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In the days preceding the Earth’s creation, there had been many meetings called by the Metatron…but none called by the Almighty Herself. That was, until today, when She had personally announced that there was to be a meeting at any time, so everyone should be fully prepared to be miracled into a meeting-group whenever She saw fit. Of course, this was an extreme amount to process for each Angel there. First off, seeing God was something that did not usually happen. If autographs had been invented yet, nearly each Angel would have been clamoring to get one, or even to just simply catch a glimpse of the Almighty’s form. One particular Principality was very excited about this new meeting, despite being excited for every single one thus far. His name was Aziraphale, and he had a love for God that had never been seen before. It seemed to seep into everything he did, and into every single angel he talked to. If awards had been given in Heaven, Aziraphale would have won “most enthusiastic” by a landslide. Unable to control himself any longer, he turned to a random angel next to him and grinned. He pulled the much taller angel’s sleeve, and exclaimed, “Can you believe it? A meeting called by the Almighty herself! It must be really very important. I simply can’t wait!”
“Oh, yes, angel. It must be very important, sure. Why else would She waste our time? Some of us have work to do on that Universe She ordered.” The taller angel looked down at the smaller, rounder one, a scowl present on his face. “Now, if you forgive me, I must be off. Galaxies to build. Get off of me.” Aziraphale pulled away his hand from the red-head’s sleeve, and looked down, almost ashamed of his excitement.
“Yes, quite right, sorry about that. Well…see you at the meeting.” Aziraphale walked away as quickly as he could, hoping to never run into that particular angel again. That had been quite an extremely awkward experience, and it was one he hoped to never repeat.
Unfortunately, that would not be the case.
After an indistinguishable amount of time, as time had really not been invented yet, the Almighty decided that right now would that aforementioned random meeting. This meeting, and in particular, meeting space, would be what the Humans would turn into concert halls, even if this meeting did not have any music. Angels were miracled into their seats, arranged into pairs of two. In between each pair, there was an empty chair, to demarcate a separation. In an instant, Aziraphale found himself torn away from his sword fighting practice with the other Principalities and placed into a very uncomfortable folding chair.
“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me.” A familiar voice came from Aziraphale’s right side, and in looking up, Aziraphale’s worst fears (as of right now) had been confirmed. He had been paired with the angel he had upset earlier…maybe the Almighty had seen their spat and had decided that they needed to be paired up to work everything out. He did hope he wasn’t in trouble; they’d surely take away his position if-
Aziraphale suddenly found his thoughts interrupted by the Almighty’s soothing voice cascading over the sea of angels. She spoke of the pairs each angel had been put into and had said they were each specifically picked for each other. “You and your partner are what I have deemed to be soulmates. In every way, you complete each other. I imagine you will not need me for this next part. Get to know each other, as you will be together until the end of time.” Without any other explanations, the Almighty vanished, leaving her confused disciples in her wake.
“Bloody…of course I’m paired with you, Mr. ‘She Can Do No Wrong!’.” Aziraphale heard the other angel groan. Despite barely knowing him, his words cut Aziraphale deep, and he bit his lip to keep back tears.
“I did not exactly choose this either. I am appalled at your use of unacceptable language!” Aziraphale responded, at a whisper. “That being said…my name is Aziraphale. May I ask yours?” Aziraphale reached out his hand, opening it for a handshake.
“Raphael. Starmaker. I don’t shake hands.” Alright, well. At least he had a name for a face, now, Aziraphale decided.
“Well, Raphael, it is a pleasure to meet you properly. I am…quite sorry about my eagerness earlier. I hope you can find it in you to accept my apology. I should not have grabbed your arm.” Aziraphale offered a soft smile in condolence, and to his surprise, Raphael almost returned it. “Can you…can you tell me about your starmaking? Whenever we’re in practice I find myself staring up at the stars. I’m not much for fighting.” Aziraphale felt a warmth sprawling over his cheeks, and quickly turned his head up to the sky, in an attempt to distract his new counterpart, and to hide his face from view.
Without much consideration, Raphael launched into the arts and crafts of the universe, drawling on particularly about a certain system he had dubbed Alpha Centauri.
“It’s a double star network, but from far enough away, they look like just one star. One can’t exist without the other, angel.” Raphael sighed, a slight smile gracing his lips. Without his brain’s okay, Raphael found himself taking Aziraphale’s hand. “There’s going to be a war soon. I don’t think I’ll come out the other side. We could go off together. Stay there, just you and me.”
“Raphael, as tempting as that may be, I have a duty to the Almighty. You do too. We cannot just run off whenever we would like. Should a war arise…we should stay to protect Her name.”
“Oh, angel. Somehow I doubt that will be my case.” Without so much of another word, Raphael got up, and gave him one last look.
Nearly immediately, a scream was heard outside of the meeting hall. It had begun.
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It had been approximately three months since Arma-almost-happened, and as per usual, a certain angel and demon found themselves drinking heavily in the back room of a certain bookshop. Empty bottles of sangria, red wine, and red wine littered the floor, much to said angel’s dismay. Wine stains were so hard to get out of absolutely anything, even with the aid of miracles! However, this was mainly due to the fact that the angel always would know that the stains were there, under the miracle. It bothered him greatly. This was not the only thing that bothered Aziraphale about being an Angelic Creature of God Herself; in fact, he was currently lamenting to his Demonic Counterpart about this other problem. This, according to Aziraphale, could only be done while inebriated.
“I just don’t know what to do anymore, Crowley, dear.” Aziraphale sighed, glancing longingly into his glass of red wine. At this point, Aziraphale wasn’t sure if he was drunk ENOUGH to be talking about this or if he was too drunk to even think of discussing it. “Every other angel has met their soulmate already. It’s dreadfully silly, but I’m starting to think that She just destined me to be alone...without my angelic counterpart.” He takes a long swig from his glass, draining it almost instantly. He grimaces at the violent taste...or was he grimacing at the sharp pang in his heart, the everlasting nagging that reminded him just how alone he felt?
“Angel...” Crowley stretches, yawning. He removes his extravagantly expensive sunglasses, and gives Aziraphale a long, hard stare. “You have a soulmate. I can promise you that.” He perches onto his knees, continuing to look Aziraphale in the eyes. “I think we’d better sober up. You won’t like this next bit that I’ve got to say. Might as well suffer while sober, right?” He shoots the angel a flash of a grin, almost winking along with it.
Aziraphale nods, as much as he dislikes the idea of losing the pleasant softness of the world while drunk. He closes his eyes along with Crowley, and they both concentrate for a minute, making quick work of evaporating the alcohol in both of their bloodstreams. Almost in sync, they both make disgusted faces, extremely aware of the harsh lines of reality. Imagine the taste of extremely old vinegar…that was the taste bouncing along from tastebud to tastebud. Thankfully, the vile flavor disappeared almost as quickly as it had begun, and Aziraphale and Crowley were left looking at each other. Aziraphale gazed inquisitively at Crowley. “So, my dear, what was it that I needed to sober up for? Are you about to tell me that I’m to be single until I’m executed? Because I much would have preferred to hear that while drunk.”
Crowley chuckled, placing his empty wine glass on the table between them, careful to avoid the myriad of books balancing precariously on it. “Nah, angel. I promise you that you have a soulmate.” He grins. “Would I lie to you?”
“Yes. You’re a demon. It’s what you do,” Aziraphale responded, half-playful and half serious. He allowed a returning smile to seep through his voice’s slight edge. “Oh, don’t tell me it’s Sandaphalon! Or worse…Gabriel.” He shuddered at the thought. Gabriel…no, he could never do. Far too cold-hearted for Aziraphale’s desires. He much preferred someone who cared less for the rules than he did…and in Heaven, that was hard to find.
“Aziraphale, don’t even make me think of that! Eugh,” The demon shook his head. “No, it’s neither of them. I don’t even know if you’ll know who it is. Well, you will know who it is, but only a certain part of them, per say. And they’re almost not the same person anymore. It’s all, kind of-ngk.” Crowley, suddenly very aware of his random rambling, stopped suddenly. He cleared his throat, keeping careful eye contact away from Aziraphale’s blue eyes, as he knew he would definitely, totally, ultimately get completely lost in them. “The Almighty made everyone with a soulmate before the War. Your soulmate was an Archangel-“
“You promised it wouldn’t be Gabriel! Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, you wily thing.” Aziraphale butted in, cutting him off. Crowley frowned at him in response, immediately regretting the action once he realizes his counterpart’s fallen smile.
“Sorry. Anyway, angel, if I may. Your soulmate was an archangel. His name…was Archangel Raphael.” Crowley allowed himself one look into Aziraphale’s eyes, a sea of emotion welling up in them. He watched as Aziraphale’s eyes went through waves of fear, confusion, excitement, finally ending up in a quiet acceptance. He nodded, his off-white curls bouncing along with his head.
“Goodness…I…I don’t even recall seeing or hearing about him. Ever, in fact…how do you know of this?”
“He fell in the War. Well…more vaguely sauntered downwards, I’d say. Took the stairs down, angel.” Before he could see Aziraphale’s pupils wide, Crowley tears his gaze away, promptly deciding that the floor was actually quite interesting, in comparison, really.
“Oh, Crowley…well, that certainly does explain quite a bit on my end.”
“It does?” A hope Crowley had not felt since before the war was ignited in him. Was it possible that his angel remembered their time together, as short as it may have been?
“I suppose I’ve always had a thing for redheads.” Aziraphale grinned, love overflowing in his chest. If Crowley hadn’t known any better, he would have assumed he was quite literally glowing. “I think I’ve loved you for a long time, my dear. I just didn’t know I could.”
Crowley stared at Aziraphale, tears rapidly falling down his cheeks. His cold exterior be damned! Crowley decided he was Having A Moment Here, and all but launched himself into Aziraphale’s arms. He tucked his head into the crook of his neck, and allowed the feelings of love, joy, and passion to pour out from his once-broken heart onto his soulmate’s shoulder. He, much like Aziraphale, had waited for this moment since the dawn of Creation.
“I don’t think you know how relieved that makes me, angel. I don’t think you could ever know.”
And, as if it had been planned by the Almighty Herself, Aziraphale took Crowley’s tear-stained lips and brought them up to his own. Never had any bliss such as this been felt by anyone in history, and never would any other kiss taste as sweet. This, Crowley decided, was worth all of the waiting and longing he had suffered through for the past 6000 years. This kiss, this moment in time, was the reason he Fell all those eons ago.
And, Crowley realized, as they separated, that he would Fall again and again just if it meant he could experience a kiss such as that again…and he knew Aziraphale would too.
“So tell me, angel…is this what you expected in a soulmate?”
“Oh, no, my love. Somehow, this is a million times better.”