"What the hell is going on here?" Sam's words were rushed and exasperated. He stared down at the floor when the boy was crying. Tears were streaming down the boy's face, mouth open wide and unhappiness screaming through his lungs. His hair was dark and his sky blue eyes were squeezed closed. His face was screwed up with the emotion due to finding himself in a pile of clothes that were two big. Among his screams were a few names. Gabriel, was a common occurrence, Balthazar was also fairly common, every now and then there was a Michael or a Lucifer thrown in there, but other than that he was just wailing.
"Dude, Cas is a cherub." Dean's mouth hung slightly open and his head was cocked slightly to the side as if the kid was a ghost. "What the actual fuck?"
Someone knocked on the door. He looked to be around three years of age, what that was in angel years they didn't know, but he also seemed to be mentally three years old and in desperate need of his brothers. Preferably the nice ones. Or at least the not evil ones.
The boy's screams were getting more panicked and more fearful.
Somebody knocked on the door.
"Hey, guys, we're getting complaints." It was probably that scrawny guy from the counter who had booked them into the hotel. He was one of those people that looked incredibly panicked all the time.
The exact word that ran through Dean's mind at that point was 'shit'.
"Uh, yeah, we're on it. It'll be fine. Just… give us a moment." Sam's voice was slightly panicked. He tripped forward a little, hands out as if he was going to try to embrace the boy. The tiny version of Cas wailed only louder. Had the brothers been paying attention they would of noticed the screamed Enochian words. Of course they didn't notice until Gabriel popped into existence behind them. Dean jumped, but Gabriel was only interested in his baby brother. He rushed forward, arms out, cooing soft Enochian words. He scooped up the kid into his arms, holding him tightly, and tucking the tan coat around him to warm him.
It was as if this Gabriel was a totally different Gabriel to the one they usually dealt with. This one wasn't all joking and jovial, this one was totally serious and protective. Little Castiel's hands gripped his shirt and he buried his nose in his big brothers shoulder, thin shoulders heaving, chest shuddering with dying sobs.
It wasn't that surprising that he was feeling a little threatened. It must of been so strange, popping into a whole new place with people he didn't recognise. Gabriel swayed his hips and rocked from side to side, rubbing small circles into the angel's back. Cooing quietly, whispering small words in Castiel's ear. The child's sobs died down, leaving only frail whimpers in their wake.
"Don't worry little one. Don't worry." Gabriel sat down heavily on one of the bed, cradling the boy to his chest like he was a babe. The brothers looked at him with slight amazement. They were still registering that the man that they mostly considered incredibly well held together was a crying, bawling mess in the arms of someone who had no right to be the one who had their life together. One moment he was a fully grown man was standing on the floor and then he just wasn't. He was a kid. A little kid. A little terrified kid. It was just weird.
Sam stepped forward, something almost occurring to him, a faint idea.
"Did you do this?" His voice was quiet and slightly threatening. Immediately the elder Winchester took a slightly threatened stance. Gabriel might of been Castiel's brother by blood, but if the trickster had, in any way, caused any harm to come to his angel, there would literally be hell to pay. He had lost Castiel too many times for him to take it on the chin. There was little he wouldn't do.
Both brothers took another step towards the man and the child. It was like Gabriel barely even recognised them. But then he grinned. The grin was stretched thin over his own confusion at finding his baby brother in this condition. Both the brother's could see his panic and they relaxed slightly.
"Why, Sammy, I'm offended. You think that I would do this to my own brother." His eye brow was cocked, but his jaw was tense.
"Yes." Sam answered simply. Gabriel muttered something under his breath, Castiel's face still buried in his shoulder. Dean's eyes darted around, fingers twitching, the hunter's mind not at rest.
"What did this?" He demanded. "Who did this and how do we turn him back?" His voice sounded desperate, like he was at some fault when Castiel wasn't totally there. Gabriel's face became uncharacteristically solemn and both the brother's stomachs dropped. Dreading the worst.
"This is…" He paused, trying to gather the right words, "This is angelic." The brothers took another step forward, almost growling with agitation. Gabriel gave them a look as if to ask what walking forward was going to do, considering that he could just blip out of the room at any time. "Not me angelic, we're talking rouge angel angelic. It's an old trick, used to lower an opponents reflexes while not actually harming them. I'd say that the large majority of angels are looking for this rugrat." Gabriel pried the boy from his shoulder, Castiel's little legs standing on his older brother's knew, Gabriel holding his wrists. Castiel looked to his brother and nobody else, his heart shaped face tear stained and worried. Gabriel rubbed his sides in an effort to comfort him.
"Then why the hell aren't you just blipping away with him?!" Dean growled, eyes fearsome. Little Castiel flinched at the curse and Sam punched his brother's shoulder, though the older brother didn't seem to notice. "Take him away, take him back to heaven!" Castiel jumped and gave a small whimper at the harshness of his voice and Gabriel let him grip back onto his shirt. The angel stroked the babe's tousled hair. Gabriel stood again, gently swaying as soothingly as possible. He glared at Dean with a ferocity that would of sent most demons away crying.
"Do you think I would still be here if I could?" His usually jovial voice was cold and deadly with annoyance. He rubbed the boy's back, somewhat syphoning out his agitation. "Do you think that half of heaven wouldn't take immediate advantage of this state?" He pressed one of Castiel's ears onto his cheek and placed a hand over the other. "They wouldn't just kill him," He hissed, "they would torture him to death." Both the brother's stopped for a second. Thinking carefully.
Sam sat down on one of the beds and covered his head with his hands, before looking up again.
"What can we do?"
There was the tall man with the longish hair and then there was the slightly shorter man with the green eyes and the spiky hair and there was the oldish man in the hat with the beard. There was also Gabriel, but Gabriel was older and taller. At least he was still Gabriel. Occasionally the man with the green eyes who look at him as if he wasn't quite sure that he was there. The child would look away. He was scared. He was alone and he was scared. Gabriel and the man with the hat and the beard were talking in another room and he was alone with the tall man and the man with the green eyes.
Every now and then the tall man would ask him if he wanted something. He had offered something called a 'colouring book' a few times now, but he said no. He didn't know what it was and he didn't want it.
He sat on the sofa, his hands in his lap, his feet hanging off the cushions. He didn't know what a sofa was, but he figured it was this thing. The house Gabriel had taken them to smelt like old spice and mustiness. It was cluttered with books and papers and everything seemed to be the same colour brown. There were lines all over the walls and the floor, but he didn't know what they meant. Sometimes when he was scared of something Lucifer would read to him from on of the library books. He wondered where Lucifer was, usually when he wandered off Michael and Lucifer would come and find him.
His blue eyes darted around the room. Both the men with him were watching the talking box, but it wasn't very interesting. It was just these people kissing and someone getting married. It was too confusing from him. They had glass bottles in their hands and they both wore stripy shits.
They both seemed to be distracted by the talking box.
As quietly as he could he slipped off the cushions, bracing himself before hitting the ground. Neither of the men seemed to notice. Worriedly he inched to the side, nipping around the corner of the sofa. He got down on his hands and knees. He would go and find Gabriel and then Gabriel would take him back to heaven and he would play with Samandrial. It would be fine. He was sure, though his bottom lip wobbled.
He was anxious and alone and all he had to go on was the faint sound of people talking. The hard, ageing floor boards threatened his soft fingers with splinters, but he persisted on. He felt a cool breeze wash over his face and he headed toward it. He remembered once that Balthazar told him that he was the angel of tears and solitude and the moon belonged to him. His brother had told him, that if he was ever lost or scared or in danger he should head for the moon and that he would be waiting there for his baby brother to return.
He had promised so he headed to the outside, to see if he could see the moon, but before he could get out the door a pair of boots came to stand in front of his face. Slowly he looked up, seeing the man with the green eyes looking down at him.
"Look kid," the man began, "if you're going to try to escape every four minutes this isn't going to work." The tall man peered over the other one's shoulder, their expressions identical. Castiel felt his heartbeat pitch, but he forced his face to become stubborn.
"I need to go find Balthazar." He spat at the words, glaring as hard as he could. He acted like Lucifer did when he was arguing with Michael. He wasn't going to be scared. He was going to be strong, he was going to be strong like his brothers. He stuck out his tongue to the two men.
Suddenly he was lifted off his hands and knees, two hands holding onto his sides and he let out a sharp squeak. He fell back onto a chest and looked to the side to see his big brother's face. He grinned, feeling triumphant for some unknown reason. Gabriel balanced him on his hip and he made faces at the two men. The tall man smiled a little, but the man with the green eyes just growled. Beside him the man with the hat and the beard came up from behind Gabe.
Jiggling him slightly Gabe turned to the man with the hat, who smiled at little Castiel, his old eyes shining with age and wisdom. Castiel shoved his thumb into his mouth to comfort himself.
"Well Cassy," Gabriel looked to him, his hand sternly on the his stomach. "Balt is busy at the moment, so you have to stay with these guys for a little while." Castiel's face screwed up with confusion.
"Why? Can't I just go find Lucifer or Michael." His blue eyes stared at his older brother, his face broken with a frown.
"Luci's is busy as well, so is Micheal." Castiel opened his mouth to speak again. "So is every one of all you other older brothers. Including me, so I'm going to leave you with Bobby." Gabe Pointed to the man in the hat who was apparently the man named Bobby. "He's very nice and for a little while, your just going to hang out with him and his boys until one of our brothers can come and get you." Castiel stared at the man called Bobby. Judging the situation as best he could. He didn't like the two men, or at least he didn't think they liked him, but the old man, he looked nice. And Gabe seemed to trust him. Slowly and methodically he unslung his arms from around his older brother's neck and reaching them out to the old man named Bobby, opening and shutting his hands, beckoning a hold. The old man smiled and let the boy crawl into his arms.
"There we go, squirt." Carefully Castiel wrapped his arms around the old man's neck and buried his nose into the shirt. He was tired and hungry and the man smelt like spices and safe, interesting things. He was so tired of this.