"Cassie! Cassie! Where are you?" Gabriel, archangel of the Lord, flew by in a panic, his six wings a golden blur as he scoured the paradise that was Heaven. "Cassie!"

"Gabriel," came a slow drawl from below, "what in our Father's name are you doing?"

"Raphie!" Raphael rolled his eyes at the nickname, but Gabriel ignored it. "Little bro! Ya gotta help me, Cassie's disappeared! Poof!" The frantic archangel waved his hands aimlessly, pacing incessantly as his wings twitched.

"His name," the younger archangel's words dripped with exasperation, "is Castiel. And he is your charge, not mine. I have no idea where he might be. Heaven is infinite; you may never find him." His smirk was insufferable. Gabriel scowled.

"Gee, Raphie, I had no idea. Thank you for your inspirational and oh so helpful words of wisdom, dear brother." Raphael's smirk only widened, and the elder angel snorted. "Catch you later, Raph." Gabriel was off once more, flying so fast that, if you weren't an archangel, you wouldn't even be able to see him.

He flew until his wings were sore and aching, and the sun had decided to set on the horizon, staining the perfect marble white of Heaven drastic shades of orange, yellow, and pink. Abruptly the white transitioned sharply into green, and Gabriel stumbled upon a beautiful little valley, the center of the basin containing a shimmering, crystal-clear lake.

The golden-winged angel touched down, despair beginning to settle itself in his body. At this rate, he would never find his youngest brother. Sighing, he collapsed to the ground, staring out at the serenity of the lake. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he spotted something on the opposite shire; a small, curled-up black ball in the distance. Slowly, he stood again, flying the distance across the water and settling himself next to the ball of black feathers.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, kiddo."

There was a long pause. Then, a tiny voice piped up from beneath the inky wings. "Go away, Gabriel."

The archangel grinned, leaning back on his hands. "Nah. Gonna have to try harder than that if you want to get rid of me, little Cassie." His cheerful tone slipped a bit. "What happened, kid? One minute you're off playing with the other young ones and the next you've vanished and I'm searching the whole of Heaven for you. I even tolerated Raphael's presence for a full thirty seconds." At that, Castiel snorted, but didn't emerge from his cocoon. Gabriel let his façade fade away completely now, becoming serious. "Seriously, Castiel. What's wrong? This isn't like you, I know."

They didn't speak for a long time. The golden-winged angel watched the sun set over the lake, the colors fading and the shadows deepening as he waited anxiously for Heaven's youngest angel's response.

"Do you think my wings are ugly?" His voice was so small Gabriel nearly didn't hear it.

"What?! Of course not!"

"You're just saying that."

Gabriel's anxiety deepened. "No, I'm not! I think you have the coolest, most awesome wings in all of Heaven!"

"But Gabriel!" Finally, Castiel's head emerged from underneath the feathery limbs, but his face was wet and shone with tears. "I'm the only angel in Heaven with black wings!" He turned away quickly from the elder angel. "I wish my wings were as pretty as yours."

Gabriel was in shock. When he spoke next, his voice was soft. "Cassie...what brought all this on?"

The angel stiffened before slowly replying. "Zachariah...when we were playing he started pulling on my feathers and making fun of me. He said...he said I was 'unnatural' and that I could never be a real angel. "

The fury of an archangel coursed through Gabriel's veins, but at the sight of the little angel's blue eyes fill with tears he forced himself to calm down. He shifted into a cross-legged position, then held out his arms. "Come here, Cassie." Immediately, the small child crawled into his lap, wings folded tightly behind him and he buried his face in Gabriel's robes, fisting some of the fabric in his hands. Gabriel held him close, wincing internally as each broken, muffled sob pierced his ears as he comforted Castiel. Eventually, the sobs died down, and the younger angel sat back, eyes adverted as he rubbed his face.

"Now you listen to me, Castiel." The archangel placed a finger on the underside of the child's chin, gently forcing him to look up. "Don't you dare listen to those other angels. Yes, you're the only angel with black wins, but that doesn't mean you're less than the rest of us." He smiled. "In fact, it means quite the opposite. It means you're unique. It means you're destined for something great. Now I have absolutely no clue what that might be, but it's true. And I'll be with you every step of the way. Zachariah has no idea what he's talking about." Gabriel's face lit up with a mischievous twinkle that made most angels, including the other archangels, run away in terror. He stood, golden wings catching the last of the dying light, Castiel held tightly in his arms. "Come, little one. Why don't we let Zachariah know what it's like to get pranked by an archangel."

All of Heaven heard the screams and laughter afterward.

This one was really cute and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Next one might be split into a couple of parts, but trust me, it will be freaking WORTH IT because who doesn't love a prank war between two archangels?