Unexpected Destinies Chapter 196
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: 3,810
Summary: When Dean opens his eyes, Lucifer is there.
PRESENT
The moment that Dean opened his eyes he knew that something wasn't right. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he was certain of it nonetheless.
"Cas?" Dean questioned, pushing himself upright carefully so as to avoid hurting his husband's wings. "Something's not right."
Dean glanced about the room as he did so, freezing as it almost seemed to ripple at the edge of his vision but it smoothed out as soon as he turned to look at it directly. The lack of response from his angel took priority though and he turned to look at his bond mate.
"Cas?"
Worry rocketed through Dean when he caught sight of his husband's closed eyes. Angels didn't sleep. So why the hell were Castiel's eyes closed? His bond mate didn't even close them when communicating with Xarael or another sibling of his in Heaven.
"Cas," a voice behind Dean sneered. "How dare you mutilate my little brother's name thus? Renaming him as if he were yours to do so with."
Dean instantly twisted around, careful to keep his husband behind him. What he saw before him made him freeze in shock once more. No, that wasn't possible! Not only that but it didn't make sense because he wasn't in the vessel that he should have been in.
"Lucifer," Dean finally stated, desperately trying to figure out what was going on here.
"Dean Winchester, I've been hoping to get some time alone with you for quite a while now," Lucifer replied.
The room rippled at the edges of Dean's vision again until he flickered his eyes towards it briefly before returning them firmly to the devil. To Lucifer who was wearing Nick Grady's meatsuit again instead of Christian Campbell's. He frowned, trying to figure out what was going on here even as he reached for Castiel across their bond. The sheer distance that he felt from his husband and the lack of automatic reciprocation made him nearly forget about the main problem at hand here.
Nearly.
"I'm dreaming," Dean suddenly realized, the puzzle pieces slotting into place. "This isn't real, you're not actually here. You're just dream walking in my head."
Lucifer blinked as if surprised before nodding his head once. "Yes. I had not expected you to realize that so quickly."
"Yeah, well, I'm kinda used to having angelic visitors in my head, it's almost become a thing now really. Besides, I have this habit of throwing a wrench in all things, but angelic expectations in particular."
"So I have found."
Lucifer stepped closer as he spoke and Dean instinctively shifted to cover his vulnerable husband before realizing the futility of the action. If this was really all in his head, then Castiel wasn't actually here and the figure behind him in the bed was just a figment of his imagination, supplied by his mind as he expected his angel to be in bed with him when he woke. He wasn't entirely sure why his bond mate would have had his eyes closed then, but perhaps that had been his subconscious trying to warn him that something wasn't right? As if to prove the validity of his thoughts, he felt the presence behind him shift before it dissolved, leaving him alone in their bed.
The devil's eyes tracked the change before Lucifer sneered. "Are you proud of yourself, Dean, for pulling an angel so low? For hopelessly tarnishing one?"
Dean bristled at the words, feeling anger curl in his gut. He always hated it when anyone insinuated that what he felt for his husband was anything less than pure, but for Lucifer of all people to do so, it... well quite frankly it drove him mad.
"As if you care about Cas," Dean snapped back, deliberately using his nickname for his husband. "You smote him at Stull Cemetery!"
"You had already tainted him by that point as evidenced by the fact that he tried to interfere with the Apocalypse."
"News flash, Lucy, Daddy doesn't care for your petty little fight with Michael!"
Rage unlike anything that he'd ever felt before (and that was saying something!) reached Dean and he tensed on the bed, ready to either throw himself aside or attack depending on what happened next. He felt the Jewel of Abel start to form around his wrist as soon as he thought about it and that was when he realized that despite the fact that Lucifer had dropped into his dream, (into his head!), that he was still the one in control here. Now, he didn't know if the Jewel of Abel could work here, but it was reassuring to feel its weight if only for the moment that he allowed its presence before he vanished it once more, just in case Lucifer didn't know about the fact that he had it in his possession. No point giving away an advantage like that after all.
"You should show me some respect, human. I could squash you in an instant and scatter the shards of your soul across all of Creation so that even my brothers couldn't find them all," Lucifer thundered.
"Not here you can't," Dean countered, rippling the very fabric of the dream all around them through sheer force of will.
Now that he was aware of his own power in this situation, Dean felt a lot more confident than he had even a few moments ago. A second probe at his bond with Castiel proved that it was merely dampened, not blocked as he'd first feared that it was. A quick inspection of his vessel bond with Michael uncovered the same thing. It made sense now that he could think about it rationally. If Lucifer were to block the bonds entirely, then both Castiel and Michael would have known instantly that something wasn't right and reacted accordingly. This way it probably felt like he was sleeping but not dreaming. The fact that he was pretty sure that he could push through the blocks eased some more of his fears as he knew that all it would take was one hint of trouble for his bond mate and brother to react instantly.
"You are a stupid creature not to fear the wrath and power of an archangel, Dean Winchester," Lucifer stated, moving away.
At first Dean was glad for that, but then his eyes narrowed as he noticed the devil reach out towards his kalsika and Andaluzyian crystal. Both winked out of existence with a thought, but the adrenaline of that kind of violation remained with him and he shoved back the sheet and blankets, creating clothes around him as he rose from the bed.
"Who said anything about not fearing you?" Dean retorted angrily. "I've felt an archangel's power after all. Intimately."
The barb twisted Lucifer's features as Dean had hoped that it would. The more worked up he could make the devil, the more likely he was to get Lucifer to spill something important. Like what it was that the archangel was doing here and what Lucifer and Simiel had planned.
"Yes, you have managed to taint Michael as well as Castiel, but I shall not allow you to have either of them," Lucifer stated, moving closer once more and Dean resisted the impulse to back off.
Although not the devil, he was entirely used to most angels crowding his personal space.
"Allow me to have them? I'm not forcing them to do anything!" Dean exclaimed. "They've chosen to do what they have of their own free will."
Not liking the feel of being threatened in his own bedroom, Dean found the scenery shifting around them even before he'd consciously decided to do so. Which was probably why, when the world reformed around them, they were standing in Stull Cemetery. Not his smartest move ever, he had to admit, but then his subconscious had probably figured that this place had no good memories for his most disliked bond brother to ruin. Plus this was pretty much where he'd always met Lucifer so he wasn't particularly surprised that the place was tied to the devil in his subconscious.
"Angels don't have free will, Father doesn't allow it."
Lucifer's voice was still a snarl but Dean thought that he could detect something new underneath it that hadn't been there before. Too bad that he couldn't fully focus on it as he felt like it was important. But to take any of his attention away from Lucifer would be a mistake he knew. Dream or not, this was the devil he was dealing with here and he knew that his most hated bond brother would stop at nothing to destroy or harm him and he didn't even want to think of all of the ways that Lucifer could mess him up even here.
"They do now," Dean replied simply. "Cas is living proof of that, literally."
More rage reached Dean and the very air around the devil seemed to darken. For the briefest of instants he thought that he could detect the outline of Lucifer's wings, but he suppressed the thought the moment that it occurred to him before doing the same with his vision. He wasn't with Michael right now so he really shouldn't be seeing his bond brother's wings if he were a normal vessel and the absolutely last thing that he wanted to do was to tip Lucifer off to the fact that he wasn't. The only reason that he hadn't done so already was the fact that the last time he'd seen the devil in this particular vessel, he genuinely hadn't been able to see Lucifer's wings, so the lack of them had appeared abnormal at first. He could only hope that his bond brother either hadn't noticed or hadn't realized the significance of dream Castiel's wings being out earlier. Perhaps Lucifer thought he saw them in his dream because Michael had allowed him to view them while they were together.
"No," Lucifer snarled. "Father does not like independence or anything other than blind obedience in angels."
This time even Dean couldn't mistake the undercurrent in the devil's voice for what it was. But really? His bond brother was still throwing a hissy fit over not being Daddy's favorite? Still? How long had it been now, several millennia at the very least.
It was all that Dean could do to bite back the taunting remark that automatically sprang to mind but somehow he managed to do so. That would do absolutely nothing other than fully enrage Lucifer which would not only be pointless but also incredibly stupid and dangerous. Needlessly so. He already knew that the devil was nothing more than a big spoiled brat on a lot of levels, so it wasn't exactly news to him. He supposed that it probably irked him more than normal because Lucifer was now also related to him.
"Then why did He bring back Cas after you killed him?" Dean inquired, avoiding the spoiled brat issue altogether.
"Because I killed him," Lucifer replied.
And that wasn't conceited or self-centered at all.
"So then why didn't He bring back Gabriel? You killed him too."
That definitely got a reaction but not the one that Dean had been expecting. He'd been going for getting his bond brother into a sulky mood, a 'woe is me' and 'only me' state of mind but instead he'd just poured oil onto the fire and tangible rage exploded all around him and the next thing that Dean knew, he was pinned up against the side of the Impala much as he'd been the last time that they'd actually been in Stull Cemetery. Unable to help himself, he flinched violently at the memory and he was already halfway to waking up before he could stop himself. He had to forcibly wretch himself away from his meatsuit, hoping that he hadn't caused too much commotion in the process to alarm anyone who might be near him.
"Don't you dare mention Gabriel's name, you have no right!" Lucifer roared, fists clenching in Dean's clothing.
Okay, that was different.
"Dude, it was just a question," Dean replied softly.
"Gabriel's death is your fault. You're the one who turned him against me."
Really? Lucifer was really going there? His bond brother totally couldn't take responsibility for any of his own actions, now could he?
"You flatter me. Given how many of your brothers that you think I've led astray, you must think me some kind of siren."
Lucifer actually let out a bark of laughter at that though there was absolutely nothing amused about it. "No, not a siren, just human. A filthy, selfish human who doesn't care how many angels he drags down into the mud with him. You revel in it, don't you? Ruining something so much superior to yourself, tarnishing it with your own corruption."
"Oh for-! If I'm such a pathetic little bug then why the hell are you even here?" Dean demanded. "Why bother coming to see me at all?"
"You have managed to lead Michael himself astray."
"No, he managed that fine all on his own. All I did was help him see why Daddy was mad at him and left him stuck in the cage with you."
That seemed to throw the devil for another loop and Dean used the opportunity to try something new. He focused on not being where he was and instead he concentrated on the area right beside the hood of his baby. The transition felt weird but it worked, dream logic being what it was and all, and the next thing that he knew he was no longer being pinned in place by his bond brother. Lucifer growled and then the Impala was being thrown through the air and Dean cried out, his own fists clenching. Before the devil could even close the distance between them once more, though, his baby was back where she'd been, pristine once more.
Lucifer stopped abruptly, only just not running into the Impala and Dean nearly laughed. That's what the bastard got for trying to mess with his baby. This dream thing could actually be kinda fun now that he had the hang of it. He'd have to try some of it with Cas at some point. Narrowed eyes flashed up to him and Dean tilted his head, not quite able to decipher the new emotion in their depths.
"You will pay for your insolence, Winchester," Lucifer threatened.
"Yeah, I'm petrified," Dean threw back, startled at how not afraid that he actually was just now.
Was that because he knew that he was asleep and that this was nothing more than a dream and so he knew that the devil wasn't actually in physical proximity? Or perhaps it was because of his bonds and the fact that he could not only feel both his husband and his best friend but that he also knew that all it would take to bring them running was a single thought or nudge to the bonds?
Lucifer stalked around the Impala, clearly still angry. "I will see you quail before me in fear before the end. Your pathetic arrogance is misplaced."
Dean snorted. "You're calling me an arrogant bastard? It takes one to know one, bond brother."
Lightning and thunder suddenly rent the air out of nowhere as everything darkened and Dean automatically reached for his bonds. Lucifer, who'd still been moving closer, froze at that move. So, the devil could sense if he was about to terminate this session together and Lucifer clearly wasn't done here yet. It made Dean worry that there was something that he was overlooking, some plan of his most hated bond brother, but he couldn't feel anything nefarious being done to him. Could it be that the devil was just curious about him? Though the latter might be the most preferable option, he kinda hoped that it wasn't the case. Not only did it sort of freak him out, but it would also mean that he was more likely to get repeat visits in the future.
Besides, he liked not being noticed too much and being underestimated.
"You do realize that your being here is only going to inflate my ego even more, don't you?" Dean tried, seeing if he couldn't trick the devil into revealing a little more of what Lucifer was after here. "What with getting a personal visit from you and all."
Instead of reacting to the bait, Lucifer was calming down, tilting his head in an eerily reminiscent imitation of Castiel's own behavior and Dean instantly hated it. Although he knew that the two were brothers, he really didn't want to get any proof of it. Not only did it pain him to know the trouble and turmoil the relationship had caused in the past- and not just for Castiel but all of his other bond brothers and sisters as well- but he was also acutely aware of just how painful the rapidly approaching confrontation would be for all of them. If his own experience with Sam's foray into the Dark Side was good for anything at all, it was to teach him that just because his brother had gone bad didn't mean that it dimmed his feelings for Sam any. That lesson had taken a while to transfer to realization as far as his angels were concerned, but it finally had.
Now as odd as it was to say, Dean was glad that he couldn't actually kill Lucifer. Starting the Apocalypse was the original reason, but the knowledge of the pain he'd inflict on those he held most dear had now become the main reason for that.
"You are different, Dean Winchester," Lucifer finally stated thoughtfully, severely freaking Dean out. "Father made you different from any other of His precious little mud monkeys."
"What? No he didn't."
"No, that's what I used to think, which was my mistake, but it is not one that I'll be making again."
Dean didn't like the sound of that, not at all. "Seriously, Sam's not gonna be happy with you when he hears that you've been stroking my ego. He thinks it's big enough as it is."
"You're far more dangerous than a normal human, especially now that my brothers have been given you information and knowledge meant only for angels. I will not underestimate you again, Dean Winchester."
Although not angry or enraged like earlier, Dean felt far more trapped by Lucifer's close proximity now than he had before and he was acutely aware of how his eyes had widened and his heart had started racing involuntarily. Realizing that he wasn't going to get anything useful from his bond brother anymore, he reached out for his meatsuit and pulled himself towards it. The transition was abrupt and he shot fully awake violently, shooting into an upright position and earning himself a face full of feathers.
"Dean?" Castiel inquired urgently. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Before Dean could reply there was a flutter of wings and Michael stood in the room. These midnight meetings were starting to become a bad habit. So much for his six to eight hours a night streaks. Those were starting to be a thing of the past. He snorted, if anything showed that they were nearing the end of the Apocalypse it was this disruption to his sleep pattern as he knew that his husband did all that Castiel could to ensure that he got what his angel thought was a good amount of sleep.
"What's going on?" Michael demanded, scanning the room.
Dean saw his friend's fingers flex and knew that his bond brother was but a moment away from drawing his blade. It touched him how quickly both of his archangels had reacted even though he'd known that they would. Between knowing and happening there was still a gap for him but at least he was starting to expect the right thing, something which he knew that Castiel saw as a big victory and rightly so. He tried not to think about it too closely or often, but he knew that he'd been messed up before. And the fact that he realized that and could admit it to his husband was a massive improvement and something he thought his bond mate should be proud of.
"Lucifer just paid me a visit in my dream," Dean stated, bracing himself for what he knew was about to come.
"What?" Michael thundered, stepping close.
"Lucifer?" Castiel questioned, pulling him close and Dean could already feel his husband's Grace probe checking him out. "I didn't feel him."
"Yeah, he depressed my bonds," Dean replied. "He wanted to make me think that I couldn't contact you, but I could tell that I could force through it."
"But you didn't, not immediately," Michael concluded.
Dean shrugged. "I figured that I'd try to discover out what he wanted. And I knew I was in control of what happened."
"Dean?" Sam's voice called from the hall, knocking on the door. "Are you alright?"
"We are fine," Castiel called back, checking the state of the blankets. "You may enter."
"What's this? Is our room party central at night now?" Dean asked when the door opened to reveal not only his brother but Bobby and Gwen as well, all fully armed as only hunters woken in the middle of the night could be.
"We heard noise and were worried, ya idjit," Bobby retorted.
"Did something happen?" Gwen inquired, pulling her robe tighter around her.
"Lucifer dream walked with Dean," Michael informed them.
Dean groaned at the commotion that statement caused. He wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon that was for certain, though if the devil would just be waiting for him again then he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to either. He was pretty sure that he could convince his husband or one of his other archangels to dream walk with him instead as a precaution though, so it wasn't a huge concern.
It wasn't until Dean was telling everyone about what had happened that he realized the contradictory ways he'd acted during his dream. At one point, he'd purposefully angered Lucifer thinking that he might get the devil to make a mistake or spill a secret while later on he'd done the exact opposite, swallowing something back specially so that he wouldn't enrage Lucifer anymore in order to make sure that he wasn't hurt. At first glance it made absolutely no sense, but when he thought about it some more he got it. The first was pure him while the second was entirely due to Castiel and Michael's joint influence.
The fact that he didn't even care how whipped that made him told Dean that he really didn't have any further to go. Not that he'd give it up for anything in the world.
A.N.: As promised, Dean & Lucy.
Chapter 197
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,810
Summary: When Dean opens his eyes, Lucifer is there.
PRESENT
The moment that Dean opened his eyes he knew that something wasn't right. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he was certain of it nonetheless.
"Cas?" Dean questioned, pushing himself upright carefully so as to avoid hurting his husband's wings. "Something's not right."
Dean glanced about the room as he did so, freezing as it almost seemed to ripple at the edge of his vision but it smoothed out as soon as he turned to look at it directly. The lack of response from his angel took priority though and he turned to look at his bond mate.
"Cas?"
Worry rocketed through Dean when he caught sight of his husband's closed eyes. Angels didn't sleep. So why the hell were Castiel's eyes closed? His bond mate didn't even close them when communicating with Xarael or another sibling of his in Heaven.
"Cas," a voice behind Dean sneered. "How dare you mutilate my little brother's name thus? Renaming him as if he were yours to do so with."
Dean instantly twisted around, careful to keep his husband behind him. What he saw before him made him freeze in shock once more. No, that wasn't possible! Not only that but it didn't make sense because he wasn't in the vessel that he should have been in.
"Lucifer," Dean finally stated, desperately trying to figure out what was going on here.
"Dean Winchester, I've been hoping to get some time alone with you for quite a while now," Lucifer replied.
The room rippled at the edges of Dean's vision again until he flickered his eyes towards it briefly before returning them firmly to the devil. To Lucifer who was wearing Nick Grady's meatsuit again instead of Christian Campbell's. He frowned, trying to figure out what was going on here even as he reached for Castiel across their bond. The sheer distance that he felt from his husband and the lack of automatic reciprocation made him nearly forget about the main problem at hand here.
Nearly.
"I'm dreaming," Dean suddenly realized, the puzzle pieces slotting into place. "This isn't real, you're not actually here. You're just dream walking in my head."
Lucifer blinked as if surprised before nodding his head once. "Yes. I had not expected you to realize that so quickly."
"Yeah, well, I'm kinda used to having angelic visitors in my head, it's almost become a thing now really. Besides, I have this habit of throwing a wrench in all things, but angelic expectations in particular."
"So I have found."
Lucifer stepped closer as he spoke and Dean instinctively shifted to cover his vulnerable husband before realizing the futility of the action. If this was really all in his head, then Castiel wasn't actually here and the figure behind him in the bed was just a figment of his imagination, supplied by his mind as he expected his angel to be in bed with him when he woke. He wasn't entirely sure why his bond mate would have had his eyes closed then, but perhaps that had been his subconscious trying to warn him that something wasn't right? As if to prove the validity of his thoughts, he felt the presence behind him shift before it dissolved, leaving him alone in their bed.
The devil's eyes tracked the change before Lucifer sneered. "Are you proud of yourself, Dean, for pulling an angel so low? For hopelessly tarnishing one?"
Dean bristled at the words, feeling anger curl in his gut. He always hated it when anyone insinuated that what he felt for his husband was anything less than pure, but for Lucifer of all people to do so, it... well quite frankly it drove him mad.
"As if you care about Cas," Dean snapped back, deliberately using his nickname for his husband. "You smote him at Stull Cemetery!"
"You had already tainted him by that point as evidenced by the fact that he tried to interfere with the Apocalypse."
"News flash, Lucy, Daddy doesn't care for your petty little fight with Michael!"
Rage unlike anything that he'd ever felt before (and that was saying something!) reached Dean and he tensed on the bed, ready to either throw himself aside or attack depending on what happened next. He felt the Jewel of Abel start to form around his wrist as soon as he thought about it and that was when he realized that despite the fact that Lucifer had dropped into his dream, (into his head!), that he was still the one in control here. Now, he didn't know if the Jewel of Abel could work here, but it was reassuring to feel its weight if only for the moment that he allowed its presence before he vanished it once more, just in case Lucifer didn't know about the fact that he had it in his possession. No point giving away an advantage like that after all.
"You should show me some respect, human. I could squash you in an instant and scatter the shards of your soul across all of Creation so that even my brothers couldn't find them all," Lucifer thundered.
"Not here you can't," Dean countered, rippling the very fabric of the dream all around them through sheer force of will.
Now that he was aware of his own power in this situation, Dean felt a lot more confident than he had even a few moments ago. A second probe at his bond with Castiel proved that it was merely dampened, not blocked as he'd first feared that it was. A quick inspection of his vessel bond with Michael uncovered the same thing. It made sense now that he could think about it rationally. If Lucifer were to block the bonds entirely, then both Castiel and Michael would have known instantly that something wasn't right and reacted accordingly. This way it probably felt like he was sleeping but not dreaming. The fact that he was pretty sure that he could push through the blocks eased some more of his fears as he knew that all it would take was one hint of trouble for his bond mate and brother to react instantly.
"You are a stupid creature not to fear the wrath and power of an archangel, Dean Winchester," Lucifer stated, moving away.
At first Dean was glad for that, but then his eyes narrowed as he noticed the devil reach out towards his kalsika and Andaluzyian crystal. Both winked out of existence with a thought, but the adrenaline of that kind of violation remained with him and he shoved back the sheet and blankets, creating clothes around him as he rose from the bed.
"Who said anything about not fearing you?" Dean retorted angrily. "I've felt an archangel's power after all. Intimately."
The barb twisted Lucifer's features as Dean had hoped that it would. The more worked up he could make the devil, the more likely he was to get Lucifer to spill something important. Like what it was that the archangel was doing here and what Lucifer and Simiel had planned.
"Yes, you have managed to taint Michael as well as Castiel, but I shall not allow you to have either of them," Lucifer stated, moving closer once more and Dean resisted the impulse to back off.
Although not the devil, he was entirely used to most angels crowding his personal space.
"Allow me to have them? I'm not forcing them to do anything!" Dean exclaimed. "They've chosen to do what they have of their own free will."
Not liking the feel of being threatened in his own bedroom, Dean found the scenery shifting around them even before he'd consciously decided to do so. Which was probably why, when the world reformed around them, they were standing in Stull Cemetery. Not his smartest move ever, he had to admit, but then his subconscious had probably figured that this place had no good memories for his most disliked bond brother to ruin. Plus this was pretty much where he'd always met Lucifer so he wasn't particularly surprised that the place was tied to the devil in his subconscious.
"Angels don't have free will, Father doesn't allow it."
Lucifer's voice was still a snarl but Dean thought that he could detect something new underneath it that hadn't been there before. Too bad that he couldn't fully focus on it as he felt like it was important. But to take any of his attention away from Lucifer would be a mistake he knew. Dream or not, this was the devil he was dealing with here and he knew that his most hated bond brother would stop at nothing to destroy or harm him and he didn't even want to think of all of the ways that Lucifer could mess him up even here.
"They do now," Dean replied simply. "Cas is living proof of that, literally."
More rage reached Dean and the very air around the devil seemed to darken. For the briefest of instants he thought that he could detect the outline of Lucifer's wings, but he suppressed the thought the moment that it occurred to him before doing the same with his vision. He wasn't with Michael right now so he really shouldn't be seeing his bond brother's wings if he were a normal vessel and the absolutely last thing that he wanted to do was to tip Lucifer off to the fact that he wasn't. The only reason that he hadn't done so already was the fact that the last time he'd seen the devil in this particular vessel, he genuinely hadn't been able to see Lucifer's wings, so the lack of them had appeared abnormal at first. He could only hope that his bond brother either hadn't noticed or hadn't realized the significance of dream Castiel's wings being out earlier. Perhaps Lucifer thought he saw them in his dream because Michael had allowed him to view them while they were together.
"No," Lucifer snarled. "Father does not like independence or anything other than blind obedience in angels."
This time even Dean couldn't mistake the undercurrent in the devil's voice for what it was. But really? His bond brother was still throwing a hissy fit over not being Daddy's favorite? Still? How long had it been now, several millennia at the very least.
It was all that Dean could do to bite back the taunting remark that automatically sprang to mind but somehow he managed to do so. That would do absolutely nothing other than fully enrage Lucifer which would not only be pointless but also incredibly stupid and dangerous. Needlessly so. He already knew that the devil was nothing more than a big spoiled brat on a lot of levels, so it wasn't exactly news to him. He supposed that it probably irked him more than normal because Lucifer was now also related to him.
"Then why did He bring back Cas after you killed him?" Dean inquired, avoiding the spoiled brat issue altogether.
"Because I killed him," Lucifer replied.
And that wasn't conceited or self-centered at all.
"So then why didn't He bring back Gabriel? You killed him too."
That definitely got a reaction but not the one that Dean had been expecting. He'd been going for getting his bond brother into a sulky mood, a 'woe is me' and 'only me' state of mind but instead he'd just poured oil onto the fire and tangible rage exploded all around him and the next thing that Dean knew, he was pinned up against the side of the Impala much as he'd been the last time that they'd actually been in Stull Cemetery. Unable to help himself, he flinched violently at the memory and he was already halfway to waking up before he could stop himself. He had to forcibly wretch himself away from his meatsuit, hoping that he hadn't caused too much commotion in the process to alarm anyone who might be near him.
"Don't you dare mention Gabriel's name, you have no right!" Lucifer roared, fists clenching in Dean's clothing.
Okay, that was different.
"Dude, it was just a question," Dean replied softly.
"Gabriel's death is your fault. You're the one who turned him against me."
Really? Lucifer was really going there? His bond brother totally couldn't take responsibility for any of his own actions, now could he?
"You flatter me. Given how many of your brothers that you think I've led astray, you must think me some kind of siren."
Lucifer actually let out a bark of laughter at that though there was absolutely nothing amused about it. "No, not a siren, just human. A filthy, selfish human who doesn't care how many angels he drags down into the mud with him. You revel in it, don't you? Ruining something so much superior to yourself, tarnishing it with your own corruption."
"Oh for-! If I'm such a pathetic little bug then why the hell are you even here?" Dean demanded. "Why bother coming to see me at all?"
"You have managed to lead Michael himself astray."
"No, he managed that fine all on his own. All I did was help him see why Daddy was mad at him and left him stuck in the cage with you."
That seemed to throw the devil for another loop and Dean used the opportunity to try something new. He focused on not being where he was and instead he concentrated on the area right beside the hood of his baby. The transition felt weird but it worked, dream logic being what it was and all, and the next thing that he knew he was no longer being pinned in place by his bond brother. Lucifer growled and then the Impala was being thrown through the air and Dean cried out, his own fists clenching. Before the devil could even close the distance between them once more, though, his baby was back where she'd been, pristine once more.
Lucifer stopped abruptly, only just not running into the Impala and Dean nearly laughed. That's what the bastard got for trying to mess with his baby. This dream thing could actually be kinda fun now that he had the hang of it. He'd have to try some of it with Cas at some point. Narrowed eyes flashed up to him and Dean tilted his head, not quite able to decipher the new emotion in their depths.
"You will pay for your insolence, Winchester," Lucifer threatened.
"Yeah, I'm petrified," Dean threw back, startled at how not afraid that he actually was just now.
Was that because he knew that he was asleep and that this was nothing more than a dream and so he knew that the devil wasn't actually in physical proximity? Or perhaps it was because of his bonds and the fact that he could not only feel both his husband and his best friend but that he also knew that all it would take to bring them running was a single thought or nudge to the bonds?
Lucifer stalked around the Impala, clearly still angry. "I will see you quail before me in fear before the end. Your pathetic arrogance is misplaced."
Dean snorted. "You're calling me an arrogant bastard? It takes one to know one, bond brother."
Lightning and thunder suddenly rent the air out of nowhere as everything darkened and Dean automatically reached for his bonds. Lucifer, who'd still been moving closer, froze at that move. So, the devil could sense if he was about to terminate this session together and Lucifer clearly wasn't done here yet. It made Dean worry that there was something that he was overlooking, some plan of his most hated bond brother, but he couldn't feel anything nefarious being done to him. Could it be that the devil was just curious about him? Though the latter might be the most preferable option, he kinda hoped that it wasn't the case. Not only did it sort of freak him out, but it would also mean that he was more likely to get repeat visits in the future.
Besides, he liked not being noticed too much and being underestimated.
"You do realize that your being here is only going to inflate my ego even more, don't you?" Dean tried, seeing if he couldn't trick the devil into revealing a little more of what Lucifer was after here. "What with getting a personal visit from you and all."
Instead of reacting to the bait, Lucifer was calming down, tilting his head in an eerily reminiscent imitation of Castiel's own behavior and Dean instantly hated it. Although he knew that the two were brothers, he really didn't want to get any proof of it. Not only did it pain him to know the trouble and turmoil the relationship had caused in the past- and not just for Castiel but all of his other bond brothers and sisters as well- but he was also acutely aware of just how painful the rapidly approaching confrontation would be for all of them. If his own experience with Sam's foray into the Dark Side was good for anything at all, it was to teach him that just because his brother had gone bad didn't mean that it dimmed his feelings for Sam any. That lesson had taken a while to transfer to realization as far as his angels were concerned, but it finally had.
Now as odd as it was to say, Dean was glad that he couldn't actually kill Lucifer. Starting the Apocalypse was the original reason, but the knowledge of the pain he'd inflict on those he held most dear had now become the main reason for that.
"You are different, Dean Winchester," Lucifer finally stated thoughtfully, severely freaking Dean out. "Father made you different from any other of His precious little mud monkeys."
"What? No he didn't."
"No, that's what I used to think, which was my mistake, but it is not one that I'll be making again."
Dean didn't like the sound of that, not at all. "Seriously, Sam's not gonna be happy with you when he hears that you've been stroking my ego. He thinks it's big enough as it is."
"You're far more dangerous than a normal human, especially now that my brothers have been given you information and knowledge meant only for angels. I will not underestimate you again, Dean Winchester."
Although not angry or enraged like earlier, Dean felt far more trapped by Lucifer's close proximity now than he had before and he was acutely aware of how his eyes had widened and his heart had started racing involuntarily. Realizing that he wasn't going to get anything useful from his bond brother anymore, he reached out for his meatsuit and pulled himself towards it. The transition was abrupt and he shot fully awake violently, shooting into an upright position and earning himself a face full of feathers.
"Dean?" Castiel inquired urgently. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Before Dean could reply there was a flutter of wings and Michael stood in the room. These midnight meetings were starting to become a bad habit. So much for his six to eight hours a night streaks. Those were starting to be a thing of the past. He snorted, if anything showed that they were nearing the end of the Apocalypse it was this disruption to his sleep pattern as he knew that his husband did all that Castiel could to ensure that he got what his angel thought was a good amount of sleep.
"What's going on?" Michael demanded, scanning the room.
Dean saw his friend's fingers flex and knew that his bond brother was but a moment away from drawing his blade. It touched him how quickly both of his archangels had reacted even though he'd known that they would. Between knowing and happening there was still a gap for him but at least he was starting to expect the right thing, something which he knew that Castiel saw as a big victory and rightly so. He tried not to think about it too closely or often, but he knew that he'd been messed up before. And the fact that he realized that and could admit it to his husband was a massive improvement and something he thought his bond mate should be proud of.
"Lucifer just paid me a visit in my dream," Dean stated, bracing himself for what he knew was about to come.
"What?" Michael thundered, stepping close.
"Lucifer?" Castiel questioned, pulling him close and Dean could already feel his husband's Grace probe checking him out. "I didn't feel him."
"Yeah, he depressed my bonds," Dean replied. "He wanted to make me think that I couldn't contact you, but I could tell that I could force through it."
"But you didn't, not immediately," Michael concluded.
Dean shrugged. "I figured that I'd try to discover out what he wanted. And I knew I was in control of what happened."
"Dean?" Sam's voice called from the hall, knocking on the door. "Are you alright?"
"We are fine," Castiel called back, checking the state of the blankets. "You may enter."
"What's this? Is our room party central at night now?" Dean asked when the door opened to reveal not only his brother but Bobby and Gwen as well, all fully armed as only hunters woken in the middle of the night could be.
"We heard noise and were worried, ya idjit," Bobby retorted.
"Did something happen?" Gwen inquired, pulling her robe tighter around her.
"Lucifer dream walked with Dean," Michael informed them.
Dean groaned at the commotion that statement caused. He wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon that was for certain, though if the devil would just be waiting for him again then he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to either. He was pretty sure that he could convince his husband or one of his other archangels to dream walk with him instead as a precaution though, so it wasn't a huge concern.
It wasn't until Dean was telling everyone about what had happened that he realized the contradictory ways he'd acted during his dream. At one point, he'd purposefully angered Lucifer thinking that he might get the devil to make a mistake or spill a secret while later on he'd done the exact opposite, swallowing something back specially so that he wouldn't enrage Lucifer anymore in order to make sure that he wasn't hurt. At first glance it made absolutely no sense, but when he thought about it some more he got it. The first was pure him while the second was entirely due to Castiel and Michael's joint influence.
The fact that he didn't even care how whipped that made him told Dean that he really didn't have any further to go. Not that he'd give it up for anything in the world.
A.N.: As promised, Dean & Lucy.
Chapter 197