Gabriel honestly had no idea where they were going. It's been almost two days since they left Sioux Falls on some road trip that Sam said was 'important to take,' whatever the hell that meant. Gabriel quite enjoyed it though, despite the way he often complained to Sam that his ass was falling asleep and he should kiss it to make it feel better. 

Sam, on the other hand, was generally quiet the entire time, only talking about the traffic or the crappy conditions of the motel that they had spent the night in. It worried Gabriel, but he wouldn't ask until they reached their destination. The soft music humming through the radio was nice, and he found himself dozing, letting his head rest against the window.

A slight push on his arm had him stirring awake, and he found himself staring at a very familiar road, one he hadn't seen in almost a year.

"Sam?" Gabriel said, his voice slightly scratchy from a sudden rush of emotion, "Why are we in New Orleans?"

"I wanted you to come home before we go to college, maybe visit your parents..." Sam trailed off, his voice timid like he was scared of Gabriel's reaction. The awkward silence lengthened into several seconds until Gabriel felt tears well in his eyes.

"Thank you, Sam," Gabriel whispered, for once at a loss to what he should say to show his gratitude. His chest felt full and heavy, but light at the same time, and suddenly, the jerk in his stomach made sense.

"It's not a problem, Gabe," Sam replied, turning his eyes back to the road as the stoplight turned green. Gabriel stayed quiet, watching his old home city pass by with an almost passive look on his face. He was anything but calm, though, a rush of emotion going through his body with each building he recognized until tears were tracking his cheeks and soft sniffles were leaving him. Sam didn't comment, but when they pulled up to the cemetery, he put the car in park before taking Gabriel's arm, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Sam asked softly, but Gabriel shook his head. He couldn't do it if Sam was there, and by the way Sam pulled back and cupped his cheek, giving him a warm smile, he understood.

"I'll wait here then. Take your time," Sam stated, turning off the car and unlocking the door so Gabriel could get out. Gabriel nodded, pulling at the hem of his shirt almost nervously as he got out. With slow steps, he crossed under the gate that separated the cemetery from the rest of the world.

His parents' tombstones were in the middle of the cemetery, placed beside each other with simple, plain stones to mark their place. Gabriel felt his chest tighten, guilt crossing his features when he realized that he hadn't even been able to attend the funeral before he had been whisked away by the Witness Protection Program.

He collapsed to his knees, touching his mother's tombstone gently with his hand as if it were the most precious and fragile thing, "H-hi, Mom," Gabriel started, a slight tremor in his voice as he looked from it to his father's tombstone, swallowing hard before continuing, "Hi, Dad."

He wasn't sure what else he was supposed to say, but he got into a comfortable position with his legs crossed, staring at their names inscribed on the stone before letting his gaze flick down to the fresh flowers that decorated them. Maybe it had been his uncle that had put them there, or even his grandmother.

"I'm safe now," Gabriel finally said, and it felt like a blessing to do so. It had never sunk in that he was safe, that he didn't have to keep glancing over his shoulder for his parents' murderer. Now that he was home, though, sitting in front of his parents' graves...it was an eye opener.

"I live with this great man. His name is Castiel, and he's dating the weirdest guy I've ever met," Gabriel continued, not really sure where he was going with his words, but feeling the need to tell his parents everything they had missed in his life, "Dean loves milk, but he won't drink it because it's too gay, whatever that means. He's dating a guy. He's gay. I don't understand his logic sometimes, but...he saved my life, so I guess I can forgive his flaws. He's also really nice, and he loves Castiel, who's the nicest person I know, so he can't be too bad."

He took a breath, looking around before turning his eyes to the sky above. It was strange. So many movies and books had always said that it rains when you visit a graveyard to see someone special, but the sky was as clear as could be, a single fluffy cloud moving across the blue at a lazy pace. Symbolism never really did belong in real life, he guessed.

"Dean has a brother. His name is Sam, and he's my best friend and boyfriend," Gabriel said, smiling softly at the mention of Sam, "He's the one that drove me here. That's such a sweet thing, right? I never really thought about it before today, but he's always doing nice things for me, even if he does act like an angry moose, sometimes."

He stopped, patting his mother's tombstone as he began to cry, though his smile couldn't be diminished, "Do you think six months is too early to know you're in love, Mom? I know you got married to Dad after just a year of dating, but when did you know that he was the one? I think I love him, maybe I always have, but there's this little feeling in my chest that's been there ever since he carried me back to his house after he found me sleepwalking. I hope it's love because I never want it to go away."

Gabriel fell silent after that, staring and thinking, letting his gaze trace each letter on the tombstones. It felt as if he just let out a huge secret, and his heart was pounding in excitement. When he looked towards the gate, he felt a pull, and he gave his parents a small farewell, and a promise to visit when he could, before picking himself up off the ground and heading towards the car where Sam was waiting.

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

They were walking into the motel, silence stretching between them as they set their duffle bags on the table. Sam had respected Gabriel's lack of conversation after he got back, merely giving him small smiles and comforting touches on his shoulders and arms when he passed. After such a touch, Gabriel watched Sam's retreating back as he headed to the bathroom, a sudden, overwhelming urge to speak surging through him.

"I love you, and I don't know what to do about it," Gabriel said, his face flushing red when Sam stopped in place, looking back at Gabriel and giving him another warm smile.

"I showed you mine by driving you all the way to New Orleans," Sam answered before heading to the bathroom and letting the door close behind him with a soft click. Gabriel stared at the slab of wood before moving over to his bed in a slight daze, a little confused on how easy that actually was. 

It wasn't until Sam came out of the bathroom, hair freshly washed and being toweled off that Gabriel spoke again, "I wasn't kidding," Gabriel stated, staring at Sam unabashedly as he searched his duffle for a shirt, pants already pulled low across his hips.

"Good. I didn't want you to be kidding," Sam replied, finally finding a t-shirt and pulling it over his head before tossing the towel onto the end of his bed before sitting down on the side, facing Gabriel with a warm look on his face.

Gabriel huffed, lying down and staring at him, pulling his pillow close enough to cuddle it, "Are you not gonna tell me you love me too?" Gabriel asked.

Sam arched an eyebrow, his lips twitching with laughter, "So pushy. I love you, too," He replied, getting up and pulling back the covers on his bed.

"Say it like you mean it, you little shit," Gabriel growled, mock anger in his voice.

"God. I love you too, you fucking asshole," Sam retorted, though his cheeks were tinted red. Gabriel nodded, satisfied with that, and flipped over, scooting to the edge farthest from Sam and pulling the covers down so there was an obvious space that Sam could climb into.

Sam's warm body pressed against his and he sighed contently, scooting backward until they were pressed flushed together. He closed his eyes, lulled by the soothing stroke of Sam's thumb on his waist. A soft kiss was pressed to his temple before the lamplight flicked off and they were surrounded by darkness.

He couldn't imagine loving anyone more than he did Sam.