“It hurt just saying the words, knowing I was about to face my brother and more than likely wind up on the pointy end of a sword.” His smile grew brittle. “Wasn’t expecting it to be my own, but them’s the breaks.”

And he’s.. honestly not sure what to do about those feelings now. “Guess that’s the sixty four thousand dollar question on the table. What do we do now?” Gabriel let the ball sail off into the grass before taking a seat himself. “Rather than continue this charmingly awkward talk, I’m gonna settle for direct. Save us a lot of ducking and fucking in the long run.”

Did humans always have to deal with a heartbeat that fast? Because he’s pretty sure his is trying to simply slam right out of his chest and he hasn’t even started talking.
“I’d have given anything to change what happened, Sam. To stop the path you were on and find some way to make you smile. You deserved that. You still do. I threw down that spell because that was the only way I’d know for sure that you’d be safe. I did it because I..” deep breath, “I love you. Still. But I’m not expecting the grand chick-flick finale here either.”

Even if that was what he wanted. No, Sam had to make this decision on his own. Gabriel couldn’t do it for him. If he wanted to give this a go, it was up to him.