Sam glanced between his brother and Castiel as they stood in Bobby's kitchen. It was glaringly apparent that something had happened between the two of them earlier. They weren't even looking at each other now, which was a stark difference from how they'd been acting lately; all goo-goo eyed and disgustingly romantic. And it tugged on Sam's heart to see Dean so upset. Wasn't there someway to get them to patch things up? Maybe all they needed was some time alone...

Sam grabbed the Impala keys off the counter and started to back toward the door. If all they needed to be happy was a few hours to themselves, he wasn't going to stand in the way. At the sound of clinking keys, Dean and Cas both turned to give him strange looks. Sam smirked, looking from one confused expression to the other.

"I think I'll go shoot some pool at the bar in town," he hinted, turning the knob at his back, "Probably won't be back until the early hours of the morning, you know how it is..."

Sam could see that his subtle message was sinking in; at least for his brother, anyway. Dean's confusion slowly shifted into understanding. There was almost a 'thank you' written in his woeful eyes. Sam winked at his brother as he stepped the rest of the way out.

"Looks like you've got the whole house to yourselves tonight," he added.

After closing the door, Sam strode to the car and climbed inside. The radio came on as he started her up and backed out of the driveway, and he felt confident that this was the right decision. The young Winchester made his way down the road in no particular direction, figuring he'd come across a bar eventually. The scenery blurred pasted the car while he sat deep in thought.

Sam sincerely hoped that Dean and Cas would work things out while he was gone. As much as their intimate relationship made him feel awkward at times, he still enjoyed seeing them smile like star-crossed teenagers. To be honest, he was slowly getting used to it – all that 'gropey' stuff they did in private. What they did alone together was their business, and he tried his best not to imagine it.

A few minutes passed like this; with Sam just driving and listening to the quiet radio. The silence was only fueling his thoughts, making them grow and shift. All of the sudden, he was struggling with a churning sensation in his gut. What would it be like, to have a relationship like Dean and Cas shared? They looked so damn happy all the time; always giving each other secret smirks and sneaking off to get frisky. They were acting like infatuated adolescence. Sam tried his best to shrug it off, as he stepped harder on the gas pedal. He was happy for them, truly he was. He was just curious to know how it felt to be so -

White noise suddenly cut across the radio.

Sam glanced toward the console, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. Had the radio reception had just failed? The music was gone, leaving only crackling in it's absents. Sam reached over and pressed the off button, but the noise didn't stop. With a heavy sigh, Sammy turned his attention back to the road. Great. First she needs an oil change, and now the radio's messed up. What was Dean going to say? Before Sam could get too upset about it, though, a new song started playing in the car... A very familiar song...

I never meant to be so bad to you...

Sam could feel the blood drain from his face as those sharp guitar rifts echoed around him. No. Not this song. Any song but this song! He instantly reached over and adjusted the dial, sliding it along the stations – but the song didn't change. It didn't even so much as fade.

One thing I said that I would never do...

"What the hell?" Sam grumbled, repeatedly pressing the 'off' button.

Nothing was happening. The radio wasn't turning off or changing stations. He was stuck driving down the road, having his ears raped by this stupid song. Why couldn't it have been another tune? He would have been content with listening to anything else – even Justin Bieber – just as long as it wasn't this terrible, terrible song!

A look from you and I would fall from grace...

"Hey, kiddo."

Sam gasped as someone popped into the seat beside him. His hands lost control of the steering wheel and the car swerved all over the road. The impala was suddenly facing a gnarly, oncoming tow truck. In a panic, Sam roped the steering wheel back toward the right lane. The trucker honked his horn as he flew by, shaking his fist out the window. Sam stomped on the brake, trying his best to guide the car onto the right shoulder.

The Impala screeched to a stop on the side of the road, the tires smoking and motor rumbling. Sam panted, his numb fists glued to the steering wheel and eyes blown wide open. His insides were shaking with fear as his heart raced. What the hell just happened?! He snapped his head to the side, to see who had almost caused his death.

Gabriel was sitting casually in the seat next to him. Sam hadn't seen him in a long time, but the archangel looked the same as he did before; golden hair flared out around his head, his amber eyes bright with smugness. There was a smell about him, too; a sweet odor that reminded Sam of carnival cotton candy. The archangel was dressed in normal every-day clothes, and there was a sucker stick jutting out of his mouth.

"What the hell?!" Sam gasped over the annoying song still playing in the background.

"Geez, kid," Gabriel said, the sucker puffing out one of his cheeks, "Who gave you a license? Must have been a blind guy, 'cause you drive worse than the captain of the Titanic."

"This is you, isn't it?" Sam realized, pointing a finger toward the radio, "You're playing this damn song! Turn it off!"

The archangel raised both of his hands and widened his eyes, dramatically defensive.

"Okay, okay," he said, waving a hand toward the radio, "No need to get your panties in a bunch, sweetheart."

The song finally stopped, leaving the two of them to sit in near silence. Sam tried to ease his breathing. It felt like a million things were suddenly flying through his mind. What was an archangel doing here? Was it really necessary to play that damn song again? Gabriel didn't trap him in another time loop, did he? Should he call Dean? While Sam sat pondering all of these things, a small smile appeared on Gabriel's lips.

"What do you want?" Sam demanded, feeling caught between anger and fright.

The archangel tugged the sucker out of his mouth and smacked his lips together. Sam casually noticed that the candy had turned Gabriel's mouth orange – and that the warm color perfectly accented the rest of his golden features.

"Typical Winchester," he smiled, waving the lollipop toward Sam, "Always assuming people want something from you. Can't I just crash your party without needing a reason?"

"No," Sam spoke flatly, not in the mood to deal with a trickster, "Why are you here?"

Gabriel sighed, his eyes slightly loosing playfulness. He glanced around for a minute, flashing those bright honey eyes at certain parts of the car interior, before looking back at Sam.

"Alright, you got me," he confessed, giving his sucker a quick lick, "I'm actually here to offer you a case."

Sam blinked. A case? Gabriel – the trickster and all-out archangel – wasn't here to ruin his life and kill his brother a million times, but to offer him a case? Sam narrowed his eyes at the archangel, feeling rightfully skeptical.

"Really?" he said, voice still flat, "and just what type of case is it?"

"A case involving me," Gabriel smirked, bouncing his eyebrows.

Sam rolled his eyes. Just as he was about to blatantly refuse this 'case', Gabriel finished his sentence in an unnaturally angered tone.

"...and a villainous, tyrannical fiend."

The archangel's smirk was gone, now, replaced with a look of disgust and rage. The sight made Sam strangely curious. What kind of creature had the power to upset Gabriel, of all people, like this?

"A fiend?" Sam pressed, wanting to hear more.

"Yes," Gabriel said, his upper lip snarling, "she's a cruel, heartless, power-hungry bitch who feeds off the brutal torment of others and will stop at nothing to get what she wants."

Sam swallowed harshly. Wow. That sounded like a pretty nasty character to him. Who was she? And what had she done to piss off an archangel?

"What did she do?" Sam asked, genuinely interested.

"She stole something from me," Gabriel answered, slowly blinking his amber eyes directly at Sam, "Want to help me get it back?"

Sam took a large breath. His mind was warning him not to do it, telling him things like, 'You can't trust this guy. He's a liar and a cheat and you'll end up getting screwed-over again.' But, as he sat staring at the almost vulnerable honey eyes in front of him, Sam's heart began to whisper something else; in a way that almost resembled an affectionate tone... 'Ah, what the hell. Just go for it, Sam.'

Even though nervousness was laying thick in his gut, Sam nodded.

"Fine," he sighed, knowing he didn't have anything better to do anyway, "What did she take?"

Gabriel's smirk returned, as he chucked his sucker out the window over his shoulder. Sam watched the archangel lean forward to place both of his hands on the dashboard.

"I'll show you," he said.

A bright, white light flashed in Sam's face. It made his eyes close instantly. He blinked them open a second later, searching his surroundings. He was still sitting in the car, and Gabriel was still beside him, but the scenery around the vehicle had changed. The Impala was parked on the side of the street in a small town, now. The red sunset was shining off the building windows and a few cars were rolling slowly passed. Sam could pick out a diner, a post office, and a police station all on different street corners. It looked like they had landed right in the heart of middle-America.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, watching a few old ladies waddle passed the car.

"A small town in Arkansas," Gabriel answered, opening the passenger door, "Don't let the 'Pleasantville' vibe fool you, Sasquatch. That evil creature is lurking around here. Come on."

Sam rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the car to follow the archangel. He'd dealt with plenty of monsters in his time. Hell, he'd fought the devil himself and won. There wasn't much that could put Sam Winchester on edge. But there was something about the way Gabriel talked about this person that made him look over his shoulder when he walked. Who would steal something from an archangel like Gabriel? And why would they even try? It must have been one fierce being to pull off that colossal feat.

Gabriel stopped abruptly at a convenient store window. The short archangel was suddenly peering inside, nearly pressing his nose against the glass. Sam watched his honey eyes narrow; noticing that the red sunset caused his golden hair to look orange – Wait, why did Sam care how the sunset looked on Gabriel's hair? The man shook himself out of his strange thoughts as the archangel began to talk.

"There's the heartless spawn now," he grumbled, nodding toward the window.

Sam braced himself for the first sight of this vile person. Would it be a balding old woman with a hunch-back? Or a devilishly sexy vixen with a gun in her back pocket? Or large, burly amazon woman capable of wielding an ax with one hand? Nothing could have prepared him for what he really saw standing at the counter inside...

"A...girl scout?" Sam asked, lost.

She was just a little girl, about nine or ten years old, humming sweetly while she perused the candy at the counter. To top it all off, her blonde hair was in pigtails, curled on each side of her little face. She looked absolutely adorable, in her little girl scout uniform with all those badges. This was the terrible creature Gabriel was talking about?

"Is...Is she possessed or something?" Sam asked, assuming there was more than what met the eye.

Sam looked down to see Gabriel's eyes flicker away. He seemed a tad bit embarrassed, shifting his feet as he gulped. That cotton candy scent was still wafting from him.

"Well, uh, no. Not exactly," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"It's just a little girl?!" Sam said, shocked, "A tiny little human girl? Are you serious? What could she have possibly stolen from you?"

Gabriel pointed at the window. Sam looked in again, at the tiny girl in question.

"See that candy necklace she's wearing? It's mine," he stated in a severe tone.

As Sam's eyes fell to the candy chain on the child's neck, he fought the sudden urge to laugh. An archangel was stumped by a little girl in pigtails, and it was all over a little bit of candy. Gabriel looked up to see Sam struggling to contain his laughter.

"What, are you in the first grade?" Sam teased, a smile finally flashing on his face, "Do you want me to tell the teacher she stole your candy, little boy?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes as a smile flickered on his own lips.

"Very funny," he said flatly, "but this is serious, Bucko. She's not supposed to have that, okay?"

"Why not?" Sam asked, "No girls allowed in the candy club, or something?"

It felt nice to tease Gabriel in the same way Gabriel teased him. Not just because it gave him a taste of his own medicine, but because the archangel could take it as well as dish it out. But this time, he was serious. And he replied to Sam's sarcasm with blunt honesty.

"No. Because that is a very 'special' candy necklace, kid," he said, playfulness gone, "It's spiked with some 'angelic stuff', if you know what I mean, and if she eats any of it...I dunno what it would do to her."

Sam's smile slipped away. It kind of surprised him, that Gabriel would actually care for someone's safety, and not just his own benefit. Sam gulped, feeling a little guilty that he had assumed Gabriel was so careless of others. Maybe the guy wasn't as selfish as he'd thought. After glancing at the little girl again, Sam looked back down at the archangel.

"So, why don't you just take it?" he asked, "Zap it off her, or something?"

Gabriel's smile returned at full power.

"My dad's got this strict 'don't harm the kids' policy written somewhere. Trust me, If I could get it off her without hurting her, I would. But, like I said before, she's a total bitch," he stated.

Sam looked back in at the innocent little girl. There was no way she was the cruel, heartless creature Gabriel made her out to be. She was buying licorice and soda, for God's sake.

"Did you even try talking to her?" Sam asked.

Gabriel gave a small chuckle. He forced his way passed Sam to get to the door of the convenient store. The archangel held the glass door open and gestured toward the inside.

"You think you've got social skills, Tarzan?" he smirked, "Prove it."

Sam straightened his clothes and breezed passed the archangel. He was confident that this wouldn't take but a minute to accomplish. Sam believed he had a certain way with kids. He strode carefully up to the little girl, who was blissfully unaware of the world. He glanced back to see Gabriel was standing by the door watching, his arms crossed and grin enormous. After receiving a wink, Sam gently reached out and tapped the little girl's shoulder. She spun around and looked up at him with gigantic, innocent brown eyes.

"Hi," Sam said, giving the most trustworthy smile possible, "I like your necklace."

The girl didn't smile. She simply blinked up at him without expression. Sam gulped, trying to hold onto his confidence. He could feel Gabriel's eyes on him; watching for the smallest slip-up.

"Where'd you get it?" Sam went on, deliberately eye-balling the candy around her little neck.

"It's mine!" the little girl shouted, clutching the necklace to her chest.

In a sudden outrage, the girl scout reared her foot back as far as she could, before kicking Sam in the shin. Sam groaned out loud, falling to kneel and cradle his lower leg. He stared up at the kid in shock, as pain echoed up his thigh. What the hell did she do that for?!

"You can't have it, Jerkface!" she spat, running for the exit, "and your boyfriend can't either!"

Sam watched her run passed Gabriel, who was guarding his own legs. As she disappeared down the sidewalk, a weird feeling bubbled in Sam's gut. Did she really just refer to Gabriel as his boyfriend?! The man stood up and limped toward the door, where Gabriel was grinning pompously. He hated seeing that 'I told you so' look on his face. God, he hated it.

"Don't worry about it, Sammy," the archangel said, patting Sam's shoulder, "You win some. You loose some. You get kicked in the knee. Shit happens, kid."

Sam started to tell Gabriel that only Dean had the right to call him 'Sammy,' but there was something about the way it rolled off the archangel's tongue that sounded nice. It made his gut feel warm, like taking a sip of hot coco in the middle of winter. The man shook it off as he set his sights on the direction the kid ran off in. There was only one thing he knew for certain.

"I'm gonna get that damn necklace," he stated with determination.

Sam enjoyed the grin that spread on Gabriel's lips.

"That's the spirit," he agreed.

(Author's Note: This ship may be small, but hey, it has it's own theme song. :) Yes, the song is "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. Things still to come in this story: lots of fluff, tons of dick jokes, and a Tarzan loincloth. :) Yeah, I'll just let that sink in. Thank you so much for reading! Let me know if you have enjoyed this first chapter. I always look forward to hearing from you! :)

In case you didn't already know, this is a companion story to my Destiel fic, Affection. This is actually what happened to Sam the night he was out 'shooting pool.' (The big ol' liar.) :) Feel free to check out the Destiel part too, if you'd like. And please enjoy the later chapters of this story! They will be out soon.)