A demon and a moose

“You have very nice hair.”

Sam was at a loss, his face flushing a dark red as the King of Hell slurred the words, practically draped across the table. He turned to Castiel for answers, watching as the angel cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“From my understanding, Rowena tried placing a curse on Crowley. I don’t think she was aware that it’s supposed to target angels and not demons.” Sam listened to the words, frowning as he watched the demon from the corner of his eyes.

“She’s an expert, though. Doesn’t a mistake that mundane seem suspicious to you?” Castiel titled his head, before humming.

“Normally, it would. However, she hadn’t had this book for very long and there were apparently pages that were coded in Enochian. It’s possible that a word was translated incorrectly.” Sam considered that, giving a small nod. He flushed more when he felt Crowley’s gaze on him again, the demon watching him again with a soft look.

It only made Sam flush more, insides tingling at the adoring look.

“What was the spell she cast meant to do?” Sam asked instead, trying to ignore the way Crowley was watching him and smiling at him. “I take it you know the curse she tried to place on him?” Castiel’s gaze hardened for a moment as the angel nodded.

“The curse she tried to use is meant to forcibly extract an angel's grace and destroy it,” Castiel explained. “Which is why I believe the issue was a matter of mistranslation. She was likely trying to exorcise Crowley, while also killing his demonic presence at the same time.” Sam froze at the words as he stole another glance at the demon, who still had his gaze glued to him.

“You look lovely today, Moose.” Sam ripped his gaze away, wishing the ground would swallow him when Castiel looked back and forth between them, before settling on giving Crowley an odd look. “But you’re gorgeous every day, aren’t you?”

The amused look Castiel sent him made Sam want to hide his flushing face into his hands and groan at the unfairness of it all. At this point, he didn’t want to know all of the effects the misread curse would have on the demon. Knowing the blunt angel, Castiel would likely tell him anyway.

“Even though I am no expert at witchcraft, I believe the curse should wear off within a few hours. Demons and angels both have a higher tolerance towards magic, and since the curse was already incorrectly applied, it shouldn’t last longer than a day on him,” Castiel looked between the two of them again and Sam was alarmed to see a small smirk form on his lips. “It appears that the curse acts as an intoxicant truth spell on demons,” Sam practically choked on his own spit as his lips parted, eyes automatically finding Crowley’s again.

“You look wonderful in that shade of green, darling. It brings out your beautiful eyes,” Sam felt his breath stutter at the confession, glaring at Castiel when the angel coughed in amusement. “You’re my favorite, Moose. Did you know that? Squirrel has nothing on you, darling.”

If Sam didn’t know any better, Castiel was edging his way to the exit, looking at Sam with another small smirk.

“I’ll let you handle it from here, Sam. Pray to me if you need my assistance,” Sam huffed, going to open his mouth in outrage and demand Castiel to say, but the angel disappeared with a pop.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Moose,” Crowley’s voice rang through the empty room, making Sam look at the demon again. “Which is how I prefer it,” The demon purred and Sam groaned to himself, wondering how he was going to respond to anything Crowley said.

Finally, he settled on something, his face a dark flush.

“I’m not letting you make a move on me while you’re intoxicated with a curse,” Sam’s voice cut through the silence, face burning more as he carefully said his next words, Crowley oddly silent for once. “Once the curse wears off though, and if you’re still interested…I..” Sam awkwardly. “I would love to kiss you,” Sam admitted, wanting to hide his face at his confession that had been hidden in his chest for years.

“Is that so, Sam?” Crowley’s voice was soft and when Sam looked at him, there was an expression of pure longing on the demon. “It seems we both want the same thing then, love.”

-

Summary:

Between his brother being a demon, having conflicting feelings for Crowley, and a dormant power awakening in him, Sam Winchester feels like his life is falling apart.

And Rowena MacLeod is not helping matters either.

“I ship it” “Oh we’re actually together”

“I’m going for a drive, care to join?” 

There was a moment of confused silence which permeated the entire room. Had Sam looked at his brother, he would have seen the outraged shock in his eyes. 

Dean wasn’t his concern right now. 

“...You’re serious,” The king of Hell spoke up, eyebrow quirked in surprise. Something else lingered in the brown eyes, but Sam couldn’t decipher their meaning. 

“Damn it, Sam-”

“I’d love to, Moose. Squirrel sounds like a broken record right now,” Crowley cut in, interrupting Dean’s tirade and earning a furious squawk of indignation from said man. Sam snorted at his words, fondly shaking his head in an effort to hide his blossoming grin as he ignored Dean calling his name again. It wasn’t long before he was miles away from the bunker, Crowley oddly quiet beside him. 

It was the demon who eventually broke the silence, no longer masking the concern in his voice. It drips between them in the small space of the car. 

“Do you want to talk about it, darling?” If Sam was surprised by the endearment, he didn’t show it. However, a pale flush spread across his cheeks as he took a breath, trying to center his thoughts. “Because from the looks of it, you’re finally sticking up for yourself,” Sam snorts humourlessly, one hand clenching the steering wheel while the other rubs at his temple for a brief moment. 

“So much of the shit Dean and I faced over the years was our own fault,” Sam mumbles. “All because we didn’t communicate with each other or listen to each other. I’m trying to change that,” Sam takes another breath. “Dean is just so damn stubborn half the time,” 

“Yes,” Crowley agrees, but there is something else there. “He’s always been stubborn,” Sam can feel the demon’s eyes burning the side of his face and he swallows hard, waiting for something else. 

But instead of prying more, the demon said something else. 

“...I appreciate what you said, Sam,” The sincerity in Crowley’s words makes Sam swallow even harder, trying to dislodge the heavy lump that formed in his throat. “Thank you-” Something in Sam breaks at hearing the phrase. 

“Dean’s the one who needs to thank you,” Sam hisses softly, cutting the demon off. “After everything you’ve done for us, how can he act like you’ve done nothing?” There was righteous anger in Sam’s tone, a frown on his face. “Every time you help us, you put yourself in danger by gaining new enemies! Most of the time, you have nothing to gain when you help us. There’s nothing in it for you,”

Crowley doesn’t have a response to that, and even if he did, Sam was ranting again. 

“I trust you,” Sam says bluntly, but full of conviction regardless. “You proved yourself to us over the years, especially this past one. How Dean can’t acknowledge that, I’ll never understand,” His hands were gripping the wheel even tighter, his knuckles bone white. “If he can trust Cas, despite all of his past mistakes, he can give you the same courtesy,” 

Crowley hums, his dark gaze flickering to the side of Sam’s face as he speaks up, the words making the car crackle with tension. 

“If Squirrel can trust Feathers despite everything, he can give you the same courtesy,” The demon says, flipping the words back and watching the way Sam swallows hard, some of his tension draining away as he sags in defeat. 

Crowley wasn’t going to continue letting the cycle happen. 

“Pull over, darling,” 

Sam seems to hesitate, before he eventually finds a decent road to pull off at, looking at the demon in confusion. Crowley meets his gaze, and Sam nearly chokes as the gaze seems to bore into his very soul. 

“You were wrong about one thing, Moose.” Crowley drawls out, accent deeper than usual. “There is something in this for me.” A warm hand lands on Sam’s jaw, the thumb caressing the stubble slowly. “Your safety. I help you because I want to keep you safe, darling,” 

It’s like all the air has been sucked from Sam’s lungs as a deep flush spreads across his cheeks and all the way to his chest. His entire body warms up at the confession as he reaches forward, cautiously taking Crowley’s free hand in his own. 

Sam leans into the hand against his cheek, briefly closing his eyes as the moment begins to settle. 

“Come with me for a while,” Crowley suggests, closer than before. “Get away from your obnoxious brother and research without him breathing down your neck,” Sam shivers at the words, already falling into him. “Please, come with me,” 

The plea is what does it, and when Sam opens his eyes to see the earnest expression in the beautiful brown eyes, he smiles and gives in. 

Another hunt went south- with Sam sporting a new gash on his shoulder and arm. Crowley always managed to find him on his worse days, the demons’ snark one of the only things keeping him grounded.  “It could have gone worse. No head injuries today.” His voice goes softer, knowing that the other man was worried. As he turns to him, the pain comes back at full force.