Title: Changes
Fandom: Good Omens (TV Series)
Characters: Crowley, Aziraphale, Hastur
Pairings: Aziraphale/Crowley
Word Count: 838
Rating: G
A/N: After Episode 1x6
Summary: In which Hastur finds he might have a place to stay for a while.
"You don't need to lurk, Hastur. Just come over and look at what I'm doing." Crowley set the plant gently into the hole he had just dug. He made sure it was straight before putting the dirt back where it had come from.
"That's a Hell plant." Hastur crouched down next to Crowley. "This whole section are plants from Hell. Why would you even have those?"
"It's an experiment." He pointed towards some larger plants on the left. "I planted those two months ago. You'll notice the leaves aren't the sickly shade of green any longer and the flowers have taken on a completely different hue. Apparently being on the surface makes them change. They just needed to be exposed to sunlight and fresh air." Crowley paused. "I think being here does the exact same thing to demons and angels. The longer you're here, the more you change until you realize maybe this was what you were always supposed to be."
Hastur frowned in confusion. "Are you saying if I stay here with you, I won't be quite so demonic? That I'll want to do nice things for people?" He shuddered. "Not sure if I would like that much. I'm good at being a demon."
Crowley shrugged. "Dunno. I'm the only one of us who has been here for almost six thousand years, give or take a few times trapped in Hell. I can certainly pass for human better than you. Just cover my eyes and no one notices anything. You look like a zombie, though you smell better since you aren't covered in grime and other gross things."
"Aziraphale keeps the place nice and clean. Don't want to mess it up or he might make me leave before I want to." He looked down at his hands. "Forgot I had fingernails because I don't see them very often."
"Were you serious about having him show you how to cook a few things? I never pictured you as the cooking type. Actually, I never pictured you as quite a few types." He dug another hole for the next plant. "Why would you want to know how to do it?"
The other demon was quiet for a few minutes. "I just... I feel like I'm in debt to both of you because you didn't have to help me. You could have just killed me. Instead, you healed me, you gave me food, you gave me a place to stay, and you've been kind. To me. That doesn't happen. That's never happened. Even Ligur would... I just want to cook something for Aziraphale. Is that weird?"
"Nah." Crowley wiped his hands on his slacks before getting to his feet. "Makes perfect sense to me. If you really want to surprise him, I can show you a few things. He's going to be out for a bit to get his grocery order."
"You'd do that for me?"
"Sure."
---
Hastur sank his teeth into his hand as he watched Aziraphale eat the pancakes he had made. It had taken him all afternoon to figure out how to make one that wasn't too raw or burnt to a crisp. He'd been surprised at how patient Crowley was. The other demon had never shouted, never thrown anything, and didn't even pretend to want to smack him for messing up.
Crowley reached out and gently closed his fingers on Hastur's wrist, rubbing the pulse point until Hastur finally unclenched his teeth. He could see a perfect bite mark on the Duke's hand. With a tiny miracle, he healed the wound and added another bottle of syrup onto the table so Aziraphale wouldn't notice what Hastur had done to himself.
"These are excellent, Hastur." The angel sat back, rubbing his stomach. "What a delightful surprise to come home to."
"You're not just saying that?" Hastur grinned as Aziraphale shook his head. "Human food isn't as easy as it looks. You have to pay attention or it goes wrong faster than you can blink."
Aziraphale exchanged a look with Crowley. Crowley cleared his throat. "I know you're not in a huge rush to go back to Hell. We were thinking maybe you'd like to pick out a few things for the guest room, make it more of your own place? You don't have to. We can go with you, if you want, give you a few suggestions?"
For a moment, Hastur looked like he was going to cry. His mouth opened and shut a few times, but no sound came out. He brought his hand towards his teeth, stopping just before he could bite it. "I... uh. Okay." He straightened up, sniffled a couple times, and then managed a small smile. "I'd like that. Can we do it today?"
"Sure." Crowley gave him a small pat on the shoulder. "I'll just go grab my keys. Come on, angel."
Hastur stood there for a moment. "My own place. Never had that before." There was almost a skip in his step as he went to join the others.