Playing Cupid (2/2)
Title: Playing Cupid
Author: lonelyphoenix85
Rating: R (some strong language in chapter 2, hints of naughtiness, but nothing even vaguely explicit - I just can’t seem to figure out how to write it unfortunately!)
Genre and/or Pairing: Total schmoop! Dean/Cas slash, Sam/Gabe slash
Spoilers: Right through to 5x22
Warnings: None
Word Count: 6712
Notes/Prompts: This was written for the 'Secret Lovers' exchange over at team_free_love
I used prompts 1 and 2 (Sam gets caught reading Fanfiction starring Gabriel, and Dean likes pie...). Also, I tried my best to fix the suckiness of season 5 :-D
Summary: It all started when Gabriel got bored...
Chapter One - All you need is... Chocolate Pie?!
“Heya Sammy, whatya doin’?”
Sam started at the voice coming from directly over his right shoulder, quickly reaching out to slam the laptop closed as he realised who the voice belonged to.
“Research, Dean - perhaps you’ve heard of it...?” He turned slightly to face his brother as he spoke, hoping that Dean hadn’t had chance to read what was actually on the screen.
He’d lost track of time whilst reading, and had been so absorbed in it that he hadn’t even heard Dean come out of the bathroom.
A quick check showed that Dean, while looking smug at having been able to creep up on him, didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
“Shower’s free, bitch,” he threw over his shoulder as he headed for his duffle to grab a clean shirt.
“Jerk,” Sam muttered in reply, placing the closed laptop in its bag as he rose and headed for the bathroom.
*~*~*~*~*
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Dean snatched up the laptop, opening it to see what had had his brother so enthralled while he was showering. He had expected to find porn - research didn’t leave you oblivious to another person in the room for five whole minutes, or slightly red-faced and guilty looking.
He had expected to find porn, and after a minute realised that he had found porn - just not the type he’d imagined.
He wished so badly right now that he could bleach his brain! He would have nightmares about what he’d just read forever.
Fanfiction, he decided, was a new demon sent to taunt him, and Chuck was the Devil who created it (at least for the Winchesters - those damn books of his were nothing but trouble!).
Besides, what the hell?! Why was Sammy reading gay porn with himself and Gabriel in leading roles? Sam wasn’t gay! Not that he would judge if his baby brother was, of course - that would make him the biggest hypocrite ever, given his whole thing with Cas. But still...Sam liked chicks, didn’t he?
He resolved to ask Cas his opinion when he and Gabriel returned from their latest information gathering trip that evening. He returned the laptop to its bag and settled in to watch some tv with a beer - Dr Sexy, M.D. should be on soon he thought with a grin.
*~*~*~*~*
Dean was being more than usually perplexing this evening.
His focus seemed to alternate between Castiel, Sam and Gabriel much more frequently than was normal, and the bulk of his time was spent staring at the latter two.
Castiel had grown used to being the centre of Dean’s attention whenever they were not on a hunt over the last couple of months, and could not understand why he was suddenly relegated to the position of ‘slightly annoying distraction from something much more interesting’.
Had he taken a moment to consider it, Castiel would have labelled the niggling feeling in his chest as ‘jealousy’.
When Dean swatted away the hand he rested on the elder hunter’s thigh, Castiel decided he’d had enough. It was time for Dean to either start focussing on him again, or explain what was so interesting so that Castiel could perhaps join him in his distraction.
*~*~*~*~*
Dean still hated Air Angel, he decided as he glanced around, recognising the front of the Impala instantly.
“What the hell Cas?!”
“I wish to know what you find so interesting about our brothers today - it would hardly have been appropriate to broach the question within their hearing, and they will not wonder at out absence, they will simply assume we are having sex.”
Well, Dean thought wryly, he had wanted to ask Castiel’s opinion hadn’t he? Now he could do it without arousing Sam or Gabriel’s suspicions. And maybe they could even put some truth to those assumptions Cas had mentioned afterwards...Dean smirked at the thought.
“You remember those books Chuck wrote?”
“Yes Dean - they are extremely popular, I believe, especially the more recent volumes detailing the aborted apocalypse.”
“Right, yeah...anyways, you remember me telling you about that site Sam found, with fans writing stories based on the books?”
“Are you referring to the incestuous fanfiction website? It would be difficult to forget something that disturbing, I assure you.”
“You’re telling me!” Dean shuddered at the memory. “Anyhow, Sam was being cagey earlier when I snuck up on him on his computer, so I had a nose at what he’d been looking at while he was in the shower...”
“Dean, you should respect your brother’s privacy,” Cas admonished with a frown.
“Oh that won’t be a problem in the future, believe me! I think I’m scarred for life dude!”
“Are you implying that Samuel was reading some of this...fanfiction...about the two of you?”
The look of shock on Castiel’s face had Dean grinning - his Angel was so cute when he was shocked! - until his words caught up with him.
“What?! Dude, no! That’s just....ugh! No!” There were some thoughts he really really needed to never have again, and that was one of them. “Turns out that some of the fans like the idea of Angel/human couples...and Sam found some of those stories, starring him and Gabriel. What I don’t get is why Sammy would want to read something like that?”
“Samuel was reading fanfiction stories about himself and Gabriel as a couple, and this bothers you?”
“It bothers me that he was getting all hot and bothered over reading it, yeah - this was x-rated stuff Cas! I mean, Sammy’s not gay, for starters!”
“And you are certain of that?”
“Hell yeah, he’s always been into chicks Cas...”
“I do believe a few months ago Sam could have said the same of you, could he not?”
“Well...I mean, yeah...I guess...but, why Gabriel?!”
“Why not Gabriel? My brother is a good person, regardless of your past issues with him. He would take good care of your brother, something I would have thought would be important to you?”
Dean flushed guiltily as Cas raised his eyebrow questioningly.
“Of course I want Sammy to be happy and taken care of! But if he sets his sights on Gabriel, that’s not going to happen - you’ve seen Gabriel’s taste in...partners...they’re all big-breasted, beautiful women.”
“Gabriel creates these illusions to distract himself from what he thinks he cannot have Dean.”
“What the...hang on, you mean Gabriel has a thing for my baby brother?!”
“He has not said anything to that end - however I have observed his behaviour while he has been with us, and I believe that my brother is deeply in love with Samuel.”
“Deeply in...Oh man!” Dean muttered, head falling to rest on the back of the seat.
Cas sat quietly and Dean was grateful for the chance to absorb the information he had been given.
Cas had said Gabriel was in love with Sam, and Dean trusted his Angel’s judgement. Sammy apparently had a thing for Gabriel, judging by what Dean had uncovered earlier, but how much of a thing? He and Cas could try to set them up - which would so be pay-back for the pie set-up they’d used on him and Cas. Regardless of how well that had worked out, a little revenge for meddling was always acceptable - but if Sam was just curious, well he didn’t want to deal with a heart-broken Archangel, especially when he had sort of grown to like the guy these days.
“Cas...?”
“Yes Dean?”
“Do you think Sam likes him back? I mean, seriously likes him?”
“Your brother definitely considers Gabriel to be a close friend, and your discovery this morning would indicate that his feelings are not completely platonic...”
“No shit Sherlock! What I mean is...I mean...crap, I hate chick-moments! Do you think he loves him?” Dean spat the sentence out quickly, the sooner he finished this particular conversation the sooner he could go back to repressing and maybe making out with Cas. “You said Gabriel was in love with Sam, do you think Sam feels the same?”
“It is highly likely - Samuel cares a great deal for my brother, but I believe he allows his insecurities to rule him, and convince himself that Gabriel would not return his affections.”
“So we pull their heads out of their asses like they did for us then?”
“I do not believe it is anatomically possible for...”
“It’s an expression, Cas!” Dean grinned widely. “It means we make them realise that they both want the same thing, and make sure they get to have it.”
“Oh, I understand - you wish to...play matchmaker?” Castiel tilted his head slightly in question on the last two words, obviously unsure whether he’d used the correct phrase.
“Exactly. They did it for us, so least we can do is return the favour. You drop hints about Sam’s reading habits to Gabriel - try to be subtle! - and I’ll do what I can about Sam. Now, for more important business...”
Without giving Cas a chance to reply, Dean leaned in, capturing the Angel’s lips with his own as he pulled Cas around to straddle him across the seat.
*~*~*~*~*
Castiel knew enough of the youngest Winchester’s insecurities and low self-worth to know that Dean would have an incredibly difficult time convincing him of Gabriel’s affections, especially since it was very likely that Dean would be uncomfortable discussing the topic and would not dare broach the subject of Sam’s recreational reading tastes.
He had a better plan anyway. He would have shared this plan with Dean, but the hunter had instigated some very enjoyable activities after which thoughts of Gabriel and Sam were far from Castiel’s mind.
When Sam and Dean left to begin a hunt two days later, Castiel put his plan into action.
*~*~*~*~*
“Gabriel?”
He looked up as the younger Angel entered the room.
“What’s up Cassie?”
The Winchester’s had only just left half an hour ago, so he couldn’t possibly be worrying about Dean being hurt or in trouble already - although if anyone could manage to find trouble that quickly, he thought wryly, it was those two.
“Dean has contacted me with a request for assistance.”
“And you’re here talking to me instead of off helping because...?”
“They need a piece of information off of Samuel’s computer, which they had to leave behind so that it would remain unaffected by the electrical problems around the house they are investigating. I am unsure of how to access the information...”
Gabriel watched as Castiel drew the laptop out of the bag he had not noticed his brother carrying, and accepted it when he passed it over.
“Dean said that the information was on a web-page Samuel visited during his research two days ago, and that I would need to search through something called the ‘browser history’ to find it. Would you mind...? They need the information within the next two hours, he said.”
“Sure bro, no problem! What do they need to know?”
“The specifics pertaining to a cleansing ritual.”
Gabriel thought it sounded like something he’d have been able to sort out in a snap, but these stubborn humans did like doing things their way...besides, how often would he be likely to have the opportunity to sneak a peek through Sam’s computer? The younger hunter never let him near it normally - claimed he didn’t trust him not to mess with it...like he’d actually need to touch it to do that, did Sam not even remember the first time they met? He chuckled softly, and nodded to Castiel.
“Within two hours, huh? Doubt it’ll take a fraction of that to find bro.”
“I have some research of my own to attend to, please do not damage Sam’s computer, I would not know how to fix it, and do not wish to face his or Dean’s displeasure.”
Castiel disappeared before Gabriel could retort, so he settled back into a comfortable chair and opened the laptop.
He figured he’d get the info first, that way he could take his time nosing through all of Sammy’s private files. He opened the browser window and loaded up the history, scrolling back to two days ago.
There was only one site listed, so he figured that must be the one. He clicked on it, and waited for it to load.
To say what he found was enlightening would be understating the matter just a little bit.
This was much more interesting than any cleansing ritual - it would appear that his little Sammy had some interesting reading habits!
*~*~*~*~*
Castiel returned to the room he shared with Dean feeling quite smug. He had ensured that the only page in the browser history for the day he’d told Gabriel was the fanfiction page Sam had been visiting - he was not as clueless about technology as he let on, he just didn’t much care for it.
Hopefully Gabriel would take the (perhaps not so subtle, but then subtle wasn’t always best anyway, whatever Dean said) hint, and decide to do something about Sam all on his own without any further interference from him or Dean.
An hour later the computer suddenly appeared on the desk in front of Castiel with a note taped to the top.
‘Gone hunting. It’s not quite chocolate pie, but not bad for a beginner bro! Say hi to Dean-o for me...’
A few seconds later a rather bewildered looking Dean appeared across the room.
“What the...Cas? What’s going on dude? Me and Sam were in the middle of a hunt when Gabriel showed up, and the next thing I know, I’m here...”
“He took the hint, Dean.”
“The hint..? Oh, hold on! You don’t mean...” Castiel nodded smugly. “Oh man! I so did not need to know that my baby brother is probably getting it on with an Archangel right about now!”
“Perhaps I can distract you from your current train of thought...” Castiel muttered, reaching out to pull Dean towards him without getting out of his seat.
When Dean was stood between his legs, Castiel reached for the button on his jeans causing Dean to moan softly in anticipation as fingers brushed over suddenly-too-tight denim, all thoughts of Gabriel and Sam banished for the next few hours at least.
*~*~*~*~*
When Gabriel suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Sam nearly shot him. Sure, he knows it wouldn’t have hurt the Archangel, but that wasn’t the point. You didn’t startle someone holding a loaded weapon, however invulnerable you may be. It made people jumpy.
When he snapped his fingers and Dean disappeared, Sam got worried. What if something was wrong with Cas? Was that why he’d appeared so suddenly, why Dean got shipped off with no warning? There were too many thoughts, all clambering to be voiced, making Sam’s head ache. In the end what came out was a very articulate “..hunh...?”
“Heya Sammy! I was bored, wanna come out to play?”
Gabriel was grinning. Sam relaxed slightly as he realised that this was a good sign. It meant that no-one was dead or dying. It didn’t explain what was going on, but at least Sam didn’t need to panic.
“Where’s Dean?”
“I figured he and Cassie could use some quality time.”
“And it couldn’t wait until we’d finished the hunt?”
“Oh yeah!” Gabriel snapped his fingers. “Hunt’s over, all the little ghosties went into the pretty light!” His grin grew wider. “Now can you come out to play Sammy?”
The red lollypop Gabriel snapped up and stuck into his mouth completed the ‘big kid’ image Gabriel was giving off, and Sam couldn’t help the matching grin that spread across his face.
He’d dealt with a lot of his issues since Cas had pulled him from Hell, and that had been mostly thanks to Gabriel. Why the Archangel was so determined to befriend him after he had damned two of said Archangel’s brothers to Hell, he still didn’t understand.
Sam wasn’t entirely sure when he had started falling for Gabriel, but he had first realised it three months ago, during their plan to set Dean and Cas up. Whenever they had to make themselves scarce for a few hours Gabriel would take him places - with a snap of his fingers they had gone to Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, he took him to see the Library of Alexandria in all its glory...Gabriel had shown him some of the most beautiful places in history, and it had been amazing.
He had told him stories of the people from those times - the good and the bad - stories of what he himself had seen and done there. The things he had done throughout history, the people he had saved, the people he had been too late to save...Sam had listened to it all, had treasured the confidences being shared, and had been half in love with the Archangel before he’d even realised what was happening.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”
Gabriel’s smirk was a little unnerving, as though he was plotting something - but then again, Sam thought, Gabriel usually was up to something. He trusted him not to do anything stupid or dangerous, and he usually preferred to prank Dean or Cas, not Sam, so he figured he was probably safe.
“I was reading something earlier, and I thought it might be fun to find out how accurate the writer was with the facts...you up for a little adventure Sammy?”
“You know that’s more annoying than mysterious, right? The whole dodging around the straight answer thing?”
“Awww Sammy, you saying I’m annoying? I’m hurt!”
“Of course you are!” Sam snorted. “Okay, so we’re fact-checking? Care to fill me in on the facts we’re checking?”
“Since you asked so nicely...” Gabriel smirked and snapped his fingers again.
Sam took in his new surroundings. They were in what looked like a rather large and expensive hotel suite. Looking down he realised he was sat on the edge of a large, raised bed, and wearing only his jeans and a t-shirt - his shirt, jacket and boots had disappeared, as had his weapons.
“Fact number one.”
Sam’s gaze shot to Gabriel, standing near the French windows wearing jeans and a loose black shirt with the cuffs rolled up and top few buttons open. Sam shifted as his jeans tightened slightly, folding his legs up onto the bed beneath him - he wasn’t sure what was going on, but he definitely appreciated the view.
“Sam Winchester likes silk sheets.”
Sam watched in confusion as Gabriel snapped his fingers and he felt the bedding beneath him soften, feeling smoother against his exposed feet and hands.
“Fact number two.”
Gabriel began stalking slowly towards the bed, and Sam swallowed and his breathing quickened slightly.
“Sam Winchester likes soft lighting and mood music.”
Another snap of Gabriel’s fingers, and the room dimmed and music began playing softly. He kept walking slowly towards the bed, and in the new lighting there was something almost overwhelmingly beautiful and powerful about him. He was barely a metre from the bed now, and Sam held his breath, sure that he must be dreaming now, because there was no way this was actually happening.
“Fact number three.”
Gabriel came to a stop at the edge of the bed where Sam sat, less than two feet away from him. Sam realised suddenly that the height of the bed put him nearly level with Gabriel despite him being sat down. He stared at him with wide eyes.
“Sam Winchester, for some unfathomable reason, likes me.”
He reached out slowly, as though worried that he would spook the younger man. He brought his hand up to Sam’s face, cupping his cheek softly, and Sam gasped slightly at the contact.
Encouraged, Gabriel moved forward, leaning in slightly, their faces now only inches apart.
“So Sammy, how about it? Did I get my facts right?”
Sam couldn’t speak, hardly dared to breathe. He was terrified of breaking the spell, terrified that any minute now he was going to wake up. His tongue flicked out subconsciously, wetting his lips, as he nodded softly.
Needing no more encouragement than that, Gabriel closed the distance between them, bringing his other hand up to cup the back of Sam’s neck as their lips finally met.
Sam reached out and rested his hands on Gabriel’s hips, drawing him in closer as he unfolded his legs and let them fall either side of the Archangel’s waist. Their bodies brushed together with their newfound closeness, and Sam let out a soft, breathy moan.
Gabriel took full advantage of Sam’s now-open mouth, sweeping his tongue inside, hands clutching almost desperately at Sam’s shirt, pushing it upwards in an effort to get at skin, to increase the contact between them now.
He pulled Sam’s t-shirt up and over his head, dropping it to the floor beside the bed, and then pushed Sam backwards on the bed softly, climbing up after him. Soon they lay on the sheets, Gabriel nestled between Sam’s legs, dragging kisses down his throat as the fingers of his right hand ran lightly down Sam’s side, drawing soft whimpers from the hunter.
“Wanted this...wanted you, for so long Sammy...” He whispered against his skin, twisting to give Sam better access as he reached for the buttons on Gabriel’s shirt. “Didn’t think I’d ever be allowed this...” The whispers continued between kisses as Sam pushed Gabriel’s shirt from his shoulders, reaching up to run his fingers over newly exposed skin. Gabriel gasped at the touch, unable to believe that this was finally real, finally happening.
Sam reached up and wrapped his arms behind the Archangel, rolling them suddenly so that he was led above Gabriel. He quickly began peppering kisses down the exposed throat in front of him, adding in a slight roll of his hips where they rested against Gabriel’s, drawing a low moan from the Archangel.
“Why now...? What changed...?” He mumbled softly against Gabriel’s skin, just loud enough to be heard.
He felt a hand on his chin, urging him upwards to look at the Archangel below him.
“Those are some interesting tastes in literature you got Sammy...” he whispered, his voice low and throaty.
“Litera...oh.” The ‘oh’ escaped in a soft breath, and Sam’s cheeks flushed even more than they had already. Gabriel wondered at the fact that, in the middle of what they were currently doing, Sam was still capable of being embarrassed.
Gabriel leaned up and captured Sam’s lips in a soft kiss, before pulling back slightly.
“Love you Sammy...”
Sam’s eyes widened in wonder, joy bursting out through every inch of his soul, and Gabriel marvelled at the sight.
Leaning back down towards Gabriel, Sam leaned in to kiss him again, pausing for only a fraction of a second to reply.
“I love you too Gabriel.”
Author: lonelyphoenix85
Rating: R (some strong language in chapter 2, hints of naughtiness, but nothing even vaguely explicit - I just can’t seem to figure out how to write it unfortunately!)
Genre and/or Pairing: Total schmoop! Dean/Cas slash, Sam/Gabe slash
Spoilers: Right through to 5x22
Warnings: None
Word Count: 6712
Notes/Prompts: This was written for the 'Secret Lovers' exchange over at team_free_love
I used prompts 1 and 2 (Sam gets caught reading Fanfiction starring Gabriel, and Dean likes pie...). Also, I tried my best to fix the suckiness of season 5 :-D
Summary: It all started when Gabriel got bored...
Chapter One - All you need is... Chocolate Pie?!
“Heya Sammy, whatya doin’?”
Sam started at the voice coming from directly over his right shoulder, quickly reaching out to slam the laptop closed as he realised who the voice belonged to.
“Research, Dean - perhaps you’ve heard of it...?” He turned slightly to face his brother as he spoke, hoping that Dean hadn’t had chance to read what was actually on the screen.
He’d lost track of time whilst reading, and had been so absorbed in it that he hadn’t even heard Dean come out of the bathroom.
A quick check showed that Dean, while looking smug at having been able to creep up on him, didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
“Shower’s free, bitch,” he threw over his shoulder as he headed for his duffle to grab a clean shirt.
“Jerk,” Sam muttered in reply, placing the closed laptop in its bag as he rose and headed for the bathroom.
*~*~*~*~*
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Dean snatched up the laptop, opening it to see what had had his brother so enthralled while he was showering. He had expected to find porn - research didn’t leave you oblivious to another person in the room for five whole minutes, or slightly red-faced and guilty looking.
He had expected to find porn, and after a minute realised that he had found porn - just not the type he’d imagined.
He wished so badly right now that he could bleach his brain! He would have nightmares about what he’d just read forever.
Fanfiction, he decided, was a new demon sent to taunt him, and Chuck was the Devil who created it (at least for the Winchesters - those damn books of his were nothing but trouble!).
Besides, what the hell?! Why was Sammy reading gay porn with himself and Gabriel in leading roles? Sam wasn’t gay! Not that he would judge if his baby brother was, of course - that would make him the biggest hypocrite ever, given his whole thing with Cas. But still...Sam liked chicks, didn’t he?
He resolved to ask Cas his opinion when he and Gabriel returned from their latest information gathering trip that evening. He returned the laptop to its bag and settled in to watch some tv with a beer - Dr Sexy, M.D. should be on soon he thought with a grin.
*~*~*~*~*
Dean was being more than usually perplexing this evening.
His focus seemed to alternate between Castiel, Sam and Gabriel much more frequently than was normal, and the bulk of his time was spent staring at the latter two.
Castiel had grown used to being the centre of Dean’s attention whenever they were not on a hunt over the last couple of months, and could not understand why he was suddenly relegated to the position of ‘slightly annoying distraction from something much more interesting’.
Had he taken a moment to consider it, Castiel would have labelled the niggling feeling in his chest as ‘jealousy’.
When Dean swatted away the hand he rested on the elder hunter’s thigh, Castiel decided he’d had enough. It was time for Dean to either start focussing on him again, or explain what was so interesting so that Castiel could perhaps join him in his distraction.
*~*~*~*~*
Dean still hated Air Angel, he decided as he glanced around, recognising the front of the Impala instantly.
“What the hell Cas?!”
“I wish to know what you find so interesting about our brothers today - it would hardly have been appropriate to broach the question within their hearing, and they will not wonder at out absence, they will simply assume we are having sex.”
Well, Dean thought wryly, he had wanted to ask Castiel’s opinion hadn’t he? Now he could do it without arousing Sam or Gabriel’s suspicions. And maybe they could even put some truth to those assumptions Cas had mentioned afterwards...Dean smirked at the thought.
“You remember those books Chuck wrote?”
“Yes Dean - they are extremely popular, I believe, especially the more recent volumes detailing the aborted apocalypse.”
“Right, yeah...anyways, you remember me telling you about that site Sam found, with fans writing stories based on the books?”
“Are you referring to the incestuous fanfiction website? It would be difficult to forget something that disturbing, I assure you.”
“You’re telling me!” Dean shuddered at the memory. “Anyhow, Sam was being cagey earlier when I snuck up on him on his computer, so I had a nose at what he’d been looking at while he was in the shower...”
“Dean, you should respect your brother’s privacy,” Cas admonished with a frown.
“Oh that won’t be a problem in the future, believe me! I think I’m scarred for life dude!”
“Are you implying that Samuel was reading some of this...fanfiction...about the two of you?”
The look of shock on Castiel’s face had Dean grinning - his Angel was so cute when he was shocked! - until his words caught up with him.
“What?! Dude, no! That’s just....ugh! No!” There were some thoughts he really really needed to never have again, and that was one of them. “Turns out that some of the fans like the idea of Angel/human couples...and Sam found some of those stories, starring him and Gabriel. What I don’t get is why Sammy would want to read something like that?”
“Samuel was reading fanfiction stories about himself and Gabriel as a couple, and this bothers you?”
“It bothers me that he was getting all hot and bothered over reading it, yeah - this was x-rated stuff Cas! I mean, Sammy’s not gay, for starters!”
“And you are certain of that?”
“Hell yeah, he’s always been into chicks Cas...”
“I do believe a few months ago Sam could have said the same of you, could he not?”
“Well...I mean, yeah...I guess...but, why Gabriel?!”
“Why not Gabriel? My brother is a good person, regardless of your past issues with him. He would take good care of your brother, something I would have thought would be important to you?”
Dean flushed guiltily as Cas raised his eyebrow questioningly.
“Of course I want Sammy to be happy and taken care of! But if he sets his sights on Gabriel, that’s not going to happen - you’ve seen Gabriel’s taste in...partners...they’re all big-breasted, beautiful women.”
“Gabriel creates these illusions to distract himself from what he thinks he cannot have Dean.”
“What the...hang on, you mean Gabriel has a thing for my baby brother?!”
“He has not said anything to that end - however I have observed his behaviour while he has been with us, and I believe that my brother is deeply in love with Samuel.”
“Deeply in...Oh man!” Dean muttered, head falling to rest on the back of the seat.
Cas sat quietly and Dean was grateful for the chance to absorb the information he had been given.
Cas had said Gabriel was in love with Sam, and Dean trusted his Angel’s judgement. Sammy apparently had a thing for Gabriel, judging by what Dean had uncovered earlier, but how much of a thing? He and Cas could try to set them up - which would so be pay-back for the pie set-up they’d used on him and Cas. Regardless of how well that had worked out, a little revenge for meddling was always acceptable - but if Sam was just curious, well he didn’t want to deal with a heart-broken Archangel, especially when he had sort of grown to like the guy these days.
“Cas...?”
“Yes Dean?”
“Do you think Sam likes him back? I mean, seriously likes him?”
“Your brother definitely considers Gabriel to be a close friend, and your discovery this morning would indicate that his feelings are not completely platonic...”
“No shit Sherlock! What I mean is...I mean...crap, I hate chick-moments! Do you think he loves him?” Dean spat the sentence out quickly, the sooner he finished this particular conversation the sooner he could go back to repressing and maybe making out with Cas. “You said Gabriel was in love with Sam, do you think Sam feels the same?”
“It is highly likely - Samuel cares a great deal for my brother, but I believe he allows his insecurities to rule him, and convince himself that Gabriel would not return his affections.”
“So we pull their heads out of their asses like they did for us then?”
“I do not believe it is anatomically possible for...”
“It’s an expression, Cas!” Dean grinned widely. “It means we make them realise that they both want the same thing, and make sure they get to have it.”
“Oh, I understand - you wish to...play matchmaker?” Castiel tilted his head slightly in question on the last two words, obviously unsure whether he’d used the correct phrase.
“Exactly. They did it for us, so least we can do is return the favour. You drop hints about Sam’s reading habits to Gabriel - try to be subtle! - and I’ll do what I can about Sam. Now, for more important business...”
Without giving Cas a chance to reply, Dean leaned in, capturing the Angel’s lips with his own as he pulled Cas around to straddle him across the seat.
*~*~*~*~*
Castiel knew enough of the youngest Winchester’s insecurities and low self-worth to know that Dean would have an incredibly difficult time convincing him of Gabriel’s affections, especially since it was very likely that Dean would be uncomfortable discussing the topic and would not dare broach the subject of Sam’s recreational reading tastes.
He had a better plan anyway. He would have shared this plan with Dean, but the hunter had instigated some very enjoyable activities after which thoughts of Gabriel and Sam were far from Castiel’s mind.
When Sam and Dean left to begin a hunt two days later, Castiel put his plan into action.
*~*~*~*~*
“Gabriel?”
He looked up as the younger Angel entered the room.
“What’s up Cassie?”
The Winchester’s had only just left half an hour ago, so he couldn’t possibly be worrying about Dean being hurt or in trouble already - although if anyone could manage to find trouble that quickly, he thought wryly, it was those two.
“Dean has contacted me with a request for assistance.”
“And you’re here talking to me instead of off helping because...?”
“They need a piece of information off of Samuel’s computer, which they had to leave behind so that it would remain unaffected by the electrical problems around the house they are investigating. I am unsure of how to access the information...”
Gabriel watched as Castiel drew the laptop out of the bag he had not noticed his brother carrying, and accepted it when he passed it over.
“Dean said that the information was on a web-page Samuel visited during his research two days ago, and that I would need to search through something called the ‘browser history’ to find it. Would you mind...? They need the information within the next two hours, he said.”
“Sure bro, no problem! What do they need to know?”
“The specifics pertaining to a cleansing ritual.”
Gabriel thought it sounded like something he’d have been able to sort out in a snap, but these stubborn humans did like doing things their way...besides, how often would he be likely to have the opportunity to sneak a peek through Sam’s computer? The younger hunter never let him near it normally - claimed he didn’t trust him not to mess with it...like he’d actually need to touch it to do that, did Sam not even remember the first time they met? He chuckled softly, and nodded to Castiel.
“Within two hours, huh? Doubt it’ll take a fraction of that to find bro.”
“I have some research of my own to attend to, please do not damage Sam’s computer, I would not know how to fix it, and do not wish to face his or Dean’s displeasure.”
Castiel disappeared before Gabriel could retort, so he settled back into a comfortable chair and opened the laptop.
He figured he’d get the info first, that way he could take his time nosing through all of Sammy’s private files. He opened the browser window and loaded up the history, scrolling back to two days ago.
There was only one site listed, so he figured that must be the one. He clicked on it, and waited for it to load.
To say what he found was enlightening would be understating the matter just a little bit.
This was much more interesting than any cleansing ritual - it would appear that his little Sammy had some interesting reading habits!
*~*~*~*~*
Castiel returned to the room he shared with Dean feeling quite smug. He had ensured that the only page in the browser history for the day he’d told Gabriel was the fanfiction page Sam had been visiting - he was not as clueless about technology as he let on, he just didn’t much care for it.
Hopefully Gabriel would take the (perhaps not so subtle, but then subtle wasn’t always best anyway, whatever Dean said) hint, and decide to do something about Sam all on his own without any further interference from him or Dean.
An hour later the computer suddenly appeared on the desk in front of Castiel with a note taped to the top.
‘Gone hunting. It’s not quite chocolate pie, but not bad for a beginner bro! Say hi to Dean-o for me...’
A few seconds later a rather bewildered looking Dean appeared across the room.
“What the...Cas? What’s going on dude? Me and Sam were in the middle of a hunt when Gabriel showed up, and the next thing I know, I’m here...”
“He took the hint, Dean.”
“The hint..? Oh, hold on! You don’t mean...” Castiel nodded smugly. “Oh man! I so did not need to know that my baby brother is probably getting it on with an Archangel right about now!”
“Perhaps I can distract you from your current train of thought...” Castiel muttered, reaching out to pull Dean towards him without getting out of his seat.
When Dean was stood between his legs, Castiel reached for the button on his jeans causing Dean to moan softly in anticipation as fingers brushed over suddenly-too-tight denim, all thoughts of Gabriel and Sam banished for the next few hours at least.
*~*~*~*~*
When Gabriel suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Sam nearly shot him. Sure, he knows it wouldn’t have hurt the Archangel, but that wasn’t the point. You didn’t startle someone holding a loaded weapon, however invulnerable you may be. It made people jumpy.
When he snapped his fingers and Dean disappeared, Sam got worried. What if something was wrong with Cas? Was that why he’d appeared so suddenly, why Dean got shipped off with no warning? There were too many thoughts, all clambering to be voiced, making Sam’s head ache. In the end what came out was a very articulate “..hunh...?”
“Heya Sammy! I was bored, wanna come out to play?”
Gabriel was grinning. Sam relaxed slightly as he realised that this was a good sign. It meant that no-one was dead or dying. It didn’t explain what was going on, but at least Sam didn’t need to panic.
“Where’s Dean?”
“I figured he and Cassie could use some quality time.”
“And it couldn’t wait until we’d finished the hunt?”
“Oh yeah!” Gabriel snapped his fingers. “Hunt’s over, all the little ghosties went into the pretty light!” His grin grew wider. “Now can you come out to play Sammy?”
The red lollypop Gabriel snapped up and stuck into his mouth completed the ‘big kid’ image Gabriel was giving off, and Sam couldn’t help the matching grin that spread across his face.
He’d dealt with a lot of his issues since Cas had pulled him from Hell, and that had been mostly thanks to Gabriel. Why the Archangel was so determined to befriend him after he had damned two of said Archangel’s brothers to Hell, he still didn’t understand.
Sam wasn’t entirely sure when he had started falling for Gabriel, but he had first realised it three months ago, during their plan to set Dean and Cas up. Whenever they had to make themselves scarce for a few hours Gabriel would take him places - with a snap of his fingers they had gone to Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, he took him to see the Library of Alexandria in all its glory...Gabriel had shown him some of the most beautiful places in history, and it had been amazing.
He had told him stories of the people from those times - the good and the bad - stories of what he himself had seen and done there. The things he had done throughout history, the people he had saved, the people he had been too late to save...Sam had listened to it all, had treasured the confidences being shared, and had been half in love with the Archangel before he’d even realised what was happening.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”
Gabriel’s smirk was a little unnerving, as though he was plotting something - but then again, Sam thought, Gabriel usually was up to something. He trusted him not to do anything stupid or dangerous, and he usually preferred to prank Dean or Cas, not Sam, so he figured he was probably safe.
“I was reading something earlier, and I thought it might be fun to find out how accurate the writer was with the facts...you up for a little adventure Sammy?”
“You know that’s more annoying than mysterious, right? The whole dodging around the straight answer thing?”
“Awww Sammy, you saying I’m annoying? I’m hurt!”
“Of course you are!” Sam snorted. “Okay, so we’re fact-checking? Care to fill me in on the facts we’re checking?”
“Since you asked so nicely...” Gabriel smirked and snapped his fingers again.
Sam took in his new surroundings. They were in what looked like a rather large and expensive hotel suite. Looking down he realised he was sat on the edge of a large, raised bed, and wearing only his jeans and a t-shirt - his shirt, jacket and boots had disappeared, as had his weapons.
“Fact number one.”
Sam’s gaze shot to Gabriel, standing near the French windows wearing jeans and a loose black shirt with the cuffs rolled up and top few buttons open. Sam shifted as his jeans tightened slightly, folding his legs up onto the bed beneath him - he wasn’t sure what was going on, but he definitely appreciated the view.
“Sam Winchester likes silk sheets.”
Sam watched in confusion as Gabriel snapped his fingers and he felt the bedding beneath him soften, feeling smoother against his exposed feet and hands.
“Fact number two.”
Gabriel began stalking slowly towards the bed, and Sam swallowed and his breathing quickened slightly.
“Sam Winchester likes soft lighting and mood music.”
Another snap of Gabriel’s fingers, and the room dimmed and music began playing softly. He kept walking slowly towards the bed, and in the new lighting there was something almost overwhelmingly beautiful and powerful about him. He was barely a metre from the bed now, and Sam held his breath, sure that he must be dreaming now, because there was no way this was actually happening.
“Fact number three.”
Gabriel came to a stop at the edge of the bed where Sam sat, less than two feet away from him. Sam realised suddenly that the height of the bed put him nearly level with Gabriel despite him being sat down. He stared at him with wide eyes.
“Sam Winchester, for some unfathomable reason, likes me.”
He reached out slowly, as though worried that he would spook the younger man. He brought his hand up to Sam’s face, cupping his cheek softly, and Sam gasped slightly at the contact.
Encouraged, Gabriel moved forward, leaning in slightly, their faces now only inches apart.
“So Sammy, how about it? Did I get my facts right?”
Sam couldn’t speak, hardly dared to breathe. He was terrified of breaking the spell, terrified that any minute now he was going to wake up. His tongue flicked out subconsciously, wetting his lips, as he nodded softly.
Needing no more encouragement than that, Gabriel closed the distance between them, bringing his other hand up to cup the back of Sam’s neck as their lips finally met.
Sam reached out and rested his hands on Gabriel’s hips, drawing him in closer as he unfolded his legs and let them fall either side of the Archangel’s waist. Their bodies brushed together with their newfound closeness, and Sam let out a soft, breathy moan.
Gabriel took full advantage of Sam’s now-open mouth, sweeping his tongue inside, hands clutching almost desperately at Sam’s shirt, pushing it upwards in an effort to get at skin, to increase the contact between them now.
He pulled Sam’s t-shirt up and over his head, dropping it to the floor beside the bed, and then pushed Sam backwards on the bed softly, climbing up after him. Soon they lay on the sheets, Gabriel nestled between Sam’s legs, dragging kisses down his throat as the fingers of his right hand ran lightly down Sam’s side, drawing soft whimpers from the hunter.
“Wanted this...wanted you, for so long Sammy...” He whispered against his skin, twisting to give Sam better access as he reached for the buttons on Gabriel’s shirt. “Didn’t think I’d ever be allowed this...” The whispers continued between kisses as Sam pushed Gabriel’s shirt from his shoulders, reaching up to run his fingers over newly exposed skin. Gabriel gasped at the touch, unable to believe that this was finally real, finally happening.
Sam reached up and wrapped his arms behind the Archangel, rolling them suddenly so that he was led above Gabriel. He quickly began peppering kisses down the exposed throat in front of him, adding in a slight roll of his hips where they rested against Gabriel’s, drawing a low moan from the Archangel.
“Why now...? What changed...?” He mumbled softly against Gabriel’s skin, just loud enough to be heard.
He felt a hand on his chin, urging him upwards to look at the Archangel below him.
“Those are some interesting tastes in literature you got Sammy...” he whispered, his voice low and throaty.
“Litera...oh.” The ‘oh’ escaped in a soft breath, and Sam’s cheeks flushed even more than they had already. Gabriel wondered at the fact that, in the middle of what they were currently doing, Sam was still capable of being embarrassed.
Gabriel leaned up and captured Sam’s lips in a soft kiss, before pulling back slightly.
“Love you Sammy...”
Sam’s eyes widened in wonder, joy bursting out through every inch of his soul, and Gabriel marvelled at the sight.
Leaning back down towards Gabriel, Sam leaned in to kiss him again, pausing for only a fraction of a second to reply.
“I love you too Gabriel.”