Crossfire Part 1

For the Sabriel Tumblr prompt

Either an AU or re-telling of previous seasons where Gabriel comes into play far earlier - back when they still think he's the Trickster. Bonus points if Castiel is somehow brought into the party. Bonus points if mass amounts of angst ensue and everyone is thick-headed and stubborn.

And what was originally meant to be a oneshot turned into a two-parter which mutated into a three-parter so . . . Yup.

It happened when Sam least expected it. That's kind of how most things tended to happen to him and his brother, really. One second he was laying back on the latest dingy motel mattress, a book balanced against his knees as he read, and the next there was a pair of honey-gold eyes staring down at him and a red lollipop being pointed at his nose.

"You know what, I like you."

Sam let out a very unmanly squeal of surprise, scrambling back only to end up in a messy tangle of blankets on his back across the floor. He inhaled sharply as he was met with golden eyes again, the Trickster frowning down at him from where he sat on the bed. "Wha-" Sam stared, enable to fully articulate the thousands of questions springing to mind.

The Trickster smirked then and popped the red lollipop into his mouth, "I like you," He repeated. "You and your brother, you're interesting." He paused, rolling the sucker around in his mouth thoughtfully, "It might be kinda fun to stick around."

Sam stared at him, mouth hanging open, for a very long moment before he finally rediscovered what words were. "We killed you!" he exclaimed, because that was really the most shocking part of this whole affair. He could have sworn that he'd seen Dean stab a stake right through the Trickster's heart less than three days ago.

Raising an eyebrow the Trickster pointed his sticky lollipop at Sam again, "Tried to," he corrected. "I've been around for longer than you can even begin to comprehend, kiddo. If it was that easy to kill me I would have been dead long ago."

Mouth still hanging open slightly, Sam continued to stare, "B-" No, that wasn't right. "Why-" No, that's not it either. "Huh?" was what he finally settled for, because really, he couldn't think of anything else.

"I thought you were the smart one," the Trickster huffed, crossing his arms. He leaned down and jabbed Sam in the chin with his saliva covered sucker, "I like you." Jab jab. "And I think I'll stick around," Another sticky jab. "And also, I'm not dead," an especially hard jab that left a streak of cherry red across Sam's chin. "Anymore stupid questions, gigantor?"

Sam shook his head.

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Dean was furious. Apparently working with the monsters they hunted was a big "NO" in the unwritten rulebook of hunters. Sam, personally, didn't see much of a problem with it.

"He said he'd help us," He argued the next night while the Trickster was out on one of his many candy runs. "We can use all the help we can get, Dean."

Dean stared him down, decision unwavering in the face of the claims Sam made, "He kills people, Sam."

"He said he wouldn't as long as he was with us," Sam protested, remembering that he had made these same accusations only the day before.

"And you think that he won't still hurt people?" Dean snorted, "Even if he doesn't kill them, he still wrecks havoc. He's a Trickster, Sammy!"

"Maybe those people deserve it!" Sam shot back. Dean blinked at him, startled at the outburst. "Dean," Sam let out a breath, trying to calm himself, "He teaches people lessons, people who do bad things and get away with it. How is that any different from us? Any different from comic book heroes kids look up to?"

As if on cue the door swung open at that moment, revealing the man in discussion holding a grocery bag stuffed with candy. "Yeah, Dean-o, I'm Batman," The Trickster laughed as he closed the door behind him.

Dean narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, "You won't kill anyone?"

"Nope," the Trickster said.

"And you'll help us?"

"Yup," He took a licorice out of the bag and bit off the end.

Dean's eyebrows furrowned together, "Fine. But if you even set one toe out of line, you're dead."

"You can try," The Trickster sang, flopping back down onto Sam's bed, the candy from his bag spilling out onto his chest and the mattress in turn.

The older Winchester made a frustrated noise before turning away. Sam rolled his eyes and sat down next to the Trickster, snatching up a package of Rollos, "So then, looks like you get to stay," he remarked.

The Trickster chuckled, "So I do. I expected a bit more of a fuss."

"Dean's just being a stick in the mud. He said before that he likes your style, so he'll come around."

"And you?" The Trickster propped himself up on one elbow to look at him.

Sam looked away almost instantly and started to fiddle with the Rollos in his lap, "I . . . I'd like to believe that not all monsters are evil . . ." He whispered, biting his lip. Sam shook his head, opening the candy and popping a piece in his mouth before he glanced back at the Trickster again, "So, you have a name, right? It seems kinda rude to just keep calling you Trickster."

For a moment, Sam could have sworn he saw a flash of uncertainty in the Trickster's eyes before he answered, "Loki. You can call me Loki."

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They continued hunting as usual. Dean made sure to take time to whine about various candies he would find around the motel rooms, or stuck to the leather of the Impala, but he admitted that Loki made a great pool hustler when they needed cash. Sam had the sneaking suspicion that the Trickster was cheating. Really, he wouldn't have been surprised. Common ghost cases and small demon hunts came and went that Loki barely even bothered to bat an eye at. Sometimes, if he felt like it, he'd "play detective" as he called it, with them when they questioned people. But he never went with for the actual salt and burn or the exorcism. If they had to do the later nearby, Loki tended to make himself scarce. Sam didn't question it. Dean didn't care.

And then there was San Francisco. Dean hadn't hunted a werewolf in years, and he was positively giddy to have such a challenge again. He didn't expect it to be Madison. He didn't expect them to fail when they attempted to cure her. He didn't expect Sam to like her so much.

They left town as soon as the final deed had been done, and for once, the car was silent. Dean didn't blast his music, Sam didn't comment on the "interesting" scenery, and Loki didn't crack any stupid jokes. The Trickster stared down at his hands for the entire ride, clenching and unclenching his fingers. Every once in awhile Dean caught him looking up at Sam, an unreadable expression on his face. It made Dean seethe with anger inside.

Sam went into that night's motel first, and Dean got the opportunity he wanted to grab Loki by the collar of his t-shirt and slam him into a wall. Hard.

"You knew killing the sire werewolf wouldn't work, didn't you," Dean spat. They'd ran the idea past him when they'd found it in their father's journal.

"Yes," Loki whispered.

Dean snarled, utterly furious, "Then why didn't you tell us!"

Loki's golden eyes narrowed challengingly, "Because it was something you needed to see!" he hissed. "You especially, Dean. You need to understand, here and now, that sometimes . . . Sometimes people can't help what they are! And yet they can still come back to themselves enough to see what is right and what is wrong."

Dean stiffened, "This is about Sam."

"Hasn't it always been?" Loki said through gritted teeth.

Dean growled under his breath, releasing his grip on the Trickster and watching him slump against the wall. "I thought your lessons were about just desserts."

"They're about judgment," Loki corrected darkly, "And correction." He blinked, staring down at his hands, "Sometimes . . . Even though I know it's useless, I can't help but try to untangle but can't be undone."

"What does that even mean?"

Loki laughed, slow and humorless, "I don't even know half the time." He glanced up then, gaze wavering in a way that never met Dean's head on for more than a heartbeat, "Just . . . Remember that Sam is your brother, no matter what. Don't ever forget that. Ever."

"Of course," Dean raised an eyebrow, confused. A smile lit Loki's face then, one of the many that unnerved Dean to no end, and the Hunter take a step back. "I'll um . . . I'll go get some pie or something."

"Bring back chocolate cream for me, Dean-o!" The Trickster called after him brightly. Dean just flipped him off in response. When the steady rumble of the Impala had faded into the distance he pushed open the door to the motel ever so slowly.

Sam was laying facedown on one of the beds, pillow smashed into his face and where he held it and his feet hanging off the end. Loki sighed and came to stand at the edge of the bed before crouching down and beginning to work off Sam's shoes and placing them at the foot of the bed. Sam turned his head to the side and cast him a glance, but otherwise didn't complain. When the pagan god had finished he pressed his face back into the pillow again with a groan.

"You're going to suffocate like that," Loki pointed out calmly, to which Sam just muttered something unintelligible into the pillow. The Trickster shrugged and sat on the other bed facing the hunter and leaned back on his hands, waiting.

"What if I'm like Madison," Sam said suddenly, barely lifting his head from the pillow.

Loki tilted his head to the side, "A werewolf? Well unless you had very kinky sex, Sammy, I really doubt it."

Sam huffed into the pillow, "No. I mean . . . What if I'm a monster." He shivered and looked away, thus missing the way Loki's eyes widened.

"Sam . . ."

"I'm serious!" Sam snapped, sitting up and facing Loki. "Dean doesn't think I can be, but what if I am?" He looked at his hands and narrowed his eyes, "I've moved objects with my mind, Loki. I've seen people die in my dreams. I don't even know what I'm capable of fully. What if what I really am is just bubbling under the surface and one day I just . . . What if I just snap, and that's it. There's probably some sort of trigger, or switch that will one day just flip and that will be it." He looked up at the Trickster helplessly, "What am I supposed to do then? Dean already proved he can't stop me twice this year alone. What am I supposed to do if there's no one to stop me?"

Loki frowned and stood, moving to stand in front of Sam before he crouched at his feet, "You're not a monster, Sammy. I can tell you that right now."

"You don't know that," Sam whispered, his voice breaking.

A sigh escaped the Trickster and he bent his head for a moment before looking back up at the Hunter, "What exactly is it you're asking of me, Sam?"

"Stop me," Sam pleaded as he fisted his hands in the sleeves of Loki's shirt. "I need someone who will stop me if I . . . If I turn into something I'm not right now."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed together but he nodded, "All right."

Dean chose that moment to walk in, greeted with the sight of Sam sitting on the edge of the bed and the Trickster kneeling in front of him. "I brought pie-aaaaahhh! What- No. I'm just going to go out and come back in and when I get back, I will not be seeing this. Okay!"

"Dean! This is not what it looks like!"

Loki just laughed.

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The hunts were small and for the most part, simple after that. Loki managed to work his way up to be some sort of Hollywood big-wig in a matter of minutes when they were trying to figure out what was going down on the Hell Hazers set, and generally made their lives as Pas a living hell. On purpose. And he refused to play prisoner when they had a case in that jail, and decided that playing prison guard was much more fun, especially as he got to make a good many more buttsex jokes to Dean, quite a few of which flew right over his head and thus ended in just him and Sam laughing at the older Winchester's expense. When Dean got caught by the Djin, it was Loki who kept Sam from completely freaking out so that they could track down the idiot before the life got sucked completely out of him.

It had all been too easy, really. Too much like the everyday Winchester life. That's what should have tipped them off that shit was about to get real sooner rather than later.

"Hey, see if they've got any pie."

"Yeah, Sammy, chocolate pie!" Loki piped up from where he was sprawled across the back seat.

"Dude that is not real pie," Dean said, twisting in his seat to glare at him.

"Only to you, big boy," Loki smirked.

Dean rolled his eyes and looked back at a very exasperated faced Sam who was still standing with the side door open, waiting for the ridiculous requests to finish. "Bring me some pie!" Sam rolled his eyes and slammed the door. Dean just shrugged and cracked the music up with a hum of, "I love me some pie," while ignoring the way Loki put his hands over his ears.

The radio sound fizzed out for a second and Dean cast it a look, his eyes narrowing as the music continued to flicker in and out. Loki sat up in the back, his eyes going from the radio to the restaurant as Dean tapped the dashboard, trying to get the music to play.

"Dean!" Dean's eyes followed his as Loki fumbled with the car door and practically fell out onto the gravel road. The little diner, still lit, was suddenly empty.

"Shit," Dean cursed, scrambling out of the car and grabbing Loki under the arm as he made a beeline for the door to the place.

Inside, the music still played on, slow and tedious as though nothing had happened, contrary to the dead bodies that littered the place. Dean froze at the sight while Loki dashed across the short length of the diner, touching various objects as he went, his gaze frantic. "Where is he?" He yelled at Dean as he turned to make his way back across the diner.

"Sam?" Dean called as he pulled his gun from his pocket, motioning for Loki to step aside as he made for the back door. "Sam?" he called again, out into the rain. But no one answered.

"How . . ." Loki whispered behind him as he reached to grab onto the back of Dean's jacket, his hands shaking, "I should have felt them coming. How could anything get past me?"

Dean turned, ignoring the way Loki clung to the back of his coat. He glanced at his fingers as he pulled away from the door, frowning at the sulfur clinging to them, Loki's words and the clear evidence now clicking into place. He rushed to the front door again.

"Sammy? Sam?"

Loki had let go of his jacket once they were outside, and was standing a ways behind as Dean crossed the length of the parking lot and the road in a few strides.

"Sammy? SAM?"

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"Where is he?" Dean demanded, slamming the Trickster into hood of the Impala. They were parked on the side of the road waiting for Bobby to meet them, the rain still falling as it had the night before.

"I've tried looking," Loki hissed, scrabbling at his wrists, "Don't you think I've tried! I can't find him! Usually I can snap my fingers and that would be that, but whatever has him doesn't want him to be found!" He squirmed, "So will you let go? I'm not standing around uselessly blaming you, am I?"

Dean released him and stepped back, his shoulders slumping, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

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While Dean wasn't Loki's favorite Winchester, he was eternally grateful when Dean caught him by the arm before he tripped face first into Ash's, well, ashen body. And Dean didn't complain when he clung to the Hunter's arm, feeling sick to his stomach. "Even I don't do things this horrible," he whispered, gazing around at the wreckage of the roadhouse. "I've tricked people into dying because of their own stupidity and ignorance. They always had a chance to turn back. This is just . . ."

"This is what real evil is like," Bobby muttered, looking up at the smoke covered sky.

He was still holding Dean's arm, trying to keep his lunch of red vines and coke down when Dead had put his hand to his forehead, nearly collapsing on top of the pagan god as he doubled over in pain. Only the Impala and Loki kept him standing in the end.

"That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels," Dean remarked, leaning heavily against the car while Loki and Bobby hovered over him.

"What did you see?" they asked in unison, which of course just resulted in them glaring at each other while Dean rolled his eyes.

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"I don't need a gun, Dean," Loki protested as Dean shoved a sawed off into his hands. He snapped his fingers and it reappeared back in the trunk where it had been a moment before.

Dean growled in annoyance, picking it up once again and thrusting it at the Trickster, "I don't have time to save your ass if things get hairy, you moron! Just take it!"

"I don't need saving!" Loki shot back, "Just worry about your brother!"

Dean narrowed his eyes, "Take the gun, or I will shoot you with it."

Loki took the gun.

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They let their guards down, all four of them. Dean dropped his gun to his side the second he saw Sam, as did Bobby. Loki just dropped his gun period, he was really not a fan. They should have known better.

"Sam!" Loki screamed, trying to snap himself forward to stop the camouflage uniform clad man charging at the younger Winchester from behind. But nothing happened.

"Sam, look out!" Dean yelled, already breaking into a run while Loki tried to snap again, and failing once more. "No!" Dean caught Sam as he fell, stabbed in the back, and Loki gave up on trying to magic his way anywhere and followed, coming to stand behind Dean while Bobby chased after the man who darted away as quick as he had come.

"Sam! Oh, Sam. Sam. Hey! Hey come here, let me look at ya'." Loki swallowed as he saw Dean pull his hand from Sam's back, stained red with blood. "Oh, hey, okay, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Sammy? Sam!" Dean turned to the Trickster then, "Do something! You can do something , can't you!"

Loki raised his hand, snapping his fingers again, and again and again to no avail. "I . . ." He swallowed, "I don't know what's wrong. I can't . . ."

Dean let out a frustrated noise and turned back to his brother, "Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up, okay? You're gonna be good as new." Loki put his hand to his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut and lowering his hand to his side, still feebly snapping. "Huh? I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take care of you." Snap. Snap. Snap. "I got ya'. That's my job, right? Looking after my pain-in-the-ass little brother?" Snap. Snap. "Sam? Sam? Sam? Sammy?" Snap.

Loki fell to his knees in the mud, watching as Dean started to chant, "No." over and over again as if that would somehow make things better. "No . . . No, no, no, no, no, no." Dean brought Sam to him, holding his all too limp body close. "No . . . Oh . . . God . . . Sam!"

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Loki didn't look up when Bobby offered him the bucket of chicken Dean didn't touch. He didn't look up when Bobby and Dean started to argue.

"I just don't think you should be alone is all."

"I'm stuck with that idiot, aren't I?" Dean snapped, gesturing to where Loki was leaning against the wall, his chin against his collar as he stared pointedly at the floor.

He didn't even look up when Dean admitted he didn't even care if the world ended there and then. He flinched away at the words though, dread coursing through him. And he didn't look up when Dean shoved Bobby away and towards to door, screaming, "Go!" after him.

He learned a heartbeat later why Dean didn't do the same to him.

Dean slammed him into the wall he'd been leaning against. An event that seemed to happen a lot between them. "Fix him!"

Loki just stared, "I can't bring back the dead, Dean."

"Yes you can, I know you can!" Dean twisted his fingers into the Trickster's collar as if meaning to choke him.

"I can't!"

Dean released him, stepping back, "Then you can get out."

"Dean-"

"Get out!"

Loki narrowed his eyes, "You can't make me leave. I chose to be here, and I am not leaving now." He watched warily as Dean paced around him towards the door, "Dean, don't."

"Don't what."

"You're going to do something you will regret," Loki said quietly.

Dean didn't look at him as he opened the door, "I will never regret anything I do for Sam." He walked out, the door slamming behind him, and Loki couldn't bring himself to stop him.

Slowly, he made his way to the dusty mattress Sam's body lay on, pulling up a chair beside it. "So this is how it begins, isn't it," he whispered. The Trickster raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "I thought by helping I could stop it somehow But Sammy I . . . I can't go and get you. I can't go back to Heaven, even for that that." He laughed, the sound harsh and ragged, "Not even for you. I'm such a coward, Sammy. I'm such a coward."

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He was still sitting in the same spot hours later when Sam's eyes flickered open. His head was in his hands, his elbows on his knees, and he didn't notice until Sam shifted and muttered, "Why am I on a smelly mattress?"

Loki blinked, startled, and looked up as Sam struggled to a sitting position, "Sam?"

"Loki," Sam smirked, the smile falling when he took in the look on the Trickster's face, "What happened?"

The pagan god inhaled, unsure of what Dean wanted to tell the kid, "Oh, nothing much," he said as lightly as he could, though he could hear his voice wavering, "Just this and that."

"You've been crying," Sam said flatly, wincing as he tried to sit up farther.

"I-I have not!" Loki tried to protest, "I'm just kinda tired. There have been no tears here, none. Nada. zip." He stopped when Sam raised an eyebrow at him and swallowed before standing up and wrapping his arms around the Hunter's shoulders, ignoring his whine of protest and the whispered, "Ouch."

"I'm just . . . I'm just really glad you're awake, Sammy. Really glad."

Dean burst in when he was reluctantly helping Sam hike up his shirt to see the puckered fresh scar on his back, making the count two for nil on times Dean had walked into a situation between them that was not what it looked like. Though he did admit, it looked a little odd with Sam peering over his shoulder at the mirror and Loki standing at his front, arms around him as he held his shirt up in the back.

Dean let it go this time though, too relieved to see his brother standing to kick Loki's butt.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Why is this turning out so loooonnnggg! It's like I keep finding places Gabriel would fit in perfectly as I go over each episode between 2.15 and 5.08. DAMNIT. I plan it to be three parts though. Next part will be (mostly?) season 3 coverage, and part 3 will be 4 and 5. It's basically just like the show goes, except with more Sassy Angel Commentary and Antics here and there. And Sabriel fluff and angst of course. Things are going to get a little rough and tumble next time.