Forcing himself to stay still and let the chair knock him down, Crowley directed a humourless smile into the ground for the success of his plan. Rolling to his feet, he tried to ignore the sharp ache coming from his ribs. He'd instigated this for the injuries, so he'd just better deal with them.

"Like what? The only thing you've done with demons recently is screw them," he sneered, shoving the angel hard against the rough stone wall of the cafe and pinning him there by the shoulders. He kept his body just an inch from Gabriel's, hoping to prevent the archangel from having the leverage to deliver a knee to the groin and maybe just to disconcert him a little.

It was a far cry from the shaky truce they'd managed in the previous half hour, but Crowley hoped that one day Gabriel would understand why this was all necessary. It was always so much easier when the damn angels just shut up and cooperated.