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winchesterszvonecek · 3 months ago

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I See Red 18+

Chapter 4 - I Do Have a Heart You Know

Word Count: 9784

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Have you ever had a headache so bad it felt like little, tiny construction workers were using jackhammers inside your head? That you felt so nauseous because of it, it was like you were pregnant?

Have you ever felt as though your head was ten times bigger than it actually was? With a bell swinging back and forth inside, pounding off either side of your skull and shaking your entire brain with it?

Well Selina had.

Or rather, she was currently experiencing that exact one as the morning after their little slumber party in a sleazy motel she woke with the worstheadache imaginable. To the point where she hadn’t been able to open her eyes for a good ten minutes after she woke up and when she did it felt like she’d just looked directly into the sun. Through binoculars.

Selina had never quite experienced a headache such as this before. Never one to this extent. Where she could barely open her eyes and when she did it was like they weighed a ton. One where when she sat up, it was like she was floating, her body swaying back and forth as her soul drifted from within her. Or at least, that’s what it felt like.

If she was being honest, she felt miserable. She felt sick to her stomach, and she hadn’t even eaten anything. Nor could she as her breakfast pancakes went untouched until she gave them to Dean, who’d been eyeing them up from the moment she started picking at them with clear intentions of not eating them as she didn’t think she could stomach them.

But more importantly she was sick of the beating inside her ears. Like there were two tiny little hearts inside each drum, pumping away and driving her to the point of insanity. And all she wanted to do was go back to the bunker and crawl into bed, with all the lights turned off and an ice pack on her head.

But she couldn’t. At least, not yet anyway. She had to stick around to make sure her brothers and Crowley behaved otherwise they’d never get Kevin’s mother back and this all would have been for nothing. She knew it would pass, it always did and once the painkillers she’d taken took effect, she was sure she’d be feeling like her usual self again soon.

However, until then she’d remain miserable. More so than usual as she seemed to have forgotten that the fourth member of their little group, the demon member, took up the other half of the Impala’s backseat. Meaning Selina couldn’t lie down across it like she normally would have on days like this, rendering her uncomfortable from the moment she climbed into her brother's beloved car.

Annoyedly Selina shuffled in her seat, the leather squeaking beneath her as she tried her hardest to find a comfortable position. She’d already tried resting her head against the window, but that only made things ten times worse than they already were.

What from the brightness around them that burned her eyes, to the slight vibrations of the moving car that shook the glass beneath her and only added to the headache itself, accelerating the tiny jackhammers inside it and making her groan from discomfort.

Her boots lay discarded on the floor, a blanket wrapped around her fragile feeling body and she lifted her legs up onto the space between her and Crowley, who was partially adding to her misery simply by being there.

If only he’d told them where Mrs Tran was then she’d have been able to lie down properly instead of having to suffer like this.

And Crowley could tell she was. He could tell Selina was miserable and part of him was tempted to offer her his lap as a pillow, with something like her jacket on top of it, of course. But he bit his tongue, even despite how much it seemed to pain him to do, as he knew that wouldn’t go over well with her brothers.

Hell, Dean would probably stab him for even offering and then all of Selina’s uncomfortableness would have been for nothing. And Crowley didn’t exactly want that to happen. So, he said nothing.

Instead, he watched as Selina pulled the old, tartan blanket up and over one side of her head, sliding down the door and edging herself closer to him. To the point where her toes were ever so slightly brushing against his thigh, causing them to twitch involuntarily beneath him.

But thankfully she hadn’t seemed to feel that as the last thing he wanted was for her to realise she was touching him and pull away, as at least this way she was a little less miserable than she’d been a few minutes ago.

Or at least he thought she was, as no more than thirty seconds later Selina groaned deeply, turning herself on the seat so that her back faced her brothers and she was nose to nose with the leather behind her. She stretched out her tensing legs a little, immediately pulling them back when she felt her toes poke, rather deep, into Crowley’s thigh, causing his eyes to drift towards her once again.

What the hell? He thought to himself. What harm could it possibly cause to offer her his lap if it meant she felt a little less like death? What were her brothers going to do? Stab him for being polite?

“You can rest your legs on me if you wish, darling. I don’t bite.” Crowley said softly.

A little too softly for his own liking. And everyone else's for that matter. Well except Selina, who wouldn’t have cared even if she had picked up on it given that his voice sounded all muffled to her, sort of like she was underwater.

“Well, unless that’s something you’re into.” Crowley added quickly and playfully. With a wink too, as he hoped it would save him from his slip up in appearing like he was too caring as even though he did seem to care about Selina, he had a reputation to keep.

For now.

Sam was quick to turn around, glaring at the demon in a way that made him surprised he hadn’t turned to stone immediately. He was about to open his mouth, to tell Crowley not to even think about touching Selina before her legs extended, filling her with relief as they stretched out over his lap and allowed her to lie properly along the backseat.

“Thank you.” Selina whispered, flashing a sweet smile towards him. One only Crowley could see and that warmed his cold heart as she shuffled a little more to find the best position she was ever going to get.

All whilst ignoring Sam’s knitted together brow that he fired her way, confusion riddling every fibre of his being as the Selina he knew… The one he grew up with… The one who was his literal other half, would have rather suffered for days on end than ever accept any sort of help from a demon.

And yet here she was. Legs stretched over the King of Hell’s lap, the one she’d been rather open about hating in the past, and acting nothing at all like herself. In a way that baffled not only Sam himself, but Dean too. And Crowley for that matter as he’d half expected her to tell him to go to Hell than ever allow herself to lean on him and yet she did.

Selina Winchester. The most feared Winchester amongst the supernatural community, was currently resting on him like they’d been friends their whole life and honestly, Crowley couldn’t quite believe it. But he wouldn’t deny, it felt nice to be actively watching her opinion on him change and he was very much hoping it would last for however long was left of their journey.

“Hands to yourself, you hear?” Dean warned, glancing briefly back at Crowley with a stern look on his face before his attention fell back onto the road.

“This may come as a shock to even you, Dean…” Crowley began through partially gritted teeth, craning his neck to get a better look at the driver. “But even before you lot pumped me full of human blood, I’d never dream of touching a woman without her consent. I may be a demon but that doesn’t make me an animal.”

Dean said nothing in response as he simply shuffled in his seat a little. In a way that showed Sam, and would have shown Selina if she bothered to look over at him, that he wouldn’t even have known what to say to that as part of him believed it to be true. But he’d never openly admit that to Crowley, therefore he kept his mouth shut and his eyes firmly on the road as they cruised leisurely along the surface of it.

Satisfied, Crowley leaned back against the seat, glancing down to his side towards Selina, who was still looking up at him with appreciation written all over her sleepy face. His lips pressed together a little, into what could almost be described as a smile as his cuffed hands hovered in the air above her legs, where he’d have happily kept them suspended if it meant not making her uncomfortable.

“It’s okay.” Selina whispered, her lips twitching upwards as her eyes flicked down to his hands. “I don’t mind.”

Crowley nodded slightly in thanks, slowly lowering his joined hands to rest gently atop her calves, just below her knees. He kept his fingers laced together, nothing but the side of his palms touching her as even with her consent he didn’t want to make her more uncomfortable as he was well aware of her hatred for being touched. Which only added to his surprise that they were sitting like this at all.

Eventually, Selina fell back into a much needed, and rather deep sleep, rendering the car quiet for the next few hours as no one wanted to wake her. Not when she was like this. And not when she was just a few days past the biggest demon takedown, by a single person, in Winchester history.

Sam and Dean exchanged a few words here and there, and Kevin had called at one point looking for updates but other than that not a single peep, other than the rumble of the engine, drifted throughout the car, which at this point was nothing but white noise to Selina who didn’t move an inch the entire time she slept.

A few hours later Selina woke with a sudden start, finding a touch of relief that her migraine had shifted to a much more bearable headache, but now overcome with the dire need to throw up. She knew she never should have taken those pain meds on an empty stomach, but she might not have been able to cope if she hadn’t.

Shooting up in her seat, in a way that had Crowley lurch forward when his hands suddenly fell between his legs, Selina’s own hand landed on her stomach, which gurgled a little beneath her touch as she could feel the heat rising in her throat.

“Pull over.” She breathed out, swallowing thickly as she knew Dean would kick her ass if she threw up in his car.

“What?” Dean glanced back, eyebrows knitted together.

“Pull over.” Selina said again, practically demanding this time and with one well timed, and subtle, gag behind her tightly pressed together lips, Dean did what he was told. And quickly too.

The car swerved to the side of the road and Selina was already barrelling out of it, with no shoes on, before it even came to a stop. She ran for the tree line, what little she had in her stomach hitting the forest floor before she’d even had time to bend over properly.

The squeaking of the car door’s went unheard as Selina carried on, surprised at just how much she had in her. Hurried footsteps came up behind her, a large hand landing on her back as Sam’s shoes came into her view, his other hand lifting her messy braids and holding them back and out of the way.

Something she greatly appreciated as she’d only washed her hair the other night and didn’t have the energy, or the mental willpower, to do it again.

Stomach now completely empty, and surprisingly not on the floor, Selina straightened, wiping her mouth with the side of her hand as she felt her hair hit against her back again. She turned slowly, groaning faintly as the back of her throat burned something fierce.

“That was unpleasant.” Selina muttered, a quiet burp escaping into her mouth and making her shudder, her head shaking a little as she always hated throwing up.

“You okay?” Sam asked, falling in line beside her as the two of them worked their way back up the gentle slope they’d climbed down.

“Yeah, actually. I, uh, I think I needed that.”

“What about your head?”

“It feels better.” Selina exhaled, nodding her head as they reached the car again, where Dean had been leaning half out of and had now slunk back into. “Nothing two aspirin won’t fix.” She added, noticing the sceptical look painted all over her twin’s face. “Seriously, Sam. I’m okay.”

“I know, I just…” Sam began, sighing softly to himself as he ran his hand through his hair. “You’ve been through a lot these past few weeks. I mean, more than any of us ever have in such a short space of time and if you keep pushing yourself like this, you’re never going to get better.”

“I’m not pushing myself on purpose, Sam.” Selina said with furrowed brow. “I had to kill those demons otherwise they’d have taken Kevin. And killed Crowley. You know that.”

“I know you had to.” Sam nodded, holding up his hand to keep her silent as he could tell she was about to ramble on. “That’s not what I meant. I just… You need to take it easy before you reach that point again where it takes Cas multiple sessions to try and heal you.”

“I’m taking it easy.” Selina said reassuringly, even though she knew her definition of the phrase and Sam’s were a lot different. “At least, I will once we get Kevin’s mom back so quit your worrying. I’ll be back to normal soon.”

“What kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t worry?” Sam said humorously, making Selina tense her jaw as she ran her tongue over her teeth.

“You’re only ten minutes older than me, you know.”

“Ten minutes is ten minutes.” Sam shrugged, finding amusement in Selina’s faint glare as she always hated being classed as the youngest. “Still makes me older.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just get your giant ass back in the car, would you?” Selina shook her head, doing her best to stifle her chuckle as she climbed back in beside Crowley, who had heard every word said outside.

“You good?” Dean turned to her, catching her as she wrapped her blanket back around her shoulders and nodded her head in response. “Good… Just don’t throw up in my car.”

“No promises.” Selina smiled sarcastically, earning herself an unamused and ‘so help me God if you do’ look from Dean before he swivelled back around and pulled off onto the road again, the gravel crunching loudly beneath the gentle squeal of wheels.

The rest of the drive was relatively normal, meaning Selina sat up straight and didn’t rest against Crowley again, bringing him minor disappointment and her brother’s major relief. But she didn’t feel the need for a nap again, so she was more than happy to sit properly and focus on staring out the window at the world surrounding them.

They eventually reached their destination, a storage facility just outside of Massachusetts. The four of them swiftly entered, the bell above the door jingling faintly and attracting the attention of the rather puzzled looking guy behind the counter.

“Del.” Crowley greeted, although not in a way most people would as he didn’t seem overly happy to see him. “The keys if you will.”

“A demon… What a surprise.” Dean muttered, rolling his eyes a little.

“Of course, sir.” Del murmured nervously in response as he began to fumble for the keys, searching one pocket before frantically swapping to the other.

He managed to find them before Crowley ran out of patience, which had been wearing thin by the way he bit down on his inner lip a little. Del reached over the counter, handing them, shakily, to the King who turned on his heels and held them out towards Sam.

“Corridor Q. She’s the one in the middle.” Crowley told him, Sam’s jaw twitching as he snatched the keys from within his grasp, clearly pissed as was evident by the way he spat out his next words.

“There’s others here? Other people you kidnapped?”

“Just two.” Crowley replied, a tickle of regret building inside his chest as his eyes drifted in Selina’s direction, who didn’t seem as angry as her brothers were to that little drop of news. He was a demon after all, were they really all that surprised?

“We’re letting them go too.” Dean told him sternly, his fist clenched tightly around the handle of the demon killing knife, making Selina step forwards a little.

“By all means.” Crowley replied rather happily, which took them by surprise.

“Oh.” Dean mumbled, his brow dropping a little as he’d been expecting a fight. And truth be told, he kind of wanted one as he’d take any excuse to threaten Crowley with the knife. “That was easy.”

“I have no use for them anymore.” Crowley told him. “You’d be doing me a favour by releasing them, saves me the hassle of cleaning up.” He added with that signature grin of his, earning frowns from the two brothers before they headed off in the direction of the corridor.

“Something tells me it wouldn’t exactly be you doing the cleaning up, now would it?” Selina pointed out humorously, propping her elbows up on the counter as she leaned back against it.

“You know me too well, darling.” Crowley flirted, the, this time, genuine smile on his face sending a flutter throughout Selina’s stomach.

“Sir.” Del interrupted nervously, holding one finger up in attempts to catch his King’s attention. “Does this mean I can stand down now?”

“Do whatever you want.” Crowley muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from Selina. “I don’t care.”

Del hesitated a moment, clearly debating whether this was a test or not and if he was going to end up punished for leaving. But Crowley seemed genuine, for once, too busy fixating on Selina to pay any notice to Del and his furrowed brows. And so the demon left, the jingle of the bell not even doing anything to pull the King’s attention away from the youngest Winchester, who found his lack of care surprising.

“That was unexpected.” Selina said curiously, tilting her head a little. “I’d have expected a little more… I don’t know… Concern, perhaps?”

“He’s a low level demon. Hardly worth concerning myself with now is he?”

“And yet you trusted him to watch over your prisoners.” Selina pointed out, her tone a little more playful than the topic of conversation needed.

"Trust is a strong word.” Crowley replied, sparking Selina’s interest more. “I merely threatened him with having his spine ripped out for the rest of eternity should he fail me.”

“Sounds pleasant.”

“Oh it is.” Crowley said humorously, making Selina chuckle softly to herself.

“So what will you do now? Now that you’re free?”

“Am I?” Crowley questioned, lifting his cuffed hands a touch.

“You will be. Just as soon as I get the go ahead from Sam and Dean.” Selina assured him. “I don’t go back on my word, Crowley.”

“We’ll see.” Crowley murmured, but he trusted her. As much as it puzzled him, he had faith she’d hold up her end of the deal. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“You chose Kevin over yourself. Over getting, I’d assume you’d pick, Bobby back from the dead… Why?”

“My whole life I’ve lost people.” Selina began, her voice low and if Crowley hadn’t been a demon he’d have never have picked up on the underlying sadness beneath her words. “I’ve grown used to losing people and sure, giving that opportunity up hurt me more than you could possibly understand but… Kevin’s still a kid. And kids need their mother. He shouldn’t have to know what it feels like to go through life without one.”

“Well that’s rather… Selfless of you, I guess.” Crowley replied, even though he wasn’t surprised as Selina always was one to choose others over herself.

Hence the whole almost sacrificing herself in order to close the gates of hell forever.

“Don’t act so shocked.” Selina huffed out around a chuckle. “I do have a heart you know.”

“Yes, I see that now.” Crowley murmured and in one blink his gaze had dropped to where her heart lay, a small, minute part of him beginning to wonder if there would ever be room for him in there as that’s all he ever wanted.

To be loved like that.

And who better to be loved by than a Winchester? Who were known for doing anything, including dying, for those they loved.

Normally Crowley would have found disgust in even thinking that, especially about a Winchester, but right now? As his eyes drifted up to lock with Selina’s own, rather soft looking ones, he found himself a little curious as to what it might feel like to finally get the love he’d rambled about that day in the church.

When he’d been at his lowest. His most vulnerable. Almost human in terms of how he felt inside. And even now, as he was more than certain the blood was gone from within him, he still felt like that. Still felt human. Still felt connected to Selina which may be why he was finding himself wishing she could be the one to give him that love.

He knew it was unlikely, but still. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to see if maybe, underneath that rough and tumble exterior she put on, there was even a small part of her who felt the same way about him as he was beginning to feel about her.

And to start in doing that, he figured a thanks for saving his life might be in order. That way she could see he’d truly changed as he’d never once have thanked her for anything.

“I never thanked you...” Crowley said quietly, earning himself a dipped brow from Selina as she pushed off the counter. “For saving me back in that little dungeon of yours.”

“I didn’t think thanks were your kind of thing.” Selina replied with a touch of humour, arching her eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“They weren’t. But like you said…” Crowley hesitated, his gaze shifting from her as ran his tongue over his teeth. “I’ve changed.”

Before Selina could respond, with words she hadn’t found yet, her brothers returned to the foyer with the former prisoners in tow. Minus Mrs Tran who had ended up flying air Castiel back to the bunker as they didn’t a, want Kevin to wait any longer and b, want her to have to see Crowley again so soon. Sam’s idea, obviously.

“We’re gonna get the others to a hospital, make sure they're okay.” Dean told his sister, firing a glare towards Crowley who simply looked around him at the much more interesting flyers on the wall.

“All right… I don’t wanna be squeezed into the back seat so I’ll wait around here for a bit.” Selina shrugged, glancing at the unmanned desk behind her that was full of keys. “Might even break into some storage units and nose around… Never know what I might find.”

“No need for that.” Crowley interrupted, stepping forward to join the conversation but keeping his distance as Dean was still armed. “I can take you back to that secret little hideout you call home.”

“Like I’m gonna let you take her anywhere.” Dean barked back, sidestepping, protectively, in front of his sister.

“Goodness mummy, loosen the grip, will you?” Crowley muttered, catching the way Selina rolled her lips a little. “Have you that little trust in me?”

“Yes.” Dean gritted, about to step forward as his fist tightened around the handle of his blade before he was pulled back by Selina, who also disarmed him one quick motion. “What the…”

“Relax, Dean.” Selina sighed, tossing his blade briefly in the air with a cocky smile creeping up on her face as she caught it. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah that’s what I’m worried about.” Dean grumbled, frowning as he held out his hand as that wasn’t the first time she’d disarmed him so swiftly like that.

Why Henry ever taught her that trick he’d never know.

“You go straight home.” He pointed towards her with the blade, not finding much trust in the ‘X’ she drew on her chest as she simply nodded his head.

Dean didn’t have much faith that Selina wouldn’t have Crowley zap her somewhere fun for a few hours. Like Disneyland for example as she always talked a lot about wanting to go there. But she was his sister and so he had no choice but to trust that she’d behave herself.

Satisfied, but barely, Dean eventually left the building, the bell above the door jingling with his swift exit and he even peeked back around the frame, pointing in warning towards his sister who simply saluted him. Although once he disappeared for good, a different finger rose on her hand and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Big brothers… Always so protective, aren’t they?” Crowley muttered, hearing a faint scoff escape up Selina’s throat as she turned back to him. He raised his hands, his eyebrow too before he added. “Now if you’d be a dear.”

Selina stepped forward, digging into her pocket for the key to his cuffs. She pulled it out, tapping it lightly against her palm as she shuffled closer to him, their bodies mere inches from one another as she undid the locks from around his wrists, in a way a lot slower than it should have been as she never once dropped her eyes from his.

Crowley did nothing but stare back at her, relishing in every single brush of her fingertips, even if they were nothing but ghosts dancing across his skin in a way that had him shudder beneath it. He was almost, scratch that, he was disappointed when her hands fell back to her sides, the cuffs with them.

“You’re free to go.” Selina whispered, her chest rising a little more than she would have expected with each, almost, airless breath she sucked in.

“Words I thought I’d never hear.” Crowley exhaled, his tongue running subtly over his bottom lip, his eyes dropping to hers as he couldn’t help but imagine what they might feel like.

But imagine was all he’d ever have as within the next second, Selina awkwardly cleared her throat, stepping as far back away from him as she could. That had been a little… weird to tell the truth, being so close to him yet feeling nothing but, God she didn’t even know what she was feeling.

Confusion? Intrigue? Lust? Whatever it was, she needed it to stop. Crowley was a demon. And if there was one thing she wasn’t going to do, it was allow herself to think of one in any way that might condemn her soul to Hell for all eternity. You know, if it wasn’t already given the whole true vessel of Lucifer thing.

That’s right, Sam may have said yes to the Devil, but that didn’t mean he was the one destined to help destroy the world.

“I believe you offered me a lift?” Selina said a little breathlessly, hoping it wasn’t as obvious as she thought it was as she’d never live it down if Crowley noticed it.

But luckily for her he hadn’t, not when his mind had been occupied elsewhere.

“Right.” Crowley swallowed, nodding his head as he dropped it to the side a touch. “And where might this home of yours be?”

“Lebanon, Kansas. In a bunker just outside of town.” Selina replied, Crowley’s head lifting as his eyes squinted towards her in question.

“It wouldn’t happen to be the old Men of Letters bunker, now would it?”

“It might be.”

“My my, you lot are just full of surprises aren’t you?” Crowley said playfully, shaking his head as trust the Winchesters to get their hands on the keys to that fortress.

“Oh…” Selina chuckled, stepping forward once again as her tone bordered on flirtatious. “…You have no idea.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“No.” Selina emphasised, shaking her head, which only made Crowley frown a little as here he thought they were bonding. “Perhaps if you behave, I might give you a sneak peek one day… But for now, take me home please?”

“Certainly.” Crowley held out his arm, motioning for Selina to take it and to his amazement she did it without question. Or a witty retort slash well thought out insult.

Disappearing on the spot, the two of them quickly found themselves right outside the old Men of Letters bunker, where Selina couldn’t help but wobble on her feet at the sudden teleportation. She held onto Crowley’s arm, tighter than she had done previously as her eyes fell into focus again, helped along by the fast and hard blinks she forced out as she regained her balance.

Even to this day she never let Castiel zap her anywhere as she hated the way it felt. But she didn’t think she’d have lasted another twenty-five hour drive home as all she wanted to do was curl up in her own bed and sleep.

Preferably for a week. Or perhaps even two.

“Well thanks for the lift, I guess.” Selina exhaled, slipping her arm out from under Crowley’s and backing away from him just a foot as she didn’t think it was wise to be so close to him after their… Moment?

Or at least, her moment as she wasn’t overly sure what was going through his mind today. Or ever really.

“If I were you I’d keep my distance for a while, otherwise Dean might not hesitate long enough for me to disarm him before he stabs you.”

“My own knight in shining armour, who would have thought?” Crowley teased, causing Selina to tense her jaw a little at what was hopefully notanother nickname about to stick as him calling her kitten was bad enough.

Although he hadn’t called her that since before the church, so who knows? Maybe it was done for.

“Call me that again and I’ll stab you.” Selina muttered, but not without a faint smile creeping up onto her face, one which allowed Crowley the knowledge that she was kidding. Sort of.

Stepping back, Selina fiddled with the sleeves of her jacket, unsure what to do next other than to just go inside, which is what she should be doing but at the same time it’s like she almost didn’t want to. She glanced up at him from the ground, smiling softly in thanks before whispering.

“I’ll see you around, Crowley.”

Crowley did nothing but watch as she walked away, one singular spark in his chest longing to pull her back and ask if she needed to go anywhere else as he’d happily take her there if it meant getting to spend more time with her.

And alone too as he was rather sick of her brothers getting in the way.

His eyes never left her, not even when she glanced over her shoulder towards him, firing him yet another smile before she disappeared down the steps to the bunker. Crowley lingered for a moment, just long enough to hear the thick, steel door slam shut and once it did he was gone in the blink of an eye.

Forced to return back to the asylum he called home, where his throne awaited him and thankfully Hell hadn’t gone down the toilet too much in his absence. But he had been greeted with a boatload of paperwork to do the second he arrived back and announced that he was in fact, not dead.

If he knew being King would be this boring, he’d have never taken up the mantle. But he had. And it was for everybody’s best interest that it stayed that way otherwise they’d end up with an Abaddon loyalist running things and that wouldn’t exactly end well.

The first thing they’d do would be to storm the bunker again in search of the Knight’s body in order to piece her back together. And if there was one thing Crowley did know, it was that Selina did not need another night where she slaughtered enough demons to put her right at the top of their most feared list.

Although he was fairly certain she was already there. Right up at number one. And he wouldn’t deny… He was rather proud of her for it.

It had taken Crowley upwards of two weeks. Two whole weeks to catch up on what he’d missed whilst “on sabbatical” aka being locked up inside the Winchesters dungeon. Something he didn’t overly mind now given what had come from it, which was Selina’s drastic change in opinion on him.

At least, he was hoping her opinion had changed as he hadn’t exactly heard from her since the day he dropped her off outside the bunker. He hadn’t been able to get her off his mind after that. Her smile. Her voice. Even her laugh, but more importantly it was the way she looked at him that he couldn’t quite shake from his thoughts.

Throughout the years she’d only ever looked at him like what he was, a demon. But ever since that fateful night, the night on which she saved him, her eyes had never once been anything but kind to him and he wouldn’t lie, he longed to see them again. Preferably soon.

Crowley had thought, or rather feared, that once the human blood fully wore off, as it had done now, that he’d go back to his olds ways. His malicious, ‘I don’t care about anyone but me’ ways.

But he hadn’t.

Sure, he was a little less human now but there was still that small sliver inside him that remained. Large enough to allow him the pleasure, that’s right pleasure, of feeling things towards Selina. Things he’d never, ever have thought of before. Like love for example.

It’s not that he was suddenly in love with her but he still wished to be loved in one way or another. If he had a preference of who he could be loved by, it would, without a doubt, be Selina and who knows, maybe one day he’d be able to return that love if she let him. You know, if she ever did manage to find it in her heart to love him in the first place.

But it got him thinking… She’d given up her own happiness for Kevin. Cashed in the chit Crowley offered her for saving her life and yet she got nothing for herself in return. Not truly anyway.

Crowley couldn’t help but think she deserved something. Hell, she did deserve something. And as much as he wanted to bring Bobby back for her, he figured it might be best if he left that alone as it would only spell trouble for him down the line.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to offer her at least a little something special that showed his appreciation for her saving his life.

Pulling out his phone, Crowley was hesitant to start typing. Would Selina even want to see him now that she was more than likely fully recovered? Would she even remember any of the things she’d done whilst under the influence of the trials? Guess he’d find out as before his mind could decide on whether or not to text her, his fingers already had.

Crowley: Meet me at the bar near the bunker at 6… And wear something nice. No flannel.

And to his complete and utter surprise, Selina replied. Wittily of course, but he wouldn’t have expected anything less.

Selina: What’s wrong with flannel?

Crowley: What’s right with it?

Selina: It’s cute

Crowley: Love, I’m afraid you and I have very different definitions of the word cute.

Selina: Funny, I didn’t think demons found things cute

Crowley: I’ll have you know, we’re perfectly capable of finding some things cute.

Like you. Crowley typed and then deleted as perhaps that was going too far too soon. Even though he’d called her plenty of other things before all this. But that was different. This time, he meant it.

Selina: Shocking

Crowley: Just meet me at the bar. And don’t keep me waiting. I’m not known for my patience.

Selina: 😈

Selina couldn’t help but smile down at her phone, hiding it beneath the table in the library as the last thing she needed was for Sam, Dean or Castiel to see who she was texting. And who had come as a shock to even have texting her as she never expected to hear from him again so soon.

But she wouldn’t deny, each message sent a strange flutter through her stomach and at one time, a message telling her to meet a demon at a bar would have instantly gone ignored. Especially one from Crowley as it would have had alarm bells go off inside her head at what he could possibly want from her.

However ever since that day in the dungeon, things did seem different. Even if she hadn’t seen him since, she didn’t feel as she once did around Crowley and when six o’clock rolled by, she surprised herself when she set off for the bar, under the disguise of her going for a walk as she did most nights, therefore it didn’t raise any red flags with her brothers.

It was a relatively warm night, nothing but a gentle breeze drifting through the air as Selina walked quicker than normal down the sidewalk, eager to see just what Crowley wanted from her, which came as a shock to her given their history.

But all that was in the past now. They’d been through too much together lately. Bonded in a rather strange way in that church for it not to be. So as far as Selina was concerned, this was a clean slate.

Upon entering the rather quiet and ambient bar it didn’t take Selina long to spot Crowley, sitting with his back to her and with a scotch undoubtedly nestled between his hands. She stopped just briefly behind him, subtly fixing her hair and making sure her flannel free outfit was sitting properly before she kept moving.

“Is this seat taken?” Selina said a little flirtatiously as she leaned her elbow on the bar next to him, a cheeky grin on her face as she raised her eyebrow.

Crowley turned, the small smile that had risen on his lips at the sound of her voice slowly falling, as did his eyes as he simply looked her up and down. His fingers wrapped around his glass, downing the entire contents in one go before sighing to himself.

“What part of nice do you not quite understand?” He asked, glancing back down at her ripped jeans, washed out Led Zeppelin tee and fraying leather jacket.

“I’m a hunter Crowley, I don’t have nice clothes.” Selina grumbled, rolling her eyes a little. “Besides, I did what you asked, didn’t I? See…” She held open her jacket briefly. “No flannel.”

“Well, thank God for that.” Crowley mumbled, spinning a little better on his stool to face her.

“So, why did you invite me here?” Selina asked curiously, gesturing around her to the rather dingy bar surrounding them. “This place doesn’t exactly seem like it’s your vibe.”

“Oh believe me, it isn’t.” Crowley replied, sliding off his stool and hitting the ground with a soft thud. “It’s simply a meeting point as I didn’t think you’d want me popping up inside that little bunker of yours.”

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to. It’s warded against demons.” Selina said playfully, wiggling her eyebrows a little as Crowley seethed to himself, which was evident by his slightly squinted eyes. “And that means you only get in if I let you in.”

“Would you?” Crowley questioned, watching as Selina bit at the skin of her lips a little, shrugging her shoulders.

“Maybe one day… Like I said, if you behave I might just let you have a sneak peek at those secrets I’m so full of.”

“Well colour me intrigued, darling.” Crowley exhaled, running his tongue over his bottom lip as he couldn’t stop himself from gazing her up and down.

And even if her outfit didn’t exactly match the vibe of what he had planned for the evening, he wouldn’t deny, she looked pretty damn good wearing it.

“So, if this is a meeting point.” Selina began, glancing around her and snapping Crowley from his rather dirty thoughts about her outfit looking better on the floor. “Where exactly do you plan to take me?”

“All in good time.” Crowley replied rather cryptically, sparking Selina’s interest more. “But first we really must do something about your outfit.”

“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Selina asked, unsure whether she should be offended or not as she followed him out of the bar. He didn’t answer her, instead he simply led her into the dark, secluded alleyway next to them, causing her stomach to start twisting a little from nerves.

The further in they got, the more uneasy Selina began to feel. From the eerie silence around her to the lack of commentary from Crowley, who didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, it raised her guard greatly.

“I don’t like this, Crowley.” Selina said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest as she came to a sudden stop, that hint of uncomfortableness slipping through her lips having Crowley halt himself too. “A demon leads me into a secluded alleyway? It’s the beginning of every horror movie and I will warn you, I’m armed.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Crowley chuckled, taking a step closer to her and throwing his hands in on surrender when she backed away from him. “Relax, darling. I didn’t lure you here to kill you. I simply didn’t want anyone to see when I did this.”

With a click of his fingers, Selina’s once casual outfit was replaced by something she’d never worn before in her life, not even once. A dress. Not just any dress but a silk dress. One with diamond encrusted spaghetti straps and a rather plunging neckline, offering for ample view of the dark tattoo that resided between her breasts.

The material clung to her body, in a way that she didn’t know whether she liked or not as she much preferred baggy clothes and often wore her brothers as they were much more comfortable. But Crowley clearly liked what he saw, obviously as the dress was his pick after all. He couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from her and truthfully, that made Selina’s stomach flutter a little and perhaps the dress wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“Crowley? What’s going on?” Selina asked, her brow slightly furrowed as she finally lifted Crowley’s attention from her body. “Why am I wearing this?”

“Have you ever been to Paris?” Crowley asked, only making Selina’s brow dip even further as she scoffed.

“Paris? Please, I’ve been number two on the FBI’s most wanted list, oh let me see, twice now. I’m pretty sure I’m on the no fly list as well.”

“Lucky for you we aren’t flying.”

“Wait wh…” Selina’s voice faded out as Crowley’s hand landed on her, the world around her seemingly spinning as they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The once secluded, and rather smelly, alleyway warped around them, changing instantaneously to a rather large balcony. One that overlooked none other than the Eiffel Tower itself, the white lights that illuminated it twinkling brightly in the reflection of the river before it, the water of which rippled gently in the soft breeze that swept through the air.

Selina had never seen such a sight before in her life, which was evident by the way her eyes widened as she stepped forward, her palms placed flat against the top of the stone wall surrounding them. She couldn’t seem to look away, too enthralled by the beauty that was facing her that she didn’t even notice Crowley step up beside her. Didn’t even feel his fingers as they brushed a loose curl of her hair back over her shoulder to join the rest.

“You like it?” Crowley asked, his eyes finding Selina’s and his heart beginning to pound rather hard in his chest when he saw nothing but the reflection of the Tower in them, lighting them in a way he’d never seen before.

“I do.” Selina whispered, nodding her head as she turned it just a touch to glance at him, the smile on her face making the entire thing worth it. She returned her gaze out onto the city, her lips never once dropping as she didn’t have a reason for it to do so. “It’s beautiful.”

“That it is.” Crowley said softly, only he wasn’t looking at the view. His hand landed on hers, causing Selina’s eyes to drop to them, slowly rising to meet his. “Come, there’ll be plenty of time to see the city later but for now, perhaps you’re hungry?”

“That’s an understatement.” Selina chuckled, allowing Crowley to lead her, by hand, towards a small table that sat flush against the balcony wall, overlooking the street below them.

It was only then she realised they were in a restaurant, or rather, outside a restaurant. She glanced over at the balcony doors, the interior full of other diners and yet not a single soul sat outside, making her stomach flutter momentarily as it was like Crowley had personally requested that they have the entire outside seating area to themselves.

“Selina?” Crowley’s questioning voice pulled her attention back towards him, his brow a little furrowed and she was quick to notice she’d stopped walking and simply zoned out.

“Sorry.” Selina cleared her throat, hoping she wasn’t flushing as much as she felt like she was. “I’m just… Not used to this, that’s all.”

“If it’s too much, I can take you home…”

“No.” Selina said immediately, shaking her head and sparking heat in Crowley’s chest over her swiftness to answer. “No, it’s okay. Really. I… I want to do this. I want to be here.” She added, confusing herself a little as she didn’t know what ‘this’ was.

Was this a date? Was she on a date with a demon? With Crowley? Surely not… Right?

But whatever it was, Selina wanted to be here. Not just because here happened to be a fancy restaurant in the middle of Paris but because here happened to include Crowley, the one person she hadn’t seemed to be able to get off her mind for the last two weeks.

“Shall we?” Crowley gestured to the table, Selina nodding gently as she carried on across the balcony, raising her eyebrow when he pulled her chair out for her.

“Who knew you were such a gentleman?” Selina teased, hearing Crowley’s faint chuckle as she took a seat.

“Much like yourself, I’m full of secrets darling.” He rounded the table, unbuttoning jacket with one hand as he swiftly took his own seat.

With a snap of his fingers, the glasses on the table filled with wine and two covered plates appeared suddenly in front of them which Selina wouldn’t lie and say didn’t make her jump a little. Because they did, and Crowley found it a touch amusing.

“There better not be snails under there.” Selina said around a chuckle, pointing down at the silver dome sitting atop her plate. Although she wasn’t joking.

“Guess you won’t know until you lift it.” Crowley said plainly, watching as Selina carefully, and rather slowly, lifted the lid, relief washing over her face when she saw what was underneath. Her favourite, lasagna. “A little birdie told me that you favour a more Italian cuisine.”

“And yet you brought me to Paris?”

“Well, you can’t exactly find a view like that…” Crowley gestured to the world around them, Selina’s gaze drifting towards it again and the way she smiled? He’d never get sick of seeing that. “��in Italy, now can you?”

“I guess not.” She breathed out, turning herself back round to face him again. She reached out the second her eyes met his, lifting her wine glass and taking a rather large sip as the way she felt inside right now.

That furious beat, beat, beat of her heart only confused her greatly and if she didn’t find something to calm her nerves, it was going to burst right out of her chest and land on her lasagna.

“Who’s this little birdie?” Selina asked, once her heartbeat had slowed to a relatively normal and less ‘I should see a doctor’ way. “The one who told you I like Italian food.”

“I believe he goes by the name of Chuck Shurley.”

“Chuck?” Selina’s eyebrow knitted together, her glass landing back on the table. “You know Chuck?”

“Not personally, no.” Crowley replied, taking his own sip of wine. “But I’ve read his work.”

“The Supernatural books.” Selina mumbled, biting at her lip in a way that showed Crowley she had an obvious hatred for them. “You’ve read them?”

“I have.” Crowley nodded, noticing the way she shuffled almost nervously in her seat. “And let me just say, you’re a lot different on the page than you are in person.”

“Oh yeah? And how’s that?”

“Well for starters, the you I read about in the books wouldn’t have so much as cared about my well-being let alone saved my life back in the dungeon of yours.” Crowley began, sipping on his wine as he caught the way Selina’s eyes shifted around the place. “And you definitely wouldn’t be sitting here with me now.”

“You’re forgetting.” Selina began, her tone quieter than before. “Those books ended with Sam going to Hell and experiencing that… Watching your twin brother be possessed by Lucifer and jump into Hell… Not to mention what happened after with the Leviathans and the year I spent in Purgatory, can you really fault me if I’m different?”

“Oh, I’m not faulting you, darling. Not at all.” Crowley shook his head, setting his glass down softly on the tablecloth covered table. “In fact, I like this new you. No offence but you’re a lot less… Stiff, than you once were.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one who's changed.” Selina murmured, downing the remainder of her wine in one large mouthful, the glass refilling the second she set it down again. “Past you would have never invited me to dinner. Or allowed me to rest my legs over your lap.”

“Ah, so you remember that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Selina questioned, her eyes narrowing.

“No reason.” Crowley brushed off and was that a flutter he was feeling in his chest? Yes, he thinks it was. “Just wasn’t sure if you’d remember anything after your little slaughter as you were pretty out of it for the most part.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I remember everything.”

“I’m not disappointed, Selina.” Crowley replied, shaking his head softly. “In fact, I'm quite the opposite. Like I said, I like this new you and I have to say, I look forward to getting to know her better… Starting with that nickname of yours.”

“You mean ‘Cat’?” Selina’s head tilted, her mind doing its best to ignore the tingly feeling she felt inside over Crowley’s clear excitement to get to know her better. “What about it?”

“Where did that come from? The books don’t exactly go into a lot of details about stuff like that.”

“Are you familiar with the Batman franchise? More specifically, Catwoman?” Selina asked, Crowley humming softly in response. “Well when I was younger I wasn’t what you’d necessarily call a kleptomaniac as I only ever stole things we truly needed like food and whatnot but sometimes I got sticky fingers…

“Anyway, Dean liked to joke, called me Catwoman and mentioned how it was like I was named after her. My likeness, and skill, for stealing and blah, blah, blah. But pretty much over the years the name shortened, became ‘Cat’ and I guess it just stuck.” Selina finished, shrugging her shoulders a little as she took a forkful of her food as she was growing hungry. “Oh, and there’s also the part where I like cats.”

“Cat person.” Crowley chuckled, having learned more about Selina from her very own lips in that entire minute than he’d ever done before. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me.”

“Let me guess, you’re a dog person?”

“I do have hounds, darling… You should know. You killed one of them.”

“Right.” Selina sucked at her teeth, her eyes dropping to her plate. “Sorry about that.”

“Relax, Selina.” Crowley said, causing her to look up and part of her seemed surprised that even after asking her about her nickname, he still didn’t use it. “I don’t hold it against you and frankly, that hound was old. Past his prime if you will.”

“Didn’t seem like it when he was trying to tear me apart.” Selina scoffed lightly, her eyes widening briefly as she thought back to that day. And she couldn’t help but shiver over the thought of that very hounds blood covering her entire body. “But still, I am sorry.”

“Well, I appreciate that.” Crowley exhaled, nodding briefly in thanks. “Now, what do you say we eat and you tell me a little bit more about these kleptomaniac urges you seemed to suffer from when you were a child?”

“I was not a klepto.” Selina defended, unable to help but laugh a little, her foot reaching out to nudge the amused Crowley’s leg.

And for the rest of the night the atmosphere never darkened.

It was almost like they were on a date. A strange, ‘this guy is a demon who almost killed me once’ and ‘this woman almost turned me human’ sort of date. But neither of them would admit that aloud as to them, it felt one sided. As though the other couldn't possibly think it was a date given who they were.

But regardless it was a rather perfect night. A night Selina almost didn’t want to end and when they left the restaurant, stepping out onto the quiet, brightly lit streets of Paris she almost didn’t want to say anything should Crowley be reminded that she was still there even though their dinner was over.

“So…” Selina began hesitantly, her eyes fixated on the ground beneath her as she fiddled anxiously with her fingers. “What now?”

Spotting the movement of Crowley’s arm, Selina looked up, seeing how he simply held it out as he’d once done the day he took her home. Part of her grew disappointed, that the night was clearly over and it took her a second to link her arm with his, expecting to be teleported back to the alleyway which they’d left.

But instead, Crowley began to walk, guiding her slowly across the road where they soon began to stroll alongside the river that still sparkled with the light of the Eiffel Tower, which looked much bigger now that they were on ground level.

Not quite believing she was walking arm in arm down the streets of Paris with the King of Hell, Selina didn’t know where she wanted to look. In front of her? At the Tower itself? Or at Crowley? Whose own eyes were glued firmly to the path laid out before them as they both did nothing but walk, Selina settling on staring in front of her as it seemed like the best idea.

Neither of them said a word the entire time as honestly, they didn’t need to. The moment didn’t call for conversation and frankly, by the end of it, they both weren’t quite ready to say goodbye. But as the saying goes, all good things come to an end, as they soon found themselves back in the alleyway they left from, Selina’s original clothes replacing the dress she’d grown rather fond of in the duration of the night.

“That was…” Selina began, a touch breathlessly she didn’t even know where to start. “Incredible, Crowley… Thank you. I… I had a really nice time tonight.”

“I’m glad.” Crowley smiled, a small one, as he didn’t want to show too much reaction to her words, but a warm one.

One that had Selina hoping, or praying rather, that he was about to ask her out again as she wouldn’t deny, she’d never once been treated like that in her entire life. Only, he didn’t. He simply stood there, as though waiting for her to make the next move and she’d be damned if she’d be the one to suggest they meet up again as if he didn’t want to, she didn’t need that embarrassment with her for the rest of her life.

“Well, I should probably get going.” Selina pointed briefly behind her with her thumb as she took a step back. “Before my brothers send out a search party.” She added with a chuckle, as she continued to move. “Goodnight, Crowley.”

“Goodnight, Selina.” Crowley replied, his voice low as he did nothing but watch her walk away from him, shooting him another smile over her shoulder as she reached the end of the alleyway before disappearing.

Crowley just stood there, doing nothing but staring at the empty space she once occupied. Her blood may be fully out of his system but that didn't mean a smidge of humanity didn’t remain in him. And had he not figured that out before he definitely would have tonight as that dinner, or date, or whatever it was?

Well that was all he needed to know that he was falling for the one and only Selina Winchester.

Chapter 5 ->

#supernatural #crowley #crowley x original character #crowley x oc #supernatural fanfic series

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