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God had created thousands of angels, nearing the hundreds of thousands. One in particular had caught the eye of the youngest archangel.
Their name was Castiel, they were quiet and generally kept to themselves. Any mission they had got done within a matter of minutes. They were making big strides, especially in reputation.
Gabriel was careful walking up to them, he made sure he didn’t look too intimidating. They folded their wings behind them, fluffing them a little bit. Castiel was around 50 years old now, so they likely would get wings in a couple of decades.
Castiel turned around and they looked like they almost jumped out of their skin. Gabriel waved with a small smile on their face.
“Can I sit?” Gabriel asked as Castiel put down the bow and arrow they were holding.
“There’s nobody else around.” Castiel sneered. A feisty one, Gabriel smiled at the thought. You won’t find many snarky angels.
“I see you’ve found a vessel,” Gabriel said looking the small vessel up and down. It looked to be a young boy, no older than 16.
“Mhm.” Castiel gave a small hum. This would be harder than Gabriel thought.
“Okay, I guess you aren’t one for small talk,” Castiel blinked at this and their attention shifted almost completely to Gabriel.
“I’m here because I want to train you. You’ve climbed up the ranks exponentially and I want to help you climb even faster.” It was a half-truth. They also just wanted to see how the kid’s mind worked.
“ You want to train me ? An Archangel wants to train me ?” Castiel kept repeating that to themself for a little bit, eventually, Gabriel had to snap them out of it.
“What area do you struggle in?” Gabriel had asked when they went for a walk together.
Castiel looked confused, and Gabriel gave a small smile.
“Do you need help with anything? Weapons? Humans? The list goes on.” Gabriel made sure they kept their hands to themself, not wanting to freak out the younger angel.
“I’m struggling with ah- what’s the term… Hand-to-hand combat?” Castiel looked expectantly at Gabriel. Gabriel nodded, they were getting somewhere.
“Oh! Healing too, I still haven’t figured out how to do that. Or changing the time. Ooh, and…“ Castiel listed off hundreds of things, and Gabriel listened to all of them. He could tell listening and responding made the kid feel happy.
Combat was the first area Gabriel wanted to work on, you couldn’t be much of a warrior if you didn’t know how to fight.
They started with hand-to-hand combat. Castiel got good at it relatively quickly. Gabriel was going extremely easy on them, but he couldn't just go ahead and beat the kid’s ass. He would save that for when they’re ready.
They had changed to using weapons.
“When you’re aiming with a bow your feet should be about a shoulder’s width apart, keep them strong and steady. Don’t aim the front of your body directly towards the target…” Gabriel instructed them on the basic steps, allowing Castiel to get the hang of it.
“Now, make sure to use the strength in your upper body, you won’t hit your target otherwise.” Gabriel stood behind them, gently adjusting their posture. Castiel narrowed their eyes and let go of the string.
A perfect bullseye. Holy shit.
“You pick up fast!” Gabriel exclaimed as he smiled at Castiel. Castiel gave a small smile back.
That was the first time in about a decade Castiel had smiled at them, it made Gabriel almost giddy.
“Healing is a big one, one of your most useful powers will be healing. Both for yourself and for others. Let’s start small and try it on this cat.”
Castiel put a finger on the cat and seemed to be trying a little too hard to heal it.
“It’s not working.” Castiel pouted. Gabriel kneeled and put a finger on the cat healing it instantly.
“It’ll take a bit before you can do it that quick, but rule one of healing is that you need to know how the bodies of the organisms work. It uses up some of your grace, so it will likely weaken you, but you’ll regain it pretty fast.”
Castiel listened, their eyes narrowing in thought.
“How do we learn the way the body functions?” Castiel was still pouty, a little less so.
“Dad programmed us, in a way, to be able to search for the anatomy of different organisms. Some you might have to learn on your own and others you’ll need to rack your brain for.” Gabriel put a reassuring hand on Castiel’s shoulder.
“Let’s try something smaller, try to heal this sparrow.” Gabriel held a small sparrow in their hands, it looked dead.
Castiel was in thought for a long while before they set a hand down on the bird. They watched as the wound closed, it was much slower than Gabriel but it was progress.
Castiel was amazed at the faint golden glow from the animal. They realized then that it was dead and he was able to revive it.
“Keep in mind you’re unable to control yourself. It uses up too much grace and will cause you to pass out no matter how small the wound is. Allyship is important between angels, both for survival and for peace.” Gabriel was just running their mouth, he was mostly lying, healing yourself did take much more grace as you naturally healed if you possessed a body, and if it did come to healing yourself you were likely about to die.
“That’s… stupid.” Gabriel laughed and took Castiel on a walk.
“A lot of rules are stupid, kiddo. You can either break them or you can break them and deal with the consequences.” Gabriel had always wanted to break the rules, maybe someday when God finally decided to go on vacation his older brothers would be in charge.
“Castiel! You’re needed down on earth.” A familiar voice called over. Anna, Gabriel recognized.
Castiel looked nervous, almost hesitant.
“You were doing amazing without my assistance, go on. You can do this.” Gabriel gave a small shove on their back and Castiel gulped before running over to their sister.
Gabriel was nervous, they had taken a liking to Castiel. They knew Castiel would come back safe, but this constant feeling of nervousness wouldn’t go away.
There was a name for it.
What was it again?
Dread? Close but not quite.
Fear? No, it wasn’t that either…
Anxiety. There it was.
Gabriel was anxious.
He didn’t know angels could feel nervous. He had been around for maybe 100 years or so and he had never felt this way before.
“-oo hoo! Gabriel!” Gabriel jumped and looked around at his brothers. Michael looked confused, Lucifer was mildly concerned while Raphael was just glaring at him.
“You haven’t said a single thing the entire meeting. You’re the most talkative out of all of us.” Lucifer blinked at him, and Gabriel glared at him.
“You’re worried about that pathetic little angel aren’t you?” Raphael hissed at him. Gabriel almost yelled at him, he only didn’t because he was the youngest and had to be mature.
Nobody called Castiel pathetic, especially not his ridiculous older brother.
“And what of it to you?” Gabriel sneered. Lucifer gave a small smile at this.
“Ah, the kitty’s got claws!” Raphael joked. Gabriel almost jumped across that table and choked him.
“That’s enough you two.” Michael cut in. Gabriel sat back and exhaled. Raphael pouted.
“Ignoring Raphael, I’ve noticed you’ve started spending more time with them. You seem fond.” Michael smiled softly. Gabriel’s muscles relaxed and he gave a small smile back.
“That little twerp has potential.” Lucifer cut in. Gabriel nodded at him.
“They’ve been making amazing progress. Almost knocked me off my feet during combat practice.” Gabriel smiled fondly over that memory.
“They’ve made great strides down on earth, it seems everybody knows their name up here.” Lucifer cocked his head, putting a finger to his cheek.
“We’ll see how well you’ve trained them when they get back.” Raphael sneered. Gabriel glared but kept their cool at the sight of Michael glaring down at Raphael.
“This meeting is dismissed, I’m not going to be a mediator.” Michael stood up and walked out. Gabriel was the second to run out, Lucifer following behind them.
“Gabe! Do you think that kid has potential?” Lucifer asked as he walked with Gabriel.
“I believe he could rule heaven someday. Maybe make it better.” Gabriel answered honestly. Lucifer was almost shocked, almost. He smiled. Gabriel always did have a good gut feeling.
They both stopped at the commotion ahead of them, angels were crowded around a portal from earth to heaven.
Gabriel ran over to see what the commotion was. Castiel was lying there, they seemed motionless.
“Castiel!” Gabriel exclaimed as he dropped down and examined them.
“Castiel. Hey, Cas.” Gabriel tried to wake them up. He hadn’t even realized he let a nickname slip.
This would be annoying to heal.
“All of you step back,” Michael commanded as he walked over. Gabriel took a moment, but they found the anatomy of an angel possessing a vessel.
A faint glow emitted from the wounds. They were deep and would’ve been fatal if Castiel made it a couple of minutes later.
Gabriel felt the wounds closing up and the blood disappearing. He exhaled as the skin closed together. Castiel looked like nothing had ever happened to them.
“Gabriel. Take them to my room and they can rest.” Michael said as Gabriel scooped Castiel up in their arms.
They were warm, a good sign. They likely passed out from exhaustion. Gabriel set them down on the bed, they seemed to be in a light sleep.
They shot awake immediately, looking around the room.
“It’s just us.” Gabriel pointed at themself and Michael who waved.
“Oh.” Castiel fell back onto the pillows, they were tense.
“Michael.” Gabriel looked back and Michael nodded softly before he stepped out and walked out of view. He was just outside, Gabriel knew that.
“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked with a soft tone. Castiel nodded, a slight tremor still in their body. Fight or flight.
“I don’t know what happened. One moment I took down maybe ten humans..? And the next I was bloody and felt like I was going to die.” Castiel frowned, looking up at Gabriel.
“Did you feel any other strong presence near you? Something like an archangel?” Gabriel on instinct held Castiel’s hand. Castiel didn’t pull away.
“It felt… heavier. It wasn’t from heaven.” Gabriel’s face fell. So some other god.
“I’ll talk to Michael. Don’t move.” Gabriel commanded. Castiel nodded and laid back down. He knew it was some other god, but he didn’t know who.
“Michael. Do you have any reports of other gods that have been sent to Earth?” Michael looked over at them, frowned, and shook his head.
“I’ll ask around.” Gabriel gives a relieved sigh, and Michael pats him on the shoulder.
“Is everything okay?” Castiel asked with a hoarse voice.
“Don’t worry Cas.” Gabriel gave a small smile. Castiel blinked but did not push any further.
“Gabriel? Why does everybody keep calling me Cas?” Castiel eventually brought up during a session about teleportation.
“Ah- I let the nickname slip when you showed up bloody that one time and I guess it stuck.” Gabriel was embarrassed, a feeling he was a stranger to.
Castiel stayed silent, their eyes just staring straight ahead. Their expressions were so hard to read.
“I don’t like when others do it.” Castiel finally admitted. Gabriel looked over and stared as he processed it.
“People besides you. I don’t like it when they call me Cas.” Gabriel felt the pieces connect in his brain and he gave a fond smile.
“Okay now focus your mind on where you want to go…” Gabriel moved on, teleportation outweighed the topic, but they’d get back to it.
When Lucifer got banished Gabriel decided he should leave. He couldn’t be here anymore.
He left and told nobody. He couldn’t handle hearing the desperation in Castiel’s voice.
He spent his free time placing people into timeline bubbles and that was that. He handled himself well, nobody wanted to face an archangel’s acrimony anyway.
He heard stuff through grapevines, he didn't care unless it was about the Winchesters or Castiel.
He heard Castiel had rebelled, he was proud. He also heard Castiel had killed Uriel, Castiel murdered his commander. Ironic, really.
Castiel was the most feared commander and now he would be one of the most feared fallen.
Gabriel felt pride swell up in his chest, his little brother was growing up.
It took a while before he actually went and said hi, but he also of course had to do it in his own way. So obviously Castiel was tied up and stuck against a wall.
He heard Dean say Cas and he almost, almost , dropped Castiel.
Names got around quick.
He had fun letting them figure out who he was, Castiel looked mad at him.
“I’m sorry Cas, had to throw some pizzazz in there. They wouldn’t have gotten it figured out if I didn’t give them a nudge.” Gabriel spent his time trying to apologize, he instead just got sour looks from Castiel.
“You’re gonna give big brother the silent treatment? I thought I raised you better than that, Cas.” Gabriel teased, he felt bad. Truly he did feel bad for leaving Castiel alone. Castiel made a big name for themself in Gabriel’s absence.
Castiel finally gave in.
“I suppose I’m lucky you haven’t tried to kill me yet like your brothers have.” Castiel huffed. Gabriel almost tripped on his own feet at that.
“What?” Castiel stared in confusion. Surely he wasn’t confused at how Gabriel hadn’t known.
“Raphael has killed me once already. Lucifer got close, but his little follower managed to fuck up. Michael has been a pain in my ass. He’s tried to kill me.” Castiel listed off the times he almost died and Gabriel felt his jaw clench.
“Are you o-“ Castiel started, but just stared when Gabriel cut him off.
“I’m sorry.” Gabriel finally blurted out. Castiel raised an eyebrow.
“For leaving you. I should’ve at least told you.” Gabriel elaborated and Castiel was silent.
“You made a big name for yourself, Cas. I’m proud of you.” Gabriel could feel himself tearing up, Castiel was silent for a bit.
“That’s… a lot to take in. You don’t need to apologize.” Castiel gave a smile, a real genuine one. It’s been thousands of years since Gabriel saw that.
“I was… blinded, by my admiration of God. I see now he’s not what I’ve been told. I’ve taken my destiny into my own hands.” Castiel had grown. More than Gabriel had known. He used to be small and weak. He’s grown into one of the strongest angels Gabriel knows.
Destiny was funny. A human couldn’t control it, an angel has a very slim chance. Gabriel can’t even control his own destiny. Castiel being able to grasp his and turn it in his favor was refreshing.
Gabriel was powerful and stronger, but Castiel was the strongest angel Gabriel had ever met.
Gabriel had never been very proud of himself, but he had always been proud of Castiel. Gabriel was finally proud of himself, he raised such a wonderful angel. He watched him grow from an angeling to a Seraph.