Work Text:
One may not expect a creature like an angel or a demon to have to preen their wings. Usually, when one thinks of a demon, they think of dragon or bat wings. But, demons are actually fallen angels. Their wings turn black, but stay feathered.
Some angels preen their wings, but only because they have to. Some of them do, some don't, it's random, really.
Though its a sin, Aziraphale has always been rather proud of the way he keeps his wings healthy and neat. Crowley... He doesn't do that. But then again, it takes him a lot of effort, considering he can't really reach some parts of his wings that need to be preened.
So, Aziraphale had to help him out. He didn't mind, of course, not at all. In fact, he was glad to help Crowley out, mainly because he said something along the lines of "whenever I try to do it they bleed." so Azi was extremely concerned and wanted to make sure he was okay.
He was laying on his stomach on his bed, Aziraphale sitting on his back with his knees off to the side so he didn't put too much weight on Crowley's body. He didn't want the demon any tenser than he already was. He started off trying his best to soothe Crowley, but he just hissed at the angel to get on with it.
He gently began brushing over his left wing with his hands, making Crowley wince a couple of times. It got most of the loose ones out, but there were still broken ones and a few that had just come loose. And there was blood, too. Aziraphale grabbed a damp towel, lightly dabbing away the blood.
Crowley still winced and hissed, but he made little attempt to move. This was for his own good, he knew that, but he wished it didn't hurt so much. It had been months since he preened himself, and he desperately wished he asked for help sooner. He couldn't help but twitch every now and then, his wing flapping involuntarily.
"Crowley, next time, please don't let it get to this point of... Bad."
"Gah, I-I won't..." He dug his nails into the sheets, trying to cope with the pain. It was like having his nails ripped off, he hated it.
"... You can cry if you need to..."
"Excuse me? Me, a demon? Cry?"
"Well-"
"No, no, I don't cry, Aziraphale. You might because it's acceptable for angels to cry, but-" He yelped as Aziraphale found a patch of broken feathers near the base of his wing. He did tear up a little, burying his face into the sheets. "Fuck..." He growled shakily. Azi rubbed at his back gently, trying to ease the pain in any way he could.
"It's okay, Crowley..." He whispered, lightly pulling at the broken feathers to get them out. Most of them weren't loose, so when they did come out, it hurt more than anything Crowley had ever felt, physically, at least. Emotionally? That time before Armageddon where Aziraphale told him it was over really got to him. He did cry over that, and when Azi's bookshop caught fire and he thought his Angel was dead.
But he didn't like thinking about that. What if Armageddon did happen? It gave him anxiety to think about, really, and Crowley didn't get anxious about a lot of things.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp cry from himself as more black blood oozed from his wing. His human body bled red blood, but his wings bled black blood.
Soon, Aziraphale finished with his left wing, giving it a soft pet from the tips of the feathers to the base of his wing to make sure he got most of the blood away, and for Crowley's comfort, of course.
"Okay, done with this one," Aziraphale said.
"Good, can I get up now?" Crowley asked, acting angry to hide his suffering.
"Crowley, we still have to do the right wing..."
"I think we should just cut it off-"
"Crowley, no, I can't have that. I'm going to do this, but maybe not right now. Would you like to take a break?"
"Yes, please..." He said, calming down a bit. Aziraphale kept petting his left wing and rubbing his back, hoping to relieve his misery faster.
"... I love you, Crowley." He said.
"I love you too, Angel..."
"Shall I continue?"
"Let's get this over with..."
"Would you rather this go gently or quickly?"
"Quickly, please... But don't be too rough..."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, Crowley. I'll be easy, but I'll be fast, okay?"
"Thank you..."
He began again, pulling out the loose feathers all over his wings, before focusing on the broken ones. Crowley did cry at this point, other wing still sore. They were silent tears, so Azi didn't notice until he was done and climbed off of him.
"Are you okay?" The angel asked, petting his hair gently.
"Do I look okay to you?" Crowley snapped. Aziraphale shook his head, laying down next to him and pulling him into a gentle hug. Crowley sighed a little bit, nuzzling into Aziraphale's chest, hiding his face. Aziraphale let him cry, before realizing he had managed to fall asleep, so he took a nap himself.
