I moan as sleep fades and the afternoon claims me, my body violently protesting the night's events. My face is flushed and throbs with a pounding in my ears and my back and shoulder feel like an anvil is crushing them. I slowly sit up, rubbing my neck, which feels like it's shattered in several places. A movement under the covers draws my attention, and I look over to see Crowley rolling on his side, tugging more blanket coverage with him. He stayed this time. Or he can't move, like I barely can. But I took a hell of a lot worse beating than he did, though I wouldn't blame him for how tired he must be as well.

Still rubbing my neck, I quietly remove myself from the bed and venture out into the hallway, poking my head into different doors until I locate a shower. Eagerly, though still slowly, I get into the shower and bask in the hot water raining down on my bruised body. Each droplet hits my skin, blooming into a pool of warm comfort and trickling down into the drain. I'm so absorbed in the relaxation of the shower that I almost don't even notice when two strong hands snake their way up my back and begin to massage my shoulders. "Don't turn around," he whispers as he continues to work the kinks in my muscles. I sigh and relax into him. After a few minutes Crowley replaces his hands with his lips, trailing kisses down my neck, across my shoulder blades and down my arm.

I turn around to meet his kisses with my own. Our bodies are slick and slide against one another as we gently thirst for a taste of the other. It actually feels nice, moving seemingly so slow with him. There's no lust, no hunger, no pain; such a blatant difference from only several hours before that it's shocking. I sigh when he breaks away first, frowning at him. He takes my face in his palms and just looks into my eyes, smiling sadly at me. I cock my head and raise a questioning eyebrow at him. Crowley bends and plants one kiss each on my neck, my right eye. "Sorry about the bruises, love."

"I don't mind," I whisper, thumbing his cheek, surprised and a little disappointed that I didn't leave a mark on him. "They don't hurt too badly now."

"Regardless. That was some night you created, Ruby. You are full of surprises."

"Well," I say, reaching to turn off the shower, "I'm glad I could be of service to my king."

He heaves out a sigh when I step out of the shower. "Are you leaving?"

I pause, my hand hovering on the bathroom door handle. "Do you not want me to?" I reply, turning back to face him.

Crowley studies me for a moment before saying, "Not particularly. Though now that I think about it, I do have a couple of meetings today. Maybe you should leave and we could reconvene on a later date?" A pause. "Unfortunately so, love, it does breaks my heart. Or lack thereof, depending on who you're speaking with."

I purse my lips and pick up the marker on the sink, then write my number on his mirror. I close the distance between us and pull him to me, one last heated kiss to satiate my need for Crowley, an ever-growing doubt in my mind that he will actually seek me out again. Every part of me prays that he will, but I refuse myself the pleasure of that hope. Though I don't even understand why my feelings for this man are so strong, I never—I've never connected with someone this strongly before. Why is he any different?

I hope I don't find out.

"Use it as you wish, my king," I whisper against his lips, my breath hitching in my throat. When I pull back, there's a dazed look on his face, like it's the first time we have ever kissed. I leave him with that and take my leave, the shower starting back up shortly after I close the door behind me. I hurriedly go to retrieve my belongings before he's finished with his shower and run out the front door with all the dignity I can salvage.

"Fuck, Ruby, are you alright?" Meg's hands ambush my face and neck before I can take one step into apartment. Her eyes wander between the two bruises, her expression unreadable. Even though it was three days ago that I was with Crowley, they still looked pretty nasty. I wave her hands away and walk past her and into her kitchen, where I help myself to a glass of water. Meg slams the door and angrily walks over to me, nearly knocking my glass out of my hands. "Ruby?!" she yells in my face.

"I'm fine, Meg!" I shout back.

"Uh, no you are not!" she retorts, gesturing to my eye and neck. "Shit, did Crowley do this to you? I told you that he was bad, Ruby."

I sigh and run my hand through my air. "Well, yes," her eyes grow wide, and I put my hands up defensively, "but it's not what you think!" I rush out before she has a panic attack.

"How is it not what I think, Ruby! You obviously took a beating from that bastard, you poor girl," she whispers the last part, stroking my face. I smack her hand away again and receive an angry glare.

"I'm fine, Meg. Things just got a little…rough," I shrug my shoulders, "but obviously I'm okay, see? I'm still a walking, talking whore." I try to give her a smile to ease her worries, but nothing seems to be winning her over.

"How do you mean, things got rough?"

"I mean it exactly as I said."

"NO." Her eyes grow wide again. I smirk and go to dig through her fridge for any alcohol content. "Ruby, are you fucking me right now?"

I'm able to locate a bottle of beer in the back and smile at it. Straightening up and meeting Meg's eyes, I reply, "No, I am not fucking you, Meg. Yes, we had rough sex. Yes, I let him hit me a few times. Yes, I returned the favour. I'm fine, Meg."

Meg just looks at me, speechless. She runs a hand down the length of her face and sighs, finally breaking eye contact with me. "Wow, Ruby. That's all I'm gonna say on the subject."

"Thank you," I say, giving her a mock curtsey.

"Are you going to see him again?" she asks suddenly.

I pause. No. He's not interested. I'm finally getting a taste of my own medicine. "Truthfully? Yes, I hope so. I left him my number, but it's been three days."

"Maybe that's a good thing, Ruby," she says, devoid of emotion.

"Would you stop with the judgmental looks? 'To each his own' and all that."

Meg shakes her head, obviously still pissed, probably thinking that I'm lying to cover his ass. "Whatever, Ruby."

Quickly changing the subject, I prod, "So are you still up for games tonight?"

She shoots me a sad smile. "Of course, Ruby."

"Good lord, would you quit with the pounding!" I shout as I stumble to my apartment door. My toes somehow betray me to a chair and my face hits the door with a painfully loud thud. I moan and fight to keep my footing as I yank open the door. "What the fuck do you want?" I snap at the floor, trying to keep my balance.

"Shit, Ruby, what's wrong with you?" a female voice lulls. An arm wraps around my shoulders, but I whack it away and stumble back towards the general direction of the living room. My hand hovers around the length of the coffee table, trying to locate a bottle that wasn't devoid of liquid.

There weren't any.

"Ruby?" the voice asks again.

"I—I found a liquor store," I mutter, gesturing towards the empty bottles.

"And?" they prod. I squint in the direction the voice is coming from, able to identify the two blobs as Meg and Castiel after several moments. I glare at them, will them to leave my apartment.

"And I drank it," I snap, my voice rough. "What do you want? No, never mind, just—just leave. Go." Without waiting for a response I saunter into the kitchen and manage to get myself a glass of water without breaking anything.

"I don't understand," a raspy voice whispers behind me, "do we help her or do as she says?"

Meg rolls her eyes and replies, "Just do as I say, Clarence." Castiel tilts his head and looks at her with the ignorant eyes of a child. "Just…How about you clean up this mess?" She jerks her head towards the coffee table. Castiel gives a slight nod and begins the task appointed to him. Meg smiles approvingly at him, then joins me in the kitchen. "You okay, Barbie?" she asks hesitantly.

"Yes. No. It doesn't matter, I'll be fine. Thanks for caring, Meg," I answer sarcastically, finishing my glass of water.

"Yeah…no problem. The Crowley thing still getting to you?"

I sigh. "Maybe, yes." Meg puts a soothing hand on my shoulder. "It's been two weeks, Meg! I just don't understand."

"Neither do I. You never get this emotionally invested in a guy, and you certainly don't get batshit drunk over one, either." I shrug and lean my head on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure he'll call you. Soon," she comforts, stroking my hair.

"No. He won't. I was only his entertainment, his whore release. I told him not to waste his time on a whore like me, and I guess he fucking took me up on that. And what do you care, anyway? You fucking hated me with him."

Meg stays silent for a few minutes, then claps and says in a more upbeat voice, "Well! Me and Clarence, here, just came to kidnap you for the evening." Meg chuckles, amused at something. I don't try to understand.

"It's late, come get me tomorrow," I practically whine.

Meg smacks my shoulder. "It's not even eight, Ruby. Get dressed, we're taking you out."

Cas steps up to us and clears his throat, awkwardly raising his hand. "Are you sure? Maybe we should reschedule, considering Ruby's…condition, at the moment."

Meg waves his comment off. "Pfft. It'll be fine. Ruby, go get dressed."

"What's wrong with this?" I look down at myself questioningly. I was in my yoga shorts and tank top.

She snaps the hem of my shorts. "Nothing here. We are going out, which requires a tad more decency."

I sigh dramatically and say, "Fine. Give me like five minutes." I slowly make my way into my bedroom, only to stick my head back out and say, "Oh and please don't go fucking each other in there. I just had the place cleaned." Meg mockingly shoots me a 'thumbs up'.

Wanting to get whatever they hell wanted to do with me over with as soon as possible, I end up throwing on just my regular jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. I don't even bother with my hair. "Alright, losers, I'm yours." I mutter, coming out of my room, only to find them sucking face in the doorway. Way to rub it in. I scoff and maneuver right past them, straight out of my apartment.

The door closes and footsteps sound behind me. I shoot them the finger over my shoulder before I take the turn down the stairs. "Tonight is going to be highly entertaining," Castiel remarks.

"I'm not hungry," I comment as Meg subtly guides me into a restaurant.

"Too bad, sunshine. We're getting burgers," she lulls, giving me a little shove through the doors. "Oh and look! Company's all here, too." She gestures to a two-person table near the centre of the room with a man sitting on the end.

"Uh, Meg? Who the hell is that?"

"I don't know, Ruby," she whispers sarcastically in my ear, "let's go find out, shall we?"

Fuck, no. She didn't. Did she?The man at the table stands up when he sees us approaching, running his sweaty palms down his jeans before holding out his hand to me. "Hello, Ruby, I'm Canton."

Fuck. She did. Utterly speechless, I stand in front of his outstretched hand, eyes wide, my intoxicated body still having problems standing upright. Meg chuckles, taking my hand like a puppet and fitting it into his. "I'm not good with these sorts of things, but I am pretty sure this is when you would introduce yourself," Castiel's rough voice sounds in my ear.

"What's to introduce?" I reply, dropping my hand. "He already knows my name, apparently." Canton slowly drops his hand back to his side, smiling sadly to himself.

"Well then!" Meg chirps in. "Shall we get this over with?" She takes me by my shoulders and plops me down in the chair, whispering in my ear, "Play, nice now, sweetheart." I raise an eyebrow at her. Meg mouths a 'sorry' to Canton, then loops her arm through Castiel's and drags him away before I can protest. The temptation to scream 'Fuck you!' after Meg is too strong. I cautiously turn back towards Canton, who awkwardly hasn't taken his eyes off me.

Heaving out a sigh, I pick up the menu, only to put it back down again, the mention of the majority of those foods rising bile in my throat. "Who do I have to kill to get some french fries around here?" I mumble, looking around for a waiter.

"One should be coming 'round any minute now, I told one to come as soon as you got here…" Canton trails off, reading his own menu. I run my hand down my face. It's going to be a long night, and miss Meg is going to hear fucking all about it…

"Are you two ready to order?" A waitress walks up to our table, pulling out her pad and a pen.

"Yes, thank you," Canton answers before my mouth can form any words. "I will have a hamburger with fries, a Pepsi to drink. She will have a basket of french fries and a beer." He gathers together both of our menus and hands them to the waitress, who nods and disappears into the kitchen. I stare at him, dumbstruck. Who does this fucker think he is, ordering for me like that?Canton shrugs his shoulders and smiles. "You said you wanted fries, and Meg said you loved beer."

I don't give him the satisfaction of being right and glare at him. "Who are you, really?"

"A riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside of a taco," he replies, shooting me a cocky smile.

I shake my head and say, "I am so done right now."

"I take it Meg didn't tell you what was happening tonight?" Canton asks delicately.

"No, she did not. And I'm already seeing someone. Kind of." I sigh. "Not really."

"Well, then. That doesn't help with the awkwardness level at all!" he laughs. My mouth twitches somewhat into a smile. "What then, Ruby, would you be doing if we weren't here tonight?"

The waitress sets our drinks down in front of us and I eagerly grab my beer and down half of it before replying, "To be honest, I have been drinking all afternoon and was on the verge of passing out before Meg came and fucking kidnapped me."

He raises an eyebrow, studying me. "If you're trying to scare me off, Ruby, it's not going to be that easy."

I scoff. "Who said I was—"

Canton puts his hand up, cutting me off. "Because I've been where you've been. Both situations, actually. Your significant other must really be something if you're drinking yourself into oblivion during daylight hours and your best friend is setting you up with some weird guy," he says innocently, sucking on the straw in his Pepsi. I down the rest of my beer in one gulp. I don't like him.

The waitress returns, this time bearing my fries and Canton's combo meal. He gives her a curt nod and says, "Thanks, this looks amazing."

"You're very welcome, you two. Enjoy your date!" She shoots us both a smile.

"No, we're not—" I try and clarify, but she is already gone. "Fuck," I mutter, slumping in my chair. Canton laughs while I angrily pick at my fries.

"So, Ruby. Tell me about yourself," he says, taking a big bite of his burger.

I shrug. "What's to tell? I just got fired from my job for inappropriate sexual conduct and have been hopelessly been sulking around the past couple weeks waiting for that sadistic bastard to call me. Not very interesting, if you ask me." Canton chuckles, wiping his face with a napkin. "What."

"Nothing, it's just that I find that very interesting."

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Right. A drunk whore shows up as your date and you say interesting."

"Yes, actually, I do."

"You have a fucked perception of reality, Canton."

"Thank you," he gives me another cocky smile and resumes eating his meal. I awkwardly watch him eat in silence for several minutes before I finally begin working on my fries.

"Holy mother of sin," I mutter, staring at my fries. Canton practically chokes on his last bit of hamburger and looks up at me, eyes wide, raising an eyebrow. "Umm, have you tried these fries?" I ask, incredulous, waving one in his face. He fearfully shakes his head. "Amazing. It's like deep fried crack. Try some." I hand him my fry.

Slowly, with an odd expression painted on his face, he plucks the fry from my outstretched hand and takes a bite of it, then finishes it off, looking satisfied. "Ok…" he mumbles.

"Fucking good, right?" I prompt.

"Yes, indeed they are." He stares at me for a second more before bursting out laughing. "See, Ruby? You are a very interesting character." He replaces his plate with his basket of fries and I let myself smile. It stays silent after that, while we both finish our fries. Canton hails the waitress and gives her cash for the bill. "Shall we get going, then?" he asks. I nod and follow him, navigating us out of the restaurant.

"Is Meg ever coming back?" I blurt.

"Nope! It's still going to be just you and me," he replies, grinning at me with that cocky edge. He leads us up to a little blue car and opens the passenger door for me. "Do you live close around here?"

"You're taking me back to my place?" Canton looks at me questioningly. "Or I am taking you back to my place?" I'm really not liking him taking all the leads tonight. Granted, I am still pretty drunk, but I have never let a guy have this much control over a date. This is ridiculous.

He nods in understanding, then shrugs. "Whichever you like, I suppose," is all he says, then goes over to the driver's side and starts the car. God, he's vague. I sigh and get in the car, closing the door behind me.

"It's alright," I say when we reach my building, unbuckling myself, "You don't have to walk me to my apartment. I think I can manage that bit on my own."

Canton answers me by turning off the engine and unbuckling himself as well. He gestures to the building saying, "After you." I resist the urge to strangle him.

The silence only seems to grow in awkwardness as we ascend the stairs to my apartment. I praise the lord when we reach my door. "Well, this is me," I mutter, pulling out my key and inserting it into the lock.

Without any advance warning, Canton places his hand over mine, halting my attempt to open my door, and presses his lips to mine. I shy away at first, but he is persistent and grabs the back of my head, pulling me to him. I can taste the burger and Pepsi on his tongue, feel the grease on the hand snaking up my back. After a few moments, however, I think what the hell and grab a handful of his hair, moving my lips in time with his. The hand on my back slides back down and traces the waistband of my jeans to the front, where he wiggles it down, sliding his hand underneath my waistband and underwear. I break away from the kiss and glance down at his hand, wondering what the actual fuck is happening. This man is aguy, right? He cuts off my thought processes, fitting our faces together again, his mouth smiling against mine as he pushes me up against the wall. I don't have time to stop him before he jams his three fingers up my canal, making me gasp in surprised pain. While my dumbstruck mouth is figuring out what it should do, his lips ghost along my jawline, down my neck. His fingers continue to work inside me, pleasure actually starting to bubble up inside me. I moan.

"There you go," he whispers. I lean my head on his shoulder, my body shivering in anticipation, though I'm not sure what for; I've never been worked on like this. Canton continues to suck on my neck as I cling to him, wondering how long this is going to last when suddenly I feel my muscles unclench and he places a firm hand over my mouth, guiding me through my orgasm. My teeth grind together as he muffles my moans, my hands practically tearing at the back of his shirt. He gives one more thrust with his fingers before pulling out, bringing his hand up to tilt my chin towards him. "Shhh," he whispers, pulling his hand away from my mouth. I groan softly, pleasure still coursing through me as he brings our mouths together again. I pull him closer to me, deciding not to fight him anymore.

"Well, this is awkward," a thick, British accent purrs. Probably harder than necessary I shove Canton off of me and he cries out when he knocks into the opposing wall. I turn around to see Crowley casually leaning in my open doorway, hands tucked away in his pockets. I can't even bring myself to mask the embarrassment and shock that is now covering my face.

"Crow—you—" I stutter.

"Hello, honey, I'm home," he says, raising his eyebrows, a smile playfully tugging at his lips.

"Who the hell are you?" Canton asks, groaning, as he stands back up.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Crowley detaches himself from the doorway, closes the distance between us and kisses me softly. He pulls away and my wide eyes search his for any answers as to what the fuck he is doing here or anger or humour or anything, but I find nothing. He turns towards a dumbstruck Canton and offers him his hand. "Hello. The name's Crowley."

Canton hesitantly accepts Crowley's handshake, obviously as speechless as I am. He peers at me over Crowley's shoulder and opens his mouth, but shortly closes it, deciding against whatever it is he was planning to say. I swallow and speak first. "What the hell are you doing here, Crowley?"

He breaks off the handshake with Canton and comes to stand by me. Still eyeing Canton he says, "Well I do live here, don't I?" He asks playfully, smiling, still, in Canton's direction. What the fuck is he doing?!

Canton gestures between the two of us, understandably confused. Hell, I was confused! "You two—are you together, Ruby? You live together?"

My heart is pounding in my ears so loud that I can't hear myself think. "Um…" is all I am able to choke out. Crowley puts his arm around my shoulder, still smiling at Canton. I shrink away, trying to melt into the wall, wanting to disappear from existence. I don't think I have ever been this embarrassed or speechless in my entire life. Good god, shoot me now.

"And Meg still set us up?" Canton gasps, surprised.

"If I may interrupt this…whatever this is," Crowley interjects, "how about we all just cut to the chase, yeah? Canton—is it?—Canton is just leaving, then all of us are going to forget about the events that transpired tonight. Isn't that right, dear?" He asks the latter in a firmer tone, turning towards me.

Canton, out of his shocked state, sends me an angry glance then addresses Crowley. "My sincerest of apologies, sir," he says, his jaw clenching. "Had I known that she was already in a relationship, I wouldn't have entertained this date." A pause. "Or her sexual desires, for that matter," he adds, sending me a wink. Crowley stiffens, Canton obviously holding back amusement. "Ruby. Crowley." He nods at each of us, respectively. And with that, he turns and retreats back down the hallway, leaving Crowley and me alone inside a shit atmosphere full of awkwardness.

Once I witness Canton disappear down the stairs, I round on Crowley. "What. The. Fuck are you doing here?" I shout, storming past him and into my apartment. Does he really just think he can show up in my apartment, and after refusing me for two weeks? What the hell is this guy playing at?

Crowley follows, nonchalantly, clicking his tongue. "He called me 'sir'."

Wait. "How did you even know where I lived, let alone get yourself in here?"

"I'm not sure I like him, very poor choice in a suitor, my dear," he continues, completely ignoring me.

I snap in his face and yell, "Hello! Earth to fucking Crowley." Obviously entertained, he looks at me and smiles. "Are you going to answer me instead of droning on about a stupid fucking mannerism?"

He shrugs. "I made a few calls. Excellent locksmith, you got, by the way. Very pleasant man." I scoff and angrily trudge to the fridge.

All I see are empty shelves, devoid of any beer. "For the love of all that is fucking holy," I exclaim, slamming the fridge door.

"Looking for this, love?" Crowley dangles an opened beer between his fingers. My beer. Now it's personal. "Last one, too. Though, I'm still unclear on why you still drink this rubbish," he mutters, giving the bottle the evil eye.

I roll my eyes and easily swipe it from him, then down it like I've been parched for days. "Get out."

"Thirsty, much?" Crowley chuckles, obviously still viewing this as a joke. "You didn't even try and savour the taste of it. Or rather, get intimate with all its great components."

What the hell is he rattling on about? I shake my head, then regret it, the motion making my head feel like it was getting railed on. "What? No, just," I ramble, suddenly unable to get my words straight. I make a gesture at the door, though it probably comes off like a blind reach. "Just. Get. Out," is all my mind can communicate to my mouth, which has suddenly become uncomfortably dry. What…what is happening to me…?My legs become unfaithful to me and I collapse, my forehead grazing the counter top on my way down. Through blurred slits I make out Crowley bending over and pulling me to my feet, a supporting arm looped around my waist. I look up at him, knitting my eyebrows together. "You…didn't…" I slur, my voice then failing me as well.

"You're okay," he mutters soothingly, smoothing my hair back from my damp—is that sweat or blood?—forehead. "You're okay."

The darkness swallows me.