This was a request I had gotten. ^-^. So I hope it did it justice...I suppose you can call it hurt!Cas and protective!comfort!Gabriel
I would also like to apologize for taking sooooo long to update on this story. I sincerely apologize and I promise I will keep regularly updating again. =D…I kinda got wrapped up in my other story…my muse was mad at this one for some reason. So I apologize ahead of time if it isn't written as well as the other chapters. Trying to get out of the block.
Thank you again for the reviews/alerts. :D
Plot: Castiel wants to prove he is tough by flying the big track…it goes horribly wrong.
. . .
Chapter 7: On Top of the World:
Castiel huffed out as he walked across the Heavens. He knew where he was heading…it was an edge by the clouds where the toughest angels could go to do flying lessons. Though he was not quite as old as the other angels who did this jump – actually, he was very much younger – he didn't care. He was going to prove to Anael and Afriel that he could do it. He was sick of being called a 'baby bird' by all of the older angels. He was tired of feeling so small. He was a soldier…he was a soldier of God and he was going to do this.
His stomach turned nervously as he began to teeter to one of the edges to the entire Heaven. The area appeared just like the other edges. It went from bright, green grass then formed into large, fluffy white clouds before ending up in the bright blue sky. The scent in this area was stronger than the other parts and he could almost feel the civilization of human inhabitants below. He did not want to Fall. He just wanted to fly around the hardest track in Heaven.
Around the edge were older angels…angels that were at least four hundred years older than him. The three of them turned to Castiel as he stomped over, his wings puffed out proudly and his eyes set to the sky ahead.
One of the angels was a girl with long, ebony hair and bright blue eyes. Her wings were pearly white with blue encrusted in the middle, looking much like sapphires engraved in the feathers; the second angel was a man with green eyes and short, dirty blonde hair. His wings were pearlescent like the girls but had emerald in his wings that matched his eyes. The third angel was standing close to the edge, on one of the clouds. He was tall with slightly long brown hair and eyes that were hazel-green. His wings were stretched out, revealing the colors of light blue and yellow…much like Balthazar's but brighter since he was older.
Castiel felt nervous as he sauntered closer. He had to do this…he was a soldier and he was going to prove that to everyone. The track wasn't even that bad. He could do it, he just knew it.
"What are you doing here, little one?" the female angel with black hair asked softly. She wasn't intending to upset Castiel but that was exactly what she did. Castiel glowered at her "I am not little," he said.
"Are you going to jump?" the male angel with longer hair asked. He smirked at Castiel and spread his wings before taking flight off of the cloud.
Castiel watched in amazement as those large wings flapped slowly and the angel spun in circles and flips through the air. He wanted to do that…It looked so easy and his wings were bigger than the others his age. He was going to do it.
The angel stopped and hovered in the air "Aw the little baby bird is ready to leave the nest!" he crooned like he was talking to a child.
Castiel puffed his feathers out more "I am not a baby!" he took a few steps closer to the cloud. He took a deep breath. He was going to do this. He had nice wings...they all said he was going to be important someday. What was this tiny little flight? He was strong like Gabriel…Gabriel would be able to fly it.
"Hey you really shouldn't do this," the male angel with the short hair said "That track is really tough. I can't even fly it," he was lying through his teeth but he didn't want to see the small angel fall and he knew that he wouldn't be able to catch him and pull him up on his own. He was still fairly new at the track.
"I'm not small anymore. I know I can do it," Castiel said defiantly, staring at the two angels still on land.
"What's your name?" the darker haired female angel asked. She was trying to draw out the situation in hopes to coax him away.
Castiel tilted his head and his wings twitched as he let them spread to their full extent.
"Your Castiel aren't you?" the longer haired male asked as his wings kept him steady in the air.
The two angels on land turned to the one in the sky when they heard the name 'Castiel'. They all knew who he was and what he would do one day but they knew for a fact that at his age, he would not know the details. He was too young to understand but they realized that this could be bad. If he fell, the archangels would get very upset.
"Castiel," the female angel said "Please, let me take you to the other track. It is much more fun and takes more experience than this one," she stood up and began to walk over to the angel with ebony wings.
Castiel backed up away from her, his sapphire eyes narrowing "I am not dumb…I have already done that track. This is the only one I haven't tried yet," he said.
She lifted her eyebrows in surprise. It was honestly hard to believe that an angel his age was able to do a track like that.
Castiel gave a nod to her and turned back to the edge. He grazed his eyes over the track that was several miles long with intricate twists and turns and dips and rises. He took a deep breath and let his wings stretch out to the sides of him as he positioned his feathers for flight.
"No!" the female angel shouted but Castiel ignored her and closed his eyes as he let his wings pump in a swift movement that sent him off of the edge and into the sky. His heart pounded for a moment before he let out his breath and opened his eyes. He beamed when he felt the wind brushing through his hair and feathers as he followed the path of the course. He giggled to himself as he made it through half of the track within seconds, his wings pumping mechanically without much thought.
He laughed some more as he began to do a flip through the air, his wings slapping together in the movement. He turned his eyes and his stomach turned slightly when he could no longer see the land. He darted his eyes ahead again to see a few more miles left of the track. He took a deep breath and pumped his wings harder and faster, gaining more speed and before he could realize it, he was past the marker where he was supposed to turn around and head back.
He stopped in the track and turned to head back. After a few moments, he suddenly felt a burning sensation pulsing through his feathers as his wings began to falter in flight. He felt his body lower drastically and his heart began to race in his chest. He closed his eyes as he tried to flap them some more but he felt another wave of pain before his head started to become light. He blinked rapidly, the clouds surrounding him obstructing all view.
He tried to pump his wings some more but they were burning too much and he realized he was lowering with each second. He let out a small whimper as he tried once more to move forward but that was when his wings fully gave out.
His heart began to race frantically in his chest as he felt the strange sensation of his body falling through the air. He let out a loud, hysterical cry as he tried to catch the air with his hands and wings but it was no use as his hair and wings whipped into his face, leaving large feathers to float through the air above him. He was Falling and there was nothing he could do about it.
. . .
"…so then I…" Gabriel went on as he was telling his story to about Mary to Michael. His stomach dropped and his heart jumped as he heard the shrieking cry of an angel falling…not just any angel but it was Castiel. He immediately leapt up to his feet and let all six of his wings unfurl and without another word, he darted at speed unknown to any of his kind, leaving Michael to stand in the field, alone with a baffled expression.
Gabriel let all six of his wings thrash and pump as fast as they possibly could as he raced forward to where he could feel Castiel's grace…which was slowly beginning to fade away. To the other angels he passed by, he was merely a shift in the wind as he panicked to save his little brother.
. . .
Castiel could feel his wings tearing apart as he barreled down to Earth. He could feel his grace searing inside of him and it was all he could do to clutch his stomach, trying to prepare to fall. He gasped when he suddenly felt a tug on his arm and before he could comprehend what happened, he was enveloped by the sweet and fresh scent of his older brother. He let out a whimper as he immediately clutched at Gabriel's shoulders. He quickly wrapped his arms around the archangel's neck and curled his body into his chest. He could feel Gabriel's arms and four of his six wings curl around him.
Gabriel's heart was pounding like a bat in a cage against his ribs as he clutched Castiel as close as he could. He could feel the small angel shake and sob into his chest and clench onto him as though he was going to disappear. Gabriel let four of his wings hold the smaller angel as he used his two free ones to pull them back onto land above. "It's okay Castiel," he whispered softly, giving him a reassuring squeeze "I have you…you're going to be alright." He felt a range of emotions bubbling through him in mixtures of fear, relief and anger. He didn't even know if he should be mad at his younger brother for trying to fly the course or just be relieved he came in time.
Castiel couldn't calm himself even as he heard Gabriel assure him he was going to be okay. All he could think about was how he almost fell. He almost became one of the hated Fallen just because he wanted to fly the big course. He felt another wave of trembles pulse through him and he let out another sob, feeling his face and Gabriel's shirt become soaked with tears.
He could feel as they landed but he didn't want to let go. He was so afraid…he just wanted to curl up in his brother's protective embrace forever.
Gabriel pulled the small angel into a tighter embrace for a moment as he let the relief dawn on him; he almost lost the sweet, innocent naïve little angel named Castiel. After a moment, he began to feel anger. He gently released the small angel and placed him onto the ground.
Castiel tried to grab at Gabriel again but he soon found his feet on the hard surface. He wobbled for a moment, his bones still feeling like jello from the feeling of falling through the sky. He turned up and his heart skipped a beat to see the anger in Gabriel's eyes.
"What on Earth were you thinking Castiel?" Gabriel asked, curling in four of his wings so only two were showing.
Castiel instinctively tried to curl his wings around him to hide but he found that they throbbed painfully from the loss of feathers.
"Castiel, look at me," Gabriel said when the small angel tried to stare down. He was then met by red and puffy blue eyes, still wet from tears.
"I-I wanted to prove I could fly the course," he said in a small, shaky voice.
"You are far too young for that," Gabriel said "Why did you feel like you had to do that?"
Castiel was about to stare back down but he kept eye contact, hating the look in those amber eyes. He took a deep breath "I was tired of being called small."
"You are young Castiel," Gabriel said in an exasperated tone "You realize if I hadn't caught you, you would have Fallen!"
Castiel shrunk back, staring down in shame "I'm sorry," he said "I just wanted to be strong."
Gabriel sighed and sat down on the grass. He patted the spot beside him and Castiel nervously took it. Gabriel let out another breath as he rubbed a hand down his face. He was just beginning to calm down.
Castiel didn't say a word but just stared at the grass. His heart was still frantic in his chest and it was a lost hope at calming it. He felt another tear slide down his face as they sat in silence for a moment. He turned his eyes to see Gabriel, who had his head bowed, face in hands and wings slumped into a pile on the grass around him. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before turning to Castiel.
Gabriel wanted to be mad and wanted to scream and shout at the young angel but he was just too relieved he came in time. In Heaven, the law was that any angel that falls must be killed if seen again. He didn't want Castiel to ever be on that list.
"That was really stupid, Cas," he said.
Castiel felt his body relax slightly as Gabriel used a nickname on him. He knew that when the archangel would call him by his whole name, that he was angry…using a nickname meant Gabriel was less mad at him.
Castiel nodded "It was stupid," he said "I'm sorry…I promise I'll never try that again until I'm ready."
Gabriel sighed and wrapped an arm around the small angel, pulling him close. He smiled slightly when he felt Castiel cling onto him again, arms wrapped around his stomach and head on the side of his chest. He gently brushed his fingers through the damaged midnight wings that were battered with feathers missing as they splayed over Castiel's body.
Castiel shivered as he felt the slight, almost unnoticeable healing power coming from Gabriel as he brushed his wings. He began to relax into the elder angel.
"If you ever do that again, I will kick your butt," Gabriel said and he grinned when he heard a little giggle come from the little angel "I'm serious, Cassie. I almost lost you today."
Castiel nodded and turned big cerulean eyes to amber "Thank you for saving me."
Gabriel smiled and ruffled a hand through Castiel's dark hair. Castiel swatted at his hand, which made him grin but he eventually pulled his hand away. Instead, they just sat there in the field in silence. Castiel smiled as he felt the glorious golden wings curl around him. He was so happy to have such a great brother like Gabriel.
"No candy for you for a month, though," Gabriel said simply.
Castiel sat up and his eyes widened and his lower lip pushed out. Gabriel had to look away from the puppy dog eyes. He wasn't going to fall for it. He shook his head and turned back, using all of his willpower not to cave "That is your punishment," he said "It's not going to change," he said in a firm voice.
Castiel pouted again but nodded. He let Gabriel pull him back and he just curled up again, trying to shake the fear from his body. He didn't want to fly ever again…or at least not for a long time.
. . .
Hope that was okay…I had a bit of a hard time getting it out because of my muse. But...yeah!
Please leave reviews and let me know what you thought.
Also…did anyone pick up on the faint familiarity in the descriptions of the two male angels earlier in the chapter. O.o
