Three Years Later
Sam slid the key into the lock to the mailbox in his apartment building. He grabbed the mail and started looking through it on his way upstairs, his backpack bouncing with each step he took up to the third floor. There was a magazine that Gabriel subscribed to, their cable bill, some junk, and then a very official looking envelope from Stanford. Sam stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at it. He knew what it was. There was nothing else it could be. Sam opened his apartment door. Sam and Gabriel's apartment opened into their living room. From there, it flowed into the kitchen through a small doorway and down a short hallway, where their bedroom was. There was another, smaller bedroom off to the right, and the bathroom to the left. Sam walked in and heard a loud BANG come from the kitchen.
"Fuck!" Gabriel yelled. Sam ran in. There was a cookie sheet on the floor, along with about a dozen cookies. Gabriel was running his hand under water from the sink. He looked over at Sam.
"Well, hey there, sexy." Gabriel tried to grin, but it was more of a grimace. Sam walked over to the sink.
"Hi, handsome. What did you do?"
"There's a hole in my oven mitt. I grabbed the cookie tray and it burned me."
"Aw," Sam took Gabriel's hand out from under the water and gave the red area a gentle kiss. "Better?" He smiled.
"Hm…I'm not sure. Maybe you should do it again." Gabriel smiled as Sam kissed his hand again. "Much better. How'd classes go today?" Gabriel grabbed the towel near the oven as he turned the water off and wiped his hand of the excess water.
"They went pretty well, and look what came in the mail." Sam held up the envelope and Gabriel's eyes widened.
"Have you opened it yet?" Sam shook his head.
"I couldn't do it. Will you do it?" Sam held the envelope out to his boyfriend. Gabriel took it out of Sam's hands and opened the envelope. He took the piece of paper out and read over it. Sam watched Gabriel's face for any expression at all, but Gabriel's face was like a mask.
"What were you aiming for?"
"Well, my advisor told me the lowest they would accept was a 168, but he said with my GPA, I might be able to get away with a little lower, like a 165. So, that I guess." Sam's palm started to sweat. If his LSAT wasn't good enough to get a full ride next year, he may as well kiss law school good bye. Then basically his whole academic career would've been for nothing and… Gabriel sighed.
"Baby, I don't know how to say this, but you…you blew that score out of the water." Gabriel's face broke into a huge grin.
"I…I what?" Sam matched Gabriel's smile.
"Yeah! You got a 174. Out of…180?! Sam, are you kidding me?! That's amazing!" Sam grabbed the paper out of Gabriel's hand and looked it over. That was, in fact, his score. He couldn't believe it. Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and Sam wrapped one arm around Gabriel's shoulders.
"I can get a full ride." Sam whispered.
"I am so ridiculously proud of you." Gabriel stretched up and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. "You should probably call Dean and let him know how much of a genius you are, not that he doesn't already know. I need to clean up this mess and make a new batch." Gabriel untangled himself from Sam and began picking up the cookies.
"Why were you baking anyway? Didn't get enough of it at work or what?" Sam set his backpack down on the kitchen table. Gabriel had started working full time at the bakery since he graduated from Canada College with his two year liberal arts degree and decided not to go any further.
"No, Bess has this new cookie recipe that she wants us all to try out and see if people will like it so we have to try it out when everybody comes over. Speaking of, when are you going to start cooking?" Sam glanced at the clock. It was just after three; Jessica, Zach, Luis and his new girlfriend, Jill would be coming over in about an hour. Sam took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Would it be cheating if we just ordered pizza?" Gabriel sat on Sam's lap and wrapped his arms around Sam's neck.
"Nah, they just want my lovely company anyway." Gabriel smiled as Sam rested his arm on his thighs.
"Sure babe, keep telling yourself that. I'll order it once they get here."
"Fine, but first you need to call Dean and I need to start those cookies again." Gabriel kissed Sam and Sam kissed him back. Gabriel tasted like vanilla and cinnamon.
"Mmm…have you been sampling the cookies?"
"Maybe, you'll have to wait and see." Gabriel started to get up but Sam grabbed his shirt and drew him into another kiss, but deepened it. Gabriel kissed him back just as fiercely. Their mouths moved together, until Sam pulled away for air. He rested his forehead to Gabriel's.
"We'll have to continue this after our little get together, okay? It takes me like an hour to mix everything again. Plus, you need to call your brother. Like now." Gabriel gave Sam a quick kiss before he got up and walked to the fridge to take out the milk and eggs. Sam smiled and dug his phone out of his backpack. He dialed Dean's number and waited. He watched as Gabriel did his little dance around the kitchen to make the cookies.
"Hey, Sammy, how are you, buddy?"
"Great, Dean. How are…?"
"Cas! Pause the movie!...It's Sam! Sorry, Sammy, so what's up?"
"Well, I got my LSAT score back today."
"You did? How'd you do? Will it help you?"
"Yeah, I uh…I got a 174."
"Holy shit! Sammy, that's great!" Sam heard Dean whisper to Castiel. "He got a 174." Dean spoke up back to Sam. "Didn't you only need like a 165 or something like that?"
"Yeah, so I'm going to set up my law school interview tomorrow and hopefully get everything figured out."
"That'll be great. Do you think you can get a full ride?"
"Well, I've got a four-point, and with a score like this I should."
"Wow, Sam, that's so great. I am so proud of you. Cas is too. What all do you have to do for this interview?"
"I have to just explain to them why I want to go to law school and how I will use my degree." Sam and Dean talked for another half an hour before there was a knock at the door. Gabriel answered it and led Jessica and Zach into the apartment.
"Oh, hey Dean, I gotta go. Jess and Zach are here."
"Alright, well, Cas and I are watching a movie anyway. Call me Monday after your interview, okay?"
"Yeah, sounds good. Bye, Dean."
"Bye, Sammy." There was a click and the conversation was over.
"Hey, guys," Sam smiled as Jessica and Zach sat at the table.
"I thought you were cooking for us." Jessica looked at Sam.
"I decided to give him the night off because of his awesome LSAT victory." Gabriel walked over and kissed Sam on the top of his head. "How about we order pizza?"
"Whoa, what did you get on the LSAT?" Jessica perked up. She had been almost as invested as Gabriel when it came to Sam's score.
"174." Sam smiled wide and Jessica gasped. Zach looked at her, confused.
"Is that good?"
"Scary good." Jessica gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. "Great job, Sam. So, when is your interview?"
"I don't know yet." There was another knock at the door. "I think that it'll be Monday." The knocking came harder.
"Oh nobody get up, I got it." Gabriel rolled his eyes and answered the door. Luis and Jill came in and the six began their night.
Monday Morning
Sam looked at himself in the mirror again and straightened his tie. He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Babe? Come on, you need to get going if you want to get there on time." Gabriel said gently through the bathroom door. Sam stepped out of the bathroom and spread his arms out.
"Well? What do you think? Do I look like a lawyer?" He spun around and smiled. Gabriel looked him up and down. Dear God, did Sam look good.
"You are probably the hottest lawyer I've ever seen."
"Would you give me a full ride?" Sam regretted that statement as soon as he said it.
"Oh I'd give you a ride alright." Gabriel smirked and winked. Sam shook his head and tried not to smile back. "Hey, seriously though," Gabriel looked up into Sam's eyes. "I am so proud of you. You are going to knock them dead."
"What would I do without you?" Sam stroked Gabriel's cheek.
"Crash and burn." Gabriel smiled, grabbed Sam's tie and pulled him down into a kiss.
Sam couldn't stop his leg from shaking. This was, debatably, the biggest interview of his life. If he didn't get a full ride, he wouldn't be able to get the job that he wanted or where he wanted. He would probably have to change his major, in his senior year, who the hell would want to do that? Sam shook his head to get that thought out of his head.
"Sam Winchester?" A polite female voice said above him. Sam realized that he had been staring at the floor for probably the last ten minutes. Sam stood up and smiled at the woman. She smiled back.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"He'll see you now. Good luck, dear." Sam nodded his thanks and walked into the office. It was about as big as he and Gabriel's entire apartment.
"Sam, have a seat, son." The man was wearing a black suit and had his back to Sam. Sam sat down in the leather (real, too, not fake like some of the other professors) chair in front of the desk. The man turned around and grinned. He was a few inches shorter than Sam (not that Sam wasn't used to that), his hair appeared to have some brown in it at some point, but it was mostly gray now. He had a clean shaven face. "So, says here you would like to be a lawyer. Why's that?"
"Well, Mr." Sam quickly glanced at the desk. "Azazel, I would like to help people."
"And you think that's what lawyers do? You think that we help people?" Sam swallowed. This guy made him nervous. It didn't help that the way the light was hitting his eyes they almost looked yellow. Sam cleared his throat.
"Yes, yes sir. I think that lawyers fight for justice in a world that really needs some. I think that lawyers do what they do because they want to make the world a better place?"
"And, money has nothing to do with it?" Sam shrugged.
"Honestly, I never thought about the money I would get. I mean, I know lawyers tend to make a lot, but that's not why I want to do it. I just want to make a difference in the world; I think…"
"You know, Hitler made a difference in this world." Azazel leered. Sam refused to squirm or move in anyway. He didn't even look away. This guy held his future in his hands, and he knew it. He was just toying with Sam because he knew he could. He probably did this to every kid that came through. He knew that Sam was at his mercy.
"Hitler did make a difference in this world. So did Gandhi, and Dr. King. We can pick certain people that have made names for themselves, good or bad, or we can talk about the everyday people that make a difference because they feel the need to make the world better. The people that know they may not get recognition for it, but do it anyway. Those are the people I like to think I identify with."
"Who in your life are you talking about exactly?"
"Well, my brother Dean for one. He raised me since I was four years old. He never asked to raise me, but our parents passed away. He did it and never complained. He gave up his whole life in California to come back to Kansas to take care of me and, if I do say so myself, he did a hell of a job. He's a guy that never asks for recognition. He just goes about his days doing what he can to help people. And that, sir, is exactly the kind of thing I think I can do if I become a lawyer."
Azazel leaned over the desk and looked Sam up and down, then smiled again. Sam hadn't realized he was leaning in too until Azazel whispered,
"You think that you can help people by being a lawyer?"
"Yes sir, I do." Azazel leaned back and looked Sam over again.
"Well, Sam, you've got a damn near perfect LSAT score, a spotless GPA, and obviously the passion, and hardheadedness, to do this job. You know that law school will be much more difficult than your regular schooling?"
"Of course, sir. I know, but I am very self-driven. I would love to prove it to, not only myself, but you and the rest of the staff here that I can do this."
"Well, I guess you'll have to prove that to all us then." Azazel smiled this time.
"Y…you mean it, sir?" Azazel stood up and Sam followed suit.
"Yes, I do. I think that you can do this. Just, be sure to get into as many of my classes as you can. I like having students that will call me out on my crap." Azazel offered his hand. Sam accepted and shook his hand.
"Will do, sir." Sam's grin was so wide he thought his face would crack. "Thank you, so much for this opportunity. I won't let you down. I promise that I won't. I mean, there's so much that I could do and…" Azazel held his hand up.
"Sam, show me. Don't tell." Sam nodded.
Sam had his tie untied and walked into the apartment. It smelled like chocolate chip cookies, his favorite.
"Hey! Why didn't you call me?" Gabriel was sitting on the couch in the living room. He stood up and walked over to Sam. "So?" Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam's neck.
"You baked again." Sam stated. He knew it was killing Gabriel not to know.
"Yes, I did, in case you needed a pick-me-up. Or a celebration. Which one?!"
"Well, what do you think of going to the diner to celebrate?" Sam beamed.
"C…celebrate?! You did it?! Oh Sam, I knew you would! I can't believe it! You got the full ride and everything?" Sam nodded before Gabriel attacked him with kisses.
Yay! Sam got accepted! Now, Azazel isn't going anywhere, he will be back! Anyway, about three or four more chapters and then I will be concluding this story. Thank you guys so much for everything, you are the freaking best!