Author's Notes: This has a couple of prompts thrown together once again! I have a handful of more onshots I need to get done before the end of the month if I want them to be in time for the Gabriel Monthly Challenge, so you may be seeing me a bit more than usual this month.
This has been edited by QueenOfHearts
Prompts Used:
Gabriel Bingo Prompt – Drunk Confessions
GMC Prompt – (Romantic Rendezvous)
Statement/Ambiance: His heart skipped a beat, then swelled with warmth and devotion at such a rapid pace that tears stung at his eyes with the intensity of it.
Where is Home?
As an archangel it had taken more than an entire liquor store to get drunk. Sure, Gabriel had managed the state while playing the part of Loki, but it wasn't often, and it took far more than half a case of beer. Giggling, the archangel wondered how long it would take him to build up an alcohol tolerance. Shrugging the thought aside, Gabriel lifted the bottle to his lips and took another pull, ignoring the snickers around him. Rolling his eyes, Gabriel put the beer down and glared at the Winchesters, Castiel included, before letting go a belch and giggling at the sound.
"Wow, Gabriel, I thought you could hold your liquor a bit better than that. It's only been six beers and you're wasted."
Narrowing his eyes at the eldest Winchester, Gabriel held his beer close, not wanting anyone to try and take it from him. "If I still had my grace I could out-drink even Cassie here." Jutting his hand in the direction of Castiel made the liquid swish in the bottle which Gabriel was quick to drain in case he spilled it.
"Do you miss it?" asked Jack, watching as Gabriel snagged another bottle and held it in his hands though he didn't open it.
Eyes turned toward Gabriel, who looked at his nephew before shrugging. "Sometimes, but I'll get it back. It's the things you can't get back that you miss, Kiddo." Trying to open the bottle, Gabriel pouted when he realized it wasn't a twist cap and handed the beer over to Dean who opened it with practiced ease on the side of the table before returning it to the archangel. Jack didn't want to let the subject go. When Gabriel was sober, he never wanted to speak about anything important; he was more closed off than Dean, and while he hated taking advantage of the man, Jack wanted to know more about his uncle.
"What do you miss then? When you get your grace back you can make anything. What could you miss if you can get everything back?"
Castiel hissed something to Jack, probably letting him know that it was a sensitive question, but in his inebriated state, Gabriel didn't mind. "Home, I miss home." Leaning back in his chair, though careful not to tip onto the floor, Gabriel sighed. "I can never have Heaven back how it was, can never go back home. Even if I get my grace back and we figure out how to save it, Heaven will never be what it was before Luci fell. I can never have a home."
Now that he got Gabriel talking, Jack dismissed the warning looks Castiel and Sam were giving him and inched a bit closer to the archangel. "What do you miss about it? The angels want me to go there, to see if I can make more of them or help with my powers. Castiel has explained what it's like now, and it doesn't seem to be somewhere to miss." Jack sipped at his beer, one that Dean had passed him though Sam had glared at his brother for it.
"I guess it's not the place. I mean overall Heaven is nice, and the garden is beautiful, but you can find just as much beauty here on Earth." Closing his eyes, Gabriel tipped the bottle back and took a few mouthfuls before continuing. "I miss the fledglings the most. While I'll always remember how Luci, Mike and Ralph were before they started to lose it, it's the ones who had no choice that I miss. I miss Balthazar getting into trouble, or Anael trying to control him. I miss Naomi getting frustrated and her wings puffing out when she didn't understand a lesson."
With a soft smile on his face, Gabriel let the memories wash over him. "I miss how easy it was to care for them, to teach them how to fly and how to control themselves. Michael taught them how to fight, but I was the one who bonded with every one of them before he took over, trying to teach them that play was just as important." Opening his eyes, Gabriel looked at Castiel. "Most forgot about my lessons by the time Michael or Raphael were done with them, but some eventually remembered."
Jack blinked, his attention never wavering from Gabriel. "You could teach me," offered the Nephilim. Clearing his throat, Jack hoped that Gabriel remembered what was said in the morning, having needed to repeat himself one or twice with Sam and Dean when they had too much to drink. "You miss the children you helped raise, don't you? You miss feeling like you have somewhere to belong. I may look older, but there's so much I don't understand; especially about my powers and how to control them. I want to learn about my heritage, but there is no other archangel who can teach me. You belong here, Uncle."
"You know, he's right. I can only teach him so much, but Jack's powers are far beyond my own. We could use your guidance."
As soon as Castiel was done speaking, Sam piped up. "And I know that it's not a bunch of baby angels running around, but there's so many questions I have about some of the lore that I've read that doesn't add up. I've been meaning to ask you to help sort it out but didn't think you would be interested."
A large hand was placed on Gabriel's shoulder, one that gripped him firmly for a moment to gather his attention to a pair of green eyes. "You don't need to miss Heaven, Gabe. Yeah, miss the people who are gone, but Heaven itself? You don't need it, you belong in the bunker with us." Looking from one pair of welcoming eyes to the next Gabriel's heart skipped a beat, then swelled with warmth and devotion at such a rapid pace that tears stung at his eyes with the intensity of it. Laughing at Dean's groan at the sight of his tears, Gabriel nodded his head.
Perhaps he should have gotten drunk sooner. It was good to finally have a home.
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