Chapter Text
“I’ll admit, I didn’t except to see you back here,” says the priest.
“That makes two of us,” says Crowley, crossing his feet so at least one of them isn’t touching the floor.
“What brought you back?”
“Not sure. Maybe I finally lost my mind for good.”
“Your namesake saint might be able to help with finding that.”
“Aren’t saints more of a Catholic thing?”
“Anglicans venerate saints. Helped me find my glasses last week, anyway.”
“I’d feel bad for asking, honestly.”
“Why?”
“Bigger problems in this world. Not wise to waste time on mine.”
“Never hurts to ask.”
Crowley chuckles darkly, “I beg to differ. Asking tends to get me into loads of trouble.”
“Well, you’re not in trouble with me. What’s on your mind?”
Crowley sighs, “Too much.”
“Sometimes when our minds are racing with thoughts, it helps to talk about some of them.”
“I guess,” says Crowley. After a brief pause, he starts, “I still miss him. Just as much, too. Thought it might at least get a little smaller with time.”
“But it hasn’t.”
“No. Still feels like the day he left.”
“Have you been in contact at all?”
“I don’t even know if that’s possible. And if it is, it stands to get us both into trouble. Not that, er, not that I’m on particularly good terms with anyone.”
“So, you’re mostly afraid of getting him into trouble?”
“S’pose that’s one way to put it. Besides, he made his choice.”
There’s that silence again, the not particularly comfortable one the priest isn’t willing to fill, because he thinks there’s something Crowley isn’t saying.
Crowley grumbles. “I suppose I made mine, too. He, uh,” he makes another vague discontented noise, “he did ask me to come with him.”
“I take it you said no. Why was that?”
“Well, I couldn’t. He must’ve known that I couldn’t.”
“Why couldn’t you?”
“Look, I’ll admit I didn’t leave on my own volition the first time but that place is just as bad as Hell. And he thinks he can fix it, just because they gave him an administrative position.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No. Some things are beyond fixing.”
“Do you think your relationship is beyond fixing?”
“That’s a big word.”
“Whatever you want to call it.”
Crowley takes a deep breath and lets it out.
“Beyond? Completely and utterly beyond? No, I don’t think so."