Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Keefer, Maddy Love Castiel, RachelPhobia, CherylB1964, kb18142, FireChildSlytherin5, Lewlou15, PercyJfan1802, XxZessxX, latest-blooming-sakura-blossom, Chichi-10018, Tacodestroyeravenger, random yet loveable and sohrem666 for last chapter's reviews!

Thanks for all the kind words! You're all the best readers/reviewers an amateur author could hope for!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

13

It was an unspoken understanding between Gabriel and the older Winchester that they wouldn't talk about the things that had happened the previous night. Sam was the only one of them who had a hard time not bringing the topic up, but in this particular case, the archangel didn't want to encourage the kid to speak his mind. Even if Gabriel wouldn't have admitted it under torture, the events he had witnessed had touched him deeply.

It was a good thing that the two boys had decided that they wanted to help prepare the breakfast that day, so the archangel wasn't on his own, with his thoughts in the kitchen. Watching Sam and Dean argue over the matter of sausages versus ham to go with the hash browns they had agreed they wanted, was amusing to say the least.

"I will cook it and I want sausages!" the older Winchester finally stated in a decisive tone. The twelve year old made a point to stand completely straight, raising to his full height and trying to stare his younger brother down. They had to settle this dispute somehow and they were going to settle it by Dean winning!

"I could cook, too," Sam countered, crossing his arms in front of his chest immediately when it became clear that his brother was trying to show dominance through body language. Granted, the eight year old had little experience in the kitchen, most of the places they stayed at had nothing in the way of a real kitchen, but it wasn't as if Dean had had that much more practice. Though, if it was about cooking ramen noodles or instant soup, Sam was willing to admit that his brother was an expert.

"No, you can't, 'cause I've got the spatula!" Dean smirked, waving the spatula at his younger brother victoriously. The older Winchester took his chance to grab the package of sausages they had found in Gabriel's fridge earlier, while Sam was busy pouting. Of course, Dean had to rub salt into the wounds while they were still fresh. "Chef chooses the meal, spectator shuts his cake hole!"

"Dean!" Sam whined, stretching his brother's name for all it was worth. The eight year old looked to the archangel for support for a moment before he quickly looked away again. The adult had enough of his own trouble without being bothered with their petty fight. Gabriel hadn't told them anything about what had happened the previous night, but it was obvious that it bothered him. The younger Winchester knew better than to bother an adult when they were busy with their own problems.

"Tomorrow then, Sambo," Gabriel commented with a small grin, ruffling the kid's hair for good measure. Honestly, if Sam didn't want to get his hair ruffled all the time, he shouldn't keep it at this perfectly ruffle-able length!

"Okay," the younger Winchester readily agreed. He gave the adult a smile that showed his dimples, even if it was a little forced. Sam just wanted to help Gabriel feel better by being a good kid, not causing trouble and not talking back. The strategy worked with their father most of the time, though it was very hard to please John Winchester at times. Not that the eight year old was always trying to please him, but he did try a lot more often than his dad gave him credit for.

"You're a good kid," Gabriel whispered too silently for Dean to hear over the sizzling of the sausages and hash browns in the pans. Sam's brilliant smile was completely real this time and it didn't even waver as the archangel ruffled his hair once more.

Their breakfast was just about to be ready, when suddenly the doorbell rung. The archangel shrugged when the boys looked at him expectantly and turned to go and answer the door.

"Look at that, little bro knows how to use a doorbell," Gabriel chuckled humorlessly, stepping aside to let Castiel enter. The archangel couldn't say that he was pleased to see his brother again this soon, but he knew that the two children, Dean especially, would be. It also had to be noted that Castiel had been standing in front of the door, looking more awkward than Gabriel had ever seen him before and that really meant something.

"The mechanism is not very complicated," the seraph replied, inclining his head as he walked past his older brother. Castiel had had his doubts about paying his brother and their two human charges a visit, but it had stood to reason that keeping his distance and possibly upsetting Dean, would in turn anger Gabriel even more. Castiel knew he had to tread carefully.

"Cas! You're having breakfast with us!" Dean exclaimed happily and interrupted the heavy silence with it. The older Winchester wasn't stupid. He realized something was going on between the two adults. The twelve year old just chose to ignore it, in favor of making sure that Castiel stayed for a while. The dark-haired adult wouldn't get out of eating something this time! Dean had personally prepared their breakfast and Castiel would have no choice but to at least try everything.

"Sammy! We need a fourth plate!" Dean yelled back toward the kitchen to his younger brother. All the shots had been called already, so now the adults simply had to go along with it.

Gabriel shook his head slightly, but went back toward the kitchen. He wasn't going to tell Castiel to leave, because the one suffering the most from it would be Dean. The kid hadn't done anything to deserve that and the archangel wouldn't let the preteen's feelings be collateral damage in a dispute between himself and Castiel.

Surprisingly enough, the seraph had the presence of mind not to say anything about not requiring sustenance, when the older Winchester put a plate in front of him. Castiel felt that he was treading on thin ice already and was trying to avoid angering his brother yet again. The angel had to admit the only reason he had contacted Gabriel the previous night had been to let the archangel witness first hand what the apocalypse was doing to their brothers, especially the ones unwilling to take a side. Castiel knew that he had pushed his luck and he couldn't help but think that he would have never done anything so clearly out of line before he had met Dean and to a lesser extent Sam.

"It is very enjoyable," the dark-haired adult commented, after trying the first bite of the sausage the older Winchester had put on his plate. The seraph preferred the taste to the chili peppers he had tried. However, he wouldn't have seen a reason to eat most of the sausage and then go on to the hash browns, if it hadn't been for the expectant looks Dean was shooting him and the satisfied expression on the boy's face that always appeared when Castiel showed his enjoyment of the meal.

Gabriel grinned slightly, watching the scene. He never met his brother's eyes directly or made an effort to talk to him, however. Not that any of them got much of a chance to speak to Castiel, when Dean was determined to fill the seraph in on every last little thing he hadn't been present for.

"I'll show you my room!" the older Winchester suddenly decided, nearly jumping off his chair in his eagerness. He wasn't going to have the room for much longer, but that didn't mean that Dean liked it any less. Castiel had to see it at least once!

"I cooked, so Sammy will do the dishes," the twelve year old added on an afterthought, giving his little brother a big grin. Sometimes teasing Sammy was just way too much fun and it was one of Dean's older brother duties, anyway.

Sam opened his mouth to give a fitting reply to that, but after a moment of consideration he just nodded without saying a word. The younger Winchester didn't want to start an argument when the tension between Castiel and Gabriel hung so heavily in the air. Sam also didn't want to ruin Cas' visit for his brother. It wasn't like he minded doing the dishes, anyway. Besides, there'd be a time to tell Dean exactly what Sam had thought of this later.

"You don't have to let your brother get away with anything for my sake, munchkin," Gabriel commented, as soon as the older Winchester had quite literally dragged Castiel to his room and the archangel was left alone with the eight year old. It was awfully nice of the kid to consider the archangel's feelings like that, but it also made Gabriel uncomfortable. The archangel's attachment to the Winchester boys, especially the younger one, was reaching levels he hadn't even dreamed were possible.

"'S no big deal," Sam mumbled, collecting the dishes and cutlery to load the dishwasher. Doing the dishes without making a fuss was even less of a big deal, with a dishwasher involved, really.

Gabriel shook his head fondly and huffed out a laugh, grabbing the last few pieces the younger Winchester hadn't been able to carry safely in one go. Between the two of them, it only took a very short time to stow all the dirty dishes away. The archangel nearly wished that they had more chores to busy themselves with together, when Sam looked up at him from under his bangs with a very hard to read expression. Whatever the kid had to say, Gabriel probably wouldn't like it that much. That was what the archangel read from the kid's all too nervous expression, anyway. What the younger Winchester actually had to say came as a surprise, however.

"It'll be okay, you know?" Sam finally managed to say trying, but failing to smile encouragingly. "You… you 'nd Cas… you're brothers and… I'm mad at Dean all the time, but he's my brother and that's more important… and I love him no matter what."

Gabriel blinked a few times dumbly, just trying to take everything the kid had just said in. The younger Winchester had just hit damn close to the bull's-eye without having an inkling of an idea of what everything was really about. The archangel had known how perceptive and good at puzzling things together Sam could be, from the months the younger Winchester had spent hunting him after the Broward County incident. If he had been a lesser trickster, he would have been caught and staked long before he had chosen to get into contact with the hunter. Having those very abilities used on Gabriel – from a little kid version of Sam, no less – in an attempt to comfort him, was both very disarming and heartwarming.

"That's why you're my favorite, Sambo," the archangel stated before his inner censor could stop the words from leaving his mouth. The younger Winchester just stared at Gabriel with wide eyes, looking like the little confession had thoroughly shocked him. "Oh, come on, don't give me that look! Not like I'd tell Dean-o, or treat him any different because of it."

Honestly, Dean was a great kid, too. He was loudmouthed and snarky, but he was a very brave boy who was constantly trying to protect his little brother. There was nothing to dislike about the older Winchester – at least not about his twelve year old self – but the archangel had just made a better connection to the younger brother, there was simply no use denying it.

"That's not…" Sam shook his head, trying to get a better grip on his voice and find the right words to say. What he came up with in the end was, "Dean is everyone's favorite."

Gabriel bowed down to hug the eight year old tightly. Honestly, he wasn't so much of a touchy-feely guy that he constantly had to hug everyone, but it looked like the archangel was making an exception for the Sampaloompa.

"Let's just say, I'm a total Sam fan."

There weren't that many things that Dean had to show to Castiel. Most of the stuff in his room was only temporarily his. Not that it kept him from pointing out how the TV set had cable and giving a short list of all the things he had been able to watch in the past few days. It didn't seem like Castiel knew anything much about the things the older Winchester was talking about, though.

"Oh right, that's really awesome!" Dean exclaimed, kneeling down next to his duffle bag to find his homerun ball. He had put it in there just in case they'd have to leave Gabriel's place quickly. He didn't want to forget to take it along under any circumstances. It wouldn't have been the first time that some personal thing or another got lost due to a hasty relocation.

"It's even signed! The guy was totally nice, too. You should have seen it, Cas," the older Winchester babbled on, allowing the adult to hold the ball so he could get a better look at it, "Gabriel just walked up to the guy and offered him a Pepsi and asked him to sign the ball and he totally did."

The seraph nodded along dutifully, examining the writing on the ball. It apparently was something very special, even if Castiel couldn't completely follow. He knew that humans made it a habit to collect signatures of people they looked up to, but knowing the facts didn't mean that the angel could comprehend the feelings that drove people to do such things.

"What's wrong between you and Gabriel, anyway?" Dean asked all of a sudden, changing the topic so quickly that Castiel once more, had a hard time following.

The seraph sincerely doubted that his brother would appreciate him sharing the story of what had happened with one of their little charges. Presenting the mere facts to Dean didn't sound like a bad idea, however. "I have pushed him into something without consulting him on the matter first."

The older Winchester frowned thoughtfully for a moment before he shrugged lightly. "It's the job of an older brother to make the hard decisions. I bet you had your reasons."

Castiel nodded which earned him a smile from Dean. However, the older Winchester's logic was flawed and the seraph thought it was his duty as the guardian to inform the twelve year old of it. "Actually, Gabriel is the older brother."

"That's not okay then," Dean replied in a reprimanding tone. It took a few more moments before shock set in on his face as it dawned at him that Castiel had just said, that the significantly shorter Gabriel was his older brother. That should better not be some sort of foreshadowing, dammit!