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The two kings met in secret, in the chasm which served as the borderline between their kingdoms. This was the place where countless soldiers had perished in the war, equal quantities on both sides of the conflict. Not to mention, this was also the place where it all began.

Gabriel glared down from his swordfish chariot, wondering what trick the vile fiend had up his sleeve this time. "Lucifer." 

"Gabriel." Replied the other king, just as emotionless.

"To what do I owe this displeasure?" Asked the purple-eyed merman, leaving the safety of his mode of transportation.

Lucifer rolled his eyes as he approached. "Calm down, I'm not here to make trouble."

"For once in your existence." Muttered Gabriel.

The red-tailed, black-finned monarch gave a slight nod with a shrug. "Indeed. I'm just as shocked as you are."

"Then why have you come all this way?" Asked Gabriel as he circled around him, still wary.

Lucifer took a deep breath. "I have a proposal for you and your kingdom."

"And what might that be? To surrender or go to war? Oh wait, that's what you did last time. 20 years ago."

"Yes, and I don't know about you, but I've grown quite tired of it." Replied the patriarch of the Morningstar family.

If Gabriel's stare could shoot daggers, Lucifer would have been skewered. "Finally had your fill of slaughtering my people?"

"Let me be frank with you, Gabriel: I want to make a deal." Now he started circling as well.

The ruler of the Silver Sea crossed his arms, as skeptic as ever. "And I should accept this because...?" 

"Because you need it as much as we do." 

There was a hint of a smirk on the purple-eyed king's face. "I highly doubt that, Lucifer."

Lucifer stopped moving, in hopes that he'd take him seriously if he stopped giving him a reason to be paranoid. "We need food, you need more healing materials. We each have what the other needs. So, we cut a deal. Come to an understanding." He explained. 

"And how do I know you won't go back on your word?" Asked Gabriel with a raised brow.

"If there is a union of sorts, we both have incentive to keep it peaceful on our respective ends." 

"What exactly are you proposing, Lucifer?"

The ruler of the Onyx Sea showed off his best charming smile. "A proposal. Have you not been paying attention?... I've heard rumors that you aren't exactly... happy with your youngest son."

"I'm sure I'm still much happier than you are with yours." Replied Gabriel in a heartbeat.

"That brings me to the actual proposal: they're still family. If we unite our kingdoms through marriage, no matter how little we care of them outside of sharing our names, this would be our incentive to not butcher each other. After all, we both have other children we could marry off for power or wealth. We unite the ugly ducklings for the greater-good, we don't have to worry about finding them proper suitors and we can spend our time worrying about matters which are actually important..." He explained.

Lucifer then extended his arm to Gabriel, as if he was showing him something. "We both know they're more burden than anything. What do you say we use them so for something, so it stops feeling like they're a waste of space?"

"Do you really expect me to send Aziraphale to live in the Onyx Sea with you?" Gabriel intentionally sounded like he thought himself better than the merman in front of him. 

Lucifer raised a brow, not at all phased by the other monarch's attempt at an insult, and continued. "Would you rather Crowley go live in the Silver Sea with you? My serpent of a son, ruining your pretty little palace? He was raised with me, no one back home has ever ever gotten a disease from him but I can't guarantee your lot will be as lucky. After all, Michael is quite prone to illness, isn't she? Just like her poor mother..." 

Gabriel visibly shifted, realization washed over him, followed by an anger which quickly took over his face. His blood was boiling. "You sneaky, worthless excuse for a ruler! You sent something contaminated to my palace! You planned all this to make sure I had no choice but to accept!" Michael had been feeling a bit under the weather lately but everyone had assumed it was because of the time of year. 

Lucifer glared at him mockingly. "Shall I give you a prize for figuring out something that was staring at you, right in the face? When was the last time anyone in your part of the ocean was infected with Leviathan's disease?"

"Leviathan's d-... You wouldn't dare."

"What? Kill the daughter with the same thing that killed her mother? It's a bit poetic, don't you think? You have a week to answer before she really starts getting horrible, and you know the only close crops of kelp which help heal that are in the Onyx Sea. Obviously they'll all be heavily guarded so, good luck if you don't agree. As I recall, both the Ruby Sea and the Amethyst Sea are several weeks away. Not to mention, if this war doesn't end here today, the only way you could reach them would be by crossing the Dead Sea twice. Even I know that's far too risky." And there it was, Lucifer showing his true colors once more. He was relishing in this, and he wasn't going to hide it.

Veins were protruding from Gabriel's neck and forehead. "You still expect me to agree to this?! Your people will starve, they won't fight for you."

"Unlike you, my people fear me and know better than to disappoint me and my family. Yours only respect you out of pity. They loved your wife-"

Gabriel lunged at him, his guards closing in with their spears. Lucifer dodged quickly and laughed from a distance.

"Even if you do kill me here, Hastur and Dagon will ensure my plan goes forth. Not to mention, Beelzebub will get the Sapphire Sea involved in the war once she finds out you killed her dear, old dad. You recall how vast their army is, right? Plus, Raphael and the Jade Sea are well-versed in healing and magic. So think, Gabriel: would you rather have Aziraphale be your sole heir? Or, have your golden child survive and not spread the disease throughout your whole kingdom?" His smirk was the most sickening thing Gabriel had ever seen.

Gabriel's blood was still boiling, and as much as he wanted to grab one of those spears from his men and drive it straight into Lucifer's heart, his mind went to Michael. His little girl, being bedridden before her body completely shut down. He watched Ruth go through it, she had gotten it from an injured and infected civilian who had wandered too close to the Dead Sea. By the time they had figured out what she had, it was too late to save her. Gabriel wasn't about to let it happen to Michael as well. It took all of his strength to not tackle Lucifer right then and there. Instead, he looked away into the chasm.

"...Fine..." Said the purple-tailed merman, both jaw and fist clenched to a painful degree.

Lucifer looked pleased with himself, but of course, he decided to keep prodding. 

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that. What did you say?" He asked, holding a hand up to his ear. That evil smirk never left his face.

Gabriel breathed again to calm down, even if only a bit. He finally looked up and forced himself to extend his arm. "You have a deal. Aziraphale will marry Crowley, and we shall trade the necessary resources between our kingdoms..." 

Lucifer approached him with no fear and shook his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Gabriel. The wedding will happen two days from now. After it's made official and we have both signed the contract, you will leave my palace with the ingredients you'll be needing for the medicine. Make sure to bring both your son and the food for my people. After all, what's a wedding without a feast?"  

With that, the smug king released Gabriel's hand and swam away. This was now the second time Lucifer had left that chasm as the victor.

~~~~~

Neither prince was thrilled by the sudden news of the betrothal arrangement. Crowley had broken and torn apart anything he got his hands on in his father's throne room, while Aziraphale begged for it not to go through and then sulked when his father said they had no choice in the matter for his sister's sake.

The day of the ceremony, both grooms were practically dragged to the altar, Crowley more literally than Aziraphale. They had only heard descriptions of each other in previous years, never seeing a stone depiction or a drawing of any sort, like the humans would do to catalog the monsters and beasts of the world. And as far as the blond prince was told, he was, in fact, marrying a monster. 

Gabriel accompanied Azirpahale down the aisle and that was the first time he laid eyes on Crowley. No wonder they called him 'The Serpent', that's exactly what he was. At least, the bottom half of him. 

His tail was just like a snake's and easily twice as long as Lucifer's. It sported the same deep red on his underbelly but the rest was covered in black scales. Those same black scales could be seen as patches along his more normal-looking torso, especially on his sides. He had a dorsal-fin with sharp spines coming out of it, the same blood red as his underside. His hands were long, slender and he had incredibly sharp claws. You could follow the trail of scales on his body, all the way up to his face. Then there were his eyes, completely yellow with thin black silts instead of round pupils. Someone behind him touched him, he didn't seem to appreciate it, because he bared his teeth and forked-tongue before turning around and scaring the daylights out of them. His fangs were definitely sharper than any normal merperson. In fact, the only normal thing about him seemed to be his hair, which was long, red, curly and beautiful. 

Aziraphale was, somehow, both relieved and more afraid now that he had seen him. When he was finally in front of him, he noticed a certain sadness about him. Neither of them made eye-contact after the inicial meeting, instead, they focused on the officiant. 

"We are gathered here today to witness a moment in our history. Through this union, a two-decade-long war will end and will usher in a new era of peace between the Silver and Onyx seas." He began, mostly referring to the two kings. 

The priest grabbed one of Aziraphale's hands and then reached for Crowley's. To his surprise, The Serpent didn't pull away his arm or growl at the merman. He relented his hand and let the officiant guide it. With that, he joined their hands, interlacing their fingers and binding them together. He had them bow, then he draped a large necklace with black beads over the two of them. After a blessing in old Atlantian, which neither groom understood, Lucifer and Gabriel helped them with the ceremonial armor. It was a symbolism for protecting each other, but frankly, Aziraphale felt relieved. Sure the paperwork was signed, and he was supposed to be off-limits, but he knew there was still a chance of a fight breaking out today because of either side.

When the binding and necklace were removed, they were escorted up the aisle and into the banquet hall for the wedding feast. Again, not much eye contact was had between the two. Several hours passed and neither of them touched a single morsel from their plates. As it was getting late, they were finally allowed to leave the table and retire to their room. 

Aziraphale said his farewells to his father before exiting the banquet hall. Gabriel looked more annoyed about getting played for a sucker than genuinely being upset over losing his only son. Aziraphale pretended not to notice that and let himself be lead by the guards who were going to escort them up to their quarters.

~~~~~

Crowley's room was at the very top of the tallest tower in the palace. Whether it was by choice or by design, Aziraphale wasn't sure. It wasn't a very extravagant room. Yes, it was very spacious, but other than the large yet simple clam-shell bed, a corner near the end of the chamber which was covered by lovely plant-life, another dark corner cluttered with covered furniture and the sizable barred window (which resembled a prison more than a prince's room), it was quite bare.

At the realization that they were alone, Aziraphale felt a pang of fear rising up in his chest. Because of this, he began to fidget with his rings as he stared at the bed. 

The resident prince had finally dismissed the guards and looked at the blond. He sighed and approached his new husband. "Help me out of this, would you?" 

It wasn't an actual command, but Aziraphale quickly obeyed and kept his gaze down like he would when told to do something by his father or sister. With that, the blue-tailed prince began to untie laces to loosen up the decorative metal plates. In moments, the armor was being lifted off Crowley's torso and he stretched in relief. Aziraphale hadn't realized Crowley had control over his dorsal-fin until it flexed and went back to its resting position. Then, without even thinking, Crowley swam up behind him and started undoing his for him. No comment about it, no asking for permission, he just did it.

After doing this and tossing the armor aside, Crowley finally faced him and their eyes met once more. However, it only lasted a second before the other looked away. This was when he noticed how nervous Aziraphale truly was. He was trembling, messing around with his rings and he looked like he was about to start crying.

Realization hit him like a ton of stones. The poor thing was abandoned here by his father, he was handed off to the enemy to gain something in return, and now he's thinking he's about to be raped by the monster he was just married off to! He was terrified, and the serpent couldn't blame him. They hadn't spoken with one another during the feast, there was no way Aziraphale knew Crowley's intention was to be nice, not to get him under the sheets as soon as they were left alone. He mentally scolded himself for a moment before addressing him directly.

"If you want, I can tell someone to bring in another bed." Crowley said softly.

Aziraphale looked at him, confusion extremely visible in his face. "But w-we're married. Aren't we supposed to-? Or do you not like-? Are there, um, different traditions for couples here?" He was still trembling.

Crowley shook his head. "We don't need to produce an heir. You never need to touch, talk or even look at me if you don't want to. Neither of us wanted this, it's political! You'll be miserable being known as the 'Serpent's husband', that's punishment enough."

"Punishment for what?" He looked so sad. Crowley wanted to hug him, to comfort him, but he knew that would do more harm than good.

"Being born, seems like." Muttered the resident royal as he moved towards the entrance of the room. Crowley hesitated for a moment before looking over his shoulder. "...I'll see what I can do about our sleeping arrangements..." 

He was gone for a while and returned empty-handed and upset. Apparently, Lucifer caught wind of the request, turned it down and let the servants know they were not to please the prince in this. Said he had to 'stop being a child, suck it up and share the bloody bed'. Aziraphale pretended to not be disappointed by the news and insisted it was alright. They went to bed shortly after. The redhead made sure to face the room's entrance and keep himself on the very edge of his side, with the hope that the large gap in between them would make Aziraphale more confortable.

Just a few hours later, Crowley awoke to hushed sobs and sniffling. He shifted on the bed but he didn't feel any warmth beside him. Because of this, he lifted himself up to see where the other prince had gone. Aziraphale was sitting against the windowsill, tail folded close to his torso and crying softly into his hands. 

The youngest Morningstar's heart ached for him, he wanted to comfort him. Before Crowley could do anything, however, three little orange seahorses popped out (upside-down) from the top part of the windowsill. They eyed Aziraphale curiously for a moment and the bravest one of them approached the weeping prince. It poked the blond's forehead with its snout and this made Aziraphale look up from his hands. 

"Oh!" He quickly wiped his face and smiled. "Hello there." 

The other two seahorses joined their sibling and observed this new face. Aziraphale's smile was more genuine this time. "Well, aren't you just a lovely bunch? Did my crying wake you up? I'm dreadfully sorry if that was the case. I know your kind aren't the nocturnal type." He said nervously. One of the little creatures went up to Aziraphale and nudged at his cheek, as if he was comforting him. Another was doing the same thing on his shoulder, and the third on his hand. 

He tried not moving so much or scaring them with his chuckling. "My, you're very affectionate. I'm feeling better already, thank you, my dears." 

Crowley slipped out of bed and approached them, making sure to make some noise with the sheets to not startle Aziraphale by suddenly showing up next to him. It worked well, because Aziraphale saw him coming.

"They're trying to make you laugh. They think if you laugh hard enough, you're not upset anymore." Explained Crowley. 

Aziraphale blinked are him. "Are they all like this? I'm afraid I've never encountered any seahorses myself before. They seem awfully domesticated."

Crowley shrugged. "They may as well be my pets at this point. Their home is at the very top of the tower, I found them a few years ago while sneaking out one night." 

The serpent then gently grabbed the one which was on his cheek. "This is Leonardo, he's the oldest. By about three seconds, or so he insists. He's the smartest." As soon as he lets go of him, the little animal goes back to tickling the blond prince. 

Next up for an introduction was the one who was on Aziraphale's shoulder. "This is Fredrick. He likes to be called 'Freddie', he thinks it sounds cooler. He's the nicest."

He glared down at the third, who seemed to be upset with him and would let himself be grabbed. "And the tiny bloke with his tail around your finger is Anthony. He's the baby of the trio and resident grumpy boy tonight. What'sss got you in sssuch a mood?" He asked, softly hissing. The little creature let go of Aziraphale's hand and went straight at Crowley's hand, head-butting his wedding ring.

"Oh come on, you can't posssssibly be upsssset by that!" Argued Crowley with a louder hiss in his voice. 

The other prince just stared, wondering what he meant and why he sounded angry. 

The seahorse seemed to make a gesture of some sort, which got a loud response from Crowley. "How wassss I ssssupposed to know?!" 

Aziraphale, too curious for his own good, just had to know what was happening right in front of him. "Am I... Am I missing something here?" 

At that moment, Crowley felt stupid. After all, this must've looked like a very one-sided conversation from his point of view. "Oh! Sorry. Yeah. I can sort of talk to fish... Well, animals in general. I once talked to a bird when I went up to the surface. And a dog, actually." He admitted nervously. Usually he got teased for this, especially by his family.

Aziraphale's eyes got wide. "Really? That's awfully fascinating! Can they understand me or is it just with you?" 

Crowley couldn't believe what he heard. Not only did someone not make fun of him because of this, but they were actually interested in it. Interested in him. He couldn't help but feel a little bit eager because of that, but he tried to hide it. He cleared his throat to play it off a little bit. "They understand me when I hiss in the back of my throat and speak at the same time. Apparently, something changes and I can speak with them. Must be the magic of the curse. Anyway, with normal merfolk, it's just by gestures that they can sort of understand you. That's why they're still trying to comfort you. Again, just laugh, or they'll be here all bloody night. They mean well, but they can get on your nerves after a while."

With that, the blond followed his advice and started laughing like he was being tickled to death by Leonardo and Freddie. Anthony was still, clearly, very angry with Crowley and he swam towards the merman's face. 

When Aziraphale finally caught his breath, he started petting all three of the seahorses. He could've sworn he saw Anthony glare at Crowley before snuggling up to Aziraphale again. 

"Why is he so upset?"

"He thinks I kept you a secret and didn't tell them about the wedding on purpose." Explained Crowley before referring to the little one again. Aziraphale now heard the hiss starting before words came out of his husband's mouth. 

"It wasssss arranged. Neither of ussss knew it was going to happen until it did. Sssssstop being a baby. Do you think I'll give you lesssss attention if I'm married?" He cooed, trying to grab Anthony. 

To Aziraphale's surprise, the seahorse smacked away Crowley's hand with his tail. Crowley rolled his eyes with a laugh. "He's a little drama king, he'll get over it." 

He cleared his throat again and addressed all three of them. "Boysssss, it'sss time to go to sssssleep. No, I don't want to hear it. You'll ssssssee him tomorrow, he needsss to resssst too." 

The little animals seemed to groan and fuss before cuddling up to Aziraphale one last time like a goodbye and they did the same with Crowley. Although, one of them got tangled up in his red mane and it seemed to hurt.

"Ahh! Oi! Anthony, I know that'ssss you, sssssstop it!" He used his tail to get him out of there. Aziraphale stifled a laugh as the seahorse siblings swam out the window and disappeared into the night. 

There was a comfortable silence for a moment but it quickly turned awkward. After mustering up the courage to say what was on his mind, Crowley looked at Aziraphale. "Y'know, just for future reference: if you're going to cry yourself to sleep, it's much more comfortable to do so in the bed rather than here on the window. Trust me, I would know..." 

Aziraphale's expression changed, more somber now. He let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry for waking you up. I tried to be quiet about it..." There he went, fussing with his hands again. Must be a nervous tick, thought the snake.

Crowley reached out to hold his hand but changed his mind halfway, afraid that Aziraphale wouldn't want to be touched by his claws. He placed both his hands behind his back to resist the urge again. "Look. If there's anyone who understands having daddy-issues and how it fucks with your emotions, it's me. I saw how heartbroken you were when you said goodbye to him and he barely gave you the time of day. You shouldn't keep that bottled up inside, it'll just hurt you more... Go to bed. I'll sleep here."

While he looked touched, he quickly shook his head. "Oh, I couldn't, this is your home, I can't kick you out of your own bed."

Crowley crossed his arms, a tiny smirk visible on his face to show he's not trying to be a tyrant. "I can play this game too, y'know. As prince of this palace, I command you get into that bed without me and try to rest." He said playfully, trying to not upset him. Aziraphale didn't seem too convinced.

"You're going to need it if we're going to have breakfast with my family in the morning. Trust me." Added Crowley before swimming over to the bed, pulling the covers and inviting him into it. 

Aziraphale didn't argue and swam over towards him. He even let himself be tucked in by Crowley. He tried his best to not flinch at the sight of the claws. 

"Goodnight, Archangel." He said softly before heading back to the window. He folded up his tail to use it as padding and he leaned onto it. 

The blond prince sank into the bed and watched the serpent as he tried to get comfortable. It took Aziraphale a few seconds to finally speak. "I'm a slow learner for some things but I will learn to love you, you know. I will learn how to be a good husband to you. I just need time. I promise I'll be good for you..."

Crowley sighed sadly and turned away from him, now staring out the window. "If that promise is your father's, you can shove it down his throat for me. I don't want any feelings from you that aren't genuine, Aziraphale... I can't free you from this, but I certainly won't force you into something you don't feel. You understand that, right?" 

For the first time since he had arrived to the Onyx Sea, Aziraphale felt like he was able to breathe without fear. "I-, yes. I do. Thank you..." His voice quivered a bit, followed by a sniffle. 

Crowley forced himself to not think about it and leaned deeper into his coils. "Goodnight, Archangel..."

"...Goodnight, Crowley..." Replied Aziraphale, barely audible. Silence took over the room and they fell asleep shortly after.

~~~~~

Morning came and Crowley awoke to an empty bedroom. He found this odd and stretched before unfolding himself. As he approached the bed, he heard a couple of voices just outside of the room. In seconds, Aziraphale was swimming through the doorway with Anathema in-tow. 

"Oh look, he's finally up!" She said, surprised. She was very aware of how much Crowley loved to sleep, after all. Aziraphale sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the brown skinned mermaid quickly swam over and embraced him in a warm hug. Her dark green tail was easily one third the length of his by comparison, almost making her look like a child clinging onto their parent. A slightly amusing visual, since Crowley is the younger of the two.

Anathema was the resident sorceress, even though she was only ten years older than Crowley, making her 30 at the moment. She practically raised him, she was like the big sister he never had but desperately wanted and needed.

"I leave for one week and your father decides to marry you off! Unbelievable! He owes me a ceremony, it should've been me giving you away at the altar." She ranted. 

Crowley scoffed with a roll of the eyes and pulled away. "You would've been crying halfway down the aisle. For no reason, too. It's not like he sent me away." 

"You know I would've snuck off and joined you somehow if he had." She said with a shrug.

The serpent smiled softly. "Yeah, I know. Did you and Newt find everything you were searching for that thing you needed?" He didn't recall what she actually needed or for what, he simply knew it was for a routine spell she did.

Anathema sighed. "No. Trying to get eel fins is fairly hard when you're trying to not kill the eel but they're trying to rip your fingers off." 

"I told ya, you should've let me tag along to deal with the eels. I'm a good translator." Taunted the serpent, flicking out his forked-tongue at his friend.

She glared and crossed her arms. "Your sarcasm might've cost Newton his nose." 

"Fair point." 

Anathema inhaled deeply and clasped her hands together, changing the subject. "Alright, we'll have to cut the reunion short. The real reason I was sent up here was to wake you two up and bring you to breakfast. Your father's waiting."

Crowley feigned looking hurt. "And here I thought it was because you missed me and wanted to tell me about your trip. Do you reckon I can get away with a bit more stalling? Use being recently married as an excuse?" He asked while he stretched.

"Nope. He sent me up here ten minutes ago, Aziraphale was already awake and we sort of scared each other. Main reason we were still talking out in the hallway was because I figured giving our new guest here a tour of the place would buy you at least a few more minutes." She explained.

He grinned at her. "I ever tell you I appreciate you?"

"Not enough..." She sang like a child.

He gave her a nod before gesturing towards Aziraphale. "Noted. Come on, Archangel. You must be starving." Said Crowley, recalling that neither of them had eaten last night at the wedding feast. His husband nodded and followed closely behind. 

~~~~~

Lucifer sat at the head of the table, Crowley's older sister Princess Dagon at his right, and their cousin Duke Hastur on his left. They sat in silence for once. Usually, they would talk about the war, but there was no more war to talk about as of yesterday. It limited the conversation topics. Not that Lucifer minded, of course. No war meant he could have more fun in his spare time again, that certainly explained the good mood he was in this morning.

The doors opened and the king grinned at the husbands. "Good morning, newlyweds."

"It's about bloody time you two showed up! We're always waiting for you, you slithering bastard!" Spat Hastur as Crowley and Aziraphale entered the banquet hall.

Crowley flicked out his tongue. "Then you should be used to it, you idiot." He then pulled out Aziraphale's chair for him. He made sure it was on the right side and far from his family. They were about halfway down the table.

As he sat, Aziraphale looked at his new father-in-law. "Apologies, my king. It was a long first night..." Crowley was now sitting to his left, sending a glare the king's way.

It was the best excuse he could come up with, and he felt he needed one, seeing as he was still the outsider here. Lucifer seemed to accept it. Or at least, he accepted that Aziraphale was already referring to him as 'my king' in the very short time he had lived there, because he muttered something about it towards Crowley's direction. And of course, now Hastur and Dagon were snickering and taking it in a completely different context. 

Especially Hastur, who seemed to find it exceptionally funny. "Maybe Crowley resembles you more than you think, uncle Lucifer..." He said, referring to the vast amount of lovers the king had taken over the years since his wife had passed away. He, wisely, turned to Aziraphale before the comment landed him in trouble. "Tell me something blondie: does he have one prick or two? The stable boys and I have a bet going on." 

Aziraphale blushed at the question for various reasons. The first one being the obvious: he had no idea. How would he, without consummating the marriage? Which lead into the other reason: in the Silver Sea, it is taboo to speak of such intimate things with anyone who isn't your partner. Not only did he not know what to say, he was a little insulted by the question.

Crowley, seeing his discomfort, grabbed Aziraphale's hand. "Don't answer that." The blue-eyed prince was a bit startled by the contact. His eyes met Crowley's and upon seeing an expression which he interpreted as 'trust me', he nodded. 

Dagon scoffed. "What a little prude."

"He's Gabriel's son, what did you expect?" Said Lucifer nonchalantly before clearing his throat. "So, Aziraphale. Tell me what you think of your new home." 

"It's quite lovely, my king. All the details on the walls are incredibly sleek, the statues are gorgeous and the garden is absolutely marvelous... It's very different from the palace I was born." It was evident that Anathema truly did show him around. 

Lucifer let out a bark of a laugh. "I should hope so. Gabriel's tastes are incredibly tacky. Ugly wooden carvings everywhere, so much white and gold, and don't even get me started on all the tartan! No style whatsoever." 

That statement cut deep. Not because it was an insult to his father, but because it was actually towards his mother. It was Ruth who spent many of Aziraphale's younger years decorating the palace, he had even helped her with some of the rooms. He never really saw it as stylish or not, he just associated it with home. And this place was the opposite of that. Yes, everything here was aesthetic and pretty, but it felt as it looked: cold and uninviting. Aziraphale already missed the warmth he associated with his birthplace. 

The next conversation didn't concern him, so as they ate, he spaced out for a bit thinking of his old life and whether or not he could ever go back to it again. It wasn't until he felt the table jolt away from him that he focused on what was happening. 

Crowley had left his side. He and Hastur had gotten into an argument of some kind, they were both yelling at each other with only the table there to separate them. Lucifer and Dagon looked amused by their fighting and neither had noticed that Hastur was still clutching his knife as he yelled. Or perhaps they had and they weren't worried about the possible outcome.

The next few events happened within seconds. Hastur firmed his grip on the knife even more and moved to use it. Aziraphale instinctively grabbed his own and flung it towards Hastur's, knocking it out of his hand. Everyone at the table stared at the Silver Sea native, Crowley especially. His pupils were practically round. The blond prince barely noticed it before Lucifer began speaking. 

"It seems like Gabriel's spawn isn't as innocent as he appears... Were you taught or are you just that lucky?" He asked as he rose from his seat.

Aziraphale felt a chill go down his spine. He held onto the table to keep himself steady. "I- I may not enjoy fighting, but I was trained to be a soldier, my king... I may not speak old Atlantian but I know one of the vows in yesterday's ceremony said I must protect my spouse to the best of my abilities. This was- this was me using that training to my advantage. I meant you no harm or disrespect..." His voice wavered a bit but he refused to break eye contact with Lucifer.

The king hummed. "Barely married 24 hours and already you're as loyal as a hound is to its human. Not sure if that means you're fickle or smart and ensuring your survival..." He said as he swam towards Aziraphale. Crowley was about to follow his father but was held back by his sister, cousin and two guards.

Lucifer eyed down the quivering prince for a bit, obviously savoring the fear which radiated from the blue-tailed merman. He grabbed him by the arm and leaned in closely. "If you even think of doing something to me, pray to Neptune that you don't miss. Because if you do, I'll make sure you wish you were never born..." He whispered in the shell of his ear.

The ruler of the Onyx Sea let go of Aziraphale's arm, then straightened his back and his gaze fell on his family members. "We're done here, I'll see you all back here for dinner tonight. Hastur, go collect the money from the brothel by the border, they're late with their payment. Dagon, you're supervising the new soldiers, make sure no one loses an eye during their first day. And Crowley, you're on information inventory duty for today, if it'll keep your husband out of trouble, bring him along. All of you, get out of my sight." 

They all let go of Crowley and he bolted towards his father. He went nose to nose with him, dorsal-fin fully erect, flared nostrils and pupils so thin they could barely be seen. "Don't touch him again." He growled. 

Lucifer was unfazed by his youngest son's threat and merely blinked at him. "Crowley, I understand you're having fun with your newest toy, but just remember: I can take it away the moment I've had enough of your shit. I am your father, I am your king and I will touch, take and break whatever I bloody-well please. I am clear?" His tone was calm, which made Aziraphale even more uncomfortable.

Crowley didn't answer, he simply glared at him, gave what could've been interpreted as a lazy nod and brushed passed him to reach Aziraphale. He practically dragged him out of the banquet hall, and the blond couldn't be more grateful for it.

~~~~~

Crowley and Aziraphale entered the library. The serpent made sure to shut the door behind them before turning his attention back to Aziraphale again. 

"Are you alright?" 

The blond was hugging himself, staring at the floor. He nodded. "Yes. Just a bit shook up, but I'll be fine..." Lucifer's threat was still ringing in his ears and he wasn't used to that sort of thing.

Crowley wasn't convinced but decided not to pry. Instead, he chose to go a different route. "You meant to save me... Besides Anathema, no one's ever stood up for me like that... Thank you." 

Aziraphale looked up and noticed Crowley's much less tense posture. His pupils weren't as thin as before and his dorsal-fin relaxed against his back. There was that certain sadness about him again.

"Don't mention it. It's a husband's duty." 

"Duty or not, I'm still grateful. The knife wouldn't have worked, but even so, your reflexes are appreciated. And impressive. I could've never pulled that off, my aim is horrible." The last sentence was spoken in a light-hearted breath along with an awkward smile.

Aziraphale raised a brow at this. "What do you mean it 'wouldn't have worked'? It was a knife and you weren't wearing any armor."

"My father's tried killing me plenty of times. Obviously, none of them have worked since I'm still here." 

"He's what?!" The blond prince looked mortified by that information. 

Crowley found this odd. "Surprised you hadn't heard that. Everyone has." 

"Clearly not everyone." 

"Right..." He said focusing on a nearby shelf, apparently not wanting to talk about it. 

So Aziraphale didn't. Silence took over as he perused the scroll and book titles which filled all the shelves. He simply couldn't believe how much literature they had managed to cram into this one room. After searching every nook and cranny, Aziraphale made his way back to the corner where he had left Crowley. 

He found him in the exact same place, only difference was what he held in his hand. Aziraphale then noticed there was a pile of scrolls on the table beside him. 

"What are you doing?" He asked the serpent curiously. 

"You heard Lucifer. I'm on 'information inventory duty'. He calls it that, but really it's just something to annoy me because he knows my eyes aren't made for reading. He makes me find any scrolls or books that talk about warfare, battles, fights, weapons, etc. Completely pointless now, there's no bloody war! Not that he actually used any of the information I'd separate for him."

"Your eyes... And you still do it?"

"You of all people is going to tell me to disobey? The world will truly end there." Crowley chuckled. Aziraphale did not look amused. The failed attempt at a lighthearted comment made the redhead frown into his usual resting expression.

"I have to. These buggers rat me out if I don't." He said, gesturing to one of the guards who was at the door. Ever since Aziraphale had entered the Onyx Sea, he had noticed that Lucifer's guards all wore the same black starfish necklace. When he asked what it meant, since it wasn't on the Morningstar banners, he was greeted by an answer he did not expect. Every guard who worked in the palace wore one because they were hexed. They forced the wearer to tell the truth, lying caused them great pain. And the only way to remove it would be for Lucifer himself to do so, because the hex was ordered by him, or anyone with a fairly high level of magical ability. Even if none of the guards was hateful towards the snake-prince, if asked, they had to tell his father the truth.

"And he gets creative if I refuse. So I do it, it gets ignored and put back, but then I can go for several days without being on dear, old dad's mind. Being the black-sheep of the family has its advantage when you don't want to be seen, it's easier to get ignored." He explained and went back to work while the other processed that information.

Aziraphale pouted. Yet another thing to dislike about his new ruler was added to the prince's list. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for his husband. 'Help'... An idea popped into his head shortly after. 

The blond came up to the serpent and tapped him on the shoulder. "What if I helped you?"

"Hmm?" Was his only response, clearly trying to concentrate enough of the scroll to figure out what was written.

Aziraphale gently took the scroll from Crowley's hands. "What if I helped you? How long do you usually take doing this?"

"Eh... A couple of hours before I give up and my eyes hurt so much I want to claw them out." He said nonchalantly with a shrug.

The blue-eyed prince pouted again. "Dear boy, this is clearly torture for you. For Poseidon's sake, let me help you. You pick something out, I'll read it and tell you whether it'd be useful or not."

"It won't be." Crowley reminded him. 

Aziraphale gave him a slight nod. "Technically, no, you're right. But the job would get done faster and we could leave earlier. I love being surrounded by books, I practically lived in our library back home, it was absolutely massive! I'd even hide in there to avoid combat-training." His tone was incredibly nostalgic. This was the happiest Crowley had seen him since they met. 

"This little arrangement would make me feel useful instead of just doing nothing and watching you mope." Explained the blond.

Crowley raised a brow. "You could read a book. You just said you liked that."

"Then only one of us would be in a good mood. Please?" Aziraphale's eyes looked sad with the question. Crowley knew of this look. The humans called it 'puppy-dog-eyes'. They used them for begging for something or manipulating other humans. Right now, Crowley felt Aziraphale was using them for both those reasons. His pride wanted him to decline, but the fact of the matter was: those eyes were making the choice for him. He agreed to the arrangement.

The two of them spent the next hour doing as Aziraphale had suggested. To Crowley's utter delight, it worked out well and for the first time when being told to do that task, Crowley didn't bury himself in his bedsheets immediate afterwards. Instead he opted to show Aziraphale around the kingdom, but not before asking Anathema for a favor. So that night when the husbands returned to their room, there was a small trunk on top of the bed, filled with books and scrolls. All stories she thought Aziraphale would enjoy. Aziraphale was incredibly touched by the surprise gesture and thanked him thoroughly. 

~~~~~

Within the next few days, Aziraphale noticed many things about the castle and those who interacted with Crowley. For one thing: everyone who wasn't family, Anathema or himself, would treat him like he would rip their head off just for making eye contact. They were all terrified, for no reason. Anathema was the only one who treated him differently, and she was also the only one who he genuinely enjoyed being around. It was clear that he respected Newton and Aziraphale, he had nothing against them, but there was just a bond between him and Anathema which was obvious. So he asked about it.

At first, Crowley didn't seem to keen on speaking about it. Aziraphale didn't pry, and focused on a scroll to occupy himself. Eventually, the serpent gave in (probably because he couldn't stand the silence anymore) and told him everything.

Crowley was cursed while he was still in his mother's womb. Said curse was placed on him and his father by a witch named Agnes Nutter. This happened because Lucifer thought he could trick her out of her land, her potions and spell-books. The reason why he couldn't demand those things of her was because she lived in the Silver Sea, Gabriel and Ruth's jurisdiction. Obviously, he couldn't ask the king and queen for a favor, because said potions and spell-books were going to be used against them. Thanks to this, Lucifer tried to trick her, making a deal which looked good on paper but would actually only benefit him. 

It didn't work. Agnes knew it was coming. Unlike other witches Agnes had visions of the future. She knew of many things that would happen, but she refused to tell Lucifer. And Lucifer Morningstar, being the monster that he was, decided to have her killed before she could help Gabriel or anyone else against him. The curse came with the witch's final breath. Before this happened, however, she had time. Enough time to hide away an important book in which she had recorded all her visions. Agnes had told her daughter that she and her granddaughter would be taken to the Onyx Sea and they would serve Lucifer as loyally as they could, that it was part of the plan. And so she did. Agnes' daughter and granddaughter helped deliver Crowley. 

Lilith, Crowley's mother, did not survive. She never even got to see her youngest, her only boy. Losing his wife made Lucifer incredibly unstable, he did not know how to handle the grief. The witch was dead, so now it was up to Agnes' daughter to try making the boy normal. Not a single spell worked. No matter what she tried, he was still part snake. At one point, Lucifer ordered her to poison him. She obeyed, but it did nothing. They smothered him with a pillow, they tried snapping his neck, they didn't feed him for days, and yet, the boy lived. Lucifer gave up, deciding that if he couldn't kill or banish him, locking him away would have to do. The only one who would treat the poor creature with an ounce of dignity was Agnes' granddaughter.

By now, Aziraphale had realized that Agnes' granddaughter was Anathema. 10 year old Anathema was the first to take care of Crowley and show him any amount of affection. She and her mother were there to obey the king, as per Agnes' instructions, but she didn't see why Crowley had to suffer. So she and her mother stayed in the castle, her mother being the head-sorcerous and doing whatever magical spell Lucifer demanded for the war. Anathema took over for her five years ago, when her mother left with Beelzebub for the Sapphire Sea. Anathema's main mission has always been to find the book, examine the exact wording of the vision and try to break the curse.

Now it all made sense in Aziraphale's mind. Crowley was grateful, loyal and loving to her (in his own way) because she was the only one who ever loved him. The only one saved him from truly becoming the monster others think he is. He even said that she was more of a big sister to him than Beelzebub and Dagon had ever been. Aziraphale supposed he could relate a small bit there, since he and Michael never really had much of a bond. Still, hearing Crowley tell the story of all the accounts and versions he's heard his whole life, it did a number on his emotions.

This lead to their first hug. Seeing as this was the only other person who willingly did it because they wanted to, not because they had to or were told to, Crowley cherished it immensely.

~~~~~

Over the next month, Crowley and Aziraphale fell into a comfortable routine of sorts. They'd go have breakfast, take a stroll out in the garden, spend some time with Anathema and Newt (maybe have lunch with them), give the seahorse siblings the attention they craved (otherwise they'd be insufferable), have dinner with the family (the quiet meals were always the most enjoyable), and they'd retire to their room for the rest of the night. Sometimes the blond would teach the serpent some of his combat-training, since Crowley found it very interesting. Most evenings though, Aziraphale would read a book or scroll out-loud so they could both be entertained with a story. Crowley quickly figured out this was a very pleasant way to fall asleep, Aziraphale's voice easing him into a soothing slumber. Crowley had even dropped the 'Arch' from 'Archangel' and now referred to Aziraphale as 'Angel'. The blond figured it was due to verbal laziness, but upon asking, he found out it was because his husband believed he resembled the celestial depiction of what human's called their God's helpers. He didn't complain about the endearment, he secretly loved it.

The physical contact hadn't escalated greatly, but now neither of them reacted nervously anymore when they touched. It's because of this, and the unnatural chill that had been going on for the past few days, that Aziraphale insisted Crowley join him in bed. This whole time, Crowley had been sleeping by the window. Tonight, a particularly nasty draft had woken him up, and upon seeing how the serpent shivered against the stone, the blond prince had enough. 

In this time, they had also grown comfortable with how they spoke to each other, which made scolding Crowley that much easier than it would've been their first week together. 

"Look at you, quivering as much as the plants you terrify in the garden. Get under the covers right this instant!" He had said, tugging him towards the bed. 

Since they had been married, Crowley had learned a fair amount of things about Aziraphale. Firstly: he was incredibly intelligent. Secondly: he was undoubtedly kind. Thirdly: he was fussiest being in the whole ocean. Fourthly: he was deceitfully strong. The last two were most apparent during that night because he actively picked him up and took him to bed (while still on his case about it) and tucked him in without breaking a sweat. Crowley even learned a few things about himself that night. For instance: he realized he never wanted to sleep alone ever again because sleeping next to Aziraphale felt like having the sun kissing at your skin just below the surface of the water. Crowley always basked in that feeling whenever he visited the human world, and he had missed it something fierce.

Then it hit him. He hadn't visited Them in a long time. Perhaps he should. Perhaps Aziraphale would enjoy that as well. After all, he knew his husband was the curious type. So, after a fair bit of convincing and promising him that it wouldn't be dangerous at all, Aziraphale finally agreed. 

They snuck out of the palace through a series of underground tunnels. These were made over a century ago and lay there forgotten by all the royals who came after the monarch who designed them. Crowley and Anathema had stumbled upon them while playing around the castle when they were young. She and Crowley were the only ones who knew of their existence and used them frequently whenever they needed to get away unseen. It's because of this that Crowley loved them so much. Being the only prince was reason enough to be recognized at every turn, but being the only merman-serpent hybrid in existence made it 100 times harder for him to blend in or sneak out anywhere. Needless to say, Crowley made sure no one ever found or plugged them up. 

Aziraphale was very glad he had Crowley to guide him through the tunnels. After the first few intersections, he had completely lost track of where they came from. Thinking of being lost in this labyrinth made him anxious but Crowley noticed this right away and started talking to keep him distracted from those thoughts.

"Y'know angel, you're easily the smartest person I've ever met. I'm still shocked that you've never gone up to the surface just to learn something." 

The compliment had caught him off-guard and he blushed almost instantly. "Oh! Well, um, I've- I've wanted to. But after my mother passed, my father started telling Michael and I all these awful things about humans. It got rid of the temptation rather quickly. So I settled for books and stories about them that explorers and researchers would bring to the castle. That way I knew them, but I ensured I was safe."

"But you don't really know them. You can't know someone without communicating with them."

A gasp passed by Aziraphale's lips. "You've spoken with them?" He asked, grabbing Crowley's arm and stopping both of them dead in their tracks.

The redhead turned and was met with big, wide, curious blue eyes. He could clearly see that the fear had melted away a bit and was replaced by his natural wonder again. Crowley loved seeing that facial expression and couldn't help but smile whenever he saw it.

"Yes. Not all of them, obviously. Seeing a snake-like monster would frighten most of them to death-"

"You're not a monster-" For a while now, this back and forth was common between the two of them. 

Whenever Aziraphale would catch Crowley referring you himself as a monster, beast or anything even mildly horrible, the blond would reiterate that he wasn't, that he simply looked different. And while Crowley tended to disagree sometimes, he appreciated that his partner was so adamant about it. For today, instead of arguing about it, he brushed it off so they could continue their conversation and their journey. 

"Yeah, but they don't know that, and they won't stick around long enough to find out. Anyway, the trick is finding those who are like you." 

"Like me?" Asked the blond.

Crowley nodded. "Curious. I found a small group who was separated from the rest one day. Children, they were playing near a cove. I was watching them from afar, until their hound saw me. It started barking and they all looked to see why. I was far enough away, so I figured I'd see how they would react... I climbed up on one of the big rocks that I had been using as cover. I climbed up high enough so they could see my tail."

"What did they do?" Aziraphale was trying to match Crowley's pase but as always, he was lagging a bit. 

Crowley noticed and slowed down considerably, grabbing Aziraphale's hand to make sure neither stayed behind. "They started yelling. But not because they were afraid. None of them had weapons, so I thought: why not get a little closer?"

The blue-eyed merman appreciated the gesture from his husband. "And then what?" 

"I got closer and I heard one of the boys asking his friends what he thought I was. Figured I'd save them the speculation and told them about my 'predicament', as I called it." Said the serpent, finally guiding Aziraphale out of the tunnels.

Aziraphale groaned. "It's not a-" He was cut off before he could argue.

"Anyway, they seemed very intrigued. They were quite the interesting bunch. I went back a few times, even took Anathema once so she could meet them. They're nice little bastards, very entertaining. I think you'll like them." Explained the redhead as they swam through the thick kelp forest which hid the tunnel entrances. 

Aziraphale's eyes needed some adjusting to the brightness. He had never been this close to the surface and the sun didn't seem to be the merciful type. 

They breached the surface of the water and could see land, off in the distance. From here, Aziraphale could see structures which resembled ones they had in their world. Barely a glimpse and already he was the most excited he'd ever been in his whole life. Crowley continued telling him stories of his adventures with the human children as they approached the village. There were dozens of canals which cut through the city, Crowley knew them all. This being Aziraphale's first time being in the human world, he figured taking the one with the most cover would be the safest bet. 

They hid beneath the waves, in the shadows, only popping out their heads a small bit when Crowley would want to show him something. It wasn't a busy time, there weren't too many people on the streets but being cautious was in their nature as a species. At one point, Crowley thought he recognized one of the children. He was about to wave, try to get his attention, but then he saw another familiar and definitely not friendly face. Captain Shadwell, nasty old bugger. Hunted anything that wasn't human. Naturally, he wouldn't want him spotting them.

Without even thinking, Crowley dove under the surface, dragging Aziraphale down with him towards a large stone bridge which served as a way across the canal for the humans. He pinned Aziraphale to the wall, pressed up against him as much as possible, using his dark tail to shield them. From above, it would seem as though there was nothing there, just the bridge's own shadow.  

Crowley's eyes were focused on the surface, waiting for the coast to be clear. Aziraphale's eyes, however, were focused on Crowley's facial features. And his mind was focused on the fact that this had been the closest they had ever been in the whole time they had been married. Not even in bed had they been this close! The Silver Sea native scolded himself for thinking of silly things like that when they could be in mortal danger. 

After a few minutes, Crowley heard one of the children talking to Captain Shadwell, telling him they saw a great beast by the southern canal. A grin quickly took over the serpent's face as he heard the old man shuffle away, screaming about how he was going to 'go monster hunting'. Finally, he looked down at Aziraphale and noticed his face was as red as lobster. Immediately, he pulled away and checked his body. Some of Crowley's scales had left imprints on his torso, as did some stones from the wall on his back, but they were disappearing quickly. 

"Sorry, angel! Couldn't let that crazy bastard see us. There's no telling what he would've tried to do to us..."

"It's quite alright, dear boy. Your quick reflexes saved us." He was still flushed but he managed to regain himself. 

They both peeked above the surface and Crowley locked eyes with a brown and curly-haired boy a few feet away. The boy smiled and tilted his head towards his right and mouthed something Aziraphale couldn't quite make out. The serpent understood perfectly and disappeared beneath the waves again. He lead Aziraphale away from the village canals and they rounded the peninsula of the human world until they reached a hidden area. Apparently, the humans called this place 'Hogback Cove', why, Crowley had no idea, and hadn't thought to ask before. 

The husbands waited in the shallow water, Crowley more-so than Aziraphale. The redhead wasn't surprised by this, so he let him keep a distance to feel safer. Eventually, a quintet of children (with a small animal accompanying them) rounded the corner and ran their way excitedly. 

"I told you he'd come back!" Shouted the same one they had seen by the bridge. 

Another boy, this time with short black hair, narrowed his eyes in their direction. His tone was incredibly eager."And he's got someone else with him!" 

The only girl who was amongst them smacked away his hand after seeing Aziraphale trying to hide behind a boulder. "Quit pointing at them, they look scared!" 

Crowley climbed out of the water, perching himself on a large, flat boulder which was closer to the shoreline on one of the edges of the cove. The children quickly met him there. Many hushed whispers later, he was waving at Aziraphale, beckoning him their way. 

The blue-tailed creature approached them very slowly. He wanted to ask so many things, but he didn't want to seem rude. Hence why he decided to wait for Crowley to make the introductions and start the conversation for him.

"This is Aziraphale. My husband." He said, gesturing to the blond who was inching closer. So many weeks together and he still wasn't used to the term. 

"Your species believes in marriage?" Asked the girl, not missing a beat. 

Crowley shrugged a bit. "Not sure if yours or mine came up with the concept but, yeah, we believe in it."

The boys started bombarding the blond with question after question. Adam and Brian's tended to be on the more silly side, while Wensleydale and Warlock's were much more serious. All of them were equally curious though, verbally running each other over to ensure they asked before all the others. And to top it off, sometimes Aziraphale would reply with a question of his own instead of answering the first. 

This continued for a bit, Dog had found a way to entertain himself by rolling around in the wet sand while all the children talked to the mermen. They were now in the water with them, still divided. All the boys gathered around Aziraphale, and about ten feet away, we had Pepper, seemingly, being the only one who still thought Crowley was 'fun to talk to', as he joked. Basically, while the rest were learning about the worlds they would like to explore and visit, Pepper was getting caught up on why Crowley had taken so long to come back. 

During this absolutely winded explanation, the serpent would glance at the blond, making sure he was alright. Pepper noticed it every time but decided not to mention it the first seven. By the eight, however, she couldn't stop herself.

"Do you love him?" She asked.

Crowley flinched as if she had yelled that at the top of her lungs and quickly turned. No one else had heard, they were all very much intrigued by their own conversation. 

He shook his head at her. "This is political, we don't talk about love." 

"I didn't ask what you talk about. I asked whether you love him or not. That's not the same thing." She replied with a glare. 

He sighed softly. "...I don't know... If I do, seems like a bit of a waste. I'm cursed. Fairly sure that means I can't live happily ever after like they do in the stories." He explained as he stared off in their direction.

"Anathema said she was going to find the book to break your curse. And you said you trusted her." Pepper said before crossing her arms, showing as much sass as possible.

Crowley looked back at her. "Trust doesn't equal results, kid. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be..." 

"Well then, how do you know you two aren't meant to be? I mean, you're already married. Shouldn't that make it easier?" She asked with a shrug.

"Frankly Pepper, I have no idea." The serpent sighed again before slumping his torso over the nearest boulder.

She shrugged again. Then, she let go of the boulder so she could float away from it and started swimming circles around him. "I say fuck the curse. If you love him, let him know. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, I'm sure you can work something out." 

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He asked, rolling his eyes. 

She grinned. "Nope." 

He let out a chuckle and used his tail to splash her a bit. This prompted her to 'attack' Crowley, who swam away and pretended to be in danger. It quickly turned into a game and the rest of the gang joined in.

All seven of them, eight if you included Dog, continued to play and chat until the sun started to set behind the island's tallest mountain. If it was up to the children, they would've happily stayed out longer, but Crowley knew better than to get them in trouble with their parents. After all, only reason he was able to sneak out was because no one else knew how he got there in the first place. He was fairly sure none of these kids had a secret escape route out of their homes. Although, he wouldn't put it past them if they came up with one. They were a clever bunch. 

Eventually, Crowley was able to pry Aziraphale away from the humans and they said their goodbyes. The entire way there, Aziraphale kept gushing over the things he had learned about the human world. Crowley already knew about these things, and he was there for a greater part of the conversation. Nevertheless, he let the blond go on and on to his heart's content. He liked hearing Aziraphale when he was excited or happy about something, so he only interrupted when he needed to give him instructions like: 'This way.' 'Over here, angel.' 'Watch your head.' 'Yes, I know where we're going, don't worry.' And so on and so forth. 

~~~~~

Upon returning to the palace, and a half-hearted scolding from Lucifer (who seemed he was doing it just because he had nothing better to do), they were escorted to their room. Anathema had made sure to save them some food so they wouldn't go to bed on empty stomachs. This had been a normal thing when it was just Crowley, so when Aziraphale was added into the mix, she figured at some point she'd have to separate two plates.

As the night progressed, Aziraphale seemed exhausted but he refused to relax, he was just too giddy. He kept talking about The Them, the plans they had made for the next time they'd visit. He rambled on a bit more until he noticed how tired Crowley had grown and how little he was fighting sleep. He decided he had talked enough for today and proceeded to help his husband into bed. 

During this, Aziraphale planted a chaste kiss on Crowley's cheek. He couldn't help it, he thought the redhead looked so sweet lying there, waiting for sleep to take over. He didn't listen to reason and let his body do as it pleased instead of holding back. Of course, whatever drowsiness Crowley had felt before the kiss vanished in an instant and he sat upright. 

"Aziraphale, I- I told you- if it's not genuine, I don't want that sort of affection from you."

Those blue eyes looked sad now. "How do you know it isn't genuine?"

Crowley inhaled sharply and held his breath, not sure on how to respond to that. He simply wrapped his tail around his torso for comfort. So Aziraphale continued. 

"I overheard you and Pepper earlier today... May I be frank with you, Crowley?" 

The redhead nodded slowly. "Yeah, 'course..." It was barely a whisper but the blond heard it.

"I do believe I feel something for you, something real. I'm not forcing myself. In fact, ever since our first night together, I've reminded myself that this is political and you want nothing to do with me like that. And well, it made perfect sense. Why would you want me? On top of being forced onto you, we have nothing whatsoever in common, I'm not the best looking-"

"Angel, don't." Crowley said as he unwrapped himself and made his way over to the junk-filled corner of the room. He tugged on one of the sheets that covered the furniture and yanked it off to reveal a mirror. "Come here..." 

Aziraphale stared for a moment but obeyed. The closer he got, the more the carvings on the mirror were visible. It was quite evident that it was crafted by humans. He wondered how Crowley came into possession of it but didn't bother asking and waited for further instructions instead. 

It didn't take long. Crowley gestured for him to stand in front of the mirror. The serpent positioned himself behind Aziraphale but he held eye contact through the reflection. 

"Look at yourself. Show me what part of you makes you think you aren't to my liking." He demanded in a soft voice. 

The blond blushed again, whether it was from embarrassment or flattery was yet to be seen. He could feel and see Crowley looking at him through the mirror as he placed his hands over his stomach for a few seconds. 

"I suppose I'm, uh, a bit soft around the midsection. Compared to the rest of my family, well, I'm not shaped like a sculpture, is my point." He finally said.

The serpent locked eyes with him again thanks to the glass. "And that's a bad thing?" He asked.

"Generally speaking-" Aziraphale began but the words died in his throat when he noticed his husband moving.

Crowley had moved away so both of them were completely visible in the mirror. "Look at you, then look at me."

Aziraphale did as told, mainly because he wanted to get this over with. 

"Do you know what I thought after you walked down the aisle?" Crowley now stared at Aziraphale directly, but the blond kept looking into the glass. He shook his head. 

The serpent sat on his coils and began to explain. "First thing I said to myself was: 'They told me I was marrying Gabriel's runt. Where's the runt? He's far too pretty to be the so-called ugly duckling of the Archangel lot.' And the second was: 'They're going to start calling us 'beauty and the beast' now.'..."

Aziraphale's blush from earlier was nothing compared to the one he now wore. He had never heard anyone refer to him as handsome or beautiful, so his ears were burning like nobody's business.

"You're normal, and you just so happen to be a gorgeous being. Meanwhile I look like this. Do you see why I find it hard to believe that you would find me attractive? Do you see why I automatically think this scenario is too good to be true?" He asked, his pupils were more round than usual.

Aziraphale sighed, his heart swooned at the sight. "What a pair we are. Such low confidence between the two of us, and at the same time, we're stuck in a never-ending cycle of trying to build up one another's self-esteem..." 

Crowley couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. "Yeah. We're kinda hopeless, eh?" 

The blue-eyed prince turned to face his husband. "So, what do we do?" 

"That depends..." 

"On what?"

Crowley shrugged, trying to look nonchalant about the whole thing. "If you're sure you can get over my appearance, we can give courting a shot. See if that helps you figure out your feelings."

Aziraphale inched closer to Crowley, effectively kneeling in front of the redhead. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on the serpent's neck. "My dear, I don't give a toss what you look like. Well, that's not entirely true, I know you don't believe me but I do find you very alluring. But these feelings stem from your personality and the way you've treated me since we met. You're funny, you're clever, you're protective, and deny it all you want-"

Crowley groaned with a roll of his eyes. "Don't say it-"

Aziraphale promptly ignored him with a smile and said it anyway, with more feeling. "You're very nice."

"Don't call me that, you'll ruin my reputation." Threatened the older prince. No venom in his words, it was just a reflex. 

The blond's hand made its way over to Crowley's cheek now and this made the black-scaled snake keep eye contact with Aziraphale. He could feel the heat radiating from that hand and he leaned into the touch. "I should hope so. You're nothing like your reputation. That reputation belongs in The Dead Sea, you don't. You're not a monster, Crowley. Far from it. And I will remind you of that every day..."

"Until I agree with you about it?" Asked the serpent in a knowing tone.

Aziraphale's other hand came up to Crowley's face now. "Until you believe it."

The redhead did a slow blink, seemingly soaking up the information. Finally, he opened his eyes again. The pupils were still fairly round. "One condition, angel." 

The blue-tailed merman nodded. "And that is?"

Crowley placed his hands on Aziraphale's jaw to ensure the blond's focus. "Do the same for me. Believe me when I say you're beautiful as you are, no chiseling required. Can you do that for me?"

The blond felt all of the air leave his lungs at the request, but he wanted to make this work and nodded. "I can certainly try." Said Aziraphale, finally understanding that Crowley's self-esteem was just as pessimistic, if not worse than his own. 

The serpent tried holding back a smile to not seem so eager and possibly make Aziraphale uncomfortable but his eyes betrayed him. The pupils got even larger than they already were. The blond couldn't help but feel his heart flutter. Once again, he let his body do as it pleased and he pulled him in for a kiss. The redhead was surprised by this but he didn't pull away. 

The kiss was awkward, to say the least. Neither one of them had any experience prior to this, so following one another's lead was out of the question. Crowley was as stiff as a board, afraid that if he moved, his teeth would tear Aziraphale's tongue to shreds. One of his hands ended up resting on the blond's hip but because he was so gentle about it, it tickled. Aziraphale's giggling made him stop the kiss. 

Crowley found his laughter contagious. "Like I said, hopeless." He chuckled, the heavy blush refusing to leave his face.

"Just a bit." Said Aziraphale with a hum as he grabbed his hand again.

Crowley gave it a little squeeze. "Sorry, 'bout it being so one-sided, and all." 

"We'll find a rhythm in time, I'm sure." Insisted the blond.

~~~~~

And they did, it just took longer than they both expected. While it didn't take a too long for them to start behaving like an actual married couple, it did take some time. About three months to be exact. 

Physical contact was normal now, with Crowley usually being the one who would latch onto Aziraphale at random times just to feel his body-heat. Aziraphale grew used to it rather quickly, genuinely liking having this huge, 'intimidating' creature curled up in his lap and being adorable. With more contact came intimacy and that rhythm that the blond knew they would eventually find. Said intimacy ended up spilling from the bedroom, causing Aziraphale to give his husband new pet names no matter where they were. He'd rarely refer to Crowley as 'my dear' now, having replaced it for 'my magnificent snake', 'my love', and 'my darling'. Crowley stuck with 'angel' but the sentiment behind it had drastically changed. Often he wondered if he should've just let Aziraphale 'learn to love him' from the start so they could've been like this sooner, but the blond himself had insisted that it was because Crowley let him choose that he truly fell in love with him. And considering that logic, Crowley decided that this had been worth the wait. 

As the couple's love for each other grew, Anathema's hard work seemed like it was about to pay off. She had found it. She found her grandmother's book which held all her visions, predictions and spells. Unfortunately, when she opened it, what she found broke her heart. In it was a letter from Agnes herself, written specifically for her. 

To my resilient granddaughter:

Sweet Anathema, your heart is pure, your intentions innocent and kind, but even you won't be able to undo the prince's curse. Only in the beast's death will it be broken.

Even in your anger towards me, I must urge you to keep this book from getting into the wrong hands. Keep it, destroy it, but let no one, especially not that beast Lucifer, use it for evil.

Agnes Nutter

Anathema's initial desire was to rip the damn book to shreds. All this time, and she couldn't do anything? She didn't believe it. She knew Agnes wouldn't have done something this cruel to an innocent party just because. So she didn't destroy it. She kept it, studied every single page, memorized the whole thing, made notes of her own, even interrogated witnesses who were with Lucifer the day Agnes died. There were many discrepancies in the wording of each one of the guards' retelling of the event, (some insisted she had said 'beast', others said it had been 'creature') which Anathema knew was an incredibly important detail. It was driving her a bit mad, and upon seeing this, Crowley begged her to stop. 

"You did all you could, please stop killing yourself over this." He said one day in her room, getting in between her and the book.

She tried to shove past him but failed. She was weak from exhaustion. "I promised you I would break this stupid curse so you could be happy, I'm keeping that promise."

"But I am happy. You, Newt and Aziraphale. And the seahorse triplets when they aren't too overbearing and annoying. That's all I need..." He insisted as he hugged her. The desperation was very clear in his voice and that seemed to knock some sense into her.

Anathema hugged him back and apologized for making him and the others worry so much. With that, she hid the book at the bottom of her massive spell-book pile, to avoid the temptation. It wasn't an easy habit to break, but Newt made sure to move the book around every few days whenever she was out, just in case. Eventually, she didn't even think about the book and focused all her energy on her duties around the castle once more. 

-1 Year Later-

Aziraphale was woken up at dawn by the blaring of a horn off in the distance. A very familiar sounding horn, in fact. Michael's victory song. His eyes shot open with a fright and he quickly swam over to the window. Even miles away, Aziraphale could see his sister waving their family's banner just over the horizon. His blood ran cold.

"Crowley, get up! Something's happened!" He yelled, as he hurried back to their bed. 

Crowley stirred under the sheets, only a bit of his hair was visible. He lifted his head up slowly, trying to come to his senses and understand what Aziraphale had just said. Upon climbing out from the sheets, Crowley was met with a gasp from his other half and a spear at his throat. 

The redhead's eyes wanted to pop out of his skull. He open his mouth to speak but was cut off by Aziraphale's question.

"What have you done with Crowley?!" Asked the blond, stern voiced but visibly concerned.

Crowley blinked at him, baffled out of his mind. "Do you not recognize your husband in the mornings? I mean, I know it's barely morning but-"

Upon hearing his voice, Aziraphale doesn't loosen the grip he has on the spear but his face softens considerably, even with the amount of confusion coursing through the both of them. 

"Crowley? It- It's you. Darling, I- you need to see yourself." He said as fear kept creeping within his being.

"Aziraphale, you woke me up because something is happening and now you're still holding a weapon to my neck. I demand an explanation-"

The pudgier merman threw the spear to the floor, and dragged the human mirror from out of its hiding place. 

"Aziraphale, you know I don't-"

He ripped off the sheet which covered the reflective glass and Crowley's breath left his lungs. That's why Aziraphale thought he had woken up next to a stranger, he no longer looked like himself. Crowley's jaw dropped at the sight. He touched every bit of his body as he stared at the reflection. 

His tail was like his father's: blood red with black fins, a normal length, not like a snake's anymore. It looked normal. His torso and arms were just as pale as before but they lacked the scales which used to cover their sides. His hands still had very long fingers but he lacked the claws he was so used to. His dorsal-fin had disappeared completely, there were no scales on his back either. It looked normal. His face wasn't as angular, his features had softened a bit. It was void of scales as well, smooth, beautiful, no imperfections to be seen, unless you considered the freckles which kissed his cheeks, nose and forehead an imperfection (Aziraphale certainly didn't). He bared his teeth, those had changed too. They didn't look monstrous, they were normal. His pupils weren't slits anymore, they were round, surrounded by golden irises in a pool of white. Even his gorgeous red hair seemed brighter than usual. He then noticed something dark under his flaming mane, on the right side of his face. A snake mark, just a few centimeters away from his ear. It was etched onto his skin, like a black birthmark. Besides that, everything else seemed normal. He looked normal.

Crowley felt his heart sink before any relief could wash over him.

"Aziraphale." He said breathlessly.

The blond came up behind him, putting his hands on his shoulders. "I'm here, my love."

"This is impossible." 

"I know." Was all Aziraphale could say.

His breathing became erratic. "The curse, it said-"

"I know." 

"Am I-?" Tears began to flow, the words died in his throat. 

The blond quickly pulled him into his chest, holding him as tight as he could. "I don't know, darling... Shall I get Anathema?"

Had they still been claws, Crowley's hands would've pierced Aziraphale's flesh when he held onto him for dear life. "No! Have the guard bring her. Don't leave me. Please..." He was terrified. Who wouldn't be? The poor boy was certain he was dying.

Aziraphale called for the guards, told them to fetch Anathema and to tell her that Crowley wasn't a snake anymore. He knew that would get her here as quickly as possible.

It worked as planned, because she grabbed Agnes' book along with several others she threw into a bag. She grabbed some basic potions, herbs, anything else she thought could help and practically ran over the guard who had relayed the information. Newt apologized on her behalf before failing her. Their jaws dropped when they entered the room and first saw Crowley like that, quivering in Aziraphale's arms. 

She examined Crowley, looked him over, but saw no immediate signs of his life being close to ending. This confused them all and Anathema quickly dove into the books she had brought along. Aziraphale still held his husband close, but he was keeping an eye on the horizon. As the minutes passed, Michael and her army came closer and closer to the kingdom. Out of fear, he ordered one of the guards to look for the king, to ask what they should do. 

The issue with this was no one knew where the king was. Or the princess, or the duke, for that matter. All three of them were gone. The blond's blood began to boil, coming to the conclusion that they started another war somehow but ran away to save themselves. Leaving Crowley behind, it seemed like something Lucifer would easily be capable of doing. Aziraphale's hypothesis made sense to Crowley, but he was much less upset by comparison. His focus was solely on whether or not he would die now that the curse appeared to have ended.

Anathema and Newt had their noses buried in several books, in hopes to find anything about curse reversals. Aziraphale kept comforting Crowley as much as possible, though, the redhead was mumbling to himself the whole time. He was praying. To Neptune, Poseidon or whatever other name the entity received. He didn't want to go. That was the most clear phrase that left his mouth the whole time: "I don't want to go..." Aziraphale and Anathema kept reassuring him, unsure whether they were right or not, that he was going to make it, that they would find a way to make sure of it. 

Three of the guards watched for the approaching troops from the window and three others stayed at the base of Crowley's tower to ensure the safety of the only member of the royal family who was still there. The rest of the royal guards were reenforcing the main entrances to the castle. 

When Michael's army marched up to the palace, they tried to penetrate the gates. She was demanding to see her brother and 'what had happened to him'. Aziraphale wanted to refuse, the last thing they needed right now was an invasion or political issue. Instead, it was Crowley who ordered them to let her through. Whatever the issue was, he wanted to be in control of the setting as much as possible. Therefore, what better setting than his own chambers? He decided to ignore the immense dread he felt and pushed it aside until he knew Aziraphale was safe.

The Silver Sea's princess entered the palace alone, escorted by Onyx Sea soldiers all the way to Crowley's room. Michael stood at the doorway, covered in golden armor, horn at her hip and spear in hand. Her face went from stern to relieved as soon as she saw her little brother. The weapon dropped from her fingers before she swam towards him. 

"Aziraphale, you're okay! Thank Poseidon!" She said as she got closer.

Crowley got in between them before she could lay a hand on him. "Michael, what is going on?! What are you doing here?!" Asked Aziraphale from behind the yellow-eyed prince. 

"Making sure you were alright! Where's your husband?" She asked, looking around for anyone who looked like the description she had heard most of her life.

Crowley's eyes narrowed. "You're looking at him." He growled.

Michael eyed him up and down, giving him a questioning look. "You? You don't look like a serpent."

"I'm aware. Recent development, we're looking into it. Why are you here?" He demanded, growing impatient.

She didn't answer to him, she looked at her brother once more. "Lucifer broke the truce a few hours ago, we were afraid he got you first!" She explained. 

"He what?!" Exclaimed everyone else in the room. 

She nodded. "Two days ago he sent father a message. To meet him by the chasm at dawn today to talk business. Said it was concerning your health." She had the letter folded in her belt hidden in the sheath for her horn. 

Crowley swiped it from her hands, inspecting it for himself. Michael didn't appreciate the rude action but he didn't care at the moment. 

"That's his handwriting, no doubt about it. So what happened?" Asked Crowley before he gave it back. It was so sudden, he hadn't realized his new eyes didn't bother him when it came to reading.

"It was a trap. Lucifer, Dagon and Hastur were waiting for our father to kill him. In the letter he said to come alone. Naturally, our father didn't trust him."

Now it was Aziraphale who was demanding information. "What happened, Michael?"

"We set a trap too. We had soldiers hidden in the chasm hours after receiving the message. As soon as they tried to attack, our archers shot. They never saw it coming... Father sent me with half of the army to bring you back, dead or alive... He had assumed he killed you both before pulling that stunt on us." She told them, very obviously relieved that wasn't the case.

"Are they dead? All three of them?" 

Michael nodded solemnly. 

"You're sure?"

"Do you want to see them for yourself? We brought their corpses. Father didn't want to bury them on our soil." 

Crowley agreed and that is how they all ended up in the throne room. The bodies were brought in. Lucifer had not come out of that chasm a victor for a third time. He identified them, Aziraphale holding his hand the whole time, ready to comfort him if he was hit by a wave of grief. Yes, they had been awful to him, but they had still been family. The blond wanted to be there just in case he was needed.

They had Anathema examine them to make sure nothing magical was present within them, that they would stay dead. She confirmed that and then gasped to herself. They all looked at her as a result.

"... 'Only in the beast's death will it be broken'... All the accounts were accurate then... She had said both ‘creature’ and ‘beast’ before she died! Crowley, you were the creature, Lucifer was the beast!" She yelled, realization and washing over her. 

Crowley's eyes went wide and he looked at his father's body once more. "Lucifer... So I'm not-" Aziraphale squeezed his husband's hand, waiting for a reaction.

Anathema couldn't believe how happy she was and flung her arms around the two princes, nearly knocking them over. "Agnes was very specific about these things, she never said you were a 'beast', that was an insult she gave Lucifer and Lucifer alone!" She declared.

Newt joined the emotional group hug that was going on in the middle of the room. They all cried, and it was anything but grief-related. 

Michael made sure her little brother was alright before she and her army left the Onyx Sea and returned home with a new message for Gabriel. A declaration of peace. A real one this time, with a genuine promise to keep the pact between kingdoms for the rest of time. Signed and sealed by both Crowley and Aziraphale. 

~~~~~

The curse was broken, Crowley was safe. Free. Not to mention, able to do whatever he wanted. As the only living heir to the throne, he was now king whether, he wanted to be or not. At first, he denied the title vehemently because he thought he wouldn't be good enough to wear the crown. Once again, it took Aziraphale and their never-ending cycle of reassurances to make him feel worthy of the throne. Like everything else concerning his relationship with the blond, it took time. And just like everything else, it was worth the wait. 

After the coronation, Crowley decided he and Aziraphale should visit the children before things got truly hectic. He suddenly had so much responsibility now, and who knew when they would be able to visit them again? 

So when they went into the canals in search for The Them, it was Aziraphale who would popped up to look for the gang. Eventually, he did, signaled them over, and told them to meet them in the cove. That Crowley was already there waiting. 

When The Them turned the corner, they gasped and exclaimed when they saw Crowley. He was completely out of the water, Aziraphale by his side, smiling. Even from a distance, the children were able to see the redheaded royal's transformation. They then sprinted towards them. 

"I told you they'd be happy for you, my darling." Said Aziraphale, uncharacteristically smug. 

Crowley simply took it all in, unable to stop his own smile from tugging at his lips. He had never been this happy. Even if it would be a very long time before they could return for a visit, he wasn't upset about it. The former serpent wasn't basking in the sun's warmth anymore, he was basking in the love and affection from those who cared about him, the ones who had always cared. It was a wonderful feeling, one he would try to cherish forever and never forget. 

{Crowley and Aziraphale on the shore. (Scroll all the way down to view) Art by Nixarim, go check her out on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and read her comics. She's amazing!}