Gabriel X Reader

A Thousand Years and Thousands More

Based on the request by baritonechick (tumblr) and the song "A Thousand Years" By Christina Perri

Gabriel always wore long sleeves. Always. He hid that spot, that one area on his arm that no matter what vessel, he couldn't run from. It didn't matter what human he wore, sooner or later there'd be a burning sensation and it would be right there, like it always was.

A tattoo. HIS tattoo. The one that would lead him to his soulmate. "Y/N"

The archangel had mixed feeling about the mark. When he was a fledgling, he was excited to have a soulmate. But centuries past and Gabriel grew up. Alone. Almost all the other angel had found their mates.

"Just be patient, Gabriel." His father assured him. "You'll find your soulmate. You just have to be patient."

A resentment was created inside him when God disappeared, and it only grew as Gabe fled Heaven. Over his lifetime of searching for the right Y/N, sleeping with anyone with that specific name.

He'd grown to hate the mark. Gabriel paired up with other people with different names. No matter what he did to it, the mark stayed.

But after years and years of waiting, he met you. Well, "met" isn't quite the right word.

-_-_-_-_-

"Y/N!" Castiel called your name from the bunker door. He was supporting a half dead man on his shoulder.

You ran to help. The guy was in really bad shape.

One of his eyes was swollen shut. His hair was matted and full of tangles. Dried blood and dirt caked his face. His clothes... you couldn't even call them clothes anymore, they were just rags. Cuts and scars littered his body, in all the right places to cause the most amount of pain. He'd been deliberately tortured.

You helped Cas carry the stranger to an empty room. "Can you heal him?" You asked.

The angel shook his head. "Too much damage has been done. Metatron used a spell to suppress his grace."

"He's an angel?"

"The archangel Gabriel."

"Gabriel..."Your fingers brushed your wrist. You bent over the archangel, brushing strands of hair out of his golden eyes. "Listen, Gabriel. I'm going to take care of you. You're going to be okay."

Those were the last words Gabriel heard before he, yet again, passed out.

Gabriel wasn't sure how long he'd spent in captivity, trapped by Metatron, bound by a spell from the angel tablet. Weeks? Months? Years even? His grace had been used to draw out angels before they were slaughtered mercilessly. If the archangel didn't oblige, he'd be tortured.

Then Metatron had the idea of getting Castiel to lead a rebellion. With what little strength Gabriel had, he conjured up a vision. Gabe didn't expect Cas to find him again, let alone free him.

But that name, your name, still echoed in his head.

"Y/N"

-_-_-_-_-

You could tell that Gabriel's grace was slowly returning. Cuts turned to scars, and scars faded away. He drifted in and out of consciousness, never staying awake for more than a minute. You tended to him every moment you could.

You'd gently removed his jacket and shirt. Humming as you cleaned his arm with a damp cloth, you paused at the ink, hidden under crusted blood.

Was this a soulmate tattoo? Was this... your name?

Suddenly, Gabriel grabbed your wrist. "Where am I?" He demanded to know.

"Lebanon, Kansas, Men of Letters bunker!" You replied hastily. "Cas brought you in."

"Castiel..." Gabriel frowned in concentration. He looked down at your wrist, scrutinising the tattoo that rested across your skin. "What is this."

"My uh... my soulmate tattoo." You muttered, looking down at the black ink that spelled out "Gabriel".

"Kinda funny right?" You asked. Gabriel said nothing. "You have one... with my name on it..."

On instinct, The archangel reached up and covered the mark. "It's nothing."

"You sure? We have matching-"

"No!" Gabriel interrupted you. "We're not soulmates! I don't need you. I don't need any human!"

Once you got over the shock, you frowned at him and picked the first-aid kit up. "Well, I guess you didn't need this human to save your life, so I guess you could get out."

Gabriel was shocked by your tone of voice. "What?"

"I SAID, OUT!" You roared.

No human had ever talked to him like that, but Gabriel didn't have the energy to argue, let alone smite you. He simple stood up on shaky legs, snatched his clothes back and stormed off.

-_-_-_-_-

Gabriel rummaged through his pockets. They were empty. No money, no snacks, no weapons. The archangel was still tired, still weak. He wandered down the highway road, trying to work out what to do next.

The argument still flashed through Gabriel's mind. His soulmate had found him, cared for him, and he'd pushed them away. God, he was an ass.

All this time, the archangel had been looking for you. He knew you were his mate, he felt it deep in his soul. Time seemed to slow when he looked into your eyes. Gabriel had found his soulmate.

The hate for his tattoo swirled inside him again. A human. Why did his mate have to be human?

"Why not?" asked the voice in his head.

Gabriel found himself in an argument in his own head. "I don't want to be dependant on a human."

"That's not how soulmates work, and you know it."

"Y/N's not gonna talk to me after what I did."

"You've been waiting for long enough. You just found your soulmate, are you letting them slip away?"

No. No he wasn't. Gabriel turned on his heel and walked back to the bunker with a newfound energy.

When Gabriel opened the door, there was a heated argument inside.

"What, you kicked him out?" Dean hissed.

It was apparent you hadn't noticed the visitor yet. You crossed your arms and stared the older Winchester brother down. "He was being a jerk."

"He is a jerk! That's what he does!" Dean cried out.

"When I brought up our tattoos-"

Sam looked up from his laptop. "Y/N... do you two have matching soulmate tattoos?"

"We do." Gabriel said, leaning on the metal railing of the staircase. He made his way down, pushing past the brothers to get to you. "I came to apologise."

You glared at the archangel and said nothing.

"I've waited so long to meet you, I just let bitter thoughts get the best of me." Gabe justified. "I was an ass, and I'm so sorry."

"Do you maybe want to talk about it over dinner?" You asked him. "Not you two." You added before the Winchesters could chime in.

Gabriel smiled. "I'd like that."