Knowledge Is Everything
Title: Knowledge Is Everything
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Sabriel, Destiel
Word Count: 5025 words
Warnings: Implications of past abuse
Summary: In the not-so-far-off future, instead of selling kidneys people sell brains. The more knowledge held, the more expensive the brain. People undergoing the operation after having their brain sold have a small chance of survival. When your brain is sold you live as a vegetable, or you lose everything you've ever known. Unfortunately, Sam Winchester's brain has recently been sold to one Gabriel Novak. Gabriel is the perfect buyer, he invites Sam and Dean to stay with him, cooks their meals and generally is very kind to them. For some reason though, he keeps pushing back the operation date.
Some absolutely gorgeous art by Xander here: link
Written as part of the Sabriel Minibang
“Are you sure there isn't any way to nullify the contract?” Sam's voice was starting to get on his own nerves by this point. He'd been asking this question over and over again for the last few hours and getting a different answer each time.
“I'm sorry sir but there's simply nothing we can do for you” one of the solicitors replied.
See, at first it had started off with them saying it took a very large amount of money to nullify his contact, and then when it became obvious he didn't have any money to give they moved onto saying it was his own fault and they wouldn't do it. Now they've focussed on being apologetic and saying they still can't do anything.
It had started off as a fairly normal day originally; Sam and Dean's father had fell down the stairs at his usual time and started his daily routine of complaining about anything and everything. “Why has the world turned to shit, it's your fault you know. You could've stood up and gone to college and made a change but instead you're back here like the fucking coward you are!”
That was usual to be honest; John had been so heavy in drink in their last town they had had to move away because it ended up that he somehow owed hundreds to the wrong sorts of people. The real problem today though started when John began rooting around in his jacket and pulled out a white envelope. Seemingly innocent at first glance but of course it was anything but. His father had pushed the envelope towards him and stumbled back out of the kitchen. Almost not wanting to see what horror his father had subjected him to this time, Sam carefully opened the envelope and took out the contents.
It started off as “To whomever it may concern, we regret to inform you of the transaction made for Samuel Winchester's brain.” Oh, okay then.
That was when the shit hit the fan. He scrambled up the stairs to tell Dean or do something because hello his brain just got sold and he wasn't going to just sit on his arse and cry.
Now in the aftermath of all the arguments, him and Dean had dragged their father down the closest solicitors office to see if there was any way of getting it annulled. Michael, the only solicitor willing to even speak to them, was unhelpful even while he was sympathetic. “I'm sorry but the most I could do for you would be to annul the contract after permission was given from the buyer. According to this, the buyer was Gabriel Novak. He's listed as number 7 on the state chart, I'd try and get in contact with him if I were you.”
With that he turned away, sympathetic gaze reverting back to a cold stare as he looked at the papers on his desk.
The chart was something that everyone detested. In this day and age where people trade brains in exchange for knowledge, the chart keeps track of who holds the most knowledge within the city, state and country. Everyone is forced to take tests each year so the government can rank us, it's ridiculous and not to mention demeaning.
“Cheer up Sam! At least the letter says you don't have an operation date set yet, this Gabriel might not be so bad, just try and meet him, yeah?” Although Dean was trying to sound strong, I could hear his voice wavering. Shit, it's worse than I thought; he's taking this worse than me.
“Fine, you can't expect me to like him though.” He knew that he was acting like a spoiled child but dammit he had a right to!
“Sammy stop being such a little bitch.”
“Jerk.”
It was an easy routine; one we fell into that comforted us even now. The rest of the journey home was silent.
-
It was Dean's turn to do the shopping. Just get a few groceries and then he could go home. It should have been simple really. Too bad no one else got that memo.
“Everyone on the floor with your arms in the air!” The three men had stormed the small corner shop armed with shotguns. There weren't many people in the the shop and quietly they all obeyed, apart from one guy in a trench coat.
“I believe you're making a mistake here. Please, put the guns down.”
“Yeah? And who the fuck are you?” The robbers gun were trained on trench-coat-guy's face. He stood his ground though and locked eyes with the one of the guys beneath the mask.
“My name is Castiel Novak.”
This Castiel dude had barely finished his sentence when a voice rang out from the other end of the store.
“Really Cassie? I let you go out for groceries and you attempt to stop an armed robber? I really wonder about you sometimes dear brother.” His tone was joking but his expression was serious; lips in a straight line and eyes looking heavy with worry.
“Gabriel there is no need to interfere; I am quite capable of handling this myself.”
“Of course you are bro, that's why you decided to try and talk down an armed robber with no weapons yourself.” The guys tone became mocking at this point, and he then turned towards the robber Castiel had spoken to and continued, “you'll have to forgive my brother. He's not exactly the brightest star in the sky.”
The robber was looking between them with apprehension in his eyes before shouting, “both of you shut up and hands in the air!”
“Come on, you really don't wanna do that son.” Gabriel seemed to have taken charge of the situation, motioning to the robber's to put their guns down.
“Oh yeah, just try and stop me.” He was radiated smugness, everyone could practically hear his thoughts; this guy against me? He's short and doesn't look very strong, I'll definitely win.
Wordlessly, Gabriel glanced towards Castiel and nodded; he seemed used to it for he simply walked away and advanced on the other two while Gabriel handled the one in front.
-
It was only in the aftermath of everything that Dean realised something.
“Wait, you're Gabriel Novak?” His face was a show of disbelief
“The one and only; and who might you be hmm?”
“The brother of the dude whose brain you just bought” He knew he sounded grumpy hey, he was allowed to be; this guy just bought his brother's friggin' brain.
“Well I can see there's going to be a minor elephant in the room here so I'll just leave. See ya at home Cassie!” With that he flounced off leaving Dean and Castiel in an awkward silence
-
The next day a letter came in along with the usual bills. Hmm, rare; they never went out except for work therefore they didn't know anyone worth being friendly to.
Dear Samuel Winchester,
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to stay with me during the remainder of your time left. We may not know what'll happen in the future but please believe me when I say that I will try to make your stay with me as comfortable as possible. And of course, your brother is welcome to stay as long as it makes you feel better. Please find enclosed the address and a keycard that will serve as proof that you are my guests. I expect to see you both very soon.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Novak.
And thus as Sam read it out, Dean saw red.
“Who the fuck does he think he is?! Inviting us? More like demanding! When I get my hands on the smug dick I swear I'm gonna rip his lungs out!” As he ran out of creative things to say he reverted to fuming in his corner. “Dean calm down! I haven't even met him yet and you've only met him once! He may be an alright guy, we just need to see. Come on, we better start packing.”
-
When they arrived at the house fucking mansion that Gabriel was apparently living in they was greeted by a servant at the door who Sam could only assume was Castiel. He showed the keycard that was enclosed in the letter and Castiel's face immediately became calculating.
“Ah yes, Samuel and Dean. My name is Castiel and I am the servant of the house. Typically I am the housekeeper seeing as my master cooks his own meals due to his choice. If you need anything during your stay here, please do not hesitate to inform either myself or my master.”
“Castiel?” I thought he said you were his brother.” This was just confusing now.
“Yes, I am. However we both have no connection to any family of ours and Gabriel Is the one with the money.” Castiel's voice had gone hard, as if he was trying to suppress his emotions.
Gabriel appeared suddenly and started talking as if his mouth was at whirlwind speed, “hey Sammy! Guess you've met Cas already huh? Come on, I'll give you the tour. See ya later Cas!”
As he said everything he had a megawatt smile on his face and his eyes shone. Without waiting for a reply from either of them Gabriel dragged Sam down the hall, leaving Sam to look at Castiel and Dean with what he hoped was an apologetic expression on his face. Castiel was still as stony as ever though.
With that, Sam was thus introduced to the person who bought his brain. The person who he was supposed to hate. This could be... difficult.
-
After that Castiel had shown him and Dean their bedrooms -or “sleeping quarters” as he called them- and damn this dude is rich.
“I'm gonna go explore the place a bit Sammy, you coming?”
“Nah, I think I’ll just spend the night unpacking.”
"Wow, are you just a bundle of fun lately?" At Sam's glare, “Whatever Samantha, see ya."
-
The next time Dean saw Castiel he was sweeping the front steps
“Erm, hey. I'm Dean, the brother.”
“I gathered that, you don't seem old enough to be his father.” Castiel's words were accompanied by a frigid stare. Oh god, those eyes.
“Might as well be” He muttered to himself. When Cas gave him an inquisitive look he quickly explained, “our father's a douche. I've been looking after Sammy pretty much our whole lives.”
Castiel's expression softened at that. “I'm sorry; it must have been hard for you”
“Nah, Sammy was a good kid. What about you, close with your brother?”
As soon as the sentence left his mouth Castiel seemed to revert back to his usual stony faced expression and his voice was calm as he said, “Ah, I'm sorry but I really must get back to the housekeeping.”
That was... interesting to say the least. He lives and works for him but is unwilling to talk about their relationship? Oh well, story for another day he guessed. “So soon? Well that's a shame, we gotta again soon though. Promise me?” With this he threw is a wink and let a cocky smirk take over his face.
“Very well Dean, I am very busy and do not know if I will have time but I shall try to fit you in.” Castiel was smirking back; apparently rising to the challenge. Interesting.
-
Despite what he said to Dean, Sam felt like having a wander. While Sam was exploring he came across the library and was shocked to see it wasn't empty though and upon entering was greeted with the sigh of Gabriel curled up in a leather chair with a blanket over his lap and book in his hands. “Never took you for the reading type.”
Gabriel looked shocked by the sudden intrusion but regained his bravado quickly, “You shouldn't judge a book by its cover Sammy, I am in the top 10 on the chart after all.” His voice was smug at this, like he couldn't resist gloating over the fact that he was recognised as one of the smarted people in the state. Disgusting.
“Thanks for the advice but I think I'll take my leave.” Surprisingly, Gabriel's face fell at this. Wasn't he just a minute ago gloating? Why should he care that Sam was leaving?
“Come on Sammy, stay for a bit. Relax in the silence you surely don't find with that moron of a brother you've got.”
Okay now that was just cruel, “Dean isn't a moron, he's just not the sit down and keep quiet type.” He knew he was saying it like a petulant child, but Dean was his brother and he wasn't gonna just sit quiet while some random guy trash talked him.
“Okay fine, just don't leave. Please? Contrary to what you may think I actually want to get to know you a bit.”
Oh fuck, puppy eyes should not work on him dammit. He was the creator of the puppy eyes! Ugh, “fine.”
It was almost as if he could smell the smugness coming off the other man.
-
About an hour into their first reading session together, Gabriel's phone rang out in the silence and the voice of Effie Trinket filled the library shouting, “That is mahogany!”
“Really Gabe? Really?”
Gabriel voice was defensive as he replied, “hey it's a good series, you should read it. You know what, that's your first assignment. You've got to read the Hunger Games series and tell me what you think. And you're not getting out of this by the way.”
Before Sam could reply, he got up presumably to search for the first Hunger Games book and left the taller one despairing to himself in silence.
-
“This is delicious Gabriel. Seriously, I've never tasted anything better in my life.” Sam knew he was exaggerating but it was so damn good, no wonder Gabriel liked to cook his own meals; with talent like that everyone else must pale in comparison. Dean had decided to eat his food with Cas outside and Sam for one was glad for it, he could do without hearing his brother orgasm over food again.
“”Thanks Sammy, I went to culinary school for a term or two, dropped out when I decided it wasn't for me.” He had a wistful look on his face, it was almost sad.
“Dude you should've stuck with it, this is so good. You got any more?”
“Of course, one sec.”
The next time Sam looked up; Gabriel was standing in the kitchen doorway smiling softly at him.
Weird.
-
The first time Dean and Cas kissed it was just plain weird. Dean was working on his baby as Cas passed by, pressing his lips to Dean's briefly and then walking away.
Okay.
What the fuck?
-
He was cautious to break the silence, it didn't seem like Gabriel was the type to submit to it that often but nevertheless, his curiosity won out. “How come you employ Castiel even though he's your brother?”
Gabriel stiffened immediately, his face wary as he replied, “that's kind of a long story.”
“I'm all ears.”
“Fine. See, me and Cas never had an easy childhood; he was gay and I was smarter than the rest. They looked down on us and tried to force us to submit. Eventually when I was 18 I got sick of it and ran away, using the money the state gives me each month for my place on the chart. Cas wanted to join me but he got caught, and got put on lockdown until I made a deal with them. Cas works here in exchange for him wearing a tracking bracelet and half his pay goes to them each month.” His eyes were downcast as he said it, as if he were ashamed.
Sam cautiously got up and knelt before him, clasping his hands around the other man's face. “I care about you, please don't beat yourself up about things that happened in the past.”
-
The first time they had sex, it just kind of... happened. Sam had been asking is Gabriel had set the operation date yet and Gabriel had replied that he wasn't planning to any time soon. Sam was growing more and more frustrated by Gabriel's vague answers and started yelling until Gabriel pushed their mouths together holy hell that was good.
-
Their mouths came together angrily, as if in a fight for dominance. Neither was willing to let up and the battle got more and more fierce as they got closer to Gabriel's bed.
“Everything off now,” Gabriel had growled and oh god that shouldn't be as sexy as Sam found it to be.
Gabriel was tearing Sam's shirt open, not caring whether he ripped it, and trying to get his pants down at the same time. He couldn't resist teasing him about it. “Slow down, don't want you to strain yourself old man”
“Oh fuck you,” Gabriel heatedly replied. “And if you start making jokes then no orgasm for you.”
“Please, I'm not your bitch”
“I beg to differ my dear Sammy-kins, that's not what you'll be saying in a minute.” As is from nowhere he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and before Sam had time to react, cuffed him to the headboard.
“Now, let's get this show on the road shall we?” He smirked as if to punctuate his sentence and Sam had been so caught up in their banter that he didn't realise how close Gabriel was until he felt something tight and warm surrounding his nether regions.
“Oh Jesus fucking Christ. Shouldn't you have at least prepped a bit beforehand?”
“Not quite Jesus here Sammy but good guess. Careful with that by the way, you might hurt a guy’s feelings yelling out another name in bed, and to answer your question I was thinking of enjoying some quality time on my own tonight until you showed up. Nothing wrong with that.” Gabriel remarked sullenly, hand teasing up and down his own dick. Sam swatted Gabe's hands away and replaced them with one of his own, the other stroking the back of Gabriel's neck and toying with the hairs at the nape.
Up and down, pay special attention to the head, twist, up and down, trace the vein on the underside, up and down, thumb the head, up and down. It was like a song, Sam matching the words to his own rhythm in his head.
“Oh, yes Sammy. Just like that.” Gabriel had managed to worm his way so that his hand were underneath Sam and palming his ass.
They were both short on breathe now, Gabriel seemingly choking on air.
“Sammy, I-” he began but was cut off as he came across Sam's stomach in hot and wet stripes. “Geez Sammy, that was really something.”
“Yeah, something for you maybe, now would you help me out here? I'm so close already!”
Gabriel merely smirked and pulled off leaving Sam exposed to the crisp air floating through the windows. Smirking as he twisted around and shuffled down the sheets as he started licking up and down Sam's dick tortuously. Tongue swiping over the head and pressing against
“Oh god Gabe, your mouth.” He said it in breathy moans, all he could manage right now. It felt like his brain was being sucked out through his dick ohjesuschrist.
-
They had fallen asleep, spent and curled up together.
Sam woke up alone.
-
Gabriel completely ignored him the next day.
And the day after that.
-
Much like with their brothers, the next time Dean and Cas kissed just sort of... happened.
They were in the vegetable garden and Cas was telling him which plants grew in which seasons before Dean bent down to chastely kiss him. Castiel had just stared dumbfounded until Dean prompted him to continue.
It became somewhat a regular occurrence after that.
-
“You know Cas, those two are never gonna figure it out themselves. Are you planning to just let them drown in their own sexual tension?”
“It will come to a stop soon, I assure you. Gabriel isn't used to waiting for things he wants, the fact that he's waited this long should show us how much he cares about Sam and won't risk losing him.” He had a slight smile on his face as he said it, looks like he really did care about his brother after all.
“Look, I get that. Surely it'd be better to lock them in a closet or something though right?” They were both cleaning up the coat cupboard, it was the only thing left to do really; Sam had made it his mission to make Castiel's job as easy as possible.
“That would be counter-productive. Now, are you going to keep talking about our brothers or are you going to kiss me?”
“I like the way you think Cas.”
-
Gabriel's first words in five days were “I saw you. In that coffee shop you went to while at Stanford.”
Of course, Sam being the epitome of eloquence simply replied “what?” Gabriel seemed patient though, willing to say however much he needed to say to get through to Sam.
“Every Tuesday you'd sit in the same corner focussing on any essays that needed doing for your lectures. There was something so simple and beautiful about that, how while most people simply buy their way into everything you worked hard for the knowledge.”
Sam simply sat there dumbfounded.
“I was able to get your name from Cas, he asked around the college for you. He told me I was crazy actually. He said that surely I couldn't be in love simply from watching you study. You were so beautiful though Sam and when I found out your brain had been put up for sale I couldn't simply ignore it could I? I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you to one of those vultures only to have you a drooling mess when it was finished.” With every word he spoke he seemed to drop further down in his seat as if he were ashamed.
“Why didn't you say anything?” Sam's voice was a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard.
“Would you have believed me? Would you have even given me a second glance?” Gabriel's voice became tighter with each word, tears threatening to spill out and voice on the verge of breaking. “Contrary to what you may believe, I'm not one for pity fucks or one night stands.”
This is it. If he does this, there's no going back. Okay. He's ready.
“Well that's good Gabe, because guess what? Neither am I.” And before Gabriel could open his mouth further or let any questions spill out, Sam claimed it with his own, chapped lips pushing gently against Gabriel's.
-
An hour later they were finally close to understanding each other.
Sam was towering over Gabriel, both of them on the bed with their cocks ever-so-slightly rubbing together once in a while. Their kissing was languid and gentle, neither of them wanting this to be over too soon. Sam had a hand stroking Gabriel's neck, feeling the hairs rise from the lust; his other hand was on the small of Gabriel's back, rubbing small circles into it with him fingertips.
Breaking away, Sam flipped them over so that he was on his back, Gabriel on top of him. Sam went back to peppering kisses along Gabriel's neck while he watched Gabriel open himself up. Gabriel was working his fingers in and out of himself, scissoring as he went along.
“Ah, Sam!” He curled against the man underneath him, never once stopping his ministrations. “I think I'm ready babe.”
“Love you Gabe.” Sam's voice was wrecked; shaky as he the man lying in top of him.
Gabriel was in a similar predicament. His voice was also shaky as he answered in a breathy voice “love you too kiddo.”
They were both silent following their declarations, the only sounds in the room being their heavy breathing and moans.
-
Sam awoke to a beam of sunlight across his face and a warm body pressed against his back.
“Morning” came a voice from beside him. Gabriel shifted himself so that he was flush against Sam. “Thought you were gonna sleep forever. Want some breakfast? I can call Cas if you want; get him to rustle up an omelette or something.”
His sentences were punctuated with small smiles and a hand gliding across Sam's back. This was... strange. Not unwelcome, but nevertheless strange.
His thoughts must have been plain on his face because the next thing Gabriel said was “Sammy, you didn't think I'd leave you again did you? I meant what I said last night; you're stuck with me now whether you like it or not.”
As Gabriel leaned forward to kiss him, Sam quietly chuckled to himself; he could live with that. The world was still as vicious as when they fell asleep but at least they were together now.
-
“Maybe it's a family thing, us Novaks going for you Winchesters.” Gabriel was smirking, the bastard.
“Dude. Just, no. That makes me think of my dad and your brother Raphael or someone similar.”
It was a common conversation they had, this time they were doing it on a couch in the library. Sam was sitting normally with his legs stretched out in front of him; Gabriel had curled into his side and was occasionally peppering kisses along Sam's neck. The next time he spoke, his voice had a strange softness to it that Sam hadn't heard before.
“I bought this house to get away from everything you know. It's never completely quiet around here though; the sound of birds outside; the seconds ticking away on a clock; a tall brunette turning the pages of his favourite book.” Sam blushed at this “You can still hear the sounds of life going on around you.”
“Never took you for the sentimental type Gabe.” Sam was trying to keep his voice from wavering, he just wanted to gather the other man in his arms and never let go though.
“When you're cut off from all but one of your family, you learn to take notice of the small things in life Sammy.”
They were quiet from then on until Gabriel gracefully got up and left.
-
They were sitting on a bench in the middle of the town square, the colours of autumn surrounding them.
“You know, I never really expected it to turn out this way. When I was watching you in that coffee shop I always thought it would be a brief infatuation. Got that a bit wrong didn't I?” Gabriel had a light smile on his face, it was unusual seeing him like this and Sam wanted to savour it.
He gathered Gabriel up in his arms to chastely kiss him and replied, “I'm glad you got it wrong Gabe, otherwise we wouldn't be here right now. I love you.”
Gabriel's voice was soft as he answered, “love you too Sammy.”
They'd be alright, Sam was sure of it.
EPILOGUE
The first time Gabriel saw him, he thought he was beautiful straight away. He was sitting in one of the cushy lounge seat in the corner and was frantically typing away on his laptop.
Probably a college student. Or a wannabe writer. Maybe both.
He was cute though; he barely fit into that chair so he must've been 6 foot at least, he had floppy brown hair too and adorable hazel eyes.
It's really too bad, Gabriel only came in here for a nice hot chocolate; it's not as if they'll ever meet again.
-
The next day Gabriel is back, looking for hazel-eyes. When he finally found him, the was sitting in the exact opposite place from yesterday -whereas yesterday he was by the windows in a cushy lounge chair, today he was right by the counter perched on a stool.
He was once again typing away on his laptop.
Hmm, maybe he could get Cas to do a little research for him.
-
Castiel was seriously a godsend. Even without breaking into the school records he found out who this guy was, apparently by asking around campus. Hah, the thought of Cas in his trench coat and suit among all those college student hipsters is certainly an interesting mental picture. He could just imagine him saying “excuse me sir, do you know where I can find a certain man?” to everyone that walked past. Kind of like those bible freaks trying to preach on the streets.
Well, apparently the guy was named Sam Winchester and was studying law. That explained why he was frantically typing all the damn time, probably a shitton of assignments to get done.
-
For the next few months Gabriel visited the shop once per week to observe Sam, he was interesting to watch and no matter what Cas said, he was not stalking him dammit. Just, the way he held himself, the way he bit his nails when he couldn't think of anything to write and the way he tapped his fingers against wherever he was sitting when the hustle and bustle around them got too much for him. Each bit of information learned contributed more and more to the puzzle that was Sam Winchester.
He was like an enigma. He randomly showed up one day and from then on Gabriel was enamoured. How did he arrive so out of the blue? Did his family move around a lot or something? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been as pleasant as Gabriel was hoping it was.
Sam always seemed to move around with a certain slump to his shoulders, when sat down he curled in on himself as if to protect his body and vital organs. Something must’ve happened in the past.
Maybe he was in a car crash or something.
Worse yet, maybe he was a soldier and had gotten injured.
Or…. No.
It couldn’t have been.
Maybe he wasn’t protecting himself from something, what if it was someone?
Who was Sam Winchester really?
That was something Gabriel was willing to find out.