Author's note: Thanks so much to CassxDeano, Maknatuna, Nicolene B, AnninaSA (you know what you have to do ;-)), Maddy Love Castiel, LeeMarieJack, CherylB1964, Treeni, QuietCrash, LadyGrelka, keacdragon, Anon, XxZessxX, ViolateHim and harrylee94 for last chapter's reviews!
Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!
28
"Chicken salad, dressing at the side," Dean announced, distaste written all over his face as he put his brother's dinner in front of the giant rabbit-man. The oldest Winchester decided to go on a food run himself this time, because his burgers tended to get cold while Sam and Gabriel had a make out session in the car instead of delivering the food as they were meant to. At least, Dean suspected that was the reason why his meals tended to be suspiciously lukewarm every time the happy couple went to get takeout. Baby would never be the same already, no need to traumatize her further!
"So, apparently there's a lot of beings and things that could force people to tell the truth," Sam stated as he inspected his meal, "At least we're pretty sure it's not the horn of Gabriel."
The horn of truth, also called the horn of Gabriel, could have been used to force people to be brutally honest against their will, but Gabriel's word that the horn was not to blame was good enough for the younger Winchester to instantly scrap that theory.
"Pretty sure, I mean I can't quite remember where I left the thing, but..." Gabriel quipped, bumping his shoulder against Sam's playfully. The former archangel was sure that Castiel or Balthazar would have let him know if his horn had gone missing from the armory. Besides, the thing had the slight side effect of attracting angels to its sound. They would have definitely known by now if the horn had anything to do with their case.
"You're so lucky you're pretty," Sam laughed, even as he shook his head exasperatedly, "And that I love you."
"Don't I know it?" Gabriel replied as he leaned it to touch his lips to Sam's.
Dean cleared his throat noisily. The oldest Winchester was trying not to overreact every time Sam and Gabriel added another entry to their PDA offenders record, but given how frequently those two were disgustingly sweet around each other it was difficult at times.
"Bacon cheeseburger and chili cheese fries," Dean announced and handed Gabriel his meal, before he added sincerely, "Man after my own heart."
Both Gabriel and Sam blinked a couple times after Dean's random little show of -dare they think- fondness. In the end it was the former archangel who asked, "What did you just say, Dean-o?"
"What? I mean it's true. If we'd never met you as the trickster, we could have been buddies. Hell, if I didn't insist on pretending like I was still holding a grudge, we could be best buddies now. Except for the fact that you are banging my little brother. That'll never be anything other than weird. You're so lucky you've made him happier than I've seen him since... ever basically, otherwise I might've shot you just as a matter of principle long ago. Then again maybe not, I mean I still got that homerun ball in my duffle bag and..." Dean rambled though it looked like he really didn't want to speak on after the first couple of words.
Nothing the oldest Winchester had said was a lie. He often secretly thought that Gabriel made a good addition to their little family. Sam clearly was happier and much more optimistic -though it sometimes grated on Dean's nerves- since the former archangel joined them and especially since the two hooked up. Dean also never got rid of the homerun ball his twelve year old self caught at the game Gabriel took them to. In fact -if he was completely honest- Dean would have to say that he kept it as a memento of one of the best and most carefree days in recent memory -if not in his life- and it was Gabriel who made that happen. Of course, the oldest Winchester would not say any of those things out loud... usually.
Sam grabbed his older brother's shoulders and dragged him out of the room as quickly as he could after that little display of honesty.
"What the hell was that?" Dean exclaimed as soon as the motel room door shut behind them. The oldest Winchester wouldn't be caught dead saying any of those things to Gabriel usually no matter how true they were. All of this could only mean one thing really. Apparently, Sam came to the same conclusion.
"I guess we know who's got the curse now," the younger Winchester shrugged helplessly.
"Son of a bitch!"
Lucifer didn't go back downstairs until he was sure Grace's grandmother had left. The woman was annoying and exactly the kind of person Lucifer didn't need to surround himself with. He still maintained that most of humanity was rotten beyond salvation anyway, but without a tangible reminder of the fact he nearly could forget about it now and then.
"Where's Gracie?" Nadine asked as Lucifer entered the kitchen going straight for the bread and his newly purchased peanut butter.
"Picking out Samandriel's wardrobe for tomorrow," Lucifer replied not bothering to turn around, "I have to say the 99% angel shirt is humorous when he wears it."
The former archangel had gone through the tedious process of walking to the grocery store, locating the peanut butter and milk. He then glared at the cashier to discourage her from striking up any sort of conversation and paid for his purchase so he could indulge in his guilty pleasure the next time the stupid feeling known as hunger made itself known. He would not be kept from having a sandwich -and possibly preparing a second for Grace- by the possibility that Nadine might want to discuss what happened earlier.
"Did Gracie seem okay to you?" Nadine sighed, rubbing her temples to fend off the oncoming headache. Strangely enough, it didn't even feel too surreal anymore to ask Lucifer how Gracie was dealing after hearing her mother and grandmother argue loudly. The former archangel clearly cared about her daughter more than just about anyone else, as he had proven recently too.
"She's a tough little abomination," Lucifer shrugged as he liberally spread peanut butter over two slices of bread. The former archangel huffed out a breath before he added, "I don't particularly like your mother in law."
"Pretty sure she wasn't impressed with you either," Nadine retorted, "And you didn't even call my daughter an abomination in her presence."
Nadine understood that somehow little abomination was a pet name in Lucifer's book and it seemed useless to argue about that of all things. In a way Nadine didn't even disapprove of it too much. After all Lucifer usually said the words with fondness, like he really meant them as a pet name and nothing else.
"She calls me by a girl's name," Lucifer shot back with some indignation in his voice. There was a short pause before Lucifer decided there was in fact something he wanted to know, even though the question would prolong his conversation with Nadine. "Why is that woman still a part of your life anyway? Her relation to you died with your husband."
"She's still Gracie's grandmother," Nadine managed to say after she successfully fought back tears. Josh and especially the fact that he was dead, had been brought up a couple times too many for comfort that day. "Besides, that's not how it works."
"How what works?" Lucifer asked with a deep frown.
"Family!" Nadine exclaimed, waving her arms helplessly, "You don't get to be part of a family for a while and then just leave when it becomes inconvenient."
Lucifer slowly got two more slices of bread to finish his sandwiches as he tried to comprehend what Nadine was talking about. People left their families all the time. Hell, even angels did it! Of course, the biological connection humans had to each other didn't go away no matter how far they ran or the god-given connection all angels had for that matter. Lucifer didn't think the woman was talking about biology or grace for that matter though. In that case, she was wrong of course. Lucifer had been completely disowned by his family a long time ago.
"You don't even realize how lucky you are with your brothers, do you?" Nadine asked when Lucifer didn't say anything. It was easy enough for her to read the way every single muscle in the former archangel's body tensed up though. Her statement caused that reaction in him and Nadine could draw her conclusions from it.
"Excuse me? Have you read the bible?" Lucifer retorted, his voice sounding more agitated than he was comfortable with, "And that's the dumbed down human version! The things that went down..."
"Are ancient history now. You said you're not the devil anymore and so help me..." Nadine argued, before she took a short breathing break to soften her tone considerably, "Look, I won't pretend I don't have troubles seeing anything else in you sometimes and I didn't even know you back when you still were... Satan."
"Isn't that good to know?" Lucifer snorted.
"Shut up, that's not what this is about," Nadine shot back without any heat in her voice though, "Have you ever stopped for a moment and really thought about the way Samandriel treats you, or Gabriel for that matter?"
Lucifer opened his mouth to give a scathing reply, before he snapped it shut, grabbed his sandwiches and went back upstairs. Samandriel was in fact doing much more than simply guarding him and the family as he had been ordered to, even Lucifer had to admit that. The baby angel also wasn't only nice to Nadine and Grace, he went out of his way to be friendly and make conversation with Lucifer too. Samandriel clearly tried to give the former archangel a second chance, despite everything he had done and Gabriel... Gabriel was the reason Lucifer had this second chance to begin with.
"'Lo, you've reached Gabriel, but you don't want to talk to me right now, call again in... let's say two days," the former archangel greeted the unknown number who had called five times in the past hour. Gabriel figured that picking up just to tell them to call again in a couple days and hanging up couldn't do much harm. It wasn't like he planned to let them say anything at all until...
"Don't you dare hang up on me!" Lucifer stated, the underlying threat all too easy to be heard in his voice. The former devil had a hard enough time calling his younger brother and then calling again and again when Gabriel didn't pick up his damn phone, he wouldn't go through this again!
"Lu... we really shouldn't talk right now!" Gabriel exclaimed, nearly a little panicky. Dean's little outburst earlier had been more humorous than anything else, but Lucifer's phone call was a recipe for disaster!
"As if! I won't call again to thank you," Lucifer snorted. It sounded like the former devil wasn't fully aware of what exactly he just said, but then again Gabriel wasn't completely sure he heard right either.
"Huh?" Gabriel replied ineloquently before he could stop himself. They really shouldn't be talking just then. Even if Lucifer was undoubtedly telling the truth and nothing but the truth, it seemed unfair to force him to say those things.
"You gave me a second chance and I am grateful for that. I understand that it would've been easier and safer to just let me die than to take a chance on me," Lucifer answered, "I was mad at you at first and believe me I really tried to hate you, but the truth is that I'm grateful for what you did."
Lucifer didn't like to admit it, but even if the Apocalypse ended with him as the winner he wouldn't have been as happy as he was these days. Sure, he would have gotten revenge on Michael for imprisoning him and revenge on all of humanity for first taking his father's love from him and then destroying everything God gave to them, but once all was said and done Lucifer would have been left alone with a bunch of demons he hated just as much as humanity.
As things were Lucifer had a little girl who looked at him like he was the best thing in all of creation and a -human- life he found was easier to settle into comfortably than he would have ever thought. Besides, Nadine was right -not that he would tell her that- Samandriel and Gabriel were both ready to give him a chance to be his brothers again. It was something Lucifer felt he should not take for granted.
Of course, the former devil only meant to call Gabriel to make a little small talk, maybe use the fact that Nadine clearly intended to let him stay on the longer term as a pretense. Lucifer wanted to remind Gabriel that he was here and that they could simply pick up and phone and talk for a while -as humans frequently did- not bare his soul to him.
"I'm under a truth spell right now that forces you to say all that. I know you really mean it and that makes me feel all fuzzy inside, but we better talk about this when the spell is over," Gabriel quickly explained, not giving Lucifer the chance to say anything more that he would probably be embarrassed about later, "You can thank me for hanging up on you later!"
The former archangel stared at his phone for a few long moments before he put it back on the table. Of all the things he thought might happen that day, even after he realized who exactly he had seen out of the corner of his eye...
"That was weird," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle. It was the only way he could describe how exactly he felt about Lucifer's phone call that moment. Maybe Gabriel could give a more in-depth analysis after he let everything his older brother said sink in for a little while.
In the meantime, there were other things to do. The motel owner wouldn't be too happy once they saw all the symbols painted on the walls and floor. The former archangel figured it was best to just summon Veritas and get her to explain what the hell she thought she was doing, but preparations had to be made for a meeting like that.
"Sounded like the good kind of weird though," Sam commented, looking up from the book on pagan gods and goddesses he was reading. The younger Winchester figured it couldn't hurt to learn more about the goddess they were about to face, even if Gabriel knew her personally.
"Strangely enough," Gabriel agreed as he picked up the paintbrush to finish the sigils he had been working on before the phone call interrupted him. The former archangel still couldn't believe that the curse seemed to be more of a blessing in his case. In fact, it made Gabriel apprehensive to think that his luck had to run out eventually. "You know, you should probably do like Dean-o and leave until I finish all this..."
"Gabe, you saw Veritas back in the park and the two of us were alone for some time after that," Sam pointed out as he closed the book and crossed the room to wrap his arms around Gabriel's shoulders from behind, "Did I say anything I wouldn't have usually?"
The former archangel shook his head before he exhaled deeply and leaned back against his fiancé's chest. Chances were Gabriel only had to ask the right -or wrong- questions to get Sam to say a lot of hurtful things, but it still was good to know that the curse had no effect on their usual interactions.
Sam and Dean might not be too happy to know that Chuck had started to publish more Supernatural books, but Adam would definitely kill him if he ever found out that Chuck had never stopped writing about the nasty dragon Mada and his adventures. The first story, The Torment of the Great King Charles by the Claws of the Nasty Dragon Mada, might have been born from Chuck's need to express his annoyance with Adam's way of dictating his life as passive-aggressively as possible. However, Chuck later realized that with a few changes it would make a nice morality tale for children, not to mention the potential for sequels! In fact, the prophet was working on those sequels secretly whenever he had some time to spare.
The -not so- nasty dragon was living in the castle with the king and was just about to befriend his shy dragon keeper when the ringing telephone forced Chuck to leave his little fantasy world and return to reality.
"Prophet Shurley, I need your help," Michael stated, not even giving the prophet the chance to even say anything, "I hope you'll believe me when I say that I am the archangel Michael."
"I... I... uh... how did you get this number?" Chuck replied with a deep frown. This probably shouldn't have been the first question to ask, but Chuck thought it was understandable that he was a little overwhelmed at that moment. He had been prepared to answer questions about his political preferences, not talk to one of the former archangels! At least Chuck couldn't detect murderous rage in Michael's voice, which was a good start.
"A person very dear to me called your publicist, impersonating a member of the press," Michael admitted a little sheepishly. Hope was scarily good at lying to people when she set her mind to it. The former archangel couldn't say he liked it, but in this case the ends justified the means in his eyes.
Chuck honestly didn't know what to say to that. In a way he supposed it was good his publicist passed his phone number on to the archangel. They were searching for them after all. In fact, Gabriel would be happy to hear that one more of his brothers had been found. Or rather, gave himself up.
"Raphael might be planning to do something very stupid and I trust you know the right people to call," Michael added when the prophet didn't say anything for a few moments. The former archangel had a lot of respect for his father's chosen prophets, but the prophet wasn't the one he ultimately needed to talk to. Chuck should be able to send the Winchesters his way though.
