Chapter Text
Despite claiming he would pretend not to know Gabriel they were side by side on the park trail. Gabriel's outfit glared against the natural browns and greens of the woods. Gabriel had been in the park before so Sam was content to follow his lead. They'd been jogging for a while, long enough for the sky to lighten up and the air to warm, when something occurred to Sam. Gabriel was jogging. He didn't sweat, or breathe hard, and effortlessly kept pace with a much taller Sam, but he was jogging. Sam supposed the illusion of humanity had its lines for Gabriel. What were the lines, Sam wondered as he allowed Gabriel to lead them down a narrow scenic trail.
They slowed as a large pond came into view and stopped at its sandy bank. Sam's breathing and heart rate slowed, and the heat of exertion ebbed away, leaving a chill of cooling sweat on his skin. From nowhere, Gabriel had a bag of bird feed and proceeded to feed the ducks.
Sam accepted a handful of seeds when Gabriel handed him the bag and tossed the handful into the water. Several brown and speckled ducklings scurred to it.
"Did you actually clean when you were a janitor? Having a hard time picturing you scrubbing toilets."
"Eh," Gabriel shrugged, "I pushed a broom around, washed a few windows, but mostly just magicked it away. I mean, I'm a terrific actor, obviously, but there were boundaries." Gabriel tossed feed to ducks nearly halfway across the pond.
"So how committed to the bit were you?" Sam brushed a stray hair that was itching his forehead.
"What do you mean?"
What did Sam mean? He thought about it briefly before asking, "Did you get a paycheck? Pay rent? Do taxes?"
Gabriel shrugged, "I mean, I had a paycheck. Didn't need it. Rerouted whatever pay and benefits I had to others who needed it. Hand waved records and paperwork away. As far as the school and the government are concerned, Roger doesn't exist."
Sam thought about how easy it would make his and Dean's lives if they could hand-wave away their problems. No more getting caught up in scam credit cards, no more identity issues, they could wave a blank piece of paper in front of someone and they'd think it was real money or a real ID.
"People seem to think Roger exists here."
"What can I say, I like being Roger. It gives me...something. I don't know. It makes me feel like I am a part of the world to have a name that I chose. I like people, Sam. I like interacting with them, not as an angel or a trickster, but as a person. We're not supposed to do that. We're not supposed to do many of the things that I did, do, will do, but...hey, I like people."
Sam took another handful and tossed it to the ducks closest to him.
"Why the name Roger?" Sam asked.
Gabriel threw another handful of seeds and said, "Remember when I said I was sentimental? Well, there was a man in the sixties that I became good friends with. He was young with long brown hair and had a motorcycle. I used to ride on the back of it and he'd take us out into the woods where we'd..." Gabriel smiled, "camp for a few days."
"What happened?" Sam noticed a new bag of seeds appeared in his hand. He opened it and absently resumed throwing seed to the overjoyed birds.
"A few different things. His father for one. Didn't approve of Roger's lifestyle," Gabriel scoffed and Sam scoffed with him for he knew what it was like to deal with a difficult father. "It wasn't just that, Roger was young and was trying to figure out what he wanted from life. I wasn't a good fit for that. I loved him but I had to let him go. I found out that he ended up getting hit by a drunk driver three years after I left. Needless to say...that drunk driver got what was coming to him."
"I'm sorry."
"Eh, humans. So strong yet so frail," Gabriel took a long breath he didn't need and Sam studied his profile. How many more people had this being loved and lost? How much of his existence was spent as a wanderer? What would happen to Gabriel if they won? If they lost? Would he keep living? Would he flee to a different planet or dimension? It hit Sam just how...vast Gabriel was.
"You know," Gabriel turned to look at Sam, "I've been thinking. I owe you an apology."
Sam knew what it was like to screw up and never be able to earn forgiveness but grovel for it anyway. He wouldn't wish that guilt and pain on anyone and didn't want it from Gabriel.
"You already apologized, Gabe." He was vaguely aware he'd called him Gabe instead of Gabriel. Still, that realization was overshadowed by the sensation that something inevitable was set into motion. It felt like staring down the barrel of a gun that you knew was loaded but also knew the person pointing at you wouldn't pull the trigger.
Gabriel fixed him with a hard-to-place expression. Flecks of gold sparkled in the irises of his eyes. He offered a small smile and said, "Not enough."
They were suspended in the moment. All had quieted and narrowed into a warm bubble where they were the only two beings in the world. Sam's heart beat faster when Gabriel took a step closer.
That's when everything became a flurry of feathers, shrill quacks, and Gabriel's laughter as Sam had to suddenly fight a duck that decided to take matters into its own wings when they'd stopped throwing seeds for too long.
"Here! Jesus!" Sam's mind caught up to his reflexes and he tossed the bag down to the grass. The brown duck and several of its friends rushed to peck at the scattered remains of the bag. He caught his breath and looked at Gabriel who was doubled over.
"Ha, ha, ha," Sam said flatly when Gabriel straightened up with a long breath.
Gabriel brushed a tear from his eye, "Oh, Samchop, you quack me up."
"Really?" As incredulous as Sam tried to sound he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.
"Ooo, Sam, that made this whole jogging thing worthwhile." He made a considering noise and added, "That's at your legs and ass in those sweats."
Sam wasn't used to such blatant flirtation, let alone from a man (well, male-bodied entity). It was flattering and overwhelming, and a big part of him still wanted to categorize it as Gabriel just being Gabriel and saying it didn't mean anything. So, he rolled his eyes and said, "I'll throw you into the pond if you don't cool off."
"Want to see my shirt get all see-through and clingy, huh?" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows and Sam's resolve broke with a laugh.
"Dude, do you have an off switch?" He nodded toward the path and built momentum back into a jog when they reached it.
"Dude," Gabriel teased, using Sam's tone at him, "you went to my apartment, what do you think?"
Sam had indeed gone to Gabriel's apartment all those years ago. There was minimal furniture (many sixties and seventies things now that he thought about it). A dog had approached him, licking his hand and sniffing at him as he moved from room to room. There were pin-ups of swimsuit models but in the bedroom, Sam found a well-organized bookcase of porn DVDs. A large bookcase. There was also a large assortment of toys and male and female lingerie on the bed.
"So much porn, Gabe!"
Gabriel laughed, "Yeah, I knew you were going to my place. The DVDs were always there, hell I have stuff on Beta and VHS. Things that I was in, things my friends were in, but the bed...I set that up just for you. Thought it might get your curiosity going. I mean, again, I saw how you looked at me. All pink cheeks and grins. I still have that outfit, Samsquatch, you just say the word."
"As I said, I'm throwing you in the next pond we see," Sam laughed.
"Good luck with that kiddo. That was the only pond in the park. Guess you're stuck with me for now."
Sam glanced at Gabriel next to him and said, "Guess so."
---
Gabriel snapped them to the motel when they returned to the park entrance.
Sam removed his shirt and said, "I'm going to take a shower, and then we should see if Dean is up."
"Do you need help with your well-defined back?" Gabriel asked. He was already in a normal outfit: a black shirt, light blue jeans, and his army jacket on top, standing casually near the bed.
"Going to get a hose next time I'm out," Sam teased as he closed the bathroom door behind him.
One of the first things Gabriel fixed, when he renovated the motel room, was the bathroom. A fact that Sam appreciated all the more as he stepped into the large, opulent tub and shower combo. There was no mold, no brown stains, no cracks in the title, or insects scurrying up the walls. The water pressure was perfect and the temperature was consistently hot. In a nook, he found several soaps, scrubs, and a luffa on a string. He debated whether or not to use the little scrubby, Dean would've mocked him for even considering it ("A man just needs his hands...maybe a washcloth" was something he would say) and then said fuck it. Who cared if he wanted to use something other than a ratty washcloth or his hands? Gabriel certainly didn't care, he supplied the damn thing.
Gabriel.
As Sam took advantage of the high-quality soap and soft scrubby, his thoughts turned to the couple of days since Gabriel popped back in.
He found he was grateful for the archangel's presence. Not just because he was a valuable asset in trying to stop the apocalypse, though that mattered. It also wasn't because Gabriel did nice things for him and Dean, like making their rooms not just habitable but comfortable.
Gabriel was abrasive, had done some terrible things to Sam directly in the past, yet, he was trying to make up for it. He came back. He came back to help their cause and was willing to die if it meant helping it succeed. He apologized, something Sam had a feeling Gabriel was not in the habit of doing. He hadn't even fought Sam when it was brought up, didn't argue his point or reasoning, and just apologized. Then, he comforted Sam when he was afraid. Sam hated being upset, and afraid, but he'd been so scared when Lucifer had shown up in his dream. He felt helpless, hopeless, and all the more bitter that this was his destiny. Yet, laying in bed, clinging to Gabriel, and watching cartoons of all things, he felt safer even while he felt small and weak.
Then, he thought with a smirk as he lathered soap over his chest and arms with the silky soft luffa, about Gabriel's flirting. He kept pushing it back in his mind. Gabriel wasn't serious. He was playing around. Even if he did find Sam attractive that didn't necessarily mean anything aside from him being horny. Or he just wanted to embarrass and tease Sam who was not always used to being flirted with in such a blatant way. Especially not a guy. Not that it never happened, not that Sam hadn't tried a few times with other hunters during rare moments of privacy on hunts, but those paled compared to Gabriel. For one, most hunters who propositioned him, male or female, were hard, and quiet, stemming from a lifetime of trauma and needing to be so. There were no feelings, at least, none that were expressed. Hunters' lives were short and ended bloody so it was pointless to get attached. Not unless you wanted to hurt. So, quick handjobs, sloppy kisses (often tasting of beer), and a nod of acknowledgment after, didn't compare. Gabriel whistled, praised, waggled his eyebrows, and propositioned at the drop of a hat. He also made Sam laugh.
Not to mention, Gabriel probably would approach it differently. If Sam allowed Gabriel to take him to bed...
Sam's skin began to tingle.
He shook his head sharply. He wouldn't entertain it. Gabriel was messing around and there were more pressing issues than thinking about a horny angel. Even if that horny angel was growing on him.
Sam took his time scrubbing every inch of himself, loving how the warmth and pressure worked at his tired muscles and loving even more that he didn't have Dean pounding on the door saying he needed to go. He had one of those brief times of privacy and comfort and would indulge in it for a few minutes more.
Warm and relaxed, Sam eventually finished his shower, got out of the tub, and went to shave and brush his hair and teeth, before getting dressed. He found his razer replaced with a sleeker one that came in a wooden case, with shaving cream, and some other bottles he wasn't sure what they were, and, upon sniffing it, a nice musky aftershave. He made quick work of shaving his stubble, loving the smoothness of the blade and even liking using the aftershave. There was even an electric toothbrush and name-brand dental floss. Both of which he used. He snorted to himself picturing Dean in his bathroom with a similar setup and complaining to Cas that all he needed was a dollar-store manual brush. Even if he ended up using all of the nicer things supplied.
On the back of the door was a plush white robe, and Sam noted with a raised eyebrow that his initials were embroidered on the breast pocket. He opted to wrap a plush towel around his waist instead, as he knew he'd been lollygagging in here and needed to hurry up. Though he brushed the robe with his fingers, he might have to try it later.
Once he stepped out of the bathroom he saw Gabriel sitting on the edge of the bed, watching TV and drinking a beer.
"All clean and fresh, Sammikins?" He asked, not bothering to hide how his eyes traveled over Sam.
Sam didn't bother answering that. He dug into his bag for fresh clothes and headed back into the bathroom. He said, "Hey, thanks for all...that," and nodded to the bathroom.
"No problem," Gabriel smiled, "Glad you used the aftershave, picked it out just for you."
"...I don't know if that's sweet or creepy," Sam said, closing the door behind him so he could get changed.
Maybe it was a testament to how messed up Sam's life was that he could know that beneath the normal human faces, angels were ancient eldrich horrors, and not be afraid. How many times had he met monsters with human faces, and human voices, and lived normal, human, lives until they were afflicted by, or succumbed to, the supernatural? Demons, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts were all people caught up in forces beyond their control. For the most part. Sam, even after all this time, sometimes felt sorry for the monsters. Of course, it went without saying he cared about their victims (he still hunted after all) but there were times when they found monsters that never wanted to be monsters in the first place. In part, that might be why it was easier to accept Castiel and Gabriel. After all, most monsters just looked human. And, for worse or better, he was used to it. He'd been given a shotgun when he was young to shoot the boogeyman in his closet. He was nine when he tailed after Dad and Dean on a hunt (even when Sully didn't want him to).
Still, no matter how many times within the last few hours alone, had he thought about Gabriel and his intentions and past actions? He supposed thinking about his inhumanity was only natural. Again, he didn't think about it too hard. Gabriel had never been subtle about his inhumanity. Yet, Gabriel was so well adjusted to being around and acting human that it wasn't an issue.
Sam laughed quietly as he pulled on his jeans and did up his belt. He was used to the supernatural.
Once more, he left the bathroom and finally was ready to roll out for the day.
"Deano called," Gabriel was holding Sam's cell. "Said he's ready to go over the case."
"Oh yeah?" Sam sat next to him as he tugged on his socks and boots.
"Yup," Gabriel flipped the can in his hand and brought up another blue flower that he tickled the tip of Sam's nose with (Sam snorted and shoved it away with a "come on") before tossing it gently to join the other next to Sam's laptop. "He was a little confused why I was answering your phone but, eh, I didn't think you'd mind."
Sam finished tying his laces and sat up, "Did you make innuendos or jokes about me to him?"
"Tempted but no. Cassie told me he's grumpy without his morning coffee and I didn't feel like poking the bear for Cassie's sake. So, let's get some breakfast."
A few minutes later, Dean, groggy and quiet, started up the Impala with its welcoming rumble. Sam was, as always, in shotgun. Cas and Gabriel were in the backseat.
"That place we went for dinner have breakfast?" Dean grumbled at Gabriel.
"Yup. Coffee, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, stacks of waffles or pancakes, you name it, they can make it," Gabriel said cheerfully.
"Had me at coffee," Dean mumbled and pulled out to go to the small restaurant.
Sam settled into his seat. He hadn't slept much but he felt relaxed, rested, and ready. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and he noticed Gabriel and Cas were having a conversation between them. Silently. But Cas was smiling. So was Gabriel. Sam could only guess what they were talking about but it made him happy to see Cas smiling. Cas, who was so worn, frustrated, pragmatic, and stern, but who had given up so much for Dean and him, smiling, made him all the more glad that Gabriel was here. If Castiel was feeling more hope, then Sam and Dean could too.
----
The case, most likely, was a ghost. Easy. Standard case. They knew the house, they knew where the grave was, and the family had actually taken their advice and cleared out of the house for a few days allowing them to work without having to be afraid of people getting hurt. And it was over in an instant. One moment Gabriel was at the table and the next he was gone.
"Where'd he go?" Dean asked around a mouthful of waffles.
Sam shook his head, his spoonful of oatmeal poised in mid-air.
"He's dealing with the ghost," Cas spoke up.
"What?" Dean asked and then Gabriel was back.
"All set kiddos," Gabriel snatched a strawberry from the top of Sam's oatmeal.
"How?" Sam knew it was a dumb thing to ask but it caught him off guard.
Gabriel shrugged, "Just talked to her."
"Talked to her?" Sam had to resist letting his jaw drop.
"Yeah."
"How?" Dean asked.
Gabriel raised his eyebrow, "I'm an angel. I can talk to ghosts. Besides, she was tired and angry, not evil. It was easy to soothe her. I just let a little grace out, it heals and warms her, and then a reaper carries her away."
Sam set his spoon down. Gabriel...saved the ghost. A quick, painless, resolution to a case where even the "monster" got a happy ending. No one was hurt and no one died. It was small, but Sam felt its weight. When everything was so dire, so hard, and he was the direct cause of it, it was relieving to have a glimmer of something good.
Dean exchanged a look with Sam and, awkwardly, said, "Thanks."
"Don't sound too enthusiastic Deano," Gabriel teased at the same time he nudged Sam's foot with his under the table. "I just figured we had more pressing issues to focus on and a little ghost wasn't a big deal."
Sam cleared his throat but left his foot where it was. He resumed eating as he watched Dean and Cas exchange looks. He knew his brother and knew that Dean was conflicted. He liked having an ace in the hole like Cas being able to clear out a room of monsters or heal them when they got injured but Dean still liked to be involved. Dean, for all of the pain, and the struggle, liked hunting. He didn't like all of it, for certain, but he still liked hunting. He liked feeling like he was making a difference and he liked working with his hands. He got restless when they sat around for too long.
Sam, by contrast, liked not having to worry about this. He knew now that he would never have a normal life. He probably wouldn't even survive the apocalypse, but he never liked hunting. He understood now that Dad was right in that people needed saving, and if you knew about it you had an obligation to protect and to teach where you could. It was how he kept getting pulled into hunting over and over again. Obligation, revenge, and amends for his wrongdoings.
"Don't worry, guys, after the apocalypse I'll leave all of the terrible monsters for you to fight," Gabriel snagged a blueberry off Sam's oatmeal before leaning back in his seat. "Well, at least the ones I don't like. Can't have you killing all my friends."
Sam resumed eating his oatmeal as they began discussing, now that the hunt was over, their next move.
If Gabriel noticed he pressed his leg closer to his, the archangel didn't let on.
Chapter 2
Notes:
One of the things I've found about writing this particular fic, is that the show is over. I can draw from any point in the show and expand or contrast it. One thing that I wanted to bring in there is Sam's music. He admitted when he couldn't lie that his favorite singer is Celion Deon and thus this chapter just occurred to me. Music is very important in Supernatural for plot/characters and I just thought it would be a nice touch for Gabriel to, in his own way, show Sam it's okay to like what he likes.
Chapter Text
Sam let Gabriel tempt him into eating at least three waffles with extra syrup along with his fruit. Dean drank at least three cups of coffee along with his own stack of waffles and was much more awake. Cas was content to watch though he accepted at least a bite of waffles when Dean offered. Gabriel, Sam noted, was quiet. He leaned back in his seat, arms loosely folded over his chest, with a pensive expression. He'd been quiet and thoughtful since they'd entered the Impala to head out. It was in contrast to earlier in the morning when he and Gabriel had been jogging together and feeding ducks.
Sam didn't know whether to ask or leave him alone. He opted for the latter figuring that Gabriel would share when he wanted. If he wanted.
Breakfast wrapped up with Gabriel offering his apologies and regrets to his friends that he would not be able to attend the poker game but promised to make it up to them at some point. With hugs and a thermos of coffee, Gabriel's friends sent them on their way, and with that, they were back on the road.
Dean turned on the radio and, after finding nothing but static and talk shows, was about to settle on throwing a cassette in when Gabriel said, "Hey, do me a favor, leave it here."
Sam and Dean exchanged a look when suddenly the dial on the radio shifted and music began to come out of the speakers.
Instantly, Dean pulled a face, "Really?" He asked Gabriel, catching his eyes in the rearview.
"Oh, come on Deano, humor me. One song. At least it's not My Heart Will Go On."
Sam's heart kicked up when he realized it was Celine Deon's "That's the Way it is". He never, ever, would tell Dean but his favorite singer was Celine Deon. Reluctantly, he caught Gabriel's eye in the side mirror and quickly looked away when Gabriel winked.
Though, it took everything in him not to lip sinc with the words. When he was sure Dean wasn't looking he'd nod along with the music and avoid looking at Gabriel in the mirrors.
"Didn't peg you for a sap," Dean grumbled when the song ended and he searched through his tapes for something to put in.
Gabriel shrugged, "Better than repressed. Right Samchop?"
Dean gave Sam a look and Sam shrugged and said, "Yeah. I guess."
Dean rolled his eyes and hit play on the tape. It hadn't been rewinded and started in the first minute of AC/DC's Thunderstruck.
"Here we go. Real music, eh, Cas?"
Cas, almost startled at being included in the conversation said softly, "I've always been partial to classical music, Gregorian chants, and hymns."
Dean, who had been bobbing along to the guitar in Thunderstruck perked up, "Yeah? Hold on. I got the perfect thing."
Sam knew before Dean even pulled it out what Dean was going to grab. "It's not even Christmas."
"So? It's badass. Plus, it's classical. Here you go, Cas." Dean popped the other tape out and slipped in a different one. Sam noticed Dean checking in the rearview to watch Cas's reaction. The only time Dean would change the music when it came to Sam was when he switched it to a soft rock station to get him to go to sleep. Sam was rarely shotgun and rarely got to call the music. Sam hid his smile behind his hand when it occurred to him how quickly Dean suddenly changed the tape because of something Cas said.
Soon, the first notes of Transsyberian Orcastra's Carol of Bells began and Sam heard Gabriel chuckle and mumble something that he couldn't make out. Sam, also curious about Cas's reaction, watched in the mirror along with Dean.
Cas, for his part, was smiling that small, contemplative, smile he had when he was absorbing new information or letting his guard down. Dean's smile grew and he turned it up just a little more before focusing on the road once more, bobbing along to the music.
Sam wondered if Dean had already made a mixed tape for Cas yet. Then he wondered how Gabriel knew he liked Celion Deon. Did the guy read his mind? If he did, what else did he read in there? How did Sam feel about the possibility of someone probing into his mind? He'd have to talk to Gabriel about it next time they were alone.
Chapter Text
The drive to Bobby's was long. The music defaulted to the standard rock that blared from the Impala's speakers, and everyone settled for their thoughts instead of conversation. Sam didn't want to think. The hunt was meant to be a distraction, and it was over before it began; now, all Sam had was time to think—again.
When they stayed at Bobby's they would scrunch up on the couches or slump over the kitchen table if they slept. More often, fueled by coffee and willpower, they were up until the gray/blue of morning. Two guestrooms were upstairs, filled with books and storage, but Sam and Dean rarely utilized them. When they were at Bobby's it was for cases as much as it was for spending time with Bobby so they often would fall asleep in various places downstairs amongst their research or after a movie rather than move all the way upstairs. Besides, it had been ingrained in them at a young age that there was safety in numbers. It was one of the reasons they often shared a motel room rather than get their own.
So, what would they do when they got to Bobby's? Plan A, icing the Devil, didn't work. Would they stay up, huddled around Bobby's desk, going over the nuances of Plan B? For all the simplicity of the plan, Sam jumps into the hole and takes the Devil with him, some factors needed to be figured out. After hours in the car, though, Sam wasn't sure that he wanted to do that. He didn't want to sleep either. He wasn't tired but he might go into one of the spare rooms.
Maybe he'd ask Gabriel to join him.
Gabriel made him feel safe. It made him feel like a child clinging to Gabriel like a baby with a blanket, but it was the truth. Gabriel was powerful. Cas was awesome. He was a good guy and he did so much for them but his strength was waning. His grace was fading bit by bit. Even if it wasn't, Cas was no match for an archangel let alone two. Especially the most powerful archangels out of the main four.
It wasn't just that. He liked Gabriel. It was surreal to think about but he did. The last few days he and Gabriel got along and Sam found he liked Gabriel's company. Gabriel was different than both Dean and Cas. It was hard to pin down but Gabriel was fun. It was a basic term but that's all that came to Sam's mind. He was older than all of them, he was powerful, he was ridiculous, he was an asshole, but he also was fun and flexible. He also humbled himself and sought and worked toward forgiveness. That mattered.
Many things worked against Sam's resolve when it came to Gabriel and liking him but the resolve did break and now Sam found that he actively wanted Gabriel around.
Though, he wouldn't rise to the bait Gabriel kept tossing out. He couldn't...wouldn't. No amount of innuendo would sway him on that. Gabriel wasn't serious just naturally flirtatious. Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea.
---
It was late, or early depending on the point of view, when they pulled into the scrap yard. The lights in Bobby's office were still on as well as the porch light. Dean had called ahead to let Bobby know they were coming. There was a fifty-fifty chance that Bobby was up. Either the fatigue got him or he was plowing through to do research or answer late-night calls.
Dean shut the car off and the quiet followed was the type of cozy, warm, quiet that one wasn't happy about disturbing. Still, they all got out. Sam and Dean in sync with opening and climbing out. Gabriel and Cas just appeared outside of the car.
"You guys go on ahead, let Bobby know we're here," Sam said, "me and Gabriel will get the bags."
Dean raised an eyebrow but, probably due to the hours of driving, shrugged and said, "Alright. Come on, Cas."
Cas and Gabriel exchanged a look and Sam could only guess what it meant but he waited until Dean and Cas were walking up the stairs of the porch before going to the trunk.
"Wanted to get me alone, huh?" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows as Sam popped the trunk.
"Not in the way you're implying," Sam said easily though he felt warm under his collar.
"Liar," Gabriel said softly, before reaching in and grabbing the heaviest of the duffle bags. "Alright, if not to try and seduce me under the moonlight, what's up, moose?"
Sam hid his eyes behind his bangs as he reached in for the other two bags and closed the trunk, trying to figure out what to say. He turned to better look at Gabriel who was simply watching him, expectant but patient.
Sam cleared his throat and said, "How did you know about, uh," he shifted his weight from one foot to the next.
"Celion Deon? Easy Sampop, you're MP3 player. You left it out and I got bored and was nosy," Gabriel smiled.
Relieved that it wasn't some invasive mind reading, Sam snorted, "Sounds about right. Remind me never to have a diary around you."
"Don't worry Sam, I'm not that much of an asshole. Only diaries I would read are dead famous people's stuff."
"Yeah? You read a lot of autobiographies?" Sam began moving toward the house, Gabriel falling into step next to him.
"Sometimes. Depends. I like movies and TV so I like to read about the people involved, behind the scenes, biographies, autobiographies, all that stuff."
That made sense. Sam could see Gabriel reading about his favorite shows. He liked Star Trek, there was plenty of material surrounding that whole franchise. An image of Gabriel in a Star Trek uniform came to him and he grinned at it. The idea that Gabriel probably loved going to conventions. He mentioned it before. He liked TV and movies. Gabriel the fanboy.
"Do you go to conventions and meet all the actors?"
"Yeah. Remember, we have a rain check on going to a Star Trek one. Or at least, wearing the outfits. How do you feel about wearing a mini-skirt? Legs like yours deserve to be shared with everyone." Gabriel said and laughed when Sam scoffed.
"I'm not wearing a mini-skirt."
"We'll see." Gabriel teased.
As they neared the stairs of the porch Gabriel asked, "So why did you want to get me alone?"
Sam, caught, squeezed the handles on the duffle bags and said, trying to keep the same conversational tone they'd been having, "Originally was going to ask you about the music thing, thank you by the way for not telling Dean," Gabriel said no problem before Sam continued, "But I wanted to warn you about Bobby."
"Bobby?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure how he's going to react to you. I mean, he'll accept that you're here. He'll accept the help but I don't know how he's going to act. He knows about the Mystery Spot and the TV land thing....he also knows about the whole faking your death thing and coming back so...I don't know how he's going to be when he meets you but...be nice."
Gabriel smirked deepened and he said, "Awe, Sam, are you nervous about introducing me to your dad? That's cute, kiddo. Don't worry, I've dealt with difficult parents before. It'll be fine. Now tell me the real reason you wanted to get me alone."
Sam felt a jolt go down his spine. "Real reason?"
"I'm not reading your mind Sam," Gabriel didn't sound offended, just amused, "I just can tell. There's something else. You don't have to be afraid of me you know."
The heat under Sam's collar intensified. The last time he trusted someone, almost loved someone, they betrayed him. Yeah, Ruby was evil and he let himself be led down that path but still, she lied to him, manipulated him, and had been too good to be true. A demon that was reformed? At least, enough to save him, help him, protect him? He fell for that before. What if...
Gabriel tilted his head and softly, "Sam?"
"It's...nothing. I'm just wondering, when me and Dean go to bed are you and Cas going to stay up or not?"
Gabriel was still smiling, still amused, as if he knew something Sam didn't, and shrugged, "Maybe. I have a lot to catch up on and it would be nice to hang out with my baby bro for a while. We don't need to sleep so we could be up all night. Probably should do that, keep an eye out. Why?" Gabriel leaned into Sam's space and Sam could smell his cologne.
"Doesn't matter. Don't worry about it." Sam promptly turned and walked up the stairs of the porch before letting himself in and holding the door open for Gabriel. As Gabriel passed by him Sam said quickly and quietly, "You're welcome to visit my room later." He pointed at Gabriel before the other could say anything, " Don't get any ideas."
Gabriel chuckled and said, "How about fantasies?" He winked and walked into the house proper.
Chapter Text
Sam followed Gabriel inside and heard the last remnants of the conversation between Dean and Bobby die away as Bobby set eyes on Gabriel. Slowly, Bobby got up from behind his desk, laden with research and illegally obtained police reports, and rounded the corner to stand before the archangel.
Bobby inhaled and said, "So, you're Gabriel."
"And you're Bobby," Gabriel responded warmly. "It's an honor to meet Sam and Dean's father in all the ways that matter."
Sam and Dean exchanged looks over Gabriel and Bobby's shoulders.
Bobby moved to where he kept his alcohol and poured himself a generous amount of whisky. He studied Gabriel over the rim of his glass as he sipped his drink.
"The boys tell me you're here to help."
"In whatever way I can," Gabriel responded gamely.
"And you have all your mojo?"
"Tank's full."
Bobby tilted his head to look at Sam, "Hey, Sam."
"Hey, Bobby."
Bobby moved a few feet, letting Sam and Gabriel push into the room further. He drained his glass and after a moment said, "Welp, we need all the help we can get." He poured himself another glass.
The tension dissipated when Bobby, keeping his eyes on Gabriel, went back to sit behind his desk. Taking that as their cue to settle, Sam went to the loveseat and sat. He moved over when Gabriel pretended he was going to sit on his lap. Sam scrunched his nose up at Gabriel's antics and quickly shrugged when Dean raised his eyebrow at him . If Bobby noticed anything he didn't indicate it. Instead, after another sip, he said,
"Alright, let's go over our plan. See if we can have a plan B."
---
It was several hours later. It was late when they'd first gotten in; now the sky was blue-gray and the beginning of bird song began filling the early morning silence. Despite having a new secret weapon, the plan remained wholly unchanged. They would try to kill the devil, Castiel and Gabriel doing the heavy fighting, with Sam, Dean, and Bobby being defense. It wasn't a perfect plan but maybe, armed with hope and spells, the humans could help bind or weaken Lucifer enough to allow the angels to kill him or, at the least, shove him back into the box. The alternative is that Sam would say yes and then would fight for custody of his body, and Sam would plunge himself and the devil back into Hell.
They had no idea how it would shake out. The colt had been a failure and that plan had a lot, a lot , that went behind it. That failure cost lives. That failure cost them so much and knocked the wind out of their sails going forward. There was no stated deadline per se but the looming sense of dread, the fact that every second Lucifer was free meant that they were closer to annihilation. Lucifer didn't want to fight his brother , he just wanted to destroy humanity. He could decide, any moment, to unleash all of Hell on Earth. Granted, that was unlikely. He wanted his true vessel. He wanted the best chance to live. If it came to a fight, not because he wanted it but Michael did , he wanted to be at the fullest advantage. Still, there was an ever-present sense of fear and doom. Even the "good guys" wanted to destroy humans they just wanted to follow the script and rules to go about it. It had to be Sam and it had to be Dean.
The entire time, aside from the initial silliness of nearly sitting on Sam, Gabriel took the discussion seriously. He and Castiel bounced off each other and figured out the new Plan A. Well, the rough idea of Plan A. Sam, admittedly, didn't know how a fight between angels, something they were trying to avoid, wouldn't cause a shit ton of damage. They did say that they would endeavor to keep Lucifer trapped within the parameters of the battleground. A battleground that Gabriel knew where it was. A small cemetery called Stall Cemetery in Kansas.
That was another thing. Gabriel had information that Cas didn't have. Gabriel also had more power than Cas had. He had years of experience, supposedly he might still have contacts in the supernatural world but he said he wasn't sure. It wouldn't take long for what happened at the hotel to spread to everyone.
"I thought everyone died?" Dean asked when the backup was brought up .
"They did. That doesn't mean this stuff doesn't have ripple effects or that all of them didn't tell their friends and family where they were going and why and who would be there. I might've not been invited but I promise you they have ways to know that I was there and who I actually am."
"And you think some of them might help?" Bobby added.
"Maybe. It's hard to say. A lot of the gods and monsters once they realized the apocalypse was happening figured that this was their chance to do what they wanted, no hold bars. They might be happy the world is ending. They've watched it go from pristine forests and clean air and water to mini-malls and factories. A lot of them probably won't care if humans are destroyed. Granted, a lot of them like humans. Not just for food or sex but genuinely like humans. They might not want to watch the world burn. They might be happy with the status quo. A lot of them like video games and smartphones." Gabriel sighed, a weary, deep sound of complications and frustration.
"Even if they wanted to help, could they? I mean, there were literal gods in that room and they didn't stand a chance against Lucifer," Sam said.
"Safety in numbers, maybe? I mean, if I actually use my strength, my powers, I'm an archangel too. I stand a better chance of, if not winning, holding him off. You add a bunch of pissed-off monsters, fairies, hell maybe a witch or two, and we might be able to hold the line."
"We're forgetting something," Castiel spoke up. "Michael. We were so focused on defeating Lucifer that we forgot it wasn't just him. Michael is one of the most powerful beings in creation along with Lucifer. Holding off Lucifer would be near impossible. Fighting Michael, who defeated Lucifer, at the same time..."
The momentum that had been building deflated like a balloon at Cas's point. The planning had to shift and adjust to try and figure out the Michael problem. Who was the biggest threat, Michael or Lucifer? Who should they focus on when they fight? It threw a wrench in the whole thing. The rough draft plan was already messy and overly complicated all to prevent Sam from going to Hell.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck as a fresh wave of guilt and fear ate away in his belly. All of this, all of them here, to find a way to keep him from saying yes , to keep him out of the cage.
That's when Bobby yawned and said, "We'll work on it. Right now, I think I'm going to head to bed. Waited all night for you idjits and now," he glanced at the small clock on his desk and rolled his eyes, "I need sleep. Night."
"Night," Dean said.
"Night Bobby ," Sam added.
"Nice to meet you," Gabriel nodded as Bobby passed, his tone reserved and respectful. Bobby paused, gave Gabriel a squinted-eye look, and then offered a terse nod in return.
"You know what," Dean stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in, draining the last of his third drink (Sam noticed Castiel giving Dean a look that went unnoticed by Dean) and set the glass down on the desk. He stretched and said, "I'm going to bed."
Dean gave a half-hearted pat to Cas's shoulder and nodded at Sam and Gabriel before going upstairs.
When Sam and Dean were kids, Bobby was one of the only stable and good things they had to hold onto. He always endeavored to bring normalcy and comfort into their lives when he got the chance. The first time John left them with Bobby , it was unexpected, and Bobby was unprepared, but Sam honestly looked at that weekend as one of his favorites. Bobby took them to the park to play catch and a little basketball instead of calisthenics and target practice. They grabbed dinner at a local diner and then for ice cream flats. Then they watched action movies and went to bed. He put them up on the loveseat and couch.
The next time they came over, Bobby had gotten two modest beds and put one in each of the two guest rooms he had . Sam hesitated to say that the rooms were strictly his or Dean's, as both were filled with supplies and research , other hunters would sometimes crash in them and leave the beds smelling like beer and smoke, but the fact that Bobby went out of his way to set up the beds, to give Sam and Dean a moment's privacy, meant more than anything to the young Winchesters.
They had their preferences for which room they wanted. They didn't even need to discuss it before Dean claimed the room on the right next to the bathroom and had a window that looked out to the driveway and Sam took the room to the left. Like Dean's unofficial room, Sam's was filled with artifacts from Bobby's life (some dusty black and white photos of people Sam didn't know, a slingshot, fishing gear, and even once Sam found Bobby's high school yearbook) and books. Sam was surprised and happy to find that, amongst all of the legends and myths, he found some actual literature. A lot of it was classics and poetry, but Sam enjoyed it. What the room also had was a nice window that overlooked the woods. As the son of a hunter, especially one like John, Sam knew that the woods, mountains, and parks, weren't as safe as everyone was led to believe. It wasn't just bears or lions that were out to get you. Yet, Sam liked to look out at the trees and imagine that he was a normal person who went for brisk fall walks amongst the autumn leaves admiring local birds and wildlife. He liked to pretend that there was nothing to fear aside from poison ivy and loose rocks in the woods and he could admire their beauty in peace. There were days that John would leave them with Bobby and Bobby would let them do whatever they wanted. Sam, often, opted to sit on his bed and read. Think.
That's where he went now. With Bobby and Dean having bid goodnight to everyone, Sam didn't want to be a third wheel to Gabriel and Cas's bonding. It was clear from the way that Cas was watching Gabriel that he was hoping to get time alone with his brother and , despite Gabriel's teasing earlier, Sam knew that Gabriel probably wanted to hang out with Cas. They had over a thousand years of stuff to catch up on.
"I'm going to crash out too. See you guys in the morning."
"It is the morning," Cas said in his simple, blunt way .
"Then when the sun's up. Night guys ."
"Goodnight Sam ," Cas said.
"Night night Samsquatch . Don't let the bedbugs bite," Gabriel gave him a cheeky wave, wiggling his fingers.
With that, Sam went up the stairs and to the bedroom he used to use. He wasn't tired. He'd napped before they drove. Then, in the car, he dozed. He wasn't out, but he was drowsy. Now, he was awake. Wide awake. He opened the door to "his" room and was instantly hit with the dusty smell of disuse. He flipped the switch on the wall and an old-fashioned bronze lamp in the shape of a woman in a flowing gown lit up. She held her bulb aloft and its soft glow didn't penetrate the darkness but it did make the room feel more homey. Sam looked around and noticed that the piles of books had been reorganized. The books weren't in piles now but in tall bookcases against the walls around the room. There was a small, spindly-legged, desk with peeling yellow and white paint stacked with magazines and tabloids that was added. The photos and personal touches were gone, probably packed away. The bed was still there. Sam noticed it was made and despite the dust around the room, the bedding itself looked and smelled clean. Not only that, but the pillows were new.
"Thanks, Bobby," Sam mumbled in appreciation. He stretched and decided to read until he was tired again. Gabriel wouldn't be popping in and changing the physical aspects of the room, adding TVs, and whatnot. Sam wouldn't want him to. Not at Bobby's. He liked Bobby's house the way it was. Besides, he had enough TV for a while. He could read. He was awake enough to read and it had been a long time since he'd read anything for the joy of it. Beneath the window, with aged lace curtains, were smaller shelves. Tucked into these, when Sam looked, were the fiction books, the poetry, the non-monster related history, stuff. Bobby must've come in here and sorted it so that his abundance of research was separate from the fun books. Sam briefly reflected on the sadness that Bobby's library wasn't mostly works like these. Sam plucked a book at random, not even reading the title, and returned to the bed.
Sam sat on the bed, again with gratitude when he realized foam padding had been added to the top of the mattress, and undid his boots. He was about to start undressing when he remembered his bag was downstairs but the front door. Then, said screw it. He enjoyed being comfortable the last few days and he didn't want to sleep in his jeans. He tugged his boots and socks off before undoing his belt and shirt. He let them pool on the floor on the side of the bed. He slipped beneath the covers and picked up the book. It was a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories with, as the sticker that was still on the cover stated, new illustrations. It was crisp, untouched, and Sam almost put it back with guilt that he was about to read something that Bobby clearly hadn't had a chance to yet. Still, with yet more dust on the top part of the book (he blew it off) he figured, as long as he was careful, Bobby probably wouldn't mind.
Gently, he opened the cover and flipped to the first story.
Chapter 5: Roladex
Notes:
The timeline/continuity is a bit...wonky. I did my best to rewatch a few episodes, make some notes, look up episode numbers to re-familiarize myself with the continuity again but there are deviations for the sake of the fic.
I like character-driven stuff, and I'm hoping to compare and contrast Gabriel and Sam enough that they feel natural together. I want there to be a connection that feels built on many factors and feels...strong. Good.
In any case, I hope you are all doing well. Thank you :)
Chapter Text
Sam woke to the sun in his eyes and bird song outside. A soft, easy , way to wake up. He sat up with a yawn and felt something fall from his chest to his lap. He looked down to see Bobby's book. He couldn't remember where he'd left off; he barely remembered what he'd read. In truth, when he sat in bed, fully intent on making use of the downtime, he found his mind repeatedly wandering. Not even to the doom looming on the horizon or to his potential fate. No. It kept wondering what Gabriel and Castiel were talking about.
It wasn't important. It didn't matter. It wasn't his business. He was still curious. What would two ancient beings like them be talking about? They were siblings. Even though Gabriel ditched out of Heaven some time ago, Castiel still recognized him. Gabriel recognized Cas. What did they do in Heaven in their downtime? Did they talk? Play games? They must have. But what was it like? If that wasn't what they were talking about, were they catching up on Castiel's time on Earth? Or Gabriel's? Would Cas be shocked or disappointed by what would be, no doubt, grandiose tales of debauchery from Gabriel? Would he be curious? He still had, despite how far he'd come in loosening up, a stiffness, a puritanical aspect to his being. Of course, there was. Cas had only recently rebelled from Heaven. Gabriel had been AWOL for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. How was it that Gabriel kept all of his powers when he left Heaven, but Cas lost his? Was it because Gabriel was an archangel and thus couldn't lose his powers unless God himself willed it? Was God aware of Gabriel leaving? If he was, then he didn't care. If he wasn't, he didn't know, meaning he wasn't all-knowing.
Sam sighed and shrugged the blanket off. Just as he was slipping out of bed, a series of loud, rapid knocks made him jump.
"Wakey wakey, Samsquatch," he heard Gabriel's voice on the other side of the door.
"I'm up," he said, scooping up his jeans and shirt from the floor. He was intent on going downstairs to switch them out for fresher clothes after a quick shower. He opened the door to find Gabriel standing just outside.
"Morning. Or should I say afternoon? Got your clock all reset?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. Did you catch up with Cas?"
"Oh yeah, talked for a while," Gabriel didn't elaborate.
Sam was tempted to ask all those questions that ran through his head when he first woke up. Instead, all he said was, "I'm glad."
"Me too. So, it's almost noon. Reset your clock?"
"Yeah. I think I'm good. Slept a lot yesterday."
"Good."
They stalled there for a moment before Sam said, "Excuse me."
"Mmm, blue is a good color on you. And the way you fill those out? Front and back? Mmmm," Gabriel said as Sam got ahead of him. It took Sam a second to realize Gabriel was eyeing his ass in his boxers as he went down the stairs.
"Cut it out," Sam said quickly. He didn't need or want Dean or Bobby to hear Gabriel flirting with him and having to explain that it was just Gabriel being Gabriel.
"Does it bother you?" Gabriel asked, and that caught Sam off guard. It shouldn't have. It was a reasonable question. The first one, Gabriel, asked about his flirting and open drooling at Sam's body. Yet, it made Sam's stomach do a flip. It was an open acknowledgement of the behavior, putting the ball in Sam's court for an answer. He felt hot all of a sudden. Did he want Gabriel to stop flirting with him?
"Aw, Samchop, you're getting all red," Gabriel whispered playfully into Sam's ear and laughed when Sam jerked his head away.
"Shut up," Sam mumbled. "Just..." he didn't turn to face Gabriel but had stopped on the stairs just out of sight of the rooms below. "Don't be..." He didn't look at Gabriel before blurting out a rushed, "I don't mind, just don't do it in front of Dean and Bobby."
"Can't promise that, but I'll keep it PG-13," Gabriel teased.
Sam let out a breath, went down the rest of the stairs, and could see into the kitchen, where Bobby was coming in from outside.
"Hey, Sam," Bobby said, tired but pleased to see him.
"Hey, Bobby. Gonna hit the shower real quick," Sam snagged fresh clothes from his duffle.
"Just put your dirty stuff in the washer. Dean already did his laundry."
"Thanks, Bobby. I appreciate it."
"So will my nose when you boys have clean socks," Bobby grabbed himself a beer from the fridge.
"I got it, Sam," Gabriel said, scooping up Sam's duffle bag with ease once Sam turned around to go back upstairs.
Sam swallowed, aware that Bobby was watching him and Gabriel and that Gabriel was looking right into Bobby's eyes, smirking.
"Uh, thank you. Alright, just," he cleared his throat before shifting around Gabriel in the narrow space between the door and the bottom stair, brushing their shoulders together.
"Dean might've used all the hot water," Sam heard Bobby call after him.
"That's alright, I'm used to it," Sam answered back as he went upstairs. He had a sneaking suspicion that the water would be the perfect temperature by the time he was standing under it.
---
Gabriel snapped Sam's duffle bag into his room. The clothes were clean and folded inside without having to see the inside of Bobby's washing machine. Now he was left with just him and Bobby.
Earlier, when Bobby and Dean woke up, there had been Cas as a buffer. Bobby and Dean filtered most of their conversation and thoughts through him, treating Gabriel mostly like a floor lamp aside from a question or two. Now it was just him and Bobby.
Gabriel liked the man instantly.
When they'd gotten in last night, or was that early morning? He liked Bobby the second he saw him. The man's aura was full of love and empathy despite being wounded and scarred. There also looked to be a demon mark. He'd have to ask about it later. He hadn't been outwardly aggressive to Gabriel yet, but had watched him like a hawk.
Gabriel almost laughed when Dean and Bobby, awake and showered after only a few hours' sleep, came downstairs to find food. Both of them eyed the spread that Gabriel laid out with suspicion.
"What's all this?" Bobby asked, though Dean had quickly shifted from suspicion to longing when he noticed the stack of waffles. Along with bacon, sausage, syrup, whipped cream, and fresh coffee in the pot. It was still the cheap, strong stuff Bobby drank, but Gabriel had taken the liberty of getting several sweet creamers flavored with Vanilla, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Roll.
"Got bored," Gabriel shrugged as he finished washing the dishes, which he passed to Cas, who awkwardly dried them with a small towel after Gabriel shoved it into his hands with a "Here, you dry ". "Plus, figured Cassie could learn a new skill or two. With the way things are going, he'll probably need to eat and, unlike you, Deano, I want my bro to eat more than gas station junk." He noticed Cas wince next to him.
Gabriel wasn't deliberately trying to get under Cas's skin. He was being pragmatic. Castiel was getting weaker by the day. At best, he'd be a really weak angel, able to perceive the supernatural, ageless, naturally strong. At worst? He could become human. The idea of Castiel becoming human prompted several responses in Gabriel. One, he wanted to prevent it if he could. Two, if he couldn't, he knew enough life skills to help teach Castiel to adapt. Third, if he had to, he'd contact some of his buddies to help him keep Cas, if not an angel, immortal, and would do his best to protect his little bro. There was also the option to share his grace with his brother, but given the circumstances at hand, they needed a fully powered archangel on their side right now. If anything, he'd look into sharing after they saved the world. If they saved it.
One thing at a time.
The first thing was stopping the apocalypse. The second thing was keeping Sam out of the box.
Right now, though, Gabriel would settle on getting these self-destructive knuckleheads to eat a decent breakfast. Not that he needed to coax Dean, who had already made up his mind and was grabbing a plate of a little of everything. Bobby still hadn't made a move to get anything to eat. Just eyed the food and then eyed Gabriel before moving past the table to grab himself a cup of coffee.
Gabriel was pleased to note that, when Bobby opened the fridge, his fingers instinctively went for the milk, but then he switched to one of the more flavorful creamers with a shrug.
"So, I had some time to think about our next move," Bobby said as he poured Extra Chocolate Creme into his coffee. "Crowley."
"Crowley?" Dean asked around a mouthful of food. He was always talking with his mouth full. That was one of the ways Gabriel killed him during the time loop; Gabriel choked him when he shoved too much food in his face. How ironic that, for as big a thorn as both Winchesters were in the sides of Heaven, Hell, Death, and Fate, they were remarkably easy to kill. Gabriel shoved the thoughts and memories away. Sam wouldn't want him thinking about how killable they were, even if it was a passing thought.
Bobby nodded, sipping his coffee, pausing at the different taste, before taking another bigger mouthful and continuing, "Crowley gave you the gun. Helped us find Death so we could get the ring."
Dean shook his head. "I don't know Bobby. You had to sell your soul for that. ( Ah, thought Gabriel, that's what that mark on his soul meant) I mean, the guy gave us the gun, sure, but it didn't work. He said he had no idea that it wouldn't work. How do we know that he wasn't just setting us up to try to get Sam and Lucifer together? What if he knew the gun wouldn't work on Lucifer, and he's just like Ruby, setting us up? I mean, what if Sam said yes right then and there?"
"Sam won't say yes," Gabriel said. All three of them, Cas, Bobby, and Dean, looked at him.
"Says the guy who tried to force us to say yes?" Dean grumbled.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Boy, do you hold a grudge."
"Gabriel," Cas said, warning in his voice. Not that Cas could do anything, but Gabriel didn't want to disappoint his brother.
"I'm here now; that's what matters. Plus, I make really good waffles. It should count for something. But," He looked to Bobby, "I think I've heard of this Crowley. Sounds familiar. I'm going to be dusting off my address book today and paying some of my friends a visit. I'll ask around about him." To Dean, he said, "And you should have more faith in your brother. He made mistakes. Big ones, huge ones, but he's striving to make it right. Your doubt, and bitterness doesn't help. Did you ever try to hear it from his point of view? Or try to understand his point of view?"
Dean had gone stiff, angry, and was about to say something when Cas said, "Dean, let's go...outside." It was awkward and clumsy, not even an attempt at a good excuse, and endeared Gabriel to his brother more. Castiel had only recently learned about lying and how to do it. Same with making excuses. He wasn't bad at it; he wasn't great at it. Yet. Cas had told him, while they were catching up, about Meg and how he escaped the ring of fire. Clever. Almost lustful. Gabriel appreciated it. Maybe it was because it was Dean that he stumbled more with shifting attention.
Even still, Dean grabbed some bacon, a cup of black coffee, and followed Cas outside. He gave Gabriel a side eye but said nothing as he exited the kitchen.
Just him and Bobby.
"Do you really think Sam will say no?" Bobby asked. He kept his tone neutral. Yet, Gabriel could still hear the hope, the love,
Did he? Sam had come a long way. He had struggled throughout his whole life to find a place where he belonged, to be his own person, and to atone for his mistakes. Hell, from what he'd been told and what he heard from the grapevine, Sam had even been permitted into Heaven. Not just once, either. If they didn't have plot armor, they would have already been and stayed in the ground. They were lucky, or unlucky, to be the main characters in this plot.
"Yes. I have faith in him."
Bobby was thinking. He drank his coffee, leaned up against the counter, with Gabriel next to him.
"If he does? If he says yes?" Bobby mumbled after a few minutes.
Gabriel went to the table and scooped up a waffle. He wasn't hungry; he never actually felt hunger, but he wanted some comfort in the form of something tasty.
What would he do if Sam said yes?
"Then that's his choice," Gabriel said softly. "He wouldn't say yes unless it was a last resort, and trust me, that's the last last resort." He made eye contact with Bobby. "We're all here now. We'll support him. Be the shoulders for him to lean on, and I have faith that he will say no and that we will find a way to stop all of this. It won't be easy but ... eh, there's a chance."
Bobby nodded and said, "Better than nothing."
That's when Bobby pushed away from the counter, grabbed a plate, and piled on some waffles, bacon, and sausage.
"Going to do some research," Bobby said before going back into his office.
Gabriel had the sense, as he watched Bobby shuffle back to his office with his food, that Bobby hadn't had a decent meal in a while. His dinners probably consisted of over-the-counter pain meds, coffee, and beer. Gabriel made a note to make dinner tonight as well. Something accessible and simple , but hearty. Maybe spaghetti with garlic bread and salad on the side for Sam.
Maybe, when Sam got up, they could go to the farmer's market. There was a flyer for it on the table when Gabriel dragged Cas into the kitchen to make breakfast.
That all happened before Gabriel went to get Sam at noon.
---
Sam wasn't surprised that the water was warm ( Thanks, Gabe , he thought), that the bathroom was clean and orderly. Bobby, for all of the clutter and dust, did clean and organize. Meaning, he could have a nice shower. He was getting used to, he realized, nice showers, comfort. He was half tempted to turn the shower to cold to shock his system and give him something familiar.
He didn't know what the plan was today. He didn't know what they would be looking for. The plan, as rough as it was, was in place. Gabriel, for this part, would be doing the heavy lifting. What could Sam, Dean, or Bobby even do right now but wait? Which was never Dean's strong suit, for sure. And Sam, well, he had more patience, but time was ticking. Every day that passed, more people died. The angels already had Adam; it was just Lucifer who needed a vessel, and, unlike Michael, he was willing to wait for his real one.
A flash of cold hit Sam's chest and lower back.
He didn't want to say yes.
Dean doubted that. Sam knew that. Dean held out, and if they could keep holding out ...
What if this just kept going?
What if Sam managed to hold out, never saying yes, not even trying to take Lucifer down with him, and Lucifer and Michael never fought? So many things were already loose. Would Lucifer just keep using the plagues until humanity was gone? The angels didn't care about humanity. Not really. They were only doing what they were doing because that's what God told them to do, but wouldn't they be relieved if humans were all dead? Then all they would have to do is worry about the souls. Maintain Heaven, maintain Hell, and Lucifer could have Earth.
Then again, Lucifer would probably want Heaven, too. He claimed he just wanted to destroy humanity, but he had no problems killing angels.
He'd talk to Gabriel about it.
He turned off the shower, snagged a towel, and headed back to his room.
---
Gabriel had popped back to one of his safe houses before he woke Sam up. He had several address books and a Rolodex with numerous contacts. Demi-Gods, spirits, fae, demons, witches, and so on were all collected within the pages and little cards. Granted, it took him at least a few hours to find them; he hid them even from himself. He had to look for them manually.
As he wandered from room to room, scouring some of his favorite hiding spots, he briefly wondered what Sam would think about him, of all angels, having to physically shift boxes, move books, and progressively getting more and more frustrated. Like a human would. Sam would probably think it's funny. The archangel Gabriel, the main messenger of God to mortals, is unable to find his address book.
Gabriel chuckled as he shoved a bunch of coats out of the way to reach some boxes on the top shelf.
Sam.
Gabriel let out a breath. Poor guy had been put through the ringer since before he was born. Being born didn't help matters. God wrote a plan alongside Fate, nudging, nudging, nudging things along with events in the environment, whispering suggestions unseen into ears, or directly imparting ideas and impulses into someone's very soul before they were born . All to create the correct demons, angels, and circumstances to bring them to this point. Granted, there were numerous uncontrolled factors. Contrary to belief, Dad was very knowledgeable and very powerful, but he wasn't all-powerful or all-knowing. He just rigged the system in his favor. All to ...
Honestly, Gabriel didn't even know. He had no idea how much of anything was Dad's strings pulling things and how much was a matter of free will. True free will, where someone knew what the risks and rewards were, with no threats hanging over their head to encourage "correct" choice, would be free will.
Dad stopped caring about all the "little" people after a while. He only cared about the bigger picture and how he could push and pull so his ideas could flourish. Gabriel remembered, in the days when he was the messenger, seeing the awe and fear in the faces of those mortals to whom he delivered divine words. That, in part, contributed to his fleeing. Dad had told them, when he helped the apes evolve, created Adam and Liliath, then Eve, and crafted souls that would enable these simple, beautiful creatures to live on, that they should serve humans. Guide them. Love them.
And Gabriel did. Dad didn't. Not the way Gabriel felt that they should be, anyway. Not that he said anything to Dad. He left. He left the constriction, the sadness, the conflict, of Heaven for Earth. He knew Dad could find him, probably knew where he was and what he was doing if he wanted, but he didn't care. Dad didn't care. Dad only cared about Michael and Lucifer. Raphel and Gabriel were all but invisible.
Last he heard through the grapevine was that Michael was running things, keeping the throne warm for Dad, but never actually sitting in it. Raphel, Naomi, Zacariah (now dead), and some others were handling tasks and day-to-day functions. He heard about Anna as well. That sucked. He liked Anna—a lot. Hell, even if he didn't agree with her about preventing Sam from being born, he at least understood where she was coming from. Maybe if he'd come out of hiding sooner, he could have helped her. She'd already taken the big leap and became human. Actually human. That's further than Gabriel would ever be willing to go. Admittedly, he was impressed. Fucking Michael. He didn't have to kill her. Yeah, the prison in Heaven was no picnic, but ...
Gabriel shook his head before the train of thought could be followed . Even if he could go back to Heaven, his brothers wouldn't listen to him. They'd probably throw him in prison, too. Make an example of him that not even an Archangel is above Heaven's rules. Still, could he have made a difference? Prevent Michael from killing Anna? From killing or locking away others?
He shook his head again. He didn't think about Heaven, how it was run, or who he used to know in ages and now, as he flipped through notebooks and index cards to find names, summoning rituals, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and email addresses, he wondered how different things could have been if his family were written here instead. If he had taken some of them with him.
"Damn it," He mumbled, grabbing a shoulder bag from a coat rack and shoving all of the contacts he found into it.
What would he do if they won? They'd have to deal with Michael and Lucifer. He'd have to kill or imprison both. After that, what? Raphael would still be in Heaven, and Gabriel had no urge to rule, but...it could be better. He had ideas. Could he and Raph work together? Gabriel snorted. Fat chance. Raphel, who was second to Michael in strength, could kill him. Would kill him. Even Lucifer called him disloyal.
If Sam were here, heard the thoughts going on in his mind, he'd probably tell Gabriel that it was his duty to try. To do something. That's how the Winchesters and the rest of their extended hunter family were. If you knew something, if you could help, you should.
Sam. He needed to get back. It was already close to noon. Samchop should already be up.
Chapter Text
As Sam made quick work of his food, he asked Gabriel, "What's the plan?"
"Dean and Cas are going to find Crowley, see about getting Bobby's soul back, and whether the demon's got any other leads. Bobby is doing research, and you and I are going to talk with some of my friends. See if we can convince them to join the fight.
"And, um, how are we going to do that?"
"I was thinking bribery."
"With what?"
"Food. Sex is always a classic. Blood," Gabriel shrugged, "Playing it by ear. Though I'm sure whatever we offer is more than whatever they've been getting in the last thousand plus years, so we can haggle."
At blood, Sam winced and said with sharp finality, "We're not sacrificing people, Gabe."
"Come on, what's one murderer or pedo for the sake of the world? Besides, who said anything about sacrificing people?"
"Where else are you planning to get blood?"
"Slaughter houses?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Animals were, and still are, a big part of sacrifices. Not all of them like human blood. Especially modern human blood. Too full of chemicals. Not that a lot of animal blood is any better but still. There are ways of getting blood. Besides, blood is only one option. There are many others, don't you worry, Samwich."
Sam wanted to point out all of things to worry about. After what happened in the hotel and wax museum, and at Christmas, dealing with various gods, he wasn't sure that they wouldn't demand blood. Before he could, though, Gabriel said,
"Before all that," Gabriel lifted the bag filled with paper, address books, and at least one Rolodex, "we have to go through this. Figure out who's easiest to summon, find out who's dead, who's alive. Then we go from there."
Sam figured he and Gabriel could talk about what they were and were willing to offer later and, instead of pushing the issue, said, "Sounds good. Let's get this out of the way." Sam didn't even hear a snap when the table was cleared of remaining food and dishes.
"Why not go to your room?" Gabriel asked casually.
"Why?" Sam didn't intend to sound as shocked or incredulous, but it was a little clumsy if this was Gabriel making a pass. "The table's fine."
"It's too small," Gabriel said easily, "there's more space on a floor. Since people are always coming through the kitchen or Bobby's office, I figured your room would be the best option."
Sam waved his hand at the table, "Couldn't you just magic it to be bigger?"
Gabriel made a show of thinking, touching his finger to his chin, "Hmmm, I could, but then I'd have to make the kitchen bigger and the foundation, possibly would mess up wards and stuff Bobby has in place. It would just be easier to use the floor in your room."
Sam was about to say that, as far as excuses go, Gabriel could be less obvious. And then Gabriel said,
"Besides, I never made it up there last night...early morning...whatever. I never need an excuse to spend some quality time with my favorite moose. So," Gabriel through the bag over his shoulder, "grab some beers from the fridge, and we'll get started on these." Gabriel already started moving to the stairs, but didn't go up.
Startled, and not for the first time, suspicious Gabriel was reading his mind, Sam grabbed the beers. He did invite Gabriel up to his room last night, he reasoned. What would it matter if they went up now? As they began to ascend the stairs, Sam had his answer when he caught Bobby's questioning, yet knowing, look. A fresh wave of embarrassment hit him when he realized that he looked like a nervous teenager bringing their crush to their room under the pretense of working on a class project. He half expected to hear Bobby call up with a parental command to leave the door open. He caught Gabriel giving Bobby a little wave out of the corner of his eye and prayed that he didn't wink. That's all he'd need.
They weren't doing anything wrong, Sam assured himself. They had nothing to feel embarrassed or guilty about, right? They were adults; they were allowed to be in a room alone together. They weren't going to do anything but work. Even still, he could feel his cheeks warm up and Gabriel's eyes on him.
"Stop staring at my ass," Sam said when they were at the top of the stairs with no actual heat.
"How do you know I was staring?" Gabriel said with a playful lilt.
"It's you," Sam led the way, just a few steps to his room, and pushed the door open. Gabriel chuckled.
"I wasn't staring. I was leering. Difference."
Sam snorted and turned to face him as Gabriel shut the door behind them. "Oh yeah, what's the difference?"
"Staring is tactless and slack-jawed. Leering in purposeful and unapologetic." Gabriel said matter-of-factly, went to the center of the room, and unceremoniously dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor. It was a lot. "Good thing you have me here to teach you these things."
"Yes, only the most relevant information," Sam rolled his eyes and quickly dropped down to the floor, sitting cross-legged, momentarily overwhelmed by the mess. He had no idea where to start, let alone what he was looking for.
"Naturally," Gabriel sat across from him, and started picking up papers, "I think we should start with the ones that have phone numbers and addresses. The ones that have spells and rituals we can put aside to go through after."
Sam was a little surprised that Gabriel was actually working. He half expected that the second the door was shut, it would be nothing but flirting and innuendo, but no, Gabriel just hopped right into their task. Sam wasn't sure if he was pleased...or disappointed.
Chapter Text
Once they started working it was easy to get into a rhythm. They sorted things into piles. Names with phone numbers were set to left, along with emails. It would take time to call and email through the pile but it would be easier than some of the rituals Sam caught glimpses of as Gabriel put them to the left.
"Do you even have an email?" Sam asked as he picked up a ratty notebook with holographic stickers of peace signs, flowers, and dogs on the red cover. Pages fell out when Sam opened the cover.
Roger. Gabriel's former lover and alias.
"Roger meant a lot to you, huh?" Sam asked absently as he flipped through the notebook, collecting the pages that had fallen out and holding them tightly so they wouldn't slip again.
"Aw," Gabriel smiled warmly over the pile at Sam, "don't be jealous, Sam. Roger will always matter to me, just like Jessica will always matter to you. Doesn't mean that I'm hung up. It means I care. I'm sentamental."
Sam, caught off guard by the tenderness in Gabriel's voice and the accusation of being jealous, stumbled out,
"I'm not jealous. I was just observing."
Gabriel's expression shifted into something knowing, but it was gone in a moment with Gabriel saying with feigned casualness, "I wouldn't have minded if you were. I would have been flattered. As long as it didn't turn into the petty kind of jealousy that leads to stalking and me in a car trunk."
Sam cleared his throat and attempted a small joke, "I don't think Dean would appreciate it if I took up valuable trunk space in the Impala to shove you in there."
"I don't know, I think Deano wouldn't mind putting me away and only using me when I'm useful," Gabriel said easily.
"You're always useful," Sam said before realizing how softly he said it. "Well, not always. I mean, hitting me in the nuts wasn't useful."
"Hm, you're right," Gabriel said, maintaining that calm, fond tone he'd had the entire time, "I'll have to make it up to you at some point." But he didn't continue with the conversation. Instead, he just eyed Sam up with that 'I know something you don't know' look and went back to the task.
Sam jumped when someone knocked, hard, on the door.
"Sammy?" He heard Dean's voice and instantly got up, wobbling a little, his legs had partially fallen asleep, and now he felt the stinging tingling crawl of blood reflowing into them. He went to the door and opened it to find Dean and Cas standing there.
"Hey. How'd it go?" Sam asked.
"Found a lead. Maybe. We're working it out with Bobby." Dean looked into the room, pausing when he saw Gabriel standing up. "Any luck on your end?"
"Not yet. Still sorting. What time is it?" Sam hadn't put on his watch today.
"Four," Cas said from behind Dean.
Sam was surprised. He and Gabriel had been up here for hours, no music, no talking, just coexisting and working, all without feeling the passage of time.
"How much more do you have?" Dean asked, pushing the door a little further in so he could see the piles. The sizable piles.
"We're almost done with the sorting. Next step is going through all the numbers and emails. See who will pick up. Then we'll meet with them. In the meantime, Cassie, think you can scrounge up some ingredients for me?"
"Me and Cas are working on a lead right now. You and Sam can get what you need," Dean said, quick and firm, and didn't give either Sam or Gabriel a chance to respond before he turned and said, "Come on, Cas."
Sam watched Dean go down the stairs, followed by Cas, who gave him and Gabriel an apologetic look before he left.
"Ooo, Deano's a little moody, huh?" Gabriel observed, suddenly right next to Sam, making him jump.
"Yeah, wonder what that was about."
"We had a little tiff this morning. Nothing big, don't worry. I think he's still sore about that. That, and the bedroom door was closed."
Sam felt a flush of heat in his chest and cheeks, "We weren't doing anything."
Gabriel shrugged and went back into the room, scooping up the pile of phone numbers and emails. "Speaking of doing something." Gabriel hastily divided the pile into rough halves. "Let's get to work on this."
"I thought we still had stuff to go through?"
"We do, but I figure we can take a break from that and get a head start on this. When we get through these, we can go back to sorting. Shake it up a bit."
Made sense.
Chapter Text
Gabriel lounged against ten pillows that weren't on Sam's bed before. One of them was in the shape of bright red lips that Sam hoped didn't come from a porn set. Gabriel had kicked off his shoes, taken off his jacket, and his half of the papers were next to him. He was idly flipping through the papers, scanning the names and numbers, trying to decide who to call first.
Sam looked over his papers and realized that, at least on this first page, it was all symbols. He wracked his brain, trying to figure them out, when he realized it was cuneiform.
"Is this Babylonian?" He held up the paper for Gabriel to see, wondering how many more papers would be like this that he hadn't seen.
"Hm? Oh, Sumarian. Both used cuneiform. Here," Gabriel snapped and the symbols turned into plain English with generic names above the numbers (like Sue, Bob, Jack, John, Jen). "Sorry about that. Before we started sorting, I thought I changed all of them into something you could read. Just let me know if you find any more." With that, Gabriel returned his attention to his papers and seemed to make a choice. A sleek red flip phone appeared in his hand, and he proceeded to dial.
Sam took that as his clue to get started on his end.
He settled on starting with Bob and, holding his breath, dialed.
It began to ring just as he heard Gabriel saying something in a language he didn't know. Chinese maybe? It caught him off guard, and it took him a moment to realize that the ringing had stopped on his phone, leaving the quiet static of a phone that was off the hook, but no one was answering.
"Hello?" Sam thought he could hear a shifting, a breath, some minuscule noise. Someone was listening.
"Um, hello?" When he got no answer, he cleared his throat and decided to go for it. The problem was, Gabriel didn't give him a script to follow. When Sam pretended to be an agent or a lawyer or whatever he needed to be for the sake of a job, it came naturally. Years of training and skill prepared him to step into a role for the sake of his duty.
Same thing with lying to Dean, his guilt unhelpfully supplied.
Lying to Dean was his choice, Sam knew that, but sometimes it felt like he'd been boxed in. Invalidated. Like he couldn't tell Dean the truth because he wouldn't be heard. No. Listened to. Understood. Sam knew that lying to Dean, to Bobby, about everything that had been going on wasn't right, and he felt guilty about it and now strove to do better, but maybe if he had felt more seen...
Sam shook his head sharply. Now wasn't the time to think about this. They were all here. Sam was here. They were working on a solution, and maybe Sam could make this right.
And all of that culminated in this moment where he wasn't sure what to say. Should he lie? Should he tell the truth?
"So...um..." He decided to just go for it, "I'm calling on behalf of the archangel Gabriel, formally known as Loki?" He heard a small breath. "I don't know if you know what is going on, but...the apocalypse is here."
Another small breath.
"We are trying to stop it. We have a plan, and we're hoping that you'd want to help?"
"Who's we?" A raspy, quiet voice asked on the other end and sent chills down Sam's spine for some reason.
"Um...I'm...Sam Winchester."
There was a pause before Sam nearly dropped his phone when hysterical laughter pierced his ear.
"Ah, I needed that," Sam heard once he was able to put his phone against his ear again. "When and where are we meeting?"
Sam's heart skipped a beat. A foot in the door to progress. "Um, one second," Sam quickly turned to Gabriel, who was still on the phone. "When and where?" He mouthed at Gabriel.
Gabriel said something quickly to the person he was on the phone with and said to Sam, "Tomorrow, five in the afternoon, they'll see the signal to let them know where."
Sam repeated Gabriel's words back, and "Bob" on the other end said, "See you then."
Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.
Sam rushed to the next number on the list and called.
---
Not everyone was as open as Bob. One being laughed at him, like Bob did, before hanging up without further words. Another hissed in Sam's ear and told him that it was glad that the world was ending.
Sam got through at least ten names within a half hour and got at least two yeses. More nos, but at least there were two yeses. There were so many names left. Maybe they'd get more.
---
Gabriel was getting through his share of the names quickly and with laughter and jokes. Even when Sam couldn't understand what Gabriel was saying, he could tell that Gabriel was extending whatever charm and courtesy he could. Sometimes the conversations were in English, and Gabriel would tease, joke, and flirt his way through his list.
Meanwhile, Sam tried not to pay attention to what Gabriel was doing, focusing on his own list. A list he was stumbling to get through when he heard Gabriel say,
"Well, you know, darling, I can do that thing you like. Yeah. Been a while. Yeah...yeah, I got wings. Oh, feathers, huh? Sure. I'll even let you pick the one you pluck."
That was right, Gabriel had wings. Feathers. Could those dieties, spirits, whatever, see his wings without burning up? Whenever they saw Cas's wings, they were outlines, shadows. Sam flipped to the next page, the word darling ringing in his ears.
--
"How you doing over there, Samsquatch?"
Sam hung up the phone after his twentieth call with a sigh.
"So far, three yeses, two maybes, and at least several that laughed and hung up. How about you?"
"Eh, a lot of them are pissed that I'm an angel but hey, a lot of them are curious or they already suspected. Apparently, rumors were already going around." Gabriel shrugged, "I'm just happy it's going as well as it has been. Thought that they'd tell me to fuck off, honestly."
"Well, when you're offering sex," Sam meant it to come across as a call back, a little joke in reference to what Gabriel said earlier, but Gabriel raised his eyebrow.
"Well," Gabriel waggled his eyebrows, "sex sells. Maybe you'd get more yeses if you offered to scratch their back, so to speak."
"I'm not having sex with them just to get them to say yes," Sam said flatly.
"Your loss. They have little inhibition and are flexible. Like me," Gabriel winked.
Sam wanted to snap, roll his eyes, say something like how he wasn't going to sleep with Gabriel, but instead, he just snatched up another paper and called a number.
Chapter 9
Notes:
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :)
So, this chapter just occurred to me. Typically, even within the show, Sam and Dean don't really think about the people inside of the vessels unless confronted with them (like when a demon lets a human speak during an interrogation or Jimmy). With this story, with the way I have it going, I wanted to have some weight to it. I wanted Sam to think these deeper thoughts and have them honestly, earnestly answered. I also wanted to give some more backstory and depth to Gabriel. Show his compassionate side, so to speak. And try to adhere to the loose lore, though be flexible.
Chapter Text
They both forgot about the emails. As a lot of them were on the same paper or in the same notebooks as the phone numbers, they both had to go back through. However, it turned into a simple system where Gabriel typed in each email address into the send bar as Sam read them, and Gabriel handled writing a standard message. Thankfully, it wasn't with Sam's computer. He noticed Gabriel had made a red laptop appear instead of using his. And, just like the notebook, there were stickers all over it. Mostly dogs.
"Alright," Gabriel shut the laptop with a gentle snap. "Now, the fun part." He slipped off the bed and went to the pile they had left on the floor. Rituals. "Alright, by the looks of this, mostly it's words, some basic herbs and plants that we can get, and a little blood, but don't worry, Samster, nothing dramatic. A little cut here or there. A drop or two. Just enough to make the magic work."
Sam sighed, because of course. He'd done enough summoning rituals to know that the ones that didn't require blood were the anomaly.
"What about what you said earlier about going to meet some of them?" Sam asked, watching Gabriel make the pile on the floor neat.
"Oh, we're going to, but I want to do the rituals first. We're not doing all of them; we're just going to do a few of the easiest ones and then hope they spread the word. As I said, news can travel fast. Even overnight."
Sam went to the nightstand and snatched up his watch. It was eight. Four hours since Dean and Cas had come up. He wondered if they had found Crowley. If they had, after all demon demon-summoning rituals weren't that complicated, and demon traps were everywhere in Bobby's house, why hadn't they said anything to Sam and Gabriel? Maybe they hadn't found anything yet.
In the time Sam was thinking about that, he blinked a few times, and suddenly, there were a few circles on the floor, drawn in blood.
"What the..."
"Only going to do five rituals. They might not even answer, or they might just project their voice, but all of them require circles made of symbols. And before you ask about the blood, it's mine."
"Will that even work?"
"Yeah."
"But doesn't it need to be human blood?"
"Not necessarily. How many rituals did you do with demon blood in your veins, and they still worked?" Gabriel asked.
Sam winced at being reminded of what he'd done.
"I'm not saying it to hurt you, Samsquatch. I'm saying that demon blood, angel blood, all technically stem from human blood. Angels only have blood when we are in vessels, for example. Thus, infusing the blood with a small portion of our grace. Not to mention, a lot of people substitute animal blood for these things. The human blood thing is, more or less, about proving your devotion and determination for the summoning more than anything. Unless it specifies what kind. Bull, virgin, angel, demon. If it doesn't specify, any blood can do."
"Does that mean that, every time me and Dean opened our arms or palms to summon demons, we didn't have to?"
"I'd have to see the spell. If it says human blood, yes; if it doesn't, technically no. But who wants to carry around jars of blood just for the sake of rituals? I mean, the one thing most of them have in common is that the blood has to be fresh, and if you opted to store blood for spel,l you'd have to make sure it was kept cool. Taking it from the vein means it is the quickest and freshest, so...yeah."
Sam's mind began to wander as Gabriel went around setting up different bowls and ingredients that he seemed to pull from nowhere. He thought that they needed to fetch a lot of these, hunt them down, but then again, Gabriel said that these were the easiest ones. He probably disappeared back to one of his lairs and then came back with stuff. Vessel.
"Who, um...who was your vessel?" He asked when Gabriel had finished going around the room.
"My vessel? Well, he didn't look like this when I took over," Gabriel gestured to his face. "He was a young man named Theodred. It's an Old English name. He was about... twenty-five, twenty-six. Then again, young meant something different back then, so he was closer to middle-aged aged I guess. He lost his wife and his two children in a raid and was at the end of his rope. He didn't know what to do. He was sad, lost, tired. I offered peace. I was honest with him. I told him that I would control his body, his mind would go to sleep, and he'd go to paradise when it was all done. More often than not, any human who offers themselves to an angel gets purified and automatically enters paradise."
Sam cleared his throat and asked, "And, is it like Jimmy? Cas's vessel? The soul still in there?"
"No," Gabriel answered easily, "I know plenty of people. Reapers, Death himself, witches, and even a few demons I'm on speaking terms with. All I had to do was get Theodred's consent, and his soul could be removed from the vessel. Which, considering he was contemplating jumping into a river with rocks...yeah, he was pretty agreeable. Especially since he was reunited with his wife. Trust me, in hiding or not, I kept my word. He, his wife, and their children are all happy in heaven."
"That was forward thinking of you...how do I know that's true?"
"Trust," Gabriel answered just as easily as he answered the question, dusting his palms against his pants. "Listen, most angels just get a vessel, and the person inside goes to sleep. As I said, for services rendered, they get purified, and upon the death of the vessel, the angel, whatever, the person's soul goes to heaven. Usually. It isn't easy to get a vessel in the first place. You have to find someone willing. Then you have to find someone physically strong enough to hold you. And for them? It's hard on the body. It's hard on the mind. They can be aware of things. Wake up for a few seconds at a time, hear a sound or something. For the most part, however, they are in safe places inside of their subconscious, unaware of what is happening. Sometimes, you can set up little rooms, if you will, for them to relive memories or enjoy dreams. I don't think many angels would care to do that at all though so it is mostly just sleeping."
"And you did?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. I've had vessels before, Theodred. Remember, I'm the messenger. I talked to people. That's part of why I left, Sam. Part of why I'm on your side now. I talked to humans. I like humans. No, I love humans. Overall. You guys are flawed. There are plenty of dickbags, sure, but overall I like you guys. So, when it came to making my own life, I wanted to be as kind as I could. I wasn't perfect about it; there were plenty of things that I didn't know, but one thing I remembered from having previous vessels, from talking to Mary, is that the body is important. I didn't want to take. I used to, like any noble, powerful archangel, expect to have the faithful offer their bodies to me willingly, gratefully, feeling blessed, but...I learned that it wasn't always the case. So, I wanted my own body, and I wanted to be kind about it. I didn't want to take a corpse because it didn't feel right to do it. Maybe now I would, a body is an empty husk after death, but...even still, it doesn't feel nice. I wanted full consent. And I lived up to my end of the bargain. Theodred is happy, I'm happy, and this body is all mine." Gabriel let out a little breath. "I know that it seems like I was preying on a man at his lowest moment, Sam, but sincerely, I wanted to help him. I wanted to make sure he got to see his wife. He had been praying to whatever would hear him about it, and I wanted to answer. It just so happened to serve us both."
"I didn't expect you to answer so thoroughly. Or honestly."
"I don't want to lie to you, Sam. I've done enough of that. Besides, it was a fair question. You were both disgusted about finding out that Cas is inside Jimmy's body. You met Jimmy. It hits harder to know that there are two people in a body. If Dad just gave us our own bodies to be down here in the first place, it wouldn't be necessary. Does that change you being friends with Cas? No. You still care about and like Cas. Just like Dean does. But I get why it would bother you. It bothers me too. Because if angels didn't need bodies to be down here, I wouldn't be about to summon five different gods in a small bedroom to keep you from being a vessel. It's messy."
"It sucks."
"It does," Gabriel agreed.
Chapter Text
Sam looked at the different circles, vaguely recognizing several symbols through osmosis of years of research and conversations with other hunters, but unable to place them.
"So, how should we start? If any are in Latin, I can take those," He said.
"I got it, Samsquatch," Gabriel snapped, and five other Gabriels appeared, all dressed differently, standing in front of each circle. He gave Sam a small smirk, and it took Sam a moment to realize why.
"Subtle," Sam deadpanned, but unable to hide his smile. Two of the Gabriels closest to them were dressed in the janitor's jumpsuit and the "Hungarian" waiter from the Casa Erotica DVD (complete with mustache).
"Told you I still had the jumpsuit," Gabriel said after watching Sam study the janitor illusion.
"Your hair was shorter back then," Sam commented. "Do you often change your hair?"
"Not often. I prefer it long enough for people to run their fingers through it. Or tug it."
Sam rolled his eyes and nudged Gabriel. "Bobby has a hose," he playfully warned.
"Wet t-shirt contest," Gabriel said easily.
Sam's imagination wandered from the sinched waist of Gabriel's janitor outfit to Gabriel in a white, wet, button-up, before he quickly pushed both from his mind and said, "Let's get on with this. We don't have time to waste."
Gabriel gave him a look, as he did before, like he knew something Sam didn't. "Alright. Watch this."
Sam watched Gabriel raise his hand, and the other Gabriels began speaking at the same time. It was faster than Sam could process, and there were flashes of light, the sound of knives cutting skin, plumes of smoke, all different depending on which circle it was on.
"Let me do the talking," Sam heard Gabriel say, as the lights in the room flickered out, and for a few seconds, they were plunged into darkness.
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