Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 46

A/N Y'all are only getting this chapter rn because Taylor Swift just dropped the best song from her new album so far and it's so freaking cute omg "my heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue, all's well that ends well that ends up with you""this is our place" "I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover"im literally in fucking tears you don't even understand i fucking love it she and Joe are so happy and there's barely a month until their three year anniversary and she mentions it in the song and im fucking crying you don't understand and I'm getting really confused cuz I have so many tabs open because I'm spamming this message in every single one of my books without proofreading anything bc im gonna cry omg and one day well get this acoustic or with piano and i cant wait until tourrrr

Despite Dean's warning, Sam spends the next hour looking for Gabriel. He cheeks the library every fifteen or so minutes, quietly calling out The archangel's name and assuring him that Dean isn't around.

He doesn't get an answer.

He's probably flying around every time Sam gets close. The nearly constant thunder would mask the sound of his wings. He'll find him tomorrow, when everyone has calmed down.

Or, as much as Sam doesn't want to think about it, Gabriel may have gotten fed up and left. Maybe he decided that having a safe space isn't worth dealing with Dean. Hopefully, if that's the case, he has another safe space. Even if he's not at the bunker, Sam has to hope that he's still safe.

Sam finally decided to head to bed, deciding that he's not having any luck finding Gabriel yet, and he probably won't until tomorrow, at least. He goes to his bedroom, quiet shutting the door behind him so he doesn't accidentally wake Dean up. That never goes well. He starts to take off his flannel, getting ready to put pajamas on, but as he walks over to his dresser, he freezes.

Sitting in the corner of the room, curled into a ball with his hands clamped over his ears, is Gabriel.

Sam isn't sure what to do at first. Gabriel seems to be oblivious to his presence, with his head down and his eyes squeezed shut. Should Sam just sneak away and give him his space? Or should he try to comfort him? But he doesn't even know what's wrong. Is he still upset over what Dean said? Is there something paranormal going on? What is it?

There's another crash of thunder, and Gabriel flinches, whimpering quietly.

Sam sighs. That's all? An all-powerful archangel is scared of the thunder? At least that's something he can calm him down about.

Sam sits down in front of him, crossing his legs like a child. "Gabriel?" He reaches out to the archangel, putting a hand on his arm gently.

Suddenly, Sam is thrown into the wall in the other side of the room. Immediately, Gabriel is on his feet, a look of panic on his face. When he sees Sam lying on the ground, he takes a step backwards, his back against the wall and eyes wide with worry.

Sam can tell he's about to fly out of there, and, hoping to stop him, he says gently, "Hey, Gabe, it's okay. It's okay; it's just me."

"I..." Gabriel trails off.

"It's okay," Sam repeats, standing up slowly so he doesn't startle the angel. "See, look. I'm fine, you're fine. Everything is fine."

Gabriel nods slowly.

"What are you doing in here?" Sam asks, careful not to sound upset as he does.

"I don't..." Gabriel shakes his head.

"That's okay," Sam assures him. "You don't need to tell me."

Sam slowly makes his way to the bed, sitting down carefully. Gabriel doesn't react, other than his careful gaze following him. Sam pats the bed gently. "Want to sit?"

Gabriel just eyes him warily.

"Come on, sit with me," Sam insists.

There's another loud crash of thunder, and Gabriel covers his ears again, wincing.

"Gabe, hey," Sam says. He almost reaches out, but he doesn't want to get flung across the room again, so he doesn't. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel drops his hands from his ears and looks at Sam cautiously.

Sam pats the bed again. "Come here, sit with me."

After a pause, Gabriel does as he's told, slumping down and staring straight ahead at the wall.

"Are you okay?" Sam asks.

Gabriel doesn't respond.

Sam sighs softly. As much as Gabriel's ordinary cocky attitude can get on Sam's nerves sometimes, he'd prefer than to seeing the archangel act like a timid mouse.

"You're okay," Sam assures him. "It's just the thunder. It's not going to hurt you."

But, when another crash of thunder comes, Gabriel whimpers softly, curling up into a ball.

"You're okay," Sam repeats. "You're going to be okay."

Sam never thought he'd have to worry about Gabriel. That arrogant bastard can get himself out of any situation. Even pulling him from hell only had him worried for a few hours at most, before Gabriel was back to his normal self. But seeing him like this... Maybe he still should have been worried. Those years in hell clearly took a toll on him.

They sit there for a while, with Gabriel flinching at every crash of thunder and Sam whispering reassurances in his ear. But as time passes, Sam wants nothing more than to just go to sleep. It's late and he's tired. How long is he going to be here?

Sam tries to hold back his yawn, but Gabriel notices. He doesn't say anything, but he pushes Sam down on the bed, resting his head on the hunter's chest and wrapping his arms around his torso.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asks.

Gabriel doesn't respond, but when there's another crash of thunder, he winces, whimpering softly.

Sam sighs softly and puts an arm around him comfortingly. Maybe he can at least get a little sleep.