A.N. Hellooooooooooo out there! Yeah, I'm still alive and writing! Sorry for the delay and spottiness, (and I wish I could use the excuse that a life like the Winchesters' is what is causing all the shtick) but, eh, life, normal boring life has got in the way. Anyways, too much ado about nothing...
This one is dedicated to Feagalad, sister, best friend and fellow fangirl. I don't know what I'd do without you. Love me, see me, never leave me.
PRIMARIES SCHOOL
It was an early Thursday morning in Heaven. Fluffy white clouds floated across the sky like little puffs of cotton wool. Angels flew this way and that, many already up and doing their daily duties.
Among them was a young fledgling on his way to rouse his lazy-ass flying instructor. With dazzling white wings that were as long as he was tall, he cut a small figure, wending his way through the crowd. He eventually made his way to his mentor's room, and being pretty much the only Angel his age with impeccable manners, he knocked on the door before entering. It wouldn't have made a difference if he hadn't bothered, and just burst in shouting and screaming.
There was a lump on a bed in the middle of a room which had its walls completely covered in posters of pretty half-naked girls and different sweet manufacturers. It barely twitched upon the fledgling's quiet entrance. Half covered in a white sheet, - Angels don't feel temperature - huge wings the same colour as his hair were haphazardly flung on either side of the bed, and trailing on the floor. Gabriel was lying on his back, snoring fit to rattle the windows. He was actually rattling the windows…
The fledgling looked at Gabriel, and stalked over to the bed - stepping carefully around the rather crumpled wings.
"Gabriel." Except for one wing twitching and his eyelids fluttering, Gabriel gave no other indication of having heard him.
The fledgling rolled his eyes and walked closer to the bed, and started shaking his older brothers' shoulder. "Gabriel!"
Gabriel, Trickster and downright mischief maker, was having a very nice dream, thank you very much. He couldn't quite remember what it was, just hazily recalled something about blondes, ball pits and bonbons. His dream was rudely interrupted by his fledgling of a brother, Castiel.
Once Castiel saw Gabriel's eyes blinking sleepily open he said, "Gabriel, I do believe today is our flying appointment?" At the tender age of eight, Cas, who had just grown into his wings (they still looked a little big for him) didn't appear to be the least bit excited in the least. Anyone else would have been jumping up and down and whooping. (Angels, though a superior race had to have fun at *some age… unless they were like Gabriel of course.) No, he wasn't excited in the least. Already well versed and very, very serious the fledgling did not make jokes, say a sentence shorter than fifteen words long - with at least one complicated word in there - or show any other emotion than 'poker face'. Gabriel didn't think the kid had ever played a prank, said a joke, or lied in his whole - albeit short - life.
"Cassie!" Gabriel exclaimed when he was awake enough to talk. "What's shaking, bro? Obviously not you…"
"My name is Castiel, Gabriel, and if you felt an unnatural sensation, it was your snores shaking the bed."
"Pity it was just snores…" Gabriel muttered wistfully.
"I beg your pardon?" Castiel, ever the mini-gentleman, enquired politely.
"Nothing, bro, nothing. Lets get this party started, right?"
Castiel looked utterly bewildered. "I thought the party was next Friday, the one which I am not authorised to attend…?"
"No, dude. Is an expression. Made it myself…" Gabriel looked utterly pleased with himself, his chest almost swelling with pride.
Cas huffed and rolled his eyes. "We are having a flying session. God is not amused at your tardiness. So, in the name of all that is holy, Gabriel, put some trousers on!"
"All right, all right, keep your feathers on!"
It was forty-five minutes later (Gabriel wouldn't step out of the door without looking his best. Which basically meant shaking his wings out, talking to his reflection in the mirror for half an hour, then throwing some clothes from off the floor on, finger combing his hair, grabbing a few marshmallows for breakfast, and filling his pockets with sweets. Castiel was NOT happy) when the unlikely duo made their way to the flying arena. Gabriel flew above Castiel, totally no showing off or anything…
They reached the arena, both entering through the wrought-iron gate, depicting chubby little cherubs with tiny wings and holy light around their heads. Gabriel had always thought the gate looked as ugly as all sin, but his opinion fell on deaf ears.
Castiel walked into the middle of the arena, and stood there waiting.
Gabriel stayed up in the air, wings flapping slightly and called down to Castiel. "Are you ready to begin?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Right. Ummmm… stretch your wings out to their full extent. Uh huh. Good. Now… flap them as hard as you can."
The fledgling did as he was instructed, white wings flashing in the sunlight.
"Mm. Good. Now, you need to flap them hard enough to get into the air. You might wanna… I dunno, do a little hop thing to kick start the process and already be airborne."
The fledgling glared at his older brother - whether because of how he pronounced his words, or the way he said them was not clear… - and said, "I am NOT two years old, Gabriel!"
"Ya are to me, baby bro!"
"I'm not your 'baby bro'! A brother who is significantly younger than you, yes, but-" he broke of, a hurt look on his face when he registered what Gabriel rolling his eyes and mouthing 'blah, blah, blah' meant. "Gabrie-!"
"Right, lets try that again." Gabriel said loudly, drowning out Castiel's protest.
"Fine." Cas said, albeit a tad sulkily.
"Y'know, you might also wanna flap your arms in time with your wings, it'll help the air flow."
They had been training for an hour or so now - well, 'they' pretty much meant Cas doing all the work and Gabriel lying on his back in the air, wings flapping lazily, alternating between pointing out the shapes of the clouds and pelting Cas with screwed up sweet wrappers - and the fledgling glared at him again, so stonily the Angel statue in the corner would be proud.
"Will that help my plight?" Cas asked, with what, if Gabriel didn't know better, sounded like a mild tinge of utter desperation to his voice.
"We-e-e-e-ll… no, no, but it'd make a great impression of that feathered fowl the humans eat. Chickaboo? Chickadee? Hmmm…"
"Chicken, Gabriel. Chicken. Didn't you do Human Studies?"
"Yes. And… no. Saint Ann was sitting next to me in all my classes…"
"Gabriel! No! That isn't permitted!" Even though Cas didn't understand the exact implications of what the Archangel had referred to, he still knew it was BAD, and so found it repulsive.
"What? I know a young demon called Megara… taken quite a shine to that picture of you I drag around…"
"Demon! Gabriel! Why are… how are you in contact with demons?! You KNOW God would disapprove!"
"Maybe thats the reason why I do it." It was muttered and fell on deaf ears, Cas was freaking out so badly. "You know that club… why Cassie! You're floating an inch above the ground!"
"I'm not-" Cas looked down and squawked, doing a slow back-flip in mid-air in surprise. It would have been impressive had he not got stuck at 180 degrees around. After struggling for a good five minutes - with Gabriel watching in amusement and wishing there was some way he could document it - Cas shrieked, "GABRIEL?!" Blood had by now rushed uncomfortably to his head.
"Keep your feathers on, Red-Face! The whole of Heaven doesn't need to know you're in trouble! Right, now, flap your left wing up and your right down…" It took them another half an hour to get Cas out of his little ball of white feathers and flailing limbs, and confident enough to jump in the air again.
They spent the rest of the day practising flying manoeuvres - Cas flapped, Gabriel instructed, back in the air and floating, this time on his stomach. The day ended when the harp sounded for dinner. (Gabriel had been asking for speakers to pipe Rock through Heaven at important times of the day, but his request had been pending for years.)
"C'mon, short stuff. Food. Well done today. Just keep practising those loop-the-loops." He flapped down from his air perch and landed behind Cas, ruffling his hair while he spoke.
Cas then did something completely unexpected. He turned and threw his arms around his big brother's waist, burying his face in Gabriel's shirt. A muffled something that sounded like "Ank oo!" floated up to Gabriel's ears.
Feeling awkward for a few seconds, Gabriel didn't quite know what to do. "What the Heaven?!" he thought recklessly, and for the first time ever… he hugged Castiel back.
XxXxXxXxTHE ENDxXxXxXxXx