Chapter Text
“The Garden of Eden?”
“What, is it not up to your standards?” Asa teased, watching Anthony peer over the park’s ledge to stare down at the apple tree.
“No, no,” he said, “’S just a bit dramatic, isn't it?”
“Well. Bustling garden, large apple tree…I always found it quite fitting. It’s a lovely park.”
“That, it is.” Anthony grinned. “Be right back.”
Asa looked in his direction and raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
As he turned his attention back to the park below, he thought back to the past few weeks.
Him and Anthony had gone on plenty more dates, and he enjoyed them all, of course. Though every time, his mind had latched on to their first date. To what he had seen.
Asa wouldn’t say he was disappointed it hadn’t happened again, per se. But if he was being honest with himself, it was rather exciting. He knew using the word ‘exciting’ to describe what was essentially a hallucination could be classified as deranged, but there was really no other word for it. If it made him sound like a loon living in a fantasy world, then so be it.
On a more normal note, this had been one of the date spots that Asa picked him and Anthony to meet at himself. It was a massive park, with flowers of every type imaginable and a massive apple tree right in the middle of it, protected by a tall fence.
People were forbidden to pick any fruit from the tree. The rule was put in place many years ago by park rangers who were always on about protecting the sanctity of the park. Asa personally didn’t see the harm in plucking a few apples, though he may be biased; he had tasted the apples once, before the rule was put in place. They were the best he’d had, and he often grew nostalgic for the taste of them when he visited the park.
The Garden of Eden. Hearing it come out of Anthony’s mouth, he realized the name could come off as theatrical. Asa had grown used to it after hearing it for thirty or so years. The park got its title because of the apple tree, of course. One person had joked about it, and it had simply caught on.
“Asa,” Anthony nudged his shoulder, bringing him back to the present.
Asa’s head whipped towards Anthony, startled by his voice. A question about where he had been was on the tip of his tongue, but Anthony continued before he could say anything.
“Look,” he snickered, gesturing towards the tree.
A young man and woman were attempting to climb the fence and take an apple.
“Oh dear.” Asa muttered. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it before, but actually doing such a thing was a dreadful idea.
“D’you think they’ll pull it off?” Anthony said with far too much excitement in his voice. He was leaning so far over the ledge that he was practically draped over it. Asa’s hand hovered over his shoulder, concerned that he might fall.
“You’re rooting for them, I assume?” Asa asked. He tried to make it sound stern, but it was difficult when he was also holding back a laugh.
Just then, he heard yelling coming from the direction of the tree. He winced as the couple was dragged away from the fence by two park rangers.
“Well, that went down like a lead balloon.” Anthony mused.
“Sorry, what was that?”
Anthony turned towards him.
Aziraphale had to admit being the focus of those serpentine eyes was overwhelming. He watched as the demon’s wings stretched out, getting used to their new body. They were dark, of course, but also beautiful. Well-groomed.
Preening didn’t seem to be something that would interest a demon much, but what did Aziraphale know? This was, after all, the first one he’d ever met.
-
Asa’s eyes widened, stunned. He was just at the park, and then, just for a moment, he was transported into a bustling garden. He stood on a ledge near someone with unruly curls that reached his shoulders, and eyes the color of molten gold. Someone who looked suspiciously like—
“I said, ‘well, that went down like a lead balloon.’”
Asa blinked, and suddenly he was back in the park.
“Yes, yes, it did, rather.” He replied distractedly, getting readjusted to his surroundings.
“Shame they weren’t able to pull it off,” Anthony remarked, pulling a large apple out of his pocket.
“Anthony!” He gasped. “How did you..?”
Anthony outstretched the hand holding the apple. “I’m surprisingly limber,” he explained, glancing knowingly at the bars around the tree.
Asa tutted, but gently took the apple out of his hand. “Foul fiend,” he muttered, and Anthony grinned.
The nicknames had originated when Anthony recalled a story about a library book he had never returned, knowing it would get a rise out of Asa, and Asa had playfully called him a demon. Soon enough, more teasing names would come to be. Anthony would tell him they sounded “too fond to be mean”, and Asa had rolled his eyes, silently agreeing.
“Well?” Anthony said. “Take a bite.”
Asa hesitated a second, half-fearing that they’d be caught by a ranger. It seemed silly once he thought about it a second time, however. He almost had to laugh. A person can’t really get in trouble for eating an apple.
The first bite he took brought him back to the first time he’d had one. He could still picture himself, much younger, climbing up the tree unsteadily and plucking apples that he would toss down to the young children that were too small to reach the tall branches. He looked up at Anthony, and felt very happy. The kind of happiness he’d always imagined feeling as a child, when he dreamed of falling in love.
“Thank you, my dear,” Asa said quietly, hoping that somehow, Anthony would know how much it meant to him. How much he meant to him.
Anthony smiled back at him, and Asa knew he understood.
-
Asa hadn’t had time to process what he’d seen when Anthony had come back to him at the park, too overwhelmed by emotion from what had happened afterward.
So it had happened again. Asa couldn’t really complain—he had just been thinking about how exciting it was the moment before.
Though the vision had been short, there was a lot to notice. Most importantly, it seemed to be the same person he’d seen before.
The red hair was, of course, a dead giveaway, though it was longer this time. Their clothes were different. It looked like the person was wearing a robe, strangely.
Their eyes were striking. A dark yellow, almost gold. Which happened to be Asa’s favorite color (just a deduction). They had slits instead of pupils, like a serpent. So, that combined with the rather prominent wings the person had seemed to confirm that whoever Asa had seen was decidedly Not Human.
Asa knew it was silly, but he felt like a detective. If he was one, these would certainly be good Clues. So he decided to write everything he’d noticed inside a journal, including details such as the date, time, and location that he’d had the vision.
Spending time with Anthony seemed to trigger whatever this was, so it was a win-win, really. And it was all a bit like a puzzle to him. All he needed was more information.
In the meantime, he’d wait.