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Sam had seen them a maximum of five times, three of it when they were in the bunker and the other two when Gabriel needed to fly. They were gold - but still more than that, they were orange and yellow. Some of the feathers shown, reflecting off the light in a way that made them look metallic. The were each of them ten feet in length when Gabriel spread them outwards, and the feathers were so long at the bottom that they almost drug against the floor when he had them folded behind him. The times he'd seen Gabe in the bunker with them out the angel had them folded behind him, but would occasionally they spread slightly outwards if he was laughing or angry.
That was another thing Sam noticed about them. For the most part Gabriel seemed to have control over them like his arms or legs. They did what he wanted, bending against him when it was too cramped like Sam fouled himself up when he sat in the back of Dean's car. But then there was the fact that they responded to his emotions. When Gabriel was sad, they drooped and the feathers almost seemed to dim. And when he was happy they puffed up slightly and shown brighter. Sometimes when he was angry, agitated, or frightened his wings would get sharp and bristly and arch around him in defense. It reminded Sam of a cat.
But the time the hunter liked to see them most was when Gabriel was flying. They stretched through the sky elegantly, beating down so strongly that it made any loose leaf in the aria spiral around him in a tornado like spin. It was also the time he looked most happy. Sam noticed the times he saw it that the blond would smile and close his eyes, letting his wings almost guide him themselves.
Now, the angel was sitting in the middle of the floor in what Sam could only describe as a nest, his wings partially stretched out behind him as he lounged. They took up most of the walking room, and if Sam wanted to get up at any point in time he'd most likely have to jump over the back of the couch. Thankfully, he didn't really think he'd be needing to move. Gabriel was busying himself by reading. It was a small, thick book that looked almost as old as the one Sam held in his own hands.
Though Sam had stopped reading a long time ago, his attention drawn to the angel. He'd be lying if a lot of it didn't have something to do with the wings - but could you blame him? He'd never seen something like that before in his life until he'd met Gabriel. It was the one thing that was actually close to what he'd thought of angels before it was shattered by his uncomfortable introduction to Cas.
Shifting slightly, Sam let his eyes go over the wings. He followed the curve of them, how the feathers moved slightly from the overhead fans. Every now and again Gabriel's brow would crinkle, his wings twitching up slightly before they fell back into their previous position. When the hunter's eyes finally moved back to his face, he noticed with a confused blink that Gabriel was smiling.
"What?" Sam questioned defensively, cringing as his voice was a little too snappy. This seemed to only make Gabriel's smile widen.
"You're allowed to look at them, Sam." The hunter stiffened. "To be honest, I'm surprised you have this much restraint with them. The last time a human looked at them he wet himself." Gabriel snorted. He looked up from his book then, eyes drifting over Sam like Sam himself was the angel with wings and Gabriel the stunned human. It made him shift again, his own book dropping into his lap heavily.
"Isn't it, I dunno, rude or something? Staring?" He asked carefully. The angel huffed, his eyes rolling as he made himself more comfortable. His wings moved with him, both coming closer to him and Gabriel grabbed onto one of them gently. If Sam didn't know better, he'd have said Gabe was making a show for him.
"It's not really rude, per say. I suppose it just depends on the one whose wings your ogling. If you were to do this to little Cassy, he'd probably end up dying of embarrassment. But someone like me-" He smirked, nudging one of his feathers until it was more straight. "-I find it flattering." Sam made a quiet 'Oh', his eyes going from Gabriel's face to his wings and back again. After a moment the angel huffed, his hands dropping into his lap and his wings sagging slightly.
"Just get your ass over here, Sam." Only a moment of hesitation was wasted before Sam stood, following Gabriel's orders and moving to sit beside him in his nest. He felt himself blush as Gabriel gave him a loving grin and moved a wing to wrap around the two of them. Gabe then went back to grooming them, moving some feathers and pucking things from them if he came across anything he deemed unworthy of them. Sam looked at the joint where it bended, allowing him to reach it.
He suddenly remembered reading somewhere that they were just modified arms, and he couldn't think of something better to associate them with. The looked almost like a ballet dancers arms, stretching and arching in ways that seem useless except for beauty, but had so many reasons for it. Like when Gabe would make them almost look like a bowl, cupping the air. Sam knew that was to help him keep balance - seeing as it was hard to keep yourself upright with that much weight on your back - but it looked as if he did it to show off. And maybe sometimes he did, but it was done mostly for a purpose.
It was amazing, the way they worked, how they moved. Things they could do and couldn't. Sam felt giddy just being this close to them. He hadn't felt this amazed with something since he first went to the Stanford University. It made him happy and frightened and in awe all at once. Without thinking he lifted his hand, stroking over the bone at the top of the wing. Beside him he heard a noise and turned his head to see Gabriel with a look of bliss on his face. Sam raised an eyebrow, moving his hand again.
An encouraging noise slipped past the angels lips as his own hand dropped uselessly by his side. Sam smiled slightly. "Does this feel good?"
"Yes." Gabriel open his eyes and Sam's breath was taken away. They were almost glowing gold, radiating enough light to cast small shadows over the other's face. "You know when in heaven, mated angels would groom each others wings as a way of bonding?"
Sam swallowed. "No."
"Well it is." The angel groaned out, his head rolling on his shoulders. "Sam, you have no idea how good this feels. It's instinct for us to groom our wings - and when others do it it's almost like you've hit your own personal Nirvana. It feels... it feels-" He made a noise, letting loose a string of Enochian words before sighing. "Similar to when you're a little sleepy. Almost like you're high."
"So it's good?"
"God, yes, Sammy." Gabriel huffed almost annoyed. Sam let out a squeak as the wing was pushed into his hand, and Gabriel seemed to droop into the nest more. Giving his own huff, Sam pushed his other hand into the feathers and began to move them in a way he thought appealing. He didn't really know how to groom feathers, but he was as sure as hell gonna try to with his boyfriend being an angel.
Obviously he was doing something right, Gabe making another noise before he pitched forwards and fell face first into the nest of blankets. Sam smiled and moved closer, planting himself between the angel's wing and his body. He continued to 'groom' the wing, picking out anything that was not actually a feather. Once he was done with that one, he moved to the other side, sitting in a similar spot as before. This wing was messier than the last one had been, and Sam noticed angrily that there was a stick poking out from underneath one feather. He let out an almost growl, grabbing it and tossing it away.
They say like that, Gabriel laying on his belly in the pile with Sam going around and cleaning his wings. When he was finally done he slumped against the angel's back, laughing. His arms were aching, the muscles burning angrily in protest of being in basically the same position for at least an hour."That was... fun?"
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"If you don't lie down with me and sleep right now, I swear to god I'll jump in a muddy lake and make you clean my wings."
Sam whined, his arms almost feeling heavier at the thought. "You wouldn't."
"Don't tempt me, Samsquach. Now come'ere."