we can chase the dark together
After the end of the Apocalypse, Gabriel is resurrected by God and is sent back to Earth. Given no orders and no instructions, Gabriel tries to resume his hedonistic lifestyle, but begins to find it distasteful. With no where else to go, he seeks out Dean and looks after the man. With a war brewing in Heaven and a dark force strong enough to pull Sam out of Hell roaming the Earth, Gabriel finds himself drawn back into an ancient conflict that threatens his new charges.
The first time Gabriel met the Winchesters they were in Nebraska. Gabriel was there on trickster business; a religious zealot had enslaved a reaper and was using it to kill people she considered sinners. It would have been amusing to any other trickster, but Gabriel had spent millenia as his Father's Judgement. A mere human thinking that they knew the will of a god was foolish at best.
Gabriel made a good living dealing with fools.
His plan was simple. During one of these faux healing sessions, he would walk in, break the Coptic cross around the woman's neck, thus freeing the reaper. The reaper would then kill the woman in a horrific and gruesome way in front of everyone. The woman would get her lesson and the audience would get to see how realgods work. A win-win in any trickster's book. The preacher was a slight wild card; Gabriel hadn't decided whether or not to kill him or to let him live alone for the remainder of his life. Not that it mattered; the man only had a few months left in him, anyways.
It was a good plan. But Gabriel never got around to enacting it. On his way to the tent where the meetings took place, he caught sight of two interesting looking humans. On the outside they were nothing special. Sure, they were attractive, but Gabriel had met plenty of attractive humans before. It's not a trait that runs rare in humanity, no matter what anyone says. No, it wasn't their looks, but there was something about them that called to him. He was a few yards away and the feeling was strong enough to make him want to run over to them, protect them, touch them...
Gabriel viciously shoved the feelings down. They were vessels. They had to be. The only humans who brought out those feelings were the ones marked by Heaven. Judging by how his Grace was yearning for them, their angels would be powerful. Maybe even powerful enough to see what he really was. WhatItwistedmyselfinto,Gabriel thought as he watched the vessels warily.
Fuck it. He'd let some other trickster teach the woman a lesson. Gabriel turned away from the vessels and spread his wings. However, instead of launching himself skyward, he stood and stared at the grey sky.
He couldn't sense any other angels around. That meant that the vessels were still unclaimed, but it didn't mean that they weren't being watched or prepped to give themselves over to their angels. But the humans looked young. They might still be free of any angelic influences.
It's too big of a risk, he told himself. Leave before one of them spots you and ruins everything.
Gabriel stretched his wings. They weren't corporeal, but he could still feel the rain sliding through his feathers. Despite the slight discomfort, he still couldn't bring himself to fly away.
It wouldn't hurt just to take a quick peek. If there wasn't a Guardian keeping an eye on them, then there wouldn't be any danger. Unless there was an Archangel or Cherubim perched on their broad shoulders, no angel would know what he was, where he was, or, most importantly, what he had been.
Gabriel tucked his wings in and quickly walked through the crowd. He was wrapped in a sight shield, so the two vessels didn't notice him when he reached their side.
They were tall. Really tall. Gabriel stared enviously at their long legs and broad shoulders as his Grace pulsed beneath his human skin. Their angels were lucky S.; plenty of wing room with these two.
The shorter one (he was still at least six feet tall but next to the other one he looked small) was wearing a protective amulet. Gabriel wasn't something it was designed to ward away, but it still made his wings itch. These vessels were hunters then. Interesting.
Other than that, there was nothing outwardly special about him. Pouty lips, spiky hair, green eyes, an arrogant swagger, and...
Gabriel narrowed his eyes and focused on the man's chest. There was something wrong with his heart. No doubt it was from a hunt gone wrong, and it certainly explained why they were here.
The vessels (hunters, Gabriel reminded himself firmly) stopped to argue quietly about so-called faith healers and evil and blah blah blah. Gabriel was more interested in the tall hunter rather than their existential talk.
Floppy hair, bright eyes, probably has dimples when he smiles. All in all, an attractive kid. Not as pretty as the other hunter, but he could have his pick of men and women. Gabriel got the feeling that this one wasn't like that. At least not yet. There was an air of innocence around him that was both frustrating and endearing.
Gabriel stuck by them while the shorter one (Dean) flirted briefly with a pretty blonde while her mother watched with an air of disapproval. The tall one (Sam) subtly guided Dean inside the tent. While Sam pushed Dean towards the front row seats, Gabriel clenched his fists in an attempt to stop himself from touching them.
What he felt for these two wasn't sexual. Not that he would say no to a threesome with these two, but these two inspired feelings of more in him. Before, he had only felt that way for Sigyn, Kali, and Angrboða. Now he was feeling the beginnings of something for these two hunters.
Or he was feeling all sentimental and protective for their angels.
Gabriel checked again for any other angelic presences. None. Still feeling nervous, Gabriel brushed his Grace against Sam's soul.
Lucifer.
Gabriel backed up. No. No. Not now. Not yet. Judgement day, the Judeo-Christian apocalypse, the end of days... It couldn't be happening already. It couldn't be.
Gabriel's wings began to tremble. This man, no, this kidwas going to bring about the end of the world? With his big, bright eyes and goofy hair? It would have been funny if Gabriel hadn't recognized the feel of his brother's tainted Grace.
That meant that Mr. Porn Lips was Michael's vessel. Another quick brush of Grace against soul confirmed it. These two would destroy the world and bring about paradise or Hell.
Gabriel didn't want either. He just wanted to be away from the celestial politics, away from Lucifer's cold malice, away from Michael's religious fervor. That's all he ever wanted. But he can't escape it. He should have known that. His freedom had an expiration date from the start.
He could kill them. Here and now. He could utterly destroy these two hunters and prevent the war. He could stop it all. All he would have to do is tear them to pieces, souls and all. Michael would never find all the pieces.
Michael would also never find him. Big brother would know that Gabriel was behind it, but Gabriel had friends in higher, older places than Heaven. Michael and his winged lackeys would never find him.
Gabriel raised his hand and ignored his vessel's pounding heart. He wrapped tendrils of Grace around Sam and Dean, tendrils that would tighten and shred the bodies and souls of these vessels when he snapped his fingers. It would be a quick, painless death. The best he could give them.
The preacher walked up the podium and began to speak. Gabriel felt the bitch begin her dark magic, and the air in the tent chilled as the reaper was summoned. The boys (so hard to think of them as men, despite their age) bickered quietly, familiarly, over what was bullshit and what were miracles.
He can't do it. He can't. Not when all he wanted to do is hide them from his brothers and protect them.
Gabriel gently pulled the Grace tendrils away from them and stepped onto the stage. Healing wasn't his strong suit, and Michael would know it if another Archangel touched his vessel that way. But if a reaper were to take life and give it to Dean, Michael would think that God had arranged for it to happen.
For all his wisdom, Michael was an idiot.
Dean muttered something rude about the preacher, much to the dismay of Sam. That caught the preacher's attention and, in that moment, Gabriel touched the man's mind.
Heal that one. The one with the spiky hair. He's important, special. A god has plans for him.
Gabriel stepped away from the preacher as Dean sullenly walked up to the stage. He spread his glorious wings and, this time, flew off. The hunters would realize what the woman was doing and take her down. The reaper would still be freed and would take his revenge on the bitch who had chained him. Dean would be healed and Sam would show off those elusive dimples. No matter what way he looked at it, it was a win in Gabriel's book.
Using humans as intermediaries was acceptable trickster behaviour, so no one would question his actions. They might be surprised that he, Loki, would do such a thing, but there are some things that tricksters understand better than most gods. They would rightly assume that something had distracted his attention and took away the devious bloodlust that so many of them had. They just wouldn't know that what had distracted him were two pretty vessels and the threat of Armageddon.
Could he stop it? Maybe. The one to convince would be Sam, Lucifer's chosen. If he could keep that one on the straight and narrow then maybe, just maybe... Gabriel snorted. It was probably too much to hope for. But he would try.
As Gabriel flew away from the Winchesters ("Remember this, my brothers: the vessels we are waiting for are the Winchesters. Sam and Dean," Michael had told the lesser angels, "it all ends with them."), he began to form his plan. It wasn't a quick and dirty plan. This one would take years.
Gods are patient creatures, tricksters especially so. In a year or so, he would introduce himself to the Winchesters. He'd let them think that they had bested him and then he would show himself again. That would be the time to strike. Hopefully he would be able to stop the end. Or at least slow it down.
That was the best he could hope for. All he could do now was weave his plan.