Chapter Text
Castiel sighed contentedly, his head resting on Dean’s chest as they lay in bed, “It is sad. Two years have passed since Gabriel left.”
“Really? We just had mind blowing sex and you’re thinking about Gabriel?” Dean said.
“No, I was thinking of how lonely Sam is,” Cas said, “He was especially forlorn today.”
“You were thinking about my brother during sex?” Dean asked.
Cas pinched Dean’s side, making him jump, “No, I was thinking about your brother post-coital. He has been abstinent for two years now.”
“Yeah, well, if you ask me, Gabriel isn’t worth it.”
“You would not wait for me if I had to leave?”
“I didn’t say that. I’d wait for you, you’re so worth it,” Dean said, kissing him softly.
“It is the same for Sam.”
Dean was silent for a minute, “Do you think Gabriel will come back soon?”
Cas shrugged, “The angels have returned to Heaven, Metatron have been dealt with, everything seems to be in order. I am not sure why he has not returned already.”
Sam rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 12:01 Tuesday morning. With a sigh, he got up out of bed. He couldn’t sleep, his mind restless with thoughts of Gabriel. He thought about praying to him – he did almost every night – but he couldn’t think of anything to say tonight. Walking to the other side of the room, he stood in front of the shelves he’d made in between cases, then mounted on the wall. They held various items. There was a large crystal that shone in the light, a long-bladed knife that looked ancient, a moon rock, an extremely realistic flower carved from wood, a Stanford hoodie, a lone shoe, and various other items he’d received from Gabriel over the years.
He touched each one, working his way from one side to another, until he came to the end. The wooden box that had once held Gabriel’s feather sat at the end. It had been emptied when they’d used Gabriel’s feather to perform the spell that revived him, but now the lid was slid back, creating the smallest of gaps, through which Sam could see a soft, golden glow. His hands trembled as he picked it up and opened it. Inside lay a perfect, gold feather, almost as long as his forearm. His breath caught as he ran his fingers gently over the soft plume.
“Do you like it?” A voice asked from behind him.
Sam set the box down and turned to see Gabriel sitting casually on his bed, “I love it.”
Gabriel smiled, “Happy anniversary, kiddo.”
Crossing the room in two strides, Sam grabbed Gabriel and kissed him ferociously, not stopping because breathing wasn’t important right now. He’d been holding his breath for the past two years, what was another two minutes?
They were tangled together on the bed, running their hands over each other’s bare skin. Gabriel ran a hand through Sam’s hair and pulled gently, making Sam grunt and rub against him, despite being spent, “What took you so long?” Sam whispered.
Gabriel was silent for a minute, then said, “I’m sorry, Sammy. Heaven was a mess, and really, I wasn’t exactly the best candidate for the job.”
“But everything’s fixed now, right?”
“For the most part,” Gabriel said, “I’ll still have to check in every day, and I’m on call 24/7, but I should be home every night.”
“Home?” Sam said.
“Yeah, Sammy. Wherever you are, that’s my home,” Gabriel said.
The greeting between Dean and Gabriel the next morning was tense and awkward, which was to be expected, but Kevin and Castiel seemed genuinely happy to see Gabriel again. They sat eating breakfast, Sam sitting as close to Gabriel as humanly possible. Suddenly, there was a boom, like an explosion. They all jumped to their feet, rushing towards the bunker door.
Dean went first, gun in hand, peering cautiously out the crack in the door. Sam saw him tense, then he was moving cautiously outside, headed towards a large crater in the ground maybe 50 yards away. Smoke billowed up into the air, obstructing their view as they all followed. Finally, they came to the edge of the hole and saw what was some kind of mixture between a car and a plane, now a twisted pile of metal, at the center of it. As they watched on, something in the wreckage moved. The crushed, and bent in door was flung off, and someone crawled out.
The man stood, looking dazed and unbalanced. Sam froze, then jumped down into the crater, running towards him, yelling, “Jim!”