#meowley

Castiel watched the hellhounds play wrestle each other, mostly lost in his own thoughts.

It had been a week since Rowena turned Crowley into a cat. After the witch revealed that the spell couldn’t be reversed, they had gone back to the graveyard. 

While things were quiet for all of them, there still were beings who would be delighted to know the King of Hell was under a spell.

The demon had access to most of his powers but being a cat did make certain things difficult.

Castiel found himself moving into a cabin on the edge of the forest near a small town of northern Ireland, with a cat shaped King and his hellhounds. 

Though Crowley had told the seraph he could check in from time to time instead of staying. 

But he enjoyed spending time with Crowley and the hounds,  he also knew the reasons he wanted to be there ran slightly deeper than good company, it was enough of an excuse.

Castiel had fallen in love with the log cabin as soon as he landed near it. It was slightly elevated from the ground, with three stairs leading to a deck. There was a fairly large window beside the door. They spent half cleaning, warding and decorating the cabin according to their taste; which as it turned out was not always similar. 

A dark brown sofa was placed against the wall opposite to the door, two quilts draped over its back; the wooden floor was covered with a soft, cream coloured carpet. The curtains were eggshell white and sea green. There was a coffee table and two wing chairs. They almost forgot to add lights, as neither needed them to see in the dark. 

The second floor was a small single room, with a low bed and stacks of books under the triangular glass framed roof.

He had to take a little trip to a blood bank, some sigils were made stronger by angel blood, but some were rendered useless if drawn in anything but human blood.

Crowley was slowly getting over his annoyance at being a cat and starting to treat the whole thing as a vacation. He joined the hounds in their pile to soak sunlight and participated in their little games.. The seraph had seen him lunge at an unassuming bird for fun. He also learned that the demon had met cats from town in the few hours he had disappeared two days ago, from a very talkative Robin.

Oh and Castiel did get to sink his fingers in the silky dark fur, petting Crowley is not something he ever thought he would love so much. 

The hounds kept an eye on the workings of hell and brought in news everyday. Till now it was running smoothly.

“You coming?''He was pulled out of his head by Crowley. The cat was sitting on the railing of the deck surrounding the cabin, his tail curled neatly around the little feet. The early morning sun made all the shades of brown in his dark fur.

Castiel smiled, “of course.” He scooped the demon without a second thought, making his way towards the town. 

As days passed, the place turned into their little bubble of peace.

They explored the forest and the town, mostly keeping themselves invisible to the residents.

Castiel used the time to read to his heart's content, bringing books from all over the world and spending hours cozying up on the bed upstairs, often joined by Crowley. He started strolls in the forest, sometimes alone, but mostly with either the demon or with one or more hounds, Charlotte was his most frequent companion. He befriended animals, listened to their stories for hours. 

The seraph even met a water spirit near a well hidden creek, they were old and polite and he honored their wish of being left alone. 

He collected unusually shaped leaves and small, colourful flowers. Hid some of them among the pages of the books he liked the most.

Crowley befriended local cats, it was endearing and, as he later found out, dangerous. At least the Baker or anyone else in the town won't think of poisoning the strays again.

He and Crowley talked, shared stories, which turned out to be a mistake because now the demon thinks he isn’t just an idiot but also slightly insane. Maybe he is. 

After all, he was debating the messiest way to kill someone quickly with a cat shaped King of hell and three hellhounds. 

The amount of time he spent with hounds increased with each day. He got to know quirks and opinions of every hound, not just Juliet and Charlotte. He realized he had heard about most of them from Crowley at some point or the other, but it was still fun.

He stopped retreating to the second floor for reading, instead curling up on one of the chairs downstairs or even leaning against the pile of hellhounds and the cat demon on the carpet, sometimes reading out loud. 

Castiel learned, much to his delight, that Crowley purred if caught off guard. And that scratching him beneath his chin is a quick and sure way to get him to shut up. The seraph briefly wonders if that would work when the demon turns back, maybe he could try it when he is feeling more suicidal than usual.

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It happened on the second day of the third week, by then Castiel could see the spell around the demon wearing away, and that should have been a warning.

The seraph was returning from a walk in the forest with Imogen. She was the oldest of Crowley’s pack and they got along really well. She was also the only hound who walked in silence. 

As they neared the cabin, he felt a wave of magic from it. Castiel flew the rest of the way, throwing open the cabin door.

Dark brown and not amber eyes met his, from a much higher point. 

The King of hell stood in the middle of the room, a very human shaped king, with two legs, two arms, all ten fingers, a scowl on his face and…

Castiel bit his lip, on the demon’s head were two furry cat ears, twitching from time to time. A long black tail whipped in the air behind him.

The Seraph moved towards Crowley, his fingers carefully grazed the ears, trailing down the side of his face. The demon, clad only in black pants and an untucked black shirt, raised a brow, but Castiel had no explanation for his actions, not one he wanted to look too closely in that moment anyway. He pulled his hand back, resisting the urge to fly away.  

“Sorry”, he whispered, and cleared his throat, “I- uh”

Crowley’s lips curved into a half smile, “Not something I thought you would like”

Castiel shook his head and let his wings carry him away.

It's foolish, he knows it's foolish and selfish and just unfair. He should never have stayed, not with selfish interests. Crowley had called him so he could help and here he was thinking about himself.

The sound of yapping and barks threw him out of his spiral. He was on the second floor of the cabin, he didn’t actually want to get away just to bring his emotions under control.

Castiel walked to the glass wall, and lowered himself against it.  

Crowley was standing in middle of his Hounds, his tail warped around one of his legs, showering them with affection. 

He let his head fall on the glass, the familiar sight loosening his chest. It was good to have Crowley back.

He just hadn’t realised how used to the weight of the cat he was, until he learned he would never hold him again and how much he had missed the demon even though he was right there.

Castiel opened the box with all his affection for Crowley, allowing himself to wonder what the demon would feel like in his arms.

The seraph had taken his time before coming down. Letting the hounds have some time with their Papa and calming himself. 

Crowley brushed off his apology, pulling his metaphorical tail, and Castiel pulled the demon’s literal one. 

He may not always accept it, but the Seraph did get hit by Crowley’s tail, multiple times. And for the record the one he had as a human hurt more.

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Castiel watched the last of sunlight fade, and stars adorn the darkened sky, mostly lost in his thoughts.

It had been some three hours since Crowley and the hounds went back to Hell. The spell took two more days to disappear completely, and the Seraph spent them happier than he thought he would be. 

He returned the rest of the books he had laying around. And let the first and its inhabitants, like the little upset robin, know that even if they did leave, they could always come back and visit.  

Crowley paid a visit to the town cats, they didn’t seem thrilled about his human form but got used to it quickly.

They took a walk on the day before Crowley left, walking mostly in silence, and letting their hands brush against each other the whole time.

The seraph closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze playing around him. He was sitting on the steps of the cabin, it had a beautiful view of the stars. 

Castiel remembers the first time he had created one, he had been so excited, he almost killed his first star. 

The Seraph didn’t open his eyes when he felt a demonic presence behind him. Or when he sat beside him, their sides pressed against each other. 

The demon placed his head on Castiel’s shoulder, and the angel relaxed making the position more comfortable for him. 

“Hello feathers”

“Hello Crowley”