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Crawley gazed out over the water, much more content than usual. It wasn’t often that things worked out this well. No kids dead, he and Aziraphale weren’t in trouble, and now they were sitting together.
It felt good. For once, he wasn’t lonely. He never felt lonely when he was with Aziraphale.
Nervous, he snuck a look sideways. Aziraphale was looking at him with a tenderness that stole his breaths. Gosh, did Aziraphale look at everyone like that? Probably. He really was kind.
“Wot?” Crawley asked, trying to sound irritated at the attention.
“Oh, nothing.” Aziraphale ducked his head and looked up through his lashes. “I was just thinking that you looked awfully peaceful.”
There was still a little unsteadiness in Aziraphale’s voice, like he was still shaken by his brush with disobedience but struggling to recover from it. Crawley hissed softly, unable to bring himself to put up a genuine protest while Aziraphale was upset. “Demons aren’t peaceful.”
“Ah, of course.” Aziraphale gave a slightly wobbly smile. Still kind of looked like he was gonna cry any second. “You must be… what? Satisfied in contemplation of future evil deeds, that it.”
“Something like that.” Crawley tried to rally the demonic act that he’d been trying to build up since the Flood, to be tough and angry and uncaring. “Got all sorts of plans in motions, temptations you wouldn’t believe.”
“Hi, Bildad the Shuhite!”
Crawley jumped at the cheerful voice next to him and looked over. A kid stood beside him, beaming up, flowers in her hair. “Uhh… hi, girl who wanted to be a blue one.”
“Jemimah!” the girl said with utter enthusiasm. “You made everything okay!”
“Nonono, I absolutely did not.” Horrified, Crawley looked to Aziraphale for help. Aziraphale was just watching with a look of tender amusement. Crawley jerked a thumb towards him. “You should thank him. He’s the angel.”
Jemimah skipped over to Aziraphale and started playing with his poofy sleeve. “Thank you for making things okay. I had fun being a blue one, and hanging out in my pot, but it’s nice to be home.”
“Oh, of course. And I’m sure you’ll make many more wonderful pots.” Expression indulgent, Aziraphale patted her hand. He seemed calmer now, with the distraction. “But what are you doing out here, my dear? Shouldn’t you be with your family?”
“Oh, they’re all busy talking about angels and the wrath of God and stuff. I got bored.” She looked around furtively. “I’m not really supposed to be here.”
“Good for you.” Crawley grinned at her. “You should always do what you want.”
“Okay!” Jemimah charged back over to him with a look of determination and petted his beard. He froze. No one ever touched him unless they meant to hurt him. “I like your beard. It’s really fluffy.”
“Nnyeah,” he managed, still frozen. What the shit was he supposed to do about this?
Jemimah held up a handful of wildflowers. “Can I put some of these in your beard? I picked them!”
“Uh.” Crawley stared, torn. He liked the kid, but that was beyond not a demonic thing to do. “Demons don’t wear flowers.”
“Why not?” Jemimah asked, tilting her head in confusion. “Flowers are pretty! I put some in my hair already, see? And you said you should do what I wanted.”
“You did tell her that,” Aziraphale said with a chuckle. He rose, moving slowly, and came to sit by Crawley on the rock. Crawley glared at him. “But it’s important to take into consideration what other people want, too. Why don’t you put flowers in my hair, instead?”
Jemimah’s eyes widened, and she gave a delighted gasp. “Really? Can I?”
“Absolutely!” Aziraphale gave Crawley a reassuring smile. “And we’ll leave ‘Bildad’s’ hair alone unless he decides otherwise. Okay?”
“Hn. Yeah.” Still stunned, Crawley tried to smile in response. He couldn’t quite pull it off.
Aziraphale ducked his head, and Jemimah giggled as she put the first flower in his hair. “You’re pretty now.”
“Thank you, dear girl.” Aziraphale was looking much happier than earlier, his breaths slow and even as he let her decorate his hair. “They’re very pretty flowers.”
“Yeah!” She tucked another one in, then turned to Crawley and held out the flowers. “You wanna help me?”
“Oh, uh…” Crawley bit his lip, then yielded. “Okay, sure. Why not.”
“Delightful,” Aziraphale said, voice smug.
Crawley made a face at him, then took the offered flowers and tucked them into Aziraphale’s fluffy curls. It was kind of relaxing, in an odd sort of way, like having a good cup of wine. Surprisingly enjoyable.
Jemimah chattered excitedly as she decorated Aziraphale, and Aziraphale’s bright smile had taken up permanent residence on his face. Crawley found himself smiling too. Hating himself a little bit, but unable to stop it.
“Okay, all done!” Jemimah stepped back, examined their work, and gave an approving nod. She turned hopeful eyes to Crawley. “Do you want flowers too, Bildad?”
Crawley ground his teeth, then heaved a sigh. “Yes, all right. Fine.”
“Yay!” She hopped up and down, then thrust a group of flowers at Aziraphale. “He has a ton of hair, so you have to help me.”
“Yes, he does.” Aziraphale gave a soft smile. “May I, my dear?”
Crawley glared at him, then nodded. Jemimah busied herself with his beard, while Aziraphale tackled the rest with careful braids.
It was alarming, at first. Crawley tensed, breaths catching as he instinctively braced for attack. Hell wasn’t a friendly place, and neither was Earth a lot of the time. Heaven hadn’t been either, come to think of it.
But then Aziraphale paused, fingertips lightly touching the side of Crawley’s head, and gave him a worried look. Just that, that little gesture of care, had been enough to calm him down.
And weirdly enough, having flowers put in his hair was also really relaxing. It felt nice, all the light touches and the feeling of being fussed over. And it made the kid really happy, so hey. Why not?
“There!” Jemimah stood back and studied her handiwork, then gave an approving nod. “Now you’re pretty too.”
“Thanks,” Crawley said dryly. “Did you have fun?”
“Yep! I should probably sneak back home through.” She giggled and waved goodbye at them, then ran off.
Still at Crawley’s right, Aziraphale made a contented noise. “Oh, that was very nice. And she’s quite right that you do look lovely.”
“Oh, shut up.” Crawley glared at Aziraphale, which just made the angel look even more smug. He could be a bastard sometimes. The annoying part was that Crawley really, really enjoyed being with him. “And listen. Never breathe a word of this to anyone, or I’ll…”
He tried and failed to come up with a good threat and settled for snarling. Aziraphale laughed, expression full of something like delight. “You’ll what, turn me into a lizard? I think I’d like to be a blue one as well. Blue’s a very pretty color.”
“Mm. Well, if I ever decide to turn you into a lizard, I’ll make sure it’s blue.” Crawley gazed at the angel for a second, an odd ache forming in his chest. Something he didn’t feel very often, not anymore. An affection, like what he’d felt for the stars he made. “But seriously. You’ll get me in trouble.”
“Not a word to anyone, I promise.” Aziraphale bit his lip, a certain mischievous twinkle appearing in his eye. Then he reached out, hesitantly, and took Crawley’s hand.
Crawley looked down in surprise. Half surprise at the gesture, and half surprise at how much he liked it. He smiled at Aziraphale’s reddening cheeks and the flowers in his curls, then turned his hand to clasp the angel’s.
Side by side, they gazed out over the water together, sunlight glittering off the surface. The sweet scent of flowers drifted around them. Here, in this quiet peaceful moment, neither of them were lonely.