Fic: Superman Tonight... Part 5 of ?
Title: Superman Tonight (5/?)
Author: lonelyphoenix85
Rating: R, for a few foul words, and more sure to come in subsequent parts.
Genre: Songfic, Pre-slash, h/c
Pairing:Sam/Gabriel pre-slash, implied Dean/Cas
Spoilers: through to Changing Channels (5x08)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1976 (this part, 8627 total so far)
Disclaimer: It only belongs to me when I'm dreaming! Bon Jovi owns the song, and the rest is property of the almighty Kripke!
Notes: My first SPN fic (and therefore also my first attempt at anything even vaguely resembling Sam/Gabriel) - My writing doesn't always live up to my ideas, could use a beta if anyone's interested?
I don't know about everyone else, but I think we should try and get Gabriel back for S6 - I made a joking comment about starting a petition, only to be told by darkamber that there already is one here: Save Gabriel Petition
I popped straight over to sign it, and now I'm posting this in case anyone else here hasn't seen it yet *grins*
Extra Note: Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up - my mum got rushed into hospital on the weekend, so everything's been a bit crazy.
Previous chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
“Dean...” Sam whispered, eyes darting back in panic to Gabriel. The frustration on the Archangel’s face was quickly masked with a grin, as Gabriel winked at him.
“See you tonight, Sammy!”
Before Sam could protest, Gabriel was gone, taking with him the chair he’d created - the only sign that he’d been there now the rapidly cooling mug of coffee and half eaten doughnut in Sam’s hands. As the door opened Sam finished off the doughnut. Should he tell Dean and Cas about Gabriel’s visit? They wouldn’t trust the Archangel - Sam still wasn’t sure why he was considering it. He could argue that he didn’t have a choice, that the Archangel could help them in a way that no-one else was able, a way that they - that he - desperately needed. It was certainly true enough.
The problem was it felt like a lie. He genuinely wanted to trust Gabriel. He took a sip from his mug, nodding in greeting to his brother and Cas.
“You’re back early...” Either the rumours had been wrong, or the problem was big enough that Dean had decided they would need Sam’s help after all.
“It’s like the sons of bitches knew we were coming Sammy! There were traces everywhere, sulphur at the crime scene, and not a single demon in town - Cas checked.” Okay, so that explained the strained look on the Angel’s face. Even the smallest uses of his Grace were draining on him these days, a consequence of cutting himself off from Heaven. Checking a whole town for demonic presence was not a smart move on his part.
Could Dean even see what Cas was doing? Sam could picture their arrival in Concord now - Dean would’ve asked Cas absently if he could sense any ‘freaky demon vibes’ in town as soon as they discovered the sulphur residue, eager to get the hunt over with and go check on Sam. Cas would’ve reached out with diminished Grace, hiding the strain from Dean as much as possible, not believing it worth mentioning. If they weren’t careful sooner or later the Angel was going to push himself too far...
“So what, Demons are running scared from us now? Somehow that’s more worrying than comforting...”
“Yeah, like maybe they know something we d - hey Cas, you okay?” Sam’s eyes darted back to the Angel at Dean’s worried tone. Cas was staring at him, head tilted, in confusion. He was also, Sam noticed suddenly, swaying slightly on his feet. He began to pitch forward, but Dean was already there, catching him around the shoulders, leading him slowly over to one of the beds. He glanced worriedly at Sam, then turned to help Cas lay down.
“Cas - Cas, can you hear me? What’s wrong man?”
Sam was going to have to have a word with his oblivious brother later - it was obvious he had no idea how badly off Cas was, hadn’t even made the connection between Cas’ use of Grace earlier and his state now.
“I am fine Dean, I simply require rest.” Even as he spoke, his eyes slid shut.
“What the hell?! Since when do Angels need rest?” Dean’s question may not have been aimed at him, but since Cas wasn’t about to answer, Sam thought it might be a good time to start knocking some sense into his brother.
“Perhaps since he’s been cut off from Heaven and running on a limited supply of power? He’s probably been struggling not to pass out since you had him check Concord for demons, dude. Have you even noticed how he’s avoiding using his Angel powers unless one of us asks him to?”
“Why the hell didn’t he say anything?!” Dean’s face was a curious mix of worried and furious. “There were other ways we could’ve searched for the demons, goddammit! If they hadn’t left town he could’ve gotten seriously hurt making himself this weak around them!”
Sam wisely didn’t mention the way Dean was ignoring the fact that it likely would’ve gotten both of them hurt - his brother’s tendency to ignore risks to himself worried Sam whenever he stopped long enough to think about it. He could never decide if it was simply Dean’s deeply ingrained self-sacrificing instincts, or if perhaps - especially since he’d been brought back - Dean just didn’t care if he got hurt anymore.
“He might not’ve realised how hard it would hit him, he’s probably not used to having so little power to draw on still. I think perhaps we need to stop asking him for Angel things, limit it to life and death situations only...”
“Damn stupid, self-sacrificing...” Sam grinned slightly as Dean turned back towards Cas, his mutterings trailing off into silence as he watched the sleeping Angel. *If ever the pot called the kettle black...* Sam thought wryly.
He wondered briefly about the confused look Cas had been giving him just before he collapsed, then dismissed it as part of the whole exhaustion thing. Cas was fine for the moment, his brother seemingly content to keep an eye on him, so Sam turned his mind back to Gabriel, moving to stare out of the window with his coffee.
What had the Archangel been about to say, he wondered? It had felt important - he had rarely seen Gabriel so serious. He’d said he’d done something - something ‘not bad’. Unfortunately, Sam wasn’t sure his and Gabriel’s definitions of ‘not bad’ were necessarily that similar. He had sounded guilty, and the brief expressions that had broken through his mask had been sort of worried-looking.
Sam thought back to the previous evening, back to the part where he’d broken down - he grimaced at the memory. Gabriel hadn’t done anything but hold him, and mutter soothing nonsense in his ear. As embarrassing as that was, Sam couldn’t see that being what the Archangel had referred to, and yet nothing stood out. He’d implied that it, whatever it was, had been an accident too, hadn’t he?
~ “...didn’t realise what was happening until it was too late...” ~
“Breakfast Sammy?” Sam was startled from his thoughts, and he glanced round to see that Dean was now stood by the table with a takeaway bag Sam hadn’t noticed earlier. His stomach growled loudly. Apparently one doughnut did not a filling breakfast make. Still, he hesitated. Dean’s idea of a good breakfast was not one he shared.
“Cas ordered for you, seemed to think you wouldn’t like my choice. No danger of real food dude...” Sam reached out to catch the bag Dean had thrown his way while talking, pleasantly surprised when he looked inside.
“Jerk.” Because Dean had insulted his taste in food after all.
“Bitch.” Dean grinned, and started digging into his own breakfast. Sam watched as his grin faded, worry darkening his eyes as he glanced at Cas.
“He’ll be fine Dean, he said so himself.”
“Because he’s so great at telling us when something’s not right with him.”
“If he were at death’s door I think he would have told us dude. Just give him a few hours. You look like you could use some sleep yourself anyway - use my bed.”
“In a bit Sammy. You get much research done while we were gone?” Crap. Decision time, to tell or not to tell? *Not.* Sam decided. Dean didn’t need something else to worry about right now, best to wait until Cas was back on his feet to help calm him down. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head muttering something about making excuses.
“Not really, went at it for an hour or two, gave it up as a lost cause when the words started swimming around the page though. Decided to get some sleep instead.” This would bring its own questions, but was still preferable to discussing Gabriel and his big breakdown.
“Nightmares? Or...” Dean trailed off, and Sam wondered what to say. It was a sign of how screwed up their lives were that nightmares was actually the better option. He bit back the bitter chuckle that threatened to erupt.
“Neither at first. Lucifer after a while, but it was like he couldn’t get in or something. I was in my cabin reading for what felt like hours...”
“Reading? Seriously dude! Way to waste a good dream!”
“...before he turned up, and even then he was still outside the cabin, I could feel his evil burning behind the door. Don’t know if he would’ve gotten in, I woke up then.” That was practically the truth. He’d just left out one - slightly important - detail.
“So something was blocking Lucifer? Could it have been you? I mean, maybe you figured out how to do it without realising or some shit like that?”
“I don’t know, I mean, anything’s possible, but I think maybe that’s giving me a bit too much credit Dean. I’m not that strong - I was exhausted when I went to sleep, I couldn’t have managed it if I knew how, let alone accidentally.”
“So we’ve got something new going on? Because we didn’t have enough to deal with fighting Heaven and Hell, now there’s an unknown in the mix too?”
“A helpful unknown - I slept for seven hours last night Dean. Seven whole hours! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve managed half that? And without nightmares either? Why do we have to assume everything’s out to get us?”
“What planet are you living on Sammy? We’ve had Hell on our asses since we were kids, Heaven joined in when we wouldn’t co-operate with their apocalypse, and then there’s all the regular nasties here on earth that have their own private hate-ons for us. Something powerful enough to block the freaking Devil from your dreams suddenly appears and you want to trust it? Are you forgetting what happened last time you trusted something?”
Sam flinched back at Dean’s reference to Ruby. He’d been wrong about her, he couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been, allowing her to manipulate him the way she had. And there was a small part of him screaming that that was exactly what he was doing now with Gabriel. That he was falling for another trick - hell, he was already lying to Dean again. He could say it was because he didn’t want to worry him until Castiel was up and about again, but even before the Angel passed out he had been considering not telling them.
He should tell Dean, now. But Dean would have questions that Sam couldn’t answer yet. He still didn’t know what Gabriel had done, what the ‘not bad’ something was, and he didn’t understand why he was so eager to trust the Archangel after what he’d done to Dean at the mystery spot. He wouldn’t be able to convince Dean of anything until he understood it himself, so there was no sense in bringing it up yet.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, regardless. If I can’t keep Lucifer out of my dreams, then I doubt I’d have much luck against whatever is powerful enough to do it. It may not even happen again, but if it does, then I might as well make the most of it, store up some extra sleep-hours in case it doesn’t last.”
“Just be careful dude.” Sam could see it on Dean’s face - he really wanted to argue but couldn’t deny the logic in what Sam was saying.
Sam offered up a quick prayer that he wasn’t screwing things up even more than he already had, then changed the topic of conversation.
“So, what do you think’s going on with the demons? I mean, the timing could’ve been a coincidence...”
“I believe in a lot of things Sammy, but coincidences, in our lives, just aren’t one of them. No, I think they’re under orders not to engage us. I just can’t figure out why.”
Chapter 6
Author: lonelyphoenix85
Rating: R, for a few foul words, and more sure to come in subsequent parts.
Genre: Songfic, Pre-slash, h/c
Pairing:Sam/Gabriel pre-slash, implied Dean/Cas
Spoilers: through to Changing Channels (5x08)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1976 (this part, 8627 total so far)
Disclaimer: It only belongs to me when I'm dreaming! Bon Jovi owns the song, and the rest is property of the almighty Kripke!
Notes: My first SPN fic (and therefore also my first attempt at anything even vaguely resembling Sam/Gabriel) - My writing doesn't always live up to my ideas, could use a beta if anyone's interested?
I don't know about everyone else, but I think we should try and get Gabriel back for S6 - I made a joking comment about starting a petition, only to be told by darkamber that there already is one here: Save Gabriel Petition
I popped straight over to sign it, and now I'm posting this in case anyone else here hasn't seen it yet *grins*
Extra Note: Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up - my mum got rushed into hospital on the weekend, so everything's been a bit crazy.
Previous chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
“Dean...” Sam whispered, eyes darting back in panic to Gabriel. The frustration on the Archangel’s face was quickly masked with a grin, as Gabriel winked at him.
“See you tonight, Sammy!”
Before Sam could protest, Gabriel was gone, taking with him the chair he’d created - the only sign that he’d been there now the rapidly cooling mug of coffee and half eaten doughnut in Sam’s hands. As the door opened Sam finished off the doughnut. Should he tell Dean and Cas about Gabriel’s visit? They wouldn’t trust the Archangel - Sam still wasn’t sure why he was considering it. He could argue that he didn’t have a choice, that the Archangel could help them in a way that no-one else was able, a way that they - that he - desperately needed. It was certainly true enough.
The problem was it felt like a lie. He genuinely wanted to trust Gabriel. He took a sip from his mug, nodding in greeting to his brother and Cas.
“You’re back early...” Either the rumours had been wrong, or the problem was big enough that Dean had decided they would need Sam’s help after all.
“It’s like the sons of bitches knew we were coming Sammy! There were traces everywhere, sulphur at the crime scene, and not a single demon in town - Cas checked.” Okay, so that explained the strained look on the Angel’s face. Even the smallest uses of his Grace were draining on him these days, a consequence of cutting himself off from Heaven. Checking a whole town for demonic presence was not a smart move on his part.
Could Dean even see what Cas was doing? Sam could picture their arrival in Concord now - Dean would’ve asked Cas absently if he could sense any ‘freaky demon vibes’ in town as soon as they discovered the sulphur residue, eager to get the hunt over with and go check on Sam. Cas would’ve reached out with diminished Grace, hiding the strain from Dean as much as possible, not believing it worth mentioning. If they weren’t careful sooner or later the Angel was going to push himself too far...
“So what, Demons are running scared from us now? Somehow that’s more worrying than comforting...”
“Yeah, like maybe they know something we d - hey Cas, you okay?” Sam’s eyes darted back to the Angel at Dean’s worried tone. Cas was staring at him, head tilted, in confusion. He was also, Sam noticed suddenly, swaying slightly on his feet. He began to pitch forward, but Dean was already there, catching him around the shoulders, leading him slowly over to one of the beds. He glanced worriedly at Sam, then turned to help Cas lay down.
“Cas - Cas, can you hear me? What’s wrong man?”
Sam was going to have to have a word with his oblivious brother later - it was obvious he had no idea how badly off Cas was, hadn’t even made the connection between Cas’ use of Grace earlier and his state now.
“I am fine Dean, I simply require rest.” Even as he spoke, his eyes slid shut.
“What the hell?! Since when do Angels need rest?” Dean’s question may not have been aimed at him, but since Cas wasn’t about to answer, Sam thought it might be a good time to start knocking some sense into his brother.
“Perhaps since he’s been cut off from Heaven and running on a limited supply of power? He’s probably been struggling not to pass out since you had him check Concord for demons, dude. Have you even noticed how he’s avoiding using his Angel powers unless one of us asks him to?”
“Why the hell didn’t he say anything?!” Dean’s face was a curious mix of worried and furious. “There were other ways we could’ve searched for the demons, goddammit! If they hadn’t left town he could’ve gotten seriously hurt making himself this weak around them!”
Sam wisely didn’t mention the way Dean was ignoring the fact that it likely would’ve gotten both of them hurt - his brother’s tendency to ignore risks to himself worried Sam whenever he stopped long enough to think about it. He could never decide if it was simply Dean’s deeply ingrained self-sacrificing instincts, or if perhaps - especially since he’d been brought back - Dean just didn’t care if he got hurt anymore.
“He might not’ve realised how hard it would hit him, he’s probably not used to having so little power to draw on still. I think perhaps we need to stop asking him for Angel things, limit it to life and death situations only...”
“Damn stupid, self-sacrificing...” Sam grinned slightly as Dean turned back towards Cas, his mutterings trailing off into silence as he watched the sleeping Angel. *If ever the pot called the kettle black...* Sam thought wryly.
He wondered briefly about the confused look Cas had been giving him just before he collapsed, then dismissed it as part of the whole exhaustion thing. Cas was fine for the moment, his brother seemingly content to keep an eye on him, so Sam turned his mind back to Gabriel, moving to stare out of the window with his coffee.
What had the Archangel been about to say, he wondered? It had felt important - he had rarely seen Gabriel so serious. He’d said he’d done something - something ‘not bad’. Unfortunately, Sam wasn’t sure his and Gabriel’s definitions of ‘not bad’ were necessarily that similar. He had sounded guilty, and the brief expressions that had broken through his mask had been sort of worried-looking.
Sam thought back to the previous evening, back to the part where he’d broken down - he grimaced at the memory. Gabriel hadn’t done anything but hold him, and mutter soothing nonsense in his ear. As embarrassing as that was, Sam couldn’t see that being what the Archangel had referred to, and yet nothing stood out. He’d implied that it, whatever it was, had been an accident too, hadn’t he?
~ “...didn’t realise what was happening until it was too late...” ~
“Breakfast Sammy?” Sam was startled from his thoughts, and he glanced round to see that Dean was now stood by the table with a takeaway bag Sam hadn’t noticed earlier. His stomach growled loudly. Apparently one doughnut did not a filling breakfast make. Still, he hesitated. Dean’s idea of a good breakfast was not one he shared.
“Cas ordered for you, seemed to think you wouldn’t like my choice. No danger of real food dude...” Sam reached out to catch the bag Dean had thrown his way while talking, pleasantly surprised when he looked inside.
“Jerk.” Because Dean had insulted his taste in food after all.
“Bitch.” Dean grinned, and started digging into his own breakfast. Sam watched as his grin faded, worry darkening his eyes as he glanced at Cas.
“He’ll be fine Dean, he said so himself.”
“Because he’s so great at telling us when something’s not right with him.”
“If he were at death’s door I think he would have told us dude. Just give him a few hours. You look like you could use some sleep yourself anyway - use my bed.”
“In a bit Sammy. You get much research done while we were gone?” Crap. Decision time, to tell or not to tell? *Not.* Sam decided. Dean didn’t need something else to worry about right now, best to wait until Cas was back on his feet to help calm him down. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head muttering something about making excuses.
“Not really, went at it for an hour or two, gave it up as a lost cause when the words started swimming around the page though. Decided to get some sleep instead.” This would bring its own questions, but was still preferable to discussing Gabriel and his big breakdown.
“Nightmares? Or...” Dean trailed off, and Sam wondered what to say. It was a sign of how screwed up their lives were that nightmares was actually the better option. He bit back the bitter chuckle that threatened to erupt.
“Neither at first. Lucifer after a while, but it was like he couldn’t get in or something. I was in my cabin reading for what felt like hours...”
“Reading? Seriously dude! Way to waste a good dream!”
“...before he turned up, and even then he was still outside the cabin, I could feel his evil burning behind the door. Don’t know if he would’ve gotten in, I woke up then.” That was practically the truth. He’d just left out one - slightly important - detail.
“So something was blocking Lucifer? Could it have been you? I mean, maybe you figured out how to do it without realising or some shit like that?”
“I don’t know, I mean, anything’s possible, but I think maybe that’s giving me a bit too much credit Dean. I’m not that strong - I was exhausted when I went to sleep, I couldn’t have managed it if I knew how, let alone accidentally.”
“So we’ve got something new going on? Because we didn’t have enough to deal with fighting Heaven and Hell, now there’s an unknown in the mix too?”
“A helpful unknown - I slept for seven hours last night Dean. Seven whole hours! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve managed half that? And without nightmares either? Why do we have to assume everything’s out to get us?”
“What planet are you living on Sammy? We’ve had Hell on our asses since we were kids, Heaven joined in when we wouldn’t co-operate with their apocalypse, and then there’s all the regular nasties here on earth that have their own private hate-ons for us. Something powerful enough to block the freaking Devil from your dreams suddenly appears and you want to trust it? Are you forgetting what happened last time you trusted something?”
Sam flinched back at Dean’s reference to Ruby. He’d been wrong about her, he couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been, allowing her to manipulate him the way she had. And there was a small part of him screaming that that was exactly what he was doing now with Gabriel. That he was falling for another trick - hell, he was already lying to Dean again. He could say it was because he didn’t want to worry him until Castiel was up and about again, but even before the Angel passed out he had been considering not telling them.
He should tell Dean, now. But Dean would have questions that Sam couldn’t answer yet. He still didn’t know what Gabriel had done, what the ‘not bad’ something was, and he didn’t understand why he was so eager to trust the Archangel after what he’d done to Dean at the mystery spot. He wouldn’t be able to convince Dean of anything until he understood it himself, so there was no sense in bringing it up yet.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, regardless. If I can’t keep Lucifer out of my dreams, then I doubt I’d have much luck against whatever is powerful enough to do it. It may not even happen again, but if it does, then I might as well make the most of it, store up some extra sleep-hours in case it doesn’t last.”
“Just be careful dude.” Sam could see it on Dean’s face - he really wanted to argue but couldn’t deny the logic in what Sam was saying.
Sam offered up a quick prayer that he wasn’t screwing things up even more than he already had, then changed the topic of conversation.
“So, what do you think’s going on with the demons? I mean, the timing could’ve been a coincidence...”
“I believe in a lot of things Sammy, but coincidences, in our lives, just aren’t one of them. No, I think they’re under orders not to engage us. I just can’t figure out why.”
Chapter 6