As Chuck cleaned up the mess in his house due to the demons (which had been exacerbated thanks to Gabriel killing them on his property), he sighed. His tears had long since ceased, however he couldn't help but worry about his archangel. Gabriel was going to die. His angel, his best friend. That was if he hadn't already. And the prophet, despite his evident powers of having visions and being involved with the supernatural, could do nothing about it. He had continued praying for a while, however he soon realised that could actually be a hindrance to Gabriel, especially if he was in the middle of a battle; the last thing Chuck wanted was to distract his angel so he got killed. Well, that was inevitable nevertheless.

A few sheets of paper had just been swept up when the prophet heard the shrill and incessant ringing of his doorbell. Hesitation was apparent in the tone of the ringing, inferring that the person stood on the doorstep could only be the bearer of bad news. Furthermore, since barely anyone knew where he lived (apart from Becky, of course, however she was too excitable to be this person), the prophet figured it was likely the Winchesters. His assumption was soon confirmed when the husky tone of the older brother called out to him, his voice vaguely muffled by the walls separating them.

"Chuck. We know you're in there, just open up." Gathering himself together, Chuck gently propped the sweeping brush up against the wall and shuffled to the door. The opening of said door revealed two incredibly sombre faces pleading to be let in. In reply to this unasked question, the prophet stepped aside and silently gestured for them to enter.

"I'm afraid we have bad news." The younger brother remarked, clasping his hands together in an anxious display of body language. He was clearly reluctant to break the news, despite knowing Chuck was probably already aware of it; he was, though Sam carried on nonetheless.

"You see, there was this whole… thing… where we ended up staying in this hotel which it turned out was being run by pagan gods. They were angry, to say the least, and wanted the world to be ended by them alone. Then, Gabriel suddenly arrived to try help us to escape from these gods, but Lucifer soon arrived, and-"

"Long story short, Gabriel is dead." Dean interrupted abruptly. Although it may have seemed rude and blunt of him to do so, the older brother simply grew impatient of Sam's ramblings, and knew that it would be kinder to Chuck to just get to the point. In the silence that followed Dean's statement, the prophet slowly nodded his head, almost savouring hearing the news from a different perspective rather than from a hideous flash of images in his own mind. Chuck's expression remained unfathomable, while the brothers sincerely respected his time to digest the news. When the absence of speaking became unbearable, Sam spoke up, though his voice was low and sympathetic.

"We're sorry, Chuck. We know what he meant to you." The prophet merely nodded and smiled wanly in reply. They could never understand. "Look, I don't know what you want to do now, but we could stay with you a while, if you wanted us to." Biting his lip to ensure he didn't talk for too long again, the younger brother gazed at Chuck for an answer. The prophet eventually did reply audibly.

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it, really I do. But you two have things to do – you have the world to save. Me, I'm just a drop in the ocean. I don't matter in the long run. So go, go be Winchesters. Face up to the Devil, and when you do? Punch him in the face. For me. That's all I need from you. Will you do that?" Sam and Dean nodded eagerly, holding back tears that were poised on the edge of their eyelids, as if in the 'set' position at the start of a race. "Thank you. Now go."

At that, the Winchesters turned tail, their gazes lingering on the prophet's falsely smiling face as they departed from Chuck's house for the last time.

One month later…

Chuck Shurley sat at his typical writing desk, helplessly typing up the events which had come to him in his most recent vision: Sam drinking the demon blood before letting Lucifer in; Dean seeking Cas and Bobby's help with no reception; Lucifer appearing in Stull Cemetery leading up to the final Armageddon battle with Michael. The prophet knew it was all coming to an end, and all he could do was write. Though he still had faith – he'd just unexpectedly come off the phone with Dean, who had been asking for the setting of the final battle, where Lucifer/Sam would be at. This surely meant Dean had a chance to at least talk to Lucifer, to find a way to get through to Sammy, which in turn meant there was still hope. There's always hope.

It was night by the time Chuck had finished typing the final words of his final novel of the Winchester gospel. His fingers purposefully tapped out the letters that spelled 'THE END', at last sealing the deal of finality. It was strange, it all being over. The prophet leaned back in his seat and took a final swig of whiskey from the tumbler he cradled.

"No doubt – endings are hard. But then again... nothing ever really ends, does it?" He spoke aloud to himself, aware that his time on Earth was now done. However, before he could leave, he was interrupted by a rather surprising visitor who had appeared in his home.

"You're right there, buddy." It was the one person he had mourned more than any character in his novel, especially as none of them were, in fact, fictitious. His best friend. His angel.

"Gabriel. I should have seen this coming." Although his words would have been humourous had they been spoken by anyone else, Chuck spoke sincerely as he addressed the archangel.

"Damn right you should. You didn't seriously believe I was dead?" Gabriel seemed almost offended by Chuck's shock.

"I didn't really know what to think, to be honest." The prophet had seen his friend die, he had known it would come to pass, though he always thought he would have felt something, a slight pang, just something to let him know if his guardian died, but he never had done. That should have told him, but it didn't really compare to the truth of his prophetic visions.

"Yeah, those visions always were pretty intense." The archangel commented, as if reading Chuck's thoughts. Suddenly, Gabriel leaned in close to the prophet, as if telling him a secret to be protected. "Wanna know how I did it?"

"You know what? I don't. If it was to be told, I would have seen it." Yet again, Gabriel seemed affronted. Noticing this, Chuck scrambled for another explanation. "Besides, the fact that you're alive and well is good enough for me."

At that comment, Gabriel visually softened. "I suppose. Well, one day you might want to know. If you do, don't hesitate to call – I'll come a-running." Chuck smiled.

"I know. But you're not staying, am I right?"

"That's right." The angel's face grew a little sadder. "Listen, Chuck, I gotta lay low for a while. I don't know how long, or even where I'll go yet, but I can't stay. You understand that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. You just do what you have to. I'll probably lay low for a bit as well. It's not safe here – if anyone, angel, demon, whatever, found out you were still alive, they'd hunt you down. You must stay safe, Gabriel."

"Thanks man. I knew you'd understand." As Gabriel turned to teleport away, he felt the need to say something. "Chuck. You know I'm always here for you, right?" The prophet tilted his head to one side slightly, encouraging a further explanation. "I'm still your archangelic protector, it's my job to look out for you. So, if you're ever in trouble, I'll be there. I'm not abandoning you, I suppose is what I'm trying to say."

"Oh no, of course! I know, don't worry about it. We both just need some time to… I'm not sure. But yes, I get it." Yet again, Chuck smiled comfortingly at his angel to put him at ease.

"Thank you. Again. You've been a great friend. Look after yourself, okay?"

"Gabriel, I-" Before the prophet could continue, his physical form began to fade away, his facial expression frozen on his unspoken words.

"Chuck? Chuck! What are- What's going on?" Before the archangel even knew what was happening, his best friend had completely disappeared. He was just gone. No longer there.

Gabriel whirled around, staring up at the ceiling, across the room, frantically searching for his prophet. Despite his teleportation skills, he physically dashed outside, leaving Chuck's front door wide open. He glared into the oppressive gloom of the night, although his celestial sight allowed him to see more than could meet the human eye. Dropping to his knees like a sack of hopeless coal, the angel gazed into nothingness, unable to comprehend what had happened to his prophet, his best friend.

"Chuck…" Gabriel whispered around rising sobs. Since when did he even cry? Since the one person who meant everything to him had just vanished, was the answer to that rhetorical question. Where had he gone? How was that even possible, a human just fading away like that? Was he even still alive?

In that moment, Gabriel vowed to find Chuck, if it was the last thing he ever did.

A/N:

And that brings us to the end of 'Guardian Trickster'! This obviously isn't the end of Gabriel and Chuck's story, as I will be writing a significantly more angsty sequel, called 'Crossing Paths', if you want to see how the story continues. I'm aiming to make the sequel much longer as well. I'd like to give a big thank you to FireChildSlytherin5 for reviewing so much, it means a lot. Thank you again for those who have followed/favourited/reviewed this fic, it's much appreciated! :)