Fic: End of Days
End of Days
"No no, they were big, like," Ruby waves her hands in the air in a rough approximation of size, nearly spilling her beer in the process. "I don't know, big!"
Dean nods reassuringly while he tries to figure out what the fuck she's talking about. His mollifying glace isn't working, though, because she makes a frustrated noise and slams the bottle down on the table with a thud.
"I can't believe you never saw them! Lilith always kept pets. They were horrible. Nothing up here even comes close." She picks the bottle back up again and takes a long sip, closing her eyes against the memory.
Dean snorts. "Yeah? Well, while you were making nice with the cuddly spiders, I was having conversations with Alastair that lasted a year at a time. You want to know the worst thing about Hell? Boredom." Ruby laughs at that, and Dean smiles a little before reaching for another beer himself.
He can use it to quiet the aching feel of phantom carvings on the insides of his bones.
Ruby's eyes meet his and he looks away, studying the dramatic brick-wall view from their motel. He clears his throat. "How long do you think -"
"Not much longer," she whispers, looking out the window like she can see Sam out there, like she can feel him.
Maybe she can. Dean starts pacing, ignoring the prods of jealousy's brittle fingers.
"One time he was trying to show me my own eyeball, but it kept slipping through his fingers and bouncing away. He was so pissed by the time he finally caught up with it, he just threw it back at me and walked out," Dean offers, stalling for more time.
Ruby discards her finished beer and flops down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Nice. Lilith asked me to kill Sam once."
Dean smiles, because yeah, that's the best one. "If only she knew, right?"
"She knew everything she was supposed to know."
Dean starts peeling the label off of his bottle, lukewarm condensation beading over his fingers as the pieces tear away. He doesn't want to ask again, but he can't help it, he feels like a little kid on a long road trip, slowly going insane from curiosity.
"How about now?"
"For the love of all that’s ... whatever, would you calm down?" Ruby shuts her eyes, locking Dean out. She could be tracking Sam for all Dean knows, right now, from inside the Gulf Port Motel, and Sam could be anywhere.
Any time.
No, not any time, not anymore. Dean moves to the window, taking his turn to look up at the sky. Ruby is right - it will be soon. The clouds boil across the sky in red and gold waves of light, and for the first time in months, Dean spies blue in between the gaps. Even the air looks cleaner, dark smoke from the fires dissipating on the fresh new winds.
Without warning, Ruby bolts up from the bed and flings open the door, laughing with pure joy and relief.
Lucifer touches down like a shockwave, and Dean feels it in his chest just before he sees the air ripple.
"It is done," Lucifer says seriously, using Sam's most solemn expression. Dean huffs and rolls his eyes, and the angel laughs. "Arcane, I know. Just ... call it a family tradition."
Dean nods, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fantastic. Now it's your turn. We had a deal. She's the last one? All the others are dead?"
Lucifer nods, beckoning with Sam's hands.
Ruby kneels at her master's feet, and he smooths back her hair before placing one hand on her head in benediction. Dean watches the angel shine through Sam's eyes, golden light filling the room until he thinks he'll go blind from the glory.
When the light fades, Ruby is smiling and glistening tear tracks highlight her cheeks. Lucifer wipes them away. "There," he says, "As you were. Why anyone would want to live another lifetime down here is beyond me, frankly, but to each their own."
Dean isn't quite sure how he's going to deal with Ruby as a human being. He figures they'll still fight all the time, and just maybe punch each other less. He owes her, after all, and it's been a few centuries since she's had to fit in with society.
Lucifer backs into the parking lot, and Dean can't see it, but he feels the spreading of wings. The angel's ancient eyes meet his. He looks nervous. "The worst thing about Hell was being alone."
Dean nods knowingly. "Time for you to go home, then."
Lucifer takes a deep breath and raises Sam's eyes to the blue. The sky flashes and there is a mighty clap of thunder, and then Dean is staring at his brother, whole and safe and free.
The whole world is free.