Chapter 129

Sam doesn't get to find out where his dream would have taken him today without interference. Gabriel shows up almost instantly, changing the scenery to what appears to be an amusement park. Two cotton candies appear in his hands, and he tries to give one to Sam, who waves it off.

"I almost forgot how extravagant your Dreamworlds were," Sam remarks.

Gabriel closes his hand into a fist, and one of the cotton candies disappears. He takes a bite of the other one, then says, his mouth still full of dissolving sugar, "What can I say? I've very extra."

Sam snorts. "Yeah, I see that."

Gabriel takes another bite of cotton candy. "So, whatcha wanna do?"

"I don't know." He glances around. "What rides are there?"

"There is any ride you would like," Gabriel says with a smirk. "Pick a ride, any ride. I promise, it will be there."

Sam cocks an eyebrow. ride? What about... "You know what tower ride at Disney World?"

"Of course I know that tower ride at Disney World," Gabriel says. "I helped make it."

Sam stares at him. "You did what now?" He can never tell if little tidbits like there are setups to a joke, a true story, or him seeing how much he can get away with lying about.

"Yeah, I was getting really impatient waiting for all the quick fixes to be done, so..." Gabriel shoves a handful of cotton candy in his mouth. "I fixed some stuff. Got to ride it after hours because it finally worked."

Sam scoffs. "And they let you?"

"Of course not," Gabriel says. "No one knew I was there. I fixed it on my own time and I guess everyone just assumed someone else on the team did it. I came back once everyone left it alone and , my own personal Tower of Terror."

Sam shakes his head, amused. "Because what archangels are supposed to do in their free time."

Gabriel shrugs. "What can I say? I'm built different." He grabs Sam's hand and pulls him down the walkway. "Now, come on, we got a ride to find."

Sam cocks an eyebrow, but he doesn't stop the archangel from pulling him across the park. It's been a while since he's had someone to share his dreams with. He does his best to ignore what happened with the person he let in here. Gabriel's different. Gabriel wouldn't hurt him.

Well, there was that thing with the TV show...

"Why are we walking, anyway?" Sam asks. "Can't we just teleport? It's a dream, you know."

"Of course I know that," Gabriel says. "But you don't get the full theme park experience if you just teleport between rides."

"Oh, that's what we're doing, huh?" Sam bites back a laugh. "This is a 'full theme park experience'?"

"Obviously," Gabriel says. "What, you thought I was gonna half-ass it? Hells no!"

"I guess that's fair," Sam says. "You don't half-ass much."

"I'm full-ass, full-time, baby!"

Sam just shakes his head. God, what a fucking dork.

Gabriel leads Sam across the amusement park, and it doesn't occur to Sam until he sees the Tower of Terror in the distance that this "amusement park" has slowly been turning into what he would imagine an early 20th-century street would look like. It doesn't really match the design of the Tower of Terror, but for some reason, the design feels right.

"Where we?" Sam asks.

"Hollywood Studios," Gabriel replies. "Or, you know, what I remember of Hollywood Studios off the top of my head. Do you like it?"

Sam snorts. "What, you haven't been to Hollywood in half a decade?"

"No, Hollywood Studios," Gabriel repeats as if that clears anything up. "It's the part of Disney World that has the Tower of Terror."

"Really?"

Gabriel raises an eyebrow. "You wanted to ride the Tower of Terror but you don't even know where it is?"

Sam gives a sheepish shrug. "I mean, I've never been to Disney World before. I was a kid when it opened up and I always wanted to go check it out, but..." He'd wanted to take Jess once they'd graduated -- not to the Tower of Terror, obviously; to Disney World in general. He'd even thought of proposing in front of Cinderella's castle. He was going to start looking into it that December, but then... "Life got in the way."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Gabriel says, and Sam finds himself wondering what types of things an immortal archangel-in-disguise could miss out on. "Tell you what. We can ride the pseudo-Tower now, and then if-slash-when we get out of here, I'm taking you to the Disney World."

Sam forces a smile, but it's less than sincere. When he thinks of Disney World, he doesn't think of this huge tower; he thinks of a magical place for . He could daydream about going there with Jess because he could pretend he was normal. He's not sure he could see himself going with Gabriel. A hunter and an archangel... That's not exactly .

Gabriel must misread Sam's reluctance, because he quickly adds, "I don't mean it like some big romantic gesture or anything. I just mean I can get in and out of places without paying and without travel times, and I figured I'd offer to share the wealth."

"Thanks," Sam says, "but I don't think..."

"That's fine," Gabriel assures him. "I get it. It's kind of..a lot." He stops where he stands and gestures to the tower in front of them. "Still wanna ride this one, though?"

"Obviously," Sam says.

"Alright, then come on!" Gabriel grabs Sam's hand and pulls him along eagerly. "You're gonna love it."