"But why aren't they growing Gabriel? I... I don't... don't understand". Castiel said whilst spinning in front of a mirror, stopping every so often and glancing over his shoulder, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Gabriel couldn't understand it either. Cas's wings just weren't growing.
"Come on Cas, cheer up! They'll grow in time, everyone's wings do. Mine have!" And with that, Gabriel spread his wings the whole breadth of the room, the magnificent dark silhouette dancing across the far wall, every feather distinct from the others. He beamed at his friend, proud of how big and strong they were, until he saw Castiel's face. He was looking at Gabriel's outspread wings, his big blue eyes filled with longing as he took in the full size of them. His eyes dropped to the ground and shuffled around a bit, until he padded across to the sofa and picked up his tiny beige trench coat. Gabriel's wings faltered slightly and folded in on themselves, his cheeks warming as he watched Cas put on his coat. He hadn't meant to make him feel worse, it was meant to cheer him up.
"Do you still want to go to the park Gabe? Sam and Dean will be waiting for us." Castiel said over his shoulder as he made his way to the door.
"Yeah, okay then" Gabriel replied, and ran across to where Cas was waiting.
"HEY, PIXIE WINGS"
Cas stood up and spun round so quickly, Gabriel could have sworn that he had been stung by something. Apparently he had. Lucifer and Michael, Gabriel's older brothers, were marching up to where Cas and Gabriel were sat drawing with chalk on the ground.
"What's this then little brother? Deciding to spend your time with this little freak?" Michael spat at Gabriel, Cas physically cowering away from his words. The two older siblings loomed over him, with Cas's head only just reaching their hips.
"What's wrong with your wings, hey, Castiel? I really do hope they don't stay like that forever; I mean, who has ever heard of an angel without proper wings? You probably won't be able to stay in heaven if they don't grow." Lucifer grinned horribly down at Castiel, who's mind had started to race. What if Lucifer was right? What if they really did throw him out of heaven because his wings hadn't grown? Maybe that's what has happened to other angels before, and nobody knew because they had fallen...
"Come on Gabriel. It's time to leave" Michael said firmly. Gabriel just looked at Cas, his soft eyes shining with tears. Gabriel could never stand up to his brothers, even if he wanted to. He knew he would never win.
With one final glance over his shoulder, Gabriel was led away by his older siblings, leaving Cas all alone surrounded by the pictures he and Gabriel had lovingly spent their whole morning drawing; clouds mainly, all coloured in with shades of pastel coloured chalks. A tear splashed down onto a pink one, sending dust into the air as Cas passed it. He sat down against one of the brick buildings, and curled up with his forehead on his knees. His shoulders shook ever so slightly, as he heard footsteps drawing closer to him.
Castiel looked up to see a boy about the same height as him, with bright green eyes and hair that was spiked on end.
"Cas?" Dean asked gently.
Cas looked back down at his knees and at the oddly coloured clouds, then back to Dean.
"Michael and Lucifer said that... if my wings don't grow, I won't... be allowed in heaven" Cas said between sobs.
Dean looked down at the angel with a concerned look in his eyes, and saw one of the discarded pieces of chalk not far from the wall. He picked it up, and started drawing on the wall around Cas.
"Dean, what are...?"
"Stay there Cas, just wait"
After about a minute, Dean stood back and gestured at Cas to look. He stayed sat down, but swivelled round to see what Dean had drawn. He gasped as he saw that across the whole of the wall, Dean had drawn a giant pair of angel wings so that it looked like the were sprouting from his back. Cas looked back up at Dean, his head tilted to a side with a stunned expression on his face.
"Will they let you stay in heaven now?"