"My turn?" Gabriel asks excitedly.

"But this was your present," Harry reminds him.

"No, that was my group present. I've still got to give him my present," he clarifies.

"Did this whole 'don't bring gifts' thing not register with any of you?" Castiel asks, but he can't stop smiling enough to even pretend to be annoyed.

"It registered that you didn't want them, sure," Gabriel tells him. "But that don't mean we can't give 'em anyway. I'll be right back."

He runs off to their room, which makes Castiel wonder how he managed to hide it from him. He returns with one hand behind his back, the other one holding a piece of white paper folded in half, like a child's homemade card. He hands it to his brother awkwardly.

"You know I'm bad with words, but, uh... Here."

Castiel takes a moment to look at the cover, littered with little rainbows and expertly drawn unicorns. In addition to the typical "Happy Birthday, Cassie!" it also reads in smaller letters, "This cover still isn't as rainbowy as you!"

Castiel gives his brother a really? look, and he just sticks his tongue out at him. Castiel shakes his head in amusement and returns his attention to the card, opening it up.

The inside has one side with a unicorn in front of a rainbow background that he colored with colored pencils. Looking closely, he can see the name tag reads "Casti" before being cut off by the limited amount of it that can be seen.

He chuckles to himself before reading the note on the other side, each tiny letter written in a different color neon pen to make another rainbow. It's very rainbow-themed today.

"Dear Castiel,

Welcome to the world of cliché openings. First of all, happy birthday! I can't believe you're 21. You're just a little baby in a trench coat. You're not supposed to be 21 yet!

I know we don't chat much when we're apart, but I hope you know that I cherish every moment we spend with together. I know, total cliché, but so is this whole card so deal with it. I love just chatting with you and cracking jokes with you and listening to Lucifer recite the Bee Movie with you. Well, maybe not so much that last one, but you make it more bearable.

The last few years have been a wild ride. From Crowley to Dean to Henrickson to Taylor Swift, you've been through a lot, good and bad. I'm glad I've gotten to share the journey with you.

Love,
Little ol' cliché Gabriel"

"I think this warrants a hug," Castiel tells him.

"This is turning into some chick flick," Gabriel jokes.

"Hey, you started it, you gotta follow through," Castiel replies, standing up and giving him a hug, which, despite his complaining, he returns without hesitation.

"And one more thing," Gabriel adds when they pull apart. "Obviously, I had a little bit of a rainbow theme going on there because... Well, you're one the rainbow. You live the rainbow, you feel the rainbow, and now, you can eat the rainbow." He hands him a large resealable bag of Skittles.

Castiel laughs. "Only you, Gabriel. Only you."

"Well, you know me. I'm the city's black market candy dealer," he replies with a shrug.

"Did anyone else get him anything?" Lucifer asks.

"I did," Michael says when no one else speaks. "It's not as sweet and sentimental as I'm sure everyone else's was, but..." He pulls out a folded piece of lined paper from his pocket and hands it over. "You already know that I can't draw so I didn't make a card, but it's something."

Castiel unfolds it and takes a moment to admire his brother's handwriting before reading.

"Dear Castiel,

You're finally 21. As someone who's been in their twenties for five years now, I'd like to think I'm qualified to give you some advice.

1. Don't drink and drive.

2. Don't smoke.

3. Don't do drugs.

Just kidding. Obviously, yes, you should follow that, but it's kind of a given. I want to give you some real advice — something you won't find in any guidebook."

"Was that a Tower of Terror reference?" Castiel asks, pointing to the last line.

"No, I'm just saying, next time you find yourself in an abandoned hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what you're getting yourself into," Michael says with a grin.

"Or you may find yourself a permanent resident of..." Castiel continues.

"The Twilight Zone," all the Novaks finish together.

"What — what just happened?" Charlie asks, looking between them all in confusion.

"Don't ask," Anna replies.

After that probably-quoted-incorrectly passage from Disney World's Tower of Terror that the author did from memory and could be wrong, Castiel returns his attention to the note.

"Go easy on yourself. You're a perfectionist in the most self destructive way possible. Your standards for yourself are much higher than everyone else's. It's okay to take a step back for a minute and just relax. Everything is going to be fine.

Don't give up everything over something stupid. You probably don't want to hear this, but you have to. A. Boy. Is. Not. Worth. Throwing. Your. Life. Away. For. Please, someone scream this from the top of a building. I know you and Dean broke up, and I can't imagine how much it hurts to lose someone like that. But please, for the love of god, don't turn to a bottle or a razor to make you feel better because it won't help. You have friends who are willing to listen if you're willing to talk. You know I'm always here for you if you need me.

Don't let your life get to your head. Billions of people know you as Castiel Novak, the amazing pop star, and I know it's hard to separate yourself from who you're expected to be. Just remember, you're still a human being, just like everyone else. Think about the little kids that look up to you, but don't go all high and mighty with the rest of us, either. Don't forget: I'm older than you and I could kick your ass, so watch yourself.

Never forget that there are people who love you. Lucifer's showed us your Twitter mentions, and I'm genuinely shocked at how people treat you online. But don't let them get to you. People who love you think you'd never notice them, but people who don't like you have hope that you will, so you won't hear from your fans as much as the people who want to stand in your way. Just remember, if nothing else, your family has your back. We're always only a call away.

— Michael"

Castiel looks up at his brother, who's standing around awkwardly. Without warning, he stands up again and gives Michael a hug.

"Thank you," he says quietly. "Really. I think you're the only person to mention Dean without pushing, and I think that's what I'd need if or when I do decide to talk about him."

"Of course," he replies. "My door's always open."

Next is Lucifer's turn. Castiel sits in his birthday chair with his head in his hands, knowing exactly where this is going as Lucifer rushes off to his bedroom. He returns moments later and drops his gift on the table in front of his brother.

"Open it! Open it!" he says excitedly.

Castiel sighs and picks it up. He shakes the small, thin rectangle for a moment. "Hmm. I wonder what this is," he says sarcastically. He tears the pair off carelessly. "Gasp. The Bee Movie. How completely unexpected. I'm sure it will look great with my eighteen other copies of The Bee Movie," he deadpans.

"You love it!" Lucifer replies with a grin.

"Why do you have 19 Bee Movies?" Ed asks.

"Because he gets me one every single single birthday, Christmas, and concert he goes to," Castiel explains.

"But this time, there's more!" Lucifer tells him excitedly, then hands him a... well, there's not really a name for this.

It's kind of a card/book crossover, Castiel observes, turning it over in his hands. The front and back covers are bees made out of yellow construction paper, with black construction paper for stripes and Sharpie for the face. Flipping open the first bee, he sees a bunch of white papers in the exact same bee shape, like pages in a book.

"Can I read it out loud?" he asks.

"Obviously," Lucifer replies, then adds, "Everything but the pen."

Castiel raises an eyebrow but doesn't question it. He'll find the pen eventually, he's sure, but for now, it seems each page has a sentence or so written in black Sharpie, not double sided because it would bleed through.

"According to all known laws of humanity,

Castiels should not be allowed to turn 21 without some special gift.

The gift can be literally anything.

The Castiel, of course, doesn't want gifts, because Castiel doesn't care what the laws of humanity say.

Yellow black, yellow black, yellow black, ooh, black and yellow! Those are the colors of the card!

Castiel! Cake is ready!

The Castiel doesn't get the option of whether he's coming or if he gets just a minute, because Gabriel and Satan would drag him out against his will.

Hello?

Castiel?

Castiel?!?!

Can you believe this is happening?

No, you can't. I'll keep pestering you anyway.

You're looking bored.

Too bad. Keep reading. I spent a lot of time on this book.

Do I get an apology for you obviously not caring? Of course I don't, because you don't know how the script goes and you don't know that your line here is "sorry."

Such a disappointment.

Anyway...

Here's the birthday boy! We're very proud of you, Cassie! A perfect year! All good things!

I can't keep this up anymore. There's supposed to be physical contact and that would involve me stalking you and watching this card at all times to annoy you every time you read it so imma stop here.

Happy birthday, Castiel!

It's the big 21!

*Wipes tear away*
They grow up so fast."

The next and final page is written in much smaller letters, this time in pen instead of Sharpie. There's a lot more here, which doesn't fit with the theme of the book at all. He looks up at Lucifer's phone to tell the live stream, "Looks like that's it on the Bee Movie front," before reading the last page to himself.

"I know this is really out of character and definitely doesn't fit with the theme of the book, but I don't know if anyone's told you this and I feel like now is the time to do it.

These last five years have been insane. You've gone on tour with Taylor Swift, you've met famous actors, you've won a billion and a half awards. It sounds like you're living the dream.

Each year, your albums become even better, your tour becomes even more incredible, and overall, everything just seems to be getting more impressive. It's like you try to one-up yourself every year, and that hard work is really paying off.

But don't be afraid to take a step back. We can all tell you've been overworking yourself. I get it. You want everything to be absolutely perfect. But, really, no one pays attention to the details like you do. You don't have to put this much effort into everything you do. Just chill, little bro.

And one more thing. I hope you know that I've got your back. I don't care what's going on. I don't care if we just had a fight or anything like that. If you need something, you call me. I don't care if it's three in the morning and you're just feeling lonely. I got you, Castiel. Family sticks together, no matter what.

— Literal Satan"

Castiel chuckles at the signature. "Wow, Luce, that was actually really sweet and... not weird... Are you sure you're okay?" he asks teasingly.

"No," he replies with exaggerated sadness. "I've been hug deprived. I think you need to fix that."

Castiel laughs and gives him a hug. "Better?"

"Much," he replies with a grin.

Castiel looks around the room at the faces of (almost) everyone he's grown to love. "You guys are the best. I hope you know that. I don't know what I'd do without you."