A/N: This is my first ever fanfic that I've ever let anyone outside of my close group of friends read. Be gentle please!
Gabriel had been called several names in all of his many years - asshole, jerk, meddler, trickster and he'd even done a stint as Loki. He'd enjoyed all the rhyme and reason behind each name and often felt it was the reward of a hard day's trickery. But there was one name he cherished above all others and that was brother. Gabe was a family man, through and through. He enjoyed the chaos of being a part of his crazy dysfunctional band of brothers and sisters and felt at peace when he was with them. He loved taking care of his family even when they didn't particularly take care of him.
Hell, Lucifer had almost killed him. Would have, if it hadn't been another one of his careful tricks. Didn't mean that he loved the bastard any less. He just had to be careful and wait out one of his older brothers. Make sure that he didn't know he was still alive. When his hints helped the Winchesters, he'd sat back to watch the story unfold. Though he did admit that being in hiding wasn't the most glamorous of gigs. He missed the action and pizazz of being out and having people know about it.
But Gabriel had to be sure that things quieted down before he went back to his merry mischief. He'd tried the whole helping first hand thing and would have died for his effort. When he'd reviewed the situation, Gabe had decided that he was just going to sit that one out. Wait until the big players were off the field before he made his continued existence known.
When he'd heard that Lucifer and Michael being trapped in the cage, he'd thought about coming out and just living life as a good little angel. But then he'd seen how Castiel and the Winchesters had mourned his loss and remembered that there was a reason that Cas had always been his favorite. Even if he was hopelessly naïve. And let's face it - when was Gabe ever the good little angel? That was not his style.
So Gabriel wanted to do something special for him, which is why he'd been waiting for the careful moment from which he could finally come into the spotlight again. He had seen the look that sometimes entered Castiel's eyes when he looked at Dean and he'd come up with an excellent plan, if he didn't mind his saying so. The time to reveal it was almost upon them. He just had to make perfectly sure everything was ready before he could raise the curtain.
And of course, he had to get all the pieces into place. But that would be easy, since he knew how Dean was craving some of the old life he'd left behind. Sure, he pretended to be happy to be living a normal life and at times Gabriel thought he might actually be happy. But then he'd stop whatever menial boring normal task he was doing and stare off into space. This look would go over his face as if he were imagining being somewhere else, doing anything else. Perhaps he was even missing his brother and friend desperately.
And that's how Gabe knew he could get Dean to where he wanted him. Castiel, on the other hand, had been notoriously absent as of late. Oh, he knew all about Raphael's little plan to bring Michael and Lucifer back and restore the apocalypse to where they'd left off. He'd even heard that Cas was opposing their idiot brother and was going to find a way to make sure that they all got to choose what they did with their lives. But Gabriel knew there were more important things to worry about than an idiot trying to cause trouble.
Like Cas' happiness. That was extremely important to Gabe at the moment. Hell, he'd always taken care of Castiel since they were little and he wasn't going to stop now. No, he had to make his brother happy again and damn the consequences! He especially had to make sure it was before Castiel got his powers back up to their full level. It just would not be good if Gabe went through all this trouble and Cas somehow managed to wiggle his way out of Gabe's careful trap that had been almost a year in the making.
With a last check over all that he'd put in place and a thorough analysis of the final details finished, Gabriel sent messages to both Dean and Castiel. He mimicked each of their voices and left a voicemail with a desperate plea for the others' assistance. He left an address and nothing else.
It was a pretty transparent trick but Dean and Cas hadn't been in contact since Sam had gone into the pit and he was hedging his bets that they would come right away. It really was the only way he could imagine them getting the two dunderheads their own slice of fairy tale ending. A trick, a trap and maybe even a little surprise were in order and Gabe couldn't wait for the wheels to start rolling.