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Castiel wasn't sure if he liked being the smallest angel in Heaven. On the one hand, the other youngsters picked on him for being smaller, for not knowing how to fly yet, and worst of all for his strange, inky black wings. But on the other hand, some of the much older angels doted on him. The youngest Archangel, Gabriel, was certainly very fond of his ‘little Cassie’ and spent time with him at every opportunity. Raphael couldn't really care less, and Michael was often busy but was kind enough when Castiel encountered him. Gabriel said they were both stuck up. But Lucifer…. Castiel adored Lucifer. The twin brother of Michael was everything Castiel wanted to be when he got big and was assigned his role in Heaven. Brave, powerful, smart, and more beautiful than any other angel, the Morningstar captivated the little angel like nothing else. Castiel envied Lucifer’s lovely wings and desperately wished he could exchange his own two useless scraps of black down for the fiery opalescence of Lucifer’s massive appendages. Lucifer was easily spotted from a long distance if you watched for the red-pink-gold shimmer of his six wings. The one time he mentioned it to Gabriel, the candy-addicted angel had snorted derisively and called his elder brother a peacock all while shaking his own amber feathers in annoyance. Castiel scowled at his friend for the slight against his hero, but didn't bring it up again.
One day, Castiel was playing in the garden with Gabriel, practicing the skills he would need to take flight when he was big enough. It took them both quite some time to realize that they were being observed. Lucifer was leaning against the thick trunk of a tree, watching them with a small, amused smirk. When he noticed their audience, Castiel flushed bright pink- he was still very embarrassed by his inability to make his wings work properly. He lost his balance on the branch he was standing on and tumbled towards the ground, Gabriel making a desperate but failed attempt to stop his descent . Suddenly, the Morningstar was there. He swooped in and caught the little boy.
“Nice catch, Luci.” Gabriel said grudgingly as he reached for the much smaller angel. Castiel didn't reach back, too caught up in staring at Lucifer with an awestruck expression. Lucifer’s sardonic smirk morphed into what might have been called a tender smile. He carefully set his burden on a bench and knelt in front of him, running his hands over the child’s limbs to check for injuries.
“Be more careful, little one.” Lucifer stroked Castiel’s raven hair and vanished, leaving a starstruck Castiel and a dumbfounded Gabriel alone in the garden.
From that moment on, Castiel worshiped Lucifer. The child savored every sighting of his hero, often searching for him wherever he went. Every time Gabriel took him away from Heaven for an adventure, the little angel found himself picking up something to present to the eldest Archangel. The first one was a clear blue pebble Castiel found on a beach. Gabriel told him that it was a piece of lightning glass that had been tumbled by the ocean for so long that it had become round and smooth. Castiel said it reminded him of Lucifer’s eyes. Gabriel just snorted in disgust and changed the subject just in time to stop Castiel from trampling a fish accidentally.
When they returned to Heaven, Castiel immediately sought out his hero and presented him with the pebble, too in awe of the older angel to speak. Raphael started to laugh, only to be cut off by a vicious glare from the Morningstar. Lucifer accepted the token and bent to kiss the little boy’s hair in thanks. Castiel spent the rest of the day feeling like he could fly.
After the first pebble came many other little trinkets. Castiel picked up whatever caught his fancy and presented them to Lucifer, never able to speak past the swell of adoration he felt every time he saw the Archangel. Gabriel tended to make gagging noises every time he saw it happen. Michael kicked him in the shins and pointed out that this was the most affection Lucifer had ever shown anyone, and after that Gabriel kept his jealousy to himself but his curiosity grew exponentially.
Gabriel began trying to figure out what Lucifer was doing with little Castiel’s gifts. A quick search of the other Archangel’s work area turned up nothing, and Gabriel began to fear that they were being discarded- Castiel would be heartbroken if that was the case. Breaking into Lucifer’s private rooms was harder, but after several attempts, Gabriel was able to sneak right into Lucifer’s nest. What he found shocked him to his core- Lucifer had kept them . All of them. Every single pebble, every seashell, all of the interesting leaves and pretty flowers, the raw fire opal Castiel had dug up in what would one day be called Mexico, even the shed snake skin- they are all here, tucked away in a small wooden box partially hidden in the elder angel's feather filled nest. Gabriel choked back a sniffle as he carefully replaced the lid and put the box back. After all this time, the extremely aloof archangel had latched on to the oddball fledgling with jet black wings. Voices raised in anger drew Gabriel’s attention; Michael and Lucifer were fighting again. Rather than get caught up in another of their increasingly violent fights, Gabriel snapped himself out of the room.
*******
Gabriel promised himself that he would stop making snide remarks about Castiel’s adorable infatuation with their much older brother. In fact, he very gently started to encourage it. He spent even more time taking Castiel on adventures outside of the safety of Heaven, and if he made a point of picking places that would provide a particularly nice gift, who was to tell him no? They had just returned from a tiny volcanic island with a vial of black sand tucked into Castiel’s tunic when they encountered Lucifer in the garden. Castiel, in his enthusiasm to reach his idol, seemed to forget that he couldn't fly and launched himself off a tall rock. Lucifer’s head snapped up just in time to catch the small boy as he swooped down at him in a barely-controlled glide. The Morningstar’s face instantly morphed from deep melancholy to pride and joy as he caught the pint sized angel.
“Look at you, Castiel! You'll be flying with me in no time!” Lucifer praised, getting an adorable blush and surprised squeak in return. He chuckled and set the fledgling down. “Where did you go today?” He asked, not really expecting a response- Castiel still couldn't bring himself to speak to his hero. Gabriel answered for him, giving a brief description of the island while Castiel produced the vial of sand. Lucifer accepted it and tucked the small vial away in his pocket.
“You seem to spend a lot of time on Earth, Gabriel. Tell me, what do you think of Father’s newest creation?” Lucifer’s voice was mild, but Gabriel’s hackles went up.
“I'm not sure what to make of them. They are so different from the other animals. Watching them try to survive without the fangs and claws of the animals they hunt is interesting. They are… tenacious.” Lucifer made a noncommittal noise.
“And do you think we should love them as Father commands? More than each other? More than Him?” The older angel’s eyes took on a hard look despite the soft voice, and Gabriel suppressed a shiver.
“I don't think I could love anything more than I do some of our siblings.” Gabriel glanced over at Castiel, who was happily jumping from rock to rock, flapping his wings, blissfully unaware of the conversation. Lucifer’s eyes softened immediately.
“That we can agree on, brother.” The Morningstar clapped Gabriel on the shoulder and vanished. Gabriel stared at the spot where the older Archangel had stood, worry lines creasing his forehead, before turning to chase after his small charge.
After that moment, Gabriel sensed a change for the worse in Lucifer. He and Michael argued almost non-stop now, their fights loud enough to echo across all of Heaven. The Morningstar grew more and more sullen and withdrawn from the others, and Michael never smiled any more. It didn't help that none of them had heard from their Father in quite some time, and He was the only one who had ever been able to make the twins stop fighting. Little Castiel was thankfully unaware of the ongoing battle, although he seemed to note that his hero seemed to be upset about something.
Castiel’s first molt signaled that the young boy would soon be able to take flight on his own, and the child gleefully collected a few of the best pieces of his shed down, which he presented to Lucifer with a huge grin. Lucifer cuddled him close and told him what a big angel he was becoming, murmuring words of praise and pride to the still silent child. Gabriel watched with a sinking feeling in his chest. He found himself praying to their seemingly absent Father.
Dad… I don't know where you are or if you're even listening, but I think something's about to happen. Something bad. We really need you, here. Please, help us.
There was no reply. Gabriel sighed heavily. Typical.
********
They were fighting again, screaming in each other’s faces in front of a large section of the Heavenly Host.
“Father ordered us to love them and watch over them!” Michael snapped, his fine features contorted in anger.
“ Love them?! Look at them! Crawling around in the mud down there, barely able to eek out a few years of painful life! They're pathetic! How could we possibly love them at all, nothing less more than Him? More than our own kind?!” Lucifer spat back at his twin.
Michael shook his head sadly. “It doesn't matter what you think of them, Father has commanded it and we must obey.”
“Father isn't here , you idiot! He's left us! Abandoned his children to go play with his mud men!” A shocked gasp tore through the gathered crowd, and Michael’s expression went dark. He stalked closer to his blond twin.
“Never speak of Father that way.” Michael’s voice was low and dangerous. Behind Gabriel, Castiel shivered. The younger Archangel’s wings instinctively wrapped around the child as if to shield him.
“Lucifer, you do not know His mind. You do not know His plans. We must obey Him.” The older twin growled, now nearly nose to nose with his brother. Lucifer literally spit at his feet.
“ There’s what I think of Him and His stupid plans.” Lucifer snarled, and Michael snatched him up by the front of his tunic.
“How dare you?!” Michael shrieked, shaking his brother. He shoved him away and Lucifer stumbled, landing on his ass. In a flash, the embarrassed and enraged Archangel was on his feet again. He lunged at his twin, swinging a wild punch.
The blow connected and Michael hit the ground, holding his cheek. For an instant, neither moved. The whole crowd went deathly silent in shock. Michael slowly stood up, turning his back to his twin. When he spoke, his voice echoed with the power of the first-born Archangel.
“Haylel, Lucifer, son of God, I banish you. Never again will the gates of Heaven be your home. I cast you down into the depths of Perdition, to remain there forevermore.” Stunned murmuring went through the gathered angels as shackles appeared around Lucifer’s wrists and ankles, glowing red hot with the flames of Hell. Lucifer howled and tried to lunge at his twin, only to be jerked back by the chains.
“No!!!” Shrieked a small voice, breaking in the middle in terror. Castiel flung himself out of the safety of Gabriel’s wings and sprinted towards his idol arms outstretched and wings beating hard enough to lift him off the ground a few scant inches.
“Cassie, stop!” Gabriel tore after him, desperately trying to reach the boy before he got caught up in the thick smoke that was enveloping their elder brother.
“No! No, Lucifer!” Gabriel caught him, wrapping arms and wings around the small frame of his favorite angel even as the child fought him tooth and nail. Lucifer gave younger Archangel a grateful smile just before he the billowing smoke obscured him completely. Castiel continued to howl and thrash until the smoke faded. There was nothing left of where Lucifer had knelt other than a thick scorch mark. Castiel went limp, sobbing into Gabriel’s tunic. Gabriel clutched him close, tears of his own wetting his charge's hair.
The blubbering child fixed Michael with a vicious glare. “I hate you.” Castiel spat, venom seething from every word. Michael hung his head and turned away, disappearing in a flutter of wings.