this? He knew how bad it could be viewed. That it could've been so much worse if the two hunters hadn't had their angels with them. What if they'd been alone? Or with someone they didn't like? What if they'd been with each other? The awkward or downright bad situations those scenarios could've put them in because of Spencer's loss of control were so beyond unacceptable. Spencer felt Dean's anger wash over him and he bowed his head under it, knowing he deserved it. He should've had more control over himself. "I'm sorry. You're absolutely right, Dean. I'm sorry."
"Hell no." Remy growled out. His arm was like steel across Spencer's shoulders, holding him in place when he would've sunk down. The good mood that had surrounded the table was gone now and there was more than one temper crackling. It was Remy's he felt the most keenly, though. The Cajun was pissed. "Don't y' dare put dat bullshit of y'rs on him, y' fuckin' connard. Don't y' dare. So y' had some rough sex wit' y'r partner last night? So fuckin' what? No one forced y'. Y' felt our emotions, oui, mais y' didn't have to give in. Y' could've gotten in dat fancy car of y'rs and fucked off to somewhere away from us where y' wouldn't have to feel it. Hell, y' could've asked Cas an I bet he would've shielded y'."
"That's not…!" Dean tried to say, but Remy rolled right over top of him.
"De hell it aint de point!" He snarled. "Don't y' give me dat shit. Don't y' sit dere all fuckin' blissed out from de best night of sex y've had and fuckin' break down m' partner cause he couldn't keep a hold on his shields after he saved dat po' femme last night."
"Remy, that's enough." Spencer murmured.
To his surprise, it was Gabriel who spoke up next. "No, Spencer. Remy's right." He cast a glare over at Dean. "You don't know what you're talking about here, Deano, so I suggest you watch it. He did a damn amazing thing last night, sending a soul home where it could get some peace, and he took a lot on himself to do it. If anyone had been in any danger last night, we would've gotten them out of there. I knew what was up the minute I zapped them back to their room and if anyone had been at risk of being hurt, don't you think I would've put them somewhere else? Somewhere safe?"
Tempers were getting way too high over this and Spencer knew he needed to do something, quick. He recognized what was happening even if no one else did. They were upset, sure, and Dean was more than upset, but not this badly. That had to mean that he was not only stuck drawing in their emotions, he was probably projecting them back out, accidentally making the whole thing worse. Taking a deep breath, he focused on his shields, on the emotions that he wanted, and then he blew that breath out and steadily laid a sensation of calm over the table. Not enough to force them to change their emotions – after all this fighting about manipulation, he wasn't going to deliberately force his emotions on them. However, he wasn't above projecting just enough calm to encourage them to relax, as well as removing the negative emotions he'd been projecting.
"Everyone needs to calm down." He said, cutting into whoever was talking. Opening his eyes, he looked from one face to the next. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the waitress coming with plates and he felt a bit surprised. Had it really been that long? Still, he kept his voice calm. "Our breakfast is coming. Why don't we all just relax, eat, and enjoy our meal? Please."
Any protests were cut off by the waitress's arrival. Food was passed out and distributed to each person and Spencer gratefully scooped up his cup of coffee and immediately set about filling it with cream and sugar.
The tension at the table had broken enough by the time the waitress had gone that Sam actually smiled a little as he watched Spencer pour in yet another packet of sugar. "In the mood for some coffee flavored sugar there, Spencer?"
"Sugar's a good way to replace some of the energy my powers burned out." Spencer explained quickly. It didn't stop the blush from touching his cheeks, though.
Some of the tension in Spencer drained out when Dean gave him a look that was just a bit less gruff, a bit more teasing. "Another sugar addict, huh?"
Remy laughed, and Spencer felt the tension drop just a little bit more. "Cher, y' got no idea."
Breakfast passed by easily enough after that. No one brought up the night's events again, at least not directly, though there were more than a few innuendos from Gabriel and Remy. Those two were the very worst with one another. Spencer found himself shaking his head multiple times and sharing a look with Sam that clearly said, on both sides, just how ridiculous they found their partners – and just how much they loved them.
He wasn't all that surprised after breakfast when Remy bent down to press a kiss against his lips and murmur that he'd be back. He knew what his partner wanted.
When Remy vanished outside, and Spencer could no longer watch that saunter of his that always inevitably drew the eyes of most everyone around, the young genius found a few curious looks directed his way from his companions. It only took him a second to realize why. "He's gone out for a cigarette. He'll be out there when we're finished."
"You two really shouldn't wander around alone." Dean chided. He cast a look towards the front door with just a bit of worry.
Spencer wanted to protest that. Really, he did. And he might've. But something came flying across his bond with Remy and he sucked in a sharp breath, hands gripping tight to the table. Temper, hot and hard, rolled over him and through him, followed by a flash of pain. Spencer was up and moving before anyone could say a word. He tore across the diner, not caring about what people thought, and raced to the door, but he was already too late. The sensation he carried with him at all times that told him where Remy was, the one that he could use when they were close to locate his partner without even looking, quickly flared and changed and Spencer knew before he even skidded to a halt outside that Remy was gone.
With his weak shields thrown wide open, the feel of emotions in the air hit him harder than they normally would've and in seconds he was hunched over, throwing up alongside the edge of the sidewalk. Hands gathered his hair back from his face as Spencer threw up every bit of the waffles he'd just eaten. The nausea didn't stop until two fingers brushed against his forehead and an influx of energy gave him the strength to slam his shields up.
When he finally straightened back up it was to find the whole group of them standing there watching him. Sam had been the one holding his hair and Gabriel the one to give him energy. As Spencer straightened up, Sam let go of his hair, but one of his hands slid down to curl over Spencer's shoulder.
"Demons." Gabriel said, before Spencer could even ask what that foul, vile, disgusting feeling had been. "There were demons out here. A few of them, actually."
Spencer straightened up his spine and looked around him. The feeling of Remy in his head still ached, fainter than before. "They took Remy." They'd hurt him.
"What the hell would they want with Remy?" Dean demanded.
"Who knows." Gabriel's expression was stormy, his eyes snapping as they took in whatever it was the archangel could see that they couldn't. "But I damn well intend to find out."
Fear clawed at Spencer's insides only to be shoved down by a temper that was so rarely set free. People often assumed that Spencer didn't have much of a temper. His family knew better, as well as anyone who had ever seen him argue with Remy or fight with Alex. But very, very few people ever got to see him truly pissed off. These four got to see it now. Spencer straightened himself up and the power inside him grew so strong they could actually see the spark of it through his contacts and feel it in the air around them. "Can you find them?" He asked Gabriel, his voice flat and hard. If anyone had a chance of finding them it'd be the archangel.
Gabriel tilted his head to look at him for a minute and something of understanding passed between the two. "I should. You two are bonded, right? Linked?"
"Yes. I made it myself with my empathy."
"Then yeah, I should. We need to go somewhere a bit more private, though. I'm gonna have to reach in and use that to track him."
Spencer nodded. Hang on, Remy. I'm coming.