AN:
This chapter is a little short.
I'm going to be posting the next one within a few days, maybe this weekend.
but if everything goes like I'm planning, then this fic will have 20 or so chapters. which means, ohhhh we're halfway there~~~~

I really like the first bit of this chapter. c:

Ferris Bueller, You're my Hero.
monoxidegirl
Chapter 10.

The sun peaks over the low roll of grassy hills and trees sooner than Crowley'd like it to. He hasn't slept much, just dozed, and his bones ache from the cold that's seeped up through the metal of the car hood. Next to him, Gabriel mumbles a sleepy protest at being moved, though once he realizes where he is, he clams up and slides down onto the cement.

They resume driving, bleary-eyed and more than sort of exhausted, until Oklahoma is just a spot in their rear view mirror and Missouri sprawls before them. The next available place for breakfast is in Joplin, so they stop, fuel up, and grab coffee.

Crowley also makes the decision to call home.

At the very least, he can check on his mother, and make sure that his friends were still breathing. Having them dead would seriously put a damper on his resolution to not deal with Abaddon personally.

"Mm'lo?"

Lilith would have been less frustrating to deal with but Alistair had a knack for details and an insider understanding of his business.

"Hello, darling."

Alistair starts to laugh.

Quietly, then louder, and he hears the sheets rustling as he sits up. It's still early and Crowley isn't surprised he's still in bed. He doesn't usually do mornings.

"Well, well. I was wondering when you'd call. I didn't think that kitten had gotten her claws in to you yet. You're far too clever for that old world brutality, Crowley baby."

"Flattery will get you nowhere at this point," Crowley offers and he can see Alistair rolling his eyes, "what's been going on since I've been gone?"

"Chaos. But nothing I can't handle. You know I love a little bit of trouble."

"I'm well aware."

"And you know that Novak kid's missing too? Luke's brother."

Crowley sighs, "He's with me, Alistair."

"What the hell for?"

"You know why."

"Yeah, well," Alistair just hums and Crowley can hear the TV click on, "you really should reconsider and ditch him. He's a neon beacon leading everyone right to you, babe."

"...what do you mean?"

Alistair snorts in that condescending way that makes Crowley hate him, just a little, "Abaddon's looking for him. You're small fry to her. Especially since you left and forfeit your title to her. That's all she wants. Luke wants his little baby brother home and since he's with you...well, she can kill two birds with one stone that way, can't she? Convenience, for the modern age. Or that's what I've heard, anyway."

"You're joking."

"Do I ever?"

"Bloody hell..."

"Have you seen her?"

Crowley sighs and leans against the wall of the phone booth, glancing toward the diner. He catches Gabriel through the glass, chatting easily with the waitress, a pretty brunette with a name tag that read Lisa.

"Twice," Crowley answers, "she said a little birdy told her where were."

"You want that birdy's name, baby?"

"I could probably hazard a guess," Crowley pinches the bridge of his nose and turns away from Gabriel, "But go ahead."

"Luke Novak, the one and only," he hums, "Though, rumours suggest that it's actually the older one who got that deal running."

"Michael?"

"Sure...let's say Michael's his name."

That doesn't make sense. Luke had always been the one who was willing to dirty his hands - Michael was too righteous, with his holier than thou attitude and shining moral values. They may have been twins, but Luke had always walked the line between criminal and saint and him getting involved made perfect sense. Michael was the piece that didn't fit.

Though, desperate times did usually call for desperate measures. Maybe stepping down to his brother's level was Michael's idea of desperate measures.

"Where are you, anyway?"

"Missouri," Crowley answers, though his mind is wandering somewhere else. Chicago may not be an option anymore. Canada might be a safer bet; "But we're not staying."

"You've ditched the car, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"Money?"

Crowley exhales, "I'm down to dollars right now. I don't know what to do."

"You do so," Alistair accuses, "Don't be so dramatic. Steal some. I showed you how. Don't be a baby and grow a pair of balls, Crowley, Christ."

"I can't steal with Gabriel around, you moron."

Alistair does a poor imitation of him and Crowley resists the urge to smash the phone receiver against the wall, "what other choice do you have? You go to a bank, they're going to ding you and Abaddon is going to come running. I don't see how you have any other options, baby. Forget your little girly crush and let him see how dirty you really are. If he's like Luke, it might be a turn on."

"Stop that."

"Sore spot?"

"Just don't talk about him like that."

"Aw, Crowley baby, you're melting my heart here. If I didn't know better, I'd say you really did like him!" Alistair laughs. Crowley stays silent. Then Alistair stops laughing; "...You do, don't you."

"I said stop that. Don't be ridiculous."

"No, no, developing a crush on the one thing that's going to get you killed, that's ridiculous, baby. Ditch. Him. Get in the car and drive away. He's just dead weight to you anyway."

"I'm not leaving him in the middle of nowhere, Alistair, don't be stupid! At the very least, I can use him as a bargaining chip. Luke wants him back so badly, then he can call off his attack dog. I get my business back, Luke gets his brother and Abaddon can go fuck herself."

"That's my boy."

"Right," Crowley starts to twist the phone cord around his finger idly, and he sighs, "I'm out of minutes. Keep an eye on Lilith until I'm home."

"You got it, baby. I'll see you soon."

Crowley hangs up, turns and is met with Gabriel. He's standing just outside the phone booth, shoulders tense, back ramrod straight, like a knife is pushing into the curve of his spine. Crowley resists the urge to check if Abaddon is hiding behind him.

"Ready to go?"

"I'm a bargaining chip?"

Crowley's blood runs cold and he thinks he feels his stomach drop out from beneath him, "...what?"

"That's what you just said, you incredibly huge ass. You called me your bargaining chip. You're going to, what? Trade me off so Abaddon will let you keep selling drugs?"

"Gabriel, that's not what I meant..."

"I came with you because I'm your friend, you dick, and you're...fuck you."

"Gabriel. Please. Stop shouting and calm down. It's not-"

"Don't tell me to calm down! You're using me! Wait...that's why you let me come with you? So I could be your friggin' bargaining chip?"

"That is not what I meant!"

Gabriel snorts, "It's pretty fucking clear what you meant, Crowley, Jesus Christ. I'm not going home just to be your bargaining chip. Forget it."

Oh damn it.

Crowley wonders briefly when his damn luck got to be so shitty. He doesn't dwell on that, though, because Gabriel is turning around and storming off toward the highway.

"Where are you going?" Crowley calls after him and he has to jog to catch up. He grabs onto Gabriel's arm, but he just shakes him off; "Gabriel, damn it, I'm serious! What are you going to do? Are you going to...what, hitchhike home?"

"Sure, why not!"

"Gabriel, I swear to you. I wasn't going to use you as a bargaining chip. Alistair, he said...Abaddon's following us because of you, and he wanted me to ditch you here. Go off on my own. I just said it to shut him up, I never meant to do-"

"...Wait, Abaddon's after me? Why?"

That seems to have slowed him down considerably. Crowley nods, a little, and he reaches out to take Gabriel's hand. He doesn't pull back, which is an improvement. He even takes the moment to thread their fingers together and Gabriel's shoulders sag a bit, in relief or exhaustion, he's not sure. Maybe a little of both.

"That's what Alistair said," he says, "So we have to...deal with this and be smart about it, yeah? Use our brains. Plan things out. We're almost out of money, and we have a long way to go to get to Chicago. We need gas and food. And we need to get it without being caught."

"What about Kansas?"

"...What about Kansas?"

Gabriel sighs, "what if we drove into Kansas, made it look like we headed north from Oklahoma instead of north east. We could...I don't know, withdraw some money from a bank in Kansas and then haul ass back toward Chicago."

That might work.

"I have an ATM card," Gabriel says, "if my brothers really sent Abaddon after me, I'm sure using it will catch their attention. At least then we'll have money."

"How much?"

"I think there's at least twelve hundred. It's Michael's and Luke's."

"...How on Earth did you get that?"

"The card was in the front hallway. Luke left it there after he got groceries last weekend. I saw it, I grabbed it. Easy."

Gabriel shrugs. Crowley just shakes his head and rubs at his temple with the hand not holding Gabriel's, leading him back toward the car. Trust Gabriel to put his brother's faith in his siblings to less than pure uses. But regardless, he has a bad feeling that he can't quite shake. It was a solid plan, at least, and even if it didn't work and Abaddon didn't fall for it, it would give them the cash they needed and then some.

"So we have a plan?"

"We have a plan," Crowley confirms, squeezing his hand lightly, "Let's hope it works."