Chapter 10: ...And Red Boxers Too.
The trickster is sitting in his laz-E-boy chair and flipping through a copy of Weekly World News when someone knocks on the door to his small apartment. He looks up in surprise and his dog, Skittles, let's out a small bark.
He stands up out of the chair, his wings arching in curiosity behind him, and walks over to open the door. When he does, he is surprised again when he sees the female Winchester standing there. "Hiya! Nice boxers," she says, motioning towards his red silk boxers. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," he steps to the side, allowing Jean to enter his apartment. As she walks past him, he catches her scent; honeydew, rain, and vanilla; and his wings rise, stretch open, and the feathers fluff in a mating display. He frowns slightly in confusion; he doesn't understand why he feels the need to display for her. Sure, she's very attractive, but he's been with many beautiful women and he's never displayed for any of them. He forces his wings to relax as he shuts the door behind her then turns to face her, "I'm really glad to see you, sweetheart, but how'd you find me?"
Skittles bounds over to Jean, his stumpy tail wagging happily. She bends over to pet the energetic dog; giving him a perfect view of her rump. The feathers on his wings ruffle in arousal, but he quickly shakes the feeling off. "It's my job...I am a hunter, but you already knew that, didn't you?" She then stands up and turns to face him, "Trickster."
He raises an eyebrow at her statement and shrugs, "Okay, you caught me. So what now? Did you come here to kill me, sweetheart?"
"No," she states, while taking a seat on his couch. Skittles jumps up onto the couch and lays in her lap. "I don't kill tricksters. I find them necessary to keep the dicks from taking over the world."
He grins at her in amusement, "I could eat. Do you want anything?"
"The chocolate cake that's smothered in chocolate icing looks absolutely delicious," she replies while scratching Skittles behind his ears.
He reaches the kitchen table, which is covered with all kinds of sweets, and begins to cut her a slice of the chocolate cake. "So if you're not here to stake me, why are you here?"
"To be completely honest with you...I'm not completely sure you are a trickster. I mean, sure, the m.o. fits a trickster and, apparently, you have the sweet-tooth of a trickster, but one thing just isn't adding up..."
He chuckles slightly, amused by this feisty female. For the first time since he left Heaven and took on the guise of a trickster, someone may have figured out that he isn't what he claims to be. "Oh? And what would that be, sweetheart?"
He places a slice of cake on a plate for Jean as she replies to his question, "Your wings."
His head snaps up and all six of his wings flare open in surprise. "You can see them?"
Jean nods, "Yeah. They're very beautiful. But I don't understand why I can see them when my brothers can't?"
He becomes very serious, "You told Sam and Dean about my wings?"
Jean shakes her head, "No, I just asked them if they could see anything different about you and they said they couldn't. After that, I didn't bring it up again."
He cuts another piece of cake and places it on a different plate then he licks the frosting from his fingers. "It doesn't surprise me that your dunderhead brothers can't see my wings." He places a fork on both plates then picks the plates up and walks over to the couch. He hands a plate to Jean, shooing Skittles off of her lap, and then sits down beside her with his own plate. "As a matter of fact, 99.9 percent of humans can't see an angel's wings. Unless the angel chooses to show them and even then the person only sees the shadows of the wings."
It's Jean's turn to be surprised, "You're an angel? Like an actual angel?"
"Yep, the name's Gabriel." Jean turns to face Gabriel which causes her delicious scent to drift over to him again. Once again, his wings flare and the blue feathers fluff up in a mating display. Suddenly, an idea of just what the female Winchester is occurs to him, but he's having a hard time believing it, after all, they're incredibly rare.
"Wait, as in the archangel Gabriel? The messenger of God?" Jean asks, staring at his wings in awe.
"The very same, sweetheart," Gabriel replies, fluffing his wings even more in an attempt to impress her.
"So, what's an archangel doing impersonating a trickster? And why are your wings puffing up like that? Why can I see your wings when others can't? If angels are real, how come other hunters haven't seen one before? Since angels exist, does that mean God exists too? And the Devil? Does God know that I read smut in public? Do I have to stop reading smut and watching Casa Erotica?"
Gabriel's eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline in amusement and he chuckles, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! One question at a time, sweetheart." He then snaps his fingers and a bottle of unflavored vodka and different colored skittles appear on the table. "Skittle bomb? Which is, in my opinion, one of the best concoctions humans ever invented. Go ahead and help yourself, I have a feeling this is going to take a while." She looks at the skittles then at him before picking out all the green ones and putting them into the bottle of vodka. As she begins to shake the bottle of alcohol in order to dissolve the candy, Gabriel starts to answer her questions. "Pretending to be a trickster is my own version of the witness protection program. You see, thousands of years ago, before Luci was cast out of Heaven, he and Mikey were constantly fighting." Gabriel's wings droop in sadness and his feathers finally lay down flat. Jean pours him a glass of vodka and passes it to him before pouring herself a glass. Gabriel takes a sip of the drink before continuing, "I got tired of my brothers fighting all of the time, so I faked my own death and came down to Earth disguised as a trickster."
He waits for any questions Jean might have so far, but she remains silent, clearly enjoying the cake and vodka. Finally Jean looks at him and says, "I can understand why you left. I have two idiot brothers that fight a lot too. As a matter of fact, them fighting is one of the reasons why I'm here right now."
Gabriel laughs and his eyes shine in amusement, "I knew you'd understand, sweetheart. Anyway...yes, God exists. No, you don't have to quit reading smut or watching bad pornos. Dad has better things to do other than sit around on a cloud all day taking names of everyone who's watching, reading, or looking at porn." Or at least he did who knows what Dad is doing now; Gabriel adds inside of his head but doesn't dare tell the Winchester sister that.
Jean sighs in relief and finishes her cake, "That's kinda a relief to know that lightning isn't going to come from the sky and strike me dead because I'm reading YAOI manga."
Gabriel chuckles and his feathers fluff again, "No, but if you ever want to do more than read about sex, I'm more than willing to offer you my services." He grins and waggles his eyebrows at her.
Jean laughs, "So tell me about angels. Why hasn't any hunter encountered an angel before now?"
"Angels tend to stay in Heaven unless they're in the garrison that's in charge of watching the Earth, but even then they mostly just watch, very rarely do we interact with people."
Jean looks at him in confusion, "I thought angels are supposed to protect and guide people?"
Gabriel shakes his head, "Angels are warriors of God, not human consciences. There are a few rare humans, most of which are prophets, that are assigned a guardian angel, but the angel's job is to keep their charge alive and that's it."
Jean finishes off her glass of vodka, "Well, that's slightly disheartening." She then pours herself another glass. "Angels have knowledge about everything that happens in the world right?"
Gabriel hums, "We know a lot of things but we're not omniscient. Why?"
"The demon Azazel once told me that I have demons tailing me everywhere I go. Do you know why?"
Gabriel looks at her in interest, "Ah, so those two dopes were following you. I thought they were after one of your brothers. No, I don't know why Azazel had demons following you around, but I do know that you don't have to worry about those two anymore. I killed them as soon as they entered Springfield."
"Thanks, I think."
Gabriel finishes the last bite of his piece of cake then turns to Jean, trying to ignore her scent which only seems to be getting stronger the longer Jean remains in his apartment. "I think I know the reason why you can see my wings and why I keep displaying for you whenever I catch your scent, sweetheart." He pauses to take a sip of his own glass of booze before continuing, "I think you're an unbonded etam."
Jean looks at him in confusion, "That word sounds familiar...What's an etam? And what do you mean by unbonded?"
"Normally, mating between a human and an angel is strictly a no-no and is punishable by death for the both of them. The only exception is if the human is an etam. An etam is a human female that God has chosen to be the mate of an angel. They are extremely rare; as a matter of fact, only two others have existed before you." Jean takes a large gulp of her drink, "And by unbonded, I mean that the angel who was intended to be your mate never bonded his grace with your soul, which let's other angels know that you're already mated. But since your intended mate never bonded with you, you're basically up for grabs for any angel now."
Jean finishes her second glass of vodka then makes herself another, "So bonding is basically angel marriage?"
Gabriel nods his head, "Yes, but a bond lasts forever. Neither partner will ever re-mate and once the etam and angel bond, the etam stops aging. They can still die, but not from natural causes like old age."
"And I'm one of these etams? That's just freaking great," she downs her glass of vodka.
Gabriel starts to reply but pauses to smell the air and Jean's enticing scent floods his nose and muddies his mind. Any doubts he may have had about her being an etam are instantly removed, as the alluring scent coming from the female Winchester is definitely that of an unbonded etam and it only seems to be becoming stronger the longer she's around a male angel. The stronger her scent becomes, the harder it is for Gabriel to think of anything other than claiming her as his own mate. Finally, Gabriel's self restraint snaps. A dazed look comes over his face, as he gets to his feet and fully extends all six of his wings, which easily fill the room, and fluff his feathers causing them to catch and reflect the light. The end result is jaw dropping; his large, magnificent wings seem to shine a bright almost neon blue causing Jean to stare at Gabriel's display in awe. He begins running the large primary feathers of his wings over her body, causing her to shiver at the softness of his feathers and his gentle caress. Jean's pupils fully dilate from her arousal.
Suddenly, Led Zeppelin's 'Ramble On' sounds throughout the room, snapping the two out of the amorous atmosphere. Jean reaches into her pocket and pulls out her ringing cell phone. "Hello, Dean-o," she says. While Jean is on the phone with her twin brother, Gabriel manages to calm himself down.
The scent of an unbonded etam is even more tempting than Gabriel thought it would be; actually it's damn near irresistible and only seems to become stronger the longer she's around a male angel. While there have been two etams before Jean, they had both bonded with their angelic mates as soon as they had reached the age of eighteen. Jean is the first one to go unbonded, which means this is a learn-as-you-go kind of situation.
Gabriel snaps his fingers and a chocolate bar appears out of nowhere. He begins munching on it as Jean flips her phone close and sighs. "I need to go. It seems my brothers have finally figured out you're the so-called trickster and Dean is freaking out." Jean stands up from the couch and while walking over to the door she stumbles a bit.
"It's probably for the best...if you stick around much longer you and I will end up mating and making one very gorgeous baby. And as much fun as it would be to rock your world," Gabriel wiggles his eyebrows at her suggestively and she lets out a huff of breath in disbelief. "I'm not quite ready to settle down just yet."
Jean chuckles, "That's not what your wings are telling me." Gabriel looks over his shoulder and, sure enough, his wings are displaying for her again. He lets out a loud groan of annoyance. Jean starts to open the door but stops and turns back to him. "Gabe...what happened to the angel I was intended to mate with?"
Gabriel's eyes flash with sadness, "I don't know for sure, sweetheart. But most likely it's because he's dead. That's really the only reason why an angel wouldn't bond with their etam." Jean starts to open the door but stops when Gabriel walks up to her. "Jean," he says, calling her by name for the first time. "Don't tell your brothers about any of this...especially not what I really am."
Jean smiles at him then kisses him gently on the cheek, "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. I won't tell anybody who and what you are."
Gabriel pouts, "What? I only get a kiss on the cheek?"
Jean winks at him, "If I were to give you a kiss on the lips, it might lead to something more, and I thought you weren't ready to settle down?"
Gabriel grins, "True." Jean turns to leave, but Gabriel stops her again. "You're buzzed. Let me send you back to your motel."
She looks at him in curiosity, "How? And what about my car?"
"Angel mojo...and don't worry about your car." Gabriel snaps his fingers and Jean vanishes from his apartment. As soon as she is gone, Gabriel extends his powerful blue wings and with a single downward thrust, he disappears from the small apartment. He has questions concerning the female Winchester and luckily, he knows where he can find the answers.
Jean appears in the parking lot of King's Lair Hotel and she looks around in amazement. "Wow," she says and jumps in surprise as her Mustang appears in a parking space beside her. "Angel mojo is bad ass." She then begins to walk towards the door to her and her brothers' room.
When Jean walks through the door of the hotel room, she is immediately bombarded with questions. "Are you okay?" "Did he hurt you?" "Did you know he was the trickster?"
Jean rolls her eyes at her brothers, "Yeah, I'm fine. No, the trickster didn't hurt me. I only had a hunch that he was the trickster." She walks past her brothers, stumbling a little before flopping down onto one of the beds. She looks over at Bobby, "Hi, Bobby."
"Are you drunk?" Dean begins to scold her, "Seriously, Jean? How can you be so reckless? If you knew who the trickster was you should've told us!"
"I'm not drunk, just slightly buzzed," she mumbles into her pillow. "You know what? Bite me, Dean! I'm a grown ass woman and I can take care of myself."
Bobby speaks for the first time since Jean's return, "So what happened? Did you kill him?"
"No," Jean replies while turning her head to look at Bobby, "I don't kill tricksters." At her statement, Dean opens his mouth to berate her, but Sam stops him. "Nothing happened. I had a few questions for him, he answered them, and we had a few drinks. That's all." Jean then drifts off to sleep, snoring slightly.
Jean wakes up early the next morning to the sound of Dean snoring loudly in her ear and his arms wrapped around her protectively. Sam is asleep on the other bed and Bobby is sleeping on the couch. Jean elbows her twin in the gut causing him to groan in pain and release her. As she stands up, Dean opens his eyes slightly and asks her, "What are you doing?"
Jean picks up her bag as she replies, "First, I'm going to take a shower. And then I'm going to head out. Since I'm not going to help you kill the trickster, there's really no point in me hanging around here." She then enters the bathroom and takes a shower. Once she's dressed in blue jeans and an old Metallica T-shirt, she leaves the bathroom and notices that both of her brothers and Bobby are now awake. "Morning, boys."
"Morning," Sam and Bobby reply while Dean just grunts.
Jean begins to gather the rest of her belongings as Sam, Dean, and Bobby start to discuss plans for killing the trickster. Once she tosses the last piece of clothing into her duffel bag, she zips the bag closed, and then she gives the three men each a quick hug. She tells them to be careful and to call her when they're done and she'll rejoin them. She leaves the motel room, places her bag into the trunk of her car, then gets into the driver's seat. She starts the engine and laughs as Christina Agularia's 'Candyman' begins playing from the car's speakers.
At about 2 a.m Jean receives a text from an unknown number that reads, 'I'm alright, sweetheart. Still alive and kicking no matter what your brothers tell you. And don't worry your brothers and Singer are mostly unharmed.' Jean sighs in relief at knowing that everyone's okay.
She quickly texts him back, 'Good to know. I was growing rather fond of your feathery ass.'
'I can assure you that my ass is completely featherless. But I'll let you check for yourself the next time we meet, sweetheart.' Jean laughs loudly at this last text before saving Gabriel's number under the name of Mr. Mxyzptlk.
