Title: Mystery Spot Misunderstanding
Author: wolfish_willow
Pairing: Sam/Gabriel
Rating: PG-13 this part, NC-17 overall
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort
Spoilers: Anything up to and including 5.14
Warnings: nothing in this chapter
Word Count: 1357
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just using them for a bit of fun. They belong to Kripke.
Summary: Gabriel goes all angsty, and Sam suffers for it. (AU from 5.14 - so all episodes after My Bloody Valentine are being totally and utterly disregarded. *nodnod*)
Chapter Summary: Something's up with Sam... Now if only Gabriel could figure out what...
Notes: beta'd by ladyeternal Thanks so much, bb! Any mistakes are my own.

Masterpost


The diner wasn't anything special, considering how many they'd seen in all their time spent on the road. It wasn't very busy that morning and there were plenty of booths to choose from. The brothers walked in and sat at a booth towards the front by the large window, keeping the Impala in Dean's direct line of sight. Dean watched as Sam stood for a second longer than usual, like he wasn't sure where to sit. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question, but Sam never made eye contact. After his brief hesitation, he shook his head and scooted into the seat across from Dean, the window on his left side.

Dean couldn't help but notice the way Sam fidgeted with his napkin while they sat and waited for their angels. He didn't know what was going on with his brother. He'd been acting strange since they got up that morning - for a couple days longer than that, if Dean was honest with himself. It wasn't anything major, but Sam seemed more on edge than he'd been for weeks. That, on top of how Sam didn't seem to have gotten much rest, had Dean more than a little confused. He shrugged any worries about it off. They'd just found a relatively easy hunt nearby - they needed a break from the Apocalypse once in a while - and even in Sam's current state, Dean was sure they'd be able to solve it quick. And Sam had an archangel watching out for him. He was just being paranoid.

***

Had Gabriel been feeling more like himself, he probably would have rolled his eyes when he and Castiel found the Winchester brothers. Or rather, when he saw where they had seated themselves. Of course Dean would choose a spot right next to his precious Impala. Unfortunately, he just didn’t have it in him to find much mirth in anything at the moment.

He'd flown off to join Castiel in his search for their father after leaving Sam. He didn't think he'd find God out there, but he needed something to keep his mind off the shake in Sam's voice when he had first gotten back, and that painful look in his eyes when he'd realized the truth about them. He couldn't handle remembering that, so he'd gone to the only one he could at the time. And if Castiel had noticed anything off with him, he thankfully didn't say anything. It just wasn't something he was ready to talk about yet. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to visit the Winchester brothers in days. But if he avoided them forever, even someone as dense as Dean might be able to figure out something was wrong. Besides, then he wouldn't be able to help stop the Apocalypse, and if he wanted to continue avoiding Sam for an eternity, he would have to work to fix what the other angels started first.

***

Dean looked up when he heard the diner's door opening. He stifled a relieved sigh at the sight of the two angels walking into the restaurant. Finally, someone to talk to who might actually talk back, he thought excitedly. Trying to talk to Sam for the last week had been like trying to talk to a brick wall. He grinned as Castiel sat next to him and almost missed the way Gabriel hesitated for a split second before taking his seat next to Sam.

It was an odd thing to witness. They'd been using the same seating arrangement since the former Trickster decided to join their side, and it had been used many times to make Dean uncomfortable while Gabriel and Sam acted all lovey-dovey, practically cuddling together in the booth. So for both of them to be hesitant in the same morning was beyond strange. Before Dean could think on it for too long, though, Castiel broke the heavy silence at the table, reminding all of them about the ghost hunt they had gotten together to discuss in the first place. And, honestly, Dean was glad to move onto something normal for a change - or something less complicated than his brother's relationship with an archangel.

***

The hunt itself was even easier than they had all originally anticipated. Gabriel had decided to stick around and see how a typical salt and burn was done, Winchester-style. And he knew he was horrible, and that he was the one who broke things off with Sam, but the prospect of seeing the younger Winchester, muscles flexing and all sweaty from digging - well, he just couldn't pass that opportunity up.

Fortunately, he'd gotten to see all of that. Though somehow Sam seemed thinner than normal. Which he knew was crazy, because he'd only been avoiding him for a week and there was no way that the hunter could have lost weight in that amount of time. Of course, his mind had been thoroughly distracted soon after seeing Sam's thinner-looking - but not actually thinner, because that was crazy - frame when the brothers got to digging. And then he couldn't turn his gaze away from how the material over Sam's arms bunched each time he bent his elbow, or pushed into the dirt, or even wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd become so involved in watching Sam, that he hadn't noticed the spirit coming up to them until Dean shouted out.

All of their worry had been for nothing, though. As it turned out, the only reason the ghost had been aimlessly wandering was because he was trying to find a specific grave. Gabriel didn't think he'd ever get over it, even had the urge to roll his eyes at just how hopelessly romantic it all was. Somehow, this man and his wife had ended up buried in different sections and long story short, they'd just had to work out a way of getting the bodies together.

So, yes, the hunt had been a whole lot easier than they'd originally thought. But something irked Gabriel afterwards. The way the ghosts had looked at him. The way they'd looked at Sam. Almost sad, and somehow knowing. And if that wasn't bad enough, they seemed to have decided there was something wrong with his - the human, something that he apparently didn't know about. Not that they clued him in on what it was. Freaking cryptic ghosts, he thought with distaste.

He sighed as he sat back against the headboard of the bed Sam would more than likely be sleeping on when the Winchesters made it back to their motel – those Winchesters and their predictability, he thought with a small huff of laughter. Gabriel had flown back, needed to work out what was going on. Because he watched the ghosts the entire time they watched Sam (though they seemed less cryptic than unnervingly silent, he supposed). And it just didn't seem right. The spirits weren't evil, weren't even all that angry. So he was sure they weren't trying to mess with his head, but nothing was adding up.

Shaking his head, he rolled onto his side, resting his head against the flimsy pillow. The woman had put her hand on Sam's shoulder, as though trying to comfort him, reassure him of something. And Sam had looked... There was something going on there, behind his eyes. Something he was keeping locked away. Maybe with all of his avoidance he'd missed something important - which, okay, yeah, the whole point of avoiding is to miss events and actions of the Person you're avoiding, but still. How could he have missed something in the matter of a week?

Gabriel sat up, a determined expression replacing the thoughtful one he wore moments before. His brow furrowed slightly, lips a thin line as he pushed off the bed and waited by the window, keeping an eye out for the Winchester's return. He'd obviously missed something, something important. And if he was going to find out what it was, he'd just have to stick around and keep an eye on Sam. No matter how much it hurt, knowing he couldn't have what he wanted.

Chapter Three                                                                                                                                                                                    Chapter Five