Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was warm in Aziraphale’s library; he was snuggled comfortably on the couch, sipping on a warm mulled wine in his favorite delicately pink mug, with a happy sigh. It was early spring, so it was warm enough during the day to easily wear a light jacket and still keep the barest hint of chill away, but cool enough in the evening to curl up by the fire with his dearest. Aziraphale loved the autumn and winter seasons the most, always ready to pull on a cardigan and just stay in with a hot drink and a good book, but there was something about the air in spring and summer, full of life and possibilities that he liked almost as much.

The light sounds of clattering and the smell of rich chocolate and something fruity, perhaps raspberries, drifted in the air, making Aziraphale smile, Crowley was hard at work in the kitchen, and the muttering sounds from him made Aziraphale want to laugh, but he kept it in. Crowley was intent in making this “absolutely-freaking-mindblowningly amazing dessert” that he had been talking about the whole day. 

Apparently, Crowley was on Facebook again (Aziraphale thought it was the cutest thing; Crowley would be one moment watching some cute kitten video or discovering a new recipe he just had to try, and in the very next second he would be typing like a madman arguing with some Karen about the benefits of yoga “it’s not of the devil” -why the hell would the devil invent yoga when there are angels above perfectly capable of inventing their own forms of mental torture?)

To Aziraphale, nothing was better or more satisfying than seeing Crowley so happy and comfortable, as himself and around him. So, he was more than happy to back Crowley up on any and all Facebook fights or when he set his sights on creating a special dessert for him. 

Just thinking about earlier, on their date, made a surge of warmth in Aziraphale’s chest rise; they spent almost three hours at their new favorite restaurant, a Korean barbeque place, all you can eat, and then spent another hour walking around the park, hand in hand, Crowley listening intently to Aziraphale’s rants on his new favorite book, and Aziraphale’s heart felt as full as his stomach. He was truly blessed in his life, and he knew Crowley felt the same. 

“Okay angel! I’m almost done! This is going to knock your socks off!” Crowley called out, an unmistakable glee in his tone as a loud bang came from the kitchen, and Aziraphale really couldn’t keep in his laugh this time.

“Thank you my dear Crowley, I cannot wait to try it-” Aziraphale called back, starting to set his drink down on the coffee table in front of the couch, carefully moving a coaster over with his other hand, when he heard a slight noise and he paused, head turning toward one of his very full bookshelves. There was nothing though, just rows and rows of books in the dim firelight. Nonetheless, Aziraphale felt a slight sense of unease, and he didn’t know why. 

Maybe he was just tired, he had a busy day at the bookshop after all. He received a new shipment of decorations and art from a friend in New York City (some quite heavy, he had complained to Crowley, as he moved them around his shop and some overflowing into his apartment) right before Crowley came by to pick him up. And as much as Aziraphale was looking forward to trying the dessert, Aziraphale also had to admit to himself that he was already missing having Crowley by his side, arms wrapped around each other…

Shrugging to himself, Aziraphale resumed his task of setting his wine down, when there was a sudden whoosh, a loud shrieking like noise, and his vision spun from the noise itself. Then, darkness.

“Zira you are going to love this-”

Where he left Aziraphale only forty-five minutes ago, sitting pretty, wrapped adorably in a fluffy blanket, blue eyes sparkling with anticipation as Crowley promised him the very best dessert, made by his truly, the couch was, it was empty. Only the blanket, half thrown off, and a single, pure white feather rested on it.

“Aziraphale? Angel?” Crowley stepped forward, “Are you playing a game- like…what do the kids play these days? Hide-in-seek? I don’t even know…” Crowley knew he was rambling to himself but couldn’t keep it in.

Nothing. The room was devoid of any sign of the angel. This wasn’t like his partner, who was so considerate, so sensitive, so brave, hard headed at times too, but that was what he loved about him. Aziraphale would never prank him, or do something intentionally to freak him out.

The dessert in his hand was forgotten, the swirls of raspberry on a chocolate cake he so carefully worked on, it didn’t mean anything if Aziraphale wasn’t here to enjoy it, here with him.

“Aziraphale?”

Sitting on the couch, Crowley finally realized that the wine in Aziraphale’s mug had tipped over and spilled. His angel would never do that, make a mess on his precious carpet or antique coffee table. Something had happened, which didn’t make sense at all, because of the heavenly wards Aziraphale had set around his home. Whatever got in…whatever took Aziraphale…it was something powerful.

If Aziraphale was gone, if he was missing, then Crowley would find him.

Chapter Text

Breathe.

Crowley took a deep breath and held it for a moment. He stopped and took another one just to be sure that he had enough air. 

This is Aziraphale, it’s not like hell and he doesn’t play tricks on you. I am safe and I am on earth with my Angel. Or at least I was.

Crowley had been working on letting his anxious thoughts go more and more. Who would have thought that a 6000+ year old being would benefit from therapy…and yet it helps. Crowley took another quiet breath then muttered to himself,

“Aziraphale? Where’d you go? It’s been two weeks now.”

Aziraphale had been missing for almost two weeks now and as more and more time passed Crowley felt more and more anxious about it. Of course they weren’t attached at the hip. Having been alive for longer than the earth had been alive made them comfortable with companionship as well as their own solitude. But they had never just disappeared off the face of the earth before without at least letting the other know beforehand. 

______

“Zira you are going to love this-”

Wait. What the heaven?

Crowley had looked everywhere. At first he waited patiently thinking the Aziraphale had gone to grab something and would come back but after 15 minutes of waiting he started to look. And look. And looked again. 

The swirl of confusing thoughts, the clench in his heart, the prickle of rising unease followed Crowley, unable to shake it despite the past week of trying everything he knew. He drove around the city, stopping at all of Aziraphale’s favorite places, asking everyone, even the wannabe gangsters who came around last week, and then quickly scattered when Aziraphale put just a hint of divine vengeance in the air, overwhelming the already impotent gangsters as they vacated the premises.

No one had seen him. And the panic Crowley felt only grew, choking him inside and out. He had considered reaching out to Gabriel, the bastard, or Michael, in a brief moment of utter desperation, but ultimately was able to talk himself off of that certain ledge. If heaven had something to do with his angel’s disappearance, then most definitely Gabriel would send some kind of gloating message. 

No, it was not heaven, or hell, as he confirmed when he cornered some unfortunate demon in a pub, incredibly close to smacking the annoying little gremlin, but holding back. Aziraphale would cluck his tongue at the violence, not quite disproving. Just the thought of it, made Crowley wish he was around just to do that habit of his.

Crowley didn’t know where Aziraphale was and he was going to find out. Whatever happened with Aziraphale was going to regret messing with his Angel. 

He hoped that wherever Aziraphale had gone, he was safe, not hurt or cold or hungry. That he knew Crowley would find him, that he wouldn’t stop at nothing to get him back.

______

Crowley startled when he heard the telephone ring, blaring loudly, He should fix that, it would freak Aziraphale out when he came back… He shook himself, looking down and saw that it was Denise, his “therapist”. She wasn’t really a therapist, she was actually a psychic that he got a spam call from once but they shortly afterwards found that Crowley was a great way for her to practice reading ‘divine’ beings. Crowley had yet to tell her everything and she frankly thought that some of his issues were exaggerations or him trying to be mysterious but she helped him enough. Crowley would almost say that they were friends now. 

“Have you heard anything yet?” 

“No Crowley I haven’t, but I thought I’d let you know that I have some friends doing readings and they have been just as mystified as we are. Something is different in the astral plane. Some kind of disturbance to the natural order of things.”

“Well that’s not good and even I could tell you that.” 

“Well there’s no reason to be rude. I am helping you after all.”

“You’re right I’m sorry, I’m just so worried about my Angel.”

“I know but maybe it’s time to bring in more reinforcements? You said you had a guy that could maybe help? What did you say his name was again?”

“His name is Sergeant Shadwell and Newton Pulsifer, and I wouldn’t say use the word ‘help’ in a sentence with their names. They more likely are described vaguely as ‘got in the way and broke a few things’.”

“Well there’s no reason to not ask at least. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Crowley had no other choice; he would have to involve the others. So, with a sick kind of trepidation, he called Shadwell’s office. 

The old man was less than helpful, but once he got on the line with Newt, he was able to calm down somewhat to talk. Newt promised to do his best, he would even ask Anathema to help.

Crowley didn’t feel any sense of relief, but a slight weight on his shoulders shifted, maybe away from his heart, lightening the load partially.

_____

Adam stopped and cocked his head to the side to listen. He thought he heard a noise but he couldn’t be sure. He’d been hearing weird things lately and he felt jumpy since he hadn’t been sleeping well. The Them and Adam were trying to find inspiration for their new games so they had been watching and reading some new movies and books and some of them were a bit more scary than he was used to. They were all reading now as they all looked up at the window, where a ‘weee’ noise was coming from. It sounded like a car horn and faint Queens music. Adam opened his eyes wider as he looked at the Them and then they all rushed out and raced down the stairs to the street. 

Out on the lawn, was a badly parked Bentley with the song “Under Pressure” playing from the speakers. Crowley was just getting out of the car when Adam’s father, Arthur walked out of the garage and seeing Crowley shook his head saying,

“What are you doing here? Even if we are family you know you need to start gives us a call before you just pop in.”

Crowley smiled like he had just done something clever and responded back, “Ah well, you see as the favorite uncle I have to drop by without any warning if I wish to truly be the fun one.”

Adam, Pepper, Brian and Wensleydale all smiled and ran up to Crowley with Dog jumping up into Crowley arms. Crowley just barely managed to catch Dog and then held him at arm’s length as if he was a deadly bomb about to explode at any moment. 

“Not really sure why you insist on trying to be friendly with me. I know the truth about you. You’re more a demon then me,” Crowley muttered as he carefully put Dog back down onto the ground. 

Adam, Pepper, Brian and Wensleydale all stopped and waited to hear what brought Crowley down to see them. It wasn’t often that he came and the last time he did he had brought a crazy diagram about family history and genealogy that somehow showed that Crowley and Adams mother Deirdre were somehow cousins once removed and disowned at least twice as well. They all knew that it was most likely not true but Crowley and Aziraphale were both so confusing and convincing at the same time that Arthur and Deirdre felt that it would be terribly insulting to question them when they were so excited to see them and track down their extended family that they started to let Adam call them his uncles. 

Crowley looked at Adam, Pepper, Brian and Wensleydale and then said something they had all been waiting for for a long time. 

“I need your help.”

Chapter Text

The first thing Aziraphale registered in the dark was the delightful smell of roasting meat, rich and smoky, and the promising sounds of a real party, people talking, laughing, shouting, music wafting in the air. It was one of Aziraphale’s favorite things. Humans enjoying themselves, enjoying life. It was what made Crowley's and his stand against the apocalypse worth it. It reminded him that life’s greatest gift was simply enjoying the present.

After a quick stumble around, he found himself a little door handle, turned it, and the darkness was cut through with a soft warm light. Candles and firelight flickering on pale Roman columns. Ah, so he was sometime in the past?

Odd.

But not utterly impossible. 

The last thing he remembered was sitting in his bookstore, waiting for Crowley and his surprise. Was this…his surprise?

Aziraphale wasn’t sure. Of course Crowley loved to do over the top, dramatic, romantic gestures. But this?

The sounds of the party grew louder as Aziraphale got closer, taking careful steps forward. He was in Ancient Rome, he could tell that for certain. The people mingling and walking about were dressed in fine togas, drinking dark wine, and the intoxicating scent of honey cakes with figs made Aziraphale’s stomach rumble.

“Ah- Ziraphale, made it to the party, have you?” 

Aziraphale’s head snapped to the side. It was Crowley. A bit tipsy, wearing an all black tunic and twisting green leaves woven in his long, fiery hair. His eyes weren’t hidden. Instead, that familiar, friendly look in them made Aziraphale immediately relax.

“Crowley, you could have told me you had something rather big planned for tonight, and really, I do appreciate all of this, it’s so considerate but isn’t it a bit much-”

“It’s never too much, we’re having a good time! But you didn’t tell me you’d be around-”

“Well I would have, if you had given some kind of hint about your plans…”

Crowley’s excited expression turned softer, and his hand reached forward, out to touch Aziraphale’s arm, but dropped it right before, “It’s not a big deal, angel, it’s no problem, I’m just happy you’re here, is all. Here let’s go find some of those honey cakes, I know ou adore them.”

The confused buzzing sensation in Aziraphale’s chest calmed. Crowley probably was more nervous than anything. He reached down, taking Crowley’s hand in his own, “That sounds wonderful my dear, thank you. You really didn’t have to go through all of this trouble.”

Much to Aziraphale’s amused affection, Crowley blushed. Blushed. He really did love this demon, his partner, with his whole soul. 

“Now show me where those cakes are. Well, everything actually. It’s been too long since I’ve had a real Roman feast…”

Crowley’s embarrassment quickly faded away, as he led Aziraphale around the party scene, talking excitedly. The warm air of the night made Aziraphale feel safe, comfortable. He always was when he was by the side of his beloved. 

______

“Where are my papers? I needed those divine miracle approval forms done yesterday!”

“You think you have it bad? I haven’t had a chance to even look at my files- I have no virtues at all to help me sort through everything…”

“How am I supposed to get anything done?!”

Heaven was in disarray. 

The ever white, never ending halls and rooms of the most blessed, and holy of places, usually brimming full of peaceful angelic hosts, seemed to be the opposite. Angels fluttered here and there, the energy rushed, frantic. But over time, it seemed like less and less.

Few high-ranking angels attempted to keep things running, taking on more and more tasks.

But the work was continuous. The Heavenly Mother’s most important, vital work needed to get done. 

No matter what.

“What is even happening?”

“I couldn’t tell you…”

“Do you think downstairs is having problems too?”

“I have no earthly clue.”
______

“WHERE THE HEAVEN ARE MY PAPERS?!”

“How am I supposed to know that useless Groggi hasn’t come back yet-”

“Nobody’s back from the field how am I supposed to-”

“Get it done!”

Hell was in no better shape. 

______

“This is odd,” Anathema said. The dry, yellow-aged pages of the book scratched against her fingertips. Ink black drawings, sketches, and scrawling handwriting almost made her go cross eyed. 

Delicate winged angels. Gray against the paper. 

“What are you bloody going on about…” Shadwell muttered, tossing the fifth useless book over his shoulder with a loud thud. The book hit Newton as he came back in with a new stack of books. Shadwell ignored the slightly irritated look Anathema shot him as she helped Newton back up. 

“That book is over a hundred years old, can you be more careful?” Anathema said as she and Newton picked up the books that fell. 

“What’d you find?” Shadwell again ignored her, shuffling closer, “That looks useless! I know we’re looking for an angel, but you aren’t going to find him in a book-”

“We are going to find an angel…just maybe, not the one Crowley wants us to find,” Anethema reached over, picking up Shadwell’s vintage phone, pulling at the cord and dialing a number.

Shadwell looked closer, studying the picture, “It doesn’t look like any angel I know…”

The phone rang for a minute before it clicked, going through.

“We found something.”