It's just the power to charm

[caycep]

((Closed to Cayce, Azi, Crowley, and Ellie. Backdated to a day or two after the Bentley Babes caper.))

Cayce wasn't jealous. That much was easy enough to define; she cared for Crowley a lot, but not That Way. And notwithstanding her admission at the community Truth or Dare game, she definitely wasn't queer for Ellie either, although she certainly liked her well enough. Actually, she thought the two of them pairing up was kind of cute.

But for reasons she was still hard pressed to identify, she was a little perturbed when the two of them up and vanished from the lake party, and clearly Aziraphale was too. They'd exchanged a few half-heartedly snarky (and subtly worried) comments at the time before finally sort of shrugging it off, and Cayce had said something about coming by the tea shop later.

So now she was suiting action to the word. She sort of hoped that Crowley wouldn't be around. It'd spare everyone a touch of awkwardness.

Comments

[caycep]

Cayce's own smile was a bit thin, although she was definitely glad that Crowley didn't seem to have flown off the handle over the whole debacle. She had to assume that the conversation with Aziraphale had gone well.

"Hey Crowley," she said. "So I, uh, I guess you've been filled in, huh?"

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," he muttered. "Apparently we were all fucked over by the Greek slattern." Crowley glanced between the two women before training his sunglasses on his snakeskin shoes. "And although it turned out all right in the end, we might not have been so lucky."

He looked up. "So I have every intention of teaching her not to screw with us again. Interested?"

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

...turned out all right in the end... Ellie felt momentarily lightheaded with relief at what that statement implied. "Count me in," she said at once, "what'd you have in mind?"

[caycep]

"Me too," Cayce said. "For whatever that's worth."

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Means a lot to me," Crowley replied quietly. But it was only a brief instance of sentimentality. He was all business the next moment.

"You both know the story of Aphrodite and the golden apple, yes?"

[caycep]

Cayce frowned. "I ... yeah, I remember. That was the beauty contest, right? The apple inscribed 'For the fairest'. And whatsisname awarded it to Aphrodite and that all led to the Trojan War, right?"

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. She totally cheated, the wench." Ellie rolled her eyes. "If I hadn't met her I'd think it was an apocryphal story, but she really is that egotistical."

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

"What if she can't cheat this time?" asked Crowley shortly, expecting they'd both pick up on the implications in the question.

[caycep]

Cayce raised an eyebrow. "If ... someone else beats her to it, say?"

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Oh, let's just say that it's possible that Paris could induced into preferring her daughter-in-law this round..."

[caycep]

Cayce snickered. "Ah-ha. I think I get your meaning." A thought occurred to her. "You don't think that'd cause, um, more trouble than's already been, do you?"

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

Crowley didn't really care if it did, to be honest, but Cayce obviously did, so he shrugged. "She can't do anything that I can't prevent when I'm aware of what's going on. If Ellie and Aziraphale tag along as well, I shouldn't think there'd be anything to worry about." He glanced at the succubus to get her thoughts on the matter.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's good. That's very good." Ellie laughed low in her throat. "You're evil. And I mean that in the best possible way. Where, when and who else?"

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

He laughed. It was nice to be validated once in a while.

"I was thinking in a fortnight on the Snow White stage. If I've got you, Ellie, Antoinette, Aphrodite, and Psyche - maybe Angela, too - it'd be enough, but more could participate if they wanted to."

Crowley turned to speak frankly to Cayce. "I won't say that you can't be part of this, because you sure as hell deserve your piece as much as we do, but I'd be a fuckload happier keeping you out of this one. Or at least out of direct view. I'm sure we could use someone to keep an eye on things behind the scenes..." He didn't want Cayce to think that he thought that she wasn't pretty enough or strong enough to participate, but as the only mortal in the group, she'd be a lot more vulnerable than the others and Crowley's interest lay in keeping her safe.

"As for the rest, I was thinking that Kira would enjoy playing host and we can have a small panel of judges just to look legitimate."

Then the demon gave an evil grin. "You know, I've always wondered what an Ancient Greek would wear in a swimsuit competition..."

[caycep]

Cayce nodded, not entirely happy, but seeing the sense of what Crowley said. "No, you're right ... I should probably stay out of the direct line of fire, considering. But I do want to help out any way I can." She laughed. "And Kira would love to play host, I bet anything."

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

"I'll think of something important for you," he promised. "You wanna ask him or should I?"

[caycep]

"I'll ask. Since he basically lives next door to me, it'll be easy enough to catch him." She grinned. "And I look forward to seeing what role you devise for me."

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

There was already an idea sort of percolating in the back of the demon's mind for her, but he needed to get Kira on board first. "All right. Don't let him in on our plans. Just pitch it as one of those social ideas you had to build community or whatever."

Crowley glanced at the succubus who was being unusually quiet. "Actually, do you mind doing that now?" he asked Cayce. "I, uh, need to talk to Ellie for a bit..." Planning revenge was fine for three, but reassuring your lover that you still like her despite forcibly losing your six thousand year virginity was really more appropriate for two.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Crowley couldn't know it, but today he was getting a glimpse of what Ellie was like back home, where things like laughter and idle chatter among friends were neither often called for nor particularly safe.

She smiled half-heartedly, tucking her feet up under her and folding her hands in her lap. Striking a vulnerable pose in a situation like this was the habit of long experience, but it wasn't entirely an act. The possibility of rejection--the real thing, not prompted by moral or spiritual concerns--wasn't one she'd often had to face. She didn't have to be in love with him to care what he thought or be subject to getting hurt; empathy was a necessary part of her job (and arguably, one of the curses that came with it.)

[caycep]

"You got it," Cayce said to Crowley. Yeah, definitely time to leave the two demons to sort things out between themselves. She stood and made her way to the door. "I'll go search him out. You guys know where to find me if you need me."

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

The serpent never said thank you, of course, but he nodded gratefully at Cayce. He'd make it up to her later.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Ellie, on the other hand, played by no such rule. "Thanks, sweetie. I'll catch up with you later," she told Cayce as the other woman headed off.

Once Cayce was out of earshot, she risked an uncertain glance up at Crowley, unable to read his face with those damn sunglasses masking his eyes (not that it was really that much easier without them.) "So...what now?"

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

Crowley shrugged, trying to surreptitiously read Ellie's expression in return and gain any information he could. It wasn't much.

This was all pretty new to him, so he did what he always did: made shit up as he went along. The demon indicated the bed.

"Well... mind if I sit, first?"

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Sure." She patted the spot beside her. The formality felt odd, but also lent a modicum of security to an otherwise deeply unnerving situation.

[anthony-crowley.livejournal.com]

Sense memory was a funny thing. Merely sitting on the bed they'd so recently shared was enough to remind Crowley of the silken feel of Ellie's bare skin beneath his fingertips, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her hair...

He curled his fingers into a fist, trying to exert some control.

"Ellie, I... Well, I fucked up, plain and simple." It was a difficult admission to make, but she deserved the truth. "I pissed off Aphrodite and I was too damn smug to worry about the consequences. I never thought she'd screw around with anyone else to get back at me." Crowley knew the technique, of course, but he generally preferred to deal directly with the person he had an issue with rather than drag in all and sundry.

When he spoke again, his voice was soft and hesitant. Uncertainty didn't suit the serpent, but there were times for the sword and times for the apple...

"If it means anything to you, I would never have ever approached you on my own, but I'm not sorry that it happened - even if she had no right to pull that shit."

He chanced another look at Ellie. "And, uh, depending on how you feel, I'm not adverse to... continuing. As friends." That much should be made pretty clear up front, Crowley figured. He didn't want to lead her on.