Learning and Living - AU Sam/Gabriel
Title: Learing and Living
Author: youaredriving aka Scarletsptember
Fandom and Characters: Supernatural, Sam/Gabriel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~3,000
Warnings: AU!Highschool verse, Language, Slashy moments
Summary: Gabriel isn't exactly the smartest kid in school, alright he was two points away from being placed in remedial classes, but that's not the point, okay maybe it is the point. But the bigger point is that if he didn't get a tutor soon he was going to repeat his senior year. Enter Sam Winchester tutoring nerd extraordinaire.
Other Notes: Beta'd by the awesome eph_inspiration who put up with my horrible use of punctuation.
Written for: ultimateshipper for the ficexchange_mix exhange one, hopefully it's alright?
PS finally got around to posting it here, it was first posted to scarlet_fics
The thing was, Gabriel knew he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box. However you put it, he knew he wasn’t ever going to be the smartest. He never really wanted to be, but when Mrs. Gamble said he was this close to being put into remedial classes, he was smart enough to know that he would get his ass kicked by Father Dearest if he let that happen.
Going over the options, it all seemed pretty hopeless. It was either ace the next few tests on his own, just fucking give up, or he could actually give in and get a tutor from the nerd squad. Getting a tutor would give him more time to raise his grades, so Gabriel got his very own nerd─ and hoped like hell something would click in the next four weeks, or it would be remedial classes.
Over the next few days, Gabriel had heard from a few friends that the tutor to get was Castiel. The guy was off his rocker, but if you paid him on the side he’d hook you up so you’d scrape by. Who you didn’t want to get was Sam Winchester. The guy was hell on wheels, and he made you work within the guidelines the teachers set. There weren’t going to be any shortcuts if he ended up with Sam.
So here he was, sitting in the dinky school library with a stack of loose leaf paper, a pile of his textbooks, waiting for Sam Winchester ─ the head dork of them all. Who just happened to be running ten minutes late, according to the caged-in clock on the wall.
Gabriel huffed out a breath and eyed the guy who burst through the door. His arms were full of books and he had a backpack hanging off his shoulder; his hair looked like he had been running his hands through it most of the afternoon. The rest of his clothes were loose, but Gabriel couldn’t help licking his lips from the sight of lithe muscles beneath the shirt, and the way the jeans clung to his legs.
Gabriel tracked the guy’s progress all the way to his table, and his brows furrowed in confusion when the pile of books landed in one corner and the backpack hit the floor. Then there was a bright white smile and a hand flying in his direction, “You’re Gabriel, right?”
“Uh huh,” Gabriel nodded and automatically grasped the hand to shake it.
“Sorry I'm late. Mr. Wellings grabbed me in the hall to ask about tutoring another student, but I told him I was already booked with you. Anyways, I'm Sam Winchester, are you ready to get started?” Sam asked as he sat down and started pulling a notebook and a pencil out, looking up at Gabriel expectantly. When he didn’t get any kind of response from Gabriel, Sam took the lead with talking, “So you need help in pretty much everything, right?”
“Sure,” Gabriel just shrugged and grabbed the first book off the stack he brought with him.
Sam grinned and slid himself around the table until he was sitting next to Gabriel, so that he could get a better look at the material they would be working with. He nudged Gabriel with his shoulder and flashed him another, encouraging smile, “This is going to be easy. Memorization techniques are a specialty of mine.”
Gabriel watched Sam's mouth as he spoke. He could completely believe it, what with the way Sam's lips moved and the way the hues of his eyes shifted beneath the fluorescent lighting. Now if he could only focus on what Sam was actually trying to teach him, and not what he imagined the feeling of those lips against his own would be like.
~*~
Gabriel grinned to himself when he got his history test back. Ninety percent. Internally, he was doing a victory dance, but as soon as the bell rang, he'd be running to the library to show Sam how awesome he was.
“Doing well, Gabriel,” Mr. Singer growled out, and Gabriel smirked up at him.
“Thanks, I’ll have to think of doing something awesome for Sam.”
“Kid’s a godsend.” Mr. Singer shrugged. “Not everyone gets results like you’re getting. Turning over a new leaf?”
Gabriel ducked his head and shrugged, trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his mind. Or maybe you just really like the way Sam smiles, the way he bumps shoulders with you when you finally start to understand something.
Thankfully, the bell rang shrilly and he made and hasty retreat to the library, dodging between people in the crowded hallway. He slid behind their table and waited for Sam to arrive, and grinned when he spotted him approaching the table.
Gabriel waved the paper as he greeted Sam, “Got my test back.”
Yeah?” A curious look crossed Sam's face; he raised an eyebrow and his lips quirked upward as he made grabby hands for the paper. “If you failed, then you and me are going to have some issues.”
Gabriel tugged the paper to his chest and let his mouth drop open, “Have you no faith in your star pupil?”
“I have faith,” Sam snatched the paper out of Gabriel’s hands, “I just want to see what’s got you so excited.”
Sam glanced down at the paper, and his face lit up before he looked back up to Gabriel, “This is awesome!”
“I know!” Gabriel jumped up out of his seat and wrapped his arms around Sam without a thought. When his actions caught up with his brain, Gabriel felt heat rush to his face and slipped away from Sam. “Sorry about that, I just - I never, ever do this well. Just got overexcited, I guess.”
“It’s fine, Gabe. I don’t mind.” Sam shrugged. “Now let’s make sure this happens with every class. What have you got for me today?”
“Hell,” Gabriel sighed,and couldn’t help but smile from the way Sam laughed as they settled in at the table. He opened up the Algebra book and Sam grimaced. “See? I told you, Hell.”
“Lots of practice,” Sam knocked knees with him and pulled out a pencil to start working. Gabriel couldn’t help but feel a little warmer, with the way that Sam leaned in to him as they worked the problems together. “So, logarithms aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be.”
“Oh really? Says the boy genius,” Gabriel rolled his eyes.
“I’m not really all that smart, Gabriel. I just study and practice,” Sam turned in his chair to face Gabriel. “I also know how to manage my time.”
“Do you ever do anything fun?”
“Sure I do,” Sam took that as his cue to roll his eyes. “It’s just me and my brother, so we’ve had to learn what’s important. Right now for us, it’s school and work; other things, not so much. Enough about me, lets focus on getting you back on track.”
“Huh,” Gabriel rolled his lips together and looked down at the paper, where Sam had already started to scribble out some of the rules out for him. Glancing back up at Sam, Gabriel realized that he was slowly gathering pieces of the puzzle that formed Sam Winchester, and that he liked what he was seeing more and more.
~*~
Even after all the practice he and Sam did, Gabriel still was not as happy with his algebra test as he was with his history test. He had to admit, thought, that he had done better than what he would have without Sam’s help. He was sitting in the library with the paper stuffed in his bag, when Sam came in with his backpack tucked over both shoulders with a soft smile.
“Pack your stuff back up.”
“What? Why?” Gabriel looked up at Sam, confused. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”
“You need a break from cramming your head so full of information,” Sam rocked back and forth on his heels and gestured towards the library doors, “Plus, I already asked about your test so I know about the grade. I also know about an awesome diner that’ll perk you right up. Tomorrow, we'll go over what you can do next time to improve, and start on your next section.”
Gabriel watched Sam for a few minutes, confused with the sudden change of plans. He figured they’d be stuck in the library going over what he had done wrong on the test, but somehow, Sam managed to surprise him.
Sam was so different from what he originally pictured. He was warm, inviting, and smart, but there was so much more Gabriel was starting to want to know about him.
“That’s unless you want to stay here - I just figured the break would be welcomed. Everyone has an off day, and I know when I get a shitty test, I want nothing more than a piece of pie from Mayes.” Sam shrugged, waiting for Gabriel to decide.
“Okay,” Gabriel nodded, still a little shocked with the language the slipped from Sam’s lips. He started packing up his bag and he stood up. “How are we getting there? Mayes is more than just a few blocks from here, and I don’t have a car.”
“I do,” Sam plucked a set of keys out of his pocket and grinned.
Gabriel snatched them out of Sam’s hands and snorted at the beat up metal key-chain, “You have a mini 1967 Impala on here. Please tell me you actually drive that and it’s not your dream car?”
“I just drive an old Acura,” Sam scratched at the back of his neck, “Maybe if we’re friends after we’re done with tutoring, I’ll tell you why I have that mini Impala on there.”
Gabriel felt his chest tighten at the way Sam offhandedly mentioned that they might not be friends after his tutoring was finished. As soon as they were standing by a red car and Sam unlocked the trunk, Gabriel put a hand to Sam’s chest. “Why wouldn’t we be friends after this, Sam?”
Sam bowed his head and shrugged before he gave Gabriel a sad smile, “It’s kind of the way things work out. I don’t really matter once people are passing their classes again, and I’m cool with that. Let’s just head to Mayes - I’m really craving sweet potato pie for some reason.”
“Sweet potato?” Gabriel’s eyes crinkled in amusement, “Not anything normal like chocolate, apple, or even peach. No, of all things, you want sweet potato pie.”
“Hey, don’t hate,” Sam grinned as he shut the trunk and slipped into the car. He looked over at Gabriel and shook his head at the way he was looking around. Gabriel flicked at the mummy hanging from the hanging from the rear-view mirror. “That’s Bummy the Mummy.”
“He’s pretty awesome.” Gabriel dug around in the side door panel and rolled his eyes at the flash cards he found there. “Really Sam?”
“Hey,” Sam rolled his eyes, “Don’t make fun. Most of those were made so I could help you.”
“You really take this tutoring this seriously, don’t you?”
“It helps keep me busy so I don’t have to-” Sam stopped himself, then began speaking again, “It just keeps me busy.”
“You’re pretty awesome, you know that, right?” Gabriel tucked the index cards back where he found them and looked out the window.
“Thanks,” Sam whispered. “I’ve never heard that before.”
“Well you are,” Gabriel reached over to squeeze Sam’s shoulder, before he folded his hands in his lap. “So how much longer until we get there?”
“Um,” Sam looked at the street signs, “About another block and we’ll be there. Do you need to be home by a specific time?”
“Just before it gets late, my Dad isn’t home until next week.”
“Cool.” Sam nodded before he parked and gestured for Gabriel to follow him inside.
Gabriel noticed how Sam’s smile brightened immediately when they made it through the door. Sam was wrapped up in hugs from several people as they headed through the main floor of the diner and towards the counter, where a few people were eating while perched on glittery bar stools.
“Sammy!” A loud voice carried through the order window and Sam gestured for a minute, before he was heading back to the kitchen. Gabriel could hear Sam talking to someone in hushed tones; It sounded like whoever it was back there was surprised more than anything that Sam had brought company along with him.
“Sorry about that. My brother wanted to talk to me.”
“Uh,” Gabriel scratched his nose and noticed for the first time that everyone in the diner was watching them. “Why is everyone staring at us?”
“They look after me, and I’m usually on my own or with my brother when I’m here. So bringing you here was probably a bad idea - it would probably be best if we just got the pie and headed over to the park to hang out. Otherwise you’re going to be answering a lot of questions from some nosy people.”
“Wouldn’t want that,” Gabriel grinned, “I’d have to tell all your dirty secrets.”
“Yeah, that would be a disaster. So what’s your poison?”
Gabriel spotted the chocolate pie that had been topped with whipped cream. Sam snorted at the way Gabriel’s eyes widened, “What?”
“I should have guessed.” Sam walked around the counter and started boxing up a slice for each of them. “Want anything to drink?”
“Whatever you’re having?”
“Bad idea dude,” was yelled through the window. “Fix him a Coke, Sam, not water!”
“I’ve got it, Dean!” Sam yelled back and he glanced over at Gabriel with a blush. “Sorry about all this.”
“It’s cool,” Gabriel shrugged, “It’s actually nice seeing you outside of tutoring. I thought you were all about school, but you seem different here. You’ve got your dark side and I plan on figuring you out, just so you know.”
Sam gathered up the boxed pie and cocked a brow at Gabriel as he led the way out, “My dark side?”
“Oh yeah.” Gabriel smirked and bumped shoulders with Sam. “You’re just full of secrets. You’re like Einstein’s secret love child and no one knows it, have to be.”
“Caught me,” Sam grinned as they headed down a worn path.
“It’s just, you're more than a tutor. There’s something more than the nerdy Sam Winchester.”
“Surprising, I know.” Sam rolled his eyes.
“Hey!” Gabriel thumped Sam on the shoulder.
They let the conversation fade out into the lull of the park's sounds as Sam guided them to a spot to sit. Finally, Sam nudged Gabriel over towards an oak tree and they made themselves comfortable beneath it before Sam handed over Gabriel’s pie and drink. They ate quietly, Gabriel stealing small glances at Sam while he tried to figure out the words to say.
“What is it?”
“Why did you do this? Bring me here?” Gabriel set his fork down in the cardboard box, and watched the flurry of emotions cross Sam’s face as the boy tried to figure out how to explain.
“No one has ever gotten results like you, Gabe. No one is ever excited about showing up for tutoring, and they sure as hell don’t get upset by a grade like you got on that algebra test today. There has to be a reason for it all.”
Gabriel grabbed up his fork and gathered up another piece of the chocolate pie making sure to get some of the whipped cream topping. He was trying to buy himself some time; He should have known that Sam would catch on sooner or later. The guy was a freaking genius, possibly socially inept, but still a genius.
“Staring at the pie isn’t going to give me answers,” Sam reached out and brushed a thumb along the corner of Gabriel’s lips and Gabriel felt his breath stutter. His eyes shot up to Sam’s face and his blood rushed down his body at the sight of Sam licking the whip cream off his thumb.
“Holy shit, Sam,” Gabriel breathed out, and Sam let out a wide grin. “You just, whoa.”
“I was hoping I was reading you right.”
Gabriel froze as Sam leaned across the space separating them, he could feel Sam’s breath fanning out across his cheek before the boy leaned the rest of the way in. Sam’s lips were soft against his and Gabriel leaned back, pressing a hand straight down in the rest of his pie and not really caring at the mess he was making of himself. As long as he didn’t make a complete fool out of himself, it would be okay.
Then when Sam’s tongue was pressing against his lips, Gabriel’s brain went offline and his body began acting on its own. His hands were cupping Sam’s jaw, thumbs rubbing small circles at the corner of Sam’s mouth, urging him to open wider. The mixture of spices from the pie, the underlying taste of Sam was just so overwhelming, and Gabriel wanted more.
Gabriel was pressing closer to Sam, his hands slipping down the side of Sam’s neck, and all he could hear was Sam’s labored breathing before he pulled away, gasping for air.
Sam swiped a hand over his jaw and neck, “Really?”
Gabriel pressed a kiss just below Sam’s ear and licked the salty sweet skin there. “I wasn’t the one who attacked first, you just caught me off guard. Now I have something extremely tasty at my mercy.”
Sam tilted his head back and hummed, “Yeah?”
Gabriel mouthed his way to the hollow of Sam’s throat before answering, “Definitely.”
~*~
“So this is your last day of tutoring,” Sam sat down at the library table. “That means you get to pick whether we study or not. Since you know you’re turning over a new leaf and all.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes and studied Sam from across the table. He bumped his shoes against the inside of Sam’s and got a dorky smile out of Sam from the action. “If I choose to study, what does that mean for me?”
“A good grade on your next test,” Sam shrugged and looked anywhere but Gabriel.
“No kisses?”
“You don’t have to ask for those,” Sam muttered, still looking up at the ceiling. He muffled his laughter when Gabriel reached across the table and yanked on his shirt so he could seal their lips together.
“Good,” Gabriel licked his lips before he grabbed his bag. “So pie and then go over Singer’s notes?”
“Only if you get chocolate,” Sam shouldered his bag and pressed another kiss to Gabriel’s lips, “Chocolate pie always makes for a great evening.”