A/N: I'm sorry guys; I just couldn't help myself! I'm a shipper, and that's just something I couldn't escape with this story. If you feel like I'm wandering away from their personalities from the show, let me know! I can always use constructive criticism!
"That is an invalid excuse." Dean said. "I promise not to care."
I shot him a look and sighed. "Fine! My two OTPs go hand in hand! The first one is Destiel and the second one is-is-Sabriel! Are you happy now?!"
I collapsed in my chair, pouting, as the grin and excitement was wiped off Sam's face; he was clearly trying to figure it out.
It was Cas who spoke first, turning to me. "Am I safe in assuming this 'Sabriel', as you call it, follows the same rules as 'Destiel'?" I flushed and nodded, looking resolutely at the computer screen, until I felt a hand laid softly on my shoulder. Cas smiled down at me.
"I think that is a brilliant idea. They would have gotten along fine, if what my brother said to me just before he died is anything to go by."
I stared at the angel, almost overwhelmed by how easily he had accepted that.
"Wait, Cas, what do you mean, your brother?" Sam said, genuinely confused. "Conventional ship naming." He said, muttering to himself, trying to figure out what name he had been placed in front of.
"Oh my god!" He cried, turning to me, his eyes wide with discovery. "Gabriel?"
I scowled. "Yeah, why not?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, sure he's dead, but... You're right. Beyond that, why not?"
"How about how many times he killed me; how much he messed with us in TV Land?" Dean growled, glowering at all of us.
"Dean, he's like the little boy on the playground. He doesn't know how to be serious, so he throws rocks and pulls pigtails." I sighed, looking to him.
"Dean, you need to hear what Gabriel said to me right before he died." Cas said, putting his hand on his hunter's shoulder. "He said that he wished he could have been as brave as I was, stood up to the others like I had, or at least done so sooner. He apologized for not saving me from reeducation for the past two thousand years that he has been absent from my life. He told me he admired my bravery, and that if he could, he would have joined the fight alongside us. He also told me-" Cas faltered, blushing a little, eyes filled with unshed tears. I reached to comfort him, but Dean beat me to it, pulling Cas close and smirking at me when I nearly hyperventilated again.
Cas fisted his hands in the back of Dean's shirt, burying his face in his shoulder until, with a shaky breath, he pulled himself out and stared into Dean's eyes before turning to Sam. "He told me that if he could have done things differently, he would have acted on his feelings toward Sam as I had toward you, helping instead of hurting; caring, and maybe even staring, instead of mocking you all like he had."
My eyes grew wide and I almost fainted. Not only were Cas and Dean cuddling, but Gabriel actually had feelings for Sam! Like honest to God feelings! My other OTP! There was hope! I turned to grin at Sam and saw his eyes wide and filling with water. In that moment, I made a split second decision and restored what Lucifer had ruined with a single thrust of an angel blade.
I picked up my pencil, turned to my paper and wrote.
Gabriel is back. He is alive. He is in the compound. He and Sam have a chance at happiness.
I heard voices around me, but I continued.
Balthazar is alive, he is willing to try to get along with the boys. And me. He and Gabriel are willing to work with Cas to help restore order in heaven and give the angels more freedom and the ability to choose their fate.
I put my pencil down to find Cas staring at me.
"What have you done, Kara?" He asked, suddenly pensive. "I can feel my brother Balthazar, but not as he once was."
I flushed and looked down. "I hadn't meant to alter his personality, I just wanted him back. I'm sorry." I looked up to make eye contact with him, suddenly feeling defensive. "With two simple, short paragraphs, I just righted two of the greatest mistakes any of you angels have ever made. You're welcome, Castiel." I said.
"Kara, right?" I heard Gabe's voice and looked up, grinning.
"Hi, Gabriel! How you doing?"
"Um, I'm alright. Listen, would you care to explain something to me?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Why is Balthazar positively howling at me and Cas to tell him where we are? And why does he keep bringing up your name when I ask why?"
I flushed. "I may have... unintentionally changed his personality. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying."
He snorted. "Believe me, it's not his personality that's changed. Same sassy ass hole attitude as ever; just as selfish, too. It's just... You seem to have become the Dean to his Cas... The-dare I say this out loud- the Sam to his Gabriel, if you know what I mean."
My face was burning. My ears were burning. My heart was burning, slow roasting on a spit that I stoked continually as I berated myself for writing what I did. I was about to pick up my pencil to erase what I had just written when a hand alighted itself on mine. I looked up pensively to find Balthazar's leering grin gazing back at me.
"Hello, Kara darling. Nice to see you finally made it over."
"I-I what?" I stood up, afraid to be seated in the presence of so much Grace, even if I did like all three angels attached, for one reason or another.
"What, did you think that was a one way street? I grant you, I had to die before I could go over to you-" Here, Balthazar shot a look to Castiel- "But I did make it, and once I got you here, I had sincerely hoped it wouldn't be too long before you brought me back. One question though; why were you so willing to lie to Sam about who you ship me with?"
I flushed. "Would you have wanted to tell Sam the truth, had you been me?"
He smirked. "Why not? After all, you do have a thing for accents, don't you?" I flushed deeper.
"Shut up." I whispered, looking away from him. As it turns out, that was a very bad idea. I squeaked as two fingers connected with my butt.
"Make me." He said with a saucy wink before we were interrupted by a groan.
"Get a room, you two!" Dean said, shaking his head.
"Business first, Winchester, but that sounds like a plan to me." Balthazar said, winking at me again and grinning when I went weak in the knees. I reached to cling to his arm, but he dodged my questing fingers and wrapped his arm around my waist, supporting me that way instead. Castiel picked up my papers, which were still being written on, and said,
"We must keep these safe. But where?"
"What happens if they get harmed?" I wondered aloud.
"Everything that you have written ceases to exist. You and I go home and I haunt you as a ghost for the rest of your life. You don't find out how in love I am until heaven. Sam goes back to avoiding Dean, and Castiel, my dear little brother, goes back to whatever he was doing before you showed up. Gabriel goes back to being dead." Balthazar drawled, looking at me with a crooked eyebrow that he must have been practicing for centuries. I crooked mine right back before turning back to the others.
"Well, what can we do?"
Gabriel hummed before grinning and snapping his fingers. Sam's shirt disappeared.
"Dude!" Sam yelled, glaring at Gabriel as I tried unsuccessfully to hide my sniggering.
Gabriel flushed. "Sorry, sorry. My mind wandered." He snapped again and this time my story glowed a little.
"There. It's on the internet now; one of those message boards that the Supernatural fans are so fond of. There's no destroying the story now; even if the papers get lost."
I grinned at him, then turned to Balthazar. "Is that actually a feasible solution?"
He shrugged. "More or less. Of course, at this point, someone just needs to kill you to sever the connection between the universes. Then the story would stop writing itself and fade."
I frowned. "That doesn't sound very good. I'm not exactly a warrior."
He grinned leeringly at me. "Not yet, you're not." He said.
"Balthazar," Castiel's voice held a warning. "What have I told you about permission."
"Oh, come now, she's already an angel, I'd just be making it literal!" He said, pouting. I flushed and studied my shoes. This was getting embarrassingly sweet.
"Okay, is business over? Because I want to explore this whole 'Destiel' idea that everyone seems so fond of, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say Balthazar's ready for some Kalthazar action right here in my goddamn dining room!" Dean declared, snaking his arm around Castiel's waist with a grin.
Gabriel took a giant breath in through his nose and grinned. "What is that delicious smell?" He asked.
My eyes flashed open. "Shit! My pie!" I yelled, running for the kitchen. Balthazar laughed and followed me, helping me pull it out and healing my hand with a gentle kiss when I accidentally caught the casserole dish with bare skin in my haste.
When we got back into the dining room, Gabe's eyes widened to saucers. "Is that... Shepherd's Pie?" He asked incredulously. "With beef?"
I smiled shyly and nodded, dodging eye contact as I placed the hot pads on the table so Balthazar, who had insisted on carrying it in after I burned myself, could place it on the table in the center. He raised the spatula we had brought out for serving before saying "To Team Free Will!" and grinning at me proudly, as if I had just made a meal fit for the king of Sheba.
Gabe grinned at me. "Actually, Kara, technically you did. When there was beef instead of mutton in the pie, it was renamed 'King's pie' because cattle were raised for labor more than meat, and so beef was rarer, and often times only royalty ate it on any regular sort of basis."
Balthazar snarled. "There is such a thing as privacy, Gabriel, I suggest you learn the word."
I flushed even darker.
"Oh please!" Gabriel scoffed. "You can't pretend you didn't hear that! She practically prayed it!"
Balthazar rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can pretend I didn't hear that, just like I've been pretending not to hear every fool thing Sam wants to do to you once he gets you alone; and he's practically screaming those."
Gabe grinned before leering at a blushing Sam, who had thankfully been given a replacement shirt by one of the others; in a guess, probably Cas. "I know, I can hardly sit straight."
"TMI!" Dean and I yelled in tandem.
"I believe, Balthazar," Castiel said with a sigh, "If you had paid a bit more attention, you'd have heard your mate's prayer to actually eat in peace." He placed his hand on my shoulder comfortingly and smiled gently at me. "Now, why don't we all sit down and try the food; since I'm sure no one wants to actively insult the woman holding the pencil to this entire universe." I flushed and went to sit beside Balthazar, who hooked an arm around me and pulled me into his lap.
"My apologies." He murmured, nuzzling my neck and drawing another embarrassed flush to my cheeks, "I'm sure it will taste better than all of the splendors of Babylonian cuisine."
At the confusion in my face, Gabriel, who had plopped on Sam's lap, much as Balthazar had pulled me to his, grinned. "He's only saying that because that's where it originated."
Smiling softly, I took advantage of the height increase being on Balthazar's lap wrought me to serve food to everyone at the table. Soon, the room was filled with moans and appreciative groans as the hunters and Gabriel inhaled their food. Castiel took his time, savoring every bite and I grinned broadly as his eyes rolled back in his head every time he put another bite on his tongue. Then I felt Balthazar's hand on my waist and looked to him. He grinned and winked at me, before taking his next forkful and putting it on my tongue.
"Are you sure about that garlic idea?" He whispered in my ear. "Because I think it tastes perfect the way it is."
I nodded dumbly, not all that surprised he had read my mind, but pacified anyway as I watched everyone enjoy my king's pie and didn't hear a single complaint. Still, my insecurities got away from me and suddenly Gabriel laughed out loud. "Please tell me you're joking, Kara! That's almost as ridiculous as thinking you could accidentally change Balthazar's personality!" I flushed and looked away, then felt Balthazar's hand tighten on my hip.
"Gabriel! Table manners, brother!"
"Oh, come on! Thinking she could intimidate an honest reaction like this out of five hungry men; all of whom are much stronger and more powerful than her? Even you have to admit, that's farfetched, even for a scribe!"
I flushed and looked down at my plate as I felt Balthazar's hand tighten around mine. Dean wrenched his gaze from his pie to stare at me. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked up into an ear splitting grin.
"He's right, Kara." Dean said. "Pie is my favorite food group, and while I don't usually branch out of fruit territory, this has got to be the best damn pie I have ever tasted."
My ears were heating up again as I murmured my thanks and looked away from Dean. I felt a hand on my cheek, turning my face back the way it was before. Balthazar grinned at me.
"I love it when you blush so hard your ears turn red."
Before I could respond, I felt something at my mouth. When I parted my lips, a fork slipped past. "Now, eat, I know you when you get writing, and you haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning."
I shrugged. "It was a big breakfast. If you've really been watching me, you'd know that."
He rolled his eyes. "Please, you made eggs instead of frogs in a hole, you only made four pieces of bacon, and you only had half an avocado. That's like half your usual fare!"
I glared at him. "The only thing I was missing was some toast and it would have been exactly my usual fare, Balthy."
He grinned warmly at the pet name. "Yes, but then you got busy writing and getting transported to an alternate reality and didn't bother to eat lunch."
I rolled my eyes at him, but accepted the next forkful that was pressed to my lips without comment.
Balthazar smiled warmly and ran his hand gently over my hip, then pressed his lips to the crook of my neck. I sighed and shifted in his lap. He cleared his throat pointedly and I turned to grin at him. He glared at me playfully and I laughed lightly.
"So, Kara..." Gabriel started, distracting my attention from the angel whose lap I had filled.
I turned to the angel, smiling. "So, Gabe..." I mimicked him, grinning as he rolled his eyes.
"...Has my dear brother Balthy told you about the idea of making you an angel; fully fledged, with wings and all?"
My eyes widened to the size of saucers. "W-Wings?" I asked, confused and wondering. How could I sprout wings?
Balthazar sighed. "It is your choice. Castiel has been quite adamant about that. Basically, there is a spell, if an angel has mated with a human, that can be cast to turn said human into an angel, with grace and wings and everything." He smiled softly at me. "Like I said before," he whispered softly, "it's your choice, but it would greatly increase your resilience to damage and your stamina. It would also give you wings." He said, leering for some reason I couldn't quite place, until he leaned in and whispered in my ear. "And believe me, I know how to make wings feel good." I flushed again, at a loss as to what I could possibly say.
"It is your choice, Kara, but if you agree, we will all be happy to help any way we can." Castiel said gently, his gaze warm and sincere on mine.
I smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Cas. Thank you for being so patient and listening so well to me."
"Hey," Dean said, "You don't need to worry, Kara. If you don't want to go through with this, you don't have to; we will all be there to help you anyway we can." Everyone around the table nodded their agreement and I smiled, overwhelmed by the support being shown by men whom I knew, but who hardly knew me at all.
Balthazar pulled me deeper into his embrace, smiling against my skin as I felt my eyes start to get tickled. "Hey," He whispered softly, a hand on my cheek, turning my face to his. "If you truly knew them, you should have seen this coming. The Winchesters are honorable men, as is Cassie, and Gabriel and I would be fools not to want to show our gratitude to the remarkable woman who brought us back to life and gave us a chance to experience that which we missed out on the first time around. I'm so glad I found you while the boys were in your universe."
I blinked. "You what?"
He grinned. "I was tasked with watching them, but they spent enough time sleeping and acting and being all around fools that I didn't have to watch them too closely until they picked a fight with Virgil. Before that, I was pretty free to explore. I stumbled across you writing. I must say; I thoroughly enjoyed that story you wrote about the girl who lived in the magical forest. The one with the transdimensional trees?"
I smiled shyly. "It wasn't that great." I whispered, secretly pleased he had enjoyed it. He just chuckled and pressed another kiss to my neck, before picking up his fork and resuming feeding me. The others had all continued eating, getting more when they were finished and ignoring Balthazar and I until everyone had had their fill and we were all out. The piece that Balthazar had been coaxing into me was only half done, and the others all stood to help clean up, leaving Balthazar and I alone in the dining room. I turned to him.
"So, how were you watching me after that?"
"You recall the episode you watched where Cassie killed me, yes?" I nodded, and Balthazar sighed before continuing. "Well, I was given a choice. Cease to exist, or return to your universe as an angel there."
I nodded. "So you came to my universe?"
"Yes, but if I'd actually showed myself to you in the way I wanted to, I would have been cast down into the lake. See, in your universe, God actually has his angels under control. He actually keeps an eye on what's going on. So, I bided my time; I found a spell that I could do without attracting too much attention that would pull you into this universe; assuming I'd only get one shot at doing something like that without God's permission. I knew you wouldn't mind; what with how often you day dream of being in this universe for whatever bizarre reason. I also started to sense your desire for me, which drove me crazy, since I couldn't act on it. God knew of this desire I had and your reciprocation and so he approved my use of the spell to bring you here, removing my requirement for stealth. He knew you would enjoy yourself more here; where I was allowed to woo you, than there; where you would have to marry some crummy human and I would have to watch you with him and probably end up falling eventually, but into anger toward a human." He smiled and pressed another, sloppier kiss on the back of my neck. My breath hitched. Had he really done all that for me? I felt his grin on my neck. "I would do all that and more." He said, gently biting my collarbone.
"So, the wing sounds...?" I asked, looking at him. He smiled and pressed another forkful into my mouth.
"Spells in your universe are based more off ritual than off ingredients. This one was purely ritualistic. I had to fly around you ten times, say a prayer in enochian, and fly around you another three times."
I nodded in understanding. Suddenly the whole event made a lot more sense than it had before. "So when I got here..."
He smiled. "I had but to wait for you to write me into existence. This is, after all, your universe, a gift to you from your heavenly father. I knew from the feelings I had gleaned off you that it wouldn't take long for you to write me back. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be part of Crowlthazar, especially knowing you were here and just out of reach, but I had eventually decided that I would be willing to risk it if it meant being able to be near you for the rest of eternity."
"But what did you do while you waited?"
"Nothing. I was in a sort of in-between state; not quite limbo, but not in either universe either. I was sort of frozen in space. I know what happened, but I didn't have to watch it or wait for it to happen. Don't worry, though," he said, catching some of my stray thoughts, "I don't remember it. I wasn't bored in anyway. It was like falling asleep after I cast the spell and waking up in that stupid warehouse where Cassie killed me and having to harass my two dear brothers for the location of this hidden fortress. After all, I added the enochian carvings to your ribs while we were still in transit to this universe, before I let go of you to appear in this."
I smiled at him, dodging his next forkful and pressing my lips to his enthusiastically, glad to finally have the full story of what happened. He tensed under me in surprise before putting his fork down and wrapping both arms firmly around my waist, opening himself up more fully to taste the pie on my tongue. He tasted wonderful, like strawberries and fresh rain water and a hint of the smell of freshly mown grass.
When we pulled away, I grinned; breathless from trying to absorb him into myself. He smiled and chuckled softly before pushing me off his lap gently and standing, grabbing the plate with the half finished pie and walking to the kitchen. I followed him, watching as he ate the pie. An enraptured look, much like the one that had fallen over the other four, appeared in his eyes as he moaned gently. He quickly polished off the last of the piece and grinned at me.
"That really is the most heavenly king's pie I have ever tasted; and I have dined with Nebuchadnezzar and Cleopatra on separate occasions."
I blushed brightly again as he chuckled and washed our dishes. He placed them in the drying rack with the other dishes and took my hand, leading me into the library, where everyone else was waiting. When I got there, Gabe and Cas both advanced on me while the Winchesters watched from their places.
Gabe grinned at me and, when Balthazar backed up a few inches, wrapped me up in a hug. "Well, little sister, welcome to the family. You aren't one of us yet, but you're over halfway there, so I say, welcome early!" I smiled a little and thanked him before Balthazar shooed him off and put his hand back on my waist, rubbing circles into my hip with his thumb.
When Cas got to me, he smiled warmly and put his hand on my shoulder. "We bid you very welcome to the family, Kara. I only apologize that everyone is so torn and divided that we can't give you proper welcome."
I smiled at him. "Well, that's one thing I brought Gabe and Balthy back for; to help you with that." The aforementioned angels shot me looks, but I ignored them and returned the beaming smile that Cas had leveled on me gratefully.
Dean cleared his throat then. "So does this mean she's with us? How does this ritual work? How long does it take?"
Balthazar turned to him. "It is a spell from ancient times. After the Nephilim, some of our brethren decided they would rather have to train new angels than have more Nephilim born, so they created a spell that would turn a human into an angel, so that if we fell in love with a human, we could be with them without causing more trouble than was worth. You two could become angels if you wanted, I suppose, but since you would need a surrogate in order to have a child anyway, there is far less danger of you accidentally creating Nephilim than there is of Kara and I doing so."
I flushed at the mention of children, but after all, we were angelic mates or whatever, so did I really mind all that much that we were discussing children mere hours after deciding to do this? No, I most certainly did not; especially knowing the background of what happened from Balthazar's point of view. "In the meantime, if there's room, I'd prefer the bunker to anywhere else I could go." I said. The boys both nodded and I smiled.
"I thought that was the plan already," Sam said, "You stay here and keep us fat and happy and eating food that is actually delicious for once." Dean turned an affronted gaze on him and I flushed again. After being cooked for by my mother (who is an intimidatingly good cook) for so long, it would still take some getting used to before I was able to accept a compliment about my cooking without getting embarrassed.
Balthazar laughed. "And where are you boys going to get the meals when she no longer needs to eat, or needs a place to rest her head?"
Dean's face fell and Sam started pouting a little before I laughed. "Hey, just because I don't need to eat doesn't mean I can't still cook! Especially for these two flatterers!" The boys brightened up and Balthazar pouted at me. "You can always help me." I grinned at him and he groaned.
"Not if I'm busy helping little brother maintain peace, I can't!"
I rolled my eyes. "Balthy, I wasn't planning on being with you through that. The last thing you need is more distraction." At his pout, I said, "come on, let's be fair. It's not like Sam or Dean will be there either. You three can all suffer together." At that comment, Sam snorted, Dean rolled his eyes and I earned what can only be termed as bitch faces from the three angels.
"So," I said, clapping my hands. "Let's get down to business!"
"To defeat the Huns?" Balthazar asked, grinning and I snorted with laughter.
"Leave me alone!" I said, shoving him playfully. "I can't help the references that pop in my head!"
He grinned leeringly at me as I turned back to the others. "How do we do this ritual?" I asked. "Where do we start?"
Cas looked to Balthazar. "You must be mated first; in every sense of the word. That is the first step."
Gabe rolled his eyes and continued. "Then, we've got a list of ingredients a mile long to find. We can do that while you and my dear brother roll in the hay."
I flushed. "We-we mate first?"
Balthazar turned me to face him, staring into my eyes. "Did you expect anything different?"
"I don't- I've never-" He grinned at me, shining eyes swallowing me whole.
"I know. Add that to the long list of things I love about you." I flushed bright red again and looked away.
"Do... Do we have to do it here?" Gabe snorted and Sam and Dean flushed.
"No. In fact I think our dear hunters would prefer you didn't."
I looked to Balthazar, who regarded me for a moment before grinning. "I know just the place." He said, smiling at me as he took my hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, we were in a large forest. "Recognize it?" He asked me, grinning.
I stared at the trees before shaking my head. I had never seen this place in my life before. Grinning, he took me to a tree and placed his hands on the tree, murmuring something in a soft, musical voice just loud enough for me to hear. It took me a moment to process what he had said, but when I did, I gasped.
Over earth and under sky,
There is no other place for I.
It was the rhyme I had come up with for my character to use as a password to get into her home in the story that I had been writing when he first found me, the one with the transdimensional trees.
Balthazar grinned at me and took my hand, leading me into the doorway that opened in the tree, pulling me up the long stairway toward the central passage for the forest.
