spn_springfling | Deal by biffelderberry for <user site="livejournal.com" user="p

Title: Deal
Pairing: Crowley/Jo
Rating: T
Any warnings: N/A

Jo looked through the box one last time examining the contents - her old senior picture, the bone from a black cat, yarrow root, and dirt from a graveyard. It was exactly what she needed. The box itself was her old lunch box. She had the delusional hope that making the box more personal might get her a better deal.

She took a deep breath before dropping the box in a hole and smoothing dirt over it.

"Well, well, well," A cool voice said behind her. Jo turned quickly to face the man that she had summoned. "What do we have here? Friend's with the Winchesters aren't you? You're the saucy little minx that helped them get past my guards aren't you? What do you want? To kill me?"

"No," Jo replied, trying to calm her nerves. She had faced down demons before, but this was different. "I want to make a deal."

"Oh?" Crowley's interest was piqued, "And what exactly do you want?"

"I want my mother back," Jo told him, "And I'm willing to trade my soul for it." It should have been her that died. She should have been on the suicide mission to kill the devil with her mom and the Winchesters. But her mother had spiked her drink with sleeping pills, left her behind when the others went. Sam and Dean told her what happened when they came back without Ellen. How her mom had been mauled by hell hounds, and blew them up.

"Interesting," Crowley drawled, circling her, "But I don't want your soul. No, souls are of little value right now with the big finish coming up. We'll all be flush with them once the world ends, not that it'll matter much."

"Then what do you want?" Jo asked, anxiety welling in her throat. What if the demon wouldn't get her mom back? What if he left without making the deal? Would she have to live the rest of her life without her mom? Would she become as bitter and jaded as Bobby, Sam, and Dean?

"It's simple, I'll bring your mum back, and the two of you invite me to a family dinner."

Jo paused for a moment, wondering if she had heard the demon correctly. "That's... it?"

"Like I said, deals aren't worth much right now," Crowley shrugged, turning back to the girl, "So, do we have a deal?"

Jo paused for a moment trying to think of all the tricks the demon could be playing. Sam and Dean had told her all about Crowley and the sort of tricks he liked to play. Yet she couldn't see any sort of negative outcome to this deal. Besides, it's not like she would have to live with the consequences for long. The last time she had talked to Bobby it had sounded like Sam and Dean were no closer to ending the apocalypse.

"Come now, girl, I don't have all day."

"Deal," Jo finally said, looking the demon squarely in the eyes. The next thing she knew he was kissing her. Her brain ran a thousand miles a minute as it ran through everything she knew about demon deals and how they were sealed, before finally slowing down and melting. Her eyes drifted closed as her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer.

Crowley pulled back from the kiss a few moments later, leaving Jo dazed. She should have expected him to be a good kisser, given his profession, but Jo hadn’t expected it to be more than a peck really.

“It’s done,” Crowley stated, “Go home, your mother will be there in the morning.” And with that he was gone, leaving Jo alone in the middle of the crossroad.

The next morning Jo woke up to the smell of coffee. It was familiar, comfortable and perfect. She wandered into the kitchen, past her mother sitting at the table drinking coffee, and got her own cup of coffee. She sat down on the opposite side of the table, avoiding eye contact.

“Joanna Beth, I’m waiting,” Ellen stated. Jo thought about playing the fool, and pretending she didn't know what her mother was talking about. But she knew that in the end her mom would find out, even if she could sneak the dinner with Crowley past her.

“I made a deal,” Jo admitted, not looking her mother in the eye.

“How long did they give you?” Ellen asked tensely.

“What?” Jo asked.

“How long do you have before they send those damn hell hounds to drag you down to hell. Dammit Jo! I was dead! You shouldn't have messed with that!”

“No it's not like that!” Jo hurried to explain, “The demon didn't want my soul!”

“They always want your soul, that's the point of a demon deal! You get a few years of happiness then an eternity of torture. Didn't you talk to someone first! Didn't Dean tell you not to!”

“It's the apocalypse mom,” Jo replied, trying to calm herself down. Of course her mother was mad. Jo should have expected this. “Soul aren't worth much now. The demon didn't want mine.”

“Then what did you trade?” Ellen asked cautiously. There had to be a trick, there was always a trick with demon deals.

“He, Crowley, the demon I dealt with, just wants to have dinner with us,” Jo replied, “I know it's weird but I couldn't find any angle in it either.”

“Fine,” Ellen sighed, “We’ll get this over with as soon as possible. I'm going to call the Winchester's and find out anything they know about this Crowley.” Ellen drained the last of her coffee from her cup. “And you never do anything this stupid again Jo.” Ellen stood and began to walk out of the room.

“Hey mom,” Jo called after her, “I'm glad you’re back.”

A few weeks later Jo finally made good on her deal. Her mom had been resistant to the idea of even honoring the deal, saying that they might as well just wait and see if the world ended first. But Jo had worn her down. After all there was no knowing exactly what clauses Crowley might have hidden in there, should the deal not be dealt with in time.

"...Et ad congregandum...eos coram me." Jo recited, dropping a match into the bowl of herbs she had been mixing. It was an incantation given to her mother by Dean Winchester to summon Crowley. Of course in order to get the incantation Jo had had to listen to a long winded rant from Dean about all the evils of demon deals. She had mostly ignored it, to be honest.

"Well, that's the most interesting dinner invitation I've ever gotten," Crowley stated cooly, popping into existence right behind her. "You know, most people just send a card when they want to have dinner with you."

"You didn't exactly leave me a forwarding address," Jo replied, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Now, Now, try to show some enthusiasm," Crowley smirked, "It's only one dinner, not the end of the world." Nevertheless he followed her out of to the dining room.

“What’ll you have to drink?” Ellen asked Crowley, as he sat down at the table after checking the floor and ceiling for devil’s traps.

“I would drink Scotch if I didn’t think that you would poison it with holy water,” Crowley replied, smoothly.

“She can’t,” Jo interrupted before he mother could speak. She knew that her mom didn’t trust Crowley at all, and would rather kill or torture him to release the contract. But this was Jo’s deal, and she wanted to follow through. Which meant that she needed her mother to play civil, and not insult the demon.

“I hid all the holy water,” Jo continued, “I won’t give it back until after dinner.” Ellen glared at her daughter but said nothing, as she went to get scotch for Crowley, a beer for herself, and water for Jo.

“Hmm, that was very good of you,” Crowley muttered. They sat in awkward silence as Ellen returned with the drinks.

“We’re having burgers,” Ellen finally spoke, “I hope that’s alright.”

“Sounds palatable enough,” Crowley shrugged.

Ellen disappeared back into the kitchen, scowling, leaving Jo alone with Crowley. Jo tapped her fingers on the table glancing around the room.

“Do demons need to eat?” She finally blurted out. Crowley raised one eyebrow at her. “I know Angels don’t and they possess people, but do demons?”

“No,” Crowley finally answered.

“Then why did you want dinner?” Jo asked. It had been bugging since she had made the deal. It didn’t make sense. If demon’s needed to eat then trading for food would make sense, but not one meal worth. But now knowing that demon’s don’t need to eat made the puzzle that much more interesting.

Crowley didn’t reply choosing instead to sip at his drink. Ellen returned with the food. The silence was less awkward as they all busied themselves with their food.

“So have you ever made a deal with someone famous?” Jo finally asked Crowley.

“Personally I’ve only made deals with a few,” Crowley chuckled, “Einstein, the Kardashians, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, just to name a few.”

“But you must have a favorite?” Jo pressed. Crowley thought for a moment, as he chewed a bite of his burger.

“King Louis the 16th,” Crowley finally said, “He was one of my first deals.”

“What did he want?” Jo asked, her eyes sparkling.

“To embarrass England,” Crowley chuckled, “So I went to one of England’s colonies, got their leaders very drunk and willing to sign anything, and started the American Revolution. Though that wasn’t nearly as bad as Mad Jack Mytton. He wanted to be elected to the House of Commons.”

“And was he?” Jo asked.

“Of course, it’s my job,” Crowley replied, “Only problem was he got bored thirty minutes in and never attended another session.”

“That’s unbelieve,” Jo laughed.

“Well that was the kind of guy Mad Jack was. I actually stuck around for a few years that time. He would do all sorts of things like bring a live bear to his own dinner party or set his shirt on fire to stop his hiccups.”

“What else?” Jo asked. And so Crowley told them stories throughout the rest of dinner of all the odd deals he had ever made. Even Ellen had warmed up to him slightly by the end of the meal. All too soon the dinner was over, and the deal had been completed.

“I still want to know why you wanted dinner instead of my soul,” Jo said as she walked Crowley to the door.

“It's nice to talk,” Crowley finally answered as they reached the front door. “In my line of work all anyone ever cares about is how many souls I collect, not how I got them.”

“I’m glad to listen,” Jo smiled. Crowley opened the door and started to walk out into the night. “Crowley wait-”

Crowley turned around just in time for Jo to give him a quick peck on the lips.

“What was that for?” He asked, slightly confused.

“I want to hear a few more stories,” Jo told him.

“I want another dinner in exchange,” Crowley replied, “one without your mother.”

“Alright, it’s a deal.”