Chapter Text
"See thither Tobias, son of Tobit of the tribe of Nephtali, and the city of Nineveh?" asketh t𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉.
The angel noddeth, and gazeth upon the visage of the mortal world, and Tobias, with reddened cheeks.
And t𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 spake unto the angel, saying, "Take all thy skills, Aziraphale, Principality and one of the Seven most powerful of my Angels,
to the land of Nineveh. Lend thyself to a quest I have given unto Tobias on behalf of his father, the loyal and faithful Tobit of the tribe and city of Nephtali;
for he is laid low beneath a tyrannical king and blinded in bad fortune.
"Bring Tobit to the full glory of a Man of God and maketh of him a shining example among all mankind."
The angel turneth aroint from viewing the plane of all mortality and said thus to t𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉,
"Begging thine pardon, 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉, but I was miles away."
And t𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 did sigh.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
"--a real adventure, you know?"
Aziraphale was ashamed to admit that he did not know. He hadn't been paying attention to a word the young man sitting on his shop's front counter had said. He was far too focused on the way his sandaled feet bounced rhythmically off the ruddy plaster, and the way his auburn curls caught sunlight whilst he spoke with all animation, and that little smile that touched his eyes when he dreamed big.
"Oh, yes, a real adventure," Aziraphale said and continued to bustle about, cleaning up his rarely-ever-visited shop, and dusting off stacks of carefully-stored tablets. "And, ah, what would that all entail?"
"Aziraphale," he said, ever patient and with a smile that verged on exasperation. "I just said. But it's all right, dearest friend, I know that I'm spending far too much time here, keeping you from your work. I'll leave you to it."
"Not at all, Tobias, you're always welcome to stay as long as you like!"
"Thank you, Aziraphale, but I have to get home for supper," Tobias replied and hopped down from his impromptu seat, heading for the door. "Dad won't start eating until Mum and I both there, he's such a stubborn traditionalist. Did you know he buried another Israelite again? And he's only just gotten back from being banished from the last time! Mum about had a fit when she heard."
The angel-in-disguise followed after him, dusting cloth in hand, and smiled at the mention of Tobit. "He's a good man, Tobias."
"I know. I just wish he wasn't so ... aggressively good." Tobias lingered in the door a moment, making Aziraphale think he had more to say before he turned back on his heel and took the angel up in a hug. "Like you. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend, Aziraphale."
"Oh, well!" was all that Aziraphale could say in the moment. He returned the hug while his body's stomach filled with butterfly wings. "Always happy to listen!"
He waved while watching Tobias head down the street towards his home, and barely noticed the new figure slipping through his door and taking up nearly the exact same space Tobias had occupied. Aziraphale turned back around, and he jumped a little when he saw, leaning against the counter, the lean figure of Crawly. This time he was dressed in Median robes with black, crisp pleats, and his hair and beard both in tightly-controlled, coppery ringlets.
"Crawly! It's been ages," Aziraphale said.
"Yeah, ages. In fact, it's Asmodeus for now, actually."
"Ah! Asmodeus, then." A smile overtook the surprised look as Aziraphale folded his hands in front of himself. "What, uh, what brings you to Nineveh?"
"Wheeling and dealing, some give-and-take, through compromise and concession."
Aziraphale's face fell to zero. "So, being a demon."
"That's the usual plan of action," Asmodeus agreed. His shadow slid behind him as he sauntered towards the angel, putting a long, dyed-black fingertip in Aziraphale's face as he said, "And! Have I got a deal for you."
"What?!"
"A deal. I'm a dealmaker, now, don't you know? Didn't Sandalphon tell you? That I met with God and we had a little quid pro qu-- no? You hadn't heard about Job? With the families dying, and the running ostriches--" Asmodeus brought his elbows up and mimed ostrich wings "--none of it? Huh! I was rather proud of that one… almost got Her."
" Crawly ," Aziraphale said, sitting at his table and staring at the seat next to him expectantly.
" Asmodeus, " Asmodeus echoed, correcting the angel before a furrow of worry formed on his brow. "For now. Do you like it? I like it. Most of the time. That is, mostly I think it suits me, but then sometimes I don't."
He joined Aziraphale on the bench and smiled, an act that darkened the room a little faster than the sunset.
"What's this deal you're talking about, then, Asmodeus?" Aziraphale asked, giving his opinion on the name by his casual usage of it.
"Well! Be a proper host and offer me a drink first!" Asmodeus said, sending the angel off on the errand of being gracious.
As Aziraphale gathered up a jug of water and some clay cups, the demon made himself comfortable lounging on the bench at his leisure. The angel rejoined him with a refreshment and an apology for not having anything stronger on hand.
The bridge of Asmodeus' nose crinkled up with distrust, and with a wave of his hand over the top of his cup, he dismissed Aziraphale's apology altogether. With a sip of the wine, the demon's smile returned.
"Sooo… Where were we?"
"A deal, Asmodeus! The deal you had for me," Aziraphale said, shoulders dropping in pure exasperation. With a flutter of his fingers over his own cup, he joined the demon with something strictly stiffer than wine.
"Ah, right! Yes, that deal. The elements are simple enough." Asmodeus ticked them off on his fingers: "Involves a trip to Media, a lovely young Israelite girl there that I'm tormenting, and fulfilling the dreams of your boy-toy."
"But, it's so dangerous! The road from Nineveh to Media is bristling with bandits," countered Aziraphale. "And--he's not my boy-toy!"
"You've been to Media and back just fine before, angel," Asmodeus said, casually picking at his pleats until they lay perfectly. "Besides, he'll get a nice little treat at the end of the journey. Miss Sara is a dish!"
"And that's another thing, why are you bedevilling this poor girl if you're so willing to just give her up to Tobias anyway?"
"My reasons are my own." Asmodeus sniffed and stood, the pleats of his robe hypnotically perfect. He drew back towards the doorway and went on, "C'mon, angel, what did you think was going to happen? Boy meets angel? Boy falls for angel? Spending his whole life talking of adventure in your little clay tablet shop?"
Asmodeus shook his head sadly and added, "No, Aziraphale. Mortals do their best when they're with other mortals. Remember the Nephilim?" before he slipped out of Aziraphale's shop, leaving him to soak in the truth all immortal beings knew.