Disclaimer: He – She – It owns. They own. I own nothing. Sad but true.
Warning: part of this contains psychological and physical abuse. Don't read if it may trigger you. Please, be safe.
When Gabriel busted in the room, Castiel was still sleeping, curled up on his right side with only his pale face and hands sticking out of the covers. His now bony fingers were grasping at the comforter laid on his body like a fledging would anchor himself to the safety of his nest.
The archangel closed the door as softly as he could and went sitting beside his little brother, softly caressing the thin lay of sweat away from his forehead. Castiel moaned softly. As his brother had presumed he was dreaming and, judging by the shivers that were running through his body and his iron-like grip on the blankets, something unpleasant.
Gabriel took a deep breath and immerged cautiously in the other angel's dream. Careful to not startle him or ruin the imagine of the dream. If he wanted to save him, he had to know.
Slowly the imagine started forming in front of him.
Castiel was restrained and blindfolded, his wings had been clipped and his limbs were chained, trapping him into a kneeling position on the bare floor. Despite his long absence, Gabriel recognized the room as a torture chamber in Heaven's dungeons. The only thought of his little brother trapped there sent shivers down his spine., which didn't happen so often.
However, that hell of a nightmare wasn't going to let him worry at peace and a sudden movement recalled his attention toward Cassie's restrained body.
Someone had removed the band from his eyes and those azure irises, wide with fear, were fixed on his captor (Gabriel could only see his shoulders but could not move for the risk to startle the sleeping angel).
Then the ignominious bastard spoke, but the archangel could not recognize him.
"Now, Castiel. Did you reflect over your loyalty state?" "Why am I here?" "Why?! My, oh my! You little, ignorant fledging!" the figure snapped his fingers and some bones in Castiel's left wing cracked, exciting a cry of pain from the creature, whose body was shaken by shivers and spasms. "Why are you doing this? Brother!" "How dare you call me like that!" another snap, another couple of bones cracking, this time in the right wing. This time the prisoner couldn't hold back a scream of pain. Tears came streaming down his face as he lifted his eyes again to his captor: "Why?"
*snap* another bone broken *snap* a wing completely twitched *snap* *snap* *snap*
The bastard kept on mutilating Castiel's wings, deaf to his cries, his questions, his prayers to his Father. He kept on torturing him until he fell on the floor, his once magnificent wings now reduced to a crumpled, shaking mass.
Monster kneeled beside the poor creature's head and lifted it by grabbing his hair: Castiel was deadly pale and, while his screams had stopped, tears were still running through his cheeks in small rivers, his pupils were wide with pain and fear. He was completely defeated, at his captor mercy.
"Now, my little stupid fledging, what have we learned?" "Never question…anything…ever" "And?" "Obey…my…orders…always"
Gabriel was disgusted, nauseated. Only a demon would use torture to submit someone, angels sick like that one were one of the main reasons for his flee. He could not reprimand a shiver, but still it wasn't over.
"Good, Castiel. Good. But you understand that I have to be absolutely sure of your obedience, so…Naomi! Come here, my dear!"
A female angel entered the room, holding a sort of metal crown with nails inserted, and placed it on Castiel's head.
This time the screams were too much and Gabriel returned to waking world.
When he reopened his eyes, Castiel was still asleep, shaking like a leaf and damping his pillow with tears. Gabriel caressed his head softly and awakened him. Has he had imagined, the younger angel started to panic and his breath became ragged. "Gh-Gab..briel.."
The archangel nodded, taking a deep sigh: "Yes. I'm here, little one. Don't be afraid, I've got you."
"You saw?"
Another sigh: "Yes, I did. Why didn't you tell me?"
Castiel started shaking again and buried his face in the pillow: "I thought that I had already gotten over it. The memories didn't bother me then, but with the Fall…it is becoming more and more painful…"
"You can talk to me, if you want, little one. I'm not going away."
"I don't know what to say…I was just so…so afraid…I could barely understand what was happening…I only remember the pain and the fear. It's just…just…oh, Father!"
He started crying again and Gabriel decided to lift him against his chest, enfolding him into an embrace while his wings crossed around them, providing an invisible yet unbreakable shelter. Once again, Castiel buried his head against the archangel's breast and gripped his clothes tightly, while his brother kept on caressing his head and neck, shooting him.
"Shh, Shh. Don't be afraid. You're safe now. You're safe:
Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.
Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around.
Demons are crawling everywhere, nowadays,
I'll send 'em howling,
I don't care,
I got ways.
No one's gonna hurt you,
No one's gonna dare.
Others can desert you,
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there.
Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while, But in time...
Nothing's gonna harm you
Not while I'm around..."
When he finished, Castiel was completely abandoned against his torso, breathing heavily and sniffing every now and then. Gabriel set his hand over his neck and murmured softly in his ear:
"Who did that to you?"
The angel's thin body stiffed and he started shaking again:" C-can't tell. "
"It was Zachariah. Wasn't it?"
His only answer was a shaking nod, and he tightened his grip around his little brother frame.
"Hellz! I knew it."
The archangel sighed heavily and laid carefully his brother on the pillows, gently tugging the covers around his shoulders. Then he gave him a last caress on the head and rose to his feet. He had to make this right.
But, before he could even try to step forward, Gabriel felt a hand grasping his arm. There was no need to turn around: he could feel his brother's desperate glance piercing through his back to stab his heart. The archangel inhaled deeply and closed his eyes shut but, despite his efforts, his voice was broken when he said: "I must get things right. Let me go, Castiel."
"No! No, please. Do not abandon me, brother! Please!"
Dear Father! He was begging!
"Dad, give me strength!" Gabriel whispered to himself, then added, louder: "Now I must go, brother. But I'll be back. Trust me."
And he broke free, trying to ignore his brother's cries as he walked away from his bedside.
"NO!"
And again.
"BROTHER!"
As he closed the door behind his shoulders, the archangel heard Castiel starting to cry and, on the edge of tears himself, whispered: "Forgive me. I have no other choice."
Then left.
Regained some composure, Gabriel reunited to the hunters in the living room, where he freed Dean's mouth with a snap of his fingers.
Immediately, the three men surrounded him and started asking questions, which the archangel waved away: there was no time for that.
"I'm afraid that my presence is now required in another place. I'm leaving."
"Yeah, sure. There'll be some other innocent man you'll want to trick to death."
"Dude, it's not Tuesday!"
Gabriel shot them a glance that would have reduced a mountain to dust: for once in his life he was deadly serious. "As I said: I have to be somewhere else, now and that's all you need to know. I'll be back in three days. If you don't trust me, trust the bond you share and you'll know that anyone of you would do the same. Please, take care of Cas while I'm away."
And he disappeared from sight.
Just a second later, a loud thud filled the house from upstairs.
Author's notes:
Sooo...how it was? Let me know.+
*Serious moment*
If you, or someone of your loved ones, or a friend has been abused in any way, please, please don't keep it all bottled inside, don't try to cope with this alone. Bad memories can only harm you. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault! It was theirs. Don't blame yourself and, more important, remember that you don't have to face this alone!
Seek for help. Psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and nurses are there to help and no one of them will ever judge you. Opening up to a professional figure is difficult so, at first, confide your burden to someone close to you: a sibling, a friend, a teacher, a parent...someone who you feel you can trust. Ask them to accompany you during the first steps.
I'm not a therapist, but I've been through some rough times myself so I know how difficult it can be. I don't want you to suffer. What I want you to know is: healing can require time and strength but you'll definitely feel better in the end. You'll survive and be stronger. Wherever you are, don't surrender! There's a light at the end of the tunnel.
#AlwaysKeepFightihg
*Serious moment*
That was hard! To cheer you up a bit: my oldest and lovely bunny is turning 8 today! Life in every form (yes, yours too ;-) ) is wonderful!
[To the Guest reviewer that pointed me out the difference between 'loose' and 'lose': what I mean in the description is that Cas still has a bond with Heaven (we can see him connecting with it in 5.16) but it's not so tight as it was before. However, I really appreciated your interest and suggestion. Thank you very much :3]
