Author's Note:

Written for Wolfpacklover for her great reviews on Iris! I take one-shot requests for any SPN pairing that isn't Dean/Lisa, so if any of you have one let me know! This is lots of Sabriel fluff, and though Wolfpacklover asked for Romance/Drama it ended up being a total fluff fest. Anyways, I still hope it's okay! This is how I think 5x19 should have happened.

Read on, my lovelies!

Centuries ago in Heaven, two brothers engaged in a battle that would change the fate of the planet. Michael and Lucifer turned on each other and forsook the other's love for the sake of their Father. Because one brother hated humans, and the other was painfully loyal to God. The part of this story so frequently left out was the third brother. This brother, so strong and fearsome, was at a loss for the first time in his long existence as he watched his two brothers go at war with one another. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this archangel would also fight Lucifer one day. He would stand, only to fall. A noble but bittersweet way to die.

This archangel was Gabriel.

Now, in present day, he stood in the banquet room of a swanky hotel, a rather anticlimactic setting for a being as old as he. In front of him, in a rapidly thinning vessel, stood Lucifer. The Morningstar wore a vessel as simple as any man, but the cold apathy with which he spoke and the lack of emotion in his eyes set him apart from any other creature in the world. No human, angel, or supernatural creature could ever hope to achieve the lack of feeling that Lucifer had developed centuries ago. It was not a gift, but a curse.

"Brother, don't make me do this," the devil now said.

"No one makes us do anything," Gabriel replied.

Lucifer cast him a sorrowful look, but Gabriel merely lifted an eyebrow. Well, Gabriel's copy lifted an eyebrow. His true self was slowly but surely approaching Lucifer from behind, his archangel's blade lifted high, his wings aching to be released. It had been hundreds of years since he'd felt so much like a true archangel, not the Pagan God he'd spent so many years impersonating. Deep down, under walls and layers of cynicism and attempts to convince himself that he no longer cared what happened to the world, this was who he was. Dangerous. Wrathful. Beautiful.

Just as Gabriel was about to stab Lucifer, to banish his brother from existence, Lucifer whirled around and grabbed his wrist, forcing it down and plunging the blade deep into Gabriel's abdomen. The blond archangel could only gasp out pathetic noises of pain, the blade spreading agony through him like fire spread throughout a trail of gasoline. He stared up into Lucifer's eyes, feeling the fight drain out of him as the short, dagger like sword lodged firmly into his intestines and furthermore, his grace.

Lucifer had a white knuckled grip on the hilt, and prepared to drive it upwards, into Gabriel's heart. He was ready to finish his brother off without a second thought, though Gabriel couldn't very well harbor any resentment towards that fact given that he'd been ready to kill Lucifer only moments ago. Just like the humans said, his life flashed before his eyes. Joining the Pagans, spending centuries as the Trickster, and then the two hunters that came and messed it all up. One face in particular stood out in his memory. Long brown hair, hazel eyes, a sweet smile.

Sam Winchester.

The pain was eating away at Gabriel's mind, and he was so out of it that he could swear he heard Sam yell "Hey!" but he knew he was delusional. Sam, Dean, and Kali were long gone by now. Gabriel figured he must be dying, because the pain eased, but he never felt the blade pierce his heart. It remained deep in his stomach. He only had a brief moment to feel confusion before Lucifer dropped him and Gabriel landed on his knees, retching blood onto the floor.

"Gabriel, are you okay?"

He would know that voice anywhere. Loose strands of longish blond hair slipped into his eyes as he looked up to face his savior. Sam rushed to his side and tried to hoist him to his feet, but Gabriel couldn't hold back an anguished scream when the small movement shifted the blade that was deep in his body. Sam cringed apologetically and removed the archangel's blade as gingerly as possible. Gabriel appreciated how careful Sam was being, but that didn't make the removal any less painful.

When Gabriel finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and broken from his long stint of retching, the words coming out in two individual gasps. "Where's…Lucifer…?"

"He disappeared right after I showed up. I think he assumed you would die from the wound."

Gabriel looked down. "I'll bet my lifetime supply of Hershey bars that I will, Sammy boy."

"Don't say that, and don't call me Sammy."

"So, where's Dean-o, anyways?" Gabriel asked. He was in more pain than he believed imaginable, but he surely wasn't going to whine about it.

"I told him to take Kali to safety and that I was coming back for you." Sam's reply came without hesitation, and spoken as if he'd not once had a doubt concerning his decision to return. "He wasn't happy about it, but I told him to stop the car or I would jump out while it was still moving."

"Why did you come back?"

"You went up against Lucifer for humans, that has to count for something, yeah? I thought it was only fair to try for you."

Gabriel's voice was a low whisper. "Thanks…for coming back…"

Sam scooped Gabriel up in his arms, the archangel slowly falling unconscious.

...

...

...

"Owww," was the first thing Gabriel moaned when he finally woke up again.

He tried to sit up, but Sam gently pushed him back down. "Don't try to move, Gabriel. The wound's healed but you're still weak."

"Ya know, I'm pretty surprised you're even still here. After all I've done to you," the angel mused.

Sam hadn't known where else to take him, so they sat in a room of the hotel that the fight had first started in. Gabriel was laid out on the elaborate bed while Sam sat next to him in a chair he had drug from its original position by the desk. Gabriel watched the hunter, who obviously had no intentions of gracing his remark with a response. He simply watched Gabriel with calm hazel eyes. When Sam finally spoke, it had nothing to do with Gabriel's musings.

"You almost died to protect Dean and me."

Gabriel groaned. "Please don't tell me we're about to have a chick flick moment."

"I just wanted to thank you. And now that your cover with the Pagans is blown…maybe you could come with us." Sam said this like he'd carefully chosen each word. He watched Gabriel appraisingly.

"Come with you…?" Gabriel repeated like a confused child.

"We still have an Apocalypse to fight. Cas is MIA. We could use an archangel in our corner," Sam said, his lips tugging up in an adorably hopeful little smile.

That small smile was what finally made Gabriel decide to voice what had been on his mind since Sam had saved him from Lucifer. Everything from the tender way he'd picked Gabriel up to the way he was smiling at the angel this very moment had been pointing to something, and Dad forbid he was wrong, but he couldn't help but wonder if he was seeing something more than an obligatory rescue.

"Sam…why did you really save me?" he asked quietly.

"I already told you."

Heedless of Sam trying to keep him down, Gabriel sat up, bringing himself closer to the man before him. Sam's jaw was clenched and he was averting his gaze, two sure signs that he was playing dumb and knew exactly what Gabriel was talking about. The archangel turned Sam to face him, forcing him to look in Gabriel's eyes.

"I want the truth. Why did you come back?"

"Why do you think I came back?" Sam countered swiftly.

Gabriel sighed. Here goes nothing. "Because correct me if I'm wrong, but this…feels like something. And I don't mean foreplay." Touching moment or not, it was still in his nature to crack a joke.

Sam's eyes dropped to Gabriel's mouth, then back to the angel's eyes. He gripped the back of Gabriel's head with his large hand and drew him forward until their foreheads were resting together. The heart of Gabriel's vessel was beating a mile per minute. So he'd been right. This was something. For the first time since he'd abandoned Heaven out of bittersweet love for his brothers, Gabriel felt vulnerable. It was scary.

Gabriel shifted nervously, not liking his position of vulnerability. "Normally girly moments aren't really my thing-"

"Shut up," Sam whispered.

Even if Gabriel had any intentions of disobeying the murmured order, he couldn't have, because then he felt a warm mouth touch his, silencing him. He closed his eyes and couldn't help but trail his fingers through Sam's hair. It was nothing like the kiss Kali had pulled him in for only hours ago, nor was it like the way the blond had kissed him in the porn tape he'd filmed just in case he didn't survive. This kiss wasn't demanding or primal. It was sweet, gentle, and - dare he say - loving.

When they finally parted, their eyes opening oh so slowly, Sam asked, "So, what do you say? You and me fighting the Apocalypse together?"

Obviously Dean would be there as well, and eventually Cas if he survived the angel banishing, but the way Sam said together had a clear alternate meaning that made Gabriel smile and press a chaste kiss to Sam's lips in a silent yes. This was the start of something. And Lucifer, Michael, Heaven, Hell…none of it could ever taint this blissful, foreign feeling he'd begun associating with Sam. Maybe, just maybe, it was love.