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“Ugh,” Sam heard Dean say as he looked up from his book in the library. Dean was wearing his robe with pajama pants, and it looked like he'd just gotten out of bed. It was already one in the afternoon.
“What is it?” Sam asked, preparing himself for whatever had Dean bothered.
“I just got a call from another hunter. Something happened to his partner so he wanted to hand his case over to us.” He held up his cell phone.
“Yeah, and?” Sam responded. It was odd that Dean was reacting like this. “What is it?”
“Well, first off, it’s in Hawaii, so I’m not going.”
Sam was surprised, but Dean’s reaction suddenly made sense to him. Of course he wouldn’t go on a plane unless it was absolutely necessary. “Hawaii?”
“Yeah, something about couples being murdered at a resort.”
It did seem like an interesting case. And honestly, a resort in Hawaii didn’t sound that bad. He could help people and get a trip out of it. “Ok, I’ll just go with Cas then.”
“No,” Dean quickly responded.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, it’s uhh, almost Christmas, and uh, I wouldn’t want him to miss out on it.”
Sure, that was it. “Then I’ll call Rowena and-“
“Did someone say Hawaii?” Gabriel asked as he strolled into the library. He had been staying with them at the bunker after they returned from the other world. His grace was recovering, but slowly. Sam had to admit that he really enjoyed having him around, and maybe he wanted to get closer to him. “Sign me up.”
“Are you sure, Gabe?” Sam said, not even blinking at his sudden entrance. He had learned to get used to it fast. “You’d be gone for Christmas.”
“Ahh, Christmas smishmas,” he responded, waving a hand in dismissal. “Besides, the holiday still exists on the island.”
Sam felt that there had to be some reason that Gabriel wanted to go with him, but he didn’t say anything. As much as he wanted it, he knew it couldn't be that Gabriel wanted to be with him. “Alright. It’s us two then.”
Dean just looked a little bored. “Whatever. I’ll call him back and let him know.”
After Dean got back in contact with the hunter, he emailed them airline tickets to Hawaii and their reservation for the resort. While Gabriel could have transported them there, it would have left him weakened. Also, they may as well use what they had. Gabriel chose Gabriel Novak for his tickets and fake IDs, saying that he thought his “little bro” would find it amusing, and he was done with the old names he had.
The details of the case were that three couples had been found dead in their rooms, and the police were calling it murder-suicides. The couples seemingly had nothing in common - they all had different ages, races, and sexualities. Sam threw out the idea that it might be good to pretend to be a couple, just to see if that could help with the case or draw out who or what was causing the deaths. Gabriel accepted the suggestion with no hesitation.
So two days later, Sam found himself sitting next to Gabriel on an airplane heading towards Hawaii. Sam had brought a couple of books for the nearly 12-hour flight. Gabriel somehow had acquired a Nintendo DS that he was playing games on. After they got their drinks ordered, Sam decided he had to ask Gabriel some questions.
“Look, I’m sure you’re all for playing fake dating with me on a hunt in a resort, but that can’t be the only reason you’re coming here.”
Gabriel looked up from his game at Sam, but didn’t say anything.
“It’s just,” Sam continued. “It’s Christmas! And you’re- well, you. Wouldn’t you rather have the big white Christmas, holiday get together thing?”
Setting his game down on the tray with a frown, Gabriel responded, “What about you, Sam?”
Sam took some time to think about his answer. “Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I would want to go on the case no matter what time of year it is. Monsters don’t take a holiday.” Then he sighed. “I guess it is true that Christmas isn’t my favorite holiday, and I’m not too upset about being away from everything.”
Gabriel nodded. “I’ll be honest, while the Hawaii thing is a big part of it, I’m not too fond of the holiday celebration either.”
Surprised, Sam kept quiet, knowing that Gabriel would elaborate on his own.
“It uhh, brings back too many memories of before. You know, when I was still up there.” A look of almost longing grew in Gabriel’s eyes, then he continued. “Maybe next year I can do the whole present, Christmas tree, party thing. For now, Hawaii sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, okay.” Sam accepted the explanation, not knowing what he could say to that. It all made sense to him, and was glad that the trip would help Gabriel in some way.
Then Gabriel’s face returned to its usual playful smile. “Besides, do you really think there was snow in Bethlehem that night?”
Sam chuckled. No, he supposed there wasn’t.
The rest of the flight went by smoothly. Sam was surprised to see Gabriel fall asleep halfway through. He didn’t need to sleep, but he sure enjoyed it, and the plane ride must have been incredibly boring to him. As hard as he tried, Sam couldn’t sleep, so he continued with his books, and even played some on Gabriel’s DS. Finally, they arrived in Honolulu.
***
“Mele Kalikimaka,” said the greeter as the entered the resort, slipping leis around their necks. She was frowning and seemed almost bored, her greeting lacking enthusiasm. “My name is Olivia. Welcome to the Halekulani Hotel.”
Sam ignored her mood and looked around at the resort. Everything was bright and festive, with Christmas decorations lining the lobby along with a large tree. There was fresh fruit and water for guests to enjoy, and Sam laughed when he saw a palm tree with ornaments hanging off of it. Olivia led them to the check-in desk.
“Isn’t this magical, honey?” said Gabriel, clinging on to Sam with one arm and pulling the small carry-on suitcase behind him with his other as they walked up to the check-in desk.
Sam had to play along. “It’s beautiful, babe,” he said, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he adjusted the large duffle bag on his shoulder.
Olivia seemed to make a face at their exchange, but she accepted their info and checked them into their room. “Beach access,” she said, handing over their keys. “Enjoy your stay.” Then she went straight to typing at the computer.
Sam frowned at her behavior, but Gabriel quickly dragged him away from the desk. “Whew,” he whistled. “Beach access. We’re high class here.”
“Yeah, I guess that hunter pulled some strings.” He let Gabriel pull him through the lobby, then almost fell as he came to an abrupt stop. “What the hell, Gabe?”
Gabriel pointed at the ceiling. “Mistletoe,” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
He knew that they were playing a couple, but surely this was going too far, right? Even if kissing Gabriel didn’t sound that bad… Wait, what was he thinking?
Clearing his throat, Gabriel gave him a pointed look.
He was right, no couple would pass this up. He leaned down, and Gabriel closed the last few inches to give him a quick smooch. And even though it lasted about half a second, there was something about it that left Sam slightly light-headed.
Gabriel pulled away with an almost- concerned? scared?- look on his face. “Right. Well, let’s go find this room.”
Sam could only nod in response.
When they arrived at the room, Sam’s head had finally cleared, and Gabriel seemed to be back to his normal self. Sam was interested to see what this room would look like. He had never actually stayed somewhere this nice before.
The room was beautiful. There was a couch and sitting area to the side and a large flat-screen TV. All the furnishings were stylish and modern, like they could come out of a home TV show. The bathroom had an oversized tub in it, along with a shower and a marble sink vanity. The end of the room opened with large double doors that led to a small enclosed seating area with a table and two chairs. In the distance, Sam could see the beach. There was only one problem.
“Gabriel, there’s only one bed,” Sam stated, throwing his bag to the side.
Gabriel had already ran and jumped on the bed. “Of course,” he answered, raising his head up from the bed. “What kind of couple would get two beds?”
Sam sighed. He knew that Gabriel had to get his sleep to recover, but there was no way he would share a bed with him. He thought back to the kiss he shared with him, and yeah, sharing a bed was definitely a bad idea. “I’ll sleep on the couch, you need rest.”
“Nuh uh,” said Gabriel, sitting up. “You are not sleeping on the couch. This bed is more than big enough for the two of us.”
He had a point - it may have been the largest bed Sam had ever seen. Still. “I don’t know.”
“It’ll just be for sleeping, Sam,” Gabriel responded with a dramatic sigh. “That’s it. On our own different sides.”
Seeing the completely serious look on Gabriel’s face, Sam gave in. “Fine. Just sleeping?”
“Just sleeping,” he assured.
And with that, the discussion was over. They unpacked the few things that they had brought and rested a bit before starting their work. Today they were going to ask around the hotel to gather information, then tomorrow they would go to the police station to check the bodies. They figured they would just enjoy the hotel amenities while asking about the couples that died.
Their first stop was the resort’s pool. Sam changed into his trunks -separate from Gabriel of course- and they left the room to head to the pool. This time they avoided the mistletoe on the walk through the lobby, but Gabriel still insisted on holding Sam’s hand.
Soon Sam found himself in a hot tub with Gabriel and two women. Gabriel, always the charmer, started the conversation.
“So, you here for Christmas?” he asked, sitting so close to Sam he was nearly on his lap.
“Yep, her family gets crazy on Christmas, so we fled here,” the woman closer to Gabriel answered.
“She’s not wrong,” the other woman laughed.
They made some more small talk until Sam brought up the case. “I was a little worried when I heard about what happened here, but everything seems fine now.”
“Oh yeah, we actually ran into the last couple that died here,” the woman next to Sam said, her tone growing somber. “They were the happiest couple, seemed so in love.”
Sam pondered that information as they said goodbye to the couple and left the hot tub.
“So, all I gathered from that is that it’s not very likely that they straight-up murdered each other,” said Gabriel.
“Yeah, nothing new there.”
“Ooh, let’s do the couple’s massage next,” Gabriel said as they passed by a sign. “The employees might know more.”
Sam agreed - that did seem like a good plan. In no time he was laying face down on a table with Gabriel next to him.
“So how long have you two been together?” Gabriel’s masseuse asked.
“Uhhh-“
“Well, we've known each other for about twelve years now,” Sam answered for Gabriel. “But um, we went our separate ways and only recently reconnected.” Sam felt it didn’t hurt to tell the truth, or close to it anyways.
“Sam helped me when I was in a bad spot,” Gabriel spoke up. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without him,” he said quietly.
Sam was taken aback by what Gabriel said. It sounded so sincere, like he was completely serious. He didn't know how to respond, so he steered the conversation to the deaths, but the masseuses didn’t really know much. The massage felt amazing, but Sam couldn’t stop thinking about Gabriel’s words. Did he actually care about him?
Gabriel acted like nothing happened after the massage, leaving a relieved Sam to choose what to do next. They asked more couples at the beach and, later, the waiter at dinner about the deaths. However, everyone had the same answer: that the couples that died were all very happy, and it didn’t make sense that they would kill each other.
Sam was tired and frustrated when they got back to the room. “We’re no closer to figuring this out than we were when we got here,” he said with a frown.
“My best guess,” piped up Gabriel from where he plopped on the bed. “Something magical. We should check the rooms for hex bags tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Sam nodded. “I’ll still want to check what we can get at the police station too.” Yawning, Sam grabbed clothes to sleep in. “I’m too tired to think anymore. Let’s call it a night.”
“No arguments here.”
Sam went in the bathroom to change into his sleeping clothes and brush his teeth. He eyed the bed warily when he stepped out, just remembering that he had to share it.
Gabriel was already wearing the boxers and tank top he slept in, and was getting under the covers. “Just get in, I won’t bite.” He paused then added, “Unless you want me to.”
Sam groaned at the joke, but got into the bed. He scooted as far away from Gabriel as he could. It would be fine, he assured himself. He could trust Gabriel not to do anything, right? With that thought, he said goodnight and Gabriel snapped the lights off. Sam quickly drifted away into sleep.
***
Gabriel woke up the next morning to find something warm enveloping his back. He hummed and scooted closer to it without opening his eyes.
This trip was starting to get to him. He had decided to go mostly to avoid the bunker during Christmas, but he did want to spend more time with Sam. Not that he thought anything could happen with him - there was no way Sam liked him like that. But when he kissed Sam, he had felt something, and Gabriel wasn’t sure if he should run away or investigate further.
Then he'd went and opened his mouth at the massage, probably freaking out Sam. This was stupid. He should just focus on the case, and try to enjoy the resort at the same time.
He then felt something shift behind him. Oh. Oh. That warmth against him - that was Sam. Gabriel heard a gasp, then felt the warmth leave and the bed move.
“Oh my god, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Gabriel turned over and opened his eyes to see a flustered Sam backing away from the bed. “S’fine, Sam,” Gabriel assured, groggy from just waking up. “Can’t control what you do when you’re asleep.” Cuddling with Sam was nice, very nice, but he knew that it wasn’t intentional. And as much as he wanted so badly to do that again, he might offer to sleep on the couch so Sam wouldn’t have to go through it again.
“Yeah.” Sam cleared his throat. “I’m just gonna go for a jog on the beach before we get started. You can go back to sleep or whatever.”
Gabriel mumbled an “OK” and laid back down on the bed as he heard Sam get ready and leave the room in record time. He tried to go back to sleep, but the bed was so big and empty… It wasn’t happening. Getting up with a groan, he decided to try out the bathtub.
The hotel had provided bubble bath, and Gabriel filled the tub with bubbles so that it almost spilled out over the side. He soaked in the tub, trying not to think about how much he enjoyed waking up with Sam’s arms around him, or their kiss under the mistletoe. Gabriel placed his head in his hands, bubbles flying around. He needed to get over this, fast.
The rest of the bath was spent moping and playing way too much with the foam. Finally, Gabriel got out and put on a robe so Sam could have the bathroom when he got back from his run. He was lying on the bed playing on his DS again when Sam entered the room.
“Hey, you enjoy your morning stroll on the beach?” Gabriel greeted, not looking up from his game.
There was no response from Sam, so Gabriel looked up to see him advancing towards him with an angel blade in hand.
“Shit.” Apparently, they were to be the next victims.
Sam let out a growl and leaped towards Gabriel on the bed, blade held out. Gabriel snapped, and Sam was suddenly immobile, sitting on the couch. “Sorry, I don’t have the patience for a fight right now,” he said as he got up from the bed and headed towards Sam. Thankfully, it wasn’t too big of a drain on his grace, and he still felt okay. “Now, let’s see how you got this way, hmm?”
Sam just glared at him.
It didn’t take long for Gabriel to locate the source of Sam’s sudden murderous turn. The room key in his pocket was cursed. Gabriel grabbed it and burned it away in his hands, then saw Sam’s expression turn to confusion.
“Gabe?” Sam asked. He blinked a few times then continued. “Why can’t I move?”
“Oh, right.” Gabriel snapped his fingers, letting Sam move again.
Sam seemed to notice the angel blade in his hand for the first time. “Oh no, did I just-?”
“Yep. Went full-on crazy on me,” Gabriel answered. He explained the room key to Sam and snapped himself back into his normal outfit.
Sam looked like he wanted to say something at Gabriel’s display of grace, but then a look of realization crossed his face. “I think I know who’s doing this. When I came back from my run, my door key wasn’t working. I didn’t want to bother you if you were sleeping, so I went back to the front desk to get a new one.”
“Let me guess,” Gabriel said, thinking back to their arrival at the resort. “Olivia?” At Sam’s nod, Gabriel continued. “I think we need to pay someone a visit.”
***
Olivia greeted them with a smile when they walked up to the desk. “Hi, how can I help you?”
“Oh, don’t give us that,” Gabriel snarled. “We know what you did to the key.”
She didn’t even try to play dumb, her smile just grew larger. “Oh? I guess you don’t love him then,” she said to Sam.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
“If you did, you’d be dead,” Olivia explained. “I made the spell so that whoever held the key would kill who they loved, then kill themselves after.” Her smile started to slip. “I hate happy couples, how they hang all over each other and practically have sex in public - it’s disgusting. And Christmas just makes it worse.”
Gabriel hardly heard the end of her speech. Sam had tried to kill him, so that meant… He glanced at Sam, but his face showed nothing.
“It’s a shame I have to kill you now,” she continued. “I really would like to hear the fallout from this.”
“Oh no.” Before she could do so much as lift a finger, Gabriel snapped his fingers, and she disappeared. Ouch, that one he felt.
“Gabriel! What did you do?” Sam asked, concerned.
“You guys always make things so difficult,” he said as he moved over to sit on a couch in the lobby. None of the people there seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary had happened. “I took care of it all. No one saw anything, no cameras. And she won’t be killing anyone anymore.” He grinned at Sam. “The perks of having an archangel on the team.”
“Your grace-“
“Is fine, Sam. Just need to take it a little slower for a while.”
Sam accepted that answer, then sat on the couch next to Gabriel. He seemed to debate with himself for a few moments, then took a deep breath.
“Look, about what she said. I’m sorry, Gabe. I understand if… if you don’t feel that way about me, it’s completely okay. I-“
Gabriel couldn’t listen to any more of that. He cut off Sam by placing their lips together. Sam froze at first, then returned the kiss. “I think that gives you your answer?” Gabriel asked as they pulled apart.
A smile grew on Sam’s face. “Yeah, um. Thanks, I guess. For... for everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” Gabriel smiled back. “Now, I’m beat. We have our room for two more nights. Tomorrow is Christmas. Why don’t we just relax here.”
Sam looked unsure. “I don’t know, the case is over.”
“We won’t have to pretend to be a couple anymore.”
“True.” Sam laughed and leaned down to kiss Gabriel. “I guess we can stay. A Hawaiian Christmas it is.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Mele Kalikimaka!”