Author's Note: Here it is, lovelies! The thrilling conclusion! A massive shout out to everyone who's helped me along the way, (Manda and Karu, you two are wonderful, wonderful human beings, okay? Okay.) and everyone who's left kudos and comments. I might have given up when the going got really tough if not for you guys. I feel like this is goodbye somehow, even though I've got a million and one more plot bunnies (I had to write them all down to keep track of them all, seriously) straining at the leash by this point. Maybe it's 'cause I've never finished a long-fic before? Either way, enjoy guys! We all, the author, the reader, and the characters, have earned it!
Soul Men
by Judanim
Chapter Eleven: "Can't Stop the World"
"So."
"Now what?"
The question was a valid one. What did one do after stopping the end of the world? Currently Gabriel and Crowley sat at the edge of the lake, the Horsemen's rings sitting demagnetized and useless in the sand between them, gazing at the water like it was going to turn around and spit out Sam, Dean, and Castiel. The trickster didn't know what else to do. None of this seemed real, felt like it should've been impossible, though here they were.
After a while Crowley pulled out a flask, an ordinary, alcohol-toting one, from his jacket. He took a sip before offering it to Gabriel.
"Is that the last of your Craig?" the trickster asked, staring at the flask.
"Last of it in the world," Crowley said with a shrug. "No better time than now to use it up. C'mon, let's celebrate. We just saved the sodding world, angel."
Gabriel laughed and nodded before accepting a drink from the flask. The scotch burned down his throat, definitely not his favorite, but since he didn't have the energy to conjure up alcohol himself, it would have to do.
"You know, I'm starting to wonder why we did this," Crowley said.
"What?" Gabriel twisted a bit to look at the demon. "We did it to stop my moron brothers from destroying the world. To save what's left."
Crowley drew his knees up to his chest and stared at his flask, like it might hold all the answers. "Well that's just it, isn't it? There's not much left of the world to save."
"We can fix it," Gabriel said. He thought about it for a moment, scotch swimming around his brain. "Okay, someone can fix it. 'S not beyond repair."
The demon looked up and laughed. "One sip, and you're already toasted. Always were a lightweight."
"Tired. Difference," Gabriel said, though Crowley wasn't wrong. The bastard rarely was.
"It's a bit too early to celebrate, brother," came a deep, stern voice from behind them.
Gabriel groaned, leaning against Crowley. He really did not have the energy for this. "Go away, Raph. It's done. The Apocalypse was a failure. Get over it."
There was a crunch of grass, and Raphael's voice was closer. "Not while I still live, it's not."
Trickster and demon exchanged a glance, and they stood and faced the archangel, each taking two of the rings. Raphael would have to kill both of them if he was going to spring the lock on the Cage.
"You're very repetitive, you know that?" Crowley asked.
Raphael glared. "Neither of you have the power to fight me, even at full strength, and I would rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed. So stand aside."
"You're not in a position to talk about avoiding bloodshed, Raphael."
The voice belonged to neither Crowley or Gabriel. Instead it came from behind the archangel, sounding surprisingly meek given its words.
"Chuck?" Gabriel asked. He had to look around Raphael to see the person at all, but it was in fact the prophet. Behind him were Balthazar, Bela, and Meg, the former bloody and being held up the latter two.
The prophet nodded and then indicated to the beat-up angel. "See what I mean? You almost killed one of your brothers, Raphael, and for what? The Apocalypse?"
Raphael stiffened. "Yes. Though I thought I had killed him."
"Funny thing about working for Death," Balthazar said, voice strained. "Told me he owed me a promotion before sending me back out. I guess that was my get-out-of-dying-free card."
Crowley chuckled. "You're welcome, by the way. I'll take your thanks in the form of getting my hound back."
"Everything will be set to rights in due time. For now we have a bigger problem," Chuck said.
The archangel called forward his blade. "I will not stand down. We angels have waited too long for this day to come."
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend to speak for all angel-kind. Just because you've been waiting for this day since the death of Muhammad doesn't mean everyone else has."
"Precisely. And I think you'll stand down if you don't have any other choice." Chuck held out a hand, and the Horsemen's rings flew out of Crowley and Gabriel's hands and into his. The metal bands lit up white-hot for a moment before melting into nothingness. "There. The only way to open the Cage is gone."
Raphael opened his mouth to protest, but a split-second later he backed down, and it didn't take much for Gabriel to see why.
Something about Chuck was… different. There was a light in his eyes, terrifying and warm and familiar all at once. For a moment Gabriel wondered, even dared to hope, but he squashed those thoughts as quick as they came, telling himself it was neither here nor there.
Chuck was smiling now. "So, now we can move on to actually fixing this mess."
Bela made a noise that any other time might've been a laugh, but now she couldn't quite seem to make the effort. "That's rather like dressing up a corpse at this point, isn't it?"
"Unless the corpse is only mostly dead," Gabriel said. What was it with demons and pessimism?
"And a miracle-cure is exactly what we have, if Heaven and Hell can work together instead of being at each other's throats," Chuck said.
"Never."
"No way in Hell. Literally."
"You're out of your bloody mind."
"It's… not impossible."
The last voice belonged to Balthazar, and everyone looked at him. He shrugged. "I mean, we're all proof that it can be done. Except for you, Raph."
"Which might be why you're the ones still standing after the dust has cleared," Chuck said, gaze sweeping over them. "Raphael, no one knows Heaven better than you at this point. You can lead it with an even hand and help heal the planet and rebuild humanity."
Silence was the only response he got from the archangel, and Raphael didn't meet the prophet's eyes. That was as close as they would get to acquiescence from him.
"That leaves Hell and how to keep the peace between the two realms." Chuck turned to the trickster and the crossroads demon. "I was thinking you two would be perfect for the job."
"What?" Crowley and Gabriel asked at the same time.
Chuck nodded. "Crowley, before Lucifer came roaring back, you were putting the pieces into place to take the throne of Hell, weren't you? Well here's your chance. And Gabriel, you could be the Messenger again, as an archangel with the whole benefits package and without the burden of reporting directly to God."
Crowley's mouth dropped open, and Gabriel could see all that old ambition ignite in his eyes. The demon hesitated however, didn't quite say yes. Looking at the trickster, he replied, "It's not a bad deal."
Messenger. The word rang in Gabriel's mind like a bell. It would mean being able to go to Heaven whenever he wanted. Or Hell, if he chose. And there was a time when that was all he wanted, to be able to go home, everything else be damned. Now the thought danced in front of him, and all Gabriel saw was a gilded prison and a dark pit, with everything he cared about either too far away or too quickly gone, and for the first time the earth under his feet seemed solid and far more inviting.
"No."
Gabriel half-expected Crowley to object, but instead the demon gave a short nodd and took a little step back, closer to the trickster's side. "Make that both of us."
The prophet stammered, but Balthazar jumped in to save him. "Well then, if you're accepting other applications, I'll happily put mine in for the job."
"The Pit could use a little feminine touch," Meg said. "And being the Queen of Hell sounds pretty damned good."
"You two are insane," Bela said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
Balthazar and Meg arched their eyebrows at her.
After a moment she relented with a small smile. "Though if you need help, I'm here. Someone needs to handle all the paperwork."
"I… Okay." Chuck took a breath and clapped his hands. "So, Meg will take care of Hell, Balthazar will keep everyone off the warpath, and Bela—"
"Will keep them from killing each other," Bela said.
"Right." Chuck looked at Gabriel. "Are you sure you don't want to…?"
Gabriel shrugged. "We can help manage things on Earth, if you need us. Dad knows the humans need all the help they can get."
"Don't know if they'll appreciate being represented by a demon and a pagan god, but it's better than nothing," Crowley said. He threw Gabriel a smirk, and that one look was enough to reassure the trickster, to cement the idea that everything was right with the world. For once.
"Team Humanity. It has a nice ring to it." Chuck stepped back from them all, smiling wide and looking more like himself than he had a moment ago. "Let's make sure this doesn't happen again, okay? 'Cause I think God might be out of backup plans."
Raphael huffed, and this time Gabriel agreed.
In the millisecond it took to blink, the prophet disappeared from the cemetery. The blood was gone from Crowley and Balthazar's faces, and Meg looked like she'd finally recovered her strength. Gabriel shared the feeling, magic surging at his fingertips again. A moment later the archangel was gone too, no doubt returning to Heaven to begin the rebuilding effort.
"You know, if Chuck had played up that god-like mystery of his more often, he might have gotten more dates," Bela said, breaking the silence left in the prophet's wake.
"Mortals and their short-sightedness," Crowley said with a shrug.
Gabriel couldn't help a smile. "That's kind of the point, isn't it?"
"You've grown soft in your old age, Gabe," Balthazar said.
"What can I say? I'm sentimental," the trickster said. "Speaking of. Azi, remember?"
"Of course. A promise is a promise, after all." The angel snapped his fingers, and Crowley's hound appeared before them, bounding towards his master. Crowley bent and greeted Azi with the biggest smile Gabriel had ever seen him wear, going so far as to let the dog lick his face without complaint.
Bela made a face, though Gabriel noticed the affectionate quirk at the corner of her mouth. "Thank God. Maybe we can have some peace around the house now."
Meg grinned. "Don't count on that just yet. We've got lost time to account for, if you know what I mean."
"Why limit ourselves to the house?" Balthazar asked. "I'm sure Raphael can wait until we take a nice long vacation in the Bahamas."
"Bahamas? That's not cliche or anything," Meg said, though she was still grinning.
Another snap of Balthazar's fingers and they too were gone.
Crowley straightened, one hand held out to get Azi to heel. "I'll have to agree with Balthazar on this one. A vacation sounds wonderful."
Gabriel jangled the keys to the Impala. "Road trip? For old time's sake?"
"Why not?"
They headed back towards the car, Azi running ahead of them. Just before they parted ways to get to their respective sides, Crowley grabbed Gabriel's arm. "Just one question, before we go."
"You know why I didn't say yes, Crowles," Gabriel said.
The demon shook his head. "No, I really don't. As much as we've done for each other, I know you would leap at the chance to go home. So why didn't you?"
Gabriel bit his lip, debating his answer, before deciding to throw caution to the wind. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Crowley's neck. "'Cause I already am home."
"Hmm." Crowley threaded his fingers through Gabriel's hair and pulled him closer, lips ghosting against his. "Actually, you were right, angel. I did know why."
A smile tugged at the trickster's mouth, and he felt everything Crowley left unsaid in his words. He blinked, pulling back a bit. "What the hell?"
Crowley raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I think— Oh that sneaky little—" Gabriel let out a laugh, a full, nigh hysterical laugh, his head falling forward onto Crowley's shoulder. "My Grace. It's back."
"Well I hope you don't feel like doing any smiting any time soon."
Gabriel raised his head and met Crowley's eyes, gold seeing brown for what felt like the first time in forever. "Oh, you're not getting out of this that easy, cupcake."
The demon grinned. "Who said I was planning to, darling?"
Crowley hardly got the words out before Gabriel closed that last gap between them, kissing the demon senseless like he needed the contact to survive.
A bark from Azi brought their attention back to the present, because it certainly wasn't the need to breathe. Crowley took the Impala's keys in hand.
"Shall we?"
Gabriel snapped the three of them into the car, just for the hell of it, and they drove off into the sunset.
"You know, we should probably check on the house before we do anything else."
"We can fight Croats after we sleep and shag for a week straight, Crowles."
"Can't argue with that logic."
