Chapter Text
“It’s over Crowley” she said harshly.
“Excuse me?” Crowley asked probably a bit too politely bearing in mind the other person’s tone. That and the fact he hadn’t really been paying attention.
“I said it’s over Crowley…I want progression. You know,move into a bigger place - our own place! Get married, have a baby. We’re coming on two whole years now and not even a mention of the next step! When’s it gonna happen Crowley?” she asked as she folded her arms and huffed waiting for an answer.
Scarlett was Crowley’s partner. She is actually called Carmine but she doesn't like being called that. Being so headstrong, she’d decided a long time ago to go by the name of Scarlett and only Scarlett. She was fiery, passionate and knew exactly what she wanted in life. Good at conflict and drama - the exact opposite of Crowley who just wanted to live a precious, peaceful existence with his Queen collection and a glass of Talisker whiskey in the evening. They’d been together the best part of two years now and life was exactly that - perfect and peaceful and Scarlett had been happy with this life, up until she wasn’t and as they’d hit their two year mark, all of a sudden, out of nowhere it seemed, Scarlett wanted more than just nice.
Crowley sat nonchalantly on the sofa, a blank expression on his face, Scarlett’s flame red hair and pissed off demeanour reflected in his dark glasses.
“What…what do you mean? We’re happy now aren’t we? We go out for nice dinners, meet with friends…nice holidays…what's the rush?” he said sitting back casually and taking a sip of his evening usual.
This is quite possibly the worst thing Crowley could have said to Scarlett.
A heavily frustrated sound left her mouth “you have NO motivation Antony J Crowley! I need a man who wants me, wants the big house with 2.4 children … and you …you just wanna sit here with your house plants and your pathetic Queen collection. We should be saving for a wedding or a house but instead you’re saving our money for a Bentley that you’ll probably never drive!”
Scarlett was now red in the face with frustration, she turned on her heel, picked up her bags and stormed out the front door.
Crowley ran out after her “What do you mean I won’t drive it? Of course I will, I'll take her out every weekend for a drive!” he exclaimed, getting riled up at the thought of anyone having an issue with his dream car.
He followed her outside and watched on as she put her bags in the car ”oh come on Scarlett, don’t be like that….come back inside and lets watch an episode of the Golden Girls, yeah? Let's just forget about all of this for tonight and talk tomorrow” he said, running a hand through his short, styled red hair.
Scarlett looked back at him, her expression aghast “You just don’t get it, do you?” she asked incredulously and she got into her car and drove away.
Crowley walked down the path and stayed at the end of it until the car was out of sight “well….that went down like a lead balloon” he muttered to himself.
The truth was, there were more problems beneath the surface of their relationship - Scarlett was hot headed and had a tendency to complain a lot if things weren’t going her way, she liked the finer things in life and was very particular about appearances and how they appeared to the outside world. She did have good points though, she was kind to those who were closest to her, she was funny and sweet and Crowley did enjoy her company.
He loved her a lot.
Crowley was an inquisitive type. His thirst for knowledge and answers to anything and everything was insatiable. He always believed that no trouble could come of asking questions and Crowley was always seeking a fresh point of view. On the subject of marriage, and much to Scarlett's annoyance, he had always wondered why it was necessary, what was the purpose? “Whats the point of it all?” He’d ask, instead of just moving along with life like many others seemed to be doing around their age.
Crowley went back inside the house, body rolled down onto the couch and slouched. He couldn’t believe he’d been dumped under such pathetic circumstances…all because he’d asked a few questions. He wasn’t ready for the next phase of life and wanted to enjoy himself.
It didn’t seem fair.
Crowley spent the next few days hoping Scarlett would come back. Surely she would. They had a great life. Yeah ok, the house they lived in was rented but they’d both agreed it would be fine until they looked for somewhere bigger.. Crowley was in line for a promotion, he’d worked so hard to get to where he was today and it seemed that no matter how hard Crowley worked, Scarlett still wasn’t satisfied and because he did question marriage and life and didn’t talk about progression all of the time, this had gone against him.
As the days went on, one becoming two, two becoming three and eventually on the fourth day and with no contact from Scarlett at all, he realised this could be it. He begrudgingly went out to work and spent his evenings on the sofa, watching crap television and shouting at it.
He even became unhappy with his houseplants, threatening to see them out should they start to spot. That was actually another thing that Scarlett disliked, that he spoke to his plants and was insistent on having an array of spider plants in each room but Crowley loved them and cared for them intrinsically, they were, to him, like family.
Trying to carry on was hard but he had to and so he decided it was time to start socialising again. He put on his dark sunglasses to frame his slimline, beautiful face, adorned with a snake tattoo on the right handside of his face just under his ear and at the start of his chiseled jawline. With his short flame red hair and deep amber eyes, Crowley was a catch.
“Jim, Crowley’s here to see you” - Michael, Jim’s assistant, announced “Can I get you anything to drink?” they asked.
“Take a big cup, put six shots of expresso into it, nothing else” Crowley replied.
“Oh, I’ll have a hot chocolate please Michael!” Jim said, quite giddy. “Hey, buddy, how you doing man?“rough couple of days for you” he asked, giving Crowley a hug “you sure that expresso is gonna calm you down?”
“Not really” Crowley sighed just at the time Michael plonked down the cup of expresso on Jim’s desk. Crowley took it and downed it in one “I don’t know what I’m going to do” he huffed.
Jim and Crowley had been friends for a long time. Having met at college, they spent the latter part of their years partying and drinking. Both Jim and Crowley dated people who identified as male, female and non-binary - If they found the person had a good personality, they were happy to explore the connection with them and although Jim and Crowley had a rocky start to their friendship and didn’t exactly see eye to eye for a while, they had ended up developing a tight knit friendship.
Jim had been with Crowley the night he met Scarlett and working in real estate, he had found the house that Crowley and Scarlett, well, now just Crowley, rented out.
Jim stood tall beside Crowley “You’ll be just fine, my friend” he said giving him a pat on the back “what is it they say, to get under someone, you have to get over someone else, huh?” he said with a wink.
Crowley strained a laugh “Jim, words are the wrong way round mate but I’m not that desperate” he retorted “I just thought we were good, you know” he said flopping himself down on Jim’s office couch and draping his legs over the arm of it “one minute we were good and the next we weren’t” he shrugged his shoulders.
“What are we gonna do now then? Go find new talent?” Jim asked with a smoulder, trying to make light of the situation.
Crowley couldn’t help but laugh again, at least Jim made him smile and not cry “no, you idiot, I’m not ready for that just yet” Crowley paused for thought “actually, you can put that brain of yours to some good use. I’ll need you to help me find somewhere else to live, I’m gonna get out of here. Move on. Try someplace new” Crowley said hopefully “it’s all too fragile here”
“What? Moving away? So soon after?” Gabriel looked surprised.
“She’s not coming back Jim” Crowley said defeated
“If thats what you want buddy, I can help you out with that for sure” he said reluctantly, holding up his own cup and doing an air cheers with it,
“Thanks Jim” Crowley said with a curt nod “I know I can count on you”
A full week since Scarlett leaving had passed by. Crowley hadn’t told his workmates about the break-up, they’d only rib him for it, especially Hastur who was always calling him a “flash bastard” for all the fancy clothes, holidays and things he and Scarlett did that were, upon reflection, rather extravagant.
Crowley was project manager at an architectural firm and he helped his team to run a series of jobs within a project be it with plumbing, building, piping or helping engineers with paperwork. The role was varied and it kept Crowley and his team on their toes.
There was Hastur, a tall, thin, gaunt man with shaggy hair. He had a dry sense of humour and a gruff voice, moaned a lot but got the job done. Then there was Ligur, a rounded, plump fellow, very serious and literal. Newt had recently joined the team as Crowley’s assistant. He was the tech wizard but also very hands on too. Newt had short dark hair and wore glasses. He had a tall, slim frame and a nervous, jittery disposition but he was always honest and he was loyal to a T.
Together, they all helped Crowley to bring the architect and engineer's plans to life but aside from working together, they all shared a friendly bond and met together regularly for the local pub quiz.
“What’s up with you tonight, boss?” Hastur asked Crowley abruptly “you’ve been a misery this past week. The M25 job went successfully right? What’s there to be gloomy about? You’re usually such a happy ray of sunshine” he finished sarcastically.
“Yeah, yeah, it went fine” Crowley replied downcast “just feeling a bit out of sorts tonight”
“Oh, not getting any action from the lady recently are we?” Ligur chortled, looking at the others for encouragement. The other two started to laugh along with Ligur, and much to Crowley’s annoyance, they carried on wittering about his now non-existent relationship.
Count to ten. Count to ten Crowley thought to himself but the laughing became louder and the banter hit a bit too hard. His breakup was still raw, fresh and Crowley was still processing not having Scarlett in his life.
“She left me alright!” Crowley eventually spoke up “Me and Scarlett aren’t together anymore, she left”
Silence hung heavy at the table.
“Ah Crowley, I’m…mate, I’m sorry. We didn’t….we” Newt was the first to offer his apologies
“Save it” Crowley downed his drink “I’ll see you in the morning” and with that, he stormed off back home, leaving the others feeling more than a little bit guilty.
“Scarlett…please ring me back. I’ve left lots of messages and you haven’t replied - just, call me so we can talk about this. I can change. Please”
Crowley had left messages everyday since their breakup and heard nothing back. Not a word. He sat back in his chair by the back door. He’d decided to try and at least enjoy the balmy evening and he quite enjoyed the breeze that flowed through, it made him feel less enclosed.
He glanced at the neat pile of the rest of Scarlett’s belongings she’d left behind. He picked up a photo frame and sipped on his whiskey as he looked at the picture of them both happy and smiling.
“All I did was ask a few questions” he said outloud, his head resting on the back of his chair “ I thought we had a plan. We’d talked about it, made them, gone over them and perfected them tons of times! Great plan - bah!” Crowley was now stood up, stumbling across his kitchen looking up at the sky, as if he was talking to a deity “I need a new one, a new plan but, I don’t know what to do” He ran a hand through his hair “God are you listening?! Show me a great plan!” he shouted to the ceiling.
And just in the moment of what would be his deepest despair, there was a racket from outside and a dog, a small black and white dog came bundling through his kitchen into the living room “Hey! Dog! Get out now! Shoo!” Crowley went to shoo the dog away but it barked at him animatedly, baring its teeth at him “now, that is not on! You think you’re some kind of hellhound do you! Out of my house now, fiend, shoo!”
The dog barked a little more at Crowley and then made to run outside, but the dog looked back at Crowley as if to say - follow me. And so Crowley did follow the dog, mainly to make sure they got out of his house but he could also hear a noise coming from outside that peaked his interest and had most likely been the reason the dog had come inside in the first place.
He saw the dog run out of the back door and they turned to bark a few more times at him before running through a bush, making a swift exit “bloody dog” Crowley mumbled to himself and just as he was about to turn, a single white feather sauntered downwards, right in front of his face “huh” Crowley breathed as he caught the soft white feather in his hand and studied it.
It took him a minute to process his thoughts. It'd been one hell of a day. What do they say about single white feathers again? It's a superstition, isn’t it. A divine intervention of sorts. Crowley has never been the superstitious sort but it would be nice to think he had a guardian angel out there somewhere. And if he did have an angel or a fairy godmother out there it would be nice if they got to work and sorted his shitshow of a life out.
That's when he heard the distressed 'quack'.
Alas, he was wrong again. There was no angel looking out for him today and there never would be. But there was something else feathery that looked like it needed his help.
Crowley turned and looked up. Sat in the gutter on the roof of his house was a black and white duck.