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The smell is like burnt flesh and something wrong, something so pure that it's not meant to be corrupted by anything as mundane as fire. Sam tries not to gag as he leads Gabriel from the Impala; they stumble together through the door of the motel room and Sam edges Gabriel carefully down onto the bed.
Castiel hovers, fretful at being unable to do anything to help his ailing brother, and Sam sighs gratefully when Dean lays a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "C'mon Cas, let's give them some room to breathe."
The door closes softly behind them and Gabriel, who has been silent since the aftermath of the spell, finally releases an agonized groan. He curls a hand toward Sam and Sam slides onto the bed next to him. Gabriel crawls into Sam's lap and Sam threads his fingers through Gabriel's chestnut hair. "Is there anything I can do?" he asks, afraid the answer is no.
"Just be here," Gabriel murmurs. He wraps his hands around Sam's chest and tightens his grip, trying to hold himself together by sheer will and the grounding stability of Sam's body. "I'll be able to heal myself once the spell wears off. Until then..." His voice trails away and they both know that until then Gabriel will just have to suffer.
Sam hitches his arms under Gabriel's and carefully rolls him onto his side. He stretches out next to him and leans forward to kiss, licking lightly against Gabriel's mouth. Gabriel lets out an unsteady laugh. "You're insatiable, Winchester." But he takes the offered comfort, allowing Sam between his lips, his tongue dueling briefly with Sam's. Sam wraps his substantial frame around Gabriel's, twining their legs together and cradling Gabriel's head in his hand. "I've got you," he says softly. "Just hang on."
Minutes tick by unheeded as they lay together, riding out Gabriel's pain. When Dean and Castiel come back some time later, Sam is already asleep. Gabriel, his expression soft, meets Castiel's eyes to reassure him that he is on the road to recovery. He even takes some small measure of enjoyment in Dean's pained look at the sight of Gabriel curled around his brother.
For fun, he snuggles a little closer. Even better, Sam hitches his arm around Gabriel possessively in his sleep. Dean's muttered, "For fuck's sake," is music to his ears.