Chapter Text
Gabriel found himself staring at his book – now sitting prominently displayed on the coffee table – frequently over the next few days.
The ending bothered him.
The ending had been PERFECT. But it hadn’t been right. Because the ending should have been that the eagle moved into the burrow with the snake and learned about how nice it was to walk about in the grass and see all the insects and flowers and such. And while that was… nice, it wasn’t…
It wasn’t fair to the snake.
“Do you remember what Heaven was like?” Gabriel asked suddenly.
Crowley glanced up absently from where he sat playing with his phone across the room from the archangel and his book. “I saw it, remember? At the execution? Big boring white space. A floor that looked like murder to keep buffed.”
“That’s just the offices. It’s nicer than that. Don’t you remember?”
Crowley grunted a noncommittal answer.
“There’s these gardens,” Gabriel said, “with flowers that look like crystals. And you can hear the music of spheres…”
He opened the book and stared down at the last page as he let his thoughts and words ramble, going on about hundreds of details he barely remembered. How long had it been since he’d left the office? He’d neglected the beauties of Heaven as much as those of Earth.
He looked up at last to see if Crowley cared at all or if he’d fallen asleep.
The demon was crying.
It was hard to tell if Crowley even knew it. He was sitting perfectly still, his eyes staring at a spot in the wall so intently that the plaster was threatening to crack. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks.
“Crowley?” Gabriel asked cautiously.
The demon jolted to his feet, hurriedly rubbing his eyes. “No,” he said quickly. “I don’t remember.”
“You said you wouldn’t lie,” Gabriel said in a soft voice.
“It doesn’t matter,” Crowley insisted sharply. “Remembering, not remembering. It doesn’t change anything. I can’t go back.”
Gabriel hesitated. “We could.” Silence met his words and he plunged on after a moment. “I could disguise your aura… I think. No one would know. We could go anywhere. You could…”
“…Be your dirty secret?” the demon snapped. “Just like I was Aziraphale’s?!”
Gabriel flinched.
“Sorry,” Crowley said stiffly after a moment. “Just… just forget it. It’ll never happen. There’s no point ever…” He stalked out of the room.
Alone, Gabriel went to his own room. He set a stack of fresh paper on his desk, picked up his colored pencils, and began laboriously to write.
‘The snake and the eagle flew to the big beautiful mountain where the eagle’s brothers and sisters lived. They were so happy to see him again that they didn’t mind at all about the snake, even the bald eagle who sometimes liked to bite snakes for fun. The eagle told his brothers and sisters that the snake was his friend, and that they should be friends with him too. Because he was nice, and they should learn to like nice people even if they looked different…’
It could be true, Gabriel thought as he drew the happy gathering on the mountain. It could be true. If we made it true.
He glanced Upward, directing his thoughts towards a Voice which had been silent throughout all his suffering.
Maybe this could be the reason. Maybe everything that happened… could be to make this true.