Enter Lucifer stage left.

(In which I try to explain why I ship season 5 Samifer from Lucifer's perspective.)

This is shorter than intended but gets the point across. The second half of this is mostly from 5.03 Free to be Me and You and all quotes are from that episode although only the end of the conversation is present, you've all (presumably) seen the show so I don't need to rehash it, this is true in later chapters too although canon will diverge from now on so it's less of a problem, you'll also know that there are references and talk about suicide in this conversation. There are also references to Season 10/11 that you can probably glaze over if you haven't seen it.

Also I'm trying to explain intangible concepts from an archangels point of view so if I don't explain things well tell me and I'll reword it but I think I've got the point across.

And I'm sorry that this broke the first time this was posted. 2nd time lucky.

Lucifers POV

23rd August 2009

Sam Winchester's soul was exquisite, Lucifer decided as he stared at Sam's dream construct self, surrounded by the warmth of his soul. If all humans had been like Sam Lucifer's life might have been a little easier. Unfortunately, they hadn't, and Sam was just special as his True Vessel – his soulmate.

Sam's love, however, Sam's love was blinding in its intensity as was fitting of the brightest angel in heaven and sung with hope that Lucifer hadn't seen in aeons. It wound through his soul like a snake and Lucifer wanted to follow it, to cocoon Sam in his grace and feed off the waves of strong emotion, the place on his grace where the Mark once was pulsed at the thought and Lucifer knew then and there that he would do anything to keep the look of adoration on Sam's face there.

Lucifer fell in love with his vessel at that moment because with him laying bare his soul, intentionally or not, the goodness and hope and love and faith that made Sam Sam filled a part of him he had forgotten about in his quest to feed the Marks emotional Hunger, the part that made him an angel; the part that made him his Fathers son.

Sam was Not-Him before everything bad and Lucifer knew as he tugged on the ties that bound them together that he would do anything to ensure that he stayed just as unalike to him as possible and that he would try to be worthy of that love.

But first Sam's love, that if Lucifer needed to breathe would have called breath-taking, because as bright and pure as it was and as much as Lucifer wanted to pretend otherwise it was not directed at him.

"I love you Jess." Lucifer didn't let his pain show even as Sam turned his back on him. "God know how much I've missed you too."

Lucifer did not lie to himself, however much he wanted to, and Sam was his True Vessel; his soulmate; his other half, he would not lie to him either no matter his original intentions to get it over and done with.

So he broke it to him as gently as he could.

"Because you freed me."

And he hated himself a little more as the love disappeared and his soul curled up to protect itself and fear, just as strong, just as radiant, just as mouth-watering to his Hunger, made itself known.

But fear while good was a different sort of good to love, the same way pizza was good but so was chocolate gateau and he'd been living of pizza for long enough that the difference was startling.

And Lucifer wanted it back.

He couldn't force it. He was an angel he knew love couldn't be forced, it was how he fell in the first place and he knew love came not from change in the person doing the loving but the person being loved at least in the beginning.

So he started small: he did not lie, he did not hold back something which could hurt later if left to fester, and he made his intentions clear. He removed Sam's reasons to fear him.

It went as well as he thought it would because no matter how perfect Sam seemed he was human and had been socialised to fear him and there were subjects that his human mind could not comprehend until they happened, and humanity feared what it did not know.

"I want to give you a gift. I wanna give you everything."

"I don't want anything from you." Sam snarled back before the words were even fully out of his mouth and they stood in silence for a moment drinking each other in. Sam could feel how right his soul was with Lucifer's grace, Lucifer knew. He wouldn't be looking so vulnerable otherwise.

"I'm so sorry Sam." He kept his voice gentle and his mannerisms to match. "I really am but Nick here," he gestured to his dream construct because humans liked non-verbal communication more than verbal, "is just an improvisation. Plan B. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting."

"What are you talking about?" Sam shifted, and Lucifer knew he was putting the pieces together, his words, the response of his soul, and coming to a conclusion he didn't like. Lucifer stood slowly and held his hands out pacifyingly in front of him.

"Why do you think you were in that chapel?" For each step Lucifer took towards him Sam took one back until they stopped and he pointed at Sam with his hands together in a gesture of prayer. "You're the one. You're my Vessel. My True Vessel." The fear that hung in the air between them thickened with new horror and became almost as tangible as the love from before, the lingering traces of that love souring the fear into a toxic mix Lucifer wanted gone.

"No." Sam whispered. The word almost tripping from his tongue without his permission, an automatic response.

"Yes." He nodded as well, just to get the point across because humans could be very slow when in shock.

"No. That'll never happen." Sam shook his head.

"I'm sorry but it will. I will find you," He took a step forward and Sam sidestepped so they were facing the opposite direction, "and when I do, you will let me in." He wanted to comfort him, not that Sam would let him in this state, so he gave him the facts. "I'm sure of it." He left out that Sam was sure of it as well because Sam could feel the tie between them just as well as he could.

"You need my consent." Sam grasped at the one part of the conversation he could control.

"Of course. I'm and angel." He folded his arms and let Sam lead the conversation.

"I'll kill myself before letting you in." Lucifer's grace twisted at the thought and he answered trying to hide how unpleasant the thought was.

"I'll just bring you back." He sighed taking back control of the conversation. "Sam. My heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders. What you've done. What you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bare. If there was some other way…" He trailed off and shrugged because he did not know what he would do because he still wanted Sam. "But there isn't."

It would be an uphill battle to find Sam's love and that would make the victory so much sweeter and make him hold on to it so much more.

"I will never lie to you. I will never trick you. But you will say yes to me."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not." Lucifer smiled. "I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?" Sam begged, and the fear dissipated to be replaced with soul deep exhaustion and Lucifer gave him the only answer that made sense to him.

"Because it had to be Sam. It always had to be you." Then he retreated to give Sam space to think but couldn't persuade himself to let go completely and he held onto the warmth of his soul by a thread even as he felt Sam wake up. He couldn't find it in himself to regret it when the thread wavered a little time later and he poured healing energy down it, directing Sam's latent physic ability where to go.

The fear was still there, faintly felt through the bond that was rapidly fading to its natural state of barley-felt, but neither the thread nor the bond wavered again.

It wasn't technically a victory but, hey, baby steps.