Twelve Months - June
Title: Twelve Months
By: musegaarid & _serpensortia
Rating: PG-13
Notes: The previous chapters are here... February, March, April, May
Ring.
"Yeah?"
"Hello, Crowley."
"Who is this?"
"Gabriel."
Click.
Ring, ring.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Crowley. We seemed to have got cut off there."
Click.
Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
"Hi. This is Anthony Crowley. Uh. I'm probably not in right now, or asleep, and busy, or something, but leave a message after the tone and I'll get right back to you. Ciao."
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
"Crowley, this is Gabriel. I apologize for the poor phone connection. I'll ask Dobiel to send a workman to look at the line tomorrow. At any rate, I haven't seen you for some time, so I thought I might check in. Please give me a ring when you have a moment."
A few days later...
"Crowley, this is Gabriel again. I suppose you must have been given an urgent assignment somewhere. The Middle East is quite volatile at the moment, so take care and call when you return."
A few more days later...
"Crowley, this is Gabriel. I saw your car this morning and Aziraphale says he spoke to you yesterday... Is everything well? Ring me."
A couple more days later...
Ring, ring.
"..."
"Crow..."
"FUCK OFF AND DIE, ANGEL."
Click.
---
When someone knocked on his door a bit later, Crowley left the comfort of his expensive leather armchair to see who it was. Hoping to terrify some Jehovah's Witnesses, he'd have settled for cruelty to a child selling magazine subscriptions. What he got was a concerned looking archangel.
"Did I say something to upset you?" asked Gabriel without preamble.
The demon let the door close in his face.
After a second, Gabriel opened the door and followed Crowley back into the lounge, taking a seat on the couch.
"Apparently so," the angel said in answer to his own question. "What was it?"
"Exactly what part of 'fuck off and die' did you not understand?"
Gabriel sighed. "Crowley..."
The serpent stood, exasperated, "You didn't say anything. Not everything's about you, all right? Now get the fuck out." He gestured toward the door.
But the angel remained seated, paying more attention to the nuances than the actual words. "No. You're upset and I am not leaving until you tell me why. I think it is something about me. If you're not upset at what I've said, was it something I did?"
Crowley went rigid.
"I don't want to play twenty questions with you. What did I do?"
"Go ask your sodding boyfriend," the demon snarled and stormed toward the kitchen.
Ah.
Gabriel went into the kitchen and sat on a bar stool, watching Crowley angrily pour himself what appeared to be a quintuple scotch in a tumbler. He tried a different tack.
"Why did you invite me to dinner and send me flowers and a valentine in February?"
Tipping back his glass, Crowley was mulishly silent.
"Why did you invite me to dinner again on the feast day of the annunciation, and to drinks in Italy, and around the Millennium Eye?"
"You want to know, angel?" Crowley gestured with his glass, ice clinking softly against the side. "You really want to know? Fine. I was trying to get into your pants." He took another long drink. "I wanted to screw you. There's your big answer. Happy now?"
Paradoxically, Gabriel smiled gently. "Crowley, are you concerned about my dealings with that young man?"
The demon sneered. "Why the fuck would I care what you do with your little catamite?"
"Exactly," said the Messenger, like he was laying down a winning hand. "If you just wanted to seduce me - if that was all I meant to you - why would you care what I did with Andrew?"
"I don't."
"Yet you're upset."
"Fuck you, Gabriel."
"You'd like to."
Crowley stared at him in shocked silence. Eventually he said, "You don't mind?"
An angelic smile. "Not as much as I probably should."
The serpent's drink hit the counter and splashed onto the granite. "Then why the hell go around snogging humans?"
Gabriel rested his elbows on the bar and calmly answered the question with another question. "Crowley, what do you think I do?"
The demon raised an eyebrow. "You're the Messenger. You deliver messages. Like God's postal service or some shite."
"Do you think all messages are delivered the same way?"
"I... what?" Crowley said, confused.
"Some people," explained Gabriel, "can hear the Word and know. Some need to see it instead. And some need to experience it."
"..."
"Andrew needed to understand that God loves all his children. Even the gay ones."
Crowley snorted. "Present company excepted."
The angel only smiled.
"So you shagged him into religion? I don't think that's kosher."
"No?" asked Gabriel. "But you shag them out of it. Seems fair to me."
There was a pause. "I don't," the demon confessed quietly.
"Nor I," the Messenger said in the same hushed tones.
They looked at one another.
After a moment, Gabriel stood, breaking their gaze. "Thank you for the conversation, Crowley. I hope I'll be seeing you soon."
Without another word, the demon watched him go.
July
By: musegaarid & _serpensortia
Rating: PG-13
Notes: The previous chapters are here... February, March, April, May
Ring.
"Yeah?"
"Hello, Crowley."
"Who is this?"
"Gabriel."
Click.
Ring, ring.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Crowley. We seemed to have got cut off there."
Click.
Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
"Hi. This is Anthony Crowley. Uh. I'm probably not in right now, or asleep, and busy, or something, but leave a message after the tone and I'll get right back to you. Ciao."
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
"Crowley, this is Gabriel. I apologize for the poor phone connection. I'll ask Dobiel to send a workman to look at the line tomorrow. At any rate, I haven't seen you for some time, so I thought I might check in. Please give me a ring when you have a moment."
A few days later...
"Crowley, this is Gabriel again. I suppose you must have been given an urgent assignment somewhere. The Middle East is quite volatile at the moment, so take care and call when you return."
A few more days later...
"Crowley, this is Gabriel. I saw your car this morning and Aziraphale says he spoke to you yesterday... Is everything well? Ring me."
A couple more days later...
Ring, ring.
"..."
"Crow..."
"FUCK OFF AND DIE, ANGEL."
Click.
---
When someone knocked on his door a bit later, Crowley left the comfort of his expensive leather armchair to see who it was. Hoping to terrify some Jehovah's Witnesses, he'd have settled for cruelty to a child selling magazine subscriptions. What he got was a concerned looking archangel.
"Did I say something to upset you?" asked Gabriel without preamble.
The demon let the door close in his face.
After a second, Gabriel opened the door and followed Crowley back into the lounge, taking a seat on the couch.
"Apparently so," the angel said in answer to his own question. "What was it?"
"Exactly what part of 'fuck off and die' did you not understand?"
Gabriel sighed. "Crowley..."
The serpent stood, exasperated, "You didn't say anything. Not everything's about you, all right? Now get the fuck out." He gestured toward the door.
But the angel remained seated, paying more attention to the nuances than the actual words. "No. You're upset and I am not leaving until you tell me why. I think it is something about me. If you're not upset at what I've said, was it something I did?"
Crowley went rigid.
"I don't want to play twenty questions with you. What did I do?"
"Go ask your sodding boyfriend," the demon snarled and stormed toward the kitchen.
Ah.
Gabriel went into the kitchen and sat on a bar stool, watching Crowley angrily pour himself what appeared to be a quintuple scotch in a tumbler. He tried a different tack.
"Why did you invite me to dinner and send me flowers and a valentine in February?"
Tipping back his glass, Crowley was mulishly silent.
"Why did you invite me to dinner again on the feast day of the annunciation, and to drinks in Italy, and around the Millennium Eye?"
"You want to know, angel?" Crowley gestured with his glass, ice clinking softly against the side. "You really want to know? Fine. I was trying to get into your pants." He took another long drink. "I wanted to screw you. There's your big answer. Happy now?"
Paradoxically, Gabriel smiled gently. "Crowley, are you concerned about my dealings with that young man?"
The demon sneered. "Why the fuck would I care what you do with your little catamite?"
"Exactly," said the Messenger, like he was laying down a winning hand. "If you just wanted to seduce me - if that was all I meant to you - why would you care what I did with Andrew?"
"I don't."
"Yet you're upset."
"Fuck you, Gabriel."
"You'd like to."
Crowley stared at him in shocked silence. Eventually he said, "You don't mind?"
An angelic smile. "Not as much as I probably should."
The serpent's drink hit the counter and splashed onto the granite. "Then why the hell go around snogging humans?"
Gabriel rested his elbows on the bar and calmly answered the question with another question. "Crowley, what do you think I do?"
The demon raised an eyebrow. "You're the Messenger. You deliver messages. Like God's postal service or some shite."
"Do you think all messages are delivered the same way?"
"I... what?" Crowley said, confused.
"Some people," explained Gabriel, "can hear the Word and know. Some need to see it instead. And some need to experience it."
"..."
"Andrew needed to understand that God loves all his children. Even the gay ones."
Crowley snorted. "Present company excepted."
The angel only smiled.
"So you shagged him into religion? I don't think that's kosher."
"No?" asked Gabriel. "But you shag them out of it. Seems fair to me."
There was a pause. "I don't," the demon confessed quietly.
"Nor I," the Messenger said in the same hushed tones.
They looked at one another.
After a moment, Gabriel stood, breaking their gaze. "Thank you for the conversation, Crowley. I hope I'll be seeing you soon."
Without another word, the demon watched him go.
July