fic: Mystery Spot Misunderstanding - 9/?
Title: Mystery Spot Misunderstanding
Author: wolfish_willow
Pairing: Sam/Gabriel
Rating: R this part, (don't get excited. It's for language and some violence), NC-17 overall
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort
Spoilers: Anything up to and including 5.14
Warnings: language, some violence, and more angst. *gasp* And possibly abuse of italics...
Word Count: 3034
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just using them for a bit of fun. They belong to Kripke.
Summary: Gabriel goes all angsty, and Sam suffers for it. (AU from 5.14 - so all episodes after My Bloody Valentine are being totally and utterly disregarded. *nodnod*)
Chapter Summary: Gabriel finally looks into Sam's mind.
A/N 1: beta'd by ladyeternal who is awesome. Thanks so much, bb! Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N 2: I've finally finished Chapter 10, which means I got to post this. I'm sending 10 to my beta soon. It's looking like there will be one or two more chapters and then it's done. We're near the end guys! whew...
Masterpost
Sam was tired. Tired of the pain and tears and humiliation and everything. He didn't want to feel any of it anymore, didn't want to have to deal with it. Everything hurt. He didn't try and get up off the ground, couldn't care to muster enough energy to push himself to his feet and pace as he'd done for so many nights before. Gabriel hadn't gripped his hair so tightly to pull him up this time around before Lucifer threw the archangel off of him, so he didn't feel the need to get up on his own.
He could feel Lucifer's eyes on him - could feel the devil crouching over him, hot breath against his cheek, fingers carding through his hair - but didn't open his own to confirm it. Didn't want to and didn't have the energy to. Sam just wanted all of this to be over, wanted Gabriel to stop coming into his dreams and turning them into nightmares. Wanted Lucifer to stop coming in and protecting him every night, making him almost want to trust the devil. Making him hate himself even more for even thinking it in the first place, for almost wanting to turn his head towards the breath at his cheek, to face Lucifer crouched at his side. None of his emotions made any sense to him anymore, they all twisted and churned inside of him and threatened to ooze out. Until he was there, laying on the ground, too tired to care anymore.
Sam was more than okay with the newfound numbness that flowed through him after Lucifer got rid of Gabriel yet again. He didn't care about any of it anymore. The archangel's words were harsh, his grip against Sam's hip and shoulder as he straddled the human painful, but Sam didn't think about it as he laid on the ground. It was all unwanted, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. All he had to do was wait it out, wait until this dream was finished. Wait until he could wake up and maybe try avoiding sleep this time around.
It wasn't until he felt Lucifer move away from him, unfolded from his crouching stance at Sam's head, that Sam started to feel something again. He wasn't sure what he was feeling - relief almost, but there was still that bit of fear that gripped him whenever he was in the devil's presence - and so different than the numbness he'd felt only moments before. If he opened his eyes, Sam knew he would see the devil standing right over him. What he didn't expect when he finally looked up was to see Lucifer's eyes wide with something akin to shock - or maybe disbelief, gaze fixed somewhere to Sam's right, across from Lucifer somewhere.
And all of a sudden that numb feeling Sam had let wash over him was ripped away when he turned his gaze to whatever had Lucifer's attention. Sam's eyes widened in disbelief, and no small amount of fear, when he saw Gabriel standing across the room, fists clenched tight at his sides, lips set in a thin line. The archangel's normally hazel eyes glowed a fiery gold and Sam didn't understand his nightmare anymore. Gabriel had never come to him a second time, Lucifer had always managed to keep him away. He'd never seen Gabriel look so angry, either. The angel had been cruel and hateful, but he'd never appeared as full of wrath before. Sam nearly swallowed his tongue as he gulped and forced his limbs to move. Crawling back as fast as his arms and legs could carry him, he never stopped watching Gabriel - with the look in the angel's eyes, Sam didn't want to risk taking his own eyes off for fear of getting caught even more by surprise.
***
Gabriel watched in shock as he saw himself straddling Sam, clutching the hunter's hair with a grip that looked agonizingly painful. He felt paralyzed, frozen in one spot, unable to even lift a finger as the other Gabriel taunted Sam; words like 'claiming' and 'pathetic' reaching his ears. And when he turned from the other him to look at Sam he noticed the tear tracks streaked across his cheeks but saw how the man seemed unfocused, seeing and hearing nothing around him anymore. Gabriel tried not to think of how long this must have been going on for Sam to look so detached from what was being done to him.
Then, just as the other started digging the hand not fisted in Sam's hair onto Sam's hip - just before Gabriel rushed forward to throw the imposter off of his human - someone beat him to it. An invisible force flung the imposter off of Sam before he got the chance. Gabriel nearly sighed in relief until he saw how Sam just closed his eyes, didn't attempt to move from his spot on the floor. Finally his body's shocked immobilization wore off as he felt his legs beginning to move towards the human on the ground. He didn't get more than a step before the one who must have gotten rid of his imposter walked over to Sam and Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks. Lucifer.
He watched as his brother crouched over his Sam, eyes intent on the human's tear streaked cheeks, and he zeroed in on how the devil's fingers were In. Sam's. Hair. And how Sam didn't push him away; didn't even react to the presence of the devil leaning over him, touching him. Touching what wasn't his to touch.
The whole scene unfolding before him, the familiarity Sam seemed to have with Lucifer's actions snapped something inside of Gabriel. His blood boiled at the thought of having left Sam unprotected for a week. Having let Lucifer manipulate him for so many days; hadn't even thought to reinforce his defenses before leaving Sam, even after planning on avoiding the human for as long as possible. And Lucifer's fingers were still in Sam's hair.
It was like a switch flipped. There was nothing of the Trickster in Gabriel as he stepped forward and allowed his presence to be felt by his brother. His wings flickered into sight, huge and trembling with the wrath flowing through his entire being. He was the archangel Gabriel, wholly and undeniably for the first time in millennia, righteous fury rolling off of him in waves. Fingers clenched tight at his sides, Gabriel took another step towards Lucifer, just as his brother stood and backed away from Sam. The way Lucifer's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised in disbelief wasn't enough to allow Gabriel to adopt his trademark smirk; he could feel the way his lips pulled back in a snarl, just barely resisting the rage-fueled urge to bare his teeth. His attention was drawn from his brother as he walked towards him when a sudden movement caught his attention. Sam crawled backwards away from him, his eyes widened and Gabriel saw how terrified the human was. It only served to make him angrier.
"What did you do to him?" Gabriel demanded as he returned his attention to his brother. Lucifer's vessel had lost the look of sheer disbelief at Gabriel's appearance. His lips were upturned in a smug smirk as he looked to Sam briefly then back up to Gabriel.
"Me? All I did was comfort him after you broke his heart. How is that wrong? Surely it isn't any worse than anything you've done to the boy?"
Gabriel watched as Lucifer took step after step closer to Sam while he spoke. The former Trickster wasted no time in closing the distance between him and Sam, blocking Lucifer's path and view of Sam. He didn't miss the way Sam flinched away from his presence, nor did he miss the small sound of distress the human made when he spoke, "Comforting him? So you… what? Worm your way into Sam's mind and manipulate him into thinking I'm the one causing the damage?"
"You did cause the damage. How else would I have been able to get in here, if you didn't do something to make the walls you set up so easy to get around?" Lucifer answered, his smug smirk still planted firmly on his face.
And that was it. Gabriel wasn't going to just stand in Sam's dreamscape with Lucifer spinning his words to make it seem like Gabriel wanted any of this. And if Sam's reaction to the devil's words - Gabriel felt Sam's shaking increase - was any indication, Sam believed him. So Gabriel was done talking, he could get the full story from his human after he dealt with his brother.
The air around the Gabriel crackled with tension as his anger grew. He opened up his right hand for a second before his fingers closed around the hilt of his blade as it materialized in his grasp. No longer was Gabriel going to let his brother get away with hurting his human. Lucifer had been given too much opportunity for it already and Gabriel planned on keeping the devil away from his human in any way he could.
He watched as Lucifer took a step away from him as his sword appeared. The smirk that had recently been lost to Gabriel in all of his wallowing was back in full force at the sight of Lucifer's eyes widening yet again, this time in understanding of just what Gabriel planned to do. The Angel of Judgment may have not wanted to get into the battle between Heaven and Hell to begin with, may not ever have wanted to see his brothers fighting each other again, had certainly never wanted to fight any of them himself. But he couldn't stay on the side of it anymore. Tension growing thicker between Gabriel and his brother, so heavy Gabriel could practically taste it on his tongue, and he gave one last smirk before lunging forward.
***
Sam listened to Gabriel and Lucifer's exchange but couldn't bring himself to lift his head from his knees; there was no way he wanted to see whatever was inside either archangel's eyes. It was bad enough that Gabriel had shown up a second time at all; but he then proceeded to confuse Sam even more than he'd done all week. Because now he stood across from Lucifer - Sam could feel Gabriel's presence pressing in on him, enough to press against Sam, making it almost difficult to breathe - and acted as though it had all been Lucifer. And, God, did Sam want that to be true more than anything, even if the whole situation was beyond disturbing. It all sounded so good to hear how angry Gabriel's words to Lucifer were, comforting to hear that it was all just manipulation, like everything else in his life, but manipulation that could hopefully be prevented, as his nightmares had been before.
But then Lucifer spoke again, sounding less shocked than he'd been when Gabriel appeared, and more than a little smug. And Sam could feel his hope that it had all been the work of the devil fall at his words, because they were true; Gabriel had to have let Lucifer into his mind somehow, had to have let the defenses he'd set up in Sam's mind loosen, let them slip. There was no stopping the shudder that worked through his system as that thought sunk in.
Then there were no more words as the air around him became charged, filling with tension and power. The hairs on his neck and arms stood straight up and he was sure that if he looked up, he'd see two very angry, very powerful archangels preparing for fighting of a non-verbal variety; keeping his head down seemed like the much more appealing option. He gripped his legs tighter, pulling them against himself as much as he could when he heard Gabriel move forward. Sam's body tensed, part of him still terrified that the former Trickster had decided to come after him yet again.
The tension slowly, very slowly, began ebbing from his body when nothing happened to him and he heard what must have been Gabriel and Lucifer battling against one another, clashing together. There was no brilliant light, so he thought it was safe to assume they were both still ensconced in their vessels, though that didn't mean he planned to lift his head and witness the battle in his near future. It did mean, however, that he could hear each grunt, each exhalation of breath that neither angel should need and that he could hear their words when the two finally spoke once again.
"Why do you care so much, brother? If you had cared so deeply before, you never would have allowed me access again. And yet, here I am. His body is mine, Gabriel. There is no way you can truly believe otherwise." Lucifer sounded oddly out of breath, and Sam couldn't help but hear a tone of voice he'd never heard from the devil before. He no longer sounded smug; if Sam didn't know any better he'd think Lucifer's tone held an edge of desperation. And Sam's previous idea of staying hidden behind his legs sounded less appealing as his curiosity was piqued. He didn't move, but he certainly considered it. Especially when he realized that he wasn't even sure whose side he was on, which brother he wanted to win this battle.
Because if Lucifer had been right the whole time he'd been in Sam's mind - and Sam was fairly sure he remembered the devil once promising he would never be lied to - then Gabriel winning didn't bode well for the hunter. But even if this Gabriel was just looking to hurt him again, Sam couldn't help but think that it might still be better than Lucifer winning. Because the Trickster had never expressed a desire for Sam to say 'yes' in this nightmare and Sam was sure that if Lucifer somehow came out on top in this, Sam stood no chance at holding out any longer.
He was, perhaps mercifully, jostled out of his thoughts by Gabriel's answering voice.
"That's where you're wrong, brother," he spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth, "The only reason you were able to slip past my defenses was because I was reckless. I was stupid enough to let him go and my little pity party allowed some kind of crack or dent or whatever for you to slither your way though. But I can assure you, you won't get the chance again. You see, I've learned from this little mistake here. And there's no way I'm letting you get the hands on the man I love just so you can continue on with your tantrum and destroy the world,"
Sam's head snapped up, eyes focusing intently on Gabriel.
"So fuck off, bro. You don't get to touch what's mine, not anymore."
Sam watched with wide, unbelieving eyes as Gabriel surged forward and drove his blade through Lucifer's vessel, his normally hazel-colored eyes shining an intense gold, flickering wings twitching as they stretched out from his back. Lucifer's eyes masked none of his disbelief, his unasked question of how his brother could have gotten the drop on him before darting them to look at Sam. The hunter uncurled himself slightly from the wall and didn't break eye contact with the devil in front of him. He would have watched until the life went out of his vessel's eyes had Gabriel not screamed at him to close his own. Just as Sam shut his eyes, bright, blinding - and now Sam understood Gabriel's command - light burst, filling the room. Sam threw his arm over his eyes and held his breath, not sure that he'd be able to take in any oxygen anyways through the chaos of what had just happened in his dreamscape.
After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was probably only seconds, the light died down to nothing and Sam heard a thump that prompted him to uncover his face and open his eyes. He saw Lucifer's body on the ground at Gabriel's feet, the ash outline of wings spread on each side of the fallen angel. The electric charge no longer hung in the air; his uneven, shaking breaths the only sound in the room. He felt transfixed, unable to look away from the now-empty vessel lying in the middle of his dreamscape. A hand resting gently on his shoulder jolted him enough to look away, but when his eyes fell on Gabriel, Sam couldn't help the way he flinched out of the archangel's grasp or how he shuffled backwards, creating distance between them before he tried standing. Sam didn't miss the flash of hurt in the once-more hazel eyes, but he still wasn't sure where he and Gabriel stood and he didn't know if this was yet another trick.
What he did know was that he felt even more exhausted than he had all week, but he didn't want to be in this room any longer. Gabriel lifted his hand to snap - causing Sam to flinch once more - and Sam woke to find himself in the motel room he remembered falling asleep in, only he was no longer laying on his back. He was curled up against a body he hadn't felt beside him in what felt like the longest week of his life.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do. His whole body was tense, waiting for whatever the archangel would throw at him next, but the only thing Sam saw was Gabriel lifting two fingers, slowly enough the keep his twitch away from them minimal, and pressing them gently against his forehead.
"Sleep, Sammy. We'll talk about this in the morning."
And Sam wanted to protest. Wanted to move out of Gabriel's arms before he even thought about going back to sleep. Hell, he wanted to know what the hell had just happened inside his head. But he was exhausted and the angel's mojo put him out before he could voice any of his objections.
Chapter Eight Chapter Ten
Author: wolfish_willow
Pairing: Sam/Gabriel
Rating: R this part, (don't get excited. It's for language and some violence), NC-17 overall
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort
Spoilers: Anything up to and including 5.14
Warnings: language, some violence, and more angst. *gasp* And possibly abuse of italics...
Word Count: 3034
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just using them for a bit of fun. They belong to Kripke.
Summary: Gabriel goes all angsty, and Sam suffers for it. (AU from 5.14 - so all episodes after My Bloody Valentine are being totally and utterly disregarded. *nodnod*)
Chapter Summary: Gabriel finally looks into Sam's mind.
A/N 1: beta'd by ladyeternal who is awesome. Thanks so much, bb! Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N 2: I've finally finished Chapter 10, which means I got to post this. I'm sending 10 to my beta soon. It's looking like there will be one or two more chapters and then it's done. We're near the end guys! whew...
Masterpost
Sam was tired. Tired of the pain and tears and humiliation and everything. He didn't want to feel any of it anymore, didn't want to have to deal with it. Everything hurt. He didn't try and get up off the ground, couldn't care to muster enough energy to push himself to his feet and pace as he'd done for so many nights before. Gabriel hadn't gripped his hair so tightly to pull him up this time around before Lucifer threw the archangel off of him, so he didn't feel the need to get up on his own.
He could feel Lucifer's eyes on him - could feel the devil crouching over him, hot breath against his cheek, fingers carding through his hair - but didn't open his own to confirm it. Didn't want to and didn't have the energy to. Sam just wanted all of this to be over, wanted Gabriel to stop coming into his dreams and turning them into nightmares. Wanted Lucifer to stop coming in and protecting him every night, making him almost want to trust the devil. Making him hate himself even more for even thinking it in the first place, for almost wanting to turn his head towards the breath at his cheek, to face Lucifer crouched at his side. None of his emotions made any sense to him anymore, they all twisted and churned inside of him and threatened to ooze out. Until he was there, laying on the ground, too tired to care anymore.
Sam was more than okay with the newfound numbness that flowed through him after Lucifer got rid of Gabriel yet again. He didn't care about any of it anymore. The archangel's words were harsh, his grip against Sam's hip and shoulder as he straddled the human painful, but Sam didn't think about it as he laid on the ground. It was all unwanted, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. All he had to do was wait it out, wait until this dream was finished. Wait until he could wake up and maybe try avoiding sleep this time around.
It wasn't until he felt Lucifer move away from him, unfolded from his crouching stance at Sam's head, that Sam started to feel something again. He wasn't sure what he was feeling - relief almost, but there was still that bit of fear that gripped him whenever he was in the devil's presence - and so different than the numbness he'd felt only moments before. If he opened his eyes, Sam knew he would see the devil standing right over him. What he didn't expect when he finally looked up was to see Lucifer's eyes wide with something akin to shock - or maybe disbelief, gaze fixed somewhere to Sam's right, across from Lucifer somewhere.
And all of a sudden that numb feeling Sam had let wash over him was ripped away when he turned his gaze to whatever had Lucifer's attention. Sam's eyes widened in disbelief, and no small amount of fear, when he saw Gabriel standing across the room, fists clenched tight at his sides, lips set in a thin line. The archangel's normally hazel eyes glowed a fiery gold and Sam didn't understand his nightmare anymore. Gabriel had never come to him a second time, Lucifer had always managed to keep him away. He'd never seen Gabriel look so angry, either. The angel had been cruel and hateful, but he'd never appeared as full of wrath before. Sam nearly swallowed his tongue as he gulped and forced his limbs to move. Crawling back as fast as his arms and legs could carry him, he never stopped watching Gabriel - with the look in the angel's eyes, Sam didn't want to risk taking his own eyes off for fear of getting caught even more by surprise.
***
Gabriel watched in shock as he saw himself straddling Sam, clutching the hunter's hair with a grip that looked agonizingly painful. He felt paralyzed, frozen in one spot, unable to even lift a finger as the other Gabriel taunted Sam; words like 'claiming' and 'pathetic' reaching his ears. And when he turned from the other him to look at Sam he noticed the tear tracks streaked across his cheeks but saw how the man seemed unfocused, seeing and hearing nothing around him anymore. Gabriel tried not to think of how long this must have been going on for Sam to look so detached from what was being done to him.
Then, just as the other started digging the hand not fisted in Sam's hair onto Sam's hip - just before Gabriel rushed forward to throw the imposter off of his human - someone beat him to it. An invisible force flung the imposter off of Sam before he got the chance. Gabriel nearly sighed in relief until he saw how Sam just closed his eyes, didn't attempt to move from his spot on the floor. Finally his body's shocked immobilization wore off as he felt his legs beginning to move towards the human on the ground. He didn't get more than a step before the one who must have gotten rid of his imposter walked over to Sam and Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks. Lucifer.
He watched as his brother crouched over his Sam, eyes intent on the human's tear streaked cheeks, and he zeroed in on how the devil's fingers were In. Sam's. Hair. And how Sam didn't push him away; didn't even react to the presence of the devil leaning over him, touching him. Touching what wasn't his to touch.
The whole scene unfolding before him, the familiarity Sam seemed to have with Lucifer's actions snapped something inside of Gabriel. His blood boiled at the thought of having left Sam unprotected for a week. Having let Lucifer manipulate him for so many days; hadn't even thought to reinforce his defenses before leaving Sam, even after planning on avoiding the human for as long as possible. And Lucifer's fingers were still in Sam's hair.
It was like a switch flipped. There was nothing of the Trickster in Gabriel as he stepped forward and allowed his presence to be felt by his brother. His wings flickered into sight, huge and trembling with the wrath flowing through his entire being. He was the archangel Gabriel, wholly and undeniably for the first time in millennia, righteous fury rolling off of him in waves. Fingers clenched tight at his sides, Gabriel took another step towards Lucifer, just as his brother stood and backed away from Sam. The way Lucifer's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised in disbelief wasn't enough to allow Gabriel to adopt his trademark smirk; he could feel the way his lips pulled back in a snarl, just barely resisting the rage-fueled urge to bare his teeth. His attention was drawn from his brother as he walked towards him when a sudden movement caught his attention. Sam crawled backwards away from him, his eyes widened and Gabriel saw how terrified the human was. It only served to make him angrier.
"What did you do to him?" Gabriel demanded as he returned his attention to his brother. Lucifer's vessel had lost the look of sheer disbelief at Gabriel's appearance. His lips were upturned in a smug smirk as he looked to Sam briefly then back up to Gabriel.
"Me? All I did was comfort him after you broke his heart. How is that wrong? Surely it isn't any worse than anything you've done to the boy?"
Gabriel watched as Lucifer took step after step closer to Sam while he spoke. The former Trickster wasted no time in closing the distance between him and Sam, blocking Lucifer's path and view of Sam. He didn't miss the way Sam flinched away from his presence, nor did he miss the small sound of distress the human made when he spoke, "Comforting him? So you… what? Worm your way into Sam's mind and manipulate him into thinking I'm the one causing the damage?"
"You did cause the damage. How else would I have been able to get in here, if you didn't do something to make the walls you set up so easy to get around?" Lucifer answered, his smug smirk still planted firmly on his face.
And that was it. Gabriel wasn't going to just stand in Sam's dreamscape with Lucifer spinning his words to make it seem like Gabriel wanted any of this. And if Sam's reaction to the devil's words - Gabriel felt Sam's shaking increase - was any indication, Sam believed him. So Gabriel was done talking, he could get the full story from his human after he dealt with his brother.
The air around the Gabriel crackled with tension as his anger grew. He opened up his right hand for a second before his fingers closed around the hilt of his blade as it materialized in his grasp. No longer was Gabriel going to let his brother get away with hurting his human. Lucifer had been given too much opportunity for it already and Gabriel planned on keeping the devil away from his human in any way he could.
He watched as Lucifer took a step away from him as his sword appeared. The smirk that had recently been lost to Gabriel in all of his wallowing was back in full force at the sight of Lucifer's eyes widening yet again, this time in understanding of just what Gabriel planned to do. The Angel of Judgment may have not wanted to get into the battle between Heaven and Hell to begin with, may not ever have wanted to see his brothers fighting each other again, had certainly never wanted to fight any of them himself. But he couldn't stay on the side of it anymore. Tension growing thicker between Gabriel and his brother, so heavy Gabriel could practically taste it on his tongue, and he gave one last smirk before lunging forward.
***
Sam listened to Gabriel and Lucifer's exchange but couldn't bring himself to lift his head from his knees; there was no way he wanted to see whatever was inside either archangel's eyes. It was bad enough that Gabriel had shown up a second time at all; but he then proceeded to confuse Sam even more than he'd done all week. Because now he stood across from Lucifer - Sam could feel Gabriel's presence pressing in on him, enough to press against Sam, making it almost difficult to breathe - and acted as though it had all been Lucifer. And, God, did Sam want that to be true more than anything, even if the whole situation was beyond disturbing. It all sounded so good to hear how angry Gabriel's words to Lucifer were, comforting to hear that it was all just manipulation, like everything else in his life, but manipulation that could hopefully be prevented, as his nightmares had been before.
But then Lucifer spoke again, sounding less shocked than he'd been when Gabriel appeared, and more than a little smug. And Sam could feel his hope that it had all been the work of the devil fall at his words, because they were true; Gabriel had to have let Lucifer into his mind somehow, had to have let the defenses he'd set up in Sam's mind loosen, let them slip. There was no stopping the shudder that worked through his system as that thought sunk in.
Then there were no more words as the air around him became charged, filling with tension and power. The hairs on his neck and arms stood straight up and he was sure that if he looked up, he'd see two very angry, very powerful archangels preparing for fighting of a non-verbal variety; keeping his head down seemed like the much more appealing option. He gripped his legs tighter, pulling them against himself as much as he could when he heard Gabriel move forward. Sam's body tensed, part of him still terrified that the former Trickster had decided to come after him yet again.
The tension slowly, very slowly, began ebbing from his body when nothing happened to him and he heard what must have been Gabriel and Lucifer battling against one another, clashing together. There was no brilliant light, so he thought it was safe to assume they were both still ensconced in their vessels, though that didn't mean he planned to lift his head and witness the battle in his near future. It did mean, however, that he could hear each grunt, each exhalation of breath that neither angel should need and that he could hear their words when the two finally spoke once again.
"Why do you care so much, brother? If you had cared so deeply before, you never would have allowed me access again. And yet, here I am. His body is mine, Gabriel. There is no way you can truly believe otherwise." Lucifer sounded oddly out of breath, and Sam couldn't help but hear a tone of voice he'd never heard from the devil before. He no longer sounded smug; if Sam didn't know any better he'd think Lucifer's tone held an edge of desperation. And Sam's previous idea of staying hidden behind his legs sounded less appealing as his curiosity was piqued. He didn't move, but he certainly considered it. Especially when he realized that he wasn't even sure whose side he was on, which brother he wanted to win this battle.
Because if Lucifer had been right the whole time he'd been in Sam's mind - and Sam was fairly sure he remembered the devil once promising he would never be lied to - then Gabriel winning didn't bode well for the hunter. But even if this Gabriel was just looking to hurt him again, Sam couldn't help but think that it might still be better than Lucifer winning. Because the Trickster had never expressed a desire for Sam to say 'yes' in this nightmare and Sam was sure that if Lucifer somehow came out on top in this, Sam stood no chance at holding out any longer.
He was, perhaps mercifully, jostled out of his thoughts by Gabriel's answering voice.
"That's where you're wrong, brother," he spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth, "The only reason you were able to slip past my defenses was because I was reckless. I was stupid enough to let him go and my little pity party allowed some kind of crack or dent or whatever for you to slither your way though. But I can assure you, you won't get the chance again. You see, I've learned from this little mistake here. And there's no way I'm letting you get the hands on the man I love just so you can continue on with your tantrum and destroy the world,"
Sam's head snapped up, eyes focusing intently on Gabriel.
"So fuck off, bro. You don't get to touch what's mine, not anymore."
Sam watched with wide, unbelieving eyes as Gabriel surged forward and drove his blade through Lucifer's vessel, his normally hazel-colored eyes shining an intense gold, flickering wings twitching as they stretched out from his back. Lucifer's eyes masked none of his disbelief, his unasked question of how his brother could have gotten the drop on him before darting them to look at Sam. The hunter uncurled himself slightly from the wall and didn't break eye contact with the devil in front of him. He would have watched until the life went out of his vessel's eyes had Gabriel not screamed at him to close his own. Just as Sam shut his eyes, bright, blinding - and now Sam understood Gabriel's command - light burst, filling the room. Sam threw his arm over his eyes and held his breath, not sure that he'd be able to take in any oxygen anyways through the chaos of what had just happened in his dreamscape.
After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was probably only seconds, the light died down to nothing and Sam heard a thump that prompted him to uncover his face and open his eyes. He saw Lucifer's body on the ground at Gabriel's feet, the ash outline of wings spread on each side of the fallen angel. The electric charge no longer hung in the air; his uneven, shaking breaths the only sound in the room. He felt transfixed, unable to look away from the now-empty vessel lying in the middle of his dreamscape. A hand resting gently on his shoulder jolted him enough to look away, but when his eyes fell on Gabriel, Sam couldn't help the way he flinched out of the archangel's grasp or how he shuffled backwards, creating distance between them before he tried standing. Sam didn't miss the flash of hurt in the once-more hazel eyes, but he still wasn't sure where he and Gabriel stood and he didn't know if this was yet another trick.
What he did know was that he felt even more exhausted than he had all week, but he didn't want to be in this room any longer. Gabriel lifted his hand to snap - causing Sam to flinch once more - and Sam woke to find himself in the motel room he remembered falling asleep in, only he was no longer laying on his back. He was curled up against a body he hadn't felt beside him in what felt like the longest week of his life.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do. His whole body was tense, waiting for whatever the archangel would throw at him next, but the only thing Sam saw was Gabriel lifting two fingers, slowly enough the keep his twitch away from them minimal, and pressing them gently against his forehead.
"Sleep, Sammy. We'll talk about this in the morning."
And Sam wanted to protest. Wanted to move out of Gabriel's arms before he even thought about going back to sleep. Hell, he wanted to know what the hell had just happened inside his head. But he was exhausted and the angel's mojo put him out before he could voice any of his objections.
Chapter Eight Chapter Ten