This chapter is a series of drabbles to show the growth of Dean and Crowley's relationship over the period of five months. It seemed like a good idea when I thought about but I'm not sure how it turned out so let me know. Enjoy.
OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO
August
Dean sighed and rubbed his eyes in an effort to stop them stinging. It had never occurred to him how much time and effort went into researching a case. Over the years he'd taken all the work Bobby did for granted. Bobby always had all the answers for any hunter in the country and Dean had never thought about how much work that was.
Well he was thinking about it now as he read through yet another musty book written in a language he didn't quite understand. It had been three months since Sam's death and after realising that he wasn't going to be hunting anytime soon he offered to help Bobby run the home base. So there he was, trying to find some obscure paragraph about killing a monster he'd never heard of to help a hunter he'd never met. He sighed again and let his head drop onto the table, grunting when it hurt more than he'd anticipated.
"Ouch."
He was exhausted but refused to go to sleep until he had a answer for Riley, the hunter chasing a monster who had murdered seventeen women over twenty years. The worst past was how desperate he was for a drink, he wanted nothing more than to break into Bobby's liquor cabinet and chug whatever was in reach but he wouldn't do that because that desire alone was enough to tell him he had a drinking problem. He lifted his head to drop it on the table once more when his phone buzzed.
"Oh thank fuck."
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hoped it was something to distract him from the mind numbing boredom before he did something stupid. Well more stupid than slamming his own head on the table. He smiled when he saw Crowley's name flash across his screen. He didn't see Crowley in person that often, he was always busy doing one thing or another and could never stay topside for more than a few days at a time. He wouldn't talk about it but Dean knew that being in charge wasn't going as smoothly as he'd hoped and his position wasn't as stable as he tried to make Dean believe. Leaning back in his chair he read the message.
Exactly how miserable are you without me?
Dean rolled his eyes at the cockiness.
I'm bored out of my fucking mind. Entertain me.
I'm in the middle of a meeting. This moron has been blabbering for over an hour. I'm thinking about stabbing him in the neck with a letter opener.
You're in Hell?
No, I'm at a day spa getting a seaweed wrap. Of course I'm in Hell. Where else would I fucking be?
You're texting me from Hell? I can't even get reception on the other side of the room and you're texting me from another plane of existence? What phone plan are you on?
My phone plan is called; I'm a demon dumb ass and I know how to use magic.
Sounds much better than my plan. How do I get involved?
Well doing that thing I mentioned would be a good start.
I'm not doing that!
I'll make it good for you.
You are not putting your fist any where near my ass!
Not even if I ask nicely?
Not a fucking chance Hell
I'm the King of Hell you know. That expression doesn't mean anything to me.
No!
We'll discuss this in person later.
We really won't. Wait, later?.
Well I was going to surprise you but I'll be done here in a few hours and I was planning on dropping in.
You should really be careful about just 'dropping in'. Bobby is a jumpy bastard and you're likely to get a cup of holy water to the face.
I'll keep that mind
You do that.
I will
Good.
Dean was glad Bobby had gone to bed hours ago because he was openly smiling like an idiot at his phone. It took ten minutes for Crowley to reply and Dean had gone back to his research.
I'll be there soon xx
It was embarrassing how happy those two little crosses made him.
OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO
September
Dean shuffled into the lounge room wearily, it had been a long day and he was looking forward to watching a movie. Sitting down on the couch he curled his legs underneath him comfortably and stared at the giant bowl of popcorn hungrily. It had taken four packets of double butter popcorn to fill the bowl and he was very happy with the results.
He settled down and flicked the television on, waiting for the movie to start. He ran his hand through his wet hair and thought about his day. He had very quickly realised that helping Bobby with the researching was going to drive him to suicide so he decided to help one of Bobby's friends in town. Simon was a mechanic at the local garage and Dean was natural with cars. The only thing he didn't like about the job was smelling like oil all day and spending an hour in the shower trying to get clean.
He was just about to start on the popcorn when a hand came over his shoulder and stole some. Irrational anger at someone stealing his food coursed through him and whoever had stolen his popcorn was lucky he didn't have anything to stab with. A pair of lips touched his neck and mouthed softly at the skin, tearing his attention away from food. He turned his head and buried his fingers in Crowley's hair, massaging his scalp.
"Mmmm, that feels good." he murmured before using his grip to pull the demon's head away from his neck and into a kiss.
They pulled away eventually and Crowley jumped over the back of the couch with more grace then Dean would have thought possible. He settled down next Dean and pulled him close. He spread out on the couch and Dean curled up next to him happily. He rested his head on the demon's chest and balanced the bowl on his stomach. The silk shirt was soft against his face and caused him to wonder where Crowley found the money for such expensive suits.
"Do ever where anything other than black?" he asked curiously.
"No."
Dean took the hint and focused his attention back to the movie. Crowley obviously didn't want to talk and he wasn't going to push him. Halfway through and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Crowley was warm and comfortable, the rise and fall of his chest was soothing and the gentle hand carding through his hair was sending him to sleep. He put the half empty bowl on the floor and snuggled closer, playing absently with the black buttons of Crowley's shirt. The hand in his hair moved down and began stroking up and down his spine.
"Bad day?" he asked finally, hoping Crowley had calmed down enough not to snap at him.
"You have no idea. I'm beginning to understand why Lilith was such a raging bitch." he sighed, rolling his eyes.
"I thought you were Lilith's right hand man?"
"She was winning. I knew the seals would be broken, it was in my best interests to be on her good side."
"Awwww, your complete lack of any morals is such a turn on." Dean muttered sarcastically. When that failed to pull any kind of response from Crowley he hooked his leg across the demon's waist.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he whispered seductively, kissing the underside of Crowley's jaw.
"As wonderful as that sounds, I haven't slept in what feels like a month. I'm exhausted."
"You haven't been sleeping?"
"Time moves differently in Hell, you know that. When you spend half your time topside and half in Hell, it messes with your sleeping patterns." Crowley explained.
"Well when I was in Hell, I had bigger problems then missing sleep."
"Being King isn't as fun as I thought it would be."
"There's something I've been wondering about that actually. We're dating right?"
"Of course we're dating, what did you think we were doing?"
Dean rolled his eyes when Crowley gave him that look, that 'you're so stupid and I don't know how you breathe and walk at the same time' look.
"Shut up. Anyway, so if you're the King of Hell and I'm your boyfriend, what does that make me?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. You could be my Queen?" Crowley smirked.
Dean glared and at the answer and before Crowley could stop him he reached down and grabbed the demon's crotch painfully tight, squeezing his balls. He tried to remain serious when Crowley squeaked and his eyes went wide.
"Did I say Queen? I didn't mean Queen." Crowley panted.
"Damn right."
"Well what the fuck do you want to be?"
"Can I be King too?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"There can only be one King. You can't make things to complicated, demons are easily confused. You can be my Prince?" Crowley teased, happy when Dean removed the punishing grip from his balls.
"Prince." Dean repeated thoughtfully. "Hmmm….I'll take that."
"Excellent. It's decided. When you can finally managed to die and stay dead you can be my Prince. We'll rule together."
"Do I get a crown?"
"I'm sure I'll be able to find you a crown. I might get one for myself now that you mention it. Oh and we'll have thrones made from the skulls of infants. I've always wanted one of those."
"You are so ridiculas." Dean chuckled.
"I prefer eccentric. But you have a point, crowns might be a bit much."
"Yes because the thrones made from the bones of infants is reasonable."
"Skulls." Crowley chimed in suddenly.
"What?"
"The thrones will be made from the skulls of infants. You said bones."
"Oh well that makes much more sense."
"Of course we'll only bring the thrones out on special occasions."
"Of course." Dean agreed, trying to look serious but failing. It was nice joking around with Crowley. At least he thought Crowley was joking. Oh please let him be joking.
"This is by far the most disturbing conversation I've ever walked in on."
Dean craned his neck up to see Bobby standing next to the armrest of the couch. Bobby smiled tightly at him before frowning at Crowley. He didn't like Crowley being in his house, something Dean could kind of understand. He and Crowley had a habit of having sex in all areas of the house and Bobby was the unfortunate one who kept walking in on them.
"How was work?" Bobby asked as he moved to the liquor cabinet to refill his glass and pointedly ignoring the demon's presence.
"Good. Simon will probably hire me full time before the end of the month."
"Awwww, my little grease monkey." Crowley teased, ruffling Dean's hair.
"Fuck off."
OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO
October
Dean was doing the dishes when a pair of hands covered his eyes suddenly. The only thing that stopped his from elbowing whoever it was in the kidney was the fact he recognised Crowley's cologne.
"Guess who?" Crowley whispered huskily in his ear.
"Oh Ryan, are you gonna fuck me like a naughty boy?" Dean answered, filling his voice with lust.
Faster than he could comprehend, the hands left his eyes and he was spun around roughly before being crushed against the sink. Crowley pinned him in place by placing his hands on either side and boxing him in. His eyes were blazing red, jealously making it hard for him to control himself.
"That isn't funny." he hissed.
"Woops. Wrong lover." he smirked, enjoying winding him up. He liked bringing out Crowley's natural aggressive nature, it was fun and consequences were always enjoyable.
He reached up and stoked Crowley's face, he was really liking the facial hair the demon had going lately. He didn't know what had caused the demon to stop shaving but he was thankful to whatever it was. Running his hand through Crowley's hair he frowned thoughtfully.
"Your hair is longer." he muttered, watching the black strands falls through his fingers.
"I haven't had time for a haircut." Crowley shrugged.
"I like it."
Crowley smiled. A real smile, not a smirk. It made Dean's heart miss a beat. He tilted his head and caught the demon in a kiss. Crowley groaned low in the back of his throat and deepened the kiss, taking control and plundering his mouth. Dean went limp against him and allowed him to dominate the kiss, the warmth of his body making Dean's head spin. When they pulled away Dean couldn't disguise the dopey look on his face. Sometimes he went weeks without seeing Crowley do kissing him was still a relatively new thing and still made his stomach flip.
"Close your eyes for me."
"Why?" Dean asked, instantly suspicious. Crowley was up to something, he could see it by the look in his eyes and it put him on edge.
"Because I have a surprise for you."
"Your idea of a surprise makes me nervous." Dean pointed out, pulling a face.
"Close your eyes." Crowley repeated. His tone of voice making in perfectly clear he expected Dean to obey.
Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. It was easier to just do what Crowley said, he couldn't be bothered to argue. He closed his eyes and waited impatiently. When northing happened he started to get irritated, thinking Crowley was just fucking with him to make him look stupid.
"Open them sweetheart."
Huffing impatiently he opened his eyes, getting ready to smack Crowley on the back of his head for wasting his time. He froze. Bobby's kitchen had disappeared and he was standing in the middle of a dingy hallway. The walls were a horrible cream colour and the floors an off white. It was boring, plain and yet soul crushingly depressing.
"Where the fuck are we?" he asked, confusing colouring his voice as he looked around.
"You don't recognise it?" Crowley was smirking and tucked his hands into his pockets.
Dean frowned and tried to understand why he should recognise the remarkably unremarkable room. A cold feeling spread through him as an idea entered his mind and his breathing quickened rapidly as he veered closer and closer to a panic attack. Crowley wouldn't. he wasn't that cruel. Was he?
"Is this Hell?" Dean asked, embarrassed by his shaking voice.
"Do you like what I've done with the place? It's taken some extensive remodelling but I finally got it the way I want it." Crowley explained, proud of his work.
His face fell quickly when he looked at Dean. He was deathly pale and shaking. From anger or fear he couldn't tell.
"What's wrong?" he asked, taken back by the betrayal radiating from Dean.
"This is your idea of a surprise? I still wake up screaming from nightmares of this place! This was a massively shitty thing to do, even by your standards! Take me back to Bobby's." Dean couldn't believe Crowley could be cruel enough to bring him here of all places.
"Dean…"
"Fuck you Crowley! Take me back!" he yelled, refusing to listen to any of Crowley's bullshit.
Crowley moved towards him and raised a hand to cup his face. Dean flinched at the touch but didn't pull away.
"Look at me Dean."
Dean forced himself to look meet the demon's eyes. "What?" he grunted.
"In the time we've been together, have I ever done anything to hurt you?"
"You bought me to this place!"
"And you said you trusted me. Trust me now."
Dean closed his eyes and swallowed his anger. Crowley had a point. Maybe he had a good reason for bringing him here? Maybe Dean was being irrational. Crowley deserved the benefit of the doubt. "I swear to God Crowley, if you're fucking with me.."
"I know, I know, you'll rip me a new one."
"Fine. You have one chance to prove you're not a raging prick."
"Follow me."
Crowley's hand dropped from his face and settled it against his lower back, guiding him down the hallway. Dean lost track of how many twists and turns they'd taken quickly, the place was a maze. Every hallway looked exactly the same. Eventually they came to a stop outside a door, the first Dean had seen. Leaning around him, Crowley pushed the door open and gestured for him to enter. Dean hesitated as images from his time in Hell. Blood and Screams, his worst nightmares coming to life. He pushed through it and with one last look at Crowley he passed through the door.
What he walked into was breath taking and Dean was reminded that Hell had no basis in reality. He was standing in what looked to be a massive underground cave. The sheer size of the place was hard for his mind to grasp. The grey stone walls were bathed in a soft orange glow that came from a hundred and eighty foot waterfall made of fire instead of water. The wall of fire disappeared from sight and Dean realised they were standing on a cliff. Moving forward he walked to the edge and looked down. It was a three hundred foot drop to a lake, the fire hitting the water in a cloud of sparks.
"Holy shit." he breathed in awe.
"Like it?" Crowley appeared behind him and wrapped an arm tightly around Dean's waist.
"It's beautiful." he whispered, not caring if he sounded like a girl. He'd never seen anything like it.
"Forgive me?"
Dean nodded dumbly, eyes still wide with shock and mouth open.
"Close your mouth darling."
Dean's mouth snapped shut and he kissed Crowley's cheek. "Thank you for brining me here."
Crowley used the arm around him waste to spin him around to face a empty space of smooth stone near the edge of the cliff. With a wave of his hand a black blanket and a picnic basket.
"Is this date?" Dean asked surprised.
"I thought you might like to do something together other than fuck. And if you say one word about me acting like a girl I will push you over the edge of the fucking cliff." Crowley warned, the gruff British voice making Dean shiver.
"What's in the basket?"
"You have a choice of pork with beurre meuniere and mushrooms or Boeuf bourguignon with Raspberry dacquoise for desert."
Dean tried not to pull a face. He had no idea what Crowley had just said but he had a feeling he wouldn't like it. He had a rule, if he couldn't pronounce it, he didn't want to eat it.
"That sounds…..nice." he smiled shakily.
Crowley smirked and looked at him closely, watching him struggle. Dean wasn't nearly as good at lying as he thought, especially not to someone like Crowley who lied for a living.
"Dean I'm fucking with you. It's two large meat lovers pizzas, a six pack of beer and an apple pie."
Dean groaned in relief, happy beyond words that he wasn't going to have to eat something funky.
"You have no idea how much I love you right now." Dean muttered without thinking.
Crowley went ridged next to him and he realised exactly what he'd said. Fuck.
OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO
December
It had been three weeks since Dean's monumental cock up and he hadn't heard from Crowley. After an awkward dinner Crowley had dropped him off at Bobby's and disappeared without a word. Dean was beginning to think he had fucked up beyond fixing and Crowley had made a run for it and he couldn't blame him. What was wrong with him, telling Crowley he loved him? He knew the demon didn't feel the same way, he knew it would make things uncomfortable and he'd said it anyway.
He looked down at the small red box curiously. Not one word, text or phone call from Crowley in three weeks until he had found the box sitting on his chest of drawers.
"Are you gonna open it or just stare?" Bobby asked dryly, leaning against the bedroom door.
Dean didn't answer and instead twirled the piece of card that had come with the present idly. He looked down at it and read the words again.
For you,
Fergus xxx
Shaking his head he opened the box quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. It was a ring. A silver ring with two entwined hearts, a crown sitting above them. Frowning heavily he took it out of the box and noticed writing engraved on the inside. He could see it was Enochian but he couldn't read it, he'd never learnt to read Enochian.
"What does that mean?" he asked, handing the ring over to Bobby.
Bobby took the ring and stared at it intently, a look on his face Dean couldn't read.
"My Enochian is a bit spotty but I'm pretty sure it's a protection spell, and a strong one. The design is called a Luckenbooth "
"Luckenbooth?"
"A traditional Scottish love token." Bobby explained with a shrug.
Dean felt the breath leave him. Crowley had sent him a love token? Maybe he hadn't completely fucked up. A smile spread across his face and for the first time he didn't ignore the warmth in his stomach or the ache in his heart. It was love, he loved Crowley and Crowley loved him in return.
"Looks like you got your Christmas wish kid." Bobby grunted, handing the ring back to Dean.
Looks like he did.
OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO
There it is. The next chapter will be a time jump and will involved Sam. I'm also bringing someone else back from the dead, see if you can guess who it is. Please review