Hello! I am a huge supernatural fan and have toyed with this idea in the past- please let me know what you think!
Sam and Cas were officially screwed. Asmodeus had them both pinned by the necks, and Sam felt his insides start to twist. He watched helplessly as Gabriel, traumatized to the point of breakdown, was being dragged off by the Prince of Hell's minions. He thought of everything that had unfolded within the last few weeks. Jack, Mom, Dean… they were all going to come back and find out that he had died without even getting a chance to say goodbye. And Lucifer… the thought of going back to The Cage filled him with terror. That's when it happened.
A roar echoed through the halls of the bunker, unlike anything Sam had ever heard before. For a moment, he feared that another hell-sent creature had found them. But then Asmodeus fell to the ground, and the awful, painful twisting of his insides ceased. Inhaling hungrily for air, he looked up in amazement to see a sight he'd never forget.
It was Gabriel. Gabriel, but… not Gabriel. A large, golden, scaly dragon stood on two taloned feet, like those of an eagle. It had two enormous, outstretched amber wings that easily covered the 30ft of space from wall to wall. Feathers the size of 2x4s covered them, and the shoulders of the beast were strong and spiked. Perhaps most striking, however, were it's eyes. There were no irises or pupils, rather, a window into the universe. Galaxies and stars and planets glowed where its eyes should have been, a living portal into the depths of space. It's fangs were long and razor sharp, glinting in the bluish glow of its grace. Two spiraled horns came up the sides of its head, and adorned it like a crown. It was a picture of beauty and danger, both frightening and lovely.
He was so enthralled that it took him a moment to register the sound of someone screaming. Was that me? He thought absently, before reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the creature. Asmodeus was on fire, his vessel crumpling like paper in a flame as Gabriel smote him. He turned and saw that it was Cas calling to him, watching him in horror.
"Sam, close your eyes!" He was yelling over the creature's roar, "Close your eyes NOW, Sam, he'll blind you!"
Sam stared at him in confusion momentarily, not understanding the words his friend was saying, before the noise suddenly stopped. Quiet enveloped the room, and Asmodeus' dead, burnt vessel was laying in ashes on the floor. Sam looked to see that the minions he'd brought with him had been vaporized. He also saw that the dragon was gone, and regular Gabriel was in its place, looking to be in one piece but disheveled.
Cas was staring at Sam with an open mouth, blue eyes wide as if the Winchester brother had grown three heads. "Sam…" He began, voice rough as he helped the other man stand up.
"You ok?" Sam swallowed, trying to contain his surprise and confusion at what had just happened.
"Sam… you're not blind," Cas said in astonishment, "you're alive."
The younger Winchester stared back at Castiel, not understanding. "Of course I am, thanks to Gabriel… what's going on? What just happened?" He demanded, looking to Gabriel who'd come back down to join them.
Gabriel simply looked at him with an unreadable expression, eyes deep and wide. Sam knew now what was really behind them. "You saw my warrior form." He said quietly.
"Your what?" Sam asked, frowning.
"An angel's warrior form is the way they appear in battle… It is only a step below from our true face. No human can look upon it without disintegrating, but you just did." Cas explained, still staring at him.
Sam shook his head, looking at Gabriel. "I don't get it," he said, "why can I see you but others can't?"
Gabriel and Castiel shared a knowing gaze, watching each other briefly before turning back to Sam. They knew, and although neither angel dared get their hopes up, they couldn't help but feel amazed at what had just happened. It was the closest thing to a miracle they'd seen since God left, and a new, ignited flame of hope began to surge within them.
"Call Dean. Tell him to get back here now." Cas instructed, handing the cell phone to Sam.
Sam wanted to ask a million questions. He wanted to know how Gabriel had transformed into that… that thing, why he was spared from seeing his warrior form, and what they knew that they were so blatantly hiding from him. He wanted to ask all of these things, but instead, the only words that left his mouth were, "Why, what's wrong?"
Gabriel's eyes showed signs of his old vibrancy returning to them. "Nothing's wrong. In fact, things may have just gotten a whole lot better."
"That's impossible, how are Sammy's eye sockets not two black holes right now?" Dean demanded, having just returned from Apocalypse World. At first he'd accused Gabriel of lying, still being wary of the former trickster after all the stunts he'd pulled on them. But when Cas had confirmed what happened, and when Dean saw the dead body of the last prince of Hell, he had no other choice but to believe.
Castiel looked to Rowena for help in delivering his explanation, not quite knowing how to tell the two brothers the possible reason for the seemingly impossible event.
"Don't you go givin' me that look, Cas, I'm no better than you at sweet talkin'." She muttered, turning back to reading a book she'd flicked out from the library shelves.
"No, no 'sweet-talking', just tell us the damn truth!" Sam exclaimed, frustrated, "What the hell is going on?"
Castiel sighed, glancing at Gabriel before looking back to Sam and Dean. "We… Can't be sure, but, we think that Sam may have been grace bonded to Gabriel." He said.
Sam's eyes widened at the words, and Dean simply sputtered in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Sam never consumed any of his grace, we never did anything-"
"You don't have to do anything, it's not some spell or deal that bonds an angel with a human, it has to be an approved match." Castiel said tiredly, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Approved by who?" Dean asked the question they were all thinking, looking at the angel skeptically.
Castiel inhaled deeply before looking at them all. "God." He said, sending the room into stunned silence.
"Nice delivery, little bro." Gabriel smirked from the side, earning an annoyed glare from Castiel.
"G-God? As, as in the god?" Sam stammered, shocked. It couldn't be true- no one had heard from Chuck in months.
Castiel bit his lip conflictingly, searching for the right words to explain. He'd spent years on earth, and still felt lost when it came to the art of conversation. "There is a legend in heaven about a human having once bonded with an angel." He began, "No one has ever witnessed it, so I cannot say if it's a certain truth. Apparently an early descendant of Enoch shared a grace bond with an angel, and was able to ride it into battle. With the bond, their powers were combined, making them almost unstoppable. When an angel bonds its grace to a human, it becomes tied to their lifeforce and vise versa. They are bound to die together, and escort each other to the afterlife where they are said to spend the rest of eternity riding in heaven and guarding its gates." Cas explained, watching their faces.
Sam was speechless, at a loss for words. He felt that he should be more upset than he was, but every time he looked at Gabriel, he couldn't help but see the same beauty he'd witnessed hours ago. The breathtaking goodness of that face was reverberating through his mind, and he felt a strange sense of calmness that he hadn't experienced since Lucifer.
"Look, even if this was true, how the hell could this even happen? I thought God had disappeared! If he's gone, how could he have bonded Sam and Gabriel?" Dean protested, trying to wrap his head around everything that was being said.
"Dad has a way of surprising people," Gabriel murmured, "you never know what he can and can't do."
"Don't you boys see what's happening?" Rowena interrupted, looking to Dean and Sam, "This is your answer! This is how we can stop Lucifer and maybe even Michael. With Sam and Gabriel's power, we'll have more grace than we'll know what to do with!" She exclaimed. "You can get Jack and your mum back, and your little friends can save their topsy-turvy world."
Gabriel folded his arms, suddenly feeling light headed. He'd barely been able to tear his gaze away from Sam since he killed Asmodeus- his grace was restless, and a certain aura of energy seemed to flow through him, the likes of which he hadn't felt since his father made creation and blessed him as the messenger.
"Slow your roll there, red," Gabriel managed to interject, "we're not even sure that this even happened. It could be anything that saved Sammy's eyes from burning at the sight of my gorgeous bod." Dean shot a glare at the archangel. "And besides," Gabriel continued, "even if, somehow, it was a grace bond, that's a life sentence." He looked to Sam, unable to read his gaze, "And when I say life, I mean eternal. No deals, no demons, no 'magical will power' from my innocent nephew, not even my brothers could bring us back. It's the final ride, and if one of us happens to get shivved, it's game over for both of us."
A heavy silence enveloped the room, and nobody spoke for a while until Dean finally spoke up. "C'mon, guys, tell me no one is even considering considering this! Am I the only one seeing straight here?" He yelled, looking to his younger brother for backup.
Sam wanted to say something, something to comfort his older brother who'd been so cold and on edge as of late. Sam couldn't blame him- he had the world on his shoulders. They were, to say the least, trying times for everyone. But almost as if on instinct, he couldn't stop staring at Gabriel, who'd been watching him intently as well. It was… weird. Right. Like they'd known each other for a long, long time. Sam felt like he should be afraid, like he should be angry and frantic like Dean. He had every right to be. But he found himself feeling nothing but a strange drumming sensation in his chest, not quite comfortable but not unpleasant, either. He didn't even notice when they started panicking at his unresponsiveness. Gabriel and him had locked eyes, and the drumming sensation was only getting louder.
"Sam! Sammy, snap out of it!" Dean shouted, shaking his brother's shoulders roughly. He looked desperately to Castiel, who was also looking on in fear. "What's wrong with him? Why isn't he talking?" He demanded, and Cas only shook his head in confusion.
Sam could just barely hear the voices of everyone around them, Dean shouting and Rowena's muffled gasps. The words all faded away like ashes in the wind, however, when the drumming sensation stopped. The world was silent for a fraction of second, before blinding gold light filled Sam's vision, and suddenly, six pairs of wings sprouted from Gabriel's back, and Sam looked on in wonder.
They were like every color in the visible universe, only more. They were strong, feathered wings that stretched the enormity of the bunker, curling against themselves when they ran out of space in the room to fit. Sam's mouth hung open, unable to form any words, and it appeared that Gabriel felt the same way.
"You can see them, can't you?" The archangel stated more than asked, watching Sam closely.
Sam was only able to nod slightly, completely unaware that they were no longer in the bunker. The world seemed to have faded away, and they were suspended in a colorless void of nothingness. The words left Sam's mouth without his permission, and his voice felt foreign when he spoke them. "Blessed art thou amongst heaven, Gavri'el, to you I give my soul." He didn't even notice that somehow, he'd spoken in perfect Enochian. Intellectually, he knew he should be afraid. He should be freakin' terrified. But he'd never felt calmer.
"I am yours and you are mine." Gabriel said, voice devoid of its usual mirth. He stared at Sam, his hazel eyes filled with a sense of… contentment? Peace? It was such a multi faceted emotion that Sam couldn't describe it in the english language. It just… was.
A sudden gust of wind blew through wherever they were, ruffling Sam's hair while feeling cool and soft against his skin. The void blew away in the wind like dandelion seeds, and when he opened his eyes, Sam was back at the bunker, sitting in the same chair he'd been in before. Dean and Cas were crowded around him, Rowena fretting over Gabriel.
"Sam, look at me!" Dean barked, grasping firmly by the shoulders and shaking him slightly. Sam blinked and inhaled sharply, looking up at Dean and Castiel. The younger angel had a strange look in his eye, like he'd just seen something wasn't supposed to. Sam went to reassure them, went to tell Cas that everything was ok, but instead what came out of his mouth was, "Khastiy'el."
Cas's eyes widened, and his hands just barely trembled as he took a step back from Sam.
Dean, still confused, looked to his brother in concern. "What? Sammy, look at me, are you ok?" He demanded.
Sam gulped and nodded, looking to his older brother. "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine."
Sighing in relief, Dean still held fast to his brother's shoulders, grounding him to the world. "What the hell happened?" He asked, searching Sam's eyes for an answer.
Sam looked briefly at Gabriel before turning back to Dean. "I am his. And he is mine." He answered.
A sudden wave of grace blew through the universe, and every angel in existence stopped what they were doing and marveled at the announcement.