[back in black]

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

The chute opened seamlessly out of the wall and deposited the man on the squishy floor of the corridor with an ungraceful thud. The man stood, brushing at his clothes as he did, an oddly human gesture he had picked up from Sam and Dean. His face, as he stared at the featureless wall the chute had disappeared back into, was blank, expressionless, his jaw covered with a dark fuzz. He reached up to touch this unfamiliar roughness as he stared consideringly at the wall.

"Jack-hole," he finally said.

Hey, Cas was trying, okay? It wasn't his fault if human cussing was still a little beyond him.

With that, Cas turned, making his way through the corridors of Stacy, heading towards hydroponics.

After his long stay with GLaDOS, he needed a drink.


[Cas makes his return! Feel free to run into him in the corridors, or to meet him at the beer tree, just specify the location in your tag :3]

Comments

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas froze in his forward motion, staring at the being that was between himself and his destination. Though he could no longer feel the Divine presence, there was no mistaking the short stature, the pointed nose and sandy blond hair.

"Gabriel?"

Cas stared at his older brother, expression blank. "... You're alive?"

It was impossible to tell by looking at him how Castiel felt about this news.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

Gabriel's expression is guarded. The last time he'd seen Castiel - well, he'd slapped some duct tape on him and sent him dimension-bouncing. And then the blue-eyed angel had left him in a ring of fire.

Not that he wasn't genuinely worried about Castiel, after facing off with Lucifer, but there was no need to let him know that.

"That'd be me, in the flesh," he says, picking at a sleeve. "Unfortunately. And I'm certainly not a zombie or a spirit, so I'd say I'm alive," he continues on, looking at Castiel.

"Dean said you were stuck in a maze?"

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Castiel stares at his brother, head slightly titled. Then, suddenly, he cocks his fist and lets it fly at Gabriel's face.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

Gabriel can't say that's unexpected, but Castiel's a fast little guy, and so he takes the hit. He actually feels the hit, but there's no angelic strength behind it, thank god.

Gabriel curses a minor Egyptian goddess and then shakes his head, straightening and arching an eyebrow at Castiel.

"I probably deserved that, but you don't wanna do it again."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

"You did deserve that." Okay, Castiel's glaring, slightly. Dimension hopping with ductape on your mouth is not fun.

He's frowning at Gabriel now though, not distracted from the important thing here. His punch actually landed, which means "..... You're human. .... How?"

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm on your side now. Or I was, anyway," He amends, considering their universe was apparently bug food.

Gabriel shrugs. "I don't know. Lucifer slipped one into my gut and then I woke up here. Maybe I died. Maybe Daddy took my play toys away, who knows for sure," he sneers.

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

"... I know," Castiel concedes. He's still flexing his fist slightly, but he's lowered it back down to his side at least.

Castiel listens, head slightly tilted, to Gabriel's bitter answer. "If our Father cared, I think he would have punished you a long time ago," he notes. He steps around Gabriel to reach the beer tree.

"It's rather ... difficult, isn't it," he says, back still turned to Gabriel. "Being human." He selects two cold bottles, then turns, holding one out to Gabriel. "Here."

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"Sure you do," Gabriel can't help sniping, but he steps to the side, watching Castiel reach out for the alcohol.

"He probably would have put his foot down around the time of the whole Sleipnir incident if he'd been paying attention," Gabriel acknowledges to Castiel's back, and then taking the proffered bottle. He doesn't answer Castiel right away, instead inspecting the bottle with that expression of 'I could do this better' before he flicks his gaze back to the other ex-angel.

"It is," he finally says. "A lot of things you take for granted when you've got your Grace, even when it doesn't seem like it's really there."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

"Hm. You would know about that, wouldn't you."

Cas takes a long pull from his beer and regards his brother steadily for a long moment.

What, you expected him to say something?

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"More intimately than most would prefer, I'm afraid," Gabriel says, wiggling his eyebrows at his brother's stare and taking a long sip after a moment. The expression that follows is definitely considering.

"I'd give it a 6."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas waits for a long moment.

"What?" he finally says, glaring at his brother.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"The beer," Gabriel says with a devilish grin. He tilts it towards Castiel. "I could have done much better."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas considers this for a moment. "You probably could," he agrees, and then takes another long drink of his beer.

He holds it out, eying the bottle meditatively. "It serves its purpose," he notes, then takes another drink.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"Which is to get little ex-angels drunk," he agrees solemnly, and then takes a long swig of his, making a face. "But some cake and a few hot women would make it a little more fun. You know what that is, fun?"

Gabriel clearly doesn't believe that Cas knows what that is.

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas eyes his brother then finishes off his beer.

"Bite me," he says around the bottle.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"Bend over," Gabriel's rejoinder is. "You don't have enough meat on you anywhere but your butt."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas rolls his eyes and reaches for another beer.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

Gabriel drains the dregs of his and waits for Castiel to move aside so that Gabriel can do a little jump and grab his own from a higher-hanging branch.

With a huff, he turns to face Castiel again. "You know, between you and Dean, I think I'll have my fill of human flesh."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas frowns at his brother. "What about Dean?" he asks.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"He said the same thing to me at the hotel," he says, pitching his voice into a good mimicry of Dean's. "'You know what Gabriel, bite me.' I asked for a rain check on it."

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Cas relaxes minutely.

His mouth twists in a small smile. "Yes, that sounds like Dean," he agrees.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"He keeps offering, someone's going to take him up on it," he says, almost like a warning, but the gleeful smile on his face betrays it. Or perhaps confirms it. He lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a drink.

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas snorts, continuing to smile faintly as he takes a drink from his new bottle.

"It would serve him right," he says with a shake of his head.

[ttlytrickster.livejournal.com]

"Tell you what, next time I hear him say it, I'll make him think I've turned into a vampire," Gabriel offers with a chuckle, shaking his head as if to say 'no I won't'.

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Cas eyes his brother for a moment, as if he's not sure whether he's supposed to laugh or not, and then snorts softly, turning his head away as he tries to suppress a smile.

Glancing back at his older brother, he takes another long drink.