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“Come up with something or...or I'll never talk to you again.” Crowley’s eyes went wide, that was worse, much worse. Sure the end of the world was at their doorstep, but his angel never talking to him again, such torture was ineffable.
Overwhelmed, Crowley let out a loud shout and his body thrusted upwards, affectively stopping time, allowing for the angel, the demon and the human boy to have a moment to collect their bearings and come up with some sort of plan.
"You know, I was scared that you'd be Hell incarnate. I hoped you'd be Heaven incarnate. But you're not either of those things. You're much better. You're human incarnate.” Crowley could hardly focus on what Aziraphale was saying, his eyes focusing on his glowing, ethereal wings that had sprouted from his back. Had his wings also popped out? The thought barley crossed the demons mind, too focused on the fluffy mess that was his ‘best friend’s’ wings, white feathers tangled in a haphazard array.
There was an awkward pause, Azirapahle looking expectantly at Crowley. “I’m going to start time now. You won't have long to do whatever you're going to do. Do it quickly.” Crowley spoke, finally able to draw his attention back to the very pressing issue at hand. With a hefty swing of his arm, they were back, time moving again. The first thing Crowley noticed was not Satan arising from the ground, was not the shouting from Adam claiming the demon was not his father, no. The first thing that Crowley noticed was that Aziraphale’s wings were gone again, as if they were never there. Yes, he knew that was how it worked but he couldn’t help but miss the fluffy glow.
“That's not really his father.” Aziraphale’s words pulled Crowley’s attention, eliciting a small smile from Crowley, though if anyone asked, he would deny it and call it a ‘devilish smirk’, “It is. It is now. And it always was.” The words slipped from his mouth with ease, a sort of peace coming with it.
Crowley’s lips betrayed him, pulling into another smile, he turned to walk away before the angel could see and have time to react, which, little to Crowley’s knowledge, had in fact, been a small pleased smile of his own. ‘We’ve done it’, thought the angel, a happy little trill spilling from his chest. Glad no one was close enough to hear, he stepped forward, following after his demon counterpart.
The two sat at a bench, a certain weight lifted from their shoulders, “Do you think they'll leave us alone now?” Crowley had asked, while looking rather odd slouching in Aziraphale’s body, “At a guess, they'll pretend it never happened.’ Came the angels response, both relieved to have finally been done with this mess. “Right. Anyone looking?”, the angel asked as he moved his head around, looking back to the demon in his body for a response, “Nobody. Right, swap back then?” The two interlocked hands, allowing themselves to shift back into their own forms, both stretching a little, rolling their shoulders, enjoying the feeling of their own bodies again.
The demon sat up a bit, “Right. Time to leave the garden. Let me tempt you to a spot of lunch?” Crowley hoped he seemed causal in his offer, really, he wasn’t ready to leave the angel’s side, not yet at least. Seen as though they had quite literally been through hell and back, all the demon wanted to do was relish in the calm with his ‘best friend’. “Temptation accomplished.” The two got up and started towards nowhere, “Any place you have in mind?” The demon asked, following at the angel’s side. “What about the Ritz? I believe a table for two has just miraculously come free.” Crowley smiled a very small smile, in fact, you could hardly call it a smile at all, the corner of his lips were every so slightly raised, that was all.
The two walked side by side, Crowley had his hands in his pockets, Aziraphale’s behind his back in his usual gentlemanly manor. The demon’s thoughts were running, he wanted nothing more than to reach out and offer his hand to the angel, but he had just gotten a good thing, he didn’t want to ruin it at the fault of his greedy demon instincts. While the demons thoughts were going faster than the speed of light, the thoughts of an angel were not far off following the same course. Though neither of them made any move.
“To the world” Aziraphale had spoke, so softly and full of love, the demon couldn’t help but blush ever so slightly, for it seemed his heart fluttered, he truely wished to be Aziraphale’s world. He wanted the angel to refer to him as such and he wanted to be able to call the angel his world too, but alas, he didn’t want to ruin their friendship, which had finally formed into something more solid, after all those many many years, now that they had their own side. So instead he said “Lift home?”
Somehow, the two had ended up in the bookshop, on Aziraphale’s truely horrible, yet very comfy, tartan couch, both holding a glass of wine, that may or may not have been refilled on multiple accounts. “Mmm tell’n you, isss the ducks, they heeer evry-thnng” Crowley had slurred, somehow they’d managed to bring their conversation back to the mysterious waterfowl. Aziraphale only chuckled in agreement, it seemed both had decided the best way to celebrate the after events of the Armageddon-That-Wasn’t was to get absolutely sloshed.
Crowley too drunk to sober himself up stood unsteadily to make his way to his car, only for Aziraphale to grab his elbow, in attempts of steadying the demon, though he himself wasn’t very stable on his own feet. “My dear, pleasss, you can’t drive in this ss-state. Stay the night hehere.” The angel held a tight grip on Crowley, doe eyes pleading their way into Crowley’s heart immediately stopping any protests at his mouth, “Fiiiine angel, ll’ stay” was all the demon could muster before he was laying back on the couch, having accidentally pulled the angel down with him, he mumbled a soft sorry before his eyes fell closed and soft snores started emitting from his mouth with each breath he took. Aziraphale having been in the same state as Crowley, merely shifted slightly so he was more comfortable, ‘I don’t need to sleep, but it just… it…’ the angel could feel himself drifting out of consciousness, falling asleep not long after the demon. The two sprawled out on the couch, entangled in each others embrace. It had been a long and eventful week after all.
Sun light filtered through the half closed binds, warmth emitting through the bookshop. The occult and etherial beings lay comfortably embraced on a tartan couch. Aziraphale began to stir, a soft sigh left his lips as he enjoyed the warmth surrounding him. It wasn’t until a few minutes passed when he realised he was wrapped in Crowley’s arms, who was, thankfully, still sound asleep. The angel’s cheeks and ears dusted in a hot blush, he was wrapped in Crowley’s arms, ‘how did this happen?’ The angel thought, ‘and how am I supposed to get out of this without waking him up’. The angel pondered, wiggling slightly to see if Crowley would subconsciously release him, however, this had the opposite affect, as the demon seemed to only pull him in closer. ‘Oh dear, what to do, what to do’. Of course, the simple answer would have been to miracle himself out, but, as smart as the angel was, it did not occur to him at the time, his mind preoccupied. To Aziraphale it seemed he only had two options, option one; he could just get up and most certainly wake the demon, that was a no go. Option two; he could just stay there, in the demons arms, and wait for his counterpart to wake, this idea was also a no go.
The angel, so lost in his thoughts, hadn’t noticed the demon watching him, a warm smile resting on his face. “What’cha thinking about, Angel?” The demon asked, scaring the angel out of his thoughts. Aziraphale’s eyes widened and his heart beat quickened, ‘When had Crowley woken up?’, ‘How long has he been awake?’, ‘why hasn’t he let go of me yet?’, ‘could he, maybe, like holding me?’ The angel’s thoughts raced faster than he could keep up with, all that left his mouth was, “Huuhwaaah?” His cheeks flushed darker as the demon chuckled, his chest vibrating against Aziraphale’s as he laughed, “I’m afraid you’ll have to repeat that one Angel, I didn’t quite catch that”. The demon smirked up at Aziraphale, not a malicious smirk, one laced with amusement and love.
The etherial gentleman huffed, pulling himself out of Crowley’s arms, both immediately missing the warmth of each other’s touch, and sat up, allowing himself a quick stretch. The demon followed suit, letting out a long yawn and a satisfied sigh. It was a miracle his body wasn’t aching from sleeping on a couch, though that wasn’t completely out of question, seen as one of them was, in-fact, an angel. Aziraphale stood up, “Tea?” He offered as he started towards his kitchen, knowing full well that the demon only drank coffee and wine. Crowley just nodded, his mind focused on the slight bit of belly that was peaking through the angel’s wrinkled clothes, his cheeks warming as the watched the angel exit the room.
Crowley sighed, a hot cup of coffee in his hands that he sipped contenly. Aziraphale sat across from him, in his armchair, nearly finished with his tea, a soft hum escaping the angel’s lips every once in a while. “You’re a mess, Angel”, affection resting in his expression, not realising he’d said it out loud, Crowley’s eyes widened as Aziraphale let out a soft “oh”, his eyes fell to his hands, “If you’d excuse me”. Was all the angel said as he got up, the demon not having a chance at stopping him, quickly making his way to his room to change and freshen up. Aziraphale’s hurt expression was running through Crowley’s mind, like a nightmare you couldn’t quite shake, “Bastard”. He’d mumbled to himself, ‘What if he wants me to leave? I don’t want to leave’, He could always sleep for a decade or two, maybe his angel will forget about what he said if he just gave him some time, a bitter taste sat on the demon’s forked tongue, he wasn’t his angel. Oh, but how he wished he was.
Aziraphale looked at himself in his mirror, how could he have let Crowley see him in such a state! The angel reprimanded himself, slipping out of his clothes and stepping into his shower. Of course, he didn’t need to have a shower, he could just miracle himself clean, but there was something about the feeling of the hot water on his skin and the routine of washing oneself that he quite enjoyed, it felt more thorough, more calming. He let his thoughts wander as he washed the grime of yesterday’s events off his body, ‘What if Crowley leaves?’ The thought had plagued him enough to have him moving faster than he usually would, he didn’t want the demon to leave. It wasn’t until he was fiddling with the buttons on his vest that he had realised he’d finished his shower, he rushed the rest of his buttons and hastily made his way back out to the lounge where Crowley was still sitting, sipping his coffee, ‘Oh, thank heaven’s he’s still here’.
When the demon saw Aziraphale walk in, he immediately started apologising, only to be shushed by the angel, “It’s fine, I was a bit of a mess”. He chuckled nervously as he sat back down in his armchair. They both let out a sigh, shaking away the awkwardness, leaving a subtle calmness.
The two sat in content silence for what felt like ages, which had in fact only been 10 minutes, both were left to their own thoughts, which has proven to be a dangerous game. Crowley’s mind had wandered back to the angel’s beautiful wings, he wanted to see them again, he wanted to run his fingers through the feathers. The demon couldn’t help but remember the state Aziraphale’s wings had been in, it was like he hadn’t touched them in decades, let alone let them out. This thought started plaguing the demon’s mind, “Hey Aziraphale, when was the last time you let your wings out?” Crowley had asked, care in his question, the angel could sense the seriousness in Crowley’s voice, deciding he couldn’t just shrug of the answer with a laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s been quite a few years I’d say. It certainly felt good to let them out yesterday, however, I would have appreciated better circumstances”. Aziraphale stopped for a moment and really thought about it, truely, when was the last time he had let his wings out. “I believe the last time I really stretched my wings was back in 1601, while I was in Edinburgh. Hmmm, my, that was a while ago. Why do you ask?” The angel spoke as if it were only yesterday, “You whot? Angel, that was, that was over 300 years ago!” Crowley’s voiced raised ever so slightly at his shock, he hadn’t been able to last a month let alone a year, not one for being cooped up, he was.
“Oh dear, I suppose it really has been a while.” Aziraphale mumbled to himself, still awaiting the answer as to why this had been brought up in the first place, “Why, is there something wrong with my wings?” The angel exclaimed, now worry flooded his eyes as he stood up abruptly. “No, no, nothing wrong with them, just looked like they’d been cooped up a while is all. When did you last groom them?” Crowley asked, forgetting himself for a moment, trying not to hurt the angel’s feelings again. “Oh, um, well, you see…” Aziraphale seemed to struggle for words, a deep red engulfing his cheeks as he tried to hide his face in his hands. “Crowley, you can’t ask me that sort of a question! It’s incredibly personal!” The angel stated firmly, his face still hidden away by his hands, slightly muffling his words.
Crowley tilted his head confused, he couldn’t think of any reason why such a question would elicit this sort of reaction out of the angel. “What are you going on about Angel?” The demon asked, hoping the etherial being would help shed some light, “You’re going to have to explain”.
Aziraphale lifted his face from his hands, taking a peak at the demon to see if he was messing with him, he had, after all, been an angel once himself, surely he would know. Then it hit him, of course, this had all happened after The Fall, what with the uncertainty around the freshly fallen angels, demons, it was imperative that certain rules got changed. Specifically those around grooming and preening. “Oh, how could I have forgotten. It uh, happened after The Fall…” Crowley flinched at those words, although it happened long ago, it still stung like anything, he had, after all, only asked questions and the next thing he knew, he was one of the fallen, apart of The ‘Great’ Fall as many liked to call it.
Aziraphale continued, “Well, they implemented quite a few new rules, mostly ones regarding safety like; children must always carry a vial of holy water, and no one was to stand too close to The Edge. However, they also added trivial rules surrounding grooming and preening”. The angel paused, hoping the demon had caught on and that he wouldn’t have to explain further, for if he did, this was going to be a rather embarrassing conversation. With Aziraphale’s unfortunate luck, Crowley was looking at him like a goat in a sheep’s flock, absolutely clueless. So he continued, “Well uh, mostly around how you do it and who you do it with.. It’s become a very personal and intimate practice.” The angel paused for a moment, Crowley’s bottom lip was quivering ever so slightly, it did that when he had something he wanted to say, “Intimate how? It never used to be something personal, of course you wouldn’t let just anyone do it, but having a friend or family member help was completely fine, tell me that’s still allowed.” The demon looked confused as ever, “Well no, um, not really. It’s now, more of an act between uh, parents and their children, and um..” The angel inhaled deeply, “and lovers”. Crowley’s face become redder than his hair as he realised just how sensitive and personal this subject was, “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I didn’t know it was so personal, so… intimate”. The demon began to spew apologies, he didn’t want to imply anything that might make the angel think ‘he was moving too fast’.
Aziraphale smiled softly, “No, dear. It’s alright, you didn’t know”. The angel allowed a few seconds to flow by before he decided, “If um, if you have any questions, I’m happy to try and answer them”. Crowley looked up, his face finally starting to look like his normal shade. Of course he had questions, so many questions, but how was he supposed to know what was appropriate to ask and what wasn’t. The angel, as if he had read his mind, spoke up, “Ask me anything dear, nothings off the table, after all the pursuit of knowledge is a wonderful thing”. Aziraphale knew he would regret that later, but for now, he was delighted by the idea of helping Crowley understand the new-ish rules, while doing the best he could to explain everything without getting too flustered.
“You said how. What does that mean?” The demon asked, his eyes focused on his angel’s reaction to try and gauge whether or not his question was okay to ask or if he needed to back pedal, said angel relaxed a little, “Well, a law was passed that we must no longer do it ourselves. So, it has changed how we groom. Of course you can still neaten them up when absolutely necessary, but you mustn’t properly groom and you certainly mustn’t preen. Though, I’m not entirely sure why that rule was put in place, it does, however, slightly correspond with your immediate family being allowed to groom your wings, though they cannot preen them. Unless of course it is, under the acceptation, a child’s wings, then a parent can preen their wings up until the age of 11”. Aziraphale finished, slightly disappointed in himself, why didn’t he know the reason the law got passed, surely that was something he was supposed to know. What’s worse is that, now, he wont be able to answer Crowley’s question properly. “This is, well, that is absolute bollocks!” The demon exclaimed, Aziraphale nodded in an agreeing motion, because, of course, he also thought this, deep down.
“So, then, all this time you’ve not been able to even groom yourself? All these 6000 years of being on earth and you haven’t been allowed to preen, to groom?! Angel, I’m so sorry.” Crowley tried to settle himself, he didn’t want to get riled up when talking about such a sensitive topic, but it just ground his gears, how dare they! The angel’s face grew red, “I uh, well, no. I haven’t”. Aziraphale let out softly, “No wonder your wings looked a mess, were you even allowed to bathe them?!” The demon wasn’t quite shouting but his voice had definitely raised, he was at the point where his filter gave way and he was saying whatever crossed his mind, “Well of course I’ve been able to bathe them, what do you take me for, a filth.” The angel huffed out, slightly offended at the demons comments, of course he bathes. Crowley shifted his gaze to the floor, avoiding eye contact with the offended angel.
“No, that’s not what I meant”. The demon, Crowley, allowed himself to calm down, the hurt in his angel’s voice bringing caution to his thoughts, his voice growing softer as he adjusted his seating position so he was slightly more comfortable. He looked up slowly, meeting the angel’s eyes, they had both calmed down, the angel sighed, “No, I’m sorry, I know you’re not trying to be rude.” A pause. “Are they really that bad?” Aziraphale let out, almost a mumble, did his wings look messy, were they tattered? He hadn’t noticed, then again, it had also been a while since he’d actually taken any notice of them. He actively avoided looking at them if he could, his wings in such a state, it was improper.
Crowley breathed in slowly, they weren’t that bad, but he couldn’t lie to his angel and tell him that they didn’t look messy, “Well, they’re not as bad as you think they are. It looked like just some old feathers might still be stuck and knotted through, you’ve also got a few new feathers ready that might need a bit of help. Wait, I’m sorry, that’s personal”. The angel thought for a moment, how had Crowley been able to notice all that within the, barely even, 5 minutes he had them out, all while the Armageddon-That-Wasn’t was happening. ‘He’s very observant’. Thought Aziraphale, while Crowley’s thoughts were shouting, ‘Crap! He knows!’ The demons mind was racing, how was he gonna get out of this one, how’s he supposed to convince his angel that he wasn’t madly in love with him, that he couldn’t take his eyes off him.
“It’s alright, really my dear, no need to fret. Thank you, for telling me”. Even though there wasn’t anything the angel could do about cleaning them up, he hoped that maybe a swim and a night-time fly might help ruffle the old feathers free and encourage some of his tangled ones to release and neaten out. The demon bit his lip nervously, was he really gonna say what he’s thinking right now. Well, the angel did already know he was in love with him, at least he thought the angel knew, sooo, yes. Yes he was. “If you’d like, I could um, I could groom your wings for you. I know you said it’s very personal, and I’m not trying to disregard all that but, it’s just that, maybe-“ the demon had lost himself to his rambling, trying to justify and apologies at the same time, Aziraphale interrupted him, his soft and gentle voice pulling Crowley to a complete stop, “That would be lovely, thank you”. Crowley looked up, his face completely red, Aziraphale was in no better state, both, worried the other had noticed they were blushing, opting to hiding their faces in their hands.
After about ten minutes of embarrassed squeaks, Crowley lifted his eyes to meet Aziraphales, he swallowed, “Would you like to do it over at mine? There’s uh, more free space. It would be easier, and we wont have to worry about knocking anything over”. Of course, this also meant that it would be less likely someone would interrupt them by attempting, and failing, to purchase one of Aziraphale’s beloved books. The demons face, still red from earlier, slowly started to cool down, his angel on the other hand, was redder than the richest tomato from Crowley’s secret garden patch. “Uh, um, well, I suppose that would be wise”. Aziraphale sputtered out, though he didn’t make much of a move to get up. Crowley cleared his throat, rising from the tartan couch, he grabbed both of their mugs, “Right, well, grab anything you think you may need. I’ll do the dishes”. The demon spoke as he made his way into the kitchen to do exactly that, his angel hummed softly in thought, what would he need? ‘I must take my tartan throw blanket, and of course my celestial comb… where did I put that again?’ Aziraphale started searching for said comb, quickly realising he could miracle it to his hand, he waved at the air, now in his hand, was a golden comb, his name engraved along the shaft on one side, a small apple tree on the other.
The angel pocketed his comb and folded his blanket over his forearm, he turned around to see if Crowley needed any help in the kitchen, only to find the demon walking through the doorway, “You ready to go angel?” Both of them blushed at the use of the pet name, it hadn’t bothered either of them before, but now, it felt more intimate. “Yep, ready to get a wiggle on”. The angel blurted out, Crowley smiled fondly, leading them to his car, the Bentley parked on the curb across the road. The two got in and drove most of the way in silence, save for a couple remarks directed at a certain demons need for speed, the quiet wasn’t an awkward silence, more of a giddy nervous calm. Crowley parks, looking over to Aziraphale before they get out, “I’ll follow your lead, make yourself comfortable”. The demon said, oddly considerate for a, well, demon, but then again, Crowley’s never been like the other occult beings, Aziraphale nodded, grateful, “Thank you my dear, I really do appreciate this”. With a grunt, the demon heaved himself out of his car, the angel exiting much more smoothly, following Crowley into his apartment, a small nervous smile lacing his face as he thought about how sweet his demon was being.
Aziraphale removed his coat and vest, rolled up his sleeves and got to work, he asked Crowley to grab all his blankets and pillows, laying his tartan throw across the floor in the middle of Crowley’s living room. A minute later, the demon wobbled through the doorway, his arms full of blankets, sheets and pillows, anything for his angel after all. “Uh, I hope I got enough”. Aziraphale smiled sweetly, mumbling a soft thank you as he got to work creating a comfortable nest he could share. Crowley helped here and there, but it was Aziraphale’s wings being groomed, so it needed to be Aziraphale who made the safe haven. After about 45 minutes, the angel finally sat down, patting the spot beside him, motioning for Crowley to sit, the demon did exactly that. It took a minute for the two to get comfortable, though the angel’s face was beet red as he removed his button up. How was he supposed to open his wings without feeling embarrassed, this was Crowley, yes he knew the demon wouldn’t judge, but he was still scared, what if the demon didn’t like his wings after seeing them up close, he couldn’t live with the thought. So, the angel took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, and another, by the third deep inhale his thoughts calmed, this was Crowley after all. He carefully let his wings unfold on the exhale, a small “wow” slipped from Crowley’s lips, putting the angel’s mind at ease immediately, something about Crowley’s eyes told him that he’ll be alright, that he wouldn’t leave him, that he was safe.
“May I?” Crowley asked, his hand mere centimetres away from the white feathers, all Aziraphale could do was nod, his words escaped him when he realised this was real and was actually happening, he shifted, facing his back to Crowley, allowing the demon easier access to both his wings. There was no loophole here, there was no doing this without directly breaking the rules, he couldn’t help but tense. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a shiver ran through the angel’s body, Crowley’s fingers running through his feathers, it felt wonderful, tears stared welling in the angel’s eyes from the sensation. Crowley gently carded his fingers through the angel’s primary flight feathers, carefully wiggling some loose ones free, the wet droplets rolled down the angels cheeks as he let out a silent sob, the demon immediately stopped. He shuffled around to face Aziraphale, a worried expression knitted his brows, “I can stop”. The angel shook his head as if the world was ending, “No. No, please, don’t. It feels” a pause, “good”. Aziraphale sighed, he didn’t realise how touch starved he truely was, he never let anyone touch him, it was really only Crowley, it’s always been Crowley, but the demon tends to keep to his space most of the time as well. Said demon lifted his hands to rest on his angel’s cheeks, wiping his tears away with his thumbs, he pulled Aziraphale into him, wrapping his arms around the etherial being, allowing him to sob a wet patch through his shirt, rubbing calming circles into his angel’s back.
Aziraphale swallowed, sitting up slightly, pulling out of Crowley’s embrace, both immediately missing being wrapped in each others arms, “I’m alright, thank you dear”. The angel spoke, a small waver in his voice, but the demon could tell that it was true, so he gave a soft smile to his angel and shuffled back behind him, resting his hand on Aziraphale’s shoulder, “I’m going to continue now, is that okay?” The demon received a nod, so he continued carding his fingers through the angels wings, starting with his primaries, moving through to his downys, untangling many loose and damaged feathers, the angel making soft hums every now and then. Although, the tears still welled in his eyes, no more fell, the angel gently tapped his shoulder with the comb, “Dear, please, if you need to use this, you can”. Crowley absentmindedly took the comb and started running it through the angel tertiary feathers, Aziraphale let out a soft moan, a pressure, he didn’t even know he had, released, allowing a sense of relief to wash over him. Much like when you wake after a deep and restful sleep, allowing your body a much needed and very satisfying stretch, the sorta stretch where the air in your joins pop.
Crowley started to hum softly, a tune unfamiliar at first but soon drifted into Bach’s ‘Cantata BWV 156 Arioso’, the familiar tune causing both to relax fully, an almost domestic air floating around them. Crowley had just finished grooming the contour feathers, Aziraphale’s were creamy in colour and a pure white near the barbs closer to the aftershaft, and a few had somehow made their way into Crowley’s hair, the white a sharp contrast to his fiery red locks. The demon moved on to the secondary feathers, the last ones left, the angel listened to the demon as he hummed more piece’s from Bach, a pleasant sweetness came with listening to his demon hum, it was a rare occurrence, but one the angel enjoyed to the fullest. About 20 minutes passed and Crowley was finally done grooming, “Done”. The demon spoke, leaning back so he could give his body a moment in a different position, the angel using this as a chance to stretch his wings, gently flexing them out and back in, allowing them a much needed reprieve from being closed up all this time. They felt truely wonderful, the angel couldn’t remember the last time his wings had felt like this, so relaxed, so right.
“Thank you dear, I cannot begin to fully express how grateful I am for your help”. Aziraphale turned to face his demon, a large smile across his face, he was, literally, glowing, the red puffiness in his eyes had settled, it almost looked like he never even shed a tear. Crowley couldn’t help but smile back, his angel had a contagious smile, it couldn’t be helped, it was one of the things he loved about the angel in front of him. “Would you like me to preen them?” The demon blurted out before he could even think. A sharp inhale escaped his angel’s lips at the mention of preening, his eyes widened when he realised what he had offered, it was one thing to groom his angels wings, but it was a whole nother thing entirely to preen them, let alone offer to do so. After saying that, his face redder than the flames of hell itself, there was no way his angel didn’t know how he felt. There wasn’t a doubt in Crowley’s mind that suggested the angel hadn’t figured it out, if not before, then definitely now. He’s gotta say something, but what? ‘There’s no point hiding it anymore, I need to face the truth and just tell him.’ Crowley’s thoughts concluded, though he wasn’t sure how he was going to do this, all he knew was that it was now or never.
Crowley parted his lips, unsure of what he was gonna say but glad when his angel unintentionally interrupted him, “please” came the soft whisper that left Aziraphale, a gentle reassuring smile and a duck of his, growing redder still, face. The nervous energy coming off of the two eternal beings could be cut with a flaming sword it was so thick, they were both blushing blabbering messes. Neither of them were uncomfortable, but both, in an unfamiliar stand still.
It was Aziraphale who spoke first, “My dear, I would love for you to preen my wings. However, I feel I must address the metaphorical elephant in the room. I would like for you to preen my wings as my romantic partner, as my lover. Crowley, I know you may not feel the same, I don’t even know if you ever will be able to, but Crowley, I love you. I have loved you for quite a while now and honestly, I don’t see myself ever not loving you.” The angel, much calmer after his confession, sharing his heart seemed to have loosened him up, lifted a weight off his shoulders, his face a soft resting smile as he waited patiently for his demon to process what he had just told him. Aziraphale gently grabbed the, frozen still, demons hands in his, gently caressing the backs with his thumbs, this caused the demons eyes to flick down to the soothing touch, ‘This isn’t real, there’s no way this is real’, ‘he loves me back?’ “You Wot?” Crowley managed to utter out, his eyes wide as Aziraphale spoke again, “Anthony J. Crowley, I love you”. A wobbly smile made its way from cheek to cheek, the demon flipped Aziraphale’s hands over, allowing him to caress his palms in a smooth circling motion. The demon couldn’t manage to get any more words out, his smile being enough for Aziraphale to lean in ever so slightly, resting their foreheads together, landing a soft kiss to Crowley’s left cheek, just under his eye. The angel raised his eyebrows in a non-verbal attempt at asking permission to plant a kiss to the demons lips, all Crowley could manage was a slight nod, Azirpahale smiles, small but full of love, as he leaned in slowly, allowing his demon plenty of time to back away if he changed his mind.
The demon did no such thing, instead moving into Aziraphale’s touch, pressing their lips together in a tender kiss, their eyes falling shut as they savoured their first kiss, slow, soft and full of centuries worth of unconditional love for one another. Hands holding the other in their arms, warm in an embrace, grasping at the other as if it were all a dream, as if they would get ripped from their arms if they didn’t hold on tight enough. Though neither truely felt like this would happen, the touch of the other enough to ground them, to allow them to believe that this was real, that this was happening, and that no one, not heaven, nor hell, could take this away from them.
They stayed there, holding each other, foreheads together, smiles on their face breathing each others air, for far longer than they expected to, though neither complained, both enjoying each others warmth. “How did it take us so long” the angel had spoken, for the first time in nearly an hour the quiet was broken. A huff left Crowley as he gently pulled away, allowing them enough space to see each others faces but not leaving the conformable touch they had, he smiled goofily, “Well Angel, I don’t know, I’ve loved you since the Garden of Eden, an Angel who cared so much for the lords creations he gave away his celestial sword in order to protect them. I only thought it was you who could never love a demon like me.” Crowley, poured truth into every breath, for how could he lie to his angel, the one he had fallen so deeply in love with, that he would face the wrath of both heaven and hell if it meant he could keep every hair on Aziraphale’s head safe. Said angel’s heart broke, ‘Had he really loved me for so long’, ‘My poor boy, how did I not realise sooner’. “Crowley…” Aziraphale lifted his hand to caress his demons jaw, a gentle, soothing motion, his eyes watering as the demon leaned into his touch, “How did I not see it, I’m so sorry My Dear. You waited so long.” Crowley only shook his head, a wobbly smile crossing his face as he looked into his angel’s brilliant brown eyes, they held a splash of blue that tended to appear whenever they were alone together, “It’s alright angel, really. I wouldn’t change a thing”. Crowley pulled Azirpahale into another tender gentle kiss, willing the Angel’s woes away, allowing all his love and care towards the angel in front of him to seep through.
After a good cry, a long hug and a few more kisses, the two settled down again, the angels bare back towards his demon as he spread his wings out, allowing the red head easy access to every nook and cranny. Aziraphale, at some point, had miracled a small tray of tea and shortbread for the two to enjoy, as well as his preening kit. Both were dusted in a soft blush, the warmth from each other’s love showing clear on their faces, the tender touches and the soft glances as the two talked about nothing and everything, about their past together and the further they now held in their hands.
The soft touches lingered, the love hung in the air, filling Crowley’s apartment with more affection than it had ever experienced, the soft echoes of laughter bounced through the once empty space that, now, was filled with unconditional, eternal affections of sheer, unbridled joy, peace, calm and love.
Amber, snake-like eyes looking deeply into Aziraphales, a constellation of blue glimmering through the chocolate brown, Crowley’s hands holding his Angel’s cheeks, gently caressing them with his thumbs. “I love you Angel.” Both of their faces alight with joy, their bright smiles radiating affection, neither had to worry about what heaven or hell would think, there were no glances up or down as a gentle whisper left Aziraphales lips, “I love you too, My Dear.”
~End~