A/N: Yes, this chapter is really long, aren't you guys lucky? And yes, the rating did go up ;)

After a couple of hours (at least that's what it felt like) of watching Adam dragging his feet behind him, Sam's conscience berated him into taking a break and the two of them sat down on a remotely smooth area of rocky ground.

"Go to sleep if you want," Sam said. "I'll stay and keep lookout."

"Sure?" Adam asked, not bothering to disguise his gratitude toward the idea.

Sam nodded. "Just be careful. This place can effect your dreams. Think happy thoughts, eh?"

Adam seemed too exhausted to bother arguing much, curling up on the ground and shuffling to get comfortable as best he could, before closing his eyes.

Sam pursed his lips, suppressing a guilty sigh. He knew he should tell Adam the trick about finding a happy place to stay in. He could conjure one and let the poor boy sleep on a proper bed, but his own mind was racing too much for anything of the sort. Besides, he wasn't sure he could bring Adam into a place with him. He and Lucifer had been able to be together through their connection, and though Adam was technically his half-brother, Sam had to confess to knowing very little about him, certainly not enough to know what would be a true place of happiness for him.

He hadn't realised how much his own mind had been wandering, until he looked up and saw Lucifer standing a few feet away.

Delight spreading across his face, Sam clambered quickly to his feet and ran over. "Lucifer!"

One moment he was running toward him, and then next he wasn't there. Sam stumbled to a stop, looking round in confusion.

"You left me."

The voice came from behind him. He whirled round, almost instantly stumbling back.

Lucifer was stood no more than a foot away. He looked like Nick again. At least he did underneath the blood. His clothes were torn, ripped so they were no more than shreds hanging haphazardly off of his frame. Most of the remaining material was stained red. He was cut up all over. A flap of fabric over his chest, once the pale green t-shirt, shifted to reveal a wound underneath. It was leaking grace, a glowing pale light shining out.

"...Lucifer." Sam's voice was shaking. Eyes wide and trembling, he reached out, laying his hand over the open chest wound, as if trying to staunch it. The light seeped around his fingers. "No. Lucifer..."

"You left me, Sam," Lucifer spoke again. "You let Michael do this to me."

"No. No. I didn't... I didn't mean to..."

"You left me." The words were faint now. With the last syllable, Lucifer fell backwards, head lolling as he hit the ground. His wings were scorched across the rock either side of him.

Sam screamed.

"Sam?"

He was vaguely aware of Adam's voice behind him. He ignored it, throwing him onto the ground beside Lucifer, reaching out for him, to shake him awake, to do something, anything.

The ground was empty.

Blinking through his tears, Sam stared down at the rocky floor, Adam's footsteps approaching from behind, before skidding to a stop beside him.

"Sam? What's wrong? What the hell are you doing?"

Running his hand across the floor, Sam let out a shaky breath. It hadn't been real. Illusions. Hell tricks. Nothing more.

Finally tuning in to Adam's nervousness beside him, Sam looked up at him apologetically. "Sorry," he said. "I was... seeing stuff. It wasn't real."

"It's okay," Adam muttered. He paused. "What did you see?"

Sam debated telling him that he'd been screaming and crying over seeing the devil die. He shook his head. "It was nothing. Just... kind of gross and gory. Doesn't bear thinking about." Trying not to let Adam see that he was still shaking slightly, he got to his feet. "Come on, we should keep moving."

"You still want to find Michael and Lucifer?" Adam asked, sounding distinctly as if he were attempting to mask the hope that Sam may have changed his mind.

Sam nodded. "Well, I want to find Lucifer. I don't care about Michael."

"He's not so bad," Adam said meekly. "Before we went to fight the big battle- or well, whatever happened- he talked to me a bit. Told me stuff about why it was all happening."

Sam glanced down at him curiously as they walked. "What did he say?"

Adam shrugged mildly. "Just about how Lucifer chose to go against their Father, and how it caused all this fighting. Michael was actually pretty upset about it."

"Lucifer was upset too," Sam said before he could stop himself.

Adam frowned. "But Lucifer caused it all."

"Yes," Sam said tersely. "But he only did all of it because he felt he needed to. It wasn't for no reason." Sam paused, taking a moment to question whether or not he should be defending the devil. But with everything Lucifer had told him, he couldn't help but agree that Lucifer did have a point. He had understood every argument Lucifer had made to him, and generally agreed with all of them. "Michael should have at least tried to listen to Lucifer's point of view."

"But Lucifer did all that bad stuff."

"No," Sam insisted shaking his head. "It's not as simple as that. He thought he was doing the right thing." His mind flashed back to his own experiences with the demon blood and Dean's protests. "You have to consider why people do things, not just that they're doing them."

Adam seemed about to say something more, when a dry laugh interrupted them, snapping both brothers' heads forward.

"You sound just like Lucifer."

Their gazes were drawn quickly downward, toward Michael who had disguised himself in the form of young John Winchester, presumably to save their eyes. Although he apparently couldn't do anything to hide the large wings splayed from his back, one of which was pinned jaggedly to the ground with an angel blade. They were pure white the wings, at least underneath the shade of dust and dirt from Hell, not the mention the blood seeping into his feathers around the wound.

Adam, still unused to the general gore and ruthlessness Sam was so familiar with in his life, was staring wide-eyed and pale-looking.

"Where's Lucifer?" Sam said.

Michael's eyes narrowed as he shifted in clear discomfort. "Maybe I killed him."

A sickening jolt he would rather not question shot through Sam's system, but logic quickly pushed it aside. "With a sword through your wing? I don't think so. If you'd struck a fatal blow after that, Lucifer would be lying here, too. Where is he?"

Michael scoffed, turning his head away. For a few moments, he remained silent, seeming for the mere sake of aggravation, before he finally spoke up. "He's looking for you."

Again, Sam's emotions swept him away into feelings he wasn't sure he should have, but it would have been simply absurd to try and deny to himself that what he had just felt wasn't elation.

However, it wasn't anything compared to the effect Michael's next words had on him.

"He's in love with you." The eldest archangel shifted on the ground, wincing slightly as he jarred his wing. He gave the wound a glance, frowning, but continued speaking nonetheless. "It's hardly as romantic as it sounds, but he's given up the idea of Heaven in exchange for you. Believe me, Lucifer's obsessive, when he wants something he won't let it go. You have to understand, Sam, that he cares about you too much in some ways. I know my brother. I know in his mind he'll have worlds to give you, things to offer you you can't imagine, but he'll bind you to him forever."

"What are you trying to say Michael?" Sam asked.

Michael sighed. "That perhaps you need to contemplate just how long forever is. You may not be dead, but you're here, and that's as good as. You won't die down here, you have no aging body. The same as if you had stayed as Lucifer's vessel on earth. My brother plans to keep you forever, whether as his vessel, or down here with him." He was leaning up on one elbow now, turned toward his injured wing and looking up at Sam intently. "If you let him in, Sam, in any way, if you decide this is what you want, it's for good. Are you willing to stay by Lucifer forever?"

The words were heavy and Sam couldn't help but contemplate them. He was honestly slightly amazed that Michael was trying to give him advice, but the archangel made a valid point. Even with all his experiences, he knew his human mind couldn't really wrap around the daunting concept of forever, but he tried nonetheless. Forever. With Lucifer. He thought about his life up until that moment, as that was the longest time period he knew. Twenty-seven years of life, much of which he'd felt out of place for, until what had seemed a blundering error had opened a bloody doorway on the floor of an old convent, from which flooded the brightest literal and metaphorical light of his life. And suddenly, he'd found not only something that loved him (even as others had, Dean, Bobby, Jess), but vitally understood him. And for the first time, Sam had felt like he'd belonged, that someone wanted him, just simply because he was him.

It was a nice feeling.

It was- yes- a feeling he believed he could live forever with.

"Yes," Sam said. "Forever sounds fine by me." Despite everything, he felt a smile creeping into his face. "He waited so long for me, forever is the least I can give him in return. I love him, too."

Michael gave something between a laugh and a sigh, rolling onto his back so he was lying on the ground once more. "I have to say this is a twist of fate I never expected... Nothing's happened as I expected." He seemed to slowly exhale, though Sam was unsure whether angels breathed, eyes slipping shut. "I can't forgive him. What he's done, it's too much."

"Are you still planning to kill him?" Sam asked.

For a few moments, Michael didn't move, before his eyes finally opened once more. "Not if he has you. You are the one human that Lucifer has tried to love, as our Father asked us to. It's an irony I'm not sure Lucifer even realizes. And I think it's maybe as close to any kind of redemption that he's going to get." Slowly, he turned his head to look toward Sam. "I can't forgive Lucifer. I will forever be angry at Lucifer for what he did. But as long as you're with him, as long as you continue to give Lucifer something to feel for other than anger, I'll stay my hand."

It was far from a perfect answer, but Sam knew when to take his chances. He nodded. "I should find him." He paused, glancing down at Adam who had been watching the whole exchange in a slight overwhelmed manner. "Can you take care of Adam?" he asked, turning back to face Michael. "God said you're to serve humans, right? Well this one could do with some protection."

Michael glanced at the younger brother and nodded. "You've served me kindly, Adam. And the company would be appreciated. Until someone comes to return us to Heaven." His voice was weaker at the end, shadowed with doubt. Sam could tell he was starting to comprehend the idea that perhaps no one was coming for them, but he thought best not to push it. Michael would have to accept that fact in his own time.

"What about your wing?" Adam asked. "You're bleeding."

Michael shook his head. "Lucifer didn't strike to kill, only to stop me following him. I gave him a fair few injuries during our fight when I cast him down here. It'll heal. Think you can help me pull the blade out?"

Adam looked hesitant, but nodded bravely, stepping forward.

Sam stopped him briefly, pulling his younger brother into a tight embrace. "Take care," he said. "When I find Lucifer, maybe we'll meet up with you sometime. We're all going to be okay."

"I hope so," Adam mumbled into his chest.

"I'm sorry again you got pulled into all this."

"It's okay." Adam leant back with something close to a smile. "Honestly, from what I've heard about you and Dean's life, this is kind of to be expected as a Winchester."

Sam grinned and nodded, patting his brother's shoulder, casting one last look at Michael, before turning on his heel to leave. "Teach him that trick about projecting a happy place from memory," Sam said. "Keep Adam safe."

Michael nodded, watching closely as Adam wrapped both hands around the angel blade and yanked it out firmly. He grunted in obvious pain, wincing, but otherwise remaining unfazed. He cast a weak smile over at Sam that almost reminded him of Dean. "Good luck."

Sam smiled back in response, took a deep breath, and walked off.

There was no direction, no up or down, or left or right, or forward or back, but as if something were leading him, after an indistinguishable (as it always was in Hell) amount of time, he found him.

Lucifer's back was to him. He looked like Nick. Briefly, Sam worried it was another illusion, but as he turned and caught sight of Sam, his form exploded into something colossal and endlessly beautiful, and when Sam gazed upon it, the overwhelmingness of it passed quickly as something within him recognised it as well as his own reflection. He couldn't have described it if he had tried, but he knew it. Lucifer. Just Lucifer.

He continued to walk forward until they met. He couldn't see his own body, but it didn't matter. He wasn't scared. He didn't feel lost as a floating soul. He knew himself better than perhaps he ever had. He was here, Sam Winchester, with his other half, Lucifer, his angel.

"I don't ever want to leave you again," he whispered.

Lucifer wrapped around him like a galaxy enclosing on one man, a comforting mass of celestial energy embracing him, binding with him, holding him tight.

"I'm always with you, Sam." The voice wasn't made of human sounds, but Sam understood it all the same. It was like hearing his own thoughts. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," Sam whispered. "Good." He let his eyes fall shut, though he no longer had eyes. He let the physical world fall away. It was like creating one of the phantom spaces from happy memories, expect this was something he knew better than any real place he'd ever been.

In this metaphysical world, he fell back onto a bed his mind dreamed up, better than the rocky floor. Everything could be perfect with a sheer thought. He'd found Heaven in Hell, as Lucifer pulled off his clothes, kneeling between his legs, touching him with such love and affection, staring down at him as if he were the most perfect thing he'd ever seen.

"Isn't this kind of... human for you?" Sam asked, unable to mask his curiosity.

Lucifer smiled down at him, seeming amused. "Do animals not do this, too? Love in all forms is good, Sam. I want to know you in every way."

He had such a strong hold on himself, on Lucifer, on who he was, on the whole world and everything in it, that he could feel the body he didn't have. He could feel the heat flushed across his face, the goosebumps across his skin, and the building ache in his cock.

Lucifer's hands ran up his thighs, moving to undo his belt. His jeans were quickly removed, joining his shoes and socks on the floor. Lucifer himself was still dressed, and Sam groaned his protest, reaching up to all but rip the over-shirt back and down his arms. He cast it aside. It might have vanished into thin air for all he knew, but he couldn't have cared less about Hell's physics right now.

Lucifer took the hint, hauling the other shirt he wore up and over his head, already kicking off his boots.

Sam ran his hands down Lucifer's chest appreciatively. It looked like Nick for this, of course, but he felt it suited Lucifer, the strong, thick, soft flesh. He felt powerful. Sam dug his nails in, grinning in satisfaction as Lucifer's breath seemed to hitch.

Shuffling quickly out of his jeans, Lucifer pushed Sam back down onto the bed, marveling briefly at the way his hair seemed to flutter around his head as he hit the pillow, quickly moving on top of him to press their lips together. He smiled as Sam moaned into his mouth, letting the length of his body fall to press flush against Sam's, knee to knee, hip to hip, something warm and hard brushing against his stomach through the fabric of Sam's underwear.

"Eager," Lucifer muttered against his lips.

Sam moaned softly, grinning between kisses. "Of course. It's like I've been waiting my whole life for this."

"Not as long as I've waited," Lucifer responded, smashing their lips together so hard Sam was rendered quite literally speechless.

Flustered, hands shaking, Sam parted his lips to allow Lucifer's tongue into his mouth. A fine tremble shot through him as he detected something distinctly unfamiliar, poking around experimentally until he was certain that, surely enough, Lucifer's tongue really was forked. The resulting sound he made into Lucifer's mouth was so desperate, he felt Lucifer smirk in response. But Sam was beyond caring, bucking his hips up, cursing himself for letting either of them keep their underwear on.

Lucifer seemed to sense his thoughts. Or possibly hear them. Sam wouldn't have been surprised. They were so close to being one entity, it was entirely possible. And Lucifer seemed to know just what he wanted, as he pulled away from Sam's mouth to press gentle kisses all down his body, going from his chin, to his neck, to his heaving chest, to the chiseled muscles of his stomach, his hip bones, to- finally- the waistband of his underwear. Lucifer pulled at it playfully with his teeth, grinning as Sam tried to press closer, before putting the hunter out of his misery and pulled his briefs straight off.

Sam groaned, head thrown back, as his erection was freed, feeling the blood pump within it, seeming to rush south from every other part of his body. He moved a hand round to touch himself, but Lucifer slapped it away. Sam whined.

"Patience, Sammy." Lucifer drew back briefly, ignoring Sam's protests. He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of the boxers (presumably Nick's) he was wearing, pushing them down almost painfully slowly. The outline of his cock had been clear enough through the fabric, but something about seeing it made Sam writhe desperately on the bed, parting his legs before he'd even bothered considering the roles of how they would do this.

Lucifer seemed pleased by his enthusiasm, adjusting his position slightly, he curled his fingers lightly around himself, stroking the shaft from base to tip. The flushed head of his cock was already damp, a thin sheen of sweat covering his skin. Sam was amazed to see the noticeable blush to his cheeks, watching in fascination the way Lucifer's chest heaved as he touched himself, stomach sucking in slightly, hands even slightly trembling. He was biting his bottom lip to keep from making a sound, but Sam was determined to rectify that.

Grabbing hold of Lucifer's hips, he pulled the archangel toward him, forcing Lucifer to crawl closer as Sam shuffled down the bed until Lucifer was basically straddling his shoulders. Drawing in a shaky breath to steady his nerves, Sam angled his head to fit his mouth around Lucifer's cock, practically swallowing him down before drawing back with an agonising slowness, lips tight around the shaft.

And to his satisfaction, Lucifer's breath hitched and gasped, before, finally, a choked moan escaped from between his lips.

Sam smirked as best he could with his mouth full, dipping his head down again, letting the weight of it rest against his tongue. His own cock was burning, throbbing in need of release, but he would hold out. He focused on Lucifer, using his hand to stroke where his mouth couldn't reach, caressing the base of his shaft and balls, stroking his hands over them, squeezing gently, moving up to grip the base as he set up a rhythm. Mouth wet and hot, he continued his assault, taking satisfaction from every gasp and keening noise Lucifer made above him, until the archangel grabbed hold of his hair and firmly but gently pulled him back.

Sam let Lucifer's cock slip from his mouth with a wet sound, head falling back as he shuffled down the bed, feet planted on the mattress, legs parted as Lucifer took hold of his thighs and moved Sam to where he wanted him.

There was a bottle of lube on the bedside table, as Sam had wished it there. Lucifer wasted no time in coating his fingers, lathering them generously, before trailing one cool fingertip around Sam's entrance. He waited until he drew a whimper from Sam, before finally pushing inside.

Sam moaned at the unfamiliar invasion, shifted his hips, clenching experimentally as Lucifer eased another finger inside of him. He stared, open-mouthed, up at the nonexistent ceiling as Lucifer caressed him, until a gentle touch on his thigh drew his attention.

He ducked his head slightly to meet Lucifer's gaze where the archangel was leaning over him. Sam could see his other arm shifting, presumably coating himself in the lubricant. He looked ethereally gorgeous, blondish hair mused, face flushed, blue eyes bright and staring at him questioningly.

"What?" Sam breathed.

"I want to know you're sure," Lucifer said. "That you want this. Your consent is important to me, Sam."

Sam smiled shakily, memories of Lucifer's courtship for him as a vessel coming to mind. "Yes," he said, almost laughing at the connotations of the word. "Yes, I want this."

Lucifer smiled back, scissoring his fingers inside Sam's entrance, adjusting his position and waiting for Sam to raise his hips slightly, before gentle guiding his erection inside of him.

Sam gasped and writhed at the sensation, shakily puffing out air in an attempt to control himself, before throwing his head back, clenching his eyes shut. Briefly, he wasn't sure he could take it, the feeling of Lucifer's thick cock pushing inside of him, but forcing himself to breathe, he realised it was getting easier, his body becoming used to the sensation, muscles clenching and fitting around him until it started to feel good.

Lucifer was gripping the sheets either side of his head, pushing deeper, adjusting his position experimentally until he found something he and Sam were both comfortable with and he began to pull back and in again, over and over, driving deep until he touched something within Sam that made the hunter cry out in ecstasy.

Sam was bucking his hips up to get Lucifer deeper inside of him, groaning and whining out half-formed words and cries of Lucifer's name, voice deep, husky, hitting timbers he'd never heard from himself before. His hands scrambled up Lucifer's arms, coiling round to grip his back, nails digging in and drawing lines down the soft flesh. "Oh... Oh God..."

"This has nothing to do with my Father, Sam," Lucifer replied breathlessly, thrusting his hips forward, lips parting in a gasp, shoulders tensing under Sam's hands. "Sam..."

The hunter whined in response, cock throbbing against his stomach, pre-cum dampening his abdomen. He moved a hand down to touch it again, but once more, Lucifer slapped him away, finishing the motion instead and grabbing Sam's length.

"Ugh... Lucifer..." Sam curled tighter towards him in a position he hadn't previously known possible, letting his forehead rest on Lucifer's shoulder, hair sticking to his skin, hips bucking madly as Lucifer's hand worked him up and down in time with his thrusts. "Lucifer!"

Sam had had a fair few sexual partners in his life, but he was sure none had ever felt this good. Everything he'd ever felt up until this moment felt dulled and pointless. How had he ever even contemplated saying no to all of this? How had he even ever survived without this?

Lucifer shuddered, thrust deeper, hand tightening on Sam's cock. The heat building in his stomach seemed to be reaching his peak, when some last semblance of control broke with him in a way he hadn't expected, as with a rushing swoop of wind, his wings unfurled from his back, arching up and spreading themselves.

Sam seemed to draw some strange pleasure for this, wide and bleary eyed as he reached one hand toward them like a moth drawn to a flame. His fingers touched feathers and curled around them, making Lucifer stutter out a moan so loud and out of control Sam was sure it must have been his true voice for a moment.

Sam's other hand rose up to grip his other wing, using them as leverage to hold himself to Lucifer as they moved together, the archangel thrusting deep with him as Sam rocked his hips almost madly. He gave Sam's cock another, long, sensuous stroke, and with a cry of pure ecstasy, Sam's hips jutted forward and he spilt over Lucifer's fingers, only moment before the archangel came himself.

Lucifer cried out as the heat flushed over his body, waves of pleasure trembling over his skin as his seed filled Sam until it was spilling out of him.

They rode out the final tremors of orgasm together, foreheads almost touching as Sam forced his heavy eyes open and met Lucifer's gaze with a shaky smile.

Lucifer grinned back, groaned, and let himself collapse on top of the Winchester, ignoring the sticky substance between them, their skin flushed and damp and burning with the contact.

Sam was breathing heavily, hands still gripping Lucifer's back as if afraid he'd disappear. He sighed deeply, turning and burying his face in Lucifer's neck, as the two large wings fell to drape over either side of the bed.

"I'm never leaving you," Sam promised in a panting whisper, eyes half-lidded. "I love you, Lucifer. Even if it's Hell, I'll stay with you forever."