Chapter 10: Songs Unsung

Do you remember when we used to dance? / And incident arose from circumstance / One thing lead to another, we were young / And we would scream together songs unsung - Asia

Dean and Sam thought they had a line on the new prophet. They had packed up the Impala and were about to head out when Riley mentioned she might pop back to Boston for a couple days. Castiel and Jack were planning on tagging along with the brothers, so it seemed like the perfect time.

Seeing as how she could literally get there in seconds, it wasn't like it was far. Dean had looked disconcerted for a second, then nodded. "Before you leave again, we ought to ink you."

"What?"

"You haven't left for any extended period of time without one of us or pretty boy." He was right, every time she'd gone to Boston had been for an hour or so – boy was it convenient to fly in for a meeting. This was her first overnight trip by herself.

"Would that even work?" Sam asked. "It didn't with Jack."

"Don't know. Worth trying."

Which was how Riley found herself in the Impala, riding up until the first major city they came across. There, the boys dragged her into a tattoo parlor. Riley made a panicked sound, as she was no fan of needles, and cursed in her head.

At which point Gabriel had walked through door, grinning. "Think that'll work?"

Everyone stared at him in surprise, but they were getting used to Gabriel's random appearances at this point. Dean had shrugged, "Hopefully. Why are you here?" He was still not Gabriel's biggest fan.

"Thought I'd lend a hand." Gabriel had smiled and wiggled his eye brows. He came to stand next to Riley as the artist started to press the needle to her back. Gabriel's voice, soft and warm, slid into Riley's mind as he took her hand. 'I'm going suppress your healing abilities. Otherwise it'll vanish the ink within seconds. It'll hurt like you're human, but if you want it to stick, then hold on.' Riley nodded and cursed internally as the pain increased. Not a ton, but enough for it to sting.

Apparently her new healing thingy was better than she realized, as she hadn't really felt it before. And apparently it was a passive ability, as she hadn't exactly been doing it on purpose. By the end Riley had a tattoo matching the ones Sam and Dean had. Though hers had a ring of writing around in a language the tattoo artist had copied line by line from a piece of paper Castiel had provided.

When finished, Sam asked, "It didn't work on Jack. Why did it work on Riley?"

"I didn't help with Jack's." Gabriel said smugly.

The Winchesters stared at the archangel. "Will it stick?"

"Yep."

"Can you do that for Jack?" Sam asked.

"If he wants. Sure." Gabriel had winked at the boy.

Jack nodded, "I would like that."

"It doesn't hurt that much." Riley supplied, touching the boy's shoulder for a moment.

Thus, Jack found himself in the chair next, with Gabriel's hand replacing Riley's on his shoulder. The tattoo artist thought they were all crazy, but heck if he cared as long as they paid and didn't interfere with his work.

Jack's tattoo was on his chest, matching the brother's.

Once finished, they all left the shop. Dean, Sam, Jack, and Castiel packed into the Impala.

Dean still wasn't happy about Riley going off alone for any extended time, but she was a big girl and had been taking care of herself until this point. Castiel was actually more apprehensive, saying that her powers were not fully formed yet, so she should be extra diligent. But neither of them had deterred her from going back to Boston for the night.

Though, glancing at Gabriel who was still hanging around, she wondered if Castiel had called him.

Riley watched as the Impala pulled away. She smiled as Jack waved out the window to her. Once the vehicle was out of sight, Riley wandered down the nearest alleyway. Gabriel trailed behind her.

"Thanks for the assist." She murmured. "Though I'm surprised you're here."

"Eh. You know, nothing better to do."

She snorted in response.

"Okay, yeah. Heaven isn't super. But they can spare me for a day, if not any hour."

"Well, I appreciate you're help."

"Meh. You know, your friendly neighborhood archangel, here to serve."

"Probably helps that Castiel called you to babysit me." She said it as a statement, and caught his surprise look out of the corner of her eye. She laughed.

"Yeah." His smiled grew again, "Caught me."

"I don't need to be watched." She even heard the pout in her voice.

"But I like watching you go." His eyes had very opening moved to her ass.

Under her breath, she muttered: "Funny, and here I thought you'd like watching me come better." 'Oh god, I did not just say that.' Riley felt herself blush, hoping he hadn't actually heard.

No such luck. "Oooh…. is that the game we're playing?" Riley was both apprehensive and relieved. He at least hadn't taken her seriously, but she did not like his expression one bit. It spoke of mischief that was about to be aimed her way.

Gabriel reached out and took her hand, then pulled her somewhere…. Else. It hadn't felt like flying, but they were no longer in the alley. Instead they were in bar. A dark place with loud music and lots of people. Riley looked around but Gabriel had disappeared into the crowd.

"What the heck Gabriel?" She muttered, wandering toward the bar. "Not like I had plans today or anything."

All of sudden, a hand slid against her back and spun her to face the archangel in question. He had a drink in hand. He had also changed. Gone was the normal laid-back slacks and shirt. Instead he now wore tight fitted jeans and black t-shirt. His hair was slicked back. His whole vibe spoke of a city scene, like a boy she'd have met at a club in Boston.

She was also in different clothes – a clingy black dress and wedge heels. Her hair was loose and falling in soft blonde curls over her shoulders. Shrugging, she figured it was easier to see where his little deviation led, then fight him.

So she gave him a smile and raised a brow.

He gave her a slow slime, "Hi gorgeous, I'd like to study the nature of your heavenly body."

"What?" She was dumbfounded, she hadn't been expecting a cheesy pick up line out of anything he could say. At his annoyed looked, she realized she had not responded like he'd wanted.

And again he disappeared.

Then he was behind her again, spinning her around. "Hershey's makes millions of kisses a day. All I'm asking for is one from you." He waggled his eyebrows as he said it.

Riley giggled. "Oh god. That's bad."

He disappeared again. Riley slowly progressed toward the bar.

Again he appeared, "Can I check the back of your shirt?"

"Why?" She played along.

"Because your tag should say made in heaven."

"Wow." She laughed this time.

He was gone again. She took another couple steps.

Then he was in front of her, "Are you a magician? Because every time I look at you, everyone else disappears!"

"These are horrible."

He grinned at her but he disappeared again. "I'm missing something." Still, she found herself enjoying his silly lines. Especially since it seemed the rest of the bar patrons were either ignoring them or couldn't see them at all. None had even glanced her way, and she hadn't even had a drink spilled on her. Nice change of pace from a regular club.

He appeared again, "Is it hot in here, or is it just you?"

Riley had heard this one before and actually knew a response, "Actually, it's you. Because you just crashed and burned."

"Ouch." He muttered, but didn't disappear this time. Instead he took a step closer, "Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see."

She grinned, realizing now what he wanted. "Yeah baby, but I'd only give you one... out of ten."

He laughed at her response and slid a hand around her waist, "I just Googled "sexy" and a picture of you came up."

"You'll get the same result if you search for "not interested.""

"Do you have a map? I'm getting lost in your eyes." His hands her on her waist, pulling her close so his lines were delivered close to her ear now.

"I'm hoping you'll just get lost."

"Damn! You with those curves and me without brakes."

"Oh, I like that one." She murmured.

He stepped back, "Riley. That's not what you're supposed to say." His voice sounded pouty.

"Sorry, I don't know a response to that one."

"Fine." He huffed. But winked at her as he pulled her through space again.

They were back in the alley. "Where was that?" She asked.

"Pocket dimension. Like tv land."

"So nothing there was real?"

"As real as you want it to be. But no actual people."

"It was cool."

He grinned, "Right?"

She step closer to him again, so she could lean in and place a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. That was fun."

"Yeah." He stared down at her, eyes wide. "Any time." She blinked and his open expression disappeared back to his normal cocky smile. "So, where to?"

"Boston. Need to stop by my place. Water the plants. Check in at the office. Going to stay for a day or two, maybe catch up with a couple friends." She started walking down the alley again.

"Not family?"

"Nope. Been a long time since I've been on my own."

"So, just you."

"Yep, just me." Her smile was tinged with sadness for a brief moment. "But it doesn't generally bother me. Especially recently."

"Well, the Winchesters have sort of adopted you. Castiel thinks you're helpful, which is a compliment for him. And I'm pretty sure Jack adores you."

"And you?" Riley asked spinning back to him, brow raised. "I've got you too, right?"

Gabriel tried to keep his neutral smile, "Of course. Us oddball angels gotta stick together. Speaking of, mind if I tag along?"

"If you want. Though…." Riley stepped closer. The alley, though not pleasant, did provide some privacy. "I'm sure one of the other angels could teach me, could babysit me in Boston, why do you hang around?"

"They could." He agreed, not losing his normal smile. "But I'm the best."

"Aren't you needed in Heaven?"

"You really want to have this discussion in an alley, jelly bean?"

She sighed, "No. But yes."

"Like I said, we're friends. And I prefer spending my time with you then those stuck ups in suits."

Riley felt a flutter in tummy, and bright smile curve her lips upward. She knew she could push, she was damn sure that wasn't the whole truth. But he was right, an alley was not the right place for this discussion. "For the record, I'm happy that you hang around."

Gabriel's neutral smile slipped into a happier one, glad she was letting his answer stand. "Ready?" He asked.

Riley shrugged her shoulder, irritated by the bandage the artist had placed over the tattoo. It felt weird with her wings. "Yeah. Shoulder is stiff though. Think it'll cause any issues with flying?

"Nah. Shouldn't. But I'll be with you, so no worries. I'd never let you fall, except for me." He winked.

Ignoring the comment, she sighed, "This is my first tattoo. I hope it came out okay. Though apparently it isn't just a tattoo."

"It's part protection, part invisibility spell."

"So I'm told. Does it actually work?"

"Pretty well. Though it's not completely fool proof."

"Could you find me?"

"Only if you wanted to be found, or if I knew where to look."

"Like, if you knew I was in the bunker, then you'd be able to sense me in the bunker."

"Something like that."

"So, if I ran off to parts unknown you wouldn't be able to track me?"

"Yep. Speaking of which." Gabriel reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in close to him. If he took the time to consider what he was doing, Gabriel might have stopped or at least waited. But Gabriel was not always known for thinking before acting. "I need to be able to find you, even with that. Just in case." He gently pulled her hand up between them, slowly so she could have pulled away if she'd wanted to. When she didn't, he placed his fingers on her wrist and murmured something in a language Riley had only heard once or twice. When he was done, he leaned forward and pressed a soft but chaste kiss to her wrist. He pulled back as a symbol appeared on the inside of her wrist, not a tattoo per se, more like a birthmark. "Now I'll be able to find you." He winked, "Even if no one else can."

Riley felt a grin sliding onto her lips, and she fought hard against a blush. "Shouldn't I be able to find you too?"

Gabriel's gaze snapped up to hers, and he blushed, actually blushed. He paused, staring at her. "Yeah. Yeah. We can do that."

"Is this strange?" she murmured.

"No, it's just personal. I probably should have explained that first before marking you."

"Do you not want…"

"No, no. It's fine. Just…." She was fairly sure he was blushing to his ears now. This was probably the most off kilter she'd seen him. "It's um…. intimate." His eyes were serious, and he seemed kind of nervous. "Usually doing it one way can be a sign of family, or of a commander to his troops, someone marking an angel they need to protect. But doing it together is, um…." Oh, he was embarrassed, "An indication of a much closer relationship."

Riley lost the battle against her own blush. "Oh." That wasn't what she was expected.

Gabriel groaned, "You really shouldn't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you want me to kiss you."

Riley was pretty sure she was flushed everywhere now, "Um…" Well, she kind of did want him to kiss her. She bit her lip.

Gabriel's eyes darted down to lips.

Yeah, this was more intimate then friends. But he appeared to still be willing to do it. Maybe he felt something slightly more than friendship too?

"Gabriel?"

He ducked his gaze, "Yeah…." He cleared his throat. "Any way. I'll say what you need to say, you repeat after me."

"What language is it?"

"Enochian. It's the angelic language. We'll work on that soon enough."

"Okay."

"You sure you want to do this Riley?" His gaze had found hers again. And he'd used her actual name again.

"Just tell me what to say." She reached for his wrist, copying the movements he'd made moments before. Slowly, Gabriel spoke the words and Riley repeated them. When finished she leaned in a pressed a kiss to his wrist. She lingered for a moment, and Gabriel though it was most sensual damn thing he'd ever felt. When she pulled away, a symbol appeared. She turned her hand to compare the symbols, and realized hers had changed slightly. They now matched.

They both stood in the alleyway, slightly breathless, not sure what to say. The cheesy pick up lines had been one thing. That she could write off as his mere trickster antics. But this was definitely more….. Her gaze flickered back up to his, one hand still holding his wrist. There was a moment, as their gazes held that Riley was sure they were both leaning in.

The sound of a loud spoiler on a car made them both start.

Moment ruined.

And Riley took a step back, trying to shrug off the awkwardness. "So…." She trailed off. "You still coming to Boston with me?"

He nodded, for the first time in a long time, at a loss for words.

Riley reached out and grasped his hand, tugging slightly, "Let's go." And so they did, flying off with the soft sound of wings.

They didn't really talk when they got to her apartment.

So she'd fled. Riley would be the first to admit this was the cowardly thing to do. And completely contrary to her whole new outlook on life thing.

She could have flown. Been gone and back quickly. But instead, she rode the subway. All the way downtown to her office. She spent most of the t ride staring at her wrist. It felt like something special. Something permanent. Something they maybe should have talked about more before doing.

They really ought to have a serious conversation about what they were…. If they were something, because it certainly felt like they were something.

Though she'd probably need to tie him down if she wanted Gabriel to have a serious conversation. She'd come to realize he had two main modes: joking silly trickster and serious terrifying messenger of God. There wasn't really any in between.

Shaking herself, she tried to rid her mind of the pesky archangel. She really needed to get her thoughts on something else, anything else, beside Gabriel. Especially since she still didn't have a complete handle on prayer versus internal thought. Who knew when he could be listening.

So instead, Riley spent the rest of her ride trying to get her mind on work and what she had to do in the limited amount of time she planned to spend in the city.

Riley stopped just inside her apartment, kicking off her high heels, and pulled the hair band from her hair. She stood, watching her houseguest. She honestly hadn't expected him to still be there.

It had felt like forever since she'd seen her office, but in reality, it had only been two months since she'd moved into the bunker. Her coworkers had been thrilled to see her. They gotten a good portion of the things she'd wanted to work on done. But eventually they'd called it quits and headed home.

Without work to distract her, Riley's turned her thoughts back to her current predicament. She'd figured out one thing, she needed to get a bit more hands on with the angel thing. Maybe she could visit heaven and work with some of the angels there.

However, any thought of anything else flew from her mind when she entered her apartment. He was still there, on her couch, watching tv. It reminded her of that first day, coming out of the shower to find him there, waiting for her.

Just like then her eyes were drawn to him. And no matter how much time she spent watching them, Riley was still fascinated by Gabriel's wings. Her own were part awesome part annoyance at this point. But Gabriel's were something else entirely. They were so large, and so damn powerful looking. And the way they ruffled when he was amused was adorable.

Now that she'd seen them in all their glory, she couldn't unsee them. Even if they were transparent now, if she slightly unfocused her eyes she could see the golden colors.

She found herself once again staring at them, watching the way they moved, curling around Gabriel as he sat on the couch. She wondered what they'd feel like if she touched them.

Riley was unsure why he stayed. Why he'd come in the first place.

It wasn't like she thought herself unlikeable. She knew she deserved to be appreciated and loved. And at some point she had actually planned to date and eventually settle down. But Gabriel was so much bigger and stunning than any human being she might have ended up with. He was an archangel, an ancient and powerful being contained in a gorgeous, if not small body. So the idea he could have some form of romantic feelings, even if just the littlest bit, that was something amazing. And slightly unbelievable.

Though, from everything Sam and Dean had said, Gabriel was not a typical angel. His prior MO had been to run off and galivant around the world with lots of booze, gambling, and women. Riley couldn't quite believe them, not completely convinced that was what he did in his free time; even if Dean had slipped her a video named Casa Erotica that had had Riley turning all sorts of red. Ever since she'd met him, he was a stable and good…. Friend. Still a trickster, but not the wild child the Winchester's described.

The more time she spent around him, the more she found herself drawn to him. He was magnetic. And she couldn't resist. Which was why, even here in her apartment her eyes were drawn to him. Her gaze focused on his wings. And she found herself unconsciously running her fingers over the symbol on her wrist.

He should have been out of place, a larger than life being sitting on her couch. Instead, it seemed he belonged there.

"What's up sugar pop?" His voice intruded on her thoughts. Riley moved her eyes, guilty at being caught staring, and met his gaze, which had shifted from the tv to her.

"Um…. Just, thinking." 'Find a topic, quick!' She thought to herself. "Did you really date a goddess?" She blurted out, though it was an embarrassing enough line of question, it was better than, 'staring dreamily at you and your wings again'. Though she could have smacked herself. With all the little moments between the two, especially the more… er… intimate ones, that line of questioning was likely to make him think she was sizing up the competition or something.

"You sure come out swinging." He chuckled, "Eh, sorta. We had a brief fling, but Kali was never one for settling and I wasn't really one for relationships. Especially with pagan goddesses"

"Have you had many relationships, I mean…" He was staring at her now, studying her face, looking for…. something.

But he still answered. "Not really. Especially not considering the time I've been alive and wandering the earth. Though I am quite the lady's man, or so I'm sure Dean's told you." He waggled his eye brow in a way that was supposed to make her laugh, but instead made her blush thinking about the dirty video. "Huh, anyway, I tend to embellish, a tad. You know, playing the trickster and god of lies means I had to play up some sordid details which are not technically true. Old habits die hard, so they say, and thus I tend to still embellish my stories. Especially since it bothers the flannel patrol so much." He grinned wickedly.

"So, no porn stars?"

He grinned, "Not recently. Not saying they weren't there during that little escapade, just saying I didn't partake. Though I can't say I've been celibate."

"Which would explain the video." 'Damn it.' She cursed internally.

Gabriel raised a brow, "That's called illusion, sweet cheeks. No porn stars were used in the making of the film. Nor technically was I. I whipped up a copy of myself. Easy peasy."

"Ah. Should have known no one could have boobs like that."

He made a breathless sound of shock. "Watched that, did you?"

"Um…. Dean might have tricked me into watching it." Riley flushed, and slid down the other side of the couch. She wondered why her tongue seemed to have a mind of its own, or when she'd become so curious about the angel's relationship status and sex life. In fact, she realized he was probably wondering the same thing. Especially since he was staring at her again. "I haven't had a boyfriend since undergrad." She supplied. 'And could smack myself.' "So, um….. what are you watching?" 'Good going girl', she thought, 'real subtle'.

Gabriel let it slide though and turned back to the tv. "Japanese game show." There was another moment of awkward silence. It was like neither of them knew how to recover from the earlier intensity.

Riley tried to think of something to say, anything to say, that would lighten the mood. But she came up with nothing. Mostly because what she really wanted to talk about was the thing least wanted to talk about. It was infuriating.

After another beat of silence, Gabriel turned back grinning, "Have I told you about the time Dean and Sam were in a game show?"

Riley perked up and shook her head, "I know the broad version of tv land, but I don't think I've heard that one."

"Oh, this will be good." He leaned back away from the seat and slid down, letting his head come to rest on her lap. She tensed for a moment but made herself relax. "So, this was during their first foray into the apocalypse. Mikey and Luci were trying to use them as meat suits, and I was getting super tired of all the crazy, so I devised a plan to get them to play their roles….." And so told her about the tv shows he'd made the boys go through, as he did Riley began to run her nails through his hair. He liked that, a lot.

He told her about making Sam say he had a rather embarrassing disease. And Dean's apparent secret obsession with Dr. Sexy and his cowboy boots.

"We should convince Cas to dress up as that for Halloween." Riley murmured.

Gabriel grinned up at her. "That is by far the best idea ever. And I can magic Dean into a nurse's costume."

She laughed back, amused at the idea, "I'll be waiting with the camera."

"Aw…. Can't you dress up as a nurse too?" He gave her a wicked grin from his position nestled in her lap.

They talked for awhile about all the ways they could make the idea a reality when Gabriel froze. "I've got to go."

"Everything okay?"

"Cas is calling. They hit a snag. No need to worry, they just need a hand." He sat up, rolled his shoulders, and smiled down at her. "Shouldn't take too long." And with that, he disappeared.

"You could take me with you." She murmured into the empty apartment, suddenly at a loss.