The Best Thing About College Is... Part I
See masterpost for warnings, word count, etc.
“Dude, just leave it. You can unpack tomorrow, let’s go!” Dean yells from the hallway. Sam sighs and drops the box of books back on his bed, covering the last free square of bare mattress. He knows they’re going to stumble in drunk and he’s going to have to dump everything on the floor, where there’s no room either -seriously, how does he have this much crap- just so he can sleep on a soft surface. He’d settle for the couch, but he’s never met their new housemates and he doesn’t really want to make a bad impression.
“Sam!”
Sam grabs his phone and heads out the door, joining Dean to lock up their small, empty house and walk the four blocks to the party. Dean says the guys they’re living with might be there, but since neither of them know what the Novaks look like, they probably won’t officially meet them.
“They’re cool, though, right?” Sam asks for what has to be the hundredth time, he knows, but he can’t seem to stop himself. He doesn’t want to live with a bunch of assholes; one sometimes-asshole brother is enough.
“Sure. I mean, Michael was kind of a dick, but I don’t think his brothers will be. And we all have our own rooms, so if they’re total douchebags you can just lock yourself up and study. Like in high school,” Dean finishes with a grin and a clap on Sam’s shoulder.
“Fuck you, I had a life,” Sam counters, but it’s only sort of true. He had a of couple friends, but he did spend a lot of time in his room. He’s out tonight, though, and ready to experience his first college party.
When they arrive, Dean spots some friends of his and leads Sam over. Dean’s friends immediately hand them some beer, and Sam, forever awkward about being Dean’s little brother, downs his in one gulp. He does the same with the next, and the next, and suddenly everyone seems so much friendlier, and nothing is awkward at all.
Dean is deep in a serious discussion with some girl about a class they’re both going to take, and Sam can’t seem to follow the engineer-talk so he turns to find a bathroom. He finds a shot instead, and then gets roped into taking two more before he finally finds the bathroom. There’s a line, but Sam’s happy to wait, the warmth from the shots buzzing through his veins making him grin at anyone who catches his eye.
When he comes out of the bathroom he scans the room, but Dean’s nowhere to be found. His gaze lands on a pair of mischievous brown eyes staring straight at him, and he can’t help grinning back. The guy motions him over and Sam wanders through the strangely tilting room to lean heavily against the wall, gaze still fixed on the shorter man before him.
“Gabriel,” the guy says, his hand outstretched. Sam grabs for it and almost falls forward, Gabriel grabbing him just in time. “Whoa there, okay, let’s get you sitting down, big guy.”
Sam giggles at that and allows himself to be led over to a couch where he collapses, dragging the smaller man down with him. Gabriel untangles himself to sit beside Sam, watching with mild amusement as Sam calms his fit of laughter and lolls his head to meet Gabriel’s eyes.
“You here with someone?” Gabriel asks, and Sam nods emphatically.
“Dean. ‘Cept I don’t know where he went. He was just here, and now he’s... not here. Maybe he left,” Sam says, brow furrowing in concentration as he tries to decide if that’s plausible.
“And Dean’s your....?” Gabriel asks.
“Brother. I’m Sam, by the way.” Sam says, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself. He tacks on another wide grin, and Gabriel’s mouth twitches in response before his eyes widen.
“Wait, Sam and Dean? Winchester?”
Sam nods, confused. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t told this guy his last name yet.
“I’m your housemate! Well, me and my brother, Castiel.”
Sam beams and sits up, about to suggest they toast to their upcoming year of cohabitation. The world seems to tilt horribly and when he shakes his head to right it, everything starts to spin. He groans, leaning sideways, and topples into Gabriel.
“Okay, let’s get you home. Come on, up.” Gabriel hauls him up and throws one of Sam’s arms around his shoulders, wrapping his own arm around Sam’s waist and guiding him out of the room. Sam closes his eyes and allows himself to be manhandled away, sparing a brief thought to Dean, before figuring Dean probably already went home or something.
***
Dean’s looked for Sam a few times in the night, just quick scans to make sure he was alright. He saw him taking a shot, waiting in line for the bathroom, then talking to some guy. He noticed when they sat on the couch and is just about to casually wander over to make his presence known -and maybe scare the guy off a little- when Jo saunters up with another beer for him.
“Winchester! When’re you coming back to work?” She asks, punching him in the shoulder, and really, no one’s greetings should leave bruises. Dean is distracted, and the next time he glances over at the couch, it’s empty. Dean throws a quick look around the room and sees a guy who looks like Sam half wrapped around a shorter dude with brown hair. Dean quickly recognizes Sam’s shirt and narrows his eyes at the arm around Sam’s waist, but then they’re ducking out the door and Dean’s halfway across the room before his friends have time to call out. Dean runs straight into some huge guy, knocking both of their drinks out of their hands, and spends the next precious minutes explaining that no, he does not want to take this outside, and yes, he is very sorry, and that drinks are free at this party so it doesn’t make sense to replace the guy’s beer. By the time he makes it outside, Sam’s gone and Dean’s cursing himself as he pulls out his cell phone and dials Sam’s number.
“Goddammit Sam I swear to God if you don’t pick up your phone,” he growls into Sam’s voicemail. He leaves another couple of messages before texting Jo to tell her he’s leaving and walking home. He knows Sam doesn’t have a key yet, they haven’t had a chance to make him one, so the odds of him being there aren’t great, but it doesn’t stop him from checking. Sam’s room is empty. Dean kicks a few boxes in his own room before collapsing on his bed, telling himself he’s going to wait for Sam to come home. He waits at least an hour, he thinks, before kicking off his shoes and allowing his heavy eyelids to drop.
***
Sam wakes up sweaty and nauseous. His skull feels like there’s rusty fork scraping around the inside and his mouth tastes like something died in there. He’s too hot and he’s plastered against something, something warm and a little sticky and definitely breathing. Sam slowly unsticks his face and looks up to see honey brown eyes on him.
“Oh...” Sam says, before covering his mouth. He’s going to be sick. He’s definitely going to be sick, and it’s one thing to drunkenly crash on your new housemate’s bed -on your new housemate, period- and another to throw up on him.
Sam lurches out of the bed and stumbles into the hallway, barely making it to the bathroom to fall to his knees in front of the toilet. He doesn’t notice Dean in the kitchen, with a full view of the entire scenario, until he’s already flushed and brushed his teeth. Fuck. He left Dean at the party. Sam quickly comes out to apologize, only to almost run into Gabriel, who’s stumbling out of his own room in boxers and a tee shirt, hair sticking up at every angle, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He doesn’t even see Dean coming, but Sam does.
“Dean!” Sam yells, as Dean slams Gabriel back against the wall and holds a forearm to his throat.
“Shut up, Sammy. What the fuck are you doing, picking up a kid when he’s that drunk?” Dean demands, pressing hard, cutting off Gabriel’s air flow.
"Dean, stop, Jesus nnggg," Sam's cut off as his stomach protests and he stumbles back to the bathroom. When he finally rests his forehead against the tile, he can hear Dean continuing to threaten Gabriel, then a door opening and soft padding footsteps.
"What's going on?" asks a low, serious voice.
"Who the fuck are you?" Dean asks belligerently.
"Castiel Novak. That's my brother you're choking, please stop."
There's a pause, then a crash, like someone dropping to the floor. Sam crawls halfway out of the bathroom to watch the disaster unfolding. Dean's turned to face Castiel, a pale, dark-haired man with a solemn face.
"Your piece of shit brother pull this crap a lot?" Dean asks, stepping up into Castiel's face. When the other man doesn't back down, Sam's impressed. He knows what Dean looks like when he's angry.
"I don't know what Gabriel's done, but please stop yelling. I'm sure we can discuss this calmly if you-"
"He spent the night with my little brother!" Dean yells, turning back to haul Gabriel to his feet and slam him back against the wall. Sam sees Dean's fist draw back and closes his eyes.
"Stop." That's Castiel's voice, followed by a growl -Dean- and a loud thump.
"Hey!" Gabriel shouts, and Sam drags himself out of the bathroom to grab Dean. Castiel is slumped against the wall, head down, hand cupping his jaw. Gabriel looks furious, like maybe he's going to hit Dean, and Sam sends him a pleading look before leading Dean away. Dean lets Sam hand him a bag of frozen peas for his hand before locking himself in his room. Sam awkwardly goes back to his own room, intending to collapse on his bed, and groans when he sees the boxes everywhere. He takes a couple of aspirin and starts unpacking.
***
Dean's hand hurts. It's been a while since he’s hit someone, but it never fails to surprise him how much it hurts. He's still fuming, still wants to go out there and beat that Gabriel kid's ass till he understand that a drunk eighteen year old, especially one like Sam, is not fair game. And that fucking Castiel guy… Dean recognizes him as that TA who's always grading papers or studying in the café where Dean works. Right now, Dean can't fucking stand the guy. And now, apparently, he has to live with these fuckers for a year.
Dean clumsily dials Michael's number with his left hand.
"Hey bitch! How're you likin' the Novak house?"
"Your fucking brother's an ass. Like you, but worse," Dean growls into the phone, and Michael laughs.
"What, Cassie? Nah, he's just shy. He's a good guy," Michael says.
"No, the other one. Gabriel. Fucker took my brother home his first night out," Dean says, a new surge of anger going through him at the thought. Michael pauses, then sighs.
"Man, I'm sorry. Kick his ass for me and he won't do it again. No, on second thought, don't kick his ass, he’s not really a fighter."
"Oh, he won't do it again," Dean promises before hanging up.
***
Dean has work that afternoon, and of course, Jo notices his bruised knuckles immediately.
"Who'd you hit?" she asks casually as he fastens his name tag.
"Roommate. You know that scrawny guy who's always sitting in the corner? Dark hair, eats his pens?"
Jo raises her eyebrows, but nods.
"Yeah. Him," Dean finishes lamely, knowing it's not nearly enough detail for Jo, but he just doesn't want to think about the whole thing anymore. Thankfully, Jo lets it go.
Gabriel walks in a couple hours into Dean's shift and it's obvious from the way his eyes land on Dean as he scans the room that he's there to talk.
"I'm going on break," Dean mutters to Jo, who glances between him and Gabriel and nods. Dean walks right past Gabriel to stand outside, just far enough that if this turns into a fight there's a chance he won't get in trouble with work. Gabriel follows him out and starts talking before Dean even turns around.
"Look, I came to talk to you about Sam. I reall-"
"I'm only gonna say this one," Dean cuts in. "You ever touch Sam again, I'll fucking kill you. You don't talk to him. You don't touch him. You don't talk to me. No, I don't care. Leave him the fuck alone," Dean finishes, and glares at Gabriel until the smaller man drops his gaze and nods.
"I get it. Just, uh… Don't hit Cas again, okay?" Gabriel asks.
" 'S long as he doesn't fuck with us, I won't," Dean says gruffly. "We're done here," he says as he turns to walk away. Gabriel doesn't stop him.
***
Sam's classes don't start until Monday, so he spends a few hours unpacking his room before wandering around campus. He drops by the café when Dean's supposed to get off work and they go together to make him a key to the house.
They don't talk about what happened after the party, and Sam knows he needs to clear the air, but he's not a hundred percent sure what happened himself and he can't seem to bring it up. When they return to the house that night, pizza in hand, the Novaks are nowhere to be seen. Sam breathes a sigh of relief and he can see Dean do the same. They don't mention their other roommates at all as they settle in for a night of video games and TV. Sam knows Dean would usually be out partying on a Saturday night, but he’s got that protective older brother look and Sam isn’t about to suggest they both go out. He has a feeling Dean’s going to be watching him more closely at parties from now on.
***
The awkwardness lessens slightly when classes start. During the first couple of weeks, Sam finds himself constantly going out, whether it's class, study groups, or the library for a cramming session. He tries to be home as little as possible, the tension when either of the Novaks and Dean are home at the same time making him too nervous to study. Dean's still openly hostile to both Gabriel and Castiel, glaring at them, his grip on whatever's in his hand turning white knuckled. He won't speak to either of them, not that they're stupid enough to try starting a conversation.
Castiel barely speaks to any of them, including Gabriel. Sam can never tell if he's home, his room upstairs silent either way. Gabriel starts to stay away from the house, only coming home to sleep, and sometimes not even that. Sam thinks he’s high most of the time, but doesn’t dare ask Dean. Gabriel doesn’t even spare a glance at Sam when Dean’s around.
Dean has school, and work, so when Sam finds himself home alone on a Friday night in late September, he's hardly surprised. He pads into the kitchen wearing nothing but pajama pants, trying to decide if he wants cereal or ramen, when he realizes he's not as alone as he thought. Gabriel's there, in the kitchen, and he's cooking. He's cooking something that smells so good, a rich, spicy aroma filling the room, that Sam's mouth instantly waters. He's still too embarrassed to be around Gabriel, though, so he turns to leave.
"Hey! Didn't know you were home tonight," Gabriel calls out, sounding a little sheepish. "You want some lasagna? I made a ton."
Sam turns to give Gabriel a half-hearted smile.
"No thanks, I'm just gonna, uh…" Sam trails off as his stomach growls loudly. Gabriel's mouth twitches.
"C'mon. Sit down, I'll get you a plate.”
Sam takes a seat at the kitchen counter, watching as Gabriel pulls a huge dish of lightly browned lasagna out of the oven. The enticing aroma intensifies and Sam’s stomach growls again. Gabriel laughs this time, warm brown eyes bright as he spoons a sizable portion onto a plate and places it in front of Sam.
“Not yet,” Gabriel says, stopping Sam from digging in. “It’s too hot, give it a minute.”
Sam groans involuntarily and leans closer to breathe in the steam rising from the pasta. He looks up to find Gabriel watching him and blushes.
“Sorry, just really hungry. Smells amazing, by the way,” Sam adds, dropping his eyes back to his plate. Gabriel laughs again, and it’s such a full, happy sound that Sam can’t help but mirror it.
“Not surprised you’re starving, growing boy like you,” Gabriel says, light, but with a question in his eyes. Sam doesn’t get it, so he just waits for Gabriel to continue. “You really a freshman?”
Sam blushes and looks down. He knows he probably should have told Gabriel that at the party, that maybe none of this would have happened if he’d just mentioned his age. He nods without looking up.
“Hey, it’s cool! It’s just surprising, you’re so... serious. Good thing nothing happened, then, huh?” Gabriel says, and Sam catches him winking as he whips his head up.
“Nothing happened? You’re sure?” Sam demands, then snaps his mouth shut. He didn’t mean to let on that he has no memory of getting home, but... he really needs to know. Gabriel’s eyes widen.
“You don’t remember anything?”
“I remember leaving the party... And then waking up in your bed,” Sam finishes awkwardly, his face hot. Gabriel’s expression is unreadable.
“We didn’t do anything. You couldn’t sleep on your bed because we were too drunk to move the boxes. Did you think I...?”
“No! Well... I mean I didn’t know what happened, but I didn’t think you like... took advantage or anything,” Sam says quickly, desperate to show that he doesn’t hate Gabriel like Dean does.
“Sam, if anything had happened that night, that would have been taking advantage. You get that, right?” Gabriel waits for him to nod before continuing, “You get that drunk again, you call Dean, okay? Lots of people on this campus would love to take advantage of someone like you.”
Sam’s about to ask what he means by “someone like you”, but Gabriel motions to his plate.
“Pretty sure that’s cool enough to eat now.”
They don’t talk about the party or that night again as they eat, but Sam relaxes, relief spreading through him as tension he didn’t realize he was holding onto bleeds away.
***
Dean’s fallen into the habit of hating the Novaks without even having to think about it. He aims a level 9 Death Glare at anyone in his house who’s not Sam and otherwise completely ignores them both. They both stay out of his way and mostly out of the house, apparently less stupid than they look. Work is a different story. Gabriel hasn’t come back since that first time, but Castiel still sits in the corner with his stacks of papers and red pen or highlighter.
When he first came in after the “incident”, he carefully avoided meeting Dean’s eye, and Dean took it as something of a truce. The café, as it turns out, has become a kind of no man’s land for them. Not exactly neutral; more a tense kind of cease-fire because they both have to be there for some reason or another. Dean sometimes wants to ask Castiel if he really has nowhere else to go, but that would involve talking to the guy and that’s way too friendly. So they carefully ignore each other almost every day, Cas looking anywhere but at Dean as he orders coffee after coffee, Dean uncomfortably aware of that corner table he’s not looking at.
Halloween evening finds Dean working, Cas in his corner, and almost no one else in the café. The pizza place next door is doing a costume contest, music and chatter audible every time someone opens the door. Dean knows he could close early, no one’s coming in at this point and his manager’s lenient, but Cas still has an inch tall stack of papers to grade and Dean can’t bring himself to kick him out.
Dean starts brewing him another coffee, adds cream and sugar like Cas likes it, and wonders when he learned how Cas likes his drinks. For that matter, when did he start thinking of him as Cas? Dean shoves the thought away and drops the coffee on Cas’s table, making him jump. Startled blue eyes shoot up to Dean’s face and Dean finds himself walking away fast, calling “On the house,” over his shoulder.
Cas stays another half hour before disappearing quietly out the door, lugging his heavy bag behind him, his table cleared off as usual. Dean watches him go, wondering if he has plans for Halloween, if he ever goes out or has fun. He sighs and pulls out his phone to ask Jo which bar he should head to.
***
Sam’s finally made a few friends, so he doesn’t really have an excuse for bumming around the apartment on Halloween. Everyone’s going to parties, dressing up and getting drunk, and Sam is wearing jack-o’lantern boxers and a blanket around his shoulders while he makes grilled cheese and watches Hocus Pocus. He’s glad Dean’s not around to make fun of him. He wonders briefly where Dean is. Probably at a bar, which Sam can’t go to because he’s not 21 and he doesn’t have a fake ID. Dean says Sam has too much of a babyface to use one, but Sam thinks his height might actually cancel that out.
Castiel isn’t home either, Sam heard him leave a few hours earlier and he hasn’t come back. Sam wonders if maybe Castiel is out at a bar too, and laughs to himself when he tries to picture it, Castiel’s solemn voice ordering a beer.
“What’s so funny, Sammy?” Sam whips around to find Gabriel standing in the doorway of the kitchen-slash-living room, wearing what appears to be half of a harlequin joker costume.
“Don’t call me that,” Sam replies reflexively, before adding, “Nothing.”
Gabriel watches him for a minute before strolling in to flop onto the couch next to him. Sam sits up straighter, pulling the blanket up to his chin.
“Not out partying tonight?” Gabriel asks, his eyes still on the movie.
“Oh no, I’m there right now,” Sam says sarcastically. Gabriel turns to raise an eyebrow at him, but Sam can see the corner of his mouth twitching. “What about you? What’s with the costume?” Sam asks, gesturing at the mostly-removed top half of a colorful onesie.
“Just wasn’t feelin’ it,” Gabriel says easily, leaning back into the couch with a sigh, draping an arm along the back. It’s close enough to Sam’s shoulders that he has to suppress a shiver, and for the first time since that night, he remembers how attracted he was to Gabriel at the party. He glances over the man now, trying to see if he’s still as attractive. He sees longish brown hair, a mouth that seems like it’s always half-way to a smile, and those brown eyes, like liquid laughter, so bright and quick. Sam looks away when he realizes Gabriel’s staring right back.
They watch the movie in silence for a while, Sam quietly freaking out as Gabriel sprawls more and more comfortably across the couch. Sam’s sure he can feel the heat from Gabriel’s arm along the back of his neck, Gabriel’s calf pressing against Sam’s shin is so hot it’s almost like burning.
Sam can’t seem to remember how to breathe evenly, his mind spinning with images of Gabriel leaning in and kissing him, pressing him into the couch, straddling him... Gabriel shifts at his side and Sam leans in just slightly, just enough that Gabriel’s arm drops to curl around his shoulders. The sudden contact gives Sam’s courage a boost and he lets his head rest on Gabriel’s shoulder with a sigh. Gabriel doesn’t say anything, just tightens his arm around Sam for a moment and runs his thumb along Sam’s bare skin.
When the movie’s over, they watch the next Halloween-themed family friendly thing that comes up, and the next, until Sam’s eyelids are drooping and Gabriel’s half lying against the arm of the couch, Sam on top of him, the blanket covering them both. Sam’s just thinking that he’s never been this comfortable, in spite of the fact that his feet are awkwardly hanging off the other end of the couch, when Gabriel taps him lightly.
“Hey. Hey Sam, you asleep?”
Sam groans and nuzzles closer, his face pressed to Gabriel’s chest.
“It’s getting late, people are gonna be coming home soon,” Gabriel says, and it takes a minute for the words to register. Dean. If Dean comes home and sees this... Sam sits up with a jolt, then sags as his head spins. He groans again and starts to get up.
“Bedtime,” Gabriel says, getting up off the couch. Sam nods in agreement and heads to his room, pausing in the doorway.
“Goodnight, Gabriel,” he says, wanting to say more. Gabriel just winks at him before disappearing into his own room. Sam sighs and collapses on his bed, thinking how much more comfortable it would be with a warm, Gabriel shaped body in it.
***
Part II
“Dude, just leave it. You can unpack tomorrow, let’s go!” Dean yells from the hallway. Sam sighs and drops the box of books back on his bed, covering the last free square of bare mattress. He knows they’re going to stumble in drunk and he’s going to have to dump everything on the floor, where there’s no room either -seriously, how does he have this much crap- just so he can sleep on a soft surface. He’d settle for the couch, but he’s never met their new housemates and he doesn’t really want to make a bad impression.
“Sam!”
Sam grabs his phone and heads out the door, joining Dean to lock up their small, empty house and walk the four blocks to the party. Dean says the guys they’re living with might be there, but since neither of them know what the Novaks look like, they probably won’t officially meet them.
“They’re cool, though, right?” Sam asks for what has to be the hundredth time, he knows, but he can’t seem to stop himself. He doesn’t want to live with a bunch of assholes; one sometimes-asshole brother is enough.
“Sure. I mean, Michael was kind of a dick, but I don’t think his brothers will be. And we all have our own rooms, so if they’re total douchebags you can just lock yourself up and study. Like in high school,” Dean finishes with a grin and a clap on Sam’s shoulder.
“Fuck you, I had a life,” Sam counters, but it’s only sort of true. He had a of couple friends, but he did spend a lot of time in his room. He’s out tonight, though, and ready to experience his first college party.
When they arrive, Dean spots some friends of his and leads Sam over. Dean’s friends immediately hand them some beer, and Sam, forever awkward about being Dean’s little brother, downs his in one gulp. He does the same with the next, and the next, and suddenly everyone seems so much friendlier, and nothing is awkward at all.
Dean is deep in a serious discussion with some girl about a class they’re both going to take, and Sam can’t seem to follow the engineer-talk so he turns to find a bathroom. He finds a shot instead, and then gets roped into taking two more before he finally finds the bathroom. There’s a line, but Sam’s happy to wait, the warmth from the shots buzzing through his veins making him grin at anyone who catches his eye.
When he comes out of the bathroom he scans the room, but Dean’s nowhere to be found. His gaze lands on a pair of mischievous brown eyes staring straight at him, and he can’t help grinning back. The guy motions him over and Sam wanders through the strangely tilting room to lean heavily against the wall, gaze still fixed on the shorter man before him.
“Gabriel,” the guy says, his hand outstretched. Sam grabs for it and almost falls forward, Gabriel grabbing him just in time. “Whoa there, okay, let’s get you sitting down, big guy.”
Sam giggles at that and allows himself to be led over to a couch where he collapses, dragging the smaller man down with him. Gabriel untangles himself to sit beside Sam, watching with mild amusement as Sam calms his fit of laughter and lolls his head to meet Gabriel’s eyes.
“You here with someone?” Gabriel asks, and Sam nods emphatically.
“Dean. ‘Cept I don’t know where he went. He was just here, and now he’s... not here. Maybe he left,” Sam says, brow furrowing in concentration as he tries to decide if that’s plausible.
“And Dean’s your....?” Gabriel asks.
“Brother. I’m Sam, by the way.” Sam says, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself. He tacks on another wide grin, and Gabriel’s mouth twitches in response before his eyes widen.
“Wait, Sam and Dean? Winchester?”
Sam nods, confused. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t told this guy his last name yet.
“I’m your housemate! Well, me and my brother, Castiel.”
Sam beams and sits up, about to suggest they toast to their upcoming year of cohabitation. The world seems to tilt horribly and when he shakes his head to right it, everything starts to spin. He groans, leaning sideways, and topples into Gabriel.
“Okay, let’s get you home. Come on, up.” Gabriel hauls him up and throws one of Sam’s arms around his shoulders, wrapping his own arm around Sam’s waist and guiding him out of the room. Sam closes his eyes and allows himself to be manhandled away, sparing a brief thought to Dean, before figuring Dean probably already went home or something.
***
Dean’s looked for Sam a few times in the night, just quick scans to make sure he was alright. He saw him taking a shot, waiting in line for the bathroom, then talking to some guy. He noticed when they sat on the couch and is just about to casually wander over to make his presence known -and maybe scare the guy off a little- when Jo saunters up with another beer for him.
“Winchester! When’re you coming back to work?” She asks, punching him in the shoulder, and really, no one’s greetings should leave bruises. Dean is distracted, and the next time he glances over at the couch, it’s empty. Dean throws a quick look around the room and sees a guy who looks like Sam half wrapped around a shorter dude with brown hair. Dean quickly recognizes Sam’s shirt and narrows his eyes at the arm around Sam’s waist, but then they’re ducking out the door and Dean’s halfway across the room before his friends have time to call out. Dean runs straight into some huge guy, knocking both of their drinks out of their hands, and spends the next precious minutes explaining that no, he does not want to take this outside, and yes, he is very sorry, and that drinks are free at this party so it doesn’t make sense to replace the guy’s beer. By the time he makes it outside, Sam’s gone and Dean’s cursing himself as he pulls out his cell phone and dials Sam’s number.
“Goddammit Sam I swear to God if you don’t pick up your phone,” he growls into Sam’s voicemail. He leaves another couple of messages before texting Jo to tell her he’s leaving and walking home. He knows Sam doesn’t have a key yet, they haven’t had a chance to make him one, so the odds of him being there aren’t great, but it doesn’t stop him from checking. Sam’s room is empty. Dean kicks a few boxes in his own room before collapsing on his bed, telling himself he’s going to wait for Sam to come home. He waits at least an hour, he thinks, before kicking off his shoes and allowing his heavy eyelids to drop.
***
Sam wakes up sweaty and nauseous. His skull feels like there’s rusty fork scraping around the inside and his mouth tastes like something died in there. He’s too hot and he’s plastered against something, something warm and a little sticky and definitely breathing. Sam slowly unsticks his face and looks up to see honey brown eyes on him.
“Oh...” Sam says, before covering his mouth. He’s going to be sick. He’s definitely going to be sick, and it’s one thing to drunkenly crash on your new housemate’s bed -on your new housemate, period- and another to throw up on him.
Sam lurches out of the bed and stumbles into the hallway, barely making it to the bathroom to fall to his knees in front of the toilet. He doesn’t notice Dean in the kitchen, with a full view of the entire scenario, until he’s already flushed and brushed his teeth. Fuck. He left Dean at the party. Sam quickly comes out to apologize, only to almost run into Gabriel, who’s stumbling out of his own room in boxers and a tee shirt, hair sticking up at every angle, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He doesn’t even see Dean coming, but Sam does.
“Dean!” Sam yells, as Dean slams Gabriel back against the wall and holds a forearm to his throat.
“Shut up, Sammy. What the fuck are you doing, picking up a kid when he’s that drunk?” Dean demands, pressing hard, cutting off Gabriel’s air flow.
"Dean, stop, Jesus nnggg," Sam's cut off as his stomach protests and he stumbles back to the bathroom. When he finally rests his forehead against the tile, he can hear Dean continuing to threaten Gabriel, then a door opening and soft padding footsteps.
"What's going on?" asks a low, serious voice.
"Who the fuck are you?" Dean asks belligerently.
"Castiel Novak. That's my brother you're choking, please stop."
There's a pause, then a crash, like someone dropping to the floor. Sam crawls halfway out of the bathroom to watch the disaster unfolding. Dean's turned to face Castiel, a pale, dark-haired man with a solemn face.
"Your piece of shit brother pull this crap a lot?" Dean asks, stepping up into Castiel's face. When the other man doesn't back down, Sam's impressed. He knows what Dean looks like when he's angry.
"I don't know what Gabriel's done, but please stop yelling. I'm sure we can discuss this calmly if you-"
"He spent the night with my little brother!" Dean yells, turning back to haul Gabriel to his feet and slam him back against the wall. Sam sees Dean's fist draw back and closes his eyes.
"Stop." That's Castiel's voice, followed by a growl -Dean- and a loud thump.
"Hey!" Gabriel shouts, and Sam drags himself out of the bathroom to grab Dean. Castiel is slumped against the wall, head down, hand cupping his jaw. Gabriel looks furious, like maybe he's going to hit Dean, and Sam sends him a pleading look before leading Dean away. Dean lets Sam hand him a bag of frozen peas for his hand before locking himself in his room. Sam awkwardly goes back to his own room, intending to collapse on his bed, and groans when he sees the boxes everywhere. He takes a couple of aspirin and starts unpacking.
***
Dean's hand hurts. It's been a while since he’s hit someone, but it never fails to surprise him how much it hurts. He's still fuming, still wants to go out there and beat that Gabriel kid's ass till he understand that a drunk eighteen year old, especially one like Sam, is not fair game. And that fucking Castiel guy… Dean recognizes him as that TA who's always grading papers or studying in the café where Dean works. Right now, Dean can't fucking stand the guy. And now, apparently, he has to live with these fuckers for a year.
Dean clumsily dials Michael's number with his left hand.
"Hey bitch! How're you likin' the Novak house?"
"Your fucking brother's an ass. Like you, but worse," Dean growls into the phone, and Michael laughs.
"What, Cassie? Nah, he's just shy. He's a good guy," Michael says.
"No, the other one. Gabriel. Fucker took my brother home his first night out," Dean says, a new surge of anger going through him at the thought. Michael pauses, then sighs.
"Man, I'm sorry. Kick his ass for me and he won't do it again. No, on second thought, don't kick his ass, he’s not really a fighter."
"Oh, he won't do it again," Dean promises before hanging up.
***
Dean has work that afternoon, and of course, Jo notices his bruised knuckles immediately.
"Who'd you hit?" she asks casually as he fastens his name tag.
"Roommate. You know that scrawny guy who's always sitting in the corner? Dark hair, eats his pens?"
Jo raises her eyebrows, but nods.
"Yeah. Him," Dean finishes lamely, knowing it's not nearly enough detail for Jo, but he just doesn't want to think about the whole thing anymore. Thankfully, Jo lets it go.
Gabriel walks in a couple hours into Dean's shift and it's obvious from the way his eyes land on Dean as he scans the room that he's there to talk.
"I'm going on break," Dean mutters to Jo, who glances between him and Gabriel and nods. Dean walks right past Gabriel to stand outside, just far enough that if this turns into a fight there's a chance he won't get in trouble with work. Gabriel follows him out and starts talking before Dean even turns around.
"Look, I came to talk to you about Sam. I reall-"
"I'm only gonna say this one," Dean cuts in. "You ever touch Sam again, I'll fucking kill you. You don't talk to him. You don't touch him. You don't talk to me. No, I don't care. Leave him the fuck alone," Dean finishes, and glares at Gabriel until the smaller man drops his gaze and nods.
"I get it. Just, uh… Don't hit Cas again, okay?" Gabriel asks.
" 'S long as he doesn't fuck with us, I won't," Dean says gruffly. "We're done here," he says as he turns to walk away. Gabriel doesn't stop him.
***
Sam's classes don't start until Monday, so he spends a few hours unpacking his room before wandering around campus. He drops by the café when Dean's supposed to get off work and they go together to make him a key to the house.
They don't talk about what happened after the party, and Sam knows he needs to clear the air, but he's not a hundred percent sure what happened himself and he can't seem to bring it up. When they return to the house that night, pizza in hand, the Novaks are nowhere to be seen. Sam breathes a sigh of relief and he can see Dean do the same. They don't mention their other roommates at all as they settle in for a night of video games and TV. Sam knows Dean would usually be out partying on a Saturday night, but he’s got that protective older brother look and Sam isn’t about to suggest they both go out. He has a feeling Dean’s going to be watching him more closely at parties from now on.
***
The awkwardness lessens slightly when classes start. During the first couple of weeks, Sam finds himself constantly going out, whether it's class, study groups, or the library for a cramming session. He tries to be home as little as possible, the tension when either of the Novaks and Dean are home at the same time making him too nervous to study. Dean's still openly hostile to both Gabriel and Castiel, glaring at them, his grip on whatever's in his hand turning white knuckled. He won't speak to either of them, not that they're stupid enough to try starting a conversation.
Castiel barely speaks to any of them, including Gabriel. Sam can never tell if he's home, his room upstairs silent either way. Gabriel starts to stay away from the house, only coming home to sleep, and sometimes not even that. Sam thinks he’s high most of the time, but doesn’t dare ask Dean. Gabriel doesn’t even spare a glance at Sam when Dean’s around.
Dean has school, and work, so when Sam finds himself home alone on a Friday night in late September, he's hardly surprised. He pads into the kitchen wearing nothing but pajama pants, trying to decide if he wants cereal or ramen, when he realizes he's not as alone as he thought. Gabriel's there, in the kitchen, and he's cooking. He's cooking something that smells so good, a rich, spicy aroma filling the room, that Sam's mouth instantly waters. He's still too embarrassed to be around Gabriel, though, so he turns to leave.
"Hey! Didn't know you were home tonight," Gabriel calls out, sounding a little sheepish. "You want some lasagna? I made a ton."
Sam turns to give Gabriel a half-hearted smile.
"No thanks, I'm just gonna, uh…" Sam trails off as his stomach growls loudly. Gabriel's mouth twitches.
"C'mon. Sit down, I'll get you a plate.”
Sam takes a seat at the kitchen counter, watching as Gabriel pulls a huge dish of lightly browned lasagna out of the oven. The enticing aroma intensifies and Sam’s stomach growls again. Gabriel laughs this time, warm brown eyes bright as he spoons a sizable portion onto a plate and places it in front of Sam.
“Not yet,” Gabriel says, stopping Sam from digging in. “It’s too hot, give it a minute.”
Sam groans involuntarily and leans closer to breathe in the steam rising from the pasta. He looks up to find Gabriel watching him and blushes.
“Sorry, just really hungry. Smells amazing, by the way,” Sam adds, dropping his eyes back to his plate. Gabriel laughs again, and it’s such a full, happy sound that Sam can’t help but mirror it.
“Not surprised you’re starving, growing boy like you,” Gabriel says, light, but with a question in his eyes. Sam doesn’t get it, so he just waits for Gabriel to continue. “You really a freshman?”
Sam blushes and looks down. He knows he probably should have told Gabriel that at the party, that maybe none of this would have happened if he’d just mentioned his age. He nods without looking up.
“Hey, it’s cool! It’s just surprising, you’re so... serious. Good thing nothing happened, then, huh?” Gabriel says, and Sam catches him winking as he whips his head up.
“Nothing happened? You’re sure?” Sam demands, then snaps his mouth shut. He didn’t mean to let on that he has no memory of getting home, but... he really needs to know. Gabriel’s eyes widen.
“You don’t remember anything?”
“I remember leaving the party... And then waking up in your bed,” Sam finishes awkwardly, his face hot. Gabriel’s expression is unreadable.
“We didn’t do anything. You couldn’t sleep on your bed because we were too drunk to move the boxes. Did you think I...?”
“No! Well... I mean I didn’t know what happened, but I didn’t think you like... took advantage or anything,” Sam says quickly, desperate to show that he doesn’t hate Gabriel like Dean does.
“Sam, if anything had happened that night, that would have been taking advantage. You get that, right?” Gabriel waits for him to nod before continuing, “You get that drunk again, you call Dean, okay? Lots of people on this campus would love to take advantage of someone like you.”
Sam’s about to ask what he means by “someone like you”, but Gabriel motions to his plate.
“Pretty sure that’s cool enough to eat now.”
They don’t talk about the party or that night again as they eat, but Sam relaxes, relief spreading through him as tension he didn’t realize he was holding onto bleeds away.
***
Dean’s fallen into the habit of hating the Novaks without even having to think about it. He aims a level 9 Death Glare at anyone in his house who’s not Sam and otherwise completely ignores them both. They both stay out of his way and mostly out of the house, apparently less stupid than they look. Work is a different story. Gabriel hasn’t come back since that first time, but Castiel still sits in the corner with his stacks of papers and red pen or highlighter.
When he first came in after the “incident”, he carefully avoided meeting Dean’s eye, and Dean took it as something of a truce. The café, as it turns out, has become a kind of no man’s land for them. Not exactly neutral; more a tense kind of cease-fire because they both have to be there for some reason or another. Dean sometimes wants to ask Castiel if he really has nowhere else to go, but that would involve talking to the guy and that’s way too friendly. So they carefully ignore each other almost every day, Cas looking anywhere but at Dean as he orders coffee after coffee, Dean uncomfortably aware of that corner table he’s not looking at.
Halloween evening finds Dean working, Cas in his corner, and almost no one else in the café. The pizza place next door is doing a costume contest, music and chatter audible every time someone opens the door. Dean knows he could close early, no one’s coming in at this point and his manager’s lenient, but Cas still has an inch tall stack of papers to grade and Dean can’t bring himself to kick him out.
Dean starts brewing him another coffee, adds cream and sugar like Cas likes it, and wonders when he learned how Cas likes his drinks. For that matter, when did he start thinking of him as Cas? Dean shoves the thought away and drops the coffee on Cas’s table, making him jump. Startled blue eyes shoot up to Dean’s face and Dean finds himself walking away fast, calling “On the house,” over his shoulder.
Cas stays another half hour before disappearing quietly out the door, lugging his heavy bag behind him, his table cleared off as usual. Dean watches him go, wondering if he has plans for Halloween, if he ever goes out or has fun. He sighs and pulls out his phone to ask Jo which bar he should head to.
***
Sam’s finally made a few friends, so he doesn’t really have an excuse for bumming around the apartment on Halloween. Everyone’s going to parties, dressing up and getting drunk, and Sam is wearing jack-o’lantern boxers and a blanket around his shoulders while he makes grilled cheese and watches Hocus Pocus. He’s glad Dean’s not around to make fun of him. He wonders briefly where Dean is. Probably at a bar, which Sam can’t go to because he’s not 21 and he doesn’t have a fake ID. Dean says Sam has too much of a babyface to use one, but Sam thinks his height might actually cancel that out.
Castiel isn’t home either, Sam heard him leave a few hours earlier and he hasn’t come back. Sam wonders if maybe Castiel is out at a bar too, and laughs to himself when he tries to picture it, Castiel’s solemn voice ordering a beer.
“What’s so funny, Sammy?” Sam whips around to find Gabriel standing in the doorway of the kitchen-slash-living room, wearing what appears to be half of a harlequin joker costume.
“Don’t call me that,” Sam replies reflexively, before adding, “Nothing.”
Gabriel watches him for a minute before strolling in to flop onto the couch next to him. Sam sits up straighter, pulling the blanket up to his chin.
“Not out partying tonight?” Gabriel asks, his eyes still on the movie.
“Oh no, I’m there right now,” Sam says sarcastically. Gabriel turns to raise an eyebrow at him, but Sam can see the corner of his mouth twitching. “What about you? What’s with the costume?” Sam asks, gesturing at the mostly-removed top half of a colorful onesie.
“Just wasn’t feelin’ it,” Gabriel says easily, leaning back into the couch with a sigh, draping an arm along the back. It’s close enough to Sam’s shoulders that he has to suppress a shiver, and for the first time since that night, he remembers how attracted he was to Gabriel at the party. He glances over the man now, trying to see if he’s still as attractive. He sees longish brown hair, a mouth that seems like it’s always half-way to a smile, and those brown eyes, like liquid laughter, so bright and quick. Sam looks away when he realizes Gabriel’s staring right back.
They watch the movie in silence for a while, Sam quietly freaking out as Gabriel sprawls more and more comfortably across the couch. Sam’s sure he can feel the heat from Gabriel’s arm along the back of his neck, Gabriel’s calf pressing against Sam’s shin is so hot it’s almost like burning.
Sam can’t seem to remember how to breathe evenly, his mind spinning with images of Gabriel leaning in and kissing him, pressing him into the couch, straddling him... Gabriel shifts at his side and Sam leans in just slightly, just enough that Gabriel’s arm drops to curl around his shoulders. The sudden contact gives Sam’s courage a boost and he lets his head rest on Gabriel’s shoulder with a sigh. Gabriel doesn’t say anything, just tightens his arm around Sam for a moment and runs his thumb along Sam’s bare skin.
When the movie’s over, they watch the next Halloween-themed family friendly thing that comes up, and the next, until Sam’s eyelids are drooping and Gabriel’s half lying against the arm of the couch, Sam on top of him, the blanket covering them both. Sam’s just thinking that he’s never been this comfortable, in spite of the fact that his feet are awkwardly hanging off the other end of the couch, when Gabriel taps him lightly.
“Hey. Hey Sam, you asleep?”
Sam groans and nuzzles closer, his face pressed to Gabriel’s chest.
“It’s getting late, people are gonna be coming home soon,” Gabriel says, and it takes a minute for the words to register. Dean. If Dean comes home and sees this... Sam sits up with a jolt, then sags as his head spins. He groans again and starts to get up.
“Bedtime,” Gabriel says, getting up off the couch. Sam nods in agreement and heads to his room, pausing in the doorway.
“Goodnight, Gabriel,” he says, wanting to say more. Gabriel just winks at him before disappearing into his own room. Sam sighs and collapses on his bed, thinking how much more comfortable it would be with a warm, Gabriel shaped body in it.
***
Part II