The Long Road - Supernatural - Castiel/Lucifer
Title: The Long Road
Pairing: Castiel/Lucifer
Word Count: 3648
Rating: R
A/N: Written with a 10_per_genre prompt. This was written before 5x10 aired, and therefore is not canon-compliant with that episode.
Summary: Lucifer knows how to be patient.
The town is nearly abandoned at night, when all the good little citizens are tucked in their beds. It's boring; after an eternity planning his escape from hell, Lucifer had imagined that he would find something with a little more life than this. He could nip into another time-zone; even taking a trip to a larger city would invite some more excitement, but there's a reason he's here.
He's getting close.
When he closes his eyes, standing in the middle of a residential road lit only by the occasional street-lamp, he can sense him. Without meaning to,Castiel leaves a trail - always.
It's inviting.
Lucifer is sure he doesn't mean it to be.
He blinks and the world disappears beneath his feet. When he opens his eyes again, he is upstairs in one of the buildings on the street. He looks around with slow wonder, taking in his surroundings. It is a bedroom; with posters on the walls and an unmade bed, it looks as if it belongs to a teenager. The scantily-clad women who smile from the posters imply that the owner is a man of simple tastes. The air smells of cheapdeodorant.
In the centre of the room, Castiel stands. Heads cocked to the side, they take a moment to stare at each other. Castiel's coat hangs open, long and creased; he looks like a child in his parent's clothes. It's enough to make Lucifer smile. It's such a human gesture that he is still getting used to it.
"Castiel," Lucifer says. Castiel blinks at him. "Humanity looks good on you. Nice suit."
He doesn't mean the clothes; the bodies they are wearing are human. When they last met they were constructed of light and heat and power: something more than meat.
"What do you want, Lucifer?" Castiel says. He sounds irritated already. For an angel, he has an incredibly short fuse. It's enough to make Lucifer chuckle.
"Just dropping in on an old friend," he says. He doesn't lie; he doesn't have to. It really is as simple as that.
Castiel's eyes narrow as if 'old friend' is an insult. For him, it probably is. There is no nostalgia on his human face. No warmth. "I don't believe you,"Castiel says, after a pause.
Lucifer gives a shrug and a smile and nothing more. In the dim night light that comes through the open window, they are both painted grey and silver. "You're a hard man to track down,Castiel. I've been looking for a while. Anyone else might think you were hiding from me."
"I have hidden myself as well as I am able. I did not, however, believe my protection would be adequate." His voice doesn't waver. It never does.Castiel is always, always so certain. It's why he wouldn't fall with Lucifer in the beginning. "You have found me. I was right."
"You aren't trying as hard as you could be," Lucifer says. His smile holds an air of indulgence. He's the older of the pair; he likes to think of himself as the wiser of them, though he has no doubt thatCastiel would happily dispute him on that topic. They could rest together and debate the merits of morality and wisdom. It would be like the old days. Peaceful. "If you didn't want me to find you, I wouldn't have been able to."
"You are the devil. You have many tricks," Castiel says, like a child reciting his lessons.
He always was so easily led - by anyone other than him. It strikes an old resentment even now. Their Father does not deserve the faith that Castiel has in him, whether he remains alive or not. He abandoned them and he kicked Lucifer out of their home. A cruel father deserves no loyalty.
"It's no trick." Lucifer holds up his spread hands as if to show that there is nothing up his sleeves. He has no angle here, no game to play. "If you didn't want to talk to me, after all, you'd be gone already. I'm not holding you here."
Castiel looks around the room for a moment as if he expects a cage to enclose him at any moment; the moment doesn't come. Lucifer knows to treatCastiel like a wild nightingale. Capturing him is not the way to regain his trust, though Lucifer struggles with the temptation to do so. It would be easier, much easier, than having to do this the hard way.
Castiel's eyes focus in on him once more. He blinks once; power surges through the room for a moment and then he is gone, leaving only cold air in his wake. Lucifer watches the blank space with an impassive expression on his face, before he retreats to sit on the bed in the room. A long sigh leaves his chest, and he resigns to wait another week before he makes a second approach.
*
He appears in a hospital, this time. The corridor is fairly quiet, several levels above the crowded ER department. Lucifer looks around with a detached sense of enthusiasm. There are two nurses in scrubs near the entrance, chatting over a set of magazines. The fluorescent lights in the corridor flicker in Lucifer's presence as if they are excited to see him.
He turns and walks down the corridor. It's a sedate place and when he peers in through the doors at the wards he can see that the majority of the patients here are elderly. The entire area hangs heavy with death and age. Lucifer rolls his shoulders to try and shake it away. It feels like walking through an untouched room, full of dust. It makes his nose itch.
It isn't hard to find Castiel where he sits at a patient's bedside. Lucifer's attention falls first on the old man who is receiving this visit: there is nothing supernatural about him, that much is easy to tell with a glance. There's no power at all. He's human, completely so. The only contact he has had with the supernatural is with an angel:Castiel himself, probably.
"What are you up to?" Lucifer asks, unable to fight the air of amusement in his voice; he doesn't bother to hide it. By now, Castiel must be used to the way that other angels see him.
Castiel looks up at him from where he sits, and when he stands it is a slow, deliberate movement. Every limb is positioned cautiously; Lucifer wonders if the self-proclaimed good guys will ever realise that he isn't too interested in hurting them unless - or until - they get in his way. They are buzzing flies and nothing more. "Why are you here?" Castiel asks. It sounds like an accusation already.
"I asked first." Lucifer leans against the ward's wall. There is still a long distance between them. Castiel could easily disappear before Lucifer could close the gap between them; Lucifer decides not to point this out, this time. He doesn't want to giveCastiel any ideas.
"I am visiting Mr Simmons. He is gravely ill." Castiel's frown is a more blood-thirsty threat than any words could manage. "He poses no danger to you, Lucifer."
"I'm not here to kill an old man," Lucifer says. Age will do that for him. There is no need to speed the process along. "You know that as well as I do."
"I know nothing of your motivations." Castiel speaks with fire and passion in his words. It would be quite an advantage to have him on Lucifer's side - and he has no doubt that it would cripple the Winchesters significantly to lose the only angel in their corner. "You mean to do harm to those I care about."
Lucifer frowns and shakes his head. "Not to Mr Simmons, Cas. I have standards."
Castiel grunts as if he finds this to be a dubious statement. Constant mistrust is a little bit wearying.
"You must go," Castiel tells him. His attention settles on the sleeping old man lying in bed in front of him. He hardly looks conscious. "You are not welcome here."
Castiel can't make him leave; he doesn't have the power. Lucifer knows that they are both perfectly aware of that. If he chooses to stay, there is nothing thatCastiel can do but bear it. Trying to start a fight in a hospital ward would be extremely unwise. Lucifer doubts if Castiel would be that impulsive. Innocent patients might get hurt.
He doesn't budge an inch.
Castiel looks back up at him, his eyes a dark blue that does not belong to him. He appears to be evaluating his chances of forcing Lucifer to leave. Lucifer almost wishes that he would try. He tilts his head to the side and raises his eyebrows in a challenge. He's never foughtCastiel before. He's never had to, but the idea is tempting now. He could crush him so easily. Castiel, truly, is nothing compared to him.
"I would like you to leave," Castiel says eventually, choosing against violence for once.
Lucifer shrugs with one lazy shoulder. "I would like to stay," he counters, although he's ready to leave. He isn't here to try Castiel's patience: he is here to talk to an old friend, a brother, and a potential ally. He is here to look upon Castiel and his grace, and to smile at what could be.
Castiel takes a step forward, eyes wide. It's a threat and a challenge. This is a fight that Castiel will lose, must lose, because it is not his place to defeat Lucifer. They both know it. All the world is waiting for their big brother Michael to come down and put Lucifer back in his place.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt," Lucifer says. It's true. If he could walk through this world and put the humans in their place with no bloodshed, he would do so. It's only when people likeCastiel are foolish enough to get in his way that everything starts to get messy. He's got nothing to do with it. "Sit down. I'm here to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you," Castiel answers, so angry and righteous. It's delicious in its own way. Lucifer remembers sensing him when he had first come into Hell to rescue Dean Winchester. In all the darknessCastiel had shone with conviction, beautiful like raging fire. Lucifer had watched without intervening. He had watched and smelled and sensed and smiled, never raising a finger to get inCastiel's way.
"I want to talk about our Father," Lucifer says. He doesn't, not particularly. He has nothing to say about him now; there is nothing but pain and betrayal. Yet he knows that, whereCastiel is concerned, this is one area that will allow him a conversation. "You aren't the only one that wants to find him, you know."
"You wish only to harm our Father," Castiel says.
Lucifer would roll his eyes if he dared. Castiel sounds like a sulking child, and he acts like one too. "I was cast from heaven because I wanted to be closer to him," Lucifer says, because one day the world will believe the truth. He will stop being framed as thevillain and instead the world will look upon their Father with pity. "I'm no different from you."
Castiel's expression speaks of disgust and disbelief.
"We could help each other. With me, you could find Him." Castiel has no chance of finding him on his own, of that Lucifer is certain. Even together, he doubts if the two of them could unearth him. Their Father is all-powerful and all-knowing; if he wanted to be found,Castiel would have come across him already.
"I will never work with you," Castiel states.
"You won't find him alone."
"Then I won't find him."
Self-sacrifice and stubbornness were threaded into every angel, it would seem. It makes Lucifer's job considerably harder. "Think about it," he says, although he imagines thatCastiel will give it no thought at all. He closes his eyes and leaves, knowing that he will make no headway here tonight - and knowing that to stay would act as a threat that he doesn't want to make.
Yet.
*
When he next appears to Castiel, it is because he has been called for. He has been leaving Castiel alone but keeping a few vague feelers out for him anyway: when he senses Castiel calling for him, he is there in an instant.
They are standing in a forest, and while it is the afternoon the light has difficulty making its way through the thick foliage above. There is blood onCastiel's face. Cuts. Wounds. His lip has split and there is a sharp, red line that crosses horizontally over the bridge of his nose. It looks as if it ought to be painful, butCastiel acts as if it is not there. "How can you help me?" Castiel demands once Lucifer has taken in their surroundings.
"What happened to you?" Lucifer asks. It seems like a more important question than Castiel's own; in his view, his own agenda is always more important. "You're injured."
"It's nothing," Castiel says. He sounds as if it is more of an annoyance than anything further. Lucifer would advise him to be careful, but he knows that it would be viewed as a trick.Castiel would begin to be more rash purely to spite him. "You told me that you could help me to locate our Father. How?"
Lucifer can sense the change that fizzles on the air. What he says now, it matters. What happens now will effect the outcome of events in the long-term. A turning point. It feels good.
He takes a step forward, closing the large gap between himself and the other angel. Castiel's expression does not change and his gaze does not waver. He has a stare so intense that any demon would be afraid, but Lucifer is no demon. He never has been.
"Why are you coming to me for assistance now?" he asks, stepping forward like a predator - but Castiel is no ordinary prey. He is dangerous. "What changed?"
"It doesn't matter." Castiel states the words as if they come from above.
Lucifer isn't so easily fooled or dazzled as the humans Castiel is used to working with. "I want an answer," he says. "Nothing comes for free."
Castiel tilts his head to the side as if in confusion, as if he is used to asking and receiving immediately down here on Earth. Lucifer knows that a pretty face will get you far. Humans are easily overcome with primitive ruses.
"I found our Brother Gabriel. He believes that my search will be fruitless."
"And you want to prove him wrong?" Lucifer smiles. Pettiness hardly seems fitting for an angel, although considering his Brothers' actions in the past he should not be surprised.
"I want him to be wrong," Castiel corrects. It is a minor distinction, but evidently one that is important to him. Lucifer is content to allow it. "Can you help me?"
Lucifer holds his tongue for a moment. He has no reason to help Castiel. Considering the painful rejection and years in Hell that his last encounter with their Father brought, he ought to hinder him instead - but the expression inCastiel's eyes is little short of pleading. He has been beaten and injured, abandoned and lost. Castiel holds onto his faith as if it is the only thing that keeps him alive.
It would be so easy to crush that hope. He could shake his head and say that he was sorry, that it was too late; their Father is truly gone from this place. He has turned His back on them and now Lucifer is all that is left. With his hands onCastiel's shoulders, he could draw him in and offer him comfort, taking him from the Winchester's side as a broken trophey.
He steps forward to close the last scraps of distance between them, and he places his hand on Castiel's face. Castiel hardly reacts. He does not lean into the touch nor does he flinch away from it. He is motionless as he stares at Lucifer, as if staring at him for long enough will reveal all of his motives. Lucifer's expression remains soft. Beneath his fingertips,Castiel's skin feels so human; it's so fragile. The temptation to break and destroy his Father's creation is almost too much to resist.
"What will you do if you find Him?" he asks. His fingers stroke along Castiel's jawline and Castiel does not resist. On Castiel's skin, Lucifer can feel the static of power like an aphrodisiac.
"I will ask for His help," Castiel answers. It sounds as if the solution is obvious to him.
"He left for a reason. He turned His back on us." Yet He holds the kind of loyalty that Lucifer has to work and claw for. "He may not wish to help you."
"Between you and Michael, the world will be destroyed. This cannot be allowed to happen." Castiel's frown is intense. "He will not allow this to happen."
"He abandoned the world to demons and monsters," Lucifer reminds Castiel. His fingers trace over his cheekbone. "He left you and your Brothers to fight an endless tide. I love our Father, but I think He has lost His passion for His creation."
The world should be theirs for the taking, yet Castiel is too stubborn to open his eyes. It will end up in heartbreak for him, of that much Lucifer is certain.
"He will not allow this to happen," Castiel repeats.
He sounds more uncertain than Lucifer has ever heard him, with a crack of doubt beginning to work its way into his voice. Lucifer leans forward to press his lips againstCastiel's forehead, lingering there. He cares more about him than their Father had ever done. "Yet He already has," he points out, as gently as he is able to. His breath brushes against Castiel's skin. He doesn't pull away when Lucifer's arms move around him, holding on loosely.
"Help me," Castiel says; it sounds as if he is pleading, and Lucifer knows of few beings that would be able to deny such a request. It makes him long for the days before his fall, when they had been on the same side. There had been no great divide among the angels and their Father had been there with them.Castiel had been his over-faithful younger brother, determined to be the best that he could be. He had longed to follow in Lucifer's footsteps as their Father's right-hand man.
The world had changed. Their ageless lives had altered - for the worst.
"He will forgive you if you repent," Castiel says; he stills buys their Father's motto. He still manages to think that there's even a shred of truth in it, and in a way that is endearing. After all that they have been put through,Castiel still manages to hold onto more faith than the entire human race could scrape together. "He will allow you to-"
Lucifer cuts him off by pressing their mouths together, a movement that is more of an offer of a kiss than anything else: it is so light that they barely touch. It's enough to silenceCastiel as he gives up on speaking. Together, they stand motionless. Linked.
It's an interesting exploration when they begin to move, lips nudging curiously. Castiel's lingering inexperience is enough to convince Lucifer that he hasn't yet been corrupted by this world; the Winchesters haven't sunk their claws in yet. Lucifer's arms push beneath thetrench coat that Castiel wears and his hands land on his torso. Castiel's chest rises and falls with hesitant, uncertain breaths.
Corruption at its finest, Lucifer thinks as he offers Castiel all the help he could need. Clothes are shed onto the forest floor and they make slow work of adjusting to their human bodies and tasting new skin. Support and companionship are offered as one. Lucifer leavesbite marks that will heal quickly, and Castiel's nails dig into the flesh of Lucifer's arms. It's violent, it hurts yet it feels amazing to fuck like humans do.
They don't talk. While Lucifer wrings ashamed moans from Castiel's mouth not a word is said by either of them. They ascend above the need for human language. Everything that needs to be communicated is said through greedy hands, hunting lips and the insistent throb of their cocks grinding together. Entangled, they rut together with a desperation that only their human bodies can allow; in their true forms, nothing could feel this raw and visceral.
When the sweat cools and they lie side-by-side, Castiel's gaze is focused on the treetops above their heads. It is turning into a cold night, but as Lucifer lies on his back he is not affected by the temperature. His head is tilted to the side so that he can watch the delicate changes to Castiel's expression as he comes to term with what they have done.
Castiel swallows before he says, "You aren't going to help me, are you?"
Lucifer wishes that he could take the opportunity to lie. It would make it far easier to bring Castiel over to his side if he would allow himself to blacken his tongue and swear that he would help in any way he could. "It would be like shooting myself in the foot if I did," he says. He's almost sorry and he almost wants to apologise - but only almost.
It's better, this way. Castiel will come around by himself without Lucifer having to string him on with false hope. He has the potential to be a magnificent ally, one day.
Today, however, he disappears without a single further word, and leaves Lucifer behind in the clearing. Naked and peaceful, Lucifer doesn't bother to move yet.
He has time. Like a fisherman waiting for a bite, Lucifer knows how to be patient.
Pairing: Castiel/Lucifer
Word Count: 3648
Rating: R
A/N: Written with a 10_per_genre prompt. This was written before 5x10 aired, and therefore is not canon-compliant with that episode.
Summary: Lucifer knows how to be patient.
The town is nearly abandoned at night, when all the good little citizens are tucked in their beds. It's boring; after an eternity planning his escape from hell, Lucifer had imagined that he would find something with a little more life than this. He could nip into another time-zone; even taking a trip to a larger city would invite some more excitement, but there's a reason he's here.
He's getting close.
When he closes his eyes, standing in the middle of a residential road lit only by the occasional street-lamp, he can sense him. Without meaning to,Castiel leaves a trail - always.
It's inviting.
Lucifer is sure he doesn't mean it to be.
He blinks and the world disappears beneath his feet. When he opens his eyes again, he is upstairs in one of the buildings on the street. He looks around with slow wonder, taking in his surroundings. It is a bedroom; with posters on the walls and an unmade bed, it looks as if it belongs to a teenager. The scantily-clad women who smile from the posters imply that the owner is a man of simple tastes. The air smells of cheapdeodorant.
In the centre of the room, Castiel stands. Heads cocked to the side, they take a moment to stare at each other. Castiel's coat hangs open, long and creased; he looks like a child in his parent's clothes. It's enough to make Lucifer smile. It's such a human gesture that he is still getting used to it.
"Castiel," Lucifer says. Castiel blinks at him. "Humanity looks good on you. Nice suit."
He doesn't mean the clothes; the bodies they are wearing are human. When they last met they were constructed of light and heat and power: something more than meat.
"What do you want, Lucifer?" Castiel says. He sounds irritated already. For an angel, he has an incredibly short fuse. It's enough to make Lucifer chuckle.
"Just dropping in on an old friend," he says. He doesn't lie; he doesn't have to. It really is as simple as that.
Castiel's eyes narrow as if 'old friend' is an insult. For him, it probably is. There is no nostalgia on his human face. No warmth. "I don't believe you,"Castiel says, after a pause.
Lucifer gives a shrug and a smile and nothing more. In the dim night light that comes through the open window, they are both painted grey and silver. "You're a hard man to track down,Castiel. I've been looking for a while. Anyone else might think you were hiding from me."
"I have hidden myself as well as I am able. I did not, however, believe my protection would be adequate." His voice doesn't waver. It never does.Castiel is always, always so certain. It's why he wouldn't fall with Lucifer in the beginning. "You have found me. I was right."
"You aren't trying as hard as you could be," Lucifer says. His smile holds an air of indulgence. He's the older of the pair; he likes to think of himself as the wiser of them, though he has no doubt thatCastiel would happily dispute him on that topic. They could rest together and debate the merits of morality and wisdom. It would be like the old days. Peaceful. "If you didn't want me to find you, I wouldn't have been able to."
"You are the devil. You have many tricks," Castiel says, like a child reciting his lessons.
He always was so easily led - by anyone other than him. It strikes an old resentment even now. Their Father does not deserve the faith that Castiel has in him, whether he remains alive or not. He abandoned them and he kicked Lucifer out of their home. A cruel father deserves no loyalty.
"It's no trick." Lucifer holds up his spread hands as if to show that there is nothing up his sleeves. He has no angle here, no game to play. "If you didn't want to talk to me, after all, you'd be gone already. I'm not holding you here."
Castiel looks around the room for a moment as if he expects a cage to enclose him at any moment; the moment doesn't come. Lucifer knows to treatCastiel like a wild nightingale. Capturing him is not the way to regain his trust, though Lucifer struggles with the temptation to do so. It would be easier, much easier, than having to do this the hard way.
Castiel's eyes focus in on him once more. He blinks once; power surges through the room for a moment and then he is gone, leaving only cold air in his wake. Lucifer watches the blank space with an impassive expression on his face, before he retreats to sit on the bed in the room. A long sigh leaves his chest, and he resigns to wait another week before he makes a second approach.
*
He appears in a hospital, this time. The corridor is fairly quiet, several levels above the crowded ER department. Lucifer looks around with a detached sense of enthusiasm. There are two nurses in scrubs near the entrance, chatting over a set of magazines. The fluorescent lights in the corridor flicker in Lucifer's presence as if they are excited to see him.
He turns and walks down the corridor. It's a sedate place and when he peers in through the doors at the wards he can see that the majority of the patients here are elderly. The entire area hangs heavy with death and age. Lucifer rolls his shoulders to try and shake it away. It feels like walking through an untouched room, full of dust. It makes his nose itch.
It isn't hard to find Castiel where he sits at a patient's bedside. Lucifer's attention falls first on the old man who is receiving this visit: there is nothing supernatural about him, that much is easy to tell with a glance. There's no power at all. He's human, completely so. The only contact he has had with the supernatural is with an angel:Castiel himself, probably.
"What are you up to?" Lucifer asks, unable to fight the air of amusement in his voice; he doesn't bother to hide it. By now, Castiel must be used to the way that other angels see him.
Castiel looks up at him from where he sits, and when he stands it is a slow, deliberate movement. Every limb is positioned cautiously; Lucifer wonders if the self-proclaimed good guys will ever realise that he isn't too interested in hurting them unless - or until - they get in his way. They are buzzing flies and nothing more. "Why are you here?" Castiel asks. It sounds like an accusation already.
"I asked first." Lucifer leans against the ward's wall. There is still a long distance between them. Castiel could easily disappear before Lucifer could close the gap between them; Lucifer decides not to point this out, this time. He doesn't want to giveCastiel any ideas.
"I am visiting Mr Simmons. He is gravely ill." Castiel's frown is a more blood-thirsty threat than any words could manage. "He poses no danger to you, Lucifer."
"I'm not here to kill an old man," Lucifer says. Age will do that for him. There is no need to speed the process along. "You know that as well as I do."
"I know nothing of your motivations." Castiel speaks with fire and passion in his words. It would be quite an advantage to have him on Lucifer's side - and he has no doubt that it would cripple the Winchesters significantly to lose the only angel in their corner. "You mean to do harm to those I care about."
Lucifer frowns and shakes his head. "Not to Mr Simmons, Cas. I have standards."
Castiel grunts as if he finds this to be a dubious statement. Constant mistrust is a little bit wearying.
"You must go," Castiel tells him. His attention settles on the sleeping old man lying in bed in front of him. He hardly looks conscious. "You are not welcome here."
Castiel can't make him leave; he doesn't have the power. Lucifer knows that they are both perfectly aware of that. If he chooses to stay, there is nothing thatCastiel can do but bear it. Trying to start a fight in a hospital ward would be extremely unwise. Lucifer doubts if Castiel would be that impulsive. Innocent patients might get hurt.
He doesn't budge an inch.
Castiel looks back up at him, his eyes a dark blue that does not belong to him. He appears to be evaluating his chances of forcing Lucifer to leave. Lucifer almost wishes that he would try. He tilts his head to the side and raises his eyebrows in a challenge. He's never foughtCastiel before. He's never had to, but the idea is tempting now. He could crush him so easily. Castiel, truly, is nothing compared to him.
"I would like you to leave," Castiel says eventually, choosing against violence for once.
Lucifer shrugs with one lazy shoulder. "I would like to stay," he counters, although he's ready to leave. He isn't here to try Castiel's patience: he is here to talk to an old friend, a brother, and a potential ally. He is here to look upon Castiel and his grace, and to smile at what could be.
Castiel takes a step forward, eyes wide. It's a threat and a challenge. This is a fight that Castiel will lose, must lose, because it is not his place to defeat Lucifer. They both know it. All the world is waiting for their big brother Michael to come down and put Lucifer back in his place.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt," Lucifer says. It's true. If he could walk through this world and put the humans in their place with no bloodshed, he would do so. It's only when people likeCastiel are foolish enough to get in his way that everything starts to get messy. He's got nothing to do with it. "Sit down. I'm here to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you," Castiel answers, so angry and righteous. It's delicious in its own way. Lucifer remembers sensing him when he had first come into Hell to rescue Dean Winchester. In all the darknessCastiel had shone with conviction, beautiful like raging fire. Lucifer had watched without intervening. He had watched and smelled and sensed and smiled, never raising a finger to get inCastiel's way.
"I want to talk about our Father," Lucifer says. He doesn't, not particularly. He has nothing to say about him now; there is nothing but pain and betrayal. Yet he knows that, whereCastiel is concerned, this is one area that will allow him a conversation. "You aren't the only one that wants to find him, you know."
"You wish only to harm our Father," Castiel says.
Lucifer would roll his eyes if he dared. Castiel sounds like a sulking child, and he acts like one too. "I was cast from heaven because I wanted to be closer to him," Lucifer says, because one day the world will believe the truth. He will stop being framed as thevillain and instead the world will look upon their Father with pity. "I'm no different from you."
Castiel's expression speaks of disgust and disbelief.
"We could help each other. With me, you could find Him." Castiel has no chance of finding him on his own, of that Lucifer is certain. Even together, he doubts if the two of them could unearth him. Their Father is all-powerful and all-knowing; if he wanted to be found,Castiel would have come across him already.
"I will never work with you," Castiel states.
"You won't find him alone."
"Then I won't find him."
Self-sacrifice and stubbornness were threaded into every angel, it would seem. It makes Lucifer's job considerably harder. "Think about it," he says, although he imagines thatCastiel will give it no thought at all. He closes his eyes and leaves, knowing that he will make no headway here tonight - and knowing that to stay would act as a threat that he doesn't want to make.
Yet.
*
When he next appears to Castiel, it is because he has been called for. He has been leaving Castiel alone but keeping a few vague feelers out for him anyway: when he senses Castiel calling for him, he is there in an instant.
They are standing in a forest, and while it is the afternoon the light has difficulty making its way through the thick foliage above. There is blood onCastiel's face. Cuts. Wounds. His lip has split and there is a sharp, red line that crosses horizontally over the bridge of his nose. It looks as if it ought to be painful, butCastiel acts as if it is not there. "How can you help me?" Castiel demands once Lucifer has taken in their surroundings.
"What happened to you?" Lucifer asks. It seems like a more important question than Castiel's own; in his view, his own agenda is always more important. "You're injured."
"It's nothing," Castiel says. He sounds as if it is more of an annoyance than anything further. Lucifer would advise him to be careful, but he knows that it would be viewed as a trick.Castiel would begin to be more rash purely to spite him. "You told me that you could help me to locate our Father. How?"
Lucifer can sense the change that fizzles on the air. What he says now, it matters. What happens now will effect the outcome of events in the long-term. A turning point. It feels good.
He takes a step forward, closing the large gap between himself and the other angel. Castiel's expression does not change and his gaze does not waver. He has a stare so intense that any demon would be afraid, but Lucifer is no demon. He never has been.
"Why are you coming to me for assistance now?" he asks, stepping forward like a predator - but Castiel is no ordinary prey. He is dangerous. "What changed?"
"It doesn't matter." Castiel states the words as if they come from above.
Lucifer isn't so easily fooled or dazzled as the humans Castiel is used to working with. "I want an answer," he says. "Nothing comes for free."
Castiel tilts his head to the side as if in confusion, as if he is used to asking and receiving immediately down here on Earth. Lucifer knows that a pretty face will get you far. Humans are easily overcome with primitive ruses.
"I found our Brother Gabriel. He believes that my search will be fruitless."
"And you want to prove him wrong?" Lucifer smiles. Pettiness hardly seems fitting for an angel, although considering his Brothers' actions in the past he should not be surprised.
"I want him to be wrong," Castiel corrects. It is a minor distinction, but evidently one that is important to him. Lucifer is content to allow it. "Can you help me?"
Lucifer holds his tongue for a moment. He has no reason to help Castiel. Considering the painful rejection and years in Hell that his last encounter with their Father brought, he ought to hinder him instead - but the expression inCastiel's eyes is little short of pleading. He has been beaten and injured, abandoned and lost. Castiel holds onto his faith as if it is the only thing that keeps him alive.
It would be so easy to crush that hope. He could shake his head and say that he was sorry, that it was too late; their Father is truly gone from this place. He has turned His back on them and now Lucifer is all that is left. With his hands onCastiel's shoulders, he could draw him in and offer him comfort, taking him from the Winchester's side as a broken trophey.
He steps forward to close the last scraps of distance between them, and he places his hand on Castiel's face. Castiel hardly reacts. He does not lean into the touch nor does he flinch away from it. He is motionless as he stares at Lucifer, as if staring at him for long enough will reveal all of his motives. Lucifer's expression remains soft. Beneath his fingertips,Castiel's skin feels so human; it's so fragile. The temptation to break and destroy his Father's creation is almost too much to resist.
"What will you do if you find Him?" he asks. His fingers stroke along Castiel's jawline and Castiel does not resist. On Castiel's skin, Lucifer can feel the static of power like an aphrodisiac.
"I will ask for His help," Castiel answers. It sounds as if the solution is obvious to him.
"He left for a reason. He turned His back on us." Yet He holds the kind of loyalty that Lucifer has to work and claw for. "He may not wish to help you."
"Between you and Michael, the world will be destroyed. This cannot be allowed to happen." Castiel's frown is intense. "He will not allow this to happen."
"He abandoned the world to demons and monsters," Lucifer reminds Castiel. His fingers trace over his cheekbone. "He left you and your Brothers to fight an endless tide. I love our Father, but I think He has lost His passion for His creation."
The world should be theirs for the taking, yet Castiel is too stubborn to open his eyes. It will end up in heartbreak for him, of that much Lucifer is certain.
"He will not allow this to happen," Castiel repeats.
He sounds more uncertain than Lucifer has ever heard him, with a crack of doubt beginning to work its way into his voice. Lucifer leans forward to press his lips againstCastiel's forehead, lingering there. He cares more about him than their Father had ever done. "Yet He already has," he points out, as gently as he is able to. His breath brushes against Castiel's skin. He doesn't pull away when Lucifer's arms move around him, holding on loosely.
"Help me," Castiel says; it sounds as if he is pleading, and Lucifer knows of few beings that would be able to deny such a request. It makes him long for the days before his fall, when they had been on the same side. There had been no great divide among the angels and their Father had been there with them.Castiel had been his over-faithful younger brother, determined to be the best that he could be. He had longed to follow in Lucifer's footsteps as their Father's right-hand man.
The world had changed. Their ageless lives had altered - for the worst.
"He will forgive you if you repent," Castiel says; he stills buys their Father's motto. He still manages to think that there's even a shred of truth in it, and in a way that is endearing. After all that they have been put through,Castiel still manages to hold onto more faith than the entire human race could scrape together. "He will allow you to-"
Lucifer cuts him off by pressing their mouths together, a movement that is more of an offer of a kiss than anything else: it is so light that they barely touch. It's enough to silenceCastiel as he gives up on speaking. Together, they stand motionless. Linked.
It's an interesting exploration when they begin to move, lips nudging curiously. Castiel's lingering inexperience is enough to convince Lucifer that he hasn't yet been corrupted by this world; the Winchesters haven't sunk their claws in yet. Lucifer's arms push beneath thetrench coat that Castiel wears and his hands land on his torso. Castiel's chest rises and falls with hesitant, uncertain breaths.
Corruption at its finest, Lucifer thinks as he offers Castiel all the help he could need. Clothes are shed onto the forest floor and they make slow work of adjusting to their human bodies and tasting new skin. Support and companionship are offered as one. Lucifer leavesbite marks that will heal quickly, and Castiel's nails dig into the flesh of Lucifer's arms. It's violent, it hurts yet it feels amazing to fuck like humans do.
They don't talk. While Lucifer wrings ashamed moans from Castiel's mouth not a word is said by either of them. They ascend above the need for human language. Everything that needs to be communicated is said through greedy hands, hunting lips and the insistent throb of their cocks grinding together. Entangled, they rut together with a desperation that only their human bodies can allow; in their true forms, nothing could feel this raw and visceral.
When the sweat cools and they lie side-by-side, Castiel's gaze is focused on the treetops above their heads. It is turning into a cold night, but as Lucifer lies on his back he is not affected by the temperature. His head is tilted to the side so that he can watch the delicate changes to Castiel's expression as he comes to term with what they have done.
Castiel swallows before he says, "You aren't going to help me, are you?"
Lucifer wishes that he could take the opportunity to lie. It would make it far easier to bring Castiel over to his side if he would allow himself to blacken his tongue and swear that he would help in any way he could. "It would be like shooting myself in the foot if I did," he says. He's almost sorry and he almost wants to apologise - but only almost.
It's better, this way. Castiel will come around by himself without Lucifer having to string him on with false hope. He has the potential to be a magnificent ally, one day.
Today, however, he disappears without a single further word, and leaves Lucifer behind in the clearing. Naked and peaceful, Lucifer doesn't bother to move yet.
He has time. Like a fisherman waiting for a bite, Lucifer knows how to be patient.