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Before he had a chance to process what was happening, Castiel found himself standing just inside the doorway of a roadhouse bar. It was one of those hole-in-the-wall dives that the Winchesters frequented, and while he’d had some experience in these sorts of situations, the socially-awkward angel couldn’t help but feel out of place as he watched people drink and converse all around him. It was, by no means, an unusual scene, but he couldn’t shake that nagging feeling that something was off about it all. For one thing, despite the fact that he was surrounded by people, Castiel didn’t detect that unmistakable gravity, the all-mighty life force that all human souls radiated. These people felt like nothing more than mere shells to him, simple props through in just to flesh out the scene.

Ethereally blue eyes scanned the crowd, but it was his laughter that gave him away, and Castiel didn’t even need to turn around in order to realize who was behind all of this.

“Gabriel,” he stated, his eyes narrowed at his long lost brother’s vessel. “I should’ve known it was you.”

“Howdy there, little brother,” Gabriel greeted him in his typical upbeat tone, as if nothing were wrong, as if he hadn’t been missing for centuries. Even though he was now sporting a straight face, there was still that sense of laughter ringing through his voice. “Long time no see.”

“What have you done with the Winchesters?”

The archangel dismissed the notion of foul play with a quick flip of his wrist. “Don’t worry about them, they’re fine.” A wistful smile passed along his lips. “I’m just having a little fun. Come on! Have a drink! Let’s catch up.”

Against his better judgment, Castiel trailed his older brother to the bar. It wasn’t as if he really had much of a choice, Gabriel obviously had the upper hand here, but buried beneath all of his frustration, Cas was unable to deny his own curiosity. After all, there weren’t any other angels that had been able to slip Heaven’s noose and evade detection, especially in times such as these when everything seemed to be falling apart.

With a simple glance, a shot glass appeared in Gabriel’s hand, and he was eager to down its contents before turning back to his brother. “So…how’s the weather been upstairs? Do they all miss me?”

Castiel couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Why did you leave, Gabriel? We all thought you were dead.”

Eyes the shade of amber briefly darted in Castiel’s direction, and out of thin air, a glass of lemonade popped into his grip. As with most of his family, Gabriel’s expression was difficult to read, but his weren’t the blank, emotionless features of a soldier. Instead, the unwilling angel hid behind his own jovial nature and good humor, which proved even harder to decipher through.

“Dead?” he scoffed, obviously amused by the concept. “More like on vacation. You know what it’s like up there. I couldn’t take it anymore…So I left.” A chuckle tumbled over his lips while he toyed with the cherry in his glass. “Hate to break it to you, but it’s as simple as that.”

Castiel took a slow and deliberate sip from his own glass, using the opportunity to gather himself and steady his voice. It was hard for him to hide the feelings of betrayal and abandonment that the archangel had left behind in his wake. “Then why remain absent for all this time when your family needs you?”

There was a peculiar warmth as the liquid slide down his vessel’s throat, but Castiel didn’t think anything of it.

Gabriel was quick to turn the question back around at him. “Aren’t you sick and tired of all the fighting, Cas? Why are you working so damn hard to protect Sam and Dean Winchester, of all people? The way I see it, the morons brought it all down on themselves. Let those two pay the price.”

“We’re supposed to protect them. We’re supposed to watch over them all, regardless of the choices they make. It’s what we were created for.”

Gabriel let out a heavy-hearted sigh, his forehead cradled in his hand. “I just want all of this to be over with already. I want to go home.”

His vision was beginning to become a little hazy. “You know as well as I do that this won’t end anything. Just let the Winchesters go. We can come up with some other way to solve this.” Castiel tried to remain clam, to appeal to his brother’s more rational side. If Gabriel had the balls to leave Heaven, then he obviously wasn’t sold on doing things by the book.

A moment of silence passed between the two brothers before Gabriel perked up, a newfound resolve in his honey-colored stare, and popped the liquor-soaked cherry in his mouth.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little mind, baby bro. I’m gonna be the one who ends this, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Castiel’s brows furrowed in confusion as he watched his brother hop up off of the barstool.

“Oh Castiel,” he drew out his name in disdain, quietly tsking as he shook his head in feigned disappointment. As soon as he looked up, a broad smile overwhelmed his features. “You didn’t think that was just lemonade in your glass, did you? Someone should’ve warned you, you just can’t trick a trickster.”

And with a self-assured snap of his fingers, Gabriel vanished.