Ineffable (Crowley x female OC)

In which Jenna is in Danger (Again)

"Hey, Crowley? Sorry, but can you get that book for me?" Jenna pointed to a delicate-looking ivory novel about two feet above her head on the bookshelf.

"Sure," answered the demon from the couch, setting down his Infernal Times. He lifted his fingers to snap them, but then got an idea. As smoothly as possible, he got up, swaggered over to where Jenna stood and casually reached up toward the book, stretching his long body a bit more than strictly necessary (and perhaps flexing his forearms a bit) before grabbing and handed the rather light book to her with a grin.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, smiling sweetly and returning to the comfy armchair to read.

He nodded, feeling strangely confident and proud of himself as he sauntered back to the couch. Sitting down, he watched her grin affectionately at the novel before opening and beginning to read the first page.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, draping his lanky left arm over the back of the couch as he turned to face her, "but what book is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, it's Northanger Abbey," she informed him, holding it up to reveal an old cover with intricate letters. "It's probably my favorite Jane Austen novel. Most people love Pride and Prejudice the most, but I think this is her best work." Jenna gazed at it fondly, like a doting mother admiring her newborn baby.

Crowley frowned. "Isn't Pride and Prejudice the one where they hate each other, but still get together in the end?"

Jenna's laugh warmed his blood as he rested his head on his left hand. "Sort of," she conceded, "although Darcy never really hates Elizabeth; it's more the other way around. But, basically yeah. They start out disliking or misunderstanding each other, but end up madly in love."

"Hmmm," said the demon, his face thoughtful. "Honestly, it sounds like a pretty stereotypical rom-com," he admitted with a chuckle, then froze in terror. Why the FUCK did he just say that? What if she actually liked the novel?

But he relaxed when Jenna nodded and grinned. "Oh, it totally is, but for good reason. People say she kind of invented the formula for romantic comedies. It wasn't really a genre before her time."

"Really?" said Crowley, raising his eyebrows. "Wow, I didn't know......did you learn that from Angel?"

"Actually," replied Jenna, crossing her legs and turning her body toward the demon, "I learned it at school, although when I asked Zira if it was true he did confirm it. A few years ago," she explained, "I took a college course all about Jane Austen wherein we read her six published novels, then compared them to film adaptations of said works. It was really amazing," she continued, smiling at the memory. "I didn't know how complex and feminist her writing was until reading and discussing each novel. She was really ahead of her time, in many ways."

Jenna suddenly stopped and blushed. "Ugh, I'm sorry," she groaned, smiling sheepishly at Crowley. "I'm rambling. I'm such a nerd about this stuff. You can always just cut me off if I won't stop talking about books."

Crowley, who had been watching her intently and smiling as she spoke, shook his head and frowned. "No, you're not rambling!" He assured her vehemently. "This is really cool! You probably know more than Angel about her, after that class....and he loves romantic comedies!" He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

Jenna laughed. "Yeah, pretty sure someone who was on a first name basis with Austen knows more about her and her works than I ever will. But Zira and I did talk a lot about Austen's novels, and later our favorite rom-coms, the day after we met. We were actually planning on watching The Holiday tonight, if you wanted to join us," she offered, "but you don't have to. I mean, it's pretty corny," she admitted.