Crowley grunted as he struggled to maneuver his hands, trying to reach the bag of sour gummy worms near the bottom of the vending machine. He had to hand it to the humans, the way they had designed the bloody thing was so simple, yet extremely effective. It was made to keep both small and big hands from stealing the goodies inside without paying up and he slammed a hand onto the machine in frustration. His relentless determination wasn't unnoticed.
"What is Crowley doing?" Sam seemed to be asking the question more out of exasperation than anything.
Dean leaned over to find the demon still trying. "Stealing candy," he said simply.
"He is - he's - he's stealing candy." Sam buried his face in his hands.
"You know, at least when Cas was human, he was an okay guy. Should've known Crowley would be a douche version." Dean got up, addressing the demon. "Hey. Hey! Cut it out, man! Image! You're the king of rotten. Act like it."
Crowley shot a glare at Dean but grudgingly stopped, opting to sitting down on the nearest bench. That was when the angel sandwiched between the two brothers spoke up.
"Dean. What you said was unnecessary."
"Seriously Cas? What's gotten into you? He is the king of rotten. How can you argue with that?"
"He is not a "douche" Dean. When I was human, I was just like him," the angel said, looking in the direction of the demon, "helpless and powerless."
Dean and Sam simply gawked at the fact that the angel was defending the demon as Castiel walked off. The angel made his way to the vending machine, a small smirk on his face as he approached it.
Crowley was too busy seething in frustration that he didn't notice that Castiel had sat down beside him until the angel placed a bag in his lap. He looked down to find the bag of sour gummy worms and he stole a glance to the side to find the angel staring out into the trees in front of them.
Crowley narrowed his eyes. "You don't have money on you, I know that much... which must mean that you used your angelic powers for me. I'm flattered Cas." Crowley gave the angel a playful wink.
"I did not use my grace, Crowley." Castiel had to conserve what grace he had left which was slowly dwindling. He looked down at the ground, almost in shame. "When I was human, I had nothing. I found that the people with the least to give are the most generous but even so, it was hard to survive so I had to learn a few... skills."
Crowley let out a small chuckle that made Castiel shoot him a glare. "Well kitten, I'm genuinely impressed. Your bad boy side has fully blossomed by the looks of it, although I do accept full responsibility for nurturing it. And I'm also quite curious to see what other skills you have hidden under your belt... all entendres intended."
Castiel rolled his eyes in aggravation at the comment while Crowley opened the bag up, digging in to pull out a gummy worm. The demon tilted his head unconsciously and held the worm up to eye level.
"Why do humans design their candy to look like disgusting bugs, eh? It only makes you lose your appetite." Crowley kept eyeing the worm in distaste when Castiel, who had scooted closer so that he was right next to the demon, grabbed Crowley's hand and fed himself the piece of candy.
"Oi! You almost bit my finger off, you feather brained idiot!" Crowley snapped, more caught off guard than angry.
"You were taking too long. And does it matter what it looks like when taste is the most important thing?" Castiel pointed out as he chewed, stuffing a hand into the bag and pulling out a handful of worms. "They may taste like molecules to me, now that I have my grace back but I still enjoy the taste of sugar."
Crowley rolled his eyes at the angel who lacked a sense of taste for the finer things in life. In Crowley's book, food had to be just as visually appealing as the taste. "You've got to be joking, Kitten… this is not food. In fact, it's hardly edible but I don't have much of a choice right now, do I?" Crowley huffed as he reluctantly took a worm in his mouth.
With his mouth full of gummy worms, Castiel managed to mumble out a 'This is food, be grateful demon' while trying his best to keep worms from falling out while chewing when he spoke.
Crowley clamped a hand over Castiel's mouth. "Didn't those two agro dimwits teach you that you never talk with your mouth full?!" the demon scolded, disgusted at the sight of worm bits dangling from the angel's mouth.
Castiel simply looked at Crowley with wide eyes, blue eyes staring curiously as he finished gulping down the candy. For a moment, they just looked at each other before Crowley began to pull his hand away, only to have a firm grip wrap around his wrist. Crowley narrowed his eyes questioningly before trying to jerk his arm away but the angel's hold only tightened. He raised an eyebrow at Castiel who only gave him a fierce look back.
"What is it, Cas?" Crowley inquired, with a wicked grin at Castiel's sudden forwardness. "Oh and a little side note, I do hope you realize that Moose and Squirrel are both staring at us..."
Crowley doubted the angel cared and he couldn't have been more right because Castiel used Crowley's arm to pull the demon in closer until they were almost nose to nose. What was bothering the angel so much that it was as if a bean pole had been shoved up Castiel's arse, more so than usual? He searched for clues in the angel's deep sea blue eyes and reflecting back at him was… regret?
Castiel's piercing gaze, a cocktail mix of emotions behind those eyes, was almost hypnotizing and it took a moment for Crowley to pull himself together. "Speak up angel, I can't read your mind -"
The next words were cut off as Crowley let out a surprised shout that was quickly muffled out as the angel's lips crashed into his. For a moment, Crowley did nothing like a stupefied idiot, astounded that Castiel had the guts to do this, especially with the audience that was watching. A quick glance over Castiel's shoulder confirmed it because both brothers were gaping, mouths wide open. Ah, perfect. The demon wanted to take this golden opportunity and make the show worthwhile.
Bloody hell. The angel was trying to eat Crowley to death, as if the world was ending at that very moment and this was a final act of some sort or another. There was a whirlwind of desperation and passion behind the angel's fiery lips that made the whole experience incredibly refreshing.
Castiel clenched down on Crowley's wrist harder, pulling the demon's body closer to his, as the bag of candy fell out of Crowley's lap onto the ground. The angel was being stubborn, refusing to grant the demon access so Crowley wrapped his free arm around the back of Castiel's head, entangling his fingers in coarse black hair while yanking his other hand out of the angel's grip. With his other hand free, Crowley harshly tugged on the collar of Castiel's coat to change the angle of their mouths. Castiel hadn't been expecting such a dirty trick, experience giving the demon the upper hand and he took the break in Castiel's defense to slip his tongue into the angel's mouth, a battle of tongues ensuing. A noise similar to a growl erupted from the angel's throat who furrowed his eyebrows in disapproval while Crowley casually shot a wink back as he explored Castiel's mouth hungrily.
It felt like a millennia had passed since the both of them had sealed their deal the same way, back when Purgatory had been important to them. Castiel's technique hadn't improved at all… it still lacked finesse like the first time, only difference being that the rebellious angel refused to yield, reciprocating back with a burning confidence, tongue grazing Crowley's teeth as Castiel fisted his free hands around the front of the demon's black overcoat to eliminate every molecule of space between them.
They finally broke apart, panting and gasping for air, never once breaking eye contact even for a second, their hands frozen in place on each other as they exchanged charged looks before the silence was broken abruptly.
"I'm sorry."
"What in the... what on earth are you apologizing to me for?" Crowley asked, squinting at the angel in confusion.
"I broke our deal... back then. I never got to apologize and I don't think offering you honey was a mature way of doing it..." Castiel answered back, eyes dropping back to the ground yet, his hands still held onto the demon's coat as if he was frantically begging for forgiveness. The words didn't need to be spoken. Crowley already knew.
He scoffed at the angel's uncanny memory, dropping his hands from Castiel to run a hand through his beard. "Is that what has your panties in a bunch, Kitten? You do realize that I've long since forgotten it? I did get you back by sticking my hands in you so I'd say we're even. Especially since you've decided to come out to your parents over there," Crowley finished, gesturing toward the two brothers who were still in the process of trying to understand what exactly had happened in front of their eyes.
"That's not all. I also need to apologize for leaving you in that dungeon and -"
He was unexpectedly interrupted when Crowley suddenly stood up directly in front of the angel and put a finger on Castiel's lips, silencing him. The angel goggled up at the demon who, to his surprise, looked down at him with a warm and affectionate glimmer in his eyes that was so unlike Crowley. The demon's recent addiction to human blood had brought back a lot of memories and he had found himself reminiscing, particularly on his partnership with Castiel... the frustration of the angel answering every call from the Winchesters, the sting of betrayal, the guilt of double cross, the twinge of ache at watching a broken winged angel trying to fly again... all these feelings had come flooding back all at once, much more concentrated and piercingly clear. At the time, he'd thought that distractions would help him cope, in a cycle of alcohol, sex, and blood. It had done nothing for him and truth be told, it made everything much worse.
He'd wanted to deny it all. There was absolutely no way a demon like him could have had any shred of emotions or feelings toward an angel, out of all things. He was a masochist, a demon for Hell's sake, but the more he dwelled on that fact, the more he realized that even the very first time they'd crossed paths - when the peeping Tom of an angel had witnessed his business transaction with a banker - he'd been extremely interested in Castiel, the angel that had balls unlike his family of feathered puffballs upstairs.
He just let those blue eyes warily search his own and found himself able to finally accept the fact that he was indeed, fond of the angel, more than he'd like to admit. He leaned down, the finger that had stopped Castiel mid sentence ran down to settle underneath Castiel's chin to tilt the angel's head up at him while his other hand was shoved into his coat pocket.
"Stop. Talking." Crowley growled out, his voice much coarser than usual and Castiel couldn't help squirming a little on the bench, hearing his own words used against him in such an arousing way. At the same time, it reminded him too much of his arrogance and selfishness that had made him no better than Judas himself…. He'd been embarrassed by what he had done and hadn't been able to apologize for betraying the demon. Since then, he had either avoided the demon or acted hostile towards him because he found himself unable to form any words of apology. What exactly was he supposed to say? In the end, he had mustered up enough courage to find that action spoke louder than words.
Crowley opened his mouth to say something else when there was a shout from Dean, both brothers seemingly having recovered their brains from off the floor. "Can you two just get a room later?! Cas, stop distracting Crowley. And Crowley, seriously man?! The dude's coming and we need you ready! Do you want to help us get the First Blade or not?" Dean huffed, pissed off at the fact that Crowley was losing focus on the real mission here.
Crowley gave Dean a cheeky grin, along with a little 'hello Squirrel' wave, taunting the Winchester who shook his head in agitation. The demon turned his attention back to Castiel who was timidly trying to look away from him, having finally realized that the two brothers had been watching. The angel's awareness to his surroundings was as slow as ever but then again, that's what made Castiel... well... Cas.
"Oi, eyes on me angel," Crowley demanded softly, his eyes glittering in amusement at Castiel's momentary bashfulness. Blue eyes hesitantly met the demon's. "There's nothing to apologize for. It's all in the past. Besides, I think you've more than made up for it just now, don't you think?"
Castiel was about to protest but Crowley's lips were on his again, gentle this time, a small peck before nibbling the angel's bottom lip as Crowley pulled away quickly in an incredibly teasing manner.
"Why don't we have a proper chat after I finish this business with those two plonkers over there... we have a lot of catching up to do, don't you think?" The hand that was propping Castiel's chin up toward the demon was now offered in front of the angel, open in an absolving gesture. Castiel grasped the hand and felt himself being pulled up to his feet off the bench.
They exchanged eye contact and that was all they needed. It was a conversation of invisible words, sharing of memories, and an exchangement of feelings that happened on a level that only supernatural beings could.
"Could you guys save your bedroom eyes for later?!" Dean shouted out, frustration cracking his voice near the end. Sam just had his hands raised up in surrender as Dean scolded him for not speaking his mind at the angel and demon who were clearly not focused on the task at hand. Crowley let out a bothered sigh and Castiel couldn't help smiling at the demon's pouty side at being interrupted.
It was then that Castiel realized the bigger picture. Dean, Sam, Crowley, and himself. How long had they worked together? All he knew was that ever since they had averted the apocalypse, they had always ended up united. Yes, his grace may be dwindling, heaven was closed off, Metatron and Abaddon were causing havoc, the brothers' relationship was in bad shape... but in the face of it all, for the first time, he felt fearless.
Whatever had just happened between him and Crowley... had the demon meant that much to him that even the way he viewed things could change in an instant? A small smile ghosted his lips because the answer was so elementary.
Yes.