[SPN Crossover Big Bang] Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Part Two
It hadn't been an oatmeal breakfast and Sam could already feel the sugar rushing out in his veins. Yet, he felt content with the waffle cozying around in the pit of his stomach. His sugar Yoda or whatever could be proud.
“We're gonna make another pit stop on your road to proper education in the subject of sugar rushes. Since I lost all my special stuff on the airport I need to do some restocking. It won't take a long time. I checked on my phone and there's a place that sells those sweeties like fifteen minutes away from here.”
“What, no, we can't be stopping every ten minutes because you have an urge to fill. The airport security said that those things weren't drugs, but seriously, you should look into it, because you know what I think? You have a problem.”
Gabriel didn't say anything but just loaded Crowley into the back of the car. Sam made a motion to get back to his place, but Gabriel knocked on the roof, pointing his finger at him, a silent order to stay where he was.
“Okay, kiddo,” he started. “You're not the only one who has important business in Los Angeles. I thought we could have a nice trip there, but really this isn't going to work. I didn't want to say this but guess what? Here I am with the Toyota Prius, with the money and personality enough to let a total stranger ride with me to California. You have what? A fancy suit and a winning smile, but man, you need to work on your personality. Now, do you wanna ride to L.A. or not?”
Gabriel was breathing heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. It was all very impressive coming from a man that size. Sam was at a loss for words, not something that happened often, but Gabriel managed to kick the smooth-talking lawyer out of him somehow. All he could do was nod.
“Yes… please.”
“Good, get in the car then.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes as he took his seat in front of the wheel. Sam huffed out an unimpressed laugh, but he didn't say anything more as he hopped into his seat instead. He picked up his cell to call Dean with the news, mostly because he needed something to think about that wasn't the man sitting in the driver's seat.
“Sam here,” he spoke into the phone when his brother picked up. “Crisis adverted. I'm driving. I'm driving with a guy I met at the car rental.”
“You met someone, Sam? Good for you. Is he coming to the wedding?”
Sam didn't have the time to answer before Gabriel waved his hand and pried the phone from Sam and put it to his own ear instead, keeping one hand on the steering wheel.
“Hello, you must be Dean. I'm Gabriel and I just wanted to say that I’ve kidnapped your brother, but don't worry, I'll drop him off when we get to L.A. Oh, and congrats on the wedding deal. Who's the lucky bride?”
Sam couldn't hear Dean's response, but it made Gabriel grin, and that wasn't a good thing according to Sam's experience. There were a few 'uh huh's from Gabriel as Dean continued talking and Gabriel continued to smile.
“Well, that's good to know,” Gabriel finished before he flipped the phone back to Sam who caught it in the air. He put it back to his ear only to hear the sound of Dean laughing.
“What was that all about?”
“Nothing, nothing. Just. Uhm, take care, Sammy and for fuck’s sake, be in time for the wedding or I will skin you. Got it?”
Sam ended the call, feeling Gabriel's eyes burn into his neck. When he turned his head to face him, Gabriel continued to look at him from the corner of his eye.
“So,” Sam began. “What did my brother say to you?”
“Nothing in particular. He just you know, made sure I don't sell you to a Russian brothel or kill you and bury you next to the highway. The normal big brother talk. He sounded a bit worried, but I don't know if that was because his little bro is out on the roads with a lunatic stranger or if it's just normal wedding jitters.”
“You really are quite crazy, you know that?”
Gabriel laughed at that, and Sam found that he rather liked the sound. The rust-red hair fell into his face when he craned his neck forward, trying to calm his laughter. Sam's fingers twitched to push it back, but he controlled himself and kept them in his lap.
“All the best people are, kiddo, all the best people are. Besides, in my line of work, you need to have a good imagination. So it's good that I'm a bit on the whacked side, or I would be without a job.”
“So what do you do then that is so crazy? Please don't say serial killer.”
The laugh was back again and Sam cursed himself for saying something that evoked it. It was a deadly trap, just waiting to snare Sam in its jaws. He smiled a little as the laughter faded and Gabriel actually responded.
“On the seat behind you, there's a stack of papers. Grab them, but make sure Crowley doesn't claim a part of your hand on the way.”
Carefully watching the dog Sam reached behind himself to withdraw the papers Gabriel had been talking about. It was a thick bunch wrapped in a plastic cover and when he opened it up crisp black text on white met his eyes.
“It's a script. You're a script writer? Done anything famous?”
“If you have to ask,” Gabriel said, “no, I haven't had any of my scripts produced yet, thanks for asking. Never thought seriously about sending out any of them really, but mom said I should go for it before she passed. And actually, now I have a meeting with an agent in Hollywood. Luckily enough, I managed to postpone it, but as I said, you're not the only one who has important things to take care of.”
Sam just hummed as a response as he opened the first page of the movie script, starting to read it. Gabriel gave an amused laugh, but he continued to drive and soon they made it to Candy Mountain, or whatever the place was called.
Sam stayed in the car while Gabriel did his shady candy deal, much to Crowley's annoyance. There was a constant rumbling from the bad-tempered dog, but Sam ignored it, continuing to read Gabriel's script, his chair pulled back as far as possible so that his feet could rest on the dashboard.
It was quite good actually, and Sam kept turning the pages. It was about a renegade angel who had been on earth for so long that he started to like it and consider it more of a home than heaven. Then the apocalypse started and the angel teamed up with two brothers and another angel to prevent it all, despite the renegade angel not being a team player and all.
“It's good,” Sam said when Gabriel returned and they hit the road again. The man didn't say anything, but only smiled at Sam.
* * *
“Sorry, sir, your card won't go through. Do you have any other means of payment?”
The clerk at the motel they had stopped at for the night had the most monotonous voice ever, keeping the same tone the whole sentence through. Sam gave her a deadpan look, because really? Couldn't the card just be accepted so he could get in his room and not see Gabriel for a few hours? But, apparently not, because even after a second try, the man's card wouldn't be accepted.
Walking back out again, he saw Gabriel leaning against the hood of the Toyota, scribbling in a black notebook. He stopped for a second, taking in the sight illuminated by the street lamp. From a distance, Gabriel wasn't too bad, but Sam knew he was going to regret the statement as soon as the man opened his mouth again. So, he took a moment, just looking at the concentrated look on the man's face, his tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth as he turned the page. Then Sam stepped into the light, handing Gabriel's Visa card back to him.
“Your card wasn't accepted, short-runt. We'll have to pay cash instead. How much do you have?”
Slamming the notebook together and putting it in his jacket pocket, Gabriel glared up at Sam as he opened his wallet. He shoved the card back in place first before he carefully counted the bills, his tongue still sticking out.
“I have... a little over sixty bucks or so,” he finally answered, and please, please, Sam must have misheard him, because this was... This was just so perfect it couldn't be true.
“You only have sixty bucks on you? In total? Nothing more? And just exactly how much did you spend on that special candy of yours? Your so called 'medicine'?”
“I don't know,” Gabriel shrugged. “Like maybe hundred dollars or something.”
Sam turned his back against him because really, he couldn't look at Gabriel right now. He tried to think what he should do so that he wouldn’t punch Gabriel or strangle him or just generally injure the idiot in some way. Gabriel didn't help his case when he muttered something about him not being a responsible person either, but somehow, Sam made it out in the end with nothing worse than a small sore in his palm caused by digging his nails deep in.
“Okay, I’ll call my brother and he'll wire some money to us and it'll be fine, okay?”
“He'll have to wire it to me. You don't have an ID.”
“Good. And look at us now, solving the problem like adults!”
The sarcasm dripped from Sam's voice, but Gabriel didn't seem to notice or care as he jumped in on the passenger's seat, it being Sam's turn to drive. The Western Union office was fortunately just a few miles away from the motel and they made the entire drive in silence, unless you counted the eternal chewing as Gabriel made it through yet another bag of candy. Strangely enough, Sam was beginning to get accustomed to the disturbing sound.
They made it to the office ten minutes before closing time and Sam gave a relieved sigh as he opened the door, stepping in and marching up to the desk. The clerk was an old man and Sam hoped that he knew how to handle a computer because he needed that bed really soon.
“L-O-K-E,” Gabriel said as the clerk typed his name into his database, nodding in agreement as the confirmation of the wired money popped up on his screen. “I need to see some ID, please.”
Gabriel slipped his card under the glass window and the old man took it up, looking at it from under his thick glasses. He tensed his eyes, pulling the card closer to his face, and Sam hoped for God's sake that he wasn't having a heart attack.
“I apologize, but this doesn't say Gabriel Loke. It says Gabriel Messenger.”
Sam frowned at the clerk, wondering just what kind of humor the man was playing at because he so needed that right now.
“Shit,” Gabriel mumbled as he buried his face in his hands. “Shit, I'm so sorry. Loke isn't my real name. My real name is Gabriel Messenger. Fuck...”
“Why,” Sam begun, not grasping the situation fully. “Why would you have a fake name?”
Gabriel rolled his eyes, slamming his hands against the desk as he spun around. A long string of mumbled curses followed and Sam just stood there, shaking his head, his eyes widened in disbelief. This... This wasn't happening. Then of course, the old man behind the glass reminded them that it was unfortunately time for him to close the office, but they were welcome back tomorrow. That was when Gabriel slammed the door open, vanishing out into the night.
* * *
It was raining like the apocalypse itself had decided to drop in for tea and Sam was soaked to his skin. He had to push his hair back several times until it was plastered to his skull, not threatening to fall into his eyes anymore.
He walked across the parking lot with long strides to the car, but when looking in through the windows, all he discovered was Crowley growling and showing his teeth to Sam. No Gabriel, which was just great because it was he who had the keys. Now it was either stand outside in the rain waiting for him to come back or go looking for him. Kicking one of the tires with a growl competing with Crowley's, Sam turned on the spot and stalked away, water splashing up on his pants legs as he stepped in puddles.
After five minutes of circling the entire Western Union office, Sam found Gabriel finding shelter in an old bus stop. Biting his lip, Sam walked over towards him. He was sitting on the bus stop's bench leaning backwards with his hands crossed in front of his chest. He too was drenched and he looked as pissed about it as Sam was.
“What the hell was that stunt you pulled, Gabriel? What's your deal?”
Sam's questions begun as soon as he came in under the protective roof of the bus stop, but Gabriel didn't seem too impressed by them. He stood up from the bench, but he wouldn't respond to Sam's questions, keeping his mouth a tight line. It didn't work on Sam who was used to cracking harder nuts in court and just continued prodding.
“Why would you have a fake name anyway? Who wakes up one morning thinking, hey, I don't like my name. I think I'll think of a new, imaginary name! Or are you a fugitive or something?”
Sam's hands were in the air, one of them pulling through his wet hair, drops falling down his shirt back. A part of him told himself to calm down because this was an honest mistake and what did he know about Gabriel's life?
“Because she wasn't my real mother, okay,” Gabriel shouted into Sam's face.
Gabriel turned his back against Sam, his hands going up to massage his temples. His neck was craned downwards and Sam could see how his whole body shook. Sam was able to make people talk in court, but there he wasn't risking hurting their feelings. The sight before him took him back a bit and he took a step backwards, signaling that he was giving Gabriel space.
“My father was... is a special man. He believed that everything had a place and that his children's place was to serve him. We’re four brothers: Michael who actually liked Dad, but that might be because he was the oldest and Dad let him have some power. Luke was the rebel and he ran away from home as soon as he could, but before that, he and Dad would fight every day. I used to hate it, hiding under my covers. Then Ralph. He wasn't Michael, but he tried his best, often using me to look better. If I did something I shouldn't have, Ralph would never hesitate to tattle on me. I'm the youngest and let's just say that I was somewhat of a disappointment, especially since our mother died delivering me.
“I ran away when I was twelve. Somehow, I got to New York and I found my mother's aunt. She was called missus Loke. It's her name. She actually let me stay and even call her mother and she took care of me, said that my father wouldn't bother me anymore. He didn't come after me though and one day I got a phone call from Michael that said that I didn't need to come home because I was no longer considered part of the family. Like with Luke, they shunned me.”
“That,” Gabriel concluded as he sat down on the bench again with a wet thump, “is why I call myself Loke instead of Messenger. Messenger is my surname on paper, but I consider myself a Loke. I’m sorry if that upset you.”
Sam didn't say anything for a long time. He just took a seat next to Gabriel and looked at the rain that kept pouring down from the sky. Thunder and lightning had joined the downfall, breaking the silence.
“When I was six months old,” Sam begun and he couldn't believe he was starting this story. It wasn't something he told a man he had known for less than twenty-four hours, but what Gabriel had just shared wasn't really cold talk material either. “Our house burned down. My brother carried me out, but my mother died in the fire. My dad tried to save her, but he couldn't. He, uhm, he... I don't remember anything before the fire, but Dean said that was the day dad changed. And I mean, of course something like that would change a person, but what dad...”
Sam took a break, trying to gather himself. Many years ago, he had promised himself that he wouldn't cry about this ever again, but here he was sitting in the rain, confessing his life story. Dean would have laughed about his chick-flick moment.
“My dad drank. A lot. Dean got the worst end of the stick with dad never shutting up about him. Like you said, he wasn't good enough. Nothing was good enough without Mary, my mom. Dad, he, he didn't do so well without mom. It got worse with every year and then one day in, April I think, when I was sixteen, he went out and didn't come back. We filed a missing person's report, but nothing happened. Still don't know what happened to him, but I don't really care. A part of me wants to know, of course, he was my dad, but I had Dean.
“Dean has always taken care of me, especially after that day in April. He always put himself in second place, but now he's getting married, and he needs my help with being the best man. I really need to get to L.A. in time.”
“Well, aren't we a sad couple?”
Gabriel's voice was quiet, but his laugh sounded with the echo of the rain and Sam joined right in. it was nuts really, but the two couldn't stop laughing. Sam even wiped away one of those tears he had refused to cry, but that was okay, because Gabriel was laughing and that made the whole deal kind of okay.
“Come on,” Sam said as he stood up and reached a hand out to Gabriel. “We'll sleep in the car tonight. We’ll fix this shit tomorrow, but right now, we'll sleep in the car.”
Gabriel grabbed his hand, hoisting himself up with a nod to Sam and then they both broke through the rain, aiming towards the dry salvation that was the car.
* * *
Sleeping in a car is never comfortable, especially not when you were a 6' 4" moose crammed into a Toyota Prius. Gabriel had just curled up into a ball with his dry jacket as a blanket and started snoring. It left Sam to rest beside him, taking in the soft rumbling of the other man's even breath.
For the greatest while, Sam just lay there, listening to the sound. He called out on himself how creepy it was, but yet he continued on. He had never met someone like Gabriel and he wasn't entirely sure if he ever wanted to meet someone else like him.
Eventually, Sam slipped in and out of consciousness as the night passed. Once, he caught the demon dog sitting not three inches away from his face, staring at him as if he contemplated the most effective way of killing him. Sam had sat up with a very unmanly yelp at that, not that Crowley moved a muscle at the sound. Gabriel stirred a little, but at least he didn't wake up to call Sam out on his act. Shoving the dog away, down on the car's floor, Sam grumbled a curse
The next time he woke up, the sun was up, lighting up the abandoned parking lot. Gabriel was gone by then, and so was Crowley. His bag was still in the car though, and when Sam sat up, he could see the short man stretching on the pat of grass next to the parking space. The dog was leached, sitting on its haunches as it watched Gabriel... Was he doing yoga?
Whatever it was he was doing, he finished up not long after Sam had awakened and returned to the car. Crowley gave him a good morning growl, not pleased that Sam had spent the night in his territory the backseat. Glaring at the dog, Sam got out of the car, meaning to move to the driver's seat instead.
“Do you want me to drive? You look like shit.”
Gabriel was standing cross-armed, looking over at Sam like he was an idiot for even suggesting he'd take the wheel.
“You drove yesterday,” Sam objected, but he couldn't fight back the yawn that escaped him. Gabriel cocked an eyebrow at him and shook his head. “Not gonna happen, kiddo.”. Sam moved to argue back, but the man simply shook his head again as he opened the door to the driver's seat.
“I’m driving for now. I don't have a death wish.”
Driving out from the parking area, Gabriel was blissfully quiet. There were no stupid questions about Sam's childhood or his favorite brand of ice cream. The only sounds in the car were the soft rumbling of the engine, Crowley's panting from the back seat and the occasional unwrapping of yet another piece of candy of Gabriel's. Soon, Sam drifted off to sleep, lulled by the soft movement as the car sped down the interstate.
He didn't wake this time, not until Gabriel nudged him awake and announced that it was time for lunch. Of course, the man had pulled up at a Pizza Hut. Sam groaned, both at the disturbance of his sleep and the choice of restaurant. If it could even be called that. Never mind the short amount of time he was going to spend with the man; he seemed set on fattening Sam up like a pig before slaughter. He was going to arrive in Los Angeles with a round tummy and a Guinness' World Record-sized hole in his teeth.
Remembering yesterday's scene at the waffle house though, he kept quiet. He had lost track of their whereabouts during his nap and he didn't feel like hitch-hiking the rest of the way. He feared that he would get picked up by someone even crazier than Gabriel, if that was possible.
“How is it,” he asked when they had sat down and ordered their meal, Sam scrounging the menu for something even remotely healthy, “that you aren't really, really fat?”
Gabriel laughed a little at him. “Jealous, Sam?” Sticking his tongue out, he looked at Sam from across the small, square table, his eyes lighting up for a second. “No, it's really part of my diabetes. It causes my body to handle itself like a pro and I remain a sexy bastard, to the delight of the rest of the world. I know, I know,” he chuckled. “Some people are simply born fabulous. I am their king.”
Sam shook his head. He let a sigh escape himself, but that was his way of hiding the laugh that threatened to bubble up within him. Gabriel wouldn't just get Sam fat, but he would probably go mad too. Somehow, the idea didn't seem all that ridiculous.
They ate in silence after that, Gabriel too busy making sure none of the melted cheese escaped his mouth and Sam too busy not gagging on it. At least the vile thing stalled Sam's hunger. He was pretty sure he never wanted to even see another piece of food. At least they had the decency not to charge for the large glass of water required to swallow down the gravy-dripping piece of a deathtrap that tried to pass off as a pizza. Gabriel, of course, downed two large cups of Coke, but it seemed like not even he could withstand nature's call.
When Gabriel excused himself to the bathroom, or rather told Sam that he needed to take a leak, Sam was left alone at the table. Not entirely alone though, because Gabriel had left his green jacket behind, slung over the back of his chair. In its pocket, Sam knew both the car keys and the other man's wallet rested, having seen him put it there as they exited the car.
And so, Sam was left alone, with a choice. If he wanted to, he could never see Gabriel again. He could take the jacket and its pockets' contents, go out to the car, dump the hell hound on the curb and race towards LA, alone. He thought about it, even reached out to grab the jacket, but his hand stopped. Years later, he still wasn't sure what caused him to stay, especially considering what was about to happen during the following days. But when Gabriel exited the bathroom again, Sam had remained seated, his fingers drumming a beat against the table top.
“Come on,” Gabriel said, slapping him on his shoulder before he grabbed his jacket. His grin was as big as usual. “I don't believe that you want to stay here any longer. Let’s hit the road again, kiddo”
Sam grumbled a little, but he couldn't deny that Gabriel was right. In everything but the nickname, that was. Gabriel was a few years older, sure, but not that much older. Add the fact that Sam stood about a head and a half taller, and Gabriel should really start calling him something else. His actual name would be an option.
When they walked out to the car, Sam slid into the driver's seat without question. Rummaging around in his pocket, Gabriel handed him the keys. Sam put it in the ignition, turning it. The engine roared to a start and soon they were back on the highway, Sam following Gabriel's instructions on how to get there. Sam had to give the man some credit that they hadn't accidentally landed them at the Mexican border while he was sleeping.
They talked a little then, or rather, Gabriel talked about his movie dreams and his ideas on how he would make them happen and Sam listened. To be awfully honest, he sometimes tuned out the sound of Gabriel going on about producers and archangels. He kept name-dropping people Sam didn't know whether were real or fictional, and all in all, Gabriel was kind of overwhelming.
“You're not listening,” Gabriel said at one point, not unlike the kid he called Sam out to be. It was true though. As he went on about a motel called Elysian Fields and why it was so important, Sam had drifted off to the bland scenery on the other side of the windscreen. His mind hadn't been anywhere particular, but now he turned his head to claim otherwise; that he had indeed been listening. He didn't have the time to say anything though, as a large Mack drove into the tail of the car, sending it off the road and Sam into unconsciousness.
* * *
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