Chapter 65: Devil's Cut
Crowley stumbled into the bookshop and blearily looked around. He sniffed. He moved forward, bumping into shelves, bouncing here and there until he fell in front of the couch, and morosely regarded the sleeping figure huddled there underneath a complete stockroom of blankets.
He reached out and touched its downy hair, the only part poking out beneath the mountain of self-comfort.
You will always come home, and he will always be waiting.
But, to what end?
"You don't deserve this, Aziraphale," he told the sleeping figure. Now he took in the bottles and bottles of wine and scotch littering the tabletops. "Crap, I did a number on you tonight."
He nearly tugged at the scalp of the figure, and it made a soft noise. Plaintive.
"No, love. Not that."
He released the hair, and the moan turned mournful.
"No, love," he repeated, turning around at leaning against the couch as he slump to the floor.
"I have been hunting," he drunkenly professed. "I can. I see nothing wrong with it. I have to be sneaky with her." He laid back his head. "But, for fuck's sake, I shouldn't be sneaky with you."
The figure rolled over to him.
"If only you would tell me what's wrong!"
Crowley looked around again to the city of bottles.
"We should be sober to hash this out. We should be—"
The makeup mirror fell out of his jacket with a soft clank. He plucked it up, and counted the cracks, and thought about a portion of the meeting he had on his way home, a conversation that seemed to repeat in torturous cycles in a closed time loop as he trudged to the bookshop...
She came into focus. "Hello Daddy."
"Fuck. You."
"Oh," she pouted. "Is that anyway to talk to your baby girl?"
"You're not Jinny. Keep that up and maybe I will take up your old offer and slit the hell out of your throat."
She laughed at him.
"So, you finally figured it out, did you?"
"That I can find you now? Why, thank you for that! What's your game anyway, demon?"
"Twenty questions."
"Ready to trade? I want my things."
"No."
"I want wings."
"Negative."
"What have you to offer then?"
"Without me, you'll be trapped in that mirror world forever."
"Bribery won't make me go away unless it's something besides that."
"Are you so sure?"
"I'm not completely helpless, thanks to you."
"I've done nothing that endangers us."

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The Known/Unknown Quantity
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