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About 200 miles out of Indiana, Dean stopped the Impala at some rickety old gas station to fill up the tank while Sam was sent in for drinks and some candy to feed Gabriel's sweet tooth. After grabbing some cheap beer, Sam stood in front the candy section and looked at all the different brands. While he was bending down to grab a couple bars of chocolate, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to meet black eyes as a knife swung at him from the side. With no space to dodge and no time to draw his own knife, there was nothing to block the swing but his own hand. As he grabbed the demon's blade and delivered a stern punch to the creature's jaw, the knife turned and sliced all the skin off the radial side of his left index finger. He let go with a hiss, but he had already bought enough time to draw his own blade with his right hand and plunged it into the demon's chest. The demon gasped and began to flicker golden-orange before before thumping to the floor, dead. Behind the deceased demon's body were three more, all with knives ready for a fight. He dashed around the aisle bend but two of the demon's had covered the exit closest to the door. He turned to go back and saw that the last demon was behind him blocking off his escape. Before he could do much more than think oh, crap, the demons were on him. He shoved one of them into a shelf filled with brightly wrapped Pop Tarts and Rice Krispies, putting it out of play for a few seconds. Sam used the momentum of the shove to swing his blade hard at the demon on his right, killing it before it could block him. The one directly behind him started towards the hunter, but Sam was lquicker and broke its nose with his fist. The demon staggered backwards but as Sam stepped forward to finish the job, he felt hands around his neck and was forced down onto the floor by the weight of the demon he had pushed into the shelf. He tried to yell for Dean, but the demon sat on him and all the air in his lungs came out onto the floor in a wheeze.
Helpless, Sam shut his eyes and tensed, waiting for the killing blow that never came. There was a blinding white light before a dead demon face landed an inch from his own. The crushing weight on his back was lifted and he rolled over to see Gabriel standing above him looking wrathful, a palm on the remaining demon's forehead as the light left its eyes.
"Gabriel?" Sam said, confused and a bit amazed, "Wha-"
Gabriel held out a hand and pulled Sam up, "I sensed the demons when you hadn't come back. Also, I wanted some candy." He went and got a bag from the checkout and began loading it with Reese's, Nerds, Twizzlers, and every Mars brand chocolate bar in the place.
"So you're feeling better," Sam observed with a grin. Gabriel looked at him distractedly, "Hmm? Oh, yeah. A bit."
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"Nothing." The archangel replied, a little too quickly, "We should leave. There might be other demons about."
Sam agreed and they left the store with beer and candy in tow. Dean was leaning against the Impala waiting.
"What took you so long, Sammy?" The older brother questioned, "And what happened to your hand!?" He added, noticing the blood and rushing to the trunk to get some bandages.
"Gabriel's got it." Sam said, as Gabriel had already grabbed the injured hand and healed it with his Grace.
Dean stopped shuffling in the boot of the car, "Oh good, so his mojo's back. Well, what happened anyway?"
"Demons." Sam answered, "I suggest we get the hell out of here." He opened the back door for Gabriel and then went to shotgun after handing off the beers to Dean. Dean got into the car and ripped one of the drinks out of the box, cracked it open and took a long sip
"Don't drink too much there, bucko." Gabriel said in his old tone of voice, "Got precious cargo in here."
"Back to being a pain the ass, I see." Dean shot back, revving the engine and roaring away.
pSPNSPNSPNSPNSPN/p
Dean stopped the Impala at another roadside motel at around nine. They were a few miles outside of the Missouri border and Sam had fallen alseep, tired from the fight. Dean went in to check them into a room while Gabriel gathered their luggage and woke Sam.
"Where are we?" The younger hunter asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Dean said we're headed to Branson, Missouri. He said Bobby called in a case." Gabriel told him while dragging Dean's duffle bag to the front of the car where Sam was, "You feeling alright? That was a nasty wound."
"It's fine." Sam answered shortly, descretly rubbing his hand as it twinged.
Gabriel opened his mouth to say something else but Dean appeared out of the motel lobby door waving a room key. They grabbed their duffle bags and filed into the room, dumping the bags by the door.
After settling down into the garish yellow room, they decided to sleep immediately, but were faced by the dilemma of having only two beds.
"No way am I sleeping with you again," Dean proclaimed, "Dibs on the single bed." He hopped onto the far bed, kicking his shoes off and rolling under the covers.
Gabriel shifted his feet awkwardly, "I can sleep on the floor if you want me to."
Sam shook his head, "No, it's no big deal. Dean and I sleep together all the time." He frowned at Gabriel's impish grin, "Not like that!" Sam sighed and went to brush his teeth and change, which both Dean and Gabriel neglected to do. When he got out of the bathroom Gabriel was already curled up on the side of the bed furthest from Dean. He looked so small tucked into himself. Sam shook his head and slid underneath his side of the covers, putting two pillows between him and Gabriel.
It was about thirty minutes later, when Dean's snoring was keeping Sam awake, that Gabriel began to talk.
"Sam, hey Sam." He started, "Are you awake?"
"Yeah."
"You know those demons? The ones at the gas stations?"
"Yeah, what about them?"
Gabriel looked over at Dean to make sure he was asleep, "Well, I read their minds before I killed them... And I think they were after me."
pSam sat up sharply, "What!"
"Sh, sh, sh." Gabriel shushed him, "I don't want Dean to know, he'd... I don't know, I just don't want him to know, okay?"
Sam huffed, "We'll have to tell him, if there's demons on our tail..."
Gabriel shook his head, "No, I think they acted alone out of revenge for me killing Luci. It's not the demons I'm worried about."
"Then what are you worried about?" Sam asked genuinely, pushing back the pillows so he could see Gabriel's face. However, Gabriel looked down to avoid his eyes.
"It's just that..." He stopped, rethinking his words, "Sammy, I want you to know something."
"What?"
Gabriel fiddled with the sheets, "Back there, at the Elysian Fields... it truly was an accident. I wanted to die, Sam. I was ready. After all that time running, it was finally going to be over," He shook his head, "I guess Dad had other plans."
Sam could help but reach out to the grieving angel, "Hey, it's alright." He didn't really know what else to say. But as he opened his mouth to spout more reassurances, Gabriel looked up at him and closed the distance between their faces.
"Sammy, I think I need you." The archangel whispered, "I don't want to die anymore. When I'm with you, I want to live, for you." He closed the final inch and gave Sam a soft, tender kiss. It was quick, only a few seconds, but it shocked Sam to his core. Gabriel pulled back when Sam didn't respond, "Oh, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..." He went quiet then crawled back over to his side of the bed, replacing the pillows between them. Sam could do nothing but sit there. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Gabriel, the archangel he was supposed to despise, had just kissed him. And he had liked it.