A/N: Hihi! More Gabriel! I couldn't leave him for long. Love me some protective/caring!Gabe! I think that's actually how he was, even though the show never just gives that info outright. Yes, still looking at you, Supernatural writers. You can't give us a character to love and not provide history/background. Telling us he ran away from Heaven was not sufficient! No argument you make will stand in the face of this grievous error. Unless your argument is that you were saving that info for when he comes back. That would be acceptable. Yes? Can I get a show of hands?

Shoutous to 1Corinthians 1313 and PrincessMagic! Thanks for reviewing! So glad you like it!

Enjoy!

Gabriel flapped one more time to soften his landing and then untwined Eliyon's arms from around his neck. The Fledgling kicked his feet wildly, laughing when the Archangel held him suspended for a moment, then, with a chuckle, Gabriel set him down. Eliyon's eyes were sparkling with excitement from the flight and he looked around, eagerly whipping his head back and forth to the point that Gabriel got dizzy watching him.

They were on one of the plateaus that served as the training ground for Fledglings learning to fly. Eliyon couldn't yet, but Gabriel wanted him to stretch his wings and with the Archangel's Grace spreading over the area, no one would dare come and disturb them.

"Alright, kiddo!" Gabriel announced happily. "Let's get to work!"

"What are we doing?" Eliyon asked.

"Well, first we're going to work with your Grace," Gabriel told him. "As much as I like the exclusive connection, it's not practical."

Eliyon's face fell. "But I can't."

"We're going to fix that," Gabriel assured him. "Your Grace is different—"

"Liel said it was weak," Eliyon murmured ashamedly.

"No," Gabriel said sternly. "It's not weak. Just different. Every other Angel's Grace is like an open flame, yours isn't but that doesn't make it weak."

'Cause I'm still smarting a little from last night.

"You have to learn to control it so that you don't take in everything all at once," he went on. "Kind of like I only used a little bit to connect with you the first time."

He swallowed his anger.

All he needed was a gentler approach. Why couldn't anybody manage that?

Eliyon nodded but his face turned pensive and Gabriel realized he could still feel his anger.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked in a small voice.

"No," Gabriel reassured him quickly. "I'm just aggravated that no one else could figure this out."

"Oh."

"Now, I'll be right back," he said and took off with a rush of wind that made Eliyon's little wings flare. He flew over the plateau, dropping tiny gems as he went. He had borrowed the crystals from the choir because they had a resonance similar to an Angel's Grace but wouldn't hurt Eliyon when he felt them. Once he was done, he flew back.

Eliyon jumped back in surprise when Gabriel landed, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Alright, I dropped resonance crystals all over," Gabriel told him. "I want you to stretch out your Grace and find them."

Eliyon nodded and Gabriel felt him reach out past him. None of the crystals were far away but that was so Eliyon wouldn't have such a hard time retrieving them. After all, he couldn't fly yet.

"I found them!" Eliyon squealed excitedly.

Gabriel grinned. "Well, go get them!"

Eliyon took off at a run, wings held high and fluttering in the breeze. Gabriel laughed when Eliyon came to a small rise and jumped off, flapping his fluffy wings in an attempt to stay off the ground.

A familiar chill wafted across the Archangel's Grace.

"You're frequenting the oddest places these days, Gabriel."

He turned to see Lucifer striding toward him, tucking his wings behind him.

"Hey," Gabriel greeted him warmly. "Were you looking for me?"

Lucifer nodded. "I checked the wards around the Fledglings' garden," he said. "They were intact but I strengthened them anyway, just in case."

"Thanks," Gabriel said.

"Your Grace is spread all over the place, so I assumed you weren't looking for privacy," Lucifer commented.

"Well, I kind of was," Gabriel shrugged. "More of a deterrent, really. Not for me though."

Lucifer cast a curious look his way. "You have the little one here?"

Gabriel nodded, an enthusiastic bob of his head.

"When did you decide to school the Fledglings?" Lucifer asked.

"I'm not," Gabriel replied. "Just him. Nobody else cares. He was laying there dying…and Liel didn't even move."

"Well, he's fortunate you found him," Lucifer told him. "Where is he?"

"He's catching rocks," Gabriel said with a grin. "Resonance stones," he elaborated when he saw Lucifer's dry look. "It's hard for him to connect to another Angel's Grace."

Lucifer's eyes narrowed. "And yet, he connected with yours?"

"I dampened it," Gabriel told him. "A lot." Then, he realized what Lucifer had said. "You can't sense him?"

Lucifer's Grace pulsed slightly. "Barely."

"Here he comes," Gabriel said and his wings ruffled with pleasure. Then, when Eliyon came over the rise, his feathers fell. The poor Fledgling was staring at Lucifer and Gabriel felt his Grace coil up defensively. "You couldn't sense him," he muttered to his brother, "but he obviously sensed you."

Lucifer took a step forward. "Eliyon."

Eliyon froze, trembling at the Morningstar's rumbling chime and he looked frantically at Gabriel.

"It's alright, kiddo," Gabriel assured him.

Eliyon looked back at Lucifer, missing Gabriel's grimace when he pressed a little hand protectively over his chest. Gabriel, beneath his smile, humor and patience, was powerful. Eliyon could feel his Grace stretching over the plateau to discourage any visitors and his six, large golden wings only served to complete the visage of authority. Lucifer's presence dwarfed Gabriel's in every sense. He had felt the arrival of the elder Archangel before he ever landed and his enormous, midnight blue wings weren't relaxed, but flexed in an intimidating display. The Morningstar was dangerous.

Lucifer dropped to one knee in the grass and held out his hand. "Come here, little one," he said gently. "I won't harm you."

Eliyon came forward, not because he wanted to, Gabriel saw, but because he felt he had no choice. He hung his head when he stood in front of Lucifer and cast a furtive glance at Gabriel.

"It's alright, Eliyon," he promised. "He's not here to punish you."

Lucifer shot Gabriel a surprised look.

Gabriel glowered at him. "Yeah, I have all of you to thank for that," he said. "The first day, every time I'd look at him, he thought I was about to roast him."

Lucifer shook his head sadly. "I never wanted that," he said. "I never wanted my brothers to fear me. Look at me, Eliyon."

Eliyon raised his eyes to Lucifer's and he could see the terror consuming the Fledgling.

"I caused you harm the other day," Lucifer said. "That is something I never meant to do. Forgive me, little brother?"

Eliyon's eyes widened in shock and he nodded weakly. Then, his mouth fell open when he felt Lucifer extend his Grace in an invitation. Lucifer's Grace was immense and the thought of connecting to the Morningstar terrified him even more, but did he really have a choice?

"We are family, little one," Lucifer said. "Even though some seem to have forgotten."

"Gabriel h-hasn't," Eliyon stammered and then froze when he realized he'd spoken out of turn.

Lucifer smiled and chuckled. "No," he agreed. "He is our loudest reminder."

"I heard that," Gabriel commented. "Somebody needs to be," he added under his breath.

Eliyon relaxed just the tiniest bit and reached out to Lucifer's Grace, gasping when his warmth contacted the Morningstar's chill. He tensed against the sensation, then a moment later, he realized that it wasn't unpleasant, in fact, it felt invigorating.

"Oooh," he breathed as his wings fluffed and fluttered and a light shudder ran through him.

Gabriel laughed. "Yeah, Lucifer burns a little colder than the rest of us."

Lucifer smiled, then his eyes narrowed as he studied Eliyon's wings. "He's missing feathers, Gabriel."

"I thought they hadn't grown in yet," Gabriel replied.

"No," Lucifer said and there was a rumble of anger in his voice. "They are missing. What happened, Eliyon?" he asked in a low voice.

Eliyon shuffled his feet and dropped his eyes. "They keep pulling out my feathers," he said quietly.

"WHAT!?" Gabriel exclaimed and his own Grace flared in anger. "You never told me that!"

Eliyon gave him a helpless look. "I can't fly anyway, it…doesn't matter."

Lucifer cupped his chin and turned him back to look him in the eye. "Of course it matters," he said, his voice rippling with vehemence. "Wings are precious things, little one. No one is allowed to touch them without your consent." He cast a practiced eye over the downy things and his expression became gentle. "May I?"

Eliyon stared at him, startled that the Morningstar would ask his permission, and nodded.

"Spread them for me," Lucifer instructed. He wasn't about to force the Fledgling to move his wings.

Eliyon did and Lucifer examined one, then the other. "They will heal," he said, then he frowned thoughtfully. "However…"

He turned Eliyon around suddenly and wrapped his hands around the little Angel's torso. He placed his thumbs between the bases of his wings and pressed them into Eliyon's back, causing his wings to stretch even farther. Eliyon squawked in surprise as something tingled over and through his wings and it seemed as though he could feel them better. He had never realized how numb they were.

"They were cramped from how long you've kept them close," Lucifer explained. "Now, they will heal properly." He pressed his hands into the soft down, lightly kneading the skin and muscle underneath, testing for further injuries and Eliyon squirmed with the sensation, unable to decide if he wanted to laugh or run away. "You should have new feathers soon."

"Does that feel better, kiddo?" Gabriel asked once Lucifer had finished his ministrations.

"Yes," Eliyon replied breathlessly. "Much. Thank you!" he looked at Lucifer with wide eyes.

Lucifer smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Gabriel asked. "Test 'em out! Stretch 'em! It's the only way they'll get stronger."

Eliyon smiled and turned away, running and jumping as only a Fledgling could.

"He's a curious thing," Lucifer said.

"Hm?" Gabriel grunted, watching as Eliyon took a tumble that put grass in his hair.

"His Grace is…small," Lucifer said, almost to himself. "He might as well be human."

Gabriel snapped around to look up at him. "He's not human," he said sharply, suddenly not liking his brother's tone.

"No, of course not," Lucifer said in a placating tone. "But why would Father make an Angel with a Grace so…dim?"

"Well, I don't know!" Gabriel exclaimed in exasperation. "Why'd he make yours so bright? He just did. I'll tell you though, at rest, his Grace may not be that bright, but it's strong. I was checking him yesterday to see how well he was healing and…apparently, I poked a little too much and he flared on me. Let me tell you—whoo!—it still stings!"

"Hm," Lucifer grunted. "I am glad he's mending," he said and Gabriel heard an apology in his tone. "I imagine you'll keep him with you?"

"Might as well," Gabriel shrugged. "At least that way, I'll know that he'll alright. I'll socialize him, don't worry."

Lucifer's mouth twitched in amusement. Then, he unfurled his wings and took flight. Gabriel sighed and sat in the grass, glad that the day was passing so pleasantly. However, it seemed barely any time had passed before thunder rumbled through Heaven once more. Still, Gabriel was deeply relieved that, even though the air crackled with violence, his brothers never came to blows.

This kinda made me sad to write it, because Gabriel obviously loved Lucifer, which meant that Lucifer had been a loving brother. And all I could think about was the moment in Hammer of the Gods, the look on his face when Lucifer stabbed him. That just tears my heart up. I can't even see a gif of that without going NOOO!