The meaning of Lucifer's words took a moment to sink in. Once they did, Sam's eyes widened. An instinctive response of caution attempted to creep up on him, but he pushed it down. He loved Lucifer. He did. And for Lucifer, he could risk the end of the world.

"Yes."

There were demons right outside the door. His brother was probably dead. But regardless, for a brief moment, all Sam felt was ecstasy. The light, bright and beautiful, blanked his senses, eradicating everything around them. Time seemed to stop. In that moment, he felt himself more wholly than he ever had, and with him, Lucifer. Not Lucifer held back from him in a prison of blood and fleshy vessel, but Lucifer. Lucifer, the being, the concept. Wrapped around him, entwining with him, filling him, and weaving into every nerve and molecule. Lucifer was embracing his soul. Lucifer didn't take over, didn't shove him back, as he never had. Instead the two of them coexisted in the space inside of him as if that was how it was always meant to be.

The next breath he took into his lungs was deep and shaky, as if he'd been holding his breath without realising it. Skin tingling, he snapped back to the real world, looking around them. He was still stood in exactly the same place he had been in the cabin. Nick was fallen to the floor, lying unmoving on the wood. Lazarus peered at him curiously, sniffing at his pant leg in confusion as if wondering why his two masters had just merged into one.

Sam raised his hands and examined them. "I'm in control?"

Something spoke inside of him, like the voice of his own thoughts, but he knew it to be Lucifer, and yet it felt completely at home in his own head. "It's up to you, Sam. You're as resilient to damage as an angel can be, even at their weakest. My power will amplify your natural strength, but I can't give you any added abilities."

"So we're running?" Sam asked.

"Yes. Just keep going. I'll give you all the endurance you need. Just find somewhere secure where we can wait until I have more of my strength back."

"Okay," Sam said. Usually he would have asked for more elaborate instructions or advice, but what he had to do was slowly becoming clear to him.

"Are you ready?" Lucifer asked.

Sam turned toward the back door. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. They'll be following, right?"

"Yes," Lucifer said. "I'm sorry that they may be able to hurt you. I'll shield you as best I can."

"It's okay," Sam replied. "It'll be okay soon." He glanced down at the dog. "We've got to run fast, Lazarus."

The dog quickly trotted to his side, looking ready to follow, as if he understood the situation.

Sam smiled. "Okay," he said, stepping forward and laying one hand on the back door handle. "We'll be okay."

Throwing the door open, Sam was already running before it even swung fully back on the hinges. The demons were there. They began following. Sam dodged and dived out the way and kept running.

He headed into the forest. He could remember the way. He knew where he had to go.

A demon appeared on the path before him, Sam dove to the side and pushed through the undergrowth and kept running.

"Sam, if we head in an arch toward the left, we may be able to get back to the car," Lucifer suggested.

Sam just shook his head and kept running. He felt something claw at his arm, tearing his jacket, but he violently tugged his arm away and carried on.

Lazarus bolted along beside him, tongue lolling, teeth bared, nimble legs pumping against the ground in pace with Sam.

They kept pushing through the trees, jumping over sprawling roots on the ground, tearing straight through vines and branches.

"Sam, this leads deeper into the forest," Lucifer said. "Change direction."

"No," Sam said. "We have to go this way." I just hope you can forgive me.

Lucifer seemed doubtful, but remained silent.

Something grabbed at the back of Sam's jacket, catching hold of him. Sam quickly tore out of the garment and kept running.

They were nearly there. The cool brush of a branch of leaves ghosting against his face as he rushed past, Sam wondered what if Lucifer's love for him could break. Well, if anything would do it, this would be it.

Heart thumping in his chest, Sam stumbled down into the clearing before the rose bush.

What he felt inside of him was the worst. He'd stood many times before, watching the emotions pass across another person's face, knowing what they were feeling. But this was horrid. He felt it. He felt Lucifer shift from shock, to brief pleasure, to sudden realisation, to anguish. The emotions tore at his insides as if they were his own, but with the added guilt of knowing this wasn't his pain, but pain he had caused.

"...You knew."

"I'm sorry," Sam whispered.

"...You lied to me." Lucifer's voice was horribly flat.

"I'm so sorry."

"You said you loved me, Sam."

Sam clenched his fists, vision blurring with his tears. "I'm so, so sorry, Lucifer." He swallowed back the sob threatening to rise out of his throat. "I... I was just worried, about what you'd do. You know, to everyone else, to the human race."

There were footsteps pounding closer behind them, raised voices calling viciously through the trees.

Lazarus barked.

"If you want to leave me here to die," Sam said. "I won't blame you."

Lucifer said nothing. A heavy silence reigned for a few moments, before the first demon suddenly sprung into the clearing. Sam didn't move. He'd messed up so much. What did it matter what happened to him?

A sudden gripping sensation overtook him inside and he felt his mouth forced open without him making the decision to do so.

The rose bush suddenly illuminated, burning like a star had just exploded in front of him. Briefly, all Sam could see was white, but he could feel something rushing with force into his mouth, spreading out inside of him, not just down his gullet but spreading through it and along every nerve, like a sponge absorbing water. It filled him, flaring within him, to the point where Sam briefly thought he was going to explode.

He didn't. Instead he stayed wrapped, both inside and out, of something that now flowed into every part of him, completed him, as it should.

And Lucifer, in control of their shared body, turned, and raised one hand. And with a flash of light, the demons were gone.

Things were blank for a while. It felt like he'd been asleep. The next thing Sam knew, he was looking at the lit fire place in the cabin.

"Lucifer?" he spoke up tentatively.

A sigh answered him. He felt his fingers flexed for him, his shoulder muscles shifting and tensing as his legs slowly paced the room.

"I asked you before, Sam," Lucifer said. "I said as I'd never lied to you, I would appreciate you paying me the same respect."

Sam fell silent, the guilt welling painfully inside of him, self-hatred crawling like a disease. He was crying, though Lucifer was in charge of his body. He was crying in a way that was more than just physical tears. This was anguish, a guilt so raw he didn't know whether he'd ever be able to repent for it. "I'm so sorry. I just... It was crazy, running away with you. I thought... that maybe if I just kept you contained... kept you guarded with me, I could be more certain it was the right thing to do as long as the world was safe."

"I don't care about the world, Sam," Lucifer spat. "I thought you knew me better than that. I don't do destruction for the sake of it. If things get harmed in the way of me achieving my goal, then that is another thing, but do not degrade me to be some mindless destroyer."

"I know," Sam whispered. "I do. It was wrong of me. I should have been honest."

"If you'd just told me about your concerns, I could have tried to reassure you," Lucifer said. "I do understand your wariness, Sam. I am, supposedly, the devil. But I thought you, of all people, would understand the notion of being at least given the opportunity to not do bad."

Lucifer was right. In his the depths of all his senses, Sam knew it. He knew what he'd done was unfair. All his life he'd strived to simply be allowed the option to try and do the right thing, and then he'd failed to give Lucifer that same chance.

"I told you I wasn't good enough for you," Sam mumbled. "I'm sorry."

As Lucifer turned their head downwards, he could see he was wearing white. The white suit. Well, it was appropriate for an archangel, at least.

"You are good enough, Sam," Lucifer said eventually. "You're just misguided." Lucifer sat them down on the sofa.

Lazarus came trotting round from somewhere deeper in the cabin, hopping up onto the sofa and laying his head on their thigh. Sam was glad to see the dog was also doing just fine, and didn't seem much bothered by the change in his master(s).

"Can you ever forgive me?" Sam asked quietly.

For several seemingly endless moments, Lucifer gave no answer. "We'll see," he said eventually.

For a while, Lucifer seemed to just want to wander. Sam let him. He supposed the freedom of being at full strength once more, and of having his wings back, was pleasant, so the least Sam could do was let him appreciate it.

He wondered what would happen now. Would Lucifer go back to Nick? It seemed unlikely. Why settle for a plan B vessel when he already had the one made for him? Right now, Lucifer was right where he was made to be. And somehow, Sam really didn't mind the idea of spending the foreseeable future settled comfortably in a crevice of his mind with Lucifer wrapped around his soul.

Dean was his real worry. He was desperate to find out what had happened to his brother, though he doubted that Lucifer's earlier offer of reviving Dean, even if they found him dead, still stood.

Sam sighed, letting himself settle back and lie still as he was becoming increasingly used to doing, while Lucifer remained in control and took them from place to place.

Lazarus was with them, of course, trotting faithfully alongside. Sam felt him brush against their legs every so often, even felt the soft fur of the dog's head when Lucifer bent down to pet him.

They were currently up in the mountains near to where the cabin resided. The air was thin and chilly, but it didn't bother Lucifer in the slightest, even as he paced the flat crevice of rock they stood on, high above the endless emerald sea of treetops below.

The one thing Sam had noticed was the weather. The devil walking the earth inside his true vessel effecting things on a cosmical scale. Heavy storm clouds hung overhead, but it had yet to rain. The mountains were icy, as mountains usually were from being so high, but Sam had no idea what effects were happening in other places around the world.

"They'll know, right?" Sam asked. "Heaven, I mean. They'll know it's you."

"Yes," Lucifer said.

"What will they do?" Sam shifted uneasily. "Will they open the cage? Get Michael to start the apocalypse over?"

Lucifer remained silent for a few moments, tilting their head back to gaze upwards at the cloudy sky. "Honestly, Sam," he said eventually. "I just don't think they care anymore. Things seem to have gone quiet with Metraton. Perhaps your Castiel fixed everything. I don't know. But I don't think Heaven is concerned with anything much more than itself right now."

"Okay," Sam said slowly. "And what about you?"

"I care about us," Lucifer said. "Whatever else will happen, will happen."

Sam had been dozing again. It was surprisingly easy, as content as he was nestled around and inside Lucifer as he had always been meant to. The next time Sam drifted back into awareness, they were stood at the door of the bunker.

"Dean?" Sam blurted before he could stop himself. He was shocked, honestly. And humbled. If he had been in control of their body, he was sure he could have blushed. It spoke volumes that still, after everything, Lucifer cared enough for him to deal with the one thing he knew Sam would be worrying about.

Lucifer pushed the door open and they stepped inside. Lazarus dashed ahead, making his way down the winding metal staircase, tail bobbing. Slowly, Lucifer followed.

The place was silent, the large main rooms still beside the gentle hum of electricity where the lights had been left on.

Sam gazed through their shared eyes as Lucifer studied the bunker, grateful for the advanced angel senses that allowed him to hear every little thing, but equally worried by the fact that he was hearing absolutely no signs of life.

"Check the garage," Sam said. "See if the Impala is there."

Lucifer obeyed without questions, walking through the room and down the corridor that led to the garage. Lazarus came with them, slipping through the door as soon as Lucifer pushed it open.

Sam sighed upon finding the place where the Impala usually proudly resided empty. "If..." He swallowed, not even wanting to voice the words. "If he is dead, then he could have been killed anywhere. And he's warded against angels. How are we supposed to find him?"

Lucifer remained silently for a few moments, absentmindedly trailing one fingertip along the shiny bonnet of another bonnet of another car. He seemed about to answer, when his head snapped up, whirling round to stare back into the bunker.

Lazarus growled, also having heard the noise.

Now as fearless as a virtually indestructible archangel could be, Lucifer headed back inside.

The noise came again, a sort of metallic sound, like chains rustling.

"The basement," Sam said.

A few moments later, and they were at the door. Lucifer easily slid it open with an echoing creak, light spilling into the enclosed space, for a brief moment silhouetting the figure inside.

"About bloody time," a voice came. Then paused. "Oh, it's you, Moose."

"Crowley?" Sam's voice spoke in their shared head.

"Crowley," Lucifer repeated aloud, sounding less than impressed.

Huddled in his warded chains, Crowley paused, gaze roaming Sam's figure, before his face darkened. "Oh bloody hell. This is one problem I didn't think I'd have to deal with today. On second thought, why don't you just lock up that door again and we'll call it quits?"

Lucifer's eyes merely narrowed, casting the demon a less than impressed look.

"Where's Dean?" Sam questioned. "We let him go after he helped get Gadreel out of my head. Did Dean lock him up again?"

Without a word, Lucifer slipped back, relinquishing control so Sam could ask his questions himself.

Sam gasped, nearly stumbling as the suddenly responsibility of his body threw him off guard briefly, but he quickly composed himself.

"Where's Dean, Crowley?" Sam demanded.

The demon shrugged, chains clinking, face disgruntled. "How the blooming heck should I know?"

"Why are you back here? You must have seen him?"

"Well it was hard to miss the bit where he chained me up and left me!" Crowley exclaimed, scowling and shaking his head. "Ungrateful little prick. You think he'd show some gratitude for being brought back from the dead."

"What?" A frown clouded over Sam's face. "What do you mean?"

Apparently exasperated, Crowley sighed dramatically. "Alright," he conceded. "You got me, Moose. I messed up."

"Messed up what?" Sam growled.

Crowley hesitated, avoiding Sam's gaze, before muttering out an answer. "He was all set on killing dear Abaddon... and he succeeded-"

"Abaddon's dead?" Sam questioned, his surprise clear. "Dean killed her?" He was now seriously regretting staying out of the loop for so long. Had it been so bad, that he just wanted a little while with Lucifer and nothing else?

Crowley bobbed his head in confirmation. "Six feet under, yeah. Anyway, demon knight, not easy to kill, you know. So me and your lovely Dean teamed up and went after a little... help."

"What kind of help?"

Again, Crowley seemed reluctant to answer, before finally muttering, "Cain."

"Cain?" Sam questioned. "As in, like, Cain and Abel?"

"That's the one, Moose," Crowley responded. "Cain. Big bad of demons, trained all those demon knights. Therefore, basically the only guy that can kill 'em, with this neat little thing called the First Blade."

"First Blade?"

"Made from Abel's jawbone," Lucifer suddenly cut in inside his head. "It's an old weapon."

"Your little..." Crowley coughed awkwardly. "Er, angelic friend in there with you had a little to do with it back in the day. Anyway, to cut to the fun part, your big brother's now running around with the mark of Cain and Cain's blade. Cain was rather eager to get rid of them, to be honest. I kind of see why now..."

"Why?" Sam demanded. "What's happened to Dean? You said he died?"

"Died and... woke up again," Crowley said. "That old mark doesn't let go so easy. Though you might find him a bit... different."

Sam didn't like the cold feeling of foreboding that was washing over him. "Different how?"

Crowley hesitated.

Lucifer answered for him. "Your brother is a demon, Sam."

Sam froze. He felt faint. He was sure he would have passed out had Lucifer not kept him standing upright. "A demon?" he whispered.

Crowley purposefully avoided his gaze.

"No." Sam shook his head. Blanking Crowley, he switched his attention back to Lucifer. "We can fix it, right? You can fix him, can't you? You made demons. You've got to be able to."

Lucifer was silent. He wasn't ignoring him, though. Sam felt the archangel shift uneasily against him. "To an extent," he said eventually.

"What do you mean?"

Lucifer sighed.

"What about the trials?" Sam said. "The last was to cure a demon. We can do that."

"This is no ordinary demon, Sam. Cain was powerful. The mark is powerful. It was made to last."

"But you said you could fix him," Sam insisted. "What did you mean, 'to an extent'?"

"I could break the mark's hold on him," Lucifer said. "But I would have to kill him. Irreversibly."

Sam fell silent as Lucifer's words sunk in. He barely heard Crowley's irritated mutterings about being left out of the conversation. He could feel Lucifer's sincerity deep within their spiritual connection. And besides, his angel would never lie to him. Also, he knew Lucifer got this. If he really concentrated, he could feel the archangel's old feelings about Michael writhing beneath the surface of his composure.

"What would happen to him?" Sam asked. "I mean... his soul."

"It could go on to Heaven," Lucifer said. "Your Castiel is up there and helping get things back into some kind of order. He could be happy."

Sam had lived his whole life wanting his brother to be happy. Dean's happiness was keeping Sam safe, and though Sam would do anything for his brother, he felt he could see things in a way Dean couldn't about himself, that Dean could be happy without having to watch over Sam all the time. Besides, with arguably the most powerful creature in the universe right now, Sam felt where he was, he was left in good hands.

"Do it," Sam said softly. "Just... let him know that I'm okay first."

With what seemed the gentlest touch, Lucifer flowed back into control over their body, nodding their head as Sam settled back against him, safe in his angel's embrace.

"What about him?" Sam questioned, eying Crowley, who was watching them warily.

Lucifer shrugged. "I'm not wasting my time killing such a pitiful thing." He regarded Crowley for a brief moment. "Some of your kind may find you, or they might not. You'll have to wait and find out." And with that, Lucifer turned and headed for the stairs.

Lazarus had been lying out side the room waiting for them, apparently having taken up the role of guard dog at the basement entrance. He jumped up as Sam and Lucifer reappeared, trotting after them up the stairs, as Crowley sighed loudly behind them and muttered something distasteful about Winchesters and their stupid angel friends.

Knowing what had happened didn't make finding Dean any easier. They made some attempts at searching, seeking out places Dean might be inclined to go, such as where Bobby's house once stood, or near their old house, but they found no evidence he had been there.

Sam had been noticing Lucifer's effect on the planet more and more. The weather was out of whack, and when Lucifer gave him opportunity to look at news sources, he found omens all over the place.

"Lucifer," Sam finally built up the courage to ask one day, "after we've dealt with Dean, what are we going to do? You and me, I mean."

For a few long moments, Lucifer didn't answer. "What do you want to do?"

The answer came surprisingly easily. "I want to stay with you," Sam said.

"Sam... You know I can never go to Heaven. I can keep you alive with me for all eternity, but if you were to die... I wouldn't be able to follow."

"I know," Sam said softly. "But I won't leave you."

"Sam-"

"I mean it," Sam insisted. "As long as I know Dean's safe, as long as Dean's happy. That's good enough for me. I'll stay with you." He pressed closer to Lucifer's presence inside their body, soul coiling around grace. "I love you, Lucifer." He nestled against him, so content to be with his other half that the rest of the world seemed to no longer matter. "Do you forgive me?" he asked quietly. "For lying to you."

"Yes, I forgive you," Lucifer said. "I think getting to keep you forever more than makes up for it."

A smile touched their face. Sam honestly didn't know if it was from him or Lucifer, but somehow, it didn't really matter. He felt Lazarus brush past their leg, sniffing at the ground, before settling down on a patch of crisp grass just in front of a stone angel statue. They'd been wandering for a while around Kansas, but now Sam took note of his surroundings, he found it a pleasant place.

"It's nice here," he said.

"I thought so," Lucifer agreed. "You know, your brother isn't stupid. He'll see the omens, he'll figure it out, that you're with me."

"You think he'll come to us?"

Lucifer nodded. "Demon or not, there's something within Dean that will always be connected to you, Sam. Don't lose faith in that. We'll wait for Dean, and I'll fix him for you. I told you, I always wanted you to be happy, Sam."

"I know," Sam replied. "But what about the rest of the world?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know," Sam said honestly. "I've always felt like I've had such responsibility over things, but now..." He sighed. "Maybe it's time to just let things unravel themselves, just see what happens, you know."

"I feel it's been that way for a long time, Sam," Lucifer said softly. He gently grasped the stem of a nearby bush. It was littered with little red buds, and at Lucifer's touch, they opened, full and bright into beautiful roses. "Perhaps my Father always intended this. I don't know. But somehow it feels like nothing ever really went off track, though we all thought it did. I think, perhaps, we were always meant to end up here."

Sam didn't reply, but regardless, it seemed Lucifer understood that he felt the same way.

"Are you happy?" Sam asked him.

Gently plucking one rose head from the bush and threading it into the button hole of his white jacket, Lucifer smiled, grace shifting to seek out and find Sam and coil around him in a tight, loving embrace. "In the scheme of things, it may not have been the intentions I started out with, but from what I've ended up with, yes, I'm happy."

Sam smiled. "It's funny, I guess everyone always thought you were striving to win and nothing else."

"I have you, Sam," Lucifer said. "To me, that means I have won."

The end! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you especially to those who took the time to review or favourite or follow :)