"Oh, can you?" Castiel hissed, glaring down at his older brother. Gabriel shrugged, scooting out from underneath Sam. He sat up; crossing his legs and buttoning his shirt back up.


"Yeah- He totally came onto me," he answered simply. Castiel snorted.


"Of course he came onto you; he's full of love potion, Gabriel!"


The archangel shrugged again, trying to force back his embarrassment with sly and lazy gestures. "Doesn't mean I didn't try to stop him."


Sam chuckled from his spot on the blanket beside Gabriel. "But you didn't, Gabe!" he purred. "You were enjoying it, like me!" The trickster shot him a quick glare.


"Sammy boy, you ain't helping," he whispered, lifting an index finger to his lips. "Now, shh." He turned back to Cas, regaining his emotionless expression. "So you see, I am the victim here-"


"Gabriel, stop fooling around!" Castiel spat, all of his remaining patience dissolving into anger. "I asked you if you could help, and you agreed. I did not ask you to make things worse by stealing Sam Winchester and taking advantage of his unstable state by seducing him into doing whatever you wanted him to do!"


"Hey, I did not do that last part! Okay, the seducing thing is sorta true but I wasn't doing it to use him-"


"Gabriel!"


"All right, all right," the archangel grumbled. "I'll stop 'fooling around' and help."


"No," Castiel said firmly, clenching his fists. Gabriel lifted his gaze, eyes wide in surprise. Cas glared down at him sternly. "You have showed me that you cannot take this situation seriously enough for me to allow your acquaintance. You are just making things worse-"


"Nuh uh!" Sam objected, looking upset. "Gabriel has done nothing wrong!" He then took on the expression of a kicked puppy. "He just took me to a glorious sight, where the snow looks so pretty and undisturbed, and he did not 'seduce' me, just for the record- I kissed him, alright? So don't go blaming Gabriel for things he didn't do!" Tears stained his eyes at how distressed he was.


He rolled over and onto his back, somehow managing to crawl back into his regular spot with his head in the archangel's lap. He whimpered up at his companion, looking pitiful. Gabriel smiled, patting the hunter's cheek affectionately. "Good job, Moose," he praised, leaning down and giving the Winchester a quick peck on the forehead. Sam perked up immediately, grinning like an idiot. Castiel let out a ragged sigh. Dean squirmed uncertainly, his arm looped with the angel's. He had remained silent during the entire argument, but at the sight of an exasperated and exhausted Castiel, he grew weary. He tightened his grip, peering at Castiel worriedly.


"Everything okay, Cas?" Dean asked quietly. The angel slowly turned to him, blue eyes looking dull.


"No, Dean. Everything is not okay."


The hunter tipped his head to the side, squeezing Castiel's arm closer to his chest. "You want me to fix whatever's wrong? I can fix whatever's upsetting you! Tell me what's wrong; I'll do anything for you, Cas."


Castiel paused, suddenly gaining an idea. He narrowed his eyes quizzically, and he shifted his stance. "Okay… Well, Dean? Can I ask you a few questions, and can you answer them as best as you can?"


Dean grinned and he nodded his head vigorously, growing excited at the thought of being of use to his companion. The angel smiled.


"Alright, first question: Can you remember anything you did before going to the motel yesterday?"


Dean didn't even hesitate before answering. "We went to this diner somewhere in Illinois."


Castiel brightened. "Yes! Progress! Okay, so do you remember where in Illinois, perhaps?" Dean still kept his cheesy grin.


"Nope!"


Castiel deflated, heaving a sigh. "Well, at least we have progress-" He cut himself off when his eyes had flicked back to where Gabriel was sitting with Sam laying in his lap. "Gabriel, what are you doing?" he demanded. The archangel peered up, halfway through sticking a Twix bar into Sam's mouth. He blinked.


"Feeding Sammy some candy," he answered, grinning. "He loves it."


Sam smiled through the chocolate that surrounded his lips. "If Gabriel likes candy, then I like candy!" Gabriel leaned down to his human, pushing the Twix bar back to his lips.


"Gabriel loves candy," he corrected. Sam stared at him with his big brown eyes.


"Then Sam loves candy," Sam replied, voice muffled around the chocolate. Gabriel chuckled, nodding. Castiel let out a frustrated growl. Dean blinked, peering at the angel curiously.


"Does Cas like candy?" he asked, but Castiel turned to him quickly, glaring at the hunter.


"No! Castiel does not like candy!"


Dean's eyes flicked down, and he stared sadly at the ground, his grip on the angel's arm loosening. For some reason, feeling the human release his arm caused Cas to panic and feel regret.


"N-no, Dean, I apologize for my indecency," he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I'm just exhausted, is all." Dean glanced up, smiling.


"Then lighten up, Cas! Let's go on a vacation, or something. Like, like- I've never been to a beach, before!"


"What?" Gabriel exclaimed, his head shooting up from where it had been craned down over Sam's. His lips were smudged with chocolate. Castiel frowned.


"Gabriel, I thought you were feeding Sam the chocolate?"


The archangel cocked his head to the side. "I was."


"Then why do your lips have chocolate on them?"


Gabriel's eyes widened and they flicked down to peer at a giggling Sam, then back to Castiel. "I, uh, I- Oh never mind that, let's get these kids to a beach!"


Before Castiel could argue, the trickster snapped his fingers, and they were all gone.


~ ~ ~


"Come on, Sammy boy, the water's fine!"


Sam splashed into the Atlantic Sea, eyes wide with excitement; they shone a bright greenish hazel in the setting sun. He crashed into the archangel, both of them tumbling under the water. Sam emerged, grinning from ear to ear. Gabriel toppled onto the human, their bare chests rubbing together as they splashed back into the water.


Castiel now sat on a beach towel, blinking down at his suddenly bare chest. His brows furrowed together when he noticed he also wore bright blue swim trunks.


"Cas, this is so cool!" Dean cheered as he plowed into the angel, also only wearing green swim trunks. He wrapped his arms around his angel, smooshing their cheeks together as they crashed into the sand.


"Dean, this is very inappropriate!" Cas managed to gasp, trying to untangle the hunter's arms from his neck. "We shouldn't be wasting our time here." Dean let go, sitting back to glare at his companion. He crossed his arms stubbornly.


"Castiel," he growled sternly. "You need to lighten up. We're on vacation! Relax a little, please!" He smiled encouragingly, batting his eyelashes pleadingly. Cas sighed, slumping his shoulders.


"Fine. But only for the night. Tomorrow morning, we find what did this to you and Sam."


Dean grinned, leaned forward, and kissed Cas gently on the cheek. He wrapped his arms around the angel's upper torso, and pushed each other into a laying position in the soft, orange sand. Dean wriggled in his spot on his stomach, pushing his cheek protectively against Castiel's chest. Cas sighed once more, laying back his head to stare at the pink sky.


This was going to be a long night.