Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

‘Why didn't I know? Why didn't anyone care to tell me this! I can't go on a honeymoon!’ Crowley shrieked. ‘Do you really expect me to abandon my garage for another week!’
Aziraphale looked at his brand-new husband in disbelief. Well, that went down like a lead balloon.

After the, rather unorthodox, wedding ceremony, Mr Brown had happily announced that the married couple would go to Vienna for five days and stay four nights in one of the finest hotels of the city. A small honeymoon, gifted by the sponsors of the show.

Crowley paced the small office, looking everywhere but Aziraphale's direction.
‘Yes, you can.’ Furfur tried to calm down his friend. ‘Eric can take care of the place. Again. You've got to admit the boy has done an excellent job on his own during your absence.’
Crowley growled. Eric was not supposed to do an excellent job on his own, but Furfur was right. Tell the boy what to do and how to do it and you could bet your mother's life that the job would be done exactly as ordered. Furfur continued, ‘I've told you before and I will tell you again, your customers don't mind the waiting. In fact, if you tell them you're married and taking your beloved husband on a honeymoon, they will even bring you wedding gifts. You know, scented candles, matching pyjamas, a tea set, that kind of rubbish.’
‘That's not it,’ Crowley interrupted with a growl. One look at Aziraphale told him that he had just checked another box of his how-to-be-a-disappointment-list. ‘It's Rowan. He's bringing over one of his cars. I always drive him back home. We always take the Bentley. You know how much he loves that car.’
‘Really? Rowan is more important than Aziraphale? REALLY?! Then why don't the two of you get a fucking room!’ Furfur took a deep breath and continued in his sweetest voice (and that might have been worse than yelling), ‘Thanks to you, Eric is a qualified driver.’

Aziraphale watched the scene in silence, his arms firmly on his back. Anathema stood next to him, repressing an outburst. Mr Brown, who did not want to be a part of this, had taken Lucifer aside. They were discussing the second season of 7 Days, 7 Bachelors, 1 Wedding. If he was interested, Lucifer would be one of the desirable bachelors. Maze and Jay had miraculously disappeared. Bob, who had stayed behind and did not want to interfere with whatever was going on, kept filming against better judgement.

‘I will not have Eric drive my Bentley!’ Crowley spoke firmly, stamping his foot like a five-year old child.
‘What about your Ford Mustang?’
‘What about my Ford Mustang?’
‘Do you trust Rowan with your Ford Mustang?’
‘Yeah, sure. Why?’
Furfur thought it would be best to explain his plan in easy words, step by step. ‘Rowan hands over his car and the keys to Eric. Eric gives him the keys of your Mustang. Rowan drives back home with it. When Rowan's car is ready, you drive his car to his home and collect your Mustang again.’

The silence that followed was deafening. ‘Yes.’ Crowley finally nodded. Aziraphale tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. Crowley kept nodding. ‘Yes, that could work.’

Aziraphale exhaled sharply; he hadn’t even realised he had been holding his breath.

A big grin broke loose on Crowley’s face; he was no longer a disappointment. ‘Angel! Let's go on a honeymoon!’

Chapter Text

‘Why did you run away?’

Crowley had expected the question to pop up eventually. He hadn't expected to hear it on their last evening in Vienna while sharing a nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape on the terrace of their hotel suite.

Saying the honeymoon had gone as a charm, would be an understatement. Much to Crowley's surprise, it had been nothing but a Heavenly delight to be in Aziraphale's company. Never before had he tolerated someone in his presence as long and as much as Aziraphale. Every evening, he had called Eric, making sure that the place hadn't caught fire yet. That was the only time Eden’s Temptation crossed his mind, and on one occasion Aziraphale even had to remind him that he still had to call Eric. Crowley, who generally preferred to stay away from any other human being if they didn't serve his greater good, found himself actively seeking his husband's company whenever Aziraphale left him alone for more than five minutes. Husband, because that was what they were now. He didn't know what it was about Aziraphale that made him so fond of him, and Crowley wasn't willing to give it a second thought either. Everyone knew Crowley didn't do feelings.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, knew exactly why he liked to have Crowley around. For example, they could sit in a comfortable silence watching the world go by. At Crowley's side, Aziraphale didn't feel the need to constantly prove himself. He didn't feel judged, no matter how he behaved or what he said. Around Crowley, Aziraphale could be his boring self.
Or his silly self.

The past days, they had visited most of the famous tourist places. On the first day they had stopped by Hofburg Palace and strolled through the Stadtpark, the oldest park in Vienna, where Aziraphale wanted to take pictures of every single statue of known and lesser-known composers, while telling Crowley all about them. Although Crowley hardly listened and wouldn’t be able to recall what Aziraphale told him, he simply enjoyed hearing his voice. That evening they went to the Vienna State Opera to see Das Phantom der Oper.

The next day they visited the Schmetterlinghaus. Crowley had mentioned that he'd like to go there and Aziraphale gladly fulfilled his wish. Aziraphale happily clapped his hands when he noticed the butterflies took a real interest in Crowley's hair. Crowley grumbled (of course he grumbled) when Aziraphale took his picture after three Tiger Swallowtails landed on his head. In the afternoon they walked through the city from one interesting sight to another, until Crowley remarked that at this rate, he would be going home with shoes that had no soles left on them. They took a pause for some Viennese sweets for Aziraphale and a Viennese coffee for Crowley. ‘Why are you in such a hurry to see it all?’ Crowley asked Aziraphale. ‘If you want, we can return on a later date. I've heard the city is very beautiful during wintertime [1].’
It was the first time Crowley had mentioned a possible future together and Aziraphale's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

On their third day in Vienna, Aziraphale dragged Crowley into a jewellery shop. They had not exchanged wedding rings, as Aziraphale was supposed to have married Lucifer and by tradition their names had been engraved in said rings. The show had offered to erase Lucifer's name and to engrave Crowley’s instead, but Aziraphale had rejected their offer with a very firm, 'No. Different man, different ring.' He had stood his ground and in the end the show had given him money to buy new wedding rings (they did not want to go through a second ordeal of Aziraphale’s fussy choice and rejecting most of their offered rings).

The shopkeeper showed them a wide variety of rings, to which Crowley only responded that he would not be caught dead wearing a golden ring on his finger. Aziraphale huffed and puffed that gold was tradition. The shop keeper, a very patient man who had his experience with gay couples choosing wedding rings, understood his profession as no other. After listening for six minutes to their bickering, he went away for a split second and came back with the perfect matching rings. A golden one for Aziraphale with a black engraving of a feather, and a black one for Crowley, with a golden engraving of a feather. Simple, stylish, and matching the standards of both men.

As said, so far, the honeymoon had been nothing but a bliss.

The happy couple stayed at the Leo Grand and had been given a stunning attic suite with a king-sized bed that had been covered in rose petals when they arrived. “Oh dear.” Aziraphale had blushed at the sight of it.
‘I can sleep on the sofa if you want,’ Crowley suggested. ‘I don't mind.’ He didn't want to invade Aziraphale's boundaries, and his mother had told him to always handle something delicate and precious with care.
‘My dear boy,’ Aziraphale huffed. ‘I will have none of that. There is a perfectly good bed in this room, and we will both make use of it. Surely, we can sleep in one bed like adults and each stay on our own side.’
The words 'sleep' and 'adult' in one sentence most likely meant something else to Crowley, but the ‘stay on our side' killed any possibilities. Then again, he wouldn't mind sleeping next to an innocent angel. He could keep his hands to himself if needed. After all, Crowley was an adult.

On their first morning in Vienna, Crowley woke up with something soft tickling his nose. Still too sleepy to open his eyes, he turned his head away from the discomfort. That bloody stray cat he had been feeding must have snuck inside again. At least, it lay quietly snuggled up at his side instead of doing it's usual 'I-am-hungry-feed-me' meow and push in his face, but when had it gained weight? And when had it grown to the size of a bloody tiger? Crowley didn't own a tiger (or a cat for that matter). He dared to open one eye. A cloud of white curls greeted him in the morning sun. Aziraphale stirred and Crowley held his breath. He crooked a smile. So much for keeping to their side of the bed. The sleeping man nestled his head in the comfort of Crowley's neck, whose body was now half covered in angelic beauty. Still in the peaceful land of the sleeping, Aziraphale hooked one leg behind one of Crowley's. ‘Getting possessive, are we?’ Crowley whispered with a chuckle. He had woken up with one arm wrapped around Aziraphale's waist, his hand resting on the soft slope of his sleeping partner's lower back. Crowley wouldn't mind staying in bed like this for the rest of the day. Afraid to break the spell, he didn't dare to move a muscle, let alone breathe.

However.

However, he did have to move, just a little, so nothing inconvenient poked Aziraphale's side. Crowley didn't think it would be appreciated if Aziraphale would be woken up by it. Carefully he moved his hips. His angel stirred and shuffled a little closer, keeping him in place with his hooked leg.

Great. This was definitely not helping his problem.

‘Oh dear!’ Aziraphale looked up at Crowley in surprise, his eyes big. Crowley felt how Aziraphale's body wanted to retract, and he wrapped his arm a little tighter, an impulse he couldn't control. He wasn't ready to let go of him. Not yet.
For a second or two he watched how Aziraphale struggled with a thought, and he was about to remove his arm and let go of his husband, when Crowley felt Aziraphale's body relax.
‘Oh dear,’ Aziraphale said once more. ‘I'm so sorry. I didn't know that I still had this annoying habit subconsciously. You see, my ex-partner hated that I never kept to my side of the bed. He hated that I clung to him while sleeping. He claimed it was too warm and that he needed to be able to move freely. After a while I had unlearned that habit. I am so sorry. I really should have stayed on my side of the bed.’
Crowley couldn't see why hugging your partner would be considered a bad habit. He rather liked waking up like this. He could get used to it.
‘It's okay,’ Crowley reassured. ‘I don't mind. I get cold rather easily, so the extra body warmth is more than welcome and appreciated.’
‘Really?’
‘Really,’ Crowley confirmed.
‘Very well then.’ The smile on Aziraphale's face still showed some insecurity, although he wanted to believe Crowley. ‘But we better get dressed if we want to attend breakfast,’ Aziraphale said as he got out of their bed. ‘I've read they serve an exquisite morning buffet with a variation of eggs, yogurt, bacon, pancakes and smoothies. And while I'm taking a shower, you can take care of your little morning problem. Yes?’

‘My morning problem is anything but little!’ Crowley couldn't recall he’d ever had any complaints in that area. ‘My morning problem has a more than decent size.’

[1]  Side note from my Beta Reens: If it isn’t currently raining. Or cold. Or fucking windy (although its kinda windy nearly every day in Vienna…). Or raining while its windy and cold 😅 Also hardly any snow like ever in Vienna. But nice christmas markets – especially the one near the Stephansdom is quite a sight and the Prater also looks stunning during winter. Only downside is that the zoo is closed for some time during the winter months.

My reply: They’re from England, they’re used to rain and wind 😉