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It was right by the train tracks, the little hole in the wall coffee shop that Sam passed everyday on his way to school. It always seemed like a quaint place, the kind of hangout Sam would go to so he could read books and escape from Dean for a little while when he needed to. He had even heard they had concerts during the weekends.
Even then, Sam never stopped. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to; honestly, he was curious about the place. He just never found the right time to do it. Between homework and errands and club activities, Sam barely had time to breathe, much less spend an entire day lounging in a coffee shop.
***
It’s just past 6:30 in the morning when Sam leaves the house, his bag slung over one shoulder and a book in his hand. “Dean, I’m leaving!” Sam calls as he closes the door behind him and makes his way up the dirt path towards town. He takes the familiar route on foot instead of catching the bus. He always has preferred walking, not to mention, it’s the perfect autumn morning; the air is crisp and the sky is a deep, royal blue, and there’s just enough of a chill to warrant wearing a coat and scarf.
He’s just past the coffee shop when a sudden shout startles him. He cranes his neck to look in the direction of the cursing, only to find a guy standing on the porch of the coffee shop, looking thoroughly disheveled.
Normally, Sam wouldn’t have cared. He would have gone about his business and carried on, but the man looks genuinely distressed and well, sometimes Sam is a little too kind for his own good. He makes his way towards the shop and calls out to him.
“Hey! Excuse me!” Sam shouts, waving his hands, “Is something wrong?”
The man turns to him and blinks, before dropping his hands and groaning loudly. “Yeah, actually. My brother managed to give me the wrong keys and now I can’t open the store.” He drops the keyring he had in his hand on the floor and the noise makes Sam jump.
Thankfully, Sam might actually be able to help. He bustles up the stairs and kneels in front of the door without a second thought, examining the lock. He grins and swings his bag around to open up the small pocket in the front. He extracts a paperclip and straightens it out, then sticks it in the lock and wiggles it around.
The lock clicks open after only a minute and the door swings open. The guy just snorts and shakes his head.
“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you can pick locks that fast or the fact that you can pick locks at all,” he mutters, sizing Sam up.
Sam grins and grabs his bag, swinging it over his shoulder again as he stands. “It’s a trick I learned from my brother when we were kids. Don’t worry, I won’t rob your store or anything.”
Sam is about to take off when the man grabs his arms and holds him there. ”Why don’t you come in and I’ll make you something to drink? I owe you one now.”
Sam glances at his watch and thinks, Why the hell not? He’s still got 45 minutes before school starts and he has always wanted to see the inside of this place. He simply nods and follows the man inside, the smell of coffee flooding his nostrils.
***
“Sam. My name is Sam.”
“I’m Gabriel. It’s nice to meet you, Sam.”
“Likewise,” Sam mumbles as he looks around in awe. The place is cozy, all wood paneling and big, comfy couches and lights that give off a pleasant orange glow. The main room is small and very personal and it just feels… homey. It’s sort of like the cottage Sam’s parents used to take him and Dean to during Christmas time.
The man… Gabriel… snaps his fingers and Sam blinks rapidly a few times before refocusing. “Order whatever you want. It’s on me. Just try not to make it too complicated. I’m new at this.”
“I’ll just have a hot chocolate, thanks.”
“That’s boring,” Gabriel states with a smirk, eyeing Sam with a gleam in his eye.
Sam frowns and scratches at his nose. “You said simple. Plus, I hate coffee.” That makes Gabriel laugh, the sound filling the room and making Sam’s heart jump in his chest.
“Isn’t that ironic?” Gabriel mutters with a chuckle as he starts foaming the milk. Sam pouts silently and doesn’t say anything.
***
It takes Gabriel three tries to get the hot chocolate right. Even then, it tastes a little bland, but Sam doesn’t say anything. He drinks it gratefully, the warm liquid helping to heat his cool skin.
“So, you said you’re new here, right? What brought you to a small town like this?” Sam asks with interest, swirling the hot cocoa in his cup.
Gabriel shrugs and sighs loudly and Sam feels like maybe he overstepped his boundaries. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean— I mean, you don’t have to answer that…” But Gabriel smiles and turns to look at Sam, shaking his head.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just not used to being asked questions like that. Usually, people don’t really care.” Gabriel works diligently, brewing coffee as he talks. “I was in a university… decided to drop out. Not really my thing. I heard my brother started a coffee shop up and well, here I am.”
Sam grins and takes another sip of his hot chocolate. “It’s good you’re getting back on your feet though… really admirable.” He’s not sure if he’s just imagining things, but when he looks at Gabriel, Sam swears he saw him wink.
“I guess you could say that. I’ve got my own place now and I’m making enough to get by. It’s stable enough for now.” Gabriel gets back to work, sweeping the floor while Sam sips his hot cocoa.
They make small talk for a while before Sam looks at his watch and almost faints. “Oh crap! I’m gonna be late! Sorry, but I gotta go!” He gets up and slings his bag over his shoulder. Gabriel frowns before rubbing at his forehead and smiling.
“You’ll come back?” Gabriel asks, and how could Sam refuse? He knows next to nothing about this man, but he’s funny and cool and… attractive.
For the second time in less than an hour, Sam thinks, Why the hell not? as he nods and smiles before disappearing out the door.
***
It became a ritual after that. Sam would stop in every morning, sometimes to get a drink and sometimes just to see Gabriel. Every now and again, he’d even skip his morning classes to curl up and read on one of the couches while Gabriel opened the store. There usually weren’t a lot of customers that came through. It’s the perfect place for Sam, he thinks, to escape for a while.
And then Sam gets into the habit of stopping by after school as well, when Gabriel is getting off his shift. They go and sit in the park and talk, about anything and everything you could ever imagine. School and friends and family and books and movies and what kind of foods they like. Sometimes, Sam lets something embarrassing slip and Gabriel makes fun of him, like the time Sam told him about how he collected coins as a kid.
It’s nice, being with Gabriel.
***
It’s a particularly chilly evening and Sam is shivering as he sits next to Gabe on their favorite bench overlooking the park. They haven’t really become a thing but… sometimes Gabriel holds Sam’s hand when he thinks he’s not paying attention. They never talk about it, ever.
Tonight though, Sam is freezing and he knows Gabriel can tell, because he touches Sam’s shoulder gently and tried to ease his shaking. “You’re bundled up in all those clothes and you’re still cold?” Gabriel asks in amusement, rubbing Sam’s arm, “We could always go back to the shop. Cas won’t mind letting us hang out there for a while.”
But Sam has already made up his mind about this and he’s just been waiting for Gabriel to say something. “Actually, I was kind of thinking we could go to your place.” He realizes after he says it that it sounds a little… promiscuous, which is not what he had intended at all. “I mean… I just really want to see where you live, is all.”
Gabriel thinks for a minute before nodding and grabbing Sam’s hand. “We can walk, let’s go.”
He never lets go of Sam’s hand.
***
It’s starting to snow when they finally get to Gabriel’s apartment. It’s small and cozy, a lot like the coffee shop, but it smells like Gabriel instead of coffee and Sam definitely prefers that. Gabriel leads him over to the couch and sits down, bringing Sam with him.
“This is it,” Gabriel says with gusto, “Pretty nice, huh?”
“Yeah, it feels more like home than home does… if that makes sense,” Sam says with a laugh, and Gabriel laughs too.
They sit there together in silence before Gabriel turns to Sam and grins. “Can I ask you somethin’?”
“Of course,” Sam murmurs. He makes the mistake of looking into Gabriel’s golden eyes and he sees something there that makes his heart squeeze in his chest.
“What is this? Us. Are we a… thing?” Gabriel questions, raising an eyebrow at Sam.
Of course, the one question I don’t know how to answer, Sam thinks before answering. “I-I don’t know. I’m not against the idea. I mean… wow, that came out wrong…”
But before Sam can say anything else, Gabriel has gripped his face and pulled him down into a kiss. They stay like that for what feels like hours, barely moving, before Gabriel pulls away and gasps softly.
“Sorry, I…”
“Don’t…”
“Sam, seriously, I shouldn’t have…”
It’s Sam’s turn to kiss him now, yanking Gabe’s face up to kiss him sweetly before licking across his lower lip. It all becomes a blur after that. Gabriel shifts into Sam’s lap and kisses him fervently, licking into his mouth and mapping it out. And Sam, he’s got his hands fisted in Gabriel’s hair and he just can’t help the moans that escape his throat when Gabe dips down and brushes his lips against Sam’s neck.
The two of them were certainly much warmer after that.