Hello my darlings. So I know I shouldn't, but I got this idea when listening to the song Crossfire by Brandon Flowers. I had been thinking of a couple of stories which didn't quite sit right in my mind, and that song made me see a way they meshed together into a gooey Destiel mush-fest. Of course I then realised I didn't have one of them at on the go right now, and had to correct that issue straight away.
So here we are, the first chapter in my latest mushy Destiel AU. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, I just like to play.
Castiel sat on his favourite cloud, the one that gave the best view of earth. This was his favourite place in heaven. Oh he knew he shouldn't feel that way, he knew he should be concentrating on the human's deaths rather than their lives, but he could help it. Throughout his whole existence he had wondered about how the ones they looked after in death had lived in life. How they were different on earth to the perfect heavens the angels gave them. It made him unique, and strange, and it was something he was ridiculed for in his younger years. As such he had kept his thoughts and his desire to know humans to himself. He therefore had made an art form of sneaking off to watch from above what was happening below, going somewhere no other angel would be able to find him. Or at least he thought he had.
Gabriel was looking for his brother. He was the youngest of them all, and yet he had shown such devotion and commitment to his work he had been put forward for a promotion, to be the one in charge of the creative team who designed the human's heavens. This was a big deal and he was so proud of his little bro, if only he could find Castiel to tell him. He had searched what he had thought would be the obvious places, the meeting areas for the angels in their down time, and yet no one had seen the brother he was seeking. He was starting to wonder just what the hell Cassie did when he wasn't working. Because throughout his search he had discovered a startling truth. Castiel had no real friends, there was no one he spent time with, no one he just hung out with. How did no one know where their brother was? How could one angel be so distance from the rest of them that they had no idea of the places he could be?
Finally he came across Hannah, an angel who was an age to Castiel and had grown up with him. As such she had a possible idea. She quietly directed him to the outskirts of heaven, to the place where the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest. And there he finally found him, staring down at earth. Why in dads name would he be doing that?
"Hey Cassie, what ya doin'?" Gabriel asked coming to settle beside his brother, noticing the faraway look in Castiel's eyes. What was wrong with the angel he had known since his creation? Why was he looking like that? He had thought he knew Cassie well, better than most in fact. After all he had been in his charge when he was learning his role in heaven, and Gabriel had always had soft spot for the scruffy little thing.
"Watching earth." Castiel replied without turning round. He knew he couldn't keep the truth from Gabriel and he felt that there really was no need to. His older brother would not punish him, nor would he ridicule his words, even if he didn't understand what drove him.
"Why?" Gabriel asked completely confused by this idea. Their job was looking after the souls when they came to heaven, so why bother seeing what they did before then?
"Because humans fascinate me. The choices they make, the things they do. They are so unpredictable." Castiel replied wistfully. He had been watching long enough to know the answer to that question, even if he would never speak these words to anyone other than the archangel at his side.
"Anyone in particular catch you eye?" Gabriel asked curiously. He knew he should tell his brother to return to heaven and dismiss the humans, but Castiel's response had raised that inescapable part of him that always wanted to know more. The insatiable curiosity.
"Him." Castiel responded after a second or two to consider whether to reveal his secret to Gabriel. But his knew his brother, and he knew he wouldn't let up until he answered, so he might as well do it sooner rather than later. Maybe then Gabriel would leave him in peace. Leave him to his watching, his study of humanity, or as it had recently become, his study of this particular human.
"Him who?" Gabriel asked unable to help himself as he leant out over the cloud to see who the 'him' was.
"Dean Winchester." Castiel replied with a soft tone and a smile appearing on his lips of its own volition making Gabriel look back and forth between his brother and the human below.
Gabriel had not expected that answer. He had thought Castiel would be interested in world leaders, or someone in the forefront of humanitarian aid. But the man he singled out was nothing. Just a guy lying on the hood of some car staring up at the heavens while drinking beer.
"Why him?" Gabriel asked turning to his brother completely confused by his choice, but also wanting to know the answer.
"Because he has seen the horrors of the world and come back. Because he to does not feel as if he fits into his life." Castiel responded simply, already slipping back into watching Dean.
"What do you mean Cassie? You're a good angel, they want to give you a promotion for dad's sake." Gabriel replied sitting up straight as he tried really hard to understand just what it was his little brother was trying to share with him. He didn't understand, couldn't understand why any angel wouldn't feel like they belonged in heaven. It was their home after all. Yeah sure, their brothers and sisters could be irritating little douchebags a lot of the time, but they were still their family.
"I am good at my job Gabriel, but I don't… fit in with our family. I care about what happens on earth, want to know what it is like down there. None of our brothers or sisters can understand that, not even you." Castiel responded with a sigh turning to give Gabriel a look which was filled with his big blue eyes begging him to accept what he was trying to say.
Gabriel sat there and stared at Castiel and knew he would do just that, in fact that look on his brothers face had always made him want to do more, to help Castiel in way he knew he would never ask for.
"True enough. Tell me Cassie, if you could go down to earth, would you?" Gabriel asked simply, an idea forming in his mind, even if he knew it was crazy and never ever likely to work. But he was Gabriel, he was the one who came up with the crazy ideas, he was also the one who tried to make those who he cared for happy.
"In a heartbeat." Castiel replied without thought turning back to staring longingly down at the man on the hood of the car.
At that Gabriel nodded and then flew away completely unnoticed by Castiel.
He didn't have the power to let his brother go to earth, but he knew who did. And while he doubted very much that Cassie would ever be able to get his wish, angels didn't walk on earth after all, the least he could do for the brother he had always cared for so much was to ask.
Michael stared at the print out with a frown on his face. The angels were very good at their job, and usually the name at the top of the list he had in hand changed each time it was given to him. But for the third time running it was the same. Dean Winchester.
"Hey Mikey. Got a second?"
Turning at the sound of the voice he frowned. Michael would like nothing more than to tell Gabriel to go away. He couldn't help with this, but he was in charge of all the angels and he had to listen to anything they had to say. Plus he knew if he tried Gabriel would never leave his side again.
"What is it Gabriel? I am very busy." He responded instead, giving him his sternest look, not that it ever affected the other archangels as it did those lower than them.
"It's about Castiel." Gabriel replied simply and to the point. Two things Gabriel never was, and as such Michael turned his full attention to his brother. This had to be something serious to get this reaction in the carefree archangel.
"What about him? Has his promotion not gone through?" Michael asked thinking of the only thing that could possibly cause upset to any angel. The idea that they had been denied the job they were destined for.
"No it has, it's just I was thinking… maybe he should spend some time with a human to better understand them." Gabriel suggested with what he hoped was a nice, sensible smile, though he was pretty sure it had come out a bit sickly sweet. Their dad hadn't made him for sensible face expressions, or at least that was his excuse and he was sticking with it.
"And what human did you have in mind?" Michael asked with humour. There was no way Castiel was going down to earth but the conversation was diverting his mind from the pressures he carried. Though he did have to wonder at the strange way his brother's mind worked sometimes, no make that most of the time.
"Dean Winchester." Gabriel stated after taking a deep unnecessary breath. Well might as well throw it all out there, let Michael do with it what he would, though he doubted his brother had even heard the name before, let alone know who the man was.
"Dean Winchester?" Michael asked in complete disbelieve. He had only a second ago been wondering what he was to do about the human, and now his brother came to him with this suggestion. He sensed his father's hand in this. Sensed that he had shown him the solution he himself would never have considered. And if god ordained it, then he would have to take the suggestion very seriously indeed.
"Yep. Why?" Gabriel asked noticing the change in his older brother instantly. Who was Dean Winchester to Michael? How did he even know his name? From what he had seen he wasn't important to anyone but Cassie, so what was he missing here? And more importantly, was it something he could use to get Cassie what he most wanted?
"His name has appeared on the top of the list of people whose destinies are on the verge of going off course. The last three times." Michael responded with a sigh holding out the list to Gabriel so he could verify his words. Gabriel couldn't believe it but there is was, Dean Winchester, written in the cursive script favoured by the scribes. What were the odds of that being a coincidence? Umm, slim to none? Time to press Cassie's case then. Time to fulfil an angels dreams, they fulfilled enough for the humans after all.
"Well maybe Cassie can fix it. He seems to have formed a bond with the guy from watching him, maybe he could help him get back on destiny's course, while learning about humanity." Gabriel said with a decisive tone as he held the list back out to his brother and caught his eyes with his own. He wasn't known for being forceful, in fact he wasn't known for much more than being the archangel who loved pranks. But he was still an archangel, and Michael knew there was a side to him that he did not show to all. The side which saw things he did not on occasion, the side he had long ago learnt not to ignore. Their father had created them all differently for a reason after all, they all had traits that were needed and important to heaven. Gabriel's was he always seemed to think outside of the box, see solutions where others did not.
"You could be right. Very well. He has until Dean's name is removed from my lists." Michael nodded after staring into the gold of Gabriel's eyes with the deep brown of his own. He saw the spark of grace in those eyes, and saw how Gabriel too had seen there fathers work in this. Yes, let Gabriel's angel go and see what he could do to help this lost soul. Maybe it would help Castiel too, and in doing so, help all angels understand the human souls they cared for so diligently.
"Thank you Michael." Gabriel replied bowing his head slightly in gratitude to the one who had taken the role of commander of them all.
"Don't thank me yet Gabriel. You will be overseeing his work on earth." Michael responded with a smirk at the wide-eyed look that sentence got from his brother. Well what did Gabriel expect? They couldn't exactly send an angel to walk among humans without some guidance. Plus Gabriel was the angel who had had the most interaction with their father's creations, what with announcing Jesus' birth and all that. He would be fine, even if things had changed in the centuries since that event.
Gabriel flew off from Michael cursing him under his breath. But even the idea that he to would be venturing back down into the world of the living earth didn't stop him from flying straight to his brother. He had got Castiel what he wished for, he just hoped his brother was properly appreciative of the sacrifice he would be making for him. Though… hmmm… if he was on earth… that could no doubt give him even more scope for his pranks, not to mention toying with those destined for hell. Oh yes, he was starting to see an upside to this plan in his mind, though he was pretty sure that it wouldn't be taken that way by many others. But that didn't matter, he was there to oversee Cassie sorting out Dean-o, what he did in his spare time was no one else's business right?