SPN: You Bring the Collar, I'll Bring the Cuffs 1
Castiel moved almost silently through the shelves of books, wings pulled in close to avoid knocking anything over. It was a difficult task, given the overcrowded shop, but one which he often accomplished.
“Damn it!” There was a thump from behind him accompanying the muttered cursing, as Gabriel had apparently run into a shelf.
Sighing, Castiel turned to his brother - who was incapable of doing anything subtly.
“Gabriel, what did you knock over this time?”
“Nothing! Just got my feathers caught between the shelves… why aren’t they spaced further apart?” The Archangel gave Castiel his best puppy-dog eyes in an attempt to garner sympathy. Unfortunately, Castiel had developed defences against the look centuries ago, and could now out-puppy most of the other angels.
“Because the store is designed for humans. Go stand by the counter and I’ll find the books you want.”
Castiel could hear the mumbled mutterings as Gabriel, for once in his existence, did as he was told. It didn’t take long for Castiel to find the required books - for some reason, Gabriel was researching Chinese dynasties - and make his way back to the counter, where the store owner, Maggie, was trying to price some new arrivals.
“We’ll take these ones,” Castiel handed them over and waited patiently while Maggie added up the prices, and probably gave him a discount.
In the years since the angels had decided to co-habit with humanity, Castiel had grown accustomed to certain behaviours. The angels usually kept themselves fairly segregated from humans, while the humans usually adored the angels who chose to interact with them. As Castiel’s assignments often included working closely with humanity, he had a soft spot for them, and had developed a good working relationship with several regular contacts - Maggie being one of them. Though he was still getting used to the way humans spoke.
Gabriel, on the other hand, had been partying with the humans since before it was common for angels to walk the earth, albeit disguised as the Norse Trickster-god Loki. He claimed to know all the best people and places to get ‘trashed’, which apparently meant ‘do really stupid things whilst drunk and then beg/blackmail Castiel to clean up after’. Castiel still wasn’t entirely sure why Gabriel had taken such a shine to him, of all their siblings, but it did sometimes come in useful.
“Thank you,” Castiel nodded as he paid Maggie and Gabriel swiped the books. They were out of the store fairly quickly, Gabriel stretching his glorious white wings to catch the most sun possible. The silver and gold feathers mixed in shone with reflected light, and the Archangel sighed in relief. He hated being cooped up.
Castiel fell into step next to him, his own dark wings unfurled only slightly. He was still a little uncomfortable with the looks he drew when Gabriel was with him - although it wasn’t unusual for Castiel to be in this part of town, it was almost unheard of for the higher-ranking angels to visit. Most of them had human slaves to do their fetching for them. Even here, Castiel could spot the glint of sunlight off of several metal collars, one of the hallmarks of a slave. The other was the expanse of flesh visible, with the males usually wearing only pants and females only a short dress, or pants and singlet depending on their master’s wishes. Castiel, on the other hand, preferred dealing with free humans. He enjoyed being able to speak freely with a human who wasn’t worried about disobeying their master, and enjoyed not being distracted by half-naked humans who he wasn’t allowed to touch.
“Hey Fluffy, you ever thought about getting a slave?” Gabriel asked, as though he was reading Castiel’s mind. Which, on reflection, he probably was.
“Don’t see the need for any,” Castiel shrugged. “I like meeting the humans I interact with. Reminds me why I’m behind a desk and not on the field of battle anymore.”
“I thought you were off the battlefield ‘cause you and Uriel got smashed and started singing that song about the hedgehogs and certain acts…”
“I have never sung about hedgehogs,” Castiel frowned. “And I’m fairly certain that I’ve never gotten… smashed, was it? At least not intentionally.”
“You really need to unwind, bro,” Gabriel wrapped one wing around Castiel, pulling him closer and within arm’s reach, so he could drape that around Castiel’s shoulder as well. “Listen, I’m going to a party tonight. Several of the lesser deities are having a little shindig, you should come too. Unwind a bit, find a nice girl to take home for the evening… or a nice guy, if you swing that way.”
“I do not have time. And neither do you - doesn’t Michael want your report tomorrow?”
“Eh,” Gabriel waved a hand dismissively. He was rather open with his expressions and gestures, Castiel had always found. “He’ll live. It’s not that important, he’s just trying to impress on me a sense of responsibility.”
“I see how well that’s going,” Castiel commented drily.
“Exactly! I like myself the way I am. Lack of responsibility and all.”
Castiel wasn’t entirely sure why he’d gone along to the gathering. He didn’t know many of the deities, and there weren’t many other angels there. Gabriel was already apparently under the influence of alcohol, though it was sometimes hard to tell with him. Currently he was standing on a coffee table and singing a rather suggestive song about a wizard’s staff.
Shaking his head a little, Castiel left his brother in the capable hands of his Norse pantheon and instead gravitated towards Isis. The lovely woman always welcomed a more intellectual conversation at these things, which meant the two had become quite good friends. It helped that she didn’t particularly like people worshiping her, even though she was a goddess.
“Greetings, Isis,” Castiel smiled a little at her, and she responded warmly.
“Castiel, it’s good to see you again,” Isis moved forwards and linked her arm with his before lowering her voice. “Get me out of here! Everyone’s drunk and I’m pretty sure Set’s hitting on me again.”
“As you wish,” Castiel nodded politely at Set before steering Isis away. “Gabriel insisted that I attend tonight. I’m still unsure as to why.”
“Well, you know Loki better than most of us,” Isis projected a calm image once more. “He likes to have fun, and wants to ensure that those he cares about have fun as well.”
“You think he actually cares about me?” The news took Castiel by surprise. The smack Isis sent to the back of his head was another surprise.
“Of course he does. Maybe I should take back the statement about you knowing him… he can’t stand most of the stuffy angels. However, he more than tolerates your company - he actively seeks it out at times. While all angels are siblings, he truly thinks of you as his little brother.”
“I see,” Castiel murmured, considering. They fell silent as they passed outside into the garden, Castiel’s wings automatically coming up to shelter them both from a light mist of rain that was falling. Isis smiled at him again in thanks.
“So,” the Egyptian began again, “how are you coming along with that look into modern morality?”
“Humans are confusing,” Castiel frowned. “They’ve spread so far that there is no one morality. There are so few things that are universally praised or condemned. Even within a society there is so much discord, I don’t think I can sort it all out properly.”
Isis laughed, deep and throaty as opposed to her fake tinkly laugh. It cheered Castiel to know that he could still make her feel better.
“Well,” she patted his hand, “you know that you’re welcome to peruse my libraries any time you need more information.”
“Thank you, Isis.” They stood for a while together, listening to the sounds of various deities getting progressively more drunk inside. Then winced at the sound of Gabriel swearing loudly, followed by a crash.
“Should we…?”
“Probably,” Castiel sighed, and they went back inside to try to figure out what had gone wrong.
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