( SHARING A DESSERT )

( CHAPTER TWO ! )

•
•
•

"Little brother, always the rebellious one. People might think you're looking up to our dear Lucy."

Every plan had a flaw. Nathaniel's plan wasn't perfect, to begin with, it was very dangerous. But the flaw of his plan came in the form of the most obnoxious angel to ever walk the earth and his name was Gabriel. The notorious archangel that was known by his wits, big mouth and questionable taste in humor.

Despite being shocked, Nathaniel's didn't even shift in the slightest; he continued to run his index finger around the edge of his cup, watching his fingers closely. He waited until Gabriel had taken the seat across from him and only then he raised his gaze to look him in the eye.

"How did you find me, brother?"

His face was neutral. Nathaniel held his cup of coffee with both hands and stared at his brother with a blank expression, trying to keep his curiosity at bay by trying to think about other things, like coffee. Living his life as a human, he realized that he was quite fond of coffee. Starting his day with a cup of coffee that was as dark as the farthest corners of hell was his favorite habit at the moment. He took a sip without taking his eyes off the archangel, proud of himself for not crumbling down the moment he had seen Gabriel.

"See, that is a wrong question. I've never lost track of you in the first place, Nathaniel."

The situation was worse than he had anticipated. This was bad. Gabriel wasn't here to just joke around or annoy him with all he got. He had this look in his eyes. He was not the Gabriel that liked to disguise himself as a trickster, he was not his usual careless prankster self. His jaw was clenched and he was deadly serious. That rarely ever happened, Nathaniel couldn't even remember the last time he had seen Gabriel like this. Maybe when their beloved brother fell? Or maybe it was the time when Gabriel decided to abandon heaven or maybe it was when Nathaniel wanted to follow his steps.

Regardless, Nathaniel felt some sort of pride knowing that Gabriel had cared enough to keep tabs on him even after all these decades. "I'm not in the mood to play your little games. Say whatever you want to say, and leave like you usually do."

Anyone would've trembled in fear under the gaze of the archangel, eyes narrowed and lips pressed tight against each other. His eyes had a fire in them and Nathaniel knew he had a lot to say to his taunting but was trying his best to hold back. He wasn't afraid of him because even he knew after everything that happened the two could never hurt each other. Only if there would've been enough love, only if they could feel love maybe they wouldn't have left each other.

Shifting in his seat, Gabriel let out a chuckle, returning to his mocking self a bit. "I came to warn you, Nate. The second seal is broken, the rise of the witnesses. While I'm slightly amazed by all your play here- by the way, how trickster of you to make a fool of that ape like this," At that Nathaniel frowned and rolled his eyes while leaning back against his chair. "what you're trying to do is dangerous. If Lucifer raises, let's face it, when Lucifer raises every being on this earth that is smart enough to want tolive will be all over those Winchesters. Don't get too close."

"And I do what you do? Ran and hide like a coward? I'm sick of that. I'm not much of a good soldier, you know that. I won't sit around and wait for orders, not even from you."

The rest was a staring contest for a minute. Nathaniel's hands were on lap and they were clenched with frustration and anger (and hurt?). Gabriel was not easy to read, behind his smirk Nathaniel could see the heat but the archangel did nothing to show his hidden emotions. "I know what this is about. You and your little mermaid syndrome, all fascinated with humanity and their fucked up world. But, Nathaniel, I'll be the first one to destroy your little game if things go south."

It wasn't a treat, it wasn't even menaning. It was just a promise, the way a brother tries to protect their siblings no matter what without asking for their opinion first. Nathaniel didn't have the time to respond, Gabriel was gone without leaving any signs that he was here in the first place.

His hands were shaking; it was odd how the human body reacted to emotions in different ways. He stared at his hands, placing them on to his kneecaps and squeezing enough to hurt a little. His fascination with the way the human body worked calmed him down and cleared his mind; exhaling a deep breath he continued to wait with his coffee in hand.

•

Dean Winchester was in a hurry.

Or he was trying to give that impression to Nathaniel as he stood by his table with his hands in his oversized black leather jacket that looked too worn out. His brows were drawn closer and a bit raised witj expectation as he waited for a response. Nathaniel could sense that as soon as he gave him one, he would be on his way.

The money stayed on the table as a reminder, Nathaniel didn't make an attempt to count it, hoping that it would show his trust. Instead, he picked his fork up and dived into his dessert as if he Dean wasn't there. The sweet taste was something he didn't enjoy that much but on occasion, along side with a bitter coffee, it was magical. Licking his lips, he returned his attention to the hunter. "Please, have a seat."

The impation on Dean's face had left its place to annoyance and confusion. "Look, I appericate your help the other day but I should get going-"

"Dean," Nathaniel cut him off coldly, his hand was tapping gently on the table now. "Dean, right? Trowing money on my table isn't a nice way to say thank you. I feel dirty now," he continued a playful smirk on his lips now.

His smile grew wider as he saw thw look of terror on Dean's face. His fragile masculanity was very amusing to Nathaniel, how shocked he seemed at the suggestion. The way he blushed could never make any sense to Nathaniel because as an angel he had never seen genders the way some part of the humanity did. Dean's motification at his subtle remark told a lot about the macho hunter but that blush on his frekled face was a differeny story.

Nathaniel took pity on the man and gestured once again to the chair. "Sit, please. I'd at least want to know th guy I helped. At least knowing that you're not a murderer or anything would help."

With a roll of his eyes, Dean was taking the chair across him. The hunter was restless the way he started to shake his şeg rytmically proved Nathaniel that he was nervous. "Look, man. I didn't want to come off as a jackass, you really did help me the other day. It's just... It's been a long day."

"You seem to have a lot of those long days."

"You're correct about that," Dean said with a sigh. Nathaniel raised a brow at that, taking another bite from his dessert. "I'm a cop. FBI agent and it's been a crayz couple of months so, yeah. Here goes the shady backstory."

Nathaniel chuckled at his exaggrated hand gestures and animated eye roll. He was a natural about his lie that Nathaniel would've bought it if he was an ordinary human. That being said, elder Winchester boy had a cocky attidute at might get on almost evrryone's nerves. Nathaniel could see why Sam Winchester was the one to sweet talk people yhat were on their way.

"Fair enough. Did something extra special happened to put you in this sour mood?"

Dean was starting to understand that it wasn't going to be easy to ditch Nathaniel. He settled back against his seat first, then leaned forward with his hands interlocked. He might be restless but he at least he wasn't shaking his leg. "Cases from my past was brought up. It's always a bitch to be reminded of your mistakes. People you didn't save and all," Dean spoke nonchalantly, his face was telling a different story. The way his lips were pursed, the way he looked away in shame told Nataniel the depths of his guilt. "Add some family drama on top and see if you can keep up a cheery mood."

Dean was doing that thing again, telling a lie by covering behind the truth. He must've been talking about the rise of the witnesses, family drama must've meant his brother. Deciding to do the same, Nathaniel smile with sympathy. "I saw my brother after a long time today. Fucking draning but I'll live. Tiramisu helps."

Nathaniel pointed at the dessert with his eyes and Dean followed his motion instantly. "I'm much of a pie guy."

It was funny how they started to debate on desserts out of all things. Nathaniel had logical argumants and facts about his case. "It's an italian phrase that can be transletad to 'pick me up', it lifts your soul up, appearently. I doubt that pie has any interesting facts about it." Dean was going for the emotional impact pie had on him. "It's better than most of the sex I had, I'm telling you." His argumants were a bit concerning.

It was an endless chain of arguments, leading Dean into sharing a few stories including pie and his brother. He was even smiling a bit here and there. Nathaniel was arguing just for the sake of it at that point, the natural flow of their conversation surprising them both.

"Just shut up and have a taste. I cannot believe you're talking agaist something you've never tasted before."

With that Nathaniel was basically forcing the fork inside Dean's mouth, the metal clashing with his teeth briefly. Dean's eyes went wide with surprie but parted his lips once he saw that Nathaniel would't back up. "What do you think?"

"It's... diffrent that I thought it would be. Is there coffee in it?"

"Yeah. Sometimes they wet the cake with alcohol too. More?"

He didn't wait for a response as he fed another large bite to the hunter, the color was returning to his cheeks.

After finishing his bite, Dean leaned back, probably to get away from another attack of Tiramisu. He licked his lips because he had a bit smeared on his face from Nathaniel sneak attempt. Nathaniel followed the motion with his eyes, making Dean self-aware off the actions that led him into stopping and looking away.

"You've some cream on your- here let me," Nataniel said without waiting for a response. And yet again Dean was dumbstruck as Nathaniel brushed the corner of his lips with his thumb and Nathaniel was sure he was about to have a nervous break down as he licked his thumb clean with a swift motion.

It was an action based on impulse. Looking back at it Nathaniel could see the intimacy in that movement and all the possible meaning besides it. However, as he shrugged and let out a faint 'what' he was confused for real.

Dean shook his head in disbelief, making Nathaniel even more confused than he was with stare innocent as a child who had done something wrong without knowing the outcome. "You really don't understand the concept of boundaries huh?"

To a degree, Nathaniel did, to a point he was playing Dean and partly he was just too caught up with the human.

The two made small talk over coffee, at some point an apple pie was ordered as well. When it was time to part ways (it was time because Dean was starting to want to stay) there was no promise of a next time. The want was clear in Dean's eyes, in the way his greens sparkled and in the way his hand lingered too long in Nathaniel's as they were saying goodbye. The reason behind that want was unclear but it was not hard to guess. Someone who had been trying to carry the world on his shoulders, someone that went through hell, quite literally, was someone who ached for another in order to forget. Dean was in search for someone to trust and the path his brother was taking was leading him straight to Nathaniel.

So when they parted ways there was no spoken agreement of a next time but Nathaniel was sure. At least he was sure that he would do whatever it would take.

.

( AUTHOR'S NOTE )

this is set between ep 2 and 3. as you can see canon storyline will just be in the background for now. (btw i  just love gabriel so much & you'll see more of him in the future.)

and ugh nathaniel is just a precious little mermaid to me, a bit cunning and manipulative than ariel tho. im still conflicted about the way i write about dean bc he is very hard to read sometimes. this is how i see his character, i guess. a man who tries to act tough and macho but inside he just want affection. especially after hell & the drama with sam and not being able to trust anyone. he wants to trust someone and it might be nathan right? ;)

dedicated to tcmhollxnd  bc SHE ACTUALLY MADE GIFS FOR THIS STORY IM SO??? EMOTIONAL??? they are beautiful and motivated me a lot. and also she is an amazing person ugh thank you so much!

anyways, the other thing that motivates me is feedback! let me know what you think xx