Work Text:
He didn't know how or why but he was still standing. He and his attempted killer were standing and that gave Bobby enough time to close the door to the van and tell Dean to drive!
When they got to a safe place out of the city, Dean turned around in the driver’s seat and Sam had a concerned look on his face that told Bobby everything.
“What the fuck , Bobby, you have a bullet sticking straight out of your forehead! And you’re still breathing?!”
“Yeah Bobby, what did you do?”
“I don't know, boys, I just know I need your help with getting this thing out of me.” He couldn't look at them, not because he was guilty of anything but because his mind was racing. What happened? How was he still alive? He looked down at the ground to check if he was standing over his own body but nope, he was in the van-this was real. It felt so unserious but he knew exactly who was responsible for this.
“Okay, we can do that.” Dean nodded over to Sam and he grabbed the old battered first aid kit they had with them. “Do you feel any pain?” there was concern in his eyes.
“I have a headache” he laughed as they removed the bullet and cleaned his wound. By the time they were done it had healed-which they chose not to comment on.
They drove in silence back to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Bobby sat with it in the back of the van. He was fuming and if he needed any excuse to get mad this was probably a bad one to get mad at him for. It wasnt like he was suicidal, alright that was a lie, he’s had his moments but that mission wasnt one of them. Purely a miscalculated accident, that still didn't excuse him from escaping Death. His time would come-the sacrifice would catch up to him he just hoped it wouldn't ricoche and get one of the boys in the process of getting him back. He was taught that there’s always a price to pay….so what was this one?
He was spiraling hard, he shook himself which only helped for a few seconds but they were already pulling into his cluttered driveway.
When they got to his house, he ransacked all the usual places for a specific item until he found it halfway wedged in between a pan and the top of one of his cabinets. A can of red spray paint, the red cap was easy to spot.
He lifted the mat as the boys watched him clamber around and mutter senselessly like it was a regular Tuesday night, in fact this was a regular Tuesday night for them. Dean sighed and started rummaging through Bobby’s fridge while Sam watched what Bobby was doing.
Before Bobby could even paint a line he could feel a change in the room. He set the can down and stood up, turning around to face the person he knew was behind this all. Crowley .
“Hello dear.” he spoke in that half sarcastic, half meaningful way all British people spoke. It put more pressure on Bobby’s nerves.
“What do I owe you now dear , an arm or my liver?”
“Trust me, I would not want your liver.” It was almost a joke.
“Okay then how do you explain this?” Bobby pointed to his forehead, "I should be dead.”
“Well don't look at me.” he put his hands up like he was innocent.
“Then why are you here, Crowley, why did you come here right as we got back from a mission that should have been lethal? Right as I was about to demon-proof this whole place? Hmm? That just proves to me that you’re the one behind this.” Bobby finished, Sam and Dean were speechless behind Crowley, just watching the spectacle unfold.
“To warn you, but apparently I can't do that!” he yelled back.
“Well maybe I don't want a warning.” Bobby walked away and left Crowley standing there with the boys.
A crackle of thunder and a flash of light outside and the demon was gone.
There was a moment of silence where the boys were just staring at each other and Bobby before they decided to do rock paper scissors which Bobby regretfully didn't stop.
“Boys, I think it’s time for you to pack your bags.” he sighed. He didn't want them to go, but if it wasn't safe then he didn't want them to be there.
“Woah there Bobby, we still need answers.” Dean piped up voiding his winning streak.
“Yeah, what was that about?”
Bobby sat down in his less than alright chair, debating on if he should grab his shotgun-but something snaps inside of him, he decides to just spit it out. He’s raised the boots to be better men than their smarmy father.
“Alright, fine.” he took his signature hat off and smoothed what was left of his hair back as they sat down in front of the desk like they used to do when they were younger.
“You remember the demon deal I made with him, during the apocalypse?” he started and they nodded. He still saw them as the seven and three, dean asking Bobby for a story and Sam bubbling with joy and light. He still saw the light inside of them despite what John had done to them.
“Okay so you also remember the clause he put in to give me back my legs?”
They nodded again but he could tell Dean was getting impatient so he carried on.
“Well Crowley kept it in after I bargained with him, but he only agreed on one condition.”
“What's the condition?” Sam spoke and Bobby looked away from them embarrassed.
“The condition was that he has to marry me.” Crowley walked oh-so-casually in from the kitchen. “The king of hell needs his..well other king.” He looked at them with a devilish look on his face that suited him. “It’s all a part of a deal that was written before I even became a demon. The king of hell needs to marry someone in order to gain their true power.”
“Like Santa Clause..” Sam couldn't believe it.
As Crowley wrapped his arm around Bobby's shoulders a ring appeared on each of their hands, beautiful black obsidian bands that gleamed in the moonlight that had entered through the window.
“Yeah..” Bobby added, agreeing to Sam’s comparison.
“So..you’ve been married for two years?! And didn't even tell us?!!!” Dean stands up, his voice sounds more hurt than angry but it still stings when the words fall from Dean’s mouth. Crowley’s hand squeezes Bobby’s shoulder almost like he could read his mind-he might actually be able to.
“I didn't know how, and I guess tonight proved marrying the king of hell has its perks. “ He fidgeted with the ring
“That’s also why I'm here.” Crowley’s arm retracts and he turns to face bobby. “I didn't save you, I couldn't. There was someone blocking my attempts to get to you. This is bigger than me.” he had an honest look in his eyes and for the first time since agreeing to this stupid contract, Bobby actually believed him.
“Okay, i believe you.” he told him so and he watched the relief wash over his features like nothing he had seen before. He'll admit that while the boys were gone, off saving the world, he had invited the king of hell into his home-had given him one of the spare rooms but they had fallen into a rhythm, he couldn't deny that. One of the better days was spent sitting by each other-bobby at his desk and Crowley across from him with his feet up on the desk-reading their own books for hours before Crowley made him dinner and even though at the start of the agreement he refused to eat anything the demon king made, Crowley had prepared beautifully seared steak with a red wine reduction and he couldn't say no to that. It pulled at his heart even thinking about that night.
“Okay, stop heart-eyeing each other, if it wasn't you that saved him do you happen to have an idea of who did?
“What about a Caladrius, or a Unicorn?” Sam stood up, “they’re known for healing people. Caladrius’ are also known for living in kings’ castles or houses. Seeing as Bobby is a king now it would make sense that it was that.” he smiled, done making his case.
“It makes a little sense, I have been finding feathers around the house, I just thought they belonged to Dean's trenchcoated boyfriend.” Crowley agreed with some slight shade and Dean raised his eyebrows.
“First of all, he has a name, secondly he’s nowhere near “my boyfriend”, and thirdly he doesn't even have feathers.” Dean was blushing as he said this.
“And how would you know, boy wonder?”
“Behave yourselves!” Bobby cut in and they both shut themselves up.
“So, there’s a mythical bird hiding somewhere in my house that’s healing me because i signed a marriage contract with the king of hell? Do I have that right?” He addressed them all and they nodded.
Just then they heard it, a small rustling in the wall. Something a week ago Bobby had thought was just another rat was actually a mythical creature. This life was sure something.
The wrestling stopped for a moment and they were all silent-anticipation filled the air for what would happen next-and then that rustling started again. Having had enough of it Crowley disappeared, he reappeared one second later with the critter in his hands. It looked exactly like a passerine bird, the only difference was instead of the black plumage connecting into a ‘V’ it connected into Bobby’s old family crest. The shield in the middle surrounded by feather-like swoops and an elk in the middle had haunted his memory, a reminder of his father’s only piece of legacy that his father before him had granted him. It marked the bird like it was branded onto it but it was just plumage.
The bird nipped and tweeted at Crowley like it was telling him to let it go, somehow Bobby felt that was what the bird wanted.
“Let her go, Crowley.” Bobby looked at him with an honest look in his eyes and Crowley instantly let go.
The bird flew around the room and decided to land right on top of Bobby’s hat. Chirping with pride.
“I think we’re connected somehow.” he laughed, genuinely. And all three of them raised their eyebrows.
“What happens now?” Dean was the first to speak, staring at the bird currently grooming her wings on top of Bobby’s head.
“I think I need to buy a birdcage.” Crowley sighs and it finally clicks for Dean, the last piece of the twisted puzzle clicks and he realizes that this wasn't some prank-if they were even capable of pulling a prank this huge-or cosmic joke that was being pulled on them. They loved each other, he could see it. He knew there was something off when they got back, something in the air around Bobby. He could almost see the Love radiating off of them. For some god forsaken reason he felt he could relate. There was just something that was gnawing at the back of his mind, like he had forgotten something and that something was the reason he could relate. Like a puzzle piece left over when you already finished the puzzle. He scratched the back of his head as he picked up his bags, walking to go put them up on the stairs.
There was a whoosh, he turned around expecting the bird, instead Castiel stood in the entry way. And then the metaphor melted away from him, he slowly remembered why he could relate-why that hole in his heart was cavernous- who that blank space in his head belonged to.
“You called?” He sounded winded but looked perfect in the shitty lighting of Bobby’s decrepit house.
“Oh shit.” he cursed under his breath, biting his lip and rushing upstairs to hide from his feelings.
“Dean?!” Cas shouted after him.
“Yikes.” Crowley looked at Bobby and Bobby hit him playfully.
“You were worse than those two combined, Mr. seal-the-deal-with-a-kiss.” Bobby laughed as Crowley gaped at him like a fish.
“Yeah but you still gave me tongue.” he bit back and bobby hit him even harder as the bird chirped him on.
“ What are you going to name her?” Sam asked as he fidgeted with his hands, the black nail polish peeling off.
“I was thinking of Karen as a good name for her.” she chirped in approval and hopped down onto Bobby’s arm. Sam smiled,
“That is a good name.”
Karen hopped off of Bobby’s arm and into flight. She flew around the room landing gracefully on a stack of books on his desk. She looked at him with curiosity and a bit of mischief in her eyes that Bobby smiled at. It reminded him of her namesake.
The bird chirped as Cas wandered over to Dean like she was a witness to the start of a conversation.
“Where’ve you been?” he says a few beers into repressing the last hour
“I was-” before he could finish the sentence he’s gone in a whoosh. Dean stands up, mostly literally tired, but deep down there was a different type of tiredness associated with waiting on the angel. Every once in a while there would be a conversation or an interaction between them that put a sour aftertaste in his mouth, and the beer wasn't helping wash it out, it rarely did anything to him anymore. With the stunts that Cas pulled earlier in the year-he could already hear the argument. He settled himself, sat back down, and waited.
Karen flew over to him and landed right in front of where he was sitting, looking at him quizzically, she chirped and Dean reached out a hand. He was used to how cats act around new folk but he’d never met a person with a pet bird, but he tried his usual greeting anyway. He let Karen sniff his hand but she swatted at it with her wing, chirping angrily. She hopped closer to him and fluttered up to his knee, using it as a perch. They sat there for a while, waiting.
Castiel appeared in a white room, an angel stood in front of him-heaven-but before he could ask anything his wings took control and whooshed him out of there
Castiel reappeared with a whoosh, but it was too late. Dean was lying on the floor beside the desk, his beer resting on the floor beside him. Karen was curled up on his chest. They looked peaceful and Cas smiled as he picked them up together, he brought them up to the room where Dean had placed his stuff earlier.
Sam was already in the room he chose and he smiled as he watched Cas bring his brother into the other room.
Bobby on the other hand was quietly making his bed in his room while Crowley watched him.
They fell asleep in a full house, Bobby and Crowley shared a bed and as they fell asleep the whispered quiet ‘i love you’s’ out loud for the first time. Dean and Sam slept soundly in the rooms across the hall, and Cas silently watched over Dean as he slept. It was one peaceful night to make up for all the mayhem that had upturned their lives, the other foot became irrelevant, and the weight on everyone’s shoulders lifted just a little.