International (Sign) Language (Final Part)
“So, how did those denim jacketed nightmares get lucky enough to stumble upon you?” Crowley signed as your waiter set your drinks in front of you. Yours was sweet and tasted vaguely like strawberries.
“It started out with Dean thinking I was cute.” You laughed.
“When does it not?” Crowley rolled his eyes.
“He came and started talking to me,” you lowered your head and pursed your lips, imitating the look Dean had given you, “and thankfully it was slow so I could read his lips enough to know that he was laying on really thick. You should’ve seen his face when I started signing back to him.” Crowley chuckled. “As it turns out, Sam and Dean were supposed to be interviewing people about a ghost problem.” You paused. “I have this- knack for finding ghosts. At first they just took me along because I was too stubborn to let them go in by themselves. Then they were impressed because I could point out exactly where the ghost was going to show up. They said it was the fastest ghost hunt they’d ever done because, with me anticipating the ghost’s movements, they could do their digging and find out who and where the dead guy was. Then they left.” You shrugged. “But a few weeks later, they called- well, texted me. Another ghost hunt. They wondered if I was interested and, one thing lead to another and now I live with them.”
“Mr. Dean didn’t put on anymore moves?” Crowley smirked.
“No.” You laughed. “I think me being deaf was a little bit of a turn off for him.”
Crowley chuckled. “I highly doubt that was the reason.”
“You think?”
“Well, to man,” he gestured to himself, “your beauty is enough to overlook something as small as a lack of hearing.”
You scoffed.
“You’d be surprised how much good looks can affect a man.” He shrugged. “You had me under a spell the moment I laid eyes on you. By the way, you didn’t actually run into me in the Gas’n’Sip, I ran into you.”
You tried to glare at him, but you could only smile. “You really thought this out, didn’t you?”
“No.” He smiled smugly. “I just like to play it by ear.” You gave him a blank stare and fought a silly smile from your face just long enough to watch him realize what he’d said. His smile dissipated and he seemed to cringe slightly. “You- know what I mean.” He glanced at the tablecloth.
You laughed. “It’s fine.” You smiled at him and he smiled back. “I’m not like that.”
“Even if you were,” he visibly relaxed, “it wouldn’t change much on my end. Except for the puns. I would definitely watch out for those.”
Your food arrived and conversation slowed a little bit. While you chewed, you signed jokes and funny stories back and forth. It became apparent to you that he was either trying to make you choke on your food or spit it out with an uncontrolled burst of laughter. Toward the end of the main course, your phone, which you’d placed under your leg, buzzed. He must’ve heard it and he gestured to let you know that it was alright for you to answer.
Another message from the boys. Sam this time.
‘It looks like we’ll be a few more days. Sit tight. There’s some extra cash in my room if you need to make a food run.’
You kept your reply short and sweet and let him know that everything was fine. You wished them luck and told them to stay alive, then your phone went right back under your leg.
“Who was that, if you don’t mind my asking?” Crowley inquired.
“Just the boys.” You shrugged.
“Still alive, are they?”
You nodded.
“Well, I guess this night isn’t a dream after all.” He winked at you and you blushed a subtle pink. “The lines seem to be a bit blurred when I’m around you.”
Then you laughed. “You better have some crackers for all this cheesiness.”
“Oh, that will come later.” He chuckled. “Once you get to know me you’ll find that I’m saltier than ocean water.”
It wasn’t a feat to see the seriousness in eyes, but you could also see the need to keep things light. “I’ve never really had a taste for sugary things anyway.”
“I have a feeling I can change your mind.”
“I have a feeling you can’t.”
“Is that a challenge?” He cocked an eyebrow and he narrowed his dark eyes. Even though the change in his features was subtle, it sent a pleasantly warm shiver down your spine.
“Yes.” You smirked. “Yes it is.”
“One sweet-tooth, coming up.” He chuckled. Serendipitously, the dessert course arrived only moments later. Crowley was clearly amused and you could decide whether he’d planned it that way or not. Even though you’d only spent a few hours with him, you’d picked up on the fact that he liked to control situations to his benefit and keep you guessing. As difficult as he was to read, there were certain things that just seemed to jump out at you about him. They were the type of things that both clarified and confused you about him. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that he could be the most evil and cruel thing to ever walk this planet. If you could see aura’s, his would definitely be a color even darker than black. But at the same time, his eyes were like windows into his soul- or whatever it is demons have. Behind those dark, piercing spheres there was a broken man, still trapped within him. How far down within him, you couldn’t know. But you could see him peek out at you every now and again when Crowley became unsure of himself, when he thought he’d said or done something that would instantly make you turn and kill him. Throughout dinner, you slowly came to realize that his ‘pretending’ meant much more to him than he let on, and you couldn’t blame him. From what you knew of demons, they weren’t exactly people you could spill your secrets to; not that Crowley was treating your date like a slumber party. It was like a visible burden was lifted from his shoulders as he spoke to you truthfully. With every word, that broken man made more and more frequent appearances and you found yourself waiting with bated breath for the man inside him to stay.
Crowley looked at both of your clean plates. “This was a fantastic dinner.” A small twinge of sadness flashed through his eyes. “Thank you for pretending with me, dove.”
“Dates don’t have to end with dinner.” You offered him a small smile, which he returned.
“Care to join me for a walk then, love?” He stood and offered his hand to you. You blushed and took his hand. He led you outside into the festive air where people were now filling the streets for some kind of finale to their celebration. All of their faces were upturned and they watched the sky. You weren’t paying too much attention to them anyway, because Crowley had leapt into another story about how he’d gas-lighted the boys for a few weeks and nearly drove them mad. A warm glow began to pulse in your heart and the thought of potentially strong emotions blossoming inside of you scared you a little, but also enticed you. Where could this go? A hunter and the King of Hell. That would make for an interesting love story.
“I remember Sam telling me about that.” You signed excitedly. “It was just after I moved in. He kept saying things like ‘sometimes things disappear for no reason, and then reappear. Just don’t get freaked out by it. We’re trying to figure out if there’s a ghost or something in the bunker.’”
Crowley tossed his head back and laughed. “What else did he say?” Crowley searched your face eagerly. “They never really talked to me about the aftermath, so I’m a bit desperate for details.”
“When I asked Dean about it he got all huffy and started accusing Sam of taking his things. Then Sam walked in and heard almost everything and they started bickering like an old couple about who was taking whose things.”
Crowley smiled triumphantly and walked just a little taller.
“What are they celebrating?” You asked.
“It’s something like Valentine’s Day.” Crowley explained. “Here in Italy, they celebrate it in July. Roughly translated, it’s called Day of Love.”
Something burst in the sky, lighting up the heavens in white and pink sparks and a powerful sound wave vibrated through your head. You jumped and latched onto Crowley’s arm without thinking. When another blast lit the sky, you realized that it was fireworks. Crowley touched your hands and smiled down at you. You glanced at your shoes bashfully and let go of him.
“I know a place where we can see them better.” Crowley signed, then held out his hand. You took it and he mouthed, “brace yourself.”
The world flashed away. When it came back the ground was slanted, you were on a rooftop, and you stumbled and had to grip Crowley’s suit jacket to keep your balance. Without missing a beat he wrapped his arms around you and held you close even after you found your footing. Your fingers were clenched around the opening of his jacket and your arms were tucked in close. Like a deer in headlights, you looked up at him with wide eyes full of surprise. An impish smirk played on his lips and he squeezed you lightly with one arm while he brushed a lock of hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear. His hand lingered on your skin and goosebumps rose at his touch. Your heart jumped and your breath hitched in your throat. His body was warm and that’s all you could think of until another firework rocked the heavens. Slowly, your fingers uncurled and his now-wrinkled lapels fell back into place. Just to busy yourself, you tore your eyes away from his enchantingly dark gaze and smoothed them out as best you could. Even while you fiddled with his jacket, he stroked your cheek with one thumb. Your heart thundered in your chest and your hands started to shake.
This was crazy and completely reckless, and you wouldn’t have thought much differently if he was just a human. You hardly knew him and he hardly knew you, despite what he claimed about seeing your soul. That warm glow around your heart spread throughout your body, tingling at your fingertips. The warmth sparked into a fire, the flames licking and tickling your insides, stealing your breath away.
You knew it was utterly ridiculous when he tipped your chin up and a firework exploded behind him, crowning him with green sparks and adding a dark luster to his eyes. The sound wave thumped through the air and acted as kerosene to the fire inside of you. Time stopped and all that seemed to exist was the man in a dark suit that held you in his arms. He ran his thumb over your bottom lip and electricity crackled and danced over your mouth in its wake.
One right after another, fireworks shot up into the air in a grand finale display of reds, blues, greens, and pinks. Without a thought, you reached up and brushed his bearded cheek with your fingertips, then cupped his face in your hand. A final explosion shattered the dark sky and your indecision. Crowley eagerly accepted your lips with a desperate passion of his own. He explored the curve of your waist and pulled you even closer to him. At first he seemed to be attacking your face. Wildly aggressive affection flooded you at his touch and he seemed to cling to you like a dying man to life. Then, slowly, his aggression turned into soft, sweet kisses that made you melt. He ran his hands along your body, finding particular pleasure in slipping his fingers beneath the hem of your peek-a-boo shirt, and made you feel as if you could fly. You were weightless in his arms and time didn’t exist. He handled you with care and made your heart swell almost painfully in the most beautiful way. Although it lasted longer than most, the kiss ended too soon. Your entire body felt warm and a little numb with shock; you couldn’t believe what just happened. With one arm holding you tight against him, he signed, “Thank you.”
Your hands had travelled up and through his hair. He slid his hand up your neck and ran his fingers through your hair. You were so stunned that you almost didn’t register that he was speaking.
“You’re beautiful.” He started speaking faster, almost too fast. “This was a fantastic night, and I hope we can do it again. You’ve stirred something inside of me that-“ he hesitated, “I hope you can’t read lips this quickly, but I can’t very well hold it in, can I? Darling, you could cure me with how strong I feel about you right now, which is definitely saying something. I feel a little too human around you, which is recklessly dangerous, but I don’t want to give that up.” He kissed you sweetly, then released you and reverted back to sign language. “Can we do this again?”
“As long as you don’t start talking that fast again.” You couldn’t hide the blush that burned in your cheeks. “I could barely keep up.”
This time Crowley smiled bashfully and it was all you could do to not let you knees buckle out from under you. “I’ve a tough time biting my tongue.”
“It was sweet of you to say.” You moved closer and he accepted you in his arms. He smelled like cinnamon and you smiled. Everything disappeared and, before you knew it, you were standing outside the bunker again. You could have stayed out in his arms forever, just taking in his scent and feeling your heart beat slowly pound against your chest as it swelled and glowed. You’d never felt that way, and never so quickly had you fallen for someone like you did with Crowley. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and before too long, he let go of you.
“You should probably head in.” He glanced around. “I can’t stick around for too long.”
“Why not?” You couldn’t hide your disappointment.
“As the King of Hell, I make a few enemies.” He kissed your hand. “I’ll have to disappear for a little while, but- can I see you in a few weeks?”
“Of course.” You smiled softly. “Any time.”
“Until next time.” He kissed your forehead and slipped something into your hand. It was your cellphone. He winked, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. In a daze, you stumbled back into the bunker, a goofy grin plastered on your face. Strangely, you felt drained, but in a blissful, fuzzy sort of way.
Reckless or not, you thought as you drifted off to sleep in Sam’s bed, this was a good idea.
~Barbie~
