"It's finally all over, then."
Aziraphale nodded dutifully. "I believe it is."
They settled into the familiar silence, feeling flushed with wine. With Armageddon 2.0 at the forefront of their minds the past few months, the old bookshop became heavy with the knowledge that there was another incident to discuss.
"Listen, Crowley, about what happened-"
"Ngk," groaned Crowley. "Forget it, angel."
Aziraphale set his glass down and turned to where Crowley was draped over the opposite sofa, his sunglasses still on his nose. It'd been months since Aziraphale had seen his eyes, the day he left for Heaven and they were cloudly with tears. Crowley had always hated the questions and strange looks from the humans so it became easier to keep them hidden, but over the centuries Aziraphale watched as it melded into his armour; a way to keep his emotions buried from prying eyes.
Aziraphale sighed. "Perhaps, I'd rather prefer not to forget it. Maybe, I only mean, if you're amenable, I- Oh, Crowley, please take those blasted things off."
Crowley raised an eyebrow before slowly sliding them off. His gaze turned to Aziraphale as he took a lazy sip. "If I'm amenable to what, exactly?"
"You know, when you-" Aziraphale made an unhelpful gesture but Crowley seemed to understand.
"When I kissed you?"
"Yes! That." He finished off his glass and set it aside, opting to wringing his hands instead. Crowley gave a baffled shake of the head. "Oh, really Crowley, must you make me say it?"
"Angel, if I knew what on Earth you were on about- say what? About the kiss?" He was gesticulating wildly. "You really want to talk about it right now? I haven't seen you in months! I'd much rather fancy just getting bladdered for the next week."
He collapsed back onto the sofa and pointedly poured them both another glass.
"Well," murmured Aziraphale, "I wasn't actually suggesting we talk about it."
Crowley froze mid-drink. "Oh?"
Aziraphale was looking everywhere except Crowley's eyes, which was a terrible shame because he'd missed them so much. "Well, if you must know, I was rather hoping you might like to...try it again?"
"Oh. Oh, alright." Aziraphale was already on his feet, seeming very much planted to the spot in front of his armchair. Crowley cocked his head. "Are you, uh- I mean, do you want me to-"
"Mmhm."
"Okay." Crowley jumped up and in one long stride, grabbed Aziraphale by the lapels of his coat and pressed their lips together. Aziraphale hummed gleefully, his hands squeezing Crowley's shoulders, keeping him anchored as they swayed on their feet.
After a long moment, Crowley took a half-step back. His eyes searched Aziraphale's frantically, preparing himself for the look of horror or disgust, the rejection.
"Oh, my," Aziraphale smiled instead, his hands still holding Crowley close. "That was certainly better than the last time, my dear. Do you think we could do that again?"
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59: Crowley
Chapter 59 of Too Wise to Woo Peaceably
*******
A part of Crowley that had been curled into itself since his Fall finally felt as if it might be unfurling, and it hurt .
It didn’t hurt the way the previous two days had hurt. It wasn’t piercing, sharp pain, or the sort of thumping agony that had walloped him into submission and shaken his bones. It wasn’t the stinging sensation of a healed cut being reopened, or the burn of merciless pressure applied to deep bruises.
It was a muscular ache deep in his chest, a kind of soreness that felt necessary and - in a way that he wasn’t too keen to examine - oddly pleasurable.
He tugged at Aziraphale to get him moving and together they shuffled to the side of the room. Crowley reached out and ran a hand over the wall, enjoying the tactile contrast of the soft velvet against the stiff gold thread of the stars.
He turned to Aziraphale, and his eyes creased with amusement. Despite supporting much of his weight the angel was studiously avoiding his gaze; he had been ever since Crowley had eyed the bed and shot him a suggestive look that had made him blush right up to his hairline.
He had hurriedly twisted away to avoid any potential interrogation from Muriel, and Crowley had almost barked out a laugh.
There was something fizzing in his veins, an airy, sparkling excitement needling him from the inside. Ridiculous, really. He couldn’t move around without hanging off someone like an angular scarf, but he felt light. Almost… giddy.
It was alarming. He didn’t know what to do with it.
Aziraphale broke into his thoughts, although his question was directed at Muriel.
“Wherever did you get the books from?”
Crowley tilted his head at Muriel in gentle warning. The angel either didn’t understand it or chose not to, because they smiled and said, “Oh, those are Crowley’s!”
Should have been less gentle about it.
Aziraphale did meet his gaze then, a disbelieving expression on his face. “I thought you didn’t read?”
“Oh, I don’t. They’re, ah, decorative,” he said, raising his eyes to escape the angel’s searching look and was pleasantly surprised to find a constellation on the ceiling above him.
“Of course. Decorative,” said Aziraphale dryly.
A tug around his waist and he was being propelled towards the bookcase. Aziraphale leaned forward to examine the books more closely, forcing Crowley to curl over him to keep his support.
He didn’t mind in the least.
“When did you get Jane Austen’s books?” Aziraphale asked incredulously. “Have you actually read these?”
It was the same tone of voice he might have used if he’d asked; do you really enjoy spending your free time riding elephants around Hyde Park?
Which… Crowley had never ridden an elephant, but if it was anything like riding a horse he would prefer to avoid it, as Aziraphale should well know. That is to say, Aziraphale had used a tone that clearly expected the answer ‘no’. He gave private thanks to the invention of cars for saving him from a lifetime of equestrian bruises and turned his attention back to the book in Aziraphale’s hand: Pride & Prejudice.
“Some of them,” he admitted. “Got curious.” He pointed at the book. “That one’s not bad.”
“Not bad,” repeated Aziraphale faintly. He was staring at him in such shock that Crowley wasn’t sure whether to be amused or offended. Then he noticed the burning intensity in his eyes, the hungry searching look, and he decided on neither.
He wasn't amused or offended, he was just...
He was just so bloody soft on him. It was appalling really, and the weight of it made Crowley feel like his knees might give out, so it was just as well he was already using the angel as a crutch.
“And these?” Aziraphale made a sweeping gesture that started at Hamlet and stopped at Much Ado About Nothing.
“Shakespeare,” Crowley said with a shrug. “Sort of compulsory to own Shakespeare, isn’t it?”
“No,” murmured Aziraphale thoughtfully, “No, it’s not.”
Crowley turned his attention to Muriel, who had wandered into the room behind them. They had their gold star clutched tightly to their chest, their other hand holding a bottle by the neck like a seasoned drinker, a bottle of-
Crowley recognised it immediately. His eyebrows shot up.
“Is that Talisker 10?”
Muriel swung the bottle up to their eyeline and squinted at it. “Yes! At least, I think so? Is that okay?”
“Okay? It’s brilliant! Thought you’d be back with a bottle of Buckfast, to be honest.”
“Buckfast?” Muriel handed him the bottle and fidgeted with the gold star he had given them. They were holding it pinched between their thumb and middle finger, spinning it absent-mindedly.
“It’s a type of wine-” started Crowley.
“Hardly,” interrupted Aziraphale.
“Such a snob,” said Crowley fondly, before continuing, “It’s a fortified wine. With caffeine. Imagine wine and coffee together in a single sweet, syrupy concoction... It’d give you palpitations, Muriel. Literally and figuratively.”
Muriel nodded, and plopped themselves down on the armchair.
Crowley cast a critical eye over them and twisted Aziraphale away from the bookcase. Muriel’s hair was rumpled and they looked a bit tired, which wasn’t right, because Muriel didn’t need sleep, hadn’t even been aware they could sleep a few months ago.
“Y’alright, Muriel?”
Muriel sighed and smiled. Their eyelids drooped. “Yes. Everything is alright now. Safe, and happy, and- and safe .”
Aziraphale squeezed Crowley’s wrist and guided them both over to Muriel. Crowley unhooked himself from Aziraphale’s shoulders to slide down and sit with his back against the front of the chair. He cradled the bottle in his lap and looked up at them. “You sure you’re alright?”
Muriel tilted their head towards him and nodded emphatically. “Yes. I am aaaalright,” they said drowsily. “I am alright …” They yawned, kicking off their shoes before pulling up their legs and tucking their feet beneath them. “... You are alright, he, she is alright, we are alright, you plural are alright, they are alright…”
Crowley was looking at them now - really looking at them - and suspicion had ballooned in his mind as he’d listened to them.
Muriel pointed down at him. “Aziraphale told me you liked liquor, which is- it’s- is spelled with a Q . Did you know that? Good thing I didn’t have to write it down! Anyway, the nice man, the nice man in the shop, he- he-” Muriel smiled again. “He’s very nice. Very kind. Anyway. Anyway! He said you would like that one.” Muriel hiccuped. “And he was right!” They frowned suddenly, “He was right, right?”
The suspicion became a certainty.
“Yeah. Yeah, he was right,” he said distractedly. Muriel, have you been drinking? ”
Muriel reared back looking highly offended. “No, obviously not! I would never drink! I just tasted. It’s not the same thing if you’re just tasting .”
“Right,” Crowley dragged the word out slowly, turning to catch Aziraphale’s eye. He was suddenly transported to a very different night in the Library in Alexandria, the memory so clear he could almost taste the wine on his tongue; He’d been sitting with his back against the stacks, a bottle of wine in his hand, watching Aziraphale glance around nervously before saying, “Well, I suppose it’s alright if I’m only tasting it…”
He dragged himself back to the present.
“Famous last words,” he drawled, amused, then raised an eyebrow and mouthed ‘... Alexandria ’ at the angel.
He was gratified when Aziraphale blushed.
“The man said it was a very good liquor…” Muriel said, head lolling against the tall back of the chair. “I’m glad you like it. The room, I mean… And the liquor too. Though I didn’t have as much to do with that…?” They looked vaguely concerned, as if it had just occurred to them that maybe they should have gone out and harvested the barley themselves.
Crowley eyed her consideringly. He thought about the first time he’d got properly pissed. It hadn’t taken much. He’d been quick to develop a tolerance, but that first time…
It had been a learning curve, to say the least.
Granted, he’d been on a mission to blot out his memories of The Great Flood by any means necessary, so his drinking had had a particular sense of urgency about it. He’d brute forced his way to a high tolerance with the sort of relentless determination that would have speedily destroyed the liver and kidneys of a less demonic body.
As he recalled, it had taken quite a bit longer before Aziraphale had been able to handle his drink.
And hadn’t that been a fun time?
Crowley sighed. Even a small amount of alcohol would mean Muriel would need to rest. It took a certain familiarity with intoxication for angels to learn how to sober up on demand. Any ill-effects of their having tasted whisky would have to be dealt with the old-fashioned way. That is to say, in a more human way: water, sleep, and possibly a minor miracle in the morning to help with the headache.
He turned to look at Muriel, whose body had slipped into the contours of the chair like a liquid. Their eyes were heavy-lidded, the relaxing atmosphere of the room lulling them into a daze.
Aziraphale came forward then, crouching before them. “Muriel, let’s get you comfortable so you can have a rest,” he said, and offered them his hand.
Muriel slipped their hand into his and allowed him to pull them to their feet. They swayed gently and blinked owlishly. They squinted at Aziraphale, then down at Crowley.
“Are you two friends now?”
Aziraphale blinked and then stammered out a sound so strangled it was impossible to tell if it was even a word.
“Of course,” Crowley crooned soothingly, holding his hand out for similar assistance. Aziraphale pulled him up to standing with a huff and Crowley leaned against him, resting his elbow on his shoulder. “Friendsss,” he said, letting the word out in a sardonic hiss. He didn’t need to look at Aziraphale to know he was making a face.
Always so proper…
It made him want to turn and flick his tongue against the angel’s neck.
Muriel beamed, their thoughts too hazy to pick up on the slightly mocking tone. “That’s lovely!” They sighed contentedly. “Friends!”
“I’ll set up the sofa for them,” Aziraphale whispered, and pointed Crowley at the armchair with a raised eyebrow. “You wait here. Friend .”
“Not going to let them take the bed?” Crowley asked innocently, collapsing into the armchair as directed and slouching against the armrest.
Aziraphale took a firm grasp of Muriel’s elbow and shot him a heated look.
Crowley smirked.
“Come, dear. Let’s get you comfortable in the other room,” the angel said through gritted teeth, steering Muriel out the door without a backward glance.
Crowley opened the bottle of Talisker and took a swig, enjoying the pleasant burn as he swallowed it down.
He let his head fall back and smiled lazily at the stars on the ceiling.
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SO WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN-
“Oh, Crowley.” Aziraphale smiled forlornly at the demon. “The only reason I accepted the Archangel position in the first place was because you would be able to come with me.”
Crowley’s heart stopped. “But I didn’t want that. To come with you. To Heaven.”
Aziraphale’s eyes darted away from Crowley’s. “Well, yes, and I-I should have thought of that.” And in a quieter voice, “The Metatron made me think otherwise. And by the time I wanted out- well, he mentioned the Second Coming, and it was then I knew that there *was* no out.”
His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. “Oh, Angel.”
“Yes,” Aziraphale chuckled, “well, I don’t suppose that we could be friends again. If you would be okay with that.”
He seemed both reluctant and hopeful at the same time.
“I don’t think I can do that.” Crowley grunted. “Be friends with you again.”
And before Aziraphale’s dawning horror led him to do something drastic, he quickly continued-
“Not without you doing the apology dance.”
Aziraphale looked relieved. “I do believe that can be arranged.”
He adjusted his waistcoat, before going-
“You were right, you were right,
I was wrong, you were right.” And when he bowed, Crowley felt like he had done the world a favour.
Or a damnation, considering he was a demon.
He pretended to consider something, before saying, “Alright.”
Aziraphale hesitated, before- “But I-I was wondering, if, well, if you’d be alright with…” At this, Crowley raised an eyebrow. “…it, then can we be… more than friends?”
Shock made him freeze for a split second.
Then they were kissing.
It was unlike the last time- Aziraphale was the one who initiated, Crowley was the one not responding- from shock, and when he realised this, he started to kiss back immediately- his Angel had a fistful of his shirt, and Crowley didn’t know where to put his hands.
They eventually settled on his back.
When they parted, Crowley immediately took his glasses off.
Aziraphale smiled at him. His breath got caught in his throat.
Crowley tilted his head forward a bit, hesitantly kissed Aziraphale- it was shy, and only went on for a few seconds- and stopped soon after to take a step back and run his hand through his hair.
“I forgive you.”
Aziraphale’s answering smile was the sweetest, most tooth-rotting thing that Crowley had ever laid his eyes upon.
Perhaps they would be able to get through this.
Ao3
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