Dead Brother, Fallen Sister
Requested by @julithetimelady
*Gabriel-centric
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“Surprise!”
Dean choked on his beer slightly while Sam stared in awe (at least, that’s what it was in Gabriel’s mind) as the two looked up to find the long-thought ‘dead’ archangel standing in front of them.
“Gabriel?” Sam asked, recovering faster than his brother (who was working on cleaning up his mess). “What… what happened?”
“Long story, kiddo. Let’s just say I pestered Dad until he decided to see things my way and…” Gabriel’s words died unspoken. “Y/N?”
The Winchesters barely had enough time to turn to the doorway before you sprinted into the room and flung yourself at Gabriel, wrapping your arms around his neck.
“What… is happening?” Dean asked, watching in confusion.
Gabriel spun you around before dropping you down. His hands reached up, cupping your face. “Y/N, where the hell have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“How does he know Y/N?” Dean asked his brother. “And did he forget that he’s the one who’s been dead for years?”
“How did you find yourself with these two losers?” Gabriel asked, still staring into your eyes.
“Hey!” both Winchesters said in protest.
You and Gabriel finally turned to the Winchesters. “What?” Gabriel asked with faux innocence.
“Either of you want to explain what’s going on?” Sam asked.
“Only if someone explains to me where you two found my baby sister.”
“Sister?!”
Gabriel turned to you. “You didn’t tell them?”
You shrugged. “It… never came up? And besides, when they’d found me I’d fallen and had lost my grace, so… I didn’t feel like a full-fledged angel.”
“You’re an angel?” Dean asked.
“Does that mean you found your grace?” Sam asked at the same time.
You looked at the Winchesters before nodding twice, answering each of their questions.
“How?” Both Winchesters were speaking in unison again.
“Easy, boys,” Gabriel said, keeping a protective arm around your shoulders. “Look, I know you’ve got questions about everything and we’ll answer all your questions later. But right now, I want to catch up with my sister on our own.” He turned to you. “Come on. Show me where you’ve been staying.”
The Winchesters watched as the two of you passed by, disappearing down the hall. As you passed them, you gave them a sorry sort of smile. You obviously felt bad about having kept something so massive from them.
“How the hell did we not know she was an angel?” Dean asked. “She’s been living with us for almost two years!”
Sam shook his head. “Well, we did kind of… stumble upon her. And it was relatively soon after we learned that the angels had fallen… I just don’t get how we didn’t know she was searching for her grace, let alone when she found it.”
“I hate angels,” Dean said, tipping his beer bottle back into his mouth.
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Down the hall, you and Gabriel were seated on the bed in the sparse room you inhabited. Gabriel listened as you told the story of your fall, finding the Winchesters, keeping your secret, finding your grace. It made his heart hurt to hear of your struggles. You’d always been one of his favorite siblings.
When your story was over, the two of you sat in silence, recognizing that you’d both been through a lot over the recent years, but extremely pleased to be seated with the other after so long.
“Have you been taking care of yourself?” Gabriel finally asked, the brotherly instinct kicking in. “Eating, grooming, everything?”
“You know we don’t have to eat.”
“We don’t have to, but it’s fun.”
You shrugged. “I had to keep up human appearances with the Winchesters. I ate when I had to.”
“And your wings?”
“I groomed when I could. But we’ve spent long trips together, hunting.”
“Why didn’t you tell them you were an angel?”
You shrugged. “I didn’t want to make things more complicated. And I wasn’t sure where they stood with us.”
“But you didn’t even tell them after you got your grace back. And you decided to stay.”
“I liked them. And I figured it would be weird to tell them after almost a year and a half that surprise, I’m not a human.”
Gabriel gave a slight nod. You’d done what you’d thought was right. “Let me help you.”
“What?”
“Turn around. Wings out. Come on.”
You started to protest but Gabriel poofed himself behind you. He stroked your spine, finding the small divets and pressed gently, your wings springing out to their full stature. He was pleased to see that your wings were mostly clean and straight, only a little bent and soiled at the tips. He began to run his fingers through the feathers, cleaning and straightening them, feeling them twitch beneath his fingertips.
“I missed you,” you said, barely above a whisper.
Gabriel smiled to himself. “I missed you, too, cupcake.”
