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Sam nervously sat on the edge of the impala’s back seat. He had been slipping into his little headspace all day, just teetering on the edge of becoming his Little self. Not that Dean knew that, of course not, so he was extremely surprised when Sam, in all his giant glory, sat willingly in the back seat. Little did he knew, Sam wasn’t allowed to sit in the front when he was little.
It’s just that the next day was his birthday and Sam wasn’t sure his caretaker knew. Oh, his caretaker. Somehow, Gabriel had become the absolute perfect daddy in the whole wide world and Sam couldn’t be happier. He hadn’t expected his life to turn into this, hunting and living as a little on the side. It was something he only ever dreamed of and Gabriel made possible. Everything the archangel did was exactly what Sam needed: discipline, love, and rules. It was perfect.
Speaking of Gabriel, one of the super most important rules was for Sam to call him when he was feeling little. Yeah, Sam was feeling pretty little right now but he didn’t want to have to explain to Dean why he was leaving for his birthday.
Plus, what if Gabriel heard and realized it was Sam’s birthday? John never did anything for Sam’s birthday. John usually forgot and Sam figured it was a dad thing to forget.
But Gabriel wasn’t John.
Daddy wasn’t dad.
Daddy loved him and gave him nice things and made sure he was well taken care of. Daddy cuddled him after spankings because even though he was bad, daddy still loved him. Daddy tucked him in and read stories. Daddy was nice and loving and Sam’s whole entire world.
Which is why Sam was kind of disappointed he wouldn’t be doing anything for his birthday. He never got a real birthday party in his whole life. Dean tried when they were kids and he appreciated them but he never had a cake made just for him with his name on it and he didn’t have a presents to open or balloons or streamers. He knew if he asked, Gabe could do it, but that’s not the point of a birthday. They’re supposed to be special, a day to celebrate you and you alone.
But nobody would be celebrating him tomorrow. Who knew if Dean even remembered.
Maybe he should call his daddy, just to have a relaxing day tomorrow. It’d be nice to be little for a day and not have to worry about his birthday.
Making a decision, Sam waited anxiously for Dean to pull up to the motel they were staying at. He was going to call his daddy and have a little day and nobody was going to stop him.
As soon as they pulled up, Sam ran out of the car to the door, using his key to open it. As he opened the door, before he could even get one thought to Gabriel out, he froze in surprise.
Gabriel was already there waiting for him.
“Hey kiddo.” Gabe grinned from around his lollipop. “I thought I could take you out tonight.”
Sam blinked slowly before he smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes please da- Gabe.” He corrected himself, walking in and grabbing his duffel to get clean clothes.
“Dude, what’s gotten into you tod- Hey Gabriel, what’re you doing here?” Dean asked as he shut the door behind him.
“I wanted to take Sam out to dinner and maybe spend the night with him. If you two weren’t busy.” Gabe said, though they all knew he would’ve taken Sam even if they were busy.
“Um no, no, have your fun.” Dean said, looking over at Sam. “But I want him back as soon as you two are done. I owe him a special dinner.”
Sam’s lips twitched a little. Dean remembered it was his birthday? Did that mean daddy knew? He didn’t want to get his hopes up but by the way his tummy flipped excitedly, he really hoped so.
“You’ll get him first thing the next morning.” Gabriel agreed. “You ready to go, Sambo?”
“Yep.” Sam said, buttoning a fresh flannel. He was in his usual - jeans, shirt, flannel, light jacket. But he knew the layers would shed when Gabriel took them back to the house.
“Say bye to Dean.” Gabe instructed, grabbing Sam’s hand.
“Bye Dean.” Sam said, already bouncing a little on his heels. Gabe quickly flew them to their home, a quaint little house that Gabriel renovated from when he was in hiding. It was child proof and really cozy, with a room just for Sam when he was little and a room for when he was big to share with Gabe.
Easily slipping into the hyperactive three year old that’s been wanting to surface all day, Sam clung to Gabe’s hand and dragged him to his room. It was decorated all with dinosaurs, a colorful cartoon dino comforter on the bed and paintings of realistic dinosaurs on the walls, and even pretend fossils acting as handles for the dresser. Sam thought he had the absolute coolest room ever!
“Alright Sammy, alright.” Gabriel laughed, letting his little boy lead him to his room. “Do you want to change into your little boy clothes?”
“Mhm!” Sam nodded, sitting on his bed and holding out his foot for Gabriel. “I was thinkin’ ‘bout you all day daddy, I swear I followed all the rules and sat in the back just like you said, ‘cause little boys don’t belong in the front ‘cause it’s dangerous.” He nodded.
Gabriel chuckled softly, kneeling in front of Sam to take his boots off. “I’m proud of you Sammy, thank you for doing what I said.” He hummed, peeling the socks from Sam’s feet and tickling them a little to make the boy laugh. He pulled Sam up to get his clothes off, rolling his eyes a little at the layers. Why he wore so much, Gabe will never understand, but he got his little boy into his pull up, a soft shirt, and fresh pants. “There. Much better.”
“Thanks daddy.” Sam said, fingering his shirt a little. “Can we watch a movie?”
“Sure buddy.” Gabriel agreed, letting Sam guide him through the house once again. He watched his little boy, a little confused. He thought for sure that the three year old would be boasting about his birthday the next day but Sam didn’t mention it once. He figured Sam wouldn’t when he was big, that was just Sam’s predisposition, not to bother anybody with something irrelevant like a birthday, but his little boy couldn’t keep a secret, he definitely got over excited, so he didn’t understand why he wasn’t bouncing off the walls by now. It was like his soul was just begging for a release all day, calling to Gabriel since he woke up that morning, screaming ‘I’m a little boy and I’m so excited’ but the little boy he was watching right now wasn’t saying what his soul was.
Sam easily settled into their movie watching routine. It was one of his favorite things to do, just sit quietly and get absorbed in a movie. His favorite right now was How To Train Your Dragon, he’s seen it a thousand times and will still be completely entertained with it. He sat on the couch with his legs crossed and left room for Gabriel to sit behind him. As soon as Gabriel put the DVD in, he slipped behind Sam and let him lean against his chest.
“Did you eat dinner already, munchkin?” He asked softly, running his fingers through Sam’s hair.
Sam nodded absently, snuggling closer to Gabe happily. He might not be celebrating his birthday tomorrow but this was already the best present he could get. Just him and his daddy spending special time together. He sighed, tucking his head under Gabe’s chin and settling in to watch the rest of the movie.
At some point, his pacifier appeared and within minutes of suckling it, Sam was fast asleep. Honestly, it worked like a charm. And if Gabriel wanted time to get the house ready for Sam’s big day, he would need all the preparation time he could manage. He easily carried the giant kid to his bed, tucking him in and kissing his head.
Now began his plans.
When Sam awoke the next morning, he was hit with a ton of different emotions. Excitement, because it was his birthday. Disappointment, because his daddy didn’t know. Contentment, because his birthday was a big deal anyways. Finally, he settled on happy because he got the day to be with his daddy and just enjoy it.
He carefully climbed out of bed with his favorite stuffie, not wanting to make too much noise, and ran out of his room to the kitchen. Normally, his daddy was sitting and reading some silly newspaper but today that wasn’t the case. Daddy was there, sure, but he wasn’t reading, he was making the yummiest smelling breakfast ever. But that wasn’t a huge surprise to Sam, sometimes he slept extra late so daddy started cooking without him. No, what made Sam stop in his tracks was the huge pile of presents on the kitchen table. Who was that for? Surely not him?
He hugged his dinosaur stuffie closer, looking between his daddy and the presents, his jaw wide open.
“Good morning birthday boy! You don’t think I forgot, did you?” Gabe asked, grinning back at Sam. “Come on in. You’re getting so big, munchkin.”
“But- But I never told you.” Sam said, still rooted to the spot, his eyes as wide as saucers. There were- there were balloons tied to the chairs and- and that wasn’t eggs he was smellin’. “Daddy?”
Gabe felt a flicker of anger towards John Winchester and a little towards Dean. Didn’t they ever celebrate Sam’s birthday? Didn’t they even acknowledge it? Sam seemed so shocked he even knew, it broke his heart. It was like Sam couldn’t comprehend that there were presents for him.
“Come here, kiddo. I know I don’t normally let you have sweets but I figured that since it’s your birthday, you can get away with it.” Gabe said, stepping away from the counter and holding his hand out for Sam.
Looking once more at the presents, Sam finally moved his feet, shuffling to Gabe and clinging to his hand tightly. He looked at what his daddy made and was once again shocked by what he saw. It wasn’t waffles or pancakes or eggs, it was a cake. A real cake!
“Is that- It’s chocolate?” He asked hopefully, chewing his lip. This was all so overwhelming. His favorite type of cake, presents, balloons, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“You bet it is. Don’t look so surprised, I’m your daddy, Sam, it’s my job to make your birthday the most special of the year. Come on, do you want a slice or not?” Gabe asked with an encouraging grin. “After you eat, you can open your presents.”
“Those really are for me?” Sam asked in shock, looking back at the stack of presents. There must’ve been a billion of them there!
“No, they’re for me. Of course they’re for you, Samshine!” Gabriel exclaimed, cutting a slice of the heavily frosted cake. He put it on one of Sam’s plastic plates and stuck a baby spoon in it. “Now come eat.” He said, tugging Sam to the table. “I’ll get you some milk.”
Sam sat in his seat, blinking at the presents but he stopped arguing it. What his daddy said was true, being a daddy meant doing something super special for your little one on their birthday so Sam couldn’t really complain, could he? He finally smiled brightly and started eating his cake, shivering at the sweetness of the chocolate on his tongue.
“Thank you daddy.” He said with a full mouth, reaching out for his sippy cup as soon as Gabriel set it down.
“You’re welcome kiddo. Now it’s your birthday, it’s your super special day! You can do anything you want today! Did you wanna do something extra special?” Gabe asked, sitting next to Sam with his own slice of cake.
“Can we play outside?” Sam hummed as he ate his cake, already feeling the rush of the sugar hit him.
“You bet we can.” Gabriel agreed. Normally, they stayed inside but with all this sugar, Gabe knew he’d either let Sam play outside or have him bouncing off the walls inside. But also, it meant Sam was going to crash and sleep really well for his afternoon nap so Gabe wasn’t complaining.
“Sweet! We can play tag or catch or hide ‘n’ go seek!” Sam rambled, already excited to get his daddy to play with him. He may love playing and reading inside but playing with his daddy outside was the most fun because they could run around without worrying about breaking somethin’ and they could throw things, too! Despite how excited he was to go outside, he couldn’t help but eye his presents to try and tell what he got. He stuffed the rest of his cake in his mouth, smearing chocolate frosting all over his lips and cheeks, and excitedly pushed his plate away. “Presents!”
“Slow down there, Samshine.” Gabriel laughed, shaking his head. Nothing got in the way of a kid and their presents. “Alright, presents. Which one do you want to open first?”
Sam, naturally, pointed to the biggest one first.
“That one, daddy, pretty please?” He asked, eyes shining as he stared at it. It was huge! It could be like a rocketship or something!
“Are you sure?” Gabriel asked teasingly, moving their empty plates to the counter and wiping Sam’s mouth, much to his irritation as he whined impatiently.
“Yeesss, daddy, come on.” Sam groaned, slumping in his chair.
“Alright, alright, the biggest one in the pile.” Gabriel agreed, grabbing it and setting it in front of Sam.
Sam licked his lips, sitting up straight as he looked to Gabriel for permission before he immediately tore open the wrapping paper. He flipped open the flaps on the box and looked inside, squealing with excitement at what he found.
It was a huge teddy bear, one of those stuffed bears that was taller than even him. He saw one at Costco once with Dean but he never ever thought he’d be able to get one. He pulled it out of the box and set it on the ground next to him, beaming as it sat just as tall as he did.
“I love it!” He exclaimed, hugging it’s neck. He could snuggle with it while his daddy did stuff around the house, it was the perfect daddy substitute when he couldn’t have the real thing!
“I’m glad, munchkin. Next one.” Gabriel said, sliding over the next present.
Making sure his teddy wouldn’t fall over, Sam moved on to unwrapping all the rest of his presents. He got a nightlight that showed the phases of the moon and even had constellations that daddy promised to show to him, and he got a cool new dinosaur sippy cup, an abundance of bath toys, some pretend swords and shields, dress up clothes, new storybooks, and even new crayons for his coloring books!
Sam has never been so happy, he loved each and everything he got, his excitement growing with each item he unwrapped. He was already planning everything he could do with his new toys, he could play knight and dragon with his daddy properly, now that he has dress up clothes and a sword. His daddy does always play the best dragon but it’ll be better now with a pretend sword. He didn’t need his tiny night light any more ‘cause now he has the coolest one ever! And he can draw a thank you picture for his daddy with his new crayons and get to hear new stories and snuggle his new teddy. It was so cool, Sam didn’t want the day to end!
“Alright, c’mon, let’s go test out those new bath toys.” Gabriel said, cleaning up the mess of the wrapping paper with a snap of his fingers.
“Daddy we can play pretend and you can be the dragon like always and then we don’t have to pretend I have a sword I can use my real pretend sword now.” Sam rambled on as he carried his new bath toys with him to the bathroom. Perks of having an archangel for a daddy is how he could get anything he wanted, including a giant tub for a giant baby boy.
Gabriel listened as Sam planned out everything they could do with their new toys, undressing his boy while the tub filled with water. There were a few more presents for Sam when he was big but that could come later. For now, he wanted his little one to have the best day imaginable.
A half hour later and Sam was squeaky clean. He liked his new toys but he was more excited to go play dragon than anything else. He let Gabriel get him dressed in his outside clothes - overalls, a simple t-shirt, superhero underwear, and a pair of sneakers - and brushed his teeth before he was running out the door with his sword.
Gabriel ran after him, chasing Sam around the yard. They played for a few hours, with Gabriel as the mighty dragon and Sam as the knight in shining armor. Sam even dragged his new teddy friend out to play the damsel in distress. But with all that sugar in his system, Sam quickly burned it off and was dragging his feet and rubbing his eyes.
Gabriel brought him inside to eat a proper lunch, a peanut butter and jelly with carrot sticks, only to have Sam fall asleep right on his half eaten sandwich. Unable to help himself, Gabe took a few pictures before he managed to drag Sam’s sleeping body to a blanket on the ground of the living room for his nap.
Cleaning up the house while Sam slept left Gabriel free to his thoughts. Sam deserved the world, hell, the kid deserved the universe. He was too self sacrificing, too perfect, and yet nobody appreciated him. Nobody acknowledged all the crap he had to go through except for him. And Sam lived with that weighing his shoulders for years, piling more and more guilt onto his mind. Sam didn’t think he deserved the universe or the world or even a birthday but that’s why Gabriel is the daddy and Sam is very much the little boy.
Gabriel took care of Sam, he made sure his little boy had everything he could ever need or want in the world. The only issue is that Sam didn’t want many things. At least, he never voiced them. Which is ridiculous because Sam regressed to a three year old, everything running through his head should be voiced but it wasn’t and the only one to blame is John Winchester. Sam didn’t think he deserved everything he did because John instilled it in his mind that they did what they needed to live and moved on.
Gabriel leaned on the doorway to the living room, just watching Sammy sleep. He loved the giant Winchester, he really did. He loved him in every way possible, as a lover, partner, friend, and as his little boy. It’s not like he didn’t get something out of their little relationship, Gabriel liked to have control and he liked to take care of Sam, it fulfilled both of their needs, really. But he just wished he could do so much more for his baby boy.
About an hour after falling asleep, Sam stretched out and yawned sleepily.
Gabriel knelt by his side, relieved his little boy wasn’t fussy. A fussy Sam was never good.
“Good afternoon, baby.” Gabe whispered.
Sam rubbed his eyes with his fists, squirming a little sleepily.
“Mhmm.” He mumbled, giving his daddy a little smile.
“You didn’t finish your lunch, are you hungry?” Gabe asked softly, running his fingers through Sam’s hair.
“Uh-uh.” Sam shook his head, reaching out for Gabriel’s shirt with one hand, curling his fingers into the fabric as he slipped his other thumb into his mouth.
“Not ready to get up, are you?” Gabe chuckled softly, smiling widely when Sam shook his head. “How ‘bout we watch Doc McStuffins ‘til you’re ready to wake up then we can start your dinner. We’ll make your favorite and you can help. Does that sound good?”
Sam thought about it for a moment before he nodded with a sweet smile.
And when Sam curled up in Gabriel’s lap to watch his favorite cartoon with a sippy cup of his favorite juice, he can honestly say, he has never had a better birthday.