'… and that is kind of where our plan went wrong.' Dean mumbled, embarrassed.
'So, now Susan is back with Crowley.' Sam added carefully.
Seamus shook his head slowly as he paced through the motel room. 'You three… are the biggest morons I've ever met.' He grumbled.
'I don't understand why you are using that word.' Castiel frowned watching him.
'You don't need to, Cas.' Dean said, rolling his eyes as he leaned back on his bed.
'Look, Seamus. We're really sorry for what happened, but we're going to do everything in our power to get her back.' Sam said as he stood up. Seamus' pacing made him nervous. 'We made this mess and we will clean it up.'
'I think you've done enough.' Seamus said, motioning with his hand for him not to come closer. 'No offense, but seeing as your plan didn't work out very well...' Seamus raised his eyebrows mockingly at the brothers. 'Let the wizard have a go. I'll get Susan back, safely.'
'So, you think you can do this all on your own?' Dean raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
'I've got some friends that can help me.' Seamus shrugged in defence. He stopped pacing and stood in front of him. 'But I do need you to tell me more about these demons.'
Dean lifted his head from the bed to roll his eyes at Seamus. 'What do you want to know?' Castiel asked, desperate to help. The shirt button was "burning" in the hand he held in his pocket.
'How do I kill one of those… bastards?' Seamus asked leaning against the dining table.
'Exorcism.' Castiel said with a very serious look on his face. 'But that won't really kill it. A special weapon will. Demon knife, the colt, angel blade.' Upon seeing the confusion on Seamus' face Castiel pulled out his angel blade. 'Like this one.'
Seamus stepped back. 'Wow. Look out where you point that thing, mate.' He chewed his lip as he glanced at the blade. It reflected the light from the window onto his shirt. 'But, that will do the trick?' He asked curiously.
'It usually does.' Castiel said honestly as he lay down the blade on the table. 'But you'll have to get close to them first, which is usually the difficult part.'
'Demons have special powers, like telekinesis. Things that make our job difficult.' Sam said and picked up one of the books from the table. 'Luckily we can trap them, in one of these.' He showed Seamus a picture of a devil's trap.
'Is that the thing you tried to use on this Crowley guy?' Seamus frowned looking at the picture. His eyes followed the circle and the pentagram within.
'It is.' Sam admitted with a sigh as he put the book down. 'We just had bad luck this time.'
'So, that's something we won't use. I don't want another incident and I suppose they will expect it now.' Seamus concluded. 'Is there any powers I need to be aware of? Time travelling, spewing fire, mind reading?'
\
Susan remained silent as she sat down. She was in a large dining room that was almost completely empty, except for a table and two chairs in the middle. The table had a black cloth pulled over it and was set for two. Utensils were spread out according to etiquette and a candle stood in the middle.
Susan sat alone in silence for a while. She had no idea of what to expect and when she would be joined by the other diner. Just as she decided to stand up and find a way out, she heard a voice behind her.
'I wouldn't try that.' She turned around so fast that her chair almost fell over. Standing there was the King of Hell himself, a grin from ear to ear playing on his face. 'Good evening miss Bones. Or would you prefer it if I called you Susan?'
'I'd prefer you not call me anything.' She murmured, recovering from the shock.
'Susan it is.' He nodded and sat down on the other chair. 'I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to chat. I'm a busy man, you see.' Susan snorted at this, but Crowley ignored it. 'I hope you have found your room to your liking. I wasn't sure of what your favourite colour or your preferred style of clothing was, so I had my people get some of everything.'
She was painfully aware of him trying to suck up to her. 'The room is okay and the clothes are fine.' She shrugged, looking away.
'Good. If you wish a change of scenery or anything else, just ask.' Crowley smiled. 'For now, I've arranged a three course dinner for us. I thought you might be hungry.'
She wanted to object, but her stomach growled in response. Quickly she hugged her arms around her body protectively. As she glanced up at Crowley he smiled knowingly. His eyes weren't the dark pools that radiated coldness like she'd seen before, not anymore. Now they looked kind and caring.
As if on cue the doors at the far end of the room opened. In came two waiters both carrying a silver platter with a cover over it. They stood beside the table and lowered the platters. Crowley removed the cover from the platter closest to him. Under it was a plate of…. of something fancy. Small portions and all.
Crowley saw the frown on Susan's face and motioned for her to remove the cover of the other platter. 'Go ahead. I had anticipated you wouldn't be up for something like what I'm having.' She frowned and lifted the cover of the platter, there was a steaming cup under it. Soup, her favourite, fresh vegetable soup. She smiled unwillingly. Crowley caught her smiling and grinned. 'I'm glad you like it.' He said as he put his plate on the table in front of him.
Susan quickly stopped smiling and took the soup. She wondered if Crowley was able to read her mind.
They ate their first course quietly. Crowley didn't force a conversation on her and didn't ask her any question. Even when they started second course, he remained silent.
Again there was something fancy for Crowley. For Susan a simple plate of pasta, not the kind you get in a restaurant with a sauce which you can't pronounce the name of, just the home made kind with the sauce just how you like it.
'Do you wish a glass of champagne or wine with the course, sir?' The waiter almost bellowed over when he bowed to Crowley.
Crowley quickly motioned for him to stand up straight and then looked at Susan. 'I'm not sure if the lady….'
'I'm not THAT young.' Susan said. 'But… I don't really drink. Only butterbeer.' Crowley frowned. 'But go ahead if you want to "indulge" in alcohol.' She smirked at her own choice of words.
'Half a glass of Craig.' Crowley said to the waiter, who nodded and left. He leaned forward slightly, looking straight into her eyes. 'You intrigue me, Susan.'
Her smirk brightened and she turned to her pasta. It tasted just as good as it smelled, maybe even better. It didn't take her long to finish the plate and when she looked up Crowley wasn't nearly done. So she sat back and watched him quietly.
He only looked up when the waiter brought his drink. 'This is genuinely the best drink on this damned planet.' He commented as he twirled the glass in his hand. 'I do hope you're not religious.' He mumbled, glancing up at her.
'Not at all. Though this "angels exist" crap is confusing me, a lot.' She shrugged.
Crowley nodded. 'I can understand that.' He sipped from his drink. 'You should see the list of other things that exist. Miles long I tell you.'
Susan chuckled. 'I expect you're right below "God" on that list.'
He smirked, looking up. 'I don't know. You think I would be?'
She felt herself blush a little at his smirk. 'No idea.' She mumbled, looking away.
It was quiet for a moment. 'I hope you're still up for dessert.' Crowley said when the waiters came back in.
Susan looked up, surprised that he had already finished. 'I might.' Crowley smiled and while one of the waiters took away their plates, the other served them their desserts.
Susan was served a pumpkin ice cream sundae, the sweetest sin in Hogwarts history, according to her. Crowley, surprisingly enough, had a one person chocolate cake with raspberry topping. He saw her looking at him strangely and shrugged. 'It's a sin, I love sins.' He winked and she blushed and chuckled.
They started on their desserts. The appreciating hum Crowley let out as he took his first bite made Susan giggle. His smirk didn't bother her anymore, neither did his obvious attempts to suck up to her. It had been a long time since anyone had bothered to try and make her smile.
They finished quickly, not wanting any of the desserts go to waste. After the waiter had taken the plates away and Crowley had wiped his mouth, he got up. 'Well. Good night, Susan.' He smiled.
'Wait, aren't you going to question me?' Susan frowned. 'I don't know, shouldn't you torture me for information?' She asked after he gave her a confused look.
'After I just had a beautiful meal prepared for you?' He shook his head. 'No dear. That would be very contradictory.'
Susan studied him as he stood there. 'I don't understand you.' She mumbled. 'Why are you doing this?'
'You don't have to understand me.' Crowley shrugged. 'I don't even understand myself sometimes.'