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Sam stirred from sleep in the middle of the night, turning to his side with a low groan. Eyes still closed, he reached out to the side, aiming to wrap an arm around Gabriel and draw him close like some kind of human teddy bear so he could fall back asleep easier. But instead of brushing a warm body, his arm blindly grabbed at air before collapsing onto cold, empty sheets. Something ugly curled in Sam’s stomach as his eyes flew open. No. Gabriel couldn’t have disappeared on Sam in the middle of the night. He wouldn’t dare. Would he?
In the beginning of their relationship, Sam would often awake in the middle of the night to find out that he was left alone in bed. Although Gabriel undoubtedly kindled a flame for Sam, he struggled with his growing emotions, given who he was and all of the mess that lay out between them. Occasionally he would have a freak out session where he would zap himself away in the middle of the night and be gone for a few days to brood over matters. Gabriel always returned though, with some kind of gift from a foreign country and an unspoken apology in his eyes. Gabriel always returned, and Sam always took him back.
But Gabriel had been freak out-free for nearly a year now. Surely now he wouldn’t revert to his old ways after all of this time. Sam wanted to believe that Gabriel wouldn’t do that to him, but the side of Sam who had been burned far too many times whispered to him that he placed too much faith in those who harmed him the most.
A flare of anger roiled through him as he forced himself to close his eyes and try to sleep. But just as he began to get comfortable again, a familiar whining sound filtered into the room. Sam lifted his head and turned to the cracked door with a frown. Thirty seconds of silence passed without any strange sounds, and Sam figured his tired brain was making him hear things; he refused to consider the alternatives. He had just flopped back into bed with a huff when another round of whining started up again. Okay, so he wasn’t imagining things. Chucking the blankets off him, Sam pulled himself out of bed and padded out of the room to check things out.
A soft glow came from the living room along with another round of whining. As Sam crept closer, he began to think that he should have brought a gun. Really, way to forget his training; and wouldn’t it be humorous if this was how Sam eventually died for good, not from a demon or werewolf or otherworldly being, but by a house invader? Sam would have laughed if he didn’t find the thought too terrible.
But as he crept into the living room, he did not see a stranger rifling through his few possessions and valuables. Instead, there sat Gabriel on the loveseat, wearing nothing but his undershirt and boxers as he cuddled a shaking Trixie to his chest. The shock and relief of seeing Gabriel rendered Sam speechless at a standstill, simply gaping at the surprisingly cute image of Gabriel whispering words in Enochian to the scared little Jack Russell.
Trixie spotted Sam first, her tail managing a weak wag as her ears perked forward. Gabriel followed her gaze, and a smile curled on his lips when he saw Sam.
“Hey kid,” Gabriel said, voice quiet and tired.
Heart thudding against his cage like a war drum, Sam found himself unable to utter a greeting in return. He swallowed hard, struggling for something intelligent to say.
“You’re here,” he sighed at last.
Not catching on to Sam’s frantic emotions, Gabriel just gave Trixie a few rubs to her ears in support.
“Yup. Trixie woke me up with her crying, so I’m spending time with her until she calms down.”
Sam found himself speechless again, simply staring as Trixie licked Gabriel’s hand with a whine. Noting Sam’s lack of movement and overall reaction, Gabriel arched a brow and waved Sam off.
“Go back to sleep, Sam. I’ll join you in a bit.”
Sam shook his head without even realizing it, closing the gap between them and lowering himself onto the loveseat beside Gabriel, even though there really wasn’t room for all of them in the first place. Gabriel grunted and shifted about until Sam was half curled on the couch and half sprawled on Gabriel’s chest, with Trixie resting in between them.
“Nope. Staying here,” Sam murmured into Gabriel’s sleep shirt, eyes closing.
Gabriel sighed as if he was going to fight Sam on that, but he gave in, absently stroking Sam’s hair. “Alright, alright. But if you start drooling, you’re outta here.”
“I never drool.”
Gabriel laughed at that, sending Sam a skeptical look. “Yeah, you tell yourself that.”
And for a few moments it was peaceful, Sam lulled by the sound of Gabriel’s heartbeat as Trixie cuddled with both men, her whining becoming softer. And honestly, despite the fear that brought them to this, Sam enjoyed the rare little moments that Gabriel was in a cuddle mood. Somehow, just lying pressed together and listening to each other breathe, brought more intimacy than even sex.
But when Trixie’s whining started up again, Sam remembered why he came out here in the first place. “What’s she upset about?”
Sam felt Gabriel shrug a little. “She gets this way sometimes. I would be gone a lot in the past, and it would always upset her. I think she expects me to leave again.”
And really, this would be where Sam just accepted the explanation and went back enjoying the blissful moment. But sleepiness tampered with his brain-to-mouth filter, and he found himself saying, “That makes two of us.”
Gabriel fell still, and Sam buried his face more into Gabriel’s shirt, not in the mood for the fight he was sure would develop from this confession. For as happy as Sam was with Gabriel, they had an ocean’s worth of issues that they had to waddle through in order to achieve trust and understanding. Arguments still came up from time to time, and though they always worked through them, Sam certainly did not enjoy the tense moments.
And so when Gabriel placed a hand on Sam’s cheek to force their eyes to meet, Sam braced himself for the inevitable argument. But instead of angry and defensive, Gabriel just appeared somber, head tilted and eyes narrowed in sad confusion. Not expecting that reaction at all, Sam lacked an appropriate response.
“You think I’m going to leave you,” Gabriel asked, quiet and subdued.
Sam sighed, wishing that he just kept his mouth shut. “I woke up and you weren’t there, so I thought you disappeared again.”
The admission rendered Gabriel silent as he resumed stroking Sam’s hair, his attention diverted to the wall as he thought it over. Right when Sam thought that Gabriel wanted to avoid the subject all together, he heard the quiet words.
“I’m not going to leave you, Sam. Not you or Trixie.”
Theirs wasn’t the relationship of sugary words and lovey-dovey declarations of romance, not usually. Thus, Sam blamed his next word on the soothing effects of Gabriel’s gentle ministrations as he began to be lulled to sleep again. “Promise?”
Sam couldn’t see Gabriel’s face, having buried himself back in the comforting warmth of Gabriel’s chest. But he felt Gabriel’s heart rate increase, and that was all the answer he needed.
“Yeah, kid. I promise.”
Sam smiled a little into Gabriel’s shirt as he absently nuzzled the cloth. He fell asleep there, cuddled next to Gabriel and Trixie; Gabriel did not have the heart to move either of them, even when Sam unavoidably began to drool.