Dean was sat in his room, listening to Beethoven's moonlight Sinatra. Sam had gone out for his daily jog and Cas was taking care of something up in heaven. So, he had the bunker to himself meaning he could listen to whatever he wanted and wouldn't hear any crap for it. Or at least that was the idea.
"Hey Dean-O. I didn't know you were a classical music fan. You should listen to Vivaldi's four seasons. Very relaxing." A baritone voice drawled from behind him. His shoulder slumped in defeat, it seemed there was no rest for the wicked.
"What you doing here Gabe? Shouldn't you be up there annoying your brethren?" Dean questioned turning to face the trickster. Green eyes immediately drawn to the ruffled wings behind the angel.
The trickster shrugged snapping some candy into existence. "And let you have a quiet day? Not a chance." He grinned, popping a cherry lollipop into his mouth.
The hunter hummed in response, fingers twitching at his side, wanting to smooth the feathers out. Tracking the angel with his eyes as it walked past him, looking at his collection of weapons curiously, giving him a better look at just how windswept they were.
The archangel turned around, mouth open to ask him something before closing it again, cocking his head to the side with a thoughtful look upon his face. On a hunch he spread out his left first wing a little, watching the hunters every move, eyes widening as the hunter's eye followed the movement before quickly concealing his shock.
"Got something to tell me Dean'y?" The troublemaker asked trying and failing to appear unsurprised by the development. The hunter looked at the angel confused before understanding dawned on him. He hadn't meant to watch the wings, they just looked painful and he wanted to help.
"Well shit." The human sighed, running a hand through his spiked hair, messing it up. Looking away from the supreme being.
"You can see my wings can't you kiddo" Gabriel deadpanned, question coming out as a statement. Flapping his wings slightly. Dean nodded anyway. What more could he do? Gabriel already knew, there was no point in trying to deny it.
"How long?" The angel questioned sitting on the bed, patting a space to the right of him.
"Since we met." He shrugged taking the seat. The angel nodded thoughtfully.
"I take it baby bro doesn't know" He hazard a guess.
"No. He believes I'm not special because when he tried to speak to me it hurt. I never told him I could see your wings or hear your grace." The hunter admitted looking uncomfortable. The prankster nodded knowingly. Turning his back towards the human, displaying all six wings.
Dean's eyes immediately sought out the damaged and disarranged feathers. Wanting to reach out and fix them but not wanting to offend a creature capable of killing him with the snap of his fingers.
Sensing the unease and longing the archangel extended a wing slightly, brushing it against the nearest hand. Hoping he would get the hint. Sighing in relief when gentle fingers began correcting the feathers. Brushing out the broken and loose ones, making a pile of them on the bed.
As those strong steady fingers worked on his wings from top to bottom, finding the oil gland and using it to coat the feather in a sheen, the angel melted into the touch. It had been so long since someone had groomed him and the hunter seemed to be enjoying it just as much as he did if the happy humming going on behind him was anything to go by. The gentle music still playing in the back ground.
"I can see all angel's wings as well as the levels of their Grace, however, it's just yours I can hear. Why is that?" The hunter confessed in a whisper not wanting to disturb the peace that had fallen over them.
Gabriel was surprised by what the kid had said. He really had been keeping a lot from them. The thing that stuck out the most was the fact he could hear the tricksters grace. As far as he knew only mates could do that. That would mean that him and the mischievous human were mates.
He mulled over the idea. He didn't hate the thought of being with Dean. In fact, he rather liked the idea. The human had a wicked sense of human and wouldn't take any of his bullshit. The problem of dean dying would be taken care of. If he was his mate, once they mated he would become an angel upon death.
Them being mates would explain how he always felt Deans emotions so strongly and always knew if he was okay or not. Now only to explain it to the hunter without being stabbed.
"What do you know on angels, specifically archangels?" He asked wanting to know how much his mate knew.
"Only what I see. You guys are crazy strong. Your wing colour and number define which rank you are. Each angel's grace is different and like almost have a personality of its own. Your grace is playful, like a puppy, it runs at you and demands attention, teasing you to come play chase with it. Cas is more tentative, cautious if you will. His grace skims across my skins surface checking me over before pulling back and keeping it on a tight leash as if he doesn't want to offend. Regarding the sound your grace makes, it changes depending on your mood. If your calm it will be classical, angry will be heavy drum thumping and happy is fast jig on the piano, sad is a slow mournful piece on the violin. There are a few more instruments but those are the main ones I hear." He explained, smiling softly as the sound of a piano and flute mixed together. Gabe was happy and impressed by what he was hearing.
"I find your language beautiful and easy to understand once Cas taught me a few things, don't tell him I said that or Sammy. They think I don't understand a lick of a foreign languages even though I've got degrees in that as well as engineering and a few other things." He rambled moving on to the next wing. He didn't know why he was feeling the trickster some of his secrets, he was kinda trusting his gut on this and his gut said to trust the other, no matter how the facts he had to contradict the claim.
"I also know that you can form bonds with your grace to another's grace or human's soul. Although I do not know much on you other than from a strategical stand point. Books on you guys especially with the rank you are, are rare and have very little written." Dean admitted fixing a particularly bad patch of feathers that had been giving Gabriel grief for months now.
"Well angels have lovers much like humans, only its deeper than that. We tie our souls and grace together. Put a claiming mark on our soulmates. To warn others they are taken. They are literally the other half of our soul and match us perfectly" he started out by saying.
"For an archangel the way to tell if it is our mate is that we can feel the other beings' emotions clearer, feel them stronger and how they're physical wellbeing is. If they are hurt or not. For our mates however, they can hear our grace. It's a very intimate act to hear another's grace, not to mention its rare. Each angel has one mate in their lifetime, they can be any species and given how high and mighty most of my brethering are, not many of us ever find them. Once we have mated and they have been claimed the other will too become an angel of the same rank as their partner, thus allowing them to live for eternity with their lover" he explained. Waiting patiently as Dean took it all in and thought it over.
They sat in silence, Gabriel trying not to fidget while Dean kept up his self-appointed task, lost in thought. He weighed up the pro's and con's and found that he didn't really have any cons. He was happy, excited even. Here was someone who accepted him and was happy with the discovery. In time he was sure they would learn to love each other. He already knew they made one hell of a team, so it wasn't like being in the angels company was a chore, in fact he rather looked forward to the quite moment between them, where Gabriel wasn't on pranking war path and they could just talk about things that caught their interest. Plus, he couldn't deny that that the tricksters physical form was beautiful, he didn't doubt that when he was able to gaze upon his true vessel it would be even more breath taking. Looking at it that way the answer came rather easily.
"So, I guess that means we are soulmates then huh?" Dean smiled crookedly, finishing the last wing. Gabriel turned to face him.
"Are you alright with that? Me claiming you and being together for all of eternity I mean?" Gabe asked anxiously. Nervous that has mate may not want him since he was such a dick when they first met.
Dean looked down. Flushing. "I um have a confession to make. I may or may not have a tiny crush on you" the hunter admitted shyly.
The trickster smiled devilishly, pleased with what he had just been told.
"Oh really? You have a crush on me do you Mr big bad scary Hunter" The prankster smirked crawling up towards Dean making him fall back onto the bed, trapping him. His breath ghosting against the hot man's lips.
The human nodded, licking his suddenly dry lips. Eyes flickering from looking at those tempting lips to those dark dangerous eyes, twinkling with mirth and hunger.
"Well that's good, because I have a crush on you too my darling little mate" He whispered, hungrily smashing their lips together. Using his tongue to pry the youngers mouth open. Marking every inch, he could reach, claiming him.
Den moaned at the rough possessive kiss. Clinging on to the angel dominating his being. He pulled away panting for breath.
"The first rule we are making is that no one but me can groom your wings." The hunter growled. The angel smirked pleased, rewarding him with another breath-taking kiss. He could live with that.