Fic: Wings
Written for Pickles (www.preservedcucumbers.tumblr.com) because of something she said in last night’s Livestream. Sorry this doesn’t exactly follow the prompt, I misheard and had this written before I realized. >_<
Very slight Destiel hints, mostly just kid!Cas and Gabriel interaction. Approx. 450 words
Gabriel found Castiel behind the shed, a can of paint still clutched in his chubby little hands. One wing was covered in drying paint, a few feathers sticking out at awkward angles. Gabriel winced in sympathy; that would take forever to wash out and the cleaning would probably require the removal of several feathers.
He crouched next to Castiel and bumped the tiny angel’s chin gently. Castiel looked up, his enormous blue eyes wet and red-rimmed.
“Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?” Gabriel asked, though he could guess. Children were cruel, be they angels, humans, or demons. Castiel’s wings attracted a lot of attention and it was never the good kind.
“Nothing,” Castiel said, voice small. He half-heartedly tried to shove the paint can behind his back, though he knew that Gabriel had already seen it. Gabriel gently pried the can out of his hands, holding it delicately with his forefinger and thumb so his hand wouldn’t get covered in the white paint.
“I see,” he said, staring at the can. Castiel looked at the ground, the feathers on his clean wing fluttering with nerves. His other wing drooped, the paint weighing it down. Gabriel sighed. “C’mon, kiddo, let’s get you cleaned up.”
He held out his hand to the child. Castiel took it and allowed himself to be escorted from behind the shed, drawing his wings in tight to his body. The motion probably pulled on some of his still-drying feathers, but Castiel only sniffled.
“Not all angel wings are white, Cassie,” Gabriel said, one of his own honey-colored wings against Castiel’s back. “You don’t need to paint them.
“You’re an archangel,” Castiel said. “Your wings are pretty. Mine are just…” He flexed the clean wing, displaying the black feathers.
“My wings are no prettier than any other angels’, including yours,” Gabriel said. He thought for a moment. “Well, maybe they are, but that’s not because of the color, it’s because they’re attached to this handsome fellow.” He grinned. Castiel smiled back. “One day you’re going to meet someone who doesn’t even see the color of your feathers, all right, kiddo? Until then, hold your head up high because you are the only angel with black wings. You’re meant for something special.”
Castiel nodded seriously, the gears turning in his tiny brain. He had no idea then that Gabriel’s promise would end up being literally true.
Years down the road, when Castiel flew into Hell and came out with Heaven’s Righteous Man, the human who dubbed him ‘Cas’ and called him friend, the human who Castiel grew to cherish, he had found someone who couldn’t see his wings at all.