Song Remains the Same

Chapter 54: The Vampire Diaries

"I'm not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels,I'm afraid of what real human beings do to other real human beings." - Walter Jon Williams

Later

Answering the call with dark foreboding, Castiel left Heaven's battlefields and descended to earth. There he found himself in a dim warehouse littered with trash. No one seemed to be here, and the angel was confused. Then, behind him, he heard the familiar voice: "Hello, Cas old buddy."

Castiel turned and his expression grew only darker. "Crowley." Cas scanned the space sharply. Why were they meeting on earth this time instead of Hell? He hadn't seen Crowley since Scotland. The angel narrowed his eyes. "What is this place?"

The King of Hell chuckled and sauntered over, looking up and around the dilapidated place fondly. "Home sweet home. Our new business headquarters, if you will."

Not in the mood for humor, Castiel glared at his business partner, angry that the demon could even be called that. "What do you want."

"What do I want?" Crowley asked, feigning innocence. "I just wanted to remind you of our little arrangement."

Increasingly irritated, Castiel's face remained hard and unfriendly. "I haven't forgotten. I don't require a reminder from you."

"That so?" The demon asked, by all appearances calm and conversational. "Well. I'd like to know, what, exactly, were you thinking," Crowley continued smoothly... before he flew into a fit of absolute rage: "When you took Alex Winchester to my sodding homeland and helped her dig up my bloody bones!?" His shout echoed in the huge space.

Growing angry at the demon's audacity and attitude—he wasn't Cas's superior, and when he spoke as if he was, ancient fury boiled in his veins. "I was thinking that I was protecting your bones," he replied hostilely. "I made certain they weren't burned, didn't I?"

Face twisted into an ugly, sarcastic expression, Crowley sneered. "Appreciate it. Truly." He leaned closer and his voice took on a soft, warning tone. "Let me be blunt with you, trench coat. You can't be flitting down to earth and traipsing about with the missus right now; you can't be going 'round for a visit whenever the mood strikes. The more time you spend around littlest Winchester, the more you risk her finding out about the dirty details of our little partnership. And what's more, you can't be making house calls on Dean and Sam, either." Crowley paused, pacing a slow circle around Cas, who was frowning deeply, wondering why Crowley would say this. The demon explained as if he'd anticipated Cas's confusion: "The Winchesters start asking questions... those questions will require answers. And if they find out about what you and I are doing with Purgatory, mate..." he came to a stop in front of Cas again. "They won't stand for it. Mark my words."

Cas hesitated, considering Crowley's statement. He knew it was in what the humans called the moral gray area, what he was doing—partnering with the demon Crowley to find and then open Purgatory, use the souls therein to defeat Raphael... it was a means to an end. Preferable means to an end? No, but it was the only way Castiel knew to stop the apocalypse from restarting. "Alex is reasonable," Cas said slowly, still in deep thought, "so are her brothers. If I explained it to them—"

"Do you hear yourself mate?" Crowley asked, cutting him off. "These are the Winchesters. Dean, A.K.A. Captain America, Mr. Morality... he hates my kind. Can't say his sister's much fonder of black eyed bastards..." he smiled darkly, "though she did develop a taste for us. Sam's the only one who was in love with one though. That's besides the point. They find out you're working with me, they find out about our little arrangement... cracking open Purgatory... there'll be hell to pay." Crowley paused and leaned in, eyes narrowed." Y'see, everyone else made the mistake of underestimating those little plaid-wearing fleabags. Only reason I'm still kicking? I haven't made that mistake." He stood back and Cas knew he was right—that Dean, especially, would not stand for what Castiel was doing in the dark. As if reading the angel's mind, Crowley concluded with, "They simply can't find out. It has to stay between us, and us only."