Chapter Twenty : You Look Like Hell
Crowley leaned back the wheels of his leather desk chair squeaking as he scooted away from his mahogany desk. He let out a sigh as he pressed a cool glass of his favorite craig whiskey to his forehead in hopes that the melting ice would fight off the raging headache building up in the back of his head.
Apparently even the king of hell could still get headaches and it didn't help that the underlining scent of sulfur was still coming through underneath the overwhelming scent of lemon that he'd infused his new office with. The rotten sulfurous citrus smell was making him nauseous.
Claiming hell's throne hadn't been any leisurely walk through the park not that he had expected it to be an easy task. There had been a strong resistance from his fellow demons followed by a large amount of bloodshed that he had inflicted upon anyone stupid enough to try to rebel.
He had managed to achieve a hold over everyone demon and inmate alike in hell for now, but he still feared that another rebellion was looming around the corner.
So at the moment his position in hell was shaky and he wasn't sure how to improve it.
He began to let his mind roam once again contemplating rather it was safe to allow Grace to step foot in hell or if he should just keep her in the loft for a little bit longer.
It had been weeks, four...or was it five, he couldn't keep track, since he had left Grace in the loft in Seattle, Washington. Though for him it felt like it had been months.
Crowley had been unable to pull himself away from hell to visit Grace and he only hoped that she understood the reasons behind his absence.
He had managed to change hells appearance completely. The first entry-level had been changed to that of an office with never ending twisting hallways , file rooms, offices (including his own office), and the line of course.
The line was simple enough, upon entering hell one got a number from the ticket dispenser and got in line. As soon as one reached the front of the line they went right back to the back of the line. It was in his opinion perfect. Perfectly efficient. No one liked waiting in line.
The line was a good enough punishment for now, though he was entertaining the idea of expanding torture methods to things like never-ending dental work and high school type scenarios, ones awkward adolescent high school memories could be good torture material (high school was hellish right ? Or so he'd heard.)
The pit was still in full operation, though it was really more of a last resort punishment reserved for those inmates who dared to step out of line both literally and figuratively. And anyone who attempted to rebel against his reign of course.
The living quarters had been all taken care of outfitted with the finest furnishings he could think of. He only hoped that Grace would find it as nice as he did.
He had even managed to keep his meatsuit on which had been a difficult task. When he had first entered hell the skin of his meatsuit had developed a nasty burnt appearance seeing as his skin was technically melting away. After some quick tweaking with the rules and laws of hell he'd managed to fix that little problem. And now his meatsuit looked as good as new. Though he was sure that this new method wouldn't work on a meatsuit that wasn't empty upon possession.
Even though these things had been taken care of he was still a little conflicted about bringing Grace to hell, even if it was part of their deal.
He feared that something horrible would happen to her in hell. He could only imagine the things that could happen to her if someone, demon or something else got a hold of her.
He knew for a fact that there were several demons in hell who wouldn't mind hurting him in any method they could find and causing her pain would be the best way to hurt him. That fact had already been proven by what had happened with Eli.
Then again wasn't she in as much danger here as she was all on her own in that loft in Seattle ?
Crowley was sure of one thing though, that he could never let what had happened with Eli happen ever again. Grace was still so traumatized and he was sure that her fragile state of mind wouldn't be able to take anymore trauma.
It was still so strange for him loving Grace as much as he did and having her love him so much in return. Love had been something that had seemed to elude him his entire existence
Crowley knew that his mother couldn't have loved him. Her having any love for little Fergus McLeod wouldn't have been possible seeing as his mother had beaten him daily, breaking his bones and bruising his fragile malnourished body. In times that she'd had some patience for him she had taught him her craft, literally. Her being a witch was the source of some of his little bits of knowledge, hex bags and such.
And he wasn't sure if his father had loved him enough. Even though his father had stepped in and stopped his mother from striking him, his father still hadn't the nerve to take him away from his mother. His father hadn't bothered to do much of anything to really protect him in the long run.
When he had married Mabell that had been the closest thing to love he had ever had in his life as Fergus. Though it hadn't really truly been much of a romantic love. Their marriage being arranged and them being so young, barely teenagers, inexperienced in love and life. They had understood what was expected of them in the marriage though and they had learned to respect one another.
They had managed to love one another enough to produce their only child Gavin. Crowley had been left all alone with the boy and he had been so terrified and so lost after watching Mabell fade away from sickness leaving him all alone with a young child that he couldn't understand. He had been so afraid of turning out like his mother that he had pretty much checked out emotionally and completely ruined his relationship with his son. And by the time he had realized what he had done it had been too late. There had just been too much hate between the two of them to ever repair the relationship. He wasn't even sure that he'd have the nerve if he ever somehow saw him again to repair anything that had happened between them.
Lilith had been a disaster waiting to happen. Lilith had been incapable of loving anyone but herself. She had been so proud of the fact that she was Lucifer's favorite. Lucifer's first demon. In time Crowley had grown to resent her and her constant boasting and superior attitude, only tolerating her for the sake of remaining in control of the crossroads.
After the life he had lived before and after death the love Grace gave him was so strange to him. He was sure that he would never understand how she could give her love to him so freely, especially after all that he had done to her and all that he had put her through.
He sat his glass down on the table frowning as an unfortunately familiar demon entered his office.
Crowley recognized the tall slim brunette the second he saw her. They had worked the crossroads together for at least a century. Her full lips were locked into a smirk as she eyed him.
"What do you want ?" he asked not hiding his irritation at the fact that she hadn't even bothered to knock.
Pheobe raised a perfectly manicured thin eyebrow a little annoyed that he didn't seem to be very thrilled to see her. She had been sure to wear her best dress for this meeting, a long coral silk number that showed off her best assets.
She pouted as she made her way over to his desk."I've been hearing some strange and completely ridiculous rumors about your choice for a queen."
"Such as ?" Crowley replied knowing that he hadn't announced that Grace would be queen. He hadn't planned to announce it until he was ready to bring her downstairs. So he was surprised that any word of this plan may have gotten out.
Pheobe smiled her white teeth a contrast against the dark crimson of her lipstick. "Things like she's not even a real demon...I mean that she hasn't even been to hell. That she's just some baby demon who hasn't even been tortured on the rack yet."
She paused frowning as she noticed that he didn't seem to be as amused as she'd hoped he'd be about these rumors...they were just rumors right ?
Pheobe cleared her throat trying to hide her nerves and keep a flirty tone to her voice. "I mean everyone knows about that...girl, that you picked up...she's nothing right ? I mean she was just something to amuse you while you were in hiding, just a fun little pet ?"
Crowley took a deep breath trying to push back his rage and keep a bored look on his face. "No, in fact that pet is your new queen."
Pheobe giggled amused that he'd just said something so comical. "That's hilarious...but really. Won't you tell me who you want to rule beside you ? I mean we have known each other for such a long time. Please I'm just dying to know. You do need a queen. One that's had enough experience to rule along beside you."
Crowley stood up having grown annoyed with her presence the second she had stepped into his office. "I've already told you. The girl, Grace is queen."
Pheobe frowned her green eyes flickering over to the red that all crossroads demons had before flickering back to their dark green. "Are you serious ?...her, she's not one of us...You can't be serious."
She clinched her fists walking towards him as she spoke her voice shrill as she began to have a full-blown tantrum. "If anyone should be queen it should be me. I meet all the qualifications. Surely you must agree. I would make a way better queen than some...pathetic baby demon. I won't stand for this. No one will. You can mark my words on that. If you bring her down here she'll be ripped from limb to limb."
Crowley flicked his wrist pushing her away and pinning her up against the wall of his office without even laying a finger on her.
Her eyes widened as she found herself stuck to the wall unable to even blink. Crowley walked over to her his voice raising as his eyes flickered to a deep rich red. "Listen to me you little twit if you ever even think about laying a hand on your queen I will rip you arms right out of their sockets ! Now I think you need some time down in the pit to sort out that superiority complex you've built up."
Pheobe didn't even have the chance to protest as he snapped his fingers causing her to disappear.
Crowley took a deep breath trying his best to calm his anger. He could feel his hands practically shaking from complete and utter rage. His eyes flickered back to hazel as he picked up his drink downing the rest of it in one quick swallow.
He took a few more deep breaths as he came to a decision. He needed to get to Grace immediately and not let her out of his sight the second she entered hell.
Crowley stood at the foot of the bed in the bedroom in the loft. The tall lamp beside the bed providing a little light in the darkened room.
He stared down at Grace's form happy to see that she was sleeping so soundly. He was almost reluctant to have to wake her seeing as she rarely got enough sleep thanks to nightmares and the panic attacks that the nightmares seemed to at times induce.
He couldn't help but to smirk as he realized that she was wearing one of his black button down shirts.
Grace awoke startled as she realized that she was not alone in the bedroom. She stared up at Crowley her drowsy mind trying to decipher if this was just a dream or if he really was here.
She untwisted herself from the bed sheets before she made her way across the room to him. She embraced him holding on to him as tightly as she could. She was almost afraid that he'd disappear and prove that this was all a dream.
She moved back only enough to allow herself to reach up and press a gentle hand to his cheek. She frowned noticing how exhausted he looked. "You look terrible."
Crowley smirked chuckling at her observation. "Oh darling you really do know how to flatter a guy."
"Well it's true, you look like hell...no pun intended. When was the last time you slept... or showered or changed into some fresh clothes ?" She replied concern etched into her features as she studied his worn out appearance.
His shirt was wrinkled and his tie was nowhere to be found. His hair was a mess which was a change seeing as he rarely had a hair out of place. He clearly hadn't shaven and now his stubble was bordering on becoming a beard. His eyelids were heavy and he had dark heavy bags under his eyes.
She shook her head not giving him a chance to respond before she ushered him over to the bed. He let out a quiet laugh as she practically shoved him down on to the bed. Her strength had certainly grown since she had first become a demon and she seemed to be totally unaware of it.
"You're a bit desperate to get me into bed aren't you love ? Did you miss me that much ?" He teased as she began to unbutton his shirt.
"Hush. You know I've missed you but we aren't doing anything fun right now. Not until I'm satisfied that you've gotten enough rest." Grace scolded him as she pushed his shirt off his body frowning as she noticed that the shirt smelled like sulfur.
Crowley raised an eyebrow a little amused by how downright bossy Grace was currently acting. It did give him some reassurance that she had the ability to be demanding enough to rule hell.
He kicked his shoes off before he unfastened his belt kicking his pants off.
Grace bent down collecting his belt and pants as well. She dumped the shirt and the pants into the white wicker dirty clothes hamper a little unsure that any amount of washing would ever really be able to get rid of the sulfurous odor. She would almost prefer the clothing to smell like dirty body instead of smokey crap.
Smokey crap was the only way she could even begin to describe the smell. She was just thankful that Crowley himself didn't smell like his clothing.
Grace opened the dresser grabbing a fresh pair of black cotton boxers before she brought them back over to Crowley.
He took the boxers changing into them ignoring the fact that they weren't his usual expensive silk boxers. Honestly he was just thankful to have some fresh clothing.
Crowley kicked his socks off before he settled underneath the covers. He sighed as he finally spotted Growley.
The hellhound was asleep at the corner of the room where it could have the perfect view of the bed. It gave him a sense of relief to see that the hound had obviously been doing the task he'd left it with. He only hoped that Growley hadn't been too much trouble for Grace. She had seemed to be nervous with the task of being left alone with his favorite hound.
Grace got into bed beside him allowing him to pull her against him. She wrapped an arm around him, her body automatically relaxing against his.
They laid in silence for a moment before Grace spoke up her voice suddenly fearful as a sudden thought entered her mind. What if she woke up alone? "You'll be here when I wake up right ?"
"Yes I will. I promise." Crowley replied not liking how frightened she sounded. He hoped that he would be able to keep his promise. He silently promised himself that if he had to leave for any reason then he would wake her to say goodbye.
He ran his hand up and down her back thankful that she fell asleep without any hesitation. He only hoped that her sleep would be nightmare free for once.
It wasn't long before he found his eyes growing heavy as he drifted off to sleep for the first time in he couldn't even remember how long.
Grace felt her heart sink as she woke up in an empty bed. She sat up her eyes frantically searching the room for Crowley, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She sighed wondering if something had come up. He wouldn't lie to her about being here when she woke up right ?
She frowned as she smelled the rich smell of coffee. She couldn't remember setting he coffee pot the night before. She rarely bothered to set it since she didn't drink coffee all that often.
Grace climbed out of bed and walked out of the bedroom her disappointed mood lifting when she saw that Crowley hadn't left after all.
Crowley had clearly bathed and shaven. He had dressed in a fresh pair of black pants and one of his black shirts. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the black mens house shoes on his feet.
It was so strange to see him look so domestic sitting up at the dining room table relaxing and drinking a cup of coffee, staring down at the newspaper.
Crowley looked up from the newspaper smiling as he spotted Grace. "I thought I'd let you get some sleep. I made breakfast."
Grace widened her eyes a little surprised to spot the pancakes sitting out on the counter.
She hadn't thought that Crowley knew how to cook given that she hadn't seen him prepare anything that didn't come out of a box in the time that they'd been together. She knew for a fact that before they'd had to go on the run he had a cook to prepare his food. She guessed it made sense though. He couldn't have been around as long as he had without having to learn how to cook something.
Crowley watched her as she helped herself to some breakfast. He was happy to see that she had regained some of the appetite that she'd lost from the stress that they'd been under while in hiding.
He frowned as he realized that the stress would return once he told her that they would be going to hell as soon as possible.
He averted his eyes back down to the paper as she sat down at the dining room table to eat. He would at least wait until she had eaten to tell her the news.
Crowley just hoped that Grace would be able to handle hell.