"You run away," Crowley said with a drink in his hand. He wasn't sure how he ended up with an archangel in a bar. He didn’t even know how they became… acquaintances. Because they weren't friends, not really. Angels and demons were never friends.

Gabriel glanced his way before he went back to play with the little umbrella in his own drink.

"I did," he said.

"How did you do it?" Crowley asked. Gabriel shrugged.

"How do you do anything?" Then his face changed into something more serious and somber, yet still tried to maintain his easy-going attitude. "I just realized that they won't change. And that I don’t have to take it anymore. I mean, after spending a millenia with them, I think I earned a vacation."

Crowley slightly nodded and took a gulp of his scotch. Gabriel wasn't wrong. He probably would have left after all that too, they sounded insufferable. Angels always had a stick up their asses, he couldn’t imagine them as a fun bunch. Most of them weren't, anyway.

"I think," Gabriel said, looking at Crowley again," you deserve one, too."

He snorted softly, "Hell would fall apart without a ruler."

"And?"

Crowley stopped and met Gabriel's eyes.

"What do you mean, 'and'? It's Hell."

"Exactly, it's hell . Do you even like it? All those whiney demons and the paperwork? Doesn't sound very enjoyable."

"It's Hell," Crowley repeated. "It's not supposed to be 'enjoyable'."

"I'm just saying, if you are the King of Hell, you're supposed to have more fun with it, you know? You're the torturer, not the torturee."

He didn't answer. Gabriel was right in a sense, but then again…

"Someone has to keep them at bay. They would be a pain in the ass otherwise."

"They already are. And does it have to be you? Don't you have dreams?"

At this, Crowley let out a wry laugh. Dreams? Who did Gabriel think he was? Crowley was a lowlife demon, the bane of every creature he met. Dreams, right.

"No, I don't have dreams," he ended with. Nothing manageable at least, he added to himself.

"Why not?"

"Why should I? I have everything I'd ever want."

"I doubt that."

Crowley chuckled, "Enlight me then."

Gabriel smirked and shook his head.

"I'm just saying, depression doesn't suit you," he said. If Crowley found the situation entertaining before, it certainly stopped now.

"I'm perfectly fine where I am, thank you," he said, turning back to his drink to finish it.

"Oh I'm sure you are," Gabriel said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just like I was when I was still at home, trying to mediate between my father and my brothers so we can have just one peaceful family dinner. Which never worked, by the way."

"I'm not you."

"No, you aren't," Gabriel agreed, "but that doesn’t mean we don't don't have some similar experiences. Hey, I'm not saying that everything is funky-dory after I left. They are my family and I miss them. However, it is better. There are no rules and you cannot imagine how much quieter it is."

Crowley didn't finish his drink. He didn’t even take a sip, opting to mindlessly slosh it around in the glass instead.

He kind of hated Gabriel at the moment. It was a sour topic and the archangel refused to let it go because he was a prick. Because he wanted to help, perhaps.

He could admit to himself that he did despise his job. Those backstabbing demons. Crowley tried, honest to God, to make Hell better. To have some order in it and that maybe, just maybe, to make it more pleasurable for their kind because even for demons it was a fucking terrible place.

And he failed, time and time again. He wanted to give up, sure. But he couldn't.

"Would you rather Asmodeus control them?"

Gabriel froze. Crowley almost regretted his words but demons don't have feelings, so. It was still a low blow though.

"Didn’t think so," he said after the silence. He drank what was left, put his empty glass down and stood up with a sigh, adjusting his suit. "Well, I'd say this was a nice chat but it wasn’t. Goodbye, Gabriel."

Before he could teleport himself away though, the angel found his voice.

"He's dead though, isn't he? I killed him. But if I didn't, the boys would have offed him sooner or later, I'm sure. They found a way to kill Abbadon too, after all."

"With my help."

"Yes," Gabriel nodded, then turned around in his chair to face him. "Did they thank you?"

Crowley's muscles jerked. Gabriel noticed.

"Didn’t think so. They never do, so why bother?"

"And how exactly are they relevant?"

"Because you are doing this for them. Because you think it's better the evil you know than the evil you don’t. Because, to a degree, you care for them. And I understand," he added, before Crowley could interrupt. "They have a certain charm that just convinces you to help them and fall for them a little. Been there, done that. But what do they give you in return?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm fond of those little chucklefucks but their biggest concerns are each other. Sure, they will soften up eventually but when will they see us as someone trustworthy? As family? Never."

"Because," Gabriel continued, "we want that, right? Someone who cares for us as they do to each other?"

Crowley didn't need to listen to this. He should just snap his fingers and get back to his throne and treat himself.

He didn’t move. Gabriel did instead, standing up.

"They are humans and they feel emotions so deeply, they are absolutely infuriating and devastatingly wonderful. And maybe they will look at us as friends, eventually. But they won't count us in their family. What they need is help from someone stronger than they are and when we did what they asked, they wouldn't need us anymore. So I ask again: did they ever thank you?"

They did. Crowley was sure they did. Once, at least. He just couldn’t remember when it was, not now, when Gabriel was looking at him like that.

"Your point?" Crowley finally asked.

"My point," Gabriel said, stepping closer. "My point is that you could do better. What do you want to do?"

What did he want to do, indeed.

"Earth is nice. Nicer than Hell," he said mindlessly.

"It is."

"I could close the gates."

"Which ones?"

"Hell. I could close the gates of Hell," Crowley said, pondering. He was the king, after all.

Gabriel smirked at him.

"I guess you found something you want then? Shut down Hell and live on Earth happily ever after?"

"Maybe." Crowley paused, glanced at Gabriel, measuring him up, then he spoke again. "Interested?"

He hated how Gabriel's mischievous and bright expression sparked something in him. He was preparing for another disappointment, he just knew. It happened countless times before.

"I'm always up to cause some trouble," Gabriel said with a happy grin.

Crowley's lips quirked up. He held out his hand, and Gabriel didn't even hesitate before he took it.