Tears slipped down John's face as he knelt in front of the two blonde demons.
"I don't know, Lilith," the one on the left said, placing a hand on one of her hips. "I still think manipulating the boy directly when he gets older is a preferable course of action."
"Don't be ridiculous, Ruby. Doing it now is best," Lilith chided. She turned to look at John and gave him a smile, reaching out to wipe away the tears on one side of John's face. "Don't you agree, darling? Starting now is best."
"He's my son. My boy..." John let out. Lilith tsked, turning back to Ruby.
"We get to him now and he'll be unstoppable by the time we need him. He'll have years to perfect his control over his powers. Azazel has already labeled the boy a favorite of his, so why not give him a step above the others?"
"Does Azazel not know that Lucifer is going to pick Sam, regardless?" Ruby asked. "You said that the boy is his vessel."
"Azazel knows only what Lucifer has whispered to him through the bars of the Cage. I know of the boy's destiny from before Lucifer's exile. It is best that Azazel not know all the details," Lilith explained. More tears slipped down John's face, his thoughts on the two boys that were currently running around a church yard with Pastor Jim looking over them.
"Very well. What does John Winchester have to do with anything, though?" Ruby threw a glare in John's direction.
"Johnny boy?" Lilith asked in an innocent tone. She ran a hand through John's hair before grabbing a small amount to pull his head back and press a kiss onto his mouth. "Johnny here is wrapped around my little finger. Aren't you?"
"Whatever you want..." John replied.
"Exactly. Now, Ruby, the quickest way to get the boy to drink demon's blood is to get his father to insist upon it. Once John convinces the brother that it'll be good for Sam to be drinking it, the other boy will undoubtedly assist. The love that child has for his family has no end," Lilith said. She began running her hand through John's hair again, occasionally caressing his forehead with her thumb.
"Manipulate the father to manipulate the boys? Are you sure this is going to work?" Ruby adopted an incredulous expression.
"If it fails, you'll have your turn when the boy is older."
"Very well. Good luck," Ruby said, giving John one last glare before disappearing from her spot. As soon as Ruby's fog completely disappeared, Lilith turned her full attention to John and give him a sickly-sweet smile.
"Now, Johnny baby. You know how important it is to me that Sam be up to par once it's time for him to take his place as Lucifer's vessel for the apocalypse."
"He's my baby boy..." More tears slipped down John's face. Part of him was vehemently fighting Lilith's request, to protect his boys, but the rest of him wanted to do everything Lilith asked of him. He loved her. How could he say no to someone he loved? That love came out of no where and her demon status was the biggest shock in his life, but that didn't change that he loved her.
"It's what's best for him, Johnny. You know it's true. Unless you want Ruby to have her way with Sam when he gets older. She'll be a lot more manipulative about it, too. He'll be devastated upon discovering that Ruby doesn't care about him at all. But having his loving father raise him into discovering and knowing the full force of his powers? What a far better scenario than the one that'll be waiting for him if you say no."
"But...That...Sam..." John stuttered. Protecting the boys was his first priority. It always had been. But Lilith was making it clear that her plans for Sam were going to happen no matter what. Shouldn't that mean that John do all that he could to make sure that the smoothest plan was the one that got done? The kind of emotional manipulation that Ruby had planned for Sam... John wouldn't wish that kind of manipulation on anyone.
"Come on, Johnny boy," Lilith cooed, kneeling down in front of John so she could properly wrap her arms around his neck. "Don't you love me? Don't you love Sam? Don't you want what's best for him?"
"I do," John said.
"Then do what is best for Sam. Do what is best for Dean. You try to run, and we'll just hunt you down and force Sam to drink the blood anyway. This way, he doesn't hate you for sheltering him his entire life. He'll thank you for telling him the truth about who he really is."
"I..." John inhaled sharply, more tears leaking from his eyes. He had to do what was best for the boys. "Okay. I'll do it."
"Oh, I love you, Johnny!" Lilith squealed in excitement. "Don't worry. We'll make sure to take good care of your little boys. Now, go on and get them. Let's get the three of you settled at the estate we've got set up for you. After all, what's best for the boys is to grow up in one place so they can build community ties."
John nodded through Lilith's pseudo lecture on how to give the boys a proper environment for growing up, wondering why the dread that had formed in his stomach was slowing going away.