My rock, my fortess, my deliverer
***
"Resorting to silent treatment then, are we?"
Sam refused to give in to the provocation again. But he'd been thinking. And he knew Lucifer could hear him thinking. They'd just travelled about a thousand miles inside an hour. All that farther away from Dean, was all he could focus on right then.
"So now we're in Wisconsin."
"Nice work, Holmes."
Sam knew it the moment they'd gotten off the I-80 highway. "We're going to Chuck's, aren't we?"
"Maybe…"
"So that means this brother of yours is – "
The NYPD car came to a sudden stop in the middle of the barren abandoned highway, the brakes screeching loudly, jerking Sam enough to give him a whiplash and wincing, he looked up.
"Is that…?" Cain started and stopped.
Lucifer and His minion sat literally petrified in their spots.
A simple, every day man stood in the dead center of their path, his hands balled into loose fists by his sides, his feet set solidly apart. There was absolutely nothing memorable or unique about him. He was short, middle-aged, pudgy, slightly balding, maybe a traveling salesman from the seventies. Maybe a telemarketer, or an office clerk.
"Michael…" Lucifer whispered, the cold syrupy, and possibly emotion-ridden voice once again encroaching over Sam's senses painfully.
Huh, Sam mused. At least Castiel makes a hot tax accountant.
Lucifer got out of the car in a hurry and so did Cain. And they stared at the human vessel's form before them for a while. It was the man who smiled first, and all of a sudden his face transformed into one of a being so utterly content and peaceful, Sam knew he couldn't possibly be anything remotely human.
"Hello, little brother…" Lucifer's voice was soft. So soft, it didn't seem to be Lucifer's at all. Of course a second later, it reverted back to steady state, overflowing with outright disgust.
"What in the name of hell are you wearing?"
Sam was, meanwhile, still craning to get a better view through the heavily barred glasses of the cop car when the right door swung open, pulled with brute force from outside. He started as Dean hopped in, pulling him into a strong, fervent hug.
Sam gave into a surprising rush of emotions – a relief, a sense of protectedness he hadn't felt in a decade. He allowed himself to give in to the urge to sink into his brother's arms, letting his dead-weight fall on to Dean's strong shoulders to bear and carry 'cause he was too tired to do it himself anymore. No more.
Unfortunately for him, that's not what Dean had in mind at all.
The arms stretched around him weren't trying to hug him. Instead there were hands behind his back, reaching for and picking open the cuffs on his wrists.
"Let's go, Sammy," Dean ordered gruffly, moving away as quickly as he could and tugging Sam by a now free arm out of the car.
Sam swallowed his dismay down and meekly obeyed, looking up once at the astounding scene unfolding in front of the car. Lucifer and Cain, in their magnificent and almost unnaturally perfect specimens for meatsuits, facing off against the Arch Angel of the Lord, in a polar-opposite vessel that was clearly irking the very hell out of the Master and Commander of everything vain and sinful.
It was a historic moment alright, yet another in a string of historic moments the Winchesters had had the misfortune to witness.
"Sam!" Dean hissed when he turned to see that Sam wasn't following him anymore. "Move your ass now!"
"What about…"
"Unresolved sexual tension you and I can do nothin' about. Let's go."
Sam dragged his feet and Dean dragged Sam all the way to the Impala. He stepped on it and took himself and Sam far far away, leaving the angel and the demons to their momentous reunion slash Biblical stand-off.
**
Dean drove as fast as he could to get to the safe haven that is Rufus' house. It was recently secured by some seriously serious angel mojo so the evil side wouldn't know it even existed. Entering the boundaries of that house would be like falling off the demon-grid completely. He sure could have used Cas and his apparition skills right now, but the angel was too busy backing up Michael behind that state line he just whizzed past in a hurry.
"Why me?" Sam whispered, lost, confused, not really expecting an answer at all. "Why is it always me?"
Dean sighed heavily, not taking his eyes away from the road. Typical that his brainiac little brother would figure everything out, only to be in outright denial of the one thing he knew he's not going to like. Dean had no choice, no way to put it so it wouldn't hurt.
"Demon blood."
Sam winced. He was never going to get past that, was he?
"Cas thinks it can be manipulated somehow to turns your body into a trap of sorts, for angels. Plus, I think he liked the way you look, or something…"
Sam didn't react, which only made Dean nervous and he rushed to fill the awkward silence. "Let's hope old Mike can talk some sense into the Bastard, make Him go back to sleep or something 'cause if not, we're screwed. This time for real."
"The Devil's a lost cause. At least, He's supposed to be."
"Well, He doesn't seem to think so."
"That's the sad irony of it. He's fighting his own destiny, a pointless battle He can't win cause He's not supposed to. That's not the plan. That's not the grand design. "
"… Sam…"
Sam sighed, his head flopping back against the seat and he continued to stare out at the barren landscape fleeing away from him. Good move.
How could he explain it to Dean even if he tried? How could he possibly describe his overwhelming fear conflicting with the undeniable sympathy that he felt for someone who's not supposed to deserve it? Too bad Dean couldn't hear his thoughts like Lucifer could.
"Relax, Dean. I'm not going dark side again."
Dean swallowed, taken aback by how clearly Sam could still read him, despite everything that'd happened between them over the last twelve months. Despite this wall of silence that stood between them and try as they might, they just couldn't seem to get past.
"He screwed with your head, didn't He? Don't let Him get to you, Sam."
"This is all your fault, you know."
"…"
"Your's and Dad's."
Dean gripped the steering wheel hard. But he doesn't use any words.
"You should have let me burn when you had the chance."
That's when Dean hit the brakes, something he'd been raring to do for awhile now, and pulled over to the side of the road. "I have my share of regrets in life, man. God knows the list of things I should have or shouldn't have done is longer than the Tolkien trilogy. But not once have I ever regretted you or anything to do with you."
"…"
"I'd never give up on you. Never did. Not all of last year, and sure as hell not now."
Sam gulped down the ebb of tears building up in the back of his throat. "But you don't trust me anymore."
It wasn't a question, least it was not posed as one. Dean let loose a soft chuckle at that, lowering his head into his chest once before looking back up at his brother and giving him a sheepish little grin.
"I lied."
"…"
"Sure I've been a little paranoid lately, but I never really lost faith in you, Sammy. Not even after all the things you said or did because I know it wasn't you – it was the stupic Ruby-crack you were on. I get it now, but I was just… well, you know…"
Sam frowned. "No, I don't know."
Dean huffed almost petulantly. "Dude, you put us through hell, alright? No pun intended but, you know what I mean, man. I just… I was mad, alright?"
"…"
"That's really it, Sammy, I'm just… I've been… angry. Really, really angry. At myself, for leaving you alone and vulnerable for Ruby to manipulate you. At Bobby for not taking beter care of you. At you for not keeping your promise to me, lying to me, and worse of all – not trusting me…"
"…"
"That one really hurt, man."
"I know. I'm sorry."
They looked at each other, really looked at each other for what felt like the first time in… ever. Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing – this sudden light in his big brother's eyes had been missing for a while now.
A thousand tons of weight was lifted off his shoulders and Sam could finally raise his head and look up into the rising sun again. Dawn was breaking.
Sam wiped the tears off his face and sniveled. "And now?"
Dean turned to gaze toward the long winding road ahead.
"And now we fight."
"Another losing battle?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Where is your faith, heathen?"
Sam chuckled, sitting up in his seat at last as Dean revved the engine. "You realize we're going to be fighting for the rest of our severely shortened lives, right?"
Dean grinned, his eyes twinkling with mirth that reminded Sam of a reckless and carefree twenty-one year old brother he once knew.
"When did we ever stop?"
**
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
*** END ***
A/N: And that's it :) I didn't think I could try and resolve the whole Lucifer walks again issue in this story heh. Just wanted to write about the boys finding their brotherhood again, or at least beginning to. Pls let me know what you think?
