(no subject)

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Date: May 18, late evening/wee hours of the morning
Location: The bar
Status: complete
Summary: Crowley ventures out once again for that all important basic need--alcohol

Demons, much like men, come in a lot of varieties. There is the sort of demon that has never been in a bar and is old fashioned enough to have never tried eating, let alone drinking. (Not that this kind would need the stimulation anyway as they tend to be the brimstone spewing, hellfire breathing sort.) Then there is the sort that use bars (and in the old days hovels) merely as a work related tool. (Humans that live in bars sadly often are easily Guiled.)Finally, there are ones that actually drink for enjoyment, although these are few and far between.

Crowley usually fell into the last category, although he'd been around humans long enough that he knew about the human categories too. Right at the moment, the Serpent was less of a hedonistic drinker or a macho drinker and more of a depressed drinker. The kind that drinks to forget things, which was a horrible cliche that Crowley refused to admit had anything to do with him. No, he was going to drink, and if the angel wasn't there, well, that meant more alcohol for him. (If he and his counterpart had been strained with one another lately, that had nothing to do with it and is in fact a normal occurence in a frie-- A relat-- Between two beings that have known each other so long.)

The demon entered the bar the same way a lot of battle hardened soldiers entered a combat zone. Being paranoid was a necessary job skill for a demon, and Crowley was good at it. He took a seat in the corner so he could watch anyone that entered, miracled one of the bottles behind the bar into his hand and began to drink.

Comments

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe had been about to close down the bad for the night as one very late customer came in. Rather than ordering a drink the proper way, however, this one just magically appropriated a bottle and settled down in a corner with it.

Joe frowned, left his place at the bar and walked over to the man.

"Good evening," he said. "I'm Joe, the bartender here. It's called bartender because I tend to the bar, and the orders of the people in it. It's not some self-service facility here, you know."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Without so much as a hand wave, Crowley made a large stack of money appear on the table in front of him. "That includes tip."

The demon had briefly considered miracling the guy--Joe--into minding his own business or even into remembering he had important business on the opposite side of the city* but even if he was a human, there had to be some reason he was here. The guy no doubt had connections of some kind to the supernatural or the occult or something similar and while he wasn't a coward, Crowley had enough issues of his own without creating more. Besides, Crowley had a bottle in hand and that had instantly improved his mood, so he wasn't overly crass when he pushed the money Joe's way and spoke to him.


*a classic.

[lordofsin]

Belial noticed the lower demon as he entered the bar; the Serpent of Eden himself. Hmm. He wondered what Crowley was doing here; was it related to Beelzebub?

He nodded to the bartender. "Good evening, Joe."

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe carefully picked the price for the drink and a usual tip and pocketed it. Some of these people apparently had no experience with bars, it seemed. Considering the hotel's clientele, who knew where this one came from...

"Evening," he said in Belial's direction as he returned behind the bar. "The usual?"

[lordofsin]

"Yes, thank you." Belial slid into a seat near Crowley and waited for his drink. "How's business?"

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"Fine," Crowley said*, then he miracled another stack of money with tip for Joe as he blinked and made another bottle join his first. He was in for some serious drinking and the fact that Belial, hail to the king, baby, was here only made the urge for more drinking all that much stronger. Hopefully Belial would get the hint, because Crowley couldn't comfortably get wasted around another demon (untrustworthy buggers, as Crowley knew all too well). Lifting his bottle in a polite salute, Crowley commenced polishing the second one off. (Although that would be difficult seeing as he tended to miracle them into Never-ending ones.)

*Hopefully that was a neutral enough answer. Belial was technically a supervisor of Crowley's way up there, but they hadn't really had much contact, so he didn't know if he was one of the more formal types that expected everything that meant good to be said it was awful. Tedious trying to remember to switch it all around like that, especially since Crowley was more accustomed to the human, casual way of talking. And then there was the whole 'should I even attempt to address the guy' issue, since all demons had inferiority complexes and thus the higher ranking ones had as many titles as they could make up and get away with.

Elly asked me to join :3

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale finally admitted it - he missed Crowley.

Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't meeting his snarky-comment quota, or maybe it was the lack of that "being watched" feeling. Regardless, he decided that Today was the Day - he wasn't going to live in this limbo of confusion any longer. He would tell Crowley how he felt ---

Then he followed Crowley's aura into the bar, saw he was getting drunk with Mr. Belial, and fondly sighed. Never mind that plan, then.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he said fondly, walking in and smiling at Joe (who was the only one facing him). He gently rested a hand on Crowley's shoulder. "There you are. Taking the evening off?"

He had to be careful. He didn't want Mr. Belial reading too much into their relationship, or lack thereof.

Re: Elly asked me to join :3

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Crowley had sensed the divine presence approaching—he wasn’t yet drunk enough not to—but after more than 6000 years, he knew this one. Therefore it wasn’t surprise at Aziraphale being there but surprise at being touched that made the Serpent jerk slightly when the angel put a hand on his shoulder.

What the bloody H-Manchester did Aziraphale think he was doing?! Showing BELIAL that they were COMFORTABLE around each other was not the Brightest Idea. How to play this?

“Sseriously, angel? Thwarting me from Indulging?” Hopefully that would cover it. Old foes and all that. The last thing they needed was Belial investigating them.

[lordofsin]

Belial raised an eyebrow. The angel seemed rather comfortable with Crowley. Come to think of it, hadn't there been an angel with Crowley at the almost-Apocalypse?*

"Come now, Aziraphale, I doubt some wine constitutes indulgence. Even the icy Messenger has been known to enjoy it, after all." Belial waved his hand towards another empty chair, which obligingly moved a little closer to their table, between his own seat and Crowley's. "Would you like to join us? What would you like to drink?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale was torn. He didn't want to stay - the last thing he wanted was for Belial to give too much thought to the two of them. However, he also didn't want to leave Crowley there and drunk with Belial.>

Finally he gave Belial a polite smile. "Actually, no thank you, dear, I really ought to be going. I just wanted to make sure Mr. Crowley wasn't up to any mischief when I wasn't looking. You're hardly someone he can wile, after all."

Perhaps Crowley could use this to his advantage and flee, although Aziraphale wasn't sure how, or even if Crowley wanted to.

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

It was to Crowley's credit that his face and demeanor did not indicate the inward huge sigh of relief he felt at Aziraphale's recovery.

Good. The further away the angel was from Belial, the better. Now if only he could think of an excuse to flee. Or a way to get Belial to leave, although no, come to think of it that wouldn't work because if the demonic king left after Aziraphale did, Crowley would worry he was going AFTER Aziraphale. Sod all.

[lordofsin]

Belial ran his gaze over Crowley. "Oh, I'm sure he could if he really wanted to. Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay, Aziraphale?" He practically purred the angel's name.

"Joe has an excellent selection. You could keep an eye on Crowley in comfort."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale bit his lower lip in thought. Having drinks with demons would likely get him rebuked by the higher-ups*, but... well. One to take the edge off wouldn't be so bad. He was, after all, a nervous wreck at the moment, planning to tell Crowley of his affections and all, and so...

"I suppose I might as well," he said a little stiffly, sitting down between the two demons with a rigid back. "I shan't be drinking much, however." Then he thought about something. "Oh, Mr. Belial, I meant to ask you - did you ever get the bottle of wine** I left for you?"


* Whom all seemed to be in the manor nowadays, sigh.
** http://community.livejournal.com/lt_safe_house/15277.html

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Not for the first time, Crowley was glad for his dark shades because his eyes widened in surprise. He hoped that he maintained his classic cool expression because frankly inwardly he had dropped open his jaw in the type of expression familiar to texters and computer nerds everywhere as D:.

Without speaking or even moving his face that much he glanced at the angel* in a way that he hoped would convey 'WTF WERE YOU THINKING GIVING BELIAL GIFTS YOU MORON!?' Outwardly all he did was slightly raise an eyebrow. "Going over my head and bribing a Higher Up instead of me directly?"

*Thank Someone for shades because Belial wouldn't know he was looking at the angel sideways, but the angel would know. Aziraphale always did.

[lordofsin]

"You wouldn't need bribery to have your way, I'm sure," Belial smiled, keeping his eyes on Aziraphale. "I did get the wine. Thank you."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale blushed. He couldn't help it. "Oh," he said, hoping he didn't sound silly, "Well, bribery is Frowned Upon, you know, although shamefully it gets things done, and anyway I wasn't bribing anyone, Crowley, it was repayment for chocolate mousse, and, well, I have something of a sweet tooth, I admit."

Crowley of course knew that. Crowley knew everything about him. Just like Aziraphale knew that he was going to get chewed out for weeks about this, but it would have seemed odd for him to not inquire about the wine...

[lordofsin]

"Oh? You know, if you enjoyed the mousse so much I can make you some more." Belial smiled at the angel. "Or something else - chocolate crepes, perhaps, or something more Eastern?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale smiled. "I believe last time we met we discussed dessert-making. I do think we ought to try exchanging recipes or somesuch sometime. You are quite the dessert chef, just judging from the mousse. Perhaps some time when you're working I shall have to stop by."

Sadly, he meant it. Chocolate was a very powerful lure.

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"Oh sure," Crowley put in. "I'm sure all the chef's of Hell would LOVE to have an angel to add to their recipes."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale gasped indignantly. "Crowley!" he exclaimed. "Really! Only the hellhounds eat angels, as far as I know, so you needn't be so crass!"

[lordofsin]

"I assure you, I have no plans to serve charbroiled angel anytime soon. I simply like watching people enjoy my desserts." And it was an honest statement. Belial considered preparing desserts a wonderful way to indulge in both Gluttony and Pride.

He turned back to Aziraphale. "I'm not working as the bartender anymore, but I'll probably be making trips to the kitchens every now and then. Feel free to join me, or make requests. My room is 102."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale smiled. "Thank you for the offer, my dear."

He wasn't going to implicate himself either way, of course.

And while the topic was relatively harmless, he could almost feel Crowley about to explode next to him. He turned to look at his counterpart. "Crowley, my - what is it called again, a computer? - well, my contraption is once again showing me pornography and I can't get it to stop. Would you fix it for me?"

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

“Ssssure, that means you’ll owe me a favor,” Crowley replied, just managing to keep himself in check enough to pull off a smirk and a rather calm nod to Belial. (And a wink, because he figured he might as well give Belial credit for the porn.) “Excuse me.”

With that, Crowley stood up and left. “Come ON angel,” he said over his shoulder. He waited until they were both out of the bar and nearly to their room(s) before he spun around, thwacked the angel hard (purposefully) and hissed at him (unintentionally).

[lordofsin]

Belial winked back, smirking as well. He was rather fond of porn; it was one of the oldest art forms around, even if the medium had changed. Apparently it affected angels, too.

He watched the angel and demon leave thoughtfully.

new thread :3

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale sighed. "I know, I know. But I was trying to find you..."

He blushed as he remembered exactly why. There went his nerve...

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Crowley stared at Aziraphale and then he hissed again without meaning to and managed to snarl out "When you FOUND me with HIM you ssshould have LEFT, not gone IN and been like 'Oh 'ello Mr. Belial, please do 'ave a go at seducing and Falling me, or at least eat me for supper.' You ENCOURAGED him!"

The demon crossed his arms over his chest and added, "Plus you've bloody well put him on to us."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale balked. There was an opportunity here, if he could navigate it properly. To subtly hint that no, Mr. Belial had no chance of seducing him, but another demon certainly did...

"Well, I assure you that Mr. Belial has absolutely no chance of seducing me," he replied. "He's rather not my type. I would prefer my partner to be much less... flaky." He smiled at him. "Someone I trust." His heart was pounding.

Please please understand...

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"You can't trust ANYONE, angel," Crowley snapped, but he paused when he noticed the way Aziraphale was looking at him. "What are you playing at?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

"I'm certainly not playing at anything," he replied, starting to think that maybe Crowley was getting it. "And I'm not so liberal with my trust, you know. I only trust those who prove that they have my best intentions at heart."

He gently touched Crowley hand.

He had to get it now. If he didn't, he was either incredibly stupid or just not interested.

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

There are pits* and then there are Pits**. Crowley felt suddenly as if he were falling into the later kind***. “I…I’m a demon,” the Serpent said, for lack of anything else to say. He avoided the angel’s eyes. This sort of situation was not a comfortable one for a being that basically existed in a continuous state of denial or died—AKA an average demon.

*The kind that open up when a person realizes they’ve crossed the Rubicon. (Which is an awkward metaphor considering the row Crowley and Aziraphale had over said crossing which was not settled until they’d gone through several amphorae.)

**As in the Pits of Hell. Or, worse, the Pit of Heaven—the hole that opened up beneath angels that were soon to Fall—the sort of pit one never got out of.

***Of course, at the very bottom of said Pit, in this instance, there wasn’t a very pissed off newly christened emperor of evil, there was a tiny gleam of something that might have been hope or relief or something else fluffy. Not that even this metaphorical part of Crowley would have Admitted It.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale started chewing on his lower lip in the awkwardness. At length he said, "Yes, you are. I've known that for awhile now, actually. Listen, ah, it's clear I've... misread the situation. I apologise."

He stared at the floor, feeling rather hopeless. Why couldn't he just say it?

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"What situation?" Crowley asked hopelessly in the tone of a demon who is also a male demon who happens to be in a Situation that obviously involved emotions and/or feelings in a way in which said man!demon was unsure about. "Why are you apologizing?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

"Never mind," Aziraphale muttered. "I'm a fool, that's all."

He turned to leave. "I do trust you, by the way, and you've yet to make me regret doing so," he added over his shoulder.

Therefore, if Crowley was paying attention, Aziraphale had just said:

1) he trusted him;
2) he believed Crowley had his best interests at heart;
3) he didn't trust people easily;
4) he wanted his romantic interest to be someone he trusted; ergo,
5) he wanted Crowley to be his romantic interest.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

The poor boy is a bit slow on the uptake, he might not be rejecting you, he might just have no idea what you're saying...

Oh, who are you kidding, you silly thing.

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Actually, in Crowley’s view, what Aziraphale had just said was ‘Belial has no chance of seducing me, only someone I trust does. By the way, I trust YOU so therefore YOU could seduce me.’

“Oh fuck,” Crowley said.*

*If one was inside of Crowley’s head, one would know that those two words actually meant a lot more, much of which was blabbering gibberish, but some of which that, when translated, might have amounted to something like these statements:
-Oh bloody Hell he wants me.
-Well, of course he wants me; I am the Flash Bastard, Tempter extraordinaire, and damn hot. (literally)
-He wants me. It could Fell him.I would make him Fall.
-Chr-bl-da—Manchester why do I find the thought that he wants me so…appealing?
-He’s been tainted enough to Fall, the humans couldn’t have caused it in THAT way because he’s always been asexual therefore I tainted him.
-I’ve broken the Arrangement.
-I have no idea what to do.
-WHAT IS GOING ON?