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You’re woken by the feel of something soft tickling the tip of your nose. You lean away and glare up through half-lidded eyes at the perpetrator. Gabriel, who is lounging beside you in nothing but his vest and boxers. Angels typically don't sleep, so they often find themselves trying to kill time. When there isn't an imminent threat or apocalypse on the horizon anyway.
Castiel patrols the bunker like a guard dog, watching its residents (mainly Dean) sleep. Michael lets Adam sleep to give him that sense of human normality. You weren’t really sure how that worked, but you assumed he found some kind of respite in it.
Gabe, however, despite being able to go anywhere and conjure anything with anyone, liked to set up shop for the night in your room, where he would binge-watch TV and get pastry crumbs all over your comforter.
“Quit it.” You mutter before shutting your eyes again and nuzzling back into your pillow.
“You quit is.” He responds, following your nose with his finger. “You’re too loud. Nick is trying to cheer up Jess after she broke up with her boyfriend at the holiday party, and you’re snoring right over it.”
“Ugh.” You reach up to bat his hand away, and he briefly retreats. With your eyes closed, you don’t realise he’s simply relocating his attack before it’s too late.
You kick and flail at him desperately, crying out for him to stop, but it’s no use, damn his archangel strength. You’re at his mercy until he lets you go. When he eventually subsides, you shove him away, and he plays along, rolling back to his side of the bed. “You’re the worst.”
“Nah, you love me really, sugar.” He replies, opening his arms wide and grinning at you.
You feign a glare before following his lead and crawling into his arms. With the snap of his fingers, he rewinds the TV, and you slowly fall back asleep under the gentle feel of him stroking your back.
---
“Hey, I don’t care what or who you do in the privacy of your own room, but could you keep it down? A man needs his sleep.”
You blink at Dean over your morning coffee. The caffeine must not have kicked in yet because there is no way he just said what he said. “What?”
“Don’t make me say it.” He shrugs at you, exasperated, as he pours his own coffee.
“Say what?” You push, irritated by the implication.
“You and Gabriel. You know….”
“No! I don’t know!” You stand from the breakfast table, too charged to sit still but too engaged to leave. “Nothing is going on between me and Gabriel. We’re just friends.”
The expression on Dean's face shows that he doesn’t believe a word out of your mouth. “The way you two look at each other. Nah, there’s nothing “friendly” about it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You rack your brain, trying to recall how you look at him and how he looks at you, but fail to find anything not ‘friendly’ about it. Sure, he was handsome, fun, and easy to be around, but that doesn’t mean anything. “How do we—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The sound of wings fluttering makes you jump. Gabriel now sits opposite your spot at the table, and you can’t help but look at him now to examine his honey-tinted hazel eyes; they were beautiful. But they weren’t looking at you differently than you’d expect. Shit, were you looking at him funny? Like you wanted him?
Your skin tingled with embarrassment, and you forced yourself to sit back down and look away from him.
“Friends?” Dean wiggles his brows at you as he swiftly exits. Dropping a spanner in your brain's inner workings and exiting stage left. Asshole.
“What was that about?” Gabriel asks as he leans over to take your coffee. He sips, scrunches his lips, and proceeds to add an unholy amount of sugar. Old habits die hard. When you spend too long contemplating he nudges at you. “Hey, what’s up, hon?”
Hon. You’d never batted an eyelid at that or any other pet name he’d given you since becoming friends. So why was it making you feel funny now?
“Nothing.” You assure him as you stand once again and begin heading to the door. “I gotta go, I’ve got… stuff to do.”
“You want some company?” He swings around on the bench, ready to follow.
“No! No, thank you.” You shake your head as you leave without another word.
---
You didn’t see him again for a while, having taken off to hunt a pack of werewolves a few states over. You couldn’t deny that Dean had shaken something inside you. The fact that your instinctive response was to protest so adamantly was your first clue. The distance had given you time to clear your head. Enjoying someone’s presence and appearance didn’t mean you had to pursue anything more. He is your friend, and that’s all you need. You weren’t going to mess with the balance.
That’s what you told yourself as you entered your room to find Gabe inside. He’d clearly been making use of the space while you were gone. The trashcan was overflowing with empty candy wrappers, the bed was unmade, and a puddle of something fruity smelling seeped out from under your bedside table. One would think he didn’t have the power to clean all that up in a second. You might have complained, had you not also noticed that your laundry basket was empty, and your desk had been organised precisely the way you liked it. Priorities.
“You’re back!” He smiled as he crossed the room and engulfed you in a hug. He smelled warm and inviting, like mocha and malted sugar. Had he always smelled so good? You wondered as you melted into him. So engulfed, you almost missed the subtle way he sniffed in your own scent. You couldn’t help but hope he liked it. You’re not sure how long you stayed like that before Gabriel broke the silence. “Come on, get ready. The circus is in town.”
“The circus? Really?” You groaned as he released you. “I’m tired, I just want to chill.”
“You can chill later. We'll have a good time, I promise.”
“Why do you even want to go?” You ask as you dump your travel bag on the floor and dramatically collapse onto your bed. Trying to emphasise your tiredness.
“Why don’t you?” Gabriel approaches, standing over you and looking down at you sternly.
“Ummm, the crowds,” you lift your arm into the air, lining your hand up with his face as you count the reasons with your fingers: “the loud noises, the clowns…”
“I’ve seen your dating history.” Gabe bats your hand down before pointing an accusatory finger at you. “You love clowns.”
Usually, you would have laughed. That was a classic comeback, but he would almost certainly take your laughter as a victory, so you force a straight face and push back any creeping notions that maybe he was jealous of your exes.
“How long have you been on earth?” You ask him, readying your next argument. He shrugs, and you can sense his amused interest in where you’re going with this. “You could go to any circus, anytime, anywhere. Who gives a shit about some two-bit, washed-up roadside circus?”
You wonder briefly if you might subconsciously be comparing yourself to the circus. He’s an angel, after all, an archangel. Of all the beings on earth, why does he choose to spend so much time with you? Again, you shut down the thought process before it gets away from you.
Gabriel is looking down at you, brows furrowed. Instead of answering your question, he crosses his arms and asks, “Jeez honey, what bit you in the ass?”
“A werewolf.” You reply deadpan.
“Seriously?” He tilts his head, and you notice how his eyes wander down your body. He can’t see your ass from his position, but you’re pretty sure he’s trying. The thought makes you feel flushed.
“No.” Playfully, you kick your leg at him until he gives way, allowing you space to stand and face him. “Okay, fine, but you’re paying.”
---
As you watch the trapeze artists flying across the tent, you admit to yourself that you were, in fact, having a good time. The acts were good, the clowns weren’t that scary, and the atmosphere was lively. Everything smelt like popcorn, and the stands weren’t as sticky as you’d feared.
You glance over at Gabriel, who is on his third cotton candy cone (you are totally not jealous of his metabolism). You could never confess to having a good time; he’d never let it go. Besides, if the smug side-eye he's giving you is any indication, he already knew.
“Want some?” He offers you the cotton candy, and you can’t stop from grinning as you lean over. Your fingers brush against his as you steady the cone to take a piece, and your cheeks start to warm up.
The candy is sweet on your tongue, and you let your smile grow to show your approval. Gabe laughs in response. You begin to shift back to your seat, but you’re stopped by the feel of his warm hand on your lower back, tenderly holding you close to him as he quietly speaks. “You have got to stop looking at me like that.”
Your eyes widen, and you must look like a deer in the headlights because he’s laughing again. Laughing at you, is he teasing you.
“Looking at you like what?” Your voice is quiet, nothing like it had been when Dean accused you of the same thing.
“Like…” He tilts his head back briefly, searching for the correct words. “Like you want me, in the biblical sense.”
If your eyes weren’t about to pop out before, they were now.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” He continues, now tilting his head forward until his face is almost pressed to yours. He’s been this close before, closer, in fact, so why was your breath hitching now? “Tell me to stop, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”
Maybe you should have slowed to think about it, although your answer likely would have been the same. You answer quickly, instinctively. “Don’t stop.”
Clowns and acrobats forgotten, you initiate the kiss before you talk yourself out of it. His lips are soft and sickeningly sweet, his stubble itches at your skin, but you immediately want more.
Sensing your neediness, Gabriel pulls your body closer and deepens the kiss. You’re about to open your mouth, to try for more access, but the sound of someone deliberately coughing distracts you both.
Your heads turn simultaneously to see a rather unimpressed mother glaring at you, and you both laugh in response.
“Wanna get out of here?” He quirks his head to the exit, and you nod. He holds your hand and follows close behind as you lead the way, down the stalls, outside the tent. As soon as you’re free from prying eyes he flies you back home. The perks of having an angel best friend, a boyfriend, a lover, a something who still has their wings. It only takes a second, but it still gives you a brief stint of motion sickness. When you’re steady on your feet again, you look over to Gabriel, suddenly feeling shy and unsure how to proceed.
He’s smiling at you, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’s a smile entirely for your benefit. “If you’ve changed your mind, we don’t have to do anything.”
“No. No, I haven’t.” You assure him, reaching out and gently holding onto his upper arm as you step closer until you’re chest to chest. “I want this. I guess I just didn’t realise until... very recently.”
“Yeah.” The cheery glint in his eye returns. “I want you too.”
You initiate the kiss again, enjoying the now familiar sugariness of his mouth. This time he deepens the kiss without disruption, then your tongue brushes against his for the first time he lets out an involuntary moan that makes your brain go fuzzy.
When you pull away to breathe, you watch his expression. Clearly aware of your stare, he darts his eyes over to the bed, then back at you, and gives his brows a suggestive wiggle. “Shall we?”