There is an NC-17 version of this chapter available at my LiveJournal, which is the-dicethrower, followed by livejournal and then .com. This chapter should be the only difference between the version posted there and the version posted here, because yes, the angels do get it on.

I am a firm believer that angels, not just fallen/falling angels, are sexual creatures, but not in the same way animals are, for procreation. They relish closeness with their brothers, because they're not-quite a hive mind society. Being near another angel reaffirms his value to them and theirs to him. It's sort of a sign of respect and love, and it's why angels have such big issues with personal space bubbles (yes, Cas, we're looking at you!). Give them a body, and they want to get that body as close to other bodies as they can, again, as a way to reaffirm love and value and connection among each other, or among humans they value, or what have you. Anna, Balthazar, Gabriel, Zachariah… all of these angels in the show have expressed genuine sexual interest. Virginal Castiel is more of the exception than the rule, I think. Even when he and Dean are talking about sex, Castiel is a virgin not because sex is abhorrent to angels, but because he "never had occasion" (because the angels tease him and never let him play their angel games!).

So… yes. That little soapbox aside, enjoy the chapter!

CAIN AND ABEL

Envesseled, Gabriel could run, jump, and fly, though every gesture felt heavy, weighted down by the solid mass of flesh and bone he wore over his spirit. Gabriel experimented with his human body, scrambling up a tree and pursuing a deer by leaping through the branches. Vindonnus had been hunting, Gabriel realized, the information offered up by the quiet soul he carefully held within him. He should help Vindonnus out in exchange for borrowing his body.

The bow was confusing to figure out. Angels fought with blades and wings, not with ranged weapons like this. If they needed to hit something over a distance, they used blasts of pure grace or threw a blade. Gabriel's fingers seemed to know how to hold the bow and arrow, but the actions felt stiff and ungainly to the angel. With a growl, he tucked the bow aside and drew a short sword from his grace instead. The deer he had been following was now standing still, unaware of his presence.

A quick glance ahead through time showed that the deer was going to die today anyway. If Gabriel didn't kill it, Vindonnus would. Either way, she would feed his family. Gabriel shifted on the branch, lining up his shot before flinging his knife forward.

Gabriel might not like to fight, but that didn't mean he couldn't. The deer dropped instantly, an angel's blade buried in her skull. Gabriel hopped out of the tree and knelt beside her carcass. "I'm sorry, pretty one, but humans need to eat. Thank you for your life. It will sustain his family." He touched his hand gently over the doe's eyes, closing them, before easily scooping her up and hoisting her over one shoulder. He'd drop this off at the camp where he could feel the rest of Vindonnus' family, and then he'd go off again, testing his limits while within a human vessel.

When he finally slid out of Vindonnus, only an hour had passed. The man staggered, but Gabriel caught him and held him steady while he found his feet again. "That was amazing!"

Vindonnus gave the angel a shaky grin. "It worked?"

Gabriel nodded. "I entered your camp, and no one was hurt!"

"What!?" Vindonnus stared at Gabriel. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing!" Gabriel assured the man. "I brought them a deer—you were trying to hunt for them when you found me, right?" Vindonnus nodded, and Gabriel gently squeezed his arms. "I brought them a deer and told them I—you—would be back soon. I just wanted to see if humans could bear my presence while I was envesseled."

"You… brought food to my family?"

Gabriel nodded. "Was that… was that okay? I wanted to give you something in thanks for letting me use your body."

"If you help my family, you are a friend of mine," Vindonnus decided. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Gabriel insisted. "My brothers and I have been trying to figure out how to take a vessel for months now. Now I know, and I can teach them. May I bring them to you, to show them?"

Vindonnus nodded. "I would not say no to a god-messenger. But… could you come back during the night, when my family sleeps? I don't want them to be scared."

"I can do that," Gabriel agreed. "Thank you again, Vindonnus. I'll see you soon." He stepped back from the human and spread his wings, watching amazement fill Vindonnus' face again. A second later, he was gone, leaping into the sky and hurtling between the planes to return to Heaven.

Who to tell first? Gabriel's choir was the obvious answer—they needed to learn how to take vessels to do their jobs—but Gabriel was worried that Vindonnus might just be a fluke. What if it didn't work with them? Cariel would be happy to test things with him, but Cariel was confined to Heaven. Sammael? Sammael always took time to teach Gabriel whenever he figured out something new. Gabriel had never had an opportunity to return the favor. And Gabriel couldn't possibly lose face in front of Sammael if it didn't work a second time. Sammael would be fascinated by Gabriel's experience and try to figure out what went wrong. Sammael was the perfect brother to go to. Gabriel flared his grace to Sammael, a silent Where are you? but Sammael didn't answer. Gabriel had to look for him the long way.

Sammael wasn't in his tower, but Azazel suggested Gabriel check the fields just to the north. Michael had been by, and he and Sammael frequently went there to spend time together. Thanking Sammael's second, Gabriel took off again, pushing his wings as hard as he could, practically bursting at the seams to tell someone about his vessel.

Michael and Sammael were in the fields, facing off against each other with their swords drawn. They were just sparring, Gabriel recognized, and from the gleeful tint to their graces, they were both thoroughly enjoying themselves. Michael and Sammael were easily the best warriors of God, the strongest and fastest angels ever made. Even Gabriel and Raphael were no match for them in combat. They could only truly have a challenge when they battled each other. Their swords flickered through the air between them, silver blades ringing like bells whenever they came together. Strike, parry, feint, thrust, the two angels danced across the field in perfect sync. Gabriel folded his wings and dove toward them, wondering if they would even notice his presence or if they were too wrapped up in each other.

Michael gave a shout, yanking his sword back as Gabriel interrupted their match, and Sammael danced back a few steps, laughing, stretching his wings forward to catch Gabriel and pull him close. "That was dangerous, little brother!"

"You'd never hurt me." Gabriel flung his arms around Sammael, hugging him tightly. "Am I interrupting anything important?"

"Interrupting, yes," Michael said, sheathing his sword with an indulgent look in his eyes as he watched his younger brothers. "Important, not really. Did something happen, Gabriel?"

Gabriel couldn't contain the burst of excitement that flooded his grace at Michael's question, a brilliant flash of light. "Yes!"

"Something good, obviously!" Sammael laughed. "Did Cariel's wings heal?"

"No, this has nothing to do with Cariel." Gabriel flapped his wings to put himself at Sammael's height, his feet off the ground. "I took a vessel!"

"You did what?" Sammael held Gabriel at arm's length, staring at his little brother. "A vessel? You figured it out?"

"I did! I met a human whose eyes didn't melt, and I spoke with him and his ears didn't bleed, and… and I took him as a vessel!" Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Michael, who looked impressed. "It was incredible. I had a body, a mouth, skin, weight…"

"Show us!" Sammael released Gabriel, letting him land, though his own wings were spread and flexing impatiently. "Show us how to take a vessel, Gabriel."

Gabriel nodded eagerly, but Michael took a step back. "Perhaps you two should go alone."

"Nonsense," Sammael declared. "Michael, we already agreed; we're spending today together. Filiel can handle Heaven while you take one day to play on Earth."

"Play?" Michael repeated skeptically, but Sammael was nudging Gabriel to follow his lead and holding out his hands to his older brother.

"Please, Michael? Please come to Earth with us? It won't be as much fun without you!"

"Pleeeeease?" Gabriel echoed, mimicking Sammael's pleading stance. "Oh please, Michael, we never spend time together these days, just the three of us!"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" If Sammael could shrink himself to the size of a fledgling again, Gabriel was sure he would, just to get Michael to succumb to his begging. It wasn't necessary. Even as Michael was shaking his head and taking another step back, he was also laughing and stretching his hands forward to them.

"Fine! If you both really want me there, I'll go!"

Sammael grabbed Michael's hands and yanked him forward into a hug, lifting his older brother off his feet. "Let's do this! Lead the way, Gabriel!"

Gabriel made sure to fly through time as well as the planes, landing hours later than when he left Earth. The sun had set in Vindonnus' part of the world, and his little family camp was quiet and still. Vindonnus himself sat awake by a small fire, shaping some sticks with his knife.

"That's him," Gabriel whispered, peering through the trees with Michael and Sammael at his side. All three of them were veiled to human senses at the moment. Even Vindonnus was unaware of their presence. "That's Vindonnus. My vessel."

"He doesn't look at all unique," Sammael said.

"No, look again," Michael pointed. "See his soul, there? That pattern?"

Sammael cocked his head to the side, studying Vindonnus, before his eyes widened, and he looked sharply at Gabriel. "Oh!"

"Oh what?" Gabriel asked, squinting at the human. "I don't see anything special."

"One of the patterns in his soul," Michael explained. "Those jagged lines? It's similar to your spirit."

"It looks like you when you were a fledgling, pudgy and undeveloped, but definitely yours," Sammael said. "Maybe that's why you didn't hurt him. Your grace and his soul resonate the same."

"It's a theory," Michael mused. "Can you call him over? Sammael doesn't have that pattern. If his presence hurts the human, then it could very well be the key to finding vessels."

"I don't want to hurt Vindonnus." Gabriel looked between his brothers, suddenly wondering if this had been a good idea.

"I'll only reveal myself a little," Sammael said, holding up finger and thumb barely apart. "And I'll veil again if it hurts him. No permanent damage."

"We'll heal him if it goes wrong, Gabriel," Michael said, and Gabriel's name was a soothing caress to his worries. "Call him over."

Gabriel nodded and slipped out of the trees, crossing invisibly to Vindonnus' side. He crouched by the human, reaching out to run his fingers along the man's arm.

Vindonnus jumped, looking around in alarm. "Gabriel?"

"Yes," Gabriel answered. "Vindonnus, my brothers have come. They are in the trees now, and would like to meet you. Could you come with me?"

"I should wake my brother," Vindonnus said, though he was already setting aside his tools. "Someone needs to watch my family while I am gone."

"Your family will be safe." Gabriel drew a few protective sigils in the dust at their feet and murmured a word of power to activate them. "No harm can come to them here while you are with me."

"You promise?"

"I promise." It was the least Gabriel could do for Vindonnus. The sigils would keep low-level danger away. If anything big came, like dragons, or the last few unicorns… well, Vindonnus wouldn't have been able to protect his family from those anyway. The wards would make sure Gabriel knew of the danger, and then Gabriel could come flying back to try to protect the humans.

Vindonnus rose to his feet and held out one hand. Gabriel curled his fingers around it and gave a little tug to get Vindonnus walking in the right direction.

Just beyond the trees, Michael and Sammael were waiting with identical ripples of incredulity in their grace. "You said you could talk to the human," Sammael murmured, keeping his voice hidden. "I didn't quite believe you!"

"Vindonnus is special." Gabriel loosened his hold on his grace, letting enough spill out so Vindonnus could see him again. The man grinned as he turned toward the light, giving Gabriel's hand another one of those delicate squeezes. "Vindonnus, my brothers are here. Michael is standing in front of that tree, and Sammael is here at my side." He gestured to where the other Archangels were, even though Vindonnus could not see them. "Sammael wants to show himself to you. If it hurts, please close your eyes immediately and tell me."

Vindonnus nodded. "You are the god-messenger," he said, grinning cheekily at Gabriel.

"God-messenger?" Sammael echoed.

"Oh, shut up," Gabriel muttered back to his brother.

Sammael laughed and started to release his own grace. Following Gabriel's lead, he unfurled himself slowly to give Vindonnus time to react.

Almost immediately, the man cried out and stepped back, releasing Gabriel's hand to cover his eyes with his arms.

"Stop it!" Gabriel snapped at Sammael, stepping in front of Vindonnus and pressing his hands over the man's face. "Vindonnus, Vindonnus, are you all right?" Sammael had yanked his grace back again, waiting silently. "Vindonnus, it's okay. He's hidden again. Let me see your eyes."

"That hurt," Vindonnus whispered, gingerly lowering his arms. "You don't hurt, but he does."

"We think you are meant for Gabriel only," Michael said, pitching his voice as quiet as he could but not trying to veil it. Vindonnus still winced, covering his ears, and Gabriel shot an exasperated look over his shoulder at his brother. Michael met his gaze calmly. That had been another test.

"That was Michael," Gabriel told Vindonnus, cupping his head in his hands and rubbing his thumbs lightly over the man's jaw, trying to soothe some of his ache. "He thinks you are meant only for me."

"I don't like your brothers," Vindonnus grumbled. "They're too loud, too bright. You're perfect."

"You have an admirer," Sammael cooed, until Gabriel swatted him with a wing. He ducked it, laughing.

"We'll just have to find our own humans, ones who resonate with our grace," Michael said. "Could you show us how you took this man—Vindonnus—as your vessel, Gabriel?"

Gabriel nodded, focusing on the human in front of him again. "Vindonnus, may I take you as my vessel again?"

"Bring back more food?" Vindonnus asked with a grin. Gabriel nodded and Vindonnus nodded back. "Yes."

The air shimmered gold between them again. Gabriel glanced over at Michael and Sammael, but neither of them seemed to notice it. Maybe it was something only Gabriel could see. He touched the link and poured himself into the human.

It was easier this time. Vindonnus didn't feel quite as tight, though it was still a snug fit. Gabriel rolled his head on his shoulders and grinned at his brothers. Michael and Sammael had stepped closer to him, their eyes wide.

"Gabriel?" Sammael reached out and prodded Gabriel in the forehead. Gabriel laughed and stepped back.

"That's all there is to it! What do you think?" He spread his arms and turned slowly for his brothers.

"You look like him, but also like you." Michael leaned in, peering intently at Gabriel. He wasn't as brilliant in Gabriel's eyes. The edges of his form seemed fuzzy and indistinct, and his voice felt weird, distorted, but he was still definitely Michael. Sammael was also fuzzy and sounded funny, but neither were causing Gabriel any pain to see or hear. "Your grace is layered over his soul. The patterns match." He stroked his fingers over Gabriel's body, marveling at the sight.

"You're tracking us," Sammael said, his eyes on Gabriel's face. "You can see us, hear us?"

"Of course I can," Gabriel answered. "You look fuzzy, but-" Even as he spoke, Sammael's grace brightened and grew more defined, more like the angel Gabriel was accustomed to looking at. Michael followed suit a moment later. "Much better!"

"We're not veiled now," Sammael said. "No pain?"

"None." Gabriel looked inward, at Vindonnus' soul. "He isn't reacting either."

"That's all there is to it?" Michael asked. "You find a human that can endure you and just… reach?"

"I think he has to say yes," Gabriel said. "I think you have to ask him to be your vessel, and he says yes. Every time Vindonnus says yes, this golden bridge appears, linking us together. I just touched it, and I could slip inside him."

"Find a human, ask him to be your vessel, touch the bridge?" Sammael nodded. "I think we can do that. Michael? Let's go find some vessels of our own."

Gabriel grinned. "Be careful!" he called after his brothers as they both took to the sky.

Michael and Sammael were going to want to test their limits as soon as they had vessels, Gabriel knew from his own experience. He didn't want to risk them disturbing Vindonnus' family, so he spread his wings outside Vindonnus' body and took to the sky. While his brothers sought out their vessels, Gabriel could search for a section of land mostly isolated from humanity.

Halfway around the world, Gabriel had some success. A thick, ancient forest covered a wide swath of land, and there were miles and miles without humans. The sun was still bright here, breaking through the thick foliage in places. Gabriel pressed his hands against the moss-covered trunk of a gnarled tree and grinned up at the branches. This would be perfect for his brothers.

A flare of grace attracted Gabriel's attention, and he turned, brightening his own in response. Sammael had called to him. He must have been successful.

Moments later, two swarthy humans with the massive wings of Archangels landed near him. Gabriel's eyes widened as he took in the human forms of his brothers.

Both men were tall, with long dark hair and prominent noses. Sammael's vessel stood a handspan above Michael's, and his eyes were a dark, dark brown, rich and inviting. Michael's vessel was broader in the shoulders than Sammael's, and his eyes were the same earthy green as the moss behind Gabriel. Both men were older than Vindonnus, but neither had hair on their faces. They wore similar skirts of sheepskin wrapped around their waists and pinned in place, but nothing else covering their dark skin.

Sammael smiled first, his mouth stretch stiffly with the unfamiliar gesture. "These humans want to express everything through their faces," he said. "I keep doing this." He reached up, pressing fingers against his lips.

"You're smiling," Gabriel explained. "It's happiness."

"I know what a smile is," Sammael pinched his lower lip and tugged it out before releasing it. "I've just never felt one firsthand."

"I like your smile," Michael said. "It's like a physical image of your grace."

Sammael smiled again at Michael's words, and the expression was much more relaxed this time.

Gabriel grinned at both of them. Smiling had come naturally to him, in Vindonnus' body. The man's face seemed naturally inclined to smile, even when he was at rest. "Your vessels look alike! Did you find them near each other?"

The older angels exchanged a glance before nodding. "They're actually brothers," Michael explained. "Mine is named Hevel, and he is a shepherd."

"And I have taken Qayin." Sammael's smile shifted into a smirk as he leaned against Michael's shoulder. "Qayin's a farmer and he's older."

"A fact which Sammael has reminded me of no fewer than six times in the minutes we've been envesseled." Michael shoved lightly at Sammael to knock him off his shoulder. "They were asleep when we found them. I'm not entirely sure if they realized we weren't a dream."

"But they did say yes. You're right; consent does seem to be the key to taking a vessel."

"Have you done anything with them yet?" Gabriel asked. "Ran? Jumped? Obviously you flew."

"That was bizarre," Michael marveled, pressing his hands against his chest. "Earth has always called to me, but with these bodies, I felt drawn to it. I understand what you meant, Gabriel. Having a weight is…" He shook his head, at a loss for a description.

Gabriel jerked his head toward the tree. "If you thought that was weird, try this." He turned from his brothers, folding his wings fully inside his vessel, and grabbed the trunk, finding a knot for one hand. Using nothing more than his body and the tree itself, Gabriel clambered up the side to a wide, sturdy branch. "No wings!"

On the ground, Michael and Sammael looked at each other again before they both broke for the tree, fighting each other for good places to grip or dig their toes in. Gabriel swung a leg over the branch, straddling it, and laughed as he watched their ascent. Michael was in obviously in a rare playful mood as he shouldered Sammael to the side, dodging a gentle kick from his brother. Gone was the Prince of Heaven, the first Son of God, and in its place was Gabriel's big brother, who used to race him between the stars. Sammael's jests were much more common than Michael's, but even so, Gabriel's brothers seemed to have reconnected with their inner fledglings as they connected with their human vessels.

Sammael reached the branch Gabriel was on first, though not for lack of Michael trying to pull him down. He crowed happily, clambering around Gabriel to straddle the branch behind him. Michael just smiled fondly at his brothers, settling down against the trunk. "That was-"

"Exhilarating?" Gabriel offered, crawling forward to fling his arms around Michael's neck. Michael easily returned the embrace, his warm arms wrapping around Gabriel's back. "We have muscles now, Michael! Muscles pulling weight, and fingers gripping tight to hold us up!" He leaned back against Michael's grip, thrusting his hands at Michael's face and wiggling said fingers.

Michael laughed, releasing Gabriel to catch his hands. "And faces, Gabriel, faces making the most amusing expressions, especially yours!" He tapped Gabriel's nose, and Gabriel scrunched it up in response, making Michael laugh again.

"Faces are all well and good, but I'm enjoying these muscles." Sammael pressed his hands against the branch and pushed himself up to his feet, balancing carefully on the tree. "I can feel them working to hold me up, compensating if I move too much to one side or the other. I'm not even telling them what to do. They move as easily as our wings." He turned slowly, bare feet curling around the branch. "What do you say we test these muscles out some more? What else was there, Gabriel? Running? Jumping?" Sammael tilted his head to the side and grinned, lifting one hand to beckon to his brothers before taking off. He ran down the branch and leapt, catching himself in another tree as easily as a squirrel. The branch shook beneath Sammael's weight, but he didn't fall off. Instead, he looked back at Michael and Gabriel, a challenge glimmering in his dark eyes. "Catch me if you can!"

Gabriel scrambled to his feet, immediately giving chase. He leapt from tree to tree without any fear—just because they weren't using their wings now didn't mean they couldn't, in case something went wrong. The trees creaked and groaned, showering leaves and twigs onto the forest floor as the three Archangels raced across their branches, shimmying around their trunks and clambering further up into the canopy. Michael caught Sammael first and immediately darted away, leading a chase through the branches to the north. Gabriel eventually got close enough to brush Michael's arm and both his older brothers turned on him.

Sammael was racing along branches above Gabriel, trying to get the drop on him, quite literally, while Michael was steadily gaining as he doggedly followed Gabriel's path exactly. Gabriel hurled himself at a giant oak, too busy taunting his brothers to pay attention to the lack of leaves on this particular tree. He yelped as the dead branch cracked under his weight, sending him toppling toward the ground.

"Gabriel!" Michael and Sammael's voices harmonized even in their vessels as they cried out for him. They had forgotten the game, but Gabriel hadn't. He flared out his wings as he fell, turning his crash into a roll to spring back to his feet, and then he was off running again, glancing back behind him.

"You think a little tumble will slow me down?"

Gabriel could just make out his brothers sharing one of their silent looks before they leapt from the tree, gliding down on their own wings to give chase once more.

In the trees, agility and dexterity could keep Gabriel ahead of the taller Sammael or the stronger Michael, but on the ground, Sammael's long legs were proving advantageous. He pulled ahead of Michael, catching Gabriel just before he could vault over a small creek. Gabriel couldn't help the squeal that erupted from his throat as Sammael wrapped his arms around his waist and swept him off his feet, swinging him in a circle, both of them laughing. Gabriel kicked his legs out in front of him, feeling like a fledgling himself all over again, leaning back against Sammael's solid chest.

And then, just like when Gabriel was a fledgling, Sammael let go, heaving him into the creek. "Ack!" Gabriel splashed into the water, flailing in the sluggish current. Sammael howled with laughter, nearly bent double from the force of his joy.

Even Michael was grinning as he walked into the scene, though Michael proved he was the nicer brother by also stepping forward to offer Gabriel a hand out of the creek. Gabriel closed his fingers around Michael's arm, letting the older angel haul him out of the mud and water. Sammael still laughed as Michael drew Gabriel onto dry land, though he had toned it down to just a snicker as he approached Gabriel.

Gabriel dropped to his knees, shaking his dripping arms ruefully. He pouted at Sammael, but he wasn't really upset. Water was his least favorite element, but it wasn't going to kill him to be wet.

Sammael folded his long legs and sat in front of Gabriel, his brown gaze caressing Gabriel's face. He reached forward, pushing Gabriel's sodden curls aside, then drew back to frown thoughtfully at the water now on his fingers. As Michael and Gabriel both watched, Sammael lifted his fingers to his nose, sniffing them thoughtfully, before his tongue darted out to taste.

Taste. Gabriel was suddenly very aware of his own tongue, something he had never bothered to consider before. He rolled it in his mouth, feeling the hard lines of his teeth, the smooth curve of his palette turning into the spongy roof of his mouth. Behind him, he could hear Michael humming thoughtfully to himself.

Sammael suddenly leaned in, running his tongue lightly over Gabriel's lips. Gabriel gasped at the contact, freezing on the spot. Sammael was frozen as well, his face inches from Gabriel's own, just staring at him.

No angel had ever licked another angel before. Sammael got the dubious honor of that first. But licking itself… humans sometimes licked each other. Cats and dogs did too, and plenty of other animals. It was a very Earthly thing to do, and Gabriel wanted to experience everything. He met Sammael's eyes and nodded slowly, not trusting words at the moment.

Deliberately, Sammael leaned in again, sweeping his tongue against Gabriel's lips again, slower this time, allowing Gabriel to savor the electric brush of wet flesh against his mouth. He could hear the quiet thump of Michael sitting down beside them and could just make out his oldest brother leaning toward them, fascinated interest written across his face.

Sammael lifted his hands to Gabriel's face, smoothing his fingers over the copper fuzz on his cheeks. He continued to explore with his mouth, tongue sweeping up Gabriel's jaw and across his cheek. Sammael pressed his lips to the tip Gabriel's nose, then dragged them up to finish with a lick between his brows. Gabriel's eyes fluttered closed involuntarily, and he bit his lip as Sammael's mouth ghosted over each closed eyelid.

A third hand brushed against Gabriel's hair, pushing it back, and Gabriel tilted his head with the caress. He could feel Michael even closer now, could sense his grace moments before the oldest angel curled his tongue down the whorls of Gabriel's ear, closing his lips over Gabriel's earlobe and sucking gently. Gabriel's body twitched at the flood of want, another gasp escaping him from the unexpected magnitude of the sensation. He reached out blindly, finding Michael's bare knee and curling his fingers around the bone, needing to ground himself.

Sammael took advantage of Gabriel's gasp, surging in to press their lips together, keeping Gabriel's open with a press of his tongue. This was a kiss, Gabriel knew. Humans did this all the time, to show love and affection, and as a precursor to fornication. Fornication made babies, or it could be done just for the fun of it.

For the fun of it. Everything Gabriel had ever known about sex had come from just watching God's creations, but it all paled in light of the desire Sammael was inducing with nothing more than lips and tongue and the heat of his body, so close to Gabriel's own. Only his hands were on Gabriel now, holding him in place, keeping his head still as he plundered Gabriel's mouth.

Humans had sex for the fun of it, but also because they needed to, Gabriel was realizing. Want and desire turned into a desperate need that sizzled down Gabriel's spine, setting off sparks across his skin. He clutched desperately at Michael's knee, as if somehow, his brother could help him.

Michael did react, because now Gabriel could feel fingers brushing against the corner of his mouth, against Sammael's, exploring their kiss. He couldn't help but smile, feeling Sammael echo the expression against his lips.

Gabriel opened his eyes as Sammael drew back, meeting his gaze hopefully for a moment before Sammael turned toward Michael's fingers, rubbing his lips against them. Now it was Gabriel's turn to watch as green eyes met brown. The two older angels fell together, their mouths connecting like they were meant to be one. Gabriel couldn't tear his gaze away from the kiss. It was sloppy and wet, full of tongues and teeth as Michael and Sammael battled each other for dominance even here. Their hands found each other's, fingers lacing together and pulling apart, reaching for shoulders, sliding over chests, down arms, across backs.

Need. Gabriel clearly wasn't the only one filled with need if the way his brothers clung together was any indication. And he needed them, both of them. He groaned, digging fingers into Michael's knee, grabbing Sammael's, to keep his hands from reaching between them and breaking their contact.

He broke them apart anyway, their eyes flying open when they heard him, both drawing back just an inch. One perfect strand of saliva stretched between their swollen lips, keeping them connected as they stared at each other. They were communicating, Gabriel realized, not with words, but with a slide of Sammael's eyes, a cant of Michael's head. The bond between these partners was so great that they didn'tneed words. They turned to Gabriel in unison, and their mouths curved into identical smiles.

Gabriel was soon trapped between his brothers, caught between them as they competed to torture exquisite pleasure out of his body. He could do little more than react as his brothers loved him, loved each other. Sammael took it as a personal challenge to drive Michael crazy first, but Michael followed up by curling around Gabriel and bringing the burning need within him to a fiery crescendo. Gabriel screamed as his grace erupted with all the force of an ancient volcano. Michael's wings snapped out, catching Gabriel's grace in his own and soothing the frantic explosion of sensation.

So caught up was he in his own relief, Gabriel almost missed the moment when Sammael let go, buried deep within him. Sammael's brilliance exploded through the forest, winging through trees. He swept up Michael and Gabriel both in his exuberance, and for one endless moment, the three brothers were one, their graces thoroughly mixed. Gabriel knew intimately the depths of Michael's love, the breadth of Sammael's admiration, and he offered up the heights of his own joy. These were his brothers, his lights, his world, his everything. This is how they were meant to be.