"Mercy,"
"Crowley," She greeted back to the British demon, neither looking too pleased with the other as they stared.
The tense atmosphere grew with each passing moment, the only sound being the Winchester boys and the demon lackeys shuffling uncomfortably under the increasing pressure. Both sides were more than equipped enough kill the other and they all knew it, should the signal be sent it would be difficult to tell who would get out alive. It all depended upon Mercy or Crowley to make the first, most crucial, move before the blood could start flying.
"I see you're still angry about the whole setting fire to your kitchen. Really dear, you should be glad that was all that was burnt."
"And you're obviously still pissed about me killing your pets." She placed a hand on her hip and gave an unimpressed look to her opponent.
"Underlings," Crowley politely corrected. "The poor dears are against being called anything relating to animals."
Mercy scoffed loudly, glancing dismissively at the three bristling black-eyed demons behind the Crossroads King.
"I didn't think there would be a workers association for demon underlings of all things. Honestly Crowley, you're too soft on them."
"You're the last person I want to hear demon handling tips from, Hunter."
Silence once again reigned supreme, the other's patience crumbling under the pressure of anticipation. The woman and king battled with their eyes, neither willing to give the other any ground. They stood carefully poised, ready for an attack at any second, yet deceptively calm as they searched for any weaknesses.
Without as much as a warning, the two shot forwards. Their hands met in the middle with a loud and friendly shake, effectively dissolving the tense atmosphere to make way for the familiar (if not confused) feeling of friendliness to permeate the office.
"It's good to see you again Mercy, though I would have preferred it if it were not under such circumstances. You have to have some of the worst timing I've ever seen."
"Yeah, sorry about that Crowles, you'll have to save that bottle of scotch for the next time. I promise to make you a cake the next time we have a chat."
"That's if either of us actually survives the apocalypse."
The Winchester brothers simply shook their heads with a deep sigh. Mercy had said she was friends with the demon, though they really weren't expecting something like that. They actually felt sorry for the demon underlings as said creatures stared in disbelief at the oblivious duo who were conversing over the large desk.
"I heard you had the colt." Mercy started as she made herself comfortable on the leather chair.
The direct route was always best when it involved Crowley, she didn't have a chance in Hell to one up the demon in double talking or whatever it's called. As painful as it was to admit, the demon was skilled in controlling conversations to suit him and she really wasn't in the mood for her mind to be royally messed around with.
"You heard correctly. I have the Colt, and the remaining bullets that go with it." He poured two glasses of wine as he spoke, her favourite, if the bottle was to be believed. "I'm assuming you know of the conditions for me to give this to you."
Mercy took a moment to take a sip of the alcohol. It wasn't something she really had often, much preferring the 'harder' liquor to wine, but even she could tell the high quality. Obviously the wine was older than she anticipated, older than the company usually sells it.
"Don't use it on you, or your pets and underlings, and kill the Devil. I'm guessing the Prince of Darkness is putting a decent dent in business if you're not even going to make me work for the gun."
"Hah, he thinks of you humans as fleshy bags of puss, what do you think he feels about demons? The so called corrupted human souls? In his eyes we are worse than you, which says much about our survival, or rather the lack of it."
"Sucks to be you, huh? Now, any clue where Satan will be appearing?"
"I'm starting to feel something."
Mercy laughed at the incredulous look on Ellen's face. Obviously the woman hadn't believed her when she said angels don't get drunk easily, if at all. The glare Mercy was given in retaliation was promptly ignored in favour of stealing one of the older woman's shots for herself and she made sure to savour the dull burn as it made its way down.
She quickly got herself out of there, not wanting to stick around for the wrath of Ellen, and headed towards the wheelchair bound Bobby. He nodded in greeting and then looked back at the camera in his hand.
"What's that, Bobby?" Mercy asked as she sat on the man's desk, beer bottle in hand.
"What does it look like, use your eyes, you idjit?"
Mercy blinked at the sharp response before grinning like a loon. Of course Bobby wouldn't let a thing such as the impending apocalypse bring him down. She always did love his ability to crack witty comments no matter the occasion. There was a memorable time that involved a ghost, werewolf and a vampire… well, she shook her head. No use looking back.
"I think it looks like your secret porn stash, but I can't be too sure." She quipped back.
The man only sighed in response. He really should have expected that from a Winchester, especially the older ones, Mercy thought. She snatched the camera out of his hand and went snooping through the past pictures before he could take it back.
She paused at the first picture that showed. It was of the three siblings, obviously unaware as they played some form of card game, which Sam was apparently winning by the looks of desolation on the older siblings' faces. She remembered that night; Sam's smug grin didn't leave for hours after that embarrassing loss.
Mercy continued to look through them, not noticing that Bobby was just watching her face, and showing no sign of taking the machine back.
There were hundreds in the thing, all of the three Winchesters (sometimes four) and a few with the Harvell's appearing in the later dated ones. She could remember a few moment starkly, others not so much. But they all had one thing in common… They were smiling. There wasn't a trace of an unhappy face among the many photos.
Tears threatened to make their way into existence as she continued to flick through them, only to end back where she began far too soon.
"Bobby…" she began.
"Shush up kid, now grab the rest of the family. I'm gonna need something to remember all your sorry asses by. In fact, go call that bastard of a god you call a husband, he may as well be in it too."
Something tugged in her chest at his declaration. They were a family, no matter how dysfunctional; he saw them all as a family.
"You heard him Gabe, come down for one last commemorative photo." She whispered to the air, knowing he'd hear. He always did.
The arms wrapping around her was enough of an answer.
"Don't worry, Castiel won't sense me." Was murmured into her ear. Mercy nodded in return and pulled him into the forming line next to Bobby's desk.
"Before any of you say anything, let me just say this one thing." Mercy declared as they all stood facing the camera. "No matter what happens tomorrow, we've had a good run of life, and I'll be perfectly happy to die by any of your sides."
"I wasn't aware you were acquainted with Loki. You are aware he has killed thousands since he came to be?"
Mercy couldn't stop the small giggle from escaping her mouth as Castiel eyed up her husband. There was obviously some form of tension between the two religions or pantheons or whatever they were called.
Mercy sidled up to Gabe's side and placed a hand on his chest as he tucked a hand around her waist. She had long ago gotten over her surprise of how well they fit together and now only revelled in the comfort his presence gave.
"I'd like to think we're a bit more than acquainted seeing as I am married to this wonderful woman here." Gabe kissed the side of her head just to lay it on that much more thickly.
There was a pause in activity as Castiel physically looked to be having difficulty computing the information and continued to stare at the married couple as it slowly sank in.
"Oh." Was all the reply he gave before walking off to join Dean in the kitchen.
Mercy couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two men simply enjoying each other's company, though she knew Cas would end up questioning the middle Winchester about her and 'Loki's' relationship.
"Don't you dare do anything stupid tomorrow." Gabe stressed as he pulled Mercy's head to lie on his chest. He held her tightly and placed a long kiss to her head, the short hair obscuring his face to the rest of the room.
She knew he was scared. Hell, she was too. But they both knew the chances of her dying were huge. She wasn't needed in the great scheme of things, and as such will be the one either side will use as bait of incentive for the boys, if they don't kill her outright to save themselves any trouble. She was in the worst possible situation, but then again, so were Ellen and Jo.
She sighed deeply, "Only if you promise on both our lives not to come, no matter what."
"Mercy-"
"No Gabe." She cut in. "I will not let you go against Lucifer, not in a thousand years. He will kill you without hesitation; can you say you'll do the same to him? Because I don't think you can, you love him just as much as I love my brothers, so I know you will end up hesitating and he will use that against you. I will not let you go."
Mercy watched as her brothers went off to try to contact the police or some such, worry tensing her body as she absentmindedly traced the symbol of protection tattooed on her arm.
"Cas." Mercy called out to the angel.
Said angel turned to her with a confused expression (or was that just his normal expression?).
"I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that I'm really not supposed to be able to see these pale as hell bastards?"
The fearful looks she got in returned was all the answer she needed.
"Reapers." Cas confirmed with a nod. His body tenser than she had ever seen.
They were everywhere, looking as though they were at a funeral as they all stared off in the same direction. Pale as fucking hell, old and creepy looking reapers filling the streets and not giving her a good vibe in the slightest.
"Does that mean…" Jo started before cutting herself off.
"There's a chance it is simply because of your connection to the Pagan." Cas spoke, not sounding overly confident.
Yeah, Mercy thought, it must be because of Gabe. I mean, hanging around (and on) an archangel for so long must have some form of an effect on a person. That has to be the reason. She promised Gabe after all…
However…
"Looks like my time is nearly up." Mercy spoke, hoping to god that she was wrong. But, if she was to die that day, she was going to do it with dignity and make sure to bring some of the sons of bitches down with her.
*extra*
"I love you." Gabe whispered in her ear. The sound of his husky morning voice caused shivers to run up her spine. The murmur gently passed over her ear and swayed the short hairs that curled around said ear. Goosebumps spread through her body adding an extra layer to the pleasant shivers that warmed her to her core.
The two were basking in the warmth of each other as they woke from, arguably, one of the best night's sleep either of them had had in weeks. Gabe was the bigger spoon, as usual, with Mercy's scar filled back to him. The angel had his arms wrapped lightly around the human's waist and a leg hooked with a smaller, softer one. His face only inches from the dark hair of his lover's.
The woman was curled around the hand on her stomach, almost as if she was trying to protect the appendage in her sleep. Yet, at the same time, she was as close to her husband as humanly possible, making sure that any available skin was connected to the other in some way.
A natural glow seemed to blanket the two, making the scene all that much warmer, and both had a look of peace on their sleepy faces. Mercy snuggled ever deeper into the safety of the bed she was sure was made of clouds. If perfection did exist, then this had to be it. Screw heaven and the "Eternal Paradise", Mercy had found her place in the universe, and dear God did she not want to leave.
A slimy tongue ran along her neck jolting her out of her near sleep state. The sudden coolness of the saliva was uncomfortable and shocked her from the contented heat she had just been praising.
Mercy groaned groggily, "I know you do. Just like I know that you're only doing this to annoy me."
She squirmed at the feeling of Gabe's snort on the back of her neck, tickling the small cluster of soft hair spread across the tanned skin. The angel pulled her closer to his body, if it were even possible. He took a deep breath, taking in her scent as he continued to revel in her presence. The hand he had on her stomach absently traced the ancient protection symbol tattooed there as he pressed his face in the corner of her shoulder. He pressed his face into the junction between her neck and shoulder and nuzzled much like a puppy.
Mercy laughed at the man's actions, and jokingly cursed his stubbornness.
"Alright, alright." She gently pulled away and twisted around to face the sulking pagan.
Her eyes filled with love as she stared up into hazel eyes and marvelled at the perfection of the males face. Of course she knew he wasn't really perfect, in fact the fact that his earlobes were huge really bugged Mercy sometimes, but she knew that seeing his faults just solidified the fact that she hadn't been blinded by love, or any of the other stupid things that meant she had made a mistake.
"I love you too."
They shared a small smile for a few minutes before losing the battle and started laughing manically at each other. With their foreheads pressed together it only made it all that much funnier. They had wide grins, wide enough to see plenty of teeth. Somehow, between each chuckle the two slipped in a quick peck or three.
"You two honestly make me sick."
Within seconds, Mercy was kneeling on the covers with a knife and a gun full of iron bullets in each hand. Her face was set firm and her eyes grew harder with each passing second. Her breath was controlled despite the rapid movement only moments before.
Gabe, on the other hand, was still reclined in the bed, looking as though this was completely normal. The duvet was conveniently placed just on his navel, leaving only the naked chest of the god showing. He gave a cheeky grin and swirled the glass of red wine he suddenly summoned.
"Hiya Crowles!"
Mercy relaxed her grip on the weapons when the full realisation of who it was sunk in. Her eyes widened and fire seemed to creep up through her chest, up her throat and spread across her face. She quickly dropped her weapons and reached behind her blindly grabbing hold of her replacement weapon, and just threw.
… Silence flowed through the bedroom.
Many things had been thrown at him throughout both his life and death.
Knives, bullets, holy water, salt, there was even that memorable time when he had a grenade lobbed at him.
So it was safe to say Crowley was well versed in having things thrown at him, but never before had anyone have the audacity to throw a bloody pillow at him. It was like an insult to his very villainous self to be hit with something as pre-teen as a fucking pillow!
Where was the good old fashioned silver cross? Or even Holy Water?
Mercy screamed, "What the hell do you think you are doing? Do you not have any decency?!"
The demon scoffed and rolled his eyes as he kicked away the projectile with vicious glee.
"Honestly Darling, it's not as if I haven't seen you naked before."
The screams that followed would surely haunt the inhabitants of the apartment complex for years to come.