archangel-with-a-shotgun:

Oh my God, thank you!! You’re so sweet! I’ll definitely do
my best, and I hope you enjoy this Sabriel piece!

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It was something minor. Something so pathetically and
stupidly small. But it had been
enough, apparently.

Gabriel accidentally sliced his finger chopping up carrots
for dinner.

The moment the metal blade cut across the expanse of his
forefinger, Gabriel yelped and dropped the knife with a wild flinch, wrapping
his uninjured hand around his fist.

His eyes went wide at the large glop of dark blood that
pooled around the wound before it streamed down his finger. Gabriel’s eyes
followed the river of red as it trailed down between his knuckles and slipped
down the back of his hand, completely entranced in his terror.

“Oh crap, are you
alright?”

Gabriel sucked in a shivering gasp at the sudden appearance
and touch of Sam’s hand curling around his own, and he wrenched his eyes away
from the blood to gape at the hunter. Sam spared Gabriel’s wounded finger a
second of concerned attention before Sam muttered a quiet “c’mon” and pulled
Gabriel over to the sink.

“It looks worse than it actually is,” Sam assured, twisting
on the tap water to a lukewarm temperature and gently pulling Gabriel’s finger
underneath the running water. Gabriel’s eyes widened further at the rush of
blood washing from his finger and melting into the clear water, turning it a
translucent red against the pale sink floor.

Once the blood was adequately washed away and they could see
the light pink cut on Gabriel’s finger, Sam shut off the water and grabbed the
nearest dish towel to wrap around the digit.

“Keep pressure on that,” Sam instructed, not letting go of
the towel until Gabriel stiffly obeyed. “Let me get some bandages and something
to disinfect it. It’s kinda deep, but not bad enough to need stitches.”

Sam gave Gabriel a soft smile before quickly departing in
the direction of the bathroom, leaving Gabriel standing in the middle of the
kitchen and clutching the towel fiercely around his finger. Gabriel swallowed
roughly as he slid his gaze back down to his wrapped finger, his body twitching
with every maddening pulse his finger gave off.

He couldn’t believe this. Gabriel could not believe this. It seemed that he could
not go one day without being thoroughly reminded that he was newly human now,
and as such was apparently prone to easy accidents. Cuts, bruises, fractures,
sprains, gashes, anything that could happen did happen to Gabriel.

Especially once he enlisted on hunts with the Winchesters
and Castiel.

Hunting the human way was, while incredibly tedious and
slow, soothing to Gabriel in a sick sense. Every pain and ache he received was
a result of action, of actually doing something to dispel of a monster of ghost
or demon.

Even when his abdomen was nearly shredded apart a few months
ago during a werewolf case, leading to being confined to his bed as a result of
Sam’s irritating insistence and concern, Gabriel believed himself no stranger
to life-threatening pain. It came with being a human, and it definitely came
with being a hunter. That, he could take. That, he could stomach.

Gabriel couldn’t stomach this.

Losing blood in such a rapid fashion, feeling this much pain, from a damned slice on
his finger?

Seeing his mortality flash before his eyes from the trivial
task of preparing dinner?

Gabriel felt a burn sweep across his eyes before his vision
suddenly blurred. His blood ran through his veins with prickling ice, and his
chest tightened with a heavy pressure weighing down his lungs. Gabriel’s eyes
widened and he snapped his uninjured hand to curl over his rapidly beating
heart, his fingers coiling fiercely in his shirt. His throat went dry and closed
up, and he began to suck in panicked, wet breaths as tears flooded down his cheeks.
Gabriel gasped, hissing out terrified sobs as he hunched forward into himself.

“Crap. Gabriel.
Hey, hey, hey, shh, shh, shhhhhh.”

Sam materialized before him, his worried expression pinched
deep into his features, and Gabriel’s eyes widened in the desperate plea that
his voice wouldn’t allow him to say.

“Okay, okay, breathe, Gabriel,” Sam whispered.

Sam’s soothing voice was a calm prodding through the storm
of Gabriel’s mind. Vaguely, Gabriel felt Sam’s hand slide underneath the one
Gabriel had resting on his chest and pull until Gabriel’s hand was firmly splayed
across the expanse of Sam’s chest. Sucking in a sharp breath, Gabriel snapped
his gaze up to meet Sam’s. The hunter smiled gently, encouragingly, and Sam
placed his free hand on Gabriel’s chest.

Before Gabriel could even think about attempting to ask, Sam
caught his eye and gave an exaggerated inhale. Gabriel felt Sam’s chest inflate
easily with air, while his own pulsed with uneven jolts.

“Breathe,” Sam instructed, taking in another large breath. “Match
your breaths with mine. C’mon. Breathe.”

Gabriel obeyed. He whimpered and gasped and fought as hard
as he could to take in sufficient, deep breaths, palming Sam’s chest
desperately. But he kept his wide eyes locked on Sam’s, losing himself deep in
the rush of hazel and green speckled with gold…

Gabriel’s throat began to open up, and he felt a flash of air
punch through his throat and into his lungs. Sam’s smile grew.

“That’s it, keep breathing,” Sam whispered.

Gabriel shakily released the air and started again, focusing
entirely on making his lungs work and on Sam’s captivating eyes. Soon enough,
Gabriel felt his muddled mind become clearer, his wracking shakes ease down to
trembles, and he was breathing.
Glorious air was rushing into his lungs and his gasps dissipated into large
inhales and exhales as he finally met Sam’s pace.

Taking note of this, Sam moved his hand to slide from
Gabriel’s chest to rest against Gabriel’s upper back, and the man was pulling
Gabriel to him. Gabriel, freshly exhausted, couldn’t do more to react to Sam’s
embrace than lean heavily into him. He closed his bloodshot eyes and shuddered
out another breath.

“I got you,” Sam muttered, turning his face into Gabriel’s
golden hair, and Gabriel swore he felt the air disappear once more from his
lungs as Sam’s lips pressed against his ear. “I got you.”

Gabriel shook and pressed his mouth to Sam’s clothed
shoulder, shutting his eyes tight. He wanted to say something, to thank Sam for
being here, to ask what the kiss meant, something.

But his finger suddenly gave a wild throb between their
abdomens, reminding Gabriel of the catalyst that brought them here, and Gabriel
couldn’t stifle the tiny yelp or flinch he gave.

This sprung Sam into action as the hunter suddenly
remembered what had occurred moments prior. The hunter quickly stamped another
kiss to Gabriel’s temple before moving away to grab the bandages and alcohol he
had abandoned on the kitchen table, completely oblivious to the way the former
archangel physically stumbled back from that simple action.

“We’re gonna have to make a run for more first aid supplies,”
Sam remarked apologetically.

He reached carefully for Gabriel’s hand, gently wiping away the
small beads of blood that gathered around the wound. Gabriel stiffened at the
now dull ache that erupted from the cut, but patiently watched Sam clean his
injury before grabbed the bottle of alcohol and upending it into a clean rag.

“This is gonna sting a little,” Sam warned.

Gabriel nodded and braced himself but he still gave off a
wild flinch, the sting of the alcohol slicing through the ache of his open
wound. Gabriel’s hand shot out and grabbed Sam’s bicep.

“Sorry,” Sam muttered, pressing the rag a little tighter
against the cut.

A low groan growled out of Gabriel’s sore throat, and he
blinked harshly as tiny reminders pricked at his mind of his newfound weakness.

“Stupid, this is stupid,”
Gabriel hissed, closing his eyes when he could feel the burn of tears return. “I
can’t be this weak.”

“You’re not weak, Gabriel,” Sam shook his head, dabbing the
rag tenderly along the finger. “You’re just… This isn’t something that you can
just get used to. I grew up human; I don’t think about it. You… You’re taking
this much stronger than I’d imagine others would, and you’re surviving and
thriving as best as you can. Can hardly call that weak.”

Gabriel opened his mouth. Whether to retort or make a
wisecrack or just to insult Sam, he didn’t know, and he didn’t find out; he
snapped his jaw shut with a defeated sigh.

Sam hummed lowly as he wrapped the bandage around Gabriel’s
finger. “And… you don’t have to be alone in this. I may not fully understand
what you’re going through, but if you’re suffering or if you need to fall apart…
I wanna help.”

Gabriel didn’t say anything in response to that but he
tightened his jaw and nodded all the same, ducking his head low as Sam finished
wrapped his finger. The hunter silently gathered all the materials as Gabriel
leaned against the edge of the table, staring hopelessly at the floor.

“… I’m not getting my powers back, am I?” Gabriel asked
quietly.

It was meek and damn near fragile, the way his voice sounded
as he asked Sam the question. Gone was the vibrating thrum of invincibility inside
his chest, now replaced with a beating heart ticking away the seconds of his
life. Gone was the immortality, replaced with a painful, bleeding finger. He
had tried to avoid thinking about it, not wanting to consider the possibility that
he would remain human for good.

Gabriel couldn’t help but think about it now.

Sam pressed his lips together in a tight line. The man threw
the bloody rag away and replaced the alcohol on the kitchen table.

“What can I do to help?” Sam asked simply.

Gabriel shivered. The terror and panic of earlier was gone.
There was only exhaustion and crushing sorrow in its wake. Gabriel sniffed and
glanced up.

“Um… maybe what you did earlier? That… That seemed to help,”
Gabriel replied, his voice trailing off with a fierce tremble.

Sam nodded and grabbed Gabriel’s unwrapped hand to press up
against Sam’s chest once more. Sam curled his hand around Gabriel’s and secured
his other arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, pulling him close and locking their
joined hands between their bodies. Gabriel swallowed thickly and burrowed
himself into the safety of Sam’s embrace, biting down on his bottom lip and
snaking his free arm around Sam’s torso.

“Breathe,” Sam whispered, and Gabriel leaned into the
contact this time as Sam’s lips pressed a lingering kiss to Gabriel’s cheek,
and then another one to the corner of Gabriel’s mouth. Gabriel closed his eyes.
“Just breathe.”