It ties us together, but I've never been more afraid

Chapter 7: Drinking in Rome

Crowley groaned as he sat down on the stool. His knee was killing him again, but once again that was the normal at this point. Curse his disabled body. Curse Hell for always making the pain worse.

They weren't extremely happy when they found out what he had done for Jesus before his death. That punishment lasted for a while, and the whole time Crowley was feeling bad for his soulmate. He didn't deserve to feel the pain that Crowley did.

Didn't seem like his soulmate was doing much better with his shoulder pain however, and Crowley was trying his best not to think about him. Not that his attempts were working.

Crowley snapped out his own thoughts when he realized the bartender was staring at him. Right, he should order some drinks. The sooner he was drunk the sooner the pain would feel more distant.

"What have you got? Give me a jug of whatever you think's drinkable." He said to the bartender once he was mostly settled. She looked around the bar for a small second.

"Jug of house brown. Two sesterces." She told him and he handed over the money. She passed over a huge jug and Crowley tried to not think about the slightly odd smell. He poured his own cup and took a big swig. Didn't taste great, but it was something close to beer.

"Crawly- Crowley?" A voice said from over his shoulder. Crowley turned, trying not to wince at the pain it caused in his back, and saw Aziraphale standing there. Fuck. "Well...! Fancy running into you in here. Still a demon, then?" Crowley nearly spit out his mouthful of drink. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

"What kind of stupid question is that, "Still a demon"? What else am I going to be, an aardvark?" Crowley snapped and Aziraphale looked like he was trying not to be bothered by Crowley's tone, but was bothered by it anyway. Crowley poured Aziraphale a drink as he took a seat next to him. He didn't say anything as he passed the cup over.

"Salutaria." Aziraphale toasted before he drank some of the drink. "In Rome long?"

He actually was supposed to have left Rome two days ago, but he wanted to rest for a bit so he was telling Hell it was taking longer than normal. He didn't get too many breaks like this, and he tried not to take them too often less Hell get suspicious.

"Just nipped in for a quick temptation. You?" Crowley asked, not looking towards the angel but staring forward instead.

"I thought I'd try Petronius's new restaurant. I hear he does remarkable things to oysters." Aziraphale smiled happily. Of course he was obsessed with food now.

"I've never eaten an oyster." Crowley admitted. He shifted in his seat slightly. While standing didn't seem to help the pain, sitting was starting to be a problem too. It was hard to get comfortable.

"Oh. Oh, well, let me tempt you to-" Aziraphale started as Crowley turned to finally look at him. "Oh. No, that's your job, isn't it?" Aziraphale half laughed. Crowley wanted to roll his eyes at the angel's dumb attempt at a joke, well was it a joke?

"It is." Crowley said shortly before he finished off his drink. He poured himself another one, downing that in one go.

"Not having a good day I take it?" Aziraphale asked before taking a small sip of his own drink.

"I'm a demon, no day is a good day." Crowley half snapped as he poured his third drink. He needed to get drunker and faster. He waved his hand over the jug and cup, miracling the drink stronger. He took another sip and didn't love the taste, but it would get him drunk even quicker.

"Right, well I mean not good in your standards." Aziraphale tried to explain, but Crowley already knew what he was trying to say.

"Just dealing with soulmate pain." Crowley said and Aziraphale nodded in agreement. Every time they saw each other they were dealing with it.