entrancelogs | A Long December [backdated]

Entry tags:

A Long December [backdated]

Who: Crowley (

goesdown) and John Blake (

oversight)
Where: Fifth Floor; Crowley's Room
When: New Years Eve (backdated)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After spending the holidays recovering from the Jabberwocky, it's time to ring in the New Year.
The Story:
It's absolutely selfish of John to pull back from the world around him, but having faced losing Crowley to Wonderland's memory addiction, he doesn't feel particularly bad about the decision. For days he stays in with the demon, relieved that the distance created between them has only been temporary. They don't move between rooms or hit up the dining hall or even consider attending the party at the bar, but instead spend their time watching movies or quietly reading or lazily sleeping at all hours (Blake more than Crowley, who doesn't need to sleep at all). It's no Eden, but neither are really looking for that, anyway.

Some time on New Year's Eve, Blake finally does away with some messy stubble. He showers and combs his hair, changes into something a little less like pajamas, and before the calendar's even changed over, he's back to his usual tidiness as he straightens up the demon's lived-in abode. Some might call it ridiculous, especially considering the late hour, but John's feeling ready to jump into the new year and he doesn't see anything wrong with starting a little early.

"You wanna have a drink an' celebrate?" He asks as he steps out of the bathroom with some clothes he intends to add to the laundry. "Here, I mean. We can stay in." They'd been staying in so much, yeah, but again, John sees no issue with it; there are plenty of people around to take care of business and no one seems to be missing them, anyway.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Crowley's normally put together clothes have gotten wrinkled in the last few days and he hasn't done much to stop it. The moment his memories came back, there had been a flood of relief, but in the wake of that, the fear had set in that he could have been lost to Wonderland's whims.

He's spent the last few days close to Blake and Perdita, clinging to them as if Wonderland could decide to take them away, too, but after a few days, he's starting to itch for his facade and it's a relief to get himself back into a crisp new suit while Blake is busy in the bathroom. He can let Blake see him without any of the tinsel, but he'd rather not let anyone else see him like that. Image is important.

"I'd be happy to share a drink wherever you like, sweetheart."

Moving closer and ignoring the dirty laundry, he wraps his arm around Blake's waist as if he's trying to dance and leans in to kiss his cheek.

"You look nice."

Blake's not adverse to the contact, even with the laundry in the way, but he still gives Crowley a look that borders on chiding. Nevertheless, he tips his head toward the kiss and follows the demon's lead wherever it might take him.

"Feel human again," he says, a smirk playing on his lips. He almost wonders if Crowley feels the same. Somewhat awkwardly, he extricates the dirty clothes and tosses them in the vague direction of the laundry bin so there's nothing between them; despite the fact that they've spent nearly every minute together for days, John can't find it in him to be bothered. Reaching up, he brushes his fingertips along Crowley's jawline. "Half that's seein' you put back together, I think," he adds.

Maybe they're fools, maybe this is a ridiculous relationship that few people find appropriate, but as far as Blake's concerned, they've held up to the test of time. Aside from a few hiccups here and there, John's confident Crowley's done everything he's said he'd do because he's been there every step of the way. Is he good? Blake can't say, but he doesn't even claim to know for himself anymore so he doesn't see any point in questioning Crowley.

"Take mine on the rocks," John teases, having no issue pushing a little bit of the work off on the other man.

Crowley almost agrees. He almost says that he feels human again, too, but that doesn't feel right... maybe because it's a little too close to home.

Instead, he turns his head to kiss Blake's hand, light and affectionate. The fact that he allows even that affection is probably the first sign that the end is nigh. Crowley should know better than to let anyone in and normally he does, but this place has found a way to twist him around and force humanity down his throat and he finds himself needing something that he can't provide for himself.

"Don't think I didn't see you keeping all your secrets from me."

Leaning in, he stops just short of kissing Blake and smirks before moving away to prepare their drinks.

"I'm glad I have my memories back."

He's not sure how he would react to Blake's memories being gone, but he knows it wouldn't be good. Really, it's a miracle that they've both come out of this whole thing alive, because after having a taste of Winchester stupidity, he'll let them keep the heroics for themselves.

The tease doesn't go unnoticed and as Crowley moves away, Blake not-so-slyly follows him with his eyes. Even days worth of time together and alone hasn't felt like enough, and while he doesn't particularly spend his time focused on emotions, there's definitely a desire to stay close.

"Be lyin' if I said I wanted you any other way," he admits, not without a tone of fondness behind it. Maybe he was guarded before, but with the demon's memories returned, he's not at all shy about making his relief known. "You know why I kept my secrets," he adds, entirely confident that Crowley's more than able to properly read Blake at this point.

Finishing his task, John takes a moment to lean on the desk and crosses his arm, content enough to watch the other man making drinks.

"If that even happens to me, you think you'd stay the course?" He asks it with levity because he'll take any answer as long as it's the truth.

"I don't know." He busies himself pouring the drinks and though he doesn't want to give the topic much thought, it gets quite a lot, anyway. Would he? There are so many factors. How likely would he believe the return of Blake's memories to be? What is going on at the time?

"I think if I was still here and the Winchesters were, too, that I would. You're not the only person I get along with here."

With a smirk, he turns back to hand Blake his drink.

"I'd most certainly keep trying to sleep with you, because you know I love a good challenge."

Despite the subject matter, Blake snorts in amusement as he takes the drink from Crowley. The first several months of their relationship seemed like little more than sloppy advances and missed occasions, but looking back, John doesn't think he'd have Crowley change his approach one bit.

"Challenge is right," he says fondly. "But I'm not sure you'd really be into it for all that work. Wasn't I enough trouble the first time around?" As he finishes his question, Blake takes a sip of his drink and then sidles in the demon's direction, a smirk plastered on his face. How he got here he'll never know, but now that he's arrived he can't quite picture himself being any different.

Before Crowley can answer, the former cop makes a hmph noise. "Might have to re-live some stuff. Really get you up to speed," John offers, fairly certain his implications are obvious.

"I'd rather make new memories."

With a smile, Crowley leans in to kiss Blake's cheek. It's a horribly sentimental gesture, but Blake is one of the few people he can manage to feel particularly sentimental about, especially with these new memories of Blake helping a Crowley who had no idea who he was. If there'd been a doubt in his mind about Blake, that action has set it aside.

"And I've always found you to be just the right amount of trouble."

He does have a bad habit of sticking around, doesn't he? John could very well have cast Crowley aside when all those memories disappeared. He could have walked away, right? Except John's fairly sure he couldn't, that he couldn't live without the demon, that he didn't want to.

Crowley's words make him smile and he noses at the demon's hairline affectionately. They're pretty sappy for being two tough, grown men.

"Now there's somethin' I don't got any problem believin'. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't do good by me, eh?" John places a couple kisses on Crowley's neck and then drifts away with his drink to finish up whatever he'd been tidying before.

Crowley leans back against the dresser, watching Blake and sipping his own drink slowly. There aren't enough words to describe all the filthy things he'd like to do to that man. Blake looks nice and that isn't doing much for how much Crowley wants to rip off his clothes and fuck him on every surface in the room and a few outside.

"I know full well that I take good care of you."

And it's mutual. Crowley's never been taken care of like this. He's had servants as King, but they serve out of fear and that's business. This is neither and he wonders if things would have turned out differently if he'd gotten anything like this before he'd sold his soul. It's not that he isn't happy as he is, but it's a strange thought to think of a life without Hell.

"What sort of trouble am I getting myself into tonight?"

They're good for each other. As strange as it is, they work. They live simple and not without a little selfishness, but they both give back and that's all you can ask. Could Blake sacrifice more? Sure. Could Crowley strive for some gold-medal redemption? Absolutely. But it's not necessary, is it?

Sometimes John wonders if he's given up too much of himself. He used to worry all the time, but lately he lets Crowley do some of the worrying. Is that part of being in a relationship? Probably. But calling this a relationship isn't as easy as all that, at least not without turning entirely foolish about it.

"Depends on how much energy you've got to spare," he jokes, smirking at Crowley in passing.

As far as Crowley is concerned, he was a little screwed the first time he kissed Blake. There's always been a playful challenge that's drawn him to Blake and even now when it's seemingly easy, it comes with its own complications. He'd nearly died like a bloody Winchester on the other side of Wonderland and he won't be forgetting that any time soon.

This entire thing has been a problem from top to bottom and maybe it's tied into his blood use and his desperate clinging to any shred of humanity he could get, but if Blake is a high, then he's fine with that. He's no stranger to vice and there's a self-indulgence to letting someone care for you like this that he can't get enough of.

Blake is like the finest scotch and he's still waiting for the burn.

"For you?" He moves closer, crowding into Blake's space. "A fair amount."

"Mm, no bet," he practically coos. Maybe it's absurd, maybe he's grown to be selfish and distant, maybe Blake's crazy to put himself so close to a clearly dangerous man, but he's always approved of challenges, and if anyone's going to catch his attention, they should appreciate challenge just the same. He's not easy — not in any sense of the word — and that means it takes work to get him to this point. Good thing no one could deny Crowley's done exactly that.

John's hand rests intimately against the demon's side and he leans in to whisper against his ear. "No tricks. I'm gonna ask you to do the laundry," he says, amusement lacing his voice. When he pulls back, John presses an easy kiss to corner of Crowley's mouth and then drifts away once more. He likes these games he plays a lot more than he'll admit, but considering how long they've been doing this, there's no way Crowley's not wise to that fact.

"But if you'd rather clean my bathroom instead, we can always swap. Sounds kinky, doesn't it?" Blake grins and leans back against the desk, arms cross, waiting for the other man's decision.

They've got it good here together, right? Jabberwocky notwithstanding, Blake's life is probably the most emotionally and mentally stable its ever been and it took a demon to make it happen. Or Blake to decide it could. Probably both when you really think about it.

Crowley pouts, entirely put-upon. If Blake's going to tease him, he'll tease right back.

"I'm suddenly exhausted."

Putting down his drinks, he sweeps back into Blake's personal space, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him tight against Crowley.

"Entirely tuckered out. It's uncanny. I guess I have no energy for you after all."

The back and forth banter always feels easier to Blake. He chuckles quietly at the deflection and doesn't fight against the contact even if tradition would dictate he should. As crazy as life in Wonderland tends to be, there's something about living semi-normally that Blake insists upon. He could pull a new outfit from the closet nearly every day. He wouldn't even have to leave his room if he didn't want to (or if Wonderland didn't occasionally force him to), but none of that feels particularly right.

"Guess you'd better get some rest then, eh? And when I come back 'round in six-or-so hours, exhausted and cranky, I'm gonna roll you outta bed and sleep right in the middle like the dog," he threatens as if it's any threat at all. All he's really saying here is that he'll pick up the slack and he doesn't really care all that much if Crowley doesn't want to help out.

Crowley chuckles, low and fond, and pulls Blake towards the bed.

"Who said you're allowed to leave?"

With a grin, he teases at the hint of another kiss before turning his attention to kissing Blake's jaw. He'd been missing more than just his memories in that time and there's a lot of lost affection to make up for.

There is no one else in the universe who would take care of him without his memories--no one who wouldn't do it simply to manipulate him at best. Blake is a good man, but that's not why Crowley cares about him. It's in his loyalty and his capacity to care for Crowley.

Blake's loyalty and capacity to care knows no bounds. He has a huge heart, even if he keeps it well-guarded and doesn't quite know how to use it. When push comes to shove, he'll always put someone else first, and Crowley's high up on that list. He's done things for Blake that no one's bothered to ever do before and he's stuck around for every step of the process. Even when they're on the skids because of some stupid decision or another, it's almost always between them.

So Crowley's not perfect. Blake can't claim he's any better, even with his moral high ground.

Easily pulled at the demon's behest, he falls into whatever comfortable position he's put in, his head tilting to allow Crowley all the access he desires. "Mm, you're pretty damn talented at stallin' me, but you know I'm not easily swayed. Let's just agree you're gonna face defeat in the next twenty minutes and I can get the jump on what I gotta do." They've basically been in bed since Christmas, right? Time to get out for a while.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Long December [backdated]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject