Can you believe I'm not dead? Like wow, took me long enough to update, ugh I'm terrible I know. In my defense, school got hella hectic what with concert season, finals, and theatre competition. If ya'll are curious, I got a division one in costume design which means I did amazing and got to go to Austin to compete. I stayed in a hotel room and everything. It was rad.

Summary: a prompt from Skylarkofthemoon- Cas sees all his brothers without the animosity of their actions. I took this as an opportunity to write a reincarnation au I am sorry.

Disclaimer: I write sins not episode of Supernatural.

Castiel doesn't know how, but he knows them.

There's a group of boys (college age, or at least older than his sixteen years) hogging his usual table by the window in the coffee shop. Something urges him to go up to them. He doesn't resist and allows his quiet feet to lead him to the table. Castiel gets the oddest sense that they're brothers despite not looking anything like each other.

The eldest boy taps away at his silver laptop, though he shoots the four other boys bemused looks. His dark hair is combed neatly and his blue eyes are severe. The boy across from him is blond and a lazy smile stretches on his face. His own blue eyes twinkle with mirth as he laughs something into his phone. The two younger boys gaze intently at their handheld games, styluses at the ready. The boy with brown hair and gold-brown eyes glares at something on his screen and the younger blond's blue eyes gleam with victory.

"Um," says Castiel, the most eloquent thing he can think of.

He flusters as four pairs of eyes fly in his direction. Unguarded surprise colors the eldest boy's expression and the elder blond boy's smile takes on a nostalgic edge. The brown-haired boy nearly drops his game and the younger blond looks as if he's looking at a ghost. Castiel struggles to keep his blush down. He can't stop his feet from shifting or his hands from fidgeting.

"Do we, uh know each other," he starts softly, not making eye contact, "I feel like know you from somewhere."

He takes a peek at them in time to see the elder blond's smile slip and faint sadness creep into the other three. Castiel's getting ready to apologize and flee when a hand latches onto the sleeve of his sweater.

"I... I don't think we've met, no. But! It's always nice to make new friends," chirps the younger blond, an accent flavoring his voice.

Castiel hesitates, but at the looks of encouragement he receives, eldest and the brown-haired boy scootch over and Castiel's grateful his slim body doesn't take up much space. The eldest boy introduces himself as Michael, the blond across from him grumpily reveals his name is Lucifer ("the name fits your attitude," Michael grumbles), and the brown-haired boy rolls his eyes. He says his name is Gabriel. The younger blond proudly proclaims himself as Balthazar. Castiel learns that Michael is in his last year of college and that Lucifer is in his third. Gabriel's only just begun at a university and Balthazar's a senior in high school.

Castiel informs them that he's finished sophomore year in high school and will be starting junior year in a few months. He swears they feel familiar, like a book whose details he can't remember. Balthazar's laughter strikes something in his chest and he sasses back at Gabriel as if he's been doing it his whole life.

Castiel notices the fond looks Lucifer tries to hide and the familiar smile that quirks Michael's lips. It niggles at the back of his head, an itch that doesn't go away no matter how much he tries to ignore it. Nerves have his fingers drum a rhythmless beat on the table, but he's fine, he really is, until his hand brushes against Gabriel's.

He feels as if he's touched a live wire, electricity and fire burning through his veins. Memories whorl like a tropical storm in his head, flashes of things that don't make sense and seem familiar when they shouldn't. He sees bright green eyes, a friendly smile, people that are composed of pure light and flame on the inside but are deceptively human on the outside. There are people with eyes like empty pits and cores that feel like smokey voids. He sees himself, older, with eyes too bright to be human and a severe expression that speaks of too much knowledge.

When the visions stops, he remembers.

Castiel looks up to meet four pairs of concerned eyes. He thinks there's tears streaming down his cheeks, but that doesn't matter, not in the slightest. He smiles.

"I remember," he says simply, tone soft and level.

He gets four confused blinks and then Balthazar's crying (and shouting oh thank god obnoxiously loud), Gabriel's giving strangled laughter, Lucifer's smile looks like it's tearing his face in half, and even Michael lets slip a relieved grin. They crowd around him, embracing and ruffling already messy dark hair. Castiel laughs, carefree, a tension he wasn't aware he carried draining from his shoulders.

They're garnering wary looks from other patrons, but they ignore them. They're united and that's the only thing that matters.

"Are you going to try to find the Winchesters?" asks Gabriel out of sheer curiosity.

"Dean Winchester is my best friend," Castiel responds with a small smile.

Gabriel's raised eyebrow shows just how unimpressed he is and Balthazar snorts something that sounds vaguely like boyfriends into his coffee. Castiel rolls his eyes at them. They pursue more idle chatter and Castiel notes with amusement that Gabriel continues to order refills of the same overly sweet confection. Michael takes his coffee black and he stiffles giggles every time Gabriel shoots him a look of complete disgust whenever he takes a drink.

Lucifer's face looks much less fearsome without scars. Castiel can't see souls or Grace anymore, but he figures it looks a little less bleak now. Michael seems much less stressed now (though he can see lines forming on his head, likely from brutal testing and study schedules).

"What's your surname, by the way?" Gabriel queries, seemingly out of the blue. "I'm Gabriel Smith, ugh."

Balthazar snorts. "It's better than Balthazar Ruth at least. Nothing's worse than having the teacher call out Mr. Ruth and not realize it's you."

"It can't get worse than Lucifer Marks," Lucifer grumbles.

"I think Michael Parks is a perfectly respectable name," says Michael. He is ignored.

Castiel grins.

"I'm Castiel Novak. I've got a twin brother named Jimmy who likes to lord over the fact that he's five minutes older. He doesn't remember that in his past life he was a human and I was an angel."

"Does anyone else remember?" pipes Balthazar. Castiel shrugs and the subject is dropped.

This is good, he thinks. If they're going to get a second chance, he's glad they're together for it.

I know it takes me forever to update, but seriously reviews are reminders that people are actually reading and like what I do. Thank you and goodbye friends.