Blood and Chocolate ✓

Chapter 8

A litany of curses flew off of Dean's lips as he finished drawing a ring of salt around David, who he had tied and cuffed to a chair in the living room. He had drawn every protective symbol he knew into the floor and the walls to make certain that there was no way David would escape. He needed a reversal spell and he needed it ten minutes ago, before Gabriel had kidnapped Sam and taken him to Hell knows where.

He marched over to the boy slumped over in the chair and slapped David across the cheek. There was a loud satisfying smack, but the boy did not stir. Dean slapped him again and again until David finally groaned and lifted his head. Through the squinted eyes the young man glanced around the room. He chuckled wearily. "Well, someone has an interest in the occult."

Dean brandished his knife. "Tell me how to undo the effects of the potion you've been slippin' people and you might get out of this alive."

"I don't know what you're talking about," David huffed, turning his head away from Dean.

Dean scowled. "I'd be more inclined to believe you if your first reaction to being tied to a chair had been to panic and ask questions, not comment on the redecorating."

David glowered. "Considering I'm renting, the state of my floors and walls is important to me."

Dean snapped. He jabbed the knife into David's shoulder.

David howled in pain.

"I'm not fucking around kid. You only got a few minutes before I just say, 'fuck it' and kill you."

The only thing keeping David from lunging at Dean were the handcuffs and rope binding him to the chair. His eyes cast around the room, and he smirked. "Your partner is missing. Let me guess. Someone got hold of some of my chocolate? Now you partner has run off to find his girlfriend of something and kill her, right?"

Dean slashed David down the inside of his left arm, blood streamed out of the wound.

David hissed and scrunched his face. "Friggin' bitch."

Dean punched David across the face.

David's head snapped to the side and blood dribbled down his nose.

Dean crossed his arms. "I'm not going to wait much longer."

"I think you'll wait all day, if you want to save your partners."

Dean shoved the blade up against David's throat, breaking the skin. "Considering they could be killing each other right now, I'd rather bet on your death stopping whatever you've done to them than you spilling your guts before they do any permanent damage. So what's it going to be, kid?"

David glowered at Dean.

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Sam sucked in a sharp breath, his stomach flexing away from Gabriel's touch. "Don't," Sam warned.

Gabriel cringed, but his hand pursued Sam's stomach, resting on the planes of Sam's abs.

Sam held down a shudder as the memory of the pain he'd felt prior returned to him. Sam reached for his knife and pulled it out, but before he could properly aim, Gabriel's hand flew up and clasped his wrist.

For a moment Gabriel was bug-eyed, but all shock was wiped away by fury. "What the hell, Sam?"

"Self defense."

Gabriel shoved Sam away from him, with such strength that Sam stumbled, tripped, and fell on his ass. He hissed as his bottom collided with the hard roof and clenched his jaw. He pushed himself up on his arms, but didn't get further because Gabriel was kneeled right beside him and had fisted the collar of Sam's shirt. Gabriel yanked Sam forward. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

Sam's fingers flexed on the handle of his knife—he still had it, and if push came to shove he could use it. "Not to sound like a little girl, but you pushed me down! You're trying to touch my soul again even though you said I screamed like a banshee the last time that happened." Sam lifted one of his hands and gripped the back of Gabriel's head, forcing Gabriel to look him in the eye. "C'mon Gabriel, I know you're in there. You can control this."

Gabriel closed his eyes as if in agony. He clenched his teeth together as he fought down his urges.

"If you can't, that means some wannabe witch with barely any experience got the best of you," Sam said, attempting to appeal to his ego.

Gabriel's eyes flew open. A spark of fury flashed in his gaze. He gritted his teeth and curled his fingers so deep into the roof he created groove marks. "When I tell you to run, you run like Lucifer is drunk and wants to play darts with your body as a target board, got it?"

Sam nodded, although doubt hovered around him like a gray cloud. Even if Gabriel managed to control himself for a minute, it wouldn't be enough time for Sam to escape—not with Gabriel's speed and power.

Gabriel took deep breaths. His hand came up to hold Sam's wrist, but instead of a steely grip like Sam expected, it was a loose touch. Gabriel shuddered as he took one more deep breath then released Sam. He leaned away from Sam. "Run."

Sam pushed himself up and beelined it for the emergency escape ladder.

Sam had only gotten his feet on the first few rungs when Gabriel seized him by his arms and tugged him forward.

______

David cursed as Dean struck him again and demanded answers.

David wasn't talking and too much time had passed.

Dean pushed down any fear that killing David wouldn't solve anything, and rammed his blade into the boy's heart, twisting it as an extra measure.

David gasped and his body jerked before collapsing into a heap. Dean ignored the spasms that wracked David's body as the last bit of life bled out of him.

______

Sam was frozen to the spot, not sure what to do as Gabriel stared at him, looking equally confused. Sam physically and mentally braced himself to be thrown through the air or even be mauled by some random tiger Gabriel chose to summon.

"Sam?" Gabriel whispered his name in an unbelieving manner.

Sam hesitated. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel released Sam and backtracked like he'd been burned. "Holy fuck! Did I—? Shit! Did I really just go stalker crazy on your ass?" He clutched his head and cursed some more. He glanced at the spot where he had kneeled over Sam—the indents of his fingers in the roof prominently visible. More profanity flew out of Gabriel. "It's all so fuzzy. Did I really touch your soul, and without your permission too?"

Sam paused, still processing the situation. "Are you, really you?"

"Of course I'm me, knucklehead, who else would I…" Gabriel cut himself off. He took a deep breath and a second later, a mischievous smirk danced upon his lips. "Are you going just stand on that ladder all night or are you going to move?"

The smirk and familiar flippant attitude triggered something inside Sam, and he found himself climbing off the ladder and onto the roof. He shuffled toward Gabriel, examining every inch of him as if there would be some physical indication that the curse was broken. "Are you okay?"

Gabriel scowled at Sam, giving the Winchester a whiplash at the sudden change of emotions. "I'm an archangel and trickster. What do you think I'm made of? Glass?" Without any warning he yanked down Sam's head, forcing Sam into the awkward and mildly uncomfortable position of resting his forehead against Gabriel's shoulder. "Idiot."

Sam sighed as Gabriel kneaded the back of his neck, and continued on a mild rant about Sam's stupidity. This was his Gabriel.