Sympathy for the Devil (Lucifer, Supernatural)

2016: The Devil in Angel's Clothing [1]

Leila refused to go to sleep in protest of the way Sam and Dean were acting with Lucifer being so near to her. They weren't wrong to be acting so protective, but it wasn't helping her get time to talk to Lucifer.
She sat on the sofa well past midnight, reading a fiction book that Sam had bought her a few months earlier.
She felt her russet-brown hair being touched and twisted in someone's fingertips and took in a sharp breath, twisting to see who it was.

"I always loved the way your hair smells. Though I must admit it's got less of those hints of smoked hellfire these days." Lucifer stood over her. Despite it being the body, she had known Castiel in, she could see clearly through the way his face moved, that it was Lucifer.

"Gee, I wonder why." She turned around to look back at her book. She felt the blood rushing to her face, warming her skin.

"Back off, Satan." Dean threatened from across the room, peering over his laptop. He was sitting at one of the desks with a beer. It was not uncommon perch for him when not in his room watching crappy horror flicks or in the kitchen gorging his face on the latest takeaway obsession.

"Relax Dean-o." Lucifer put his hands up in defence. "I'm on your side now, aren't I?" He tiled his head to the side. "Besides, Pops can smite me if I do you wrong. But then-" He scrunched up his face, mocking sympathy, "-you wouldn't be able to shut the cage, would you?"

"You sonofabitch I said back off!" Dean rose up, tensing his body as if he were planning to leap across the room and tackle Lucifer down.

"Dean. I want to talk to him privately." Leila stood up abruptly, raising her voice in case the men planned to drown her out. "I'm going to my room. If Lucifer wants to follow so we can talk, then that's okay."

Dean bit the inside of his cheeks, trying not to tell Leila it 'wasn't okay', and she was being stupid. He would just have to put faith in Chuck, and Lucifer, that Leila would be okay. He'd seen how much she'd been affected by Lucifer and though he would prefer she work through it and Lucifer get ganked, he'd have to give her the space to heal in her own way.

"15 minutes and then I'm busting in there." Dean compromised, not taking his eyes off Lucifer. It was a very hard time for himself too. One of his closest friends had been shoved into the deepest recess of his own mind whilst the Devil used his associated skin.

"I wouldn't expect any less." Leila gave Dean a genuine smile. She turned on her heel and met Lucifer's gaze. Then she walked past him for him to follow if he wanted.

After shutting the door of her bedroom, she felt as if it was getting harder to breath. After all this time, she was finally in a room with Lucifer, alone. She could ask so many questions, but she was afraid of the answers. She watched his eyes dance around the room, taking in how she had made it her own. When his eyes landed on her she felt like she was naked from the way he pierced through her simply with his stare.

"Leila." He breathed, taking Castiel's trench coat off, "What have you done to me, Leila?"
Leila's heartrate began to rattle her ribcage.

"Amara was able to weaken me so easily, because I couldn't reach you." He accused. "She could have hurt you."

"She said she'd spare me." Leila repeated the Darkness's words from the day before.

"She probably won't anymore. Sam, Dean and Dad made her real mad."

"That's a shame." Leila said flatly. "And now you're here to stop her from ending everything."

"That's right."

"And will you be tormenting me during your stay?"

Lucifer's brows furrowed. "Tormenting... no, no, Leila." He shook his head. "I may be the father of lies but I won't lie to you. I want to protect you." He insisted. 

Before Leila could protest, he reached out and ran a thumb over her cheek, caressing her lips. His other fingers folded under her jaw. Leila's heartrate began to slow down, and her nausea dispelled. "I'll give you anything you want, Leila." 

"Possess someone else. Not Castiel, not Sam."

"Nick?" Lucifer suggested. "He's gone."

"Just not Castiel, please."

"He's a strong vessel. I need him for now. Soon, I won't be able to stay, and I'll have to hop vessels until I find another strong one. It will be a great big mess."

Leila didn't know where to begin to look for a strong vessel for Lucifer. That would also mean finding someone and asking them to effectively be in an agonising servitude forever more as Lucifer lived in their body.

"I need you, Leila." Lucifer had brought another arm around her waist. He was so close to her now and she was trying hard to not feel like it was Castiel in front of her still, or that Castiel would emerge forward at any moment. "I understood what Hell in the cage was like after you left."

"I don't believe anything you say. I wish I could." Leila spoke honestly, lowering her gaze in defeat. "I've been so confused."

Lucifer tilted her head up. "You will soon. I'll prove it to you somehow."
He leant in and kissed her with feverish passion. It unlocked the repressed desire that Leila had been holding back for a long while and she felt the memories of her time in the cage flash through her mind. She returned the kiss and then pulled herself back with as much resistance as she could. It felt like she was using Castiel's body to get what she wanted, and she couldn't do that.
She found herself being even more surprised by the expression on Lucifer's face. He realised that she would struggle while he was using Castiel's form. He looked dismayed and Leila found herself wanting to remedy it. 

A knock sounded on the door. "Okay. That's 15 minutes and if you don't answer this, I'll break down the door."

It was Lucifer who opened the door, instead of Leila. He walked out first. Leila wondered if it was because he wanted to show Sam and Dean that her space was being respected. She also wondered if, maybe, he'd walked out first so he could hide his vulnerability in front of the Winchesters.
"You okay?" Dean asked. "He didn't touch you?"

Leila decided not to answer the second question directly.

"I'm okay. I think I should head to sleep now or else I'll sleep through the whole morning." Leila gave him a weak smile. "Love you, Dean."

"Love you too, Leila." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and shut her bedroom door.

Then, in the empty hallway, Dean sighed deeply, trying to unfurl the worry in his heart for his dear friend who was like a sister to him.