9. Piece By Piece

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Christine rushed back to the hotel, almost running, eager to tell Gabriel about her new discoveries. Of course, he wasn't going to be too happy that the source of said discoveries was a demon. Demons weren't exactly reliable... But Christine knew Crowley had no reason to lie about that, especially not to her.
They'd been close, once upon a time, back when she still thought she was just a vampire… but Gabriel didn't need to know that.

It made her wonder, though, if Crowley knew who she was even then. She'd asked him about her mark at the time, but he had told her he didn't know anything about it. Thinking about it now, that was definitely a lie.

They were never actually together. He dropped in a few times a month, and they slept together. Nothing serious, he had his "job" and Christine had hers. She used him just as much as he used her, he was basically the only person she could sleep with, because with everyone else she had to worry about them finding out she was… well, dead.

They met in a bar, Crowley was there on business, and instantly got along. She let him near her, she let him hit on her, because she could smell he wasn't human.

Their affair lasted almost one year, he broke it off a six months before Gabriel showed up. Crowley's timing made perfect sense, now.

But Gabriel wasn't to know any of that. Let's not add "Used to sleep with a demon" to my criminal charges…

She walked in the door to their room to find the archangel still asleep. She sat on the bed, and shook him.

"Gabe?" she called. The angel muttered something incomprehensible and rolled over. "Gabe, love, wake up," she insisted, and shook him again. He showed no sign of life, aside from the snoring, so she climbed on top of him and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair. "Gabriel…"

"Good morning," he whispered, opening his eyes. Christine kissed him again.

"'Morning," she greeted him, smiling. "So, I got brand new information," she cheered.

"Ssshh, keep it down, sugar, will ya? My head is about to explode…"

"Want some coffee?"

"Just the sound of that makes me wanna throw up…"

"You're such a wuss," she smirked.

"Not my fault, it's my vessel…"

"I like your vessel," she smiled, and ran a finger down his chest. "But I digress. Information. Brand new information."

"Right. Tell me 'bout it," he said with a crooked smile on his lips.

"Crowley said Lucifer is, in fact, out. He doesn't know—"

"Crowley said?" the angel cut her off, raising a brow, and sat up, causing Christine to almost fall from the bed. "When did you see him?" he snapped.

"I went for a walk, he appeared out of nowhere…"

"And he just randomly shared this interesting bit of information with you," he said, knitting his brows.

"Well, yes…"

"Why would he do that?"

"He's the King of Hell, he probably wants things to stay that way..."

"Did he at least know where to find Lucy?" Gabriel asked, frustrated. Christine shook her head. "Then we're back to square one. Awesome."

"At least we know I'm not hallucinating," she ventured.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that's comforting!" he smirked. Christine twitched her nose and stood up, heading for her cigarettes. "Hey! Come back here!"

"I thought you felt sick," she commented, smiling widely.

"I'm feeling better now," he grinned. Christine slowly walked back to the bed, and crawled back on top of her angel. Gabriel kissed her violently, and rolled them over.

"Gabe, what do you remember from last night?" she asked, breaking the kiss.

"Lots of sex," he smiled. Christine tilted her head and knitted her brows. "What?"

"That's the only part I don't remember," she said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I can help with that," he grinned, and kissed her again. He took her shirt off and cupped her breasts while still kissing her passionately. Christine ran her hands on his back, and heard the familiar sound of wings unfolding. Only they weren't his.

Gabriel turned around and saw Castiel standing in the middle of the room, about to apologize for the intrusion.

"I swear," Gabriel snorted, and snapped his fingers to dress them up. "You have the worst freaking timing in all of heaven, Cassie…"

"I'm sorry," Castiel apologized.

"If you weren't that awkward I'd ask you to join us," Christine smiled. Gabriel shot her a dirty look while he got up. "What?" she shrugged.

"Daddy issues," he informed Castiel, grinning. The angel looked confused, while Christine just looked annoyed. "Never mind. Why are you here?"

"Sam and Dean are investigating a case in Illinois."

"Fascinating," Gabriel smirked.

"Your Horn seems to be involved," Castiel simply stated.

"His what now?" Christine asked, laughing.

"Gabriel's Horn of Truth," Castiel explained, still looking confused.

"Still funny," Christine laughed.

"I don't have the Horn, Cassie. It's still up there," Gabriel said, pointing his finger at the sky.

"No, it's not. All the weapons were stolen."

"You guys ain't handling this civil war thing very well, are ya now?" Gabriel smirked.

"If I find the Horn, should I give it back to you?" Castiel asked, deliberately ignoring Gabriel's last comment.

"I got no use for it, bro. Keep it, or take it back to heaven, I don't really care."

"As you wish," Castiel nodded. "Also, Dean told me to give you a message."

"What message?"

" 'Hi'," Castiel stated solemnly.