sirenspull | [video; ACTION]

Hey - [Sam looks very busy! He's in his office at Merlotte's, gathering up files, folders...] - wanted to let everybody know to come down to Merlotte's tonight, we've got a few stand-up comics hired for the night show and some drink specials. I won't be there though, I've got to meet with some people about gettin' a loan, but I've got someone I used to work with at Club 24 coverin' for me tonight. She's real sweet, so I want ya'll to make her feel welcome, okay? - And don't think this means you can act up in the club; I'll still be back to kick ya'll in the ass tomorrow if you do.

[he grabs his keys, waves at the NV and sets it face-down on his desk. There's a muffled conversation, and soon after a woman picks the NV up and smirks]

...Hey there. I'm Sandra - I'll be watchin' the bar for Sam tonight. Hope to see you all in.

((APRIL FOOLS - with a little help from the devil, Sam's in touch with his feminine side tonight and plans to troll you all. You can respond to this like a post or start an action thread in the club!))

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[That takes him aback slightly and he doesn't know how to respond for a moment.]

Then stay away from them. You don't have to kill them.

That was the plan. Take Michael, run like hell's on our heels. He isn't on board. Then you throw us in a cage.

So, now I get to rethink all my life's ambitions. Like just how many ways there really are to crack open a human skull. [He grins lazily at his youngest brother] Unless something changes and he decides to ride off with me after all.

You don't need Michael to agree with you. You can choose to walk away on your own. He isn't fighting you here.

[He finally picks up his coffee, somewhat unsteadily, and takes a sip.]

He's never agreed with me. But don't you get it? I need him. [He's drunk. Not falling-down blackout drunk, but enough to be more open than he'd normally like.] I love him, more than I love...I don't know.

The same way you needed the Winchesters. But more than that.

[Castiel recognizes that Lucifer's drunk too, on some level; that he's being honest and open about this. And it makes Castiel a little curious, but the mention of the Winchesters prompts him to put down his coffee again and make another bitter remark.]

The Winchesters turned on me. I have to get along without them, now, just as you must without Michael.

[He hadn't intended to tell Lucifer about the Winchesters, but it just comes out, and he can't take it back.]

[The difference is he has Michael, he has a shot at turning this around. He's drunk enough to consider an 'I told you so', but sober enough not to even hint that he thought about it.]

And 'getting along' is a lot easier when you have someone who's been turned away from every door and knows what it's like to be on Heaven's Most Wanted.

[Castiel has Sam and Dean here too, but even though he and Sam are speaking again, he can't look at him without remembering everything that happened, and his skin still crawls when Sam comes too close. And Dean... After the last things they said to each other at home, even if this Dean is from earlier, Castiel still knows when it comes down to it what Dean will do.

But he's not going to let himself be swayed so easily, either.]

I am nothing like you.

[But though the words are an echo of what he said to Anna, the conviction he'd had then is gone, not just because of the alcohol. He'd said it himself, to Crowley, that he would become the next Lucifer. And he's beginning to be really afraid he has.]

Yes. You are. Do you really want me to list all the ways we're alike, brother? [He moves his hand, like batting away a mosquito]

You don't need me to do that. In all this time, you're the only one who's not only understood what I did while opposing it, but then gone on to do the exact same things for the exact same reasons.

Face it. Without me, you'd be the only one who could fill that space in the balance of things. Not Crowley, not the armies of Hell.

You.

I didn't.

[Castiel protests immediately, but it's weak, because so much of what Lucifer is saying is ringing true despite wanting to believe it's a lie.]

I didn't act for the same reason as you.

[But if Lucifer had just wanted to be with the person he loves, and fighting had been the only way to achieve that... Hadn't he? The Winchesters had been Castiel's main motivation the entire time, even if he'd had secondary ones--let the angels have freedom, to overthrow the oppressive rule in Heaven--and how is that different than what Lucifer claimed his reasons were?

He shouldn't even be considering this; he should be writing it off immediately without consideration. But he's too drunk to do so, and so the thoughts just swirl around in his mind.]

Yes, you did. And you know it. Freedom? Individuality? That was all there, but second fiddle to what you and I really wanted. And guess what. Neither of us got it.

[Lucifer looks away, at the waitress across the room, until he can get the bitterness under control. It's one of the few emotions he hates letting people see.]

But at least we have our free will. Right, Cas?

[Yes. At least they have that, no matter how hollow it feels, which is surely Lucifer's point.

Castiel goes silent for a few moments, staring down at his coffee, feeling sick; he's not sure if it's because of the alcohol or just being unsettled.]

Yes. We had our chances.

[And they'd both lost.]

[Lucifer, for once, doesn't follow that up with something cutting or sarcastic. He just lets Castiel have some quiet for a few minutes.]

So here we are now. We don't have to fight here, Castiel. What's the point in it?

There isn't a point.

[He finally admits quietly, swirling his coffee just a tiny bit idly. But then he looks up.]

If you don't harm anyone.

[Which was the entire point of this deal, after all. Castiel doesn't want to have to fight Lucifer; he'll lose, and he knows it. But he still will if he's pushed into it, because he won't allow Lucifer to wreck havoc on those he cares about unopposed.]

I'm not going to promise that. If they harm something I care about, I'll do exactly what you would.

[It's just that Lucifer is a great deal crueler and stronger, so his responses seem much bigger.]

But... if they stay away from what's mine, I'll let them live their little lives.

[He stares back at Lucifer, but finally gives a small nod. He understands that, and he can't hold it against Lucifer.]

Fine.

[He smiles slightly and sits back.]

How's the drink?

[He pauses a moment, considering it.]

Sugary.

[He normally drinks coffee black after his unfortunate experience with the creamer pods, as he's been too hesitant to add anything to his coffee since.]

Is yours the same?

Not as much. I gave you most of it.

So, what's a human invention you do like?

[Castiel doesn't even consider the randomness of the question, just pondering the answer.]

Cell phones are irritating on occasion, but their use outweighs such annoyances.

[They're practical and simple enough, and he'd made use of them extensively during his time outcast from Heaven.]

You don't need one.

[Tilting his head.]

And the NV's are unpredictable.

I don't need one anymore. They're still useful.

[He sips at his coffee again.]

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