Sam was exhausted as he was cleaning up from dinner. It had been about three days since Lucifer and Amenadiel brought Gabriel back. Since then, Sam had spent most of his time around the Archangels, trying to help Gabriel come out of his shell. It hadn't done much good, but he would keep trying, just as Lucifer and Amenadiel kept trying. Because of all that, Sam had gotten very little sleep. There was also the fact that every time he closed his eyes, he saw Asmodeus hurting Gabriel.
Sam had just finished cleaning up when he turned around to see Dean looking at him both suspiciously and irritably. Sam jumped because he hadn't expected his brother to be there. "Dude, don't do that."
Dean did nothing but continue to look at him.
"What are you staring at me like that for?" Sam asked.
Dean shrugged. "Maybe because I haven't seen you around lately."
"What are you talking about? I haven't left the bunker since you, me, and Cas came back," Sam said.
"No, you've just been spending most of your time upstairs with the Devil," Dean said irritably.
"What are you getting at?" Sam asked in a similar tone. He spent most of his time with Lucifer because he was trying to help with Gabriel. Was his brother really upset that he wanted to help someone who was tortured to the point where he was almost catatonic?
"Tell me you're not going there, Sam," Dean said.
"Going where? I don't know what you're talking about," Sam said confused. Dean was acting like trying to help with Gabriel was the worst thing in the world.
"I'm not an idiot, Sam. You're around the bastard all the time, and you've defended him since right after he got here. You've talked about how he's not like we thought the Devil was supposed to be. It just seems a while like it was with Ruby," Dean said.
Sam began to realise what his brother was suggesting and then he started laughing. "You think I'm into Lucifer? Really? You're an idiot."
"I know you swing both ways," Dean said. He'd known that since Sam was in high school. It never bothered him. He never cared whether his brother was into guys or girls. He did care if he wasn't into Lucifer though.
"So what? So that means I want to be with Lucifer? Why? Because I'm civil to him? Because I can actually think things through rationally enough to give him a chance instead of immediately condemning him?" Sam asked.
"You've been spending a lot of time around him," Dean pointed out.
"Yeah, because we're both trying to do the same thing. Find a way to bring Gabriel back from wherever he is in his mind," Sam said.
"I don't buy that. Maybe you'd help Gabriel a little bit, but you wouldn't be up there all day and night, not for someone we both hate," Dean said. Pity was one thing. So was helping take food up or medical supplies, but he wouldn't be around him all the time. He couldn't stand Gabriel.
"You don't know how I feel!" Sam yelled.
"You know, you two are awful loud," a British voice said.
Both turned to see Lucifer enter the room.
"Get lost!" Dean snarled at Lucifer.
"You know, if we were having sex, you'd hear your brother through the walls. No one is quiet with me," Lucifer said with a grin.
"Alright, this conversation needs to end now," Sam said before heading out of the room.
Dean glared at Lucifer. "I don't know what you're doing with my brother, but stay away from him."
"You know, Dean, you remind me too much of my brother, Michael, for my liking. He was a sanctimonious little bastard as well. He always thought he was right, and he refused to even entertain the idea that it could be otherwise. It's why we're in this situation now. You're just like him. You know nothing, but you think you do," Lucifer said with a sneer.
"Screw you! I know what I see!" Dean yelled.
"If you did, you'd know that your brother wasn't interested in me," Lucifer said. It was ludicrous that Sam wanted him. Anyone with eyes could see who he wanted. Lucifer certainly could. It was obvious every time he looked at Gabriel. He was pretty sure Amenadiel and even Castiel could see that as well.
"Then why's he always around you? I've seen him talking to you like one of his buddies instead of the actual Devil," Dean said.
"Well, at least you've finally accepted who I am. Perhaps it's because he feels he can speak to me. Perhaps he knows I wont judge him for the mistakes he's made. How many times have you judged him? I know you have. Like I said, you're just like my brother. Father knows he loved to judge," Lucifer said.
"Get away from me! You don't know anything about me or my brother!" Dean yelled.
"Oh, I do though. Your story is nearly the same as Michael's, and Sam's is nearly the same as mine. That's why you were supposed to be our vessels. You know, Michael and I didn't always hate each other. I once loved him as much as Sam loves you. Now, if he were lying in the middle of the road in pain, I wouldn't even bother to kick him. I'd just walk over him like a random stranger. Perhaps you should think about that. That could be Sam one day," Lucifer warned.
"I just can't wait for the day that you and your asshole brothers are out of our hair," Dean sneered.
"That we can agree on, Dean Winchester," Lucifer said before leaving the room. He didn't bother to tell the Hunter that he was taking Jack with him when he left, or that Sam would be likely to follow to be with Gabriel. He'd let all of that be a surprise.
~~
Jack walked into the library in the bunker and found his father sitting in front of a piano in the middle of the library. It had not been there before. "Where did that come from?"
Lucifer turned to the boy. "I had your Uncle Amenadiel snap it up for me. Gabriel is sleeping, and I needed something to distract myself."
Jack walked over. "I saw one of these from outside a restaurant. I heard someone playing. It sounded nice."
"The piano is a wonderful instrument," Lucifer said before hitting a few keys.
Jack sat down next to him. "You play. Will you teach me how?"
Lucifer smiled at his son. "I will teach you if you wish, but you must understand that it is not something that you will learn in one day. The piano takes practice and patience. If you can promise that you will put in the effort to learn, I will teach you."
"I promise, Father," Jack immediately said. He wanted to do this. He didn't care if it took a while. He wanted to learn something from his father. He'd once thought of Castiel as his father, as that was what he'd heard from his mother, but Lucifer was his actual father. Jack felt more connected to him than he did anyone else.
"It may take years," Lucifer warned.
"Will you be here that long to teach me?" Jack asked. He'd heard both Castiel and Dean say that his father wouldn't be around after everything was settled. Jack was worried about that. He didn't want his father to go.
Lucifer looked at his son straight in the eye. "I am not abandoning you, Jack."
"I heard Castiel say you didn't want to be my father," Jack said.
Lucifer mentally cursed the seraph and made a note to tell him to pay attention to his surroundings before he started speaking. "I did not say that in the way you interpreted it. When I was told about you, I was not wild about the idea. That is because the last child I had experience with was millenniums ago. I was not certain that I could act as a parent. Sometimes when men learn they are or will be fathers, they are hesitant. Not because of the child, but because of themselves. I would not have chosen to be a parent before I met you, but that does not mean I am sorry to be one now. Do you understand?"
"I think so. You were afraid to be my father," Jack translated.
"I wouldn't use the word 'fear', but I suppose you're close enough," Lucifer said.
"So, what will happen when you have to leave? Dean won't let you stay here forever. He doesn't like you. Well, maybe he'll change his mind. He changed his mind about me. He hated me. He wanted to kill me," Jack said with a shudder. That had been a hard time for him. He had just been born and one of the two people he knew wanted to kill him.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"He thought I was evil because I was your son. I was the son of the Devil," Jack said.
"Neither Dean Winchester, nor anyone else will ever lay a hand on you," Lucifer said firmly. If Winchester even looked at the boy wrong, he would be shown exactly why Lucifer was called the Devil.
"He won't now. He said he was wrong."
Lucifer decided to change the subject before he went down and killed Dean. "Well, would you like to hear something? If you are interested in learning to play the piano, I'll start teaching you another day, but how about I play something for you now?"
"Yes, please," Jack said with an eager smile.
"This is something I created when I was very young and still in Heaven. Your Uncle Gabriel was the first to hear it," Lucifer said before he began playing. He sang as he hit the keys.
Jack listened intently. It sounded so nice. He could tell it wasn't in English, but he understood it as if it were.
Soon, Dean walked in, followed by Amenadiel. "Where the hell did that come from?" Dean asked.
"I got it for him. Luci has always loved music, especially from the piano," Amenadiel said.
Castiel and Sam came in a few minutes later, having heard the music.
"What is he even playing? It sounds like gibberish," Dean said with a scowl.
"No, it's beautiful. He's singing in Enochian. I have heard this before. I know it," Castiel said. He couldn't remember exactly where he'd heard it from, but he had. It made him feel at peace.
"Of course, you have. Every fledgling since Gabriel has heard it. Lucifer would sing it all the time for the fledglings," Amenadiel said. Most would find that strange now since Lucifer harped about not liking children, but Amenadiel was sure now that most of that was due to Lucifer putting up so many walls after his fall. As he looked at the young Nephilim listening to Lucifer's every word, Amenadiel was certain that the boy would be the one to break those walls.
"He sang to me?" Castiel asked in disbelief. He could not imagine Lucifer singing to him. He'd been taught his whole life that Lucifer hated all of them and would have killed them if he hadn't been cast out.
Soon, another inhabitant of the bunker joined them, having heard the music from his room.
Amenadiel and Sam were the first to notice Gabriel. They moved away and motioned for the others to as well, so Gabriel wouldn't feel crowded.
Gabriel listened and stared at the man singing and playing the piano. He knew that song. He was the first to ever hear it, and no one else besides his siblings ever had. Asmodeus couldn't have known about it. How could this all be a trick with that song. No demon knew about, plus no demon could speak Enochian.
"Keep playing, brother," Amenadiel told Lucifer. He could see that Gabriel was responding to it and he didn't want him to stop.
Lucifer had just noticed Gabriel and was about to stop playing when Amenadiel spoke, so he kept going. He would wait and see what happened.
Gabriel listened for a few more minutes and then walked over to Lucifer. He stopped and just looked at him, trying to see for sure if it was really him.
Lucifer stopped and stood up. "Gabriel?"
Gabriel practically fell into the older Archangel's arms as he realized it was really him. He grabbed onto his shirt as if his life depended on it and sobbed uncontrollably in his arms.
"I have you, little brother," Lucifer promised as he lowered them both to the ground and held his brother tightly.