The Stronghold 3: Mikachi

Archangels Can Be Scary Too

Gabriel was having fun. He hid from Sam and Dean, making himself invisible and thoroughly confusing Cas when the other angel could sense him but not see him. As the Winchesters had no idea who Gabriel was Castiel couldn't say anything and I could see that Gabriel was enjoying himself no end. 

"Shaade, can I say something?" Sam said, entering into my messy room.

"He's gonna say it," the young one whispered sadly.

"No shit, Sherlock," the sarcastic one replied.

"Go ahead," I said, uncomfortably aware of Gabriel swinging on the doorframe with a sly smirk on his face.

"About the... thing," Sam said slowly.

"The soulmates thing," I prompted.

"Yeah, that." Sam ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well, um, I hope it doesn't hurt you, or anything, but-"

"You don't like me?" I guessed.

"Um... no, I'm sorry," Sam began but I held up a hand.

"I have a strong suspicion that the only reason you ever felt anything in the first place was because of powerful magic," I said calmly while my head was in turmoil. "We all know that Benedict was insane and my guess is that he tricked us all, me included, into going along with his little plan."

"Sorry about his death," Sam apologised.

"It's no bother," I shrugged. "I don't care. He was more of a dick than I thought. Some people just need to be seen and not heard, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sam laughed quietly. He shifted and I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes.

"Go and hunt something," I said, waving him away. "You're worse than Gabriel when he hasn't had sugar."

"Who?" Sam said in confusion and I quickly realised my mistake.

"Nobody," I smiled. "Go on, kill a werewolf, stab an angel. Do something."

Sam gave me a curious look before disappearing out of the room, Gabriel swinging out of the way at the last second. The archangel dropped to the floor and strolled across the room towards me, smirking all over his face.

"You just couldn't resist including me, huh?" he teased. "You can't get me out of your head, I bet."

"I can't get you out of my life," I retorted. Gabriel simply laughed and teleported in front of me with a slight rustle of wings. 

"I have a proposal for you," he said. 

"I hope not literally, I can barely stand a day around you, let alone my entire life," I replied. Gabriel's eyebrows shot up and his lips quirked into a smile.

"Smooth," he said approvingly. "But you're meant to be enticing me, not pushing me away."

"I must have missed that memo," I said, leaning against the wall and shutting the door with a click of my fingers. The archangel had been slowly teaching me the basics of what I could do with a tiny bit of demon and the right intentions and I could move things about. I couldn't make sugary food appear out of nowhere, however, and so Gabriel delighted in sending me on long treks to the shops in the middle of the night.

"Anyway," the angel said, "the idea. Well, there's a wedding coming up on earth and I want us to cause a bit of mischief. There's a trickster there already so it should be fine."

I regarded him in silence for a second or two before speaking. "Is this wedding on October 19th?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Is it between someone named Georgina and dear old Loki?"

"Why yes."

"We're not ruining that," I said firmly, pushing off the wall and pacing around the room.

"Why not?" Gabriel protested, following me around. "Weddings are the best things to ruin!"

"Yeah, but not when it's two of my friends who are getting married," I said. "And not when I'm invited!"

"You're invited?" Gabriel said in amazement, stopping in his tracks.

"Yes," I replied with a frown. "You're not coming."

"Either I come as a plus one or I mess it up," the archangel threatened.

"Gabe, you're supposed to be an angel!" I shouted. "You're meant to be happy for people!"

"I'm happy that someone has found love in a world of misery," Gabriel said, an undercurrent of sarcasm in his voice, "but come on. It'll be fun! Or can I at least ruin it for you?"

"No," I said shortly. 

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No!"

"Shaade, I'll drag your demon's soul from the depths of hell and hurl it back into your body if you don't at least let me turn up," Gabriel growled. I spun on the spot and looked at the archangel warily, unused to hearing such anger in his tone. He'd been around for a week or so and had not once stopped talking. 

"So can I come?" he asked sweetly.

"Don't cause any trouble," I warned.

"I won't," Gabriel promised, whiskey-coloured eyes glittering mischievously. "I'll just have a bit of fun with you instead."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I began to ask but Gabriel kept on talking.

"In the meantime I think we should cause a little bit of madness around here," he said. "Your school is far too boring and that music teacher, Westy boy, is getting on my nerves by trying to get into your pants. You have work tomorrow, right?" I nodded and he beamed. "Good. Distract everyone at lunch, I have a plan." He winked and vanished, wings fluttering. I could never tell if he teleported or flew but it seemed to be a mixture of the two. I, however, could do nothing but walk as I was a mere trickster-human. 

With a heavy sigh I sat down on the bed, stretching out and staring at the ceiling. If Gabriel were there he would have made a cinema, or the night sky, or a sunset, or a window into the floor above. If I tried hard enough I could change the colour of the plaster but nothing more than that.

Disheartened I gave my fingers a gentle click before giving up. I wasn't focused on the ceiling and if I'd looked then I would have seen twinkling stars instead of ceiling. But I didn't look, blind in my self-misery, and curled up to sleep in my wrinkled suit. Gabriel would sort out my appearance the next day, he always did. Sam or Dean would drive in the Impala - usually Dean as nobody touched his 'baby' - and Cas would sometimes appear randomly to hand me forgotten items or remind me not to kill any more pupils. My classes had got so used to the man in the trenchcoat, the man who swore a lot, the very tall man and the man who couldn't stop flirting bursting into my lessons that they barely batted an eyelid any more. One of them even went as far as to tell Dean to stop cussing because they were trying to do a test, and a few others had told Gabriel to 'shut up and get a room'.  There were a few assholes in my classes, sure, but they were silenced pretty quickly.

A small smile drifted across my face. For once I had a place where I was happy. So why was there still a niggling feeling of doubt in the back of my mind?