[fic] we'll fade out tonight
Title: 'we'll fade out tonight'
Characters: Crowley, Castiel.
Notes: It's hard living in Chicago when you have no purpose anymore. Crowley tries to sleep. It doesn't really work.
Word Count: 522.
Prompt: 'Sleep'.
There’s two supernatural beings who don’t sleep in Chicago. Castiel and Crowley, an Angel of the Lord and a King of Hell respectively, have never had the need to sleep. The angels, ever watchful, mostly looked down on earth, while the demons looked up - or more precisely, walked almost endlessly amongst humanity. Sleep never came into the equation. Heaven and Hell never sleep.
And even in Chicago, that still doesn’t change.
Castiel fills his time as his friends sleep watching them, guarding them. He flits silently from room to room, place to place, checks on them for a few moments before moving on. Sometimes he comes across someone still up, in which case, he stays to talk for a little while. But he’s soon off again, never staying put for too long during the long nights.
Crowley has much more time to fill. He lacks the friends Castiel has, and therefore doesn’t have people to talk to. He spends the nights standing on rooftops, drinking and facing the reality of this is what his life’s become now he’s essentially stranded in this city. Crowley finds it harder to be here. While there are plenty of souls to torment, he lacks the ability to make deals. There’s no Hell, - not one he has access to, anyway. He’s a king without a kingdom to rule. He feels powerless at times.
He remembers life before Chicago. It was difficult back home with the demons, the Winchesters and the angels - but everyone had their place. Hell, even when he was Human, he knew his place. He misses the simplicity of his own world. Being a demon in this world almost has no purpose, no meaning. And at least if he were Human, he could sleep some of his time away.
Even if he can’t, he’s going to try anyway.
Castiel comes across him in the early hours of the morning as he stands in silence with his eyes closed. The angel’s confused, but it takes him a while to actually ask the demon to what he’s doing:
“What are you doing, Crowley?”
“Buggar off, I’m sleeping,”
Castiel’s brow furrows even more, “But demons don’t sleep,”
“I know that. I’m just trying anyway,” he snaps back.
“Why?”
Crowley sighs internally, frustrated at the questions. He just wants to be left alone in peace; he doesn’t need any sympathy, least of all from the feathered git. Opening his eyes, he looks across at the angel who now dons a look of almost concerned curiosity with his confusion.
“Just trying to get some beauty rest, darling. It takes a girl a lot of effort to look this fabulous,” he says finally with a crooked smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
Castiel stares at him for a long time, pondering on whether to push the matter further. He knows it’s not easy for a demon or angel to adapt to this world, but he’s never asked Crowley how he felt about the matter.
Nodding, he decides to let it drop this time.
“Very well. Goodnight, Crowley,”
And in a half second, he’s gone - leaving the demon to his thoughts.