***Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters. I just like to play with them.
The End Is Only The Beginning
Gabriel stretched out on the couch, ignoring Crowley's look of annoyance as he propped his legs up on the demon's lap. He knew by this point that is purely out of habit and the fact that Crowley draped his arm over his legs just went to prove it. He sighed. He really wished it could be all moments like this. Sure, the house wasn't up to their usual standards and Crowley was constantly worried about some of Lucifer's minions hunting them down but it was just the two of them. The problem was it couldn't last forever.
In fact, it wasn't going to last much longer. Gabriel sighed heavily again. Crowley turned to him with a questioning look.
"Are you still upset I wouldn't let you make a blanket fort in the bedroom?" he asked.
"Nah, I did it anyway," Gabriel said with a shrug. Crowley rolled his eyes up at the ceiling.
"Of course you did." It really didn't surprise him. "In that case, what's wrong?"
"The end of the world."
"Ah." They sat in silence for a moment, Crowley's hand tightening on the angel's leg.
"There's something I need to do, Crowles, and you're not going to like it."
"That's nothing new," he said but there weren't any of the usual hints of teasing in it. "What is it?"
"The old pagan crowd is having a get-together. I don't know what they're up to but I need to check it out," he said watching Crowley closely for his reaction.
"Fine." Crowley stared across the room, lips pursed. The thing about Crowley that most people failed to realize was he wasn't at his maddest when he was yelling; it was the moments of the quiet fury that you really had to worry. Gabriel knew that. He swung his legs down and scooted closer, resting his chin on Crowley's shoulder.
"Listen. You know as well as I do how this is going to end."
Crowley didn't look at him but said, "Then why even bother?"
"The same reason you did," he said and kissed Crowley on the cheek. The demon huffed but he couldn't say anything. Gabriel was right. It was an annoying habit of his. He reached out and took Gabriel's hand.
"It's all coming to an end."
"Everything does, buttercup."
It started as a dull nagging at the back of Crowley's mind. He tried to ignore it but there was very little distraction to be had without Gabriel around. He had stopped pacing after a while and now just sat with his hands folded in front of his mouth as if he was praying. Crowley supposed he could but in all their time together he had never done so. He tried to think of a reason why that was but he couldn't. The temptation was there now because that nagging had become a piercing pain in his chest. It kept growing until he felt as though a blade had been plunged through his heart.
"Gabriel," he whispered, finally.
There was no answer to his prayer.
Crowley was a deal-maker by nature and he hadn't let Gabriel leave without convincing the angel to tell him where he was going. He had agreed not to follow him. They had sealed the deal with a kiss that had lasted a lot longer than necessary considering that the deal wasn't official. He was thinking about all that as he approached the Elysian Fields hotel. The parking lot was empty and there was an absence of sound that was unsettling.
It reminded Crowley of a tomb.
That thought haunted him as he walked through the hotel, following the trail of bodies until he came to the double doors of the banquet hall. He paused for a moment before raising his hand. The doors slowly swung open and he stepped in. Even though he tried to, there was no missing the scorch marks on the floor. Moving as if in a daze, he walked over until he stood in the middle of the ashes and knelt down. Crowley placed his hand on the ground where he imagined Gabriel had lain.
He didn't know how long he had knelt there. Time was of no real consequence to him at the moment. Gabriel had been right. Everything did end and for a moment Crowley considered just giving up on the insane hope that the Winchesters would somehow stop the Apocalypse. The problem was Crowley was a survivalist, an optimist even, and he didn't like to give up.
Right then and there, he made up his mind and said the second prayer of his life.
"I swear I'm going to help those bloody morons put Lucifer back in the box, Gabriel, if it's the last thing I do. And then, I'm going to find a way to bring you back," he said standing up.
"This isn't the end."