seek and ye shall find - SN/Leverage, gennish, PG

[tigriswolf]

Title: seek and ye shall find
Fandom: Leverage/Supernatural
Disclaimer: not my characters; one line paraphrased from Milton
Warnings: spoilers for Supernatural season 5; AU
Pairings: a smidge of Michael/Lucifer, implied Dean/Castiel
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1710
Point of view: third

They send Azrael to fetch him because he will not listen to anyone else.

“Brother,” Azrael says. “It is time to come home. Your vessel is ready to be claimed.”

The being that calls himself Eliot Spencer turns to the Angel of Death and replies, “I’m busy; already got some plans. Come back later.”

That is the first attempt, but nowhere near the last.

o0o

Zachariah is swiftly losing patience and demands Raphael’s help.

“The tactics that work on our lesser brothers will not work on the greatest of us,” Raphael intones, like Zachariah didn’t already know that. “Leave me be,” Raphael adds, closing his eyes to return to his meditation.

Zachariah finds Gabriel on the far side of the sky and asks, “Can’t you go talk to him? We need him for our victory!”

Gabriel smiles gently. “Our elder brother has made his decision. Only Father could change his mind.”

“But God is not here!” Zachariah thunders. “He’s abandoned us.”

His smile sad now, Gabriel looks back towards the Earth. “Our brother has found peace. I’ll not disturb him.”

Biting his tongue, Zachariah leaves him and goes to Azrael again.

o0o

“Brother,” Azrael whispers. “We need you to win. Please come home.”

Eliot Spencer brushes hair off his face and spits blood onto the floor. “That all you got?” he taunts the five humans before him.

They charge; he smirks, wading in to break bones.

o0o

Eight more times Azrael tries and is rebuffed. Finally, he refuses Zachariah’s increasingly hostile demands.

“Leave me be,” he tells Zachariah, settling next to Gabriel. “Our brother has chosen his path and will not be swayed.”

Zachariah grits his teeth and tries to think of another way.

o0o

“Call Castiel,” Zachariah commands, appearing in Dean’s monster of a car.

The car swerves as Dean shouts, “Whoa! How the fuck did you find us?”

Zachariah glares from the backseat, angered that he has been reduced to this—seeking aid from the perpetually infuriating Winchester brothers.

“Call Castiel,” he repeats, not wanting to admit he actually had to watch human traffic cameras to locate them.

“Why?” Sam inquires, twisting to glance back, and Zachariah really doesn’t want to talk to Lucifer’s vessel but alienating either of them is unwise at this point.

“Heaven requires he visit someone,” Zachariah claims.

“Heaven,” Dean scoffs. “Meanin’ you, right, Zach?”

“You can’t find him yourself?” Sam smirks at him, not at all the once awe-filled man who excitedly offered his hand to Castiel.

“No,” Zachariah mutters.

“Too damn bad,” Dean says. “Get the fuck out of my car.”

“If you don’t summon Castiel,” Zachariah tells him, “I’ll follow you and snatch him the next time he appears. You will truly never see him again.”

The Winchesters share a glance, and for all his power, Zachariah cannot glean what passes between them.

“Okay,” Dean says. “But under our rules.”

“Fine,” Zachariah agrees shortly and the rest of the ride is silent.

o0o

Zachariah is told to sit down and shut up while Dean makes the call. He uses a cellphone and Zachariah raises a brow, but keeps quiet off Dean’s look.

“Hey,” Dean says into the phone. “We got your old boss here and he wants to talk with you.” Dean nods. “Yeah, Indiana, where we agreed. Okay.”

Castiel appears in the room, glaring at Zachariah. They haven’t spoken since Castiel told him to leave, since Castiel chose Dean Winchester over his siblings, since something returned Castiel to life without Zachariah’s permission.

“Why are you here?” Castiel demands; his absence from Heaven has not diminished him. If anything, he seems more powerful, far more emotional, and somewhat angry.

“Heaven requires your aid, Castiel,” Zachariah says regally. “My greatest brother has lost his way and must be convinced to return.”

Castiel stares at him. “Michael is not in Heaven?” he whispers. “He is not party to your plan?” His gaze goes to Dean, then back to Zachariah. “You want me to convince him to follow you?”

Zachariah says, “Your paltry rebellion will be overlooked, should you succeed.”

An expression unrecognizable to Zachariah covers Castiel’s vessel’s face for a moment. “Tell me where he is,” Castiel murmurs, face and voice solemn again. “I shall speak with the greatest of us.”

o0o

“Brother,” Castiel says quietly, glancing around the tidy kitchen. “You have ignored Azrael’s pleas. Gabriel and Raphael sit unmoving in Heaven. Lucifer walks the world again. Will you do nothing?”

Eliot turns, nods toward a bowl of chopped vegetables. “Hand me that,” he orders, “and we’ll talk.”

o0o

“So, you’re that one’s lackey now,” Eliot comments, passing over the bread-plate. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

Castiel smiles at him. “I am not here for Zachariah. I don’t want you to take Dean Winchester, but that is not the only way open to you.”

Eliot smirks, stabbing a carrot with his fork. “You’ve discovered the good parts of humanity, then. They’re fascinatin’, ain’t they?”

Nodding, Castiel selects a roll. “How long have you been here?”

“Thirty-five years.” Eliot shovels a forkful of steak in his mouth, chews, and swallows before saying, “I didn’t Fall. I got curious, so I formed a body and chose a place. A nice couple took me in, raised me as their own.” He stares at his glass of water. “I never forgot who I am,” he admits quietly. “I consciously chose to shove all my eons deep inside me, to live and grow as a man. But I never forgot and I never Fell.”

Castiel continues calmly eating, allowing Eliot the time to gather his thoughts.

“I have only ever been a weapon,” Eliot murmurs. “God’s Sword, his thundering fist. Even in this form, I am a weapon, unstoppable and fierce.”

They eat silently and gather the dishes, clear the table, go to the den. Eliot nods to Castiel for him to choose a seat.

Finally, Castiel asks, “Do you know where Yahweh has gone?”

Eliot’s smile is kind. “Yes,” he says. “And if you don’t know, then I can’t tell you, kid.”

“So he’s not dead?” Castiel latches onto the present tense of Eliot’s words. “Raphael told me he’s dead.”

Eliot rolls his eyes. “Raphael always was a pissy bastard.” He stretches. “If God had died, don’t you think Azrael might’ve noticed?”

Castiel nods, considering. “Yes, of course.”

Again, quiet falls. Eliot studies him for a moment, and Castiel waits. “I don’t sense the soul of that vessel, brother.”

“No.” Castiel shake his head. “Raphael destroyed me, and Jimmy Novak with me. I am alone in here now.”

“I can make that form yours, then, if you feel attached to it,” Eliot offers. “Like this body is mine.”

“You returned Anachel’s human body,” Castiel realizes and Eliot smiles. Castiel nods—he has wondered, watching the Winchesters, what truly having a physical body on Earth would be like.

“C’mere,” Eliot commands. They meet in the middle of the room and Eliot places both his hands on Castiel, one palm to his forehead and the other beneath his shirt, over where his heart would beat, were the body still alive. “Breathe with me,” Eliot murmurs. “Restart your system—breathe with me.”

Slowly, Castiel feels himself anchoring inside the human machine, the veins and muscle and skin. He has physical sensation unhindered by not belonging.

“Welcome to actually bein’ alive,” Eliot says.

Castiel breathes.

o0o

When Michael returns to Heaven, Zachariah meets him.

“Brother!” Zachariah exclaims. “Finally.”

Michael is as glorious as the day he left, the greatest of them all, and he stares at Zachariah with dangerous eyes. “I am not here to stay,” he says, the words reverberating. “I have come to tell you that I will not wear Dean Winchester as a vessel to fight Satan.”

Zachariah’s mouth drops open and he splutters, “What?”

Michael looks past him, to the magnificence of Heaven, and he sneers. “The Dinarics are prettier,” he mutters, focusing back on Zachariah. “Should I involve myself in this mess of your making,” he proclaims, words traveling to every angel, fallen and not, “it will not be for you.”

Michael looks Zachariah right in the eyes. “Stop threatening Castiel’s humans,” he commands. “And leave him alone.”

Thunder rumbles across Heaven and Michael is gone. Zachariah feels his grand plan dribbling through his fingers and cannot comprehend what went wrong.

o0o

Standing on a mountaintop, Michael tells Lucifer, “Don’t you think this childish rebellion has gone on long enough?”

Lucifer smirks. “That was a pretty speech you gave, brother.”

“Sammael.” Michael looks him in the eyes. “I do not want to battle you. I never did.”

“Michael,” Lucifer murmurs gently, slowly raising a hand, holding it steady between them. “Michael, my dearest brother.”

Just as slowly, steadily gazing back at him, Michael clasps his fingers around Lucifer’s.

“For you,” Lucifer vows, “the only one who calls me by my true name—for you, Michael, I will delay the final battle. Until your human life is lived out, this world will not end.”

“Thank you,” Michael whispers.

When Lucifer pulls him close, he clings just as tightly and kisses just as fiercely.

o0o

Eliot Spencer returns to his apartment after two days away and no one blinks. His team knows he goes on sabbaticals from time to time. They have a new job and he throws himself into it.

The Winchesters keep fighting the good fight and trying to atone for their weaknesses. Castiel searches for God with renewed vigor.

Michael wonders how anyone can be so blind. God is right in front of their eyes and even Sammael does not see Him.

Lucifer still raises a little Hell, but that is to be expected. Michael resolves to live a long time as Eliot Spencer and decides that he’ll protect any family the team has in the horrors that follow his death.

o0o

“When will you let him know?” Eliot asks God in a dream.

Hazel eyes gleam and full lips smirk. “You think it’s time yet?”

Eliot shrugs. “I can’t hope to fathom the mind of God.”

God laughs. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he assures Eliot. “It’ll be awhile yet. Live out your life, love your friends, and tend your garden.”

Eliot nods. He wakes laughing because Castiel never wondered why that small yellow charm felt warm against his skin until he left Dean Winchester’s presence.