Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

Blood Brother

"No, not yet. We . . . we're thinking we might have to find him a new family," Alex admitted. "I just . . . the Winchesters are back in the game, and I'm not sure how long I can stay away."

Gabriel didn't immediately respond, and Ashiel took the opportunity to speak his own mind. "Cacka," he insisted, and he put a hand on Gabriel's chest before made another unintelligible sound.

"Are you hungry?" Alex guessed, and Ashiel's head swung over to look at her, mouth hanging open slightly as he nodded yes. Gabriel chuckled, and Alex walked over to the counter. "You know," she called over her shoulder, "from the way he eats, anyone would think he was your son."

She heard the archangel's wings rustle as he shifted to look over at her. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he joked, but a more serious note crept into his tone. "If you're hinting that I should take him —"

"What? No no no." Alex shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you to do that." She pulled down a box of crackers from the cupboard and counted out four. "No offense, but I wouldn't trust you with a kid." Gabriel didn't protest, and Alex handed the fledgling a cracker, who had somehow found his way off of the archangel's lap and into the kitchen.

"Fair enough." Gabriel turned slightly, golden eyes watching as the fledgling ran off to eat his cracker in peace. He flapped his wings twice as he tried to get more comfortable, and Alex watched as a golden feather drifted down through the air and came to rest on the kitchen table.

"You know," she slowly began, picking up the soft feather and making her way over to stand by the couch, "I remember the first time I saw your wings. I mean, I had just become an angel, but I remember thinking how beautiful they were."

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow and leaned back against the couch, one fist propping up his head while a cocky grin played on his lips. He clearly knew what Alex wanted, and so he prompted, "And now?"

"And now?" Alex sank down onto the couch beside him, fingers going to toy with one of his feathers. "Well, after being around so many angels, I've come to realize that you must be in a constant state of molt." She gave a sharp tug, and the feather came out, leaving her to frown playfully over at the archangel who barely held back an undignified noise at the sudden change. "I'm serious, Gabe. Look at this." She waved the feather in front of his face, and the archangel batted it away. "You're like a dog that's shedding everywhere."

"I'm not a dog," Gabriel shot back defensively, a roll of his eyes revealing his lack of amusement at her comment. "And I don't know what you're talking about." He snagged the feather out of her hands and looked down at his wings, almost as if he was contemplating putting the feather back before he gave up and dropped it on the ground. "For your information, I've been a bit busy the past few days and haven't had the time to actually, you know, preen them."

"You lie like your brother," Alex ribbed. "Unless by a 'few days' you mean a few years." She ran her fingers through the arches of his wings, teasing out the loose feathers and dirt. She felt the powerful muscles beneath her fingertips twitch at her warm touch, and she looked up into Gabriel's eyes. "You need to take a day off and just clean the shit out of these, man. Healthy wings means healthy ... something, I'm sure." She ended with a shrug and pulled away, turning her attention to her own wings, black and shiny. Quickly deeming them good enough, she stood and moved back towards the kitchen. "Coffee?"

She knew the archangel was going to accept some offer of a drink. Every time he showed up he sought an excuse to stay longer, and Alex gladly gave him one; he was lonely, she was lonely, and company was a welcome change for both.

"Still got that whiskey from last time?" came the reply, and Alex quirked an eyebrow. A quick glance over her shoulder showed the archangel to be focused on his wings, fingers combing through the bristles, and she quickly turned back to the cupboards lest he notice and stop. Company really was a welcome change.