Chapter 73

"What the hell was that?" Dean hisses as soon as Sam walks up to him again.

"What was what?"

"That!"

Sam just gives him a look. Like that's clearing anything up for him.

"You chose over us?" Dean clarifies. "What the hell?"

"I..." Sam trails off, trying to find the right response to this. "I didn't anyone, okay? It's not like I agreed to be his vessel and start the apocalypse. I just took a five minute break from talking to you guys."

"Right, because now you need from us."

Sam sighs. "Dean, I wasn't —"

"Do you even remember everything Lucifer has done?" Dean continues as if he never spoke. "I was willing to overlook Gabriel, but this is just getting ridiculous. He's a murderer —"

"Yeah, so?" Sam asks. "One quick conversation does not make us best friends."

"Both of them are," Dean continues. "They're exactly what we're fighting against. We save people. They kill people. Not exactly a match made in heaven."

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that," Sam tells him. "Gabriel's not that bad —"

"Hey, remember when you said that about Ruby?" Dean reminds him.

"Well, yeah, but he's different," Sam insists. "Once you get to know him, he's really not that bad. I wouldn't have put up with him for over three years if he was. Now, Lucifer, on the other hand..."

He's about to agree that Lucifer really a complete douche, but thinking it over, if he's not trying to destroy the world, he's really just a more snarky version of anyone else in the room.

"Well, he's Lucifer," Sam finishes with a shrug. "He can be a complete ass."

" be?" Dean repeats.

"Well, usually is," Sam clarifies. "But he's not as bad as you'd think." Seeing his brother's expression, he adds quickly, "It's not like he's about to start the apocalypse again. He's stuck here, same as us, and for the most part, except for the first few days, he's playing by the same rules."

Dean just looks at him for a moment. Finally, he says, "Sam. Rethink that statement."

"What do you mean?" Sam asks, going over what he just said in his mind. What did he say wrong?

"You're siding with "

"I'm not siding with anyone," Sam replies. "This isn't black and white, first of all, and even if it were, you're still my brother, Dean. I'd still pick you. Are you happy now?"

Dean crosses his arms, and after a pause, nods once. "Yeah. Just stay away from them — or at least Lucifer. Just for my sanity."

Sam sighs. "Fine, whatever. If it makes you feel better, I'll ignore him."

"Well, it would, so you better."

"I will," Sam assures him.

And silence.

"Hey, so get this," Sam says when no one else speaks. "Lucifer pointed out how people seem to be disappearing."

"Well, yeah, Jess and Kali," Dean replies. "We already noticed that."

"No, not just them," Sam tells him. "Crowley, Benny, Balthazar, Kevin..."

Dean looks around. "They're... When did they disappear?" He looks between Sam and Castiel for a moment, but neither of them seem to know.

"I think the better question is, where are they now?" Castiel asks.

"Yeah, most of them were dead before this started," Sam says. "Did Chuck just kill them again?"

"Is Benny back in Purgatory?" Dean asks. "He told me he died there eventually. Do you think Chuck is going to put him through it again, or just leave him where he ended up?"

"We don't even know if he's in Purgatory," Sam reminds him. "Maybe Chuck's keeping them all safe. He try to keep us alive in here. I doubt he'd stop now. Don't worry about it."

And though it seems to make Dean feel better, Sam doesn't really mean it. He's sure they're all dead like Kali and Jess, but Gabriel was right. There's no point in telling everyone just to worry them. He'll just keep lying until there's no one left to lie to, as long as he can make them feel a little better.

~~

Gabriel just stares at the wall, but he's far from as oblivious as he may seem. He can't get over Lucifer's remark about how him and Sam have history. He was hoping it was all a lie, but at this point, it's looking like the only one being lied to is Dean. Sam had to be downplaying his hopefully platonic relationship with Lucifer for Dean's sake, the same way he did with his relationship with Gabriel. The way he was acting, it's just too sketchy.

It's definitely an interesting dynamic, but friends do poke fun at each other, and it's easily one of Lucifer's favorite things to do, whether he likes the person or not. It's not like they outright said they hated each other. They may not sound like friends, but Sam was too comfortable with him for them not to be.

God, Gabriel, what the hell? Snap out of it. Sam's not yours anymore. You told him that yourself. Stop acting like he is.

What makes it worse is he knows it's all Lucifer's fault. He wouldn't be so focused on Sam if it wasn't for him. He definitely still feels something for the hunter, and that's not changing anytime soon, but he would be able to deal with just the sense of longing.

But Lucifer's got him feeling jealous, something he hasn't felt this strongly since Kali and Zeus' fling a few millennia earlier, and even that's debatable. He hates the feeling, but more than that, he hates that he's feeling it; that he's petty enough to feel jealous over someone he gave up.

But at least he knows that in a few centuries, it'll almost be like Sam never existed at all.

Or so he hopes, because otherwise, it's going to be a long eternity.