The desert sucked. Gabriel would never understand what his Father had been thinking when he came up with the desert. It made no sense at all. Ever. During the day, it was blisteringly hot. Gabriel could hardly breathe, and his skin was sticky from sweat. In the past whenever he found himself in a desert, he would simply create a much more pleasant atmosphere around himself.

Sadly, this time he needed all of his attention on the matter at hand. Michael would be joining him soon. He wished he trusted his brother, but he had spent so long not trusting anyone at all. He wasn't sure he remembered how to trust like he used to. He would give nearly anything to have his brothers back.

But not the world, as beautiful as anything in all of Eden because it had dark parts that gave a stark contrast to the light. Not his Father's favorite creations. The beautiful humans that were so capable of doing anything they could imagine. Not the rebels he had found himself becoming a part of lately. The three hunters and one falling angel, all brave and stupid enough to stand against the armies of both heaven and hell. Not Castiel, the only one of his brothers that hadn't gone completely bat shit insane when dear old Dad took a little vacation. And not Sam, whatever Sam was to him. His obsession, ill-conceived as it may be.

Gabriel was pulled from his wandering thoughts by Michael's grace appearing in the distance and coming closer fast. He took a deep, steadying breath.

"Gabriel, it is good to see you again." Michael smiled his beautiful hundred watt smile.

Gabriel tried to smile at his brother, but it felt more like a grimace. At least he wasn't completely desperate for the grace to grace contact. Thank you, Castiel. He still felt like he needed his brother, but he could resist the pull of it.

"Mike. How's heaven nowadays?"

"It is much the same. Zachariah and Raphael are sadly taking the change of plan a tad poorly."

"Can't really accept them to do a complete one eighty just because you say so, Mikey." He sounded harsher than he meant to sound. He didn't want to drive his brother away from him. Not when Michael had just decided to not be a complete dick.

He took another deep breath and gestured to the body lying on the ground at his feet.

Sadly, Sam had won the argument about whether or not to put clothing on it before Michael climbed on board. It wasn't like it would have bothered Michael, or that he would've even noticed he was a naked chick. Seriously. But whatever. It had barely been a week, and he was already getting used to being outnumbered all the freaking time. Damn nerds were always voting against him, and apparently Dean's opinion never actually counted.

He lightly kicked the practical yet stylish boots and nodded vaguely toward it then his brother. "Well, Mike, you've got yourself a shiny new vessel. No consent required."

Michael smiled and moved fractionally closer. He seemed to be keeping his distance from Gabriel. Gabriel wasn't sure if that made him feel hurt or relieved. "Thank you, Gabriel, for giving me the chance to prove myself to you and your new friends." Michael hesitated a second away from entering his new vessel and looked back at his brother. "How much of my grace will I have access to? I assume you and Castiel did some very fine binding work on this one."

Gabriel hummed and nodded slightly. "You're right. You'll have about half in general, but you should still have the ability to heal from pretty much anything. Although, I would not recommend testing that theory unless it's an emergency."

Mike didn't look surprised or upset about the thought of having power taken from him. He didn't protest at all. He simply renewed his smile and folded himself into his new human body.

Gabriel watched the light of his brother diminish from view as it filled the vessel. He stared at the face waiting for her eyes to open. He knew he had given it green eyes, but with the grace of an archangel behind them, they glowed. Her smile was just as beautiful with her new white teeth and pink lips as it ever was in her natural form.

She reached a hand out to Gabe, and he helped her to her feet. She tightened the grip she had on him before taking his hand in both of his and running the tips of her fingers across every square inch of his palm and wrist.

Gabriel resisted the urge to pull away. He could, and always would despite the centuries that had passed, remember what it was like to truly feel for the first time. He had spent nearly three hours rubbing against a tree's bark. It was the second most powerful experience of his existence. Second only to seeing his father's face.

Michael had moved up his arm, rubbing the flannel at his elbow between her thumb and forefinger. She looked so serious about what she was doing. It made Gabriel smile at the fascination that painted Michael's face.

Gabriel could feel something loosen in his chest. It felt like a weight had been lifted.

He brought his free hand up to Michael's neck. Her pulse jumped under his hand, and she looked up so fast Gabriel's neck throbbed in sympathy. She eyes locked with his and refused to release him again.

She looked so surprised that he had allowed her so close. As if she hadn't realized how close they had already been standing. It broke something in Gabriel to know his big brother, who had raised him and shown him the world, would be shocked to be allowed into his space.

"Michael, I'm sorry I left you." It was only as he said the words out loud that he realized just how true they were. He knew he missed his family. He knew he missed his home. But he had never regretted leaving it behind. The fighting was something he knew he could never stop and could never get used to having to deal with constantly. He had never looked back. Until this moment.

Michael tilted her head in consideration and stared at Gabe with an unrivaled intensity. Then she shook her head with a fond smile on her lips. Her hands came to rest on either side of his face and tugged just enough that Gabriel's forehead was barely touching her own. "Oh, Gabriel. Do not be sorry. I can see very clearly why you ran from home. I did not understand at the time of course. That is why I commanded so many of the host to search for you. I knew you were still alive, but in time I also knew you would never come back. I knew I needed to leave you be."

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly against the tears he could feel gathering at the corners of his eyes. "I shouldn't have left. You needed my help with Raphael and the rest of our brothers."

"But you needed to leave. You loved Lucifer just as much as I did, maybe even more so. The rebellion would have broken you, Gabriel. You have always felt so deeply, and you so thoroughly give yourself to those you love. I understand. I forgive you, my dear brother."

Gabriel pulled her into a tight hug. So tight a lesser being would break a few ribs. "Michael, I still love him."

"As do I, Gabriel. As do I."

"I love you too, you know."

"I know. And I will always love you."

They stayed in their embrace until the desert heat of day gave way to the desert chill of night.