A/N: I apologize sincerely for the large lapse between updates. First exams, then various other personal matters have kept me from writing. Hopefully, I'll be able to update with more frequency now. I'll be doing some time lapses to bring the story up to present day, with a Christmas chapter (this one), a Boxing Day chapter, New Year's Eve chapter, a New Year's Day chapter, and a Valentines chapter all in hopefully quick succession. Thank you so much to all who have favourite, followed, or reviewed. I hope this chapter was worth the wait!
When Sam woke up Christmas morning, he found his bed suspiciously empty. In fact, his whole room was suspiciously empty. His dresser, lamp, suitcase, and night table were all missing. Sam could hear muffled laughter coming from downstairs and he quietly got out of bed, wary of what he would find. A lifetime of living with Dean meant he knew he was being pranked; he just hoped the prank ended here.
Sam silently moved down the stairs, aiming to surprise the kitchen occupants. His hopes were dashed, however, when the second to last step let out a loud creak. The laughter emanating from the kitchen abruptly ceased, and Sam cursed under his breath, all element of surprise lost. He dropped his sneaky stance and walked into the kitchen hesitantly, bracing himself for more pranks. Everyone in the kitchen turned to look at him.
"Mornin' sleeping beauty!" Dean grinned. "We thought you'd never get up."
"It's only," Sam looked at the clock, "9 a.m."
"It's Christmas morning, no one sleeps in on Christmas morning," Gabriel said, grinning, barely hidden mirth in his eyes. Sam decided if no one was going to bring up the missing furniture, he might as well bite.
"So, what did you guys do with all my stuff?" Sam asked as he grabbed himself a cup of coffee.
"Stuff? What stuff?" Dean asked innocently, but the amusement showing all over his face gave away his true knowledge.
"My stuff, Dean. Everything except my bed and I was missing from my room when I woke up." Sam gave Dean one of his famous bitchfaces.
"Oh, that stuff. No idea." Dean gave a shiteating grin in response to Sam.
"Y'know Sam," Gabriel said, piping up, "Something I noticed when I was trying to wake you when you were at my house is that you are a really heavy sleeper." He grinned mischievously. Cas was sitting in the corner looking barely awake, already on the second cup of coffee that Sam had seen. Sam decided he wasn't going to be getting any information out of Cas until he's had at least one more coffee.
"So you stole my stuff while I was sleeping?"
"'Stole' is such a strong word. I prefer to think of it as 'borrowing with full intention of giving them back… as soon as you find them'" Gabriel grinned wider. "Nothing like a good old fashioned scavenger hunt to wake you up." Sam groaned.
"Isn't Christmas time supposed to be a time of good will, not stealing other people's stuff?" Sam questioned.
"All that good will crap comes later, Samsquatch. Right now, I want to have some fun."
"But you can't start your scavenger hunt until after presents," Dean stated matter-of-factly.
"Fine, let's do presents then so I can change into some actual clothes," Sam relented, gesturing to the pajamas he was still wearing.
"Yeah, present time," Dean grinned and walked into the living room.
"What are you, 5?" Sam grumbled good-naturedly. In all honesty, Sam was happy to see his brother experiencing some childlike excitement. Dean had been forced to grow up too soon, and had missed out on moments like these. Sam had many happy childhood memories, which he only realized when he was older were entirely due to his older brother. In many of his happiest memories, John wasn't even present. But Dean had been too busy raising Sam to fully experience the carefree childhood that every kid is supposed to have; which is why in moments like these, Sam did his best not to give his brother too hard a time.
Everyone else followed Dean into the living room and took a seat around the room. Gabriel sat beside Sam which made Sam happy, then embarrassed when he remembered what happened last night. Dean apparently didn't notice the faint blush colouring Sam's cheeks, thank god. Dean grabbed a small wrapped present from under the tree and handed it to his brother.
"Merry Christmas, Sammy," Dean smiled. Sam looked at the box curiously, briefly speculating about the contents of the box, hoping that it wasn't a joke gift that he would be embarrassed to open in front of his friends. He tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box, smiling wide when he saw its contents.
"Wow, Dean, thank you," Sam thanked sincerely, taking out a set of car keys from the box.
"Been working on her for a while, when I first found her she was a piece of junk. Now, though, she shines," Dean grinned proudly.
"Seriously, thank you." Sam clasped Dean's shoulder in thanks, knowing how his brother felt about so called 'chick flick moments'. Sam gave Dean some oil for his car and a gift card to his favourite bakery, which earned him a sincere, "Thanks Sammy, this is awesome," from Dean and a joking muttered "Traitor, going to the competition," from Gabriel.
Sam gave Bobby a rare book for his collection, and he received some textbooks in return. Cas and Gabriel gave each of them a gift card to their café.
Finally, there were only two presents left under the tree. Sam picked up one and gave it to Gabriel, and Dean handed the other to Cas.
"You guys got us gifts?" Gabriel looked confused and touched all at the same time.
"It's not much, but yeah. We have something in mind for later that you'll need these for," Sam replied. After he had let Dean know that there would be two more joining them for dinner, he and Dean had brainstormed the perfect last minute gift ideas for the guys they both had crushes on, even if neither one of them wanted to admit it. They had finally come to a consensus; something Gabriel had said when Sam first met him had prompted the idea.
Both Cas and Gabriel opened their packages. Gabriel tore into the paper with reckless abandon, while Cas carefully unwrapped it, taking care not to tear the paper. Sam chuckled slightly, knowing that if he did what Cas was doing, there would be no end of jokes from Dean. But Cas was different, Sam thought. Dean seemed to find everything Cas did completely endearing, which was not an emotion Sam was used to seeing on his brothers face. It was nice though, and if Dean was happy, then so was Sam.
Gabriel reached his present first and pulled out a pair of skates, smiling. "Awesome, my skate were getting all rusty," Gabriel exclaimed. Sam smiled to himself, proud that he had remembered that Gabriel liked skating.
Cas opened his present and pulled out his pair of skates, looking grateful but unsure. "I never learned to skate," he confessed.
"Don't worry, I can teach you," Dean offered, almost stumbling over his words in his haste to be of service.
"Thank you Dean." Cas gave Dean one of those small smiles that Dean was so fond of. Sam nearly laughed out loud at the complete doe eyed look his brother was giving Cas, but he managed to contain himself. Who knew that his older brother was secretly such a sap?
"There's a frozen over lake not far from here, I thought we could go skating after breakfast," Sam suggested.
"Sounds great, Samsquatch." Gabriel grinned.
"So now that presents are over, would you boys like some bacon and eggs?" Bobby asked. He got a chorus of yes's in response.
At this Bobby went into the kitchen and started cooking. They all ate the large breakfast quickly, they were all eager to get out skating. Bobby assured them that he would clean up, so the four of them walked to the front hall to put on their winter gear. Gabriel and Cas borrowed some spare clothes from Dean, some warm hats and warmer gloves than the ones they brought. They all tramped outside with Sam leading the way. They went to the lake that Dean and Sam had both learned to skate on when they were younger.
Bobby had taught them to skate when Sam was 8 and Dean was 12. It was during one of the many stints they spent with Bobby when John would drop them off and disappear for weeks at a time. Dean had taken to it like a pro, and had only improved over time. Sam, however, had been okay at first, but once he hit puberty and he shot up about a foot and a half, his limbs became gangly and awkward. He had adjusted over time, but he still had his moments when he felt like a bull in a china shop.
"Let's get this show on the road," Gabriel exclaimed once they arrived at the lake, and sat down on the dock to put on his skates.
Everyone else followed suit, and soon they were all on skates and skating about. Dean had started off by performing fancy tricks and trying to show off for Cas, but quickly stopped when it became apparent that all of Cas' concentration was focused on staying upright.
"Hey Dean, why don't you help out Cas? He seems to be having some trouble," Sam pointed out. He barely managed to contain his grin.
Cas looked up. "Could you? I seem to be having trouble moving and staying on my feet at the same time."
"Sure, yeah." Dean almost fell on his face in his haste to get over to Cas. He offered out his arm, which Cas readily took, and they began their unsteady journey across the ice.
"They've got it bad for each other, huh," Gabriel said as he skated up behind Sam.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, my brother's got a huge crush on Cas, but Cas seems to be pretty oblivious," Sam commented and grinned a bit. The little brother in him wanted to tease Dean relentlessly for this, but he knew he shouldn't. Dean would get all awkward if he tried to bring it up.
"Trust me, Cassie's got it just as bad, he just has no idea how to express it. My baby bro is the most awkward person I know. He's not so good with the whole 'feelings' thing," Gabriel explained.
"Neither is my brother. He prefers actions over words, and as few words as possible when words are necessary."
"Well, you know what we have to do then." Gabriel had a mischievous glint in his eye that Sam understood at once.
"Oh no. No way am I getting involved in my brother's love life." Sam shook his head firmly. He knew plans like this never ended well. Although the prospect of spending more time with Gabriel was appealing, even if they would just be plotting how to get their brothers together. However, the knowledge of that would happen if Dean figured out what they were doing was deterrent enough.
"C'mon, it'd be fun!" Gabriel was certainly persistent.
"No way, it's too risky." Sam shook his head again.
"Oh come on Sammich, don't you trust me?" Gabriel looked up at Sam with just enough puppy dog in his eyes to make Sam crack.
"Alright, fine," Sam sighed, knowing he would regret this. "But stop looking at me like that, I feel like I kicked a puppy."
Gabriel grinned, wiping away all illusion of a puppy dog. Now he reminded Sam more of a sly fox. "Awesome! I knew you would come to see it my way, Sammy-boy. Now, let's skate." With that, Gabe grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him further out onto the ice.
If asked, Sam would blame the shock of Gabriel taking his hand for what happened next. Next thing he knew, he was sprawled out on his ass on the cold ice. Gabriel laughed loudly as Sam's cheeks got red, and not from the cold this time.
"Being graceful is not something anyone could accuse you of being, Samsquatch," Gabriel said once he had managed to stop laughing. Sam glared up at him.
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm so tall and clumsy."
"Sometimes being short has its advantages." Gabriel grinned and offered Sam his hand to help him up. Sam took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, mildly surprised by how strong the smaller man was. Once Sam was standing again, Gabriel still didn't let go of his hand.
"So, uh, what do we do now?" Sam was well aware that his cheeks were probably red but he hoped Gabriel simply passed it off as due to the cold.
"Race you." Gabriel grinned and let go of Sam's hand quickly before taking off across the pond. Sam's brain took a second to catch up before he took off after Gabriel, determined to win. His longer strides made up for his lack of coordination, and he quickly overtook Gabriel. After a short race, Sam emerged victorious.
"Hey, no fair, you cheated!" Gabriel whined, bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Sam laughed.
"How did I cheat? If anything, you're the one who cheated, you got a head start. And you sound so childish."
"You cheated with all your tallness and stuff." Gabriel crossed his arms petulantly and Sam laughed louder.
"I can't help that I'm tall and you're short. Besides, you got a head start. You just have to accept that I'm a better skater." Sam stuck his tongue out at Gabriel.
"Now who's childish?" Gabriel teased.
"Yeah, shut up," Sam laughed. He was surprised at how easily Gabriel could elicit that response. Sam was known to be the more serious of the two Winchesters, but Gabriel made him laugh so easily. It was a good feeling, Sam decided.
"We should probably see what our dear brothers are getting up to, we wouldn't want them to be having too much fun, not yet anyways. There are some areas you just really don't want to get frost bitten." Gabriel grinned and winked. Sam rolled his eyes and tried to ignore how attractive that wink was.
"I really didn't need to think that about my brother, thank you."
"I'm just saying…" Gabriel chuckled. Sam shook his head and started skating across the pond. "Hey, don't ditch me!" Gabe called after Sam, and started skating after the taller man.
"It's not my fault you're slow," Sam grinned.
"I am not slow, you took off without me." Gabriel looked offended.
"Tell that to the race you lost even with a head start," Sam teased.
"Shut up, Samaquatch. You may be cute, but that doesn't mean that you get to be a dick about it." Gabriel's words made Sam blush, but Gabriel didn't follow up on them and just took off in the direction they were headed. Sam watched after him for a moment, taking in the scene.
Sam had never thought that this was what his Christmas would look like – his brother happily skating arm in arm with the guy he likes, with the guy Sam likes gathering some snow together to pelt them with – but Sam couldn't be happier. And when Gabriel threw snow at Dean and Cas and started a snowball fight, Sam just laughed rather than shaking his head like he normally would have, had Gabriel not come in and changed everything.
Sam skated off to the side, content to leave them to their snowball fight. He ignored them for a few minutes before his peace was interrupted by a snowball to the back of his head. When he turned around he saw Gabriel doubled over laughing, Dean giving a shit eating grin and giggling, and Cas looking vaguely terrified, obviously the culprit. Sam simply laughed and joined in on their fight.
Somehow, without anything having been officially decided, the fight became Dean and Cas versus Sam and Gabriel. The two teams took opposite sides of the defined fight zone as they both tried to amass as much snow as possible. Gabriel and Sam quickly created a large store of snow and they each took one side of the fight zone, moving towards where Dean and Cas were secluded. Sam reached them first and pelted them with snowballs. He laughed at how easy it was; he had caught them completely unawares. But Sam's laughter was quickly cut off when he heard a rustle from above, which was his only warning before a large pile of snow was dumped unceremoniously on his head.
Sam yelped in surprise, looking up once he had managed to get the snow out of his eyes. He saw Gabriel smiling mischievously down from the branch above Sam's head.
"Heya Sammich," Gabriel said, grinning. The grin quickly gave way to a look of surprise when Sam reached up and grabbed him down from the branch, then tossed him into a large snowbank nearby.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Cas started laughing uncontrollably at the exchange, breaking the silence and causing Dean to give him a stunned look before dissolving into laughter as well. Sam soon joined the two in them in loud laughter, as Gabriel popped out of the snowbank, covered in snow. Sam was so caught up in laughing that he didn't even try and stop Gabriel from tackling him backwards into the snow. He instinctively wrapped his arms around the smaller man's waist to catch him, and dragged Gabriel down with him. Gabriel landed on top of Sam, his arms on either side of Sam's head. He smirked down at the taller man.
"Heya Sambo. Fancy meeting you like this." Sam blushed brightly, hoping Gabriel would pass it off as the cold.
"Might I remind you, you tackled me," Sam said, managing to sound less flustered than he felt.
"Yes, but you wrapped your arms around me," Gabriel pointed out. Sam blushed harder.
"I wanted to drag you down with me so we could avoid the whole 'revenge' thing again," Sam said. Gabriel looked mock-offended.
"Really? I thought it was because you had finally succumbed to my charm and wicked hot bod." Gabriel grinned, but Sam looked so speechless that Gabriel took pity on him and laughed, moving off of him and standing up. "I'm only joking, kiddo."
Gabriel offered Sam his hand to help him, Sam took it and got up. He couldn't help but feel disappointed when Gabriel let go of his hand immediately.
Once Sam had managed to kill the blush on his cheeks and the heat from the blush went away, he became aware of how cold he actually was. And if the shivers running through Gabe's body were any indication, he wasn't alone in this.
"We should head inside now," Sam recommended. This suggestion was met with general sounds of agreement, and they all made their way over to the dock where their boots were.
"What we all need is some hot chocolate and marshmallows," Dean announced.
"And a warm fire, too. I'm freezing," Gabriel said with a dramatic shiver for effect. "Samsquatch, warm me." He pressed against Sam's side and grinned. "You're like a human furnace, this is great."
"Uh, yeah," Sam stuttered. He tried to decide if this was platonic cuddling or not. Wait, was there a such thing as platonic cuddling? Yes, of course there was, he and Charlie had done the same thing many times because she always somehow managed to get cold, even in the summer. But this didn't feel the same as when he and Charlie did it. The only problem was that Sam couldn't decide if it felt different because of his feelings towards Gabriel or because of something the smaller man had done.
"Alright love birds, cut out your cuddling and lets get going," Dean said with a grin, and stood up, carrying his skates. Sam blushed and was about to stutter out a defense when Gabriel jumped in.
"We'll stop if you stop looking at my brother like you want to make out with him 'til your lips go numb." Gabriel smirked as Dean flushed bright red like a tomato.
"I don't- we're not- you shut up," Dean spluttered and turned around, stalking towards the house. Cas frowned slightly and followed him at a distance, clearly disappointed that Dean had been so quick to defend their actions. Sam sighed and stood up once Gabriel had moved off of him.
"My brother can be such an idiot sometimes," Sam said.
"Yours and mine both. They've obviously got it bad for each other, but they're too oblivious to notice the other feels the same way. I still maintain that we should interfere," Gabriel replied.
"And I still say we shouldn't. Meddling never ends well."
"Hm, we'll see," Gabriel said mysteriously, standing up and picking up his skates as Sam did the same.
"Don't involve me with whatever you're planning," Sam warned, and started to walk back to the house with Gabriel by his side.
"No promises." Gabriel grinned and Sam groaned.
"I see a future that doesn't end well for me," Sam lamented.
"Don't be such a drama queen, that's my job." Gabriel poked Sam's side.
Sam rolled his eyes. "All I want to do is change into some nice warm clothes."
"Good luck doing that with your suitcase missing," Gabriel laughed sheepishly. Sam groaned again.
"You guys are terrible."
"Perhaps, but you love us." Gabriel grinned.
"Yeah, whatever. Can I at least have a hint as to where my suitcase is hidden?" Sam crossed his arms across his chest.
"Around the house and in the scrapyard." Gabriel grinned wider. Sam made a general sound of grumpiness.
"So my clothes might not even be warm when I find them? You suck."
"Only if you're lucky," Gabriel said suggestively with a wink and a waggle of his eyebrows. Sam fought the blush that was stubbornly creeping up his neck and rolled his eyes, walking inside after leaving his skates outside. Sam found Dean and Cas in the front hall, getting out of their wet outer clothes.
"Dean, you have ten seconds to tell me where my stuff is before I start spilling all your secrets," Sam said as he crossed his arms. Dean only scoffed.
"You wouldn't dare," Dean said.
"Oh wouldn't I? Dean is terrified of flying," Sam announced to the gathered audience of Bobby, Cas, and Gabriel. Gabriel chuckled quietly but otherwise no one made a noise.
"So? Lots of people are afraid of flying." Dean crossed his arms, equally as stubborn as Sam.
"You sobbed during the Titanic." Sam raised an eyebrow. Gabriel barely kept in a laugh and even Bobby looked amused by this fact, but Dean looked as stubborn as ever.
"So did like half the population. It's a sad movie, Sammy." Sam was at a loss for any more embarrassing trivia that wouldn't cross a line, when he got an idea and grinned evilly.
"Hey Dean, do you remember Rhonda Hurley?" Dean paled slightly at the mention of her name.
"You wouldn't. You don't know what you're talking about." Dean's resolve only seemed to waver a little. He seemed secure in his belief that Sam didn't know what he was talking about.
"Oh, don't I? You were, what, seventeen? She made you-" That's as far as Sam got before Dean cut him off.
"Your suitcase is in the basement," Dean said, almost stumbling over his words in his haste to stop Sam from continuing his sentence. Sam smirked triumphantly.
"Thank you." Sam kicked off his boots and walked to the basement, his clothes dripping as the snow melted.
"You're dripping all over my floor, boy," Bobby groused.
"Blame Gabriel, he's the one who dumped snow on me and then tackled me to the ground," Sam called back. Gabriel laughed.
"Yes I did," Gabe said proudly. "I felled the mighty moose." Everyone but Sam laughed at that comment. Sam just sent Gabriel a bitchface and went downstairs. He changed into some warm dry clothes before tossing his wet clothes in the dryer, then walked back upstairs.
Gabriel was still standing at the door dripping on the mat. Cas had borrowed some of Dean's clothes and they were both sitting side by side in front of the fire. Cas was talking animatedly about something, while Dean looked like he had tuned out and just looked at Dean with a dopey little smile on his face. He gave a little nod or shake of his head whenever Cas paused, but otherwise he was just content to listen. Sam rolled his eyes, feeling a mixture of pleased and disgusted, then walked over to Gabriel.
"Did Dean offer you clothes?" Sam questioned.
"Oh yeah, I just thought it was more fun to stand here in my wet clothes, dripping all over the place," Gabriel responded sarcastically.
"I take that as a no, then?" Sam chuckled.
"That would be correct. Deano is too busy making heart eyes at my brother to remember about me," Gabriel rolled his eyes.
"Take off your boots and coat and follow me, I'll find you some clothes," Sam chuckled. Gabriel did as Sam instructed then followed him upstairs.
"So, does Dean live here with Bobby?" Gabriel enquired.
"Yeah, Dean didn't see the point of getting an apartment when he spent all his time here anyways." Sam walked into Dean's room.
"How long has he lived here for?" Gabriel stayed in the doorway.
"Since he was 17. I stayed here too until I went to college. Dean didn't want me to leave, but he was placated by the fact that my college was only 30 minutes away." Sam started to look for some clothes.
"Why did you two come to live here?" Gabriel asked curiously. Sam tensed slightly, unsure how his response would be received.
"My, uh, my dad found out that I was gay and got pissed. Giant shouting match, it didn't help that he was drunk so he was violent. He said that no son of his would ever be a- well, let's just say he said some pretty nasty things. Dean came in in the middle of my dad's rant and quickly assessed the situation, then took the opportunity to come out as bi. Needless to say, our father was not pleased, He threw us both out, so we came here. Bobby has been more of a father to us than John ever was." Sam had busied himself with looking for clothes that would fit Gabriel while he told his story so he wouldn't have to make eye contact with the other man. He didn't want to see the pity or disgust that was sure to be outlined on his friend's face.
Sam finally found some clothes and held them out to Gabriel. "Here you go, you can change now." But Gabriel didn't take the offered clothes. He just stood there, looking at Sam with a surprised and slightly sad expression.
"Wow, Sam. When I came out as pan, the only thing that happened was my brother Luci said 'Great, now I can tease you about everyone.' I'm so sorry that that happened to you, you deserved better than that," Gabriel said sincerely. Sam blinked his eyes a couple times. He hadn't expected that reaction. He tried to ignore the jump for joy that his heart gave when Gabriel announced that he was pansexual. That meant Sam had a little more of a chance, at least, a better chance than he would have if Gabe was straight.
"Oh, uh, thanks. I mean, I got over it, Dean and Bobby were more than enough family for me. It was nice not to have to worry about my dad coming home drunk anymore, and Dean got a lot more relaxed once we were out of that house. Ironically, throwing us out was the best thing my dad ever did for us." Sam laughed slightly and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, looking down.
"Still, you deserved better than that. I would hug you but I'm still all wet, so I'll change and then I'll hug you." Gabriel took the offered clothes from Sam's hand.
"I'll, uh, I'll wait for you downstairs." Sam flashed Gabriel a small smile before he walked out of the room and closed the door. Sam paused for a moment outside the door to assess the new element that had just been introduced to their friendship. Now that Gabriel knew he was into dudes, would he stop flirting or whatever he was doing with Sam? Sam enjoyed their comfortable friendship, he didn't want it ruined because Gabriel might think that Sam was hitting on him. But if Gabe had been flirting with him... That meant that Sam had a chance! He tried to ignore that thought, he preferred not to get too invested so as to avoid heart break. But still... Sam smiled happily and went downstairs and took a seat on the couch, in the same place as last night. Dean and Cas looked up when he sat down.
"What are you do happy about?" Dean questioned, taking in his brother's cheerful smile.
"Hm? Oh, nothing, just having a good day, that's all," Sam said joyfully.
"Uh huh..." Dean didn't look like he exactly believed Sam, but he didn't press any further. "Well, I'm going to make some hot chocolate. Cas, do you want to help?" Dean looked down at the man in question hopefully. Cas smiled in response.
"I'd love to, Dean." Cas stood up and offered his hand to Dean. Dean took it and stood up. Sam didn't miss the way their hands lingered just a couple seconds longer than necessary, but he didn't comment. He was pleased that his brother liked someone as nice as Cas, and it would be good for Dean to settle down and find something more than the random hookups that he usually went for. Sam's pondering was interrupted by Gabriel swiftly pecking his cheek. Sam blushed brightly.
"What was that for?" Sam sounded flustered.
"Mistletoe, Samsquatch. I don't make the rules, I just follow them." Gabriel pointed up above Sam's head where sure enough, there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging. Sam's blushed abated but only slightly.
"Oh. Right. Mistletoe," Sam said dumbly.
"So, whatcha doing?" Gabe plopped down on the couch beside him.
"Oh, just waiting for Dean and Cas to finish making hot chocolate."
"That'll probably take forever because they'll be too caught up in staring into each other's eyes to realize that the water has boiled. What do you say we go in the kitchen and steal some of the desserts from yesterday?" Gabriel grinned and Sam chuckled.
"Sure. We'll get them to hurry up, too. Then I was thinking we could all play a game together, maybe Monopoly or something."
"Cas is a cutthroat Monopoly player. He always kicks everyone's asses whenever we play with our family."
"I don't know, I'm pretty good too. I may give him a good run for his money," Sam grinned and bragged.
But it turned out that all of Sam's boasting was in vain. Once Gabriel and Sam had managed to drag Cas and Dean away from their sexual tension filled staring, they all settled down with hot chocolate and plates of desserts in front of the fire to play Monopoly. The beginning of the game was fairly evenly matched, but before long Cas proved to be just as cutthroat and Gabriel promised. He slowly and calculatingly eliminated each of his opponents. Gabriel was the first to go, but he didn't seem all that bothered by it.
"Hey, more time to concentrate on eating sugar." Gabriel shrugged and picked up a cookie. Next to be eliminated was Dean.
"Man, that was my last dollar. I hate this game." Dean pouted for a bit before turning his attention back to the game.
Things were heating up with only two players left. Sam bravely fought a losing battle, growing ever more nervous as Cas kept his calm and collected look through the whole game, while he systematically and cleverly wiped out Sam. Finally, Sam had to admit defeat.
"I'm bankrupt. I concede. Cas, you are the Monopoly champion," Sam announced. Cas gave a little pleased smile.
"Thank you. You were worthy opponents," Cas said humbly, and Dean laughed.
"No way, we never stood a chance. You kicked our asses," Dean said.
"Yeah, nice job little bro." Gabriel grinned and looked down at his watch. "Wow, it's later than I thought. It's almost 6."
"My brother and I should get going. We've imposed on your hospitality long enough," Cas said as he stood up.
"Yeah, thanks for having us guys." Gabriel also stood up.
"We enjoyed having you," Dean said, but he was only looking at Cas. Gabriel gave an amused grin as he looked at how Dean was looking at Cas.
"Thanks for inviting us, Sam," Gabe said.
"Yes, thank you Sam," Cas said absently. Sam chuckled softly.
"You guys are welcome. We'd be happy to have you again sometime," Sam offered, smiling.
"Thank you. We'd like that." Cas was speaking to Sam, but still looking at Dean. Gabriel rolled his eyes.
"Come on, lover boy, let's go upstairs and get changed." Gabriel placed a hand on his brothers shoulder and led him upstairs, ignoring the blush and protests from both Cas and Dean. Sam laughed and turned to his brother.
"Why don't you just admit it, Dean? You've got it bad for Cas," Sam stated.
"Cas would never want to be with a guy like me. Besides, he's probably not even into dudes." Dean shrugged and brushed Sam off.
"Gabriel said that Cas is very interested," Sam mentioned offhandedly.
"Oh, and whatever Gabriel says must be the truth," Dean said and grinned teasingly.
"Hey, don't turn this back on me." Sam blushed despite himself. "You deal with your crush and leave mine alone."
"So you admit you have a crush on him." Dean grinned wider and Sam groaned.
"Don't twist my words, I never said I had a crush on Gabriel," Sam defended. The man in question walked downstairs just in time to hear the last part.
"Really? I'm sort of offended, I'm very crush worthy," Gabriel grinned and joked, trying to cover up the fact that Sam's words hurt just a little.
Sam blushed brightly and stuttered out, "I should- get my clothes from the dryer," before he all but ran downstairs to the basement. Wow, he was acting like a middle school girl with a crush. This was so embarrassing.
"Man, no one could say you have a self esteem problem," Sam just heard Dean say before he reached the safety of the basement. Gabriel laughed his stupidly gorgeous laugh in response to the statement. Oh yeah, Sam thought, I have it bad.
Sam busied himself with getting his clothes out of the dryer and folding them. He was so immersed in what he was doing that he didn't even hear someone come downstairs. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a tap on his arm. He looked down to see Gabriel looking up at him with a grin on his face. Sam's blush, which had been fading, came back in full force when faced with the object of his affections.
"Listen, about earlier-" Sam started, but was cut off by the blond man.
"I meant what I said earlier. I'm very offended that you don't have a crush on me. Especially when I've put all my best moves on you and everything." Gabriel crossed his arms and pretended to be put out. Sam was speechless for a moment and just stared down dumbly at Gabriel.
"What?" Sam asked. Oh yeah, that's intelligent, Sam thought, that'll really make him like me. Wait, didn't he just basically say he likes me? Sam's brain sort of stopped working at that point.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I like you, Moose. I thought that much was obvious. We even went on my perfect date today," Gabriel grinned wider. "Granted, our brothers were there, but that's a minor detail." Now Sam's mind got kicked into overdrive.
"You do? Oh, that's uh, that's great." Sam smiled stupidly and blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the ground.
"So, I feel stupid asking this, but do you like me too or is that blush just to make you even cuter than you already are?" Gabriel grinned but there was a hint of uncertainty behind his eyes.
"Oh yeah, no, I mean, yes, I do," Sam stuttered and hurried to explain. He laughed awkwardly. "I have no idea how to act right now."
"Well, I mean, you could kiss me," Gabriel offered casually. Sam's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh, yeah, I, uh, could, I mean, if you want?" Gabriel just rolled his eyes and grabbed Sam's shirt, pulling him down for a kiss.
Kissing Gabriel was everything Sam had thought it would be (not that he had thought about it, like, overly much, just, like, a healthy amount). The only problem was that it was over much too soon. Before long, Gabriel was pulling away with a smile on his face.
"Yep, just how I imagined it would be. Now, we should get back upstairs because Cassie is ready to leave which means I have to go or I won't have a ride, and attractive people hitchhiking usually doesn't end well," Gabriel chuckled.
Sam laughed softly. "Well, we wouldn't want anything to happen to you, so you better get going." On the outside, Sam was happy, but on the inside he was absolutely elated. He had kissed Gabriel Novak. Well, technically Gabriel had kissed him, but still. Their lips had touched all the same. He was pulled out of his celebrating by Gabriel turning around.
"Come on, Samsquatch, let's go join our brothers and interrupt the sexual tension. Bobby must be able to feel it from the library," Gabriel joked, and Sam smiled.
"Yeah, probably." Sam grabbed his clothing and followed the blond man upstairs happily. Nothing could bring his mood down right now.
They found their brothers standing just a little bit too close, but they quickly separated when they saw Gabriel and Sam walk upstairs.
"We were just..." Dean trailed off, unable to come up with a suitable explanation.
"Yeah, whatever Dean." Sam laughed.
Goobye's were said, and Bobby came out of the library to see his guests off. Gabriel managed to keep his goodbye to Sam G rated, and they only hugged. Cas and Dean awkwardly stared at each other before Gabriel coughed loudly to remind them of the others presences.
Once the guests had gone, it was time for Sam to leave in his Christmas present from Dean. The Christmas present was a red '68 Mustang, all fixed up thanks to Dean's expertise.
"Wow, thanks Dean, she's a beauty." Sam smiled at his brother.
"You're welcome Sammy. She'll do well for you, won't fail on you like some of the cheap plastic pieces of crap that they make now a days." Dean was a firm believer in the superiority of classic cars.
Sam left soon after, saying goodbye and Merry Christmas before driving back to his apartment. He spent the drive pondering what this new development would mean for his relationship with Gabriel. What were they now? More than friends, but not technically dating since they hadn't been on an official date. Should Sam ask him out on a date, or wait for Gabriel to make the first move? And if they did go out on a date, where would they go? Not for coffee, obviously, but maybe for dinner and a movie? Would Gabriel like that? Sam sighed. Asking people out was hard.
By the time he arrived back at his apartment building, Sam hadn't reached any definite decision. He parked his car and walked into the building and up to his apartment, unlocking the door and walking inside. He sighed softly. His apartment seemed awfully big and empty after being in a house so full of life and laughter. He wondered if any of the others had felt this way upon arriving home.
When Sam crawled into bed that night, he reflected back on what had happened. He had gotten to spend almost two days with his favourite people, and there was the promise of many more days like that to come. This had been the best Christmas in a long time, Sam realized. It was to this thought that he fell asleep with a smile on his face, his dreams promising to be filled with laughter and fun.