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"I'm worried about the kid." Anthony had his back to the counter, resting his elbows on it and using it to support most of his weight.
“Kid? She’s literally older than dirt.” Nina’s tone indicated she was annoyed, but the fact that she hadn’t chased him out of the coffee shop yet meant the conversation could continue.
“Yeah, well… I’m older.” He rolled his head so his sunglasses were angled in her direction and gave her a winning smile.
Nina scowled and pointed towards a printed sign pinned near the large menu board that read ‘No Loitering’. Underneath, in pen, someone had recently added ‘Especially Retired Demons’.
“Fine. My usual.” Anthony pointedly ignored the glare that ordering six shots of espresso tended to earn him and turned his gaze back to the bookshop. It took barely a whisper of power to expand his senses out and pinpoint Muriel. She was right where he’d left her. Probably still reading.
To his right, a mug was set down harder than strictly necessary. He paid, then picked up the cup and sniffed it speculatively. “You didn’t give me decaf, did you? I can tell the difference, you know.”
“I should ban you for life for that," she groused as she turned her attention to wiping down the counter.
"You're too fond of me to ever turn me away," Anthony said, all charm. "Besides, business is better when I'm around."
As if summoned by his words, a small group of tourists entered and the next few minutes were spent filling orders. Conveniently, they all requested their drinks to-go.
Once the shop emptied again, Anthony returned to the counter with his cup and two others from previous patrons that he had bussed off the tables.
Nina took them roughly, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “Are you messing people about again?”
“It’s not my fault that my mere presence reminds people that they’re thirsty." He grinned with implied intent. A drying towel was tossed at his head, but Anthony managed to snatch it out of the air before it made contact. “Seriously, though, Muriel?” He braced his palms near the register and shifted his weight forward and back a few times.
With a heavy sigh, Nina finally turned her full attention towards him. “I don’t know why you expect me to have any answers for you. It’s not like I have any previous experience in dealing with angels.”
“Neither do I,” he shot back with a huff.
That earned him an exaggerated eye roll while she considered a different approach. “What are you worried about? What do you hope to accomplish?”
The low grade background unease he’d been feeling around the problem that was Muriel had been steadily growing for the past few days and he was still trying to actually narrow down the root cause. It was part of the reason he had come to the coffee shop in the first place. “I don’t know ,” he groaned.
For a moment, Nina’s eyes narrowed, then she shook her head and turned away. “I’m not going to hold your hand through this. Go talk to Maggie if you want to beat around the bush.”
“Muriel is too naïve,” Anthony blurted out because he hadn’t given himself time to overthink it. He instantly felt the urge to soften the blow, even though she wasn’t present to overhear it. “It’s not her fault. She’s just…”
“Inexperienced?” Nina offered. Her tone had lightened a little and she was giving Anthony a softer look than she usually wore.
It made his skin itch a bit. Caring wasn’t something he had much practice at being on the receiving end of. “Not to mention traumatized by Heaven,” he muttered.
“So maybe it’s time you took her on a few adventures. As you like to point out, you’ve been here since the beginning. Who better to show her around?” Nina’s flat tone implied that he should not have needed to come to her to figure this out.
“It’s just… not all experiences are good,” Anthony said softly, looking back towards the bookshop. Even with all the holes, he still had more than enough memories of the horrors that humans could visit upon each other. He also had his own forgotten trauma, whatever it was, as proof that bad things could happen despite your best intentions and ability to protect yourself.
“That’s alright then, she can stay naïve forever,” Nina countered with mocking cheer.
He straightened to his full height and graced her with a glare, knowing it would have little effect. They had a certain sort of similarity between them. It was one of the reasons he preferred talking to her over Maggie. There was less worry that his prickly nature would unexpectedly cut too deep and wound when he didn’t mean it to.
“So what, I just take her to the symphony or the theater or dinner at the–”
For just a moment the world tipped sideways and Anthony slammed into the counter, barely managing to catch himself and avoid toppling to the floor. His heart felt like someone had cut into it and he slapped a hand over where the damage would have been if it were real.
Sometimes he stumbled into bits of missing memories. Mostly, he could sense a misstep coming and avoid it before it ever had the chance to affect him physically. Occasionally they jumped out and metaphorically sucker punched him, leaving him reeling. Either way, he had a growing list of things to steer clear of and apparently taking someone to dinner at the Ritz needed to be on it.
He knew all three of the women were aware of the mental meddling he had done. There was a certain way that they skirted around sensitive topics and they closed ranks around him when he faltered. Nina appeared next to him, one hand on his elbow, offering support. She glanced worriedly towards the record shop.
“It’s fine,” Anthony muttered as soon as he was able. “Just… looking at where the furniture isn’t.”
They separated quickly. Neither of them were very good at giving or receiving comfort and there was an awkwardness that hung heavy in the shop while he tried to get his bearings again.
It wasn’t all bad. Each time he added something new to the list he was that much more prepared to keep himself safe.
“You could take her to a church,” Nina said thoughtfully after a few minutes. “One of the big, pretty ones.”
The sharp bark of laughter that met the suggestion had her turning back to him with a quizzical look.
“I may have resigned from Hell, but that doesn’t make me immune to the righteous burn of setting foot on consecrated ground,” Anthony explained, but his softened the words with a grin.
“How was I supposed to know that,” Nina grumbled.
He smiled at her fondly. The ache in his chest was almost fully faded. “No, it’s a good idea. Mixes the safety of Heaven's orthodoxy with the beauty that is so uniquely human. Nice contrast to the stark reality she’s used to. I'll just need to wait outside.”
Muriel had been reluctant to leave the bookshop during regular store hours, despite her obvious longing for new experiences. Even the insistence that they would sell the same number of books if they were open or closed had not managed to assuage her fears. She felt an odd sort of responsibility for Anthony’s business that he didn’t understand and he thought it was probably best not to question it. In the end, he had compromised by posting a note under the closed sign directing anyone looking for books to check in at Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death.
Appeased, Muriel had climbed into the Bentley while he jogged across the road and stuck his head in the coffee shop.
“If anyone comes in here asking about the bookshop being closed, tell ‘em to piss off, yeah?” He called loudly, ignoring the glares he got from several patrons.
“Obviously,” Nina responded without looking up from the drink she was making.
“Perfect.” Anthony started to leave, then dipped back through the doorway. “Don’t ever change.” He was back out and crossing the street before there was any chance for a retort, smiling the whole way. This felt good. He had a goal, a project, something to keep him busy. And it had the added benefit of making Muriel happy.
He had explained in advance the one drawback of starting with a church was that he couldn’t go in with her. It had seemed fine when they talked in the safety of the bookshop, but once they had pulled up outside of St. Paul's cathedral and stepped out of the car, she turned nervous.
“Have you ever tried it? Going into a church?” she had asked, hesitantly.
A sense memory rose up in Anthony of a holy fire licking against the bottoms of his feet, too painful to be ignored.
He tipped his head back while slanting his gaze down at Muriel, scowling because he couldn’t help it. He crossed his arms over his chest in a protective gesture as he pressed his lips together. It wasn’t like he could talk about it. No good could come from lingering on or discussing the echoes of the things he had chosen to forget.
“Oh,” she said softly as she glanced away. She'd seen him trip into enough memory gaps by this point that she’d learned to read the signs. For all her inexperience, Muriel was smart, and for some strange reason she seemed to care about him. Or at least she respected his choice to leave a large part of himself behind.
St. Paul’s loomed large before them and Muriel looked upon it in trepidation. “If something happens, would you come for me?”
The feelings were too strong around the memory. Anthony knew for a fact, if he stepped on consecrated ground, the physical backlash would absolutely incapacitate him. “First of all,” he said, reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders, “you don’t have to do this right now, we can always try again another day. And second, nothing is going to happen to you. You’re safe from Hell in a church and…” he trailed off.
“And I’m not important enough for Heaven to take any notice of me anyway,” she finished for him, smiling a little stiffly as her eyes darted anxiously away from his face.
Anthony gave a minimal shrug. “Probably, but fuck ‘em.”
Her eyes went a little wide, and her expression turned a little panicky around the edges.
“I’ll make it so no one notices you. Just take a look around. Explore. Enjoy yourself.” Leaving one hand on her shoulder, he made a slight, upward gesture with the other, settling a protective miracle around her that would let her pass unnoticed through the crowds.
For a moment she stalled. “If something did happen, though…”
“I won’t abandon you,” he said solemnly. It was the best he could do under the circumstances. He would figure something out if the need arose. “Do you want to go in?”
She glanced back at the church, then turned her eyes to him, her eagerness renewed. She shone like a star and Anthony basked in it.
“Go on,” he said, smiling indulgently as she finally started towards the main entrance. “Have fun!”
That had been several hours ago.
Waiting by the Bentley was starting to fray Anthony around the edges. He was balanced precariously on the edge of the dangerous remembering of treading on holy ground. It was so close, it felt like he could reach out and touch it.
The problem was, he hadn’t sensed it until he was already in too deep to back out of their outing. Muriel was safe, he knew she was, but he still couldn’t help but worry.
After a quick bit of research on his phone, he discovered that there was a library tucked away within the building. He had to tamp down on his immediate flare of irritation at the thought that she might just be lost in a book. With a sigh of frustration, he tucked his phone away and resolved to get Muriel one of her own so this sort of thing could be avoided in the future. He should have thought of it already, honestly.
Finally he opened up his senses, just to reassure himself that she was still there. Anthony located her underground, which probably meant she was poking around the crypts. There was a breath he had been holding, hard to say for how long, but he blew it out slowly and shifted the angle of his slouch against the car, trying to talk himself into relaxing.
Just as he was about to cut off his scan, someone else caught his attention. They weren’t in the church, but they were nearby. Close enough to be watching him, and he could tell it was an angel.
If Anthony hadn’t been rattling his last nerve to dust all afternoon he never would have reacted. He would have played things cool and tried to figure out as much as possible before letting on he was aware he was being watched.
As it was, his head snapped around before he could think better of it and he scanned the faces in the direction of the unknown angel, trying to get a handle on what sort of threat he might be facing. His sense of the interloper disappeared almost as soon as he reacted to it.
Not good.
He should tell…
Anthony shook his head. There wasn’t anyone to tell. The humans had already had more than their fair share of dangerous dealings with otherworldly beings. He wouldn’t drag them into a new conflict if he could help it. There wasn’t anything they could do about it anyway. And Muriel… he wouldn’t put her in a position to choose between Heaven and a former demon. He would keep her safe as best he could. Help her however he was able. Be there if she needed him. But it wasn’t his place to try and stop her if she ever wanted to return.
In the meantime, he would need to be more vigilant. This might have been a one off occurrence, but Anthony didn’t think that was likely. Someone had been watching him, closely enough to withdraw as soon as he took notice.
“Anthony!” Muriel was running to him.
He had just enough time to brace as she crashed into him, wrapping him in a hug.
“It was…” She squeezed tighter for just a moment before she let go and scrambled into the Bentley. “It was… I can’t even describe it.”
Despite her proclamation, Muriel proceeded to describe in detail everything that she had seen as they started the drive back to the bookshop. It was easy enough for Anthony to draw it out with simple questions and the occasional encouraging grunt. Her excitement made it easy for his new sense of unease to go unnoticed, which he was grateful for.
Somewhere in Heaven…
“Report.” Aziraphale hadn’t even bothered to look up from the notes he was taking. His workspace was piled high with files, folders, and even a couple of books. It was by far the most cluttered corner in Heaven.
“They left the bookshop,” the low-level angel he had sent out on a special assignment reported.
“‘They’?” Aziraphale prompted, still not raising his eyes as his pen continued to move across the page he was focused on.
“Muriel and the Demon Crowley. They went to St. Paul’s Cathedral.”
That did catch his attention and Aziraphale looked up, not at the angel he was speaking with, but to stare into space and consider the possibilities.
“Did they enter the church?”
“Only Muriel. The other one waited outside.”
“Interesting.” Aziraphale wasn’t sure what it meant, but it was a change from the established routines that he had become familiar with. “You're back early.” Finally, he let his gaze fall on the speaker.
“It was the demon. I ah… I think he became aware of my presence.”
That was expected. Crowley was smart, and though he tended not to be as concerned about his own wellbeing as he should be, he could be wary when others' safety was at stake. It was exactly those tendencies that had led Aziraphale to give careful instructions to leave the area as soon as there was any indication that Anthony might have noticed he was being observed.
“Very well. Anything else?”
A quick head shake in the negative.
“Wait a few days and try again. You can go.”
Despite the massive amounts of paperwork, projects, and research that needed his attention, Aziraphale found himself staring off into the middle distance. If Crowley was catching on that he was being observed by angels, Aziraphale was going to have to find a different method of keeping tabs on what was happening to the occupants of the bookshop.