Chapter Text
“C’mon, Sammy! We’re going out!”
Those were the words that greeted Sam as soon as he walked into his motel room, his brother coming in behind him.
The surprise of having Gabriel there waiting in the room had lessened quite a bit over these last few weeks. Sam expected it more often than not and looked forward to it. He loved how often he got to see Gabriel since they’d started their relationship. Dean, however, wasn’t quite used to it yet and still jumped a bit. “Dammit, Gabe!” The older hunter cursed. “Give us some warning!”
Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Too used to them, Sam rolled his eyes and pushed past his brother, knocking their shoulders as he went. He went to his bed and dropped his bag, also taking a moment to drop a kiss on Gabriel’s lips when his partner tipped his face up towards him. Gabriel was just lounging on the edge of the bed. He kicked his legs and hummed happily at his kiss. “Hey there, gorgeous.”
“Hey, Gabe.” Sam murmured back. He gave Gabriel one last kiss and then straightened up, ignoring his brother’s groaning about ‘PDA’ in the background. As Sam started to unzip his bag and pull out his weapons, he sent a look Gabriel’s way and asked “Where exactly are we going?”
“You want me to spoil the surprise?” The mock shocked look on Gabriel’s face had Sam chuckling. “Sammy, really! I’m shocked! What kind of boy do you think I am?” He held up a hand the instant Sam turned towards him and the archangel shot him an amused look. “Don’t answer that. Just drop your stuff off an go change into something comfortable, kiddo. We’ve got a nice long day ahead of us. Well, weekend, really.”
That was enough to draw both Sam and Dean’s attention to him, though for different reason .Sam looked cautiously elated while Dean looked hesitant and not all that happy. “Weekend?” They said at the same time.
Gabriel grinned at them. “It’s so cute when you two do that.” Smirking at the scowls it earned him, he leaned back on his hands. “Yes, weekend. Cassie and I decided that the two of you need a chance to relax. So, I’m stealing my Sambino here, and Cassie will be by in a bit for you, Deano. I’m sure you two will find something to do without us around.” He winked and gave Dean a lewd look. When Dean flushed, the archangel laughed again. He ignored Dean’s spluttering to turn and look at Sam with that look of open affection that Sam still wasn’t used to seeing directed his way. “You gonna get changed, kiddo? Or you feel like going like that?”
Never before had Sam ever changed his clothes so fast. By the time he came back out of the bathroom in a clean pair of his most comfortable jeans and a few shirts – his usual layers of a t-shirt, a flannel and his light jacket – he found Gabriel still sitting on the bed though he’d drawn his legs up and crossed them underneath him, and Dean nowhere in sight.
“Where's Dean?” Sam asked, eyeing around him curiously. All of their stuff seemed to be gone from the room. Not even his own bag still remained.
“Cassie came and got him already. I'm sure they're off Dad knows where having an awkwardly amusing time together.” Reaching out, Gabriel patted the bed beside him. “Have a seat, sweetheart. I wanna talk a moment before we head out of here.”
Well that was a guaranteed way to make Sam's stomach clench up. He moved cautiously forward and lowered himself down onto the bed. It didn't escape Gabriel's notice that he sat just a little further away than he normally would've. But it didn't surprise the archangel, either. He just smiled at Sam in a reassuring way. “Relax, Sammy. It's nothing bad. I just wanna run something by you before we go anywhere.”
“What do you mean?”
Gabriel kept up the smile, but he didn't reach out to touch Sam, didn't indulge in any of the little touches that had become so common between them. Sam wasn't too put off by it. Gabriel tended to draw back his touches just a bit when he was asking Sam something important, something that he didn't want to accidentally influence in some way or another. “I want to make an offer. We've talked a little about this before, so I know it's something you're interested in, but I don't want you to feel like you have to do this.” He tilted his head a little in that universal angelic gesture that they all seemed to use when they were studying something. “What do you think about making this a little weekend? You showed some interest before in putting yourself in that kind of headspace for an extended amount of time. I know you've been busy lately and you guys have been working hard. I thought that maybe this would be a nice way for you to unwind.”
Sam went completely still. A 'little weekend'? He and Gabriel had talked about this once or twice before but Sam had never really thought that he would actually get it. They'd just been sort of, fantasies that he'd talked about. Non-sexual fantasies. A weekend where he didn't have any other obligations. A chance to just leave behind Sam-the-hunter and only have to be Sammy, Gabriel's little boy. The idea of it had Sam's gut clenching in almost instant want. He wanted this – oh, God, did he want this. To let go for a few days and not have to worry. Not have to stress about everything. Gabriel would take care of him, he knew. He'd keep Sam safe and take good care of him.
But could Sam really let go for that long? “I don't... I'm not sure how I'll do.” Sam admitted quietly. “I don't know if I can go that deep or that long.”
“It's not a contest, Sammy.” Gabriel did reach out now, brushing his fingers against Sam's cheek as he tucked a bit of hair behind his ear. “There's no winning or losing here, or right or wrong. You don't have to force yourself to go the whole weekend if that's not what your brain wants. This is about you and I doing what feels right to us. It's about trying to help you relax and giving you the option of doing it in a prearranged situation where you don't have to worry about yanking yourself up out of it before you're ready. If it doesn't work, we still have the whole weekend to us and that's never a bad thing. No matter how we spend it, I'm going to be happy. As long as I'm with you.”
A blush colored Sam's cheeks and he dropped his gaze down. “It's not fair you can say things like that and not sound like a sap.” The way Gabriel said those things, the way he gave the compliments to Sam like they were the most simple of things, a fact that everyone should know, never failed to leave Sam so warm inside.
“It's not fair you look so damn adorable when you blush whenever I say them.” Gabriel shot back cheekily.
The smile that curved Sam's lips had the corners of his eyes crinkling and his dimples peeking out. When he looked up at Gabriel again it wasn't hard to know what answer he was going to give here. Had there ever been any sort of doubt? “I'd like to try.”
“How deep do you want to try?” Gabriel asked curiously. “You want me to make up the bed in your room, or you still want to come climb into ours?”
There was no judgment in the question. He'd do either one, Sam knew. But honestly, Sam had no idea. “I'm not sure. I'm not... I'm sort of used to having someone at least in the room with me. When I was a kid, I never slept alone. Dean was always in the room if not in the same bed. Dad stuck us together a lot when we were younger. It wasn't until we got older that he started to get a cot too so we could all have our own beds.”
As always, the mention of John Winchester was enough to have Gabriel's eyes flashing. But he didn't comment on it, nor did he let it ruin his mood. “Well, we can give your room a try if you want. It's not hard to bring you back to our bed if you need it.”
“Okay.”
“We'll spend most of the weekend at home. I know you don't like being out yet while you're like this. But, if you don't mind, I do have plans for today that involve us being out. Something that might help you start to slip down into that headspace.”
That had Sam's interest. He perked up just a little, both nervous about the idea of doing anything in public as well as curious about what this place might be. “Where?”
He should've known better than to ask. Instead of answering with words, Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows and lifted a hand before snapping.
One second Sam was sitting by Gabriel on the motel bed and the next he found himself standing up in the middle of a crowd – thankfully, with Gabriel still at his side. It only took one look around for Sam to realize what kind of place that Gabriel had taken him to. He couldn't help the little smile that curved the corners of his mouth. “A carnival?” Turning, he looked down at his partner. “You brought me to a carnival?”
Gabriel pressed up close to Sam's side and ducked underneath his arm without a single ounce of hesitation or shame. “Of course! Where else would we go to have fun and let go, Samsquatch? There's rides, games, toys, cotton candy – it's perfect!”
Carnivals hadn't exactly been something that the Winchesters had been able to go to during their childhood. Once or twice Sam had been to one when they'd been lucky enough to be in town while a fair or carnival was passing through. Dean had taken him, he remembered, back when Sam was still in elementary school. They'd managed to get a bit of money out of their Dad and had slipped away while he was out working his case. The two had ridden as many rides as they could and Dean had somehow come up with more money to get them plenty of food. Looking back now, Sam was pretty sure Dean had been using some less-than-right skills to get that cash. Back then, he'd just been sure that he had the greatest brother in the world. Dean had made damn sure Sam had had a great time.
Slipping an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, Sam smiled down at him and bent just enough to press a kiss against the crown of Gabriel’s head. “It is perfect, Gabe. Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Gabriel said, smiling. After a quick squeeze, he suddenly made a happy sound and bounced under Sam’s arm, pointing just ahead. “Oh, look! They’ve got those strong-man tests. C’mon, Sammy! I wanna ogle you while you swing a hammer.”
“Do you have a hammer fetish I should be worried about, Loki?”
The musical sound of Gabriel’s laughter echoed around them while the two started to weave their way through the crowds towards the strong-man test that Gabriel wanted him to do. Even as they moved, Sam felt a bit of the weight on his shoulders fall away, relaxing into the hold of his partner beside him.