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A simple milk run. That was how Dean described it to them earlier before he left. A simple milk run he alone had to run with Jody and Donna. No one else was invited. This was for Dean only. The rest of them were expected to remain in the bunker and wait for his return. Whenever the hell that would be.
To say that Castiel and Sam were annoyed was an understatement.
Just who the hell did Dean Winchester think he was exactly? Ordering them to remain behind no questions asked while he went off fighting a nest of who knew how many vampires down in South Carolina? Were they or were they not Team Free Will? Once, Dean had said that they were better together, all of them. That seemed to have gone out the window long ago, though. All that remained was Dean Winchester and his stupid ‘Go it alone’ attitude for everything nowadays.
“Uh, Sam?” a hesitant voice quietly spoke from behind.
Blue eyes sharply darted across the table to the tall, long-haired man who was still glaring daggers at the closed door to the bunker.
A heavy sigh later, Sam finally replied, “Yeah, Jack?” He reluctantly tore his gaze from the door to the young man standing in the doorway.
“Claire and I were wondering if it’d be okay to—”
“No,” he answered, not bothering to let him finish. His eyes returned to the closed steel door, his arms crossing once more.
“Cas—”
“Jack, he’s given you his answer,” Castiel stated firmly, his eyes dragging from the door back to the younger man. “Please do not try to pit us against one another. Not today.”
“But I don’t understand . . .”
“Join the club,” Sam muttered with a huff, his boots stomping down bitterly against the floor.
“Fine,” grumbled the young man. “I’ll just tell Claire we can’t.”
“Thank you.”
Sam glanced briefly at Castiel when they heard Jack’s retreating footsteps as the young Nephilim headed back to the dorms. He sighed heavily again, his hand coming up to run through his long hair.
“I probably should have let him finish asking whatever it was.”
“Perhaps,” Cas agreed. “However, if it were important, Jack would have argued more.”
The taller man gave a soft, tired chuckle. “Maybe.” He shook his head a moment later, resuming his vigil. “I don’t get it, Cas. My brother can be a stubborn jerk sometimes, but to do this?”
“I know.” The angel’s chapped lips pursed further in obvious disapproval.
“Where does he get off telling us to sit down and shut up? Not to question anything about this stupid, reckless, idiotic mission he chose to go off on? Damn it, Cas!” Sam’s fist slammed down hard upon the table. “Sometimes I just want to hit him.”
“A sentiment I agree with wholeheartedly,” the angel dryly remarked. “However, if I’ve learned anything over the years about your brother, it is—”
“How much of a self-sacrificing asshole he is who doesn’t give a damn about the rest of us?” Sam snapped, anger radiating off his entire large frame.
“But he does, though. He cares deeply for you, Sam. Do not forget that.”
“Yeah, well, if he cared so deeply for us, Cas, he wouldn’t have rushed out of here like he did. Now, would he have?” He growled under his breath, shaking his head angrily. “He couldn’t even answer the very basic damn questions about this mission. Did you notice that?” Sam didn’t wait for the reply. “Like, you know, how many victims there were? How long he’d be gone? It was just, ‘Sam, you’re in charge of the bunker. Cas, watch Claire. Jack, don’t do stupid shit.’ And, boom, there he went.”
“Sam—”
“I’m sick of it, Cas. I’m just sick and tired of this whole damn thing. When is he going to see that I’m not the little brother he has to protect all the damn time? I mean, I was in the Cage! I handled shit while he had Michael rooting around in his head! I’m not that same little kid anymore!” Sam scoffed, glancing at the angel. “Don’t you ever get sick of it?”
Cas seemed to think on it for a moment before he replied. “My family situation is vastly different from yours, Sam. My father’s trying to end the world. My so-called brothers and sisters—I killed the majority of them.”
Sam forced a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, well, Dean may piss me off, but we’re not to the point yet where I want to kill him.”
“I’m grateful to hear that,” Cas admitted, inclining his head slowly. “However, if you did, I believe I must inform you I’d do my best to bring your brother back. This world needs both of you, Sam. You and Dean. It cannot live without the other. It would be like a world without the Avengers.”
Hazel eyes rolled. “Dean should never have made you watch all those movies.”
“Perhaps, but I did enjoy them.”
Sam nodded slowly. “Yeah.” He sighed softly. “What are we going to do?”
“Concerning your brother, that is?”
“What else?” the younger Winchester remarked, glancing at the angel.
“We do what we always do, Sam. We pray for your brother’s safety and carry on until he returns. And when he returns, we give him a ‘lecture of a lifetime.”
“Do you think that ever helps?”
“Sometimes. Dean does try for a bit to alter his behavior for the sake of us, I believe, but the instinct to protect others, you most especially, is so deeply ingrained into him.” Cas then shrugged. “However, if the lecture does not work this time, we can always try the Dean Winchester approach to everything in life.”
“What’s that?”
“Punch him.”
He smiled wistfully before he nodded. “You’re a good friend, Cas. I’m glad you’re here.”
“As am I, Sam. As am I.”
When they heard the door disengage a moment later before it opened, they both stood up and glanced at each other. Had Dean changed his mind then and returned? Or, better yet, had Donna and Jody changed Dean’s mind for him and sent him back, which honestly was the more likely answer?
“Jeez. Why the long faces?” drawled a voice that caused both men to gasp. “Who died?”
“Gabriel?”
Glancing down from the landing at them, the short archangel grinned widely before he bowed. “The one and only.” He wasted no time walking down the spiral staircase to greet them. “So, where’s Dean-o at? Or the kid for that matter?”
“You can’t . . .” Castiel breathed out in utter disbelief. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
“What?” Gabriel’s amber eyes narrowed sharply before he glanced at Sam. “Oh!” He snapped his fingers and chuckled. “You’re wondering how I’m here! Yeah, well, surprise! I’m back, bitches! Thanks to dear ol’ Dad.”
“What?” Cas took a step back, his eyes widening instantly.
“Uh, Cassie, brother, it’s okay. Really,” the youngest Archangel drawled before his eyes once more darted to Sam. “Uh, little help here, Samwich?”
“What do you mean you’re back because of Chuck?” Sam replied evenly, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stared back.
Gabriel frowned in confusion before he glanced behind them. Ah. Jack. “Kiddo, thank Dad almighty, help me out here, will you? Your dads are—I don’t even know how to describe this.”
Within seconds, both Castiel and Sam rushed to stand in front of Jack defensively.
When the honey-colored eyes noticed the silver blade slip into Cas’s hand, he took a step back, his mouth dropping as his usual amusement drained instantly. “Castiel?” he choked out, his voice cracking surprisingly. “You honestly don’t recognize me, little brother?”
“You are not my brother!” growled the blue-eyed angel with a fierce look in his eyes. His blade would likely only wound this imposter, but he wasn’t going to take any chances, though. Not after losing Jack twice already. He would not lose him a third. Not after just getting him back.
“Kiddo—Jack! Please?!” Gabriel begged, glancing at the young Nephilim. “Tell them!”
“Go to your room, Jack. We got this,” Sam stated calmly, even though his insides were doing backflips. Could it honestly be Gabriel? He wished it was. He would be so grateful for the distraction they all so badly needed.
“Dad—”
“Go, Jack!” Sam and Cas both shouted, not glancing back.
“But he’s telling the truth!” Jack argued. “He is Uncle Gabe!”
“What?” Both Sam and Cas whirled around in surprise, keeping a wary eye on the shorter man.
“That is Uncle Gabe!” Jack repeated before he glanced towards the archangel whose eyes softened in gratitude.
“Jack, that can’t be Gabriel, though,” Cas quietly said with a heavy sigh. “He died in—”
“Apocalypse World, I know,” Jack interrupted. “But Claire and I—”
“Claire?”
Sam’s eyes narrowed in surprise. What did Claire have to do with anything? She and Jack had been hiding out in their respective rooms ever since Dean had stormed out a few hours ago.
“All right, kid brother. I got this,” huffed the young blonde as she stepped out from the alcove she had been standing near.
“You’ve got what?” Cas repeated, glancing at Sam with mirrored looks of confusion.
“Jack and I were talking earlier about things while you two were out here sulking like four-year-olds. We were trying to come up with possible reasons why God would fear him so much. Enough to the point where he’d kill Jack. It couldn’t just be the whole Nephilim thing.”
“I’m sorry. Did you just say Dad killed my nephew?” Gabriel piped up behind them.
“Not the time, Candy Man,” Claire mumbled, waving her hand at him.
“What does that have to do with this?” Cas asked, taking a step towards her.
“I brought him back, Dad!” Jack declared happily, his proud smile wide. “That’s why he’s afraid of me! Because I can bring them back. I can bring back the ones he wrote out of the story! I can rewrite the story! I can rewrite it all! Isn’t that awesome?”
“What do you mean you can rewrite it?”
“Well, Billie gave me—”
“Billie?!” Sam and Cas both yelled.
“When the hell did you talk with Billie?”
“After you two idiots told him no,” Claire drawled with a lazy shrug. “Because, you see, you three are terrible influences. Dean says ‘I won’t do this.’ And he does it anyway. Sam goes ‘I certainly won’t do it.’ Two days later, Sam does it. And Castiel, oh, righteous Angel of the Winchesters, he does the exact same opposite bullshit as the rest of you. So, why the hell shouldn’t Jack and I do the same damn thing as you guys? We’re both your kids after all, aren’t we? So, blame yourselves and your shitty parenting, Dads.”
“Twenty points to Claire Novak,” Gabriel remarked with a laugh. “Remind me never to get on your bad side, my sassy niece.”
“I’m not your niece,” she snapped, glaring at him.
“Hey, you claimed Cassie as your dad. Cassie is my little brother. Therefore, that makes you my niece. So, there.” Gabriel stuck his tongue out at her, which made her roll her eyes dramatically.
“Dad?” Jack glanced at both Cas and Sam, who stood with their mouths wide open and equal looks of shock. He looked towards Claire. “Did I do something wrong? I thought they’d be happier about this.”
Claire snorted. “They are.”
“I think it’s more a case of them trying to process having two kids instead of one now. That, and maybe they’re genuinely shocked by my return.” Gabriel shrugged before he snapped a lollipop into existence. “Now, can we please go back to this whole ‘Dad killing you’ thing? I’m more interested in that, I’ll admit. Plus, we’re going to need to kill some time while their minds catch up to them again.”
Jack nodded. “All right. Well, I burned off my soul killing Apocalypse World Michael. Dad—Cas that is—was worried about me, but I didn’t want to worry him any further about how numb I felt afterwards so I kept quiet about it. Which I know now is wrong. After that, I accidentally killed Mary when I lost control. They locked me in the Mal’ek box as a result, which only angered me further because they tricked me into it. Dad—Cas that is again—didn’t want them to do that, though. He believed I could be saved. Which is why he and Dean have been fighting so much. Chuck returned and gave Dad—Dean this is—a weapon to kill me, but when it came time to do it, he couldn’t. That angered Chuck because he wanted them to kill me. So, Dad—Sam that is—shot Chuck, which made him angrier and he smote me in front of Dad—all of them.”
Gabriel’s mouth dropped before he blinked and scoffed. “Damn, kiddo. That’s rough.” Which was the understatement of the century, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say at that point. “How’d you come back, though?”
“Well, I was in the Empty with Billie—”
Amber eyes instantly narrowed when he saw the violent flinch from his little brother at the mention of the Empty. There was a story there he’d have to get out of the younger fledgling later when they were alone. As it was, though, Gabriel continued listening, missing the crucial who brought Jack back, but he assumed it was Billie.
“—brought me back here.”
With a gentle smile, the archangel smiled at his Nephilim nephew. “I’m sure those three haven’t let you out of their sight since. I know I wouldn’t, Jack.” He glanced at Sam and Cas again, sighing inwardly. He could see that they were starting to come around again. “So, Samwich and Cassie, you never did answer my question earlier. Where’s Dean-o? I’ve got some business I need to take care with him.” Namely kicking his ass, it seemed, based on his younger brother’s current mood.
“Dean stormed out a few hours ago with Jody and Donna on a milk run somewhere down South,” Claire answered for them with a sigh. “They’ve been sulking about it ever since.”
Gabriel nodded slowly. Yeah, that sounded about right. He was glad some things never changed.
“They did notice it’s a blizzard out there, though, right?”
“What?”
The archangel glanced at his younger brother and smiled inwardly. Ever the worrier Cas was. “Welcome back, little bro.” He then shrugged lightly. “When I appeared out of nothing just outside, it was to a nice Midwest Blizzard out there. Could hardly see anything out there, even with my supreme Archangel eyesight.”
Cerulean orbs darted to the steel door above instantly.
Gabriel didn’t even need to use his powers to see the concern in Castiel. His little brother radiated with it. Then again, so did Sam, it seemed.
“I’m sure they’re fine. If not, he’ll pray to you like always. And I’ll even be the cool big bro I am and take you to him, Cassie. Let you be his big dorky Guardian Angel.”
Instead of seeing a smile on his little brother’s face, though, which he expected, he only saw the fledgling's mood sour more. In fact, the frown seemed to be a permanent fixture on the Seraph’s face. How bad had it become since he left? He’d ask Sam later, he supposed. As much as he loved Castiel, his little brother unfortunately took more after the older Winchester than was necessary these days, but he could understand it.
At least his words put Sam’s mind at ease, it seemed.
“Anyway, it looks like we’re going to be here for awhile. So, board games, anyone?” He snapped his finger, materializing all different types of games for them to play. Ironically, he noticed that they were most of the games Castiel liked playing. He frowned when he watched his little brother slip out of the room without another word. “Samwich?”
“It’s Sam, Gabriel,” the younger Winchester sighed softly.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” The archangel waved his hand dismissively. “What’s that all about?” he asked, motioning to where Castiel had left.
“It’s nothing.”
“They’re still mad at each other,” Jack piped up from the corner where he and Claire had gone off to with a game of Monopoly. His head whipped towards the blond when she smacked his arm. “What? He wanted to know.”
“It’s not our place to tell,” Claire replied.
“Oh.” Jack shrugged before he turned back, resuming their game set-up.
“They’re still mad at each other about the whole Jack thing?” Gabriel asked softly to Sam.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. It’s Dean and Cas, Gabe. At this point, I don’t even question it because they’ll get over it. Eventually. They always do.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I’ve never seen Cassie like that before, Sam.”
The taller man shrugged. “What can we do? Lock them in a room until they talk about it? Dean would sooner kill himself than that. But it’s not like we really have a lot of time to waste on it as it is. Not with Chuck out there throwing everything he can at us. So they’re doing a sort of ‘pretend things are okay when they really aren’t’ thing. That was until Dean decided to pull his usual shit and run out on us again like the stupid jerk he is.”
“Sam,” Gabriel quietly said, waiting until the hazel eyes met his soon later. “This is me. All right? Big brother asking about his little brother, whom he cares a lot about. I need to know. How bad is it? Because from where I’m standing, it’s catastrophic.”
“It doesn’t matter, Gabe.”
“It does too matter, Sam. If my brother is in pain like what I just saw, you bet your ass that so is yours. So, I’ll ask again. How bad?”
Sam glanced away, fiddling with the edge of the table silently. He sighed quietly a moment later and shook his head. Gabriel was unfortunately right. He hadn’t seen Dean like this before. Not since they had seen Cas’s wings burned into the ground at the lake house.
“He told Cas that he was dead to him if anything happened to Mom.” Sam’s eyes darted back to the amber eyes watching him. “He didn’t mean it, though. He just was angry and worried and—it’s Dean, you know? He doesn’t know how to take back those words now. So, he brushes it aside, brushes Cas aside because he—I don’t know—Cas is his weakness. Chuck knows that. Crowley knew it. Hell, Naomi even knew it.”
Gabriel’s frown deepened but he said nothing.
“I mean, my brother never had a best friend before. Bobby was/is our surrogate dad. Jody’s our surrogate mother now. Hell, Donna is like our crazy aunt or something. I don’t know. But Cas—Cas is his best friend. His first and likely only best friend he’d ever have. How do you fix that? When you tell your best friend he’s dead to you out of a moment of anger and fear? You can’t. So, Dean does as he usually does. Any type of emotional bond with someone that can be used against him, he severs, pushes people away to protect himself. Hell, he’s done it to me more times than I can count. It’s one reason why I just want to punch him sometimes.”
Oh, this was bad. “Ah. Well, it goes without saying here, but my brother loves yours, Sam.”
“I know he does, Gabe.”
“No. No it’s more than just brotherly love, Sam.” The archangel sighed heavily. “He gave up everything he knew for your brother. He gave up his command. He gave up Heaven. He gave up his wings. He gave up all his family—all of us—for Dean. Hell, he’s given his life even.”
“I know, Gabe.” Watery hazel eyes reluctantly met the somber amber orbs. “Cas and I got closer after the whole Michael possessing Dean thing happened. I thought it before, sure, but he admitted it to me once when we thought we lost Dean for good. I watched it break him further. And losing Jack—it’s a wonder how any of us can function anymore, you know? With how much loss we’ve suffered?”
It was a wonder indeed. It made Gabriel hate his father even more. Sanctimonious smug asshole who put all deadbeat fathers to shame. As time passed, he was starting to like his fallen older brother more. Maybe Lucifer had a point all those years ago. Who would have thought it?
“So, this milk run deal—”
“He didn’t even know how long it’d be, Gabe,” Sam cut in sharply. “It was like he didn’t care. All that mattered was getting far from us. I get that he blames himself. He always does, but we’re supposed to do this together. Team Free Will and all that crap. That was what he always said. It’s just words, though. Because when it comes down to it, Dean will always sacrifice himself, and Castiel will always follow close behind just as I will. And if that’s over a cliff, so be it.”
“You know, Samwich, bitter ain’t a good look on you,” drawled the archangel, hoping it’d lighten the mood a bit. He noticed idly the kids had already given up all pretenses of playing their game and left to give them privacy as well.
“He wasn’t the only one who lost Mom, Gabriel! I lost her too!”
“I know you did.”
“You don’t see me running out on those I love, do you?”
“No.” But he did see the heartbreak in the younger Winchester and the dimming to his soul.
“Damn it, Dean! Why do you have to be such a jerk?” His foot slammed hard against the side of the table, screeching it against the floor angrily. Sam then scoffed, shaking his head. “Look at me. Bitching like always.” He huffed a sardonic laugh and clenched his jaw briefly, closing his eyes as his head fell forward. He drew in several breaths to calm himself again, thankful that the angel said nothing about it. “I’m sorry, Gabe.” He glanced at the archangel. “You didn’t deserve that just now.”
“Say no more, kiddo. It’s forgotten.”
Sam gave a pensive smile. “Thanks.” He then sighed heavily. “Well, I should head to bed. Maybe I’ll be more manageable in the morning. You need me to show you around again?’
“Nah. I got it.”
“All right. Well, pick any room.” Sam then turned away, heading towards the hallway that led to his room. Before he left, though, he paused and glanced back. “Gabe?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad you’re back.”
The sandy-haired archangel grinned widely and shrugged. “Awe. Did you miss me?” He caught the soft snort from the taller man. “You know, I can watch over you if you’d like?” He wiggled his eyebrows at him suggestively.
“Gabe!” Sam squawked, half-laughing and half-shocked.
“What?”
Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes, though. “Good night, Gabriel.”
“Good night, Samuel.” He waited just long enough for the taller man to have stepped into the hallway before he called out, “Just remember, though. I’m the cuter guardian angel in this bunker, and I’m all yours, Sam.” He chuckled when the taller man flipped him off in response before he disappeared fully into the hallway. He had missed their banter.
Gabriel waited a full minute just to be sure prior to his heading off down the hallway to the rooms. He didn’t want Sam to think he was following him after all. He glanced in as he walked past a few of the empty rooms. It looked like people had lived in them but not for some time. Another story for another time, he supposed. He smiled when he caught Jack and Claire in one of the rooms talking.
“Hey, kiddos.”
“Hey, creeper,” Claire retorted with a raised brow. “You need something?”
“You seen Cas?”
“He’s probably in his room.”
Gabriel nodded slowly. He was grateful to hear his little brother still used a room there. While it’d be worrying to some to hear it considering Castiel was an angel, it was nice to know the Seraph was still trying to do human things once and awhile.
“Thanks.” He then drew in an unnecessary breath. “Not just for that, of course, but for thinking of resurrecting me. You could have chosen better candidates than me I know, so, thanks. Both of you.”
“Whatever you say, Candy Man,” Claire replied sounding rather bored.
“You’re welcome, Uncle Gabe.”
He couldn’t deny how nice it was to hear the sentiment. Uncle Gabe. He could get used to it. He crossed the room a moment later and sideways hugged him. It reminded him of all the times he had hugged Cassie when they were younger. When things weren’t so messed up as they were nowadays.
“Come in here, Claire Bear.” He blinked when he watched her head rear up. “What?”
She paused before she shook her head. “Nothing.” She leaned in for a brief sideways hug as well before she pulled back. “You done feeling sappy there or do you need a moment?”
Gabe snorted. “You know, you might not be Cassie’s kid, but you sure do have his sass there.” He caught her subdued smile. She was more like Cas than she knew. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“Whatever.”
He shook his head a moment later and left, heading where he last knew Cas’s room was. He reached it a few seconds later, finding the door closed. Pushing aside a sigh, he gently knocked against the door and waited. He’d show the younger angel that he had changed. Learned a little about respecting each other’s boundaries and all that jazz. That he wasn’t the same bothersome archangel that he was known for being.
“Cas?” he called out. “It’s me. Gabe. You know? Your hot older brother? Could we talk?”
He frowned when he heard no reply. Had Cassie fallen asleep? If so, it would be a little worrying, but he couldn’t blame him. Even he could feel the less power coming from Heaven now.
“Castiel?” he called out again. “I just want to talk. That’s it. Promise. No tricks.”
When he still didn’t hear anything, he felt his big brother side kick into overdrive. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, he slowly turned the knob a few seconds later and opened the door. When he saw the small cot in the sparsely furnished bedroom was still untouched and that Castiel wasn’t inside, his frown deepened.
“Oh, little brother. Where did you go now?”
At the sound of a thump in a nearby room followed by a loud crash, the sandy-haired archangel turned, his curiosity getting the better of him. His eyes narrowed when he realized the sounds were coming from Dean’s room. Briefly, he considered all possible explanations that didn’t include his brother doing something idiotic.
Glass shattering at rapid intervals a second later triggered something deep inside him, something instinctual, something he couldn’t ignore. His fingers had snapped sending him to the noise before he could even consider the possibility of the door to the room not even being locked. One moment he was in Cas’s room, the next he was in the badly wrecked elder Winchester brother’s room. When something—barely having time to duck much less identify it—hurtled his way, he snapped his fingers and turned it to Pixie dust with a deep frown that quickly morphed into horror.
There standing in the middle of the destroyed room was Castiel, his wings—battered and shredded beyond all recognition—outstretched wildly with parts of the bloody bone visible while the brilliant blue orbs glowed fiercely.
Gabriel could feel the anger radiating off the Seraph along with something else. It took him a moment to recognize he hadn’t felt this since the last time he had been around Lucifer. Inhaling deeply to brush aside his conflicting emotions, he stepped forward and snapped again, righting the room back to normal. Another snap, and he brought them both outside the bunker. The unexpected shockwave that followed nearly sent him flying backwards into the bunker. He thanked his father briefly that he did not.
“Castiel—”
“No!” the Seraph snarled back in his true voice.
“Control yourself now!” commanded Gabriel, his voice rumbling deeply around them and sending the snow to swirl even more. It sounded strange, though, having not spoken in his true voice in decades. “Or, so help Dad, I’ll do it for you, little brother!” The second he saw the bright blue of his brother’s Grace flare up wildly again, he felt the first punch to his gut, knowing whatever would happen next would hurt.
“You are not my brother!” Castiel hissed, taking a threatening step towards him. His wings flashed violently above him. “You never were, Gavriel!”
The youngest archangel stared back numbly, relying on his Grace to keep away the pain that had unexpectedly flared up at the words. He hadn’t been called by that name in a millennium or more.
“Brothers don’t abandon one another! Or do you think I’ve forgotten it entirely thanks to Naomi? How you left me there all those years ago? How you continue to leave me behind? You once said—you—I trusted you!” His fists were clenched painfully at his sides. “You promised. You promised! And instead you left me to fend for myself—well, brother, are you happy now? I finally learned what they warned us about—what Lucifer always claimed would happen when we lowered ourselves to them.”
Gabriel stared back, feeling his Grace recoil inside. However, he shook whatever similarities his mind supplied between the two brothers to the deepest reaches of his mind. They couldn’t be more different if they tried. Castiel wasn’t lost quite yet, just slightly meandering through the darkness.
Taking a step forward, the sandy-haired archangel spread his golden wings out proudly. He had a few feet on the young Seraph thankfully so it would get his point across hopefully.
“So, what, you’ll pull a Lucifer? How original, baby brother. You’ll cast aside all the good there is in humans because of one idiotic Winchester who obviously has severe Daddy issues?” Gabriel raised a brow and took another step, his wings raising even more menacingly. “I left. You’re perfectly in your right to be angry about that. But I will not—and I want you to hear me closely, dear Castiel—I will not stand here idly by and let you go on about how humans are the enemy. They aren’t! They never have been! They’re resilient. They’re strong. And, by Dad’s will, you bet your ass that they make mistakes. Just like Dean did!”
“You don’t—”
“What? I don’t know what I’m talking about?” growled the older angel, glaring down at his petulant little brother. “Uh, hello. Gabriel here—Dad’s most cowardly archangel who hid out on Earth and faked his death how many times?” He latched onto the win when he saw Cas’s brows furrow. Maybe a little of it was penetrating that thick skull. “So, Dean did what Dean does whenever he finds himself in a situation where he screwed up spectacularly and ran. You know what? I can understand that, relate to it, because I too ran when it became too much, when I was tired of losing everyone I loved all the damn time. But you know what makes humans the greatest damn things in the universe?”
He needed to reach him. He needed to get his sweet blue-eyed little brother he knew and loved back. Not just for the Winchesters and their merry band of misfits, but for himself too.
“They can change, Castiel. They can better themselves. They can rise up and tell Dad and all of us more powerful beings than them to go to hell. So, you want to scream at the world about how unfair things are, how humans are the enemy? Go ahead. But that won’t change the fact that I’m your brother, your shitty ass brother who—yeah—broke a promise all those years ago and left you behind.” He then scoffed, shaking his head. “You know, it was easier when you didn’t remember it, but I’m glad you do. Really I am. Because a) you can keep me accountable and b) I want you to know that I’m here now, Castiel! And I’m not going anywhere this time! So scream all you want, but I’m not leaving! Not again. Not when my baby brother needs me.” When he saw the blue Grace dampen into the familiar blue eyes again, he raised a brow. “Got it?” His lip quirked slightly. “Or do I need to snap my fingers and send you to the timeout room?”
Cas cocked his head to the side. “Timeout room?”
The sandy-haired man sighed softly. “Oh, little brother. How sheltered you were.” He then shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s time to make up for all that lost time we had and educate you in the wonders of human parenting. Better late than never, I suppose.”
“What?”
Snapping his fingers, the archangel grinned widely at his work a moment later, rolling his shoulders and sending his wings back to the Ethereal plane again. The taller angel had fallen back onto the stool that had appeared. Another snap, and now a large black hat that read ‘Naughty boy’ rested on the blue-eyed angel’s head.
“There we go. Now, you just sit there and think about what you’ve done. All right?”
Cas immediately crossed his arms and glared back.
“Keep it up, and I’ll add a hot pink sash!” Gabriel warned, unwrapping a lollipop.
“This is stupid.”
“Yeah, well, so was your temper tantrum just now,” the older brother quipped.
“You are not our father, Gabriel.”
He snorted, rolling his tongue around the sucker for a minute. His lip quirked into a soft smile. “Awe, Cassie. I’m going to cry. That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” He snapped another stool into existence and sat beside the young Seraph who wasn’t quite pouting yet but wasn’t exactly his usual stoic self either. “So . . .”
“Yes?”
Shrugging, the archangel glanced at the Seraph pointedly. He instantly watched the younger’s face morph into annoyance. He raised a brow and held up two fingers as if to snap them.
“It’s fine,” Cas bit out.
“That’s the Winchester answer. I want the real one.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what you’re going through. Well, sorta.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have a Winchester I’ve been pinning over for—what is it—eleven years at this point?” He sighed when he watched Castiel fly up to his feet, the dunce cap falling to the ground, as he stormed across the swirly snow back towards the bunker. Moody angels. “Cas, come on! We’re not humans! There’s no need to be so dramatic and storm off like one,” he called out to the grumpy angel.
“Would it be so damn horrible if I was?” the younger angel snapped, whirling around.
Gabriel bit back a sigh when he found himself having to glance up at him. Why had he chosen such a short vessel? “Of course not, but what are you going to do? Rip out your Grace?”
“So what if I did? I’m barely an angel at this point, aren’t I?”
“Fine. Want my blade to do it or should we use yours?”
Castiel scoffed, shaking his head. “Of course you’d make a joke of it.” He turned away to continue back towards the bunker. “I should have known.”
“Hey!” Gabriel snatched ahold of his arm and pulled him back. “What do you want me to say? That I’m happy you want that? Because I’m not. In fact, I kind of want to find Winchester and—”
“Dean has nothing to do with this,” Cas huffed, yanking his arm back.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Not everything I do revolves around him.”
The older brother bit back his sarcastic response, realizing it would only make matters worse. He inclined his head in surrender. “Fine. Then convince me, little brother. Tell me why you want to rip out your Grace and live like a human.” He watched the surprise cross the blue eyes before it was blinked back and suppressed.
“Do you truly want to know?”
“Would I have asked if I didn’t?” Gabriel replied, crossing his arms with a raised brow. His frown momentarily deepened when he watched the angel’s eyes dart to the bunker. He briefly wondered if Cas would take a page out of his book and run, but thankfully his little brother was braver than that.
“It’s a struggle.” The words were a mere whisper but thundering in the archangel’s head. “Every single day. It didn’t used to be like that, though. I could—I could suppress it better. Hide it better from others.” The young Seraph glanced at him warily before he looked away again. “I never doubted. Not once. I followed my orders. No matter what they were. We were doing God’s work after all. We were just, pure, righteous even.” Blue eyes fell to his feet. “And then I was chosen to save the Righteous Man, and I did. I flew into Hell, battled everything thrown my way, and . . . After meeting him, though, I wanted so badly to throw him back in at first. He was insolent, disrespectful, not anything like I had thought he’d be. This rude human was Michael’s vessel? As the years past and I grew closer—our siblings told me after rescuing Dean something broke in me. I didn’t believe it. Not then. I felt more . . . me. Less troubled. Less conflicted as I once was. I hadn’t known then that was what I felt. Not until I became human and had to identify all these . . . strange, overwhelming emotions.”
Silently, Gabriel snapped them back inside the bunker into Cas’s room. He said nothing when Cas sat down on the edge of the cot, his head hung. What his little brother was describing was something, he supposed, all angels wrestled with at some point. He himself had during his exile.
“He challenged me, Gabriel,” Cas stated, meeting the amber eyes. “He made me think about things I had never considered before. To consider this. They call it a weakness, but it’s not. It can be a strength. The others don’t understand. Anael—Jo that is—she might, but to her, it’s not the same.”
“And you think if you become fully human, it’ll change?”
“I won’t be fighting against my Grace all the time anymore,” he replied. “It was easier to control these emotions when I was human. The worst I could do then was scream and hurt my vocal chords. Hardly bring down a bunker full of people.”
“Don’t you think you’ll miss it, though?”
“Miss it?” Castiel shook his head. “Miss what? Miss that my only value is how useful I am in a fight? How I can heal others? Smite sometimes? We were created to be weapons of God, Gabriel. Honestly, I don’t want to be a weapon anymore. I don’t want any of that. I want to be . . . me. Free.”
Sighing heavily, the older brother shook his head before he motioned for him to continue. “And what’s that? What’s you?”
“I don’t know. But I know it’s not angel anymore. I’m done fighting in God’s name. I think I have been for some time, but this—all of it—it’s solidified my belief, my conviction. I’m done being associated with all of it. If I’m human, then—” He shrugged listlessly. “And if I need power, well, I’d have something more powerful than Grace. I’d have a soul, Gabriel. You’ve felt that power, I’m sure?”
“Can’t say I have, kiddo.”
Cas nodded jerkily. “I did once.” He glanced away again. “It was too much power for me then.”
“And now?”
He shrugged. “It’ll take time to get used to. I’ll have to get over the whole frequent urinating again, but I’ll feel . . . something other than what I feel now.”
“Anger?”
“Anger, sure, but terrible sadness. Suffocating and inescapable. I’ve let them down so many times. If I’m just Cas, then . . .”
“You’re more than just a tool to them,” Gabriel argued, biting back more of his words.
“Am I?” The Seraph ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Because I think that’s exactly what my purpose here is. Why Chuck created me. To . . . guide the story along for the brothers and advance it. To give them the pieces they need and nothing more.”
Glancing up at the ceiling, even though he knew Chuck was far from heaven by now, Gabriel sent a litany of profanities masked as prayers so the deadbeat asshole would hear it all. Damn that bastard! Damn him to Hell for all of eternity and then some. Amber eyes moved back to his broken angelic brother.
“You realize that you can feel and still be an angel, right? That not all of us are emotionless little jag-offs like Dad and Naomi? I mean, hello!” Gabriel waved his arms around. “I’m not exactly Angel of the Year, I know, but still an archangel here. And I feel emotions—right now I’m currently feeling a little bit pissed off for you actually.”
“That’s nice.”
Sighing heavily, the sandy-haired man crossed the room and knelt in front of his little brother. He waited until he caught the ocean blue eyes in his gaze.
“You are not a tool, Castiel. You’re my brother. My overly dramatic, Winchester-loving brother. And I love you for it.”
“You shouldn’t, though. I’ll just disappoint you.” His voice lowered to a murmur. “Like I always do. It’s what I’m good at.”
“Oh, for the love of—” Gabriel groaned loudly.
“It’s true!”
“No it’s not, you imbecile!” A moment later, he slapped his younger brother upside the head.
“Hey!”
“You deserved that! And then some!” He huffed and shook his head. “I promise you that.” If they continued on their current path, Gabriel feared he’d lose the last of his patience entirely and snap all around the world until he found his oh-so loving Dad and beat the snot out of him. “Now, listen closely, Cassiel!” He pushed on, even after noticing the younger angel’s flinch of surprise at the use of his Enochian name. “I can listen to a lot of crap that comes out of your mouth. But I will not listen to you feeling sorry for yourself anymore. You’re not a goddamn tool. Dad may try to make it seem like that, but, hey, he’s a fucking asshole who meddles in practically everything and breaks his toys for the hell of it. Dad and Luci—hell, they’re so damn similar it’s pathetic. But you, my little brother, you’re the angel who went to Hell to rescue the Righteous Man and survived it. Do you think Michael would have? I don’t. He’d have sooner turned back the second he saw a demon, claiming that ‘It just wasn’t the right time. Maybe later.’ And he’d have left his vessel there to suffer even more, because if Dean was broken, it’d be easier to get that ‘Yes’ to wear his meatsuit.”
Castiel turned his head to look away, but Gabriel snatched ahold of his face and wrenched him back with a hard look.
“No. You’ll be good and listen as your older brother finally steps up. Got it?” He huffed and shook his head. “You went to Purgatory, too, and returned. Name another angel that did that, Castiel.”
“That was Naomi’s doing, though.”
“Was it? She may have been instrumental in bringing you to the surface, but you survived Purgatory. You didn’t die there. You didn’t let the Leviathans or other monsters kill you.”
“But—”
Gabriel snapped his fingers then, causing a piece of duct tape to cover Castiel’s mouth.
“Big brother’s talking here, Cas.” He gave him a hard look. “You are more than a soldier. More than an angel. You always have been. You’re the first of our ranks, Cas—the first—to survive Hell, Purgatory, Empty, hell—our brother Lucifer possessing you even! The Leviathans. To make a life as a human. To have the capacity to love as you do, Castiel. You’re not weak! So, get that stupid thing out of your head right now!”
The younger angel crossed his arms and glared lightly.
“You’re not a disappointment either, little bro. Have you screwed up? Yeah, you have. So have I. Join the club. We meet on Friday in Cabo. Wear Pink.” He then cupped both sides of Castiel’s face. “You listenin’?”
Castiel’s eyes rolled dramatically before he gave his best bitchiest face back that rivaled Sam’s.
“I’ll take that as a yes, I guess,” Gabriel muttered before he shook his head again. “I’m proud of you, Cas. I’m proud to say you’re my brother. Prouder than I can say about the rest of those jackasses that unfortunately are our family.”
The Seraph stared blankly at his older brother. He didn’t argue, which was honestly surprising. Gabriel had thought for sure Cas would argue, claim he had done nothing to be proud of and that it’d turn into another fight that never ended. Yet, instead, the blue-eyed little brother just watched silently before he tipped his head slowly and nodded.
Gabriel blinked at that. Wait? He believed him? For real?
“All right. What did you do with my brother?” declared the older angel, leaning back with crossed arms.
Cas snorted, rolling his eyes again. He then glanced down, motioning towards the duct tape still across his mouth.
Gabriel snapped it away instantly.
“Sorry about that. You believe me, though? Really? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled you do, but—what the hell?” He blinked a moment later when Cas enveloped him in a hug suddenly. “Uh . . .” He then scoffed, throwing all doubts aside, and returned his brother’s hug. Chuckling quietly, he considered for half a moment teasing Cas about how the younger’s chin was digging into his shoulder but decided against it. He’d just enjoy it for now. “I love you, little bro. And don’t you forget that. So, if you want to be human, well, then . . . I’ll make sure you don’t get a cold or anything that’ll kill you.”
Cas smiled against him before he quietly chuckled. “I missed you, Gabriel.”
“Course you did. I’m Heaven’s most lovable angel.”
“Is that what you are?”
With a wide grin, the archangel raised his hand up as Cas pulled back and ruffled his brother’s hair affectionately. “Course I am, sport, and that’s why you love me.”
“That’s debatable,” Cas drawled.
“Awe, Cassie. Come now. Why you got to ruin our brotherly moment? We could have totally just wiped the floor with the Winchesters by being the indisputable best brother pairing ever in the universe, and you had to ruin it.” He feigned a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “Oh, baby brother. What are we going to do with you?”
“You should get some rest.”
“Probably, but then again—archangel?”
“Yes, but you just returned from the Empty, brother. I remember how tired I was after my experience returning.”
Gabriel shrugged before he turned and flopped down onto his brother’s bed. “Sleepover then?”
“What?”
He stretched out fully with a lazy grin before he snapped his fingers and altered Cas’s bed into a king size with pillowtop mattress. Much better. “Don’t tell me Bert and Ernie didn’t teach you about the wonders of a sleepover. Eating candy and pizza all night? Watching movies? Joking around?”
“Oh. You mean when I’m in the Dean Cave with Dean.”
Gabriel blinked before he rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly. “Um, sort of, I guess. Depends on the other activities happening there.”
“We talk most of the night usually. Until he falls asleep.” Cas smiled proudly. “I watch over him then as he sleeps, but he doesn’t like it when I do that, though.”
“I bet.” The older angelic brother shook his head silently. His little brother was so smitten it was laughable. Gabriel patted the spot next to him, though. “Come on. Let’s get this party started.”
“Fine.” Cas’s shoulders sagged. “But no Westerns. Dean’s made me watch every single one of those made in the history of the universe.”
The Trickster grinned widely, hearing the words Cas wouldn’t admit. “Your secret’s safe with me, baby bro. No Westerns. Promise.”
“Thank you.” He settled against his headboard and glanced towards the small tv that Gabriel snapped bigger. “You really shouldn’t waste your Grace like that,” Cas warned. “Not when we’ve been cut off from Heaven as we are.”
Raising a challenging brow, the archangel snapped his fingers again, snapping in two bowls of popcorn sprinkled with various types of candy inside. “What?”
Cas merely rolled his eyes and turned away as the opening sequence started. His eyes narrowed when he caught the title.
“What?”
“No. Even I know you don’t watch porn with your brother.”
“Well, damn. Spoil sport.” He stuck his tongue out before he snapped and changed it to another.
“Or this, Gabriel!” the low prickly voice remarked in obvious dislike.
“But Dean loves this one!” It was actually the Winchester’s favorite Doctor Sexy episode.
“So? He’s not here!” Castiel snapped his fingers then and huffed, crossing his arms.
Gabe’s mouth dropped, amber eyes widening when he saw the tv screen change channels. “Cassie, did you just . . . did you . . .” He instantly pulled the younger angel in another fierce hug, squeezing him tightly. “You just snapped like me!” He let out a little happy squeal. “I could cry. Cassie, that’s, like, the sweetest, coolest thing you’ve ever done!”
“Hush. I’m trying to watch the movie, brother.”
“Oh, Cassie . . . I could kiss you right now.”
“Please don’t,” the younger angel groused with a soft groan.
At the sound of a soft knock a moment later, Castiel sighed heavily. He inclined his head in gratitude when Gabriel paused the movie.
“Yes?”
The door opened slowly before Sam peeked in. “Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but—”
“Sam-alam, Cassie just snapped like me!” Gabriel proudly declared.
“Uh, okay?” Hazel eyes darted to the annoyed angel.
“Is there something you needed, Sam?” Cas inquired.
“No. Not really. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. But I see Gabe’s with you.”
Gabriel watched his brother’s lips quirk into a somber smile.
“I will be. Thank you.”
“Care to join us, Samwich? We’re watching Jumanji.”
“No. I wouldn’t want to intrude—”
Gabriel waved his hand, though. “Nonsense.” He then grinned widely and snapped his fingers again, making Castiel’s cot take up the entire room. “Think the kids will want to—Never mind!” He snapped once more, and in popped Claire and Jack. “Hey, kiddos. Movie night in Daddy Cas’s room.” His grin then widened even more before he proudly announced, “Oh, and, hey, fun fact, my baby bro can snap like his big brother now! He’s cool like me!”
“Oh, for the love of—” Cas groaned. “It was one time, Gabriel. A fluke. Hardly anything to—”
“Shh! Movie’s on,” Gabe announced, smirking as he restarted the movie.
His family of misfits, as he was going to call them fondly for now, silently sat watching their movie, laughing every now and then. He even heard his younger brother chuckle a few times. He watched as Jack and Claire slowly moved closer to Cas. Jack briefly glanced at him before he turned back and leaned more against the younger angel. When Gabriel noticed Claire hesitantly do the same before she pulled back after likely having caught herself, he leaned forward slightly before he glanced at the taller man beside him.
“Samikins?”
“What, Gabe?”
“Did I ever tell you about the time I had to watch a certain little blue-eyed hellion?”
“Brother, the movie’s on. So, kindly shut up so we can all enjoy it in peace,” Cas grumbled.
“Yeah, so it was naturally left to me of course because let’s face it—the others are idiots and know nothing about parenting.”
“And you do, Candy Man?” Claire joked, glancing at him.
Gabriel grinned. “I know enough, Claire Bear.” His eyes noticed Cas’s slight flinch but he said nothing about it. “Anyway, I watched over him. Course at this point he was just a ball of light. All cute and cuddly. You know the type.”
“I thought angels don’t grow up?”
“They don’t, Jack. He’s simplifying it to make the story more interesting. I just was when I was created. That’s it. I had the knowledge of all before me. I didn’t require—”
“Remind me, little bro,” Gabriel chimed in with a careless shrug. “Was it you or Balthazar who ended up on Earth after taking a joyride down to see the humans? I mean, I could’ve sworn it was—”
Cas’s lips pursed, as he glared at the tv screen.
“Anyway,” the older brother drawled loudly with a wide cocky grin, “there I am, watching over this new little puff ball of light that Dad created. Now, if you’re watched over by an angel, it’s a high honor. It means you’re considered special in that angel’s eyes.”
“So, you found Castiel special?” Jack asked innocently.
“Course I did, kiddo. He’s my baby brother.” Gabriel then chuckled before he lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Between you and me, I always liked him better anyway. Him and Balthy.” He smiled inwardly as he recalled the other angel. They were the troublesome Trio, and, oh, did they have fun. “In fact, I’ve always—when I could at least—watched over Cas. Even when he didn’t know I was.”
Blue eyes darted to him in surprise.
“It drove Loki insane some days after the whole Elysian fiasco because his henchmen would accidentally report on Cas to him instead of to me. Probably another reason he sold me out actually to Colonel Sanders.” He shrugged again. “Either way, water under that particular bridge.” Amber eyes instantly darted over to the young blonde on the other side of Castiel when she yawned a moment later. “You all right there? Or am I boring you, Princess Peach?”
Claire scoffed, rolling her eyes. “What? Are you worried about your reputation as the fun angel there, Short-Stuff?”
“Hey! Who you callin’ ‘short’ there, Pipsqueak?”
“Well, if the shoe fits,” she drawled, waving her hand dramatically.
He snapped his fingers a second later, turning her into a tiny Troll figurine with rainbow-colored hair and wearing a biker outfit.
“Gabriel!” Sam and Cas both yelled, glaring at him.
“Fine,” the archangel sighed loudly before he reluctantly snapped his fingers and turned her back to normal. “You’re lucky these two were here.”
Claire huffed before she turned away, glaring at the tv. “Don’t call me Claire Bear.”
“Why not?” the older angel argued. “Cas does!
“Exactly. He’s the only one who can call me that. Not you, Bubblegum Bitch!”
“Fine,” Gabriel conceded. “Any other rules I have to follow or are we good now?”
Shaking her head, she rested it on Castiel’s shoulder a moment later. Her arms slowly wrapped around the blue-eyed angel’s neck as she continued watching the movie.
When Jack joined her soon after, resting his head on Cas’s other shoulder, the archangel chuckled silently. He was glad to see the relaxed smile on his brother’s face. After everything, he deserved this. He truly did. The archangel returned to the movie soon after and sighed. Now if only they could solve that pesky Dean Winchester problem . . .