The following day, the archangels knew they had things they needed to do, even as much as they would have liked to continue lying in the nest. It wasn't protected enough, not if the Creator could give Lucifer nightmares while they dozed. They couldn't afford to be on edge all the time, because it would wear them out too much, but they needed to be able to relax in their own "home" and take necessary downtime without fearing for their sanity.

Raphael's molt was still in the very beginning stages, and he needed a few hours of alone time, so he investigated the other hallways and rooms in the abandoned building Michael had built their nest in. Michael was certain he could remember other things there, even as he couldn't remember exactly what it had been used for. (He turned down Aziraphale's helpful suggestion of helping him remember. Some things were better left buried.) It didn't matter what the building had been for, it felt safe in a way different from the rest of Heaven.

While Raphael was searching the building with their nest, Aziraphale dragged Crowley with him to complete two missions. The first was to bring the books from his bookstore back to Heaven because he couldn't imagine leaving them unattended. The second task was to see if the main library had any books that might contain powerful warding spells.

Michael wanted to check on the rest of Heaven and make sure that everything was going well, and Lucifer had insisted on going with him.

And Samandriel wandered off to play. He had decided the archangels were being boring and wanted to go do more interesting things.

Which left Castiel and Gabriel in the nest.

"Still hanging around with the Winchesters?" Gabriel asked, when Castiel turned to leave, considering flying back to them.

Castiel shrugged. "I had believed, mistakenly, that I was no longer welcome in Heaven. And for all their snark, I like them." He studied Gabriel's expression and considered. "I think they, Sam especially, would not be opposed to seeing you again. We were all worried about you at the Elysium Hotel."

"Maybe later." Gabriel turned his head away. "Maybe after we figure out how to keep the Creator out of Heylel's head. But you head on back to Earth if you want. We're not going to keep you here against your will, promise."

"I do want to come back," Castiel replied. "I just… don't want to lose them either."

Gabriel looked at Castiel again, and then he grinned. "Of course. See you later."

Castiel left Heaven and Gabriel went to check on Raphael. He probably should have been figuring out if any of his pagan magic would be helpful with the protection wards but Castiel had hit a nerve, talking about the Winchesters. He really did want to talk to Sam, but after everything he'd done to them, it didn't seem realistic to hope for something to develop between them. He'd made a mistake. The Winchesters were soulmates, that meant there would have been no convincing Sam to let go of Dean. Just like there had been no convincing John Winchester to let go of Mary. The soulmate thing didn't have anything to do with romance, though. Michael and Lucifer shared a mate bond, and Lucifer had intended to mate with Michael before the Creator had cast him into the cage. That the Winchesters shared a Heaven only meant that their souls shared a connection, and they'd been created for Lucifer and Michael, of course there would be some remnant of a connection on the soul level. Sam and Dean were close, as siblings, were what the Creator might have really intended for Michael and Lucifer (since He hadn't exactly been pleased by the development between the two archangels.)

But it didn't matter. He'd probably burned that bridge. With a shake of his head, the messenger started tracking Raphael. And promptly found him in a library, leaning against a wall, wings spread flat against it, book in his lap.

Before Raphael noticed him, Gabriel took a good look at his brother. There were feathers all over the floor and he could see that some had started growing in, but not many, not yet. It was still early in the molt. He could also tell that he was positioned against the wall the way he was because his wings felt itchy, but scratching like that wasn't good for them, even he knew that. "Do you need a hand?"

Raphael looked up. "Did Castiel leave?" he asked, ignoring the question. He patted the floor next to him, clearly inviting Gabriel to join him.

Gabriel walked towards Raphael. "He'll be back, he just wanted to go see his humans for awhile. He's got that partial mate bond with Dean, I can't imagine."

"I think you do." Once Gabriel was seated, Raphael tugged on him until Gabriel's head was in his lap and he was running his fingers along Gabriel's head and shoulder and lightly straightening some feathers. "Didn't you tell me just the other day that you want for yourself something like what Mikha and Heylel share?"

Gabriel sighed. He loved the feeling his siblings' fingers in his wings. He'd missed them, and this, and he couldn't bear to lose all of it again. "I'm sure I ruined my chance at that."

Raphael hummed, but didn't say anything, just gently groomed Gabriel's wings. "You're due a molt," he said finally.

"We all are," Gabriel agreed. "But we need to get those wards up, for Heylel."

"I definitely found a spell that would defend a small nest. All seven of us in one room are a pretty big target, but at the very least we can already ward a space big enough for the two of them. It'd be easy to soundproof, and lock so they wouldn't be disturbed."

Gabriel blinked. "Why are you enabling them?"

"If they have sex in the big nest, I'm going to burn it down." Gabriel had to glance at Raphael's face, but the older archangel didn't look like he was joking. He had blanched at the idea, and looked a little horrified at the idea that they might do that. "If they have a regular private room, I don't have to think about that. They're just sleeping."

Gabriel tilted his head. "They want to have a baby. You do know how babies are made, don't you?"

"Stop," Raphael said. He resumed running his fingers though Gabriel's wings. "You need to molt."

"Not right now," Gabriel replied. "They're not that bad."

"You should go visit the Winchesters. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is."

"But I ruined it!"

"I don't think so." Raphael considered. "You can't know if he's agreeable to a courting if you don't ask him."

"That makes it sound so old fashioned. Humans aren't into that any more."

"I think you'll be surprised." After a moment, he added, "I'm not sending you away. I want you to be happy. It's okay to have both, if that's what you want, okay?"

"But, they're humans, and vessels for Mikha and Heylel."

"Castiel's mate bond with Dean is stronger than Mikha's claim to his vessel. And you know Heylel would be displeased if that interfered with his mate bond with Mikha."

"And Sam?"

"Consent, Gabby. Besides, they want you to be happy."

"But…"

"The vessel thing was Dad's idea, not theirs. And they don't need them. But you can go ask Heylel if you think it'll help."

Gabriel stood. "Okay. And the spells?"

"I'll go test them on an empty room." He picked up the book he'd been studying and both archangels left the library in companionable silence.

Gabriel went to find Michael and Lucifer. He found them in an office in the main part of Heaven. Michael was sitting on a desk and Lucifer was standing beside him. And Michael was kissing Lucifer's neck.

They couldn't see the younger archangel from where he was standing just outside the doorway, but he watched for a moment, taking in the mate bond that he could see clearer, now that he was paying more attention. It was a stand of color (he couldn't tell what color it was, set against the bright grace) tied into their graces, not unlike a decorative ribbon. They looked a little different for every relationship, but theirs was simple.

"Gabriel, stop lurking and come here," Lucifer insisted.

The younger archange stepped into the room. "I just…" What was he supposed to say? That he wanted permission to court Heylel's vessel? If there was one thing his brother was, it was possessive of his things. And besides, Sam had so many good reasons to hate him after everything, was it really worth talking to his older brothers about? They were clearly busy with things more important than his own desires. They'd waited most of 6000 years for this, what right did he have to interrupt them?

"Gabby, come here and tell us what the matter is." Michael shifted, holding out his arms invitingly.

Gabriel couldn't resist. They were all tactile beings, and maybe that was what he'd missed the most while he'd been away, because even if he had found other humans or pagans who were tactile, it wasn't the same as being with his siblings. He whined as he rested his forehead on Michael's chest.

Lucifer put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "Speak up, Little Brother," he said softly.

He shifted his teeth along his lower lip, not quite biting it. "I… I have a crush."

"Yeah?" Michael asked. "Who's the one so special to you?"

Gabriel's teeth pressed harder against his lip. "He's so handsome," he whispered. "And his soul is so bright . He's human so it's not possible to compare him to Heaven, but… just for a moment it was like being home again."

Lucifer blinked. "My true vessel." He tilted his head slightly. "You're in love with my true vessel."

"Yes." He pressed his head harder against Michael's chest. He waited for the scolding to come, that Sam was Lucifer's, not his. Couldn't be his.

"He better treat you right," Lucifer mumbled. "Or we'll be having words, he and I."

Gabriel pulled his head away from Michael to stare at Lucifer in astonishment. "You… don't care?"

"Why should I? He didn't say yes, clearly isn't going to say yes any time soon, and I don't care about that, why should I? This vessel's plenty fine, and it's not like we're going to destroy the world or humanity or anything like that, right?"

Michael kissed Lucifer's neck. "I like this vessel of yours. You should keep it."

Lucifer moaned. "Whatever you want," he purred. "Long as you keep that one."

Gabriel tried to take a step back. He had no interest in watching his older brothers getting handsy. He wasn't as against it as Raphael, but that didn't mean he wanted anything to do with it.

"Wait," Lucifer said before Gabriel could reach the door. "You clearly like Sam, a lot, so you should go talk to him. We're all stressed and worried about what's going to happen next, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a break. Heaven will still be here when you get back. We love you, and just want for you to be happy."

"Thank you." Gabriel stared at them. Their sentiment was heartfelt and honest. He didn't feel unwanted, quite the opposite. They did want him, but they also wanted him to be happy. Even if that meant courting a human. They would let him come and go as he pleased, no trapping him in Heaven, no locking him out of Heaven. They really were going to let him have both worlds. As long as he was happy. "I'll be back," he swore, running and jumping out of Heaven in the same moment. He had a human to talk to.

Sam was alone, sitting cross-legged on the hotel bed. He was listening to something on Spotify in the background while researching for a new hunt. Dean and Cas had gone who knew where, so he was making good use of his alone time and not listening to Gabriel's Casa Erotica even though he would have liked to. He hadn't watched it much since Castiel had mentioned the courting thing because he hadn't decided how he felt about that. Definitely not opposed, but Gabriel was an archangel and he was just a human. Not even a good one, with all his problems and issues. His mistakes had come so close to ending the world.

Gabriel appeared in the room, visible, with the sound of rustling feathers.

Sam looked up, hitting mute on the laptop because he'd thought it was Castiel and Dean returning and he didn't want to deal with Dean's expression of betrayal at Sam listening to anything other than classical rock. But it wasn't Castiel. "-Gabriel?"

"Hello, Sam."

Sam closed the laptop and put it off to the side, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. "Um… How are you?"

"I'm good." As the archangel said it, he realized that he actually meant it. Despite whatever the Creator had suddenly tried to do to Heylel, everything was actually pretty good. He had all his archangel siblings back, could remember them clearly, and they wanted him in Heaven, weren't going to isolate him again. It was… really good. "The Apocalypse is cancelled, I have my siblings back."

"That sounds good," Sam said. "No ending the world?"

"Nope! I made them promise." Gabriel smiled. "I, actually, I wanted to apologize. For all those Tuesdays. I should have known better than to try to prepare you for Dean's death."

"Gabe, I… Actually, it's a lesson I needed to learn. Should have learned. The apocalypse started because I was so dead set on revenge. Just like Dad, just like Dean." Sam shook his head. "Family curse, I suppose."

"The apocalypse wasn't really your fault, Sam. The angels were gunning for it, it was inevitable. But you know, it's not as bad as you think. Raphael convinced Lucifer, and me, to go back to Heaven. And we found Aziraphale and Samael, too. It's been… reallygood."

Sam tilted his head, curiously. "So where did everything go wrong?"

"Dad…" Gabriel sighed, stepping towards where Sam was still sitting. "He's batshit crazy, I tell you. Not the benevolent figure humans portrayed him as."

"God's not the good guy?"

"Nope. He left, but that's probably for the best. He brainwashed Cas into thinking Raphael killed him. Raph didn't, wouldn't. He's not the good person you'd like to think He is."

Sam adjusted his position on the bed to make room for Gabriel. He knew the celestial didn't actually need sleep, but he looked exhausted in a way he thought he recognized from Castiel when he'd first started thinking Heaven might have been wrong. And what Gabriel had just said, it was different from what he'd said about God in the warehouse. The archangel had been disenfranchised then, but this was different.

"I'm sorry," the hunter said, not sure what else to say. Maybe good fathers just didn't exist. John hadn't been a good one, and Gabriel had even said, "As it in in Heaven, so must it be on Earth." Perhaps it had been meant literally.

"Thank you," Gabriel said, as he sat in the offered space. "Hey…. I'm sorry about the porn. It was in such poor taste, I like you, I really do, and I shouldn't have done that." His ears turned pink in embarrassment.

Sam rolled his eyes and hugged Gabriel. "It's fine. I really like you too. And you know, the porn was enlightening."

"You do?" Gabriel sounded hopeful, and as Sam glanced at the archangel, he knew that if he wasn't careful, he would break the archangel's heart. But he didn't want that, wasn't going to do that.

"Yes, Gabriel. I really do." Sam turned and kissed the archangel.

Gabriel was scared and it took all of his determination not to follow his instincts and flee. He liked Sam, really liked him, and the part of him that was still terrified of losing everything nice all over again wanted to run far away to shield his heart from shattering when the inevitable occurred.

Sam leaned back when Gabriel stiffened. "I'm sorry," he said. "Did I misjudge?"

"No, no," Gabriel answered. "I'm just… Terrified this isn't real."

Sam hugged the archangel and pulled the unresisting form towards him. He kissed Gabriel's forehead and didn't pull away. "This is real," he promised. "I like you a lot and I'm not going anywhere. The Casa Erotica was a courting gift, yeah? So ask what you wanted to ask."

Gabriel met Sam's earnest gaze, looking for the lie that wasn't there. "I, the archangel Gabriel, do so declare my intent to court you, Samuel Winchester. Do you accept?"

"I accept," Sam answered.

They sat in silence, Gabriel quietly seeking comfort from his human and Sam trying to provide it with no judgement. But after a while, he said, "Would you be willing to explain what archangelic courting entails?"

The archangel shrugged. "It's different for every relationship. Not all human relationships are the same, right? That's kind of the same for us, I guess. Although, I guess they usually start with a freely given gift that suggests intent. Lucifer made Michael a bond token and tried to make life safer for him. Cas gave your brother that beautiful hand print. And rebuilt him molecule by molecule."

"Cas said they shared a profound bond… But, are you saying Cas had ulterior motives for putting Dean back together?"

"No! Not at all! Cas built Dean back together because he wanted to, and I believe he fell in love in the process. The scar is merely a physical representation of where Cas touched his soul. To angels, it reads like a… kind of like an unconsummated mate bond."

"Is that different from an intention to court?" Sam asked.

"To some extent. Can I tell you about angelic mate bonds?" Then, without bothering to pause for a breathe let alone a response, he continued, "Angels mate for life and my older brother recently told us that us archangels can't die, not without collapsing the universe."

"So you won't die, and the bond lasts forever? If we go through with this, what'll happen when I die?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I'm not familiar with any angels and humans bonding before, but since humans can go to Heaven, I imagine we'll just hang out up there someday? Your average angel goes to a place called the Empty when they die, and humans usually can't go there, and I know that the bond doesn't break or that the individuals involved aren't separated, so maybe the bond compensates for it? I'm sorry that's so vague, but this isn't exactly the norm, you know?"

"And your brothers aren't going to, resent us for this, right?"

Gabriel gave Sam the most reassuring smile he'd ever seen seen from the archangel. Which probably wouldn't have been saying much, except he'd be hard pressed to identify one that was more so. His archangel was beaming. "Yeah! Heylel said he'd have words with you if you broke my heart, but he likes his vessel and Mikha told him he liked that vessel and… They're total saps, Sam! "

Sam rolled his eyes. "If Dean wasn't so emotionally constipated, there'd be so much less eye banging and so much more actual banging, and it would just be so much better."

Gabriel tilted his head. "Wait, we are still talking about Cas, right?"

The hunter stared. "Uh, yeah? Who else would we be talking about? Dean hasn't been so emotionally caught up with anyone since Cassie. Or maybe Lisa." He blinked. "Wait… do you know whether or not Ben is Dean's kid?"

"Of all the questions you could ask about everything I've just said, that's what you're going to ask first?" Sam opened his mouth to object, but Gabriel continued, stopping him. "Nah. Ben isn't Dean's child. Dean's firstborn would have been just as much of a true vessel for Michael as Dean is, so the chorus would have celebrated having an alternative." Gabriel waited for Sam to say anything, but the human just nodded, so the archangel decided to move forward. "Do you have any more questions about the bond stuff? I want to make sure you're walking into this with both eyes open and I'm not sure where to start."

"You said something about there being more than one kind?"

"Yep! The courting bond would translate as something like dating in the modern world. It's a little different from the unconsummated mating bond that Cas and Dean have. There's kind of a consent thing there, but it wouldn't have formed if there had been no possible compatibility between them. And if they decided they really didn't want to have sex, it would just dissolve, or shift into a platonic bond. Or romantic one, if they were so inclined. And then angels who have one night stands or frequent sex without the emotional attachment have a bond that would literally translate as bedmate."

"Okay," Sam said. "I follow. And… what do you want from me?"

"Oh, Sam. Nothing. I want nothing more than you're comfortable giving, whether that's something romantic, plantanic, sexual, or all of the above. But I don't do casual flings or one night stands, okay? It's not in my nature, as much as I might have spent a long time pretending otherwise for the sake of appearances."

Sam nodded. "No casual flings,"he agreed, shuddering. His last one had been- Ruby, hadn't it been? Ew .

Gabriel stood up. "I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I need to head home. If you need anything, just pray, okay?"

"Okay," Sam agreed. "But I'll see you again soon?"

"Of course! Probably not for a day or two, but I'll be back."

The archangel was gone a few wing beats later, and Sam was left staring at the empty space left by the absence of his- what even was Gabriel to him now? Was courting like dating? Were they technically "boyfriends"? That couldn't be right though. They'd only kissed what, once? And what was he supposed to tell Dean? "No secrets, Sam," he'd said. But his brother hadn't seemed annoyed about the Casa Erotica disk, had he suspected all along that Sam still harbored feelings for him after everything? He leaned back on the bed, and despite all the worries he held about what was going to happen next, and how Dean was going to react, he couldn't help but feel like this was some kind of win. Apparently, he was wanted. It could have been a lie or some master plan on the part of Gabriel, but he didn't think that's what this was. It seemed genuine, and more than anything, he wanted this too.