Request made by Dark Goddess2000 for Charlie to meet everyone's favorite Trickster. Enjoy.
Can't Keep a Good Man Down
Both Castiel and Charlie blinked. They shared a glance as if to ask the other if they had heard the same thing.
Apparently, they had.
"Could you please repeat that?" Cas asked. Charlie silently congratulated him on his ability to keep his disbelief out of his voice.
Then again, Cas was generally pretty open-minded when it came to the supernatural, as he was one such being himself.
The witness looked between the two of them. "As I said," her voice trembled a bit, "my husband was killed by Bowser from the Nintendo games." Tears filled her eyes. "You don't believe me either."
"No. We believe you." Charlie quickly said, floundering to comfort her.
Ten minutes later, Charlie and Castiel were walking out of the police station.
"Why would that woman not stop crying?" Cas still had that deer-in-the-headlights look on his face from being confronted with a woman's tears.
"Some people are just overly emotional." Charlie brushed her hair out of her face. "Personally, I was just surprised that she so freely admitted it."
"Yes, I have noticed that most people deny what they see because they think it's impossible. Children and the elderly are generally the most honest, surprisingly." Cas commented as he slid into the passenger's seat of Charlie's car.
"That's because children are more open to stuff and haven't necessarily learned how to lie yet. And old people don't care what others think." The redhead started the car and started going back to the motel. "So what all do we have?"
The angel pulled out his case notes and flipped to the proper page. "We have the unfaithful husband kidnapped and killed by Bowser; the car thieves who got their vehicles destroyed by Link; two tiny Eskimos beat up some men who were accused of rape but got away; and the woman who was beaten up by Princess Peach after she hid the fact that she was abusing her children." He paused. "Getting beaten up by Princess Peach seems quite pathetic to my understanding."
"It is." Charlie assured him. "So all of these are characters from Nintendo."
"Yes, that one game that you and Dean enjoy beating each other up on." Cas said. "Super Smosh Brothers."
Charlie glanced over at him incredulously. "It's Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Smosh is on YouTube." She shook her head to get back on topic, though she made a mental note to start introducing the angel to video games. "Anyway, what are you thinking it is?"
"It's probably a trickster." Cas concluded. "This is their sort of humor and they have the powers needed to pull it off."
"Uh, to tell the truth, I've only hear of one trickster being confirmed as real, and that's the Trickster aka Loki aka Gabriel." Charlie sighed as she felt a prick of disappointment. After Castiel, Gabriel had really been the most interesting angel. He had some freaking character and wasn't evil.
"There are still several around. Anansi, Hermes, Puck, and Coyote are just some examples of beings who, as far as I know, are still active in the world." Cas frowned at the list. "Though as far as I know, there is only one who has this type of pop culture knowledge…" He trailed off. A knowing look passed over his face.
"What?" Charlie asked. She could almost see the light bulb going off.
"It can wait until we're in our motel." He replied.
She gave him another glance but decided to trust him. He always had a reason when it came to stuff like this.
The moment they entered their motel room, it became fairly clear.
Charlie opened her mouth to ask him what was up, but Castiel raised a hand to indicate silence. Curious, she watched as the angel stood in the middle of the room. He had an annoyed look on his face as looked upward. Then, he spoke.
"Gabriel, I know it's you. Reveal yourself now." Castiel crossed his arms and looked around. Charlie wondered if she should say something, but couldn't bring herself to. "Gabriel." He said with a warning tone.
The nerd was about to go to Cas and remind him that his brother was dead, when she heard a fluttering noise. She only could stand in surprise and blinked.
Right in front of Cas stood a shorter man, but she recognized him. She remembered the description from the books and how Castiel would talk about him. There was no doubt in her mind who this was.
"Hey, Cassie." Gabriel grinned. He made a sucker appear from nowhere and stuck it in his mouth.
"Gabriel." Castiel's tone was scolding but at the same time there was a relieved fondness in it. "I see you are up to your old tricks again."
"What can I say?" The archangel shrugged. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Besides, you know I never go after anyone who didn't deserve it." He pulled out his sucker as if trying to make a point.
"I'm sure Dean and Sam would disagree."
"It's not my fault that they never get my lessons. I was trying to help." Gabriel explained. It sounded like he was whining just a bit. "Aren't you glad to see me at all?"
"I am." Finally, Castiel allowed his small smile to escape. "I have been unsure of your complete demise since Metatron's illusion, but I am glad to see you are alive."
"Metatron." Gabriel's voice turned a bit dark and his eyes got a vengeful glint in there. "He tapped into my power for that. It was actually me in that illusion. He's still loose though, right?" Cas gave a guilty nod. The trickster grinned. "Now there's a guy who deserves a taste of my brand of comeuppance."
"I think Dean called dibs." The angel countered.
Charlie couldn't hold it in anymore. She had been trying to keep out of it so the brothers could have their reunion, but this was too much.
She let out a small shriek. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Her inner fangirl was unleashed as she bounced up and down a bit. "You're Gabriel! The freaking Trickster!"
Gabriel finally seemed to notice her. "Well, who's this?" In the blink of an eye, he stood in front of her. "Oh," a spark of realization came into his expression and he smirked, "does the baby in a trench coat have a girlfriend?"
Cas rolled his eyes as Charlie practically choked on the implication. "I'm not her type."
"Not her type?" Gabriel scrunched up his nose. "What could her type be?"
"He'd have a better chance if he somehow got genderbent." Charlie said before she could fully form the thought. She halted for a moment as the image of a female Castiel invaded her brain.
That version was kind of hot and actually a lot more appealing to her interests.
The redhead shook her head to dispel the picture. "Besides," she continued, "I'm pretty sure someone else has dibs on Cas whatever gender he is."
"Ah, don't swing our way huh." Gabriel shrugged as he accepted it. He reached out to clutch her shoulder. "Though as a shipper of that pair, I feel your pain." He sighed and let go of her. "It's so disgusting how into each other they are."
"I'm right here you know." Castiel interjected.
"Quiet, Cas," Charlie held up her hand. "The shippers are talking."
Gabriel grinned. "I like your style, Red. What's your name?"
"Charlie. Charlie Bradbury." She held out her hand, and the archangel shook it.
"No, it's not." He smirked back.
"But it's the one I use." She replied. "You know, after Castiel, you're my favorite angel."
"Well, obviously, you've got good taste." Gabriel laughed. "I don't see why you hang out with the Winchesters then."
Cas sighed as Charlie laughed along. "Can we get back to the case?" He asked.
"Oh, right." Charlie had been so caught up in meeting one of her favorite characters that she had totally forgotten about why they were here in the first place. "So," she gave the archangel the side eye, "could you stop the tricks for now?"
Gabriel sighed as if it was such a great burden. "In honor of meeting you, I guess." He threw away the stick left over from his sucker. Then, he grinned again. "I guess I should go tell the Winchesters I'm back."
Castiel's eyes widened. "Wait, don't – "
Too late. With a flap of his wings, Gabriel was gone. And with his broken wings, there was no way Cas could follow.
Charlie stared at the spot Gabriel had been as the angel sighed once more. "He's going to go play tricks on Dean and Sam, isn't he?" She wasn't really asking him.
"Most likely." His forlorn expression spoke volumes. After all, they had just called a truce to the last prank war not too long ago.
She paused before smiling. "I like him."
For reasons she didn't understand, Cas gave another sigh.
AN: I'll admit. I had fun writing this chapter. The biggest decision was actually deciding what sort of karmic justice Gabriel would doling out. I wanted to do a theme that he hadn't already done so I decided on video games. I've also decided that Gabriel's gotten his wings back though none of the other angels have because he's a freaking archangel. He's also the only archangel I genuinely like. Anyway, thank you Dark Goddess2000 for the request, and I'll see you all tomorrow when I post a separate fic for Castiel's birthday. See you.
