Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gabriel and Dean had always had a childish rivalry, and ever since Gabriel started dating Sam it has just gotten worse.

Friday afternoons in the bunker were usually pretty quiet, as they have dedicated them to taking a break and unwinding since their lives are ridiculously hectic. However, This specific day was anything but relaxing.

Gabriel's laughter echoed throughout the bunker from the map room. Dean stood triumphantly on one side while Gabriel writhed with laughter on the other.

"Ha Ha! Really dean?" Gabriel cackled, wiping a tear from his eye "Aw, I expected more from you"

Gabriel was still amused over the fact that Dean had glued his chair and when he sat, poured ice water over his head. It was a feeble attempt at a prank in their ongoing war, and Gabriel was already plotting his next attack. All the ruckus had attracted the attention of Sam and Castiel, Who were researching in their respective rooms that they share with their partners. Castiel, upon entering went and stood beside Dean, surveying the scene with tired eyes while sam stayed in the doorway snickering to himself. Gabriel snapped his fingers and cleaned himself up entirely.

"Well played Dean, but you should know that when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Or in this case, mess with the trickster, you get the tricks" He smirked mischievously

"No, no, no do not rope us into this" Sam states, gesturing to himself and Cas

"But Samoose" Gabe pouted at him, and once again raised his hand in preparation to cause chaos "It's so much fun"

He snapped his fingers and all went bright, Sam shielded his face while Cas covered Dean's eyes, attempting to save him from his brother's idiocy.

----

A while later, Dean awoke with a start. Groaning, he brought his hand to rub his head, only to realize that it was a lot smaller and a lot fluffier than usual. He yelled in surprise and scrambled backward, only to bump his head. When he looked up he saw a gigantic moose staring down at him and yelled once more

"Dean? Dean are you ok?" The moose lowered its gigantic head to bump its nose against his head. Dean paused

"Sammy?" He questioned

Upon realizing that his brother was ok, Sam took a few steps back and surveyed the room

"Wheres Cas?" Dean asked, slightly worried for his boyfriend

"I'm here, Dean" Came the monotone voice from the table, which was now miles high to Dean. He jumped to his feet (Paws?) and gaped at his now bluebird boyfriend

"Cas! What are you doing up there?" He yelled with a twinge of worry in his voice

"It seems that my brother has turned us into animals, as some form of a practical joke" He explains and Dean had the decency to look a little bit guilty

"Well, get down here, you'll fall" Dean catches Sams' eye who is giving him the famous bitchface

"Dean, even if I was not currently a bluebird, falling from any height would do me no harm, there is no need to worry." He stated

"In any case, we still need to find a way to reverse this. Unless you wanna stay as a squirrel Dean" Sam Glared at him "I mean this is your fault after all"

Dean huffed and crossed his little squirrel arms over his chest. Castiel smiled slightly, as much as he really could at Deans' cute pout. Fluttering his little wings, he landed beside Dean and as always invaded his personal space, not that Dean minded in fact he was grateful for the warmth he provided and relaxed slightly. After a minute of that, Sam started to get slightly uncomfortable and thus broke the silence

"We need someone who can help, like Bobby" He glanced at his phone and furrowed his moose brows "Although, that may be a struggle"

Dean looked at him, then Castiel, then back at Sam. He glanced at the phone, then the door, then once again back to Sam

"I may have an idea," Dean said with humor to his voice

Sam and Castiel both looked at him expectantly. Sams' eyes widened comically as he realized what Dean was gesturing to

"Uh uh, no way, there is no way I'm going to be able to get up those stairs"

Deans' smile widened with just the thought of it "You're going to have to Sam, I locked the door to the garage and the keys were in my pants which are now, uh," He looked at Cas "Cas where are my pants?"

"I assume that Gabriel has them" He assumed

Dean looked confused, shook his head, and then sighed "Well, in any case, we don't exactly have a choice. You scale those stairs and we'll get the door open then we can all head to bobbies'"

Cas looked concerned "Bobbies place is very far Dean, even further at the height, you are now. You will not be able to make it"

Dean looked expectantly at Sam, they locked eyes for a moment before Sam sighed

"Fine, but if you mention this to anyone I'll stand on you" He made his point by stomping his hoof on the floor twice

"Let's get going then" Dean had the smuggest look on his face that just made Sam groan

Cas flew up to the entrance of the bunker and softly landed on the railing just beside it, then looked at the brothers, and waited for them to figure out how to maneuver their new bodies to get up the stairs. Dean got the hang of his first, moving on all fours two legs at a time, not unlike a rabbit. It was clunky and awkward for a squirrel, but it got the job done one step at a time. Once he had made it to the top, he looked at Cas with pride who rewarded him with a chirp and ruffle of feathers in acknowledgment. They both turned their attention to Sam, still at the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on Sammy, one step at a time, You can do it," Dean yelled down to him

Sam, in return, scowled at Dean and then down at the stairs. He placed his left hoof on the second step, then his right on the third. He grunted and shuffled his hind legs forward to the bottom of the staircase, and heaved himself up, the staircase screaming in protest at his weight. Normally that would have tinted his face red, but seeing as he was now a moose, he settled for a huff through his snout. Sam continued this process for what seemed like hours until he eventually made it to the top where Dean and Cas were waiting for him.

"Struggling?" Dean asked, taunting him

Sam looked down at Dean "Having a craving for nuts? Or better yet how the view from all the way down there?"

Castiel smiled at the brothers' familiar banter and politely waited for them to stop making faces at each other. Soon enough, Their focus landed on the door

"Well, how are you supposed to open it?" Sam questioned

"I'll handle that," Dean said

He walked up to the door with as much dignity as he could, stared up at the handle, and jumped as high as he could, which was just short of his mark. He tried again but missed and then the third time he managed to grab the handle and gave a laugh in triumph. He attempted to pull down to open it, but it didn't budge and he tried again. Sam rolled his eyes and looked at Cas, gesturing to the door with his head. Getting the idea, waved his wing and the door clicked open. Dean laughed once again, dropping to the floor and looking at Sam

"How's that for a squirrel?" Dean puffest his chest a little, making Castiels feathers rustle and his heart skip a beat

Sam steps forward and noses open the door, he holds it open for Dean and Cas to get through, and once they do he tilts his head so his gigantic horns fit between the archway. They step into the chill of the night and take a moment to collect themselves. Sam sighed and rolled his eyes, He folded down his two front legs then his back ones. Once he was sat on the floor, Dean jumped upon his shoulders and climbed until he was at his horns. He settled himself comfortably on Sam's right antler, followed by Cas who landed on his left.

Sam carefully lifted himself from the floor and glanced around "Which way?"

"Which way do you think Sammy? Were going to Bobbies, you should know the way" He stated as if it were obvious

"Gee, thanks" He snorted

He made his way left, walking to the side of the road. They all soon realized that this was about to be a long and boring trip.

----

During their treck, Sam tried to keep himself steady, like the considerate person he is, but soon enough he tripped, it was inevitable given his now much larger stature. However, Dean did not appreciate that he was suddenly chucked from his rather warm resting place.

"Hey, watch it!" He yelled, just managing to cling to his brother

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to I've just got freakishly long legs now" he pressed

Dean grumbled and climbed back to his little warm spot of the antler "you've always had freakishly long legs, Sammy."

"You're just mad that your neck always hurts from looking up at me all the time" Sam replied sounding amused

"Yeah right. Why didn't you just call your boyfriend to turn us back anyway?" He said, putting emphasis on the word 'boyfriend'

"I prayed to him but he didn't answer, but you did pull a shitty prank, so it's understandable." Sam mused

"It was a good prank," He deflected

"Yeah for a two-year-old" He fired back

"In all fairness Dean, it was a prank that a child would pull" Castiel countered

Dean pulled his squirrel face into the most offended expression he had ever seen, Sam only chuckled and kept walking along the road while Castiel shook his head and folded his wings tighter to his tiny body. After a while in the crisp air, Dean started to shiver. Castiel took notice first, he glanced down at the youngest Winchester and ran some calculation through his head at breakneck speeds. Once he was done, he nodded to himself and started to shuffle on Sams' head. Castiel spread his wings and fluttered them just enough to get himself into the air.

Dean startled and looked to Cas, worried that he would fly away since he can't teleport as a bird due to the lack of angel wings. But when he landed next to Dean, he relaxed. Cas placed his wing around Dean's shoulders and pulled him in tightly. When he practically melted at the warmth Cas gave him, he took that as a good sign that it was welcome. All dignity was thrown out the window at this point when Dean snuggled in closely to Cas's chest seeking more warmth. It made Sam chuckle after he adjusted to the weight difference, and he had to stop himself from shaking his head, lest he disturb the love birds. Well love bird and squirrel, he thought.

feeling warm and satisfied, Dean tried to get to sleep but found he was struggling with the awkward sound of Sams' heavy breathing.

"You know, if Gabe was gonna turn you into an animal he could at least install a radio," Dean complained

"What?" Sam whispered to himself while making a confused moose face

Heavy hooves stomped on the floor as they made their way further down the road. But suddenly instead of hearing dirt and leaves being crushed beneath Sams' enormous feet, they heard a soft melody. It drifted and swirled through the air like water and made the atmosphere that bit more comfortable. It was coming from Cas, He was singing for him. Dean was in awe and wondered if his voice sounded just as beautiful in his human vessel. The sweet sound continued until he fell into a deep slumber and Cas lowered his volume as to not wake him.

----

Hours passed, the sun was now rising and Sams' breathing became ragged which woke Dean. Groggy and confused, he yawned and stretched. Cas lifted his wing to allow him more room but upon the onslaught of cold, Dean buried his nose back into his feather-covered neck, which made Cas sigh and pull him closer, almost underneath him, but he wasn't complaining. After a moment of relaxing, Dean realized why he had woken in the first place.

"How long has it been?" his voice was scratchy but Cas only smiled

"It has been seven hours, forty-three minutes, and three seconds since we left the bunker." he said looking at Dean fondly

"Sammy, maybe you should think about taking a break." He suggested

"It's ok, I'm not tired yet. I think it's because of my long legs I'm not sure, but I can keep going."

"No, you need to rest. There should be enough shelter under the trees" He pushed on sams antler to steer him right

"Ok, ok, I'm going. Just stop with your little squirrel claws, its horrible" He protested "Like a fork on a plate"

Sam turned right into the woods, he walked until he found a suitable spot to rest. Once he was settled, he slowed his breathing and tried to get some sleep knowing that his brother and Cas would protect him from harm.

After not even half an hour, Dean got antsy "Right, I'm gonna go, uh, survey the area. To make sure there are no, you know, monsters and stuff."

"Dean, I would advise against wandering off, especially in your current form. You are more vulnerable like this, and I can't protect you as someone must watch over Sam" Cas warned

"I'll only be a little bit, don't get your feathers in a bunch." He said nonchalantly

Despite Castiels warning, Dean ventured off into the wood to find something more interesting to do. Once he put enough distance between himself and the others, he looked around to make sure he couldn't be seen. Finding the nearest tree, Dean trotted up to the base of it and looked up. He crouched and jumped. Dean used his little claws to grip into the bark, he shuffled his way up the tree, ecstatic that it was working. Once he was at the top, he clung to the braches and glanced down seeing the floor so far down, he began to wonder if it was a bad idea, testing out his new skills. But when he looked back up, the view was well worth it. He wondered if Cas saw this when he flew.

He stayed up in the tree for what he thought was a few minutes, But when he opened his eyes the sun was setting once more. cursing underneath his breath, Dean went to scale back down the tree. However, at the bottom rested Sam and Cas, who evidently had come to look for him. Guilt welled up in his stomach at the thought of Sam waking to find his brother missing, and the panic it must have caused him. Dean crawled down the tree slowly and carefully, trying not to wake Sam. Castiel, however, had been waiting for Dean's decent.

"He was very worried when he couldn't find you" chirped Cas

Dean sighed "Yeah I figured he would be. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." the apology came quickly

"It is understandable. Squirrels do tend to sleep much more than humans, and given that you in particular sleep less than the regular person, large amounts of sleep were inevitable" He stated

Before anything could be said in retaliation, Sam stirred and looked in the direction Cas was. Upon seeing Dean, he jumped to his legs and glared at him huffing through his nose and stamping his front left hoof

"Well, I hope you had a nice nap." His words were kind but his tone was aggressive

"Sorry Sammy, I guess being a squirrel tires a guy out" Dean explains

Sam snorted again and shook his moose head "You weren't even the one walking"

He turned to walk in the rough direction they were supposed to be going, without Dean. Which obviously made the man now squirrel, protest. He ended up sprinting to keep up with Sam as they continued. He only laughed at Dean's misery for a little bit until he finally ducked his head to let him up.

----

Several hours passed once more and the sun was almost completely set, bathing the land in the soft glow of dusk. The fog had long since settled upon the floor, weaving through the trees, illuminating the forest in an ominous way that made Sam shiver despite his thick layer of fur.

A figure in the mist made Dean tap Sam's head and whisper shout to warn him of the danger. After the split second of confusion, he saw the threat and took cover behind a tree. Trying to figure out what it was while simultaneously assessing the danger was normal for them so it didn't take long for the trio to realize that said figure was in fact a human child about 10 years of age. Without lowering their guard, Dean signaled Sam to go towards it, Sam nodded and as quietly as he could, approached the kid.

Once they were close enough the little girl who was crying, took notice of them and instead of screaming, froze. Her breathing skyrocketed and she started shaking uncontrollably. Sam then realized that perhaps approaching a crying child, in the middle of the woods, at night, while he was a 6.5 moose, was probably not the best idea. He attempted to soothe her and show he was no threat by lowering his body to the ground and resting his chin on her feet. He acknowledged that his brother would definitely make fun of him for this later, but it was entirely necessary to calm her down and be the least threatening he can be if they were going to help her.

Her sniffles and breathing calmed down as she stared at the moose that was nudging her feet gently. She shakily reached down and slowly touched his head, flinching back every now and then. When her hand was fully on the gigantic mooses head, she smiled and scratched it like you would a dog and in return, Sam pressed his head to her hand. Soon she was smiling and laughing through the quickly drying tear tracks that rested on her cheeks. Dean laughed at Sam which to the girl, sounded just like a squeak. She gasped and smiled widely removing her hand from the moose's head and picking up the squirrel with both hands, this startled all three of them and Cas made a startled noise of protest. the girl hugged Dean closely while the other two relaxed, realizing he was in no danger.

"Can you help me Mr.Squirrel?" She whispered "I was out camping with my parents and Mimi went for a walk, I went to go with her but got lost. I've been out here forever and I'm really hungry and I'm tired and I'm thirsty, I just wanna go home. I really hate the dark." She concluded sadly

Sam, Cas, and Dean all shared glances and unanimously decided that their problem could wait but this little girl could not. Sam smiled at his brother's kindness and stood up, the girl took an alarmed step back forgetting how tall he was but soon relaxed, remembering that he means no harm.

"I'll call you Chocolate, Choco for short" She grinned at Sam, then raised dean to her eye level "You'll be Peanut" She carried Dean like a baby and looked to Castiel "Your name can be Blu since your feathers are blue!" She grinned innocently

Sam looked around to try and figure out which way they should go, but it was so dark and foggy that he could barely see anything. He decided to head towards the road, and judging by the way they came it should be left. He nudged the girl's arm in that direction and she giggled happily tagging along like it was some sort of adventure. The short journey to the road was filled with childish singing and blackmail for Sam as the girl swung Dean around and danced with him. They eventually made it to the road after what Dean would consider way too long and began to advance down it to the nearest civilization.

Luckily the first thing they came upon was a police station, but by then the girl had fallen asleep so they had decided it would be best if she napped on Sam's back where she'd be safe. Upon walking up to the station, they realized that they couldn't exactly walk in and ask for help, but they couldn't exactly leave her outside. So they came up with a plan, Dean and Cas would find a way in and cause a ruckus. Then when someone inevitably chases them out, they'll see Sam and the unconscious girl upon his back. It was foolproof so it went off without a hitch. Police officers rushed outside but were hesitant to approach Sam, but when the little girl's parents spotted her, they burst into tears and rushed right to her despite the officers trying to hold them back.

Sam leaned a bit so it would be easier to get her off and then the trio stood to the side awkwardly waiting for a moment to leave. The girl awoke when her mothers grabbed her off of Sam looking puzzled, but a look of relief and happiness crossed her face when she realized what was happening. She hugged them fiercely and burst into tears, probably staining their shirts, not that any of them cared. Smiling lightly, team free will decided to move on. However, before they managed to get far, the little girl, whose name was apparently Sophie, broke from her mothers' embrace and ran to them.

"No, you can't go, you haven't met Mimi yet!" She pleaded

"Sophie! Don't touch that thing!" One of the mothers exclaimed and attempted to get her away

Sam looked offended at her words, which shocked the mother as moose shouldn't be able to understand humans

"Mommy, that's Choco! You cant be mean to him!" She yelled

"You named them?" Choosing not to say 'it' in case they could actually understand

"Yeah! That's Choco, that's Blu, and that's Peanut!" She pointed to each of them "Can we keep them? They're so nice, and they save me when I was lost!"

The mother sighed and looked to the other parent, who just shrugged "I don't see why not. I mean obviously not the moose, but we already have parrots so a bluebird and a squirrel shouldn't be too hard to take care of. Is that ok?"

Sophie shrugged "I guess"

"Alright then" She went to take the squirrel and bluebird off of them moose but was met with absolute panic from all three of them

Sam stood on his hind legs and threw his front hooves to the floor a few times, clearly displaying his displeasure, The two small animals clung to his antlers for dear life as he threw a hissy fit.

"Honey, I don't think they want to be separated," One of the parents said, crouched down to her height

"But, but they're my friends!" She teared up

"Yes, and if you truly love them then you want them to be happy right?" She cooed

Sophie sighed "Yeah"

"Then you need to let them go."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes "Can I say goodbye?"

"Of course sweetie, go ahead" She moved out the way

"Choco, Blu, Peanut?"

All in question turned to look at her

"Mommy says I need to let you go now because that's what you want. Thank you for getting me home, I love you"

She walked up and hugged Sam around his abnormally large neck, which he tried to return as best he could. She let go and held her hand out to Dean who shook it with both hands, making her laugh. She held out her index finger and gently stroked it over Cas's back, he appreciated the kind gesture from the child. After everything was said and done, they once more started on their journey to bobby.

----

Sometime later, they finally saw the sign that said 'Welcome to Sioux falls' and they all physically relaxed especially Sam who thought he was going to drop dead at any moment. Cas and Dean had again been cuddling on Sam's antler, which he was definitely going to get them back for later, but separated to allow room to move if need be. As they walked further into the town, they noticed a lot of people staring at them, which shouldn't be weird since it would be unusual for their species to be friends, but they still found themselves growing nervous. They passed the sheriff's station and briefly wondered if they should go to Jody, but decided against it at the thought of all those other cops.

"We should take a shortcut through the woods, it leads straight to the junkyard" Castiel suggested

"Yeah, good plan" The moose agreed

Dean narrowed his eyes, feeling like he should remember something that bobby said about the routes, he guessed it was something to with which path was faster. He settled back down in his spot which he had been in for far too long and he was starting to regret the prank war he started.

Sam trotted down the path, glad that this was about to end because he knew that none of them were going to living down any of this any time soon. Between the trees, he could see bobby's house in the distance, barely a mile left to go. But just as the nightmare seemed to over, a gunshot shattered the comfortable silence followed by Sam's moose cry of pain. Dean and Castiel whipped their heads fast enough to give them whiplash

"Poachers" Castiel proclaimed

"Sam, run!" Dean urged

Sam sprinted as fast as he could through the trees with his bullet wound in his thigh, bounding over rocks and fallen trees with expert agility. The shouting of the poachers was still right on their ass, but they were out running them, no sooner than Sam had screamed had bobby ran out of his house holding his trusty shotgun. He stood at his porch like a ray of hope and they bolted straight for him, taken off guard, bobby stumbled back but quickly regained his posture and aimed at the poachers, unknowingly protecting his adoptive sons.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Bobby bellowed

"Tryin' to claim what ours! That's what!" They responded

"Well clear of my property or ill fill you full o' bullets!"

"Yeah, right, old man like you cant aim for shit!"

Sticking to his word, Bobby fired a warning shot at their feet

"If yer not careful, that'll be your head" He warned

Taking the easy route out, the poachers reluctantly left, Bobby turned to see the wounded moose lying on the floor with a squirrel and bluebird trying to stop the bleeding. Bobby rushed inside and then back out holding a medic kit, he cleaned the wound and began to dress it when he spoke

"You know, you're very docile for a wild moose." He smiled and chuckled to himself "You three actually remind me of someone"

He caught their eyes and saw them all looking at him weirdly. He stopped what he was doing and stepped back in disbelief

"No." He denied "Absolutely not" He thought for a moment "Sam?"

The moose in question looked at him with a sheepish smile and nodded

Bobby sighed "Then I'm guessing that's Dean, and that's the angel?"

They both nodded. Bobby pinched the bridge of his nose

"How in the- you know what, I don't wanna know" He sounded disappointed or agitated, they couldn't tell.

After cleaning up, Bobby took them all inside after ordering them to wipe their feet. They were about to start research on how to turn them back when the very person they didn't want to see showed up

"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed worriedly and rushed over to him

Bobby yelled in surprise, while Cas and Dean scowled at him. Sam was resting on the floor when Gabriel rushed over to him, standing in front of him and cradling his moose head, gently in his hands. Sam tried to look angry but ended up sighing and nuzzling into Gabriel's hands more.

"Sammy, I'm so sorry I didn't mean for it to go this far." He glanced at his wound, waved his hand over it and suddenly it was gone "Let's get you all better, huh?"

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and as quick as it started, It was over. Everyone standing in the room was now human, well human, and angel. Dean took his time to check nothing was missing or in the wrong place, once he was satisfied, he looked over to his angel and smiled. Still as beautiful as he remembered, even without his charming blue feathers. He rushed over to Castiel and was welcomed with open arms when he went for an embrace. They took a moment to breathe eachother in, they loosened their hold but still kept close enough to touch noses

"I missed you" Dean stated, being a lot more open since getting with Cas

"I missed you too, Dean" Cas replied with that charming voice Dean loved oh so much

They leaned in for a much-deserved kiss. It was sweet and loving, Dean's arms around Cas's waist and Cas's arms around Dean's shoulders.

When Sam opened his eyes, he stood before his own angel in his human form again. He was avoiding eye contact with Sam, having the decency to look guilty

"Gabriel" He called

The angel in question looked up at his lover who was, to his delight, holding his arms open. He smiled brighter than the sun and rushed into his open arm with enthusiasm.

"I'm so sorry Samoose, but you gotta admit" He glanced into Sam's eyes "You do look good as a moose"

He chuckled "Perhaps, but I cant hold you like this when I have four legs"

Gabriel looked mortified at the thought

Bobby loudly cleared his throat, everyone stopped and looked at him

"Mind telling me what the hell just happened?"

Everyone pointed at Dean

"He did it" Sam stated

"Traitor" Dean grumbled

----

The End, idk.

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