Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“....”

Sam groaned, and turned over in his bed, trying to escape the whisper.

“.......”

Sam rolled over again, throwing a pillow over his head, “Piss off Dean, ‘m tired.” He lay still, tensed for a minute or two, then relaxed when the noise didn't come again. He didn't hear anything else until he fell under the veil of sleep.

“Samuel, awaken.” the words echoed. Sam's eyes opened to see a field of pitch blackness. His name was called out again and he turned to find its source. It called out again, bodiless and echoing throughout the dreamscape.

“Hello? Who’s there?” He called out into the nothingness. He felt something watching him. Wearily, he spun around to find a figure floating in the darkness, not too far from him. Red flags went off immediately due to the faint shape of wings behind it. His eyes widened as he noticed not one pair, but three.

Archangel. The word echoed through his mind a thousand times. His head screamed danger, but something else screamed safe. Too busy dealing with his conflicting emotions, he didn't notice the archangel come closer until it was mere inches from him.

“Samuel,” it whispered brokenly, “I require your help.” The figure floated around him, slowly taking shape. Soon enough a tall, humanoid figure was before him. It’s head bending down before his own, bright, violet eyes blazing.

“What?” Sam whispered with confusion written on his face. This archangel needed his help? She seemed to understand his confusion and nodded in confirmation.

“I need a vessel,” she spoke with ease, “you are the only option I have. Lucifer and I are much alike in some ways. We are both connected to Amara, therefore connected to the mark. This makes you a suitable vessel, Samuel.”

She paused, waiting for his response to the information she had just laid down before the human. Sam froze, realizing what she meant when the words caught up to him. Vessel? Amara? The mark? What?

“I don't even know who you are.” Any further words were caught in his throat as he backed up a few steps to catch his breath. Am I considering this? The angel watched the hunter’s actions, making no movement to go any closer. However, she did make a move to kneel down, shifting to a more comfortable position. Like she was expecting this conversation to take a bit of time.

“My name is Azrael,” She answered his question, “I was the first angel to fall to the Leviathan, and the first to die. I am the Archangel of Death.” She watched as Sam’s eyes widened in shock by her title. She let out a soft chuckle at that, amused by his surprised features.

Sam recovered from the information she told him quickly, “What do you mean Amara?”

“Amara was the one who rescued and revived me,” Azrael answered honestly, “after my father and kin abandoned me and left me to die. I trusted her, then she did the same.” She finished with a snap, wings flaring. Sam flinched back. Azrael noticed his fear, and she let out a quiet laugh, “no need to fear me, Samuel. There is no reason for me to harm you, you're the only one who can save me from this void.”

“And why should I believe you? You’ve given me no reason,” Sam growled out, still very on edge from the fact that an archangel of death was asking for him to her vessel, of all things. Azrael hummed in agreement.

“That, I have not. You're extraordinarily smart for a human,” Azrael laughed, “listen, take a day to think over this. I will explain my terms tomorrow, then you shall take another day to consider my offer. For now, it’s nearing morning.” She looked over her back, almost watching out for something or someone.

Sam let out a dry laugh as if he’d actually consider this. Azrael turned back to him, waiting for a response from the hunter.

“Yeah. Sure,” Sam let out another laugh, “though I gotta ask, why me? Why not Dean? He had the actual mark.” Azrael blinked her eyes in surprise from the information.

“Lucifer bore the mark originally, which is connected to Amara,” Azrael murmured, “Dean isn't connected to Lucifer, he is connected to Michael as his sword. I was made shortly after Lucifer. We were raised side by side.”

Sam nodded, it didn't seem very plausible in his mind, but it was what he was given as an explanation. Azrael saw the disbelief shine in his eyes and she laughed.

“Look, if you don't believe me, ask my brothers. Ask them,” She looked away, “Ask them if they had any other siblings, before Luci’s fall. Say you were researching, and you came across my name, as well as two others.”

The human in front of her nodded, needing to get some kind of confirmation that this was really who he was speaking with.
“Now go, young one,” The archangel laughed again, “awaken, your brother is calling for you.”
Sam opened his mouth to question her but was greeted with a flash of white.

*’*’*’*’*

Sam woke up to someone shouting his name before being met with a face full of a pillow. The hunter lurched out of bed to find his obnoxious brother laughing at his expense. Trying to figure out what the fuck was happening, Sam’s thoughts caught up to him eventually, which is when he shot Dean a bitch face. Sam groaned as he picked himself up from the floor, giving Gabriel a bitch face as well, the archangel was laughing at in doorway.

He stretched his arms up, making sure his shirt rode up his stomach and letting his hips be exposed to the archangel. Sam let out a groan for extra measure for the archangel who was definitely watching and sure enough, Gabriel was looking anywhere but at him. He had a clear blush dusted across his face with his hand held tightly against the door frame. Serves him right for laughing, the dick.

“What do you want, Jerk?” Sam sighed. Dean laughed at his annoyed look, then pointed to the clock that was on the wall.

“Other than the reason you’ve slept in till 11? Breakfast is done, bitch.”

Sam rolled his eyes, then looked up to the clock that hung on his bedroom wall. When does he ever sleep until noon? Gabriel must’ve noticed his worry because he shot him a look that clearly spoke ‘you alright?’. Sam sent him a reassuring smile, but Gabriel didn't seem convinced.

Still, he shook his head and walked away from Sam's room with Dean following behind, yelling something about bacon. As Sam walked out of his room, he froze as he approached the library. What if they read his mind? A flash of fear went through his mind but stilled when Azrael called out, voice echoing.

“I have blocked our conversations. They will be unaware.” The Archangel whispered into his mind. Sam let out a sigh of relief, which soon broke into a yelp when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned to see Michael standing behind him, looking slightly concerned for the human.

“Are you alright Samuel?” Michael asked. Sam just nodded, giving him a small grin.

“Yeah, just tired. I’m still half asleep,” Sam laughed, ”really, I’m good.” Michael did the head tilt, clearly confused by what Sam just said.

“You cannot be ‘half asleep,’” he frowned, “You are clearly awake.” Gabriel’s laugh could be heard from the kitchen before his head peered from the doorway with a wide grin on his face.

“It’s a figure of speech, Mika! Don't look too much into it.” Gabe chuckled. “breakfast is severed!”

Gabriel’s voice echoed throughout the bunker. His grin widened as he heard a ‘No shouting indoors!’ echo back from Chuck. Gabriel cackled and disappeared into the kitchen again as Michael sighed before following his youngest sibling with Sam following after him.

Walking into the kitchen, Sam could've sworn they were feeding a small country. Dean was working on a new batch of bacon, Castiel focusing on the pancakes, and Gabriel sitting on the counter chatting away with Lucifer. Michael and Raphael sat at the table quietly talking about heaven or something. Sam opened his mouth to ask Dean about the amount of bacon he decided to cook when Chuck appeared beside him.

“Fuck! At least we know where the angels get it from,” Sam cursed when Chuck appeared literally right behind him. Chuck only laughed before clapping his hands, effectively gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

“Good morning everyone!” Chuck smiled when everyone either shouted or spoke back in response. He then walked over to sit at the head of the table, next to Michael, who sat across from Raphael. Gabriel hopped off the counter and walked over to the table with Lucifer trailing him behind. Once everyone was settled at the table, chatter broker out between the angels and their father while Sam and Dean spoke about a new hunt that was close to the bunker.

Sam let his eyes wander to the archangels talking amongst each other with Castiel. His mind wandered to when they gathered up four of them. Michael was the first angel retrieved, they freed him from the cage and brought him to the bunker where Chunk restored his mind and after explaining the situation, Michael agreed in helping seal Amara away. Lucifer was next on the list after Sam summoned him. Lucifer along with Michael and their father had an extensive conversation that lasted the rest of the day and long into the week.

They appeared in the war room, amends made. They still had things to work out, but what family didn't? Gabriel was next on the list. They found him captured by Asmodeus in hell. Nearly graceless and flinching at even his father, Sam took it upon himself to carefully remove the wires stitched into the archangel’s mouth. Bringing Gabriel back mentally and physically was a long and difficult process of trial and error. Eventually, it took not only Sam but the help of the other two archangels and Chuck to help heal Gabriel.

After Gabriel was mentally and physically stable with his grace restored, he and his brothers took off for a day. Returning covered in blood, well mostly Lucifer, the archangels refuse to ever reveal where they were. Raphael was last for it took power from all three archangels and Chuck to bring her back from the dead. Castiel and Raphael spoke for a while that day and amended their past to move forward as siblings once more.

Sam blinked his eyes, bringing himself back from his thoughts. With a cough, he got the attention of everyone at the table. Looking down, he spoke up, “Hey-uh, I gotta question,” he looked back up to see the archangels looking at him. “A few weeks ago, I was researching, and I found a few names that I didn’t recognize. I'm curious, so excuse me if I offend or cross any lines.”

“Go ahead Samsquash.”Gabriel laughed, piling more syrup-drenched pancakes into his mouth. Raphael looked disgusted at her brother’s actions but nodded along with him.

“Ok, so... While I was researching, the names of other archangels kept coming up. I think their names where-” he was cut off by Michael.

“Ariel, Jophiel, and Azrael,” The other archangels along with Castiel and Chuck flinched at their names. Michael continued, “yes, they were real, but who knows at this point. Ariel and Jophiel left before Gabriel and Azrael fell to the Leviathans.” Michael looked down. Sadness flashing throughout his eyes.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t know.” Sam lied. Michael shook his head. He had a small smile on, sighing he rested his him on his palm and poked his food with his fork.

“Don’t be. It’s alright.”Michael looked over to Gabriel who had a faraway look in his eyes, flicking his younger brothers forehead brought Gabriel back to the present. Gabriel gave a sad smile, before excusing himself from the table and disappearing.
Chuck and Lucifer watched him go while Raphael and Castiel refused to meet anyone's eyes, clearly still torn over whatever happened. Sam looked down with troubled thoughts after learning that Azrael's information was truthful.

He needed to speak with her tonight. Dean started to ask Micheal other question, effectively leading the conversation away from the subject. The rest of the day went along without much trouble, Gabriel returned around lunch, smiley as ever and more research was done on the hunt. As nighttime neared, Sam called it a night and left to head to bed. The archangels watching him go, eyes subtly watching.

Gabriel spoke first, “There is no record of any other archangel in any human texts. He shouldn’t know there was seven of us.” Michael nodded, agreeing with Gabriel. Lucifer spoke up next,
“He was lying when he asked, he knew exactly what he was asking,” Lucifer murmured, “and he got the answer he wanted. Whatever that was...” Looking to where Sam had exited, he let out a groan in frustration.

“Something is blocking memories,” All their heads snapped to Raphael, “I cannot say for sure what it is, but it was powerful.” She sighed, leaning her head back on the chair. None of them knew what was going on, but whatever it was, it put all of them on edge.

Chapter Text

“Your story...it checks out,” Sam spoke as soon as he entered the space. He paused as he looked around, not seeing Azrael anywhere. Calling out, he heard movement behind him, turning around, he was shocked to see what exactly he saw. Instead of the lanky, humanoid creature, a young girl was in front of him. She seemed to only be about seventeen, maybe a bit younger. It was hard to tell since angels took many different forms.

The girl blinked as she tested out her fingers as if they were a new concept to her. She stood up with shaky legs, she stumbled toward Sam. Balancing herself with her arms, she steadied herself with a deep breath before she stood up straight. Sam watching her with wide eyes, realizing that this is Azrael in a human form. He was knocked out of his thoughts as her eyes met his. A dull violet blazed in her eyes, amusement glistening within.

She let out a laugh, “What do you think? Fitting right? I had a hard time thinking of something to wear though,” Her eyes trailed down to the oversized white short sleeved shirt she had on with shorts that reached down to her mid-thigh.

She let out another laugh and spun around, letting her auburn hair flare out. Sam just stood there, shocked that she could change her form. He stuttered a few words as Azrael just laughed, “I thought that becoming human would make this more easy for you. That version of my true form didn't really suit me anyway, I haven't been an angel for a long time.” She trailed off at the last bit. She shook her head, getting herself back on track, and turned to properly face Sam.

“Anyways, what were you saying? My story checked out? Oh right! Yes, uhm...have you made a decision? I don't want to push you one way or another,” Azrael spoke firmly, “Make your choice on your own terms, Samuel.” She crossed her arms, looking up to him.

Sam blinked, “Uh right. Please explain the terms you mentioned,” Azrael gave a look of shock that he agreed to at least listen to what her terms were.

She smiled, relieved that she had a chance of doing whatever she wanted to. She nodded and sat down on the floor, tapping the space in front of her to motion him to sit in front of her. Sam complied and slowly made his way to sit on the ground, the archangel sitting across from him. Beaming, she began to explain what she needed him to do.

“Okay. So here's the thing,” Azrael started off with a deep breath.

“If you say ‘yes’ to me, I can't be in control. If I am, I will be immediately noticed by my brothers and probably killed on spot. You wouldn't be in better condition than me if this happens. Therefore, I need to ‘bury’ myself deep, deep down after you say yes. Here’s the thing though, I still need to get work done.

First thing first is to start on a vessel,” Azrael held up her finger then pointed to Sam, ”That's where you come in. I need you to get a few things for me to make it.” She rolled her eyes at the surprised look in Sam’s.

“You heard me, I'm gonna make the damn thing. I’m taking a page outta Gabriel's book, finding a compatible vessel through the bloodlines will be too complicated and will take too long. This is gonna have to be done somewhere where no one's gonna think to look, like an old warehouse or an isolated part of the bunker.” Sam blinked, his mind racing through the bunkers layout, before settling on a room that would work.

“There's an old indoor swimming pool room that's under the garage, I found it on accident when I was looking for Dean one time. It could be warded so the angels wouldn’t be able to find it unless they were actively looking for it.” Sam grinned at the shocked look on the girl’s face, that slowly morphed into a grin.

“That's perfect!” Azrael clapped her hands in delight, “The next step would be getting my grace back, then finally my blade. With my grace back, I wouldn’t have to rely on you anymore, and boom! Azrael is back in town, this time in person!” She finished off, before suddenly casting a look away from Sam. She fidgeted in her spot, trying to get her thoughts into words.
“However...I won't be able to do all of this alone, I won't have the full power to fend myself off yet,” She looked up, her eyes pleading. “Sam, if something happens... I mean, if we don't get my blade or grace and I am forced to inhabit the vessel. I need you to accompany me to retrieve them because once I’m in that vessel, I’m in it. No getting out.”

Sam's eyes widened at the request, looking at the guilty-looking archangel in bafflement. Azrael wasn’t asking for a walk in the park, the archangel was essentially asking him to leave the bunker in search of her blade and grace. Azrael was unaware of Sam’s mental freeze and continued her pleas to the hunter.

“I don't have enough energy as is, I’ll barely have enough to do anything other than fly or the occasional smiting of a low-class demon.” She looked down at her hands, ashamed of her weakened state at the moment. Azrael sighed and stood back up. “I’ll- uh- leave you to think about all of this.” Snapping her fingers, Sam woke up in his bed.

*’*’*’*’*
Sam spent most of the day replaying what Azrael told him as he wandered aimlessly throughout the bunker. Breaking out of his train of thoughts, he found his feet had taken him to the entrance to the pool room. Pushing the door open, he took in the empty space that has been abandoned for decades, before closing the door and making his way to the library.

Rounding the corner, he watched as Dean skimmed through books for information on the hunt with Castiel standing over his shoulder pointing out things that Dean didn't pick up. Sam snickered, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture. The picture was sent into a group chat titled ‘Destiel is OTP’ that he was currently in, along with Gabriel, Chuck, Lucifer, and Michael.

Lucifer made the chat with Gabriel who gave it the name, while Chuck, unfortunately, discovered he wasn’t able to leave it. Michael claims he doesn't understand the point to the chat, but he sends the most pictures of ‘destiel’ to the chat. Sam’s laughter caught the attention of Castiel, who looked up and greeted Sam when he fully walked into the library.

“Hello Sam, there's leftover lunch in the kitchen if you’re hungry,” Cas looked back down to the book Dean was reading. “No Dean, you missed- no, turn it back a page.” Dean let out a suffering sigh and flipped back a few pages, only to get yelled at again by Castiel. The angel seemed to be completely done with his shit, looking ready to take the book himself.

Sam shook his head and started to make his way towards the kitchen. Looking over the stovetop sat the leftover pot of spaghetti sauce and sitting next to it was the strainer of plain noodles. Humming, Sam grabbed a bowl to pile the spaghetti into before microwaving the food.

Placing his bowl on the table, Sam pulled out his phone to search for cases that other hunters in the area could take. Finishing his lunch, Sam went back out into the library to help with the current hunt that they were working on.

Sam noticed that Castiel had left and Gabriel with Lucifer was between shelves, arguing about something in a language Sam couldn't understand. Upon his re-entry, Dean looked up and motioned his brother to come over and help finish researching for the hunt. Sam gave a nod and made his way over, passing the archangels on the way.

Gabriel paused and looked at Sam as he passed, something flashing in his eyes, before turning his attention back to Lucifer. Sam watched them talk in hushed voices for only a few moments before turning back to the book that sat in front of him.

In a flurry of feathers, he noticed that Raphael and Michael had joined their brothers. The noise of chair legs screeching and the fading of footsteps told him that Dean left him to do the research on his own. It didn’t bother him that it was just him and the archangels in the library now. The hunter was often sitting in the library reading with at least one archangel around. However, this time there was a slight power flowing through the air.

Sam silently cursed Dean for leaving him alone to do the research yet again. A cough brought him out of his thoughts. Turning his head, Sam found Gabriel standing behind him.

“Do you need something? I can leave if you all want,” Sam blinked, “I don't mean to eavesdrop or anything on an important archangel meeting. Not that I can, I bet you guys speak tons of languages I don’t know.” He chuckled before marking the page he was on and closing the book. Sam looked up to see all four archangels surrounding him.

Sam shot Gabriel a confused look, “Something wrong?”

“We don't know actually,” Lucifer gave a light chuckled. “We were hoping if you knew. After all, you seem to like your secrets.”

“Lucifer!” Michael hissed at his younger brother as he yanked the archangel back by his arm. Lucifer simply scoffed and looked away when Raphael hit her brother on the back of the head.

The three archangels were unaware of the terrified look in Sam’s eyes. The hunter was trembling with his eyes locked on Lucifer’s movements. When the archangel took a step towards him, Sam hastily pushed himself out of his chair, running into Gabriel in his effort to put distance between Lucifer.

“Hey, easy there Sam. Guys, stop! You’re making him freak out.” Gabriel tried to gently soothe the hunter only to have Sam harshly shove the archangel at his chair.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare come close to me? I’ll get out, Dean will save me, I’ll get out.” Sam backed away as all the archangels tried to get close enough to calm Sam down.

Michael looked at his brother with a ‘this is entirely your fault’ look and Lucifer snarled, “What? Don't bitch at me for getting to the point.”

“We need to know what is going on with him!” The archangel growled and lunged forward, grabbing Sam’s arm in a tight grip. “What are you hiding, Sam Winchester.”

“No! Get away- Dean, please help me! Somebody help me! Stop- don’t touch me, don’t touch me! Gabriel! Castiel! Anyone! Save me!” Sam cried out as he fought in Lucifer’s grasp. Hands clawing at the archangel’s arm, eyes wide in terror.

“Sam!”

“Lucifer stop!” Michael and Raphael pulled their brother back as Gabriel tried to stop Sam’s screams.

“Sam, please. It’s me, Gabe. You’re not being attacked.” The archangel tried to help, but the hunter kept backed away while shaking his head no.

“No, you’re not, Gabriel is dead. You killed him, you can’t trick me.” Sam pressed himself against a small nook in the library while his hand pressed against his palm.

“Sam, I’m real. You’re out of the cage. I swear you are. Look at the floor, see the tiles? There isn’t floor like this in the cage, it’s too yucky. I’m real, you aren’t in the cage. You’re here in the bunker. It’s alright, it’s gonna be okay.” Gabriel quietly talked while gently coming within arms reach of Sam.

Letting Sam touch him first, the archangel slowly eased closer to the hunter as Michael took his brother out of the library. Raphael gave one quick glance before following her brothers to keep them from fighting. Gabriel finally coaxed Sam to open up and the archangel curled around him on the library floor.

“I got you, I’ll protect you.” A litany of reassurances poured out of Gabriel’s mouth as he rubbed a thumb against the back of Sam’s hand. The archangel listened to Sam’s erratic heartbeat slow down as he did breathing exercises with the hunter.

“See? No problem, you’re safe. We were just wondering if anything strange happened, outside of Amara that is. We didn’t mean to cause trouble, I’m sorry Sam.” Sam hesitated, he didn’t think they knew about Azrael, so he shook his head. Gabriel nodded and took a deep breath.

“Well that’s enough fun for a day, let’s get you in bed for a nap break.” Before Gabriel could snap Sam away, the hunter grabbed his hand. Looking away at the questioning look, Sam began to mumble.

“Would you...stay with me- I mean- keep me company ya know? In the case of nightmares? Nevermind, it was stupid.” Sam shrugged and began to get up.

“Of course, Sam.”

The archangel gave a soft smile as he snapped them into Sam’s room. Sam curled up next to him on top of the covers with a hesitant look. The archangel gave an encouraging look as he tangled their legs together. Raphael found them in time for food and so Sam could get some research done for the hunt. Later in the group chat, a picture of Sam and Gabriel was mysteriously posted.

*’*’*’*’*
“Gabriel, maybe we were wrong.” Michael insisted, “We might’ve overreacted, there could be information on them. Metatron could’ve held information on them and never wrote it down, then put it in human texts. We just didn’t know it.” Gabriel shook his head at his brother’s comment and continued to pace.

“We don't know that!” Gabriel hissed, ”Metatron might be a slimy bastard, but the fool wouldn't exclude information on three archangels that left long before humans, only to put them in human text!” Gabriel turned on heel back to face Michael, face dropping at Michaels expression of pity. Gabriel recoiled from his eldest brother when Michael tried to reach out.

Michael sighed and leaned back against the wall as he watched his brother go back to pacing the room. ‘something isn't right’ and ‘we’re missing something’. Gabriel kept muttering and pacing until Lucifer spoke up.

“Three dead archangels,” Lucifer quietly spoke. Gabriel and Michael snapped their heads towards Lucifer, who remained on the edge of the bed. “stop talking like they're still alive.” He muttered before flying off to sulk somewhere that wasn't the bunker.

Michael turned back to Gabriel, only to find him gone as well. The eldest archangel groaned before slumping down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. What the hell is going on?

Chapter Text

When Sam awoke in the dreamscape, he found Azrael sitting a couple feet away. Walking over, Sam sat down next to her with Azrael looking up to him before looking away, awaiting his answer.

She told him everything that she could, this was his time to answer her request. Sam put a hand out in front of her view, catching her attention. Azrael looked at his hand in confusion, then up to him.

“I don’t really want to, but you seem honest. It wouldn't really be fair of me to leave you here considering you've been here this long. Besides you’ve never done anything to me.” Sam explained. He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck, “So it's a yes, I suppose.”

Sam looked back to Azrael, only to jump back when he saw her face mere inches from his. A wide grin was plastered on her face as she shook with excitement.

“Thank you!” She screamed, “You have no idea how thrilling that is to hear!” She toppled Sam over with a hug gleefully as fluorescent glow filled the dream space.

*’*’*’*’*
Inside Sam’s bedroom, a dim, violet light began to glow, his sleeping from being the source of the glow. The glow wasn’t coming out of his eyes and mouth, Sam Winchester’s whole body was glowing brightly. Slowly the glow began to expand and grow brighter yet Sam was still asleep in his bed. The light eventually lit the room in a purple hue before dulling slightly afterward. The inhabitants of the bunker were oblivious to the glow under Sam’s door, each resident in deep slumber.

When Sam cracked his eyes open to find Azrael sitting on the edge of his bed. She held up a finger to her lips, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Just as she disappeared, Dean walked in, two cups of steaming coffee in his hand.

“Morning bedhead,” Dean smirked as he handed Sam a mug, ”I figured out what we’re hunting. It’s a nest of vamps that are imitating werewolves. There shouldn't be more than fifteen.” He hummed as he leaned against the wall, taking a sip of his own coffee.

Sam nodded, placing his own mug on his bedside table. He got out of bed and made his way over to his dresser to start packing. Dean made a noise and Sam stopped grabbing clothing to turn to his brother.

“Something wrong?” Sam inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Dean mumbled into his cup, “Lucifer is gonna come with Cas and I. The bastard can barely sit still for five minutes so Cas thinks this will be good for him.”

“Alright, I guess I won't be of much help if you already have an archangel with you.” Sam started to put the clothes back into their respective places. “Just make sure the idiot doesn't smite everything in a two-mile radius. I doubt it would be easy to worm a homicidal archangel out of police custody.” Sam snickered to himself.

Dean groaned and sauntered off, leaving Sam alone in his room. Or that's what Sam’s brother though.

“Lucifer is on a hunt to exterminate vamps, eh?” Azrael was sitting on Sam’s bed when he turned to grab his coffee. “That’d be interesting to watch.” Sam just rolled his eyes and finished his coffee. Refusing to respond to the archangel, he spun on his heel and walked back to his dresser to pick out something for the day. When Sam left his room to go see how Dean was doing with Lucifer, Azrael jumped off the bed and followed him, invisible to others’ eyes.

*’*’*’*’*

Azrael sprinted ahead of him, her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, swaying side to side as she ran towards the center of the emptied pool. Spinning around to face him, she gave him the thumbs up with a wide grin.

“This place will work fantastically!” Azrael ran back towards him and snapped her fingers, summoning a piece of paper in Sam’s hand. “Those are the symbols that will keep my father and brothers out of this room. Make sure you lock the door with a key that you keep on you at all times.” Azrael listed off the conditions to keep the room safe from prying eyes while Sam nodded, pocketing the paper.

Azrael hummed and turned back away from Sam, rubbing her hands together before she snapped her fingers. In the middle of the room, a table appeared along with chairs, a desk, and pens with paper. A copper bowl was summoned and a few ingredients for the spell were settled on the table. Azrael started to walk towards the table and motioned Sam to follow her to look at the ingredients on the table.

Leaning against the desk, Azrael flipped through the loose-leaf pages as Sam went to sit down. Azrael clicked her tongue and pointed to a list written on the paper.

“This is what we're looking for. This list has everything that we’re gonna need for my vessel.” Azrael grinned.

Sam went through the list: a few raven feathers, something for the meat of the vessel, human blood, Azrael’s own grace, an angel feather, and grace from a different archangel. He looked back to Azrael in bewilderment.

“How the hell are we gonna get the archangel grace and an angel feather?” Sam hissed, “it's not like I can go up to anyone in the bunker and ask them. Just ask for a feather and grace for- oh- shits and giggles?” Sam glared at her, thinking she expected him to go up to one of the archangels that lived in the bunker.

Azrael broke down laughing at her host's anger, “No Dipshit!” she calmed her giggles eventually as she winked, “we’re getting those from my dear old sister and little brother.” The archangel broke down into more laughter at Sams confused head tilt.

*’*’*’*’*

Gabriel landed in the bunker in a flurry of golden feathers. After spending the past hours sulking in the middle of nowhere, he finally calmed down enough to come back without having an outburst. Using a bit of grace, he found that Lucifer still wasn't back yet and Michael was in the kitchen with Castiel and Raphael, making dinner for the inhabitants of the bunker. Dean was with Chuck, watching some reality tv show.

Gabriel paused. Where the hell was the other hunter? His grace told him he was in the bunker, but he couldn't feel him. A flash of panic ran throughout Gabriel, causing the archangel to fly to the room to where Sam’s presence was closest to. Landing in the garage had him confused.

Since when does Sam spend time in the garage?

The creak of a door opening seemed to answer his question. Gabriel dashed behind a car, wanting to surprise Sam, but froze at Sams behavior. The archangel watched the hunter check his surroundings as he slipped out of the room. Sam locked the door and quickly dashed out of the garage. Gabriel stood from his crouched position, eyes lingering on the door Sam had run out of.

Listening for Sam’s footsteps echoing further and further away from the garage, Gabriel walked over to the door Sam had appeared from. Standing in front of the door for a few seconds, the archangel simply saw a normal door, before reaching out for the handle.

Gabriel sprang back, hissing as his hand was burned by even getting near the handle. He glanced down at his hand only to find it searing red with runes burned into it. The wound inflicted by whatever spell was unable to be treated by the use of his grace. He'd have to go see Raphael to see if she could do anything.

Gabriel looked back up to the door and attempted opening it open with his grace, only to find it was still secured shut even with the use. Snapping his fingers, he was unable to teleport himself inside whatever was behind the door. An icy feeling flowed through him as he realized that Sam laid these runes and wardings down.

What the fuck.

*’*’*’*’*
Sam practically sprinted back to his room to avoid anyone seeing him. He was just about to go for the doorknob when he was pushed against the door by a much smaller body. Looking down, his eyes were met with whiskey eyes of an archangel.

“Gabriel?” Sam flinched at the look in the archangel's eyes. They were tinted with something a little less than holy. Gabriel’s smile reminding Sam of the gods the Winchesters had faced over the years of hunting. Gabriel's hands came up to reach around Sam’s neck, they tangled themselves in long chestnut hair.

The archangel’s grin was looking downright malicious as he pushed himself against Sam. The hunter’s eyes widen, he barely had to say something before Gabriel yanked the hunter down by his hair. Sam hissed in pain, grabbing Gabriel’s waist to steady himself as the archangel took the opportunity to plunge his tongue into Sam’s mouth. The hunter’s cheeks were flushed pink when Gabriel pulled away with a wide smirk.

“It’s been a while,” Gabriel purred into Sam’s ear, the archangel’s hot breath on his ear made Sam suck in a quick breath. “did ya miss me?”

“You...Loki!” Sam cried out as realization settled in his mind over why the archangel was acting differently. Gabriel’s alter personality, Loki, was part of the archangel after he hid with the pagans for so long. Eventually ‘Loki’ had built up enough power and Gabriel became part pagan for real in a way.

Loki chuckled as he started to pepper kisses against the hunter’s neck. Sam was too lost in the heat of the moment to feel Loki start untie the string that held the key to the pool room. His mind was focusing on the way Loki’s teeth dragged across his neck, the beginning of hickies blooming on his skin.

“....Sam...”

Sam’s eyes fluttered closed as he sighed when Loki began to open the buttons to his shirt.

“..Sam...Sam!”

Sam's eyes opened slightly, narrowing at the annoying voice who seemed to be persistent enough to take Sam’s focus away from Loki. Sam started to close his eyes when-

“Fucking shit! Sam, the key!” Azrael screamed in his head, “He’s going for the key!” Her voice broke through the tranquility with the sheer force of her fear. Sam did the only thing he could think of in the spur of the moment. Despite Azrael's screams of protest, he bit down on Loki’s neck, hard.

Loki gasped and lost his grasp on getting the last knot loose. Sam used his shock to shove the archangel back and tear the key from Gabriel’s grip. Not wasting a second, he reached back and grabbed the doorknob to his room.

Loki's eyes narrowed at Sams jerky and quick movements, his eyes staring at the key that Sam held in a death grip. The Enochian and pagan symbols etched in the key made it impossible to snap it out of the younger Winchester’s hand. A snarl brought Loki's eyes from the key to Sam’s face, only to flinch at the glare that the Winchester was able to muster up.

“Get out of here Loki. Get out and never come back! I thought you cared about this, about us. Do you remember what you told me before you fought Lucifer in the hotel? You told me that we were different, that this was the start of something new,” Sam scoffed as his voice grew louder while his hands turned in to fists.

“You told me we would wait, take things slow so you could prove to me that you changed. But I guess I was just another conquest, huh, just another body to sleep with. Was it actually real feelings? Or were you just pretending, like with Kali, lying to my face and coming back with roses when I’m of use to you.” Sam hissed as he shoved the archangel after getting up in Loki’s space.

Loki faltered, but he didn't back down from the furious hunter. He simply watched as Sam turned his back and walked into his room. The slamming of the door brought Gabriel back to the surface as Loki was suppressed again. He turned his head when a voice spoke up from the other side of the hallway.

Lucifer let out a low laugh, “Oh how the mighty have fallen, dear brother.” The archangel shook his head and turned on his heel, leaving his youngest brother alone in the hallway. Gabriel was left with the realization and guilt of what his counterpart had just done. Shattering the trust and burning the bridge Gabriel was attempting to build between Sam and him. He stared at Sam’s door and listened to the faint cries inside before vanishing from the bunker for a second time that day.

Inside Sam’s room, the hunter was sitting brokenly on his bed, furiously wiping at tears dripping down his face. His mind was a storm of self-doubt and anger over broken promises made by Gabriel. In a fit of rage, the hunter yelled in anger as he threw his pillow at the wall of his room.

Azrael watched her host with a loss of what to do. No words were coming to her, she hadn’t interacted with anyone in a long time, her people skills were rusty. She awkwardly sat down next to Sam on his bed and cast him a sideways glance.

“Was it all just a lie?” Sam sniffed, rubbing his eyes. “some sick game for him? All those flowers, the hand holding, did any of it matter!?” The hunter brought his knees up and rested his head on them, showing a vulnerable state to the archangel. Azrael sighed and leaned against the larger body, trying to give the hunter some form of comfort through touch. She felt Sam tense under her weight, then relax and lean into her touch.

“Honestly?” She whispered against his shoulder, before wrapping her arms around him in a semi-hug. “I know my brother; he’s dumb as fuck, I don’t think that ever changed. He takes after Jophiel, neither of them think before they do anything.”

“But what does that say about him, about what we were. Was our relationship a reckless decision?” Sam turned his head to look at the archangel from his huddled position.

Azrael scoffed, “Don’t say that, don’t call off anything just because Loki got carried away. He loves you, Sam Winchester, with all of his dumb heart.”

Chapter Text

“Stop your whining, Dean,” Sam rolled his eyes as he opened the Impala's passenger door. Stepping outside in front of the shopping center, he looked down to see his brother groaning with his head on the steering wheel in defiance. “Dean, you get out of the car right now.”

“I don't see why we need to go out anyway, we have the archangels,” Dean sighed dramatically as he slouched further in his seat. He looked up at Sam in annoyance, “You know the winged dicks that can literally create shit out of thin air? Those annoying ass feather brains?”

“Yeah? And If I were to stay one more day in the bunker, I swear I would kill everything in a five-mile radius, including myself. I needed out and don’t deny it, so did you so you wouldn’t go stir-crazy. Now come on, I wanted to buy some things.” Sam rolled his eyes in response before starting off towards the different shops in the center. He picked up the pace when he heard Castiel open the back door to get out of the car.

The younger Winchester discreetly walked in the opposite direction of his brother and his angel. The plan was to meet up at back a the impala later in the afternoon. That left them with enough time to do what they wanted and still get back to the bunker in time for dinner. They had more work more work to stop Amara without caging her again.

Having so much time gave Sam and Azrael a chance to find a small cafe where they could meet up with Ariel and Jophiel. Azrael told Sam that the hidden archangels would be able to give the grace and feather for the vessel. Sam turned the corner of a shop and continued walking absentmindedly before Azrael spoke up.

“Sam- hey, wait! Look,” the archangel’s apparition pointed across the street to a little cafe. ”There- the little coffee place, Ginger and Bean. It looked like a good meet up a place that isn’t sketchy like the alleyways in Hollywood.” They were finally meeting with the second eldest archangel and, as Azrael calls him, ‘the gayest fuck ever to fuck, literally’.

Azrael cackled at the memory that went through Sam's head. It was a bit unnerving at first to know that she saw and knew everything that went through his head.. Although, it did let Sam trust her more and it let Azrael catch up on how the world changed during her death. The archangel had gone through the hunter’s memories, gathering all she could, from the modern way people spoke to big events.

Unfortunately for Sam, Azrael took on the younger generations’ humor like memes and weird jokes from so-called vines. Sam couldn't tell which was worse, being hit in the balls by Gabriel or having Azrael quote vines around the clock. Azrael laughed at his pain and all Sam could do was roll his eyes, randomly flipping the bird in public could make people offended when they couldn’t see the obnoxious-vine-quoting archangel.

“Hello! Welcome to Ginger and Bean, may I take your order?” Sam was greeted by a young girl with dusty rose hair at the counter. She was ready to take his order down with her hand at the ready over a tablet computer.

“Uhm, coffee, please? Two creams and one sugar.” The barista rattled off his order before she waved for him to go sit down as she disappeared into the back of the cafe. Sam looked around, finding an old-fashioned spiral staircase that leads up to a loft above the main floor. Ascending the stairs, he found a little nook in the corner made out of refashioned bookcases. He took a seat and let Azrael take over his body while they waited for the two archangels to show up.

“Interesting,” Azrael hummed. “well let's get this show on the road.” She reached into Sam’s pocket and with a few quick types, she sent out a text to Jophiel using Sam’s phone. Less than a second later, she heard the bell of the cafe ring with a familiar voice.
“Why little miss, is that for the tall man with floppy hair up in the loft? Let me, he's a good friend of ours.” A chirpy, “thank you” was heard from the barista as footsteps make their way up the staircase.

The man seemed in his early twenties, downing an old dusty tank top that barely covered his tanned muscles. With old ripped jeans and the unique spiky hair the man was sporting, he looked like an everyday punk kind-of-guy. Still, his tangerine eyes gave away a vibe that he knew more than what the eye could see.

“Jophiel.” Azrael grinned, waving him over to sit with her before turning her gaze to the shorter woman that followed Jophiel up the stairs.

Dressed in a dark plum dress, she looked more formal with her scarlet hair tied up in a neat bun. Green eyes shone with maternity no human could ever achieve unless they lived thousands of years on the Earth. Ariel was the second eldest of the archangels and privately Azrael would confirm Ariel held first place as Azrael’s favorite sibling.

Azrael moved over to make room for the other archangels in the small nook they claimed. Ariel moved to the seat across from her sister as Jophiel plopped down next to her. He set down the coffee that Sam had ordered before placing his arms down on the table, fiddling with a golden band that rested on his ring finger.

Azrael raised her eyebrow at it, causing Jophiel to grin at her reaction. “Angel of the Cupids, Agapius but he likes to be called Tyler.” The archangel snickered. “I’ve been officially married about seventy years now?” His answer trailed off as he stopped to actually think about the number of years he’s been married.

The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. Their outburst caused Jophiel to come out of his thoughts, becoming a sputtering mess instead of the laid back guy he appeared at first. As their laughter calmed down, Ariel looked to her younger sister with a more serious look.

“It’s been too, excuse my language, fucking long sister,” Ariel whispered. “you have no idea what it’s like to have you back alive and well.”

Jophiel nodded in agreement as he snapped up a martini to drink during their meeting. “I’d have to agree,” his eyes began to glaze over.“ the last time we saw you, conscious and alive, was moments before you literally fell off the edges of Heaven.” He murmured. Azrael looked down at the swirls of cream in the coffee that rested in her hands as she tried to find words to soothe her siblings’ pain.

“I remember the attack,” Azrael mumbled in a hushed voice while Jophiel and Ariel winced at the pained look on their sister’s face. “I remember the leviathans attack and what happened after-” She sucked in a sharp breath, only calming after Ariel placed her hand over her shaking ones.

“We are not asking you to relive those memories of Heaven,” Ariel swore in earnest. “you are clearly not ready to return to heaven and you need time adjust as of right now. We can have a family therapy session later with everyone else, including father.”

Ariel winked and squeezed Azrael's hand, a small amount of warm grace flowing through Azrael to reassure her. The archangel let go of Azrael’s hands to reach back and bring her hand back with the box in her grasp. Azrael muttered a small ‘thank you’ for the comfort her sister was able to grant the archangel with a small gesture and little grace.

“Speaking of-” Jophiel cut off the girls to look around at the other people in the cafe. “How did you get out without being noticed?”

“Sam’s in control most of the time, it’s the only way I can get around to do what I need to do without being noticed.” Azrael let out a nervous chuckle before taking a sip of the coffee. The archangel immediately stuck her tongue out in disgust, spiting the coffee back into the cup. Jophiel laughed at his sister’s reaction to coffee, but Ariel maintained a serious look on her face.

“You know when you get your grace back, there will be an explosion that will shake heaven and hell, right?” She leaned forward with a pained look on her face. “Our father and siblings will be aware of your return, whether you want them to or not. People will come for you, Azrael.” She turned to her younger brother who nodded in agreement at the conversation.

“We will all have to face our past eventually,” Jophiel gave a pointed look to his sister. “even Ariel and I. Outrunning the past will never be a permanent solution, even for an archangel.” He looked annoyed at the thought, causing Ariel to giggle at his expression.

“Oh please, laugh it up now dearest sister. When you're suddenly being yelled at for ditching home? I’m gonna laugh at your sorry ass and leave you hanging.” He hissed in annoyance and turned his body away from his older sisters to sulk like a child.

“I think you’ll be needing this.” Ariel rolled her eyes at Jophiel, leaning back in her chair and pushing the box towards Azrael. The archangel gentle opened the lip of the box and peered inside.

Two glass vials were fasten to the box with straps and a foam cushion to hold them in place. The vials were decorated with gold in a intricate designs, fitting for what they held inside. Azrael picked up the first vial, observing the light pink grace swirling inside like a maelstrom. The second vial had more of a purple hue, swishing side to side in the container.

Placed inside the box with the vials of grace was a tin box that took up the other half of the bigger box. Two angel feathers were resting neatly in the box, a single beige and hazelnut feather that had a soft glow the longer you stared at it. Azrael hummed and placed everything back in its place, before closing the lid with an air of respect.

“Thank you for giving up some of your grace and feathers for me, guys. Words can’t describe how thankful I am, this means a lot to me,” She blinked tears away as she put the box back on the table. “gosh, now I’m getting all emotional. Stupid human logic.” Her siblings chuckled before tensing when Azrael started to cough in pain.

“Get some rest sister,” Jophiel whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “you barely have enough grace to function as a seraph.”

“I’ll see you guys later then,” Azrael nodded her head in agreement before letting Sam take control again, drifting off to sleep deep within his mind.

Sam blinked to get used to the feeling of being awake again, before looking to the archangels next to him. He gave an awkward smile and cough, struggling to find a proper greeting to cosmic beings that could turn him to dust.

“Uhm, hello. Nice to meet you.” The Winchester gave a small wave with a meek smile as he looked between the two archangels.

“Hello Samuel, my name is Ariel. I am the archangel of protection and the younger twin of Michael.” She looked to Jophiel, nodding her head to tell him to introduce himself to the human that is hosting their sister. She paled at the mischievous glint in the archangel’s eye.

“Well, well, well... Looks like Gabriel caught quite the fish. I’m sure he wouldn't mind if I took a bite, would he? How could my dear brother keep this hunk all to himself?” Jophiel purred as he slide closer to the Winchester. Sam looked to Ariel for help, only to find the elder archangel covering her face in her hands in embarrassment. Looking back at Jophiel, Sam blushed crimson red at how close the archangel had got to him, causing Ariel to make a noise of disgust.

“Sam, please ignore him.” Ariel sighed and rubbed her temples at Jophiel’s smug expression. “Look, just care for our sister ok? We just got her back and we wouldn't be very happy to lose her again so soon.” She shot Sam a stern glare that quickly softened at the panicked look on Sam’s face.

“If you ever get bored of Gabey, call me!”

Jophiel winked at Sam, then promptly vanished with a puff of glitter. Ariel looked at the chair where her brother used to be sitting in and gave a heavy sigh before flying off as well. Sam stifled a chuckle, then took a sip of his coffee and stared out the window. The hunter began to watch the day pass until he had to leave to meet up with Dean and Castiel.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when a hand came down on his shoulder. Flinching in surprise, he whirled around to find bright blue eyes looking at him.

“Cas? What are you doing here?” The younger Winchester stuttered out in bewilderment, afraid of the idea that he saw Azriel or Jophiel earlier.

“Dean told me to come to find you,” Castiel answered. “I saw you from outside the window. This cafe is quite nice, I see why you may enjoy a place like this. Dean said he got a call from Lucifer, we’re needed back at the bunker.” From the tone of his voice, Cas seemed worried about something, but the angel wasn’t speaking about it. Sam nodded and downed the rest of his coffee, leaving a tip on the table. Castiel grabbed his arm and they flew off to the Impala where Dean was waiting.

*’*’*’*’*
“Guys, what the hell are you going on about in here.” Chuck muttered as he raised his eyebrow at his children who were all trying to talk to him. All of the archangels were talking at once, speaking over each other and jumbling their words together.

The archangels froze, looking to each other with wide eyes, their hands stuck in the metaphorical cookie jar. Raphael sighed before stepping forwards, sending a glare to her brothers to shut up when she hear whines.

“Something is going on with Samuel,” She explained to her father. “he’s hiding something from everyone in the bunker, we can all feel it.” She reasoned, looking to her father for help and guidance with the situation. Chuck tilted his head, signaling to her that he was listening to his child. She gave him a small smile of gratitude and continued to explain.

“Ever since he asked about Ariel, Azrael, and Jophiel, he's been avoiding everyone. He is seen less and less, like he’s meeting somewhere in secrecy.” Raphael stressed, her siblings nodding their heads behind her. “He's been gone for hours at a time, he's lying consistently, and something is blocking his mind from us.”

“The thing is,” Lucifer stepped forward, joining his sister with an earnest look on his face.“You wouldn't be able to tell unless you were looking for it.” Raphael nodded, confirming what her older brother said as she looked expectantly at Chuck.

“Father, please,” Michael cut in, making Chuck turned his gaze towards his eldest. “I feel as if… as if he’s working for Amara- but against his will!” He added the last part quickly in response to the death glare he got from Gabriel for accusing Sam of betraying his family.

“What do you mean? Why would Amara go after Sam instead of Dean?” Chuck questioned the archangels, who froze in their tracks. They looked to one another once again before falling into silence.

“I’m not sure what's going on for sure.“ Michael spoke up again after a moment of silence. “If Sam is truly working with Amara, then we have more problems than we thought we did originally. However, we cannot judge Sam on accusations that don’t even have evidence, we need proof of this so-called betrayal.”

“I’ll do it, he’s only human.” Lucifer stepped up, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. “He’s bound to make a mistake. And when he does, I’ll be sure to get evidence of what he has done.” Lucifer chuckled, but stopped when a growl sounded from behind him. Gabriel scowled at his brother, furious that he would try to find any way to get the evidence they needed to accuse Sam of working with Amara.

“You can't just dig up anything you can on him and use that to prosecute him!” Gabriel hissed, desperately looking around for someone to back him up. ”We don't even know why he’d work for Amara!” He tried to reason with his family, for them to see that they are overreacting, and that Sam is innocent.

“I’d have to agree with Gabriel on this matter. We don't have anything concrete,” Chuck shook his head, sighing at Michael and Lucifer’s stern faces. “but I will keep an eye out ok? Does that satisfy everyone?” Michael relaxed and nodded, Lucifer nodding along with his brother, then vanishing the next second. Chuck sighed then followed in suit, leaving Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael alone in the room.

“What the hell was that?” A new voice form the doorway jarred them out of their conversation. Dean stood there, mouth slightly agape before morphing into fury. “What the fuck do you mean ‘Sam is working with Amara?” The older Winchester snarled.

“Calm down there, Dean-o,” Gabriel tried to reach out to Dean. ”How much of that did you hear?” The hunter stepped back out of Gabriel's reach, scowling at the archangel.

“Enough,” Dean growled out, then began to storm down the hallway, presumably looking for his brother. The angels looked to one another, one word passing between them all.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Sam was in the kitchen with Castiel, cooking up a big batch of food for dinner. Music played from the radio to fill in the silence between them, as neither saw a reason to talk. Working around each other, they were both content with the peace they gave one another instead. They would never be as close as they were to their significant others, but they had built a strong friendship despite what they’ve been through over the years.

Castiel was humming to the music, cutting up vegetables while Sam took care of the steaks, cooking them to the preferences of everyone in the bunker. Cas looked to Sam, about to say something, but suddenly stopped and looked to the doorway. Sam tilted his head, turning around when he heard multiple footsteps coming through the doorway.

“Dean? What's wrong?” Cas asked with concern as he looked at the scowl on the older Winchester’s face. “You seem angry, is everything alright?”

Dean looked from Castiel to Sam, his face twisting into a harsh glare at Sam. Sam looked at his brother's anger in bewilderment, looking to the worried Gabriel behind Dean for help. Soon Michael came running up behind Dean, joining the massive group in the doorway as Raphael disappeared down the hall.

“What the hell guys?” Sam gestured to the group, acknowledging the three archangels looking fidgety behind his brother.

“Is there something you wanna share with the class, Sammy? Like where you been recently?” Dean crossed his arms, looking firmly at his brother while Sam nudged Azrael in the back of his mind.

“Wha-what? Sam, what's going on?” Her exhausted voice echoed in his mind, her apparition flickering next to him, but he made a point not to look at her. She went through his memories of the last few hours before looking to him in fear. “Lie to him, Samuel. Tell him it’s nothing. We cannot fail when we are this close.”

“Well? Not gonna say anything?” Dean growled as he waited for a response. Gabriel looked between Sam’s face and Dean’s holding his hands out to try and break up the fight.

“Now, now Dean-o, no need to be harsh. Just let me explain-” Gabriel hesitantly spoke up, as if he was trying to not get involved, but still calm Dean down.

“No! I heard what the god squad said and now I want to hear what Sam has to say to this.” Dean shoved Gabriel’s hands away, pushing Castiel’s raised hand as well, still looking expectantly at Sam for an answer.

“What do you mean?” Sam immediately noticed Gabriel’s twitchy movements, frowning as he tried to figure out what happened between the archangel and his brother. Azrael and Sam shared a similar thought as they observed what was happening.“Something isn’t right, he’s acting strangely.”

Azrael might have been gone for over half his life, but she knows Gabriel. She's the one who raised him, she can clearly tell when something is wrong with the archangel, and by the looks of it, she's the only one who can tell. Michael didn’t seem to care, nor acknowledge the way the youngest archangel was looking on edge.

“Dean, listen to us for once. You don’t know the full-”

“Back off Gabriel,” Dean barked. “You all said it yourselves, are you implying that the whole conversation I heard was a joke?.” To Sam’s despair, his brother’s glare silenced Gabriel quickly along with Castiel, who had opened his mouth to try and diffuse the situation.

“Dean-” Sam cut himself off, trying to come up with something his brother would believe. “Will you at least tell me what you’re going on about? I don’t even know what you are accusing me of!” In the corner of his eye, he saw that Azrael was on edge, her hands held tightly in fists as she glared at his brother.

“Either the archangels are on drugs and seeing things that clearly aren't there, or you're keeping secrets again.” Dean’s anger stewing under the surface. “So I'll repeat myself one last time, anything you wanna share with the class?”

“I’m not hiding anything! I’m fine, I don’t understand why you are getting mad at me or lashing out at Cas and Gabriel for no reason.” Sam’s voice began to rise.

“Just tell us what you’re hiding, Sammy. What is it this time, which bad guy are you buddin’ up with now? Was Amara just your type, huh, another bitch that said she loved you?” Dean pointed at his brother accusingly.

“What the hell, Dean! No! Do you really think I’m working with Amara and fucking her nonetheless.” Sam scowled as he turns his full attention to his brother.

“You did with Ruby, don’t believe for a second that I forgot that blood whore.”

“Sam, that’s enough, you need to calm down-” Azrael tried to step in front of the Winchester, but Sam simply walked through her, getting in Dean’s face.

“I get it! I fucked up with Ruby, but I been trying to make up for it. I threw myself in the cage, Dean. What did you do to help with the apocalypse, huh? Hold hands and spew the word love to get the Devil to let go of my body.” Sam lashed out.

“You had little Castiel on your shoulders, but all I had was demons, Dean. Angels saw an abomination, a smear of dirt on their shoe. Castiel was only with us because of you!” Castiel stepped forward to hold Sam’s arm and tug himself forward.

“Now Sam, that’s not true-”

“You started the apocalypse by killing Lilith! You always worked with enemies! It wouldn’t be surprising to find out if you worked with Amara, that’s what the angels are saying.” Dean pushed Castiel away, refusing to back down from his brother.

“I did it for you! You were in hell, I did it all for you, Dean! Don’t you start this shit with me, you helped start the apocalypse too, you broke the first seal. Not me, you, Dean.”

“How was I supposed to know? I didn’t intentionally spill blood in hell, they were trying to break me, Sam!” Dean waved his arms to make a point. “You were the one guzzling down Shanky’s blood.”

“What about me,” Sam snarled as he shoved his brother backward.

“What about the demons pushing and pulling me to be their boyking of hell. You weren’t the only one manipulated here. I wouldn't have drunk blood if I knew what was really happening. I would’ve done everything differently if I knew what was happening.”

“Well, I came back from purgatory and you were nowhere to be seen. Oh, that's right! You were shacking up with some girl and a dog like you wanted all along back in Stanford. Your brother was back, but no, you were happy with some chick and the damn white picket fence.” Dean pointed a finger at Sam’s chest.

“Guys, please!” Gabriel and Castiel cried out, but their pleads were drown in the argument. Michael looked from brother to brother, regret slowly showing on his face, remembering his father’s words about being irrational.

“I tried, Dean! I looked for ways to get you back, but I was alone! Castiel and you were gone, Kevin was taken, Bobby was gone. Everyone was gone, Dean! I was trying to make the best out of my shit situation.” Sam yelled as he clenched his hands in fists to prevent himself from swinging.

“Face it, Sam. You would never have that white picket fence, not after you left us to try and have a so-called normal life. You would never be able to have a life with Jess, or Madison, or Amelia. They never live.” Dean sneered.

“Don’t you dare fuckin’ talk about them like that!” Sam hissed, suddenly swinging a punch at his brother.

“I loved them! And I wouldn’t change a damn thing. I would love them all over again, you know why? Because unlike you, I am willing to love someone despite the pain. We don’t live forever, Castiel won’t wait forever for an alcoholic dickhead to return his feelings.”

The angels gasped in surprise, but before they could step in, Dean had thrown himself at his brother, fists aimed at his head. Sam was prepared for the tackle and clashed against his brother, elbow hitting Dean in the stomach. The older Winchester yanked on Sam’s arm, pulling the younger Winchester down to the floor.

“Don’t you dare say that. I have Castiel, what do you have? Huh!? Everyone you loved is dead.” Sam cried out in pain as Dean punched him in the face repeatedly.

“Stop! Please, he’s your brother! Michael, stop!” Gabriel cried out as he grabbed Dean’s raised arm, tugging him off of Sam. Castiel had rushed forward to hold Dean and calm him down, but the deed had already been done.

“I-I...” All eyes were on Gabriel, his words sinking in and the meaning behind them. Gabriel’s eyes darted from Dean’s bruised face to Michael’s shocked face in the doorway. Taking a step back, the archangel rushed out of the kitchen, pushing Michael out of the way as he fled.

“Gabriel!” Sam cried out, running after the archangel regardless of the injuries he just sustained. Michael was frozen as he replayed the horrified look in his brother’s eyes in his mind. Chuck had appeared in the doorway with Raphael in tow, stopping when he saw Dean Winchester’s bruised face.

“Castiel! Quickly handle the steaks before the food burns. And pull up a chair for Dean.” Raphael hurried over to heal Dean’s face while Castiel saved the food from catching on fire. Chuck quietly walked up to Michael while the others were busy, resting his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Father...is that how Gabriel sees me. Is this who I am destined to be? A brother who beats his own family?” Michael looked sorrowfully at Chuck as he hunched in on himself.

“No, my child. You are meant to be more than a violent weapon. You’re meant to be human,” Chuck gave a reassuring smile as he led his son out of the kitchen. “Come and walk with me, my son.”

*’*’*’*’*
Rounding a corner, Sam found himself in an old recreation room that Dean had redone when they first found the bunker. From the doorway, he could see the mop of golden hair over the edge of the couch. Azrael observed her brother and shook her head, retreating back in Sam’s mind to leave this moment to Sam.

The younger Winchester walked towards the couch, he sighed before sitting down next to Gabriel. Sam was about to speak up when Gabriel beat him to it.

“I’m not Gabriel ya know.” Loki turned his eyes to Sam, green magic swirling deep inside. “He’s hiding away, but he can still hear us. Doesn’t wanna leave us unmonitored after last time” He let out a hollow laugh as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Is he now,” Sam mumbled as he hunched in on himself, “is he alright at least?”

“I should be asking you that, Dean gave a mean right hook.” Loki sat up, shifting until he faced Sam with his back on the armrest and his knees up to his chest. He raised a hand close to Sam’s face, pausing when he saw the hunter squirm under his gaze. The trickster pulled his hand back with an apologetic look on his face.

“Sam, I’m sorry. I really am.” Loki recoiled when Sam scowled at him with dark eyes full of anger. “Sam please-” He cut himself off and looked away, trying to grasp words spinning around in his head.

“Loki, it doesn’t matter that you are wearing Gabriel’s face. I can’t just forgive you for what you did,” Sam spoke up at the pagan god silence. “you were treating me like a conquest, someone to fuck and then leave. There is no denying you fucked up-”

Loki cut Sam off mid-sentence when he slid off the couch, moving to stand in between Sam’s legs. Softly his hands slid up Sam’s legs and reached to cradle his face in careful hands. Loki’s face was twisted with a pained smile as he softly brushed his thumb against Sam’s face.

“Let me make it up to you then, let me heal you like the archangel you love so dearly.”

Sam acknowledged the stinging pain throbbing in his head and gave a small nod. Loki leaned down and hesitated as he looked into Sam’s watchful eyes. Making sure Sam had not changed his mind, Loki kissed his forehead, smirking slightly at the way Sam’s face scrunched up before his magic began to heal the bruises decorating Sam’s face.

“I’m not Gabriel,” The pagan god repeated himself from earlier. “but we both love you. We both adore you so much, it’s too much to bare witness to you in pain. We want you to be ours and I don't want you to leave. Especially because of me thinking I could treat you like...like my past lovers.” Loki leaned down, giving Sam time to push him away if the hunter really wanted to, and wrapped his arms around Sam in a hug.

When Sam didn't object to his advances, Loki pressed himself closer to the hunter. Sam’s arms came up and pulled the pagan god closer till he was in the hunter’s lap, a hand carding through Loki’s hair. Eventually the pagan god spoke up again, his voice slightly muffled against Sam’s chest.

“Gabriel says he's sorry ya know. He got so overwhelmed from seeing you and Dean fighting. Sure he had seen you argue but never fight like that. There is a reason you two are the vessels, you look and act similar to them.”

Sam looked up at Loki, baffled by the pagan god’s wink till he witnessed emerald eyes become whiskey gold. Gabriel blinked at Sam’s face, flushing red when he realized the position Loki had put him in.

“Are you ok?” Sam murmured, continuing to card his hand through Gabriel’s hair as the archangel shrugged before laying his head back down on the hunter’s chest. “Come on, don't give me that Gabe. You wouldn’t want to make me...” He trailed off, making Gabriel shoot him a confused frown.

Before the archangel could stop him, Sam tightly his grip and gave the archangel a flurry of kisses on his cheek. The archangel yelped in surprise which quickly dissolved into giggles as he wiggled in Sam’s grip. The hunter gave another burst of kisses on his other cheek before pressing lips against the archangel’s neck.

“Sam- you wouldn’t dare- noo!” Gabriel squealed as Sam showered Gabriel in kisses, his arms keeping the archangel trapped. Sam had discovered this dirty little secret back when Gabriel was practically human, kisses against his neck were Gabriel’s biggest weakness.

“Now that’s the smile I want to see.” Sam snickered at Gabriel's scowl, kissing the top of the archangel’s nose to make Gabriel break into a wide smile. The hunter chuckled when Gabriel huffed before leaning up and kissing the hunter’s cheek.

Eventually, Gabriel left towards his room to take a nap after the emotional fight in the kitchen. Sam caught him before the archangel left to reassure him and Loki that he still loved them, regardless of the current tensions in the bunker.

“Now wasn't that the gayest thing I've ever witness- wait- no that would be Jophiel.” Sam rolled his eyes at Azrael laughing at her own joke. She looked up to him, giggled and with a quick finger gun gesture, she vanished.

Sam rolled his eyes and made his way back to the kitchen to finish helping Castiel, silently hoping dinner would be less award. But he's a Winchester, living with four archangels and God, so a normal non-awkward dinner would be as rare as Michael wearing a glittery tutu for charity.

Chapter Text

Regardless of the moment with Gabriel, dinner was still thick with tensions all around. Sam and Dean didn’t talk to each other, choosing to rather talk to the others in typical Winchester fashion. Everyone went their separate ways after the awkward meal, Sam returning to his room for the night.

Closing the door behind him, the hunter thanked the past him for having the idea of placing a soundproof spell in his room with the assistance of Gabriel some time ago. The soundproof was meant for more...indecent activities, but it surprisingly worked out well for Sam’s current situation.

“Azrael, we need to talk,” Sam called out, sitting on the edge of his bed as he waited for her to appear in his room. The archangel showed up in front of the hunter with her head tilted in confusion.

“This entire thing is getting me nothing but glares and trust issues, Azrael. I can't keep doing this, this can’t go on anymore. It needs to stop, or we need to tell someone, Azrael.”

“Sam. I'm sorry, I really am, but we’re too close to give up now. We’ve made too much progress, it would be a waste to give up when we are this close.” Azrael looked apologetically at the hunter’s weary look, placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder in comfort.

“Sorry isn’t good enough, Azrael,” Sam shrugged her hand off his shoulder as he looked at her with a fed up look. “your plans are putting too much tension on everyone, especially with Amara doing whatever she’s doing out there right now. I’m so focused on getting the ingredients you need, I can’t stop the growing wedge between Dean and me! I worked so hard to gain back Dean’s trust.”

“Sam, I understand-”

“No, no you don’t. You weren’t the one who disappointed your brother by unleashing the Judeo-Christian apocalypse! I always let Dean down, and I always try to gain his trust again, over and over again to fix my wrongs. What about you? For all I know, you’re probably gonna run away when all of this is over. Tell me I’m wrong, you don’t really care for your family or about me.”

“Sam, please,” Azrael stepped forward to hold his arm in an attempt to calm him. “I need to take full control of you so I can finish my vessel. Once I have my vessel, I’ll leave your body, then we can get Ariel and Jophiel and finish this. I’ll never bother you again.”

“No, I’m tired of being ordered around by you douche angels. You only prove what I been saying, you only care about yourself. Not even gonna tell the rest of your family you are alive. You are only using me to get a nice vessel to hold you. Let me think about your selfish excuse.”

“We don't have time for you to think about it!” Azrael snarled, but Sam had crawled into bed, facing away from the archangel. He simply flipped her off before throwing the covers over himself, settling in for the night.

The archangel watched Sam curled up to sleep, and huffed in frustration as she paced around the room. Sam withholding his consent to the plans was getting them nowhere and fast, soon her siblings would be upon them. That was the last thing she wanted, no doubt they'd ask questions. Questions that would reveal Ariel and Jophiel, destroying any possibility of getting far away as possible from her father and heaven.

She hopped up onto Sam’s desk, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept. Azrael hummed in thought. The archangel wondered how she would get permis- wait. She already had permission, she was already inhabiting his body technically. The only reason she hid within his mind was so her siblings couldn't find her.

In theory, she could take control of Sam while he slept. He wouldn't even know if she kept him asleep in a dream the entire time she made the vessel. Azrael was aware that she did promise to give Sam consent and she was, he practically had already agreed to this for her.

It wasn’t lying, it was...just slightly bending the truth is all. Angels don’t lie, they just get what they want through little white lies. It’s just a way to get the least amount of people hurt if you did it right. It got you what you wanted, and that's fine to the archangel, what Azrael wanted was to be with Ariel and Jophiel after all this time. No one else in her family cared to find her after all those centuries. Although, in Sam’s eyes, giving in to selfish choices and desires violently rips relationships apart and ruins families past repair. But that's not what Azrael is doing, her family has already been ripped apart, so there's nothing to lose, right?

Azrael hummed in thought and continued to stare at Sam’s sleeping form. The archangel was torn on break-not breaking- bending, her promise to the younger Winchester or to respect Sam’s wishes and wait until things have settled down a bit. She sighed, mind made up, and hopped off the desk, walking over to Sam.

“Well I need to get this done one way or another,” She clicked her tongue. “Besides, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him...right?” She asked the question out loud to herself before taking a hold of Sam's body. Pushing the human down into a dream space so he won't be hurt by the archangel, she set out to take full control over his body. Azrael felt him succumb to the dream about a certain golden angel, finally buried underneath the archangel’s influence.

Azrael stood up off the bed and snapped her fingers, having a small charm appear in her hand. The charm was simple, it would hide her grace for a short time, and a short bit of time was all she needed. She tied it around her neck before starting her way down the hall, almost making it to the garage when a voice spoke up.

“Sam,” Azrael spun around to find Gabriel in the hallway, slowly walking towards her. “what are you doing up? I thought you went to bed over an hour ago, Gumdrop.”

“Ah,” The older archangel stuttered, frantically trying to find an excuse that her younger brother would believe. “I-uh couldn't sleep, was gonna do some research, try to get myself tired ya know?”

“Ya big doofus, you know you can always ask me, right? I thought we got past this whole blah blah don’t wanna be a burden gimmick shitck.” Gabriel’s mouth broke into a reassuring grin as he interlocked his arm with Azrael’s. The archangel began to tug Azrael back towards Gabriel’s room and without thinking, she dug her heels into the floor.

“Sam?” Gabriel stopped and turned to Azrael with a confused look. Panicking, Azrael tried to subdued Gabriel by suppressing his grace so she could keep him from reaching out to everyone in the bunker. Unfortunately for her, she was still straining her grace and couldn’t hold Gabriel’s grace for long.

“You aren't- get out of Sam right now you bastard!” Gabriel hissed as he shoved Azrael against the wall.

“Sorry, no can do, Cupcake. I still need this hot bod, please leave a message after the beep.” Azrael sneered before snapping her and Gabriel into the garage. Throwing the disoriented archangel over her shoulder, she carried the struggling archangel through the garage and into the pool room before her grace wore off.

“This is not what my fantasy of being thrown over Sammy’s should be like, you raging bitch! Put me down before I smite your ass!”

Azrael tossed Gabriel down like a rag doll, quickly lighting the ring of holy oil before her brother could retaliate. Gabriel bristled as he eyed the holy fire blazing around him. The archangel gave a satisfied smirk and brushed her hands off on her jeans, before turning away to handle the ingredients and spellwork.

“I don’t know why you’re here, or what you want from us. What I do know is that you have violated Sam Winchester and when I get out of here-”

“You will what? What could you possibly do to me, little brother?” Azrael scoffed as she wrote a few things down on scattered papers.

“Well, I’ll start by ripping your pretty wings out, you aren’t the only monster in this room.” Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed as his lips curled up into a malicious grin, eyes flashing green. “Why don’t you come over and I’ll show you a pagan’s wild side.”

“Uh- yeah I’ll have to take a hard pass on that, currently taken by this lovely body as of now, you know how it is.” Azrael gestured to Sam’s body, then winked at Gabriel, before turning back to continue her work. Leaving Gabriel to stew in the holy fire, he was unable to stop her from gathering the items to put a vessel together.

Gabriel sat in silence for a little less than ten minutes before he spoke up, startling Azrael out of her thoughts.

“What do you mean by ‘little brother’?”

Still mixing ingredients together in the copper bowl, she turned around to look at the perplexed expression on Gabriel’s face. She made an unimpressed look at the messenger, opening the box Ariel gave her while shaking her head.

“You still really don’t get it, do you? Come on, Gabriel, I thought I taught you better. Think, little bird, think long and hard.” She sneered in a sickeningly sweet voice that made Gabriel's stomach churn at her tone. There was a moment of silence before Gabriel gasped, golden wings flaring out around him.

“No- no way. You can’t be- Azrael?”

“There we go! That took you a little longer than I anticipated.” The archangel grinned as she tipped the grace of her and her older sister into the bowl. “Now if you would excuse me, I have a body to build.”

*’*’*’*’*

“Gabriel,” Lucifer creaked opened the door to his little brother’s room. “look, I’m sorry I accused your boy toy. I know you have feelings for that Winchester and I just want to talk...Gabriel? Are you even in here?”

The archangel observed the empty room, looking at the tossed covers on Gabriel’s bed. The archangel wondered where his brother had gotten to when he realized Gabriel probably wandered over to Sam’s room for the night. Rolling his eyes, Lucifer ventured over to Sam’s room, easily imagining his brother sprawled on top of the Winchester.

“Alright you love birds, better be wearing clothes when I come in!” Lucifer yelled before pushing the door open the door. However, when he opened Sam’s room, he found another empty bed absent of the two, more sheets and covers tossed around.

Frowning at the deserted room, Lucifer stepped inside, wondering where the hell his brother and Sam could have gotten off to. The morning star walked past Sam’s desk, suddenly stopping when he saw papers scattered on top.

Reaching down, he picked through the papers strewn about the usually empty desktop. His eyes scanned through the clumsily drawn sigils and notes. Spells and ingredients for the making of a vessel? What in father’s name was Sam doing? Lucifer couldn't quite put his finger on what the younger Winchester was doing, but whatever it was rubbed his feathers the wrong way.

Going through the symbols Sam had written down, Lucifer noticed that they all had one thing in common, they kept angels out. Out of what, though? What was Sam hiding? Suddenly Lucifer cursed under his breath before bolting out of the room, sending a message to his Father, brothers, and sister to get the hell up.

“Everyone get up! Get up! Gabriel is in trouble! Meet me in the garage as quickly as you can. Now!” Lucifer ran down the hall, slamming his fists against doors as he made his way to the garage.

As he hurried down the hallway, disheveled faces popped out of each of the rooms. Before Lucifer was able to make it any further, he was yanked back by Michael grabbing the back of his shirt collar.

“Lucifer, what the hell is going on?” The oldest archangel snapped, shaking his brother slightly. “I was trying to sleep.” He let his brother go so he could cross his arms and leaned against the doorway.

“Michael, you don't even need sleep.” Dean rolled his eyes, with a half-asleep Castiel leaning against his shoulder like it was the only thing keeping the sleepy seraph standing. Dean’s shoulder probably was the only thing keeping Castiel upright if the Winchester was honest. “And Lucifer, what the actual fuck?”

“Just because I don't need sleep doesn't mean I don't enjoy it,” Michael growled in response. “It's one of the few things you humans came up with that I enjoy.”

Dean gave him an unimpressed looked and mockingly crossed his own arms. “Yeah sure, like you totally don't like Instagram, and live off of funnel cake and instant ramen. What else was it? The one dumb phone app with the fast-moving cars.” Dean trailed off to try to remember the game Michael had got addicted to playing during his time at the bunker.

“Alright! Alright, alright, stupid human. Whatever you say.,” Michael snapped, his face quickly blushing a dark red. He turned his attention to his siblings who all had stupid grins on their faces. “I don't wanna hear anything from you guys.”

“Enough! We have a bigger problem than Michael’s game addiction, Sam is in trouble!” Lucifer interrupted before Dean could poke at Michael further.

“Lucifer, what on Earth are you talking about?” Chuck walked up to his son with a tired expression. He raised an eyebrow at his child while summoning a big cup of coffee.

“Look at this,” Lucifer handed his father the papers he grabbed off Sam’s desk when he was looking for said Winchester.“You might want to see these. I told you Sam is hiding something.” He reasoned, shrugging at Dean’s deadly glare.

Chuck frowned as he took the papers, his children flocking around him to look over his shoulder at the papers. As they flipped through the pages, the angels and their father seems to grow uneasy, worried faces shared among all of them. Raphael looked up to her father for guidance.

“Where in the world did Sam get these?” She whispered. “There's no one on Earth that could know these other than-”

“Your sister, Azrael.” Chuck finished. “Yes, I know. Lucifer, where's Sam?” He asked the morning star, an urgent tone in his voice.

“I don't know- well I have an idea on where. And if Gabriel is not with us, chances are he's with Sam.” The group looked around, realizing the youngest archangel wasn't there with them to begin with.

“These are for keeping angels out or in. We need to find Gabriel, now.”

Lucifer nodded and spun on his heel, heading for the garage with the group following behind him. Reaching the garage, he told the others that the hidden room should be somewhere close. Lucifer pointed out that the room was where the argument Sam and Gabriel had about a key.

“Gabriel said he wasn’t able to open or even feel the door before he found Sam leaving it. I bet you that that's what we’re looking for.” Lucifer explained, looking to his father for some kind of help.

“Find them- I need to go check on something. I’ll be back soon.” Chuck handed the papers back to Lucifer before vanishing, leaving the angels and human to find their missing brothers.

“Father wait-” Lucifer called out to the empty space Chuck was standing in, before cursing in multiple languages, stalking off to find the door Gabriel had mentioned.

“Well, that's helpful. Come on, we should help Lucifer if we want to find this door.” Michael sighed before heading in one direction of the garage.

Chapter Text

“Brother, I don't care that you think I’m wrong, I don’t care what father thinks of me, I don’t care about any of you. I’m getting this vessel done and then I’m leaving so I never have to see you again.” Azrael hissed at Gabriel while writing a note down with more force than necessary.

“End of story! Now shut up and let me work before I stitch your mouth shut.” The archangel demanded, unaware of her brother’s flinch at the words.

“You can't expect me to not ask questions!” Gabriel pushed, earnestly searching for answers to explain Azrael’s return. “How do you expect me to know what is going on when I have been told nothing.”

Azrael slammed the copper bowl down, spinning around to face her brother. Storming up to the holy fire that surrounded Gabriel, she pulled out an ancient blade with sigils etched into it, pointing the tip at her brother’s chest.

“I can expect you to shut up unless you want your pretty little wings to be severed at the bone, made into angel style chicken wings!” She snarled.

“You gotta learn how to come up with better insults, sister dearest. Just let me out of here, tell me what happened, and then we can go our separate ways. Easy as pie!” Gabriel’s shocked reaction morphed into a smirk as he rocked on the back of his heels.

“As if, do you really think I’ll believe that you’ll let me go freely with the possibility of being tracked down again. Are you that stupid brother? Playing around with those barbaric pagans really has dimmed your mind, hasn’t it?.” Azrael scoffed, twirling the blade in her hand.

”What about you, huh? You think you know who we are now, but in reality, people are known to change. Your family changed since your fall, Azrael. Are you our judge and jury, condemning us without a hearing?” Gabriel gestured to the blade in her hands.

“Does it matter?” She scoffed and turned back around to continue her work. “Just shut up and let me work Gabriel. Hopefully, after this, we’ll never see each other again. ”

“It kinda does matter! We watched you die.” Gabriel snapped back, anger boiling over in his voice. “You died in front of me, in front of all of us! You were gone forever, we believed we could never get you back!”

“Is that really what you all thought? That I was dead instead of miraculously surviving the leviathans?” She didn't turn away from the table, writing down more notes, but her shoulders were tensed. “I was suffering for years, my grace being eaten away by those creatures, Gabriel. The only ones who cared were Ariel and Jophiel, they still looked for me after the rest of you stopped.”

“Heaven was in ruins!” Gabriel cried out, shocking Azrael for the first time during their spat. “It had stopped being home after you fell. Jo and Ariel up and left, leaving Lucifer and Michael to tear at each other's throats. Hell, Dad left without a trace and Raphael became a fucking nihilist. Don't you get it? We were in the middle of a war with our family falling apart at the seams, we didn’t have the time to stop and breath. It’s why I left.”

“If what you are telling me is true then Heaven was doomed to fall from the beginning. It will always be in the hands of fate and destiny, you can’t change what fate gives you.” Azrael slowly spoke up in a deathly quiet voice, letting silence settled over them.

“Fuck fate and fuck you all the way to the seven circles of hell. Sam Winchester was fated to be Lucifer’s vessel, yet his heart belongs to me. Are you saying I deserve the love of one of the strongest hunters in the world because fate destined him to be the boy king of hell?” Gabriel snarled at his elder sister, a fiery look in his eyes.

"Sam Winchester was fated to love you, you idiot. Everything happens for a reason. He was fated to stop Samael from tearing this world in two by jumping into the cage. Don't you understand?" She responded, trying to keep her composure, unlike her younger brother.

“I call bullshit!!” Gabriel flared out his wings within the holy fire. “Don’t go spewing this all-knowing crap like Dad! The world was against them from the start- from the moment the demon blood entered Sam’s mouth. You tell me he was fated to love me, then what about Jessica Moore or Amelia Richardson? No one could predict the Host and Hell failing at the apocalypse that was planned for billions of years! Even you are not that powerful, although you have the ego for a god.”

"Yet I was fated to die, don't you see that? Father wanted it as much as he wanted Samael to be imprisoned in the cage for eternal punishment. You can’t escape what is written in stone." Azrael gave a hollow laugh as her voice became more bitter with each passing second.

“How dare you spew this bullshit to discredit the fact that the Winchesters have defied death and destiny more than once. Someone isn’t fated to love another Sister, Sam isn’t fated to forgive you for violating him. It’s called free will, something you never seemed to learn.” Gabriel scowled.

“Violate him?” Azrael rolled her eyes as she pulled Ariel’s feather out of the box. “He agreed to my terms, fully knowing what I was asking from him. He was taking too long, getting caught up in human emotions when plans were moving too quickly for his liking! It needed to be done. If you preach free will so much, then what do you call my actions? I’m acting on my own free will.”

“Well here’s the thing, bitch,” Gabriel hissed as he stepped up to the end of the ring, disregarding the fire licking at his clothes. “you didn’t tell him everything, you twisted the truth, manipulating him to say yes to you. You are as low as that filthy demon Ruby. He takes time to think because he has the heart to care for his family. He would rather still have a family to love them to lose them for a damn vessel. Unlike you, you would give up everyone close to you for a lifeless, useless body.”

“I didn't twist anything, the truth is the truth. I told him what he needed to know. What happened in Heaven doesn't, and never will concern him. This vessel won't be lifeless and useless for long, I am making it for a reason.”

“It does you ungrateful dick. Sam learns both sides of a story so his judgment is righteous and fair. He protects his family, he doesn’t give up on them.” Gabriel’s voice rose in anger at the aspect of Sam’s consent being abused so many times.

"Do you mean the family that abandoned me? The family that watched as the fucking leviathan pulled me off Heaven without doing a damn thing to save me. You all left me to die. I was alive Gabriel, but you never knew that, did you?" She snapped, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“We didn’t know that I swear. Azrael, you can't blame us, I- we watched you die, we saw a lifeless body falling out of heaven. We believed the leviathans devoured you, we thought we lost you forever, Azzy.” Gabriel gaped at her, struggling to find words at the mention of her death.

“Don't. Don't you dare call me by that name. You don't deserve it and I hate you. I hate you all, I wish you all died along with the fall of Heaven.” Azrael snarled at her brother, crushing the vial of her sister’s grace harshly into the bowl.

The archangel began to chant phrases in Latin that were too quick for any human to manage to speak. She held out the bowl and summoned the blade into her hand. She made a quick cut into Sam’s hand, letting the blood drip into the bowl.

Gabriel shielding his eyes against the bright light bursting from the bowl, Azrael’s vessel was complete. She slumped against the table in exhaustion before steadying herself. She looked down to the body and smiled in relief, unaware of the crestfallen look on Gabriel’s face.

“Finally, the hardest part of this is done.” Now they can go and get her archangel blade and grace, soon she will be reunited with Jophiel and Ariel. Gone forever from her dreadful family, it'll be perfect. It will just be the three, well four of them since Sam will be a liability. After this, she’ll never have to face her past ever again.

*’*’*’*’*

“What did I tell you, Winchester?” Lucifer mocked, oblivious of what was going on in the room they just burst into. “But nooo, Lucifer is always wrong because he tried to kill off the human race during the apocalypse. It was one time Dean, get over it.”

Dean, like the rest of the group, ignored Lucifer’s petty rant, focusing more on what was going on in the middle of the pool room. They gaped at the purple hue glowing through Sam’s eyes and the girl laying on the table.

“Samuel, Gabriel? What’s going on?” Raphael's voice broke through the tense silence in the room. Her eyes darted to the fire trapping her brother and to the knife held in Sam’s hands.

“Michael! That isn't-” Gabriel was cut off when a piece of duct tape appeared over his mouth, Enochian symbols written all over it. He shot Sam a glare that could kill when the archangel discovered he couldn’t take it off.

“Enough out of the peanut gallery, for heaven's sake.” Azrael rolled her eyes as she snapped the evidence away, out of the bunker resident’s reach.

“Wait a- who the fuck are you? Cause you sure as hell aren’t Sam. Sam, fight this angel, you did it to Lucifer before and I know you can do it again. I’m sorry I accused you, I didn’t realize that this bastard was holding you against your will. Fight them, Sammy!” Dean snarled as he narrowed his eyes at whoever was controlling his brother.

“Well Captain Obvious, my flight is about to leave and I got no time or patience for useless chit-chat with people I’d rather avoid for the rest of my existence.” Azrael snorted, acknowledging Sam stirring awake in his mind.

“Wha-what? Azrael?” Sam’s faint voice became more desperate as he became aware of everyone in the room. “Azrael. What did you do?”

“Does it even matter?” Azrael spoke in a nonchalant manner. “What is done has been done.”

His eyes landing on Gabriel trapped in a ring of holy fire and the rest of the bunker’s inhabitants watching him, bodies tense and waiting to attack. Looking to the table, he saw the vessel was made as a much younger version of the archangel. The vessel’s eyes closed and the body unnaturally still.

“Azrael wait- I can explain guys.” He looked at the bunker residents with hope in his eyes. Suddenly, his legs gave out and he crumpled in on himself as a purple grace flew out of his body, descending into the vessel on the table.

“Sam!” Gabriel cried out as he watched the younger Winchester fall onto the floor.

Azrael sat straight up on the table, adjusting to her new body. Her eyes flickered over to Dean, who looked beyond pissed, before back to the angels advancing towards her. She watched Raphael released Gabriel from the holy fire and quickly became aware of Gabriel’s ability to rip the duct tape off.

“Don't you dare fucking do anything. I don’t know who you are, but I will not let you hurt Sammy any further.” Dean hissed as he was held back from lunging at Azrael by Castiel’s grip on his arm.

Azrael was too busy focusing on her draining grace to pay them any attention, eyes darting everywhere to find an escape. Flipping the blade in her hand, Azrael’s eyes skimmed over the sigils she had Sam write on the wall.

“What are ya gonna do to stop me?” Spotting the symbol that doesn’t let angels leave or enter, she raised the blade to strike. Castiel pushed himself in front of Dean as the archangel threw the blade into the wall, cracking the symbol in half.

“Ha, you missed!”

“Oh? Did I really?” Azrael smirked, however her haughty expression dropped when she saw Chuck through the doorway, looking at her in shock.

“Stop her!” Gabriel cried out as he tried to grab Sam once he was free from the ring. Azrael quickly rolled off the table and before anyone could say a word, she was gone and so was Sam.

“Fuck!” Dean curled his hands into fists, storming out with Castiel following behind. Raphael stared sorrowfully at Gabriel’s downcast face before walking out to talk to her father about the occurrence.

“Brother, we are...very sorry.” Michael and Lucifer looked to each other before nodding in unison as they tried to find words to ask for forgiveness. They placed a hand on Gabriel’s shoulders, ashamed of assuming the worst about Sam. They let their wings overlap each other as they tried to comfort their brother.

“Dude, what the actual fuck did you guys do? I can feel the teenage angst rolling off of you all the way over here.” The archangels’ heads shot up at the new voice belonging to a brunette standing in front of them. The man raised an eyebrow questioningly as he folded his arms.

“Better question, who the fuck are you!?”

Chapter Text

“Better yet, who the fuck are you?” Lucifer snarled at the stranger standing in the doorway, receiving an unimpressed glare at his outburst. “How the fuck did you even get in here?”

“I walked through the front door like a normal person, Dipshit.” The man clicked his tongue, seeming more interested in examining his nails. Pushing himself off the doorway, he walked over and yanked the ritual blade out the wall with inhuman strength.

“Hey! Answer the question, dickwad!” Lucifer summoned his archangel blade and lunged for the man. Wielding the ancient blade, the angel deflected the Morning Star’s charge and kicked, knocking him back.

Lucifer stumbled back into Michael’s arms, Gabriel rushing forward to urge his brother to not do anything irrational with this newcomer. The Morning Star refused to back down, charging at the angel again. The angel, in question, moved out of the way and raised his blade to strike the archangel.

“Lucifer!” Michael yelled in horror.

However, the angel seemed to only cut through the air, as Lucifer disappeared in a shimmer of smoke. The real archangel appearing behind the angel. Kicking his feet out from underneath him, Lucifer knocked the younger angel into the holy ring of fire. Michael quickly lit the oil again, trapping the angel before he could get out of the ring.

“Well, this certainly does complicates things,” The angel groaned dramatically, seemingly more annoyed with himself than anything really. “I think we started off on the wrong foot, wanna let me out of here and we can try again? Pretty please?”

“Uh, let me think about that,” Lucifer snarked as he held up his blade. “Yeah, that would be a no.”

Michael watched the angel shift until he was sitting on the floor, legs crossed with his arms stretched behind him, supporting his weight. When the seraph noticed the eldest archangel watching him with narrowed eyes, he raised an eyebrow and gave Michael a flirtatious wink.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, Sexy?” The angel purred at Michael, chuckling at the archangel’s eyes widening in surprise.

“Agapius, right?” Michael questioned, before walking up to the ring of holy fire. “why would a Seraph, that leads cupids, come to the bunker. Nonetheless at a time like this.” Michael hummed, noticing the way Agapius flinched at the accusations.

“Tyler.” The angel dodging Michaels questions in favor of correcting his name. “I go by Tyler here- on Earth. It’s easier to go by, ya know? Agapius isn’t really a human name, now is it?”

“Answer the question, Seraph.” Lucifer snapped, getting fed up with the younger angel. Tyler rolled his eyes at the archangel while he looked off to the side, avoiding the archangel’s eyes.

“I came here of my own free will if you must ask. A huge surge of archangel grace with multiple archangels in one area? It’d be a shame to pass up seeing something like this. Such a shame I didn’t get to see much besides teenage angst.” Tyler huffed.

“I highly doubt some lowly Seraph would leave his post simply for a show for sheer entertainment, plus why’d ya take the blade out of the wall? How ‘bout you tell us why you are really here, hmm?” Lucifer gave Tyler an unsettlingly sweet smile as he twirled his blade.

“I told you already, I was curious about why a whole bunch of big bad archangels were all partying in one place. Nothing more to say, really. Now can you let me out?” Tyler warily eyed the blade as he repeated himself.

“Why, what do I see there? What might that be?” Lucifer hummed, noticing a golden band on the younger angel. Tyler jerked his head up before noticing Lucifer was talking about his wedding ring.

The angel quickly tried to think of how to play off the ring, since his husband’s name was etched into it with Enochian. The last thing Tyler wanted was to endanger Jophiel, the archangels could use the ring to find his husband and in extension, Azrael and Ariel. That’d just lead down a rabbit hole Tyler definitely didn't want to go down.

“Oh this, do you like it? I think it really brings out my eyes.” Tyler batted his eyelashes as he dismissed the ring as if it were nothing. “I was really hitting it up with this hot twink in Colorado. Man, if only you’d seen how sexy he looked in those booty shorts, I think you would’ve wanted a ring too! I’m telling ya, I must have been touched by an angel.”

Michael scoffed at Tyler’s very lewd description of the ‘fine piece of beefcake on the pole’ and how the ring was a promise to the human. Gabriel chuckled at Tyler’s retelling, turning it into a cough at Lucifer’s annoyed expression.

“Father should hear about Tyler being here, maybe he can convince him to tell us what he knows. Gabriel, watch him.” Michael commanded before heading out the door, Lucifer right behind him. The messenger watched the two leave before turning back to Tyler with a hesitant smile.

“Is he okay?” Gabriel quietly spoke in fear of his brothers’ overhearing the two.

“Sam Winchester is safe, Gabriel. Azzy would never harm him because he was kind enough to house her temporarily. As soon as she is restored, Sam Winchester will come back to you, Azrael never lies.” Tyler earnestly spoke, aware of the tension in Gabriel’s shoulders.

“Tell me, brother, was it right for Azrael to violate Sam Winchester’s consent for her own ambitions? To continue on when he had said no, regardless of fact that she was tearing his family in the process of running from hers? I know Sam sustained injuries from Azrael’s disregard of his body when she inhabited her chosen vessel. Azrael had lied to him, so can you really trust her word for it?” Gabriel pushed.

Tyler was speechless as he watched his brother rub a hand over his face in a tired fashion. The angel always heard stories of the archangels’ glory and awe-inspiring leadership. Tyler could barely see that in the archangel before him, crushed and heartbroken, his shoulders slumped and bag beginning to show under his eyes.

“Gabriel...What happened to you, brother?” Tyler spoke softly as he walked close to the edge of the ring.

“Please brother, you have to take me to him. You are a seraph among cupids, you know how much I love him. I can’t lose him again, not again. Please.” Gabriel didn’t wait for a response from the angel, snapping, he doused the fire. It effectively freed the Seraph, who shot the Messenger a hesitant glance. Within the blink of an eye, Tyler had vanished and Gabriel was gone with him, leaving the pool room empty.

“Gabriel! You better not be slacking off or I swear to Father!”

Footsteps echoed down the hall, stopping in the doorway of the pool room. Michael cursed in Enochian as he peered into the room, taking in its blatant emptiness. Lucifer looked out from behind Michael’s back to see why the older archangel cursed, eyes falling on the empty ring.

“Before you 'assume', why don’t you try this crazy method called asking.” Chuck looked at his children with a raised eyebrow, before leaving the two shocked archangels with quiet footsteps.

*’*’*’*’*

The two appeared in a nice condo, surprising the archangels and Sam. Ariel and Azrael spurred into action, getting into fighting positions while Jophiel stepped in front of Sam. Gabriel’s eyes widen as he took in the fact that his three long lost siblings were all in a condo with him.

“What is he doing here?” Azrael hissed.

“Stop being a hypocritical asshole, Azrael. He’s here for-” Tyler rolled his eyes as he placed the ancient blade on a coffee table next to multiple mugs of coffee.

“Sam!” Gabriel quickly darted over, sending the two tumbling to the floor as Gabriel enveloped the Winchester in a tight hug. “Are you hurt, do I need to heal anything? I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, Sam. I’ll make it up I swear, I’ll-”

Sam Winchester hushed the angel by pulling him into a heated kiss on the floor, disregarding the audience watching them. Azrael grumbled, eyeing Gabriel suspiciously as Ariel gave a somewhat fond smile watching her brother fret over his human mate.

“Jo, can I talk to you in the other living room?” Tyler led his husband into the other room, closing the door and placing a soundproof charm over the handle. He didn’t want Ariel or Azrael to overhear the conversation, especially what the conversation was about.

“Hey what’s wrong, Babe? You know you can come to me with problems.” Sensing his lover’s anxious state, Jophiel reached out to place his hand in Tyler’s in a supportive manner. He watched the angel take a deep breath, waiting patiently for what was bothering his husband as he made them sit on the couch.

“I’m returning Sam to his family, Jophiel.” Tyler spoke calmly, but he was firm with his words.

“What?! His family will be asking about us, he’ll expose us, Tyler! They are going to try to track us down and hunt us again. You can’t be serious about this! Come on, think a little rationally here!” Jophiel cried out, fully looking at his lover in confusion.

“I need to think rationally? Why don’t you think about this for once, what good are we doing with this plan? We are getting Azrael back, but at what cost? We have been destroying Sam’s family and his bond with Gabriel. Don’t tell me that’s right, it’s wrong and you know it is, Sweetheart.” Tyler grabbed his husband’s hand as he tried to get Jophiel to listen.

“You follow Ariel and Azrael like lemmings follow one another off a cliff to their death. I will no longer follow someone so bitter and angry for a cause no one could alter the path of. It had happened millenniums ago, how long will we harbor this anger till we forgive our family for an accident no one could’ve predicted?”

“So what? You’re gonna run from us now? Gonna go fly away with Gabriel and Sam and pretend we aren’t married and a family as well? Why don’t you just go back to those night clubs you like so much and whore it up with some humans then?!” Jophiel snapped as he stood up to pace around the room.

“I’m doing this for my family, Jo! I know this is wrong and I know deep down inside, you know this is wrong just as much I do.. We are taking him away from his family because we are too scared of facing our own father, and how he would react to his runaway children returning.” Tyler’s voice began to rise as he glared at his husband.

“Don’t even speak of that man, he didn’t care about us. He-” Jophiel stormed up to his husband who was still sitting on the couch, but Tyler rose to his feet, meeting his husband’s with eyes that matched in fury.

“You are still running from your family and you are letting other people run your life for you! You are not Azrael nor are you Ariel, so stop making their anger and bitterness your own just because they are your sisters. You don’t owe them anything even though you see them as family.” Tyler urged his husband to see reason in his actions. To see why it was horribly wrong to take the human from his family in such a way.

Jophiel narrowed his eyes, still not convinced of Tyler's words, “Of course I owe them-!” He was cut off before he was able to continue his rant by Tyer’s soft-spoken words.

“No, no you don't. Azrael’s anger is her own and her revenge is her own. Ariel is the real reason you aren’t with Father.” Tyler whispered, placing his hand over Jophiels heart, “She took her anger and placed it in your heart. You had believed it was your own and left heaven with her when she told you to. This heartless man in front of me is not the archangel I fell in love with.”

Tyler pushed Jophiel down on the couch with a disappointed look. Jophiel tried to open his mouth but snapped it shut when his husband cut him off. “I am taking Samuel home instead of forcing him to accept this as his fate for the rest of his life. I am capable of being more than just a whore.”

“Ty wait! I’m sorry- I-” Regret filled Jophiel as he tried to reach out to his lover. Tyler glared as he used his grace to shove Jophiel back on the couch. Reaching out, he took the soundproof charm off the door handle as he looked at his husband with a mix of anger and sadness.

“I am going home, Jophiel.”

*’*’*’*’*

Back in the other room, Azrael and Ariel were talking in hush voices as Gabriel hovered over Sam. The archangel watched Tyler lead Jophiel out of the room and whistled lowly, catching Sam’s attention. The hunter looked at Gabriel curiously, the archangel gesturing to the retreating angels.

“He’s so whipped, I can see why they’re married.”

Sam rolled his eyes at the archangel’s smirk and lightly shoved his shoulder. Gabriel laughed but sobered up when he turned to look Sam in the eye.

“What happened to you, Samster?”

“Well...” Sam sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. “Let’s start after you saw Azrael’s little disappearing act. It kinda went like-”

“Disappearing act? That’s what you’re calling it, really Samuel, after everything we’ve been through?” Azrael interrupted, wedging onto the couch between Sam and Gabriel.

Gabriel glared at his sister as she shoved his face away while throwing an arm around Sam. The Winchester proceeded to shove the archangel’s arm off him while giving his infamous bitch face.

“Oh fine, but since Sammy here was unconscious during the whole ideal, I’ll tell the story.” Azrael gave a disdained look to her brother. “Let’s start at the point when you babbling monkeys burst in guns blazing.”

Chapter Text

Azrael hissed in pain, what was left of her grace was screaming in agony as she forced her ragged wings to carry on. The two crashed to the ground in a rickety old house, knocking a table over in their fall. The exhausted archangel pushed debris off of her as she looked around for where Sam had landed.

She found him only a few feet away, lying on the floor unconscious. Struggling to stand on unstable legs, Azrael stumbled into a wall, tearing the wallpaper as she tried to stay upright. Wincing in pain when she felt her stomach lurch, Azrael doubled over, bringing up bile on an already empty stomach.

Azrael cursed to herself when she realized it was probably the after-effects of flying so soon after switching vessels so irresponsibly in panic. Figures this wouldn’t only affect the human body, fuck.

Looking down, the archangel groaned when she realized the vessel wasn’t wearing anything other than the blanket from the table. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Azrael started to make her way through the house for suitable clothes.

Quickly realizing she wasn’t going to find anything in the abandoned house other than an oversized t-shirt, the archangel grumbled as she resigned herself to wearing the worn-down piece of clothing over her vessel. Tying the blanket like an odd skirt, Azrael deemed herself somewhat presentable.

It wasn't much, it felt as if she was walking in an oversized dress, but it worked in replace of running around nude. If Azrael was honest to herself, it kind of reminded the weakened archangel of the robes back at hom- Heaven, it reminded her of Heaven.

Azrael wondered how in father's name she was going to contact Ariel and Jophiel in her weakened state, her grace crying out in pain at every movement her vessel made. That is until the archangel suddenly remembered that Sam’s cell phone was still in his back pocket. The hunter was laying on his stomach and was still unconscious, so the phone would be an easy grab.

Limping over, she bent down to grab the phone out of his back pocket only to have Sam’s hand shoot out and grab her wrist in a tight hold. Sam switched their positions, pressing a nearby knife to the archangel’s throat. Azrael yelped in pain when the back of her head slammed against the floor and looked up to Sam with wide eyes.

“Sam, it’s just me.” Azrael choked out, wearily watching Sam’s hold on the blade. “Please remove the knife, everything is going to be okay.”

“What the fuck did you do?” Sam snapped as he pressed the knife harder. “I told you ‘no’ and then the next thing I know, my family is looking at me with hatred in their eyes. Start talking or I’ll start cutting.”

“Uhm- well I was getting my vessel, what else would it be?” She flinched as the knife slightly started to dig into her skin.

“No, I’m talking about Gabriel being trapped in that ring of fire. I’m talking about the rest of the archangels rushing in like a group of demons got into the bunker. I’m talking about the way Dean looked like I drank demon blood.What did you do to my family, Azrael?” Sam narrowed his eyes.

“I- I got impatient, okay? Everything was where it needed to be and you weren't cooperating and then Gabriel came out of nowhere. I panicked! He found out about the vessel so I had to shove him in a ring of holy fire, but then my brothers rushed in and-” Azrael was left reeling from the hard punch to her face.

“That was for my family. You have no right to hurt them, your petty revenge be damned.” The archangel held her cheek in shock as she stared at Sam’s raised fist. The hunter huffed and let the archangel get up as he observed the building they landed in.

Spotting Sam’s phone laying on the floor, Azrael quickly darted away from Sam. Snatched the phone, she sends out a quick text message to her siblings. Hearing the flutter of wings behind him, Sam turned around to see Ariel and Jophiel appear in the house.

The archangels looked at their sister with bright smiles, like their greatest wish had come true and all was going to be right in the world again. Ariel walked past Sam like he wasn't even there in her eyes, and pulled her sister into a hug with Jophiel not far behind.

“What in the world are you wearing?” Ariel gave her sister a light chuckled before snapping her fingers, outfitting Azrael in actual clothing. “That much better, wouldn't you say?”

Sam’s face was furious yet resign to the fact that angels stopped caring about him after he was no longer useful to them. The archangels’ attention focused on Sam when they saw the hunter walking towards the front door.

“What are you doing Sam?” Ariel called out.

“I’m going home.” Sam looked a the archangel like she had two heads. His stomach dropped at the way Ariel gave him a pitiful smile.

“You’re not going home. I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”

“What? Azrael's got her vessel, you all are united again, you don’t even need me as a vessel anymore.” Sam stilled with his hand over the door handle as he tried to get the older archangel to see reason, but she shook her head adamantly.

“If you leave, then my brothers and therefore Father will come to you to find us. Which contradicts us staying as far away from them as possible, doesn’t it?” She hummed as Sam bristled at the way she talked to him as if he was a child. His eyes widened as she brought her hand up to snap, his shout cut off as she whisked them away.

*’*’*’*’*

“Then Ariel took us to her condo in Vegas and that’s that,” Azrael finished with a flourish. “Well other than Jophiel freaking over his missing hubby and Sam’s ongoing silent treatment towards me. But now we can all be happy together as a family now, right?”

“You would-” Gabriel gaped at his sister in shock. “You are taking Sam, my mate, from me for the rest of his life?! I wouldn't even be able to see him!?” Gabriel struggled to grasp the audacity that Azrael is permanently taking his mate from him.

“Oh relax, Gabriel, it’s not like you're leaving either.” Ariel raised an eyebrow at the enraged look on Gabriel’s face. The archangel opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Tyler walking into the room.

“Actually you selfish bitch, they are leaving. All three of us are.” Tyler interrupted, standing tall despite Ariel being above him in rank and power.

“Excuse me?” Ariel stood up from the couch, glaring at the seraph.

“If you didn’t hear me from way up on your high horse, I’ll say it again you condescending ass. I am leaving with Gabriel and Sam Winchester so I can return them back to the family you took them from. This all needs to stop, you need to stop.” Tyler repeated himself, refusing to back down from Ariel’s intimidation.

“Tyler, what are you talking about,” Azrael cut in, trying to reach out to calm the seraph. “the plan isn’t ridiculous, it’s getting us out! We are getting away from them, from Father.”

“Don’t try to pretend you don’t know what you are doing Azrael. You are being a coward, running from your own family, and destroying Sam’s in your attempts to outrun the inevitable.” Tyler shoved her hand away, unsheathing his angel blade as a clear warning to the archangels in front of him.

“You are willing to put my husband’s life and Sam’s love for Gabriel and his family on the line, for what? Life on the run from Father and our brothers and sisters? What will it take to make you understand, will it take my life and the lives of every living creature on Earth? What will make you realize you are being a spineless ungrateful bastard.” Tyler hissed.

“Tyler, come on, please-” Azrael tried to reason with him while at the same time trying to tell Ariel to stand down so they could talk things out instead of fighting. However, the older archangel had already drawn her blade and prepared to face off against the seraph.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t afford to just let them leave. We have too much at stake already.” Ariel lunged for Tyler with her blade drawn. The seraph gave a grim smile before vanishing, taking Gabriel and Sam with him between one second and the next. And in that same moment, Jophiel rushed back in, witnessing Ariel hit the air with her archangel blade.

“Tyler, wait!”

*’*’*’*’*

Appearing in front of the Bunker door, Tyler looked behind him to see Sam and Gabriel have recognized the bunker in front of them. The angel gave Gabriel a weak smile as he hesitantly gazed upon the door to the bunker, his fate waiting just behind it. The seraph blinked in surprise when he felt arms wrap around him in a hug.

“Thank you, I know what you did was hard. But, thank you for bringing me home. I will make sure Gabriel keeps Michael and Lucifer at bay. If...if you still want to come?” Sam offered as Gabriel put a supporting hand on Tyler’s shoulder.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Tyler nodded and pulled open the door. Once reaching the banister, Tyler gave Sam and Gabriel one more look before shouting for all the residents in the bunker to hear.

“Calling to all the emotionally stunted, get your asses down to the foyer! I have a package for a Dean Winchester!”

To say the bunker went into chaos as Tyler called out was a vast understatement. Dean had come barrelling down the hall with Castiel hot on his heels, a gun already clocked and loaded in his hands. The archangels popping into existence in the foyer, ready for a fight.

Everyone stopped and stared in surprise at Sam’s reappearance before they all rushed towards the group with a joyful shout. Gabriel snapped the gun out of Dean’s hand while his brothers nagged at him for not only letting Tyler out of the holy ring of fire but for leaving with him as well.

Tyler fondly watched as Sam’s brother embrace the tall Winchester with Castiel awkwardly hovering around the two with a smile playing on his lips. Eventually, the blue eye seraph was dragged in the hug once Dean was done checking his brother for lethal injuries.

“Hello son,” Tyler jumped, turning when he heard his father cough. The angel suddenly seemed to become very interested in his wedding ring, fiddling with it as he avoided looking at the man in front of him, scared of what was to come.

“I see you have gotten married since I last seen you. I hope they are treating you well and, if I may, who exactly did you get married to? My sons tell me it was a stripper with quote-unquote ‘sexy booty shorts’. Can I be blamed for being curious?” Chuck tried to smile to lighten the tension between them.

The angel gaped at the question, unsure how to answer. He began to blush furiously, causing Chuck’s eyebrow to raise at the way the nervous angel tried to deflect the question. His stammering was quickly gaining the attention of the rest of the residents, who watched with mild amusement.

“Well...he-” Tyler was interrupted by the bunker door slamming open. Dean had pulled Sam behind him while Castiel drew his blade in response. The archangels were too occupied, astonished at the sight of their long lost brother rushing down the stairs.

“Jophiel!” The archangels cried out in surprise, faltering as he completely bypassed them, heading for the brunette seraph instead. Everyone watched as the missing archangel fell to his knees in front of Tyler and held the seraph’s hand, his eyes downcast in atonement.

“I’m so so sorry for everything, baby. We- I let you carry the pressure alone of being in heaven and marrying me as well on your own. I now see how horrible of a husband I have been over the past few decades. Nothing can make up for my total and utter stupidity, all I hope is that you can forgive a worthless husband like me.”

To say the bunker was silent was an understatement. The angels watched their brother beg his mate for forgiveness in awe. Chuck watched his son with distinct proudness shining in his eyes, happy that one of his children could take responsibility for their actions on their own without tearing the Earth. Tyler watched his apologetic husband with an unreadable expression before speaking.

“Get up you dick. Do you see this? This is the ring you gave me,”Tyler leaned over and flashed his ring in Jophiel’s line of sight. “and do you remember what you said to me when you put it on my finger? You told me that even if fate was against us, the odds one to one thousand, we’d take each other hand in hand and face it together.”

“Of course I remember, I worked for weeks on that speech.” Jophiel rose to his feet, a blinding smile starting to stretch across his face.

“Unbelievable asshole.” Tyler rolled his eyes before yanking his husband closer.

The seraph dipped Jophiel into a searing kiss in front of everyone, their hands entwined together with love-stricken smiles on their faces. Gabriel began hooting loudly in the background, being cheered on with Sam. The two of them never wanted to see the couple split up because of everything else so they were happy the angels sorted things out.

When the seraph pulled away, Jophiel gave an ecstatic smile as he continued to hold his husband’s hand. His smile dimmed slightly at unsaid words passed between him and the seraph. Jophiel took a deep breath and looked back to Tyler who gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as the archangel acknowledged the man he’d been running from for billions of years

“Hey pops, got a room for one more?”

“Of course, Jophiel. I have been waiting too long to see you again, my son.” Chuck smiled as he pulled his son into a hug.

Chapter Text

“Well this is certainly heartwarming and all, but we still got a few problems before it’s all rainbows and butterflies.” Dean interrupted the reunited family with an awkward cough. “Azrael is still up and about, doing who knows what, and we still have Amara to worry about.”

“He’s right, we aren't out of the woods just yet,” Jophiel muttered as his face scrunched up in thought. “not only do we have to keep an eye out for Az, but Ariel is still out there with her and they will not be ecstatic about losing Tyler and me.”

“He’s right. We don't only have one, but two severely pissed off archangels.” Tyler cast a worried look to his husband as he intwine his hand with Jophiel

“What if Azrael is merely following Ariel, as you have done,” Michael tilted his head in thought, unaware of Jophiel flinching at the comment. “If Ariel is the leader, then we could possibly separate them perhaps?” The chance of saving at least one of the sisters was left unspoken, yet all the angels shared the same thought.

“Doubtful,” Jophiel scoffed. “from the time I spent with her, she’s just as pissed at dear old Dad as Az is. I doubt there's any chance of getting through to her. Scratch that, I am one hundred percent certain that there isn’t a chance of reasoning with them.”

A tense silence fell over the group as the realization hit them all. The two rouge archangels were before the others, their powers could rival the power of Michael and Lucifer. The residents realized they have a better chance of taking on the archangels than leading a fight against the Darkness.

“Well,” Chuck took a deep sigh and then straighten up to his full height. “let’s get to work to bring them back home. This family feud has been going on long enough, it’s time to face our issues, I included.”

Everyone silently agreed and nodded with Chuck’s plan, getting to work on where the missing archangels could be hiding. If they could get through to Ariel and Azrael, their chance at defeating Amara would be higher than ever. After defeating Amara, the angels could reunite as a happy family, the goal they been seeking for so long.

If Ariel and Azrael could be reasoned with, they would have seven archangels, still, chances of that were slim to none. Two archangels with enough hatred towards Chuck to last a lifetime and that rivaled Amara’s hate towards God?

Basically, they were fucked. Thus is the life of a Winchester.

*’*’*’*’*
Ariel glared at where Tyler had vanished, Jophiel flying off after him not too long afterward. The archangels waited for their brother to return with Tyler in tow, however, there were no signs of them. Ariel cursed her brother’s name as she prowled around like a furious tiger.

“How dare they?! How dare they leave at such a time of need, going back to a father who doesn't give a shit about them!” The archangel ranted, the plans she laid out were crumbling right before her eyes and she was powerless to stop it.

Jophiel was always at her side, faithfully following her and her plans, yet he has suddenly deserted her. Left her to bear the weight of the world for some weak false hope of returning home to their Father.

Ariel took a deep breath to try and relieve the tension in her shoulders. She has to stay calm and collected for Azrael’s sake if they were going to make it out and away from their family. The archangel cast Azrael a reassuring smile, tilting her head at the archangel’s stuttering.

“Um-well...” Azrael stammered, pulling her gaze away from where Jophiel was standing up to Ariel’s unreadable eyes. “What will we do now?”

The archangel was uneasy and she would be lying if she said it was all because their brother left them suddenly. Ariel's smile sent shivers down Azrael’s body, the archangel in front of her hardly resembled the archangel she remembered back in Heaven.

Bright eyes that were eager to teach the new fledglings were now dim and emotionless, aside from the anger stewing inside her. The grace thrumming under Ariel's skin was a sickly pale, no longer the bright, rosy hue it once was. Azrael cast away her thoughts, blaming her sister’s appearance on the recent vessel change she insured an hour or so ago.

“Sister, what do we do now?” The archangel repeated herself, louder to catch Ariel’s attention. “We lost half of our team and I still don't have most my grace or blade back yet.”

“Don’t you worry about anything, Azrael. Joe and Tyler will pay for their actions, alright? I will take care of them, you just focus on healing your grace and getting the blade back. Everything will be just as it should be.”

Abruptly, Ariel stood up and walked down the hallway, disappearing from Azrael's sight. The younger archangel fidgeted where she sat realizing two different things at once.

First of all, she had no idea who was currently holding Death’s mantle and the scythe. Azrael knew Amara contorted her blade into Death’s scythe, yet the archangel couldn’t remember the name of the reaper. Azrael resolved to ask Sam through the hunter’s dream, that way she could avoid being captured by her brethren.

Second of all, the archangel began to feel a sinking feeling in her stomach when she looked at her sister. Ariel had always been a welcoming feeling in her life, yet recently the archangel brought nothing but unexplainable dread in Azrael.

Tyler’s words echoed in her head and Azrael’s mind was still reeling from the look on Ariel’s face. The archangel looked willingly to kill Jophiel’s mate if it meant the archangel stayed with them. That is what terrified Azrael to no end, the archangel couldn’t tell how far Ariel was willing to go to get revenge, she was just along for the ride.

Azrael groaned, falling back on the couch and covered her face with her hands, all of her troubles were swirling around as a jumbled mess in her head. She continued to stare at where Ariel had walked off, mulling over the archangel’s cryptic plans.

Taking care of Jophiel and Tyler left nothing to the imagination. Azrael wished her assumption was wrong, but all the evidence was pointing to the obvious truth. Given the chance, the archangel couldn’t guarantee her sister would hold back from killing Tyler or Jophiel.

The realization chilled her deep down to the core of her grace. Azrael was petrified at how helpless she was, unable to stop her siblings from fighting each other. No matter how difficult it would be for her to admit it out loud, there was a small part of the archangel that was distressed at the thought of her family dying.

Although she advocated that she never wants to see them again, the archangel never thought of wishing death upon them. The archangel was complexed by the feeling of guilt washing over her, looking down at her hands in hope of answers to her problems.

“Oh Father, what have I done.”

*’*’*’*’*

Sam watched the archangels talk to their father in anxious and stressed tones in regards to their renegade siblings. The hunter jumped when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. He turned to see Dean watching him with a cautious expression, eyes torn between looking away or looking at Sam.

“We should-um, we should talk about her.” Dean hesitantly spoke up as he gestured for Sam to leave the angels and Chuck to their conversation. Sam winced, nervous for the conversation, but followed Dean anyway because it was bound to happen sooner or later.

The hunter really wasn't ready to answer questions such as, “why did you let Azrael in?” or “why you didn't tell us what was going on?” after everything that had happened. After all, Sam was still trying to answer those questions himself. Too lost in his mind, Sam didn't hear Castiel come up behind him until the angel's rough voice spoke up.

“He’s right, Sam. It would be beneficial for you to talk things out to relieve human stress mentally after such events. My siblings and father can handle things without my absence, your state of being is important and comes first.”

“Alright, I’ll start from the beginning.” Sam gestured for the two to follow him into the library for some privacy away from the angels. “I didn't know anything about Azrael when she first came to me. I asked about her the morning after she proposed her offer to me if you remember that.”

“The question about the number of archangels and what had happened to them, correct?” Castiel nodded and hummed in thought at Sam’s confirmation. Dean leaned against a table as he thought back to the day his brother brought up that question to the angels.

“So when you suddenly brought up Azrael and the possibility of other archangels, that was her?”

“Yeah, she told me to ask you actually,” Sam looked to Castiel as he spoke. “It was her way to prove that she was who she said she was, the Archangel of Death and all. She was asking for help and wanted to get my assistance.”

“Sam, no offense, but what the hell told you that saying ‘yes’ to some random archangel you knew for a total of like five minutes was a good idea? From what you just told us, she sounded sketchy as hell.” Dean scoffed, his anger deflated when Castiel elbowed him in the stomach, glaring at the hunter. Dean immediately grimaced and muttered a quiet sorry with a sheepish look on his face.

“She seemed so genuine, trust me, I wouldn't have said ‘yes’ otherwise,” Sam struggled to find words to convey what he was trying to say to make them understand the feeling. Castiel waited patiently for Sam to gather the words to describe the archangel.

“Everything she said up to that point was true, so I trusted her. I know it was stupid but I believed her and well, you know where I ended up because of that. More damn trust issues...” He trailed off in the end, his face looking to that of a kicked puppy.

“It’s not your fault, Sam,” Dean nudged his brother as Castiel nodded encouragingly. “was there anything else she told you?”

Sam racked through his mind from his first meeting with Azrael, trying to find anything that would help them. He froze when he remembered something she had said early on in the conversation.

“Azrael told me she was connected to Amara because Amara rescued her from leviathans way back when heaven was fighting them. Reviving her left a connection between the two and I guess it was never severed, even after Amara got locked away with the mark.

After that, Azrael got all pissy about how she was apparently ‘left to die’ on purpose by the others. I didn't think much of it at the time, I was more concerned by the Archangel breaking into my dreams.” The Winchester trailed off in thought again, trying to remember if the archangel said anything else of importance.

“That's why we felt Amara around you. Amara wasn’t getting into the bunker, it was Azrael because we never thought about keeping archangel wards up. It all makes sense now.” Castiel spoke up in revelation about the past few days.

“Well, either way, I’m sorry. I was being a dick and I was quick to assume you betraying us for Amara.” Dean looked down as he forced the words out. Sam gave an amused smile at how his brother was avoiding a chick flick moment as much as he could.

“I forgive you, Jerk. Now go remind those archangels that us mortals need sleep at some point tonight.” Sam pulled Dean in for a quick hug, before clapping him on the back, letting Dean retreat back to the foyer.

“Okay okay, I’m going, bitch, no need for more chick flick moments.” Dean snarked.

“It will all be okay.” Castiel followed after the hunter after giving Sam a quick hug, flashing the taller Winchester a reassuring smile. Sam returned the smile before retreating to his room.

With a groan, the hunter tossed himself on the bed, not bothering to cover himself with the blankets. Exhaustion finally caught up to him and the hunter was soon out like a light. Gabriel found Sam sprawled on top of his bed with his clothes on when the archangel finished his meeting with his family.

The archangel chuckled fondly as he snapped Sam into more comfortable clothes and pulled the covers back. Wrapping Sam’s arms around him, the archangel settled in for the night with his hunter, exhausted from the events that had transpired over the past couple of hours.

*’*’*’*’*

When Sam opened his eyes, he expected to be wandering in a European country with Gabriel. It was not rare for the archangel to whisk them away to some foreign place so the archangel could seduce Sam into falling into bed together constantly. However, Sam was not expecting to be in the endless void he met Azrael in. Lifting himself off the ground, he turned to see a certain archangel watching him with a guilty expression.

“Sam.” Azrael cut herself off, searching for words to make the hunter listen to her. “I-”

“No,” Sam hissed at the archangel. “Get out of my head. You aren’t welcome here.” He turned on his heel and started walking off in a random direction, anywhere to get away from the archangel.

“Sam, wait!” She called out sprinting to catch up to him. “Damn it, Sam! I just need to ask you one simple thing, that’s all I ask!” Azrael appeared in front of him, holding out her hands in an attempt to make the hunter stop.

“I just need to know who the current Death is. For some damn reason, the one Amara created is dead and I don't know who the title was passed on to.” She flinched at his pissed off expression moved her hands up in a harmlessly gesture to placate the hunter.

“Look, I’m sorry alright? I didn't know that Ariel was going to do what she did. I tried to stop her, I did!” Hoping she looked apologetic enough, she counted it as a win when the human’s anger deflated into resignment.

“Bille,” Sam huffed and ran a hand through his hair, looking more annoyed than anything at this point. “the reaper who got promoted to Death is Bille. I don't know where you’ll find her, but now you have a name.”

“Thank you, Sam! It means so much-” Azrael seemed to light up at the information Sam had given to her, only to be interrupted by the appearance of Gabriel.

“Oh please, save it.” Gabriel waltzed up to his mate, the archangel’s wings arching up high as a blatant threat towards Azrael. The archangel had backed a considerable distance, on edge from Gabriel’s appearance in the dreamscape.

“Gabriel, nice seeing you again,” Azrael spoke in a clipped tone as her eyes darted around, looking for any other siblings of her’s to show up in an ambush.

“Sure, whatever you say Buckaroo, but I think you overstayed your welcome long enough for my liking.” Gabriel growled before snapping. Like TV static, the archangel was gone and Gabriel’s demeanor changed to a more relaxed state.

“Now, what do you say to a trip to Norway?” Gabriel gave a grin as he held out his arm to Sam. Noticing the complexed expression on his mate’s face, the archangel pats his arm encouragingly. “We can talk on the way home about my sister, but for now, let me show you a good time my Love.”

Sam was unable to keep a straight face when Gabriel suggestively wiggled his eyebrows, stepping forward to take his angel's hand. With a laugh, the archangel whisked them off, leaving the empty void behind them.

Chapter Text

Azrael woke with a strangled shout, falling out of her bed with an audible thud. She silently cursed her brother for kicking her out of Sam’s head so unceremoniously. The archangel looked up at the sound of the door opening.

“Gabriel kicked me out of Sam’s dream,” Azrael huffed as she pushed herself off of the ground.

“Did you at least find the name of the reaper? ” The older archangel leaned against the doorway, waiting for her sister’s answer. “Not much we can do without it unless you can convince Sam to cooperate with us.”

“There's no way I could get to Sam again, Gabriel is watching over him now. I would have more luck walking into the bunker than dream walking to even get a chance to talk to him.” Azrael scoffed as she dismissed her sister’s suggestion.

“I suppose Gabriel would, he seemed very protective when it concerned the human. No matter, I’m sure he can be taken care of if he proves to be a nuisance. What about the reaper, did you get its name at least?”

“The reapers name is Billie,” Azrael paused, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Though I’m not sure how we would find, let alone get to her. She knows me but I haven’t seen her since she was promoted to the new Death.”

“As I said, don’t worry about that part, little sister. All you have to do is get your blade and restore your grace. Be ready by morning.” Ariel gave a reassuring look, yet all it did was send shivers down Azrael’s spine at the archangel’s cryptic words.

“I will, I won’t let you down, Sister,” Azrael spoke up, trying not to recoil at the unnerving smile Ariel gave her.

“I know you won’t.”

*’*’*’*’*

To say the archangel was surprised her sister wasn’t here with her to make sure they successfully acquired her archangel blade back was an understatement. When Azrael asked, Ariel simply told her that she has unfinished business and to leave without her. Either way, Azrael was forced to make this trip alone.

Although she was a new Death, Azrael could see a similar resemblance between Billie and the old Death. The women shared the same emotionless appearance, donning a black outfit, a customary trend all reapers seemed to be such fans of.

The woman was sitting peacefully in a chair in the back, sipping tea. However, her eyes were staring straight at the archangel, lifting an eyebrow in response to seeing Azrael hovering around the door. Her eyes flicked to the chair that was across from her, then back up to the archangel.

Taking a deep breath, Azrael stepped inside, eyes warily looked at the people surrounding her as she made her way over. The Archangel took a seat, assessing the woman in front of her.

“So,” Azrael drawled as she fiddled with her sleeve, dragging her eyes up to meet the reaper’s. “You’re the new death?”

“Get to the point, Azrael, I know my scythe use to be your blade. What do you want me to do about it?” Billie looked at disinterested with the archangel in front of her as she stirred her drink slowly.

“Without the scythe, I can’t do my job. The dead won’t be reaped and I know you are no fool, the dead must stay dead. I make exceptions for no one, the balance must stay and I will not jeopardize it to return a blade to an angel. The world has been balanced without you mucking around so why should I even think of giving the scythe to you?”

“Hold on, it’s my blade-” Azrael opened her mouth, only to be silenced by Billie giving her a reprimanding look.

“Death is inevitable, everything in this world has a beginning and end. All life on Earth will be born and eventually die as well. No one can cheat death forever, they eventually succumb to fate. Just like death, you will inevitably have to face Chuck.” The archangel scoffed at the woman’s words, shaking her head adamantly.

“No, I will not. I trust Ariel and believe in her words. Once you give me back my blade, we will leave and never have to come back to heaven. I’ll never have to face Chuck or my family again.” Azrael tried to be confident in her words, yet her hesitation was giving her away.

“You don’t want to face your family again, does this mean you want to be alone? After all, Jophiel and Ariel are considered part of your family as well. Are you really running from your family or is all of this really because you were impetuous and felt entitled to have a temper tantrum that rivaled your brothers.” Billie chastises before she got up from her seat.

“Wait for just a second, it's not my fault, Billie! I had every right to be angry, I had died and it was all their fault! I didn’t matter enough for them to care about saving me from dying at the hands of those creatures. I was taken apart piece by piece, Amara had helped me! So what, are you on their side now, the family that deserted me?“ Azrael hissed as she jumped up from her seat, fury written all over her face.

“That sounds like a you problem, Honey. This fight between Chuck and Amara leaves you to pick the lesser evil of the two, Azrael. Everyone ends up picking a side in war, which side will you be on?” The archangel’s anger deflated as she floundered over the question, not quite knowing what to say about the impending fight between cosmic beings.

“You either give your allegiance to Amara, the darkness that ripped your grace apart and left you for death or-”

“Or?”

“Or you fix the bridges you burned with the one who had loved you since the beginning of time and is truly sorry for his mistake. We don’t have time for you to continue to act like a petty highschooler. This isn’t the dress rehearsal, Azrael, this is the opening night and there is no going back once you are in the spotlight.”

The archangel couldn’t shake the sinking feeling inside of her as she reflected on Billie’s words. Despite the tense relations with her heavenly family, could she really argue that Amara was any better? The darkness has taken her and destroyed her grace to gain more power for personal gain against Chuck.

“Wha-” Azrael was snapped out of her thoughts by the clanking sound of her blade being placed on the table. Billie gave her an unwavering glance before the woman walked out of the restaurant, disappearing between one blink and the next.

“Oh Father, I fucked up.” Azrael stared at her blade before quickly snatching it. Whisking herself away, the archangel prayed for the first time in a long time for her father to give her the strength to make everything right again.

*’*’*’*’*

Witch covens are always a hassle to deal with, but the Winchesters refused to pass the hunt off to another group. Having seven angels, five being archangels, staying with them at the bunker should've made the hunt easier if anything. So taking an archangel along with two seraphs on a witch hunt seemed like a breeze.

In true Winchester fashion, they were so wrong. It was sheer dumb luck that they had enough power to charge into the warehouse with three angels. Castiel and Gabriel always tried to tag along on Winchester hunts when they could. With the addition of Tyler, who wanted to leave Johiel to talk with their Father, the witches weren’t able to put up much of a fight. However, that didn’t stop them from fighting tooth and nail.

“I fuckin hate witches.” Dean grumbled as he leaned on Castiel to help him walk, the one witch had tossed the hunter like a rag doll during the fight, slamming him against a wall with a sickening crunch

“I think I have to agree with Dean on this one, look what they did to my hair!” Tyler lament as he struggled to pull blue slime out of his hair to little success. “We may have caught those hags off guard, but that didn’t stop them from being hard to kill.”

Sam was about to retort that Jophiel would still love the seraph regardless of his blue hair, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw the figure standing by the Impala. Gabriel scowled and pushed himself in front while unsheathing his blade.

“I’m not here to cause trouble, I just want to talk. Please just hear me out.” Azrael held up her hands in a surrendering manner.

“I think we are well past that when you used my brother as a puppet for your angel games.” Dean snarled while drawing his gun, taking aim at the archangel.

“I know you don’t trust me, but I did come here with good intentions,” Azrael tried to placate the hunters and looked to Tyler. “you know I would never be here if it wasn't important, trust me, that it is. Please listen to me, brother.”

The seraph’s mouth was drawn in a thin line as he assessed his sister, looking for any threats towards his family. Tyler regarded the archangel’s words and took a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair.

“I’ll inform the others. Meet me back at the bunker and bring her with you. Don’t let her out of your sight.” Tyler addressed the last part to his brothers before disappearing with one final look towards Azrael.

Sam eyed the archangel warily as he settled in the passenger seat with Dean gruffly slamming his door closed. The younger hunter observed the three angels cramming in the back of the Impala and how tense the atmosphere suddenly became. It was blatantly obvious how uncomfortable Azrael was in the situation, sitting between Castiel and Gabe with a grim expression on her face.

Her smaller frame gave her enough room, but she held her arms and legs tightly to her body, not wanting to press against the other angels. Castiel was watching the archangel out of the corner of his eye and tensed up when he saw her go to grab something out of her pocket.

“Calm down,” She muttered, her voice barely audible over the sound of Metallica. “I’m just grabbing my phone.”

Azrael tried to ignore the feeling of her brothers’ eyes on her as she exited out of Piano Tiles. She winced at the massive amount of unread texts she had from Ariel, many reading the same thing; ‘where are you?’.

The further she scrolled, the more sporadic the messages became, spiraling into a more desperate and agitated tone. The archangel sucked in a deep breath when her eyes fell on the last message, chills consuming her body.

’Don’t make me look for you, Azrael. You can’t walk away from this, from me.’

“What are you doing?” Dean's voice broke her out of her thoughts as he glared at her through the rearview mirror.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Bucko,” A sudden surge of agitation washed over Azrael as she tightly clenched her phone. “I now have a psychotic archangel on my ass because I stuck my neck out for you guys.”

“Yea, well whose fault was it in the first place for pissing the psycho off?” Gabriel snarked, ending the conversation in a tense silence.

Dean’s glare didn't lighten and Azrael’s anger deflated under his glare, eyes shifting away to look back at her phone. Barely a minute had passed when the hunter spoke up again, still carrying an annoyed tone towards the archangel.

“Hand it over.” He gruffly held his hand out, getting looks from both his brother and the quiet angels in the back.

Azrael eyed Dean’s hand suspiciously, unsure of what the human wanted from her. When Dean narrowed his eyes at her phone, her eyes widened as she held the phone closer to her chest.

“What- why? I can just turn it off if it bothers you that much.”

“Azrael,” Castiel growled as Sam tensed up in the front. “Give him the phone.”

“Fine.”
She reluctantly handed the phone over, gaping in shock as Dean tossed it out the driver’s side window without hesitation. The archangel winced at the crunching sound of the Impala tires running over her phone.

“What was that for,” The archangel hissed, ignoring the uneased angels in the back with her. “What purpose did that even serve?!”

“It made me feel better.” Dean shrugged, ignoring the infuriated scowl Azrael bore into the back of his head.

When the Impala pulled up to the bunker, the sudden hitch in Azrael’s breath was heard by everyone. Gabriel and Castiel eyed each other, preparing to grab their sister if the archangel decided to go back on her word and run.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Azrael didn’t flee from the car the moment the group got out. They began walking towards the bunker with the angels flanking either side of Azrael as a precaution.

As the door opened, a wave of dread washed over Azrael, causing her to stop where she stood. The archangel was terrified of what awaited her and quickly thought of returning to Ariel. She could play it off as wandering and avoid the whole confrontation.

Before she could act on her thoughts, a voice cut through the tense silence. The archangel was taken back by the overwhelmed look on Chuck’s face as he let tears roll down his face.

“My child, you came home.”

Chapter Text

“Azrael,” Chuck wiped the tears from his eyes as he opened his arms to her. “it feels so good to see you again alive and well.”

Stepping forward, he tried to edge closer to his daughter for a hug. Chuck winced when Azrael took a step back, matching him step for step with fury in her eyes. Snapping out of her shock from earlier, her eyes flashed a shining bright violet as she shoved her father away.

“You what,” She snarled, putting the rest of the angels and humans suddenly on edge. “You so-called missed me? Ha! Who wrote that script for you, it almost sounded sincere.”

“Of course I missed you- I never once forgot about you, Azrael. I missed you so much and I never thought I would see you again. I couldn't find your grace-” Chuck was left reeling from the archangel’s snappish comments.

“Well, Amara sure as hell did!” Azrael hissed, grace crackling in uncontrolled anger around her. “Though I guess it never even mattered to you, did it? That someone else would save me, taking your glory away when you would save me.”

Watching the argument escalate was beginning to put Gabriel on edge. Fear had him frozen to the spot, afraid of what would happen once someone finally snapped. The angels were fighting to restore their family, but that was a pipe dream if they did nothing but snap at each other in resentment. Words hurt more than actions and with millions of years with pent up aggression simmering under the surface, Azrael was bound to explode.

“Don't you dare say that,” Chuck scowled. “I love you, all of you. Regardless of the glory, I wanted to save you because you are my child and I care about your wellbeing.”

“Oh please,” The archangel scoffed, crossing her arms as she glared at her family. “Do you want me to applaud you for your charity, you're Oscar-winning performance?”

The other archangels winced at the malicious tone their sister was using. Lucifer stepped forward to speak up, but Azrael had cut him off before he could get a word out. A sharp smirk graced her face as she turned her attention to her twin brother.

“You know, I found some interesting things while poking around in Sam's head,” Azrael gave a dry chuckled, unaware of Sam flinching at the comment. “After all, I had to catch up on current events on this forsaken rock.”

“Then you would know we have changed, sister. We are not the same careless family you remember us as.” Raphael spoke in a calm manner despite the high tensions in the room.

“Please, if you have changed then tell us, all merciful father! Tell us where the hell were you during the apocalypse while your children fought each other to the death. You were gone without even bothering to step in like a responsible parent.

I know Castiel believed in you and for what, a raggedy old man who preached so-called free will.” Azrael shot a disdain glance to the seraph standing in front of the Winchesters in a protective manner.

“Don’t you dare go preaching forgiveness and love when you never even bothered with your own sons.” Azrael held back tears as she laughed mirthlessly at her silent father.

“You left blueprints of the end of the world for them, guiding them to murder and tear each other apart in their prize fight! They loved each other and now look where we are. I may no longer be connected to heaven, but I know heaven is missing thousands of angels from war after war!”

“Azrael-” Michael tried to defuse the situation in any way possible but was cut off by a hiss from the archangel.

“Shut it, Michael.” Azrael turned her attention to her elder brother with a sneer on her lips. “What? Are you afraid of knowing you were never daddy’s favourite? That he planned for you to die in the apocalypse instead of manning up.”

“That’s enough!” Lucifer protectively pushed himself in front of his brother and Michael let him. Azrael's accusation had left the archangel frozen on the spot in shock.

“Ariel is right, you really don’t care about me, about any of us.” Azrael’s voice rose louder and louder as tears began to freely flow from her eyes. “Wanna know what I don't quite understand? What did I ever do to deserve this? What did I do to deserve to be torn apart piece by piece in agony!?”

“That’s the question all humans ask and you know what? We get the fuck over it,” Sam’s voice shocked all the angels, making them all look at the Winchester in surprise. No one expected a human to interfere in angel business, although that is a common knack the Winchesters always had.

“Dean was tortured in hell for decades, I kick-started the damn apocalypse, ended up roaming soulless for a while! Every right we make causes twice as many wrongs! Charlie was killed helping us and Kevin was gone because of our actions, so many people we loved were taken from us. It was as if we weren’t deserving of knowing someone to love, as if there was a God that hated us being happy.”

Dean’s eyes were downcast as he listened to Sam’s outburst. Every time the group had something relatively stable, it was always pulled away out of their reach without fail. Shaking himself out of his deep thoughts, Dean stealthily reached out for Castiel’s hand to reassure himself that the angel was still there. Without taking his eyes off the younger Winchester, Castiel gripped Dean’s hand, giving the hunter the reassurance he needed.

“We have every right to be angry with Chuck over here for being a no good, deadbeat father. We sure as hell don’t feel like we deserve all the bullshit shoved our way, saving the world again and again when it breaks without a moment of peace.”

Chuck looked away in shame as the archangels avoided looking Sam in the eye. Even Azrael evaded Sam’s bitter expression, remorse clinging to her like a shadow. The only one who still looked at Sam was Gabriel, a somber look of understanding on his face.

The archangel knew of the silent burden the Winchester carried, names of the fallen constantly being listed off in Sam’s head. Gabriel knew the tired look his mate carried in the night, the way the body hunched over under the invisible pressure of fate and regretful decisions.

The archangel knew all of the jaded flaws of Sam Winchester and that did not stop him from reaching out and pressing himself against the hunter’s side. He intwine his hand with Sam’s, standing by his side protectively.

“I still believe it’s my fault for all the lives lost in the apocalypse, my hands were the ones to kill Kevin, and there will always be guilt and mistrust from what we have done. Yet we get over it, we don’t tread the same ground over and over again in resentment like a spoiled brat.”

“I have every right-”

“So do we! We have apologized and you threw our forgiveness back in our face like dirt. You lashed out, it didn’t matter what we did, you just wanted to see us suffer in retribution.” Gabriel glared as his siblings and Father were speechless at the archangel’s statement.

“You deserved-” Azrael scowled, the shadows of her wings flickering on the wall behind her.

“Did we!? You did anything you could to hurt anyone around you because you were hurt and you wanted everyone else to hurt just as much! You are being selfish, impetuous, and an entitled child.” The archangel screamed, grace flashing like lightning in his eyes as his own wings cast shadows over the others.

“Excuse-” Azrael was affronted by the insult, but before she could retort, the bunker door opened.

“What did I tell you about making me come and find you?“ Ariel walked through the entrance, an unsettling smile on her lips, “You should know better than to run off to mingle with traitors.”

“Hey, sis,” Jophiel grimace as he withdrew his blade with Tyler by his side. “so nice to see you again. You look so lively and well.”

“Right?“ Ariel grinned as she slowly descended down the stairs like she had all the time in the world. “Although, I can’t say the same for you. After all, once I’m done with you, I’ll stop having a pretentious family bothering my sister and me.”

The archangel summoned her blade and suddenly lunged forwards towards Tyler and Jophiel. Michael moved forward and deflected the blow with his own blade as he pushed his brothers back. The archangel’s eyes widen as he regarded Ariel’s blade.

“What did you do to it?” He spoke in horror at the twisted spear pointed towards him.

“Oh, this?” Ariel tilted her head, before thrusting the spear forward to stab Michael in the chest. “This is just some simple alterations to make my blade better. I hope you like it, I heard it’s extremely painful.”

“Sister, stop this madness!” Michael grunted as he shifted out of the way, grabbing the staff of the spear while trying to attack his sister with his blade. Ariel sneered and used the moment to throw Michael to the side, causing the archangel to crash into the stairwell.

“I don’t listen to cowardly traitors, I’m here for her.” Ariel started walking towards Azrael with a malicious glint in her eyes. “Tell me, sister, why did you leave so soon. I thought we were having fun together, didn’t you want to have your family back?”

“Ariel, please. This is not what I want, stop- please!” Azrael cried out as horror tightly gripped her heart. The sinking feeling in the archangel’s stomach grew as she tried to get words together to calm her sister down. All she could get out was stutters of terror as her sister descended upon her.

“Oh, then please explain why I find you with our disgraceful family, Sister.” Ariel sneered, bringing her blade down on the younger archangel without hesitation. Azrael gasped as her hand flew to her face, blood trickling through her fingers as she stared up at her sister in fear.

The blade was causing Azrael to experience extreme pain as she tried to heal from her sister’s attack. Her grace was still mainly depleted and as a result, couldn’t fix the cut on her own. Looking up through bleary eyelashes at her older sister, Azrael whimpered in fear as she stepped back slowly.

“You aren’t my sister, not anymore, something is wrong with you. Ariel, you became a monster.”

Ariel’s face contorted into fury and with an enraged scream, she raised her blade strike again. The clashing sound of metal against metal echoed through the bunker as Ariel looked up into blue eyes, a look of surprise on her face.

“You may be my sister, but I won’t let you hurt my family any more than you already have.” Michael remained determined as he summoned a spear of his own. The archangel parried Ariel’s attack before retaliating with strikes of his own.

“Do you know how it feels!? To know I didn’t try hard enough knowing my sister was alive!” Michael yelled as he stunned Ariel, slamming the blunt end of his spear in her stomach. The force of the hit had Ariel intaking a sharp breath of air as her back hit the wall behind her.

“I’m saving her,” Ariel hissed as she elbowed Michael in the face. “I wanted my family back and you've only ever torn them apart! I will do what I’ll have to do to keep her safe, even if it means killing you.”

The archangel lunged, determined to land a fatal blow on her brother, Michael stepping back just in time to miss the blow. The archangel grimaced as he swung, Ariel’s spear making a loud crack as it broke in half.

“You...broke it.” Ariel stared flabbergasted at the fragments of her spear that laid on the ground in front of her. The archangel picked up the blade end of the spear and gave an eerie grin at Michael. “Shame really, I spent so much time making that. Though I suppose this won’t stop me from making someone bleed.”

Michael frowned, launching himself at his sister in hopes of stopping her before she could do anything drastic. Ariel suddenly opened her mouth, causing the Winchesters crumpled to the floor at the sound of Ariel’s true voice, hands jammed tightly over their ears.

It was a flurry of movements within seconds. Most of the angels were split between protecting Sam and Dean or going after the violent archangel in the room. Ariel had rushed towards Chuck, her broken blade raised with violent intentions.

The blade didn’t sink into Chuck, surprising everyone as they hovered around the Winchesters on the floor. Ariel was shaking where she stood, before dropping into his arms, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It hurts, make it stop- please. I just want it to stop, it hurts so much. I can’t- please, I’m sorry. Make it stop, I just want it all to stop.” The archangel clung to Chuck’s clothes as she whimpered out in pain.

“Ariel-” Chuck stammered in shock, catching his eldest daughter as she collapsed against him. He carefully lowered himself to the ground as the others crept closer. Her whimpers became more and more quiet, eventually dissolving into shudders that racked the archangel’s body.

“What’s wrong with her, Father?” Lucifer whispered, his arms wrapped around Michael for support.

“It’s her grace,” Azrael's voice brought the attention to her as she watched her sister with sorrow. “Whatever is hurting her is deeply ingrained in her. It's, in a sense, infecting her like how humans get sick with a virus. ”

Azrael winced as she lowered herself down on the floor next to her father, hand covering her left eye in a small attempt to ease the pain. Noticing her father’s worried gaze on her, the archangel shook her head with a faint smile.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok. Let’s worry more about Ariel, she's the one suffering the most right now.” Azrael spoke softly as she gently picked up the shattered blade of Ariel’s spear.

“And you aren't?” Chuck frowned as he reached out to cup his daughter’s face in an attempt to restore her eye. He grimace when she caught his hand, a depreciating look on her face as she vehemently shook her head.“Azrael, please let me heal you.”

“I told you to not worry about me, Ariel is more important at the moment.” Azrael repeated herself. “I deserved the scar and it will settle as a reminder of my arrogance and foolishness. Even with your power to heal me, my eye will never be the same because of her blade.”

Taking the blade, Azrael cut open the back of Ariel's shirt, revealing sickly, blackened skin that engulfed the entirety of her shoulder blades. The other angels sucked in deep breaths as they gazed upon the state of Ariel’s vessel.

“What the hell is that? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Raphael's voice was laced with terror as her eyes gazed upon the infection.

“Long story short? I wasn’t lying when I said Amara found me when I fell from heaven. She promised to bring me back, a load of bull that was, instead I was tortured and experimented on in her pursuit to bring down Dad. I don't even remember how long I was stuck there. Ariel had eventually found me and got me out of Amara’s clutches, but she paid the price for such a risky rescue on her own.”

“What was the price?” Gabriel settled down next to Raphael, the healer lightly brushing her fingers across Ariel's infected skin.

“Her wings, they got snagged by the traps Amara had laid around me. I guess they were never treated, I never knew the extent of the damage. Ariel kept it hidden from me while we were together,” Azrael spoke slowly before locking her eyes with her father.

“If you are serious about this whole family bonding thing, then help her. Help the child that got caught up in the anger between you and Amara. All of us were dragged in the crossfire of revenge and hatred, now is your moment to right your wrongs.”

Azrael kept her gaze on her father as he brushed his hand through Ariel’s crimson hair in a soothing manner. The archangel flinched when she felt a cool, damp cloth come down over her left eye. Looking up, she saw Raphael’s face twisted in worry and concerned.

“If you won't let Father heal your injury, at least let me treat it before it can get worse.” She spoke in a soft voice that the rest of the angels have not heard in a long time.

Azrael slowly nodded, carefully withdrawing her hand, wincing at the horrified looks on the faces of her family. Trying her best to ignore the rest of the people in the room, Azrael practically melted into the cooling touch of the cloth on her eye.

“What I don't understand is why Miss Psycho here has injuries from her true form, or from whatever with the whole big true form nonsense.” Dean scrunched his face up in confusion as he tried to process the complexity of the situation.

“You mean if Ariel was injured in her true form, then why is it transferring over to her vessel’s body?” Sam poundered Dean’s words, his train of thoughts interrupted by Gabriel’s voice.

“An angel’s true form is identical to their physical vessel in a sense. For example, when Ariel permanently damaged Azrael’s left eye, she damaged what would be whatever eye equivalent would be on Azrael’s true form.” Gabriel explained. “So based on what Azrael says, Ariel's wings were damaged in the rescue. The injury wouldn’t have shown on a physical body, because the true form was injured.”

“Ariel’s injury isn’t like the mark nor is it like my condition. She’s going to need help from Chuck specifically and if she’s in this much pain now? I don’t know how much longer she’s gonna last, Father.” Azrael turned to Chuck, her voice urging him to do something that would lessen the pain on the damaged archangel.

“Do not fret my child, I have seen enough of my children die. I will not let Ariel be among the lost.” Chuck reassured the anxious expression on the angels’ faces as he placed his hands on the sides of Ariel’s head.

Taking a deep breath, the others watched as the bunker lights began to flicker when Chuck’s eyes glowed. Sam and Dean began to shield their eyes when a ring of light began to glow above Ariel’s head.

The light between Chuck and Ariel began to expand until the human eye could barely stand it. With a massive flash of light, it died down again as Ariel’s eyes began to flutter open. The archangel looked at all the surrounding residents of the bunker with a confused tilt of her head.

“What- Father?”

“Ariel! You’re okay!” Tears of happiness overflowed from Azrael as she threw herself into the unsuspecting archangel’s arms. The other angels were ecstatic and soon followed, sweeping the two up in a massive hug.

“Welcome home my beloved children.” Chuck smiled contently as he watched his children come together for the first time in thousands of years.

“Uhh guys, not to burst this happy moment here but we still have Amara trying to murder people and literally turn Chuck into a kebab.” A cough broke through the cheers of happiness and all the angels turn to the two humans standing awkwardly.

“Really, Dean? Now is a good time to bring up that?” Sam shot his brother a classic bitch face as he smacked his brother’s head.

“What?” Dean held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not lying, we do have one major problem left here. Trust me, I’d love to celebrate this amazing success over having a family bonding moment, but Amara is still out there. We haven’t prepared for an attack yet.”

“He’s right,” Azrael groaned, collapsing against Ariel’s side dramatically, her sister nodding along. “The bitchy hag isn’t gonna stop any time soon till she has one Chuck soup.”

“Maybe we can trap her with the mark of Cain?” Lucifer shrugged, immediately earning cold glares from everyone else in the room. “Or not.”

“No, no more trapping family in cages. We can and will take care of her without trapping her again.” Chuck shook his head at Lucifer’s comment.

“Even if we were to imprison her again, it won’t hold her for long. There was five archangels when you first fought her, now we have twelve angels, seven being archangels.” Tyler made a point, gaining nods from the others.

“I have to agree with Tyler on this. Trapping her will only prolong the inevitable, we finish this now. We can find another way if no one wants to kill another member of family, but the darkness ends here.”

The others nodded in agreement, slowly disperssing to their rooms. Dean dragged Castiel away, earning loud cheers and hoots from Jophiel and Tyler. Michael shook his head as he dragged Lucifer to thier own room, all while the younger archangel cackled at Tyler yelling “Dean’s getting down and holy on his knees!”

“As the archangel of cupids, I approve the fucking of the salty Winchester and his charming angel!” Jophiel gasped out as he continued to bend over in laughter.

Raphael rolled her eyes at the immaturity of her brothers as she led her sisters to their rooms, pressuring them to get rest after the injuries they had sustained. After a small nod to Chuck, Sam let Gabriel lead them away to their own room to wind down from the eventful day that just occured.

They had a lot of work ahead of them, but with his family united and with four additional angels, nothing could stand in his way now.