Unexpected Destinies Chapter 183
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,220
Summary: Dean and Sam talk.
PRESENT
Dean could clearly see that his brother was desperately curious about what they were doing out here but amazingly Sam wasn't pushing him for answers for once. It heartened him as it gave him hope that his little brother had actually been listening to all that they'd said to him as of late. He knew better then to think that the problem was solved (after all how often had they been here before?) but he was willing to give Sam the benefit of the doubt one last time even if he was no longer able to be sure that his brother would change or do the right thing as he'd once believed.
Once he'd finished the last of his burger and had begun his fruit salad, Dean leaned back as much as he could without losing his balance on the fence and looked at his brother.
"How are you holding up?" Dean asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Have the headaches stopped now?"
"Yes, finally," Sam replied grimacing. "They weren't all that bad, though, not in comparison to those I used to get with the visions. Honestly, the bitter taste was far worse."
That Dean could definitely get that and he shuddered at the thought of everything he ate tasting wrong. It was, however, one of the inevitable side effects of the last part of the ritual that had ensured Sam's freedom from being Lucifer's vessel. To add insult to injury, though, the headaches and taste distortion could last for ages. Personally he'd hate that much more than the earlier painful steps. Not only would it affect eating, but sex as well.
"Yeah, I hear ya," Dean replied, spearing a piece of grape and then wincing at the taste of it.
Though not bitter, the grape tasted awful and Dean was half tempted to throw the fruit salad away and ask his husband to get him some fresh stuff later, but he hated wasting food. It was one of those ingrained habits from before when they'd not always had enough money to ensure that there would reliably be food when Dad was gone on a hunt, so nothing had ever been thrown away. He'd just have to learn not to order this crap from diners and instead go straight to his angel from the get go when he actually found himself wanting fruit or vegetables. And who'd have thought that he ever would? He definitely hadn't!
"So, right, anyway," Dean continued before he straightened his spine and mentally gave himself a kick in the ass.
He hadn't felt this nervous when telling Sam about the bonding, so Dean wasn't entirely sure why he felt so hesitant now. Was it because of the way his brother had reacted then? Or perhaps because of what had happened right afterwards with Samuel and the First Darkness? The latter made more sense as his brother's reaction hadn't been as bad as it could have been, being far more shocked and disbelieving than anything else.
"Dean?" Sam asked, beginning to sound worried. "Is everything alright? Is there something wrong?"
"No, not wrong. I just wanted to tell you something rather than have you discover it by seeing it."
"Okay, so what is this it that you're talking about?"
Dean had remembered to actually take his new ring off only just before entering his brother's bedroom earlier and while he'd only been wearing it for hours, he already felt it's absence keenly. Now he reached into the inner pocket into which he'd placed his new wedding band and extracted it, though he kept his hand firmly closed around it so that his brother wouldn't be able to see it yet.
"For me this is something which is merely a symbol of what Cas and I already had, but I think that it might mean a lot more to you," Dean stated.
"Huh?"
Rather than try to explain it any more than that in words, Dean figured that it would just be easier to show Sam the wedding ring. If he was right about his brother, a wedding band would have a similar kind of emotional impact on Sam as it'd had on him. Well, not the one that this particular ring had on him, of course, it could never have the same importance and thus impact on his brother as it'd had on him, but rather in general. With that he opened his fist and let Sam see the wedding band that his husband had gotten him.
As expected, his brother stared at the ring in shock and Dean watched carefully to see what else it was that Sam felt about this new development. Because he was observing his brother so closely, he caught the dismay and horror that flitted quickly across Sam's face before his brother caught himself and all emotions were wiped from Sam's face as if they'd never been. It was too late though and he clenched his hand once more, instinctively seeking to protect the wedding ring and all that it represented from his brother's negative reactions.
"Sam, what the hell?" Dean demanded, swinging his leg around so that he could jump off the fence.
His brother clenched his eyes and hands, clearly trying to bite back his initial response and for once Dean wished that Sam wouldn't. After all, what the hell? Yeah, he knew that his brother hadn't truly understood the significance of his bonding with Castiel- he wasn't even sure that any other human could understand it- but he'd thought that Sam would have gotten enough of it to not be dismayed or horrified at having it translated into such human terms in so real a way. Had his brother been willfully misunderstanding what he'd been saying before?
"Dean," Sam finally began. "That's... it's..."
"It's a physical representation of the closest human equivalent of the bonding that Cas and I did months ago."
"Yeah, but marriage?"
"Yes, Sam, marriage. You got a problem with that?"
The look on his brother's face made Dean turn around and pace away, trying to control his temper. Feeling the ring in his hand digging into his palm, he stopped and took the time to carefully and reverently place the wedding band back onto his finger where it belonged. Looking at it as he closed his fist once more, he felt some of his anger leaving him. Though he couldn't understand his brother's reaction, just the sight of this physical symbol of his bond soothed him greatly and he reached out to Castiel. The emotions and bond equivalent of a hug that he received back centered him and he sent his thanks wordlessly.
"Do you want me to come?" Castiel asked.
"No, that's okay, thanks," Dean replied. "I take it Gwen took the news better than Sam's doing?"
"Yes, though I suspect that she'll want to see your ring as well."
"I can deal with that."
"Dean?" Sam questioned.
"I need to go," Dean sent. "See you later."
"Call me if you need me, Beloved."
"Promise."
"Are you speaking with Cas right now?" Sam demanded.
"It's called a bonding, Sam," Dean replied, turning around to face his brother once more and he noticed how Sam's eyes dropped down to his left hand. "Like I told you before, it's a connection on a soul and Grace level, so yeah, Cas and I can talk to each other even when we're apart."
"And that doesn't scare you?"
"No, why would it?"
"It's your soul, Dean! You of all people should know how important that is."
Dean shrugged. "I trust Cas, Sam, I trust him implicitly. Besides, the bond lets me feel all of him and I know that I don't have anything to worry about."
"And what about how it's changed you? Is your soul even still the same as before?"
"Sam, my bond mate is in charge of Heaven, I really don't think that you need to worry about my entry there. Besides, the bond means that this is a marriage which isn't till death do us part. There is no parting, this is permanent. Forever. Says so right here actually," Dean stated, pointing at the appropriate Enochian word on his ring.
"That's writing?" Sam questioned, stepping closer. "Enochian?"
"Yeah."
Of course his brother chose to focus on that part of all that he'd said. Dean felt his anger rising again and he tried to bite it back.
"Look, Dean, I'm sorry okay," Sam apologized, causing Dean to whip his head up to stare at his brother in disbelief. "This is just a lot to take in. The last time I saw you and Cas before all of this, you were hardly speaking to each other and he'd just beat the crap out of you."
Dean winced at the memory of that particular evening. Surprisingly it wasn't the pain from his injuries or the beating that he remembered or regretted most of all, but rather the betrayal and raw soul (Grace?) deep pain that his angel had been radiating. He'd gladly take a dozen more smack downs like that if it would have saved his husband from having had to experience that. It was definitely one of his most regretted actions ever which, given his life, was saying a lot.
"Yeah, well, things changed," Dean finally replied.
"I didn't see that."
"And whose fault is that?"
The words came out harsh and for once Dean didn't regret it. Though it was still his little brother, it felt good to finally be able to vent some of his frustration about this particular topic on the cause of said frustrations. Oh, sure, he'd let Sam have it on all kinds of other issues, but never on this, not when it came to how it had impacted him personally. Maybe it was because the whole point of this particular trip had been to reveal something so personal to Sam to begin with, but suddenly he felt the desire to unleash it all on his little brother.
Yeah, sure, Dean knew that it was childish and that the adult thing to do would be to ignore it and smooth things over, but just now he didn't feel like being an adult. Instead he felt like being childish and selfish, and screw Sam's feelings, it was time his brother learned really about his own feelings on the topic.
"I..." Sam began before trailing off.
"Yeah, you, exactly," Dean shot back.
"What?"
"You just took off on your own, again, so don't come complaining to me when that means that you miss out on things."
"Dean, I already explained why I-"
"I know, but regardless of why you did it, you gotta accept that this is a consequence of that decision. You can't just expect people or situations to remain the same while you're off elsewhere doing whatever it is that you want to do more. People change, situations shift. Deal."
"But I just..."
"You just what?"
"I only just got you back. I don't want to lose you again."
"Why would you lose me?" Dean asked before his eyes went wide. Oh. Oh. Well that explained a few things. "Dude, just because for you marriage would have meant turning your back on your family doesn't mean that I'm gonna do that to you."
"I never said that!" Sam protested.
"No, but you thought it, didn't you, Sam? College, a job, marriage and a house, those were all things that were part of a normal life to you, weren't they? A non-hunting life and therefore they would have had to have been kept separate from Dad and me."
"No, I-"
"So you were going to invite me and Dad to the wedding then if Jess had said yes?"
"I... No."
"How about afterwards, to meet Jess once you were married?"
"Dean..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Now that he got it, Dean couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before. His brother had always had this mental image of 'normal life' as being distinctly separate from the hunting lifestyle, like a Venn diagram where the bubbles didn't overlap. So obviously Sam would have trouble taking something from his normal bubble and transferring it to the hunting bubble instead of just adjusting the bubbles to make the Venn diagram a, well, Venn diagram. He frowned, that hadn't quite worked and he was glad that he hadn't actually said it aloud.
"You know for someone who's supposed to be so smart, you're really stupid sometimes," Dean stated.
"Hey!"
"It's true. Don't even pretend that it isn't. I mean have you even looked at the situation? I mean, really? I don't think that there's even anything about the bonding or the rest of my relationship with Cas which could even remotely be considered normal. That's not me, Sam! I've never wanted normal, not really, so don't go and put your motivations and intentions on me."
/
The stench of sulfur weighed thick and heavy upon the air, somehow managing to overpower even the oppressive heat that would otherwise have been all consuming. It was like being burned alive and he couldn't understand how his very skin and muscles weren't literally melting from his bones right now. It was definitely making his blood boil though and the resulting pain was so excruciatingly bad that he longed dearly for death. But that was far too simple a way out and he knew that he'd never get it no matter how much that he wished for it.
Or begged for it.
"You fucking bastard," Christian cursed instead through gritted teeth as he tried desperately to wake up.
Though things had started out innocuously enough, they'd quickly shifted to a point where Christian just knew that he was asleep and dreaming.
Just like he knew exactly who it was that was here with him, manipulating his dreams.
"Now that is not very polite," another voice chided as the image of his cousin appeared before him.
Lucifer.
Christian snorted. "You're the devil, what do you care about manners?"
"You will find that there is much about me that you do not know," Lucifer replied calmly.
"That shit's not gonna work on me."
"I am not trying to fool you, Christian Campbell."
"Like hell you're not. You know, your chosen setting hardly works in your favor."
"This?" Lucifer questioned, waving a hand to encompass the world around them. "This is not my chosen future. I have just come from spending an eternity locked in a small cage surrounded by nothing but this. I want nothing more than to get away from it."
"Oh, really? So, what, you're saying that this is what I desire?"
"No, I am merely showing you what the world will become if my brothers are left unchecked to do as they please."
Christian frowned, suspicious, not quite able to figure out what angle the devil was trying to use here. It was a new one and not something that Lucifer had tried before, during the other countless evenings that the Morningstar had invaded his dreams ever since he'd encountered a group of demons who'd correctly identified him as Sam's cousin a few days after finally leaving the others.
"I thought that they wanted paradise on Earth," Christian finally replied.
"Their version of paradise," Lucifer corrected with a careless shrug of his shoulder. "That's hardly compatible with the human version of it. But that's only their intended goal, do you really think that my children will simply allow them to claim Earth? That there won't be a war which will decimate and scorch the planet, all but annihilating humanity?"
"Like you care."
"I care!"
The words were spoken with such vehemence that Christian stepped back involuntarily before he mentally cursed himself for the display of weakness. "Why?"
"This world is my Father's most wonderful creation, the peak of his performance, right before it dipped down when he set work to you humans. I will not see it destroyed so carelessly or because Michael or Raphael had a little temper tantrum."
The mere idea was a chilling one and Christian couldn't help but look around him once more, paying more attention to his surroundings than he had before. Now that he did, he could see that this wasn't an image from Hell, well not unless they had the burned out husks of cars down there. Or the various other little remnants of human life that he could now see peeking out from among the rubble. It made him swallow thickly but he reminded himself quickly of the fact that this was a dream and one that he wasn't in charge of. Lucifer could make him see whatever it was that devil wanted him to. This was all nothing more than a fancy hallucination to persuade him to saying yes to becoming Lucifer's meatsuit.
"Pretty words," Christian shot back. "But I know who you are, Lucifer, Prince of Lies. The one with the silver tongue."
"You humans and your silly titles," Lucifer sneered. "Very well, I see that you remain as stubborn as always, Christian. Just think about this, I am the one who rebelled against God and Heaven. I am the one who refused to simply bow down and obey blindly. Now who is it that has decreed that the world has to end and all of humanity die?"
It took a second or two for Christian to figure out where it was that the devil was going with this, but when he did, he shook his head and tried to backpedal futilely. Just then he felt the ghostly feel of a pillow below his cheek and he grasped at it, trying to force himself awake. It worked, but just as he finally managed to tear himself free, he was unable not to hear the devil's last parting shot.
"God, that is who."
Lucifer's words followed Christian into the real world, echoing furiously in his head as he sat upright with a gasp. The sheet and blankets were twisted hopelessly around his legs and he had to fight with them to break free so that he could leap from the bed and stagger into the middle of the motel room. There, he bent over and tried to catch his breath and calm his frantically racing heart.
No, he wouldn't do it. Christian simply out right refused to let the devil's words get to him.
Even if they made a horrible, twisted sense.
"Human," a frosty and heavily accented female voice stated from behind him.
Christian yelped involuntarily and spun around, desperately wishing that he'd grabbed his gun when he'd gotten up so that it would be in his hand right now instead of lying uselessly on the night stand out of his immediate reach. When he identified his visitor, though, he knew immediately that having his gun would have been futile as he could have emptied the whole clip into her and not achieved anything but infuriating her, something which he really didn't ever want to see.
"Simiel," Christian growled. "Do you really think that you can say anything to convince me that your master hasn't already tried?"
"Samuel Campbell is dead," Simiel replied evenly.
"What? How? What happened?"
"Raphael killed him and Dean not only allowed it, but has convinced the others that it was necessary."
A.N.: Eh, got flu.
:(
Chapter 184
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,220
Summary: Dean and Sam talk.
PRESENT
Dean could clearly see that his brother was desperately curious about what they were doing out here but amazingly Sam wasn't pushing him for answers for once. It heartened him as it gave him hope that his little brother had actually been listening to all that they'd said to him as of late. He knew better then to think that the problem was solved (after all how often had they been here before?) but he was willing to give Sam the benefit of the doubt one last time even if he was no longer able to be sure that his brother would change or do the right thing as he'd once believed.
Once he'd finished the last of his burger and had begun his fruit salad, Dean leaned back as much as he could without losing his balance on the fence and looked at his brother.
"How are you holding up?" Dean asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Have the headaches stopped now?"
"Yes, finally," Sam replied grimacing. "They weren't all that bad, though, not in comparison to those I used to get with the visions. Honestly, the bitter taste was far worse."
That Dean could definitely get that and he shuddered at the thought of everything he ate tasting wrong. It was, however, one of the inevitable side effects of the last part of the ritual that had ensured Sam's freedom from being Lucifer's vessel. To add insult to injury, though, the headaches and taste distortion could last for ages. Personally he'd hate that much more than the earlier painful steps. Not only would it affect eating, but sex as well.
"Yeah, I hear ya," Dean replied, spearing a piece of grape and then wincing at the taste of it.
Though not bitter, the grape tasted awful and Dean was half tempted to throw the fruit salad away and ask his husband to get him some fresh stuff later, but he hated wasting food. It was one of those ingrained habits from before when they'd not always had enough money to ensure that there would reliably be food when Dad was gone on a hunt, so nothing had ever been thrown away. He'd just have to learn not to order this crap from diners and instead go straight to his angel from the get go when he actually found himself wanting fruit or vegetables. And who'd have thought that he ever would? He definitely hadn't!
"So, right, anyway," Dean continued before he straightened his spine and mentally gave himself a kick in the ass.
He hadn't felt this nervous when telling Sam about the bonding, so Dean wasn't entirely sure why he felt so hesitant now. Was it because of the way his brother had reacted then? Or perhaps because of what had happened right afterwards with Samuel and the First Darkness? The latter made more sense as his brother's reaction hadn't been as bad as it could have been, being far more shocked and disbelieving than anything else.
"Dean?" Sam asked, beginning to sound worried. "Is everything alright? Is there something wrong?"
"No, not wrong. I just wanted to tell you something rather than have you discover it by seeing it."
"Okay, so what is this it that you're talking about?"
Dean had remembered to actually take his new ring off only just before entering his brother's bedroom earlier and while he'd only been wearing it for hours, he already felt it's absence keenly. Now he reached into the inner pocket into which he'd placed his new wedding band and extracted it, though he kept his hand firmly closed around it so that his brother wouldn't be able to see it yet.
"For me this is something which is merely a symbol of what Cas and I already had, but I think that it might mean a lot more to you," Dean stated.
"Huh?"
Rather than try to explain it any more than that in words, Dean figured that it would just be easier to show Sam the wedding ring. If he was right about his brother, a wedding band would have a similar kind of emotional impact on Sam as it'd had on him. Well, not the one that this particular ring had on him, of course, it could never have the same importance and thus impact on his brother as it'd had on him, but rather in general. With that he opened his fist and let Sam see the wedding band that his husband had gotten him.
As expected, his brother stared at the ring in shock and Dean watched carefully to see what else it was that Sam felt about this new development. Because he was observing his brother so closely, he caught the dismay and horror that flitted quickly across Sam's face before his brother caught himself and all emotions were wiped from Sam's face as if they'd never been. It was too late though and he clenched his hand once more, instinctively seeking to protect the wedding ring and all that it represented from his brother's negative reactions.
"Sam, what the hell?" Dean demanded, swinging his leg around so that he could jump off the fence.
His brother clenched his eyes and hands, clearly trying to bite back his initial response and for once Dean wished that Sam wouldn't. After all, what the hell? Yeah, he knew that his brother hadn't truly understood the significance of his bonding with Castiel- he wasn't even sure that any other human could understand it- but he'd thought that Sam would have gotten enough of it to not be dismayed or horrified at having it translated into such human terms in so real a way. Had his brother been willfully misunderstanding what he'd been saying before?
"Dean," Sam finally began. "That's... it's..."
"It's a physical representation of the closest human equivalent of the bonding that Cas and I did months ago."
"Yeah, but marriage?"
"Yes, Sam, marriage. You got a problem with that?"
The look on his brother's face made Dean turn around and pace away, trying to control his temper. Feeling the ring in his hand digging into his palm, he stopped and took the time to carefully and reverently place the wedding band back onto his finger where it belonged. Looking at it as he closed his fist once more, he felt some of his anger leaving him. Though he couldn't understand his brother's reaction, just the sight of this physical symbol of his bond soothed him greatly and he reached out to Castiel. The emotions and bond equivalent of a hug that he received back centered him and he sent his thanks wordlessly.
"Do you want me to come?" Castiel asked.
"No, that's okay, thanks," Dean replied. "I take it Gwen took the news better than Sam's doing?"
"Yes, though I suspect that she'll want to see your ring as well."
"I can deal with that."
"Dean?" Sam questioned.
"I need to go," Dean sent. "See you later."
"Call me if you need me, Beloved."
"Promise."
"Are you speaking with Cas right now?" Sam demanded.
"It's called a bonding, Sam," Dean replied, turning around to face his brother once more and he noticed how Sam's eyes dropped down to his left hand. "Like I told you before, it's a connection on a soul and Grace level, so yeah, Cas and I can talk to each other even when we're apart."
"And that doesn't scare you?"
"No, why would it?"
"It's your soul, Dean! You of all people should know how important that is."
Dean shrugged. "I trust Cas, Sam, I trust him implicitly. Besides, the bond lets me feel all of him and I know that I don't have anything to worry about."
"And what about how it's changed you? Is your soul even still the same as before?"
"Sam, my bond mate is in charge of Heaven, I really don't think that you need to worry about my entry there. Besides, the bond means that this is a marriage which isn't till death do us part. There is no parting, this is permanent. Forever. Says so right here actually," Dean stated, pointing at the appropriate Enochian word on his ring.
"That's writing?" Sam questioned, stepping closer. "Enochian?"
"Yeah."
Of course his brother chose to focus on that part of all that he'd said. Dean felt his anger rising again and he tried to bite it back.
"Look, Dean, I'm sorry okay," Sam apologized, causing Dean to whip his head up to stare at his brother in disbelief. "This is just a lot to take in. The last time I saw you and Cas before all of this, you were hardly speaking to each other and he'd just beat the crap out of you."
Dean winced at the memory of that particular evening. Surprisingly it wasn't the pain from his injuries or the beating that he remembered or regretted most of all, but rather the betrayal and raw soul (Grace?) deep pain that his angel had been radiating. He'd gladly take a dozen more smack downs like that if it would have saved his husband from having had to experience that. It was definitely one of his most regretted actions ever which, given his life, was saying a lot.
"Yeah, well, things changed," Dean finally replied.
"I didn't see that."
"And whose fault is that?"
The words came out harsh and for once Dean didn't regret it. Though it was still his little brother, it felt good to finally be able to vent some of his frustration about this particular topic on the cause of said frustrations. Oh, sure, he'd let Sam have it on all kinds of other issues, but never on this, not when it came to how it had impacted him personally. Maybe it was because the whole point of this particular trip had been to reveal something so personal to Sam to begin with, but suddenly he felt the desire to unleash it all on his little brother.
Yeah, sure, Dean knew that it was childish and that the adult thing to do would be to ignore it and smooth things over, but just now he didn't feel like being an adult. Instead he felt like being childish and selfish, and screw Sam's feelings, it was time his brother learned really about his own feelings on the topic.
"I..." Sam began before trailing off.
"Yeah, you, exactly," Dean shot back.
"What?"
"You just took off on your own, again, so don't come complaining to me when that means that you miss out on things."
"Dean, I already explained why I-"
"I know, but regardless of why you did it, you gotta accept that this is a consequence of that decision. You can't just expect people or situations to remain the same while you're off elsewhere doing whatever it is that you want to do more. People change, situations shift. Deal."
"But I just..."
"You just what?"
"I only just got you back. I don't want to lose you again."
"Why would you lose me?" Dean asked before his eyes went wide. Oh. Oh. Well that explained a few things. "Dude, just because for you marriage would have meant turning your back on your family doesn't mean that I'm gonna do that to you."
"I never said that!" Sam protested.
"No, but you thought it, didn't you, Sam? College, a job, marriage and a house, those were all things that were part of a normal life to you, weren't they? A non-hunting life and therefore they would have had to have been kept separate from Dad and me."
"No, I-"
"So you were going to invite me and Dad to the wedding then if Jess had said yes?"
"I... No."
"How about afterwards, to meet Jess once you were married?"
"Dean..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Now that he got it, Dean couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before. His brother had always had this mental image of 'normal life' as being distinctly separate from the hunting lifestyle, like a Venn diagram where the bubbles didn't overlap. So obviously Sam would have trouble taking something from his normal bubble and transferring it to the hunting bubble instead of just adjusting the bubbles to make the Venn diagram a, well, Venn diagram. He frowned, that hadn't quite worked and he was glad that he hadn't actually said it aloud.
"You know for someone who's supposed to be so smart, you're really stupid sometimes," Dean stated.
"Hey!"
"It's true. Don't even pretend that it isn't. I mean have you even looked at the situation? I mean, really? I don't think that there's even anything about the bonding or the rest of my relationship with Cas which could even remotely be considered normal. That's not me, Sam! I've never wanted normal, not really, so don't go and put your motivations and intentions on me."
/
The stench of sulfur weighed thick and heavy upon the air, somehow managing to overpower even the oppressive heat that would otherwise have been all consuming. It was like being burned alive and he couldn't understand how his very skin and muscles weren't literally melting from his bones right now. It was definitely making his blood boil though and the resulting pain was so excruciatingly bad that he longed dearly for death. But that was far too simple a way out and he knew that he'd never get it no matter how much that he wished for it.
Or begged for it.
"You fucking bastard," Christian cursed instead through gritted teeth as he tried desperately to wake up.
Though things had started out innocuously enough, they'd quickly shifted to a point where Christian just knew that he was asleep and dreaming.
Just like he knew exactly who it was that was here with him, manipulating his dreams.
"Now that is not very polite," another voice chided as the image of his cousin appeared before him.
Lucifer.
Christian snorted. "You're the devil, what do you care about manners?"
"You will find that there is much about me that you do not know," Lucifer replied calmly.
"That shit's not gonna work on me."
"I am not trying to fool you, Christian Campbell."
"Like hell you're not. You know, your chosen setting hardly works in your favor."
"This?" Lucifer questioned, waving a hand to encompass the world around them. "This is not my chosen future. I have just come from spending an eternity locked in a small cage surrounded by nothing but this. I want nothing more than to get away from it."
"Oh, really? So, what, you're saying that this is what I desire?"
"No, I am merely showing you what the world will become if my brothers are left unchecked to do as they please."
Christian frowned, suspicious, not quite able to figure out what angle the devil was trying to use here. It was a new one and not something that Lucifer had tried before, during the other countless evenings that the Morningstar had invaded his dreams ever since he'd encountered a group of demons who'd correctly identified him as Sam's cousin a few days after finally leaving the others.
"I thought that they wanted paradise on Earth," Christian finally replied.
"Their version of paradise," Lucifer corrected with a careless shrug of his shoulder. "That's hardly compatible with the human version of it. But that's only their intended goal, do you really think that my children will simply allow them to claim Earth? That there won't be a war which will decimate and scorch the planet, all but annihilating humanity?"
"Like you care."
"I care!"
The words were spoken with such vehemence that Christian stepped back involuntarily before he mentally cursed himself for the display of weakness. "Why?"
"This world is my Father's most wonderful creation, the peak of his performance, right before it dipped down when he set work to you humans. I will not see it destroyed so carelessly or because Michael or Raphael had a little temper tantrum."
The mere idea was a chilling one and Christian couldn't help but look around him once more, paying more attention to his surroundings than he had before. Now that he did, he could see that this wasn't an image from Hell, well not unless they had the burned out husks of cars down there. Or the various other little remnants of human life that he could now see peeking out from among the rubble. It made him swallow thickly but he reminded himself quickly of the fact that this was a dream and one that he wasn't in charge of. Lucifer could make him see whatever it was that devil wanted him to. This was all nothing more than a fancy hallucination to persuade him to saying yes to becoming Lucifer's meatsuit.
"Pretty words," Christian shot back. "But I know who you are, Lucifer, Prince of Lies. The one with the silver tongue."
"You humans and your silly titles," Lucifer sneered. "Very well, I see that you remain as stubborn as always, Christian. Just think about this, I am the one who rebelled against God and Heaven. I am the one who refused to simply bow down and obey blindly. Now who is it that has decreed that the world has to end and all of humanity die?"
It took a second or two for Christian to figure out where it was that the devil was going with this, but when he did, he shook his head and tried to backpedal futilely. Just then he felt the ghostly feel of a pillow below his cheek and he grasped at it, trying to force himself awake. It worked, but just as he finally managed to tear himself free, he was unable not to hear the devil's last parting shot.
"God, that is who."
Lucifer's words followed Christian into the real world, echoing furiously in his head as he sat upright with a gasp. The sheet and blankets were twisted hopelessly around his legs and he had to fight with them to break free so that he could leap from the bed and stagger into the middle of the motel room. There, he bent over and tried to catch his breath and calm his frantically racing heart.
No, he wouldn't do it. Christian simply out right refused to let the devil's words get to him.
Even if they made a horrible, twisted sense.
"Human," a frosty and heavily accented female voice stated from behind him.
Christian yelped involuntarily and spun around, desperately wishing that he'd grabbed his gun when he'd gotten up so that it would be in his hand right now instead of lying uselessly on the night stand out of his immediate reach. When he identified his visitor, though, he knew immediately that having his gun would have been futile as he could have emptied the whole clip into her and not achieved anything but infuriating her, something which he really didn't ever want to see.
"Simiel," Christian growled. "Do you really think that you can say anything to convince me that your master hasn't already tried?"
"Samuel Campbell is dead," Simiel replied evenly.
"What? How? What happened?"
"Raphael killed him and Dean not only allowed it, but has convinced the others that it was necessary."
A.N.: Eh, got flu.
:(
Chapter 184