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Crowley never really saw himself as parental. I mean, he never really cared for his own son which ended up becoming a problem when one of those damn hunters used his bloody ghost to get intel on him and used it as blackmail. Would you believe being a bad father can actually cause problems for you? I mean, it's blasphemy.
But now, he has come across a child and become quite… attached. It's quite the odd child. He claims to be Lilith's spawn and goes by the name of Lucas. The little hellion is a bloody brat, always finding new ways to piss Crowley off. I mean, the creature never listens to him and always goes on about how he's actually older than Crowley. Like that matters when your body is that of a 16 year old's.
At first he simply wanted a deal with Lucas, but nooo, the brat had to be stubborn and refuse any deal he offered. He even offered to bring the boy's long lost father back to life! The brat still said no! It's not like he needs his soul, he's already half demon for fuck's sake.
It was getting quite frustrating but he needed control over Lucas. I mean, the boy is quite powerful. Any child of a demon and a human is practically the antichrist. Think about how amazing it would be to have a being that powerful on his side! The Winchesters wasted the chance to have one on their side with that Jesse kid and he wasn't going to be like them and be all softhearted and pull some "he deserves a normal life" bullshit.
Eventually he realized that a deal was not going to happen and had a wonderful idea. Who says he needs to own the brat if he just, makes the kid attached to him? It was really a simple plan, make the kid think he needs him by helping him and supporting him, keep doing this until the kid likes him enough to do things for him, and don't get attached. It should have been simple. Of course, it wasn't.
What Crowley hadn't accounted for what how much the damn kid was like him. Like a younger, nicer version of him that kept all of the sass and was just as pragmatic. Lucas would run his mouth at Crowley and while he should really be offended that the brat had the audacity to talk to him like that, he really just found it amusing. That with the way the kid would mouth off to the hunters too? Well, he may have started to get a bit attached to the kid.
As time went of Crowley kind of forget why he had befriended the brat in the first place and neither really acknowledge the relationship, both too emotionally dense to admit anything they felt. That was until a few months in.
It had been the anniversary of Lucas's father's— who he now knows was named James —death. Lucas had seemed… off, all day. The boy hadn't sassed Crowley once, which obviously meant something was wrong. He never stopped running his mouth. At first Crowley assumed he was just tired or something but he hadn't even really left his room, and he said no to the candy he offered the kid, and the brat has an absurd sweet tooth.
Eventually Crowley decided to go check on Lucas, knocking on his door, "Brat, you alive in there?" His voice didn't show his concern, he's not supposed to care about the hellion. He got no response and rolled his eyes like that didn't worry him even more. He huffed, "I'm coming in, hide the drugs, or don't."
He pushed open the door, his eyes widening slightly when he spotted the teen curled up in his bed and sniffling slightly. He'd never seen the kid cry, hell, the kid never seemed to even be sad. Hyper little brat. "Uh, you good there, brat?" he asked as he walked over to the bed, peering down at the boy… he looked… like a quite the mess. His peppered hair a mess and eyes puffy. As soon as he seems to realize Crowley was there he frantically moved to wipe his eyes.
Crowley grabbed his wrist, stopping his attempts to wipe his eyes, "I've already seen you, idiot. I know you were crying." Lucas shook his head, making some bullshit excuse, "I'm fine. It's just- just allergies." It's a very shitty excuse. The kid doesn't have allergies.
"Don't bullshit me, you don't have allergies," Crowley scolded lightly. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed and poked Lucas's shoulder, "What's wrong with you, you're never this… emotional." Once again, Lucas refused to be honest like the brat he is, "It's nothing, It's all fine and I don't- don't need your comfort or anything."
That just earned Lucas a deadpan look from Crowley, "That is the most obvious way of saying you do. Now, tell me what is wrong so it can be dealt with. Did someone hurt you or something?" Lucas shook his head, "You can't just fix this- I- I'm just in a bad mood." Crowley rolled his eyes, "Yes, I gathered that, I'm asking why, you dense brat."
Lucas sighs, "I just- it's the anniversary of my father's death… I miss him." This surprised Crowley, Lucas had never expressed grief over his dad. He assumed the boy had gotten over it. Apparently he had not. You would think 300 something years was enough to get over a parent's death, he never really missed his own mother since he didn't particularly like her and he never had his father around to begin with. Though he supposed it's different since Lucas seemed to have actually cared for his dad.
"Well, I can't exactly bring him back, nor do I really get it but I can get you candy, or we can take part on my favorite activity, fucking with the Winchesters," Crowley suggested, his tone casual like wasn't trying to cheer up the brat. This brought a small, kinda weak laugh from Lucas, "You act like you don't like them."
Crowley definitely likes the Winchesters, even if they are pests half of the time. Not that he would ever admit that. "They're very annoying, I don't see how anyone could like those boys. Regardless, I'm going to mess with them, would you like to join me? You could learn something from it, maybe scare them a bit with your mere existence. You tend to do that." Lucas smiles slightly and nods, looking like he's in a slightly better mood.
Crowley would be the last to admit that he cares for the brat, but he's undoubtedly attached. His plan having failed as soon as the kid starting mouthing off at him. He'd kill anyone who tried to hurt Lucas. Even the Winchesters aren't safe from that. Lucas is his brat. His kid.