Archive of Our Own

Once Upon a Time in Mesopotamia, Ohio…

           At a diner, not any different from most diners around the rest of the United States, there sat an angel.  Her name was Naomi, not that the diners around her knew it or cared to know it.  And that was fine by her.

           A waitress—a young woman, in her mid-twenties who had already birthed two children and was clearly distressed to be working the night shift—arrived at Naomi’s table, smiling down at the angel who sat there.  Naomi glanced down at the over-large, laminated menu in her hand, her blue eyes scanning it as if she had just freshly discovered a new Rosetta Stone.  She pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her hair, pausing for just a moment to consider its length.

           “Do you need more time?” the waitress asked, not one ounce of impatience in her voice.

           Naomi squirmed just a little in her seat, the fabric of her gray, ladies business suit causing the orange vinyl to squeak louder than she would have hoped for.  She bit lightly at her bottom lip, freeing one hand to tap a finger on the brown, faux-wood grain table.

           “What would you recommend?” she asked finally, glancing up.

           The waitress—Naomi glanced up to see that her name was Sue, clear by the name-tag worn over her left breast—huffed out a laugh.

           “Um… never been asked that before,” she murmured.

           Naomi blinked.  She didn’t want to stand out, quite the opposite.  She wasn’t on any heavenly mission here, just trying to find a quiet place for peaceful contemplation.  She flashed a sheepish grin—one she had practiced on mud monkeys before—and chuckled.

           “I’ve been on a rather… strict diet.  It’s been years since I’ve eaten... fast food,” she struggled for the right wording.  “If you were breaking the rules, what would you eat, Sue?”

           This brought a broad, genuine smile to the girl’s face.  She leaned over Naomi, and the angel breathed deeply of the floral perfume she wore.  The waitress flipped the page of the menu, pointing to an item at the very bottom of the right-hand page.

           “The… Super Ultra Mega Fudge Sundae?” Naomi questioned, double-checking to see if she’d read that right.

           “I’d skip dinner, and go directly to the most decadent dessert I could fine… If I was breaking the rules.”

           Why not?  Naomi snapped the menu shut, handing it back to Sue.  “I’ll have that.”

           The young woman assured her that her order would be right up, and she bustled back off to tend to the other patrons.  Naomi sighed, folding her hands politely on the table before her.  Then, after a moment of consideration, she moved them to lay flat, about six or eight inches away from each other.  And after another moment, she dropped them to the sides.  That felt more awkward than the first two moments, so she finally crossed them across her chest and huffed.

           Free will was hard.  She had only been experiencing it for one human month, but that was what she had concluded.  She had no idea what to do with herself.  Not since Castiel—God’s favorite, as he was being called now—had arrived back in Heaven after stopping the Apocalypse.

           That alone boggled Naomi.  Castiel and his mud monkey friends had stopped the Apocalypse.The Apocalypse… the omega to the world’s alpha.  Who does that?  Who just decides to stop the ending to all things?  Naomi should have known it would be Castiel, as many times as she had “met” with him over the years.

           But Castiel giving the angels free will proposed quite a problem for Naomi.  After all, she was Heaven’s… programmer, for lack of a better term.  Free will utterly and completely opposed everything that she did.  With this new freedom came the end of everything she had known since God had given her life.

           What does an angel do when her freedom means her lack of identity?

           That thought circled her mind when Sue returned with her sundae.  It was a massive mountain of a thing, with three huge scoops of vanilla ice cream; smothered in hot fudge; strawberry topping; banana topping; some sort of mixed berry topping; crushed walnuts; sprinkles—rainbow and chocolate; whipped cream; and three cherries—one for each mound of ice cream.  And they had even slapped an American flag on top.  Naomi blinked at the thing, thanked Sue, and lifted her spoon.  She dug in as far as she could, trying to sample all the flavors at once.  She managed, but with only a little bit of the actual ice cream on her spoon, and shoved the bite unceremoniously into her mouth.  In all truth, it was her first bite of human food.  And it was glorious.  She moaned a little, going in for another bite, when the bell of the diner sounded.

           She glanced up, turning quickly back to her ice cream, before she glanced again.  Four demons had just entered this place.  She could see them, their true faces—all warped and blackened from their stint in Hell.  Naomi sat her spoon down, using her natural gifts as a celestial being to listen to the diseased things as they spoke using stolen mouths.

           “He wants a werewolf now?” the first one, dressed like he was attending a business conference, asked.

           The one dressed in red flannel nodded.  “Yeah.  Says that the vampire was going nowhere.  He wants a break from the monotony.”

           The next one, the only female in the group, rolled her eyes.  “Then we better get him what he wants.  Good thing I sniffed out a dog about a couple of blocks from here.”

           The last one, this one built like a lumberjack, clicked his tongue once.  “Then what are we waiting for?”

           “I want a drink,” the female whined.

           “This is a diner.  The only drink you’re gonna find here is soda or water.  Dumb bitch,” the business man huffed.

           She grinned sardonically at him, her head cocked to the side.  “Fine.  Let’s go.  But you call me a dumb bitch again, and I’m going to rip your heart out of your chest, ‘kay?”

           The men of the group shrugged, turning and leaving just as suddenly as they had entered the place.  Naomi clenched her hands, now dangling from either side of her.  Was this her first test of free will?  She could clearly just ignore the creatures, letting them go to destroy one of Eve’s creations.  Or she could do as any angel should do, and burn them with all the power of Heaven at her command.  Fire ran in her veins at the thought of burning the demons, and she could feel a small smile forming at her lips.  She decided.   She stood, throwing down a handful of bills onto the table for her partially eating ice cream, and left the diner.

           She could smell the trail of sulfur left in their wake, as well as hear their chattering.  She turned, easily, in their direction, and followed behind.  It was easy to maintain a safe, unseen distance behind the abhorrent things, still listening to their complaints of being reduced to “hunters.”  They spat out the word with such disdain.  Naomi could just as easily fly and come in ahead of them, but… she had never hunted her enemies before.  It was… exciting.  Before this time of angelic free will, such a thing would have been completely inaccessible to her.  But now she let fire fill her veins as she listened to a snarl in the distance—too far ahead for any human to have possibly heard.  Scrapes and scuffling followed after, and Naomi knew that the demons had engaged their werewolf in battle.

           What did these things want with a werewolf, anyway?  What good could such a creature be for a demon?  And who had the dirty things meant when they had said, “he”?  He wanted a werewolf now.

           But Naomi brushed her thoughts aside as she rounded the corner of a dark alleyway.  She could see, despite the shadows, the werewolf hunkered down at the dead end, snarling.  She could smell the blood, human and demon mixed, on its breath.  And she could see the body, mangled and probably missing its heart, sprawled between the group of demons she had seen at the diner and the werewolf.  The human blood was also scented on the hands of the female demon.  Naomi made the note to herself.  They had baited the monster, brought it to this alleyway.  A closed off trap for an animal.

           “Here, puppy, puppy,” the lumberjack demon mocked.   “Come to Daniel.”

           It was sickening enough as is.  If this was free will directing Naomi, telling her to smite these horrid things, then she would gladly oblige.

           “Enough of this,” she said, using her best, holiest voice.

           Even the werewolf seemed to pause as the demons turned.  The one in the suit grimaced.

           “Who’s the bitch?” he asked, jerking a thumb in Naomi’s direction.

           “Naomi,” the angel in the alley answered honestly.  “Your destroyer.”

           The demons guffawed and chuckled, and the werewolf saw its window.  It leaped cleanly over the demons, clearly aiming for its new, larger threat: Naomi.  But she was ready.  She simply held out a hand, laying it flat on the beast’s chest as it came to her.  A flash of blinding white light later, and, using the monster’s own momentum, she flung it to the pavement behind her.  It moved no more.  She turned now to the demons.  They weren’t laughing anymore.

           “Whore,” the female hissed.

           “Not likely,” Naomi countered.

           “Do you know how long it took us to find that damned thing?” the demon named Daniel growled.

           “Too long, as this planet is riddled with creatures such as this, judging by your tone,” the angel grinned.

           “We’ll find another one.  Let’s get out of here!” the one in the business suit said.

           But Naomi was faster.  She stood before the female in a flash, placing a hand to the demon’s forehead.  The light filled the alley again, and with screams, the demon burned away.

           “Shit!” Daniel shouted, making it a few more steps before Naomi repeated her actions with him.

           When the bodies of the two demons lay around her, she turned to the third.  He was pressed against the back wall of the alley, frozen in fear he had likely not experienced since his first arrival in Hell.  Naomi approached him slowly, knowing that he had reached the point of fear that causes a lack in motor function.  She was less than a foot from him when she lifted her hand, ready to destroy, when she paused.  She bit her bottom lip lightly, rolling a singular thought around in her mind.  If she was a free angel, with truly free will, then why should she kill him?  She didn’t have to follow the commands of another angel anymore.  There was no point to this.  The fire in her veins was gone.  She dropped her hand, leaving the demon unharmed.

           “Huh?” he said, clearly in shock.

           “Leave.  And thank whatever God you worship that I spared you.  Go.  Now.”

           He vanished in a blink, and Naomi turned her eyes skyward.  That was enough free will for one day.  Tomorrow, on this planet, was another day, and she would think more on her dilemma then.  But now, she craved her Heavenly home, and it was to there she would return.

#

Long Live the King…

           Naomi chose the same diner the next day, choosing also to arrive while the sun was still shining.  She chose the same booth, but had a different waitress—this one a bit older, named Karen.  But the angel followed Sue’s idea once more, and skipped the savory items on the menu, ordering the apple pie a la mode.  She did it almost immediately after sitting down, sending Karen on her way back behind the long bar that ran almost the entire length of the diner.  Naomi had made a lot of choices recently, but she knew that she must have made little choices like these in the past.  Back when she, occasionally, had to pop in on the humans.  Why was it so different now?  Why did they weigh more heavily on her?  Just because Castiel proclaimed them free?  Well, Naomi knew first-hand that that particular angel had always had a problem with authority.  He had been to see her many times over his existence.  Not that he remembered that.  It was all part of her duty—her job, to put it vulgarly.

           Karen arrived back with her pie, which was so warm and gooey it was melting the large scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Naomi thanked the woman, sending her away, and began to eat on the dessert.  She quite liked ice cream, the angel had decided, just as the diner’s bell rang.

           She was going to ignore it, given what had transpired last night.  But her gut, something that Naomi had not gotten much use out of before, told her to look.  And, in the spirit of discovering free will, she did.

           The man that had entered the diner was a demon.  Naomi could see his true face, appearing and disappearing beneath the surface of the meatsuit he inhabited.  But on the outside, the body he wore, was a refined looking gentleman.  He was dressed all in black in a modern-style leisure suit.  He wore a long overcoat, despite it being a moderate temperature outdoors.  The tie he wore underneath was a charcoal gray, and it only made the toothy smile he flashed Naomi as he caught her eye all the brighter.  Running a hand through his dark, thinning hair and down his bare, rounded face, he made his way over to her as if she had been expecting him.  He took the empty seat in the booth across from her, waving off Karen the Waitress before she could even approach.

           “Now, I’ve heard tell,” he said, drawing out the words with a deep, English accent, “of an angel who killed two demons and a werewolf, only to spare the third demon in the party.  And I wonder… if it won’t be the last mistake this angel ever makes.”

           He was trying to frighten her.  It didn’t work.  In fact, if Naomi had to place a human reaction to his words, she would think that she found the attempt cute.  She blinked once at him, smiling a small, guarded grin.

           “Crowley, the newly appointed King of Hell,” she said.

           Crowley’s brow arched.  “You’ve heard of me?  I’m flattered.”

           Naomi gently shoved her pie to the side, shrugging.  “We’ve kept a close eye on the politics of Hell since the averting of the Apocalypse.”

           “Well, then, I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, darling.  You seem to know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

           She considered not giving it.  Just flying away.  She was angel, and he was but a demon.  He was beneath her, and her leaving wouldn’t be a problem.  Except, she was still contemplating free will.  She was still trying to understand her place in a world where angels had free will.  And she was still trying to understand how to use free will.  So, tight-lipped, she answered.

           “Naomi.  And to be clear, about last night, you should be grateful I spared the unclean thing.”

           “Doing me a favor?” Crowley questioned, a sly grin forming.

           “Not in the least.  It was a by-product of my… trying to understand free will.”

           Crowley leaned in, and his entire demeanor seemed to have changed.  He had seemed a fine mixture of defensive and offensive when he began this conversation, but now all that had melted away.  He clasped his hands on the surface of the table, and now seemed only curious.

           “An angel… trying to understand free will?”

           Naomi cocked her head to the right.  This was not at all what she had expected.  After all, she had slaughtered two of Crowley’s minions just the previous night without even breaking a sweat.  This was a fact that she was almost positive that the surviving demon would have mentioned.  She expected Crowley to attack her, or to flee.  But not this.  Not this… simple curiosity.  Caught completely off guard, she could think of no verbal response, so she just shrugged.  Crowley laughed, leaning back and stretching out just a bit for comfort.

           “You’re a funny thing, you know,” he chuckled.

           “How so?” she asked.

           “Castiel, God’s favorite, has given free will to angels—thus starting a civil war in Heaven… and all you can think to do with this gift is to let a demon go?”

           Naomi went rigid, her lips pursed even tighter.

           “It’s none of your business what my reasoning was.  And it’s none of your business what I choose to do with my freedom.”

           Crowley shrugged, and neither spoke for a time.  Instead, they seemed to be eyeing one another, trying to figure the other out.  Naomi searched the demon’s face, finding herself irked by the grin that was always ghosting just behind whatever expression he seemed to stare at her with.  And she hated to even begin to think it, but he was right.  As a first, real exercise in free will, letting a single demon go was kind of lack luster.  But, therein was her problem.  She was new to this, and had no idea where to start.

           “What would you do?” she said before she had realized the words had even left her mouth.

           “Pardon?” Crowley asked.

           She rolled her eyes, not wanting to repeat the question, but did anyway.

           “If you had a newfound freedom, what would you do with it?”

           Crowley lifted both brows for a moment, before putting on a semi-serious face.

           “You mean, besides what I’ve already done?  Gee, let me think,” he said.

           “Be serious.”

           “I am.  I would, in no particular order, eat the most terribly unhealthy things possible, destroy any and all possible and future possible enemies, party, and last, but not least, fuck my brains out.”

           Naomi couldn’t control it, try as she might.  She blushed, feeling the heat of it fill her from head to toe as her eyes darted downward.  This had to be a by-product of free will, as it used to be difficult to get her to elicit any sort of emotion.  She cursed herself for the weak move anyway, and she could feel the demon’s eyes on her.  When she dared lift her gaze again, they were alight with a truly devilish grin.  She found herself shrugging again.

           “I… had considered it.”

           “But you haven’t done it because… our little angel-girl is a virgin,” Crowley deduced.

           She sat as straight as possible, meeting the King of Hell’s eye.

           “Angels aren’t supposed to lie with man.”

           “But what about demons?”

           Naomi had never vomited.  Angels didn’t have to eat, so vomiting wasn’t a possible reaction.  But she figured that the convulsion that shot through her in that moment was as close as she was going to get to understanding what being violently ill felt like.  She slid out of her seat, standing.  She turned to glare down at Crowley.

           “I believe it’s an understood rule.”

           With no other words exchanged, she left.

#

The Ritual…

           She could have gone somewhere else.  She was pretty sure that that was a fundamental part of free will, being able to choose not to return to the same diner day after day.  But she didn’t.  Instead, Naomi returned to the same diner the next day, ordered another dessert, and sat in the same booth.  This dessert, a lukewarm brownie that tasted burnt at the bottom with another scoop of vanilla ice cream was less satisfactory than the previous two.  She ate at it idly, staring like a madwoman at the door of the diner.  Her mind drifted, not something that happened to her often—if at all.

           Her brain was humming, just buzzing, with ideas.  Ideas about her new freedom, possibilities of things she could do with it—or not do, as that was just the same concept.  Choice was hers, and she felt like a child in a candy store with a million dollars to spend.  The brownie, once the ice cream was eaten, was left forgotten in the bottom of the dish.  She just tapped her spoon absently, still staring at the door.  So many ideas…

           Naomi would be lying if she had said that the demon Crowley had had nothing to do with setting her aflame with these thoughts.  But it was him, all the same, with his little list playing on repeat in her mind.  Only, she was adding to it, clarifying it.Trying to decide on things she might actually enjoy—enjoyment having not been a top priority for most angels just a year or so ago.  She could do them all, every little thing she thought about.  Everything from take over the world, or just tossing this dish of half-eaten dessert into the floor like a petulant child.

           But she didn’t want to rule the world.  And she didn’t want to send this dish crashing to the ground.  In truth, she was still unsure of what to do at all.  It was then, almost as if in answer to a desire she dared not name, the door opened.

           Crowley grinned at her and made no hesitation to take the seat across from her.  He snatched the spoon from her hand, digging it into the brownie, and taking a large bite.  He grimaced, tossing the utensil back into the dish.

           “Well that’s just rubbish.  They’ve burned it,” he noted.

           “What are you doing here?” she whispered feverishly, as if her superiors—who were honestly questionable and too busy anyway—might see her dining with the King of Hell.

           Crowley laughed.  “I so enjoyed our conversation last time, I thought I’d continue it.  Besides, my… newest company can be less than entertaining at times.”

           He had a sneaky smile when he had mentioned his companion, but Naomi didn’t press.  Instead, she glanced down and away.

           “I don’t know what to do.”

           “Whatever do you mean, darling?”

           She met the demon’s eyes, ignoring the corrupted monster that stirred within.

           “I’ve been given free will, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

           It was the truest thing she had ever said, she was sure.  And she had just uttered it to Crowley.  It was a strange world she was living in now.

           “Well, I gave you quite a list last time,” he responded, and the cheek did not go unnoticed.

           “I’ve thought about aspects of your list.  Not all of them sound… appealing.  I’m not sure what I’d find entertaining, as you say.  I’ve studied what humans do for fun, and most often I discovered it was traveling.  But I’ve seen this world from top to bottom, from creation on.  Traveling seems redundant to me.”

           Crowley huffed out a laugh.  “Quite.  So, what have you been doing with yourself?”

           His curiosity in her was genuine, and she was sure it had everything to do with gaining some sort of knowledge that he could later use to his advantage.  But Naomi didn’t care what he knew about her.  She was a faithful soldier, and there was nothing he could hold against her.

           “My heavenly duty is… well, I guess ‘re-programmer’ would fit best.  And I’ve been doing my heavenly duty as best I can in these chaotic times.”

           “You’re kidding me.  You’ve got the world in the palm of your hand, and you’ve been working?  Bloody pathetic if you ask me.”

           Naomi felt herself bristle at the comment.  Sitting rigid, teeth gritted together, she spoke her next words while moving her mouth as little as possible.

           “I suppose you’d rather me… lie with man?”

           “Such a virgin,” Crowley laughed.  “Can’t even say it.  Fuck somebody.  Yes, I think you should fuck someone.  Judging by the button-up way you always dress and act, I think a good fuck would do you a universe of good.”

           He paused, eyeing her in such a way that Naomi could almost imagine a cat licking his whiskers as he eyed his next mousy meal.  It made her skin crawl in a way that she wasn’t sure if she liked or hated.  When he spoke next, she could tell that his words were chosen carefully.

           “But you’re stuck in Heaven’s bureaucracy, unable and unwilling to dig yourself out.  Just a sheep, an ant, serving a God who’s not even home.  I wonder what you call someone who’d rather run a useless government that’s been long broken than trying one ounce of change?”

           Naomi stood.  “We’re done here.”

           “I’m still on the table, figuratively speaking.  Say the word, darling, and I’ll have you in my bed in a flash.”

           Naomi chose not to respond as she left, going directly back to heaven.  She didn’t care where Crowley went.

           But the next day, she returned to the diner.  Same booth, different order.  And Crowley returned.  They spoke for a time, mostly him mocking her proposed ideas to express her free will.  And every time, he would press her.  Call her a bureaucrat.  Offer to be the one she, as he so eloquently put it, fucked first.  The next day was the same.  And the day after that.  But, as the days dragged on with Naomi making no further action on her free will, she despaired.  Maybe angels weren’t meant to know free will for a reason.  Maybe this freedom of options would be her downfall.  She would be forever stuck, visiting the same diner to speak with the same demon for all of eternity.

           This weighed heavy on her mind one day during her conversations with Crowley.  She had put forth a few more ideas, which he deftly shot down.  Again, she thought on what having free will actually meant.  The freedom to do whatever she wanted, rules or no rules.  Right or wrong.  That was the beauty behind it… the supposed beauty.  She threw another idea out to Crowley, something about curing global warming.

           “Such a pencil-pusher answer,” he responded.

           She stood.  He had insulted her for the last time that day.  She moved to leave, walking through the door before flying away to avoid panic, as she always did.  But this time, Crowley stopped her.  He reached out, gently grasping her left arm.  He looked up at her, earnest and wicked and kind and cruel all at the same time.

           “I would do everything you could imagine to you and more,” he said.

           There was no tongue-in-cheek innuendo in those words.  It wasn’t needed.  It was plainly stated, and Naomi knew he meant every word of it.  She should have just walked away, but this seemed as good opportunity as any to employ free will.

           “What if… what if I didn’t want to do everything I could imagine?” she asked, her voice coming out heavy.

           Crowley grinned.  “You’d be surprised.”

           Her eyes lingered on him, for just a moment, before she exited as she usually did.  That day, instead of flying straight back to Heaven, she paused, feeling the sun warm the skin of her body.  Her eyes slid shut and she wrapped her arms about her middle.  After a moment of just that, she left, not daring to look behind her.  Not daring to see him watch her.

#

Sweetest Submission…

           Nothing had suggested to her that the next day would have been any different than the previous ones.  Not a single thing.  But the world was random, as she had discovered, and instead of looking up to see Crowley when the diner’s bell dinged, she saw the Archangel Raphael instead.

           Naomi must have looked either truly surprised, truly alarmed, or both because Raphael was grinning.  Very little made the archangel smile, and she had found in her years and years of life that the uncomfort of others seemed to be the richest source of his humor.  He was dressed in a black suit with a white undershirt and long black tie tucked behind the buttoned jacket.  A very plain, very businesslike attire.  There was no preamble to him taking the seat that the King of Hell usually occupied across from her, and Naomi tried hard not to fidget in front of her superior.  But some deep, irrational part of her feared that Raphael could somehow sense that the King of Hell had been here, had been chatting with an angel who had not smote him on the spot.

           Raphael was still smiling when he waved the waitress away.  Naomi had not even gotten a chance to order yet.  She lifted her hands to rest on the table, clasping them politely.

           “Sir,” she said.

           Raphael chuckled.  “No need to be so formal, sister.  My business here is simple, thus we will keep the words between us simple.”

           She nodded.  Things were dangerous now in Heaven for every angel.  Everyone had to pick a side, Castiel or Raphael.  Naomi had wished that she would have, somehow, been left out of it.  But she was a fool to even dare to wish.

           “What brings you, brother?” she asked.

           “I ask for your loyalty to me, to what Heaven should truly be, in the battle to come.  That is all.”

           It had come too soon, the choice.  But, really, it was no choice.  It was choose Raphael or die.  And she really didn’t want to die.  But… in the first time in her existence, she had doubts.  If Raphael won, things would go back to the way they had always been.  The Apocalypse would be put back on track and angels would go back to being nothing but good little soldiers.  Free will would’ve been a distant dream for the eldest children of Heaven.

           “You’re silent for much longer than I had expected, Naomi.  Tell me, what is it that you’re thinking of?” Raphael asked.

           He sounded perfectly cordial.  If they had just ordered a couple of cups of coffee, this meeting would be the picture of social.  But it was anything but.

           “I’m thinking on… Freedom.”

           “Elaborate.”

           He sounded less cordial now.

           “Free will, to be specific.  I’ve been… contemplating it for some time now.  Ever since Castiel returned to Heaven.  I feel as if I should experience it, but I’ve been hesitant.  I don’t want to miss an opportunity, but I know that you would abolish free will for angels.”

           “Free will has no place in soldiers,” Raphael interrupted.

           “Very true, brother.  And we are soldiers first.  But… maybe… maybe we could learn from this freedom that Castiel has offered?”

           Raphael laughed, and Naomi stiffened.

           “It’s amusing,” he said when he finally calmed.  “Of all the angels in the heavens, I would’ve never expected this of you.”

           Naomi had still not relaxed.  Instead, her lips pursed.  Though tightened lips, she asked, “What do you mean?”

           “I mean you, Naomi, as you’ve always been.  You’ve always been the soldier.  Brave, true, and loyal.  You’ve always done what was asked of you and more, living most of your infinite time in secret to the majority of our brothers and sisters.  You’ve rewritten most of them more times than they will ever know, all because Heaven asked you to do so.  You’ve even re-written the rebellious Castiel more times than can be counted on a single hand.  I think it’s maybe every decade or so, whenever this ‘free will’ idea gets into his head again.  And never have you wavered.  You’ve always been the obedient, good little girl.  I would have thought that there would be no question on where your loyalty would lie.  But now… I ask.  Is it me, or is it Castiel?  If it is Castiel… then you know what you risk.”

           Naomi hung her head low, deep in thought and unwilling to look Raphael in his dark eyes.  He was right.  Of course he was right.  Big brother was always right.  She was loyal to a fault.  She had never had an ounce of freedom in her being for all of time and before.  No wonder she had been idle since Castiel’s proclamation of free will to angels.  She had never known what to do with it.  And now here was the choice at hand, free will at its finest.  But, again, it was no choice.

           She had re-written Castiel, more times than she cared to count.  She had dug inside her little brother’s brain and saw the truth of it.  She saw the answer to the question long before it had been asked.  Castiel was different, made wrong—God help her for even thinking it.  But it wouldn’t be enough, in the end.

           “You have my loyalty, Raphael,” she said, meeting his eyes.

           Raphael nodded once, standing.  “Good.  I will be most required of your services, I believe.  Farewell, sister, and rest easy.  You’ve chosen correctly.”

           She didn’t meet his eyes again.  Instead, her head was face downward, her gaze locked on her own hands as she heard the exiting ding of the diner’s door.  She just stared at her hands, at herself, for the longest moment, contemplating what Raphael had said.  He was right, about all of it.  She had never known what free will was.  Not this entire time.

           The bell to the door dinged, and she smelled the hint of sulfur that Crowley tried to hide behind expensive cologne as the demon took his usual seat.

           “I had no desire to chat with an archangel today, so you’ll forgive my lateness,” he said.

           She nodded.  Crowley liked to talk, so if she was a little silent today, she was sure he wouldn’t care.

           “So, what have you been thinking about today?  Bungee jumping?  Entering into medical research under a pseudonym and curing world hunger?  You know, I’ve thought about it.  Maybe you ought to do something tiny to influence history, something that Heaven would never notice.  How about…”

           But Naomi was ignoring him mostly.  Instead, she still listened to Raphael’s words echoing in her brain.  Good little soldier.  Never doing anything different.  Never understanding what free will was.

           Until now…

           “I’ll do it,” she said, looking up and cutting off Crowley.

           The King of Hell arched a brow.  “Come again, darling?”

           “I’ll lie with you, sleep with you, have sex with you.  However you want to put it.  I’ll do it.  Tomorrow night.  Tonight.  Now.”

           Crowley held up a hand, grinning all the while.  “Tonight.  I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses.  I want this to be special for you, and for me.  My first, submissive, angel.  Here.”

           He stood, tossing her a piece of paper.  She opened it, spying an address written inside.  She glanced up at him.

           “Meet me at my manor tonight.  Wear a black dress that cuts low and comes above the knees.  Do your hair and make-up as well.  I’ll see you then.”

           With that, he left.  Naomi stared down at the address, thinking about the demon’s last set of instructions.  Was giving in to this demon, listening to him give her instructions on how to dress for this evening, really what free will was?  She was having doubts again.  But she had made this commitment.  Standing, she left the diner to ready herself for the evening.

#

I’m Not Here Looking for Absolution…

           The sun had set when she arrived at Crowley’s vast manor.  She went directly to the front door, noticing that he had made a hole in his Enochian just to let her through.  She smiled at the demons she passed by, following the narrow path of allowance straight to Crowley’s bedroom.

           She had doubted herself all day.  Doubted the choice she had made to sleep with the demon.  Was it free will if she just gave in?  So, she had changed a few things.  Instead of black, she wore a provocative red dress.  It only had a keyhole cut in the front, went right down to the knees, and had an open back.  Otherwise, it was a simple dress and hugged her curves nicely.  She did, however, do her hair—pulling it back in a way that was a bit more playful than business—and her make-up.  She wore a red lipstick that matched her dress and highlighted her eyes to bring out their shine.  Confident in her changes—even in the red, strappy heels she had chosen—she knocked on Crowley’s door.

           He called for her to enter, rather than open the door himself, and so she did.  The room beyond was massive.  A mini-bar stood against the left wall among bookshelves that were positively laden.  A small sofa was immediately to her right, with the bed being centered against the farthest wall.  The bed was just as big, and she let her eyes slide to the left of it to notice that the room even had an attached bath.  Crowley stood over the mini-bar, turning as she gently closed the tall door behind her.

           “Impressive,” he said, clearly meaning her dress.  “But this isn’t what I instructed.  You’ll pay for that later tonight, darling.”

           Her nerves felt suddenly frayed.  What did he mean by that?  What exactly were his plans for the night ahead, other than copulation?  Crowley was not one to just “be in the moment,” so Naomi knew that she had a long, constructed night ahead.

           The King of Hell gestured for her to sit on the sofa, and afraid that her body would start to show the shaking that her nerves were already doing, she gratefully accepted.  Crowley came to sit next to her, passing her a short glass of some sort of alcoholic beverage.  She held up a hand, trying to gently push it back.

           “I don’t partake in such things,” she said.

           “Tonight’s a night for a lot of things you don’t normally do.  Take the drink,” he said, forcing it into her hand.

           She took it, but did not drink.  Instead, she held it in her lap, thanking the Heavens that Crowley had not put ice into it.  She knew her hands were shaky, and she didn’t need to worry about ice giving it away.

           “You’ll do well, darling, to listen to me from here on out.  We’ve a busy night ahead, and, of the two, I am definitely the more experienced.  From now on, I call the shots with no questions asked,” Crowley stated.

           Her ire was rising.  Sitting rigid now, she huffed.

           “And why should I just explicitly trust you?”

           “As I’ve said, you’re new at this.  You’ve never done this before and you’ll probably never do it again, so it should be done properly.  For that to happen, I need to be in charge, from now until we’re both more than spent.  Understood?”

           But Naomi wasn’t ready to give in.  She shook her head, careful not to let the tremor travel down to her drink.

           “I thought tonight was about my freedom of will?  If I give myself over to you, decisions and all, then what does that teach me about freedom?”

           “Free will, my dear, is nothing but a choice.  Plain and simple.  And tonight, you’ve only got two.  Either you agree to my terms as previously stated or you leave.  Now, which one will it be?”

           Naomi mulled that over, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was right.  She pursed her lips, staring down into her amber beverage.

           “I’ll listen,” she all but whispered.

           “Good,” Crowley said, reclining on his corner of the sofa and taking a sip of his drink.  “Now, I think I’ll try to treat tonight as both casual and not at the same time.”

           Confusion washed over the angel, but she nodded.  If he wanted her to listen, then she would.  If he wanted her to follow orders, then he would have that too.  If there was one thing she could do better than anything else, it was obey without hesitation.  Heaven had taught her to do that all too well.

           “Let’s chat.  Tell me, what goes on in Heaven Above?” Crowley asked, sipping his drink and motioning for her to do that same.

           Naomi took a gulp of her drink—a scotch, she thought it was—and instantly regretted it.  She hated the burning in her throat, the way she had to fight not to cough it back up.  She swallowed all of that irritation down, and shook her head.

           “I don’t want to talk about it, Crowley,” she said.

           “Not at all?”

           “No.”

           “Heaven is at war, and you don’t have an opinion on that?”

           His drink, she noticed, was almost gone, while hers was still a little over half full.  She took another drink, a smaller one, and found that the effects weren’t as horrible on her this time.  But she stood her ground on his questioning.  Tonight was not about thinking about the turmoil in her home.  In fact, it was about quite the opposite.

           “I just want to forget about it.  Please.”

           “But why?  Why won’t you at least spare me a word on it?” he persisted.

           “Because I don’t want this from tonight!  Judgment!” she burst out.  “I get enough of that in Heaven.  I just want to forget it, just once.”

           Crowley laughed, finishing off his drink.  Naomi glared at him.

           “What the hell is so funny?” she snapped.

           “You are, not wanting judgment.  You see, I know who you sided with in Heaven’s civil war.  And after tonight, all you’re ever going to get is judgment.”

           “No, I won’t.”

           “Yes, you will.  You’re about to fuck a demon.  And, on the off-handed chance that Raphael loses this war and you survive, what do you think will happen to you?”

           “Stop.”

           “Do you think Castiel will forgive you for not choosing his side?  Will he forgive whatever it is that you’ll end up doing that will, no doubt, kill many of his fellows?  Will you be able to forgive yourself?”

           “Shut up!  Please, Crowley!  Just shut up.  Please!”

           Crowley grinned, sitting his glass down on a table Naomi had not noticed earlier.  He leaned forward, his hand resting on her leg.  She could feel his fingertips wiggling underneath the hem of her dress.

           “I think I like it when you beg,” he said, sliding his hand farther up her leg—and under her dress.

           Naomi’s skin was tingling, and not unpleasantly.  Beside her, her hands curled into tight fists, and she fought the urge to shake.  Crowley had moved closer to her, his hand now almost at her crotch, and Naomi felt her nerves fray a little more.  She wasn’t sure what would happen next, now that the demon was face to face with her, his hand up her dress.  Sure, she knew the mechanics of sex, but the social aspect of it?  How to initiate and then move from step to step?  She had no clue.  Crowley grinned at her, no doubt feeling the shakes in her legs and the growing warmth gathering at her nether regions.

           “Finish your drink, darling,” he whispered.

           She downed the rest in one mighty gulp and clumsily handed the glass back off to him.  He set it down beside his, and took one of her hands.  He pulled her to her feet and began to lead her to the adjoining bathroom.  She went without resistance.

           Once they were there, she was surprised to see that there was a bath drawn.  Steam still rolled off its surface, and she could smell all sorts of perfumed things that had been added.  Crowley maneuvered her in front of him, placing his hands on her hips in his silent way of letting her know not to move.  She stood stock-still, not even daring to look into the mirror on her left.She could hear clothes rustling, and she was pretty sure that meant that Crowley was getting undressed.  In a few moments, she felt his hands on her back, undoing the fastener at the top of her dress.  Once that was done, he danced his fingertips all the way down to the short zipper at the bottom.   The dress fell to the floor then.  She gasped as the chill of the air and the steam of the bath hit her mostly-nude body.  Crowley chuckled, undoing her bra next.  He slid her red, lacy panties down her legs, and she instinctively stepped out of them, bending to undo the straps of her shoes.  Her back was still to the demon, and his hands were still on her, his fingertips tracing lines over her hips, stomach, and lower back.  She could feel his breath on her neck, and it made the tiny hairs there stand on end.

           “What are you doing?” she whispered, for no particular reason.

           “We’re warming up.  It’s called foreplay, darling,” he responded.

           She heard him remove what remained of his clothing, and, without allowing her to turn, they both entered the bath, sliding smoothly down to sit, Naomi in front of Crowley.  She could feel his already hardened member on her back, and it made her sit rigid, unsure of how to simply be.  Crowley seemed to realize this as he gently maneuvered her into a more relaxed position.She was reclining on him, her head resting on his chest.  She kept her eyes on the ceiling, and she could feel her vessel’s heart racing—her heart, to be more accurate.  She was trying to pretend that she couldn’t feel the rather large male organ on her back still, but it was growing difficult to do so.

           “Is being so stiff a requirement of all the angels in heaven, dear, or just you?” Crowley asked.

           His hand came into view as he reached over her head and withdrew a black, terrycloth washcloth from the side of the tub on their right.  From their left, he pulled a bar of pleasantly scented soap.  He pulled both under the water, and then began to apply the soap to the cloth.

           “I—” she began to answer, but faltered.

           What was she going to say that Crowley didn’t already know?  Was she going to enlighten him on the state of her virginity?  Was she going to put into words the nervousness and fear she felt?  Fear was like water to demons.  Fear was weakness, and those smoky lost souls fed on it.  She couldn’t give Crowley the satisfaction of both her willingness and her fear.

           Behind her, Crowley chuckled.  The demon placed the wet, warm, soapy washcloth to the small bit of her stomach that was still out of the water.  He began to move the cloth in small circles there, the motion so gentle and light that it was almost comforting.  She could feel the tenseness in her body beginning to leave, and she was curling into him, not caring anymore about the hardened dick on her back.

           And then it changed.  Crowley brought the cloth up to her breasts, cupping them from underneath.  In an instant, the anxiousness was back, and she was painfully aware of everything.  The smell of the soap—floral and strong—washed over her, mixing with the scent of whatever Crowley had put into the water.  All of it was carried on the steam of the water, sticking to her hot flesh.  She could feel Crowley’s body again, every bit of it, behind her.  He had a light smattering of hair on across his chest—dark, she presumed the color to be, but in all honestly, she didn’t know.  She had not seen Crowley since he lowered the both of them into the tub.  But his hands were on her, the right one holding the cloth and now using it to circle her hardening nipples.His other hand, the left, was slowly tickling down her side.  Her toes were curling, and her legs went out straight as a board—her feet peeking up over the other end of the tub—as he danced his fingertips over her hip until his hand was resting at the very top of her inner thigh.

           “Crowley,” she whispered, his cock digging into her back.

           He never slowed on the cloth, moving it to her other breast and beginning the same circles he had made on the first one.

           “Yes, darling?” he breathed into her ear.

           She shuddered, but not unpleasantly.  It all baffled her.  Why was this body reacting in this way?  Demons were dirty things.  They were unclean and evil.  But that thought just made a moan slip from her lips.  Crowley was done with the pretense of the washcloth now.  The soap it left on her skin going un-rinsed, the King of Hell casually tossed the black square of terrycloth onto the side of the tub, his now free hand going back to her breast.  He pinched the nipple, ever so slightly, while squeezing the single mound in his hand.  His left hand now moved closer to her center, his forefinger parting the soft, wet curls of hair it found there.  Naomi’s entire body was alive and electric, every nerve tingling.  In the next instant, she felt the pad of his finger on her clit, and her hips arched up to meet the pressure.  He moved his finger in a circle, pressing down on that sensitive bundle of nerves while he increased the hardness of the pinch he had her right nipple firmly locked in.

           Naomi could feel his cock twitch, and her insides were beginning to feel warmer than the water all around her.  She moaned and arched against the feeling, and after a few minutes of Crowley rubbing her clit and playing so roughly with her breast, she found herself curiously surprised.

           She wanted him.

           It was more than the idle curiosity of a creature that had never experienced such pleasure.  It was more than what she had felt when pondering the meaning of free will.  In fact, it was more than a mere want.  She needed this demon.  She longed to feel his long, hard member shoved inside of her.  Just imagining what that could feel like made her buck harder against Crowley’s hand.  Her anxiety was forgotten, even if just for a moment, lost in the haze of pleasure.  She turned, ready and willing to do whatever he would want her to do to return this feeling of want, to make him feel it as she did.

           She barely caught a glimpse of the smirk on his face when both of the demon’s hands left their places to clamp down on her shoulders.  He was strong, especially since she had not expected this move.  He turned her, hard, until she was facing forward again.

           “But—” she began to protest, but he stopped her with a disapproving tsk.

           “My rules, remember?” he purred.

           “I don’t understand,” Naomi replied.

           Crowley’s hands were still on her, but they had moved lower than her shoulders.  Each one cupped a breast, gently teasing, circling, flicking, and even tugging on her hard nipples.  Crowley chuckled.

           “You agreed to follow without question.  Now, do so, and you’ll never forget tonight.  But, if you don’t… well, you still won’t forget this night, but for entirely different reasons.”

           A little dark cloud of anger was forming in Naomi’s mind.  That angelic nature was rearing its head, screaming at the back of her mind that she was just that, an angel, and how dare a lowly piece of demon filth dare to threaten her.  But she bit her lip, leaning back against Crowley’s chest as he continued to work her nipples.  She had agreed to this.  She had to remember that.  She had agreed to follow Crowley’s orders in this tonight, only tonight.  This was her choice, her first real act of free will—to give it away.

           In the next moment, Crowley’s hands fell back to her arms, resting gently against them.  She felt him lean forward, his lips to her ear.

           “Stand up, darling.  But don’t look ‘round.  Not yet,” he whispered.

           “But why?” she asked, nevertheless doing as the demon instructed.

           The two stepped out of the tub and onto the plush black rug that lay in front of it.  In a moment, Crowley had a large towel, made of the same terrycloth as the washcloth and black—of course—wrapped around her body.

           “No questions,” he singsong-ed as he began to dry her.

           “I just… I just want to understand.”

           “I’m… ah, building suspense,” he answered.

           Her brow furrowed as the demon finished drying her.  She could now hear the cloth moving against his body.

           “This isn’t some movie,” she responded.  "I don't understand."

           He grasped her by her hips, guiding her back into the bedroom.  He moved her all the way over to the bed, motioning her to climb up into the large thing.  The sheets had been pulled back, and Naomi didn’t want to think about how or when that had happened.  She felt the mattress depress even more as Crowley followed behind her.

           “You’ll understand by the end of this, I promise, dearest angel.  Now, lie flat.”

           Her body’s heart thudded.  This was it.  This would be the first time she would glimpse Crowley in his entirety, completely nude and aroused.  She swallowed hard, but did as she was told.  Her head rested comfortably against the feather pillows, and her eyes immediately—and almost quicker than she could realize—darted to stare at Crowley.

           His body type was not what was thought of as desirable in this day and age, but he was not unattractive.  In fact, he was very attractive, just not muscled.  And as her gaze drifted south, she realized that while his body type was not the muscle-bound look that most women in the modern times preferred of their mates, his male organ more than made up for it.  It was large, almost unbelievably so.  She had a basic understanding of human anatomy, but she found herself wondering how all of him was going to fit inside of her.

           Her worry must have been evident on her face, because Crowley seemed to find it all terribly amusing.

           “You really are a virgin, aren’t you?” he laughed.

           Her face flushed.  “I wasn’t lying.”

           Now his look was simply bemused.  “Of course not.”

           He was lying on his side, his head even with hers on the pillow.  She could still feel his hardened member on her leg, and her nervousness made her whole body feel like a concrete slab.  She could feel his hot breath on her ear and neck, and she just knew that this was a deliberate act.  It made the hairs on her neck stand on end, and that tingling from his foreplay in the bath reignite.  He lazily lifted a hand and rested it on her taunt stomach.  He ran it up and down her body, as if trying to memorize every angle of it.  It caused Naomi’s toes to curl again, and this time she clutched the sheets around her as well.

           She was terrified of what came next.  And she hated it.  She was an angel, a soldier.  She should have no fear of anything.  But this… this was unprecedented.  Not only was she breaking an unspoken but obvious rule for her kind, she had also placed all of her trust in this creature.  She had no idea what Crowley had planned for the evening, other than the act of copulation that would take her virginity.  Crowley’s hand still trailed her body, and now his look had this distant, thoughtful sheen to it.

           “Where to begin…” he muttered.  “There are simply all sorts of things I plan to do to you tonight.  I’ve never been with an angel before… a lover just so damned durable.  Where to start?  Just so many lessons to learn.”

           This was followed by a moment of silence as the King of Hell seemed to think on his own words.  And Naomi dared not speak.  The fear inside of her was welling along with her pleasure, and she was afraid that the slightest word might betray this feeling.

           “Ah, I know.  Naomi, darling, have you ever masturbated before?”

           That flush returned to her cheeks.  “No, of course I haven’t.”

           Crowley chuckled.  “Then we’ll start there.”

           Naomi was sure that she must have been red from head to toe, but Crowley made no mention of it.  Instead, he remained propped up on his side, so close to her that she felt just a tad pressed up against him.  But she dared not move, for fear of Crowley punishing her in some way.  And, if truth be told, the punishment she feared worst of all was Crowley retracting the offer to sleep with her altogether.  She would never state this aloud, and if ever asked, she would deny this entire night vehemently.  But brought down now to the raw truth of things, she wanted Crowley more than she could say.  She wanted to know what it was like to be taken by this creature, and she was beginning to be more than okay with being ordered around by him… at least, temporarily.

           “I want to watch you touch yourself,” Crowley said.

           Naomi’s brow furrowed.  “Why?”

           “Because you never have.  Because you’ve never been with anyone before.  This is a beginner’s lesson, darling.  Often, masturbation is a… uh, road map, of sorts.  An orgasm from yourself isn’t nearly ever as powerful as one given by someone else… unless the person you’re with is a complete selfish git.  So it’s a good way to familiarize yourself with your body, to learn what you like and what you don’t.  So, I want to watch you come… without penetration, I might add.”

           Her heart was thudding again.  These human bodies… such frail things that the slightest upset should cause such a reaction.  Her hands were winding ever tighter in the sheets beside her, and she couldn’t bring herself to look the demon in the eye.

           “Why… why can I not penetrate myself?” she asked, her voice so low that she scarcely heard her own question.

           “Oh, is this something that you want to do?” he laughed, making the noise as soft as a cloud in her ear.

           She shook her head almost to the point of being violent.  “No!  I mean... I just… I was curious!”

           Naomi was careful to still not look at Crowley or his still throbbing erection.  Now, he reached out, his light strokes coming to a stop on her stomach, just above her navel.  As an angel, she had no real need to breathe.  She simply imitated the motion for her vessel’s sake, and for the sake of looking normal around other humans.  But now, she was quite sure she had forgotten how to do that.  Crowley’s head dipped low, his lips brushing the lobe of her ear.  She was still staring at the dark canopy above the bed, but she swore she felt the tip of his tongue dart out just to tease before finally whispered, “I want you nice and intact for me.  Now… rub that sweet little clit of yours.”

           Her breath was coming out now in shaky shudders as her body apparently remembered the motion better than she did.  She swallowed, hard, and she finally allowed her eyes to glance over at the smug King of Hell.

           “I… I’m not sure… I’m not sure how.”

           “Are you asking for my help, dearest?”

           She nodded.  He grinned.

           “Very well, then,” he said, gently taking her nearest hand in his.

           He rested the palm of his hand on the top of hers, maneuvering her fingers until her hand was a soft fist with only her forefinger pointing out.  Slowly, so agonizingly slow, he moved her hand south on her body.  Just as she began to feel the soft brush of her own curls there, he moved his hand so that its shape mimicked hers.He helped the pad of her forefinger find the same bundle of nerves he had found in the tub, and forced a gentle pressure down on it.  She gasped, biting lightly at her bottom lip.  Crowley removed his hand.

           “Move your hand, your finger, however you like.  Whatever feels good… but remember, no fingering yourself.  I don’t want to risk you busting that sweet cherry without me.”

           Naomi could only nod, once again not daring to speak.  If her voice came out as shaky as her body and nerves felt, Crowley would never let her forget it.  Instead, she pretended as if no one had spoken, and as if no one was there with her on the bed.  Difficult to do, since Crowley had moved so that his large member was now pressing into her thigh, but she did it nonetheless.  She put all her focus on her own hand, and that wonderful pressure she had on her clit.  She began by moving her finger up and down, just a gentle rubbing motion, and it sent a small thrill of pleasure through her body.  She was biting her lip again, but for an entirely differently reason.

           She could feel his eyes on her, so she closed hers, as if that could make this all seem a little less… uncomfortable.  She continued her rubbing, feeling heat growing steadily between her legs.  Her insides were feeling warm and wet, and she let a soft moan escape like a passing breath.  Her actual breath was quickening, and she realized that her pleasure was mounting much faster than she would have supposed.  In truth, she wasn’t ready to be finished yet.  Crowley had spoken the truth to her.  For the first time, Naomi was feeling comfortable in this human form.  She finally felt like she was beginning to understand this person she was supposed to be, this person inside of her who had had the gift of free will.  Who, like Naomi, had given it all up when she accepted the angel inside of her form.

           Naomi decided to prolong her pleasure, switching the motion of her finger.  She began to move it side to side, like writing the letter “t.”  She squirmed against her own touch, bucking into her hand.  She needed something more… but she couldn’t figure it out.  She wanted something that she had no name for.  She moaned, as if in pain, turning her head abruptly to the side as she could feel an orgasm just out of reach.

           But her hand seemed to know what she wanted.  It was dipping lower in her curls, leaving only the heel of her hand to touch her overly sensitive clit now.  She could feel her own wetness pooling, the very tip of her finger touching it.

           The suddenly grasp of Crowley’s hand made her jump, and her eyes flew open to find the King of Hell shaking his head at her.

           “I thought you were used to following orders.  I said no fingering.  Try it again, and you’ll regret it,” he growled, moving her fingers back to her clit.

           Had that been it?  She nodded as she stared down at Crowley’s erection.  It had lost none of its potency, despite having done nothing truly physical with her for several minutes.  Naomi felt another trickle of wetness slide down her slit.  It was that odd feeling again, that feeling of truly wanting Crowley to take her, to shove himself deep within her folds, to feel what that felt like as he pounded himself home.

           Her fingers were moving with little thought now, and it was with a cry of surprise as an orgasm rose and crested within Naomi.  She continued to moan and cry out with little squeaks as she continued to rub herself, riding out the new feeling as long as she could possibly stand.  When she finally felt satisfied with the feeling, she dropped her hand limply to the side, her fingers soaked in her own juices.  Crowley chuckled.

           “Very well done, darling.  You’re quite the pretty sight when you come.  How do you feel?” he asked.

           His head dipped down, and she could feel his mouth nibbling at her neck.  But it was so much more than that now.  Her body felt electric, and the tiniest touch seemed to amplify a million times.  She gasped and moaned as he licked at the point where her neck met her shoulder.

           “Amazing,” she said.

           It was the most truthful she had felt in a long time.  Crowley laughed again.  He pulled back from her, but placed a hand on her stomach, tracing small circles around her navel.

           “At this point, I have a question for you, dearest.  This is, as they say, the point of no return.  Once we move on, what’s done is done.  So my question to you is this: how far do you want to go?”

           Naomi furrowed her brow, staring up at Crowley.  “What do you mean?”

           “Do want to just have sex?  Or do you want a fuller experience?  I have so much I could do to you to make you come again and again, my darling… but only if you want it.”

           The wave of orgasm was still within her, making her feel warm from head to toe.  Her mind was reeling from it, and the same thought kept resurfacing.  If she could do this to herself… what could Crowley do to her?

           “I want it all,” she said.  “Please, Crowley.”

           Crowley’s grin reminded her of a wolf, but the demon said nothing.  Instead, he pressed himself in to her, covering her mouth in a kiss.  It was deep, full, and all consuming, the kiss, and Naomi pressed herself hard into Crowley, as if to become one person with him.  His hands trailed her body, and it felt like trails of fire on her flesh.  She gasped into the demon’s mouth as he stopped to tweak at her nipples, and she was left moaning as he ended the kiss and slid himself down her body.

           She wanted to know his intentions as he kissed a trail down her stomach and across her navel, but she bit her lip and willed herself silent.  He had asked her, and she had submitted to him in all the ways she could in this situation.  This was her decision, and hers alone.  This was what free will was, she was sure of it now.  All she could do was ride it out, because tomorrow she would belong to the Heavenly Host again.  But, tonight, she was his.

           Her hips bucked and her back arched as Crowley brought his mouth down to her slit, nuzzling the soft hair there.  Her hands wound in the sheets again, and she gritted her teeth.  He chuckled at her body tensing, but said nothing.  Naomi could feel the questions, the uncertainty, welling up inside of her again.  They threatened to undo her resolve, but when Crowley’s tongue snaked out, lapping at her still sensitive clit, the questions melted away.

           Crowley wrapped his arms up under her thighs, holding her still, which was a good thing.  Despite feeling amazingly good, the feelings were a bit overwhelming and every inch of Naomi’s body was urging her to squirm away.  But Crowley held her close, lapping steadily at her as she began to moan and whine in pleasure.  She half expected the demon to stop, to make some sort of witty or explicit comment.  But he continued his silence, doing nothing but running his wet tongue up and down her bundle of nerves while digging his nails into the tender flesh of her thighs.

           To Naomi’s ever-growing surprise, she found that she loved this feeling, this biting pain mixed with this torturous pleasure.

           “Yes,” she moaned.  “Yes, please!  Don’t stop!”

           At this moment, this was her greatest fear that Crowley would stop and leave her there with nothing but a memory of this feeling.  He only shoved his mouth deeper into her, increasing the pressure on her clit.  She could feel another orgasm growing nearer, and she was close to screaming out.

           “Please,” she dared only whisper.  “Please…”

           The feeling hit her like a truck, washing over her in a shock.  She could hold back her screams no longer, letting them out like a ferocious lioness.  Crowley held her close despite her body’s unconscious attempt to buck him off, still licking at her as her orgasm came to a head.  She kicked and wiggled and squirmed, now begging him to stop.  Finally, the feeling relaxed, and Naomi gasped, falling back against the pillows.

           “You were fighting so very hard,” Crowley said, raising up to sit on his knees.

           Naomi was gasping, shaking her head.“I didn’t… I didn’t mean…”

           “I’ll have to punish you, just a little bit, for that.”

           Fear washed over her again, the damnable feeling.  She shook her head harder, trying both to argue and clear it all at once.

           “But I didn’t mean to!” she cried.

           She tried to push herself up on her elbows, but Crowley had crawled up her body, using his knees to pin her arms down.  He positioned himself on her torso, putting only a bit of weight on her.Not that weight meant much to her.  She was an angel, after all.  But Crowley had strength too, as a demon and as the newly made King of Hell.  He wanted her held in place, and save for her kicking legs—which were definitely not in a position to do anything—there was nothing she could do.  Crowley’s throbbing member was level with her face now, and for some reason, Naomi felt as if she was staring down the barrel of a gun.

           “You’re going to take my cock in your mouth and suck while I fuck you there,” Crowley ordered.

           There was no gentleness in his words.  The kid gloves, as they say, were off now.  Naomi’s own words played through her head over and over like a PA system for the damned.  I want it all.  She shook her head, trying to avoid staring at the angry cock in front of her.

           “I can’t… I’ve never… I’m not ready…” she floundered.

           “Then, next time, I suggest you train your body not to struggle when I make you come that way,” he said.

           He reached down, moving her head so that she stared his dick down.  He tipped his hips just the slightest bit forward, pressing his tip onto her lips.  She held them pursed shut, and Crowley was laughing at her again.

           “You asked for this, Naomi.  Open wide and lap at me like I did you.  And no biting or my punishments will only get worse.”

           Naomi’s chin shook as he pressed harder on her mouth.  Finally, unable to argue the truth in the demon’s words, she opened wide to receive him.  He shoved himself all the way to the back of her throat, and she was more than grateful then that, as an angel, her vessel’s gag reflex obeyed her instead of itself.  He pulled himself out only to thrust back in, repeating this motion over and over until he fell into an easy rhythm.

           “Suck me as I fuck your mouth, angel.  Use that pretty tongue of yours,” Crowley moaned, shoving his dick into his mouth even harder.

           Naomi squirmed beneath him, and try as she might to deny it, she felt herself growing wet with the mere thought of following Crowley’s orders.  She did as she was told, sucking as hard as she could manage in between thrust, licking at his long shaft as it entered and exited her mouth.

           “Yes, yes, fuck!” Crowley growled.  “That’s it, darling.  Suck me harder.  Put your might into it!”

           Naomi’s heart thudded, and her wetness was down her thighs again.  She longed to be touched, to feel his hands on her again, tweaking a nipple or rubbing her clit.  She had come twice already, but wanted more.  She knew she would get that feeling again.  Crowley was far from done with her, since he had not taken her “cherry” yet, as he called it.  So she obeyed, sucking as hard as she could.

           He fucked her mouth even harder, moaning and grunting with the effort.  His cock was tightening, as were the balls swinging into her chin.

           “I’m gonna come,” he moaned.  “Swallow me, Naomi.  Swallow all of it.”

           It was only moments after that that she felt the demon’s hot, salty cum fill her mouth.  Her every impulse wanted to pull away from Crowley, to spit his seed to the ground.  But she remembered the demon’s threat, and her intense want.  She swallowed it all in one mighty gulp as he fell to her side.

           She was gasping in time with him, and she rolled to her side, running her hands up and down his chest.He smiled as she did so, lazily turning to stare at her.

           “I’m ready,” she said.  “Fuck me, Crowley, truly.  I want to feel you inside of me.”

           His grin went Cheshire as he reached a hand out and gently caressed her cheek.

           “Oh, darling,” he said.

           In a moment, he had her gripped and turned onto her stomach.He yanked her up onto her knees, and he was behind her.He held her hips tightly in his hand, digging his fingers in so hard that it hurt.

           “Crowley,” she gasped.

           “You’re ready when I damn well say you are!” he yelled, shoving his newly hardened cock inside of her.

           …Only, it was not shoved inside of her slit.  Instead, he had buried his large member deep within her ass.  Her body was alive with the searing pain of it, and she screamed, not in pleasure this time.  She felt tears sliding down her cheeks as Crowley began to thrust even harder in her ass than he had in her mouth.

           “No, no!” she screamed.

           “Relax, Naomi, or this will continue to hurt like Hell,” he grunted, never slowing.  “Take my cock in your ass and scream my name.”

           She obeyed, screaming the King of Hell’s name over and over as he violated her again and again.  Her hands dug so deeply into the sheets this time that they tore beneath her.  She tried to will her body to relax, to enjoy this feeling.  But she could find no pleasure in this, not like she had before.

           “Stop!  Stop!” she screamed as he slammed into her.

           “Not until I cover your back with my cum,” he grunted.

           “I can’t… Just… Stop…” she grunted, her fingers now tearing at the mattress.

           But Crowley didn’t listen, continuing to pound inside of her.  But Naomi could handle no more.  She summoned her Grace in one might scream, and she reared back.  Crowley was thrown from the bed, landing in a heap on the floor.  Naomi collapsed flat onto the bed, gasping and crying silently.

           She heard Crowley stand, and she turned to stare at him.  She was ready to apologize because she knew she had broken the bargain she had chosen to strike.  But she found the words caught in her throat at the sight of Crowley’s stare.  His eyes were cold, no longer dancing with unspoken mocking.  His face was set, hard.

           “You’ll pay for this, angel,” he said.

           He snapped his fingers once, and in a blink, Naomi was on her back.  Her arms and legs were stretched out in an X formation, tied to each of the bed’s four posts.  She glanced down, seeing that Crowley held a knife, now, in his hand.

           “No.  Crowley, I’m sorry.  I just couldn’t take it… it hurt,” she said.

           She had given too much of herself to this demon.  She was powerless.  Her only consolation was that the knife appeared to be nothing but an ordinary weapon… not an angel blade.  He could hurt her, but not kill her.  He crawled atop her, straddling her at her waist, and Naomi was more than surprised now to see that his cock had not yet softened.  He held the tip of the knife to her chest, right in between her heaving breasts.  He pressed down, ever so gently, just enough to that it barely broke her body’s flesh.  She gasped, but in all truth, this pain was nothing like what she had just experienced.  She could feel the bead of blood that escaped, rolling gently away.

           “You broke our deal.  You said you’d listen,” Crowley said, moving the knife up to her collarbone.

           He dragged the knife casually downward, cutting a shallow mark as it went.  She gritted her teeth, shaking her head.

           “I asked you to stop,” she hissed.  “I begged you.”

           Crowley sighed, moving the knife to atop her right breast.  He held it close to her nipple, and for a moment Naomi feared he could cut here too.  But he moved it away at the last moment, only to make a small cut on the pale flesh next to her areola.

           He leaned forward, sticking his tongue out and catching the bead of blood that gathered there.  He hissed, turning his head away.

           “Never done that with something so… holy.  Kind of stings a little… like hot sauce,” he said.

           “I asked you,” Naomi repeated, angering quickly.  “I gave you a chance.”

           “That,” Crowley growled, slashing wildly down her chest, “was not how this worked!”

           Naomi cried out with the surprise of the move.  She bit her lip.  She hated him now.  She hated this, being so submissive to something so unclean.  But he was right.  She knew that.  She knew what she had given up.

           “Forgive me,” she growled.

           Crowley laughed.  “Is that all?  I want you to beg me, darling.  Beg my forgiveness.”

           She almost spat at him.  Almost.  But just before the move could be completed, Crowley reached quickly behind, find her clit and rubbing at it roughly.  Pleasure shot through her limbs, and she knew what Crowley was doing.  He was reminding her… reminding her of all she would be giving up if she refused to do this one, simple thing.

           “Please,” she said.  “I’m sorry.”

           There was no conviction in the words, and they made the demon laugh.

           “Is that all?  You sounded so much better when I was licking your pussy earlier.  Beg better, Naomi, or this all comes to a screeching halt before I ever fuck that virgin pussy of yours.”

           Naomi shut her eyes.  “Please.  Please, Crowley.  I want you to fuck me.  I… I need this.  You have no idea…”

           Her words were sincere, if not despised.  She opened her eyes, and Crowley seemed to be weighing his thoughts.  After a moment, he snapped his fingers again, and now she was free, her wounds and the knife gone.  Crowley still sat on top of her, but he leaned forward down, placing a deep but gentle kiss on her lips.  He moved away from her mouth now and down to her neck, gently nipping at its base.  She moaned, tentatively placing her hands on the demon’s shoulders.  He kissed her again, and this time she pulled him closer.  His hands went up as he slid down.  He rubbed at her nipples as she felt the tip of his cock right at her entrance.

           “Please,” she begged, not one bit ashamed to do so this time.

           He grinned.  “I do so love to hear you beg.”

           He shoved himself deep inside of her.  She gasped, clinging to Crowley for dear life as he began an agonizingly slow but steady thrust.  She clawed at him with each entry and whined for him upon each exit.  It felt so amazing, and every so often he would dip his head down and lick at a nipple or even take one into his mouth to give it a gentle suck.

           “More,” she moaned.  “More.”

           He laughed, thrusting even faster.  “You like me fucking you, don’t you?”

           She nodded, biting her lip.  He moved until she could feel the brush of his lips against her ear.

           “You like having this unclean demon fucking you?  It’s bad and wrong and you fucking love it.  You crave my dick, don’t you, Naomi?”

           The familiar heat of orgasm was rising within her.  “Yes!”

           She was close, so very close.  She could feel her nails digging into Crowley’s flesh, even breaking it, but she didn’t care.  And, obviously, neither did he.  He fucked her harder and harder, making her gasp and cry out each time he slammed home.

           “I’m coming!” she cried out.

           All of a sudden, Crowley stopped.  She whined, moaning and bucking against him as he withdrew and leaned up.

           “No, no,” she begged, but Crowley gently shushed her.  He moved her back onto her stomach, and for a moment, Naomi was afraid.  She couldn’t take him in the ass again.  But that fear was put to rest in the next moment as Crowley entered her slit from behind, moving back into the same thrusting movement he had had a moment earlier.  She moaned, feeling much more relaxed than she had in this position earlier.

           “Crowley,” she moaned.  “Make me come.  I want to come.”

           He slammed into her, holding her hips tightly in his hand.  Her orgasm was rising, and Naomi found herself shoving her hips back to meet each one of Crowley’s thrusts as best she could.  She was almost dizzy with pleasure, and she came with a thrill of surprise, moaning the demon’s name and muttering the word “fuck” over and over again.

           She was spent, but Crowley was not done with her yet.  She was sure she could take no more, but Crowley coaxed her up as they changed positions, so to speak.  Crowley was beneath her now, and Naomi was too exhausted to even note that that was how it should truly be.  He was still hard, and Naomi was sopping wet from her climax, so he eased her down on his dick with no effort at all.

           “Ride me, angel, and we’ll be done.  I can tell when one’s had all they can take,” he said with the voice of a promise.

           Naomi had never known such tiredness.  But she knew that Crowley would never be done with her until he had finished as well.  And his dick back inside her sensitive walls felt just so damned good.  She gripped his shoulders and rocked her hips as hard as she could, causing the demon to arch inside of her and cry her name.  Hearing him moan her name made her instantly understand why he had ordered this of her so much.  She found a second wind within her, grinding hard on the demon’s cock as he said her name again and again.  Before long, another orgasm was welling inside of her, and she could feel his cock begin to tighten.

           “Fuck me, Naomi.  Fuck me hard,” he growled.

           She rode him as hard as she could—which, being an angel, was saying something.  He took it all, digging his fingers into her hips until they both came, crying out and thrusting with no measured rhythm at all.  When they were both spent, she fell beside Crowley, her eyes sliding shut.  In only a moment, her whole world went to a blissful black.

#

Such Selfish Prayers…

           No light shined in her eyes to awake her, but Naomi knew it was morning.  Her eyes fluttered open as she released a long, hard yawn.  She was still in the King of Hell’s bed, still undressed, but was covered by a heavy black comforter.  She glanced over to see Crowley sitting in a wing-backed chair, reading over some leather volume she could not see the name of.  Her mind was still blurry from her… activity the night before.  The only thing she was truly sure of was that it was, all of a sudden, the next day.

           She set bolt upright.  It was the next day.  All of a sudden.  Crowley lowered the volume to peer curiously at her.

           “A problem, my dear?” he asked.

           Her lips parted, her mind whirling with a million questions.  She finally plucked one from the swirl, aiming a hard stare at the demon.

           “What happened?”

           He arched a brow at her.  “Are you referring to our escapades, darling, because I was quite sure you had understood…?”

           She shook her head.  “No.  I mean… it’s day.  What happened?”

           He chuckled.  “You cloud-hoppers are so daft sometimes.  Yes, Naomi, it’s day.  You fell asleep.”

           Her whole body froze.  She fell asleep.  The words played in her mind over and over again.  She fell asleep.

           Angels didn’t sleep.

           She threw the blankets off of her body, standing.  Crowley’s eyes stared at her naked form greedily, but they had only a moment to do so before she snapped her fingers and was fully dressed and put together again.  He seemed disappointed, and Naomi didn’t like the idea that this pleased her.

           “I have to go,” she said.

           “Yes, I assumed you would.  And I know we spoke of this only be a one-time thing, but… like I said last night, I’ve never had a lover so durable.  We should arrange this again.”

           Naomi looked properly horrified.  “Are you being daft now, Crowley?  This can never happen again.”

           The demon stood, laying his book on the seat behind him.  “And why not, darling?  You have free will now.  Wasn’t that the point of this whole exercise?”

           She looked away, images of the night before replaying in her mind’s eye.  She shook her head.

           “Last night was… a mistake.  I’m sorry.  I… I have to leave.  I must serve Raphael.”

           When she glanced back at Crowley, he looked a little angry, if not disappointed.  He wiped both looks away with a shake of his head.

           “Who says you have to follow that power-hungry nitwit?  Why not side with Castiel?  Free will, darling!  What aren’t you getting about this?”

           Naomi arched a brow.  A dark feeling was clouding her, but she could not put a name to it.  “Why would you even care?  Heaven in a civil war should please you, demon.”

           Crowley seemed to think on this for just a moment, caught off guard for the first time ever since Naomi had known him.  Finally, he sighed.

           “I just hate to see smart people make stupid choices, darling.”

           Naomi crossed her arms.  “I must leave.”

           “And if I try to stop you?”

           She summoned her Grace, allowing it to shine brightly enough to make Crowley recoil.  She held it like that, making her point firm and clear.  When she was sure the demon understood, she stopped.

           “Good-bye, Crowley,” she said.

           In the next moment, she had left Crowley’s manor to arrive in the posh Heaven that Raphael favored.  He was sitting in a leather chair that was not so different from the one Crowley had been sitting in when she awoke.  He said nothing as Naomi bent her knee before him.

           “I’m here to serve you, brother.  I only ask that I re-take my position and its anonymity to do so.”

           Raphael was silent for just a moment.  Then, with a laugh, he nodded.

           “I would have it no other way, sister.”

           And with that, Naomi destroyed all hope for freedom that lie within her.

           And that was fine by her.