Work Text:
Gabriel tapped his fingers impatiently on the counter. Heaven forbid Cas get into work on time one of these months. But no, of course not. The bastard had a new boyfriend and being late to work was his new favorite thing to do.
Not that he’d ever say anything, since Castiel seemed more stupidly happy than he had been in the past several years. Or maybe ever. Ever was probably much more accurate. He flopped over the edge and looked up only when someone dropped books by his arm and tapped his wrist.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m wallowing in my late brother’s misery here.” Gabriel pulled himself back up and looked up….and then up some more. He blinked when he was given a sunny smile. Dimples. Jesus fucking christ those are lethal weapons… “Hi.”
If it was possible, that smile got even brighter. Gabriel felt his stomach flutter. What the fuck. He was acting like a heroine in a romance novel. He cleared his throat. He should probably try to do his freakin’ job, since he owned this place and he was in the business of selling books. Some of the time. Most of the time. Maybe. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”
Another sunny smile and a determined nod. Gabriel wondered if maybe Mister Greek God just didn’t like talking or what, but in the face of that smile, he certainly couldn’t be angry. Or frustrated. Or anything other than awed, really. He picked up the books and started scanning them in, stopping when he saw one from the A Wheel of Time series. His excitement skyrocketed. “I love this series!”
He ignored the surprised look and raised eyebrow Mr. Greek God gave him and continued. “I mean, it practically made a name for itself being complicated as fuck, but god, the way it all comes together is just simply mesmerizing and I can’t not love it, you know what I mean?” He gets another nod and keeps blathering. “Not to mention, you think about the scale for how insane the whole story is!” Gabriel went through the motion of ringing out the rest of the books and put them in the bag as he grinned.
It was impossible. It was literally impossible not to smile back when the ray of sunshine that was this guy’s smile was pointed at you. It was a simple fact. “Sorry, I’m blathering. That’ll be $39.95, minus the 10% new awesome customer discount…” Gabriel ignored the raised eyebrow that got him and whistled happily. “Thirty six bucks even! Cash or card?”
Gabriel totally didn’t do an internal jig when he was handed a card. Now he’d have a name! He started humming instead as he rang the card through the register, his eyes catching on the name. Samuel Winchester. Probably went by Sam. He finished up the transaction and handed the card back to Sam, giving him a bright grin. “Come back soon, I’d love to see you around!”
Instead of the bright smile he’d gotten earlier, this time it was a shy, almost hesitant smile as Sam took the bag his books were in and gave a small nod. Gabriel swallowed hard, his stomach doing a violent turn. Oh god, that beautiful smile from before had nothing on the shy one.
Fuck, if Sam Winchester did come back, Gabriel was going to be in serious trouble. Body of a god, and a smile that made Gabriel want to smother him in kisses. Deadliest combination ever.
~!~
It was a week before he saw Sam Winchester in the shop again. It was his turn to close up the shop and when he walked in, he saw that Sam was already there, staring intently at one of the shelves further back in the shop. If he remembered right, that was where Cas had moved all of his stuff on the occult and old school religious books. And he only knew that because he never saw anyone back there.
Waving at Cas behind the counter, Gabriel made his way over to Sam and tapped him on the shoulder. Wide hazel eyes met his a moment later before Sam relaxed. Gabriel’s breath caught at the smile. Dammit. Would that smile ever not hit him like a literal punch in the gut? Holy shit.
“Good to see you back again! Finding anything among the occult?” Gabriel asked, peeking over Sam’s arm to see what he was holding. A moment later the title was barred for his view and he grinned at one of his personal favorites. “Archangels: Their Stories, huh? It’s a great book, and I’ll admit I felt a lot better being named after Gabriel when I read about how much of a badass he was!”
Gabriel blushed a little at the raised eyebrow that got him from Sam and he grinned again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Name’s Gabriel. Named for the badass Archangel of Justice. If you don’t believe me that Gabriel was a serious ass-kicker, just read through that book. If you aren’t convinced, I’ll…” He shrugged when he wasn’t able to come up with an obvious threat, but Sam was grinning at him, so he still counted it as a win. “I’ll do something.”
He peeked at the rest of the books in Sam’s arms and wasn’t surprised to see the next book for the Wheel of Time series. He grinned. “I take it that you liked that last Wheel of Time book, since you’re already getting the next one, huh?” Another rapid nod from Sam made his heart do that weird squeezing-thing that was becoming regular around Sam.
“Anything else that I can help you find?” Gabriel fidgeted a little and looked up at Sam, chewing on his lower lip. Yeah. He was a teenage girl. A regular romance heroine. Fuck, but what else was he supposed to do when visions of male perfection smiled at him like that? Seriously, he only had so much control!
Sam seemed to stare at him for a long moment before finally shaking his head. Gabriel grinned and put his hand on Sam’s arm. “Come on. I’ll ring you out.” He turned and made his way over to the register, banishing Cas to the back with a quick waggle of his eyebrows. Gabriel hopped behind the counter and put his chin into the cradle of his palms, elbows on the counter. “So, do I get to know your name, or what?”
Gabriel pouted when Sam slid the credit card towards him again, pointing towards the name he’d made note of last time. Ah well, at least now he could use it and not look like the creepy stalker he appeared to be turning into. “Samuel...I’m guessing you probably prefer Sam?” Another sunny grin. Fuck. He wanted to kiss that grin until it melted under his lips.
“Well, it is a true pleasure to meet you Sam. I know I’ve already said I’m Gabriel, unfortunately no relation to the aforementioned archangel, just one younger brother who disapproves of myself and my life choices.” Gabriel did not blush at the raised eyebrow that got him from Sam. He pointed over his shoulder at where Cas had appeared from the back room. “Just ask him.”
“Ask me what?” Castiel looked from Gabriel to the tall man across the counter.
Gabriel waved his hand. “Nothing, just that you do not approve of my life choices and think I am a terrible older brother, etc, etc.”
“Ah yes.” Castiel raised an eyebrow when the tall man grinned. “Of course.” He gathered an armful of books and walked past the both of them towards the back.
Gabriel stared as Sam covered his mouth with his hand and started to laugh, his shoulders shaking. Damn. The kid was beautiful like this. His heart did an uncomfortable turn over in his chest as he watched Sam finally relax and smile at him again. “Just these for you today then?”
Sam gave him another nod and Gabriel dragged out the process, trying to work up the nerve to ask Sam for his phone number, but he was blinded by the way Sam smiled at him. Gabriel swallowed and gave a little wave as Sam made his way out the door. He slumped over the counter. He was pathetic. Utterly and completely pathetic.
“Gabriel, do not slump like that, you look pathetic.” Castiel chastised as he went to the back to collect more books.
Gabriel groaned into the counter. “Thanks for the affirmation bro. I needed it.”
“You’re welcome.”
Gabriel groaned again. Maybe his third time seeing Sam would be the charm and he could manage not to turn into a stupid schoolgirl when that smile got turned to him.
~!~
Eight days. Eight days and there had been no sign of Sam. Gabriel huffed and stared at the door, willing the tall, gorgeous bastard to walk through them. Maybe this would be the time that he could get Sam to talk to him. Even if he didn’t, even if he just did his perfect smiling thing, that would be more than enough.
The bell tinkled above the door and Gabriel immediately looked up, only to deflate when he saw Cas’ boyfriend. Ugh. “Cas, loverboy is here!” Gabriel grinned when that immediately got him a scowl and a glower from Dean.
“If you weren’t Cas’ brother-”
“You’d be dating me and tapping this fine ass instead of Cas’, I know.” Gabriel said, winking at Dean as his scowl got even deeper.
“I wish that you wouldn’t try to irritate Dean.” Castiel said, walking out past Gabriel and towards Dean. He smiled and reached out to take Dean’s hand. Dean immediately relaxed.
Dean started to lead Castiel out of the shop and looked over his shoulder at Gabriel. “You just wish that you’d snagged me!”
Gabriel stuck his tongue out at Dean and shook his head, slumping over the counter again. No, he wished that he’d managed to snag the gorgeous moose who could kill him with little more than a smile. But apparently that wasn’t in the cards either. He sighed.
The bell tinkled above the doorway and Gabriel didn’t bother looking up. It wasn’t going to be Sam, Sam was never going to come back and he’d die alone, a spinster with a hundred cats and no one would ever love him, ever. He stayed slumped over the counter, even as footsteps walked closer. He sighed. He had to do his job and help. At least at some point. It was the job.
He lifted his head, about to ask what the person who had decided to interrupt his miserable pining needed when he realized he had to keep looking up. Gabriel felt his heart jump into his throat. It was Sam. Sam was back and smiling at him like he had never left. Gabriel was upright in a heartbeat. “Sam!”
Sam gave him the tiniest little wave and a sheepish smile before handing him a note. Gabriel immediately smoothed it out.
Hey Gabriel,
I’ve been sick for a few days and lost my voice (though I’m not contagious!) and I’ve been stuck in the house for a while. My brother is finally gone, so I can sneak out without him bitching at me, but I don’t have anywhere to go, really.
Can I hang out with you?
-Sam
Gabriel grinned at Sam and nodded. “Of course! I can always use the company!” He hurried to the back and grabbed a stool for Sam so they could both sit behind the counter and watch people walk past the shop.
They passed the note back and forth between the two of them until they were forced by lack of space to take over the notebook Sam had brought with him. Gabriel did eventually have to get up and do some work, but a quick scribble to ask Sam to mind the front of the shop had gotten him another blinding grin and a frantic nod.
He was in so much trouble. So, so, so much trouble. Gabriel took care of putting away the rest of the books from their last shipment. Every time he walked out of the back room, or from between the shelves, his eyes caught on Sam. His heart would gave one of those annoying little stutters that were becoming far too common at the sight of Sam smiling happily at a customer as he rang them out.
He needed to ask Sam out. He needed to do it. Gabriel bit down on his lip and resolved to do so before Sam left to go home today. Even if he got let down, he was pretty sure that Sam would still come to the shop regularly and he could pine from afar while he collected his cats and entered into spinsterhood.
By the time 9pm came around, Gabriel was starving and after a quick conference with Sam via text, he ordered pizza for them both. Sam, of course he couldn’t be perfect, decided to cover his pizza in veggies and all sorts of other green things while Gabriel went with the classic Meat Lovers, his order accompanying an impressive eyebrow waggle. It made Sam do his wonderful silent-laugh again, and Gabriel would never admit that he made a note to do that more often.
He was falling and he was falling hard. With a guy who had never even said a word to him. Gabriel groaned as Sam finally finished eating and made his way down the sidewalk. Oh god, could you fall in love with someone without ever talking to them?
~!~
And so it went. Gabriel decided it would be best to pine pathetically for Sam from afar and as the days went by, they traded conversations in notebooks and through silent smiles.
Gabriel learned that Sam’s overprotective brother drove him absolutely batshit and that his sense of humor was just as sarcastic as his own. Sam was completely perfect (despite a persistent need to eat GREEN things) and he had stopped trying to tell himself he wasn’t falling in love. Because he was. And he was the only one.
Sam had recently (though it was more than six months now from what Sam had...written) broken up with his longterm girlfriend and was just trying to figure things out. The last thing he needed was some skeevy bookshop owner hitting on him.
So Gabriel laughed and smiled and hung out with Sam every single chance he got. Sam didn’t seem to think anything of spending an entire afternoon in the shop with him, either curled up in the chair by the window, reading (which was Gabriel’s preference, because he got to admire the light and how it seemed to give Sam a halo), or sitting on a stool beside him at the counter.
He was pretty sure that Sam knew where all of the books in the shop belonged better than he did, and that he would need to start paying Sam sometime soon if he kept helping people at the register and putting books away from their shipments. Gabriel couldn’t help but smile when Sam would purposefully take the books that belonged on the higher shelves and put those away first. Perfect bastard.
Even Cas had noticed and it took him years to notice anything. (Like the fact that he was dating Dean without all the awesome sex he could have been having.) Gabriel staunchly ignored Cas’ advice to ask Sam out though. He didn’t want to lose what they did have. And now Sam was coming into the shop almost every other day and the idea of going back to almost never seeing him was a terrible thing.
Gabriel sighed and slumped over the counter for a moment. Sam had come in to the shop and spent almost the entire day with him yesterday. So the odds of him showing up today were slim to none. Which meant he had to get some actual work done with a large helping of daydreaming about Sam.
Dammit. This wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t fair. He hadn’t wanted to fall in love again, especially with someone like Sam who was so far out of his league that even hoping for more seemed ridiculous. The bell tinkled and he looked up, his heart pounding hard even though he knew it wasn’t going to be Sam. It wasn’t going to be.
Gabriel froze when Sam walked through the door with Dean, his hands moving rapidly in front of him. He recognized sign language and in another heartbeat, he realized that Sam was signing in response to what Dean was arguing with him about. Oh god. It wasn’t that Sam didn’t want to talk to him. Sam couldn’t. Gabriel swallowed hard and stared at the two men as their argument got more heated.
“So that’s why you wouldn’t talk to me!” He blurted, staring at Sam. Gabriel wanted to take the words back the second they left his mouth, because both Sam and Dean froze, and then turned to stare at him. Sam’s expressions a moment later was a terrible thing and left Gabriel hurting as he watched. Shock, surprise, hurt, pain, and then anger. Oh fuck, what had he done?
“Sam-” Gabriel bit down the words when Sam held a hand up, unable to look at him. Sam shook his head, very slowly and Gabriel hated himself. “Sam, please, I didn’t-” Gabriel cut himself off when Sam took two steps and was out the door, the shop left in dead silence behind him.
“You bastard!” Dean snarled. “I didn’t like you to begin with Gabriel, but I put up with you for Cas’ sake, but how could you say that to him!”
Gabriel was still staring at the door, his heart shattered. “I didn’t know…and I didn’t...I didn’t realize until you came in and he was signing…”
Dean sighed, a giant gust of air as he walked closer to the counter, glowering. “Did you really not think about it Gabriel? Really? You fucking idiot, did you have to say the single worst thing you could have said to him?”
“I…” Gabriel was beginning to realize exactly what he’d done. He’d accused Sam of not talking to him when they had done nothing but talk for weeks now. Oh god. “Dean, I didn’t mean it like...that.”
Dean growled at Gabriel, glaring at him. “Well too fucking bad, because that’s how he took it! He has done nothing but talk about you and how amazing you are and how you don’t care that he doesn’t talk, that he can’t and then you go and say something so fucking stupid that I can’t even begin to fucking get it! Were you trying to break his heart?”
“Break his heart…?” Gabriel felt his heart (the pieces that remained of it anyways) sink down into his toes.
“Of course! He loves you, you fucking idiot! Do you think he would spend every spare moment he has with you here if he didn’t?!” Dean snarled, leaning over the counter.
Gabriel didn’t have a response to that. He thought about every smile Sam had given him, how he’d learned to read the raise of Sam’s eyebrows and the tilt of his head. He thought about how he could tell Sam’s mood from the way he wrote in their notebook. The notebook that he still had and had been meaning to give back to Sam with all his thoughts from the day. They had done nothing BUT talk since they had met. Dean was right.
“I need to apologize to him. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I just, I didn’t know, Dean.” Gabriel said, pressing his hand tighter to the notebook. “Can you get him to come back? Please?”
Dean glared at Gabriel. “I don’t know that I want to bring him back if it means that you are going to break his heart all over again.”
Gabriel swallowed hard and shook his head. “I need to apologize Dean. I’m not about to break his heart again.”
“And how do I know that?” Dean crossed his arms over his chest.
“Because I love him too.” Gabriel said and felt the truth of that statement right down to his very bones. He did love Sam. Every small piece of him. Even the piece that couldn’t talk. Maybe especially that piece, but Sam was amazing, even without his voice.
Dean sighed again. “I’ll tell him you need to talk to him. I don’t know if he’ll come back. But that’s the least I can do. Don’t fuck it up again Gabriel.”
Gabriel nodded, watching as Dean turned around and walked out of the shop.
One week passed.
Then two.
Then a month.
Gabriel learned that Sam had come back into the shop, and had made it a point to do so when he wasn’t there. That hurt. But when Cas told him, Gabriel knew he couldn’t blame Sam for that. He’d only sighed and nodded, going back to the book on signing that he had been studying for weeks now.
After two months had gone by, Gabriel knew his moping was starting to get on Cas’ nerves. But it looked like Sam was never going to come back. He stared down at the notebook in front of him, the only small piece of Sam that he still had and flipped through it slowly for the thousandth time, tracing his fingers over Sam’s words.
Fuck he missed Sam. Missed everything about him. His smile, his presence, his silent laugh, the way his eyes crinkled when Gabriel teased him, all of it. The bell rang over the door and Gabriel closed the notebook, tucking it safely beneath the counter. The last thing he needed was some asshole customer spilling coffee over it.
He looked up, taking a deep breath to start his usual schpeel about how the customer was welcome and if they needed help finding anything to just come poke him. Then he froze when he realized who was standing in front of him.
“Sam!” Gabriel’s heart jumped into his throat when Sam’s eyes narrowed and stayed on him as he scrambled around the counter and came to stand in front of Sam. “Y-You came back!”
A single, guilt-inducing eyebrow was raised and Gabriel felt it like a punch to the gut. Gabriel swallowed hard and stared at Sam, drinking in the sight of him. “Fuck, I missed you Samoose.” The nickname slipped off his tongue without even thinking about it and the icy aura around Sam thawed the tiniest bit. A second eyebrow was raised in addition to the first and Gabriel swallowed hard.
“Sam, I just, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I just, I figured you didn’t want to talk to me. I didn’t realize that you couldn’t.” Gabriel dropped his gaze to the floor and swallowed. “I’ve just...I’ve wanted to hear you say my name since we met and I didn’t realize there was a reason you hadn’t said it. I fucked up, and I’m sorry. I miss you and I miss talking to you.”
Gabriel looked up in time to see Sam sigh and for him to uncross his arms. He fumbled it, he was sure, but Sam had to understand. Gabriel held up his hands and signed, carefully and slowly. ‘I miss you, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ Hazel eyes went wide and Gabriel had to hope that Sam wasn’t even angrier with him for trying to communicate like this.
Warm hands wrapped over his and Gabriel tilted his head up to stare at Sam, surprised when almost all of the tension was gone from Sam. His heart jumped into his throat again when Sam smiled at him, and this was a new smile. A hopeful smile, one that made his mouth go dry and his heart start to pound. “Sam…?”
Sam’s hold on his hands shifted and then Sam was spelling into his hand, the motion slow enough for Gabriel to catch on. G-A-B-R-I-E-L. His breath caught. His name. Sam was saying his name. Sam was giving him what he’d wanted from the beginning. “Sam…please tell me I’m not reading this wrong…” Curious hazel eyes met his and Gabriel reached up to tangle his fingers in Sam’s shirt, tugging him down.
Gabriel carefully watched Sam’s eyes for any hint of hesitance, but all he found was that same hopeful look. When he finally pulled Sam down enough for a kiss, Gabriel closed his eyes and let their lips slide together in a kiss that had him shivering and struggling to not push closer to Sam. When he pulled back just enough to look into Sam’s eyes, there was another wide smile. “We good?”
Gabriel tried not to laugh when Sam yanked him into another kiss, big hands coming to rest on his waist and pull him closer. He gave a happy groan and pressed even closer to Sam, wrapping one leg around Sam’s hip before he slung both of his arms over Sam’s shoulders.
“Might I suggest removing yourself from the public space of our store if you intend to continue, Gabriel?” Castiel’s dry voice came from the background. Gabriel huffed and looked up at Sam. Kiss-swollen and red lips was a damn good look for him.
“What do you think Sammich? Shall we blow this popsicle stand for my house? Maybe more specifically my bedroom?” He waggled his eyebrows at Sam and his heart turned over when that got him a toothy grin and Sam’s silent laugh. A moment later, Sam added a nod to that and Gabriel knew that he wasn’t coming in to work for at least a week. Maybe more.
“Hey Cas, I think this is a great time for me to be able to take a vacation.” Gabriel commented over his shoulder, never looking away from Sam. “Think you can mind the shop for a week?”
Castiel glanced over at his brother and Sam and smiled, remembering when he had asked something very similar of Gabriel when he had Dean had...figured out their situation. “Yes, Gabriel, I am sure that I can manage.”
“Good!” Gabriel grinned at Sam again before grabbing his hand. “Come on kiddo. I have to get to worshipping every single inch of you, since I’ve been dreaming about it for a while and it’s going to take me a looooong time.”
The possessive arm that Sam immediately wrapped around his waist made Gabriel flush as he was pulled tightly against Sam. Oh yes. A very, very, very long time.