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AN: Thanks to SandraEngstrom2, AjPeanuts, and Kazluvsbooks for pre-reading!
Stairway to Heaven—Chapter Twenty-six
A month after their defeat of Pestilence and the explosion at the Niveus factory, Sam and Lucifer leave their comfortable motel room in town and head to Bobby's.
The last four weeks have been the best Sam can remember. They haven't hunted, as there have been no new cases for them, and he has spent every free minute with Lucifer. He wakes to the angel sitting beside him in the bed, and he falls asleep in Lucifer's arms. He has never been so happy or at peace, not even in his Stanford days with Jessica. Then, he had been hiding part of himself for her protection and his own, not now; Lucifer knows and loves every part of him, and there are no secrets between them.
Lucifer opens Bobby's door and gestures for Sam to go in ahead of him. As Sam enters the house, he sees Dean sitting on the edge of the desk eating a bowl of cereal.
"Morning," Sam says brightly.
Dean nods.
"You want some breakfast?" Bobby calls from the kitchen.
"No thanks. Lucifer brought me pancakes from the diner."
Dean swallows his mouthful and scoffs. "You're becoming quite the spoilt brat, you know?"
Sam laughs and pats his stomach. "Yep. Jealous?"
"As if," Dean says, rolling his eyes. "What are you two doing here so early anyway?"
"Lucifer woke me early," Sam says.
Dean pretends to gag. "I don't need to know that stuff, Sam."
Sam grins. "It wasn't that. Apparently, angel chatter was loud. He woke me complaining about it."
"What's up with that?" Dean asks Lucifer. "Something big happening?"
Lucifer shrugs. "I tuned it out soon after it started. I merely know something has my brothers excited."
Castiel arrives then, and he moves directly to Lucifer. "Did you hear?"
Lucifer nods. "Some. I tuned it out fast, though. I have no desire to hear them congratulating each other on their own brilliance."
Castiel frowns. "I could not hear it clearly. Since my fall, I have been excluded from their discussion. I was reliant on you to hear.
Sam sidles up beside Lucifer and entwines their hands. "Why do we even want to hear? Why does it matter?"
"Because it could be important, Sam," Castiel says impatiently. "The last time the communication in Heaven was so loud was the day I raised Dean from Perdition."
"Okay," Sam says. "It's important." He turns to Lucifer. "Can you tune in and see what's got them so jumpy?"
"I wouldn't bother," a familiar and hated voice says. "It's all a bunch of self congratulation going on at the moment. It's all a bit ridiculous if you ask me."
Sam spins around, and he sees the Trickster sitting on the edge of Bobby's countertop. He scowls. He doesn't care that it's apparently Lucifer's brother, the archangel Gabriel. To Sam, he will always be the Trickster, the creature that forced him to watch his brother die over and over again.
"Gabriel." Lucifer smiles at his brother. "What can we do for you?"
"I bring you tidings, dear brother."
Dean snorts. "Of great joy?"
Gabriel shakes his head. "Depends on your point of view. Now, first things first, why didn't I know you had a baby brother? Other than Gigantor over there, of course."
"Adam?" Sam says. "What's he got to do with anything?"
"He's got something to do with everything," Gabriel says. He scoots off the counter and walks into the study. "It seems he has risen again. Bit cliché if you ask me. Like that's never happened before. Hell, you two"—he gestures between Sam and Dean—"do it so often it's practically commonplace."
"What are you here to say, Gabriel?" Lucifer asks, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Gabriel turns to look at Lucifer, and the bright smile he has been sporting fades. "He's coming for you, Lucifer."
Lucifer takes an automatic step back. "But Dean hasn't... The brother?"
Gabriel nods. "Freshly risen for the occasion."
"What's happening, Lucifer?" Sam asks. He's worried now. Lucifer looks nervous.
"Michael is coming," Lucifer says heavily. "He has taken your brother, Adam, as a vessel, and he is coming for me."
"But he can't!" Sam says. "Dean is his vessel."
"Technically, it's a bloodline thing. Anyone of your father's line will do," Gabriel says.
"How do you know this?" Lucifer asks.
"I heard the chatter this morning, so I made a quick trip home. You should have seen their faces. Michael's especially was something to savor."
"You went to Heaven?" Lucifer asks incredulously.
Gabriel nods. "Yes, and I arrived in time to see the news coming in live. Adam has been raised. It's all down to that malignant meddler Zachariah."
Dean curses. "I knew there was a reason I hated that guy."
Gabriel nods. "You're not the only one, Deano. We all hate him, but he's smart, which is the problem. Your little brother is primed and ready for vessel duty which means..."
"Michael is coming for me," Lucifer says.
"No!" Sam shakes his head jerkily. "He can't do that!"
Sam's mind reels. He can't think. Michael coming for Lucifer. That can't be true. It just can't. Lucifer is good now. Why would Michael want to kill him?
"Doesn't he know about Lucifer's change of heart?" Dean asks. "There's no need for him to go smiting now."
Sam lifts his head hopefully. "Does he know?"
Gabriel nods. "He knows, and it doesn't change anything. You must understand, Michael isn't concerned with protecting the world from Lucifer—this fight will destroy half the planet. He is doing it because he believes it is what our father wants him to do."
Sam feels like he has been punched in the gut. All he believed of Heaven and Hell and angels has been destroyed over the past few years, but he's never lost faith in a merciful God, until now. What kind of God would demand Lucifer be killed when he has renounced evil?
Lucifer guides Sam to a chair and sits him down just in time, as Sam's legs seem to have given up their task of holding him upright. He stands beside him, resting a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"What the hell are we going to do?" Bobby asks in a breathless voice.
Gabriel stares at Lucifer and a moment of communication passes between them.
"No," Lucifer says brutally. "I must fight him."
"But the world will be destroyed," Dean says. "There has to be another way."
"There is," Gabriel says. "You can use the rings..."
"I tell you no!" Lucifer shouts. "I'm not doing that again."
"Lucifer, I know it's hard, but you have to see—"
"I said no!" Lucifer bellows. He releases Sam's shoulder and he marches out of the house.
"Lucifer?" Sam gets to his feet and makes to follow, but Dean lays a hand on his arm.
"Just give him a minute," he says.
Outside, there is a crack of thunder and rain begins to pelt the windows.
"Could someone explain what's going on, please?" Bobby says. "'Cause other than the fact the boys' brother has been taken as a vessel, I didn't understand a word of that."
Gabriel sighs and flops down onto a chair, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hand, he speaks. "Michael has his vessel, which means he is now, or soon will be, coming for Lucifer." He shoots Sam a sympathetic look. "He doesn't care that Lucifer is now housetrained. He thinks he's on a holy mission."
"What's this about rings?" Dean asks.
Gabriel taps his chin. "That's where things get a little... awkward. The horsemen's ring can reopen the cage Sam freed Lucifer from. Lucifer can go back to Hell, therefore cancelling Michael's holy mission."
Sam shakes his head jerkily. "No. He's not doing that!"
"Sammy, what other option do we have?" Dean asks. "If Michael and Lucifer fight, it will destroy half the world."
"No," Sam says angrily. He gets to his feet and goes to the door. Throwing it open, he marches out onto the porch and pounds down the stairs.
He thinks Dean gets up to follow, as he hears Bobby's voice. "No, Dean, leave him be."
xXx
Lucifer doesn't go far. He can't bear to be apart from Sam, but he has to be away to vent his fury before it results in Sam getting hurt. The storm comes, and he is quickly drenched to the skin. He cares not; it makes no difference to him.
He cannot go back to the cage. The cage is to be alone, to be without Sam. The very thought of it is abhorrent.
He clenches his fists and a bolt of lightning touches down on the ground in front of him. He realizes he is being careless, the house could be hit, and he tries to tamp down his fury. The lightning ceases, but the rain continues.
He hears the door slam and then Sam's voice calling out to him. "Lucifer! Lucifer, please!
He steps around a stack of cars and sees Sam running down the steps, his eyes roving, looking for Lucifer.
"I'm here," he says gently.
Sam runs to him and falls into his open arms. "I'm sorry," Sam says. "I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Lucifer says, stroking Sam's back. "None of this is your fault."
Sam leans back to look him in the eye. "It feels like my fault. Like I should have known. I didn't even think of Adam. I thought it had to be Dean or no one."
Lucifer cups Sam's face in one hand and runs the pad of his thumb over his cheek. "You weren't to know. I didn't. I never imagined Michael's vendetta would continue when I renounced the apocalypse. I thought he would be satisfied."
"What can we do?" Sam asks. "Can we run? We could go now. We can stay on the run."
Lucifer smiles. "You would do that? Give up your family, your life, for me?"
Sam nods. "Of course."
Lucifer is overwhelmed with love for Sam. It fills him. No one has ever offered to give him themselves in the way Sam has. No one has loved him like this before.
"I cannot ask you to do that," Lucifer says. "Besides, it will not work. Michael will seek me wherever I go. Sooner or later, he will find me."
"Then what do we do?" Sam asks desperately.
Lucifer sighs. He knows there are only two options, to meet Michael on the battlefield or to banish himself to the cage again. To do one would be to break the heart of the man he loves, and to do the other would be to break himself. He can't go back to the cage. He can't. He would rather die.
He looks into Sam's wide trusting eyes, and he knows the choice is made for him without his consent. Sam believes he is a good person now. Everything he is trying to be now is to emulate Sam. He knows what Sam would do if in his position. It's what Sam would never ask Lucifer to do for him, even though he needs it.
He must banish himself back to the cage.
To fight Michael would be to risk the destruction of the earth, and that act would destroy Sam. He has given everything to protecting others; Lucifer must follow his example and give himself to protect the man he loves. He couldn't care less about the rest of the world. They can burn for all he cares. What matters now is Sam and what Sam needs him to do.
"We cannot run and I cannot fight," he says gently.
Sam nods. "I know, but we have no choice."
Lucifer smiles wryly. Sam doesn't even consider Lucifer going back to the cage. It doesn't register with him as an option. He loves Lucifer so much that he doesn't even think of it, despite it being the only viable option for humankind. That is why Lucifer has to do it, to protect Sam.
"I must return to the cage," he says heavily.
Sam jerks back from him. "No!"
"Sam, you must see. It's the only way."
Sam shakes his head jerkily. "You can't leave me."
Lucifer reaches for Sam, but Sam flinches away from his touch. "Sam, please."
"No, Lucifer!" Sam says brutally. "We have to find another way. We can talk to Michael. Explain that things are different now. We can..."
For the first time since taking on this vessel, Lucifer understands the expression 'heartbreaking'. As he can feel it. His heart is breaking as he watches Sam struggle to find a solution.
"There has to be something we can do!" Sam says plaintively.
"I wish there was," Lucifer says. "You don't know how much I wish that. But there isn't. I cannot go to Michael. When we meet, we fight, that's all there is to it. Michael will not give me a chance to explain."
"But I could..."
Lucifer presses a finger to Sam's mouth, halting the flow of words. "There is nothing we can do, Sam."
Sam blinks and a tear rolls down his cheek. "This isn't fair. You've changed. Why can't he see that?"
Lucifer presses his forehead to Sam's. "Because he is a good son that does as he is ordered. Many millennia ago, Michael was given the task of being my jailer, and he is devoted to that order."
"He's a dick," Sam says bitterly.
Lucifer chuckles. "I don't disagree. Now, calm yourself down. We should go back inside. You're going to get sick standing out here in the rain."
Sam nods and wipes at his face. "Okay. Do we... When do we have to do this? How much time do we have?"
"A few days maybe."
Sam moans. "That's not long enough."
"It will have to be. There are things that we must do. I need Death's ring."
"Not today," Sam pleads. "Can't we just go somewhere together? Just us. I don't want to be with people now."
"As you wish. Let's just speak to your brother, explain what's happening, and then we can go away together. The world is at your feet. Where would you like to go?"
Sam considers for a moment, but only one place comes to mind. "Membata."
Lucifer nods. "Membata it is."
Lucifer takes Sam's hand and he leads him back to the house. He has to guide Sam, as he seems to be on autopilot. Lucifer is needed to be the strong one when he feels the furthest thing from strong. He is going back to the cage and leaving Sam behind. The thought of it terrifies him.
xXx
It's late, and Sam and Lucifer are sitting on the beach and waiting for the sun to reach the horizon. They have spent the day alone on the island, both of them trying to ignore what's happening and concentrating on being together.
As the sun reaches the horizon, Sam leans back on his elbows and looks into Lucifer's eyes. He is surrounded by light from the sinking sun, creating a halo around his head. He has never seemed more ethereal or beautiful to Sam. He looks like the angel he is, and Sam wonders for perhaps the hundredth time what kind of god could demand this sacrifice of his own son.
"What are you thinking?" Lucifer asks, tracing a finger over Sam's cheek and across his lips. "You seem deep in thought."
"I was thinking that you are an angel," Sam says.
Lucifer laughs. "You knew that already. A fallen angel I may be, but I am still an angel."
Sam smiles sadly and nods. "I meant in the cliché human sense. You are my angel. You have done so much for me, and now..."
"Now I have to leave you," Lucifer says.
Sam shakes his head. "I don't want to talk about that now. Can we just... I don't know... pretend?"
Lucifer nods and leans back on one elbow facing Sam. "If that is what you want, of course we can pretend."
Sam moves closer to Lucifer and lays down flat on the sand, looking up into Lucifer's face. "It's been perfect, being here with you. I wish we could do this forever."
Lucifer nods. "There are many things I wish I could show you. We have the world and time to travel, but no time to do it."
Sam frowns. "Pretending, remember? Tell me where you would take me."
Lucifer smiles. "I want to show you the world as it was before humanity took over. Whole continents with nothing but nature. We could travel anywhere and everywhere, seeing whoever you wish to see."
Sam smiles sadly. "That sounds nice. You know, for all the travelling Dean and I do, I've hardly seen anything of the world. I've never even seen the Grand Canyon."
"I will show it to you," Lucifer promises. "And every other wonder you can think of."
Sam knows this will never happen, they are just pretending, but he closes his eyes and lets Lucifer whisper to him about all the places they will go.
When the sun sinks fully and stars come out in its place, they lay back together with their hands entwined staring up at the heavens. When Sam gets cold, Lucifer builds him a driftwood fire and they sit curled around each other, staring into the flames.
And later, when Lucifer leans over Sam and kisses him, Sam allows him to take control and to make him forget that this isn't just a night, it's their last night.
AN: Ummmm … sorry?