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Sam & Dean POV
A week and a half after Dean’s disappearance
Sam doesn’t realize he called him.
There is no ritual, no real intention.
Just frayed nerves. Anger that hasn’t fully burned out yet.
That thing pulsing under his skin ever since Dean looked at them like they were… too much.
«…Gabriel.»
The name slips out like a mistake.
Silence.
The bunker doesn’t change. No sign.
Sam clenches his fists on the map table.
But then...
«Wow. No insults? No threats? I feel neglected, Sammy-Sam.»
The voice behind him is soft, but there’s something underneath.
Something… attentive.
Sam turns sharply.
Gabriel is there. Leaning against the table. An apple in his hand.
Always the same.
Always out of place.
«He’s gone.»
No preamble.
Gabriel tilts his head slightly.
«I know.»
Sam’s heart speeds up.
Too fast.
«Then tell me where he is.»
Direct. Sharp.
Gabriel takes a bite of the apple.
«No.»
Sam snaps.
«That’s not a request, he’s my brother!»
A step forward. Too close.
«He’s pregnant, he’s unstable, and you— You can feel him! You know! You could find him in a second and—»
«No. He’s not unstable. He made a choice.»
This time it’s different.
No longer light.
No longer playful.
Still.
Gabriel slowly lowers the hand holding the apple.
Golden eyes, no longer amused.
«I can’t find him.»
Silence.
Sam stares at him.
«You won’t find him, more like!»
A beat.
And there… just there:
Gabriel hesitates.
Sam lets out a broken laugh.
«You’re an Archangel, for God’s sake! You’ve stopped time for less!»
«And that’s exactly why I can’t do it now.»
The tone is low. Controlled.
Sam grits his teeth.
«Explain.»
Gabriel exhales softly, running a hand through his hair.
A human gesture. Too human.
«Dean hid himself under Frigg’s enchantment.»
Sam stiffens.
«I know.»
«No. You don’t really know.»
A step closer.
«Frigg doesn’t protect. She doesn’t impose. She doesn’t bind.»
Gabriel’s eyes lock onto his.
«She safeguards a choice.»
Silence.
Sam swallows.
«So?»
«So as long as Dean wants not to be found…»
A pause.
«You won’t find him.»
Direct.
Clean.
Devastating.
Sam takes half a step back.
«I can—»
«No.»
Again.
«You can’t.»
Gabriel tilts his head slightly.
«Not with your little spells. Not with your runes. Not even with all that Winchester stubbornness.»
A beat.
«Not even I can force it.»
Sam stares at him. Confused. Furious.
«Bullshit. When you gave me that parchment you said angels could still see him! You lied! Cas can’t see him!»
«No. I didn’t lie.»
Gabriel is serious. His eyes flash for a moment.
«Castiel can’t see him because he’s his mate. That overrides his nature as an angel.»
«Why?!»
Sam insists, furious, terrified, heart heavy.
«That enchantment was written by Odin for his wife. And Frigg… protects. Do you have any idea, Samuel, how many Omegas need to run from their mates?»
And this time… this time you can feel it.
The weight of being ancient.
«I could bypass it. I could break it. I could ignore it.»
Another step. A small shake of his head.
«But that would mean violating free will.»
Silence.
Heavy.
Sam holds his breath.
«He’s my brother.»
«I know.»
Immediate.
No hesitation.
«And Castiel is mine.»
The blow lands clean.
Sam freezes.
«And that’s exactly why…»
Gabriel lowers his gaze for a second. Just one.
«…I can’t do to Dean what I’ve spent millennia preventing being done to us. To you humans.»
The bunker seems to tighten around them.
«I am not my father. I am not God, Sammy.»
No anger.
A law.
Sam shakes his head.
«I’m not trying to control him, I just want to—»
«Bring him back.»
Gabriel looks up with a smile Sam has never seen before. A sad smile, like looking into a warped mirror.
Sam’s heart skips.
That look again.
The one he hates.
«Safe.»
A beat.
«Under your control.»
Sam stiffens.
«That’s not true.»
«It is.»
Calm.
«Because right now he’s outside your protection radius.»
A step closer.
«And you can’t stand it.»
Sam trembles.
Doesn’t answer.
Gabriel inhales slowly.
«Do you think this is easy for me?»
Silence.
Not a joke.
«I could find him in an instant. I could bring him back here. I could put him in Castiel’s arms and end all of this. I could make it so my brother doesn’t suffer anymore.»
His voice cracks. Just barely.
«And I want to. Because then you would stop suffering too.»
There it is.
The truth.
Sam looks up sharply.
«Then do it!»
A step forward. Almost pleading. He grabs his hands instinctively.
That week at the spa comes rushing back. Freedom. And for Gabriel… staying.
«Gabe, please…»
«…No.»
Whispered.
A barely perceptible squeeze of the hands holding his.
But final.
«Because if I do…»
Golden eyes glow, but not with power.
With something far older.
«…I become the one who decides for him. Like my father. Or yours…»
A beat.
«And I won’t do it. I won’t violate free will… not for Cassie… and not for you.»
He slowly pulls his hands away, like it costs him.
Sam stands there.
Breathing wrong.
«I can’t find him.»
No more anger.
Just awareness.
Gabriel doesn’t answer right away.
Then, softly:
«No.»
Silence.
«Not unless he allows it.»
Sam closes his eyes for a second.
«And if something happens to him? If… if he dies?!»
Gabriel doesn’t look away.
«Then it will have been his choice.»
Cruel.
Honest.
Unacceptable.
Sam clenches his fists.
«You’re a bastard.»
Gabriel gives a tired smile.
«Always have been.»
Silence.
Then Sam inhales.
Slow.
«If you won’t help me… I’ll find him anyway.»
Gabriel nods.
Proud.
«You should. I expect nothing less.»
A beat.
«But you won’t find him until you stop looking for him out of fear.»
Sam looks at him.
Confused.
Broken.
«Then what am I supposed to look for him for?»
Gabriel pauses.
A moment.
Then:
«To let him choose. Like I’ve always told you. Let him go.»
Silence.
And that… that’s the highest point. It always has been.
Sam lowers his gaze.
When he looks back up…
Gabriel is still there.
He hasn’t disappeared.
And that’s worse.
Because it means he could stay.
He could help.
He could choose.
And he’s choosing not to.
«Gabe…»
A whisper.
Gabriel looks at him.
Waits.
Sam swallows.
«It hurts.»
A moment.
Then Gabriel nods.
Slowly.
«I know.»
And this time,
this time he’s sincere without defenses.
Then he snaps his fingers.
And disappears.
Not before Sam feels a warm touch against his face.
Sam stands still where Gabriel disappeared.
His eyes fixed on the empty space, as if he could still grab him. One hand on his cheek.
His nostrils flare, searching for a scent that will never be there again. Hoping Gabriel will come back. If not for Dean… maybe for him?
It doesn’t happen. The hum of the refrigerator slowly returns, irritating.
Normal.
Wrong.
Other scents reach him.
Ozone and tropical fruit, rain and mallow.
Sam takes a deep breath and turns.
Castiel is there. Charlie a little behind him, arms wrapped tightly around herself. They heard. Not everything. But enough.
«You can’t find him.»
Charlie’s voice is low. Strange. Sam shakes his head.
«No.»
Silence.
«But he can.»
It’s not a question.
Sam tightens his jaw and nods.
«And he won’t.»
The girl concludes, hugging herself.
Castiel lowers his gaze. He doesn’t speak right away.
And that… that’s not like him. Sam notices.
«That’s not true, right?»
The question is directed at him. Castiel inhales. Slowly. «…He can.»
A pause.
«But he won’t.»
Sam huffs, a dry sound.
«Perfect.»
He walks away a step, then comes back.
Too restless to stay still.
«That bastard! So we have an archangel who KNOWS where Dean is, who could bring him back here in a second—»
«Samuel.»
He cuts him off. Castiel’s voice isn’t loud. But it trembles. Sam stops. They both turn toward him.
Castiel is still standing there.
But his hands are clenched.
Too tight.
«It’s not that simple.»
The words come out… slow.
As if he had to choose each one.
«Of course it is!» Sam snaps. «Dean is out there, he’s prey—»
«He’s not prey! He’s my mate!»
Too fast.
Too instinctive.
He growled.
Castiel realizes it immediately.
He freezes.
Charlie frowns.
Sam stares at him.
«Not prey, now that he’s alone? Then what is he, exactly?»
Silence.
Castiel doesn’t answer.
He can’t.
And that… that’s enough.
Sam runs a hand over his face.
«Fantastic. Just fantastic…»
Charlie takes a step forward.
«I don’t understand.»
Her voice breaks.
«I really don’t!»
She looks at both of them.
«Gabriel was… he was with us at the spa! He laughed, joked, acted like an idiot…»
A shaky breath, eyes bright with tears.
«He told me he liked me… that I was… strong. I thought he was my friend! And… and with you… oh Sam…»
She shrugs helplessly.
«And now?»
Silence.
«Now he decides he can’t help us? Just like that?»
Castiel lifts his gaze.
«It’s not “just like that”.»
Charlie looks at him, hurt, green eyes shining.
«Then explain it to me!»
Castiel opens his mouth. Stops. Because he knows the answer.
But saying it… hurts.
«It’s a choice.»
Low.
Too low.
Sam shakes his head.
«No, Cas! It’s not a choice, it’s a fucking excuse!»
Castiel looks at him. And for a moment, just a moment, something hard flickers in his eyes. The angel.
«No.»
A step forward.
«It’s free will.»
The words come out sharper. More… angelic.
But then they crack.
«Dean… chose to leave.»
Silence.
The sentence weighs. Too much.
Charlie lowers her gaze.
Sam stands still.
«He chose to leave… all of us.»
He adds, quietly.
And there it is.
Not theory.
Not philosophy.
Personal.
Pain.
Castiel swallows.
His hands tighten again.
«And Gabriel…»
He hesitates.
Just a second.
«…respects that choice.»
Sam looks at him.
«And you?»
Direct.
Castiel doesn’t answer right away.
He can’t.
Because the answer is twofold.
And incompatible.
When he speaks, his voice is lower.
«I…»
He stops.
Breathes.
«…I understand it.»
A beat.
«But I don’t accept it.»
Silence.
Charlie lifts her head.
Sam too.
Castiel looks away.
For the first time.
«He’s my mate.»
The words come out like a fact. Bare.
«He’s… my responsibility.»
He corrects himself immediately.
«No.»
Another breath.
«He’s my choice. He’s my…»
He runs a hand over his left wrist.
Over the mark Dean left on him. A symbol that belongs only to them. The mark of an Omega on his Alpha.
Instinctive. Strange. Not necessary for society. Necessary for them.
«And I should be there… with him.»
Almost a whisper.
Sam looks at him, softer now.
«Then why don’t you go?»
Silence.
Castiel closes his eyes for a second.
«Because I don’t know where he is.»
Simple.
Raw.
Unbearably painful.
«And because he doesn’t want to be found. And Frigg… uses the enchantment to hide him from us.»
A beat.
«To hide from… from me.»
And that… that’s the real wound.
Charlie inhales sharply.
«That’s not fair.»
Castiel nods.
Immediately.
«No.»
No hesitation.
«It isn’t.»
Sam drops into a chair.
«So we wait?»
Castiel doesn’t answer right away.
He looks at the door.
As if it could open.
As if Dean could walk in any second.
He doesn’t.
«No.»
Soft.
Sam looks up.
Charlie too.
Castiel meets their gaze.
His blue eyes darker.
«We look for him.»
A beat.
«But we don’t force him.»
Silence.
Charlie bites her lip.
«I… I’m still angry at him.»
She whispers.
«At Gabriel.»
Castiel nods.
«That’s understandable.»
Then he adds, more quietly:
«But he’s not wrong.»
Charlie doesn’t answer.
Sam sighs.
The bunker falls silent again.
But it’s no longer empty.
It’s tense.
Like something waiting to break.
-----
Dean had been driving for days.
At first without a destination. It was enough to be as far away as possible from the bunker.
It was enough to be as far away as possible from the three Alphas who only saw him as a container.
The three Alphas who, on the day of the Wendigo hunt, had been too busy cooking and laughing like idiots to notice he was leaving.
It still burned. Those laughs, as if nothing had happened. As if for weeks they hadn’t looked at him as anything but a pregnant beast. The container of something that mattered more than him.
Once again.
Dean Winchester was just a second-rate person. A pet for his Alpha, a caretaker for his brother when Dad was too busy.
He was a useless Omega whore.
So he had driven. And driven some more.
Protected by Frigg.
He could feel the presence of the Goddess at his side. Like an evanescent figure watching him without eyes. Sometimes he almost thought he could glimpse her, like a flame, a translucence, a reflection in a puddle.
She didn’t speak. She stayed beside him and concealed him, as agreed. Concealed him and the… thing he carried in his womb.
So he stood there in the dark. Beneath him, a pool of blood. His determined figure lit by Baby’s headlights, the door left open, Bobby’s pillow on the back seat. Abandoned. It didn’t matter now.
He clenches his wounded fist. The smell of blood and darkness soaks into the empty road.
He feels Frigg stir, like a faint green flame. Dean knows she disapproves of what he’s about to do. What he’s about to ask.
Dean is tense there in the dark. His heart is pounding. Not from fear. From the exhausting anticipation, the need to solve his problem, the anger that had been building inside him ever since Gabriel decided not to mind his own damn business.
«Well, well… look what we have here…»
A mellifluous voice makes him turn sharply.
«A little squirrel who ran away from his nest.»
The smell of sulfur, whiskey and well-worn sarcasm.
«No Moose, no Feathers…»
«Crowley.»
Dean growls, fangs bared, the scent of mercury, leather and gunpowder rising with him. His eyes follow the demon as he circles him, studying him carefully. Hands in his pockets, eyes that miss nothing.
«Last time we saw each other, you were my prisoner. You were a slave to an unreturned imprinting…»
He pauses for effect, then steps in front of him.
«Now you summon me. You’ve got a nice mark from the angel of your dreams… and yet.»
He inhales.
«You’re not happy. Quite the opposite.»
He smirks, lifting Dean’s chin with one finger.
«Want another kiss, or…»
He raises an eyebrow, but Dean interrupts him, shoving him back.
«Last time you said we’re the same. That we’re equals.»
He growls, tightening his grip on the hand still dripping with blood.
«You’re an Omega like me. You know how this shit works…»
He pauses, remembering without any pleasure their encounter in the empty warehouse.
«And I… need to… get rid of it.»
He looks away with a grimace of… pain?
He exhales heavily. Frigg pulls back slightly, as if taking a step away.
Crowley straightens, immediately understanding the situation is serious. His eyes drift to Dean’s stomach, and he understands everything. A serpent’s grin spreads across his face.
«Dean. What can I do for you, my dear?»