Chapter Text
An arctic chill blew down from the northern, most highest mountain tops, blowing away what was left of autumn and ushering in a crisp, white snow.
It fell on the ground like a thick, downy blanket; protecting what lay beneath it until the warmth came back. It sat on the branches of trees and on telephone wires and, on those few and far between days where it wasn't freezing, it would melt and drip into crystallized icicles that dangled like oddly shaped jewels.
The air smelled crisp and stung a little in your throat and lungs, but it smelled so fresh and so clean. It was magical to watch an exhale as it rose up in tendrils towards the sky, as if trying to become it's own little cloud.
Inside little homes and apartments it was warm and snug. Fires roared in their proper places, warm drinks were always on hand, and thick blankets were never too far from any couch, chair, or bed. Children who lived in some of these homes almost always now donned a red kissed nose as so many of them refused to wear their scarves up when they went out to play in the cold air, despite their parents always sending them out with it up around their faces at first.
It was just as warm and comfortable in the apartment above the rare books bookshop. Crowley was a tad more sluggish this time of year, his snakish habits taking a small hold of him. He managed to combat it by wearing thick sweaters all the time instead of his usual clothes. He'd come to the conclusion that winter just wasn't the season for fashion; you really just needed to dress warmly.
He was feeding Nathan a bottle in the livingroom, humming an ancient tune that he couldn't remember where he'd heard it from. He glanced over at Aziraphale bent over at the kitchen table.
Every square inch of that table was covered with books, papers, notes, and magazines. All wedding themed, of course. They both took turns on adding things to their idea of what kind of wedding it should be, marking magazines, jotting down a note, cutting out a picture.
Today, Aziraphale was deciding on their guests' food as well as their own wedding cake. The food was going to be a choice of lamb and salmon with either a side of rosemary and bacon potatoes or a creamy pasta. Those were the easiest for Aziraphale to decide. The cake was becoming the problem for him.
To say Aziraphale loved food was a bit of an understatement. He adored it. It filled his body full of warmth and happiness and maybe...just maybe...a small, tiny, minuscule bit of….gluttony. He hated fully admitting it ( in fact he was pretty sure the only one other than God herself who had any idea about it was Crowley ), but it was true. It only ever really came out when he was eating something truly delectable. Which was why this cake was causing him so much grief.
Not only did he want the frosting to taste delicious, but the actual cake itself, the filling inside, even the after taste he wanted memorable. He wanted each decoration that would go on this wedding cake to taste like Heaven made it. Or maybe Hell made it? He wasn't sure yet.
Aziraphale groaned. Who would have thought this would have been so difficult? Then again, he should have guessed planning a wedding that was 6000 years in the making wasn't going to be an easy feat. The farthest they'd gotten on decisions was flowers, and that was that Crowley wasn't to yell at them.
Aziraphale groaned again, dropping his head into his hands. He wanted this to be perfect for Crowley.
A hand was suddenly on Aziraphale's shoulder and he looked up to see kind yellow eyes smiling at him.
"You look a bit worn out, angel."
"Possibly…" Aziraphale murmured. He eyed the portable crib off to the side and saw the sleeping form of Nathan settled in it. "It's just...why must weddings be so complicated? Food and decor and cakes…"
"Then let's not."
"Not what?"
"Make it so complicated." Crowley smiled softly. "Let's just...do it."
"Dear…"
"Just...hear me out." Crowley pulled up a chair and sat next to Aziraphale. "Outside wedding, we invite the witch…"
"Anathema Device, dear."
"Yea, yea...we invite her, her scraggly tag along…"
"Newton Pulsifer."
Crowley growled. "Are you going to keep interrupting me…?"
"No, no. Sorry, my dear." Aziraphale said with a small smirk, giving away that he wasn't really sorry.
Crowley cleared his throat. "We invite them and Adam and his friends, Shadwell and Madame, and just...do it."
"Just do it?"
The demon fiddled with a pen on the desk. "Yea. Shadwell could probably do the ceremony for us, or at least the witch." Crowley smiled warmly. "We could do a sort of group picnic and still have a cake since I know my angel does so love his dessert." Aziraphale blushed a bit.
"Oh but...but what about our clothes, dear? We can't just wear these." Aziraphale said as he gestured towards his clothes.
"We'll flip through some magazines, look around. I'm sure we'll find something we can miracle up." Crowley took the angel's hands in his own. "This is supposed to be a day full of love, Aziraphale, not full of stress and worry. So, let's cut all that out and just have a nice time."
Aziraphale chuckled. "Always trying to simplify things, aren't you?"
Crowley smirked. "Did it work?"
The angel leaned over and placed a soft kiss against Crowley's lips.
"You've quite tempted me into it, my dear…" He whispered against the demon's lips.
"Good." Crowley whispered back. "No more worrying about stupid things like decor and table settings...alright?"
"Yes, yes…" Aziraphale stood up, heading over to the sink. "One last question, though...where should the wedding be?"
The occult being drummed his fingers on the table in thought. "Was thinking Tadfield would work for this. Nice and green and open. What do you think?"
Aziraphale smiled. "Sounds perfect, my dear."
The angel made himself a cup of cocoa and a cup of coffee for the demon. As soon as they had taken their first sips, a curious coo came from the living room, announcing that Nathan was quite awake and looking for his parents.
"Well...there went that quiet time…" sighed, Crowley.
Aziraphale kissed his cheek. "I'll get him dear."
The angel walked in to see a pudgy 7 and a half month old fledgling sitting up and bouncing on his bum in his crib, excited to see his Papa. His little wings shot out wide in his excitement, causing Aziraphale to smile. They had learned that Nathan's wings seemed to unfurl with his mood, mostly when he was excited or angry. The excitement was easy to deal with. It wasn't so easy handling an angry fledgling while changing a diaper and then being knocked in the face by a black and white wing.
Aziraphale walked over and picked the infant up, grinning as the little chubby hands reached out grabbingly.
"Hello, my sweet, did you sleep well?"
Nathan babbled back as if understanding and conversing with his Papa.
Aziraphale chuckled, "Well, come along now. Let's get you something to eat and maybe convince Daddy to go out for an evening walk, hm?"
Nathan had taken quite a liking to food. He took after Aziraphale in that sense and the angel had to admit he was quite pleased by that. He had decided early on he wanted to hand make all of Nathan's baby food, make sure he got the best of everything. Crowley, of course, said jarred food was fine and stop being so fussy about it ( the sloth in a demon, Aziraphale supposed ).
Crowley grinned as they entered the kitchen. "There's my two favorite people in the whole universe."
"The whole universe? Really? What about that fellow who passed, what's his name...was a singer…oh! Queen!"
Crowley rolled his eyes. "His name wasn't Queen, angel, that was the name of the band. His name was Freddy Mercury."
"Oh, yes. Yes, right. Well what about him?"
"Doesn't compare to my soon to be husband and my child." The demon said with a sly grin as he watched a blush form on those angelic cheeks.
Aziraphale settled Nathan into a highchair, handing him a wooden chew toy, and scuffled to the fridge to choose from his assortment of handmade baby food.
"Oh, Crowley, dear." He called out while his head was in the fridge, rolling a jar of pureed pears, apples, spinach, and carrots in his hand thoughtfully. "Nathan and I were hoping to convince you into a walk this evening."
He heard a muffled groan. "A walk? At the coldest time of day?"
"I know it's not your favorite idea," Aziraphale said as he chose a jar of pureed sweet potatoes, raspberries, and bananas. "But I think it would do us some good."
Crowley looked at the fledgling, gnawing at the toy that was shaped like a bird.
"I suppose if it means that much to you…"
The angel placed a soft kiss on Crowley's cheek. "Thank you, my dear. I'll get you a coffee while we're out." Crowley smiled.
After feeding Nathan and cleaning up the globs the infant had flung around, they bundled him up warmly and settled him in his stroller, tucking a blanket around him tightly. Aziraphale then turned his attention to Crowley. He chose a thick,black coat for him to put on, warm gloves, and a thick scarf that he wrapped meticulously around the serpent's long neck. As he tucked it into coat, he happened to look up into soft, warm, loving yellow eyes gazing at him. Aziraphale blushed, smiling softly, then smoothed out the collar of the coat.
Street lights were blinking to life as the sun was setting. The crowds were thinning out and heading to their warm homes. The threesome headed to the nearest coffee shop and grabbed Crowley a hot cup of coffee, to which he hummed appreciatively at as he wrapped his hands around it.
They walked down the block, not really having much of a direction or a place to be. The sound of snow crunched under their feet and under the wheels of the stroller. They saw many homes that still had their Christmas trees up in their windows. Aziraphale and Crowley didn't celebrate this year. Some years they chose to celebrate, some years they didn't. Life had been too chaotic with the baby, so they opted to try next year.
Nathan squealed excitedly at the blinking assortment of colors as they passed by, causing Crowley and Aziraphale to smile.
As they continued their walk, the air took on a chill and suddenly it began to snow. Crowley looked up into the dark sky as the flakes fell around him. To him, it looked as if stars were gracefully floating from the sky in which they hung. He turned to see Aziraphale's curly blond hair catching every snowflake it came in contact with, making it look as though little gems were weaved through his hair. The demon felt his heart swell at the beautiful sight. He leaned over and placed a warm kiss against the snow kissed cheek.
"What was that for?" Aziraphale asked.
"You're beautiful…" Crowley whispered, his words forming into a cloud of steam around him and Aziraphale's head. "Must I need a reason to kiss you now?"
"N-No…" The angel said as a blush grew. "Just...was unexpected, is all."
Crowley smiled as they continued on their walk. He checked in the stroller to find Natan had fallen fast asleep. Tucked in warmly under the soft blanket, the infant dreamt of green hills and an array of colorful blooming flowers that were soon to come.
The sky darkened and the streets were bare and quiet. As the snow fell, you could almost make out the shape of white wings in the snow that fell around the angel and black wings in the shadows that fell behind the demon as they walked.