What's this? An update? So quickly? I have finally gotten time to update regularly, hurrah! And it's another long one too, although I don't quite like it as much as I do the other one. Whatever.

Summary: AU/ The angels have fallen and now they are hunted. Gabriel and Castiel find each other and decide that together, they might stand a chance of surviving.

Disclaimer: Nuh-uh, if I did, Destiel would be canon by now. Also, I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine.

Enjoy!

Not for the first time, Gabriel finds himself running. Ever since he and his brethren Fell and scattered, he had found himself running. The hunters didn't take well to the shootingstar-esque light show that the angels had provided. All of them were hunted, their powers stunted to not much more than a semi-warp flight (at best) and small amounts of healing. If they were caught, they would be killed with their own blade and their wings would be torn off, used to stuff pillows or hung on walls as trophies.

He's alone, an Archangel with slightly better abilities than others, and there's no other angels around to help, he would sense it if there was. He really is alone. The hunters on his tail will be merciless.

Gabriel quickly ducks into a small alcove, barely able to accommodate his size (his human body came up as that of a seventeen-year-old's) and hopes that the hunters will loose his trail. He should've known he would not be that lucky.

Somehow, the hunters had figured out a way to track them and he had a group of four following his trail. They surround his alcove, and Gabriel can see them trying to catch a glimpse of him. He sees flashes of curious green eyes and silver blades (probably from other angels) and he wonders if there's any way to negotiate.

Just as he's about to step out and at least attempt to escape (or go down fighting), there's a loud shout of "Hey!"

As one, the small pack of hunters turn to face a newcomer that Gabriel can't see around his tiny alcove.

"Shit, it's the black-winged bastard's mini-me", growls a green-eyed boy of nineteen.

"I thought we ganked all the winged demons in the warehouse", grouses an older dark-haired man.

"Well, you didn't get me you vicious asses!" shouts a surprisingly young voice.

"Come and get me!" That is all Gabriel hears before he feels, more than he sees, the tiny pack of hunters stampede away. He hopes the kid, the 'black-winged mini-me', as the... Wait.

Black-winged mini-me?

Gabriel only knew of two black-winged angels, both of which Gabriel had not seen since the time of the Great Fall.

The young Archangel leaves his hiding place, golden eyes warily shifting from left to right to make sure all the hunters are gone. He isn't going to be struck down because of a stupid mistake.

"Are you alright?"

Gabriel spins around quickly, hand on his blade, ready to give one hell of a fight, when he catches sight of the small boy before him. He hardly looks like much of a threat, appearing as if he is no more than maybe, maybe, ten. For all Gabriel knows, the boy could be younger. His hair is a messy array of dark brown locks, in no possible way tamable. The boy looks so abused, Gabriel might have thought him a homeless human child if not for the inhuman blue of his eyes and the dark wings that stick out like shadows in the light.

Large, brilliant blue eyes stare up at him, the pale face they're set in tilted slightly to the side. Gabriel takes note of the clean, inky black wings the young fledgling trails behind him. They're entirely too large for his tiny body (though Gabriel gets the feeling that the boy could quite possibly out-fly him) and pierced only by the stark, sapphire Enochian that match the boy's eyes. Gabriel knows for sure that the only other angel with wings that dark has blazing red Enochian sigils and likely has the body of a twenty-five-year-old.

"You're Castiel", Gabriel states. There's no need to beat around the bush.

The boy nods once and continues to stare at him intensely. "And you're Gabriel. Are you alright?"

Gabriel blinks, just a little put off that the boy-Castiel-immediatly knows who he is (he is so used to the younger angels confusing him for Raphael or even Michael) and it takes him a moment to realize Castiel had repeated his earlier question.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine", Gabriel shuffles his feet a little, for the first time unsure of how to approach someone, "how did you know who I was?"

Castiel opens his mouth to answer, but snaps it shut instead and stiffens.

"We cannot stay here; we must go to my hideout." Castiel flares out his wings, preparing himself to set flight, Gabriel copies him.

They shoot off at the same time, both going at speeds Gabriel didn't think anyone but he could reach anymore. Castiel is fast, though, and they're at their destination in the blink of an eye. Gabriel keeps his wings unfurled, stretching them in a way he hasn't been able to in a while.

Gabriel looks around the place, a small, scrappy but comfortable space the color of a midnight sky. It's sparsely furnished, with a bed in a corner and a tiny wood desk in another. It's neither too cold nor too warm and Gabriel finds himself sitting on a soft, dark blue sofa in a space he is certain wasn't there before and warm plate of fresh smelling food is being pushed into his hands.

"Where are we?" the Archangel asks in fascination, glancing briefly at the small form on the bed.

"My hideout. It's where I've been staying since the Fall", Castiel responds, a book materializing into his small hands.

"How do you do that?" Gabriel continues to question (because honestly, he hasn't been able to do much of anything with the scarce power he has left). Then more questions begin to rise.

"And how did I not sense you? What did those hunters mean by 'ganked all the winged demons in the warehouse? Tell me Castiel, how did you know who I was when older angels have confused me for Michael and Raphael?" The questions flow from his lips unbidden, a stream of curiosity that leaves Castiel looking a little wary.

The fledgling takes a deep breath and begins to speak.

"When I Fell, I was alone, like most of us were. I was found though, by a group angels. I was too young to survive on my own, so I really had no choice but to stay with them." Castiel looks up at him, making sure to stare Gabriel in the eyes.

"The group who took me in consisted of Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Anael, and Balthazar." Gabriel's eyes widen in surprise, not expecting such high profile names to come up. He doesn't quite know who the last two were, but he remembers that they were higher ups. Castiel plows on.

"They told me I was powerful, and it turns out, I am. Michael came up with this place, and we all used as much power as we could to clear this little pocket of space where the hunters wouldn't find us. Lucifer taught me how to mask my Grace and Raphael and Michael taught me how to control my powers. We were doing well. We were living and not just surviving." Castiel quiets dow and his oceanic blue eyes fog up, lost in memories.

"What happened? Where are they?" Gabriel asks softly, wondering who would be stupid enough to leave such a young fledgling alone.

Castiel flinches. "Anna-Anael and Lucifer left. We found Anael dead and Lucifer didn't show up again. Michael went to look for him and never came back. Raphael, Bal, and I found them in a warehouse (Michael and Lucifer that is) and found out it was a trap. I barely escaped." The young angel's voice is hoarse, he's curled into a tiny ball of black feathers and tan hoodie, and Gabriel feels bad for asking. There's obviously more to this story than Castiel is telling, but the older angel leaves it, knowing it would be a bad idea to ask anymore.

Then an idea comes to him.

He delicately approaches the trembling ball of pitch-black feathers, and carefully pries the wings apart. Gently, he takes the boy's tiny hands in his own and pulls him close. Gabriel runs a soothing hand through the fledgling's soft locks and cradles him close as he sobs at the painful memories that engulf him.

"I'll be right here with you, Cas", Gabriel croons, deciding he's telling the truth. They need each other.

"You won't be alone anymore", he promises, not just to Castiel, but to himself. It is an oath.

Over the years, they become closer.

Castiel tells Gabriel of the adventures he'd been on with the other Archangels and angels, of the life they had lived before the Warehouse Incident. He tells him about Luci's stories of the life they had before the Fall, of Ralf's vast knowledge of healing spells and herbs, Mike's comforting embrace and soft Enochian crooning, Bal's mischievous schemes, and Anna's warm eyes.

In turn, Gabriel tells him of the adventures he had when he was impersonating Loki, of the awkward meeting that ensued when he first met the real God of Mischief. he tells him of his lonely life and little more of the above before the Fall.

They become Cas and Gabe (sometimes Cassie and Gabby) instead of just Castiel and Gabriel. They are a family now and they watch out for each other. Castiel teaches Gabriel how to hide his Grace and how to use a hidden reserve of power Gabriel didn't know he had. He's not quite as strong as Castiel, but that's fine.

Castiel tells him of the full story of how he met his first family. He was hardly a full angel-year when he fell, and he was near death when Lucifer found him. After he was carefully nursed back to health by Raphael (which apparently wasn't a very easy task), he was put in the in Balthazar's care. They all became close, so very close, sibling in every sense of the word. They kept him safe when he Fell from his Father's embrace.

In the warehouse, Castiel tells him he could've saved them. If he had just been a little faster, a little stronger, he could have saved them. That night, Gabriel holds him as he shivers and cries. He doesn't say anything, knowing the silence is a better comfort.

One day, it all comes crashing down.

It is a normal day; Castiel is reading one of his many, many books and Gabriel is grooming the stray dog they found. Several years have passed since they met (exactly how many, they don't know; they don't tend to keep track of time), and they're sure the hunters are long gone by now.

It is not so. The hunters have found their hideout and now they are surrounded by men and women with glimmering angel blades.

Gabriel wraps Castiel in his arms, wrapping one set of golden wings around him while the other two unfurl to make himself look more threatening. It is no use.

In no time, he and Castiel are surrounded by a ring of blazing red fire. The fledgling in his arms whimpers and Gabriel focuses on him rather than the pack of hunters that are interrogating them.

When they receive no answers, they wash out the holy fire and start towards them, blades glinting dangerously in the light. Castiel's still small head peaks around his wings and his iridescent blue eyes met the brilliant green of the hunter before him.

"We never killed anyone", he whispers, "we just wanted to scrounge up any life we could after the Fall. If you kill us, just, please don't separate us." He buries himself back in Gabriel's chest and the Archangel holds him tight.

He looks expectantly at the hunters before him, hoping for a quick blow. The man hesitates, just for a little bit, and then there is a searing pain in Gabriel's chest. There is a blinding white light and only Castiel is left. His young face is sorrowful.

"He promised he'd never leave me alone", he murmurs, voice still painfully soft. "Please, just kill me quickly." He curls up in a tight ball on Gabriel's quickly chilling chest.

The hunter worries his bottom lip, this time truly unsure of whether to kill what is obviously a young, innocent child. He looks at the young boy, his inky wings seeming to dull and the azure sigils beginning to fade. The boy is dying anyways.

The hunter sighs and quickly ends the boy's life. he looks even smaller in death, though neither of their wings look any less glorious. He turns to his companions, an enormous man with hazel eyes, a young, blonde woman, and an older man wearing a cap.

"I think... I think we should give them a proper burial", he says, not looking them in the eye. They understand his sentiment anyway.

Years after, the graves of the two angel brothers are still visited often, mostly by the group that had buried them. None of the flowers set on the graves ever die out and remain brighter than the day they were planted. One might even, on occasion, hear the cheerful laughter of children.

Oi, guys, you know what would be awesome? If you typed me a quick message in the box bellow and tell me how ya like it so far.