Chapter 126

Jack has a lot of fun with his new friends that afternoon. He may not feel in his universe, but he feels here -- maybe even more than he did in his world. He never got to meet his Castiel; he was never on Dean's good side; even Sam seemed wary of him, though he did his best to hide it. Here, he gets to talk to Castiel; the Winchesters both seem to like him -- he even seems to be growing on Dean; he has archangels on his side (three if you count Lucifer, but he disappeared and never came back). He still wants to go home, obviously, but there are worse places to be until then.

Unfortunately, almost everyone he befriends today either has to sleep or follows their human partner to sleep, which leaves Jack and Gabriel alone once the sun sets. Jack can't deny that he's disappointed, but he knew it was going to happen eventually.

"Well," Gabriel says awkwardly. "I guess we should get back to work."

"I guess so," Jack says. He'll have to get a little sleep eventually, but he doesn't bring it up yet. He can use it as an excuse to walk away from his training when the time comes where he's inevitably too tired or too exasperated to continue for the night. "Should we go find Lucifer?"

"He's probably waiting for us already," Gabriel says. "Back to the garage?"

"Back to the garage," Jack agrees.

It's nice to think that one day he'll be able to teleport to the garage, but for now they both walk. He doesn't really mind; he can use the time to talk like friends before they inevitably lapse back into their teacher-student roles.

"So, you and Sam are friends again?" he asks, mostly just to make conversation.

"I think so," Gabriel replies, and there's a small smile on his lips. "I think we're both learning to move on."

"Move on from what?" Jack asks, then adds a quick, "If you don't mind me asking, obviously."

"Right, you weren't here for that," Gabriel says. "Sam and I... we used to go out. We haven't exactly been on the best of terms since we broke things off, but it's starting to get better."

Jack cocks his head to the side. "You used to date?"

Gabriel nods. "A long time ago." He pauses. "Well, it feels like a long time ago to him, at least; I was dead, but that's a different story."

Jack is actually interested in what happened with Sam and Gabriel. He could write an essay about all the reasons he never would have thought Sam and Gabriel would be compatible, and part of him really wants to find out where he was wrong there. But at the same time, the fact that Gabriel apparently ... Well, that's something that hasn't come up before, too, and he has to ask about that.

"Wow," Gabriel says with a chuckle. "I forgot; you don't know . Alright, so, here's what happened..."

Jack is by this story. Gabriel had mentioned a few of the tricks he had played on the Winchesters -- though without mentioning that he was dating one at the time -- but this one is new. This wasn't a quick trick on the Winchesters. That was a millennia-long trick on a group of . If this is what Tricksters do for kicks, maybe he really have it in him to be one.

They finally reach the garage, but other than the two of them and a bunch of old cars, the place is empty. Jack frowns. He would have thought they'd find Lucifer here, but apparently not. He must not realize they're back to doing this.

"Not here," Gabriel remarks. "Do you want me to look for him, or do you want to use our Lucifer-free time to our advantage?"

"I don't know," Jack says reluctantly. "I'd feel bad excluding him, but..."

"I can go check the roof," Gabriel says. "If he's not there, we can do it without him. Sound like a plan?"

He gives the okay, so Gabriel disappears. Jack is about to start looking around for something to do while he waits, but before he can even get to thinking of something to do, Gabriel reappears.

"Not there," Gabriel says. "I got no idea where else he'd be."

"That was fast," Jack remarks.

Gabriel shrugs. "It only took a second to look around. It's not like the roof is very big."

"Oh, yeah, that's fair," Jack agrees. "So, it's just us, then?"

"Apparently," Gabriel says. "Now, let's go help you defeat God."

Jack smiles. He likes the sound of that.