Coffee and Questions

Ellie felt kind of bad that she had moved in two weeks ago and used her own room a grand total of once. The first night she'd /tried/ to sleep in her own bed. It had been restless and awful and the next night she'd slunk into the angel's room to get some rest. It was /this/ room she was now sneaking out of, closing the door quietly behind her and turning in the direction of the kitchen for a quick drink of coffee before heading out for the day.

This time, Crowley wasn't actually waiting outside the angel's door waiting for Ellie. But as it so happened, the way from the lounge to the front door (well, one of them, anyway) led right past Aziraphale's bedroom. And once he'd reached it and felt a certain familiar presence sneaking its way towards the door, well, how could he resist sticking around and saying hi?

"Sleep well?" he greeted her with a grin, a newly-acquired leather jacket swung over one shoulder.

Ellie jumped and little and glared. How he managed to sneak up on her she wasn't sure, but she should have /felt/ him nearby. "What, do you just spend all night outside this bedroom? A little creepy, don't you think?" She didn't mean to sound petulant, but she didn't like being caught on the back foot. With a little sigh she straightened and closed the space between them, flicking a finger against the jacket, managing to dredge up a smile. "Nice. Heading out?"

"Believe it or not, I've got better things to do than stalk you, " he answered matter-of-factly, grin refusing to leave his lips. The thing about a good smirk was that it didn't even need any words to get just the right amount of teasing across.

"But if I /was/ in that sort of mindset, it wouldn't be hard to figure out where to look."

They certainly helped, though.

Switching from smug grin to friendly smile at the compliment, he nodded. Matching his chosen jacket for the day, he was also wearing a pair of stylish black jeans, and a form-fitting black T-shirt which, in spite of proclaiming to be a memento of a Queen tour from '75, looked just as new as the jacket.

"Figured it was time to liven things up a bit. New beginning and all that," he answered in a more jovial mood, an unspoken implication that noticing had spared her further jabs at her choice of sleeping partners (for now).

"Was about to go checking up on investments. Got any plans for the day?"

Ellie cocked her head and her smile became a lot more genuine. There was no way she could stay irritated with Crowley, especially when he appeared to be in such a cheerful mood, the smug bastard. "No particular plans," she said, linking her arm through his and changing her clothes with a quick thought. She couldn't compete with Crowley for style, but she could look a lot more presentable than the rumpled mess she tended to be when she got up in the morning. Or afternoon. Or whenever she crawled out of bed.

"It's settled, then," he said, giving her arm a brief squeeze with his and leading them towards the door. "I know a coffee shop on the way."

After all, what was the fun in having pet projects if there was nobody around to admire your handiwork?

"Coffee sounds very good," she said sincerely, and let Crowley lead her. He'd said investments, which meant that he would no doubt be showing off some things. She was interested to see what sorts of things he considered investments worthy of his time and attention.

"Thought it might," he smiled, more than familiar with the addictive side of coffee himself. He didn't really /need/ it to get up in the morning, but bless it if it wasn't good.

One short lift trip later, they were strolling down the streets of New York. Hiring a car for the day would hardly have been a problem (he still hadn't brought himself to buy a new one since Bentley had joined them in the flat), but it was hardly a long way on foot. And more importantly, it was the sort of warm, clear-sky weather that was (for him, at least) a joy to be in.

Ellie smiled at him, feeling somewhat more awake now that they were outside and the weather was playing nice for them. "So what are these investments of yours?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"You're about to see one of them," Crowley told her, taking a corner, which led them in front of a small, but luxurious-looking, privately-owned coffee house.

The list of specials in the shop window made it clear that the beverages on offer were out of the price-range of the average coffee lover - the selection ranged from unique in-house blends, to exotic-looking flavours from far-away places, all of them roasted on site for the best possible experience.

Crowley stood in front of the shop, letting Ellie take in the place and giving himself a moment to feel pleased with himself. A quick flick of the tongue when nobody was looking confirmed what he already knew - the smell of fresh coffee abounded even outside the shop, calling invitingly to passers-by.

"I did promise you coffee, after all."

Ellie took in a deep breath as she eyed up the shop, loving the smells that were coming from within. Her eyes skimmed down the list of available blends and she found herself impressed. She would definitely have to come back and try a few things here. "Very nice," she said, tearing her eye away from the coffee establishment to grin up at the other demon. "Fine quality and expensive. I'm hardly surprised."

"What can I say, I know what I like," he smiled widely, opening the door and leading them inside. "Plenty of market for good coffee in New York, too."

In truth, he had other businesses, as well as stocks that were much better money earners. But it was always nice when a project done for personal enjoyment turned a good profit too.

"Signor Caprotti! So good to see you!" the barista greeted him with bad Italian, but a welcoming smile to make up for it.

"Ciao, Alicia," he answered with the same familiarity and a charming smile of his own. "Two cups to go. The usual for me, and..."

He turned to face Ellie. "What are you having?"

"Long black," she supplied with a smile. "And don't be skimpy on the espresso shots. I like it strong." And if the smell was anything to go by, she wanted to /really/ taste it. "Whichever blend you recommend is fine with me." She doubted anything sold here would be less than fabulous.

"Make that a Yauco, then," he told the woman behind the counter, who immediately busied herself with the orders.

Crowley turned his attention back to Ellie, leading them to a pair of seats while they waited. "I hear it's really something on the tastebuds," he explained, leaning onto his backrest.

"You /hear/?" she asked, sliding into her seat. "You haven't tried it yourself?" she tilted her head and regarded her companion with curiosity.

"Not much point when you haven't got any," he shrugged. He /had/ tried it once, but the flavour alone hadn't had quite enough kick for his taste.

Ellie leaned back and blinked, learning something new about her friend. "Hah," she said. "The snake thing?"

"The snake thing," he nodded with laid-back tone of someone who found the situation less-than-ideal, but had had a long, long time to get used to it. "Let me tell you, though, the stuff smells hea- amazing."

Ellie's lips twitched as she noted the correction. "Smell, but no taste? I have to admit to knowing far too little about snakes. If you don't mind me asking, that is..."

"Smell to make up for it, yeah," he explained, leaning forward and resting his chin on his knuckles. He flicked his tongue to illustrate.

"Most people call it 'tasting the air', but really, it's just getting the scent from the air and back to scent receptors in the roof of my mouth."

He took a moment to take in the new smells. A flood of scents rushed in, but somewhere amidst them, a particular roasting scent stood out.

"Huh. Guess that order of St. Helena came in early," he commented absent-mindedly.

Underneath the table, his feet could feel the familiar tremor of Alicia's heels as she busied herself packaging the drinks.

"The beans, that is. We weren't roasting nuns here last time I checked."

Ellie chuckled and shook her head. "I would say I wouldn't be against a little bit of nun roasting, but the angel would object if he ever found out." She wondered what it was like to scent the air like a snake. Perhaps she should try a snake shape sometime, though she disliked using animal shapes in general.

"He wouldn't be the only one," Crowley let out an amused huff of his own. "Any idea what that'd do to the beans?"

Hurriedly, the barista made her way over to them, holding an elegant carry box/cup holder with their two drinks of choice.

"Grazie, Alicia," he thanked her with a smile, picking up the drinks and his jacket and standing up, waiting for Ellie to follow.

Ellie got to her feet and (since he had the coffee she so desired) followed Crowley.

Once they were outside, not worrying about the temperature of the cups, Crowley fished his drink from the holder, then passed the box to Ellie.

"Any other snake-related curiosities I can satisfy for you today?" he asked her with a smile and what, behind the sunglasses, may have been a wink.

Ellie smirked back, knowing full well that he was deliberately baiting her and deciding she would play along a little bit. "Well, you keep /teasing/ me about the things you can do with your tongue, but you're all talk and no follow through." She got her own coffee out of the box and took a deep, appreciative sniff of the wonderful aroma. "I demand a demonstration." Her lips curled up.

"Well then," he answered with a mischievous smile, holding off on his cup of coffee for the time being and closing the distance between them. "Since you asked nicely..."

With his free hand, he raised one of hers (the one still holding the cup holder) and slowly, eyes peering over sunglasses, brought it to his lips. The very tips of his tongue briefly made contact with one of her knuckles, then the hand was lowered.

"My tongue... tells me..." he said in the tone of someone deep in thought, as he ran through the scents. There was the smell of the city, clinging to her skin, as well a hint of the drink she was holding...

"That you like good coffee, angels..." a smirk came to his lips, but as fun as it was teasing her about it, none of it was exactly new information. He needed something more convincing than that to do his Pride justice.

Looking through the more subtle hints, he found it - a hint of something most people would have described as "sea air".

"... and long walks on the beach," he finished with a satisfied smile.

Ellie's hand clenched in his as he raised it to his mouth and his tongue tickled her knuckle. She smiled a little at the good coffee and angels comment, about to say that it was hardly new information, except then he mentioned the beach. She didn't think she'd mentioned her love of the beach yet, and he wasn't to know that she'd gone for a long walk last night before heading home. "Well then," she said, grinning at Crowley. "Not quite what I had in mind, but impressive enough. I'll take it." She sipped at her coffee and kept a hold of Crowley's hand, the now-empty box vanishing into a nearby rubbish bin.

A pleased smile on his face, Crowley gave her hand a squeeze and returned to the coffee in his other hand. It hadn't had a chance to get much colder, but then again, neither did he care. Taking a long sip, he let the pleasant aroma fill his senses, drowning out any other leftover smells. It was somewhat overwhelming, in truth - having a sudden flow of strong flavour rushing in where before there had bit only faint hints, and even those amplified by his heightened sense of smell. But it was overwhelming in a way he found utterly enjoyable, and before he could stop himself, he let out a small, pleased hum.

"Now that's what I call a good investment."

Ellie took a long sip of her own drink. It really was good. She threaded their fingers together and nodded. "Agreed," she told him with a pleased smile. He did seem to be enjoying his own coffee. "So good coffee is one investment. What else?"

Crowley took another sip of his drink, the effect less dramatic this time as his senses began to adjust to the rush of aroma.

"Well, I could show you around a couple of wineries in France and Argentina one of these days," he told her with the casual tone of someone listing the different colours of shirts in their wardrobe. "Though the next one on the list is a bit more local."

Ellie raised an eyebrow at the casual way he mentioned just jet setting around the place. "That'd be quite a flight," she said. "Local sounds good for now. And what would be the next thing in your investments portfolio?"

"Just a little something I sped up building plans for not long ago," he told her, an unsaid implication that she'd have to wait and see the details for herself. Technically, he'd ended up co-owning the place along the way, but since the project had been finalised he hadn't really felt the need for a hands-on approach.

"It doesn't /have/ to be a flight, you know..."

He obviously wanted to surprise her with something, so she kept her mouth shut about his next investment and took a sip of her coffee again. It really was /very/ good coffee. Her eyebrows both shot up when he said they wouldn't have to fly. Did he intend for them to go by boat? She thought he /enjoyed/ flying? "I don't think I could teleport that far without going through Hell, and I don't know that that's an option for you any more, so...?"

Shooting her a cryptic grin, he took another sip of his coffee. He'd never managed to get the hang of teleporting either, but over the years humanity had seemed more than happy to provide him with a number of alternatives. Some more intentional than others.

"Let's just say I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve."

Ellie rolled her eyes and grinned. Fine, he was going to be all mysterious, she'd let him get away with it. He was having far too much fun for her to spoil it. "Alright, Man of Mystery, I'll work out your little secrets one day. We have time. You'll keep," she said, giving his hand an affectionate squeeze and taking another long pull from her cup. She absolutely adored his enthusiasm. It was lovely to see that he hadn't lost it in the Fall (they'd all lost enough).

"Six thousand years' worth of secrets?" he laughed, returning the gesture and finishing off his coffee. "Hope you weren't planning on going anywhere for a while."

He still had a few secrets that he preferred to keep to himself (maybe even a couple he'd managed to avoid spilling to the angel one drunken afternoon or another), but letting Ellie in on a few of the others (only after he'd had his fun keeping them from her, of course), as well as having her around a long, long time... that wasn't bad as far as future prospects went.

"You kidding me?" she said, suddenly a little more serious. "I'm not planning on going anywhere ever again." She bit down on saying anything else sappy. The angel had really been a bad influence on her. She covered her sudden outburst of genuine affection with a smirk. "So you're stuck with me now," she teased. "Little did you know what you were really letting in by the front door."

The reaction he had been expecting may have been in the right area, but the delivery and tone of the response nonetheless caught him by surprise, and he could help but feel... relieved? Pleased? Reassured? Touched?

'All of the above' was likely closer to the truth, although he was even less likely to admit it than Ellie seemed to be to elaborate on her own train of thought.

His eyebrows quirked up affectionately, and he found himself lacking the usual snappy comebacks.

Having her here, having the angel and Bentley... It had been the first time since - since a long, long time ago when the term 'family' had felt right. And now that he was finally free from having to fear for his and their safety, free to be whatever he felt like being... the thought of slowing down and taking time to enjoy it did have a certain draw to it.

"Fine by me," he answered with a smile, and it was all he could do to avoid making the conversation any sappier.

Thankfully, timing seemed to be working in his favour, and it was then that he realised they'd arrived at the next stop on their itinerary.

"Here we are!" he proclaimed, glad to have a less emotion-filled subject to fill the silence.

The place in question, as it turned out, was a locale that went by the name of "Barcade". The entrance seemed inviting enough (albeit slightly more rustic than the usual venues he frequented). Through one of the windows, a row of arcade machines shone invitingly, and the drinks list seemed to sport a wide selection of drinks that could well have been names for either race horses or indie bands.

Ellie seized on the distraction eagerly and admired the place they'd arrived at. It looked like just her sort of place, though not for the same reasons the humans would think of it as their place. She reminded herself that this was her friend's place and she wasn't to stir any trouble. Well, not too much, anyway. She downed the rest of her coffee and her cup vanished. "Looks fun," she said honestly. "We heading in?" She tugged at Crowley's hand impatiently.

He certainly didn't have to be asked twice, and with a look he made his own coffee cup vanish and led the way inside.

There was no eager employee to welcome them this time. Instead, the sound of classic rock music greeted them as soon as the door opened, occasionally joined by the chime of nearby arcade machines.

Crowley took a moment to take in the place, making note of every detail - it had been months since he'd last checked in on it. He could see paint peeling in few corners of the ceiling, and a couple of the machines looked like they were due for some much-needed attention. He could also see a group of patrons cheering on a friend frantically pushing buttons on a console, a bar that was just beckoning for them to come closer, and a number of modest, but inviting-looking tables. It wasn't as sleek as the coffee shop, but what it lacked in luxury it made up for in atmosphere.

"Drinks first. Can't game on a dry throat," he told Ellie as he threw his jacket on one of the bar seats and his shoulders grew more relaxed. It may have been his choice of attire for the day, but he seemed to fit into his surroundings here just as well as the rich Italian shop owner had fit into the coffee house earlier that day.

"See anything you like?"

"Fishing for compliments again, darling?" she purred, looking Crowley up and down as if checking him out. "I don't see anything I /don't/ like." Ellie winked and grinned, then looked around at the place. There were a lot of lights and sounds coming from the machines and she tore her eyes away from those to peruse the drinks menu, eventually picking something sweet and creamy.

"For once, I was talking about the drinks," he told her with a pleased smile, peeking over his sunglasses just enough to return the wink, "though I'm hardly one to say no to a good compliment."

His own drink ordered (something that was either apple cider's rich cousin, or the name of a ranch somewhere further South), he turned in his seat, arm rested on the bar and once again facing Ellie.

Ellie echoed his pose as she waited for her own drink. "This is a nice little investment you have here," she told Crowley. "Do you ever play any of the games?" She indicated the flashing lights.

Crowley let out a small, amused huff. Why else would he have gone out of his way to speed up the opening of an arcade-themed bar? If he'd just wanted a good drink, there were more than enough places he could've gotten that already.

"Tell you what," he told her, picking his drink up and heading towards a pair of console seats with steering wheels in front of them. "How about I let you work that one out over there?"

Suspecting that she was about to have her ass handed to her, Ellie grabbed her drink and followed Crowley over to the game. She placed her glass down on a surface she hoped wasn't going to start moving and slid behind one of the wheels. She wasn't /bad/ at video games herself, but she figured that Crowley was probably a good deal better than her. Oh well, wouldn't hurt his pride at all to beat her, would it? "Bring it," she said with a grin.

Grin spread wide across his face, Crowley inserted a couple of quarters into the machine, set his hands on the wheel and rammed his foot into the acceleration pedal. In the background, the last song ended, and, with a hint of demonic intervention, Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart" began (he'd considered Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", but he hardly wanted to come across as a one-trick serpent).

He hadn't even realised how much he'd missed this.

Ellie chuckled, grabbed her wheel, and did her best to keep up with Crowley. From the start she could see it would be a losing battle for her, but she did her best (and didn't even cheat - though Crowley would notice that sort of cheating and call her on it anyway). "So... /what the hell why are there people on the road?/... if you weren't... /movemovemove/... keeping an eye on the angel's nochturnal activities... insert swear words here... why do I keep finding you outside his bedroom?"

It didn't take long for Crowley to gain the lead - although his enthusiasm and lack of practice did result in a few narrowly avoided street lamps, a few much not-very-avoided ones, as well as a nearly-too-close encounter with a body of water (rivers and oceans looked awfully similar when you zoomed past them in a few fractions of a second).

"Have you considered screeeeeeeech that maybe /ohh, glad I'm not gonna have to fix /that/ paintjob/ it's got something to do with sound of mailbox flying into a wall just how much time you /spend/ in the angel's room?"

Ellie swerved to avoid a little old lady who somehow managed to jump out of nowhere and ran over a child. She felt mildly guilty, despite the fact that it was only a video game. "Feeling..." She clutched at the steering wheel and turned it frantically, her car going into a spin as it collided with another. A small grumble later she was facing in what she hoped was the right direction again and speeding along. "Feeling jealous, are we?"

"I'm just saying..." he slammed the brake and made a sharp turn, before once again accelerating away in a screech of pained simulated tyres. "When you spend more time in there than anywhere else in the house, it's not really much of a surprise that when you're leaving it loud crashing noise, followed by a revving engine is when you bump into me."

His grin grew a hint wider as he lapped the the slowest of the AI cars.

"I'm surprised Downstairs hasn't given you a commendation yet. The angel's managed more Sloth since you moved in than I've seen him pull off in the last few centuries combined."

He didn't seem too concerned about being overheard - the game was loud enough, and the venue quiet enough this time of day that there was no one close enough to them to listen in.

The grin turned into a serpentine smirk. "Unless... it's a different Sin you've been engaging in?"

How /was/ he getting around the track so fast? Ellie swerved around a few things, getting the hang of this now, and tried to accelerate but she already had her foot to the floor. Surely he wouldn't be cheating? Though she would feel that... no. He was just doing what she predicted - handing her ass to her. She smirked as Crowley insinuated that her and the angel could be indulging in some Lust. "What the angel and I do between the sheets is no one's business but ours," she teased. "Honestly, get off the road!" She didn't even bother trying to swerve around the pedestrian this time and she was informed that she'd lost some points or some such thing for hitting it. Oh well. "But I /will/ tell you, I haven't felt this satisfied in a very long time." The truth, if not quite how she was insinuating.

"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes off the screen. The pedestrians seemed to know better than to get in his way, but there were only so many collisions with the scenery his car could handle.

"First time I've heard that sentence and the angel brought up in the same context."

"I still find it difficult to believe... Honestly, the people in this game are suicidal! I'm doing them a favour!" She'd run over some more pedestrians, but she may be gaining a little on Crowley. Or at the very least, not losing more ground. "I find it hard to believe that you and he haven't..."

She looked away from her game for a second to steal a glance at Crowley. "I mean... you haven't even /considered/ it?" She looked back at her game again.

Crowley opened his mouth to fire off one of his signature reactions to the question (something along the lines of "sod off" presently came to mind), but stopped himself. Something was different this time - her voice still had that smartass tone that she got every time she pestered him about it; but now, she also sounded like she actually wanted to hear the answer.

/Bless it, why not?/

"Honestly?" he answered, turning to face her briefly and only narrowly avoiding driving off a bridge. "Not really." The virtual tyres screeched for mercy. "Early on, we were too busy working out new and hillarious ways to take each other out. Afterwards..."

Crowley's car rushed past the finish line, and he turned to face Ellie again (even though she was still momentarily engaged).

"Cities come and go. Humans..." his voice trailed off for a moment, but he managed to shrug it off. "We both spent a lot of time Up here, and there's not a lot of constants to hold on to, you know?"

He trailed off again for a moment as he put his thoughts in order. "It's like humans are with siblings," the explanation burst out once he'd found his words. "You might jump into fire for them, but taking things in /that/ direction feels... wrong."

Ellie's car also rushed over the line and she peeled her hands off the wheel (she found she had been gripping it rather tightly). She turned her head to look at Crowley and didn't respond for a moment as she processed what he'd told her. The tone had indicated that, for once, he was being serious and actually answering her question.

"He's been your constant," she said quietly, feeling both happy /and/ jealous that Crowley had had that. One side of her mouth quirked up. "I'm glad you had that." She then cleared her throat because she knew that this heart-to-heart wouldn't last and she was making sure to prepare herself for the return to teasing. Picking up her drink, she downed half of it in one go.

The tone of Ellie's voice made him delay his attempts to smooth out the overly-emotional moment just a little bit longer.

"We're not going anywhere either," he told her, reaching for her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze before getting to his feet and pulling her up with him.

"Figuratively speaking. I like New York, but I'd rather not spend the rest of eternity stuck in it.

"Now how about we find something else to do before my shirt turns tartan and I start calling you 'dear'?"

Ellie appreciated Crowley's effort to lighten the mood and smiled at him sweetly as she downed the rest of her drink. "But tartan is stylish!" she said with her best wide-eyed look. She hooked an arm around his neck and grinned. "I think you'd look very handsome in a tartan shirt. You should try it sometime." Her own top took on a decidedly tartan slant.

After a theatrical shudder, Crowley wrapped his own arm around her shoulders and started leading them further down the row of consoles.

"Only because having it on me would make up for the horrid pattern," he answered pensively as he tried to decide on their next choice of entertainment.

"No thanks, love. I'll let the angel satisfy that particular kink for you."

There was a spring in Ellie's step as she let Crowley lead her to whatever he had in mind next. "So what's next, /dear/?" she asked archly. Her shirt was definitely tartan now, and her shoes were developing stripes to match. "You going to whip my ass in another race?"

"Only if you ask nicely," he told her with a smirk, finally settling on a console decorated with images which looked like they'd been taken straight out of an 70s horror movie poster, and a name to match. 'Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters' sported two sets of joysticks and buttons, and was a classic example of 'Just what it says on the tin' - the heroes were on an alien planet, there were monsters, and hence, rather understandably, they had chosen the sensible option of trying to relocate to a monster-free alternative. It was also, Crowley remembered, a cooperative game.

"In the meantime, I was thinking this one could do the trick."

Ellie eyed up the joystick rather dubiously, but moved forward to position herself in front of the screen. The title at eye level promised monsters and (apparently) large-busted blondes, which was always a good start. She looked at the controls in front of her and suspected she'd just be pressing buttons at random while running in little circles. There was only one screen for the two joysticks so she figured that Crowley and her would both be running around together. "I take no responsibility for dragging you down with me," she said cheerfully.

"/So/ glad to hear you've got my back," Crowley laughed as he slid quarters into the machine and, to no one's surprise, picked the character with dark hair, a red outfit and sunglasses.

He'd played the game (more than) enough times on his own. He was sure he could handle doing much of the same with Ellie in tow.

Ellie just picked whatever character came up, which happened to bear more than a passing resemblance to a certain angel. She liked that. "Bring it on!" she said with enthusiasm and a bright smile.

Crowley couldn't help but smirk at Ellie's reaction to getting the very Aziraphale-reminiscent character (suffice to say, he /may/ have had a hand in designing a game or two back in the 80s). He'd be sure to use it as material next time her angel-related bedroom escapades came up.

For now, it was in his best interest to avoid getting her too distracted. So, naturally, the first thing that came to mind was the very same topic that had gotten him filling up his honesty quota for the rest of the month.

"How about you, then?" he asked as the game started up and pixelated robomonsters began rushing towards them. Teasing her about it was its own reward, but part of him /had/ begun to wonder...

"All those late nights in the angel's bedroom... anything ever crossed /your/ mind?"

Ellie really did try her best to figure the game out but kept oversteering. She pressed the buttons and found that one was crouch, one jump and the other fire. She tried firing on the monsters and was pretty sure she ended up hitting Crowley's character instead.

She snorted at the question but didn't look away from the screen. "I'm a Lust demon, darling, of course it's crossed my mind." Her character sprayed bullets in a circle.

"It helps if you point the gun at the monsters, you know," he teased as Ellie managed to shoot yet another hostage.

Really, he should've seen that answer coming. Although he also found it didn't do much to decrease the number of questions he had.

"So, does that mean that you and the angel..." Manchester, he couldn't even ask it with a straight face. He'd known the angel for six thousand years - the guy turned as red as a beetroot if someone so much as mentioned something vaguely racy (assuming that he did, indeed, get what they were talking about). The idea of him getting serious with someone...

Ellie rolled her eyes and grinned at the screen, /trying/ to shoot things that weren't hostages or Crowley, and failing. "Honestly? If I had sex with everyone I thought about having sex with then you, Bentley, and every damn person in this bar would be fair game. Give me a little credit. Have you /seen/ how red he goes when I flirt with him? Once he realises what I've said, anyway." The fact that he was so oblivious to most of her flirting was, quite frankly, adorable.