Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural

Authors Note: This one is not only from the advent prompt (a couple skating) but a belated birthday gift to Knowmefirst! Happy Birthday! You can see their work here? /users/Knowmefirst/pseuds/Knowmefirst

Warnings: Fluff.

*** Special notice: I am in the process of deleting my other account and migrating the fics to this one. Please note that the prompts for this series were pictures.

Skating

It all started when Dean saw a pretty girl. Now typically since the apocalypse began, Dean had been focused on the job more than the women. This time, however, the woman wasn't only his type, but a figure skater. Somehow –and Castiel still wasn't certain how- they all ended up on the local frozen pond. There were other people there, the woman had said something about it being a popular place before she dragged Dean onto the ice. It only took a moment for the hunter to gain his balance and follow her, something Castiel secretly envied. Sam remained with Castiel for a while, a cup of coffee in his hands from one of the vendors. Soon Sam left him as well once his coffee was done, pulling on a pair of rented skates and moving onto the lake, trying to trip Dean whenever he got the chance.

This was peaceful, fun, even with the End being near they still found a reason to laugh. That was one of the things Castiel admired most about the Winchesters. While they had the weight of the world on their shoulders, they never forgot the little things that made up humanity. Sitting on a bench which was located just outside of the lake, Castiel watched as people skated by happily, and for the time being, free. Castiel didn't know how long he sat there watching, he noticed neither of the boys had begun to tire, although Dean and his female interest had been joined by another woman who was sticking close to Sam.

Remaining where he was, Castiel almost didn't notice as someone sat down next to him. While he was tempted to ignore the presence beside him, Castiel couldn't. It was integrated into his very being to pay attention to the other man, and while it hurt, he would never turn his brother away. "I figured your humans would be broken by now."

The statement wasn't said in jest, while he didn't want to admit it, there was a time Castiel had believed the same. Having formed Dean after he rose him from Perdition, Castiel knew the man had been hurt before, had even expected Dean to be shattered once he remembered his time in Hell. "They are," began Castiel. "They are broken and fractured in ways I have yet to understand. Still, they find moments where they can heal, where the pain isn't too much, and they can tend to their wounds before allowing the world to rip into them again." Looking at Gabriel who was watching the two men, both unaware of his presence. "The Winchesters are already broken, Gabriel... which is why they will never surrender to Heaven or Hell, they will do what is right because it's all that is holding them together."

For a moment there was silence between the two as they watched people skate and play around them. "You know, this kind of activity is typically considered a date to humans. Since you're practically human now, you might as well get the full experience, yeah?"

Unable to protest, Castiel heard a snap and felt the wave of grace wash over him. Glancing down at himself Castiel noticed a pair of skates on his feet, looking to Gabriel to protest, he was stunned at what he saw. Gabriel was wrapped up in a long button coat of his own, his neck covered in a green and grey pattern scarf. Castiel had often watched the Earth, it was his job to observe. Never had he seen anyone as beautiful as his brother before him. While invisible to humans, Gabriel had let his six golden wings come into a plane where Castiel could see them.

"Brother..." Trailed Castiel, his eyes wide while he took in the form before him. In the corner of his eye, Castiel noticed both Sam and Dean must have seen Gabriel by then as they were making excuses to come over. With a shake of his head, Gabriel reached out and placed his hand in Castiel's, their physical contact causing a thread of grace from Gabriel to intertwine with Castiel's.

"Don't worry about the hunters, if we're going to do this as a date I want your focus on me." Following Gabriel's tug on his hand, Castiel took hesitant steps towards the lake. It was easy to tell that while Castiel had never skated before, Gabriel had. The archangel didn't falter when they reached the smooth ice but instead turned to help Castiel. It wasn't easy, Castiel found while clutching onto Gabriel's forearms to steady himself. While he had long perfected using his vessel, this was new to Jimmy as well and thus he had no muscle memory to rely on.

Instead of poking fun at Castiel's expense, Gabriel was nothing but supportive, giving him hints and helping Castiel stabilize when he began to falter. While Sam and Dean had originally begun to come towards them, a quick shake of Castiel's head in their direction made them return to the women who had caught their attention earlier, although Castiel noticed both watching him frequently. When Castiel felt confident he could at least move forwards without falling, he let go of Gabriel's forearms, and Gabriel was quick to grab his hands.

"Brother, I would like to try and move without assistance." Asked Castiel, squeezing the hands in his own for a moment. "Of course you can, Cassie. You might not want to call me that when around the civilians."

Tilting his head slightly to the side in silent question, Castiel let go of Gabriel for a moment and shifted his weight to propel himself forward. Gabriel watched him move with a wide grin on his face, one Castiel had seen before. How had he forgotten how caring Gabriel had been before Lucifer fell? If there was one archangel the seraph had trusted it was the one before him. Still, this time it felt different, the way Gabriel looked at him was different.

"The humans tend to disapprove of brothers dating, Cassie. Wouldn't want to give them the wrong idea."

Nodding his head, Castiel reached out and took Gabriel's outreached hand into his own. Gabriel wasn't helping him forward any longer, while he didn't believe he wanted to do anything fancy, Castiel was confident he could manage forward on his own. With Gabriel's hand in his, Castiel made his way to Dean who was almost ignoring the woman he had been paying attention to earlier, his attention focused on Castiel. Gabriel never let go of his hand while they skated towards the two hunters and their dates, instead, he helped Castiel stop once he was close, pressing against Castiel's side.

The warmth of Gabriel against his side was a strange but welcomed one. Behind them, Castiel could feel Gabriel's wings wrapped around them, holding Castiel as close as possible. "What are you doing here Gabriel?" asked Dean, his voice hard while he glared at the archangel. Sam glanced between Gabriel and Dean, however, he didn't say anything.

"Good to see you too Deano." Throwing a wink to the woman who was now frowning at Dean, Gabriel reached out with the hand not holding Castiel's towards her. "Excuse the dumbass, name's Gabriel. Sorry about the tension, last time I ran into the two bozos it didn't end well." The woman paused for a second before taking his hand and shaking it. "It's alright, I'm Jennifer, I think Amanda and I will give you guys a minute and get some hot chocolate, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, Jennifer grabbed her friend's hand before they made their way to one of the beverage carts. The second the girls were out of hearing range, Gabriel spoke before Dean. "I didn't come here to cause trouble, I may have found an alternative plan to your Luci problem. Figured I would deliver it in person is all."

Grinning, Gabriel tugged on Castiel's hand. "Didn't know I would get a date out of the deal, not that I'm complaining." Glancing at Gabriel, Castiel noticed the genuine pleasure on the others face, the way Gabriel's golden wings puffed out in joy. Smiling at his brother, Castiel ignored Dean's sputtering for a moment.

"Date?!"

Castiel couldn't understand Dean's apparent confusion. "Yes Dean," he began, speaking slowly, hopeful to alleviate Dean's confusion. "Gabriel has informed me this kind of social interaction is commonly a date."

Sam cut in, placing a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Gabriel's right Cas, couples go skating all the time as a date. You do realize what going on a date with someone means, right?"

Nodding his head, Castiel smiled brightly. "By asking for the date, Gabriel has stated his intentions of courtship. I suspect we will conclude at the end of the date if we should continue our courtship in hopes of a future mating."

"Mating?!"

Frowning his brows again, Castiel was about to answer Dean when Gabriel spoke. "Angels mate too, Tweedledum. Our rituals are like humans, though certain things have different meanings the result is the same… just a bit more permanent. We don't have a divorce clause. Now, Cassie and I were enjoying our date and you two seem to have some slightly pissed ladies to pay attention to. We can talk shop later, Cassie? Did you want to skate some more, or would you like something to drink? I find hot chocolate is awesome after skating for a bit."

Glancing at Dean who was still glaring at Gabriel, though not saying anything, Castiel nodded his head. "I would enjoy trying some hot chocolate, could we perhaps sit? I do not wish to spill the beverage on my coat."

The look Gabriel gave Castiel then was full of warmth and reached the seraph down to his very grace. "Yeah Cassie, we can do that." With Gabriel's hand in his own, Castiel left the Winchesters to talk, easily following Gabriel. Perhaps it wasn't merely the Winchesters who could appreciate the little things; like the warm hand in his, and the golden angel he hoped to soon call his own.