kore_logs | for my brother, who keeps me sane

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for my brother, who keeps me sane

Who: Raphael and Gabriel
Where: Gabriel's room in House 11
When: Late night Day 77/obscenely early morning Day 78
What: Raphael is basically a stray cat. At least he doesn't scratch up the doors?

It isn't the first time Raphael's appeared in Gabriel's room when no one else is around, and Gabriel expects (hopes) that it'll be far from the last. Even if the relationship is tense to say the least, too many accusations and apologies still waiting to be made, it's hard to stay away now, after so long apart. Especially with Lucifer still missing, it's a comfort to Gabriel to be reassured every now and then that Raphael's still around. And, well, it has been a while since he's been able to just sit and talk with his brother about nothing at all. Perhaps that in itself is a bad idea - they do have a lot of things to discuss that are actually important, after all - but emotions are for puny humans and if they ignore their problems long enough, they'll go away, right? Right. It's always worked in the past. So, until something happens to actually force them to talk about Feelings, Gabriel at least is perfectly happy to pretend nothing's wrong between them. And the best way to do that is, obviously, to continue his mission to find some candy that Raphael actually likes. So, when Raphael does turn up (and Gabriel will deny forever that he's been sitting there and waiting), he's greeted not with any actual words but with the packet of gummy bears Gabriel lobs at his head.

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"Maybe I thought you were more mature than this." It'd sound a whole lot more like an actual remonstration if it didn't sound so approving. Maturity, in Gabriel's opinion, is a curse rather than a virtue.

It'd also be more chiding if Gabriel, knowing he's lost the element of surprise as far as throwing the gummy bear goes, hadn't decided to sneakily (or... not) try to stuff it down Raphael's collar instead. It's considerably more childish than he'd usually be, but being around his older brothers again brings that out in him. Little brothers - gotta love 'em, right?

"Immaturity would be licking them and then sticking them to yo-" HEY! Good thing his collar is pretty stiff and tight, because Gabriel isn't going to manage this without taking Raphael's tie off. He tossed the packet to the food and shifts his shoulder, bumping Gabe's arm up and tucking his chin.

He hadn't expected to succeed - even if he had been inclined to fight, Gabriel wasn't all that good at it. Besides, he was pretty sure putting sticky candy down Raphael's shirt would be a good way to avoid familial tension. He gave up immediately, laughing, plonked himself back down and settled for eating the bear instead. Limbs first, one by one, then the body and finally the head.

"Okay, so maybe gummy bears aren't your thing. Or... any chemical-y sweets." He left the packet where it was (waste not want not, right?) and frowned, considering. "Chocolate? You like chocolate? -- what am I saying, everyone likes chocolate."

A snap of his fingers, entirely pointless given that Raphael knew exactly how their powers worked, and a chocolate bar dropped out of the sky into Raphael's lap - in its wrapper, fortunately for Raphael's trousers.

Raphael wasn't looking to fight either. If anything it was probably more akin to a puppy wanting to chew on a littermate's ear because he was restless. "What did that poor little bear do to you?" It's dry, with just a faint quirk to his mouth.

"I just don't understand why you enjoy it." He picked up the bar and started unwrapping it. It smelled better than the gummy bears did, at least. He sniffed it a bit before breaking off a piece and biting into it, chewing it. "This isn't bad."

"Huh? Oh-- nothing. I just didn't like the look it was giving me."

Also, he had daddy issues and he was a complete sadist, but those were not things that needed saying aloud. Besides, it was just a gummy bear. It wasn't as if it had feelings - if it had been a real bear there might have been cause for concern, but then, he probably wouldn't have been eating one of those. Not enough sugar.

"I'm sure there's a lot of things I enjoy that you wouldn't understand." There was a hint of innuendo there, but that was force of habit rather than deliberate. Sexual references were great for freaking out Winchesters (he always did find the expressions Dean made in response hilarious), but Lucifer had seemed quite disapproving of his promiscuity, and he doubted Raphael would be any more impressed. Considerably less so, probably, if he even understood any of the references Gabriel made. "It's not, huh? Less plasticky, for sure."

It still didn't seem quite right, though. Almost every angel there was had a sweet tooth, but... well, perhaps it was the suit, or perhaps it was the personality, but Raphael and chocolate bars didn't seem a perfect mix. Gabriel 'hmph'ed, and (without warning) replaced the rest of the chocolate bar with a bar of solid dark chocolate.

Not right either, even before Raphael could have had a chance to try it. He glared at the chocolate, which apparently was being wrong on purpose, then grinned. Had this been a cartoon, a lightbulb would've blinked into existence over his head. Actually, it might have happened anyway, but at least on this occasion he resisted the temptation. The new chocolate changed again, becoming a small, shiny cardboard box.

"Coffee beans, with dark chocolate coating. It's proper grown-up candy. You don't even have to have a mental age of six to get away with eating it - c'mon, you might even like this."

So maybe he seemed a little more excited than he should have at that prospect. Plausibly, it could be explained that the chocolate was some kind of metaphor. More likely, though, he just thought this whole thing was fantastic - step two of his plan to corrupt the entire Host through the medium of food.

"Do they even have eyes?" It was Gabriel, he wouldn't put it passed him to have put candy eyes on the things. But mostly he was (attempting) a joke - not that he'd ever really been good at them, even when he'd been far less stiff.

He waited while Gabriel transfigured the candy around - the dark chocolate had smelt better than the other one, and he shook the box lightly, hearing the beans roll around inside. Normally a Gabriel that excited spelled a prank, but that wasn't his prank voice, so Raphael carefully opened the box and tossed one into his mouth.

It wasn't chemical tasting, at all. It was sweet, but not so sweet that was all he tasted, and the dark chocolate and coffee bean were bitter but also...flavorful. He swallowed and reached for another one. "These are good." More than good really, since he's not really looked he he enjoyed candy before.

"Well, this one doesn't any more."

He appreciated the effort, at least: he was well aware that a sense of humour was not exactly innate to all angels. Nor was liking food - or at least, it wasn't really encouraged. Honestly, he was pleased that Raphael had bothered humouring him enough to even try the coffee beans. More pleased, though, that he'd liked the sweets. He'd known that being around the other archangels tended to bring out his childish tendencies, but the grin this got out of him was unmistakeably young, in a way that he usually wasn't. He acted immature, yes, but this was different.

"Yeah. Not really my cup of tea, but I figured you might like 'em."

Many things that weren't exactly innate, but were learn-able, and several things that were innate weren't exactly encouraged, for many reasons. And while most of them boiled down to making the Host easier to control, Raphael hadn't done any of it with the intent to harm his siblings.

But he offers a little smile at Gabriel's grin. It reminded him a great deal of before - and Raphael had genuinely been happy then. If this is what it took to get some of that feeling back, Raphael was willing to do it. "It was a good choice."

"Course it was. I'm an expert - the expert."

He was glad, despite how he tried to cover it up. Not because he was bringing Raphael around to the dark side, but just because he'd missed that smile. Raphael may not have been as exuberant as Gabriel or even Lucifer tended to be, but all the same he'd been happy, and Gabriel was worried that that might be a thing of the past. It was good to know that it wasn't.

"About time you became on expert on something."

No reason to do nothing more than yank on Gabriel's ear. Otherwise they might steer into feelings they both are trying to avoid. But Gabriel wasn't wrong - Raphael's ability to feel happy was still there, buried under everything else.

"Hey."

Without any heat, naturally. He elbowed him in the side anyway though - a little brotherly violence never went amiss, and even among more functional families than theirs, it was generally acknowledged to be a nice, healthy alternative to emoting. Easier, certainly.

He elbows back, shoving without intent. It's a much better alternative, and covers him popping another of the candies into his mouth. "Whine a little more baby brother."

"You're only just older than me."

He doesn't care that that makes him sound even more of a baby than usual. He quite likes it, actually. After all, it's been a long while since they really made the most of being kids, and back then they hadn't appreciated it.

"Older is older." He doesn't care that he doesn't sound that much older than Gabriel when he says it. It had been far too long since he got to be young.

And really...they should far outlive most things. They were still young, even if current circumstances had made them all grow up too fast, and Raphael was enjoying this break.

And well. Teasing Gabriel, in a way that didn't end up with your wings stuck together or you spotting polka dots or some other prank, that was always a bonus.

"Just means you'll get old quicker, bro. Boring and grey-haired and wrinkly - I think I'll pass."

It didn't apply to them, of course. Angels didn't age the way mortals did: by most standards they were already both unbelievably old, even if they didn't always act or even feel it.

"Besides, being younger just means I'm a newer model. Version 2.0, y'know? With a whole range of improvements on the prototypes - better hair, better sense of humour, that sort of thing."

"I was created boring, remember?"

They both knew better - Raphael had become creative out of necessity, to keep up with Gabriel. And this had been the first time in a long time he'd felt young.

"Keep up that talk and I'll pass it along to Balthazar." No, he wouldn't. But there was no reason not to needle Gabriel a little.

"You were created something, alright."

What that 'something' might be he didn't specify, but judging by the way it was darkly muttered and accompanied by a scowl, it wasn't anything good. Of course, Gabriel didn't mean it - mostly, anyway.

"Better than you, an overgrown noise maker."

Raphael mirrors the tone, and the meaning. Even though he'd probably hurt anyone else who suggested Gabriel's so function was to be an annoyance. Even if he flicks Gabriel in the ear before settling comfortably back.

"You've gotta be the only person who's ever called me overgrown."

He understands what Raphael means, though; it's transparent as anything, not that Gabriel either objects to that or thinks himself any more opaque. He settles back too, a comfortable distance between them though he's careful to keep Raphael close enough to touch (not that he's likely to).

"And BTW, I consider that a compliment. Try harder next time."

"How many of them have seen you as you really are, not wrapped in a vessel?"

It was beside the point, and they both knew it. "I think you found a short one so they would over look you." It was tricky, and something even Raphael had done on occasion, taken a vessel barely into adulthood, small and slight, to be overlooked by others.

"Fine, next time I'll say you're nothing more than Glo Worm" The distance between them is small, but he's glad for it. Glad to have him close.

"I picked a short one so I could still go on the kids' rides at Disneyland. You know some of those things have maximum height restrictions?"

Or perhaps they don't. He doesn't expect Raphael to know either way. Raphael's right, though - despite Gabriel's attention-seeking tendencies, he does very much appreciate the ability to go unnoticed at times, to be left to observe quietly. And he always has found it amusing when people underestimate him.

"And I prefer My Little Pony, but I think I can deal with being the cute one."

"Because you can't just make yourself shorter." Wait a minute. "Do they really?" He heard numerous prayers from children wanting to be taller but not the reverse.

Not that Raphael didn't understand the point, Raphael almost always preferred to be behind the scenes. He just occasionally enjoyed recognition for what he did.

"So if I turn you pretty colors..." Speak fast Gabriel or he might.

"Would I lie to you?"

Best not to answer that, perhaps. The way he said it made it rather clear he was well aware of the irony.

"I'm already pretty enough, thanks. It's hard enough to fend off the fangirls as it is. Besides, it'd ruin my plan of staying relatively inconspicuous, so... kind as the offer is, I think I'll pass."

"You know, if anyone figures out Lucifer is the one of the four of us most likely to be honest...we're going to have a problem on our hands."

Raphael consider some lies necessary, and wanted to keep them up.

"You could always take a page from the squids - change your coloring." And don't you give him that look Gabriel - he likes sea creatures.

"You're right. My reputation for honesty and reliability'll be completely shot."

As the god of lies and mischief and whatnot, he doesn't think his credibility can get any lower. Not that he minds, though it is fun when people believe his bullshit. He supposes it's more of a concern for Heaven, though.

"Ooooor I could not do that. My coloration's fine as it is, thanks. If I decide I want to go blue, I'll keep you in mind, but for the time being? I'm good."

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