Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Nonsense, Queen Elisabeth didn't hate you!" Aziraphale laughed, before taking another sip from his wine, letting it sit on his tongue for a few moments before swallowing, relishing the feeling. He hadn't had any wine since the last time he and Crowley were together, and it had been quite a while.

"She absolutely did, I'm telling you. Woman had it out for me!" Crowley smiled over his own glass, and he also relished the feeling of Aziraphale drinking his favourite wine again.

"Whatever did you do that she held against you, then?" Aziraphale was smiling at first, but his face immediately fell when he saw the sour expression on the demon's face.

"Ehhhh, I might have introduced Charles to Camilla," he mumbled, before taking a significantly larger sip of his wine than he did earlier.

Aziraphale gasped and put his hand over his heart in shock. "No!"

"'M afraid I did. But! That's all it was, I just introduced them to each other, the rest was his... Doing." Aziraphale didn't look convinced, and judging by Crowley's inability to meet his eyes, he was right not to believe him. Crowley didn't manage to hold his own under Aziraphale's stare for longer than 10 seconds. "I may or may not have had something to do with that phone call..." He admitted at last.

"You didn't!" Aziraphale knew he was telling the truth now, though he couldn't help but wish he wasn't.

"I only leaked it, I swear. He deserved it, anyway, did you listen to that tape?" Crowley let out a dry chuckle but then smirked so deviously Aziraphale could tell there was more to it. "And then I took Diana dress shopping," he concluded and his smile bloomed at the memory.

Aziraphale laughed with him for a while before his expression turned sombre.

"I guess- we've all done things we're not particularly proud of, haven't we?"

"I guess we have," Crowley agreed, matching the look on Aziraphale's face.

"I'm sorry, my dear. For everything," the Archangel began, but Crowley cut him off, unthinkingly placing his hand over Aziraphale's, where it lay just between them on top of the table.

"No- stop it. I know, you don't have to- I know," Crowley gave his hand a squeeze for good measure. "You wouldn't be able to handle watching the world burn without doing something to stop it. You love earth, you love humans, I get it. I do, too. I jus'-" he bit back his words and considered the next ones carefully. "I just hope the timing was better, that's it. We did make a mess of things, didn't we?"

"We did, rather. But it's not about humans. Well, not only about humans." Crowley raised his eyebrow in silent question, expecting Aziraphale to elaborate further. "This is my home, yes, but it's also our home. It's where we met, where we became friends. This is where we-" his words got caught in his throat, realizing he was finally about to put words into a 6000 year old relationship.

Crowley gave his hand a firm but supportive squeeze and urged him to continue. "'Where we', what, Aziraphale?"

"This is where we fell in love. I could never abandon this, Crowley. Not without a fight. Human history is our history, darling. I was afraid that if we lost it-"

"I know, I know. Hush, I know." He paused for a few moments, contemplating what Aziraphale said. "Are you going to go back?" he asked, finally.

"I- yes. I am," Aziraphale admitted. Crowley gave a slow nod in response and stayed quiet again. "I have to, Crowley, you know I do."

"I know, yes. I jus'-" he seemed very hesitant to speak his mind to Aziraphale. It would probably take a while until he would feel 100% comfortable again.

"What is it?" Aziraphale urged, his voice as soft as he could manage.

"I can't say I really love the thought of you up there with all these jerks," Crowley mumbled, the edge of his mouth curling upwards into a small crooked smile.

"Ahh." Aziraphale felt his shoulders shake with quiet laughter before he commented on it. "You shouldn't worry about that, my dear. I have learnt how to put them in their place."

"Have you, now?" That, now, was definitely a smile on Crowley's face.

"Indeed, I have. They all gave me a bit of a hard time, at first, Michael obviously more than anyone, but let's just say she now knows better than everyone not to mess with me." Aziraphale attempted to hide his more evil than usual smile behind his wine glass, but he couldn't fool Crowley.

"Oh my- what did you do, Aziraphale?" Whatever the angel was about to tell him, he could tell was going to be awesome.

"I had a little help from the demon Eric, do you remember him?" Crowley hummed in confirmation. "Well, I don't know if Muriel ever told you, but he stopped by the bookshop at some point, and him and Muriel became fast friends, bonded over their superiors stepping all over them." Crowley nodded, and waited for the punchline. "I may have convinced him to help me run a refreshing course for Michael, he produced some realistic looking Hellfire for me and I pretended to bathe in it, as it where." Aziraphale was grinning but Crowley was now looking frighteningly pale.

"You- you trusted Eric with that after knowing him for what- 2 seconds?"

"Oh, I took my precautions Crowley, I assure you. Tested it thoroughly. Don't you worry." Aziraphale's expression was now serious, but the delighted glimmer never left his eyes.

"You utter... Bastard," Crowley finally cracked, smiling from ear to ear. "I really might just start fearing you, after everything you've done."

"Oh, nonsense, you know I would never hurt you, dearest. Never you." He squeezed his hand and they exchanged loving smiles.

They fell into a companionable silence for a while, while they gathered their thoughts. While the weight of the words exchanged between them settled in their hearts. Their hands never left each other, both soothing each other by either squeezing the other's fingers or drawing circles with their thumb at the back of the other's hand.

For the first time in years, they didn't need to say anything more. Sure, a lot of things could be voiced, had they wanted to, but they didn't need to, not now anyway. For the time being, neither could say they remembered being this content with each other.

After a while, Aziraphale decided to break the silence between them.

"Do you remember that time in Southampton, we met at the port, you were accompanying Lieutenant- what was his name?"

"McMaster, yes! And you of course, ever the huge fan of ships, you had to be there, hadn't you?"

"You have to admit, she was magnificent," Aziraphale replied wistfully, no doubt still being able to recollect the grace with which the Titanic loomed over them all, while swarms of excited passengers embarked one by one.

"She really was," Crowley conceded. "Shame, what happened that day."

"Real shame. We had fun, though, while it lasted, didn't we?"

Crowley gave a hum in agreement and tried hard not to let the memory of the screams on that fateful night taint what really was 4 magical days, where no one gave two shits if two random men spent their time with each other, enjoying fine food on the top layers of the ship and frenzied parties on the lower part.

Between them, they went through 7 bottles of wine, and enjoyed the incredulous looks the waiters were giving them at not only still being able to drink even more, but at how they were able to keep chatting about anything and everything without tripping over their words. ¹

"Crowley?" The demon hummed in response, glass-covered eyes trying to focus on the angel next to him. The lazy smile never faltered from his lips. "I have to ask," Aziraphale continued, "Kennedy...?" He needn't say anything more, Crowley immediately knew what he was talking about.

Crowley shook his head a bit and averted his eyes, while Aziraphale quietly anticipated his response.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Crowley finally said, hiding his mouth behind his glass.

"Come, now, dear. We both know-"

"I didn't kill the president." Crowley's eyes were back on the angel, who in turn stared right back into them, as if the sunglasses weren't even there.

"The bullet curved, Crowley," Aziraphale whispered. It was getting late and the restaurant was nearly empty, no reason attracting more attention than the empty wine bottles around them did.

"Because I was trying to save him," he whispered in return. "They took me out before I could." Now, Crowley didn't raise his glass to hide his face, he needed to take a big sip of his wine, the memories of that day haunting him. He could have saved him. He would have.²

"Why would you try to..."

"He was a good man."

Aziraphale's expression softened, and he was back to holding Crowley's hand with his own. Giving him a soft bur reaffirming squeeze, he smiled as he let the weight of the confession settle around them. "Yes, he was," he quietly agreed at last.

When they finally felt they had enough, Aziraphale asked for the bill, left a hefty tip and subtly blessed the waiters for being so patient with them, seeing as they were the last remaining diners and they were all waiting for them to leave so they can clean up and finally go home.

Crowley insisted upon walking Aziraphale back to the bookshop, even though it was the opposite way from his flat. He wasn't ready for their night to end but he knew they would have to face it soon enough. Still, he was determined to enjoy as much time with Aziraphale as he could.

Aziraphale seemed to be of the same mind, because as soon as the bill was paid and their belongings were gathered, he wordlessly slipped his hand back in Crowley's and gave him a coy smile which Crowley was unable to resist returning. Not that he tried to resist it. He was happy to be back by Aziraphale's side and he would be damned a second time if he was going to spend another second concealing it.

They kept chatting and reminiscing, exchanging the same anecdotes for the hundredth time and laughing at them as hard as ever.

When the bookshop came into view, they both slowed their step, both trying to extend their time together. Once they were inevitably at its doors, Aziraphale turned towards Crowley only to find his yellow eyes already looking back at him.

"You're sure you don't want to come in for a nightcap? I'm sure Muriel would be delighted to have you back," Aziraphale tried changing Crowley's mind for the tenth time that night, a little more reluctant than the demon to let the night come to an end.

"I would love to, you know I would. But I don't think I should," he lowered his eyes and it was clear as day how much he would actually love to join him. "Not yet, anyway."

"Of course, yes, I understand." And he did. Deep down, he knew Crowley was right. If they were to do this, they were going to do this right. They spent enough time doing the wrong things, only to end up hurting both of them in an attempt to protect the other.

"Before I- go, could you..." Aziraphale looked up at him expectantly, letting him finish his request. "Could you say that- thing again?"

Aziraphale couldn't help the grin that bloomed on his face, not only at Crowley asking him to say that again, but at how careful he still was about it. And he understood why that was, the words were still fresh, fragile. But he was determined to say them all the time, now that it was out in the open.

"I love you, Crowley," Aziraphale whispered. Not because he was afraid, but because of how intimate this moment was. He didn't need to shout it, not yet. It was just between them. "I'm in love with you."

He might as well have screamed it from the top of his lungs, because Crowley heard it as if he had anyway.

"I love you too," he replied just as quietly, but his words had the same effect that Aziraphale's had on him.

They held each other's hands tightly and beamed at each other, once again letting the words and the feeling they carried settle around them. After a few moments, Crowley made a move as if to go.

"Well, I should-"

"You know," Aziraphale began, not letting go when Crowley gently tried to tug his hands away. "I believe it's customary to kiss one's date good night, on the premise that the evening went well." The coy smile was back on Aziraphale's face, now along with a furious blush that seemed to reach as low as his bow-tie. Crowley could bet it went even lower than that, but chose to file that thought for another day.

"Oh, is that what this was," he teased, instead, though his own smile matched that of Aziraphale's and he knew, at that second, that he was an absolute goner. He didn't intend on ever trying to make it back to the way things were, so it wasn't such a bad realization, given the circumstances.

"I thought that much was obvious, darling. Didn't you notice the rose at the middle of the table? How more obvious can an angel get?"

Crowley could swear he had a retort ready, he knew he did. But all thoughts jumped out of his brain and abandoned him upon hearing Aziraphale call him 'darling', his voice might as well drip with honey, with how sweet he made it sound.

"Right- well- yes- ngk- I-" now they also had matching blushes.

"And I do believe the evening went quite well, wouldn't you agree?" Aziraphale took a small step closer to him, not that it was necessary, with how close they were already standing, but it helped drive his point home.

Crowley could barely hum in agreement, his eyes now transfixed on the angel's lips, which seemed to move closer by the second. He was pretty sure he was supposed to move closer, and he must have, because barely a second later their lips met, and his eyes fluttered close.

Their lips were still for a couple of seconds, not pressing firmly against each other like the last time, simply breathing each other in. Aziraphale seemed eager to move things along, because soon, his hands left Crowley's, and instead dug into Crowley's locks, gently tilting his head at the same time to deepen their kiss.

Crowley left the tiniest, most pleasantly surprised -- involuntary -- moan at that, and his hands moved on their own accord when they wrapped around the angel's waist, now bringing them even closer, their chests and bellies pressed up against each other.

Aziraphale sighed into the kiss and leaned his head even further back to fix the angle due to the close proximity, gently tugging at the hairs on the base of Crowley's skull to show his appreciation of the move, earning him another -- a tiny bit louder, it sounded more like a needy whine than anything -- delightful sound from the demon.

They kissed for quite a few magical seconds, and then slowly pulled apart, not too far, resting their foreheads against each other's and taking a moment to breathe each other's air.

"I'll see you soon, dearest, right?" Aziraphale whispered, not because he wanted to, but because he had to, what with how breathless that kiss just left him.

Crowley hummed again, a mere fraction of a second before leaning forward and connecting their lips again for another shorter, but just as impactful kiss.

"Good night, angel." Crowley was just as breathless as he was, but his words were filled with determination, a promise, a silent agreement. They were back. And they were together.

They kept on seeing each other, 4 or 5 times a week. Dinner dates, lunch dates, coffee dates. They soon started going back to the theatre, or to museums or even art shows. London had so much to offer, and the rest of the world had even more, so they started travelling again, back to every place they had ever been together and even more.

From Paris to visit the Louvre, to Athens for the Parthenon, back in Rome to see the Colosseum to the deepest buried little huts in the woods up in Reykjavik to watch the northern lights, to starlit gondola rides in Venice, exchanging kisses under the Bridge of Sighs.

Every date night, date weekend or even date week, would end with Crowley kissing Aziraphale goodnight in front of the bookshop, then jumping back into his Bentley and waiting for his angel to get safely inside and lock up, before driving away.

"You know, you can just spend the night here, if you want. I'm sure the couch misses you," Aziraphale commented one night, as nonchalant as he could manage³.

"Oh, is that where I would spend the night? Exchange my enormous bed for a lumpy old couch?" Crowley teased, brushing his thumb against the angel's cheek.

"Excuse you, my couch may be a lot of things, but one thing it is most certainly not is lumpy!" Aziraphale tried to look offended, but the tenderness in Crowley's eyes made it impossible to.

"Hell of a lot less comfortable than a bed, though." He simpered as he noticed the all too familiar by now blush settle on Aziraphale's cheeks.

"I could maybe be persuaded to let you cosy up at the edge of my bed, if you promise to be nice." He focused on Crowley's thin silver scarf, unable to lift his head and meet the demon's eyes. Crowley couldn't let that pass.

"One thing I am not, angel," he purred, lifting Aziraphale's head with his index finger under his chin, getting him to look into his eyes, "is nice."

Wordlessly, Aziraphale took Crowley's hand in his and led him back through the bookshop's doors, where they both knew he belonged just as much as Aziraphale himself did.

Just like that, Crowley started spending his days back in the bookshop, just like he used to, after Armageddon.

At first, only after being invited inside at the end of another date, where they would spend the night together and then both leave the next morning, Crowley going back to his flat and Aziraphale back to Heaven. Just because they were back together, that didn't mean everything was back to how they used to be.

After a while, Crowley would spend even more time there, even when Aziraphale was away to work. He would help around in the bookshop, scare customers away and keep Muriel company. Just before Aziraphale was due back for the night ⁴, he would go across the street, get Aziraphale's favourite tea and a coffee for himself, chat a bit to Nina or maybe even Maggie if she happened to be around, and then go back just in time to welcome Aziraphale back with a kiss and a hug, and talk about their days.

He hated⁵ how he loved the domesticity he'd found himself in with Aziraphale.

"So I take it things are going well, between the two of you?" Nina asked one evening, while preparing Crowley's usual order.

"I- yeah- I guess. I think we're back on track," he admitted, the blush on his face giving away more than he was willing to say out loud.

"And he's still working... Up there?" He knew she was trying to bait him into giving away Heavenly secrets, but with how much her and Maggie were involved in it already, he didn't see the issue with sharing a little more.

"He is, yeah. Still working hard to save us all."

"And you aren't going to help him?"

Okay, that was unexpected. He thought she wanted to know if there was anyone trying to stop the world from ending or not. Touching that subject with her when he'd barely mentioned it with Aziraphale seemed to be a much harder conversation topic.

"I- well, we didn't- he hasn't really asked... Y'know... since." That much was true. Sure, he had asked for his help once or twice, but then made it clear that all he was really in need for was Crowley being supportive. Which he was, as much as he could, anyway.

"That's not what I asked. From what you told me, he never really asked before either, did he? But you always helped." Nina seemed to be out for blood. Crowley's, specifically. She placed the full cup of coffee on the counter between them, but didn't let go when Crowley reached for it. "Look, I'm not saying that-" she lowered her voice, she was well aware walls had ears, "you should be an angel again, but I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do without changing who you are. You said it yourself, you're more powerful together."

"Right. Yeah, thanks for- yeah." She let the cup go and he held both the beverages in one hand, waving with the other. "I'll see you."

Thankfully, Aziraphale was a bit preoccupied with helping Muriel categorize the books that evening, so that left plenty of time for Crowley to go over his conversation with Nina again and again, trying to make sense of it. Whichever way he went about it, she seemed to be right. He was still lost as to how he would be able to help without becoming an angel, but he knew he wanted to help.

A few days passed, and he managed to keep his thoughts to himself without tipping Aziraphale off to what he was considering. He wanted to come up with a plan before getting the angel's hopes up.

One evening, Aziraphale came back to find the bookshop dark, no sign of Muriel around, and without the smell of coffee he was used to coming home to. Instead, he walked further into the bookshop, straight to the back room, to find Crowley softly snoring on his -- not at all lumpy, thank you very much -- couch, hair all tangled up around his face, a tiny bit of saliva running from the edge of his mouth.

Aziraphale's heart swelled in his chest, not realizing how much he missed coming home to Crowley napping in his couch, a tell-tale sign of how comfortable his love felt, surrounded by Aziraphale's smell and books.

Slowly, careful not to wake him, he approached him and, once again, took the folded blanket that sat neatly on the back of the couch and draped it over the sleeping demon. As always, that was followed by him leaning over Crowley's head and brushing the stray hairs out of his face, to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Realizing he had no reason to be quick about it and pretend it never happened, he moved to sit down on the floor by Crowley's head. Reaching for the auburn locks, he buried his hand in them and gently stroked his hair, and occasionally his cheek. When he deemed it had simply been too long since he gave him a kiss, he would lean over and brush his lips against his forehead or the top of his head at the root of his hair, or his cheeks.

Crowley didn't wake for a while, or at least didn't seem to, so when he suddenly was pulled out from his thoughts by a gruff voice calling him out, he was startled to say the least.

"You know, some would consider staring at someone while they're asleep to be a little bit creepy," he was aiming for teasing, but he had just woken up so the hoarseness in his voice didn't make it so easy.

"I couldn't help it, darling, you looked so peaceful. I simply love coming home to find you sleeping. It gives me a few moments to admire your beauty without you making a weird face at me and telling me to shut up." Aziraphale was teasing, and the beaming smile on his face made that ardently clear.

"Mmm, I knew you would take advantage of my being unable to stop you." Aziraphale already missed the far too quickly disappearing hoarseness.

He didn't have much time to linger on that, though, because Crowley reached over to him and pulled him into a slow, toe-curling kiss. Aziraphale pulled back after a few seconds to catch his breath and looked at Crowley with as much love as he could possibly muster.

"Thought our anniversary would be a good day to re-enact our first kiss," Crowley breathed, the kiss clearly having the same effect on him that it had on Aziraphale.

"Our anni- you remember?" Aziraphale's grin should have been painful, with how big it was. He couldn't care either way.

"Of course I remember, what did you take me for?" Crowley pretended to be offended at the implication that he would forget their first kiss, but he knew that until Nina mentioned it he wasn't even sure it ever happened.

"It's just- you never talked about it. And you were so sleepy, I thought maybe you didn't know what you were doing."

"I knew what I was doing. Just as much as I know what I'm doing now." He pulled Aziraphale back into another breath-taking kiss. When they pulled apart, neither of them bothered to hide their besotted smiles. "Wanna join me?" Aziraphale savoured the fact that two kisses like the ones they just exchanged seemed to have the same effect on his voice as a nap did.

"I don't think we can both fit under the blanket, dear," Aziraphale responded, but moved to position himself behind Crowley, after he scooted over, closer to the edge of the couch to make space for him.

"Ehh, even more reason to snuggle up together, share some warmth."

"Did you seriously just say 'snuggle up'?" Crowley didn't need to look at his face to know that Aziraphale had the smuggest smile in the history of the world. Right Bastard.

"I did, but you have no proof and if you try and claim it happened to anyone I will make sure they watch that video of you singing Katy Perry in the shower." ⁶

Aziraphale gasped, feigning offence, even as he indeed snuggled up against Crowley's back. The blanket turned out to be more than big enough, but neither commented on it.

"You wouldn't!"

"I worked hard on my reputation, angel, I will do my best to protect it."

"You fiend," Aziraphale's voice was dripping with fondness. "Fine, I surrender. They both can stay between the two of us."

Crowley snickered and settled into the angel's embrace.

The minute they were both comfortable, Aziraphale's yearning for more physical contact started growing. His arms held Crowley close against his body, wrapped around his slender form firmly. One of them settled under his neck, his palm resting on his chest, right above his heart. He relished in the feeling of the steady beat, telling him that if they stayed like this for a little while longer Crowley would go back to sleep.

His other hand crept over Crowley's waist, his fingers slowly sliding under his shirt, to rub small circles on the demon's stomach. At the same time, he started planting gentle kisses on his neck, behind his ear, his hair, the corner of his mouth. Everywhere he could reach, really, without needing to move too much.

Crowley seemed to enjoy it, because despite Aziraphale holding him as close as he could, he somehow managed to shift a little and press himself even more firmly against the angel's body.

"Mmm, y'know," Crowley slurred, his speech confirming Aziraphale's theory about him being close to sleep again, "I meant join me to relax, but I'm not exactly opposed to the road you've chosen to go down on."

Aziraphale gave a low chuckle in response, without pausing his kisses or his fingers gently running along Crowley's stomach.

"I know, I know. But I can't exactly resist. I never want to stop kissing you."

If anyone ever asked him about it, he would deny the accusation, and nothing would ever make him admit to it. But, just between him and Aziraphale, the angel's words had a strong effect on him, and a small, needy whine escaped his lips.

Aziraphale chuckled again, now a bit more lightly. He knew he shouldn't start anything in the middle of the shop where anyone could walk in at any moment. He placed his arm back on top of Crowley's shirt and hid his face in his neck, taking a deep breath, his nose buried deep into the hair of the demon he loved.

After a few minutes spent in silence, where they simply enjoyed each other's presence and warmth, Aziraphale felt the need to break it, voice some concerns he'd had. First, he checked if Crowley had, indeed, fallen asleep just like he suspected.

He raised his head a bit and placed a soft kiss at the base of Crowley's neck, before whispering his name.

"Mmmm?" came the response immediately, telling Aziraphale he hadn't fallen asleep but he could very well have, had Aziraphale kept quiet for a little while longer.

"There's something I would like to talk to you about, darling," Aziraphale began, keeping his voice just as gentle and quiet as before.

He could feel Crowley grow a little tense in his arms, but he didn't refuse Aziraphale's request. "Sure, angel. What's going on?"

Aziraphale lifted the arm wrapped around Crowley's waist and brought it to his hair, in an attempt to soothe him and show him nothing was wrong. Well, on his end, at least. He was simply worried.

"I noticed you haven't been sleeping as well, lately, Crowley. You are very restless at night and sometimes you even mumble stuff in your sleep. Nothing clearly enough to let me in on your worries, but I do know something is bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?" His voice grew a little more confident, though it was merely an attempt to hide how much he was actually worried.

Crowley took a deep breath and stayed silent for a few seconds, and Aziraphale did as well, allowing him time to gather his thoughts. Then, the demon's voice finally came out, much more tender and hesitant than Aziraphale had heard it in a long time.

"I- well. I've had a few things on my mind, lately. I think I want to- maybe talk about it, a bit?" He seemed unsure, always hated bringing up topics of conversation that could easily turn uncomfortable. "If you want."

"Of course, my love, what is it?" Aziraphale did his best to hide the anxiety rising up inside him, now that his worries were confirmed and he knew for a fact that there was something keeping Crowley up at night. Crowley wasn't fooled, but he appreciated the attempt nonetheless.

"I don't want to become an angel," Crowley began.

"I don't-"

"Wait, let me finish." Aziraphale kept his mouth closed and started playing with Crowley's hair again. He was sure it was just as soothing for Crowley as it was for him. "I don't want to become an angel again," he repeated, a little more confidently than before. "But I want to help you. With- y'know. The Second Coming." He could feel Aziraphale's breath get caught in his throat, and he waited to see if he was going to say something. When he didn't, he kept talking. "I- I don't know how we can go about it, since I don't want to be an angel again, but can't exactly stroll into Heaven looking like this, either." He used his hand to point at himself, emphasizing his demonic appearance. "I was hoping to come up with a plan before I told you, but you asked- so. Yeah." He paused again, but Aziraphale didn't speak. "You can speak now."

Aziraphale stayed quiet for a few more seconds, now taking time for himself, gathering his own thoughts carefully. They hadn't talked about Second Coming ever since they got together. Aziraphale wasn't sure how that would bode with him, bringing such a topic up when they were so happy and finally content.

But now...

Now Crowley was the one bringing it up. Sure, Aziraphale asked him, but he could have refused to answer. He knew, by now, that Aziraphale wouldn't hold it against him, if there was something he didn't feel ready to talk about. Crowley chose to bring it up. Better yet, he chose to help him, without him asking. Just like he'd always done.

"Crowley, I- I don't know what to say. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"I know. I won't. But I do want to help. You were right, we can't just let the world burn. It's like letting a part of our story go. And I know I don't want this to happen, and I'll do my best to not let it."

Aziraphale didn't reply, instead resumed his previous task of planting kisses on Crowley's neck and cheek and every single spot he could reach, this time more enthusiastically than seductively. Crowley chuckled at the sudden excitement, squirming under the angel's tightening arms around him.

"So- is that a yes?" He asked through a fit of giggles, delighted this didn't turn into another argument.

"Of course it's a yes, I would love you to help me, Crowley. I always love having you by my side." He placed a few more kisses before stopping again and nuzzling against the demon's neck. "I love you," he murmured.

"I love you, too, angel. I can't wait to save the world with you, again."

They settled back into a comfortable silence, relishing the feeling of having the other so close.

They fell asleep with the knowledge that when they woke up they would be properly back together, a team, ready to face the world.

They would be an us.

August 13, 2025

My darling,

As I am writing this, I am sitting in my bookshop, in the back room, just like we used to. I am sitting in my chair, glass of whisky in hand, willing my thoughts to create an illusion of you, my love. If I concentrate hard enough, I can almost see you across from me, similar glass surrounded by your slender fingers, claiming the couch with your body as if it was yours.

And it might as well have been, Crowley, because I could never imagine anyone else sitting on it, right now. Might as well have your name on it.

You have claimed the couch just like you have claimed every bit of this bookshop, every bit of my history of humanity.

Just like you have claimed me.

Oh, my darling, getting the image of you on my couch out of my head is a piece of cake compared to the feeling of your lips on mine. The feeling of you pulling me closer, those beautiful hands on my chin. Those few seconds of anticipation I didn't allow myself to hear what you were all but screaming to my face.

And then, as if the way you ruined me — in the best way imaginable — wasn't enough, you did it again. And the second time I kept feeling it for a lot of other reasons.

But it wasn't enough, was it? It will never be enough. And I can't bear the thought of those being the only two times in my overly long existence that I got to taste your lips, my dear.

How I long to do that again, you have no idea. Even if it's just for one last time. I would do it right, Crowley, I would. I would hold your head in my hands, look deep into those beautiful, piercing eyes of yours and then pour all my love for you into that final kiss. Can't promise it wouldn't last for years and years, but if it was going to be the last one, I would make it count. The others were simply not enough.

But you... Oh, my darling. You are all I ever wanted. All I ever need. Just you, my Crowley.

Much love, Aziraphale

1. Well, they tripped over them a couple of times, but it was nothing compared to how anyone else on earth would be after that much wine. Take me back to the drunk idiots.

2. X-Men: Days of future past reference, from the scene on the plane. I understood that reference.

3. Not much. Back to the story.

4. It was almost as if Aziraphale had a 9-5 job. He would go away in the morning and come back in the evening, to spend every second of it with Crowley. Thankfully, time in Heaven moved differently than earth, so he had more than 8 hours a day to do everything he needed to do. Understood, let's go back.

5. He didn't, really. But he did have a reputation. Sure, that makes sense.

6. He would never. This was the most precious video he'd ever seen, and he wouldn't let anyone see his angel like that. Still, it was fun to see the blush on Aziraphale's cheeks every time he made that empty threat. The water was hot 'n' cold.