Work Text:
“Morning, Samshine,”
Sam barely opens his eyes, squinting at the sunlight streaming from the window, to see Gabriel lying on the bed next to him, an arm propped under his head and watching Sam with a grin on his face. Sam groans quietly and turns around, burying his face into the pillow. He is not in the mood for any of Gabriel’s games.
Gabriel pokes him. “Come on, time to get up.” He says as he tries to pull the pillow away, even though Sam’s holding on to it quite stubbornly. “Dean’s making you breakfast, and we’ve sent Cas out to get the cake. Well uh… the pie, actually.”
Sam sighs quietly. “I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to what?”
Celebrate, Sam thinks. He doesn’t have a choice though, ‘cause Gabriel’s up now and he’s pushing the curtains open, and Dean’s voice can be heard all the way to his bedroom, shouting at Sam to get his ass out of bed and go get breakfast. Sam grumbles but does as he’s told. It’s easier to just get it over with because he can tell they’re not going to leave him alone. So he pulls on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt with a shirt on top, and heads to the kitchen.
There’s pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon, and Dean’s even made fruit smoothies for everyone, saying it’s supposed to be something healthy so that Sam doesn’t bitch. Sam thinks that maybe he shouldn’t mention that the amount of sugar in the smoothies cancels out the healthy nutrients of the actual fruits. Despite his earlier reluctance, Sam thinks it’s actually nice having a proper breakfast with his friends and his brother, in a place he could call his home, and with no talk of hunting whatsoever. He settles in the chair that’s provided for him and goes straight for the pancakes with the strawberry syrup. He does insist though that the pie and the cake which Castiel bought go in the fridge, to be eaten after dinner.
Afterwards, Dean tells him that Charlie, Kevin and Bobby are going to join them for dinner and a small ‘get-together’, and again, Sam doesn’t have a choice but to go with it. He retreats to his bedroom, picking up a couple of books form their library, thinking he can read for a while to pass the time. He feels guilty for being cranky and rejecting everyone’s gestures, especially since he’d said that no one was even allowed to get him gifts (a request which was of course ignored by everyone). There’s a valid reason, though, that he hates his birthday; it’s a yearly reminder of the day he got himself killed, and the deal that his brother made to save him, and how Dean went to hell on his birthday a year later. And after all, if people really wanted him to enjoy his birthday, they can just do him the favour of pretending that it’s just another regular day.
His thoughts are interrupted when a certain archangel appears out of thin air, lying on Sam’s bed in the same position that Sam found him in the morning.
Sam sighs. “What do you want, Gabriel?” he says, not taking his eyes off his book.
“Come with me.” Gabriel’s smiling again.
“Where?”
“Tsk. Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “Then no.”
“Come on, Sammykins. Don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
Gabriel winces at the harshness of the word, and Sam curses himself mentally. Despite their rough history, and the fact that he would never forget Gabriel’s “Mystery Spot” mischief, Sam hates the answer he’s blurted out. After all, Gabriel had helped them out a lot over the past few years, and had eventually earned the brothers’ trust, convincing them that he was indeed one of the good guys. Sam knew that, too, but he also knew why Gabriel had stuck around, visiting them every so often and helping them out at times when they were desperate. Gabriel hadn’t explicitly stated his interest in Sam, but he’d been more than a little obvious with his flirting and his little pranks, and even more so with his moping when Sam had rejected his advances.
He sighs and closes his eyes and agrees to Gabriel’s invitation. Two fingers press on his forehead and Sam opens his eyes to find himself in completely different surroundings. He jumps back, and looks around, startled.
“Where the hell are we?”
“Twenty thousand leagues under the sea.” Gabriel smirks. “Well, uh, not actually that much, you know, technically.” He coughs a little, seeming a bit embarrassed.
Sam realizes that he’s in a submarine and his mouth drops open. He walks hesitantly to one of the circular windows and his eyes widen at the sight in front of him. He can’t find the words to describe how beautiful the view is, and it’s nothing like seeing it on TV, or in pictures. There’s coral of different types and colours, and all sorts of fish swimming around, and they’re so deep in the ocean that it would be way too dark for them to see anything if it wasn’t for the fact that the submarine seems to be projecting a light of some sort around them.
“Hey,” Sam turns to the archangel, who’s standing next to him and admiring the view.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”
Sam nods. “Uh, yeah, but…aren’t we disturbing them?” He jumps back when a particularly large one swims right by the window, and seems to be chasing a group of tiny little fish. Sam gasps when the fish opens its mouth and swallows the whole group. “Oh, no.”
Gabriel laughs at him. “Just enjoy it, will you? Let someone be nice to you for just one day.”
The submarine moves slowly in the ocean, and Sam doesn’t even wonder who’s operating it; he just stands and watches as they navigate through the water, observes the marine life, a smile playing on his lips as he tries to identify some of the fish and coral he sees.
Gabriel looks up at the man and watches him for a moment before he places a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Ready for the next stop?”
Before Sam can even ask, they’ve travelled somewhere else entirely, and he gasps as he realizes he’s standing in a hot air balloon. “Oh my God, Gabe.”
The archangel laughs. “Welcome to your journey around the world, in a balloon, in 80 days.” He looks at Sam and laughs again at the man’s dumbfounded expression. “Okay, not 80 days. More like 80 minutes, because I have more planned and we have to get back for dinner on time.”
“Where are we?”
There’s a soft beeping sound, like the kind you’d hear in an airplane, and a gentle female voice starts speaking, informing Sam that they were currently flying over Nice, France, and heading towards Tuscany, Italy.
A chuckle escapes Sam’s mouth, and he could swear it was involuntary. “Are you serious?”
Gabriel snaps his fingers and two glasses of Champagne appear in his hands. “Of course I’m serious.” He hands one of the glasses to Sam. “I can be serious about things, Sam, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”
There’s something sad behind Gabriel’s amber-golden eyes, but Sam ignores it, instead downing the entire drink in one go, as if that would help knock the shock out of him. He stands in the corner of the hot air balloon and gazes at the view, sometimes glancing down at the ground or towards the entire city. The view changes soon and they’re in Italy, then in New Zealand, then in Japan, then in Africa, and they make their way across the continents, with short stops in different cities. By the end of their trip, Sam is left speechless.
“I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re not, Sam.” Gabriel smiles, and before he can stop himself, he raises his hand and tucks a loose stand of hair behind Sam’s ear. Sam looks at him, eyes wide in wonder, and for a moment, Gabriel lets himself think that the awe in Sam’s expression is directed towards him. “Right!” he gathers himself again. “Next stop!”
Sam blinks and he finds himself in new surroundings yet again. “Is this…”
“Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!” Gabriel announces with an excited clap of his hands. “Now this I like!” He wanders off and picks an apple from a tree, which looks like an actual real apple, until Gabriel bites into it and discovers it’s made of red coloured cotton candy. He laughs excitedly and picks another one up, tossing it to Sam.
Sam catches it in his hands, and the softness surprises him. He looks up at Gabriel, who is now going around and trying every type of candy and chocolate available. Sam laughs, and it’s a shaky sound. “Why here?” he wonders out loud, even if he’s not sure Gabriel is listening. “It’s not like I’m five anymore.”
“Samsquatch, get in here!”
Sam crosses a bridge made out of dark chocolate, with a melted caramel river passing below the bridge. He walks through cotton-candy grass and finds Gabriel in a large pool of multi-coloured round candy of different sizes, kind of like the ball pools in children’s fast food restaurants. He laughs at the sight of Gabriel swimming around and eating the candy. Sam picks one up and bites into it, surprised at how delicious and soft it is.
“I said get in here!” Gabriel grabs him by the hands and pulls him in the pool with him, and he grins from ear to ear at the sound of Sam laughing as he falls.
“Gabriel,” Sam stands up. “You act like a five year old human child.”
“Who says I’m not? Deep inside, you know.”
Sam shakes his head. “Can we go now?”
Reluctantly, Gabriel agrees. There’s only one stop left before they have to return to the house, and he thinks that maybe he’s saved the best for last. He gets up and snaps his fingers once and the pair find themselves standing in a house this time. Before Gabriel can even speak, explain why he’s brought them here, he sees that Sam is distracted petting the dog that’s currently jumping around at their feet.
“Wow.” Gabriel’s eyebrows shoot up. “What a little traitor, you are. I look after you for years and now you meet Sam and that’s it, you forget about me? I know he’s really pretty, but come on!” he crouches down and pets the dog, as it licks Gabriel’s face excitedly. “There you go, good boy.”
He looks up to see Sam grinning at him, a genuinely happy smile, and somewhere inside him something sparks to life. Gabriel pushes the feeling away and stands up again. “That’s not why we’re here.”
Sam looks around. “Where are we?”
“Uh, my house. Well, one of them.” Gabriel says as he walks down the hallway. “Just stay there, okay?”
Sam nods and sits cross-legged on the floor, busying himself with petting Gabriel’s dog – Max, as his collar suggests. He’s almost too distracted with giving the dog a belly rub when another one appears in front of him. It’s a tiny puppy, a cocker spaniel and poodle mix with white and brown fur. The dog walks up to him and places its paws on Sam’s leg, and Sam is sure he would very nearly squeal at how adorable the sight is.
“That one’s, uh, for you,” Gabriel’s standing in front of him now, pushing his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “Happy birthday, Sam.”
Sam’s mouth drops open again, probably for the millionth time that day. “Are you serious?” he picks up the small dog and it starts licking Sam’s face, making the man laugh. “I can actually keep him?” Sam double checks. “Her.”
“Yeah, why not. As long as you sort it out with Dean, I mean I know-”
“He’ll get over it.” Sam grins as the puppy bites on his fingers.
“Well… good.” Gabriel sighs. “Alright, time to take you home before the clock strikes twelve.”
“Wait.” Sam grabs the archangel’s wrist. “Uh, can I keep him here for a couple of days until I actually tell Dean? He’s not going to be happy. To put it mildly.”
Gabriel nods. “I’ll bring him over in a few days, deal?”
Sam reluctantly puts the dog down, and stands up, and with another snap they’re standing outside the house that the brothers had slowly settled in after the apocalypse had ended. Sam hesitates for a moment before walking in. They’ve been gone all day, but it doesn’t seem so long to Sam, and he thinks that he’s just had one of the best days in his entire life.
He turns and faces Gabriel. “What was this all about? Today, the dog, everything.”
Gabriel shrugs. “Well, it’s your birthday, you know-”
“No.” Sam interrupts him, shakes his head. “You put real effort into this. Tell me honestly. Please.”
As if Gabriel could ever resist the hunter’s puppy-dog-eyes expression. “I just wanted to make sure you had a great birthday, this year. So… I found out, some things that you’d like…”
“How?”
Gabriel sighs, and drops his gaze to the floor. “There’s a boy, in 1990, standing in front of his classroom and reading a story of how he spent his summer holidays, and all the children are looking at him, amazed, thinking wow, this kid is so awesome. Then the teacher takes the paper from his hands and rips it apart, and scolds him for copying the stories from other books, and the boy is on the verge of tears and the kids start laugh-”
“Stop it.”
Gabriel looks up, surprised at how rough Sam’s voice sounded. There’s a flicker of something unrecognizable in Sam’s eyes, and Gabriel’s taken by surprise when a pair of soft lips come crashing down on his. Sam’s hands are cupping his face and pulling him forward, and Gabriel moves on instinct when he wraps his arms around Sam’s middle. Sam’s breathless when they break apart, and his heart is racing in his chest, but before he can stop it, Gabriel’s kissing him again.
“Dammit,” the archangel groans when Sam pulls back again. “Bedroom, now.”
Sam laughs, as he breaks free from Gabriel’s arms. “No, Gabe.” he smiles as he lets his fingers drag through Gabriel’s hair. “Thank you.” he whispers, leaning down to rest his forehead against Gabriel’s. “For today. For the dog. For…always being around.” He cups the archangel’s face and kisses him again, softly now. “And I’m sorry, for thinking that…well, for not taking you seriously. Before, with the… I just thought you were just messing with me, with the flirting and the jokes and stuff.”
Gabriel nods; he understands, but he wants to change the subject. “That’s fine, Sam, but bedroom, please? I mean, it is your birthday, you know. Hello? Birthday sex?”
Sam laughs again. “Maybe next year.” He brushes his lips softly against Gabriel’s. “Or maybe on your birthday.”
“I don’t have a birthday.”
Sam grins at him, and it’s that genuine smile, and Gabriel can feel that electric spark inside him again.
“We’ll figure something out.”