[It takes a few days after they all return to the North Pole for Crowley to feel comfortable spending more than a handful of minutes away from Aziraphale, but as soon as they worst of the anxiety has passed, the first person he searches out is Lil Cato.
Finding him in the dining hall is easy enough, and in a moment of immaturity, he summons up a wad of paper to toss at the back of Lil Cato's head.]
Can't believe you didn't tell me I was a demon.
[They had to shelve this conversation in favor of protecting the townsfolk and tracking down missing kids, so they get to have it now. Probably for the best, anyway, since Crowley is mostly wanting to reassure Cato that he's not annoyed about it or anything.
So naturally he starts off with incredibly mild violence and a complaint.]
[Little Cato turns around and gives an exaggerated shrug.]
Okay, but, you say that like I even know what a demon is.
[The word translates slightly because the Infinity Guard's existence means that Galactic Common is English (which is honestly a kind of garbage language compared to Ventrexian but it is what it is) but also there's not much cultural context other than bad religious myth being, like something you use to swear with or use as an insult.]
Also, like, what was I gonna say? "Oh, by the way, don't freak out, but your entire life is a lie and you're some kinda nonhuman guy even though you seem like a human guy and you can normally turn into a snake. Also one time you straight up set a dude on fire for me with fire hands, which was pretty tight."
[Children are truly shitheads, Crowley loves them.]
Terrifying beasts from the pit of Hell.
[Sort of true, sort of not true, but he's mostly saying it as a joke while he crosses over to Lil Cato to ruffle the fur on the top of his head. The human version of himself was a lot more casual with touch, and he's trying to lean into that a little.]
Could've said exactly that. I'd have thought you'd lost your mind, but I was already half-convinced I was losing my mind, so....
[There is a pause as he considers this. It might be a joke but who knows? Maybe not.]
Okay, the terrifying beast thing is pretty sweet. Glad you could shimmy out of the pits of hell, though.
[He can recognize that while being from the pits of hell thing is excessively cool, it's probably not exactly prime living circumstances.]
[His blithe acceptance says something, though, because he's not just doing it for the bit.]
[There is something about it all though. The head pat like he'd get from either of his dads, or his grandma, or Quinn. That Crowley helped him despite half thinking they were both maybe going nuts - and doing it anyway. He waits until Crowley withdraws his hand because he doesn't want the sudden movement to jostle it when it's so comforting and familiar.]
[Then he gets up and throws his arms around him.]
I know a bunch'a the stuff we remembered was fake memories, but I know the parts at the end where you helped me were real. And I think that wasn't just that guy that wanted to help, I think he was still mostly you.
[He could try to argue that he doesn't shimmy, but everyone knows that isn't true.]
You and me both, kid.
[In a lot of cases, he'd try to sugarcoat the whole Hell situation and pretend that it isn't all that bad, but he knows that Lil Cato has been through some equally awful shit.
He was half-expecting to have his hand gently batted away, the way teenagers do when they've decided they're too cool for things like affection. He isn't expecting the sudden hug, but while he goes stiff at first, he relaxes after a second, even going so far as to wrap an arm around Lil Cato's shoulders.
This sort of thing is easier, when it's children.
Still, the first instinct is still to argue and push away the idea that he might have done something kind, but he bites down on the urge. This isn't his Earth, where any display of kindness will have him dragged back down to Hell.]
Not as cool as me, of course. [He's doing his best. A little joke is necessary when he's trying to swallow millennia of reinforced fear and discomfort.] But you're welcome.
[Lil Cato didn't actually use the words thank you, which helps.]
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
longestnight![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action
Finding him in the dining hall is easy enough, and in a moment of immaturity, he summons up a wad of paper to toss at the back of Lil Cato's head.]
Can't believe you didn't tell me I was a demon.
[They had to shelve this conversation in favor of protecting the townsfolk and tracking down missing kids, so they get to have it now. Probably for the best, anyway, since Crowley is mostly wanting to reassure Cato that he's not annoyed about it or anything.
So naturally he starts off with incredibly mild violence and a complaint.]
Re: action
Okay, but, you say that like I even know what a demon is.
[The word translates slightly because the Infinity Guard's existence means that Galactic Common is English (which is honestly a kind of garbage language compared to Ventrexian but it is what it is) but also there's not much cultural context other than bad religious myth being, like something you use to swear with or use as an insult.]
Also, like, what was I gonna say? "Oh, by the way, don't freak out, but your entire life is a lie and you're some kinda nonhuman guy even though you seem like a human guy and you can normally turn into a snake. Also one time you straight up set a dude on fire for me with fire hands, which was pretty tight."
no subject
Terrifying beasts from the pit of Hell.
[Sort of true, sort of not true, but he's mostly saying it as a joke while he crosses over to Lil Cato to ruffle the fur on the top of his head. The human version of himself was a lot more casual with touch, and he's trying to lean into that a little.]
Could've said exactly that. I'd have thought you'd lost your mind, but I was already half-convinced I was losing my mind, so....
[shrug!!!]
no subject
Okay, the terrifying beast thing is pretty sweet. Glad you could shimmy out of the pits of hell, though.
[He can recognize that while being from the pits of hell thing is excessively cool, it's probably not exactly prime living circumstances.]
[His blithe acceptance says something, though, because he's not just doing it for the bit.]
[There is something about it all though. The head pat like he'd get from either of his dads, or his grandma, or Quinn. That Crowley helped him despite half thinking they were both maybe going nuts - and doing it anyway. He waits until Crowley withdraws his hand because he doesn't want the sudden movement to jostle it when it's so comforting and familiar.]
[Then he gets up and throws his arms around him.]
I know a bunch'a the stuff we remembered was fake memories, but I know the parts at the end where you helped me were real. And I think that wasn't just that guy that wanted to help, I think he was still mostly you.
no subject
You and me both, kid.
[In a lot of cases, he'd try to sugarcoat the whole Hell situation and pretend that it isn't all that bad, but he knows that Lil Cato has been through some equally awful shit.
He was half-expecting to have his hand gently batted away, the way teenagers do when they've decided they're too cool for things like affection. He isn't expecting the sudden hug, but while he goes stiff at first, he relaxes after a second, even going so far as to wrap an arm around Lil Cato's shoulders.
This sort of thing is easier, when it's children.
Still, the first instinct is still to argue and push away the idea that he might have done something kind, but he bites down on the urge. This isn't his Earth, where any display of kindness will have him dragged back down to Hell.]
Not as cool as me, of course. [He's doing his best. A little joke is necessary when he's trying to swallow millennia of reinforced fear and discomfort.] But you're welcome.
[Lil Cato didn't actually use the words thank you, which helps.]
no subject
Yeah, you are kind of cooler when you can set stuff on fire.
[What? He is!]
[He takes a breath before asking what he wants to ask. Needs to ask.]
Did they do that oath thing with Cygne?
[It's clear he doesn't approve, but he's clearly a lot less emotional about it than when Crowley had originally nudged him back towards the Pole.]