(a megriel/destiel neighbors fic in which Cas and Meg get in a feud that Cas is completely unaware of, Gabe thinks it’s hilarious, and Dean is a soft and protective husband)
Meg sighed and squeezed her steering wheel. It had been a long day. It hadn’t been a bad one necessarily, but between the spring breakers taking over the small coastal town and some chick deciding it was cool to walk into Meg’s store in a gigantic dragon costume with a tail that seemed intent on knocking everything off the shelves...Meg was just tired of dealing with idiots at this point. She just wanted to get home, pour a couple fingers of whiskey, and chill. She’d decide later whether that meant watching some netflix or murdering dudes in Fortnite.
Gabe had messaged her earlier that he was getting off work early and would be at the house making tacos by the time she got home.
She sighed almost happily. He’d call her soft for it, but an evening at home with him, eating tacos, and then cuddled on the couch laughing at dumb youtube videos (or whatever) sounded perfect and just what she needed.
She pulled into her driveway and immediately groaned.
Fucking hell…
The yard had been mowed, which wouldn’t be a big deal except that she knew it wasn’t Gabriel. He had shit allergies and hated yard work on principle - which was fine ‘cause Meg wouldn’t have asked him to do it anyway. Besides, she kind of enjoyed it. It was mindless and tedious and a good way to decompress, and then afterward she could feel good about the way things looked.
However, sometimes, she just didn’t feel like doing it after work, or maybe she would get home after dark, and there was no way she was going to wake up to mow at six a.m. So, sometimes, her yard would go a few weeks without being mowed.
And sometimes, when that happened, her neighbor would take it upon himself to mow it for her.
There were two guys living there, and she was pretty sure it was the dark-headed one. She’d never caught him mowing her yard specifically, but if he was outside mowing when she left for work, her yard would be mowed too when she got home that evening. He would never say anything, or really ever talk to her at all; so, something that could have been nice, that could have been interpreted as “aw, I see my neighbor’s been busy and since I’m already out here mowing mine, I’ll just mow hers too” just ended up actually seeming passive aggressive and like, “why can’t my neighbor have it together enough to keep her yard from looking like crap?”
Point was: it pissed her off. It was meddling. He’d never asked her about doing it. In fact, for as long as they’d lived next to each other, he’d never even spoken or introduced himself...only randomly mowed her yard. What if she didn’t want a stranger hanging out in her yard? What if she actually liked it to look like a fucking jungle, huh? And if she hadn’t weedeated this month, then maybe that was her own damn business.
She slammed the door to her car and stormed through the front door of her house.
Gabriel peeked his head out from the kitchen. “Hey there, Grumpy!”
She didn’t respond. She stomped past him, grabbed a bag of plant food from under the sink, and went right back outside.
“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Gabriel chuckled as he quickly rinsed his hands and turned the stove down before following her out.
He watched Meg screw the attachment with the fertilizer in it onto the watering hose. “Whatcha doin’ there, Megster?”
“I’m gonna fucking show him is what I’m doing,” she grumbled and marched into her neighbor’s yard. “Oh my god , Gabe,” she yelled back behind her, voice thick with mock concern. “Have you seen these plants? The poor things probably haven’t been watered in a week!”
Gabriel cackled from the porch as he watched her. “Oh, the horror!”
She held a hand to her chest. “These roses have aphids! Remind me to pick up some insecticide while we’re at the store later! We can’t let these beautiful rose bushes be anything less than pristine!”
“Gasp! Do they even care?!”
“I’m so glad that they have me living next to them to pick up the slack!”
“Surely, you are a wonder of a neighbor. Mr. Rogers would be so proud!”
“HE SURE FUCKING WOULD BE. I’M A GODDAMN BLESSING, AND RANDOMLY DOING WORK IN YOUR NEIGHBOR’S YARD ISN’T WEIRD AT ALL!”
When she had done all of the watering she could actually do without killing the things, she turned the hose off and marched back past Gabe into the house, not really feeling all that satisfied.
“You sure showed them,” Gabriel joked as she groused past him.
“Oh shut up.”
“Tacos are ready if it makes you feel better.”
It did. Well actually, his presence did; but she didn’t really feel like admitting that. She smirked up at Gabe and rolled her eyes as she grabbed a plate, hoping he’d understand what she meant.
*
Meg froze halfway to her mailbox.
I just haven’t had my coffee yet. I definitely imagined that, ‘cause surely...
She spun around to look back at her house, did her best to blink the early morning haze from her mind, and stared, because what the actual fuck?
Those were roses. Those were honest-to-god, actual rose bushes planted around her front porch. Why...in the hell...would someone-?
Her neighbor waved to her from his driveway as he walked down to his own mailbox next to hers. “I heard you talking about ours the other day, and you even took care of them for us. I thought that you must really like them, so I got your some.”
Meg blinked up at him, then looked back at her porch, then back at him.
“Do you not like them?”
She turned back to look at the freshly planted rose bushes around her porch as she fought to pick her jaw up off the sidewalk. What would possess someone to think this wasn’t a serious invasion of personal space? Who just decides to re-landscape their neighbor’s yard, their neighbor that they have barely ever spoken to?
Oh, this meant war.
“I love them. Thank you,” she said with the biggest grin she could muster, grabbed her mail, and all but ran back into the house. What had she done to deserve such weird neighbors?
*
One midnight planting session later, Meg and Gabriel’s neighbors had a full flower bed of marigolds.
*
A week later, Meg’s neighbors had a new edger that apparently needed more use than their own yard could give it.
*
Meg’s hedge trimmers seemed to develop the same problem.
*
Meg walked out side one morning to see that the dead limbs had been trimmed out of the tree in her front yard
*
Over the next month, Meg and her neighbor’s lawns seemed to need mowing every other day for some reason. Meg just found herself in the mood.
*
Months passed…
*
One night, Gabriel opened the backdoor to be greeted by the awesome smell of someone grilling. He looked over and could see glimpses of one of their neighbors in his backyard through the gaps in the privacy fence. Gabe grabbed the small wooden bench that sat outside their back door and carried it to the fence, stepping up to look over.
Their neighbor stood at the grill with headphones on, humming along with what sounded a lot like “Whole Lotta Love.” He was into it, shaking his hips and pretending the tongs were a microphone. Gabriel took a moment to absorb and quietly chuckle at the scene.
It was actually pretty cute.
He’d never actually spoken to their neighbors before. Meg had met them a time or two, but never had many real interactions (if you don’t count passive aggressively taking care of each others’ lawns while the other one wasn’t looking). Maybe he should try. Meg may disagree, but it was perfectly possible, Gabriel thought, that they might actually all get along.
It had been a few minutes since he’d walked over to the fence. Gabriel had honestly expected the guy to look up and see him as soon as he stepped up, but he hadn’t; and Gabriel was starting to feel kind of awkward just standing here staring over the fence at him like some sort of creeper. He raised a hand and waved. “Howdy, neighbor!” he called, hopefully loud enough for the guy to hear him over his music.
“Motherf-!” The rack of ribs he’d been in the middle of flipping almost ended up across the yard. He looked up at Gabe with big eyes.
Gabriel bit his lip to try to hide his grin. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you there.” He smiled and stifled down a laugh. “I just noticed you outside and got to thinking about it that I don’t think I’ve ever actually introduced myself. I’m Gabriel.” He reached a hand over the fence.
The guy set down his tongs and walked over, reaching up to shake the hand. “Dean.” He studied Gabriel for a moment.”You new? I don’t remember seeing any moving vans, but you’re a little less, uh, bitchy than the face that I’m used to seeing.”
Gabriel snorted. “That’d be Meg. Don’t let her fool you. Her bite’s worse than her bark.”
Dean laughed and walked back to the grill. “Noted. Cas sure thinks she hung the moon though.”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Dean glanced up over the grill. “You don’t?”
Gabriel smirked. “That’s beside the point. And nah, I’m not really new. I moved in about nine months ago, but the job I had before now had me working weird hours, not to mention out of town a lot, so actually being able to cross paths with the neighbors is a little new even if I’m not.”
“Gotcha. So, are you uh….” he gestured vaguely.
“Her boyfriend?” Gabriel finished for him with a smirk. “I think so, but we don’t talk about it.”
Dean shook his head and started brushing bbq sauce over the ribs. “That sounds complicated and like it’s probably a whole lot of none-of-my-business.”
Gabriel shrugged. “It’s not as complicated as it sounds. She likes me but pretends she doesn’t. It’s kind of our thing. I’m more used to it now, but you should have seen us in college. We were a mess. For a long time, I thought she legitimately couldn’t stand me. Now, I’m like….eighty-seven percent sure that I drive her nuts but she likes me anyway.”
Dean raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound frustrating or complicated at all.” He chuckled. “I’m not one to talk though. I may know a thing or two about rough starts.”
“That so?”
“Mmhm.” At that moment, a tall, dark-haired man walked out of the house, carrying a clean platter that he set on the side of the grill. “For when they’re done,” he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist and planted a soft kiss on the back of his neck. Dean closed his eyes and leaned into it, humming and placing a hand over the arms wrapped around him.
Gabriel suddenly felt very uncomfortable. They weren’t even doing anything, but the moment just looked so soft, intimate. It also made Gabriel a little jealous. He was pretty sure that in Dean’s place, Meg would have rolled her eyes and shoved him away.
He was just about to excuse himself when the newcomer looked up at him with a smile. “Hello, neighbor.” He put a little space between him and Dean so that Dean could get back to tending the grill. “I’m Castiel. It’s nice to officially meet you. I’ve spoken with Meg a few times”
“So I’ve heard.” Gabe held up his hand in greeting. ”Gabriel.”
Castiel nodded.
“Well, I’m gonna let you guys get back to what you were doing. I actually need to run to the store for groceries so we have something to cook tonight ourselves. You guys have a good one.”
Dean waved.
“Ah, Gabriel!” Castiel called as Gabriel was about to hop down.
“Yeah?”
“Tell Meg I said thank you.”
Gabriel frowned. “For what?”
“For tending to my roses...and also for everything since. Apparently, I’d been neglecting them. I hadn’t meant to, and I appreciate her taking care of them where I’d failed.”
Gariel stared at him slack-jawed. Did this guy- was he being serious? Gabriel genuinely couldn’t tell if this guy was making a jab and recognizing the tension or if he actually thought that Meg was doing that to try to be nice. He shook himself from his daze “I’ll be sure to tell her. I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear it.” He hopped down, chuckling to himself, and carried the bench back to the porch before grabbing his keys and heading to the store.
*
Meg had just gotten home from work and was waiting for Gabe to get home from the store with groceries when the doorbell rang. She pulled it open, ready to tell whatever alarm system salesman - or whatever - that she wasn’t interested.
Instead of a salesman, there stood one of her neighbors, the dark-haired one with blue eyes and a weird name she never could remember. He smiled. “Hello, Meg.”
She frowned up at him. “Uh, hey.” She looked around. “Something wrong?”
“Oh, no.” He held out a container. “Dean grilled tonight, and well, there was extra. We thought you might like some.”
She reached out and accepted it. “Thanks…”
“Hey, Castiel!” Gabriel’s voice called. She hadn’t even noticed him pulling back into the driveway.
Castiel turned. “Hello, Gabriel. It’s good to see you again.” He turned and walked back to his own house.
Meg looked back and forth between them dumbfounded as Gabe squeezed past her with the bags of groceries. She shut the door and turned to Gabe. “What did he mean, ‘again’?”
Gabe laughed, shoving items into the fridge and cabinets. “What? You don’t know my life.”
“You’ve been fraternizing with the enemy,” she accused.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Oh yes, Castiel is so malicious. What’d he do this time? Install a sprinkler system?”
Meg looked down at the container that looked like it had a mix of ribs, steak, sausage, chicken, and really just way too much meat to be considered a little extra of anything. “He brought me a shit ton of meat. He said something about having extra but there’s no way this much extra wasn’t on purpose.”
Gabe laughed. “Maybe you look like you don’t get enough protein.” A mischievous twinkle formed in his eyes. “You know, I bet I could help you with tha-”
“Oh, fuck you too.” She rolled her eyes and slammed the container on the counter as she stormed out the back door to the garden. Ten minutes later, she came back in with arms full of zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a cantaloupe. She grabbed some shallot, green onion, and some grape tomatoes from the fridge (double what she and Gabe would eat) and pulled out a pan, heating it up and grabbing the couscous Gabe had just bought from the cabinet.
Gabe leaned against the kitchen counter. “You feelin’ hungry there, Megster?”
She huffed. “You know what?” She began as she started hacking at the zucchini. “Looking at what they had for dinner, I bet they don’t get enough fucking vegetables.”
Thirty minutes later, she was knocking on her neighbor’s door, with a large tupperware container of sauteed veggies and Israeli couscous in one hand, some fresh cantaloupe in the other, and the most pleasant smile she could muster plastered onto her face.
When Castiel opened the door, the sight of him made her want to punch something. He smiled. “Oh, Hello, Meg,” he said in that deep, annoyingly gravelly voice of his. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Hell no. You doing things is the problem here. She smiled back through clenched teeth. “The garden’s doing well, and I made a bit more than I needed for dinner.” She held out the containers. “I thought you boys might like some.”
His confused expression melted into a disgustingly happy grin. “Thank you,” he said, eyes going all soft and shit. “That’s very kind of you.” He looked over his shoulder at the other guy (Dean, Gabe had told her his name was) moving around the living room. “We were just about to watch a movie,” he said. “Would you like to join us? Dean assures me that Star Wars is a classic and that I’ve been severely deprived, not having seen it before now.”
“You haven’t seen- nevermind. And no, I’m good. Thanks for the invite though. Maybe some other time.” She turned to walk back to her own house, waving off the thanks that Castiel called out behind her.
Gabriel stood smirking on their front porch. “Well? Did he learn his lesson?”
“Shove it,” she mumbled as she shoved her way past him into the house, ignoring the quiet chuckling behind her.
*
Months passed, and Meg was having trouble hating her neighbors. They were nuts...but they were nice.
Castiel, in particular, had no sense of personal space. He didn’t pick up on sarcasm. Every attempt Meg made at teaching him boundaries only seemed to inspire him; and the longer it went on, the more Meg had trouble denying that the guy was actually just earnest and kind and actually a good neighbor.
Dean- Dean was more on her level. He picked up on her snark, but he hid his smirks and kissed Castiel on the temple and threw amused, knowing glances over his shoulder as he ushered his husband inside away from her. Meg had caught him and Gabe more than once laughing and talking to each other over the fence separating their backyards. She wondered what they talked about.
She killed the car and opened the door to go inside. It had been a long day at work, but she was glad to be home. She sighed as her neighbors waved at her, getting out of their Impala. She nodded in acknowledgement.
“Hello, Meg,” Castiel called, already walking her way. “I was wondering, I have a beehive on some property out of town. I’m planning to go harvest some of the honey this weekend. Would you like some?”
Meg sighed. She was tired, and had honestly had spent way too much time feuding with a guy who didn’t even realize they were at war. “You know what, Cas? I would love some.”
He beamed at her. They talked for a few more minutes before turning and heading for their respective front doors.
She stopped. “Hey, Dean!” she called, turning.
He gave a strange look, but lagged behind as Cas went on inside. “Yeah?”
She walked closer so she didn’t have to yell. “That man of yours? He’s a goddamn unicorn; and if you ever hurt him, I will come into your home and pull out every one of your fingernails and then feed you your liver.”
Dean gave her a wry smile. “Trust me, if anyone knows how much I don’t deserve Cas, it’s me.”
Meg nodded and turned to go back to her house.
“And Meg?”
She looked over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“Gabe’s pretty awesome, and - and I say this as someone with experience with such things - you should probably tell him every once in a while how much you love him. Don’t take it for granted that he knows.”
She pursed her lips. She wanted to tell him to fuck off and mind his own, but what actually came out was “Trust me, if anyone knows how much I don’t deserve that dork, it’s me.” She turned and rushed to her door before she had to see Dean’s inevitable smirk.
Later that night, she caught Gabe’s arm at one point as he walked past her in the living room, pulled him to her, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “You know I love you, right?”
Gabe let out a laugh that was a little too shaky as he wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah, I know.”
She nodded. “You sure?”
His arms tightened. “Yeah.”
She hummed and placed a kiss on the side of his neck. “Good. That’s- that’s good.”
“Hey,” he nosed at the side of her face ‘til she looked at him, “I love you, too.”
She could feel the blush creeping into her face and fought the urge to bury it back in his shoulder. “Just shut up and kiss me,” she groused.
Gabe’s face broke into a wide grin. He chuckled and leaned in ghosting his lips across hers. “I think I can do that.”
Tags: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff
*****
They were sprawled side-by-side on their stomachs watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show when Gabriel said, “You know, we really need to decide on our costumes.”
Meg turned her attention away from where Dr. Frank N. Furter was introducing Eddie to a pickax to see Gabriel watching her with his chin propped up on one hand, the other picking absently at the carpet. “What, now?”
Gabriel smiled. “You know what they say: no time like the present. Besides,” he added, reaching into their shared bowl of popcorn and popping a kernel into his mouth, “only two weeks left till Jody and Donna’s party, and we are not losing to Sam and Amelia three years in a row.”
“A moose and a unicorn.” Meg shook her head in disgust, last year’s defeat still fresh. “What the hell is so special about a moose and a unicorn.”
“No clue. Hence, however, my previous point about picking our costumes. This year, we gotta go all in.”
He looked so serious that Meg couldn’t help but grin. “All right, I’m game.”
Gabriel flashed a grin in return. “Super. So, ideas?”
“Angel and demon?”
“Hmm. I kinda want something with a little more pizzazz.”
“Well, I kinda want something with a little more then you pick.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Fair enough.” He considered. “Oh, I know! Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.”
Meg smirked. “Fine. But you’re going as Tink.”
“Deal. Besides, I look great in heels.”
“Tinkerbell doesn’t wear heels.”
“She does now. Also,” Gabriel added, grinning, “I’m going to need you to follow me around all night and clap so I don’t die.”
Meg snorted and turned her attention back to the TV. “Yeah, not happening.”
“Damn. Well then it looks like that idea’s out.”
“Looks like it.”
“Guess we’ll just have to go as something else.”
“Guess so.”
“How about fiancés?”
Meg nearly choked on her popcorn. Swallowing, she turned to see that Gabriel's amused expression had shifted into something softer; he looked almost nervous. “Fiancés,” she repeated, and he nodded. “I...You...This isn’t one of your jokes, is it? Because Gabriel, I swear to God—"
"No joke." Gabriel now looked decidedly nervous. "I...Look, I've just been thinking, and you're it for me, okay? You have been for a long time. And I don't care if we get married tomorrow, ten years from now, or if we just keep having super hot, out-of-wedlock sex for the rest of forever—" he smiled tentatively as Meg let out a soft huff of laughter, then reached out and took her hand. "I love you. You're my person. And I wanna be your person. So, what do you say?" He brushed a thumb along the inside of her palm, looking every bit the picture definition of hopeful. "Wanna grow old and wrinkly together?"
Meg continued to regard him for a moment, then smiled. "I'm still not gonna follow you around clapping."
Gabriel laughed. "Noted. So..." He leaned in, resting their foreheads together. “Is that a ‘yes’ to the other thing?”
Meg squeezed his hand, then kissed him. "Hell yeah it is."
"hey listen I know I just technically broke into your apartment house but believe me I was actually trying to fix your window because look at how easy it was for me to get in here, imagine if someone else tried that" college AU /Megriel??😘
A/N: So, I tweaked the prompt a bit, but I’m pretty pleased with how this came out; hope you like it!
*****
Meg should have counted the windows more carefully. She could have sworn she’d gotten it right: sixth window from the left on the back of the building. But no, she realized, cursing under her breath as she did a frantic recount, she’d just removed the outer screen from the fifth window, not the sixth...and a very amused Gabriel was now peering back at her from inside his apartment.
Meg sighed and let the screen slip from her grip to the grass with a soft thud. “Aw crap...”
“But soft!” declared Gabriel, flourishing a hand as he stepped forward. “What light through yonder window breaks...and enters?” He waggled his eyebrows and flashed a grin, hand coming down to settle over his heart. “It is the east, and Meg Masters is the sun!”
Meg rolled her eyes: leave it to a theater major to go for the dramatics. “Can it, Romeo: this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Really.” Gabriel leaned forward to rest his elbows on the windowsill and propped his chin up on one hand. “So it’s not you trying to sneak into my bedroom? ’Cause that’s kinda what it looks like.”
Meg narrowed her eyes and pointed down at the screen she’d dropped. “It’s ripped.”
“So I’m aware.”
“So I thought it was mine, jackass, because mine’s ripped in the same spot, and I was trying to fix it!” She pulled a screen patch from her back pocket and held it up directly in front of Gabriel’s face. “See?”
Gabriel’s gaze flickered from the patch to the screen, then back up to Meg, and his grin widened. “Sure do.” He tilted his head and winked up at her. “And while I’m flattered as all get-out that you’d come up with such an elaborate scheme to get me alone in my bedroom, I gotta say, neighbor-mine, all you had to do was ask.”
“Ugh!” Meg threw down the patch and turned away, crossing her arms. “You’re...you’re…”
“Endearing? Adorable? Something you can no longer live without?”
Meg scoffed and kicked ruefully at the grass. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Glad to hear it. Say, you hungry?”
Arms still crossed, Meg turned around to see that Gabriel had straightened and was now looking at her with a curious expression. “What?”
“You hungry?” Gabriel repeated, gesturing over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. “‘Cause I was just about to whip up a batch of my world-famous chocolate chip banana pancakes, and they taste lots better with company.”
Meg gaped at him. “You’re for real, aren’t you?” she said.
“I’m always for real when it comes to you.”
The complete sincerity in his voice caught Meg off guard. She considered him for a moment, then gave what she hoped came across as an indifferent shrug. “I could eat.”
Gabriel quirked a smile. “Well, all right then. So, you wanna come in through the window, or...”
Tags: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship
Summary: A financial challenge leaves Meg feeling stressed. Thankfully, Gabriel's got a plan to help her unwind.
*****
Meg glowered down at the paperwork as though trying to set it ablaze. Her dream of quitting her dead-end job hinged on her ability to convince the bank to approve this loan request: it was the only way she’d be able to start her own business. She clenched her jaw and snatched up the pen she’d thrown down moments earlier. People do this every goddamn day, she thought, hunching forward over the kitchen table. You want this? Then figure it the fuck out.
“You coming to bed, babe?”
She looked up to see Gabriel standing in the kitchen doorway. He was wearing a faded green tee and a pair of boxers featuring rubber ducks, an aesthetic that over the course of their relationship had somehow gone from annoying to endearing, although Meg couldn’t remember when. She felt her anger ebb a bit and shook her head. “Nah. Gotta get this done.”
“Pretty sure it’ll still be there tomorrow,” said Gabriel. “Besides, you’ve been bent over that table for hours. Change of position’ll do you good.” Winking, he added, “And, as luck would have it, I’ve got a few suggestions in mind.”
Meg scoffed. “You’re impossible.”
“Who, me? Never. Kinda lonely, though.” Gabriel’s expression softened, and he crossed the kitchen, stopping next to her and holding out a hand. “Come on, come to bed. I’ll even throw in one of my world-famous massages.”
Meg arched a brow. “That your plan, lover boy? Come in here and try to seduce me?”
Gabriel shrugged. “Is it working?”
She regarded him, with his goofy grin and his outstretched hand and those ridiculous rubber duck boxers, and knew that resistance was futile. Gabriel was a dork, yeah, but he was her dork. And she loved him for it.
“Hell yeah it is,” Meg replied, breaking into a matching grin as she took Gabriel’s hand and allowed herself to be led to the bedroom, the loan application left forgotten on the table.
Tags: AU, Oh my god they were roommates, established friends(?) with benefits, cuddling
Rating: T
Wordcount: ~1.4k
*****
Come Monday, Meg decided, she was going to kill Sam Winchester.
It was only fair when you thought about it, and she’d had all last night to think about it as she’d coughed and sneezed and not fucking slept due to being unable to breathe through her nose, all thanks to Sam “I-Come-to-Work-All-Week-Even-When-I’m-Sick” Winchester. The fact that he’d shown up at the office on Friday smiling and looking ninety-five percent back to normal just added insult to injury: while she spent her Saturday bundled miserably on the couch watching reruns of CSI Miami, Winchester was probably out enjoying himself, running six marathons or whatever the fuck someone who ate a kale salad for lunch every day did for fun on their days off. Bastard.
It didn’t help that it was the middle of winter and the building’s heat was out, and Meg had lived there long enough to know that it wasn’t getting fixed any time soon. Chuck wasn’t an asshole the way some of Meg’s previous landlords had been, but he was flaky as hell and seemed more interested in drafting his weekly newsletter than actually managing the property. The only plus side was that he often forgot to collect rent until mid-way through the month, a notable perk when you were living paycheck to paycheck.
Snatching a tissue from the box at her side, Meg blew her nose for what felt like the hundredth time and tugged her blanket closer. The living room got a bit more direct sunlight than the rest of the apartment and was therefore slightly warmer than her bedroom, but even so, she was practically shivering. For a moment, she actually contemplated relocating to Gabriel’s room, which was usually the warmest in the apartment, before ultimately deciding she was better off staying on the couch.
Gabriel had been her roommate for the past four months, ever since Meg had broken things off with her cheating ex and subsequently found herself unable to afford rent on her own. After interviewing what felt like half the city’s psych ward, she’d settled on Gabriel Milton, who was new to the neighborhood and looking for a place close to the soul food restaurant he’d just gotten a job at. Meg’s first impression of Gabriel was that his perpetual lopsided smile would get real old real fast, but he’d been the first person she’d met with who had both a steady job and no police record, so she’d figured what the hell and told him to move in his stuff.
And if they had hooked up since then, well, that was neither here nor there.
It was a one-time thing, she’d said; of course, he’d agreed. That it had been a one-time thing three times now was something Meg refused to think too much about and which Gabriel thankfully never seemed to feel the need to remind her.
Her stomach rumbled, and she was just contemplating dragging herself to the kitchen to see what she might be able to scrape together this late in the month when the front door unlocked with a click and Gabriel entered, a few errant snowflakes still clinging to his clothes. He took one look at her, wrapped up from head to toe in her bed’s thickest blanket and surrounded by a nest of used tissues, and grinned.
“Well hey there, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, turning to hang his beanie and scarf on the rack by the door, “finally managed to slay that dragon you were fighting last night?”
Meg gave him a withering glare. “Yeah, and I’m still in a killing mood, so go ahead, keep talking.”
“Fine, fine, have it your way,” replied Gabriel, still smiling as he set down his messenger bag to strip off his coat. “I mean, I was going to tell you that I brought us dinner, but if you’d rather I keep that bit of information to myself…”
Damn it. Well, no point in giving in easy. She gave a dismissive shrug. “Depends what you brought.”
“Fried chicken, mac and cheese, and enough cornbread to use as a pillow.” Gabriel held up a finger in a gesture of “but wait, there’s more!” and pulled a small plastic container out of his messenger bag. “Even whipped up some peach cobbler for dessert.”
Meg arched a brow, grudgingly impressed. “Aren’t you worried they’re gonna fire you one of these days for all the free food you take?”
“Eh, not really,” said Gabriel, picking up his bag and moving to the kitchen. “Missouri loves me, says I’m the best cook she’s ever had. Besides, she’s the one who tells me to take it.”
“Really.”
“Swear to God! Apparently, I look ‘underfed’.”
Meg scoffed, twisting to look over the back of the couch as Gabriel bustled about the kitchen. “Well, you are kinda short.”
“I prefer ‘fun sized’,” said Gabriel, throwing her a wink as he spooned food onto two plates. “And anyhoo, you try saying no to her. Pretty sure she’d just stash food in my bag when I wasn’t looking.”
They ate on the couch, Meg doing her best to appear indifferent about how good the food tasted even as Gabriel gave her that annoying pleased look that made her feel like saw right through her. He told her about some of the more interesting customers he’d seen at work that day, such as the mother-son combo who had bickered like an old married couple (“But man, she was a looker! Had an accent, too.”) and the friend of Missouri’s who had stopped by for lunch (“A blind palm reader, believe it or not.”) and the two men in suits who had apparently spent more time looking at each other than eating their food (“I swear, I was this close to sticking my head through the food window and telling them to just kiss already: that was some serious eye-fucking they had going on.”). Meg rolled her eyes at the last one, wondering how anyone could be that oblivious to something right in front of them.
“So how’re you feeling?” Gabriel asked as they finished their cobbler. “Heard you coughing lots last night. You actually get any sleep?”
Meg sighed and shook her head. “Couldn’t get comfortable.”
“Make up for it today, at least?”
“No, but I did come up with about fifty ways to kill the idiot who got me sick.”
“Fun!” said Gabriel, standing and collecting their empty plates. “Care to share the highlights?”
“Current favorite involves shoving him into a giant salad spinner and cranking it until the Gs get him.”
Gabriel nodded in approval as he disappeared into the kitchen. “Creative, I like it.” Meg heard the sound of plates being put into the sink and soaked; a moment later, Gabriel emerged and resumed his seat on the couch. “What else you got?”
Meg shrugged, tugging her blanket tighter. “Could just stick him in here and let him freeze. Maybe that’ll be enough to make Chuck fix the fucking heat.”
Gabriel peered over at her. “You cold?”
“No, genius, I’m shivering from murderous excitement,” she deadpanned, but Gabriel just laughed.
“‘Genius’, huh? You know, I think that might just be the nicest thing you’ve ever called me,” he said wistfully, and before Meg could respond, he’d shifted to sit with his back against the arm of the couch and was extending a hand in her direction. “All right, Murder Queen, bring it in.”
“What for?”
“Because the murderous excitement part might have been a lie, but the shivering part wasn’t, and you know I tend to run hot. Probably due to my sunny disposition.”
“That, or you’re just full of hot air.”
“It’s charm, actually, but hey, points for trying,” quipped Gabriel, before tilting his head to regard her with a more earnest expression. “Seriously, though, come ’ere.” He waggled his eyebrows and added, “Promise I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She crawled forward, shifting with Gabriel until she was lying between his legs with her head tucked under his chin, the blanket now wrapped snugly over them both. Gabriel wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, and Meg closed her eyes, suppressing a contented sigh at how good the warmth felt.
“There, see?” came Gabriel’s voice, and she knew without looking that he was wearing that damned pleased-with-himself smile. “This is nice.”
Meg gave a sleepy, noncommittal grunt. “Yeah, well don’t get used to it,” she mumbled, feeling herself start to drift off. “This is a—” yawn “—a one-time thing.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Of course,” he said, and if she felt a little extra warmth at the soft kiss he pressed to the top of her head, well, that was neither here nor there.
Tags: Alternate Universe, Oh my god they were roommates, Established friends with benefits, Meg’s totally not catching feelings - how dare you imply otherwise???
A/N: This is a continuation of a previous Megriel AU, “Warmth”, which you can read here.
*****
Meg suspected something was up the moment she stepped into the apartment and saw Gabriel freeze coming out of his room, eyes widening as he caught sight of her.
“Heeey, you!” he said, smiling just a little too quickly. He pulled the door shut behind him and turned to lean against it. “How’s the world’s greatest roommate? You have a good day at work?”
Meg set down her purse and raised her brow. “I’ve had better,” she said evenly, crossing her arms as Gabriel all but squirmed under her gaze. “What about you?” She glanced past him at the closed door. “Got anything you wanna share with the class?”
Gabriel didn’t answer, instead shifting slightly so as to block the door handle from view, and suddenly, Meg knew. “There’s someone in there,” she said, and damn it, why the hell was her voice shaking like that? “You brought someone home.”
“What?!” Gabriel’s smile vanished, and he pushed off the door to stand in front of her. “No! I mean, yeah, but it’s not—”
Meg shoved past him, heading for her own room. “Whatever.” She didn’t care, she didn’t. So what if she and Gabriel had hooked up a few times? Meg had made it clear that she wasn’t looking for a relationship, so what was the problem? None, absolutely fucking none. “Just keep it down, it’s been a long fucking day and I don’t want to hear—”
“It’s not a person!”
It was Meg’s turn to freeze. Slowly, she looked back over her shoulder. “Come again?”
Gabriel sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face before walking over to his door and pushing it open. “Come on, see for yourself.”
Meg frowned, following Gabriel into his room and over to his bed, next to which lay a small cardboard box with holes poked in the sides. Gabriel sat down on the bed and indicated for Meg to do the same before pulling the box up into his lap.
“I was kinda hoping to do this after I’d made us dinner,” he said with a somewhat sheepish smile, “but hey, no time like the present, I guess. Here, look.” Carefully, he opened the box so Meg could look inside.
Curled up on what looked like one of Gabriel’s old t-shirts was a tiny black kitten. As Meg stared, the kitten peered back at her, cocking its head to the side in apparent curiosity.
“Found him this morning behind the dumpster at work,” Gabriel explained, reaching in to stroke the kitten’s head. “It was cold, and he was all by himself, and he looked awfully hungry, and...” he trailed off, looking at Meg with a sort of quiet, pleading expression. “Look, I’m sorry for just springing this on you, but can I maybe keep him, just until I can find someone to take him in? I’ll keep my door closed when I’m not home, and I’ll clean up after him, promise. You won’t even know he’s here. Just...don’t make me throw him out, okay?”
Meg stared at him, stunned. The way he was watching her made Meg feel like she was looking at a frightened child, and it pulled at her in a way that she didn’t expect. In the nearly five months they’d been living together, she’d never seen Gabriel look so small, so desperate, and she didn’t like it. She never wanted him to look like that, especially not because of her.
“Okay,” she said, and the way Gabriel looked at her then, it was as though the sun was emerging from behind a cloud. His smile was so bright that Meg felt its warmth on her face, and she cleared her throat before looking away. “I mean, yeah, sure. That’s fine.” The room suddenly felt too small; she needed some air. “Tell you what,” she said, standing and making for the door, “I’ll go grab some litter and all that. You stay here and get dinner started.”
“You got it!” called Gabriel after her, and Meg quickened her pace. Air, she just...needed some fucking air...
