InsaneJournal

Who: Cas, Elaine Belloc and Lucifer Morningstar.
What: A conversation, a job discussion, and some power at work. Also a fair bit of inappropriateness.
Where: The void where people go when they die.
When: Now.
Rating: PG.
Status: Complete.

It was quiet, which was sort of to be expected Cas supposed since he was alone. It was nice in its own way, and he'd played approximately nine thousand games of solitaire since he'd found himself in this holding cell. He'd won about six. Solitaire was a bitch of a game. He briefly considered switching to something more fun, like poker, but he knew all his own tells so that was out. He liked it here, if only because the very fact that he was in a holding cell indicated this wasn't permanent. He'd have hated it if he had died for real, in the permanent sense, killed by his dickbag of an other self. Not to mention leaving Parker like that would have been just too awful. He wondered how long it had been, since there was no real sense of time in a place like this, and if she was okay. If she had given up on him. He wouldn't blame her if she had. For all he knew it had been years. But probably not. That would be one hell of a dick move on Morgan Freeman's part. He wondered about Dean too, of course, but he hadn't exploded all over Dean so he was a little less worried about him.

And then someone else was there and he wasn’t alone any more - which sort of went with the someone else being there part, but humor him. It wasn't often - or ever - that he got visitors here, what with being dead and all, so he was instantly curious. He raised an eyebrow at Elaine, wondering when Emmanuelle had left the city. At least he was pretty sure Emmy had been the god-in-residence when he’d bit it. It was getting a little hard to keep track of what mom/dad/niece/hamster was in charge these days. Still, at least a visit from some power meant things would be changing soon, and he was about ready for some change. "Want to join me?" he asked casually, leaning back and giving her an easy smile. "I can stand to switch it up. Deal out a hand of poker. We could even play strip poker! Or is that blasphemous? It's hard to keep track who thinks what’s blasphemous any more. I mean, Emmanuelle's pretty chill. And Douchestiel is offended by everything...and I figure you're somewhere in the middle. More of Column A than Column B."

Elaine had always liked Cas. He wasn't like the other angels she'd dealt with in the city and definitely wasn't like the younger version of himself that was currently wandering around on a massive power trip. He spoke his mind without being too much in someone's face about it, called Dean Winchester on his issues, and genuinely wanted to help people who needed it. Which wasn't to say the other angels present were too much different - the younger, much too powerful Castiel being the exception - but none of them were quite like Cas. And it had hurt when she'd discovered what had happened to him in Colligo. She had wanted to immediately fix it, to ignore the 'rules' laid down by her Great Uncle and just bring Cas back, fully under her protection so he couldn’t be harmed again.

She couldn't, though. As the Presence, she had to follow the rules, at least to some degree, and she knew she wasn't the one who was meant to bring him back anyway. No, that fell so someone else entirely, and Elaine was fine with that. It was waiting for the time to come that had been the hard part. She'd managed it, of course, but was all too happy to finally jump into action now that things were starting to fall into place. In fact, in her excitement to see Cas come back, she had wound up beating the other being involved there by a little bit, but she was fine with that, too. Because even though she wasn't the one bringing the angel back, she did have a few things to discuss with him first.

Smiling at his offer for poker, bemused when he started trying to categorize her, Elaine took a seat across from him without any hesitation. "I'm not playing strip poker with you," she informed him first and foremost, though the smile still in place showed she was hardly insulted at the suggestion. "But go ahead and deal a hand. We can talk while we play the kind where our clothes stay on."

Cas mock pouted for a moment, before grinning at Elaine. He liked her. A lot. She was fun and, more importantly, she had spunk. For someone to whom God was nothing more than a name, an absent figure hanging over his head, it was a nice change. Emmanuelle had been a change too, but on some level he still connected her with his god. Elaine was different. He shrugged at her outright refusal to play strip poker, not really bothered by it. "Your loss," he said idly. "I'm told I have excellent...calves." He lowered his voice, even though it was just the two of them, waggling his eyebrows a little, teasingly. "And by calves I mean...something that definitely isn't my legs. Read between the lines, Junior. Or, in this case, legs." And then he winked. Because there was nothing quite like using really terrible lines on God to make the afterlife more interesting.

He shook his head, dealing out the cards. "What about naked poker?" he said after a moment. "We wouldn’t be taking the clothes off as part of a game. We’d just be...more comfortable. Come on, Ellie, I'm dead. Humor me." He pretended to wait a moment for her response, then sighed. "No...no, you're right. It wouldn't be fair of us to embrace our most secret desires. I'm a dead guy stuck in a pocket universe. What could I possibly have to offer you? Not to mention in some realities I'd be considered your uncle, and that's just wrong in a concerned after school special sort of way." Giving up on that, he looked at his cards. "So...got any threes?" He knew he was being ridiculous, but he wasn't quite ready to focus on whatever serious business she was here to discuss. He wasn't under the delusion she'd come here just to chat and play cards.

Elaine couldn't help but laugh lightly at Cas's antics. Sure, anyone else who overheard the conversation might be a bit shocked - although not terribly so, if they knew Cas at all - but she wasn’t surprised nor offended. Cas was himself, no matter who he was around, and she respected that about him. Besides. It was nice, having conversations that weren't at all serious. So much of her work since she’d become the Presence had been setting things right, enforcing rules and following self-imposed ones herself. A chance to sit back and relax was a rarity and one she wanted to enjoy, even if it wasn’t going to last very much longer.

"Sorry, Cas," she replied lightly as she glanced at her cards, "but my clothes stay on." Her gaze slid up to his, the corner of her mouth rising upward in a smirk. "You haven't even bought me dinner yet." Then she shook her head, never mind that she had three of a kind that happened to be threes right there in front of her.

"Nope, no threes. I'm afraid you’re out of luck," she said smoothly. She gathered the cards she wanted to trade in for others, setting them down and waiting for him to deal some new ones. As she gathered those back into her hand, she finally spoke again. Her tone was casual, much like it had been for the rest of the conversation thus far. What she had to say, however, wasn’t very run-of-the-mill at all.

"You know I'm still a little new at this Presence thing, which means I'm probably not supposed to ask but, well, I've never been very patient even on the best of days. So..." She finished sorting her cards and once more met his gaze, one eyebrow arching toward her hairline as she questioned, "Are you planning on mentioning that you don't want to be an angel any more or should I just pretend it's not obvious?"

Cas was gratified to hear Elaine laughing. That had, after all, been his aim in making the comments he had so far. Well, it wasn't as though he was trying to be funny. He was just being himself. But he wasn't holding himself in check or acting overly polite or deferential out of some misplaced sense of propriety. Elaine may have been God, or rather the Presence, but she wasn't all that different from anyone else if you ignored the power she possessed. He imagined it was grating for her, having people act as though she was nothing more than her job. He tried his best to help her feel as normal as possible.

"Fine," he said with a feigned sigh, giving her a sort of ah shucks smile. "Be boring and...clothed if that's what you really want. I guess we can think of some kind of...non-naked pastime to keep us occupied." He grinned. "I'd buy you dinner but...A) There's no restaurants here, what with being dead and all. And B) Parker would probably be annoyed with me for buying someone else dinner." He paused. "But she'd probably be fine with it if I stole it. Can I steal you dinner?"

"That's okay," Cas said blithely as she played along, looking at his own hand. "I don't have any either. Also, you're totally lying. Are you allowed to lie? Being God and all? I mean...aren't you supposed to set a good example for us kids?" He considered his hand, taking the cards he didn't want and exchanging them for new cards. Better, but she would still most likely win. Not that he minded. It was the game that he enjoyed, not the winning. Especially since he had, to some degree, been trying to mix Go Fish with poker. Actually, that sounded kind of fun. He could call it Poke Fish.

He stopped, setting down his cards when she asked her question. He was surprised, not because she was wrong but because it was more blunt than deities used to be about these sorts of things. He was quiet, just staring at her for a moment, before he just started laughing. "I wasn't really planning on mentioning it," he said, "because it's kind of...I don't know...weird to go telling your boss you hate your job. That way leads to firing, and where I'm from firing typically involves stabby stuff - not that that matters since I'm already dead. Still, it would suck to get...deader. Not that I think you would stab me. I don't think that. Just...am I fired?"

Elaine snorted at his reaction, giving him a bemused smile. "You aren't fired and yes, I'm allowed to lie. I'm the Presence. I can technically do whatever I want," she pointed out, only to pause. "But I'm not lying about you being fired. You really aren't," she added quickly. And this was not going the way she’d envisioned. She really did need to get better at envisioning the way things actually would go rather than her own ideal of how they should go. She could practically hear Lucifer and his 'I told you so' as it was.

"But," she finally said, drawing the word out a bit to get her thoughts back on track, "I don’t really see the point in having someone on the payroll if they don’t want to be there. That way can lead to lowered productivity, not to mention outright strikes when there’s not a pay raise coming soon enough." She shook her head, then grew a bit more serious as she set her cards down and met his gaze directly.

"Really, Cas," she said in a sincere tone, "all joking aside. If you aren't happy being an angel, just say so. I'm not going to be insulted. I didn't really want the job I have so I do get it." Picking her cards back up, she idly rearranged them as she added, "And, unlike me, you actually have a choice. I suggest you take it, if it's what you really want."

"I guess you have a point there," Cas said with a small smile. "If you're the boss then I guess there aren't really any rules you have to follow. Still, I’m glad you aren't lying about me being fired...even if you could technically lie about lying. Not that I think you are. Just saying." He sometimes rambled when he was nervous, and he was definitely nervous right now. It wasn't that Elaine was intimidating, because she really wasn't, but he was never sure how he was supposed to act with the higher ups when it came to actual business. "Well...that's good. Again...I'm a big fan of not being stabbed. Or blown up. Or...whatever other creative ways folks are dying these days. Just...personal preference."

He smiled slightly as he started to realize what she was getting at. "I guess it does affect my job performance," he agreed, "and you don't need a lot of angels around here, especially ones who aren't really invested in their jobs. You have plenty of others who would happily do the work. And I have that whole...second job thing, and I actually like that one. It's still working for you sort of...just in a different capacity. Maybe a full-time focus on that would be good for everyone."

His fingers made fidgety motions and he sighed. "I liked being human," he said after a moment. "I did. I miss it. And I don't really like the idea of living for centuries and watching people I care about die. That was never really a problem before but it is now. I don't want to be an angel any more. I want to be human." He was quiet for a long moment, then he smiled. "So...I guess this is me quitting?"

Truth be told, Elaine didn't want to lose Cas as an angel. He was funny, had insight in ways that most others didn’t, and she enjoyed spending time with him. However, when it came right down to it, she knew she couldn't make him keep his wings just so she'd be happy. That wasn't fair and, above all else, Elaine wanted very much to be as fair as she could in all endeavors. So she simply nodded, pushing aside the slight pang of pain at the thought of someday having to watch him grow old and die, and kept right on smiling as she spoke.

"Okay. Just...no changing your mind, Cas. I mean it. There's no revolving door on this." She studied him for a long second, really looked, and realized that her warning that he should be sure this was what he really wanted - and for the right reasons - was pointless. She could tell. He had the right intentions and was making the best call for himself. And while she would personally miss having him as part of her group, she also understood his reasons.

"And it's done," she finally spoke again. "When you come back to life, you'll be mortal again." She purposefully lowered her gaze to her cards, studying them as though they held the answers to all of life secrets. "And," she added casually after a heartbeat or two, raising her gaze to meet his, "to save you the trouble of asking, no. I can't bring you back to life. There are rules and procedures and the other version of you still needs to learn his lesson."

Another pause before she smiled broadly. "But I do happen to know someone who doesn't care so much for those kinds of things. And I think he might be willing to help you out, just this once..."

"I don't think this is something I'm going to change my mind about," Cas assured Elaine. "I mean...I only went back to being an angel in the first place to bring my girlfriend back, and that's not a good reason. It's...kind of selfish, really. I'm sort of surprised you guys even wanted me after that. I should never have been an angel again, it just took me a while to admit that. Deep down, where it really counts, I'm still human. That's what I'm supposed to be. You know it and I know it."

He grinned, feeling strangely relieved. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "That's just...thank you. And it helps to know I really will be coming back. You know...even if I'm not an angel any more, it doesn't mean I won't still be around. You can't get rid of me that easy. I'll buy you coffee some time and we can talk about stuff." He shook his head. "I wouldn't ask. I know you have rules you have to follow and I wouldn't ask you to break them. I may not look it, but I can be patient."

He tilted his head at the last bit, confused by her words. "So wait...you're not breaking the rules...but you're kind of looking the other way while someone else does it? Not that I'm complaining, but who-"

"Oh, yes. That would be me." A new voice joined the conversation, and Lucifer gave a little wave from where he was now leaning against the wall. "Hello again, Castiel. It has been a while. I must say I prefer you to the power-mad vintage running about. Right then." He turned his attention to Elaine. "Sorry I'm late, I just figured I'd skip the pointless back and forth and the incredibly obvious bits. So, should I just set this right? And then we can get back to things that are actually interesting?"

Elaine merely smiled at Cas's confusion, not about to ruin Lucifer's entrance. He wasn't quite as flashy as some seemed to think he was, and certainly wasn't nearly anything like other versions from various realities, but he did deserve a chance to come into the conversation however he saw fit considering he was the one who was righting the wrong that had been committed in this instance. So she simply kept smiling, though she did roll her eyes a bit in somewhat feigned annoyance at her uncle’s nonchalance. Really. Did he have to be like that all the time? Didn't he ever want to shake things up, maybe act interested, even a little?

She knew the answer to that, of course. She knew the answer to everything, or at least the things that really mattered. But old habits died hard and she had asked herself that question so many times before those answers had been readily available to her that it was simply one of her default fall-back mental inquiries whenever her uncle managed to both amuse and irk her in the same instant. Which was quite often, really. Good thing he was her favorite, at least.

"I'm not sure I want to know what you consider interesting, Lucifer," she teased him lightly, flashing him a grin. She really was grateful he was willing to do this. Not that he was doing it for her. Or Cas. Or, at least, not for them entirely. Honestly, Elaine hadn’t delved quite far enough into the situation to find out his exact reasons for opting to bring Cas back to life. She'd simply been grateful he was willing to do it and figured that the less she knew, the better. Just in case.

"And unless Cas wants to finish the game, I'm ready for you to send him back whenever he's ready," she tacked on, turning her head to the former angel about to be resurrected. Which, come to think of it, probably wasn't the best way to describe what was happening but, well, Elaine really didn't care about being all that politically correct right now. At least one thing was getting set right and that was what really mattered. "Cas?" she questioned curiously. "Ready to rejoin the land of the living?" She paused. "And in answer to your question, yes. I'm just going to sit back and let Lucifer do what he wants to do." Her eyes shone with humor as she added mildly, "I mean, I do know better than to challenge my elders. At least, when it suits me."

And with that, she tossed him a wink and waited for whatever was going to happen next.

If Cas could have listed the top one thousand ways he could possibly be brought back to life, he wasn't sure Lucifer would have even made the list. In fact, a wacky Pet Sematary situation would have been more probable than Lucifer bringing him back. Of course, Lucifer hadn't even been in the city when he'd died, so that factored in to the whole not really expecting that particular brother-of-a-sort's help. Still, there was definitely some hilarious poetic justice to the devil saving him from the results of his other self's God complex.

"I'm cool with leaving the game for later," he assured Elaine with a grin, more than ready to get back to the land of the living and see Parker and Dean again. Who knew what sort of trouble they'd got up to in his absence. For all he knew they'd locked themselves out of the apartment and forgotten to feed the lemur and George was on fire again. He really didn't like leaving them alone. "After all, there's nothing saying we can't play a hand or two back in the city. For now, I am more than ready to shuffle back into the mortal coil." Because it wasn't just living. He would be human again. Mortal. Honestly, he'd missed it. "That's fine by me. Every so often your elders have good ideas. It's a rare thing, but it does happen."

Lucifer was silent while the two talked, waiting for the conversation to die down. There wasn't just one reason he was doing this. As with anything, his reasons were many and varied. Yes, part of it was for Elaine, and part of it was that he felt like Cas had been kind of screwed and deserved a break, but there were plenty of other reasons. For one thing, he really didn't like the other Castiel, with his new power-mad attitude and his sanctimonious, hypocritical bullshit. Bringing Cas back would piss him off, and Lucifer really did enjoy pissing off powerful beings. For another, he genuinely liked Parker. She seemed to like him and she didn't judge him. It was refreshing and he knew he could make her happy by doing this. And lastly, he just wanted to show people he could. It was the petty, vain part of him that liked showing off.

"Right," he said, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles. He took a deep breathe, as if preparing for some complex action, then snapped his fingers. That was what angels around here did after all, wasn’t it? Snapped their fingers like idiots to make things happen? And that was it. Cas was gone from the room and back to life as a brand new human. Of course, for all that he'd made it look simple, it had been terribly complicated to form a new body from exploded bits that was exactly right and put Cas's essence inside of it. Still, for all that it was impressive to do something that required a great deal of effort, it was infinitely moreso to do the same thing and make it look effortless.

Looking over at Elaine, he smiled. "Well, now that that's done, there's no point in staying here," he said smugly. "Come by Lux and I'll get you a drink. You can meet my new project. She's a fun one."