Just a random idea I had a while ago, and I wanted to get it all written out. I borrow ideas and sort of throw in concepts from other works I've written, mainly because I have a lot of headcanons about this plotline that I've gained from other works that I read and went 'yeah. that's exactly it. Genius.'

Anyway, this takes place separately from the universe I used as backstory to 'The Accidental Vessel', mainly because I fudged things a little for the sake of fitting within canon possibility and my ideas have changed a little since then.

I also have a really specific idea of what angels are like, both upstairs and pre-Fall specifically [no, not the one in season 8]. So I already know how a lot of this is going to pan out.

And for reference, I will purposely be using 'they/them' and other gender neutral terms for everyone, since gender wasn't really invented until humans showed up.

In any case, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural

In the beginning, there were a lot of things.

Namely, in the very Beginning, when there were technically only six beings in existence, but for now let's assume that the word 'things' applies to more than just creatures.

Let's say it applies to ideas, too.

If that is the case, then saying that there were 'a lot' of things is actually a gross understatement. There were only six beings, though, so it's easier to just concentrate on them.

One of them, specifically, for now.

"Oh, there you are. How'd you get all the way over here, little one?"

The being turned around at the slightly irritable voice. If it had a more clearly defined head, it might have cocked it.

It didn't really speak, seeing as this particular being was rather new to the whole 'existing' thing and therefore didn't really know how [even though his species didn't really talk in the sense that we mean it, but that's a whole other discussion to be had]. The way they did communicate did involve a good deal of instinct, though, and so they managed to get across a vague questioning sense to the being who had spoken. The latter made the equivalent of a grin.

"I'm Samael," they said, coming a bit closer but not walking like you or I would have defined it. "I'm your sibling."

Sibling? The younger being copied the word, mulling it over and unconsciously letting Samael listen too. There was another niggling, questioning sense.

"It means we were both created by the same Parent."

Created? Parent?

"It will be easier if They explain it."

There was a pause, and then another, more focused question. What is Samael?

"I am. It's my name." Samael explained patiently.

Name?

"It is...it is to help tell me apart from your other sibling. To define me."

My name? The question was more of a sense than any specific word, but the older being exuded a little more happiness at the question in an approximation of a smile.

"Of course you have a name. You are Gabriel."

An undefinable amount of time later [depending on who you might ask, it was either ages or barely any time at all, if they had ever bothered to keep track of things like that]

"Gabriel!"

Gabriel froze in the middle of what they were doing [nothing bad, honest! They were just curious!] but then immediately relaxed when it became apparent that Samael wasn't yelling because they were angry.

"What?"

"Our Parent wants to see you."

And just like that, Gabriel was all tense again.

"It's nothing bad," Michael reassured him. The eldest angel had always been more fiery than Samael, and the way they said it didn't do a whole lot to reassure Gabriel. "They just want to speak to you."

Hesitantly, Gabriel nodded.

Heaven is not really what we think it is. It's not really anything in particular, since all we humans ever see of it is the parts that change to be whatever we want. So we're not exactly getting the best view here.

In any case, let's pretend for a moment that Heaven has rooms [even though it doesn't] or at least something similar enough that we can just say it's a room and leave it at that. Let's pretend that there are tall swooping Grecian pillars and marble architecture even though that seems a little racist, since who says the Greeks and other European pre-Jesus civilizations had the only decent buildings?

We're getting off topic.

If Heaven did have a door, it probably would have creaked when Gabriel opened it. Well, maybe it wouldn't have. If Heaven had had doors, then Michael would probably be the type to go around fixing them all and keeping everything in pristine condition. Rusty, squeaky hinges absolutely would not do.

But it's also important to provide scenic cues like squeaky hinges when you're writing a scene as suspenseful or dramatic as this, so I'm going to say that this nonexistent Heavenly door did, in fact, squeak.

There was a Someone sitting inside. A very important Someone, as you can all probably guess.

As a personal conjecture, I think God is probably a lot like Heaven itself. They or He or She or whatever didn't really have a set appearance, and so They appear as whatever the beholder might think they would look like.

As an angel, Gabriel could get a little closer to seeing Their actual appearance, but for the sake of the story and as non-confusing writing as possible, let's give Them one fixed appearance.

Do me a favor and imagine Chuck Shurley. Except not him. They sort of look like him, in the way that if you saw Them off in the distance you might think it was Chuck, but once you get closer then you realize that it couldn't possibly be Chuck, how could you ever have made that mistake?

Anyway.

"Gabriel." Their voice was just as indefinable, but I think you got the point earlier so I'm not going to go through all of that again. "It's nice to properly see you."

"You're my...Parent?"

"I am." They gestured for Gabriel to come closer. "Come, come, child. You have nothing to fear from me."

Gabriel believed him.

They [meaning Gabriel, and all these 'theys' are going to get confusing soon] walked close enough that if they had wanted, Gabriel could have reached out and touched his Parent.

"You created Samael and Michael too?"

"I did." God smiled. "Do you like your siblings?"

"They're okay," Gabriel allowed. "Samael is calm and Michael is...not."

"That's one way to put it." God sounded almost amused, if that could possibly be the right word for it.

"Raphael never talks."

"Raphael can be rather quiet, can't they?"

Gabriel frowned, puzzling over the phrasing, while their Parent leaned a little closer and reached out. Gabriel was so intent on their thoughts that they didn't notice the motion until a handlike thing-

You know what? From here on out, I'm just pretending everyone's humanoid. It's much easier to write something that way. All this 'approximation' and 'vaguely' or '-like thing' is just getting irritating to have to type out.

Where were we?

Right.

Gabriel was so intent on their thoughts that they didn't notice the motion until a hand was very softly cupping their face.

Looking up at their Parent curiously, Gabriel leaned into the hand slightly. It felt nice. Michael, Samael, and Raphael were never particularly affectionate, and the most they had ever gotten from their older siblings was the occasional compliment or a smile.

Even so, Gabriel was pretty sure it wouldn't be as nice as this. There was a little sense in the back of their brain that told them that God was a special case when it came to everything.

God, as if They could guess Gabriel's thoughts, was smiling gently. The hand moved to brush over their hair and then retracted. "Yes," They murmured, almost to Themselves. "You're going to be very important one day, little one."

"Why?" Gabriel asked.

"All in good time, Gabriel. You'll understand when you're older."

"What did you call us here for?" The question was polite, like everything Michael did in the presence of their Parent.

"Something very important." God was smiling gently. There was a sort of dish-like thing which took up most of the space in the room - for the moment the usual disclaimer for this sort of thing can be put off - but didn't rise more than an inch above the floor, despite being much, much deeper, as well as completely empty. It was also much bigger than anything Gabriel had ever seen, and they stared at it curiously, almost overwhelmed by the sheer size.

Samael poked at it with their foot. "What is this for?"

"To help me show you." God moved to the side of it and knelt down, and the four archangels - they had begun to call themselves that, ever since their myriad [and lesser] siblings had been created - immediately copied the movement. With a glance at Their oldest, They reached out a hand. "Watch carefully."

The minute Their hand touched the inside of the dish, something amazing happened.

Something flashed at the very bottom, so far away that it was difficult to see exactly what was happening, but the flash spread, moving more quickly than anything Gabriel had ever seen and yet making very little progress covering the bowl.

"What is it?" Gabriel leaned forward, fascinated - had their Parent just created something new, in front of their eyes?

"Wait, Gabriel. You will see."

So they waited.

It took a while, but that time was nothing to an archangel and their Parent - they were infinitely patient, if the occasion called for it, and boredom was no issue with what was unfolding between their eyes.

The matter in the dish hadn't gone far before something else started unfolding within it - colors and all sorts of things that Gabriel had never seen before. It looked almost like their siblings, but that was impossible - and besides, what angel looked like that?

So transparent, drifting through the almost colorless save for the color it contained matter, condensing into bright fiery balls that glowed blue and orange and red and white, and gossamer rainbow things which spun and grew before their eyes.

It was Samael who finally asked. "What is it?"

God's smile was wide and proud. "A universe."

It was Gabriel who first learned that they could enter what their Parent had created.

The matter - universe - still took up barely any of the dish, but it was much bigger than it looked, and definitely much bigger than Gabriel. They had flown - more like fluttered and stumbled - closer to get a better look, and then stumbled right into the thick of it.

Only to find out that it was fascinating.

"Gabriel!" Raphael had come with them, and flew to Gabriel's side impatiently, only to find Gabriel giggling and floating haphazardly around a still-forming star - at least, that was what their Parent had said it was called.

"What are you doing?"

"I just wanted to see."

Raphael made an exasperated noise and tugged Gabriel away, flying them both back to the edge of the dish. "You can't even fly," They pointed out. "What did you think you were going to do?"

"I didn't mean to to in it," Gabriel protested. "I just wanted to take a closer look! It's Their new creation."

"Which is exactly why you should leave it alone." Raphael started nudging Gabriel out of the room, but the latter latched on to the edge of the door.

"But I-"

"Yes, I heard you. You don't know what They have planned for that universe, Gabriel, now let go."

Gabriel clung on tighter. "I want to see it."

"You can't fly yet."

"You could help me."

Raphael paused, and Gabriel wondered about the short silence in the conversation.

"You know," Raphael said conversationally, "Your wings are almost finished fledging."

"Really?" Gabriel spun around to try and look at them, and Raphael shut the door with a satisfied smile and a click of the lock.

Gabriel scowled. "Mean."

"Whatever you say, Gabriel."

Flying was amazing.

It was even better now that Gabriel could fly through the universe their Parent had created, and how it had changed!

Galaxies and nebulae and suns and stars and all sorts of new creations - it was thrilling for Gabriel to be able to explore under their own power.

Grinning, Gabriel shot past the nearest arm of a galaxy and careened across it, primaries skimming the edge of it and tossing up gas in their wake. They dodged around stars and larger suns, most bigger than Gabriel, which had at first astonished the archangel - how could anything be bigger than an archangel, unless it was another one of his siblings? But the new suns had grown so that some of them were even bigger than Michael, which might explain why the oldest never seemed interested in joining Gabriel.

Gabriel sped up as he neared the center of the galaxy, arching up and over to avoid the black hole in the middle. They had been surprised by one once, but luckily Samael had snatched them out of the way in time. Gabriel had no desire to repeat the experience.

They slowed down again once past it, more than they usually did, and Gabriel came to a stop near the outer edge of the galaxy.

There was something here that their Parent had been spending a lot of time making, and Gabriel was curious to see what it was.

It didn't look like much - just a tiny sun surrounded by various bits of gas and rock. Gabriel crouched around it, please to see that besides the sun, almost all of the planets that had formed so far were smaller than they were.

Gabriel looked at them carefully, even bending over to get a better look. "What's so important about these?" They muttered to themselves.

There were ten planets there, all in various stages of formation - one was only slightly bigger than Gabriel, but it was still mostly wisps of gas that hadn't fully bound together yet. Curious, Gabriel reached out for one of them, curling their body around it to get a better view and twisting around.

Gabriel froze when the new planet broke into pieces under their hands.

Whoops.

Gabriel tried to shove them back together, but the pieces kept drifting off, and why did everything have to float in this universe unless there was something with gravity nearby?

Unfortunately, the accident hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Gabriel." Their Parent didn't sound upset, but there was enough disappointment in Their voice to make Gabriel droop. "Why were you over here?"

Gabriel looked at the pieces of planet still drifting and didn't answer, not wanting to look up at their Parent.

God sighed and took the pieces out of Gabriel's hand. "Oh well," They said quietly, and Gabriel got the feeling they weren't meant to hear. "I suppose nine is just as good."

"Sorry," Gabriel muttered.

"You didn't do it on purpose, Gabriel." Before Gabriel's eyes, the pieces they had accidentally created broke into even smaller bits, drifting chaotically over God's palm. "Why don't you go back home, while I see what I can do here."

This time, Raphael had accompanied Gabriel on their trip into their Parent's universe.

"I don't see what you find so interesting about all this."

"You don't think it's amazing?"

"Of course I do." If Raphael had proper arms, as we think of them, they might have crossed them. "It is our Parent's creation."

"That's not what I mean." Gabriel spread their wings wide as they arced over a sun, Raphael in close pursuit and dodging around a sunspot - they were unusually common in almost every star.

"Then what do you mean, Gabriel?"

"I mean this!" Gabriel soared away from the sun and darted through layers of the universe faster than any of its inhabitants could process. Raphael followed more slowly, having always been a more sedate flier. "Flying! Seeing what's down here! You don't think it's interesting?"

Raphael regarded Gabriel thoughtfully. "You find the inhabitants engaging?"

"Inhabitants?" Gabriel blinked. "What inhabitants? All these planets have got is a bunch of animals. I was talking about-" They gestured vaguely at the colorful green-and-blue nebula floating around them. "This."

Raphael stared at the nebulae as thoughtfully as they had looked at Gabriel. "It is certainly colorful," They said, wings creating open spaces where they passed through the gas that hung in the air - or where air would have been, if space had a proper atmosphere.

"That's all you have to say?"

"You have been down here more often than I," Raphael pointed out. "Perhaps you're not doing the best job of explaining what it is you find so fascinating?"

Gabriel was about to protest, when they stopped, an idea occurring.

"You know what? You're right." Raphael barely had time to look startled before Gabriel was tugging them elsewhere. "You should see the best stuff to do down here."

"Gabriel, where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere good!"

They were at their destination in barely any time at all, though for an archangel it had taken quite some time to get there. Gabriel let go of Raphael as the latter looked around curiously. "What is there to do here?"

As if on cue, something exploded.

The surface of the huge planet below them erupted in a series of quakes, the surface shaking and cracking as lava flowed to the surface. Raphael jerked out of the way, wings flapping in alarm, but Gabriel only laughed, diving down and around the jets with a practiced efficiency and grace.

"Gabriel!" Raphael sounded panicked, so Gabriel dodged around one more that curled up over them and soared back up, spinning to face Raphael.

"Are you insane?" Gabriel laughed in answer to their sibling's hissed question.

"It's fun, Raphael! They're just volcanoes," Gabriel said in a voice that indicated that they were wondering what Raphael was so panicked about.

"And you do this routinely?"

Gabriel ducked neatly out of the way as another gush of whatever material the core of the planet was made out of spouted up towards them, brushing the tips of his wings. Gabriel shook them out impatiently. "Come on, Raphael, you'd like it! You're telling me you've never been in a situation with a little danger?"

Surprisingly enough, Raphael hesitated. Gabriel didn't give their sibling a chance to hesitate and pulled Raphael back down, through what was now a maze of fire as the chain of volcanoes erupted sporadically. They were all clustered close together, and blankets of embers and coals littered the ground, glowing and creating a blanket of fire.

Gabriel had let go of Raphael almost immediately, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to control their flight half as well. Ducking around a red-hot volcano gave Gabriel the opportunity to spin around midflight, to see their sibling weaving around the obstacles just as enthusiastically, even daring to dart through narrow openings in the streams which were created when the lava poured off a cliff or some similar rock formation.

"Changed your mind?" Gabriel shouted for Raphael.

"I think I've underestimated you, Gabriel!" Raphael ducked over to Gabriel's side around the next eruption. "This is-"

"Fun?"

"In not so many words."

"Well then." Gabriel streaked out of the planet's atmosphere abruptly, knowing Raphael would be interested enough to follow. "You'll think this is great."

Quite some time later, not that anybody was counting...

"Gabriel!"

"What?" Gabriel turned around. They hadn't done anything wrong - well, nothing that Michael would count as wrong, and why else would Michael be shouting for them?

Michael looked irritated, but to Gabriel's relief it wasn't directed at them. "Several of the younger angels have taken it upon themselves to explore Parent's universe," They explained. "I require you-"

"To go get them?" Gabriel finished, smiling at the irritated look on Michael's face. "Why not get them yourself?"

"I have better things to do," Michael said evasively.

"You're asking me because I know Their universe better," Gabriel proclaimed, having watched Michael carefully.

Michel didn't deign to give Gabriel a reply, aside from their apparent attitude becoming one of fond exasperation. "Just go, Gabriel."

A better word to describe the angels was 'scattered'. Gabriel had to visit at least three different galaxies before Michael informed them via the telepathic connection that all angels shared that only one was still missing.

Castiel was on Earth when Gabriel finally located the little angel.

It had changed since the last time Gabriel had seen it. Rock and fire and an oppressive atmosphere had been replaced by fauna of all shapes and sizes. The plants came thickly, and Gabriel had to practically fight his way through them, careful not to damage anything, before they came across a little cove where a very young angel was standing. The vast expanse of water which now mostly covered the planet stretched out before them.

They weren't one Gabriel had ever spoken to before, so they waited before approaching the angel.

The young one - Castiel - hand obviously sensed Gabriel's approach, but they didn't move, continuing to stare at the water.

"Something interesting?" Gabriel wasn't in any hurry, and this angel looked like it had some sort of reason for coming here.

"There is something in the water," Castiel said quietly.

Something was in the water, and it was struggling to the shore, its head barely stirring the surface. The tiny gray thing - Gabriel wasn't entirely sure if it was a fish or not, because it looked like one but the last time he checked, fish didn't have what appeared to be tiny leg stumps - was clawing at the mud at the edge of the sea, managing to drag itself only partway out.

Gabriel, in a rush, realized what was happening. Their Parent had told them and the other archangels about it - in the vaguest terms possible, it had seemed, but They were not to be questioned - but they hadn't realized it would be so soon.

Carefully, they reached out and drew Castiel backwards as the fish hauled itself farther up the shore. "Castiel," They said quietly, "Don't step on that fish."

Castiel looked up at Gabriel. There was something strange in their expression, but Gabriel knew it would be the same feeling that had often gripped themselves - the feeling that they wanted to know, instead of being content with what they were told.

"Why?" Something Gabriel used to ask more often, but Michael had mostly tamped that down in them.

"Big plans for that fish," Gabriel told Castiel, seeing no harm in it.

"What plans?"

"Only They know." Gabriel tightened their grip on Castiel slightly, meaning it to be comforting. "Come on - Michael might come down here themselves if they think I'm taking too long bringing you back."

"Have I done something wrong?" Now Castiel was worried, and Gabriel carefully drew the two of them outside of Earth's atmosphere in case Castiel lost their grip on themselves and accidentally torched the fish with their true form.

Gabriel had learned the hard way how damaging that could be to the lesser beings which occupied their Parent's universe.

"Of course not. You know Michael." Gabriel remembered that he was speaking to an angel who was a seraph, if that. "Well, you don't, I guess. They like to have things organized. They just asked me to make sure you weren't getting up to mischief."

Castiel had calmed. "Very well," They said. "Are we going back to Heaven?"

"Where else?"

It was a legitimate question, in Gabriel's view. Where else could there possibly be in this universe for Gabriel to be? They couldn't imagine living anywhere other than Heaven.

Oh Gabriel. Where else other than Heaven, indeed.

Review please! I love to hear what you guys think.