*Ages old request from my good friend Spawn of Hades. This is the full story behind a mention of a scene in my fic Ordinary Life.

"Just tonight, I will stay

And we'll throw it all away

When the light hits your eyes

It's telling me I'm right

And if I, I am through

And it's all because of you

Just tonight…"

~The Pretty Reckless/Taylor Momsen

He was legal, he was drunk, and it was a beautiful day for Bones Gallagher.

Turning eighteen was a fiasco of drinking games, watching in disgust as his twin brother Lucifer made out with his half breed boyfriend, and observing the aforementioned half breed's father when Aziraphale wasn't around. Drunk or sober, Bones could never resist watching Crowley. He moved with the predatory grace of a serpent, and when his eyes phased into reptilian irises with vertical pupils, it did strange things to Bones.

The undeniable danger of the demon was part of his allure. He could shift into a snake, and Bones had once had Crowley wrapped around his arm in that form, sleeping with his eyes staring sightlessly forward. Bones had gotten chills, knowing his entire arm could be crushed by one squeeze of that long, scaly body. And it wasn't easy to injure a werewolf with demigod blood. Crowley was the only thing, besides the gold bullets that could kill him, that Bones feared. The older man had more power over him than anyone else ever had, and ever would.

Inconveniently, Crowley was a married man, and Bones was madly in love with him.

There was no doubt that Crowley was faithful to Aziraphale, his husband who was also an angel. They had a son together; Lucifer's mate, Kerberosel. However, Crowley had let Bones in as his friend, and Bones couldn't pretend it was just friendship that motivated him. He held out hope beyond reason that one day, Crowley would look at him and see that Bones could be everything he wanted, if only he had the chance. Aziraphale was kind and gentle, but the darker part of Bones wanted the angel to disappear, if only long enough for Crowley to realize how happy Bones could make him.

His werewolf side prevented him from moving on. From the time he was a young teenager, Bones had been infatuated with Crowley. Over the space of several years, he had decided Crowley his mate. This meant more than the simple desire to belong to the demon. Once a werewolf fell for someone hard enough to call them mate, it was an unbreakable bond that made Bones fiercely protective over his demon, revolted him when he saw Aziraphale and Crowley together, and made him unable to form an attachment to anyone other than the man he could never have. But despite all this, his heart and body would wait for Crowley for as long as he lived. Not only because he had little choice thanks to his werewolf genes, but because he accepted he would never love someone the way he loved Crowley.

Through a haze of alcohol, Bones watched Lucifer swinging Kerberosel off his feet, kissing the half breed in a drunken but happy stupor. Kerberosel wasn't quite sober himself, holding onto Lucifer's shoulders to keep from falling from the werewolf's arms. Bones took a long drink of whiskey and sighed. Lucky bastards. He drained the rest of the bottle and let it clatter to the floor, thankful it didn't shatter. It wasn't too far of a drop from the chair he sat in. His drunkenness was starting to show in his thoughts, and he realized a drink too late that he was maybe a little too sloshed.

Crowley was looking all kinds of sexy, leaned up against the wall in that damnably tight suit of his. Bones smirked and stumbled to his feet. Why not go say hi? It was his birthday party, after all. He could say hi to the sexy demon in the corner if he very well wanted to. His drunken reasoning didn't alarm him until a bit later, though by that point it was too late to do anything about it. At the moment, he could only feel a dopey happiness as their proximity as he joined Crowley by the wall.

"Hey, old man," he greeted jokingly.

Crowley raised his glass in mock salute. "What can I do you for, birthday boy?"

"This."

Later, Bones couldn't have told you why it seemed like a good idea. Presently, he didn't give a shit. He just forgot all the reasons not to, grabbed Crowley by the lapels, and kissed him so hard the demon's back hit the wall. Crowley was shocked stiff and of course his first instinct was to disengage, but Bones could swear that when the older man grabbed his shoulders, he pulled him closer for a split second before pushing Bones away. It was over in a flash, but it was the most intense millisecond long kiss Bones had ever experienced.

They stared at each other long and hard for a moment when it was over. Bones still held on to Crowley's jacket, and Crowley still grasped his shoulders. The wolf was satisfied to see he wasn't the only one out of breath. No flaming sword impaled him, so he figured Aziraphale hadn't seen the exchange. He looked away from Crowley's burning gaze and blamed the alcohol for the heat in his cheeks. Bones Gallagher did not blush.

As it would soon turn out, Kerberosel was a pretty awesome might-as-well-be brother. His half angel, half demon genes allowed him strange abilities, one of which was unnatural stealth. He switched Crowley's Craig for something a lot stronger, and half an hour later, the demon was hammered. Aziraphale was in the kitchen bitching to Lucifer about corrupting his son and this left Bones and Crowley to their own devices. Everyone else had already left the party. Crowley was quick to loosen up, and didn't hesitate when Bones sat very close on the couch. Before long their faces could not have been more than two inches apart.

"Happy Birthday, Bones," Crowley murmured, eyes flicking down.

Bones inched closer until his forehead touched Crowley's. The demon kissed him softly, holding Bones' jaw between two long, elegant fingers. Bones closed his eyes and surrendered to the blissful contact. It wouldn't last, could never last, but he would live in the moment because it was all he had. He accepted this was as much of Crowley as he would ever get, but it was something. Right then, the present was all that mattered. Crowley kissed him like a lover, like he truly cared about Bones.

Just for that night, Bones let himself believe that in another life, Crowley could have loved him.