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Sam Winchester was tired. He was tired of living with his ridiculous brother, his over-worked father, sitting through boring classes at his university, and most of all, tired of people assuming he was in love with his best friend. Jessica Moore was the most beautiful girl in the world to Sam, surpassed only by his own mother. Jessica was funny, smart, charming, and just amazing, but Sam wasn’t in love with her. Not at all. When he tried explaining that to his family or his friends, not one of them believed him. But he wasn’t. It seemed the only people in his life that accepted the fact he wasn’t in love with her was himself, and Jess. She often sat cross-legged on his bed and laughed about how flustered he got when people told them they were a cute couple or asked when he was going to finally man-up and ask her to be with him.
They were walking through the park when Jess grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the duck pond to point out the new gaggle of baby geese. He saw an older couple turn and point them out, smiling widely and waving when they noticed him looking at them. He waved back politely but turned back to Jess, who was on her knees trying to urge the babies to come closer to her. He sighed, “Sometimes I wish I was in love with you, ‘cause then at least they’d stop assuming it.”
She stood and brushed off her knees, “Oh Sammy,” she patted his cheek with a smile, “we’d be the cutest couple in the whole world. Raise a few kids, own a big house, grow old, and have a lot of sex.” She squealed when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, smacking his back as he started walking away from the pond. “What are you doing?” She laughed.
“Whisking you off your feet,” He said it with such an honest tone that she started laughing harder. “What? You just agreed to it. We have to get started on those children sometime.” A middle-aged man a few feet away from him gave him a thumb- up as he walked by.
“I swear Winchester, if this is how you planned on telling me all those people were right, I applaud you,” she said as he sat her back on the ground. She straightened his shirt and shook her hair out as he grinned at her. “You’re raising that bar I have set for my future boyfriends.” He just messed her hair back up and laughed when she huffed at him. An hour or so later he walked her home because she had papers to do and ignored way her father glared at him when she kissed his cheek.
Back at home, Dean had his feet kicked up on the coffee table and was attempting to read for one of his classes until Sam came in. He instantly started questioning his little brother about his day, “How was the date, Sammy? Finally get some action?”
Sam balled his hands into fists and shook his head, “No, Dean, and I’m not going to. Jess and I are just friends.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes,” he sighed, “it’s the same answer every time: I’m not in love.”
A week later Jess came running into his room with a grin on her face and a coffee cup in her hand. She jumped onto the bed and nearly made him fall off when she landed next to him. “Sam, guess what?”
“You’re getting married?” He took the coffee out of her hand but handed it back after he tasted it, not a fan of too-sweet things.
“No,” she pouted, “you won’t marry me, remember?” He rolled his eyes and asked what it was she wanted, “There’s a new guy at the coffee shop and he makes the best coffee in the world.”
“Oh no, you’re in love,” she grinned but shook her head.
“I’m not, but you will be.”
His name was Gabriel Milton. His younger brother had just transferred to the same University Sam attended and he did make the best coffee in the world. Within his first twenty minutes of knowing Gabriel, the shorter man had swindled him out of his number and his heart. Jess had waved a finger in his face and yelled ‘I told you so’ on the way back to her house. Her father’s glare was softer when Jess only poked his nose when he dropped her off but Dean’s questioning was worse.
“So, this date go any better than the ones before it?”
Sam shook his head but he couldn’t help but smile as he thought about whiskey colored eyes and too-hot coffee, “No, still not in love with Jess.”
“Something’s different,” his older brother studied his face for a moment, “You’re lying to me, Sammy. Show me your heart,” he said the last part with an exaggerated mocking tone and placed his hand over his heart.
“This is not my heart,” Sam motioned to himself and then at his brother’s ridiculous eye-lash batting. Dean shrugged and left him alone after that, at least for that day anyway.
Three weeks later, and after way more coffee than he usually consumed, Gabriel asked Sam out to dinner. Jess had kicked his shin and brought him back to earth do he could say yes, and later took advantage of her best friend’s good mood by making him give her a piggy-back ride back to her house.
Gabriel and Sam’s date was the following weekend, they went out to dinner and then Sam showed him the pond where Jess liked to drag him to watch the geese. Gabriel kneeled down much like Jess would, but Sam noticed that when Gabriel smiled back at him his heart stuttered in his chest. Gabriel took his hand on the way out of the park laughed at his lame jokes.
“You need to thank Jess for me,” Gabriel stated as they stood on the pavement in front of his apartment complex.
Sam smiled, “What for?”
“For introducing us,” Sam was going to reply but Gabriel had grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down into a kiss. He smiled against his lips and let his fingers slide into Gabriel’s hair even as they pulled away.
Sam laughed when Gabriel grinned up at him and kissed him again, “I’ll make sure I do that next time I see her.” Gabriel made him promise he would before he grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled him into his apartment building.
Around two months later, Sam walked across his front yard with Jess on his back and Gabriel at his side, when Dean came out of the garage and wiped his hands off on his jeans. “We going on triple dates now, guys?”
Jess shook her head and dropped off Sam’s back, “I wish. Sam refuses to let me go with them when they’re being all romantic.”
“It’s because you’re a cock-block,” Jess pouted at Gabriel and crossed her arms.
Dean laughed when Sam hugged Jess to his chest as she and his boyfriend stuck their tongues out at each other, “Still not completely convinced it’s not Jess you’re in love with.”
Sam squeezed Gabriel’s hand as he smiled, “Nah, I wouldn’t waste those words, about a girl, anyway.” Jess laughed and pushed away from him as Gabriel moved closer to him so he could steal a kiss.