76. Chapter 76

It turned out that Gabriel squealed very satisfyingly indeed when he was pinned down and covered by mounds of fluffy white snow. It helped that Dean and Sam were shoving handfuls of snow up Gabriel's shirt and down his pants, prompting a whole new set of squeals that had both the boys laughing hysterically. Castiel just stood back and watched, memorizing the whole scene for the next time Gabriel got too annoying. He would be able to hold this moment over his brother's head forever.

But it was also heartwarming in a way, because there would've been a time not too long ago when Gabriel never would've played this freely. Everything in heaven had been serious, with no merriment. Castiel was pretty sure that was one of the reasons why Gabriel had fled in the first place. But even on Earth, Gabriel had never been truly happy. How could he, when he had to hide from his family and pretend that he was a god instead of an archangel? No one could be happy pretending that they didn't exist. It wasn't until Castiel and the Winchesters came into his life that Gabriel's life had changed.

And now here they were, in a position that Castiel was positive Gabriel had never thought he would be. His brother's face was alight with laughter, and he was clearly holding back on his strength and allowing Sam to hold him to the ground while Dean scooped up armfuls of snow to drop on top of him. He didn't even seem to mind the fact that both Dean and Sam were perilously close to his wings, which said a lot about how Gabriel had come to view the boys. An angel's wings could be a weakness, especially an archangel's since they had more wings than the typical angel, and all Gabriel did when Sam buried one of his wings was laugh.

"Okay, okay," Gabriel wheezed out finally, tremors of laughter still running through him. "I give, you kids win."

"Ha!" Dean said triumphantly, holding up his hand to Sam. Sam grinned and gave Dean a high five.

"Consider that to be the beginning of your payback for everything you did," Sam said, getting to his feet and dusting off his jeans. They were covered in snow that was melting quickly from the heat of Sam's body. Castiel blinked and dried the material, vanishing the rest of the snow. Sam looked over at him with narrowed eyes, to which Castiel feigned innocence.

"Just the beginning? Hey now! I think this is quite enough!" Gabriel said. He moaned theatrically as he pretended like he couldn't get free. Dean began to giggle. Even Sam was smiling.

"I dunno. I think if we tallied up a list of everything, it would be a pretty long list," said Castiel.

Gabriel looked at him with mock-hurt. "Et tu, Cassie?"

Castiel shrugged. "I seem to remember my own fair share of pranks."

"All in good fun. We should really put the past behind us," Gabriel said quickly, pasting on a smile. "Right, baby bro?"

"Funny how you only call me that when you want something," Castiel said, lifting a hand. A strong wind gusted through the tops of the trees, conveniently knocking snow off of several branches. Dean and Sam shouted with laughter as all of said snow plummeted towards the ground and landed directly on top of Gabriel. Even Castiel couldn't stop himself from chuckling; by the time all the snow had fallen, all they could see was the tip of one of Gabriel's boots.

Suddenly, the boot disappeared. Gabriel reappeared standing a few feet away, perfectly dry, wings held aloft and a wicked smile on his face. "I think it's time for payback," he declared, holding his hands up and making them into claws.

"Run, Sammy!" Dean squealed.

Castiel shook his head as Gabriel chased after the boys. Every time he caught them, he would playfully push them down in the snow. Sometimes Dean or Sam would sneak up on him and push him back down into the snow. He figured the three of them would eventually get tired. What he wasn't prepared for was when Gabriel caught Sam and Dean at the same time and started whispering to him. Then all three of them stood and turned in Castiel's direction. A bolt of alarm shot through him when he saw the three identical smiles of pure mischief being aimed at him.

"Let's get him!" Gabriel shouted.

"No!" Castiel squeaked, trying to make a half-hearted run for it. He only got a couple of steps before Dean tackled around the legs, toppling him over. Then cold snow was being dumped over the rest of his body. Castiel suddenly understood why Gabriel had been squealing earlier when some of the snow seeped up the back of his shirt. He'd thought he was used to being in a human body, but he'd never experienced a cold quite so intense before.

"Okay, okay, I think you got him," Gabriel called out.

Taking that a sign, Castiel sat up quickly and pulled his shirt out to let the snow fall out. Dean giggled and plopped down in the snow beside him, snuggling up to Castiel with a happy sigh. That had to mean he was getting tired, or else there was no way that Dean would've been that openly affectionate in front of Sam. Castiel glanced over at Sam, curious to see Sam's take on it, but Sam wasn't even look at them. He was busily trying to swipe the snow off of his own clothing, with varying degrees of success, and making a face when he discovered just how wet his mitts had gotten.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and dried all four of them off immediately. "Okay, we've been out here for three hours and we haven't picked out one tree yet, much less two. Those workers are going to think we went missing if we take much longer."

"I'm fine with any tree," Sam said, which was a definite change in tune from before. Castiel wondered if Sam was getting tired too. It was way past Dean's typical nap time, but Sam didn't usually take naps. Then again, Castiel was well acquainted with Sam's one-track mind when it came to research. If Sam put even half as much effort into studying for exams as he did into research, than it was very likely he'd been staying up late, if not all night.

"Well, you said you wanted one that was fat. And fairly big." Castiel scanned their immediate surroundings and gestured to a tree. "How about that one?"

"It looks fine to me," Dean said through a yawn. "For Bobby's house?"

Sam walked around the tree in a slow circle, giving it a critical look. "Yeah, it'll do, I guess. It's big enough to fill that corner."

"Perfect," Gabriel said, clapping his hands. Sam jumped as the tree vanished.

"What did you do?" he demanded, spinning around to stare at Gabriel.

"I sent the tree to Bobby's by way of angel air," Gabriel replied, wiggling his fingers. "I don't want to stand here while those workers make their way out to us, cut down the tree, and drag it back. Besides, we all flew here, so I'm sure they would notice when none of us has a car to haul the tree away."

Sam frowned. "But we didn't pay them."

"I'll pay them," Castiel promised. "I'll slip them some money on the way out, okay?"

"Okay," Sam said, mollified. "You said you wanted a tree for your... your nest?"

"That one," Dean said, pointing to a tree a few feet away. It wasn't quite as big as the one they'd picked out for Bobby's house, but it was a good size. Castiel could easily picture it in the corner of their living room. He nodded and Gabriel clapped his hands again. The tree vanished, though this time Castiel knew it would have gone to their nest rather than to Bobby's house.

"And that's done. Two beautiful Christmas trees," Gabriel said.

"I wonder how Anael and Charlie made out," Castiel said to Dean.

"Let's go back and check," Dean said.

Castiel nodded and stood, rolling his wings out to get rid of any remaining snow. Then he looked thoughtfully at Dean. At one point, Dean would've been able to handle an afternoon like this with no problems. But Dean wasn't really a hunter anymore. It had been months since Dean had even thought about going out on a hunt, and longer still since Dean had worked out. His energy levels weren't what they used to be - which was fair, since a lot of Dean's energy was being taken up by the change that was slowly overtaking his body. Still, it meant that he doubted Dean would be able to make it back to the cabins on his own.

However, it was extremely doubtful that Dean would allow Castiel or Gabriel to carry him so long as Sam was here. Even something like a piggy back ride, which Dean normally loved, would be met with scorn and embarrassment now. It was likely that Dean would get mad if Castiel even dared to suggest it. So there had to be another way. He thought about simply flying them back to the cabins, but then he recalled all the people who had been walking around. Not all of the children, hatchlings or nestlings had been walking, had they?

"I have an idea," Castiel said. He thought of what he wanted and waved a hand. Immediately, a large sled appeared in front of them. It was easily large enough to accomodate three men.

"I'm not sitting on that," Sam said instantly.

Gabriel shrugged. "Okay, fine. Dean-o and I will sit and you and Cassie can walk." He sat down on wooden sled, crossing his legs, and beckoned to Dean. Dean hesitated for a moment before, proving just how tired he must've been, he stepped up onto the sled and sat down in front of Gabriel. Castiel took hold of the lead and began to pull the sled, checking to be sure that Gabriel had a firm hold on Dean. His brother gave him a nod.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit?" Castiel asked, looking at Sam.

Sam hesitated. "It's kind of babyish."

"Hey, I'm no baby," Gabriel said. Dean remained quiet.

Castiel gave him a dry look. "That's not entirely true."

"Hey!"

Sam snorted, and even Dean cracked a grin, but that little exchange seemed to be what Sam needed to get over his initial reservation. He moved to sit down behind Gabriel, carefully wrapping his hands around the edge of the sled. Castiel turned away and smiled to himself, beginning to walk. The sled moved easily behind him; he barely felt its weight. He hummed softly to himself as he followed their steps. They had only walked for about thirty minutes before getting caught up in the snowball fight, and he could walk much faster on his own than Dean or Sam could.

When they were almost back to the cabins, Gabriel climbed off the sled and came to walk beside him. Castiel peeked over his shoulder. His heart warmed when he saw Sam carefully sliding into the position Gabriel had vacated, letting Dean rest against him. Dean's eyes were closed and he settled easily against Sam's shoulder. Sam's eyes looked heavy, and Castiel wasn't surprised when he looked back again a moment later and saw that Sam was asleep too, his head resting against Dean's shoulder.

"Amazing how cute they can look together when they can both be such terrors," Gabriel said. Castiel just smiled.

"What do you say we circle the cabins a couple times?" he suggested. He thought that both boys deserved the chance to nap for a little longer. Gabriel's grin was its own answer, and in silent agreement they switched directions.