The Fall // Destiel

iv. Once Again a Certain Archangel Makes a Visit

"Oh." Castiel frowns. The vessel doesn't sound familiar, but the greeting certainly does. Gabriel. "Yes, I know him."

"Who is he?" Dean demands, whirling around to face the angel.

"My brother." Cas replies, "Well, one of them."

"One of them?" Dean asks in disbelief. "Cas, what kind of weird family do you got?"

"I assure you that you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Castiel sighs, "But I'll call him up."

"And most importantly, why is he looking for me?"

"That is an excellent question...he's always been a protective older brother, so he hopefully wants to grill you, metaphorically." Castiel casually answers, knowing fully that Gabriel would literally grill someone if they messed with his siblings.

"Grill me?" Dean animates his words with his hands, almost making the situation comical. "Why? What the hell did I do?"

Castiel just shakes his head, also knowing fully that Gabriel's more than likely going to warn Castiel of some impending danger that will probably ensue. He's going to say that Cas should stay away from Dean.

Yet...

"He's just being a nosy older brother. I'll call him."

Dean smiles and nods, sliding his own phone back into his pocket. "And then you should call me, and we should hang out."

"Sure." Castiel calmly replies, smiling back. "Is this a date?"

"Only if you want it to be."

Nodding, Castiel takes a step foreword, letting his eyes wander to Dean's lips. Just wondering what they'd feel like on-no. No. He shouldn't feel towards a human.

Dean finally clears his throat and steps back, patting the angel's shoulder. "Talk to you later, Cas."

"You too."

Gabriel shows up a total of twenty five seconds later, in a cloud of bright blue smoke and candy wrappers. Castiel sighs and leans against the counter, glad no one else is in the store yet.

"Hey bro." Gabriel greets, smiling at Cas' unamused glare.

Castiel bobs his head slowly in acknowledgment, studying what's become of his older brother. His hair is now a soft gold, to match his eyes, and even his wings radiate a gentle golden glow. (Minus the candy wrappers mixed in them.)

"So, who's that fine piece of ass?" he finally breaks the silence, trotting over to the silent angel at the cash.

"That is Dean." Castiel replies, gleefully noting that although Gabriel could smash him into the ground with the snap of a finger, his vessel is a few good inches shorter than Cas'.

"That's stupid, is what that is." He snorts, unwrapping and taking a bite out of a candy bar from the front cash. "A human? Really? A male human?"

"He's a good man."

"Good or not, dad's gonna be so pissed at you." Gabriel mutters around the chocolate. "Been there, tried that. Trust me, it never ends well."

Castiel glances at his brother, trying not to look surprised.

"Yeah, surprise Cassie, I've had my share of the human race." He picks at his nails, frowning at them. "They always die before you."

"That...that isn't the point, Gabriel." Cas replies, knowing that as a fallen angel, he'll be able to age and die alongside everyone else. "I can die, you know. "

"Oh no, I know that much, and I frankly don't care as long as you're happy." Gabriel sighs, "But everyone else does."

"What do you mean?"

"The other angels. There's talk."

"Of what?"

"You. Rebelling and then showing interest in a human?" he snaps his fingers, before accusingly pointing them at Cas. "You're rubbing it in their faces because you just damn well had to pick him."

"Him?"

If this is an emotion, it's definitely anger, Castiel thinks as this new feeling runs through his veins.

"His soul is worth so damn much, you don't even know." Gabriel's whispering now, "Zachariah is talking about lynching you to get to him, or just kidnapping him on his own."

Castiel gapes for words, immediately feeling his wings become visible as an act of defence. Like a scared bird, the feathers - the colour of the sky at twilight - ruffle a bit, pushing things off the counter.

"Yeah. Good call on watching him every night, or else he'd be dead by now." Gabriel calmly folds his wings - visible to only Cas - against his body. "I'd step up your game, though. Just because you found him first doesn't mean anything."

Cas is speechless, now knowing that simply telling him this could get Gabriel killed. And that's one thing he would never want to live to see. He doesn't want to see the man that taught him how to walk, or fly, bloodless at his feet. He doesn't want to put him in danger. He wants to thank him, and keep him safe forever, as it seemed he would do for Cas when he was a fledgling.

But before he can even open his mouth, his brother is gone. But he can still hear him; thanks to angel radar he can hear Gabriel's promise:

I'll watch over him too. You have my word.

Followed of course by pictures of Dean's rear end, but what else can anyone expect from Gabriel?