disturbinglynic

He had told Sam he would be around today, and he was. Sam probably hadn’t meant for him to show up at five in the morning, but he mostly did it to annoy Dean. It worked well.

“What the hell is your problem, Gabriel?”

Gabriel looked at Dean innocently. “What? I brought bagels and coffee.”

He looked over at Sam, who though he was obviously still half asleep, was trying hard not to laugh.

Come on down, little brother. Coffee and bagels at the Winchester’s.

I do not require food or drink. You know this.

Gabriel had to suppress a groan and an eye roll. It wasn’t easy.

No, but if Dean tried to force food on you, and we both know he will, then you let him. It’ll make him happy.

Gabriel wanted to laugh when Castiel appeared by his side in an instant.

Sure enough, after Dean had stopped grumbling and turned his attention to the food, he turned to Castiel, holding a bagel smeared with cream cheese, telling him that he just had to try it. He wondered if he just kept feeding Dean, if Dean would forgive him.

Do you think if I keep feeding Dean he’ll like me?

Castiel actually chuckled at that. Thankfully Dean and Sam were talking and didn’t notice it.

In between having a conversation with Sam, Dean continued feeding Castiel bagel. They almost looked like a normal family, and it made Gabriel smile.

He snapped himself up a chocolate bar, because it was never too early for chocolate, and watched as Dean tried to get Castiel to try different flavors of bagels and cream cheese, while still managing to have a conversation with Sam.

“So, where are we headed off to today?”

“We? There is no we here. You are not welcome here.”

“Dean! I asked him to be here today.”

Dean looked at Sam like he couldn’t believe Sam would want to hang out with Gabriel. Like Gabriel was a piece of dirt. That bothered him more than it should, and Castiel must have noticed.

“Come on, Gabriel, we shall find another way to entertain ourselves.”

Sam looked from Castiel to Gabriel, and Gabriel winked at him. Dean’s jaw dropped. He looked at Castiel and opened and closed his mouth a few times, before finally speaking.

“Fine. Gabriel can stay, but he’d better behave himself.”

Gabriel was about to say something to that, but Castiel place a hand on his shoulder, silently asking him not to provoke Dean. He was right, of course. As much as he would love to provoke him, at least Dean was agreeing to him being around. It was a start.

“Why don’t we take a break and go somewhere fun?” Everyone turned to look at Sam, who shrugged. “What, we aren’t allowed to take a break? Or are we not allowed to have fun?”

“Sammy’s got a point. You guys do need a break. I am all for this.”

Sam looked grateful that Gabriel was on his side. “Dean, think about it. We could go to the Grand Canyon.”

Dean really looked like he wanted to say yes, but a sense of duty was too ingrained in him, and it would take a little more to crack him.

Castiel, you need to convince him to go. All you have to do is say you want to go and he’ll probably jump right on board.

Next to him, Castiel spoke up. “I think I would enjoy a trip to the Grand Canyon.”

And it really was as easy as that to get Dean to cave. They were out of the motel in no time, and both he and Castiel decided to ride along in the Impala.

A few hours later though, and he was kind of regretting it. It was boring to travel this way. It took too long and there just wasn’t enough room to move. It was uncomfortable after a while.

Conversation in the car had been limited because Dean was still brooding over the fact that Gabriel was with them and had turned his music up loud enough that you couldn’t even hear yourself think.

Sam was rubbing his temples now, his eyes closed. Now that Gabriel was aware of it, he could feel the pain that Sam was in across the link. Without even thinking, he snapped and the music turned off.

“What the hell?” Dean was glaring at him in his rearview mirror. He attempted to turn the music back on, but Gabriel obviously wasn’t going to make it that easy for him. “What did you do that for?”

“Sam has a headache.”

Dean was glaring at him again, and Gabriel wished there was room for him to kick the back of Dean’s seat. Instead, he just dug his knees in. Dean cursed under his breath.

“Cas, can’t you control him?”

“No.”

“Fine. Can you fix the radio?”

“I can.”

When nothing happened, Dean risked taking his eyes off the road to glance back at Castiel.

“Well?”

“What?”

“I thought you said you could fix it?”

“I can.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“You didn’t ask me if I would, you asked me if I could.”

Dean was starting to grow red from how angry he was, and he was afraid that Dean might pop something.

“Will you fix it?”

“No.”

Castiel, you are being mean to Dean. I’m so proud.

Maybe it’ll teach him to treat you better.

Not likely, but thanks.

They were just about to pass a gas station, so Dean swerved and pulled into it, and then stormed into the convenience store. Castiel followed Dean into the store, while he and Sam just stood outside of the car.

You should apologize to Dean. Maybe you could explain why you did it. You don’t want him mad at you.

We shall see.

“Thanks for getting rid of the music, Gabriel.”

Gabriel shrugged. “Sure, no problemo. I was getting sick of it anyway.”

Dean and Castiel came back out of the store, Dean carrying a bag full of what was probably junk food, even though Gabriel could have gotten him anything he wanted.

“Sam, you’re sitting in the back with Gabriel. Maybe you can control him.”

“Aw, Deano, why so mean? Sam is too large for the backseat.” He winked at Sam. Dean just glared at him. Castiel had probably talked to Dean for the short time they were in there.

They all got back into the car, Sam now in the back with him, looking horribly cramped. Gabriel winked at him again, and Sam found he had room to stretch out all of a sudden. He smiled at Gabriel, but turned his attention to Dean.

“I’m starving. I don’t suppose you bought anything edible.”

“You should have gone in yourself, Sammy.”

Sam grumbled under his breath. Gabriel snapped and a salad appeared on Sam’s lap. He shot Gabriel an appreciative look and dug in. He’d never seen anyone so excited about a salad before. Even though he had eaten junk food the previous day with him, he still preferred salads.

Any chance of Dean being happy anytime soon?

It does not seem likely.

Maybe you should just throw him down on the bed and have your way with him. That ought to cheer him up.

He could see Castiel blushing in the front seat, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Cas, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“But your face is all red.”

“Gabriel and I were having a discussion.”

“Must have been a doozy for you to be blushing like that. What was it about?”

“That is not your concern.”

“Okay, okay. So, the two of you can have conversations about us right in front of us?”

“That’s right, Deano.”

Dean scowled at him in the rearview mirror, so Gabriel smirked at him, and Dean went back to paying attention to the road, sulking.

Thank you for that, Gabriel.

Sorry.

Yes, well, while your suggestion would probably work, it is not something I wish to do, not yet.

Come on Castiel, don’t you think you’ve been taking it slow enough?

The inside of his head was quiet for so long that he didn’t think Castiel was going to give him an answer.

I wish to bond with him.

“What?” Everyone was looking at him. He had said that out loud. “Shit.”

He snapped, and both he and Castiel vanished from the car. He took them to his own cabin at the Grand Canyon. The Winchesters could just meet them there. They would be there tonight anyway. They hadn’t been that far away when they had started that morning.

“You want to bond with Dean?

Castiel nodded.

“An eternity with Dean. Not even ‘til death do you part. Are you sure you want that?”

“Yes, I am. Are you okay with this?

“It’s your choice, little brother. Not mine.”

“No, but we are good friends now, and Dean does not like you.”

“He has an eternity to get used to me.” He smiled at Castiel and clapped a hand down on his shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Castiel. If this is what you truly want, then I am happy for you.”

“What about you, brother. Do you think you’ll ever want to bond with someone?”

“I don’t know. An eternity with just one person. I’m not sure if I could do it. I don’t think I could give up chocolate either.”

“I think you’ll be surprised with yourself, brother.”

****

It was dark when the brothers finally arrived. Neither looked happy. Dean stalked off to one of the bedrooms, Castiel trailing right behind him, leaving Gabriel with Sam in the main room.

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a good idea.”

Sam shrugged. “Sure. Why not.”

Castiel, Sam and I are going out for a bit. Good luck with Dean.

Have fun with Sam.

Gabriel snapped. He watched as Sam took in his surroundings, trying to place where they were.

“The Parthenon?” His voice was full of disbelief. He shook his head and laughed. “You sure know how to treat a guy.”

Gabriel smirked. “Nerds are easy.”

Sam laughed again, and it made Gabriel incredibly happy that he could to that to Sam.

“Besides, Castiel and Dean need the alone time.”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, all Dean needs to do is pull his head out of his ass long enough to realize that Cas is in love with him.”

“Our brothers need help.”

“They really do. Maybe we should just lock them in a closet together.”

They were wandering around the Parthenon as they spoke, moonlight illuminating the both of them.

“We can’t.”

“Why not?”

They both stopped in the middle of the Parthenon, staring at each other.

“Castiel’s feelings for Dean are deeper than you realize.”

He walked over to a pillar and sat down, leaning against it. Sam sat next to him.

“Okay, Cas has deep feelings for Dean. Why does that mean we can’t lock them in a closet together? Sex would do them both some good.”

“I don’t disagree with you there, Sammy, but Castiel had bigger plans in mind.”

“What, like marrying Dean?”

“Similar to that, but bigger. He wants to bond with Dean.”

“He wants to bond with Dean. What is that, like angel marriage?”

Gabriel chuckled. “In a way, yes. His soul would be tied to Castiel’s grace. It’s hard to explain, but even when Dean dies, since his soul would be tied to Castiel’s grace, they would even be together in heaven. A bond is for all eternity.”

“Wow. I guess you’d better be sure that you love someone before bonding with them.”

“Do you think Dean would go for it?”

“Yeah, actually. Yeah, I think he would. I’ve never seen him so crazy about someone before. He thinks he’s been hiding it, but I know him. Dean is definitely in love with Cas.”

“Is there anything we can do to help this along?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“No food. I was gonna use food to get Dean to like me, so Castiel can’t use food also.”

Sam sniggered. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

“Hey,” Gabriel pouted. “Shouldn’t you be on my side?”

“I think the sooner we can get Dean and Cas together, the sooner Dean will be willing to accept you in our lives.”

“Oh great, this ought to be easy,” he said with an eye roll.

“Cas just needs to be more forceful with Dean. I can tell you’ve rubbed off on him. He’s been sticking up for himself and for you. I’m glad he has you. Dean needs to appreciate Cas more.”

“I’m glad I’ve rubbed off on him. I was sick of Dean treating him the way he had been.”

“Gabriel, can I ask you a question?”

“What’s on your mind, Sammy?”

“Can’t you just read it and find out?” Sam teased.

Gabriel chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I could, but I work very hard at not doing that.”

“Really, why?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t ever do it. I would definitely do it to torture your bother, you know, once he actually likes me. There are some thoughts that I can’t help but hear because they are projected so loudly. I would just rather hear you say something to me if you had something to say. Speaking of which, didn’t you have a question for me?”

Gabriel hoped Sam would take the change of subject because he really didn’t want to let anything slip about the fact that he had a shield up specifically for Sam. He didn’t want to get any closer to the subject of the link.

“Do you think you’ll bond with someone one day?”

Then again, maybe he would have been better off talking about the link.

“I don’t know, Sammy. The idea of spending all eternity with just one person, well, they would certainly have to be somebody special. I just don’t know if I could do it though. I’d eventually have to give up everything I love about this planet. Not permanently, of course. I could still visit it the same way Castiel visits now, but I wouldn’t be able to live down here.”

“That’s true. You would have to give up chocolate, and I’m just not sure you’re ready for that.”

He could hear the laughter in Sam’s voice. “Ha, ha. You’re hilarious, Sam.”

Sam laughed quietly.

“Actually, Castiel seems to think that I’ll change my mind.”

“I think I would agree with Castiel.”

Gabriel didn’t have an answer for that.

“We should probably get back before Dean thinks I’ve done something terrible to you.”

Sam sighed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Thanks for this though.”

“Anytime, Sammy. Anytime.”

Part Two | Part Four
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