This is what happened after Raphael found out that Gabriel was alive.

Raphael stood on the rotting porch of a run down house in the middle of no where. He knew that looks could be deceiving and that this house was no doubt just a gateway to a more then likely very well furnished house that was probably hidden on a beach or in a pocket dimension. His baby brother had always enjoyed making pocket dimensions to hide things or even himself in. That was how he ended up losing his blade for week because he had upset the younger angel and Gabriel retaliated by tossing his blade into one. Taking a deep breath he struggled to pluck up the courage to knock. It had taken him almost two months just to make it this far.

He reached up and brought his hand up to knock but slowly lowered it again. He had no proof that Gabriel would be happy to see him. If anything he had proof that his baby brother wanted nothing to do with him, going as far as to fake his own death and run from them. It had been both a joy and a pain to know that his baby brother, whom he had mourned for, was not only still alive but had moved on and made a new life for himself and now had a mate and a small family that he was taking care of. Shaking his head Raphael turned and headed for the steps. He couldn't do this.

"In or out asshole?"

Raphael turned to find Dean Winchester standing in the open doorway. "Excuse me?"

"Your hearing messed up? I asked you to pick. In or out? Or would you rather stand here for another twenty minutes angsting over whether to knock?" The human asked crossing his arms.

"You have a lot guts talking to me like that." The dark skinned angel snapped.

The hunter waved a hand in front of his face. "You don't scare me ninja turtle. Now are you coming in or do I kick your ass to the curb?"

"You and what army?" The archangel asked.

The human stood a bit straighter and his eyes changed to a neon blue and a pair of translucent wings appeared behind him. "Hello Raphael."

"Razael..."

The blue eyes and wings disappeared and the hunter fixed him with a piercing green stare. "Now that you're done having a pissing match with me you going to come in?"

Raphael took a moment to weigh the consequences of his actions. The worst that could happen is the his little brother would make him leave, possibly in no uncertain terms telling him exactly what painful way to do it in. Then again Gabriel could be indifferent to him and might just tell him thanks for helping and don't let the door hit you on the way out. Raphael's heart ached for a third option. The one where Gabriel welcomed him with open arms and told him just how much he missed him. Even he knew that the last option had a very low possibility of happening. Nodding he turned and followed the human into the house.

As the door shut behind them the hunter turned to face him once again. "Now before I let you go anywhere there are two things that you need to be aware of. One: Gabriel is in there right now sitting with our family. Our family being Gabriel and his mate, who is also my brother, Sam. Castiel is in there as well and he is my mate. Balthazar is also here as is Razael. Two: I am going to let you know right now that if you upset Gabriel in anyway then I have more then enough holy oil to deep fry you in. Got that?"

Raphael nodded. He wouldn't say it aloud but he was impressed at the dedication to his baby brother that the human showed. It reminded him of how things used to be between the four of them before Lucifer was cast down and Michael became depressed. Always protecting each other and spending days doing nothing. Dean walked over to a door and slowly opened it and Raphael could hear the laughter and make out that someone was telling a story.

Moving to the doorway he looked in, not prepared for what he saw. Gabriel was sitting on a couch, running his fingers through the brown hair of Sam Winchester, who was laying on the couch resting his head in the angel's lap. Balthazar was sitting at the feet of Castiel, who was sitting across from them on a love seat. The table before them was laden with snacks and soft music was playing in the background. It seemed that his baby brother was telling them stories and making them laugh.

"What happened after that?" Balthazar asked.

"What do you think happened?" Gabriel asked, his eyes sparkling and a smile dancing on his lips. "I got mad and threw his blade into a pocket dimension. When I didn't give it back he told me that he would tell Mikey and that he would make me give it back."

"No one makes you do anything Gabe." Sam said. "Which is why I love you."

"I love you too Sammich." The archangel said looking down at him with a blinding smile.

Raphael swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched. He had just been remembering this very incident. Watching Gabriel talk about it and seeing him so happy made his heart leap into his throat. If Gabriel was happy who was he to take that away from him? He wouldn't interfere with that. It seemed like his baby brother had found the peace that he had been looking for.

"So did Raphael go to Michael?" Castiel asked. "Because I cannot see him getting involved in a petty dispute such as this."

"No. He didn't get the chance. I started casting a spell. Raph thought it was a fireball because of the color and he hit the deck. Luck would have it Luci and Mikey walked in at that exact moment. Luci saw what I was doing and he ducked too and the spell hit Mikey. It gave him the most beautiful set of neon pink wings. Raph was horrified and Mikey seemed more shocked then anything. Luci stood up and took one look at Mikey and said-"

"Pink looks good on you. It really brings out your eyes."

The whole room stopped and turned to the doorway where Raphael was standing with Dean and Razael. The hunter came into the room and left him standing there feeling like an intruder on what was, for all intents and purposes, a family gathering. One that he was crashing by showing up uninvited. He took a few hesitant steps into the room and paused. Gabriel shifted and Sam sat up, letting the archangel up. Dean took a seat next to Castiel and placed a hand on his mate and Balthazar, keeping both angels in place even as they drew their blades.

Gabriel came over and stopped a few feet away from him. There was no malice in those golden eyes but that didn't mean that his brother couldn't change his mind. He kicked himself for even speaking but he had been so caught up in the memory that he had ended up blurting it out before he could stop himself. He gave his baby brother a weak smile but his expression didn't change. He took a moment to clear his throat.

"Hello Gabriel. It's been...a long time. I just...Razael told me you were alive and I..." He paused, suddenly unsure of what to say.

The younger archangel was still staring at him hard with no change in his blank expression. Raphael felt his heart clench. It seemed that Gabriel was indifferent to him. Closing his brown eyes he decided that he would take it over knowing that his brother hated him.

"I'm sorry for interrupting. I'll just-"

"Why did you come here Raphael?" Gabriel asked softly.

"Because I was told you were alive." Raphael admitted. "Michael and I mourned for you. I don't think we ever stopped. It hurt so bad knowing that you chose death over everything that happened. I don't think Michael ever really got over it, first having to cast down Lucifer, then having to help you seal away Razael, and then finally finding you dead...It killed a small part of us knowing that you chose to die over living with what happened."

He took a deep breath to steady himself before he got too upset. "When Razael came and asked for help to save you, I cried. You have no idea how happy it made me to know that you were alive. I just had to come and see it for myself. Even if you hate me I just had to see you one last time, I just had to make sure that I wasn't dreaming this time. I had to see you were alive with my own eyes."

Gabriel's expression softened. "So you've seen me. You know I'm alive and that you aren't dreaming. Now what will you do? Force me to return to heaven with you?"

Raphael shook his head. "I promised myself that I wouldn't interfere in your life. I remember towards the end how you kept begging us not to fight. That all you wanted was for us to be happy again. You wanted peace. It seems like you found it have a mate who loves you, brothers who will protect you, and a son that cares very much for you."

The younger archangel's eyes went wide. "You know?"

"Yeah. I helped Michael keep him away from Lucifer." Raphael said, tears filling his eyes. "I...Gabriel I'm sorry. After we found...your body I couldn't understand why Michael was so distraught. He told me everything. About what Lucifer did to you and how he stole a piece of your Grace, everything. I hated you because I thought you were Michael's favorite. I didn't know he was protecting you from Lucifer's abuse. So I need to say it again. Gabriel I'm sorry...I am so sorry for so many things.

"I guess I am trying to say is that I'm sorry for everything. You were right, you know. We shouldn't have been fighting and we should have tried to find another way to end the conflict. Maybe someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. If you or your family ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know."

Having said his peace Raphael turned and headed back to the door. His very Grace ached and he wanted to do nothing more then turn around and hug his baby brother and wrap him in his wings like he used to. Instead he suppressed that urge and forced himself to walk away and out of Gabriel's life again. It was the least he could do for his brother.

He stopped when the door slammed shut in front of him. A frown graced his features, as he wondered what Gabriel was up to. Possibly revenge but the younger archangel hadn't seemed to be in a smiting mood. It was a bit of a shock when he felt a sudden warmth at his back as Gabriel hugged him from behind, his arms and those six large golden wings wrapping tightly around them. Dear Father he had forgotten just how warm Gabriel was, his title of messenger always giving him a bit more of the warmth from their Father then even Lucifer had, and he had been their Dad's favorite.

"Hey Raph?" Came the whispered words of his baby brother.

"Yeah Gabby?" The dark skinned angel asked with a sad smile, knowing how much Gabriel had hated the nickname he gave him.

"You suck you know that?"

The elder archangel let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah I know."

"I still love you. I forgive you too."

Raphael closed his brown eyes and reached out and placed his hands over Gabriel's. "I had no idea how good it would feel to hear you say those words to me Little Brother. I never thought or even dreamed that I'd ever be able to hear them again. Thank you."

Gabriel laced their fingers together. "You needed to hear them as much as I needed to say them."

The wings suddenly left him and he was being pulled over to the others. He was shoved down on the couch with Sam and Gabriel was almost immediately pressed against him and Sam laid back down, head in the archangel's lap once more and his long legs hanging over the arm. Across from them Dean was smiling and holding Castiel close to his chest while Balthazar sat between his spread legs, the British angel's fingers tangling with the dark haired angel's.

Sam suddenly nudged Gabriel. "So what happened after that? How did Michael react to having pink wings?"

"He ended up chasing Gabriel all over heaven for the next three hours demanding that Gabriel fix what he had done." Raphael said with a chuckle. "Michael never did catch him. Gabriel is the fastest angel in heaven."

"Yup. I also didn't have the heart to tell Mikey that I couldn't undo it. It had to wear off." Gabriel said laughing. "He ended up with pink wings for the next month!"

Laughter broke out from all around and for the first time in over a millenia, Raphael was happy. He had his baby brother back in his life and he had a new family. It may not have been what he had before but he still sent a small prayer to God and thanked his Father for seeing fit to give him this sense of peace once more.