After that last one, which apparently made everyone cry, I decided a little fluff was in order. This was just one I wrote one day when I wanted some big bro Gabe and fledgling Cas :)

Characters/ Setting: Gabriel, Castiel / WAY Preseries

Genre: Family, fluff

Rating: K

Fledging

Castiel groaned in discomfort as he lay on his stomach in bed, his tunic discarded so his wings would be unhampered. They were spread miserably across his back, the cause of his discomfort. He was hardly a fledgling anymore, and that was the problem. All his baby plumage was in the process of being replaced by his adult feathers and it was not an enjoyable process. The new feathers hurt and itched constantly as they grew in and as a result his whole back ached which only made him grumpy and snappish. All his peers were in the same boat, and of course this did not sit well with a certain archangel who shared the duty of looking after and training the fledglings. So he decided it was time to do something about it.

Castiel groaned into his pillow as he heard the door to the dormitory open and heard Gabriel's cheery whistling.

"Cassie, what are you doing in here on such a nice day! You should be out training with the others."

"Go away," Castiel muttered.

Gabriel stopped by his bed and bent to peer into his face. Castiel narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

"Sheesh, you look awful. I know fledging isn't fun, but you don't have to be so anal about it."

Castiel turned his head away from his big brother, and wished he would just go away. Of course, Gabriel only took that as in invitation to sit down on the edge of the bed, gathering up a few downy feathers that had fallen out of Castiel's wings.

"Hmm, You know, I know something that might help turn that frown upside down!" Gabriel said, waving the feathers he held and Castiel could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Gabriel, no," he moaned, knowing all too well what was coming.

"Gabriel, yes," Gabriel replied teasingly as he wiggled the feathers against the back of Castiel's neck, where, to his shame, he was very sensitive. There had been many a tussle lost when Gabriel had found out all he had to do was touch the back of the younger angel's neck and Castiel would instantly lose all concentration and scrunch up protectively. Castiel squinched his shoulders up now at the unwelcome tickling and tried to shift away from Gabriel.

"Come on, Cassie, don't be like that," Gabriel said, tickling more in earnest now. He moved down to Castiel's shoulder blades and Castiel groaned and jerked away, the movement sending aches through his wings and back.

"Gabriel stop, my back hurts!" he moaned, kicking at his brother.

Gabriel took the feathers away, much to Castiel's surprise. "Sorry bro." He brought the feathers back to Castiel's neck and then wiggled them against his nose too.

"Gabe, stop!" he cried and his wings jerked instinctively and clobbered Gabriel in the face, causing the archangel to splutter in surprise and stop tickling his younger brother.

"Wow, those sure pack some punch now. You're gonna have some strong wings there, little bro."

Castiel moaned, not caring at the moment. "I just want them to stop hurting. And they itch." He knew he was whining, but they were so uncomfortable at the moment that he couldn't help it.

Gabriel suddenly took pity on the younger angel, knowing exactly what he was going through, and ruffled his hair fondly. "They will. It will only be another week or so before all the new feathers come in and after that, you get to start flying lessons! And boy, is that a hoot!"

Castiel grunted noncommittally, not looking forward to much of anything at the moment.

Gabriel huffed. "But until then, let me show you what worked for me."

Castiel waited in bed as Gabriel left to get something, and was surprised when he came back, not with something else to torment him with, but something to help. Gabriel set down a steaming bowl of cloudy water on the side table and wet several cloths in it before laying them down over Castiel's wings. The appendages jerked slightly at the contact, but once the warmth crept in, he gave a moan of relief, sinking further into the bed.

"Better?" Gabriel asked, pleased by Castiel's nod. "Oatmeal water. So simple, but effective." He took up another cloth and bathed Castiel's back around his wing joints with it, the warmth soothing the ache that had been present for days. Castiel sighed and closed his eyes. Gabriel then gently worked his fingers through Castiel's wings, easing some of the more stubborn baby feathers out to make way for the new ones. It wasn't exactly a pleasant process, but once it was done, there was a lot less irritation where new quills were coming in without the old ones still sharing space. Finally when Gabriel was done with that, he rubbed Castiel's back and shoulders lightly and Cas sank further into the bed, cheek propped on his folded arms.

"Feeling better now?" Gabriel asked his little brother.

Castiel hummed in contentment and felt himself drifting off. Gabriel kept up the ministrations until he was sure Castiel was asleep and then replaced the rags with fresh ones before he left, ruffling his little brother's hair fondly one last time.