Who: Samandriel & Abigail Lecter What: Heaven’s most adorable angel gets unjust desserts When: 10/28 after this text exchange Where: Lucifer’s Rating: High. Trigger warning for mentions of dreamlife torture Status: Complete
Abigail didn’t know what was going on, but Samandriel needed her. She was still dressed from school, so she slipped her flats back on, got into the car, and sped all the way to Lucifer’s. The gate was open, and she parked the car, running to enter the house.
The door was unlocked, and it made her stomach bottom out. “Samandriel? Sweetheart?”
Samandriel appeared physically unharmed, but that wasn’t how he felt. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t actually wounded, it seemed like every time he closed his eyes, the dream that had begun that morning just kept going.
“Luigi Ponzi, Justin Hunt, Aaron Webber, Maria, Dennis Adams, Krista, and Sven.” Samandriel didn’t even hear himself speaking anymore. Just a mantra of names repeating as easily as he breathed.
Abigail ran through the rooms of the house, wondering silently why someone needed a home so goddamned big. “Samandriel!” She was yelling at the top of her lungs, hoping he’d hear her and whimper, or rustle. Something.
Lucifer’s office was apparently the safest place in the world Samandriel thought he could be in his moments of lucidity. He screamed, the loud, blood curdling cry of an angel being tortured.
That got Abigail’s attention, and soon she was racing through the door into Lucifer’s office, kneeling beside her friend. “Samandriel, Samandriel, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” She felt out of breath, like she’d been running for miles and not a few square feet.
Samandriel didn’t see her. Gasping, eyes squeezed shut he repeated again, “Luigi Ponzi, Justin Hunt, Aaron Webber, Maria, Dennis Adams, Krista, and Sven.”
She cupped his cheeks, trying to get her voice as low, even, and calm as possible. “Samandriel. It’s Abigail. There’s nobody here but me.”
Samandriel’s eyes focused slowly on her. While he was physically unharmed, the demons at the corners of his eyes made it more than clear that he wasn’t entirely with her at the moment. “What happened to three?” He looked down again, hand on his stomach and sighed. “Dreams. Can’t...I can’t shake them.”
Her fingers continued to cup his cheeks, slowly stroking. “Shh, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I just want you here.”
He leaned into her touch, eyes shut while he tried so very hard to keep in this room with her instead of in the other one with Crowley. “He won’t kill me,” he said softly, “why won’t he just kill me? I don’t know anything else.” That wasn’t strictly true. Dream Samandriel knew a great many things. He just didn’t know anything else that the King of Hell deemed useful.
“Nobody’s killing you, Samandriel. Nobody.” She leaned forward to kiss his forehead, Abigail wishing she could do something to remind him of where he was. “Lucifer wouldn’t have it.”
He reached up to squeeze her hand. “Dream me,” he clarified. “The king of hell has me he keeps...keeps trying to get information out of me. I don’t know anything, but he keeps...it’s worse than what the other me did.” Which for Samandriel, was saying quite a lot.
Sometimes death could be a mercy, but selfishly, Abigail wanted her friend to live. But only in her reality; in his dreams, maybe it would be better if he simply wasn’t. Instead, she just sat next to him, wrapping her arms around him.
“Talk to me,” he said, voice hoarse. “Please. I don’t care what it is, just...just talk about anything.” He needed something other than what he and Crowley kept screaming at each other.
“School’s going well,” she muttered, picking something banal. “It’s kind of boring, really. I know they have to account from lots of kids coming from different places, but it’s hard to deal with sometimes.”
“Keep talking,” he rasped. “Your voice. It helps keep me focused on this. Here and now.” Not only was she not in his dreams, but she wasn’t Crowley or anyone else. Lucifer was the only one who could usually manage this, but Lucifer wasn’t there and he didn’t want to risk Castiel. Not that he didn’t love his brother, of course he did. He just wasn’t sure what his actual reaction was going to be to Castiel or if Castiel would really mind that he couldn’t apologise for the way he’d spoken to him last time they saw each other.
Abigail smiled sadly and she let her forehead rest against his. “Hannibal and I are thinking of going to Saint Bart’s for Christmas, so we can practice being public with things. I was thinking you and Lucifer should do something similar toward your birthday. And I need to buy baby clothes for my friend Verity. Maybe you could come with me.” Normally in situations like this, in the past, Abigail would have cried. But she was starting to learn this wasn’t about her. She had to be strong for Samandriel. That, she could do.
And so Samandriel listened for as long as Abigail was willing to speak. Anything and everything she had to say, he let it soak in and ground him in this reality. He would get through this somehow. They all would.