Just a little something that came to my mind last night! Hope you like it!
Watching as Zack and Mason played around the front yard of Bobby Singer's house, Gabriel couldn't have ever guessed in how many ways meeting those two (and he used that term lightly, as the younger one was told by the older one to pick pocket him one day in Vegas) would change his life as he knew it. Not only had the two proved his brothers wrong and put them in their place, they had put him in his.
Not to mention that they had challenged Dean Winchester and won. That in itself was quite the feat.
Two human boys, who would have thought.
** 2 Weeks previous****
Without the annoying insects that called themselves the Winchesters breathing down his neck to get involved and put aside his differences to join the fight (he'd died for them!) Gabriel found himself walking around Vegas enjoying a witness protected life of pleasure.
He got to have all the lady's he wanted, a bonus.
He was a walking slot machine magician, another bonus.
And, he got to have all the candy he could ever want, the bonus of all bonuses.
For a long time, he had went after the scum here in Vegas, trying to vent his anger that his brother had stabbed him. With his own blade no less. His own brother had killed him. Just thinking about it made him want to toss someone out of a fifty story casino window.
Anyway.
Gabriel was happily munching on a Hershey's bar, bag of winnings draped over his shoulder, coolly walking back to the hotel he was currently staying in. He pissed many gamblers off, winning on his first try, he was just that good. He turned the corner, bag swaying in motion with his steps, when he almost ran into a little squirt.
A kid, no older then seven, came barreling around the same corner at the same time. Black shoulder length hair flying wildly as he ran. At the last minute the kid turned and his eyes widened when he saw that his path was blocked, by a stranger no less. He tried to turn on the breaks, and stop running, but he was going too fast and couldn't quite reach his full goal in time.
Thus he ran straight into the hidden archangel's chest, bounced off, and fell backwards on his butt. Bright blue eyes peered up at the, as Gabriel too stopped himself from being pushed backwards at the impact he'd made, kid was running like the hounds of hell were after him.
"Hey short stack, what are ya running from so fast like"
The kids stared at him a moment, Gabriel sighed.
"Come on short stuff, tell me whats going on"
All of a sudden the kid was a flurry of words and motions, jumping to his feet going on and on about how he was not short, he was fun size, and that what he was running from was none of his damn (gee mouth much) business. He brushed some of the street dirt off of his old ratty pants and made to walk around him.
Now, Gabriel will admit that he in not the most observant type, but when one sticks their hand in small tight places where they don't belong, like his pocket where he kept his wallet, well one is bound to notice (especially if your an all powerful archangel such as he was) when one is attempting to pick the wallet out of your coat pocket. The let out a sound that was somewhere between worried and annoyed when his hand was caught in Gabriel's grip. Blue eyes met green, and they stood there staring at one another.
"Pretty sure that the wallet in my pocket belongs to me kid"
The boy pulled on his arm, which did not move an inch in Gabriel's grip, and wiggled around trying to get free. He was never as good at this sort of thing as Zach was, but he wasn't here right now and so he was forced to fend for himself at the moment. He quickly turned his best weapon on the man, it usually got him out of situations such as these. Gabriel chuckled internally, he had to hand it to the kid, he had the look down to a fine point and knew how to use it to his best advantage.
"Kiddo, While you have the puppy eyes down to a skill, believe me when I say that I am immune, I do have a lot of younger siblings"
The kids nose twitched in irritation that his best weapon had not done as intended with him, causing Gabriel to smile at him.
"What are you even doing out here at this hour kiddo?"
The boy tugged on his arm, and Gabriel tugged back, pulling the boy closer to him. It was getting chillier what with the sun going down.
"Let me go, I won't bug you again, just let me go"
"That doesn't answer my question buckoo, and I'm not gonna let you go until I get one"
To be completely honest, Gabriel really wasn't sure why he was taking such an interest in the kid. He didn't know anything about him, not even his name, and yet here he was attracted to him like a moth to a flame. Figuring that he was not going to get an answer out of the stubborn seven year old, the archangel did what he did best when he wanted answers but was not recieving any. He looked into the boys mind.
The first two things that he had been made aware of was 1) His name was Mason, and 2) He was homeless.
What kind of seven year old was homeless?
Shaking his head, Gabriel found himself staring back down at the boy, realizing for the first time that he was about to do something stupid, and something that he would either come to regret, or not. But he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let some seven year sleep out on the Vegas streets at night tonight. Not when he had a nice warm room back at the hotel.
That had a nice set of women that went with it.
Yah those would be the first to go.
"Listen kiddo, I'll forget that you tried to steal my wallet if you come back with me"
Granted that was not the best approach but Gabriel had never been number one at subtlety. The kid, Mason, looked at him like he was some sort of weirdo, and looking back on it now he did look like some weirdo saying something like that in that context.
"Listen man, first off, gross, and second, I have an older brother who would kick your ass if you ever say that to me again."
Gabriel would have face-palmed had it not been for the fact that he was positive that should he let go of Mason's arm that he would bolt for it. Not that he'd blame the kid.
"Eww, no, I didn't mean it like that, just eww!"
"Then what do you mean?"
"Come back to the hotel with me, let me get you something to eat, and a shower, cause you look like you could use it. Warm bed to sleep in"
He may be a crappy brother, but he wouldn't let a kid of all things live in the conditions that Mason had been living in. Mason gave him that look again, but Gabriel choose to ignore it.
"Nah, I think I'll pass, thanks though"
He then proceeded to kick the archangel (he didn't know this at the time obviously) as hard as he could in the shin. Which while it wouldn't do anything serious and or lasting, still hurt like a bitch. Gabriel let go of the kids arm in favor of grabbing at his pulsing shin, and then Mason tried to make a run for it. Having foreseen this though, Gabriel had reacted faster then anyone else Mason had ever met before. Before the boy even got two feet away, he was caught up around the waist and pulled over the mans shoulder like the money bag he had been carrying down the street only minutes ago. Not letting the extra weight of having a seven year old boy over his shoulder slow him down, Gabriel turned and started walking down the street, lollipop returning to his mouth.
"Let me go! Put me down!"
"Nah **Suckle Suckle** I don't think I will. **Suckle Suckle** You tried to steal my wallet and then kicked me hard in the shin, ouch by the way, **Suckle Suckle** Think of it as punishment"
Mason struggled a little at first, but seeing that it was futile and that there was no way he was going to break out of the mans grasp anytime soon, he resigned to his fate. Laying limp over the mans shoulder and his arms hanging limply down his jacket clad back.
"I don't even know your name, dear Kidnapper"
The was movement, a rumbling and small vibration, and from above his head Mason could swear he heard the man chuckling.
"Gabriel, they call me Gabriel"
Later that night, after having eaten dinner, and waiting for the kid to get out of the shower, Gabriel found himself sitting on the large sofa in his presidential suite watching some movie with talking animals and some strange doctor. Having already showered himself and switched to his favorite red silken sleep shorts and white wife-beater he was just comfortable to sit there all night. He hummed when the shower turned off, and looked over as the door opened and Mason (he had 'formally' introduced himself during dinner) came walking out in one of his old t-shirts. It fit the kid like a dress, and Gabriel found himself smiling slightly in spite of himself at the sight, for once thankful for the darkened room.
The couch dipped a little as the boy climbed up on it, at the other end.
Gabriel sighed, pulling his feet up and off of the coffee table as he turned and looked over at the boy at his opposite side.
"So your taking up my offer of a bed then?"
The boy was silent for a long moment, eyes focused on the corny movie playing on the television, and Gabriel found himself wondering if he should turn the thing off in order to entice a faster response from the kid. But then slowly, the boy started nodding his head. Smiling to himself again, Gabriel turned his attention back to the television.
But he couldn't help but shoot small looks over in the boys direction, wondering why he was taking such and investment in the kid. What it was about him that made Gabriel want him to be there. Why he was offering to help him, when in the past he wouldn't have done so, maybe it was dying that made his heart grow fonder or there was just something about the kid that moved him. Gabriel wasn't sure what it was in the boy that made him happy to have him here.
But he wasn't worried about it.
Having the feeling that Mason caught his eye, the brunette archangel shifted his gaze to remain on the television in front of him. He had just gotten the kid to trust him a little bit, and was not about to ruin that by being caught staring at him like some strange weirdo. Together they continued to watch their movie in companionable silence, not seeming to mind each others presence.
It wasn't until about half-way through that the silence was broken by the large yawn that Mason had let out. Gabriel turned to look at the kid, who had somehow become wrapped up in his favorite green jacket. Kid would be out at any moment, his eyes already drooping.
Twenty minutes later, with the movie still playing in the background, both were sound asleep.
Like any other seven year old, Mason sought out comfort only that an elder person could bring, and while he was probably more used to going to his older brother for that, Gabriel seemed to be an alright replacement. The archangel had at some point flipped over on his back, sprawled out, and somehow without actually ever waking up Mason had crawled his way from the other side of the couch to lay down in his final resting position with Gabriel.
Perched a top the mans chest.
At the back of the small boys mind, he was waiting to be shoved away, but it never came. Just like the boy, without opening his eyes, Gabriel's arms wrapped around the boy, green jacket and all, and kept him there planted against him.
They slept the entire night like that.
A week later, and Mason was still with Gabriel.
It was clear to see that the little boy was worried by the lack of presence by his older brother. But when ever Gabriel tried to talk to him about it, Mason always deflected the questions. The boy rarely talked about him, but whenever he did utter a single word, it was clear that it was soaked in hero worship.
Other then that though, everything was going fine. Gabriel moved continuously, knowing that if he stayed in one place for too long that his older brothers could find him which was something that he did not want to happen, not when they weren't his older brothers anymore. He stayed in Vegas, mostly for Mason's sake at said boys request, and so it wasn't unusual to have a brunette man check in with a small brown haired child resting on his hip, and to have him leave with said child resting on said hip.
Over the span of that week, the two had become closer to friends. They still had moments by themselves when they would talk about each other. Something that the archangel Gabriel swore he would never do, settle down, and yet with Mason he was perfectly fine with doing so. He still wasn't sure why he kept the kid around, as he was positive that the boy was softening him up from being that blood thirsty hard-ass Archangel that he had taken so long in building himself up as. Not that he cared, he sort of maybe kinda liked Mason.
He'd be hard pressed to admit it, but Mason was a good friend.
And he was sure it was vise versa too.
During their time together, they had learned that they had more similar qualities then not. Mason was the result of a broken home, and while Gabriel's hadn't started broken, he was the result of how it had ended. Mason's favorite color was green, did he even have to comment on that one?
And then there was some things that made Mason different then him, like how he wasn't one to ask for it, but he enjoyed being carried around on the archangels back or hip, cause it made him feel tall. Or how he had an older brother, Zach, who was fourteen, and had been taking care of him since day one (and how he had up and disappeared one day). Gabriel had tried to quench the need for his older brother when he had first seen it in the boy, feeling a sense of deja-vu when he had told him the same exact thing he had told the Winchesters, but Mason was smarter then any other seven year old Gabriel had met, and instead of violence and threats against his person like he'd had with the Winchesters (particularly Dean, Dad he hated that one), Mason's response had been so out in the far left field that it had left him with a new found respect for the kid.
"Family isn't about the blood you share, Gabe, its about those who are willing to bleed for you. When you have a brother, you know that you will always have a friend"
And so, Gabriel found himself going against his judgement and promising to help the boy find his brother. Just because he wouldn't call his own family anymore, he'd be hard-pressed to say so about Mason, and family doesn't let family down. So when Mason had said that if they left Vegas and his brother was still here then they'd never see each other again, and the sad puppy eyes he had turned on full blast didn't help at all either.
But then the time came and Gabriel knew that they had been found.
And they needed to leave Vegas.
"No! We have to stay! We need to find Zach!
Gabriel sighed and made a swipe at the boy, intending to pick him up and simply go with that. But Mason dodged him, water filling his bright blue eyes.
"Kid we need to go! And I'm not leaving you!"
"NO! You promised Gabe! You promised you'd help me find Zach!"
"I know that kiddo, but my brothers are coming and trust me when I say that they will not be as kind to you as I have, especially after the last time we met!"
Still, Mason was as stubborn as ever. It had been difficult explaining to him who Gabriel really was, Mason had ignored him for the longest time, and while he would never admit it, that time was the hardest time he had ever dealt with. It had taken the combined force of chocolate cake, fingers exploiting that particular tickle spot on the boys left ribs, and a very long movie night conversation to get the boy to talk to him again.
"We can't leave with out Zach! Please Gabe, he's all I have left!"
It was in that single moment, that single statement, that both Gabriel and Mason knew who had come out on top. Who had won that battle of wills. When Gabriel sighed heavily and rubbed a hand down his face, Mason knew he had won.
"Fine! We can check one more place, but that's it Mas, we'll be cutting it close just doing that!"
Mason nodded in confirmation, hoping and praying that they would find his brother this time. He watched silently from the sidelines as Gabriel finished packing up there stuff, handed him his back pack, and sent the rest of it to their next safe place. Where ever that was. Mason hated knowing that if they didn't find Zach then they'd have to leave him behind. He was sure Gabriel understood what he was thinking, when the archangel put his hand on the youngsters head in a sort of understanding affection, but Mason also knew that Gabriel was being honest when he said that he would refuse to leave him behind.
It was just sad, cause, Zach was the only family he had left.
"You ready kiddo?"
Mason was pulled from his thoughts at the mans voice behind him, slowly turning around and nodding, he took Gabriel's outstretched hand.
"Where to?"
"...The old warehouse down by the docks..."
Mason ignored the odd look that was sent his way by the location of where he wanted to search for his brother for the last time. But that had been their home, where they could be together and be safe from the world and unwanted eyes and the people who wanted to stick them into homes that would separate them. But after a moment, Gabriel gave in, and his grip on the boys hand tightened a fraction before they were both gone and any and all memories of the two were wiped from the minds of all the people in that hotel.
It was like they were never there.
When they landed in the old warehouse at the docks it was almost half past sunset, Mason had stumbled forwards still not used to that type of travel and would have fallen had it not been for the hand on the back of his backpack that kept him upright.
"You ok there buddy?"
Mason nodded slowly, still not completely right for a moment, before the rest of himself caught up with them and he was able to walk forward (with Gabriel carefully watching him mind you) without falling over. The warehouse was silent, nothing but the crash of waves against the old bay doors was heard. Gabriel wasn't sure what they were meant to be looking for as he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his small friend had asked to look here of all places last. Mason seemed to know what he was doing though, and Gabriel stayed back and simply contented himself with keeping an eye on the boy and keeping an 'eye' on his ever closing in brothers.
"Hey be careful kiddo"
Gabriel was snapped back to reality when he heard a large crash and saw and old hook fall from an even older looking chain. Sometimes he silently swore that the child would give him grays.
"Mason don't play with that thing"
The boy had the nerve to look down at him and smile. Gabriel glared halfheartedly back at the boy and pointed at the small child as he then made spanking motions with his hand from where he stood on the warehouse floor. The youngster smirked again and turned around to search a dark corner, that was out of Gabriel's line of sat much to his unhappiness. However he did hear the sigh of disappointment when he searching was in vain and there was no sign of the boys brother.
However, Gabriel gave a gasp when he felt his brothers presence. It was like a snap and it was painful, to say the least. Mason heard his gasp, his little head poking out of one of the railing holes somewhere from above him.
"Gabe? Are you ok?"
Gabriel shook his head, he was far from ok. They had been found.
Mason took the silence, and the 'come here' hand motion as his cue to return to the Archangel's side. As soon as Mason made it to Gabriel's side, the building began to shake. Hard. Gabriel looked up, an almost frightened look crossed his face. He hadn't faced Lucifer since he had attempted to stab him, and Michael since before Lucifer's fall. He'd be crazy if he didn't admit that the knowledge that they had found him now frightened him.
But the small hands that latched onto his thigh pulled him out of his thought-filled fears. He looked down to meet Mason's frightened eyes. Slowly, Gabriel smiled a shaky smile and laid a hand on top of the kids head again, in comfort. Mason too returned to smile. A light began filling the room, signalling their arrival. Mason's grip on his leg tightened to a strength that would have been painful had he not been an all might (scardie-cat) Archangel.
Slowly, as the light illuminated the silhouettes of his older brothers, Gabriel gently pushed Mason farther behind him, to protect him. He would be damned if he let them touch a hair on Mason's tiny head.
"Hello Gabriel"
The voice made Mason silently squeak and hide his face further in the back of his leg. But Gabriel didn't mind, in fact, that hand he had kept at the back of the boys head encouraged the action.
"Brother"
His voice was cold, colder then Mason had ever heard it before. He peaked out from behind the older man's leg, and he took in the dark haired man ad blonde haired man in front of them. They must be Gabriel's brothers, but why would he be afraid of them. He shrunk back when the blonde one looked him in the eyes and smiled a shark smile. Ok he could understand why Gabriel would be somewhat afraid of that one.
"Still slumming around I see. Please don't tall me that you've had offspring with one of those mud-monkeys"
Gabriel glared over at his brother, a glare which Lucifer simply chuckled at, and when he glanced down at the boy with the death grip on his leg, he could clearly see (and half to fight the urge to laugh at) that even though Mason wasn't positive on what a 'mud-monkey' was, he felt somewhat insulted any way.
"And who is this Gabriel?"
Gabriel's gaze shifted from Lucifer to Michael and he glared. But Mason answered the older archangel's question any way.
"Ma-Mason, I'm Ma-Mason"
He felt more then saw Gabriel's grip on the back of his head tightened in warning to stay quiet and what might be a sign of protectiveness. He shrunk back at the glare aimed at him.
"I do believe that he asked our brother not you, you little insect"
"Don't talk to him like that"
All eyes snapped over to Gabriel, for once, he looked like he was angry. Mason his further into his leg, and his brothers looked at him in surprise.
"He's family"
Lucifer scoffed, and Gabriel sent a glare his way that had him choking on it. While the youngest Archangel had always been more of a pacifist then anything else, he was still to be feared when it came to snapping his temper.
"Do not be silly Gabriel, we are your family, not this little human boy. What does he know about such a thing, he is no more then an urchin"
Gabriel shook his head slowly, they still didn't get it, did they. The pressure on his leg made itself known once more, and Gabriel looked down at the boy beside him, for the first time since his brothers arrival, he was thinking of something other then them. He was thinking of Mason, and what he had said about family. Smiling softly, he put his hand on top of his head and gently ruffled his hair, before turning back to his brothers.
"Your right he is nothing but a human, an urchin I picked up off the street", Gabriel paused to turn and pick the boy up off the ground and settle him on his hip, "But he's shown me more, taught me more about what family really means then either of you ever have. Tell them Mas, tell them what Family is, so that they may use the term correctly"
He looked over at his older friend shyly, and Gabriel smiled down at him encouragingly, silently promising to never let them hurt him and to go ahead and tell them. For once in his life, Mason felt much like the actual seven year old he was. Small and insignificant. Gabriel jiggled the boy in his arms, earning a small smile from the kid.
"Yes, do tell us little human"
Mason took a deep breath, but a voice cut him off, a weak voice that had the small boy freezing in shock and turning around in Gabriel's arms to see if it was who he thought it was.
"Family isn't always blood...Its the people who want you in there's...the ones who accept you for who you are...the one's who would do anything to see you smile...and who will love you no matter what...Right Mas?"
There in the darkened doorway, shaded by the dark night sky, stood a boy of fourteen. Brown hair longer then Mason's and a hoodie that was quickly darkening with a crimson hue. Mason let out a small screech as he wiggled himself out of Gabriel's arms, running as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the older boy in the door way. He completely forgot about the other three people in the room, and they did not oversee this either.
Mason ran until he was practically underneath the older boy.
"Zach? What happened?"
Gabriel perked up at hearing the name of the long awaited older brother of his little friend.
Zach smiled down at his younger brother, his hands letting go of his hoodie in favor of cradling his younger brother's face. Eyes widened at the sight of the smeared blood as he did so. Zach coughed slightly, and fell forwards. Mason barely had time (and strength) to catch the much bigger and heavier boy. Tears fell from his eyes as Zach took a deeper wet breath. Gabriel looked at his older brothers desperately, his eyes portraying the emotion that Gabriel was known for.
"Listen, he's not much, but he means a lot to me, alright"
The oldest two in existence shared a look, it was not like Gabriel to sound so serious, so tamed. But then he did the unthinkable, he turned his back on his brothers in favor of returning to the boys sides.
Mason looked up at the new body next to his, as he struggled underneath his older brother. Two arms wrapped around Zach's waist and lifted him off the small seven year old. Mason looked up when Zach was removed and came face to face with Gabriel as the archangel set his older brother down gently on the ground. His hands pressed into the wound on the older boys stomach.
Zach's bright blue eyes fluttered open slowly.
"Mas..Who 're you?"
Mason leaned over Gabriel's shoulder.
"Zach..This is Gabe...He's good"
Zach nodded, and his eyes closed. Gabriel looked up when hands encased his and his eyes met Michael's. Mason was still leaning over his shoulder. And from somewhere behind him he could feel Lucifer hovering.
And then blood started seeping out of Zach's mouth.
They had arrived at Bobby Singer's house around 3am, covered in blood, a teenager being draped over both Michael and Lucifer, and a small boy crying into Gabriel's shoulder.
Bobby and Sam had ushered them into a spare room. The elder two archangels right behind them, much to the chagrin of Dean Winchester.
Gabriel was told to hold back, with the young boy, as Sam and Bobby went about helping to fix the kids brother.
A week later, the weather was changing.
Michael and Lucifer were still there, and that completely mystified them all.
The little boy, Mason spent all of his time attached to Gabriel's hip.
Sam would watch from the window as the two played in the snow outside.
Mason sat on Gabriel's shoulder, an arm wrapped around his shoulder, and Gabriel's under his bottom. It was later at night, before bed time (much to Mason's dislike) and he'd promised to let him check on Zach before bed.
Laying his head down on the archangel's shoulder, Mason sighed tiredly.
"When's he gonna wake up Gabe?"
A thumb rubbed at his leg.
"I don't know buddy, I don't know"
It was Christmas morning when it finally happened.
Michael, for some reason, who had been sitting at Zach's bed side, was pulled out of his sleep-like state when the teenagers hand twitched on the bed.
Once.
And again.
And then the boy took a breath.
Half an hour later everyone was awake, and Gabriel stood in the doorway smiling openly as Mason ran to his brothers side.
Another week later, and Mason and Zach were both up and about. Though the elder of the two was still under strict instruction to take it easy.
With them both back together again, they were able to act as young brothers should. Mason was getting into everything and anything, spending most of his time with Gabriel and his brother. Zach spent his time getting to know the man, or rather archangel, who had befriended his younger brother and taken them into his family.
And glaring at Dean Winchester when ever the elder hunter looked like he wanted to yell at his baby brother for getting into something he was not meant to be getting into.
They had been doing research for a particular hunt when Mason had tripped over his foot on his way to Gabriel's lap and spilled his drink onto Sam's laptop and Dean's lap. The elder hunter had jumped to his feet, brushing his lap of the cold liquid. He spun around on the small seven year old, face as hard as stone, and raised his hand.
"You little menace! We spent weeks building up enough research to catch this monster and you ruin it in five minutes!"
Mason screamed, dropped his cup, and turned to make a beeline for Gabriel. His screech alerted the others in the room, and Gabriel was surprised (to say the least) when the little body of his little boy tumbled into his lap hiding, or at least trying to hide, in the folds of his green jacket.
Someone caught Dean's wrist in their grip and pulled him around. The elder hunter was spun around to come face to face with an angry looking Zach. The teenagers fist was clenched at his side, as if waiting for the most opportune time to sock the hunter in the face, and break his nose. He never got his chance, as a moment later, Gabriel's voice traveled over to them.
"Zach, get over here kiddo"
Zach nodded at the archangel playing with his little brother, and his anger slowly dissipated at the sound of his giggles. Looking back at the hunter, he tightened his grip a slight fraction.
"Don't you ever raise a hand to my baby brother again. You say you hunt 'monsters' but it takes a true monster to willingly strike a kid"
And with that being said, Zach let go of Dean's arm, making his way around the hunter and to he awaiting family.
Dean watched him go.
Two weeks passed since that night.
Still at Bobby Singer's house, Gabriel sat on the front porch with his brothers, watching as Mason and Zach played together out in the yard. If he were to look back at any of this, he never would have guessed how much a seven year old boy who was only trying to pick his pocket, or his older brother, would end up changing his life as he knew it. They may be human, but they had done the unthinkable, and brought his brothers, his family back together again.
They had shown him who he could really be, if that made any sense.
Two Human orphans, now a part of the largest family in existence, the family that they had helped to save.
'Not bad', Gabriel thought, 'Not bad for a couple of humans'.
And he would change it for anything.
I know the endings a little sappy (and in my opinion, kinda bad) but I hope you enjoyed it none the less!