dear corpse

[crowley & shinoa]

She sees him before she hears him. A beast in the guise of a human, the moment he appears, she can feel her whole body tense. There's no one else, they're very much alone and they're both aware of that fact. Her trusted cursed gear is hidden but she knows that the moment she makes her move, her hand will be cut off.

So she stays very still. Bides her time. And waits.

He's relaxed. Almost unbearably so – probably relishing in the fact that right then and there, she is helpless. Vulnerable. His crimson eyes, like the blood he so eagerly spills, glint with anticipation. Yet, she bides her time, waiting for the right moment, for him to get a little closer and –

Suddenly, he's there. Moving too fast for her human eyes to see. His gloved hand on her neck, pushing her against the cement wall, the other wrapped tightly around the hand that holds Shikama Dōji. He pries her fingers off the black rod.

"How naïve," his voice low, taunting, almost scolding in tone.

Shinoa musters the courage to smile in return, "You can't blame me for trying."

But even she can't disguise the tremble in her voice.

She's faltering. He now has her weapon and her only means of defeating him.

The vampire's mouth parts, showing white pointed teeth, and he leans down towards her. His hand tightens around her neck, daring her to resist. It's what he wants, and what she won't give. Bringing her knee up fiercely, she makes sure it hurts. If he was human, he would have jumped back, howling. Instead, his eyes simply widen and he momentarily stops his pursuit of her blood.

Almost as if he is astonished, he stares down at her in something akin to wonder.

"Did you just knee me?"

"No. I made out with you passionately," she replies sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

A pause.

Then, he erupts into laughter. Moving his hand from her throat to the wall so that she is still caged. She looks at him in astonishment – never before had she seen one so free, so blissful. He holds his hand over his mouth and in between hearty laughs, he manages to say,

"You're a curious one, aren't you?"

"So I've been told."

He bites his lip, seemingly deep in thought for once. Then he lowers his head to her ear and whispers very carefully, "I've changed my mind."

"Would you like to live forever?"

He grabs hold of her face and brings her to him. Muffling her gasp of surprise with his mouth, pressing it to hers, hard. The vampire – Crowley Eusford – his name enters her mind involuntarily, obtrusively, carving itself into her soul like a knife, takes her first kiss with ease. She feels his arm wrap around her hip, causing her to be pulled forcefully towards his body. It's as if she is drowning. Thinking doesn't come naturally to her in that moment. All she wants to do is lose herself in this sinful act of pleasure. Yū would be disgusted if he saw her. The thought of him brings her back to reality.

She pushes him off, breathing heavily, watching him with heavily lidded eyes. His hair is in disarray, eyes tainted with primal desire, it's alarming to see him as anything but the perfect beast. He looks almost…human.

She realizes with a start that she had been kissing him back.

Crowley Eusford brings the hand that had been holding her so intimately to his mouth, tearing the glove off with his teeth.

"Do you understand what I'm offering you?" He asks, voice rough.

Blood, his blood, drips from the wound he himself has made. It flows, crimson elixir, iron in scent.

Shinoa shakes her head, no, no, no.

"The chance to become a god?"

She is dead now.

Her heart no longer beats. Her lungs no longer breathe. And, she will never be able to walk in sunlight again.

Shinoa falls back into the pillows.

And waits.

She hears him before she sees him.

a/n crownoa ftw