sauntereddownward | (no subject)

(no subject)

Crowley had been busy. He'd had a rather dastardly idea and with a bit of proper nudging of 'influencers' (whatever those were) and a quick trip to Reddit, he had a new viral sensation. It was sort of like the ice bucket challenge, except it didn't benefit any charities and instead involved putting hot sauce up the nose. It worried parents, caused a bit of harmless mayhem, and most of all...it tarnished the souls of all those who laughed at idiots' misfortunes.

Sure, it wasn't tempting a priest, but it was a laugh.

He sat in the autumn sun outside an interesting little tea shop. He had a steaming cup of a lapsang suchong blend that made the air smell like a campfire. A subtle scent under the cigarette smoke. Crowley was watching his mobile and chuckling along as another bloody idiot put hot sauce on a cotton tip and stuffed it up his nose and began to wail.

"People will do anything to be famous," he said to himself.

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"Who do you love?" he asked boldly.

"Lots of people," Fin said honestly. "There's Hex, who is... He's too good for me, honestly. So kind and handsome, so full of good. Then Eliot, who's clever and full of charm. Greg... Who's kind of a mess too in his own way, but so clever and magnetic. I dunno, I could list people all day, probably."

Crowley watched him closely, amber eyes piercing right through him.

"You love them," he said. "What about yourself?"

"Not much left to love," the fae laughed dryly, taking the bottle again and drinking deeper. Fuck, where was his damn bracelet? He was never going to get drunk without it.

"Obviously," Crowley replied dryly. "If you loved yourself I doubt you'd have invited a stranger home to 'party'. But, if not love, do you have no sense of self preservation?"

"You're hardly the big bad wolf," Fin said, rolling his eyes and passing the bottle back.

"You didn't know that at the time," he pointed out. "I could have been a wholly human kind of evil. The kind that fucks you, kills you, and takes all your valuables."

"Hardly a loss to London. I'm sure they'd have made a really trashy mini series all about it before forgetting all about me," Fin replied.

"That's awfully depressing," he replied flatly. "Do you truly think so lowly of yourself?"

"No reason to think any higher," Fin shrugged.

Crowley snorted.

"The paragon of animals," he said. "You've got imagination, dear boy. You can imagine great things. Wonderful things. Humans are truly remarkable. You've no idea what power you truly have."

"Yeah, well, I'm not human, remember? My power is- Well, there's nothing good about it," Fin shrugged.

"Nothing? Not one single thing? I don't believe it," he declared. "I don't believe you one bit."

"Why do you care? I'm just an idiot who brought home a stranger, remember? ...Why did you come anyway? What is it you want?" the fae asked.

"I thought it might be a laugh," Crowley shrugged. "Never say no to a good tempting, you know? Never know where you might wind up."

In his experience this had always been a resoundingly bad idea. Things were never nearly as fun as he'd hoped, and sometimes things turned out quite bad. But he had hope and so, because of that, he continued along his path of...well, not destruction, exactly...

"You're not laughing," Fin replied, moving closer.

"Obviously," Crowley replied. "You've brought the mood down a bit. It's not as fun when I know you're trying to self destruct."

"Sorry. I can play a part, if you like. The sweet innocent boy, free of sin," the fae purred.

And it was as if a switch flipped, Fin's posture and expression changing instantly as he shuffled away slightly, almost cowering near the foot of the bed.

"Oh, please," Crowley scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're not going to win a BAFTA performing for me."

The part faded away, and Fin laughed. "You don't like it? Some people like when I play a part. They want a fantasy."

"Fantasy is overrated," the demon said. "I don't even need to work anymore with all the lies and facades...oh! And filters! Instagram, Snapchat! The filters are going to be the end of me, I swear."

"Your angel might be into it," Fin shrugged. "You know, playing a part might coax them out of their shell."

Crowley scratched his jaw and considered it for a moment.

"No," he said. "I haven't lied to him yet. Better not start now."

"Right," Fin replied, before falling silent.

"You say people like it when you pretend?" the demon asked then. His brow dropped in consideration. "Pretend what, exactly?"