Title – Quarantine Kitchen

Pairings – Crowley, Sam, Dean

Word Count – 2,474

Warnings - None

Square filled – Crowley

Prompt: A villain's plans are thwarted by a virus rampaging the globe. Now that they must remain inside and their plans have been ruined, they're forced to pick up a hobby.

Crowley stormed into his chambers, the fury rolling off him.

"Somebody find Pestilence. Search every hospital and clinic on this God forsaken planet and find that bloody horseman. Only he has the power to create a disease that would shut everything down and force everyone to remain in their homes," he bellowed. Demons around him cowered. Crowley look around at the demons who weren't moving. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"Sire, It… according to the news reports, it wasn't Pestilence that did it," one of the demons stuttered out. Crowley turned his narrowed eyes to the cowering demon who stepped forward to speak.

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" he asked. "Who else could have possibly done this if it wasn't Pestilence?"

"Well," the demon said, feeling a little braver. "The news reports are saying it came from China."

"China!?"

"Yes, sir… It's related to China and… and a bat, or a monkey or something," the demon explained, looking around to the others for support. Another demon nodded.

"Yeah, and it's all over the world. Not just here," the other demon said. Crowley turned and faced them, pointing at the demons.

"You're telling me that some wanker in China played with a bat or a monkey that caused this disease, and it's all over the world? Is everyone shut down?" Crowley raged. The demons took a step back, fearing for their lives, as they nodded.

"Pretty much, yeah," one of them said. Crowley's eyes narrowed.

"Show me."

A few hours later, Crowley sat at his ornate desk in dejection. Not only did he learn about how bad this coronavirus really was, he realized just how checked out with national news he had become during his battles with the Winchester brothers.

"Their hoarding toilet paper and bleach," he said, reading articles on his computer. The demon sitting next to him nodded.

"They are telling people to only leave their homes to get food if they can't get it delivered. Thousands of people have already died from this," the demon said. Crowley scowled as he continued scanning the news page.

"Why didn't we think of something like this?" he muttered under his breath. The demon beside him began to respond, causing Crowley to throw a hand up. "It was a rhetorical question! How long are we supposed to be secluded in our homes?"

"We…. I… I don't know?" the demon responded timidly. Crowley turned narrowed eyes toward him. "There hasn't been a time defined yet. Just that we are to quarantine until further notice to keep ourselves safe from catching the virus ourselves."

"Bollocks."

One month turned into two, then four, then six. Crowley was starting to go stir crazy being restricted to only his chambers. He'd already been through his Netflix, a streaming service his subjects set up for him. He's read everything in his library. The internet was boring for a man like him, video games left him disinterested, and killing his demons were leaving him less and less satisfied.

"Why not pick up a hobby?" one of his most loyal subjects, Nya, asked him.

"A hobby," Crowley deadpanned. Nya nodded.

"Sure. There are all kinds of things we could try our hands at," she said with a shrug. Crowley turned to her with a raised brow.

"What do you suggest?" he questioned her.

"Well, there's painting or writing. If you want to do something more challenging, you could try your hand at sewing your own clothing," Nya said with a smirk. Crowley glared at her with fire in his eyes. "Didn't think so. What about baking bread?"

"Baking bread?"

"Yeah," Nya said. "Apparently it's a big thing right now topside. Bread and other baked goods are pretty scarce because of all the hoarding so more and more people are trying their hand at making it themselves."

"Bread." Crowley said again. Nya nodded.

"We're running out of people for you to kill, Sire. Let's just try it."

"Fine. Let's go."

It was a challenge for Nya and Crowley at first. Gathering the ingredients to bake their first loaf of bread was a challenge since shelves at the stores really were empty. Thankfully, Nya was able to track down things like flour and yeast. After they had all their ingredients, the two of them went into the top of the line kitchen Crowley had installed and got to work.

Following the instructions Nya printed off the internet, Crowley went through the steps of making a loaf of banana bread. As it baked in the oven, Nya put together a Sourdough starter.

"The hell is that?" Crowley asked her.

"It's the starter for sourdough," she replied. Crowley lifted a brow.

"Sourdough needs a starter? It isn't a car, my dear," he replied. Nya smirked at him as she stirred the flour and warm water with a fork.

"It's so cute you think you know anything about baking," Nya said. "I'll take care of the starter and in 7 days we'll be ready to make our sourdough."

"No, you don't get to dismiss me, bint," Crowley snarked. "You're the one who got me into this baking mess. You explain this." Nya laughed, the sound light and easy as it echoed in the kitchen. The sound startled the King of Hell, though he didn't show it.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist," she replied. She then went on to explain why a starter was needed and the science behind the baking. Crowley listened curiously, his attitude shifting slightly.

"Where did you learn to bake?" he asked suddenly, interrupting her explanations. Nya's smile shifted to something more nostalgic.

"Before. A long time ago, before crossroad deals and hell," she said, turning and putting the jar of sourdough starter in a cabinet next to the refrigerator. "It was something I did when my family was still very young and very new. It makes the time go by very quickly."

Just then, a timer rang out and Nya turned to the oven. Crowley watched as Nya picked up the oven mitts, opened the oven and removed the pan of banana bread. The smell that came from the browned bread was intoxicating, and Crowley's mouth instantly started watering.

Nya took the loaf out of the pan and sliced two thick pieces of bread, setting each on a plate. She placed a fork on one before handing it to Crowley, a brow quirked. He took it eagerly.

"Bon appetite," Nya said, digging into her own piece. The light moan that came from Crowley as he chewed his first bite brought warmth to Nya's chest.

"Okay," Crowley said. "Maybe there is something to this baking thing."

While the two waited for the sourdough starter to prepare, Nya showed Crowley how to bake some of her other favorite things: muffins, brownies, easy breads, cookies and various types of scones (which was a big hit for the British demon). It was the day before the starter would be ready when Crowley came in with a request.

"Can you show me how to make a pie?" he questioned. Nya looked at him surprised as she tied on her apron.

"A pie?" she asked. Crowley nodded, a little self-consciously.

"Yeah," he said. "Do you know how to make one?" Nya nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I know how to make one. I'm just curious why you want to make one. We have plenty of sweets already," she said, waving a hand at the mountains of pastry boxes that littered the kitchen counters. Crowley bristled and lifted his chin, but Nya spoke before he could speak.

"What kind of pie do you want to try?" she asked.

"Apple," he said instantly. Nya nodded. She pulled out a notepad and started writing down a list of items that they would need, then handed it to Crowley.

"Get me those items, and we can make an apple pie," she said with a smirk. Crowley nodded and shouted for one of his lesser demons, sending him on a shopping trip.

An hour and half later, the two were eating slices of home-made apple pie while a second was baking in the oven. The kitchen was filled with the scent of apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Crowley had his eyes closed as he chewed a bite of the pie. Nya turned and saw him, freezing in her actions.

"Hey!" she snapped. Crowley startled, eyes opening wide in fear.

"I told you to wait for the whipped cream!" she snarked. Nya started stirring the whip inside the metal bowl she had in her hand again while glaring at Crowley. His expression turned sheepish as he finished chewing and swallowed the bite of the pie.

"I'm sorry, love," Crowley purred. "It just smelled so good, and I made it makes it taste so much better."

Nya smirked at him in understanding, setting the bowl down between them. With a spoon, she scooped a dollop of the whipped cream and dropped it on top of his piece of pie then did the same to her own piece.

"Now try it," she said, picking up her fork. Crowley scooped up a bit of the white cream then stabbed a large section of the apple pie. The cool cream against the warm apples and flaky crust melted in his mouth, and a light moan escaped him.

"I get why Squirrel loves his pies so much if all of them taste like this," Crowley groaned out, digging into another bite. Nya's smile turned understanding.

"I thought that's why we did this pie," she said softly. Crowley shot the woman a look, and she gave him a shrug.

"You have a sweet spot for them, I get it. Your secret's safe with me," she said, just as the timer started to go off. She stuffed another bite of her slice of pie into her mouth before turning to stop the timer and grab the oven mitts. She pulled the pie out, admiring the lattice pattern she walked Crowley through making.

"Besides," she started, showing Crowley the pie. "Look what we get out of it." Crowley looked over the pie as Nya slid the third one into the oven and set the timer. Crowley smiled, feeling proud of himself in a completely different way.

"Okay! Today's the day, Crowley!" Nya said. "Ready to make some sourdough?"

"Just tell me what the steps are," he said, tying his own apron around his waist. The two moved fluidly in the kitchen together, Nya giving him instructions and Crowley doing everything smoothly.

"Now squish the mixture together with your hands," Nya said. Crowley gave her a disgusted look causing her to laugh. "Just get your hands dirty, big man."

"Let it sit for 30 minutes for autolyse, and then we let it rise. While that's happening, we can make something else if you want," Nya said as Crowley washed his hands. He dried his hands with a dish towel, tossing it over his shoulder when he was done.

"Let's make another batch of the dough. Then, we can make some more scones, and perhaps some clotted cream," he suggested. Nya nodded and the two got to work. Four hours later, there were orange and cranberry scones cooling on some racks in the corner with icing drizzled on them, the cream was in the fridge, and they were moving back to the bread. Crowley and Nya had their dough separated for two loafs each.

"You can set it in any different way you like. You can make it a round loaf, or an oval one… or really set it for any design you like," Nya said. Crowley made one of his loafs into a round one inside a Dutch oven, scoured through the center; the other was put in a loaf pan. Nya chose to make individual loafs with hers.

Roughly an hour later, the first loaf was out of the oven and ready for tasting. Crowley sliced the first loaf, steam rising from the bread filling the kitchen with a delicious scent. He handed a slice to Nya and they both took bites of the bread. Crowley's eyes lit up at the taste of the bread.

"This is amazing," he said. Nya nodded.

"And you made it yourself," she said with a smile.

The two spent the rest of the day cooking their sourdough. By the end of the day, they had loaves, buns, and rolls all made from the sourdough starter Nya had made. She showed Crowley how to feed the starter so it could continue to grow, and he could make more bread later.

"We need to get rid of some of this stuff, we're getting a little full in here," Nya said, taking a bite of a scone as she looked around the kitchen. Crowley looked around himself, a smile forming on his face.

"Who sent this?" Sam asked. Dean showed him the card.

"Crowley," he replied, looking over the giant basket of baked goods. There were muffins and scones, breads and rolls, brownies and cookies. "Said he was going crazy during the quarantine and found a hobby. Needed to clear out some space."

"And he… made all of this?" Sam asked, looking over the pastries. Dean shrugged.

"I guess? Wait, is that a pie?!" he responded, snatching the apple pie from the basket. Sure enough, there in the mix was an apple pie and Dean wasted no time ripping off the plastic wrap. He brought the pie to his face and inhaled deeply, groaning out his pleasure.

"You're not gonna eat that, are you?" Sam questioned. Dean looked at him incredulously.

"Damn right, I am, Sammy. It's pie," Dean said, turning to get a fork. Sam raised a brow at his back.

"From CROWLEY!" he shouted.

"He's not going to kill us by sending us a care package, have a little faith. Read the card," Dean shouted from the kitchen. Sam sighed, picking up the card and reading.

Moose and Squirrel –

I've discovered a new hobby thanks to this bloody mess China has given us. The more I learn, the more I make, and it seems I've made too much. Perhaps this can be a temporary truce until we can leave our homes again.

Cheers –

Crowley

"I don't know who taught him to bake, but his pie is amazing," Dean said with a mouth full. He plopped down in a chair, kicking his feet up on the table next to the basket. Sam shook his head, tossing the card on the table with a sigh. The scones did look good, he thought. He grabbed one that looked like it had orange zest in it and took a tentative bite.

"Wow," he muttered, looking at his brother. Dean nodded.

"I know," Dean said.

"So, what do you want to learn next?" Nya asked. Crowley just smiled.