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The view from heaven was, well, heavenly. Though a certain archangel was far from interested in something he saw everyday.
Gabriel was fuming. He had been since they had attempted to quench the life of a particular principality. The idea of an angel that couldn’t be killed with hell fire was just insulting. He was finding it hard to focus on his responsibilities, thoughts continuously leading back to the infuriating set of events that had lead up to the apocowasn’t.
He was going to have to do something about this. He had already decided that he would get vengeance, the matter was just when and where.
Michael had stopped him earlier that day. She had wanted to discuss how the principality had survived their execution attempt. Gabriel quickly became furious. Not at michael, mind you, but towards the entire issue at hand.
Seething something awful, Gabriel was now making his way downwards. Patience be damned, he was going to teach Aziraphale a lesson. If his lesson included more pain than verbal berating, then, well, no one needed to know.
He had made his way to the lesser angel’s shop, frivolous Earth thing that it was, and currently was peeking through the window to make sure Aziraphale was indeed present. He could just barely see the edge of the cream colored jacket the angel always wore.
Satisfied that the object of his hatred was where he wanted him. Gabriel pushed the doors open, the bell above the door ringing with the motion. He had already begun walking towards the back when Aziraphale greeted the new customer.
“Greetings, I’m in the back if you need anything.” was called out, the tone holding thinly veiled distaste at the visitor.
Gabriel didn’t answer, content to let his presence be a surprise. He rounded the corner and saw Aziraphale turned away from him. A telephone receiver was held to his ear, and a barely audible voice could be heard from where gabriel was standing.
He lurched forward and grabbed the phone from Aziraphale’s hand. He put on a horrible smile as he lifted the receiver to his mouth, voice falsely cheerful.
“Sorry, somethings come up, call back later.” he said, hanging up the phone immediately after.
Aziraphale was thoroughly horrified at the appearance of Gabriel. He backed up towards the far wall, hands fidgeting in front of himself. Gabriel followed him, hands limp at his sides as he advanced.
“What, um, what a surprise. Gabriel, how have you been?” Aziraphale tried his best at keeping his voice steady, but couldn’t help the tremble in his words. Aziraphale’s back hit the wall, out of space far too quickly.
“Funny of you to ask that, seeing as you were the one that made a fool out of me. I figured if hellfire couldn’t kill you I would at least come talk some sense into you.” he flashed a smile at Aziraphale, although his lips were too tight for it to be serious.
Before Aziraphale could react Gabriel’s hand darted out, capturing his throat against the wall. His fingers twitched tightly, cutting off Aziraphale’s air flow. His other hand joined the first and Aziraphale grasped Gabriels hands, desperately trying to pull them off.
He made a choking noise as Gabriel suddenly released him. Aziraphale slumped against the wall, gasping for air painfully. Gabriel unbuttoned the cuffs of his jacket, carefully removing the item fully before he turned back to Aziraphale.
“And by talk I mean beat the living shit out of you.” He offered another false smile before his fist suddenly connected with Aziraphale’s cheekbone. Gabriel straightened back up, shaking his fist lightly.
Aziraphale breathed harshly, hands and knees planted on the floor from being hit. He brought a hand up to his face. Gabriel’s ring had sliced against Aziraphale’s skin, creating a long gash. Aziraphale pulled his hand away, now covered in blood. There was blood dripping from his chin as he spoke.
“This isn’t a very angelic way to act, you know. And I-” but he was cut off as Gabriel grabbed a fistful of his jacket’s lapel. Aziraphale grunted in pain. Gabriel forced him to stand back up, and he used his grip to keep Aziraphale locked against the wall.
“You know, I don’t really give a flaming fuck.” Gabriel spat out, his unoccupied fist slammed into Aziraphale’s stomach. The impact made a vaguely terrifying thump noise as the wind was knocked from the lesser angel.
Aziraphale slumped back down against the floor, unable to stop gasping for air. He lifted his face to catch a glimpse of Gabriel. Said archangel reeled his leg back and kicked into the spot he had just hit with an unreasonable amount of force.
Aziraphale felt like groaning but found he was unable to as his lungs and stomach burned. He was resting on his side now, hands clutching at his abdomen. Aziraphale moved one hand out in a placating gesture, hoping Gabriel was finished.
Gabriel was far from finished though, now taking advantage of the offered limb. He clasped onto Aziraphale’s hand and used their position to twist Aziraphale’s arm backwards forcefully.
Gabriel’s foot met the back of Azirpahale’s head. Applying pressure as he continued twisting at the angel’s arm. He began to step harder onto Aziraphale when the door to the bookshop burst open.
In the door stood Crowley, eyes catching sight of the tail end of what was happening. There was an unmistakable aura flowing off of the demon. Gabriel smiled evilly, Crowley stepped down harshly as he made his way to the back of the shop.
As Crowley came nearer his wings unfolded violently, unable to hide them properly in his anger. He willed a nearby wine bottle into his fist.
“You better get off my angel, motherfucker!” He shouted, bringing the wine bottle down over Gabriels head, the glass shattered against the archangels skin.
Gabriel stumbled off of Aziraphale. His forehead was bleeding. The archangel grinned, conjuring a large silver sword into his hands. He moved backwards away from Crowley, preparing to swing.
“Oh good, now I can kill two birds with one sword.” His lips curled away from his teeth. He lunged forward suddenly, blade hissing in the air as it came down where Crowley had been a moment ago.
“I think you better leave, before I get real mad.” Crowley ground out through gritted teeth, now moving to cover Aziraphale with his outstretched wings. He conjured an equally large gleaming red sword into his hands, testing the weight with a few swipes.
“Why would I do that when I have both of you insufferable assholes right here.” Gabriel responded, thrusting his sword towards Crowley once more. This time Crowley caught the edge of the blade against his own. He easily blocked the archangels attack, their faces close as Crowley fought him off.
They stayed like that for a moment before Crowley forced his blade down, Gabriel having to move backwards with the motion.
Returning his focus to Aziraphale, Gabriel thrust his sword at the principality. He was quickly stopped however, Crowley having conjured a dagger into one hand and blocking Gabriels attack with the sword in the other. A large gash had been cut into Gabriel’s thigh, blood pouring from the skin.
Gabriel grit his teeth together, making an undignified noise as he pushed away from Crowley. His hand flew to the wound. Gabriel Grimaced, snarling while circling Crowley.
Gabriel had changed tactics now. He faked a jab at the demon, sidestepping when Crowley moved to block him. He changed direction, and Crowley was now in the wrong position to stop him.
Gabriel’s blade made a sickening noise at the same time Crowleys did. His sword had pierced deep in Gabriel’s chest, lodged in the archangels heart. He realized with horror that Gabriel had hit his own mark too though.
Gabriel sprung backwards, Crowley angled his weapon upwards so that it sliced further on it’s way out. Crowley forced his attention to stay on Gabriel, worried that he may try something else.
Gabriel laughed awfully while backing up. Blood staining his clothes as he slowly made his way out of the shop. He would have had a lot of explaining to do if he managed to get discorporated. He had at least done what he came for, the evidence staining Aziraphale red.
Crowley was properly horrified, hurriedly applying pressure to Aziraphale’s side. It didn’t look like it reached past his ribs, but blood was still pouring from the injury.
“Oh God- Sata- fuck. Anyone.” Crowley muttered desperately. He was properly shaken, letting Aziraphale use his arm to brace himself as he leaned up to slump against the wall.
Crowley’s hands were shaking somewhat. He kept his eyes locked with Aziraphales. He wasn’t sure what to do in this incident.
“Fuck, what should I do. Do you need a hospital?” Crowley asked, unsure what the procedure was with injured angels. He fidgeted, worst case scenarios flashed through his mind.
“Best not to, I won’t be able to divert anyone’s attention in this state.” Aziraphale grunted out, his hand reached to hold Crowley’s. He slowly slumped against the demon, his other hand grasped the front of Crowley’s coat. They were both covered in the angels blood at this point.
Crowley pushed the hair that had begun sticking to Aziraphale’s forehead out of the way. He accidentally smeared blood along the angels skin with the movement. Aziraphale pushed his face into Crowley’s shoulder, hiding for a moment.
Aziraphale seemed to be okay, they just needed to stop the bleeding. Crowley helped his angel stand. He wrapped Aziraphale’s arm around his shoulders, moving to the staircase at the back of the shop.
He snapped the lock closed before beginning up the steps, tucking his wings away as well.
They reached the top of the stairs. Crowley lowered his angel into one of the chairs situated around the dining table. He made sure Aziraphale was okay to stay there and then hastily made his way to the bathroom. He didn’t want Aziraphale sitting there longer than he had to.
He started the shower as soon as he was inside and grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet. He also threw a towel haphazardly onto the bathroom counter. Crowley sat the first aid kit on top of the towel and went back to Aziraphale.
“Can you move, angel?” He questioned. Said angel nodded and let Crowley grasp him under the arms to set him in a standing position. Aziraphale’s arm was slung back over Crowley’s shoulder. If the scene were different they might have paid more attention to the way the contact left them both feeling. They made their way into the bathroom, Aziraphale dropped to sit on top of the closed toilet.
He was about to work at removing his jacket when Crowley pushed his hands away. He gently took either side of Aziraphale’s coat and assisted in slipping it down his arms. Crowley then set about undoing the buttons on his vest, and then his shirt after he had helped the angel wiggle out of the former piece of clothing.
Crowley hissed in a breath when the red and angry skin was revealed. He let his thumb trail under the slit of flesh, wiping away some of the blood. Aziraphale grunted in pain as he shifted to look at the wound. He felt a little woozy as he saw his own body looking so gory.
“Do you think it needs stitches?” Aziraphale looked worried as he spoke. Crowley turned to grab the med kit then kneeled in front of Aziraphale. He prodded at the marred skin carefully, assessing the damage. He wasn’t a doctor but he had managed to calm down so he figured he could help.
“If it needs stitches then we will have to go to the hospital im afraid.” Aziraphale huffed. Crowley met his eyes and grabbed a hand towel from the counter. After running water over the towel Crowley held it against Aziraphale’s side firmly. His angel was watching as he kept pressure on the wound.
“The bleeding is slowing down, angel. I think it’s gonna be fine.” Crowley observed, having pulled his hand back momentarily. Aziraphale seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that. His body relaxing somewhat. Crowley instructed Aziraphale to hold the towel against his side and began rummaging in the med kit.
After pulling out some gauze, and a large plaster, Crowley set them aside. He turned his attention back to Aziraphale and checked the amount of blood coming out now. It seemed to have calmed down enough, so he wiped it off one last time and spoke.
“I’d try to heal it but demonic energy might hurt your body.” Crowley had his hands propped against his slim hips. He wanted to help his angel but was afraid of doing more harm than good.
“Listen, Angel. I think you ought to take a shower since the bleeding has chilled out. Do you need help with any of the stuff involving that?” Crowley asked. Aziraphale bit his lip. A part of him wanted to say yes and have the demon help him. Instead he shook his head, mumbling a thanks as Crowley closed the door on his way out.
Crowley, now with nothing to do, stepped into the apartments small kitchenette. He took a breath and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. The absolute fear he had felt when he realized Aziraphale had gotten hurt flashed across his mind. If he saw Gabriel again any time soon he would rip the bastards throat out.
He rubbed at the skin under his right eye, resolved to make some tea. His mind wouldn’t shut up the whole time he was filling the kettle and putting it on to boil. He slumped into a dining table chair. Crowley chewed at the tip of his thumb, lost in thought. He sat that way until the kettle began screaming. He proceeded to fill two cups and set them to steep.
Crowley had forgotten he was also covered in blood. He had only noticed when he rinsed his hands and the water turned red. He sighed, turning to walk back over to the bathroom. He let his knuckles fall against the door softly several times.
Aziraphale made an inquisitory noise from inside and Crowley cracked the door open. He took a moment to snap Aziraphale's beloved clothes back to being pristine, and then stepped into the room. The inside of the bathroom was humid and he stared at the shower curtain for a moment. Aziraphale’s head popped out from the side of the curtain, eyebrows turned up in a question. The curls of his hair were stuck to his face with water.
“Did you need something, Crowley?” He asked, realization dawning on his face as he took in Crowley’s blood stained clothes.
“Yeah, it’s just, I’m covered in blood.” Crowley stated dumbly, now not entirely sure what he had wanted in the first place. Aziraphale reddened, eyes shifting towards the stream of water. His hair still had remnants of red in it, and he’d missed several globs of coagulated blood stuck in his mess of curls.
“Also, you missed several spots, angel.” Crowley said, voice very nearly wavering with anxiety. He was unsure if he should be so forward. Aziraphale somehow reddened even further, a nervous smile tugged at his lips
“Well i suppose i could use some help then…” he trailed off, eyes glancing into Crowleys for a moment, and then he made an undressing motion with his hand, suggesting that Crowley do just that. Crowley, now nervously emboldened, stripped, not bothering to miracle his clothes back into shape. He then gingerly pulled the curtain back a little, and stepped into the clawfoot tub.
It was warm and steamy inside the shower curtain, and his eyes were immediately drawn to Aziraphale’s pale back, noting that he had a few freckles.
And while noticing freckles is very innocent, the way Crowley's eyes took in the sight of Aziraphale’s round ass was anything but. He couldn’t help the heat that rushed into his cheeks at seeing his angel so unguarded and bare.
“Crowley, do you want me to help you wash up?” Aziraphale glanced backwards over his shoulder, his hair wet against his skin.
"Well, I'm definitely not turning down that offer, angel.” Crowley said, hand moving to Aziraphale’s hip to guide his body to face him. Feeling more comfortable now. Aziraphale met his eyes, but quickly averted them to the side of the tub, his own hand resting on top of the one crowley still had against his skin.
Crowley couldn’t help but chuckle as the movement dislodged a bit of gelatinous blood from the top of Aziraphale’s head, and Aziraphale was startled as he watched it plop into the bottom of the tub.
“Good lord.” Aziraphale covered his face, embarrassed. And even though they both were covered in such a mess Crowley couldn’t help but think the moment was special, sharing trust between each other.
“Im gonna beat the bloody shit out of gabriel next time I see him.” he said somberly, pulling Aziraphale’s body closer to his own.
“Yes im rather inclined to cause him harm as well..” Aziraphale was frowning, distracted from the lessening space between the two of them, and Crowley rested his other hand on Aziraphale’s opposite hip, arms on either side of the angel.
Aziraphale trailed off from the rant he was on about disorderly conduct, face inches from Crowley’s own, and his eyes darted to the demon’s lips.
“I…” Aziraphale muttered, his hands rested on the tops of Crowley’s shoulders, and he looked back into Crowley’s eyes, enchanted. Crowley leaned closer, lips ghosting against Aziraphales, one of his hands sliding to cup the small of Aziraphale’s back.
Then he pushed his lips the last bit towards Aziraphales, their mouths pressed against each other, and Aziraphale’s hand moved around his neck and into the back of Crowley’s hair. Eagerly moving his lips against Crowley’s administrations.
Crowley tilted his mouth into a deeper kiss, and as he moved backwards to change the direction he gently pulled Aziraphale’s bottom lip back with his teeth, immediately diving back into a much more heated kiss than before.
Aziraphale gasped into Crowley’s mouth as his hips were pulled flush against the demons, but the noise he was about to make was cut off by a more distressed one as Crowley accidentally brushed against his wound.
Crowley pulled back as fast as possible, looking like he’d just killed an innocent animal, and was quick to make sure he hadn't caused any further injury. He then rested his face against Aziraphale’s shoulder, stressed out by his own carelessness
“Ah, its okay, Crowley. It just hurt a little, we can…” he trailed off, looking sheepish as Crowley moved his head back up slightly, eyes meeting Aziraphales and then darting to the angels lips.
Crowley then seemed to make a decision in his mind, looking a little disappointed, and pressed a very chaste kiss to Aziraphale’s lips. Turning the angel back around so he could help him wash the rest of the grime off his head and shoulders.
“I don't want to risk hurting you again, angel.” Crowley murmured, letting himself drop a kiss onto the nape of Aziraphale’s neck. The angel shuddered at the touch, moving to push crowley into the stream of water, intent on cleaning him up.
“You still have an awful amount of blood on you, Crowley.” Aziraphale said, grabbing a bottle marked ‘body wash’ and putting some into his palm. His eyes met Crowley’s momentarily as he rolled the soap into his other hand, lathering both of his palms up. He reached out, gliding his hand along the planes of Crowley’s chest, the soap working to remove the blood that was previously dried onto his skin.
Crowley watched Aziraphale’s movements raptly, allowing the angel to work the suds against his body. He was entranced by his angel taking such care to wash him. Crowley let out a pleased grunt as Aziraphale pressed into the muscles of his abdomen, his hand meeting Aziraphale and stopping him from washing below his navel.
“Better not, angel.” he muttered, then grabbed the shampoo and squirted a dollop onto Aziraphale’s head. The angel made an undignified noise.
“I’ll get the rest of me, you wash your hair.” Crowley said, replacing the shampoo in his hand with the body wash. Aziraphale nodded, and worked the shampoo into his hair. After having rinsed the soap off, Crowley changed places with Aziraphale, who then washed the shampoo out of his hair and worked conditioner into his curls. Crowley was now massaging both shampoo and conditioner into his hair at the same time, much to Aziraphale’s horror.
“Crowley, they don’t work the same if you do that.” he complained, grabbing the conditioner away from crowley before he could do anything else horrific with it.
“I don’t see why it matters, i could just make my hair clean if i wanted to.” he said, working the mixture into his roots. He then smirked, telling aziraphale to just wash his hair out. Aziraphale grumbled but did as he was told, switching places with crowley again after he had finished.
“I’m going to go ahead and dry off, Crowley.” he said as he pulled the shower curtain back and stepped out. As he pulled the towel around his body he noted that his clothes were clean and folded on the counter as well. He felt his heart jump in his chest.
“Crowley! That wasn’t necessary, dear!” he exclaimed, running his hand along the fabric of his jacket. He hadn't even had time to worry about the state of his coat and Crowley had gone ahead and fixed it.
“Maybe not, but it made you happy didn’t it?” he said, now also pulling the shower curtain back, shamelessly. Aziraphale blushed and averted his eyes, focused on drying his hair off now.
“Well, you’re right about that. Thank you, Crowley.” he murmured, face tinged red. Crowley just gave him a smile and grabbed a towel, beginning to dry himself off as well.
Aziraphale, now adequately dry, picked up his clothing. He turned to crowley, who had his head wrapped up in the towel to dry his hair.
“I’m going to change into some pyjamas, do you need to borrow something, dear?” he asked, being careful to only look at Crowley’s face.
“I mean, I could just bring some of my own clothes here.” he said, slowing in his motions of drying. His eyes snapped up to meet Aziraphales.
“Dear, you’re going to get in trouble doing so many demonic miracles.” he chastised, having decided he was definitely going to bring Crowley something to wear.
“You can stay here and I’ll bring you something to wear, though you could just come with me if you want?” he said, opening the bathroom door and stepping out to a familiar scent in the air.
“Did you make tea?” he asked, eyeing the mugs next to his sink.
“Ah, yeah. It's definitely gone cold now though.” Crowley sniffed as he followed Aziraphale out of the bathroom and through his small flat to the bedroom. Aziraphale tucked his clothes away into a nearby dresser, then rummaged until he found two sets of loungewear. One of the sets being the one he favored when he relaxed after the bookshop was closed.
“Well I appreciate the thought, even if it is cold.” Aziraphale said. He handed one of the sets to Crowley, then turned and set his clothes onto his bed. Crowley muttered something about not being a nice person behind him. He placed his towel down and then tugged his underwear and pants on. As he was tugging his shirt over his head crowley spoke.
“Angel hold on, we forgot to put something over that injury.” his arms extended out to stop Aziraphale from putting his shirt all the way on. Aziraphale lowered his arms, nodding and putting the shirt back down on the bed.
“Ah, you’re right.” he said as they both glanced down to said injury. It was less angry looking, the skin still split open. The bleeding had stopped completely by now.
“Jesus, angel. Surely that hurts.” Crowley let his index and middle fingers lightly touch under the wound.
“Well, yes. I can't do anything about it right now though.” Aziraphale answered, wincing as he stretched to glance at his wound again. Crowley, who had also forgone a shirt, led Aziraphale back into the bathroom having him sit on the counter this time.
Crowley grabbed another hand towel from the counter, running it under water so it wasn’t scratchy against Aziraphale’s injury. He wiped it once to make sure it was clean and then had his angel hold it there. Aziraphale pressed the towel he had bought just yesterday into his side. He scrunched his nose up, a pang of pain going through him momentarily. Crowley was grabbing the supplies he set out earlier.
“Hold still so i dont hurt you.” Crowley stated as he motioned for aziraphale to remove the towel. Once the injury was exposed crowley placed the folded piece of gauze over the cut, followed by the large plaster over top of the gauze. He used his thumb to gently smooth the adhesive parts against Aziraphale’s skin, creating a seal.
“There we go, now you won't ruin your shirt if it bleeds more.” he said, standing up straight from having been bent at the middle, though his eyes remained on Aziraphale’s soft torso, saving the mental picture.
Aziraphale’s hands went to Crowley’s hips and tugged at his pants to draw him closer, slotting him in between his legs. He had pulled the corner of his bottom lip into his mouth, nervously nibbling at his skin. Crowley rested a hand against the counter and used the other to nudge Aziraphale’s lip out of his mouth.
“You’ll tear up your lip, angel.” he said, though he refrained from moving his hand. He instead ran his thumb along Aziraphale’s jaw, tilting his face up to look him in the eyes. This did not have the desired effect though as Aziraphale’s gaze slipped down to Crowley’s lips, breath coming out slowly.
Crowley leaned down, capturing Aziraphale’s mouth against his own in a fit of lust. He indulged in sliding his lips along his angel’s, tongue peeking out to meet Aziraphales. He shifted his hand from the counter up to Aziraphale’s thigh, fingers gripping his skin through the fabric. He squeezed his leg lightly, moving his head back and trailing his lips down his jaw to his neck, where he placed open mouthed kisses to the skin there.
Aziraphale had one hand gripped into Crowley’s hair, the other fisted against his demons chest. He couldn't help but let out a small encouraging noise as Crowley laved his tongue over his collarbone, proceeding to then suck a hickey into the same spot. Crowley nipped at his skin, pulling back to look at his work. Aziraphale was flushed and panting lightly, eyes half lidded with both hands now resting against Crowley’s chest.
“As delicious as you look angel, im worried about working you up so much that it hurts you somehow.” his voice was gravely against Aziraphale’s lips, pressing a short but meaningful kiss to his angels mouth. Aziraphale, though he looked a bit disappointed, nodded and let Crowley help him off the counter. Their fingers were tangled together as they went back into Aziraphale’s bedroom.
Now that Aziraphale was bandaged he wriggled into his shirt and turned to face crowley just as the demon had pulled his head through the neck hole of his shirt.
“Crowley, you are welcome to join me. I am going to let my body rest for a while. I’ve read before that humans heal faster while sleeping, so it can’t hurt to give it a try.” he explained, pulling the covers back from his bed and settling into the mattress.
“I better go put away that tea first, it’ll stain if i leave it.” he said as he passed through the doorway back into the kitchenette. As he dumped the liquid down the sink his lips curled up happily. He took the lazy route and just rinsed the cups instead of washing them. He made short work of putting the tea away and rinsing the kettle out, eager to hopefully curl up against his angel.
Crowley made his way back into the room, flicking the covers down and slipping into the bed. Aziraphale was dozing already, definitely tired in some form from the whole ordeal that had happened. Crowley pulled the covers back over the both of them and moved into Aziraphales space. The angel grunted, eyes cracked open and then closing again as he cuddled into Crowley, one arm moving to wrap over Crowley’s chest and tuck under his arm.
Crowley couldn't help the genuine smile that spread across his face, under some sort of giddy spell as he watched his sleepy angel adjust. Once Aziraphale had settled back down Crowley wrapped an arm around his angels back, the other getting crushed under the pillow Crowley’s head was on. He continued watching aziraphale, relief filling him every time his chest rose and fell with a breath. His angel was okay, and he was going to make sure that he stayed that way.
Crowley eventually nodded off as well, and if he curled into aziraphale just a little tighter, no one had to know.