I was talking friends, yeah. The first few days tend to be the busiest. Someone I met a couple hours after I showed up is still one of my best mates here.
[It was a complete coincidence that he ran into Cullen, but he's glad he did.]
Have managed to avoid sleeping with him, too. Always a nice little bonus in this place.
[He has, unfortunately, slept with some of his other friends.]
( and if he does read a little deeper he might find that it's the only detail she's going to offer about what happened with her -- that one of the first people she met and had a friendlier conversation with ended up being the first person she slept with. and she really hopes that doesn't become any pattern )
What was it like getting used to this place? We were always encouraged to... keep a distance from mortals.
( she doubted that demons had the same rule, not when they were encouraged to cause chaos )
[Most of the time, he's fairly good at reading between the lines.]
It was like that, huh?
[It's an opened-ended question, one that she can answer with a simple yes or no if she doesn't want to discuss too much more with him. He's hardly going to hold it against her, if she isn't keen to open up to a demon.
As for her question, Crowley shrugs. It's a lazy gesture, one that hides a thread of discomfort.]
It's harder to keep a distance, here. Not just 'cause of the sex. [It's being trapped together, the LIES program often forcing them to interact. It's the fact it's difficult to trust native Duplicity citizens, so it feels better to rely on one another.] No one dies in the program, but they do leave. Can be hard, if you fuck up and get attached.
( rather than say anything she'll give him a look that confirms it. at this point, it's less opening up to a demon and simply just really not wanting to talk about sex. she's never done any kind of casual conversation about it before and embarrassment doesn't help )
I've been... attached to mortals before, even before I became mortal -- friends. ( and someone far closer to her ) Friends weren't specifically frowned upon, just how we acted with them.
( as long as they didn't get too familiar or interfere it wasn't too bad )
But if people leave here... it would be sudden enough to be a shock.
[That's a yes, then. He won't press for details, but he will offer a little advice.]
As long as you can both agree not to make a big deal of it, eventually you'll barely even think about whatever happened, even if it wasn't much fun.
[It's been true so far to his experience. The only encounter that's really stuck with him is with that other version of Aziraphale, and that's completely different than some unpleasant fuck with a friendly acquaintance.]
Death's sudden, too, most of the time. [He shrugs, fingers idly drumming against the table.] Sounds like you should do alright making friends, if you were allowed to have friends.
[He doesn't miss it, but he isn't sure what to attribute it to.]
Either way, friendship isn't exactly a new concept to you, is what I'm getting. And that's something you'll need, here, even if you do end up sleeping with them once or twice.
[People like Cullen, Diana, even Natasha when she was still around, they've been important in helping Crowley keep from entirely hating his time here.]
This isn't the Almighty's style. It's the wrong kind of cruel. For my money, it's just terrible fucking luck.
( she doesn't like that she'd thought it but she hadn't known what he'd been thinking in some time )
Well, you cant have done terribly for not being as familiar with it, not with the friends you mentioned.
( just going to gently sidestep that she might potentially sleep with some of them. she might have had sex already but she's still trying to avoid it )
[Crowley huffs out an amused breath, lifting a shoulder in a shrug.]
Well, I've gone soft, unfortunately. Not much to be done for it.
[Between Aziraphale and all the people he seems to have accidentally collected here, there's no real doubt about that.]
Think I have it easier than the angel, really. Part of being a demon's meant learning how to get people to trust me, and learning how to figure out what they want. Friendship isn't that different.
[It's just like, done in a nice way, instead of done to tempt them into something terrible.]
( a little defensive for him? even if crowley does know him better than she ever could she can't help but defend an angel, to believe in them )
As much as parts of being here are uncomfortable. ( no matter whether they'd been there months or just arrived. she wasn't going to question whether either had gotten in trouble, though they did have each other ) But I think he could make friends easily.
Most humans I've seen him interact with have been waitstaff.
[Not that it would mean he doesn't know how Aziraphale could be with other people, but that's his current excuse and he's sticking to it.
He decides not to say that Aziraphale is kind of rubbish at relating to humans on a one-on-one basis, that likely the reason he was so good with her is because he knew she was Something Else. Crowley doesn't judge him for these things, but another angel might, and anyway, it's not her business.]
M'glad he made a good first impression. There's... [He hesitates, unsure if he should say this or not. In the end, he shakes his head.] I'm glad he's got someone sort of familiar around, even if we're not all from the same place.
( that he's not alone in an angelic sense, that she isn't either. even that aziraphale hadn't been alone generally, that he'd had crowley from the beginning )
And... you've made a better second impression.
( honestly, his initial moment of trying to help her still stuck out, something good but then it had gotten confusing and complicated talking about heaven and hell )
[Just a hint of tease in that; it took a few millennia for Aziraphale to stop treating him with some wariness, so he hardly expects much more so soon.]
And no need to worry, I'm used to the judgement.
[It's a little bit pointed. Because of course an angel would judge him by what he is, someone forbid he not be a monster like God made him.]
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