Gabriel is awake long before Castiel comes into the room, his fingers clutching Sam's shirt and his nose pressed to his collarbone. The cloth underneath his cheek is soaked with tears, and he feels even more exhausted than he ever thought could be possible, his movements sluggish as he heard the soft creak of his door being opened, and Castiel's sad eyes meeting his dead gaze.

"Gabriel."

Gabriel knew that tone of voice, and he felt more tears well up all over again, stinging the back of his eyes as he twisted back to Sam, a whimper leaving him as the taller teen slowly stroked his side. He was out of time.

"I know," He whimpered out, his chest feeling heavy as Sam helped him sit up, his large hands the only thing seeming to keep Gabriel upright. The soft click of the door let him know that Castiel had closed it to give them some privacy, and Gabriel took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Sam's neck, pulling himself into his lap and debating on whether or not he could ever let go.

"I'll help you pack," Sam offered, and Gabriel was just glad that someone felt as hurt as he did about this. He sniffled, nodding against Sam's shoulder before he pulled back, appreciating when Sam's thumb swiped gently along his cheek, erasing the fresh trail of tears.

There wasn't much more to pack, all of it fitting neatly into the two boxes. Gabriel cleaned out the last of his drawers, stopping when his hands found Sam's clothes, the ones that he had loaned him after the snow day. He didn't even realize he was crying again, pulling the shirt to his nose and letting out a soft sob, Sam's scent mixing with the cucumber of his mother's hoodie and just making him cry harder.

"It's okay, Gabe," Sam whispered, his arms wrapping around the smaller boy and pulling him close, letting him cry as he gently pets the top of his head, humming the first thing that came to his mind. Only a few minutes passed before Gabriel was pulling away, his heart thumping and reminding him of the passing time. With a slight sniffle, he held Sam's clothes out to him, returning them to him after so long.

Sam took the clothes gently and placed them in the box with the rest of Gabriel's clothes, closing it without a word.

A knock on the door and Castiel was coming in, his jaw tense as he looked at the both of them before sighing, rubbing his forehead. He moved to the first box, grabbing it gently in his hands and looking at the two of them, "We have only a few minutes before we need to go, Gabe," Castiel whispered, his eyes showing how hurt he actually was as he turned and left the room, giving Sam and Gabriel the last few minutes together.

Gabriel didn't even have a chance to say anything before Sam was hugging him way too tightly to breathe. He was crushed against a wall of chest, soft brushes of lips pressing into his hairline before he felt a dampness. He wriggled, whined a little and then when he could finally pull back, he was met with Sam crying, tears running down his face as he whimpered, words barely heard begging Gabriel not to go just reaching his ears.

Gabriel wiped the tears away, letting his hands rest on Sam's cheeks before leaning up and touching their lips together, keeping it as soft and gentle as possible, their tears mixing against their lips and leaving a slightly salty tang behind when they finally parted, an emptiness in both of them without each other's warmth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabriel felt emotionally numb, the airport shifting around him and Castiel like ants, a neverending stream of bustling crowds. Castiel had him by the elbow, barely a touch as he led him towards his plane's gate. A shoulder rammed into his back, making him stumble, but he merely shook his head, continued walking and looking at the approaching that held his ticket's number.

Something pressed against his back and he froze, feeling the rough and acrid breath of someone who drinks way too much way too often washing over him, "Say anything, and you die," A dark voice growled, and Gabriel's entire body seized, recognizing that voice as clear as day.

Castiel had stopped, staring at the man with a look of hatred, but unable to move or speak, presumably because whatever was pressed against Gabriel's back was something that could kill. With a shaky breath, he nearly screamed when a harsh hand clasped over his shoulder, pulling him back and turning him around, moving towards the airport exit. Castiel was motioned to walk in front of them, his shoulders tense enough that Gabriel could see his shoulder blades stuck out even under his hoodie.

The air is cold outside the airport, but the man doesn't dare move any further from Gabriel, hiding his weapon from other people's sight, "To the right," He grunts out, his fingertips digging in a little rougher into his shoulder, surely bruising the skin.

Castiel listens, a soft growl leaving him, but the man didn't comment, merely digging the weapon further into Gabriel's spine. He jerked, and the man let out a dark chuckle, leaving the building and Castiel's car behind.

They had walked for barely a mile before the man halted them, pulling them towards a building that Gabriel vaguely recognized. With a pang, he saw the playground, flashes of memories of playing with Sam at his family reunion going through his head. His throat clenched, tears starting to fall again, and he didn't get a chance to recover before he was being thrown to the floor onto his knees, Castiel joining him a moment later.

The man looked the same as he did nearly a year ago, dark hair and eyes with a salt and pepper beard. He wore the same leather jacket and gloves as last time, that condescending smile plastered on his face as he strode over to the wall, the gun in his hands kept on them the entire time.

"You know, I could go on and on about how I searched to find you, but honestly, I'm pissed that it took more than six months," The man said, grabbing that devilish weapon leaning against the wall that had a phantom pain searing through Gabriel's scar on his shoulder. He reached toward it on instinct, freezing when he saw the man smirk, pulling the baseball bat onto his shoulder.

"Got you good, last time. Don't worry, you'll only feel the pain for a moment this time," The man growled, the barbed wire stretched around the baseball bat sparkling dangerously as he pointed it towards Gabriel, pain reaching through his scalp as he just barely tapped it on the top of Gabriel's head.

"Thanks for the warm-up, by the way. Haven't really done this in a while," The man hissed with a delighted grin across his face, giving Gabriel only a moment to realize what he meant before he was swinging, the edge of the bat aiming right towards Castiel's face.

"No!" Gabriel shouted, tackling the man. They crashed to the ground, and Gabriel didn't get a chance to see if Castiel had made it before sharp pain erupted along his back, the barbed wires dragging across his clothes and skin and ripping them open. He let out a cry of pain, pushing away from the man, and barely having a moment to look up before the man was scrambling up, murder in his eyes.

Castiel was there, blood pouring from a spot on his cheek, but looking otherwise unharmed as he grabbed the man, slamming him to the ground with rage in his eyes. He received a kick to his stomach, blood spattering from the wound in his cheek as he jerked, barely able to roll away when the bat came at his side, thudding onto the concrete of the floor with a cut going up his rib and the side of his back. Gabriel was up in an instant, rushing at the man while he was still down, his thumbs digging into the man's eyes with dark intent.

The man screamed, bucking Gabriel off of him and shoving his head onto the concrete, leaving him seeing stars for several moments. By the time he regained his bearings, the man was standing over him, the heel of his boot digging into the wound on his back and making him cry out.

"Later, kid," The man growled, bringing up his bat quickly, Gabriel only able to watch in pain as the wire glistened with blood, thirstily dripping. The man started to bring the bat down when a loud noise went off, a sudden silence filling the room. The man stopped in his place, confusion lighting up his gaze as he stumbled back, blood welling in his chest.

Gabriel barely had a chance to scramble away before he took in the sight of Dean standing in the doorway, a gun held tightly in his hand, his eyes holding nothing but cold rage. He squeezed the trigger, another shot going off, and Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut as he heard a body crumple to the ground, a dizziness rushing him all at once, the sound of sirens filling his ears as lights flashed from the open doorway.