Too Much Alike

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the television series Supernatural and I'm not making any money from this fic

Summary: After Sam goes to hell, Dean meets someone from the past

Pairing: Dean/Gabriel

Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers up to and including season five; some mentions of violence; slightly darker themes

Author's Note: This was written for a Valentine's Day challenge. This actually isn't how I planned for the story to go, but... well, you'll see.

Dean stared numbly at where the place his brother had been standing only moments before. He still held the rings in his hand, but as much as he wanted to cast them down and open the cage once more, he knew that he couldn't. That would let out Lucifer and Michael and make Sam's sacrifice meaningless.

Castiel had come and gone again in only minutes. He'd healed Dean's face, but nothing could heal the gaping hole that had only grown wider.

Without Sam, Dean couldn't think of anything left to live for.

There was the sound of rushing wings from behind Dean. Expecting Castiel to have returned, Dean turned... but of all the things he'd expected, it certainly wasn't who was standing behind him. "Don't tell me. God brought you back, too."

"You don't seem very happy to see me, Deano." Gabriel smirked.

"I'm not."

"Really? I'm hurt." Though Gabriel sounded anything but. "And we parted on such good terms, too."

"You died."

"Saving your skin."

"Yeah, I don't get that. You were hell-bent on killing me before," Dean said. "It's not like I remember dying, but you still killed me over and over again."

"If I'd really wanted to kill you, you'd be dead."

"What do you want?" Dean put the rings in his pocket and then reached for the gun in his belt. It wouldn't have any effect on an angel, but it would definitely make him feel better to have something to take out his anger and frustration on.

"Going to shoot me?"

"Seriously considering it."

Gabriel spread his arms wide. "Go ahead."

It was tempting. Dean nearly pulled the gun out. In the end, though, he dropped his hand. "I'm sure that's what you want me to do, just so that you can gloat about how impossible it is to kill you."

"You don't have a very high opinion of me, do you?"

"Should I have?" Dean retorted. "Yeah, you did the right thing eventually. But look at what you did before then. You ran away."

"I couldn't watch my brothers try to kill each other over and over again," Gabriel replied.

"You wanted us to say yes to becoming the vessels."

"I wanted an end to this." Gabriel shrugged. "I figure I was brought back for a reason. Maybe it's just so you can have a punching bag that'll heal from whatever punishment you want to dish out."

Dean snorted. "I'm sure you won't just fly away."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "We don't fly, Deano."

"Then why do you have wings?"

"Because they look cool?"

Dean studied the angel's face, searching for any sign of a lie. "It's not like I can really hurt you."

"Well, if you promise you won't kill me in my weakened state, I'll make myself mostly human."

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm not telling you," Gabriel replied in a sing-song voice.

"Why would you trust any promise I make?"

"It's the whole honour thing," Gabriel replied. "You don't break your word. And, besides, you owe it to me to keep me alive. For saving your skin. For giving you time to get away." For once, the angel looked totally serious.

Dean hesitated, but then he nodded once. "Fine. Do your angel mojo."

"It's done."

"No snapping your fingers this time?"

"Come on, Dean." Gabriel smirked at him. "You know that was just about showmanship."

"Fine." Dean considered a moment and then removed the gun from his belt, placing it on the grass. He felt somehow naked without it, but tried to ignore that feeling as he walked over to the angel. As he reached for Gabriel's arm, the angel didn't move, just watched Dean.

Did Gabriel really think that Dean wouldn't hurt him? Or did he just not care what happened to him anymore? That was a feeling Dean could relate to.

Dean glanced around, frowning.

"What are you looking for?"

"Somewhere to sit down."

"Chair or couch?"

"Couch," Dean replied, before focusing on Gabriel. "I thought you didn't have your powers."

"I said mostly human, Dean." Gabriel didn't do anything visibly, but a couch appeared suddenly, right in the middle of the grass.

Dean stared at the couch. "That... looks weird."

"I'll get rid of it later."

"Fine." Dean guided Gabriel over to the couch and sat down. With a simple tug, he had Gabriel across his knees. Before the angel could react, he grasped his waist, pulling Gabriel tight against his stomach.

"This wasn't what I had in mind," Gabriel commented.

"I'm sure it wasn't." Dean lifted his hand and brought it down in a hard swat.

Gabriel jerked, hissing out a breath. "Oww..."

Dean paused, surprised by how that exclamation of pain bothered him. He waited a second or two and then brought his hand down again, harder this time.

"People are going to hear," Gabriel said around another grunt of pain.

"So shield us. Unless you're too weak for that."

"Done."

Dean couldn't see anything different, but he had no reason to assume Gabriel was lying. The next two swats landed just below the first and Gabriel's legs jerked, though he made no sound this time.

Dean continued landing the hard, sharp swats, but his heart wasn't in it. Eventually, they became little more than pats. He stopped, finally, resting his hand on Gabriel's back.

"Are you done?"

"What game are you playing, Gabriel?"

Gabriel shook his head. "It's not a game."

"Then what is it?"

"Why do you think I fought against Lucifer?"

"Because it was the right thing to do. And for Kali."

"I didn't do it for Kali."

"Then what...?"

Gabriel shrugged. "You asked me to."

"It's that simple?"

"I don't know, Dean. Angels aren't supposed to feel emotions. But first Cass and now me... like an infection, I guess."

"You're not making a lot of sense."

"Can I get up?"

Dean hesitated, but slowly let go of Gabriel. The angel pushed himself up and then sat down carefully next to Dean. "Almost every human I've seen is self-serving. They wouldn't dream of sacrificing themselves for even one person, let alone everyone. You and your brother were different." He shrugged. "For the first time, I had a reason to care."

"To care?" Dean repeated.

"Why do you think I've been so fixated on you?"

"I guess I never really thought about it." Dean looked at the ground and then at Gabriel. "So what now?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I haven't any idea."

Dean hesitated. He didn't know what he was going to do now. He didn't even know if there was any future for him. But he wrapped an arm around Gabriel, pulling the angel in close. Gabriel nestled against him and Dean relaxed at the comforting weight.

Maybe it wasn't love he felt... but it was damn close.

The End