Work Text:
Ever since they’d started this thing between them things had been going smoothly. Sam had been pretty much a perfect boy, needing no more than a warning here or there. Mostly a reminder to eat. Gabriel had kind of anticipated that – Sam didn’t exactly eat on a regular schedule. That was hard to do with their job. But other than that he’d been perfect.
Gabriel knew it wouldn’t last.
It only made sense for his little boy to test his boundaries. Part of Sam needed to see how far he could push, what he could get away with, and whether or not Gabriel was going to follow through with punishments. He needed to see if Gabriel was going to live up to what he promised or not. Testing those boundaries might not have even been a conscious choice. Either way, Gabriel had known it was coming and he’d tried to prepare himself for it. Because this was important. How he handled whatever rebellion came his way was going to make or break them. He needed to make sure that Sam knew that not only would he be called out on whatever trouble he cooked up, but that he would be punished for it and that – and this was the most important part – he would still be loved afterward.
Still, Gabriel had thought it would be something little that Sam might push on. Maybe bending a rule without completely breaking it.
Really, he should’ve known better. Since when did Sam do anything on a small scale?
It started out small, with Sam not checking in. That was okay. That was excusable. Something could’ve cropped up and it might just take him a little longer than normal to send off a message and check in. But then it lasted longer, until hours had gone by with no word from Sam. Now, if he and his brother were on a case, that was extremely understandable. There wasn’t always time to stop on a case and even send out a text. Gabriel would never make Sam do anything that would jeopardize his work. Only… Sam knew to send Gabriel a message or even a prayer to let him know that they had a case and he’d be out of touch.
When four hours had passed and Gabriel had no word from his boy, not even a peep, and Sam hadn’t answered his call, Gabriel moved from understanding to worried. Maybe something had happened. Was he hurt? Had someone taken him?
Instead of panicking, Gabriel did the logical thing. He sought out his brother. Even if Castiel wasn’t with the Winchesters it was a good bet he’d know where they were.
Gabriel got lucky. He found Castiel easily enough – and the seraph was with the Winchesters.
It only took a second to fly there and another second after that to see that both Winchesters were fine, healthy, and... not working a case. In fact, they were sitting in a... a bar. Gabriel looked at his boy in disbelief from the safety of the wall that he'd landed by. He'd purposely landed away from them just so he could take a chance to look things over. What he saw had his temper growing.
Sam was sitting there with Dean and Castiel both and his boy was talking, laughing, completely uninjured – and with his phone sitting right there on the table by his arm. Not only had Sam not checked in, one of the rules he'd seemed to have no problems with, that meant that he'd actually ignored Gabriel's call as well. Not because he was on a case or because he was busy with something serious – the amount of bottles off to the side near Dean was a pretty clear indicator that the older Winchester at least had been here a bit – but because he was here drinking with his brother.
It wasn't like Gabriel would've cared if they wanted to go out and drink! He would've understood! Even if Sam didn't want him there, he still would've understood. For all the bonds that Gabriel had with them, these three had their own strong bond and sometimes he understood that they needed time together, just the three of them. The three men who had stopped the apocalypse. Something like that draws people together.
If Sam had just sent off even a text to say 'Hey, I'm okay, we're going out for a few drinks I'll text you later' it would've been fine. Gabriel would've sent back an 'okay' or 'have fun' or maybe something teasing and then this whole mess could've been avoided. But, no, Sam had avoided him and ignored him.
Gabriel took a second to take a deep breath. If their relationship had been a normal one, the archangel would've simply been annoyed and he would've let Sam know, but they would've moved on. Their relationship, however, wasn't a normal one. It wasn't typical. They had rules - rules that Gabriel expected Sam to obey. He'd agreed to them, after all. And Gabriel had warned the boy just how protective and possessive he was.
For a moment Gabriel just stood there and gathered his composure. Going over there pissed off wouldn't accomplish anything. He took a few deep breaths and got himself under control before he pushed off the wall and strolled over to the table the boys sat at.
Castiel was the first one to notice him. He looked up and gave Gabriel a small smile, which drew Dean's gaze up as well. Despite the little half-smirk, half-sneer that Dean wore, there was amusement and welcome on his face. He was softening towards Gabriel gradually. “Well, I been wondering how long it would take for you to show up.” The older Winchester said.
Sam very deliberately did not look up from his drink.
The younger hunter was tense enough for Gabriel to feel it as the archangel slid down into the seat next to him. Gabriel smiled, though it lacked its usual mirth, and he cut his gaze over to Sam. “Yeah. I would've been here sooner if I'd known we were having a party.”
“No party. Just a bit of free time.” Dean said. He looked at Sam, furrowing his brow a little at the way Sam had yet to look up. Curious eyes flicked over to Gabriel and then back to Sam.
Gabriel made a low humming sound in his throat, something that could’ve been taken for an answer or not, he didn’t really care. Then he reached around Sam and scooped up his phone, thumb moving easily to unlock it.
“What’re you doing?” Sam asked, speaking up for the first time since Gabriel had sat down. He still wasn’t looking at him, though. Which told Gabriel quite a lot about the kid’s behavior. He knew he was in trouble here, knew he’d done something wrong, and was trying to avoid Gabriel’s gaze because of it. It wasn’t the first time Gabriel had seen that tactic used.
Clearing the lock screen and pulling up what he needed to see, Gabriel hummed again. There it was, right on the front screen – his call to Sam. The one that hadn’t been answered. The one that had apparently been ignored. “Just making sure your phone still works.” Gabriel said. He pressed the button to lock it again and tossed it gently back onto the table. Then he turned his head enough to look right at Sam, knowing the hunter would feel it. “I thought maybe something had happened to it.” Or you, he mentally added on, and judging by the small flinch Sam gave he heard the unspoken words.
Okay, so it didn’t look like he was going to get much out of Sam. That was fine. Gabriel had other ways of finding out what he wanted to know. He turned towards Dean and Castiel and smirked at them, settling back in his chair and adopting a casual and relaxed pose. “So, what’ve you boys been up to today? Ghosts, werewolves, vampires – what’s today’s poison?”
“Nothing, man.” Dean said. He was still watching Sam and Gabriel both, a little furrow between his brows. But he answered easily, his voice just as relaxed as Gabriel’s was – and probably just as fake. Dean Winchester wasn’t an idiot. He could see something was going on.
“Dean is right.” Castiel chimed in. He, too, was watching, though his eyes stayed on Gabriel. “Today has been quiet. I was surprised you did not join us, brother. Dean said that today was a day to relax while he did repair work on his car. It has been… nice.”
It was all kinds of adorable to think about the fact that Castiel had apparently spent the day with Dean while his human worked on his car and had been perfectly content to do so. At a later date, Gabriel would get enjoyment out of that, and he’d make a point to tease his brother. Right now… right now he was a little too pissed off.
“Sounds like a good time.” Smirking, Gabriel turned to look at Sam, his gaze hardening slightly. “Would’ve been nice to at least know you guys were okay.”
Sam hunched himself down just slightly. He still didn’t look up. “We would’ve called you if something was wrong.”
“You sure about that?”
With the way Sam was acting, Gabriel had expected it to take a bit of poking or prodding to get the kid to open up a little. What he’d forgotten was all the stories about Sam and his quick temper when it came to authority figures. He’d heard enough about the younger Winchester’s fights with his father to know that it wasn’t always John’s fault – Sam’s quick temper had a part in it too. He’d just never seen it turned his way quite like this. So it was a bit of surprise when Sam’s eyes shot up to him briefly, hot with temper, and then dropped away as the hunter snapped “Calm down, Gabe. So I didn’t call you for a day – big deal. Last I checked, I’m fully capable of being on my own or under my brother’s supervision for a day without clearing it with you.”
Gabriel went completely still. For one second he worried, stunned by the sharpness of Sam’s words and wondering if Sam was trying to back out of this. If he’d changed his mind. All it took to correct that thought was one look at Sam’s face. That wasn’t a truly pissed off look he wore. There was something in his eyes, a hesitance behind the temper, and the hooded way he was trying to look at Gabriel without actually giving in and looking at him, that all spoke to a boy who was being a smart mouth, who knew he was being a smart mouth, and who was waiting to see what kind of reaction he’d get. All in all it was the look of a kid who knew they were doing wrong and were practically daring their parent to call them on it.
Well, if Sam thought that he wouldn’t, he had another thing coming. Neither the bar nor Dean’s presence were any bother to Gabriel. They were problems that were easily solved.
A snap of his fingers immediately froze everything around them. The bar, the people – even Dean and Castiel. It was a casual display of power he knew would get to Sam.
Sure enough, the hunter froze, eyes going wide, drink lifted halfway to his mouth. Gabriel very calmly reached out and took the drink out of Sam’s hand and set it down on the table. When their fingers brushed, a bit of grace made sure that Sam was stone cold sober for this, though there hadn’t really been much alcohol to begin with in his system.
Never once did his eyes leave Sam’s. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” Gabriel said, voice calm. “When I unfreeze things, we are going to politely excuse ourselves from the table and then we are going to walk calmly out of this bar. Once we’re outside, I’m going to fly us home, and then we’re going to have a very serious talk about your behavior.” He saw that Sam was about to speak and cut him off, lowering his voice so that his warning was clear. “I suggest you think very carefully before you say anything else, Samuel. So far today you’ve deliberately broken the rules, ignored me, caused me needless worry, lied to me, and blatantly disrespected me. Think carefully before you add to that list.”
He watched Sam’s mouth snap shut and saw him swallow heavily. Gabriel nodded firmly. Good.
Another snap of his fingers had the world unfreezing. Gabriel eyed Sam and simply waited, silent. He watched Sam swallow again and saw the recognition in Sam’s eyes that he’d done wrong as well as the realization that no, Gabriel was not going to let him get away with it. Gabriel also wasn’t going to make any of this easy on him.
It wasn’t hard to see how Sam was fighting chewing on his lip. Still, his voice was surprisingly steady when he said “On second thought, I think I’m going to take off, Dean. Gabe and I...have a lot to talk about.”
Gabriel could see that Dean believed Sam was going to take Gabriel out of here and yell at him for barging in and trying to be what Dean viewed as ‘controlling’ – the little hypocrite. However, it was probably the only reason that Dean didn’t fight it and just sighed and agreed. “Yeah, all right. Go deal with your overprotective stalker.”
If he thought Gabriel would rise to the bait, he was wrong. The archangel just politely nodded at them both and followed Sam up out of their seats. They walked together, one of Gabriel’s hands settling in the small of Sam’s back, and he felt his boy jerk and then shiver at the touch. Once they were outside the archangel didn’t waste any time snapping them out of there and back to their house. They landed in the living room and Gabriel immediately pointed to the spot he knew Sam hated. “Corner, Sam. Now.”
“Ga-”
“No.” Gabriel said firmly. He made his voice stern and his expression serious as he looked up at the giant of a man beside him who seemed to be trying to curl in on himself. “I don’t want to hear excuses right now. You are going to go stand in that corner and think about why exactly it is that you’re there until I feel calm enough to talk to you. Now go.”
The last word had Sam jumping just a little and the archangel watched as Sam sank a little further into his headspace. “Yes, Daddy.” He murmured. Then he quietly made his way over to stand in the corner.
Gabriel watched him for a long moment; the boy was hunched a bit, shoulders up to his ears, chin probably to his chest, shuffling just a little, and Gabriel would bet he was worrying the hem of his shirt between his fingers and chewing on his bottom lip too. All were signs of an upset and worried Sammy. Content that Sam would stay there for now, Gabriel moved over to the big picture window and sat himself down on the bench there. It was on the opposite side of the room from Sam, which gave them both distance while not leaving Sam completely alone. There, Gabriel was free to sigh to himself and stare out the window at the conjured scene. At the moment it was a beautiful mountain view, with plenty of forest spread out around. He found the view calming. Right now, that was exactly what he needed. He needed to be calm to handle this. Punishing Sam while angry wasn’t something he would ever do.
This was something Gabriel had known was coming. He’d known Sam would test his rules. The fact that he’d chosen to do it with the rules he knew were extremely important to Gabriel made it clear to the archangel just how much Sam was testing him here. He could’ve broken any rule at all if all he wanted was to see if Gabriel would punish him. Swearing, forgetting a journal update – those would’ve just had minor punishments. But Sam had chosen to hit the rules that Gabriel had in place for safety reasons.
It took a good five minutes for Gabriel to find his calm. Then another five just to make Sam wait and make sure he had plenty of time to think.
Once ten minutes had passed, Gabriel rose from his seat and moved over to the couch. He got comfortable right in the middle, putting himself in the perfect position for what was to come. Only when he was settled did he finally speak. “Sam – come here.”
The boy that came out of the corner was quite a bit different than the one that had went in. It was a good thing Gabriel had experience dealing with contrite children. Otherwise, the watery eyes that were turned his way would’ve sucker punched him. As it was, he hated seeing that sad and scared look on Sam’s face, but he kept himself firm and pointed to the floor right in front of him.
Sam scrambled over and dropped down to kneel in front of him. That was something that Sam had requested when they talked about things. He said that, with his size, kneeling like this helped him feel smaller.
The boy’s eyes were wide and wet, the tears just barely held in, and Gabriel could tell he’d been chewing his lip excessively. But he knelt there and folded his hands in his lap and waited quietly for whatever Gabriel was going to say. Quite a bit different from the sassy boy that Gabriel had put into the corner. Mentally, he made a note of this for the future. It was good to keep track of Sam’s reactions to everything. It’d make it easier in the future to handle things.
“You and I both know why I put you in that corner, Sam.” Gabriel said, making sure to keep his voice even and steady. “But I’d like to hear your version of why.”
Sam chewed on his bottom lip and dropped his eyes down to look at his hands as he twisted his fingers. “I broke the rules.”
“Mm hm. Can you tell me which ones?”
“I, I didn’ check in, an I didn’ answer when you called.” Sam mumbled.
Gabriel arched an eyebrow even though he knew Sam couldn’t see it. “And?”
The boy ducked his head down a little. “An I didn’ follow d’rections, or… or show respect. Or use m’ manners.”
“No, you didn’t.” Gabriel agreed. “You ignored me for a whole day instead of just letting me know that you wanted to spend time with your brother. All you had to do was let me know that you were okay and that you wanted some time alone with Dean and Castiel. I would’ve understood. But instead of telling me, you ignored me, and you caused me needless worry. I didn’t know if something bad had happened to you or not. I thought maybe you were hurt and that was why you weren’t calling me or answering my call.” Having Sam check in with him wasn’t an unreasonable request and they’d both agreed on that. He wanted Sam to check in because it was a good way to not only gauge the man’s mood but to also make sure that he was still okay during the day. Hunts were always dangerous and there were creatures out there that might come after them. Other hunters, too, if they were honest. If Gabriel didn’t hear from Sam, he was going to assume one of those things had happened.
Sam hunched down a little more. “’M sorry, Daddy. I didn’ meant to make you worry.”
“I know. But, Sam? Look at me.” He waited until Sam looked up again, his shaggy hair half in his face and his eyes so wide, making him look years younger and so much more innocent, and full of a trust that was staggering. Oh, little boy. What did I do to deserve someone like you? Gabriel controlled that thought and tried not to let it soften his expression too much. “I know that you didn’t mean to make me worry, but I also know that we talked about these rules. They’re there for a reason and you agreed to follow them. When we break the rules, there are consequences. You broke the rules knowing that – now it’s time to pay that price.”
This was the one part that Gabriel was hesitant on despite Sam’s earlier insistence that it would be fine. The archangel knew a little of what life with John had been like and he knew physical punishments were the go-to for Winchester senior. Gabriel didn’t want that as a constant here. He would spank Sam if the situation called for it, but it wasn’t going to be the only thing he did. The only reason he was planning it now was because of the amount of worry Sam had caused him and because this was the first punishment, the one that Sam had deliberately pushed him too, and going too easy on him would only hurt them both in the long run.
Gabriel drew in a breath to steady himself and then sat up a little straighter. “Pants down, Sam, and then I want you over my lap.”
He watched Sam shudder for just a moment before the boy pushed up to his feet. There was only a little hesitation – and a small look over at Gabriel to check his face – and then Sam was unbuckling his pants and pulling them and boxers both down. He was shaking slightly when he laid himself down on the couch overtop of Gabriel’s lap.
With one hand Gabriel reached out and pulled Sam in close, settling him a little more firmly in his lap. Then he kept his hand curled over that hip to guarantee it would keep him in place. “I’m not doing this because I want to hurt you, Sam.” Gabriel wanted to make that very clear. “I’m doing this because I love you and because I want you to know that there’s a punishment when you do something bad. I want you to think about this the next time you want to break a rule and remember what happens when you act out like this. My rules are there for your safety and it’s important that you listen to them. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Daddy.” Sam said softly.
Gabriel nodded. Then he steadied himself once more, making sure he had absolute control of the strength in his arm and that Sam was settled easily over his lap before he let his hand fall.
This wasn’t a spanking for pleasure. Both of them knew that and neither treated it as such. When Gabriel put his hand to Sam’s skin for that first smack, it wasn’t a playful touch, one meant to tease and entice. It was one that was firm and steady and made it abundantly clear that this was a punishment.
Gabriel didn’t make him count. He’d never done that with any kid he’d turned over his knee and he didn’t intend to start now. He didn’t want Sam thinking about counting or about how many might be left or anything like that. He wanted him thinking about what he’d done wrong. Gabriel spanked with a steady and firm hand, each swat landing exactly where he meant it to, until Sam’s skin was red and the boy was sobbing against the couch.
When he was done, he didn’t hesitate to gather his boy up, not even bothering to pull Sam’s pants up. Just like he’d done with all his kids, he gathered Sam to him and held him close, letting Sam’s head fall to his shoulder as the boy cried. The tears were only partially from pain, he knew. He hadn’t spanked him that hard. No, the tears were a release. An outward show of his inner regret and an apology all rolled into one. It didn’t surprise him when Sam’s arms wrapped around him or when he tried to curl in even closer, despite how it had to have made his already sore and still bare bottom hurt even more. “’m sorry!” Sam sobbed to him, pressing his face in even closer and smearing both tears and snot against Gabriel’s shirt and neck. “’m sorry, Daddy!”
Closing his arms around Sam, Gabriel sighed. “I know you are, baby. An I’m sorry that I had to do this, too. Daddy doesn’t like punishing you. But those rules are there for a reason and I need you to understand that. I was very, very worried about you today.”
“Won’t do it again.” Sam swore, hiccupping halfway through, his voice sounding younger than ever before.
“I hope not.”
They snuggled together and Gabriel just let Sam cry all his tears out. This part was just as important, if not more so, than the actual punishment. He needed Sam to see that he was still here and that he still cared even after that. So he held him close and stroked his hair and made sure to tell Sam, over and over, “I love you, Sammy. You’re okay now. Daddy’s here. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”
By the time Sam was done crying, the both of them were a bit wet from it. That was quickly solved with the snap of Gabriel’s fingers. Once he had them cleaned up, he gently lifted Sam with one arm and used his other hand to pull his pants back up into place for him. Then he settled Sam back down next to him on the couch, the kid’s legs still draped over him. Reaching up, he brushed a hand over Sam’s face, smiling as Sam nuzzled in to his touch. “What’d you learn here, kiddo?”
“To always check in an never ignore your calls, an, an to not be rude.” Another little hiccup. “’m sorry, Daddy. Won’t do it again, I p’omise.” The words were a little broken up through the stuffy nose his crying had given him, but their sincerity was clear and Gabriel couldn’t help but smile. He stroked his hand against Sam’s cheek again and let his expression gentle with all the love he felt for this kid. “I know you won’t, munchkin. C’mere.”
They cuddled for a few minutes longer until a rumble from Sam’s stomach drew them out of it. Gabriel checked his watch and realized that they were a bit late for dinner time. “Have you eaten dinner yet, Sammy?”
Sam shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
“All right. What do you say we go in and make ourselves some dinner? Then maybe afterwards we can sit down and watch a movie. How’s that sound?”
He watched Sam light up and let his own smile grow a little more. The punishment was done and over with and Gabriel firmly believed in not holding something over someone’s head once that punishment was done. He’d done something wrong, been punished, and he was contrite – it was done with. Now came the time to make sure that Sam understood this wasn’t going to change things, that Gabriel was still going to be here and still cared about him.
Pushing himself up off the couch, Gabriel held a hand out to Sam and easily pulled him up with him. Then he slid his arm around Sam’s waist. “C’mon, munchkin, let’s go dig around in the fridge. I’m thinking homemade pizza – what do you think? You can even pick your own toppings and everything.”
Sam’s smile grew. “I can do my own?”
“Yep! You put whatever you want on yours. I’m thinking I wanna put licorice on mine…”
“Daddy!”
The sounds of Gabriel’s deeper laugh and Sam’s softer giggles mixed together in the kitchen as the two made their way in to make dinner.