Work Text:
The door to Aziraphale’s house slammed.
“You could knock,” he said to the demon entering his work area.
“I could,” Crowley agreed, and slapped a piece of parchment onto the desk next to Aziraphale’s hands. “Got yours?”
Aziraphale set aside his work and opened a drawer, drawing out an almost painfully bright sheet of his own.
“Has no one told them that no parchment is that white?” Crowley asked.
“I tried, once,” Aziraphale said, almost wearily. “I suggested that they may wish to have things on Earth blend in more. I don’t think they understood me properly. After I couldn’t find the next two notes they sent, someone gave up and started sending this again.”
Crowley made a noise that indicated just what he thought of that sort of incompetence and perched on the edge of Aziraphale’s desk, scanning the two lists side by side.
“Big range this month, isn’t there?” he commented. “All over the continent, almost.”
“I think someone got recalled recently.” Aziraphale bent over the papers with him. “It left more area to cover. Here, look, I think we ought to split it east-west. Do you want Greece to Poland, or Spain to Belgium?”
“Who’s going to get the middle, then?” Crowley asked. “Imps?”
“I will not be giving any imps my work to do!” Aziraphale huffed. “We can split the middle as makes sense. Now. Greece or Spain?”
“Greece,” Crowley said. “Oh, no, wait, does that mean I have to do a-“ he squinted at the list- “blessing at a church?”
“Oh dear,” Aziraphale said. He began to make notes on another sheet of paper. “I’ll have to do that one, I think. Are there any problems like that in the western half, or should we swap?”
Crowley looked over the lists again. “Two churches in France. What is it with your lot and churches?”
“They are built to honor God,” Aziraphale pointed out. “We like to support that sort of thing.”
“Bloody annoying is what it is,” Crowley grumbled. “Can you do the church in my half, too, then?”
“Certainly. I’ll trade you, that blessing for Germany.”
“Germany? That’s definitely closer to your side.”
“But I’ll have to travel all the way across the continent anyhow. It will be more time-efficient this way. Now, let’s see, I’ll do Italy on my way...how about Austria?”
“You take it, you’ll be in the area anyway.”
Aziraphale glared at his friend. “I can’t help but feel as though you’re trying to fob off work on me.”
“Me?” Crowley tossed his hair. “Never. Ridiculous. Why would you ever think such a thing?”
“I have no idea.” Aziraphale noted down the last few details and passed Crowley his new list. “There. That’s yours.”
Crowley scanned it, shook his head, and stowed the parchment in his jacket. “Busy these days, aren’t we.”
“I suspect that more humans means more work,” Aziraphale said. “It’s the way of things, I suppose.” He sighed and leaned back. “Do you have time for a drink before you go?”
Crowley looked out the darkened window. “I could stay a bit.”
“Lovely.” Aziraphale smiled. “I’ll get us some glasses.”