Meet You In the Stars Tonight

“Keep you safe,” he mentioned, his accent thicker than ever as she stepped closer to him. He tilted his head, “Make sure you have everything you need. If you want, travel the world. Lots of things I can provide you with, Jenny.”

Crowley liked that she had taken another step closer to him. Her walls were beginning to crumble. If the girl was taken steps closer to him then that meant that she was more comfortable around him… and for some reason Crowley quite liked that. He wanted to reach out and feel her warm skin underneath his fingertips, the faint memory of the electric shock when it happened the last time he did it.

Crowley assumed this was going to be a tough one to crack. Jennifer wasn’t like the other flings he had ever had. She was tough and resilient—she spoke her mind with that smart mouth of hers. He could change it. In due time, Crowley, in due time… He thought nonchalantly to himself.

A smirk tugged his lips upward as she spoke again, he listened to ever word she spoke, hanging of the very edge of her voice. “You intrigue me. And frustrate me. And you are damn fun to poke and prod until you bite back. I like that.” He sighed fondly as he finished his sentence. “Are you sure you want me to back off?”

Jenny had tried to hold back the laugh that sounded from her lips but she couldn't help it. Her eyes narrowed as she took a slight step back, only so that she could size Crowley up. This had to be some sort of sick joke. There was no way that Crowley, a demon, was offering to help her travel the world. There was no way that something like that didn't come with some sort of hidden cost that Crowley simply wasn't willing to reveal just yet.

"Right. You, Crowley, a demon is offering to travel the world with me. But at what cost?" Jenny snapped, the ache in her chest becoming all too much to bear. She had worked hard for what little she had. Traveling had always been something that she wanted to do but it simply hadn't been possible. Not for another handful of years, at least. Not until her student loans were all paid off and she was more comfortable financially. But there was no way that he could know that, right?

"Besides," Jenny paused, her tongue darting out to wet her lips before she could even continue. "Besides, what makes you think I want to travel? Maybe I'm perfectly content where I am and I don't need, or want, to go anywhere!" She scoffed, shaking her head.

"You're ridiculous. I'm going home."

“Maybe I have done my research, darling.” Crowley commented, allowing another pet name to slip past his lips. He couldn’t help it.

Crowley wasn’t sure, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he listened to her turn down his offer. He wasn’t mad, he wasn’t upset, he wasn’t…. What was he? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his own earthly emotions as he continued to listen to her ramble on and on about what Crowley was going to do and what he wasn’t going to do. But hell, even Crowley had no idea what he was doing at this point.

There was anything that was tying the girl to him for the time being, no curse, no promise, no crossroads deal… No nothing. But why on earth did he want there to be? His eyes narrowed as she called him ridiculous and said she was going home. He allowed her to get a few paces in front of him before he used his power to stop her. He briskly caught up with her, looking her over as he circled her.

“Don’t you think that even demons and monsters could use companionship?” Where on earth are you going with this, Crowley. Just leave it be. He nodded his head, leaving her free of his hold and shrugged his shoulders. “Just something for you to think about, Jenny.”

Jenny's blood ran cold at the mention of research. Had Crowley been looking up everything there was to know about her? Surely he couldn't know everything and yet it seemed like perhaps he knew more than she was comfortable with, what with the way he was studying her so intensely.

She sighed, lifting a hang to run it through her hair as Crowley continued to speak. Jenny really didn't mean to but she let out a small laugh when he spoke of companionship. Demons and monsters needed company so they wouldn't be lonely? Surely it had to be a joke! Jenny would have never thought of something so outlandish before but when she looked up to Crowley, he seemed to be even more serious than before. "Sorry," she muttered, dropping her head down.

"Fine. If you can whisk me to the one place that I've always wanted to visit since I was little then I will give you a chance to be my... friend?" Jenny's face scrunched as she spoke, unsure of what word was the proper one to use. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down to her feet, taking a small step away from him. "Then we can call ourselves even."

Crowley smiled when he realized that her wall was finally tumbling, he was finally breaking through to her. She as letting him in. But what was the point of all this? What leverage was he going to be able to use if he had her on his side? She was a smart, witty, vigilante young girl… Maybe he could convince her to cross over—but for what reason?

“I’ll take you to more than just one place that you want to go, my darling.” He said, his eyes burning into her. “Just say the word, let me know this is what you really want and I will take you.”

Crowley watched her demeanor for a moment, waiting to sense any hesitation or restriction. When he didn’t see any, he stepped closer. Crowley brushed a loose piece of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He gave her another smile, nodding his head. “Close your eyes and keep them closed.” Crowley grasped her wrist before snapping his fingers. When they reappeared, his raspy, low voice spoke out once more. “You can open your eyes now, sweetheart.”

Jenny wasn't afraid by any means, she was just... she didn't even know what to call it. She was nervous because this was happening all too quickly for her. She had met Crowley weeks ago, sure, but she hadn't seen him since. Right up until now. She didn't know him, she only knew him well enough to know that he was a demon. What a demon was all about, she had no clue, but she doubted that she should be as trusting of Crowley as she was.

Her eyes slipped shut just as Crowley instructed, she took a sharp inhale as Crowley transported them. She began to shake a bit but pushed away the nerves as her eyes opened again.

"How'd you..." Jenny trailed off, unable to form the words that she actually needed. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips before she glanced toward him. "Don't answer that. I don't think I even want to know."

Crowley hadn’t felt feeling of humanity in such a long time—that was until he had stumbled upon poor Jennifer. The spark of happiness that happened with in him as he saw her eyes light up as she took in the scenery was almost unbearable. Why was this happening? A smug smile, one that was more genuine than Crowley had shown in many years, made its way onto his face.

“Beautiful, yeah?” He said as she shoved his hands in his coat pockets. He looked around with her, feeling pretty pleased with himself. To say that Crowley had done his homework on the young woman was a severe understatement. He had looked into the things she was interested in, even had one of his minions lurk around to see if they could find anything he hadn’t.

“There’s more places I could take you,” he breathed out, eyes not meeting hers. “It’s up to you, tho, my dear.”

Jenny hesitated for a moment before she lowered herself to the ground, eyeing the sun as it continued to drift ever closer to the ocean. "I don't even think beautiful begins to describe what it is," she answered in a voice barely above a whisper. Her head cocked to the side as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying her best to ignore the sensations curling in the pit of her stomach. In a place like this, it was almost hard for her to remember that the man who brought her here was a demon. He must have been after something from her... right? That could be the only reason that Crowley was being so kind to her. even if he denied it.

"I can't just come with you," Jenny started, taking a deep breath before she looked up to meet his gaze. "I have school and I have a job..." she trailed off, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Besides don't you have more important things to do than whisking away a girl to the places she's wanted to go since she was a little girl? Doesn't seem very... demonic of you, if you ask me."

Crowley let out a strained chuckle at her choice of words. He moved to where he was standing next to her, not daring to allow himself to sit down beside her. “Demons were humans once, too. At least, for the most part. Doesn’t mean that I don’t remember what it is like to have human feelings, sweetheart.”

Crowley looked out over the horizon, not remembering the last time he had felt the way he was feeling. His eyes narrowed and his head tilted as he took in the scenery. He let out a small, almost inaudible huff. “What is school and a job when you can receive things like this?” He questioned, his arm motioning to what was around them. “But if you do so insist you can stay in school, you know. Just know that you do have other options.”

Crowley brows furrowed and he looked down at her, “Unless you want to leave all this behind and give up this opportunity?”

Jennifer's heart skipped a beat at the innuendo that hung in the air between the pair of them. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she mulled over his words, trying to see between the lines to figure out what he really was wanting. Jenny was left with the strange sense that perhaps Crowley wasn't lying, that maybe he just wanted someone that he could feel human with.

"Life has a funny way of never staying the same," Jenny started, her voice quietly as she glanced down to her lap. "How do I know that if I went along with you, that you wouldn't just up and abandon me one day?" She asked quietly, finally lifting her head to meet his gaze. "Tell me. What would I do then?"

"Forgive me if I find trusting a demon a little more difficult than you would want me to."

“Kitten, do you really think that I would up and abandon you after I have chased after you like I have?” Crowley demanded with an exasperated sight. Why were human’s always looking for hidden meanings? If Crowley was saying something, he meant it. If he was offering to do something, that’s what it was. He couldn’t understand why she didn’t get that. “I always keep my promises, that’s the only thing that I can tell you, Jenny.”

Crowley turned his head away from her, he was sensing that she was about to just ask to be taken home and all of his efforts would have been washed out. But, what more could he expect? With a huff, he began to speak again. “You just tell me what you want sweetheart. That’s all I need from you.”

Jenny's eyes narrowed a bit as Crowley spoke. She shrugged her shoulders, picking at the grass beside her. She was quiet as Crowley continued to ramble on, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. She chewed on it, exhaling through barely parted lips. "I want you to not be lying but forgive me if it's a little difficult to trust a demon."

She couldn't help the laugh that fell from her lips as she looked up to Crowley, her brows pulling together. "Up until a few weeks ago, as far as I knew, demons weren't really a thing. Not... Not to your level," she murmured, motioning toward him. "I thought they were just things that lurked in the dark, not someone who comes along and grants a girl's every wish. Isn't that supposed to be the angels' department?"

Crowley took a chance and sat beside the girl, wanting to be closer to her as they spoke. He tried to think of how he wanted to put the words he wanted to say together. It had been a long time since he had found someone who had such a profound effect on him. “Well for starters, I always keep my deals. A deal is a deal is a fuckin deal, sweetheart. That is something you can always count on comin’ from me.”

Crowley looked over at her and offered her a small smile. “Like I said, I need companionship as much as the next person does. And for fucksake, you really think I can count on other demons? That is just as crazy.”

Jenny cursed to herself, deciding that there wasn't really a way out of this but forward. She didn't think that even if she told Crowley to leave her alone and just to take her home, that he would listen. He might back off for a few weeks but he would come around again and they would have the same sort of conversation until she finally decided to give him a chance. So why not give him one now? Save them both the hassle?

She looked over to him, straightening up a bit as she gave a slow nod of her head. "Fine. I'll give you a month and I'll decide then if this is something that I want to... continue? Whatever this is."

Crowley could have jumped for joy—could have. But what kind of image would that portray for the King of Hell? Needless to say, a small smirk with a raised brow was suffice enough to show his gratitude. Had it really been that easy to rope her into his life? Regardless, Crowley was happy with his work. A job well done for him.

Feeling brazen, Crowley looped an arm loosely around her shoulders, pulling her into his side for a one armed hugged. He removed his arm, his fingers brushing against her back, before he folded his hands back into his lap. “Good. What do you want to see next?” My precious pet, he added internally.

Jenny's brows pulled together as Crowley pulled her in for a hug, not bothering to return it but she relaxed into it anyway. She didn't really see a point in pushing him away when she had just agreed to accompany him for the next month. That wouldn't have been very fair at all, she didn't think.

Pursing her lips, Jenny turned toward him as she considered her options. "Your favourite place," she spoke, offering only the slightest hint of a smile before her eyes narrowed. "On Earth," she added, fixing him with a small glare as she huffed. "I don't want to visit anything that I wouldn't be able to reach via airplane."

Crowley let his tongue draw over his bottom lip as he thought for a moment. There were many places the man had seen over the past few centuries. It was hard for him to decide on just one place that he could pinpoint a memory of loving. He tilted his head to the side as a thought sprung upon him. He figured since he already knew so much about the young girl, maybe he would give her some insight on who he was.

With a snap of his fingers, they were in front of a lake. “I used to come here and think as a boy,” he mentioned. “Not the prettiest of places, but it is somewhere I often think about.” Crowley looked around as he took the sight in. "I use to live maybe, three or four miles from here as a kid."

Jenny couldn't deny that it was shocking to her, that Crowley truly did exist. She couldn't pretend like he wasn't any longer, she couldn't act as if demons didn't exist because quite obviously, they did. But that left a question burning in the pit of her stomach - if demons existed, what else existed out there?

Standing in front of the lake, listening as Crowley spoke, Jenny could only bring herself to nod. As much as she wanted to pay full attention to what he was offering her, all she could think about were the questions that seemed to be popping up like crazy in her mind. She cleared her throat as she turned toward the demon, raising an eyebrow before she spoke. "How old are you?"

Crowley raised his eyebrows at her sudden question, a small chuckle escaping his lips at her inquisitiveness. He shook his head and shuffled his feet, his gaze dropping down to the ground. “I don’t think you would like to know the true answer to that question, sweetheart.”

Crowley could feel that she wasn’t going to be dropping the question any time soon, as he could feel her eyes still staring at him. “Alright, alright, I will answer it dammit.” He smiled at her softly. “If you do the math correctly I may or may not be three hundred plus.” Crowley shrugged. “Stopped keeping track years ago, darling.”

For the first time since she had met Crowley, Jenny cracked a true smile in his presence as he agreed to answer her question. Maybe it was the faux annoyance that showed and the way his eyes crinkled as he watched her, Jenny didn't know and she certainly wasn't ready to confront it either.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if... if whatever hadn't happened?" Jenny asked after a moment, glancing over to Crowley again. She turned toward him, wrapping her arms around herself. "If you had just lived out the natural life that had been intended for you."