Chapter Text
He had a type.
Of course, Gabriel, of all beings, had a type. After hundreds of thousands of years of being stuck with his family? Of fucking course Gabriel had a type.
Hot. Flirty. (The usual shebang, but so what? Just because you're pansexual doesn't mean you can't have a type, or a stereotypical type.) But also, someone who wasn't afraid to speak his mind. Someone who stood up for themselves, fought for their way.
Sam Winchester? No way. He was nerdy, followed his brother around like a puppy. (Which really, he is a puppy if you think about it.)
Now Kali. She was Gabriel's type. She was his girl. He was drawn to her like a moth and he knew it. He didn't care. She stood up for herself, and the meeting at the party just proved that. She would fight so that she could rule the world, her way. Kali was the kind of gal who got her way, and nobody objected. And if they did... well, let's just say since she is pretty much queen of ultimate destruction.. they met ultimate doom.
Gabriel fell for her, and he didn't care. Which was probably a bad idea that he didn't care, but that didn't stop him. He had a thing for her, later he found out she had a thing for him, they became an item. And who cares if every once in awhile she was demanding and he played bottom for a night? He couldn't really resist being manhandled. She fought for her way, and that seemed to go with it.
So what if maybe it was because he was this all powerful being that liked being thrown down on a bed? Ok, it was a what. Gabriel just sometimes wanted to be manhandled, forget that he was a powerful being that could destroy other gods with just the bat of an eye. He was an uncontrollable force, and anyone who could control him, well.. he liked submitting to them. And who could blame him? Everyone, even Gabriel, needed to be taken down a notch or two sometimes.
Now Kali had somethings wrong. She became too demanding, but not in the good way. His whole spiel is that he doesn't take things seriously. How could she possibly think that he would just give all of that up? And for her? Please. She was just another fling in those moments. So when she broke it off, Gabriel really couldn't find it in himself to care. True to his words to Dean Winchester, he was somewhat sentimental towards her. How could he not when she was the only one who truly fit his type?
Unlike Sam. Because, pfft. Sam? Sam Winchester? Sam the kid with the puppy eyes who begged people to give him his brother back? The hazel-eyed kind hearted moose of man, controlling and demanding his way? Like he said before, Sam Winchester was a just nerdy puppy. He was hot sure, flirty way back then, but that last one? No possible way. He was kind to everyone. He put everyone first, in his own selfless way. He made sure people knew their feelings, and themselves, were valid. That they were important. So that's why Gabriel knew that one way or another, Sam would say yes to Lucifer. Sam would yet again give in to drinking the poison that helped lead him along this path to his own demise. His own destruction.
So why.. why did Gabriel die for him? Why, when giving the option by his father himself, choose to live? When given the choice between death and living again with Team Free Will, (more specifically the younger Winchester in his mind) and fight his brothers, his own brothers! Why did he choose to live again to fight with the Winchesters?
So that's how he got here. Five years later, still wondering why he chose this. He always put it to the back of his mind or made up some excuse. They fight for a good cause. Castiel can show the other angels free will. The fighting needs to stop, and the only way to do it, is to help end it. But now, he's run out of excuses. Because now, the apocalypse is over. Sam almost went soulless, but thanks to Gabriel finding out about his little brother's foolishness, that problem was avoided. Leviathans have been pushed back in their cage, just like his brothers. Abadouche is dead, and Dean didn't have to take the Mark.
Gabriel could even remember his words. "You try something that dangerous again, Winchester...let's just say, you and your brother could have brought on a-whole-nother big bad. And I am not dealing with that again.
He almost laughed at the memory, but then brought himself back to where he was. Another motel room, had to leave the bunker for a case in Georgia. Dean and Cas off to get lunch, and he's stuck here with Sam. Ever since the Knight of hell was ganked, Gabriel didn't really know what to do. He had done his job. He no longer felt like the Trickster he was. He didn't have the heart to do it anymore. After being on so many hunts and standing on the sidelines watching as the brothers let so monsters be, Gabriel couldn't find it in himself to go back to what he had done before. Yeah, sure, he'll pull a few pranks here and there to those who deserve it. Just, not to the same levels of extremity as he had before. People can learn their lessons, just gotta keep pushing them in the right direction.
Which is yet another reason as to why Sam was definitely not his type. After years of pushing, Sam was finally starting to stop his self loathing and see he was a good person. As well as Dean. Gabriel almost couldn't believe either one had stopped their self deprication. Shortly after Dean stopped all of it, he admitted his feelings for Cas. Though, the brothers still shared one room. Cas would whisk them off some place in the middle of the night, which Gabriel still felt was incredibly funny.
"You're thinking too hard." Sam's voice came from across the room. He was sitting at the small table, researching on his laptop with books spread out on the table, while Gabriel was sitting on Sam's bed farthest from the door. Gabriel snapped his head up to look at Sam.
"What?" Sam snorted and smiled his dimply smile and looked up at Gabriel.
"You know you do that same thing as Cas." Gabriel was confused as to what he meant. "You're tilting your head to the side." Suddenly self conscious Gabriel sat up, then decided to go sit across from Sam.
"That's still not what you said earlier." Gabriel accused.
"Yeah, I know. I just, found it- thought it must run in the family. Tilting your head when your confused." Sam smiled at Gabriel affectionately. "What I said before that was, 'you're thinking too hard.'" Sam went back to researching on his laptop.
"What do you mean?" Gabriel looked at him, puzzled. He never bothered Sam while he was researching. Always remained quiet, it gave him time to think. Also, Sam had thrown an entire case of beer at him last time when he merely had the TV on, and with a very low volume at that.
"Gabe." Gabriel snapped his head up. He didn't realize he had zoned out and ended up staring at one of the open books Sam was using for research.
"What?" Sam snorted.
"Considering you never really help with the research part of hunts, and your eyes don't seem to be moving across the page," Gabriel found himself blushing, "and I tried to explain and then called your name twice"
"Yeah, yeah I get it, I zoned out, 'thinking too hard'." Gabriel plastered on his usual smirk. "It's not like you exactly will let me do anything around here, like watch TV." Sam laughed.
"Shut it, you deserved that. I asked before for you to keep it quiet, and you didn't."
"The TV was on low! Plus, I checked it out later. How could you possibly hear from all the way over there?" Sam smirked then and tried to control his laughing. Gabriel frowned and Sam burst out laughing.
"Ok wait, so you actually checked the volume to see if I could hear it? And now you're complaining!" Sam continued his laughing and Gabriel opened his mouth to speak up. Sam raised a hand and got control of his laughter. "Wait, wait. Not only that, but ever since, even though you knew I shouldn't be able to hear it, you obliged with my demands? Also, you do remember I'm a hunter, right? I have been trained to hear small noises." Gabriel rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Ok one, that's complete bullshit, otherwise demons wouldn't be able to sneak up on you." Sam busted out laughing again.
"That was one time!"
"More like fifty times if I can recall." Gabriel raised a hand when Sam started to protest and tried not to smile, "And don't you fight with me on this, I have better memory than you and you know it." Sam could only sit there and laugh. "Two." Sam laughed even louder. "Shut up would ya?" Sam stopped and looked straight at Gabriel.
"No." He deadpanned, then made himself comfortable in his seat, trying to suppress his giggles. Gabriel rolled his eyes yet again.
"Two, of course I checked the volume, and it's rude to judge Winchester. Three." Sam was finding it harder to fight a losing battle of laughter. "Even if I did it, you'd still chuck things at me."
"Ok wait, so Gabriel. The Archangel turned Trickster turned Pagan god turned back to Archangel, let me, Sam Winchester, just a hunter who faced Lucifer, the fucking devil and Gabriel's brother, study for hunts with ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and werewolves?" Sam looked both impressed and confused.
"I was gonna ask when you were done with the unneeded introductions." Gabriel smirked while Sam crossed his arms and huffed out a laugh. Gabriel couldn't help but stare when Sam turned his head away. Scratch off hot, Sam Winchester was a beauty. Gabriel looked down at his book when Sam started to turn back.
"So why?" Gabriel slowly looked up from his book.
"So why, what?"
"So why, after all this time of helping us, have you not left? Why have you stayed with us? Why, when you came back, came back to us?" Sam was looking at him with confusion. If Gabriel didn't know he changed, he would've almost thought the question was packed with self-loathing. Maybe it was, relapse was a thing. Gabriel looked at him seriously, which had become fairly frequent in his time with the Winchesters. "And that, serious expression, you never did that with anyone, even when you were serious!" Gabriel almost cocked his head in confusion, but stopped himself.
"Actually, that's what I've been wondering myself. I know the reason, I just can't make out why it's a reason." Sam stared at him.
"What do you mean?" Sam leaned forward, arms still crossed.
"I mean. For the past years, every time I thought about why I chose to come here instead of die," Sam knitted his eyebrows in confusion, but Gabriel held up a hand in a gesture like 'wait', "I knew the reason why, but I always came up with another. My brothers really need to be put away. I died because the fighting had to stop, letting it play out wasn't going to fix anything. Then Castiel almost left you soulless. Then he lied to us all and let the Leviathans loose. Then Abaddon came, and your brother almost took the Mark."
"Yeah, why did you stop him from that?"
"I told you, would've brought on another big bad, I'm not willing to talk about." Sam nodded his head in understanding. He still didn't want to talk about Azazel. Sure, the events, but not about him. Gabriel never pushed.
Then it clicked.
Gabriel had been lying to himself this whole time.
He flew off, to Sam's surprise, and fled to the nearest hiding place.
His heart was racing.
He knew the reason.
Of course he knew the reason.
He just never understood why.
So he never let it fester or bud in any way.
Now that he knew, he had to keep far away from a particular hunter. Sam Winchester.