Apocalypse World. Gabriel, Y/n, Sam, Dean, Cas, and the rest of the gang all meet up at the camp after arriving in the alternate universe. 

Word Count: 2.8k+

A/N: Some bad angst 

[Gabriel’s POV]

I kissed her cheek, getting close to her ear.

“I’ll be back soon, just need some time alone.”

I disappeared into the darkness of the wilderness with Y/n’s eyes on me until she couldn’t see my figure anymore. My feet keep walking until I hit a small clearing and I take a moment to gather myself.

“I know you’re alive you son of a bitch,” I mumble, closing my eyes. In all of my existence, I don’t think I’ve done anything this absurd.

Nothing happens. Mother Nature sends a powerful gust of wind through the trees, sending some fallen leaves flying. This is stupid. There’s no way that he’s still alive.

“Hello there, handsome,” a familiar voice purrs from behind me.

It takes everything in me not to laugh. I carefully spin around to face the man I’d been calling for.

“You’re not surprised to see me?” I inquire, peering curiously at my universal counterpart.

Alternate universe me shakes his head, shrugging.

“I know what’s been happening. As soon as you and your friends entered the world I knew. We’ve always been more of watchers than fighters, Gabriel.”

“What I am surprised about, though, is how we’ve kept the same vessels. We have good taste.”

This man is me in every sense of the word.

“So,” Au Gabriel crosses his arms and leans against a tree behind him, “What can I help my favorite archangel with?”

Despite how cocky he’s being, I know myself, and he seems broken.

“What happened to Y/n?”

The question seems to completely stun my counterpart. He opens his mouth to speak but immediately closes it. I had hit a rough spot.

Au Gabriel breathes in deeply and sighs. The shine in his eyes dissipates into remembrance and longing whilst his stance against the tree slacks back in defeat.

“She… she was killed a year ago by one of Michael’s angels.”

Somehow, I just knew. Maybe it is the fact that Y/n is the reason I fight for everything and other me seems to not want to fight for anything. Or maybe because we’re connected, him and I. Either way, he’d lost the most precious thing to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“I saw her with you when you guys arrived. She’s lookin’ good.” Au Gabriel smirks, teasing with a wiggle of his brows.

I chuckle lightly. “Hey, watch it.”

We stand in a slightly uncomfortable silence, mulling over the other’s expressions.

“What do you really want, though?“

I sigh. Of course he’s going to pull it out of me.

“I need your help. I know your Y/n is gone and that’s why you refuse to offer them anything but these people need you. My Y/n needs both of us.”

I can tell he’s contemplating. If I were in his position, I don’t know what I’d do. Without Y/n I’d be in a lot worse shape then him, but then again, this whole cockiness is only an outward act.

His lip quirks in concentration.

“What kind of help are you looking for?”

–

[Your POV]

You glance around inconspicuously for your boyfriend. It’s only in your nature as a hunter for you to be a little worried.

As you nod at something Sam says to Dean, you feel a hand on your waist.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Gabriel whispers, placing his other hand on your other hip. His body nuzzles against yours and you can’t help wishing for a room or something.

“We’ve got the whole forest. Choose a tree,” the archangel grins mischievously behind you, pressing a chaste kiss to the base of your neck.

“Maybe later, Gabe. Right now they’re trying to discuss the plan on Michael.”

Gabriel’s arms tense at the sound of his brother’s name.

“Anything yet as far as a plan?”

You shrug. Honestly, you hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation.

“Not sure. I was too worried about you.”

Gabriel’s fingers dance around the hem of your shirt, playing with the fabric.

You gently turn in his arms to face him.

“You’re distracting me, angel. I’ve hardly listened to anything they’ve said.”

His lips tug into a small smirk.

“Let me be your distraction.”

Your lips slowly meet his in a searing kiss. One of his hands transfers to your cheek and the other lifts your chin up the slightest bit.

Kissing Gabriel even now feels like it’s the first time. You still get butterflies and try to map out your favorite parts of him. It just reminds you of how you have to savor every second with him.

The sound of a door creaking open behind you causes you to quickly pull away. Gabriel holds you loosely as you turn to see what the noise is.

A small group of people file out the building. Ragged clothes cover most of their bodies, they’re all armed with various knives and guns that poke out from hidden places.They’re all from this universe and Bobby is leading them toward you and the rest of the people from your dimension.

Bobby clears his throat, eyeing Gabriel, Lucifer and Cas suspiciously. The people here still aren’t used to angels being helpful.

“We’ve discussed the idea and we’re in. Let’s get out of this hellhole,” the old man announces, motioning for his highest ranked members to let everyone else in the camp know.

You cautiously turn to gauge the Winchester’s reactions. They share a look and Dean speaks up.

“Alright, we need transportation.”

–

You trot over from Castiel to Gabriel, who’s perched on the edge of an up-facing log. His expression seems slightly grim but it’s hard to tell if it’s anything serious.

“How’s it going,” you whisper, nearing the archangel and placing a hand on his back.

He gazes up at you, eyes sparkling gold from the sun’s reflection. You’ve known him for so long that you can tell something seems off.

“Fine,” Gabriel replies, not breaking the intense eye contact.

He brings his hand up to your cheek, gently pulling your face down. Your lips barely ghost against Gabriel’s but something has you resisting.

Gabriel senses your optimism and drops his hand.

“Gabe, I know this is hard, being around your brother,” you sigh, smiling gently to ease his discomfort. 

Gabriel’s frown unfurls into a thin line. He nods silently, breaking away from your eyes to gaze off into the forest beside you.

“It was never easy dealing with any of them. Having both Lucifer and Michael in this world is a lot to deal with.”

You can’t help agreeing. With both archangels together, there is a lot on everyone’s plates. You, the Winchesters, Cas and Gabe are responsible for Lucifer’s actions, but mainly, it’s Gabriel. He’s the only one close to powerful enough to stop his brother.

“I know. You’re feeling like all of this is on your shoulders alone. We’re all in this together.”

You know he won’t respond and you don’t need a response. Your arms wrap tight around his shoulders, holding him against your side. 

–

“C’mon, guys, let’s get a move on!” Bobby shouts, directing people onto the run-down bus that would be the transportation to the portal. With every newcomer onto the hunk of metal, it creaks loudly.

“You sure this thing will hold, Bobby?” You joke, quirking an eyebrow up at the man. It’s still very odd seeing the hunter alive and somewhat-well. You never had a chance to say goodbye to your Bobby. Maybe this is fate’s idea of giving you closure.

Bobby takes a quick look at you, smiling faintly.

“Always a smart-ass, you were,” he chuckles, the raspiness of his voice causing a rattled cough to escape. His hands shake as he grabs his gun by the grip and pulls it out of its holster.

“Alright now go get on ‘fore we take off.”

You roll your eyes, huffing silently and making your way toward the bus. 

Your feet crunch the dead leaves underneath you, you wonder what this world looked like before the destruction. What your alternate self was like. Was she funny? Courageous? Brave? Did she have a love interest? Your mind flits to Gabriel. Did this world’s Gabriel ever run into you? Granted, in your world, you’d met Gabriel through the Winchesters, but maybe fate was pulling its strings again.

 Maybe they lived a good life together, or maybe alternate you never hugged Gabriel, or felt the healing powers of his grace, or endured his endless jokes and pranks. You’d rather have the first for your other self. She deserved a life as lucky as yours so far. 

“Hey.”

The one word shakes you out of your daydream and quite frankly, startles you the tiniest bit. One could never be too careful, even surrounded by so many people.

Gabriel’s appeared beside you, his face scrunched in the cute way that shows off his dimples. He seems perplexed, like he’s doing the Sunday morning crossword and can’t find an answer.

“You ready to blow this popsicle stand?” You ask, reaching down to intertwine his fingers with yours. His skin is surprisingly very warm, but not alarmingly so.

“So ready, sweetheart,” he replies with that smooth voice that could melt anyone’s heart. His eyes light up with a golden hue that means he’s genuinely happy. Something that usually only you could bring on.  

–

The trip was actual hell, and you’d been to Hell before. The bus lurched with every small bump and rock the wheels happened to roll over. You were sure that it would collapse with the amount of people crammed inside. Somehow, everyone survived arriving at the tear between worlds.

“Head for the portal!” Sam shouts, urging people off the bus and toward the glowing strip of time-continuum.

Your eyes dart quickly around to account for everyone. A flash of worry floods through you until you spot Gabriel with Jack and Cas helping people reach the portal.

Sam and Dean are busy bussling around, finally getting the last of everyone off the bus.

This was going too well, but you weren’t complaining.

A loud crash about ten feet in front of you interrupts your thoughts. Dirt and debris fly everywhere and you’re able to make out the shape of a man through the smoke.

“Run, go!” A voice shouts in the distance, though it’s very muffled. There’s a newfound ringing in your ears that has you disoriented and dizzy.

You quickly scramble backwards from the explosion and the man, trying to gain your footing. Your attempts are useless; the situation has you suddenly clumsy and not fast enough to join your friends. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabs onto your waist, lifting you up into a standing position. Your head is spiraling out of control, the ache of it creeping into the base of your neck.

You turn to face whoever had saved you. Their features are blurry and hardly recognizable. His mouth opens, but your brain is not able to register the words spilling from it. There’s a certain urgency to the way he’s holding you, if only you can figure out who it is.

“I’m sorry,” he says, you can faintly hear it, “I tried to save you.”

Your mind panics upon hearing those words. The blurry world around you clears up and you can see Gabriel’s face. There’s blood crusted over a cut from when he ran into a tree. His forehead and under eyes are riddled with wrinkles of all shapes and sizes. He’s staring at you with such importance that you know something is horribly wrong in this moment.

“What’s going on?" 

He glances behind you, and then back to your eyes. His dirtied and dusty hands come up to cup your cheeks and he kisses you. Yells sound from all around you, but it’s hard to focus on anything except Gabriel. 

His lips are no longer the soft ones you’re used to. They’re dry and so is the rest of his face except for the droplets of tears rolling down. It connects in your brain that he’s crying. Your Gabriel, the trickster, archangel, the guy who always hid his emotions, is crying. 

Something is very, very wrong.

Gabriel’s mouth leaves yours; it feels like you’d just spent an eternity in these seconds.

“Please, tell me what’s happening,” you plead, reaching for his hands. You know that whatever you say to him won’t change his mind, whatever insane idea is running through there.

“I love you, always have, sweetheart, and always will,” your brain can’t comprehend it fast enough to do anything, but something, someone, is pulling you backwards.

“Take her and go,” Gabriel urges, turning to face his brother. 

Whoever said that Gabriel always ran was a liar. All you’d ever seen Gabriel do was stand up for what is right.

Time slows and you watch in complete horror as Gabriel stands in the way of Michael and the rift.

“No!” You scream, pushing and shoving the person leading you back. Your elbow connects with their jaw, causing them to curse.

“C’mon Y/n, we’ve got to go,” Dean hisses, grabbing hold of your swinging arms to pin them behind you. Despite your agility, the oldest Winchester is way too strong and has the upper-hand in the situation. Struggling is almost useless, but you refuse to stop.

“Gabriel!” 

Your voice is beginning to crack and go hoarse, but all you can do is shout. 

“Let me go!” You croak as your eyes gloss over with fresh tears. Water streaks down the crooks of your cheeks and nose, landing on the lifeless ground below you. 

Gabriel’s head turns for one last farewell. He’s wearing that trademark smile that always let’s you know it’ll be alright. His hair falls over his weary face; something about him seems different. It seems like his vessel has aged years. 

“I love you, angel,” you pray hard, knowing he’ll hear.

His smile widens and he turns to Michael.

“Let’s tango, brother.”

Michael’s eyes widen for a split second before he dodges Gabriel’s attempt to stab him. Gabriel falters to the side, just in time for Michael to land an archangel blade right into his brother’s chest. The last thing Dean allows you to see is Gabriel’s grace flickering away.

“No!” You cry, being pulled back into your universe. If you’d had it your way, you would have died right beside your angel.

The atmosphere has suddenly changed. There’s the chatter of people and the clinking of drinks. You tear yourself out of Dean’s grip, running to the only place you can find solitude right now.

Hot and heavy tears sting your eyes, your nose is red and irritated, your hope is beyond shattered. Anger, resentment, and pain all burn through you like a wildfire. 

You suddenly find yourself in your room, collapsing onto the bed. Your hands cover your face, the loud sobs probably being heard by everyone in the bunker.

A warmth rushes through you, with the faintest touch of a hand on your shoulder.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m right here.” 

You can hear his voice talking to you now. The grief of the situation is really hitting hard.

The faint touch turns into a pair of confident, strong arms wrapping around your midsection. It would have scared you had you not been so ecstatic.

You spin around, leaning into the archangel with quite possibly the most urgent embrace ever.

“Hey, I’m fragile,” Gabriel jokes, chuckling lightly against your shoulder.

You break out of his grip, sniffling and rubbing your nose with the sleeve of your jacket.

“What was that, an illusion? Why didn’t you tell me, you asshole!”

The archangel immediately gives you a sheepish look.

“Not an illusion. I had some help with this, actually,” he mutters like he’s ashamed.

You frown, furrowing your brows into a straight line.

“Help? From who?”

Gabriel’s eyes glint with sadness.

“Myself. Alternate universe me. He’s the one you’d been with since I went off by myself. It was all his plan really. He wanted to see you again since his version of you died.”

Your thoughts were completely warranted in the past. She had found Gabriel, and they loved each other. The idea makes your sensitive eyes tear up once more; you lean into Gabriel’s chest for support.

Your ragged breathing is the only sound in the small room. The faint sound of cheering and yelling doesn’t interrupt the moment.

“You think she’s happy in Heaven?” 

It’s completely unnecessary; of course she’s happy, it’s Heaven.

Gabriel runs his hands through your hair, letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

“Maybe some time we can go visit her. What do you say?”

You nod, crushing him with a strong hug. You’re beyond relieved that your Gabriel is alive and you want to cherish every moment of him. Hopefully other you’s best memory is one with him, so she can relive it every day up there.

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