#golden meanwhile I fully believe would want a big family. he felt so alone growing up and he's so starved for love

[multishipper-baby]

Baby fever so bad I've been thinking about the ideal number of kids for characters. What is wrong with me.

[mochikeiji]

Since We Were Seven

↠ Pairing: Bokuto Koutarou x Akaashi Keiji

↠ Warning: small mention of death, small angst but fluffy ending

↬ Word Count: 3,040

↣ a/n: hi!! this is a really late entry for the BokuAka week! This was suppose to be in Day 1 but I saw the content late :(( I hope you all enjoy!! Happy @bokuakaweek2020!!

Summary: Keiji has always been fond with light novels as a child (influenced by his lovely mother) often you would see him during his free time drowning in an ocean of black ink in a paper boat in any local library and bookstore. Then there's his childhood friend, Bokuto Koutarou, having to just stare at the coffee in his hand in wonder of an idea that will surely change everything they've had.

⇢ Day 1: Confession/Childhood, Coffe Shop AU

✎﹏

Nothing says warm summer breeze than kids running around the park getting down and dirty without a care of the world. Some were seen to be catching bugs that surely made some cringe in disgust, some were seen repeatedly sliding down despite the hot surface their bottoms were receiving, and some just getting chased in a lovely game of tag. That is, until someone gets tripped over.

For a certain owl haired child that stood out of the crowd, all he could do was repeatedly receive a volleyball— in a sloppy way, but in his own world laughs at his mistakes and carries on with his little hobby.

"Akaashi! Look, look! I made this cool move, watch." with excitement rising from his, the boy, Keiji, he had called couldn't help but give him all of his attention as young Bokuto tosses the ball in the air with his small hands. Backing up a little in a receiving stance, eyes determined to catch it, only to have the ball land on his head with a loud thump, causing Bokuto to whine at the slight sting and hold his head on the grassy ground.

"Are you okay, Bokuto?" Akaashi blinked, almost unamused at his best friends mistake. This wasn't an old sight to him.

"You could've atleast be a bit more worried to me." Bokuto pouts, finally sitting up with his hands in between his legs as his hair somehow deflated within his mood.

And yet young Akaashi Keiji found that oddly an adorable perk of Bokuto.

"I'm sorry, Bokuto," he offers a small smile as a pause, "It's just that I knew you'd make a mistake, I was just waiting for you to call me if you needed assistance."

The golden eyed child didn't seem impressed with his reasons, pouting even more with the spikes of his hair almost wilting on his head.

"I knew you would get up on your own anyways. I didn't want to underestimate you."

His ears twitched and perks up. Finally out of his own dejected mode, he sprungs up with sparkling eyes, "Akaashi, that's so sweet of you!" laughing loud with his head thrown back without a care of the world staring at him like a mad child. His laughter soon dies down as he stares deeply into gun metal like eyes.

Akaashi swore he stopped breathing at that time of tension.

"But seriously though, I don't mind if its you who runs to help me up! I know you won't be mean to me like other kids," he then glances at the thick white book on the smaller males hands, "I'm just confused why you seem more excited on that book you always read."

Akaashi's mouth opens a bit, unnoticed by the boy infront of him standing out in the light of the sun as he was seated by the shade of the biggest tree in the park. Trying to utter out the words he wished to say, he prevents himself from going any further and just smiles,

"It's a very knowledgeable book I might need, Bokuto."

And that is was when they were seven years old.

Ever since Bokuto was always on his own due to his parents working overseas, Mrs. Akaashi, being a dotting person as Keiji is always took care of him as a child. She thought it would be nice for her son to grow up with someone as a brotherly figure in his life considering it was always just the two of them.

Without hesitation, Bokuto happily allows himself to be raised by the Akaashi family until he was in highschool, already used to living on his own and doing stuff as a proper adult. Even Keiji was surprised to see that he could handle himself so well than he did. Keiji doesn't even know how to cook for both of them.

Finally at his third and final year, Bokuto stared at the other side of the court, almost in hunger— a predator, twirling the ball in his hands expertly. Unlike before when he was a big squishy child. On the sidelines, Akaashi sat on the floor, still intrigued with the book he hasn't yet finished even for years.

The loud swoosh of the ball being tossed up in the air caught his attention away from his book, only to be greeted by a sight he would describe as, "satisfying."

In almost a perfect spiking stance in his eyes, he watches the captains hands fit his entire palm on the balls leather skin. Pupils dilating a bit at the sight of his forearm flexing in instinct, and giving the ball a rough hit that made it smash on the glossy like surfaced floor, almost looking squished by the impact of that and Bokuto's monstrous strength.

Despite having to see him in this state in both practice and matches, Bokuto never once fails to make the black haired male stare in awe at him from a distance unknown to him, but obvious by others.

Exhaling deeply, the captain hooted loudly into the gym air, "HEY, HEY, HEY!" echoing through the males ears, but he smiles and cherishes the sounds and the phrase he has always heard whenever Bokuto was enthusiastic.

"Akaashi! Did you see that? That was a perfect one, ain't it?!" his eyes sparkling like a child during Christmas. One of the lists Akaashi has about Bokuto was a list of, "What Bokuto Does When He's Very Happy" and number three haopens to be, "He will ask for praise."

"I did. It was amazing." even with a poker face, Bokuto has gotten used to Akaashi expressing his emotions with that facial expression. He knows deep inside how genuine the boy is when it comes to words.

And that's what he always loved about him, yet the world prevents him to do so in fear of not being thrown by society, but to be thrown away by the only person who has stuck with my throughout his life when everyone he loved left.

"Hm? You're still reading that book?" his face going from a happy child to a curious one as his eyes focused once more on the book in his hands. It became a habit of his to always notice something in between the males hands. Because of that, he can already describe Akaashi's hands being bigger than his, but softer by the looks of his.

How he longed to hold them.

Not noticing the way Akaashi flinched at the topic, he hides the lower part of his face with the book. To Bokuto, it seemed he was just resuming to the page he marked before talking to him, but to Akaashi, he was hiding his quivering lips and his lightly pink dusted cheeks.

"I haven't finished it, and it's getting to the good part so.." he trails behind, though his tone stayed the same monotone yet honey smooth like sound.

"Alright, alright. I won't mess with ya. But hey, maybe after you read about it, you could tell me what's it all about."

Raising a brow at the captain, "But aren't you fond of books, Bokuto?" he asks, knowing his bestfriend, the captain of the volleyball team is a known enemy to studying. More so, books.

"Yeah, but this book always has your attention since we were kids. It's only natural I listen to my best buddies interest like he does for me!"

Inside Bokuto's mind, he wanted to speak out the words that were punching their way out of his mouth, "I wanted to know how that book made you smile so fondly a lot."

Akaashi on the other hand was touched at his words. But the only thing that rang in his ear like an annoying buzz was the fact that he was labelled, "Best Bud."

But who was he to feel that way?

"I promise, I'll tell you once I finish, Bokuto."

That promise, Akaashi hoped, Bokuto would forget. Because if he still kept asking about it, he knows it'll risk the only thing that made him happy.

Him

A year passed, Akaashi was left alone during his third year. To say it wasn't pleasant was an under statement. He can no longer hear the loud, echoing greets of his best friend in the hallway, he sits alone on the way home in the train when he used to always go with the entire third year batch. Most of all, he was getting lonely during practices. No one was asking him for a toss due to his intimidating presence.

He recalls the time Bokuto was in full uniform infront of his house as usual. Since they walk to school together, Akaashi wanted him to. But he had to point out that he has already graduated.

Being embarrassed, Bokuto dismissed that and offers to walk him to school. He asked why, and his reason just made his day a bit more brighter,

"I didn't want you to be alone."

Now in the present, finally getting a day off from his hectic work schedule. Akaashi finds himself fully relaxed at a cafe, still reading the thick book that was taken with outmost of care during his childhood days.

This time, he was nearing at the end.

"Here's your order, sir! Two cups of coffee with waffles." the lady in the counter chirps in delight at Bokuto. It wasn't everyday you see Black Jackals famous ace order in a small coffee shop away from prying eyes.

"Thank you! This looks wonderful!" he gives a small review with a charming smile that made the lady squeal silently.

After his game against the Alders, he agreed on eating out with Akaashi on his free days since it had been long since the two had hung out after entering the world of growing up.

Akaashi was internally screaming when Bokuto had invited him out. Growing up, Akaashi developed being more expressive. He could be seen to be smiling a lot more than he was as a teenager.

And Bokuto had never cried tears of joy and thanked the heavens for letting an angel down in his life.

But now the ace had never felt more nervous after their first encounter again as grown ups. He couldn't believe Akaashi would be even more prettier than he was before. Meanwhile Akaashi had to hold his breath upon being in Bokuto presence. He was much more broader, taller than he was. And all Akaashi wantes was to hug him tight infront of so much people that day.

Bokuto stood by the side, his mind debating about something as he stares at the two steaming hot beverages and teasingly sweet smelling desserts then back at Akaashi's figure. Even though he had his back turned from Bokuto, he couldn't help but silently gush on how adorable he looks in sweaters.

Suddenly an idea came to his head.

It was now or never.

"Um miss?" he goes back at the kind lady, who was responsive to his call, "Do you mind..Adding something on the waffle? Maybe even the coffee too??"

Akaashi's nose crinckled a bit as the sweet, satisfying and calming aroma hits his nostrils. Not bothering to take his eyes off the book he was about to finish, Bokuto took a seat infront of him with a nervous smile.

"Still not finished with that book are you, Kaashi?" lightly chuckling when Akaashi fumbles as his glasses lightly messes up on his face.

"I-I am now, Bokuto." pushing the bridge of his glasses up, "So far, it was more than knowledgeable than I thought. Mother was right about being inlove with this book." giving himself a tiny smile at the thought of spending the day with his bestfriend, he didn't expect the topic coming from his best friend's mouth almost make him fall back from his chair.

"Speaking of, being inlove, have you met someone these days?" leaning on his hand for support, Bokuto keeps a close eye on the other males expression. Almost wincing when he saw a small blush on his cheeks. The thought of falling inlove with someone hurts him.

"W-well, I haven't been going out a lot due to my papers from work." fiddling at the hem of his sweater, his eyes taking a quick glance at the book that was on its last page with the text formed in bold and slightly bigger, "But I have been inlove with the same person before." whispering under his breath, his hair falling lightly on his forehead for being too long.

To Bokuto, he was losing hope, but growing up with the habit of not being afraid of trying, he still went for his plan. Even though not knowing he might be hurt in the worse case possible.

"I see..Must be a lucky person to catch your attention huh?" After Atsumu told Bokuto he wasn't allowed to be as dejected as he was before, he had mastered the arts of hiding his own sadness behind his eyes as he looks at the swirling cup of coffee.

"I love them. A lot, but.." the pause made Bokuto look up to him in a more focused and serious matter, "I don't think that person will love me." smiling sadly at the book under his gaze, Akaashi could still feel the erratic beating of his heart slowly hurting inside.

"How could nobody love you? You're like an awesome person to be loved!" the ace exclaimed rather loudly, earning a few eyes from the costumers— who luckily doesn't know him to avoid being crowded, and the lady behind the counter who seemed to be watching things unfold between them in anticipation.

Akaashi doesn't fight the blush on his cheeks as he bites the inside of it, he really wishes he could've had more courage into this if it wasn't for his constant over thinking about the outcomes of an unknown future.

"But if that person doesn't love you, Kaashi.." the sound of the cup of coffee sliding on the wooden table across him slowly to avoid spillage, his eyes widened at the creams design.

"I'd still love you."

It was a heart.

Not believing his eyes, he rubs it with the back of his hand, his mouth now opened a little in shock as Bokuto chuckles away the nervousness in his body.

"You're kidding."

"Why would I joke about saying I love you? That's cruel, Kaashi." Bokuto pouts, but for a short moment and offers him a genuine smile, "Would you dare to believe in me, Akaashi Keiji?" he says, in a lowkey flirty way.

The black haired male gulps, his heart unable to rest, but his mind was somehow at ease at that moment, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh, making the male in front of him worry, Akaashi returns the line,

"Would you dare to believe that I too, was inlove with you since we were 7, Bokuto Koutarou?"

Like a volcano, Bokuto's face erupts in different shades of red, his ears lightly steaming from being too flustered. Gaining his composure, he coughes into his fist, carefully grabbing the plate of waffle that was for him, "You tell me."

And next he slides in the waffle to Akaashi, the chocolate syrup drizzled on the plate with the waffle away from it that read,

"I love you since we were 7."

Now it was Akaashi's turn to blush madly at the confession. He could only raise both palms into his face and buries himself into them.

Was he dreaming or was he really living?

To Bokuto, his world finally was at ease knowing he was loved by the person he has been eyeing since he was a child. He was somehow whining at the back of his head how he didn't get to date Akaashi back in highschool so they'd be those couple goals before and what it would've been if he and Akaashi were to lvie together in his lonely house.

Then again, seeing this moment now was like entering the biggest and most awaited match in his life.

"There's no way I can eat or drink this, Bokuto."

"What? Why not!?"

"This is too adorable and heartfelt."

They both share a laugh with eachother. Occasionally bickerking why Akaashi hasn't touched his food, they both carried on a normal conversation despite having each other confess out of the blue. Both were glad that things were still the same, as if they grew up not only as siblings or as friends, but as if they memorized each others lives.

"Hey, now that you've finished your book. Didn't you promise you'd tell me all about it?" he watches as Akaashi finally took a sip of the heart coffee.

Gulping harshly in embarrassment, he taps his closed book nervously, "Why though?" wanting to change the topic, thinking what he might say may be too cheesy for Bokuto's liking.

"Well you always have your attention on the book. I also wanna know how my lover smiles so much about it."

How could you casually say that? He thinks as his face lightly becomes red at the label he was called, "Lover."

With that ringing in his ears for a good hour, he opens the book to the last page, where the bold and sightly big text was written,

"This book was about two lovers who had different worlds, but they grew up together without telling each other how they felt and eventually drifted apart and forgotten each other." he explains to him with a smile, fingers running on the text of his book.

"So why was Mom and you so inlove with that book?" Bokuto grew up calling Keiji's mother his own mom. It wasn't as weird as it sounds, it was warming for Keiji since it felt like they were a family.

"Because in the end, they have gotten together in one place, and said—" Akaashi's smile becomes a loving grin as he shows Bokuto his favorite line in the entire book.

The same line that made his mother and father fall in an endless love even after his death, it was still the most loving line both Mother and Son could hear from their destined lover.

"I've loved you since we were 7."

[fandomsissues]

Discovery Trip - Chapter 1/3

Masterlist of Discovery Trip HERE

Fandom : Supernatural

Relationships : Sabriel, Destiel

Words : 6043

Summary : After Sam broke up with his girlfriend, Dean and Castiel decided to bring him with them to France, at Cas’ brother house.

Link AO3

Chapter one : Who knows

“Come with us dude, it’ll be nice !” Dean said once more, taking another sip of his beer.

The bar was full on this Friday night. Dean, Cas and Sam were having their weekly beers - shots for Cas. Sam’s holidays were about to start but he had no plans yet. Dean didn’t want his brother to be all alone here when him and Cas would be at Cas’s brother Gabriel in France. Cas had already asked Gabe and he didn’t mind having one more person in his house.

“I don’t want to ruin your french romantic trip, guys. And I’ll still have to work for next year” replied Sam once again.

“C’mon Sam. What don’t you understand in the word ‘holidays’ ? You won’t bother us. In fact I would feel much better knowing you’re breathing some fresh air.” Dean was pissed. Since his little brother broke up with his girlfriend -he would never forgive this Jess for that- he got used to locking himself in his room and spent all his time studying, hoping that it would make him forget about the world around him. Dean could see despair in Sam’s eyes, and it made him remember the look Sam had after their mother died. It was his big bro role to help him to get better.

“Sam, I insist,” Cas started, leaving no time for Dean to argue with his brother. “You won’t interfere in any way with our plans. Gabriel doesn’t mind having you home and I’m pretty sure he will be glad to meet you.” Sam still seemed to be sullen. Cas sighed. “At least if you don’t do it for yourself do it for me.”

The two Winchesters seemed blindsided by the unexpected sentence.

“Dean won’t be able to get you out of his head and I definitely need him to be fully concentrated on me for what I’ve planned.” Cas took another shot, grinning. He saw the look Sam gave him. He had won. And Dean was undressing him with his eyes. Double-win.

“Well… if you put it like that…” Sam surrendered.

Dean asked two more beers and one more shot to celebrate their victory, giving a small squeeze on Cas’ tight as a ‘thank you’.

***

“Cas, I’m not feeling well” said Dean with despair as they got closer and closer to their plane. “I don’t think I can make it. I’ll take a boat, anything.”

Cas kissed his forehead, giving him a small smile.

“Your medics will be effective soon, Dean. Sing some Metalica meanwhile.”

Sam was doing the best he could to hold back his laughs. His brother in an airport had always been the best show ever. As he put his suitcase on the carrousel he saw that Cas was in the same state as himself, doing his best to help his boyfriend but yet wanting to laugh to how ridiculous the big boy sounded.

A few minutes later, the drugs had fully taken over Dean. It would have been even funnier if only he didn’t start flirting with every living things around, what didn’t please Cas. Sam and Castiel had had to bear Dean to his seat and lock him down to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid or dangerous.

The flight was long and exhausting, especially with a drugged-Dean. Luckily the food was good and Dean was between them, so he couldn’t run away. After hours of “no Dean, we can’t jump down to swim with the fish”, “no Dean, a gang bang is not worth considering” and “Dean, if you do that I quit”, the older Winchester fell asleep.

“Since when does your brother live in France, Cas ?” asked Sam, totally unoccupied now.

“Well… Gabriel always loved France. He asked us every year to go on holidays there when he was younger and when we finally did we had to tear him off the ground when we eventually had to leave.” Cas took a deep breath with nostalgia. “There had been an incident during his studies, a few years ago. He had got fired. That destroyed him. He decided to leave the next day and came to France to run his own business. It worked for him. But even if he gots all the ressources needed, he is lonely. Not very sociable.” Cas sighed and looked at Sam upon Dean’s head. “He keeps claiming is happy but he isn’t. I’m confident he needs someone in his life. Someone to hold him. He’s never been very self-confident deep down.”

Sam had never seen Cas this worried. He never really realized how much his brother meant to him, at least this one. He knew that Cas had more brothers but he never talked about them.

They spent the rest of the flight quiet, laughing when Dean snored loudly.

***

“I’m still on drugs, right ?” asked Dean, his jaw falling down.

But he was clean. The big black car with a private driver was here for them. Cas didn’t seem that surprised and he was the first one to give his suitcase to the driver and enter the car. Sam and Dean followed his lead a few seconds later. The driver remained silent, driving them to their destination.

“I am sorry my brother didn’t come in person. I hoped he would have,” Cas apologized.

“Cas… You never told me your brother was this rich.” Dean answered, amazed by the leather on the seat, the bottles of soda and packs of candies hidden in some hidden boxes in the doors.

“In fact… He is not even as rich as our parents. This is almost cheap compared to what we’ve seen growing up. I assume this…”, he pointed out the whole car, “is just a way for him to show that he could do it too. Our father never really believed that he would be able to go from rags to riches on his own.”

“Wait wait wait… You told me your family was kind of rich but you never said THAT rich” said Dean, a bit dizzy after all this revelations. “What else didn’t you tell me ?”

Sam would have loved to make himself as small as possible, but instead he took some pop corns and started watching the he-didn’t-know-why kind of fight.

“It would have been irrelevant, Dean. Do you really imagine me coming to you to say ‘hey, you know what ? Remember my stupid family ? There’re fucking rich !’ ” Cas started to get pissed - he usually never swore. Seeing -and hearing- it, Dean took his hand in a soothing squeeze.

“It’s ok Cas, it’s just that… I’m not used to it. You know I’m not comfortable when it comes to money.”

“It’s ok Dean.” Cas smiled and squeezed back. They stared at each other for some long minutes. “I know…” whispered Cas, leaning to press his forehead against Dean’s.

Sam looked at them and couldn’t decide if he was glad to see them this happy after months of hesitation -Dean afraid to be a mistake in Cas’ life and Cas having to manage with an homophobic family-, or if he was sad thinking that he might never find someone who’ll fit him that much. He really thought Jess would be the one for him, even planned to ask her hand, but then he found her in their bed with his -ex- best friend Brady. The vision of them both together had been the death of him. He didn’t even say anything, he just came to his brother’s flat and stayed there. He never heard from Jess or Brady again after that, but a few days later they started showing themselves all around the campus.

“Get out of your thoughts Sam, we’re there.” Dean’s voice cut Sam out. He got out of the car and froze before the gigantic villa.

“Finally ! ‘Thought you’ll never come !”

A guy came to them. With the brightest smirk of all times and golden hair, he was one of the most beautiful guy Sam had seen in his life - wait, since when did he check people out ?

“Gabriel, I’m glad to see you” said Cas with a big smile, letting his brother hug him even though he wasn’t the hugging-type. Cas turned to face Dean and Sam. “Dean, Sam, let me introduce you my brother Gabriel. Gabriel, here’s Dean my boyfriend and Sam his brother.”

“Glad to meet you guys. I’ll show you your rooms, you three look like zombies.”

Sam made a face at the comment but followed the group. This was the biggest house -villa- he’d seen in his entire life. The entrance was as big as Dean et Cas’ flat. There were way too much shoes on the many shelves for one life and he was sure he’d never seen that much jackets in the same place before.

“The kitchen is on the left and the living room on the right” said Gabriel nonchalantly.

“He always dreamt of an open kitchen” whispered Cas to the Winchesters, smiling at his brother.

“Then in this corridor here you got my office on the left and at the end the gym.”

“You got a gym ?” asked Sam, “in your own house ?”

Gabriel smirked. “It’s cleaner and I don’t have to deal with people I don’t care about.”

Gabriel then took them upstairs and showed them their rooms. Dean and Cas had the first on the right and Sam the first on the left. The rooms were the same, with a king size bed, modern furniture and a bathroom with two sinks, a tub-jacuzzi and a shower.

“I asked the maid to make sure you’ll get everything you need, but if you still miss something I’ll be downstairs in my office.” As fast as he finished his sentence, Gabriel ran in the stairs.

“Well… I guess we’d rather sleep” said Cas, heading to his room, taking Dean’s hand to pull him in too.

Sam went back in his room, closing the door. He had never slept in a room this big before. He unpacked his stuff. Dean and Cas had planned to stay here for two weeks, maybe more. Apparently Gabriel didn’t care about having them here. He was quite a brain-twister to Sam. The guy he just met seemed to be like Tony Stark, the rich playboy in his too big mansion and he’d been surprised that there were no party or girls in the house. He felt like he knew him a bit since Cas talked about him in the plane, and that made him uncomfortable. But why would he feel like this because of a guy he didn’t know before and whom he will probably never hear about again in the future ?

Half an hour after, Sam was laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He was tired, he really did, but he couldn’t just close his eyes and sleep. Once again he was over-thinking.

What if Jess didn’t cheat on me ?

What if I don’t get my exams ?

What if I could never be a lawyer ?

What if I end up alone ?

By midnight his throat was too dry, he had no choice but to go downstairs to drink. In fact Sam had seen a bottle of water on his bedside table, but he couldn’t help his legs going downstairs.

He managed to find the switch. The light revealed what he could compare to the Great Hall of Hogwarts, scale-speaking. The ceiling was way higher than what he thought he’d seen in the first place, the furniture was mainly made of steel, of wood, or painted in white. The whole place was welcoming. The kitchen looked like the one from a restaurant. Sam tried to figure out where the glasses could be when he heard music coming from the corridor. He followed it, not really knowing what he was doing, and found himself at the entrance of Gabriel’s office. It looked like the living room with a huge light wooden desk facing the entrance, and behind him a huge patio door leading to the garden. It was about 1 a.m. and Sam could only see a steamy shape of the forest thanks to the stars’ light.

Gabriel seemed to finally notice him, lying his eyes on Sam.

“What can I do for you, Sammy ?” asked Gabriel with a great smile.

Sam usually didn’t like being called Sammy, but this surname in Gabriel’s mouth sounded great.

“I… I was looking for a glass of water but I couldn’t guess where the glasses were. Your kitchen’s huge” mumbled Sam to refrain from smiling like an idiot as he felt he was dangerously about to ever since Gabe smiled to him.

“Arf. Yes. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and… Well…”, he looked at Sam with a bored look while heading to the kitchen, “I could afford it so I thought ‘you’ll have to do something with your money one day’. Here you go” finished Gabriel while offering a glass of water to Sam. “I know it could sound presumptuous. Sorry.”

“Why do you apologize ?” ask Sam, “It’s not like you stole your money. What do you do by the way ?”

Gabriel took a glass for himself. “At first I was in pure trade. I got hired by a company in Paris. I quickly got promoted and then one thing led to the other… I made a lot of money. I’m kind of a patron now. I help some startup companies with money and advises in exchange for stocks. I guess it works good for me” concluded Gabriel.

“More than good I’d say” said Sam, thoughtful. He wished he could have this sort of career.

“And how is it going for you Sammy ?”

“Well… I study to become a lawyer.” Sam stopped and laughed seeing the look Gabe gave him, the what-about-you-telling-me-more kind of look. “I’ve been a bit overwhelmed these days so Dean insisted for me to come with them. I hope it doesn’t bother you…”

Gabriel laughed weakly. “It doesn’t make the slightest difference to me, be sure of that.” He let his now empty glass in the sink. “If you’re hungry feel free to rummage through all the cupboards. The dishes are all gathered here and the drinks are up there.” He then got back to his office. Before he left, he turned around to face Sam. “Glad to know you, Sam.” Before Sam had the time to answer he closed to door of his office. Gabriel stayed for a while leaning against the door, his eyes closed, convincing himself that Sam wasn’t attractive at all, and when he saw that he had just received a message from the older Novak brother Micheal, he stopped thinking about the Winchester.

Just after Gabe left him, Sam got back to his room. He laid on his bed, closed his eyes, and finally fell asleep thinking about his host.

***

“Good morning sunshine !”

What… This voice ? ‘Must be dreaming…

“I said wake up Gigantor !”

Why would a dream insult me ?

“Don’t make me do this, please.”

Make what ?

Sam didn’t have the time to figure out what was happening before someone threw his blanket away. He opened his eyes widely and saw Gabriel opening the window.

“Wait…” started Sam, “did you just call me Gigantor ?”

“Not my fault if your as tall as the Eiffel Tower” laughed Gabriel. “Now move your ass from that bed, Cas and Dean are having breakfast. Seems like you’re heading to Versailles today.”

“I don’t even know a single word in French” mumbled Sam.

Gabriel sat on the bed, a serious look on his face. “Ok there’re a few things : ‘hello’ is ‘bonjour’, ‘please’ is ’s’il-te-plaît’, ‘thanks’ is ‘merci’ and ‘shit’ is ‘merde’. If you need any intelligence call me.” Gabriel winked at him. Sam felt like it was the best day of his life. “Maintenant viens avec moi chéri, je meurs de faim et vu les bruits de ton estomac, toi aussi” said Gabriel, pushing the giant outside of his room.

“I didn’t get a single word, Gabe.” When Sam realized he just called Gabriel ‘Gabe’ it was too late. He waited for Gabriel’s reaction but nothing came except a smile. It could have been worst.

The breakfast table was much more like a Valhalla buffet. It was all sugar, fat and starch and Sam realized how much his stomach was sore. He managed to find some fruits and enjoyed the lively meal.

“Gabriel”, started Cas uncertainly, “did you get Micheal’s message ?”

The mood suddenly switched.

“Yes” answered Gabriel, in a rush to speak of something else.

“What message ?” asked Dean, worriedly. He wasn’t very fond of the Novak family. He knew that Castiel -and apparently Gabriel- were too open minded for them, reason why he had been pushed aside. On the other hand, Micheal, the older brother, had always been daddy’s favorite. He worked in his father’s company and was on tracks to a promising career. Dean had just seen him once at the beginning of his relationship with Cas, and he still wasn’t able to forget the despising gaze Micheal gave him.

“Micheal has the honor to announce us that he is getting married” read Cas, repelled by every word he had pronounced.

They finished to eat quietly and quickly and went back to their rooms to get ready for the trip to Versailles, leaving Gabriel alone at the house since he claimed he already knew the castle by heart. Sam wasn’t this excited about the idea of visiting a castle for a whole day, but the moment he got there he felt purely amazed. He didn’t know much about architecture but he could easily figure out that this was a master piece. He first followed Dean and Cas though the many rooms but when they headed to the garden he left the couple behind to explore.

“I never thought a castle and garden could be this… interesting. I really wasn’t expecting this. To be honest, I thought it would be boring as fuck, but this was just amazing. I finally get why so many people are obsessed with it” said Sam, as he laid on the couch in Gabriel’s office.

Dean and Castiel had jumped in the pool -yes, there was a pool too- as soon as they had got back home, but Sam had staid inside. He had bumped into Gabriel as he tried to decide which cereal to eat. The Novak invited him in his office so he could tell him how their day had been. Gabriel was glad to have an happy-Sammy with him. It changed him from his usual loneliness.

Maybe having some people home isn’t the worst idea ever… Especially when one of them is Sam Winchester…

Gabriel coughed as the idea ran through is head.

“Everything’s alright ?” asked Sam with -maybe- a little too much concern.

“Yes, yes…” said Gabriel, taking a sip of water. “It’s your enthusiasm, I’m not use to it, it’s taking over me.”

Maybe Sam was smiling too much at his comment, maybe he was a bit too happy that he, Gabriel Novak, made him smile this way. Who knows. A knock on the patio door made them startle. It was Dean, still soaked with water.

“Guys, stop staring at each other like idiots and come with us, the water’s hot !” said Dean, more demanding than offering.

It was clear for the two boys that they had no choice. The both went upstairs and Sam waited until Gabriel entered his room -the last one, at the end of the corridor- to enter his own. He quickly put his swimming trunks on, picked up a towel and walked downstairs to jump in the promise water. Gabriel went out of his own room just a few second after him and stared at Sam’s back like it was the most mouth-watering candy he’d ever seen. Maybe it was. Who knows.

The four guys in the pool was a total mess. First it was Winchesters against Novaks, then Dean and Castiel made an alliance forcing Sam and Gabriel to work against them together, and finally everyone betrayed everyone and soon there was more water on the ground than in the pool. It had almost been three hours since they got in when they decided to go downtown to get pizzas, Gabriel having decided that they’d have all the time needed to have some snails and other “pure French food” once they would be in Paris. Gabriel won the game of being ready first - when he toured the boys around the house he hadn’t mentioned that he had a bathroom and a dressing room in his office.

Gabriel led the boys to his garage and Dean almost fainted before the -never- too many cars. As a passionated mechanic his first passion after Castiel was cars. He could talk about it for days. When he saw that Gabriel was heading them to a Tesla S, he immediately decided that he was his favorite brother in law ever.

“Brother in law ? We’re not even married yet.” said Cas, trying to stay as placid as possible tough he felt his cheeks blushing.

Dean turned white as he realized he just thought out loud.

“Glad to know I’m your favorite though !” laughed Gabriel as he jumped into the car.

Dean and Castiel took the backseats, leaving the passenger seat, next to Gabriel, to Sam. Cars were not really his jam but he had to admit that this one was particularly comfortable and pretty. He’d never been in an electrical car before, and it was weird for him to see that they were going forwards even though there were no sounds nor vibrations of any kind while they made the quick ride.

“Here we go boys !” declared Gabriel as he parked the car on a half full parking. “This is not Jean-François Piège’s restaurant but they make awesome pizzas and pastas.”

They headed inside. It was clear that the staff already knew Gabriel.

“Monsieur Novak, quel plaisir de vous revoir ! Et accompagné, pour une fois !” said a girl behind the counter in the entrance. The look she gave to Gabriel didn’t really please Sam.

“Bonjour Madame Patel,” replied Gabriel with a perfect accent, “ce sera pour une table de quatre s’il-vous-plaît.”

“Bien sûr, suivez moi” said the girl before leading them in a quieter place, aside the main room. “Installez vous, je vous en prie. Je vous apporte les cartes dans un instant.” she added before going back to the entrance.

“She’s bringing us the menu” said Gabriel as he waved sit down to the others.

The girl came back quickly, and the Winchester brothers got confronted to a big problem : they didn’t get one single word in French. Castiel laughed at how cute Dean looked trying to figure out what all these strange words could be, and he took the responsibility to translate for him.

“Wait. You speak French ?” asked Dean with surprise.

« Have you seen my family ? Of course I speak French. We had to learn everything that looked fancy to our parents" said Cas shrugging.

Dean had his own boyfriend-translator, but Sam on the other hand was still wondering what a “viande bovine française” could possibly be. He shivered as he felt a soft hand on his own.

“Come here Gigantor, I’ll translate for you” said Gabriel with a soothing smile and an incredibly soft voice.

Sam let Gabriel translate every dish on the menu, and even after he had made his choice he let Gabriel continue so he could hear his voice longer. After a few minutes the waitress came back.

“Vous avez choisi ?” asked her.

“Ce sera des carbonara pour moi et une pizza carnivore pour mon mari” said Cas with a huge smile knowing that Dean wouldn’t understand. But Gabriel did, and the look he gave Castiel made his brother lose all sense of phlegm and laugh.

“Mon ami prendra des lasagnes et je vous prendrai une pizzaiolo, merci” finished Gabriel, trying not to laugh too hard seeing Castiel’s face and the two understanding faces of the Winchesters.

“Et pour les boissons ?” asked the waitress again.

“What do you wanna drink, boys ?” translated Gabriel.

After a short concertation they ordered a bottle of red wine.

The meal was delicious, the dishes as much as the desserts. They ordered another bottle of wine, so the conversation became more and more opened. Gabriel didn’t drink that much so he was sure he could drive the three others back home. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that Castiel and the Winchesters were a bit tipsy. Well, more than a bit. Dean and Cas were both quite eager to be be alone, and Gabriel and Sam knew what they were about to do when they saw them running to their room.

“Good news for you : you won’t leave early tomorrow !” laughed Gabriel, not seeing the insistent look Sam gave him. Not Sam : the alcohol. But maybe Sam too. A bit. Who knows.

“Want another glass of wine before sleeping ?” asked Gabriel while taking a bottle and two glasses. He had only drunk one glass at the restaurant. He usually wasn’t this responsible. He didn’t wait for Sam to answer and gave him a glass anyway. Sam opened his eyes wide as he tasted the best wine he’d ever tasted.

“That’s… delicious !” Sam didn’t really know which words to use to describe it.

“Yup. ‘Thought it’ll be a good one” said Gabriel, drinking slowly.

“Wait…” Sam blocked as he read the label on the bottle. “It’s… It’s a Saint-Émilion 1990.”

“Yep. As good as it should be.”

Sam was confused. It wasn’t the type of bottle you open in your kitchen by midnight. His thoughts were interrupted as Gabriel refilled his glass.

“So tell me Sammy-boy… What went wrong that Dean and Cas forced you to come with them ?” asked Gabriel.

“My girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend.” Sam didn’t actually meant to say the truth, but speaking to Gabe was easy, so he let the wall he had built in his head fall down and let his heart speak for itself. “It was a Friday night. I remember very well, I had just finished my exams. I knew Brady and Jessica had seen each other a few times, but as a dumbass I thought they were studying, not…” Sam drank a bit before going on, and the understanding look Gabriel gave him warmed his heart. “Anyway. I came back home -cause we lived together- and when I opened the door I heard some… noises from the bedroom if you know what I mean. So I went straight there, not really knowing what I’ll see, and then I saw Jess riding Brady like she had never done with me.”

“Damn…” said Gabriel with concern as he emptied the bottle before opening another.

“Yes… Brady saw me and he didn’t even try to pretend… Anything. He just smiled at me while my girlfriend was coming on him. I left immediately and I went to Dean and Cas’ flat. Not really the best day of my life.” Sam whispered the last words, lost in his thoughts. He couldn’t help but think about what Castiel said to him in the plane about Gabriel. Right now he really wanted to know what happened for him to run away to France. It was confession time, right ? And the alcool had ripped every buffer he might have anyway. “What happened that you got expelled from university and came to live here the next day ?”

Gabriel gritted his teeth. It wasn’t his best memory, but the puppy look Sam gave him was the key to the padlock of his jaw.

“I had a boyfriend. At first it was great and everything but… Well… He always wanted more. And I thought I loved him and everything and I didn’t want to loose him so I gave him everything he wanted ���til he went too far. I tried to… you know… say no to him but… well… it didn’t please him. I had to defend myself.” Gabriel fled Sam’s eyes, fearing a judgmental look, but the only thing he felt was a soothing squeeze on his hand. “We both got hurt in the fight. Unfortunately his family was a hundred percent behind him and mine had left me the second they knew I was gay. He went to the headmaster to complain with a big cheque in his pocket and the second after I was expelled. I called my parents for help but  they didn’t answer, so I packed my things and left. I came to France because it was the only place that I remembered which felt like home, even if I had just been there for a few weeks before. I discovered that my awesome father had blocked all my bank accounts when I went to the airport. Castiel helped me. He ran after me and when he figured out that I wouldn’t come back he gave me enough money to live for a few weeks and wished me good luck. He’d always been my number one support.”

Sam couldn’t help the forward thrust that made him hug Gabriel. It felt good having him in his arms and feeling him leaning to rest his head on his chest. Gabriel didn’t even remember the last time someone hugged him this way, with an infinite concern and an obvious will to make him feel better. He hugged Sam back, surrounding Sam with his arms as Sam’s surrounded his waist. They remained like this for what felt like eternity, resting against one another’s chest as their heartbeats seemed to synchronize. They both enjoyed the moment until they felt that they couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore. They both headed upstairs, not really paying attention to their uncommon proximity in the large stairs. Gabriel opened Sam’s door and wished him a good night. He couldn’t help his hand to squeeze Sam’s arm one more time, and when Sam finally closed his door Gabriel was way too overthinking to sleep. He got back to his office and managed to put his many files into order until he felt down on his couch as the sun was showing up.

***

“Why on earth are you sleeping here, Gabriel ?”

Cas’ voice made Gabriel jump on his feet with surprise.

“Why are you in my office anyway ?” asked Gabriel as he passed a hand on his sore back.

“Dean and Sam were wondering where you could possibly be and I didn’t mind entering your personal space. But you didn’t answer my question : why are you here ? I thought we had talked about this. If you do want to feel better you have to mind having a healthier lifestyle. That,” he pointed the couch and Gabriel’s zombie-face, “is not what I call healthy. So tell me what happened. You know I can hear anything.”

“Why are you this concerned about me…” mumbled Gabriel with a grumpy tone.

“Because you’re not concerned about yourself and someone has to. So tell me.”

Gabriel had no way out. If he managed to leave his office -Cas being in front of the door- he knew his brother would pursue him and he didn’t want him to make a fuss in front of the Winchesters.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was overthinking so I came here to work a bit and then I fell asleep. Cross my heart.” Gabriel knew that his brother knew he wasn’t telling him everything. He could see the spark in his eyes.

“Ok…” Castiel turned around to go back to the kitchen, but he stopped a second before leaving. “I saw you with Sam yesterday. He’s someone good. If you want to talk about it I’m here.” Castiel eventually left, leaving Gabriel alone with his thoughts, not knowing if he should smile or run.

The day’s destination for the three tourists was Paris. Dean was the most enthusiastic of the three, running in every directions, asking some translations to Cas and trying to speak a few words in the most ridiculous yet cute way. Sam on the other hand had been at first impress by the city, but he quickly got tired of running everywhere. At the end of the day Cas and Dean decided to stay in town in the greatest hotel Cas found -he refused to let Dean pay a single thing- but Sam refused to stay with them, pleading that he preferred going back home. Cas wanted to argue but Dean stopped him, thanking his brother for letting him and his boyfriend alone, knowing that Sam truly didn’t mind going back to Gabriel’s house.

Back in the villa, Sam took some stuff to eat and started to look at the many shelves in the living room which were bending under the weight of hundreds of books. Lost in his contemplation he didn’t notice Gabriel, who was looking intensely at him.

“I thought you guys wanted to stay in Paris tonight” said Gabriel.

Sam jumped, not expecting Gabriel to be here, wondering since how long he was staring.

“Dean and Cas staid. I was too tired to visit Paris one more day. And they didn’t need me by their side” finished Sam, laughing softly.

Damn… Thought Gabriel as he heard Sam’s laugh, feeling shivers on his back.

“I hope it doesn’t bother you, you know… Having me wandering here” asked Sam with hesitation.

“Why the hell do you think your presence doesn’t please me ?” Gabriel froze as he realized what his sentence could possibly mean. Of course he liked having the Winchester around, it felt reassuring to know that he wasn’t far away, and the hug from yesterday night had been the best thing that happened in his life for months. Yet he didn’t know how to feel about it. Sam was tall and handsome and clever and everything but Gabriel had some serious trust issues. And nothing had proved him yet that he was also interested in male, what was one of his biggest problem with all this frigging kind-of-relationship-or-he-didn’t-know-what thing. And he didn’t even know if ‘relationship’ was the word to use. He was just desperate, all alone in a villa he ordered only to prove his parents he could have a big one too, but the reality was : he hated this house. It was too big, too empty. There were five rooms upstairs but he spent most of his time surviving in his office. Castiel and the two Winchester brothers had been his very first guests here. Of course he had tried to follow Castiel advise, which was to find someone with whom he felt good, but he never found someone like that. Well, until he laid his eyes on this giant who showed up at the entrance of his office to ask for a glass of water.

“Gabriel ? You’re ok man ?” Gabe heard Sam’s voice calling him and he realized that he’d been lost in his thoughts for a while

“Would you like to come with me to Bretagne ? I got some stuff to do for work in Brest, but then I could make you visit the city” asked Gabriel without really realizing what he was doing, but it was too late to pull out the invitation.

Sam first thought he had miss-heard. There was no way that Gabe invited him to come with him to Bretagne where there would possibly be only the two of them and… “Sure, it would be great !” Sam heard himself say, wondering if he was still alone in his head or if someone just took the control of his mouth.

“Great…” Gabriel replied, not knowing why his stomach was flipping that much. “But we gotta leave like in three hours, it’ll be ok for you ?”

“Sure, I haven’t unpacked much things” Sam replied, feeling both awkward and restless about the whole situation.

“Don’t mind bearing your suitcase outside, Antony will put them in the car for us.”

They both stood in the living room, not really knowing what to do.

“Maybe I should tell Dean and Cas that we’re going to Brest together while you pack your stuff,” managed to say Gabriel, tearing himself off Sam’s eyes, pretending that his phone was in his office even though he perfectly knew it was in his pocket.

Chapter 2