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"So, yesterday, Crowley and I went to the park, and Crowley - don't say I told you - had brought frozen peas, as he always does, because, as he keeps saying, they love them, and it's good for them. And much to our surprise, there were some adorable ducklings. And what's even more adorable is that when we left, one of the ducklings started following Crowley."
Nina, who had been waiting for Aziraphale to finish his story, inquired, "With the 6 shots of espresso, would you like something else?"
Aziraphale cheerfully replied, "Two cinnamon rolls."
Maggie asked, "The duckling, how long did it follow?"
Aziraphale, delighted to be able to continue his story, replied, "It took Crowley to carry it and bring it back to his family. Aziraphale leaned over and whispered, "He acted like a real mother hen. A-do-ra-ble!”
"So cute," Maggie exclaimed as Nina made gagging noises.
She handed him his order and Aziraphale paid before leaving the coffeeshop.
Nina sighed, and Maggie said as she watched him leave, "It's really sweet how smitten he is."
Nina replied, "To be honest, I don't know who's more smitten than the other, because even though he shows it in different ways, Mr. 6 shots of espresso is just as smitten."
"Ahem...sorry to bother you, but..."
Both women turned to Muriel, who had approached, and Maggie said gently, "Muriel, you're not bothering us, come on. What can we do for you?"
Muriel, their eternal notebook and pencil in hand, asked, "Well, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I don't quite understand the use of the word 'smitten.' The only meaning I know is to be struck suddenly or violently, especially with the hand or an instrument held in the hand. So..."
The two women looked at each other with amused smiles before Maggie replied, "As far as Aziraphale and Crowley are concerned, it means that they are so in love with each other that they only see each other, that each is the center of the other's world, that they only talk about each other, like Aziraphale just did."
Muriel nodded and replied, "Yesterday Crowley was spying on Aziraphale between books and asked me if I didn't think he had an even more adorable smile than usual, does that mean he's 'smitten' too?"
Maggie nodded vigorously as Nina rubbed her hands and said, "I knew it, he's just as tender-hearted as the other one. Muriel, my darling little bee, I'm going to offer you the best hot chocolate you've ever had and you're going to tell me about all the times you think are good examples of the word 'smitten'.”
If there was one thing Muriel had enjoyed since discovering the taste, it was hot chocolate, so they had no intention of refusing Nina's offer.
They nodded and a few moments later the three of them were sitting around a table, Nina with a coffee, Maggie with herbal tea and Muriel with a large cup of hot chocolate.
Muriel thought for a moment, frowned, and said, "Besides talking about each other like that, what could be considered behavior that would show they are smitten?"
Maggie replied, "For example, two people not being able to be in the same room without being close to each other."
Muriel gasped and asked, "Is it possible to be smitten before they're even, uh... together? Because the first time I met them, in Aziraphale's bookshop..."
"This is ridiculous!"
Muriel jumped back in their chair, still not knowing what to do with the cupperty in their hands.
The person who had just entered continued, "Why don't you just go by train? You love trains."
He went to put some green plants in a corner and when he turned around, he saw them and asked, " Who's this now?"
The angel replied gently, " This is a human police officer who's just popped in to have a quick look at a cup of tea."
Muriel leaned back in this chair and said in a voice they wanted to be sure of, "'Ello, 'ello, 'ello."
The red-haired man smiled at them, but Muriel saw at once that it wasn't the same smile as the angel's, as he addressed them, "Tell me, Constable..."
Muriel corrected him, "Inspector."
The angel said quietly, "Oh... you know, you are dressed as a constable."
The red-haired man approached the angel and rested his arm on the back of his chair as Muriel replied, "Inspector Constable! That's my name."
As he sat on the arm of the angel's chair and leaned shamelessly against his shoulder, the red-haired man replied, "Of course it is," before chuckling and adding, "First visit to Earth, is it, by any chance?"
Muriel, disturbed by the proximity of the two people in front of them, spontaneously replied without paying attention, "Yes! It's amazing, isn't it? Just the..."
They stopped just in time.
"Anyway, since I've been here, I've noticed that this is pretty standard behavior with them. When Aziraphale sits down at the table and Crowley sits next to him, he automatically pulls out the chair to sit closer to him. There's plenty of room on the sofa, and yet they're always crowded together when it's just the two of them..."
"Oh, that's just it, Muriel," MAggie replied.
This time it was Nina who intervened, "It's also when one or both people can't keep their hands to themselves."
"Oh!" exclaimed Muriel, "that's Aziraphale! Every time Crowley is near him, he's always touching him, taking his hand, putting his hand on his shoulder..."
Maggie interjected ecstatically, "Aw, that's adorable."
Muriel continued, "He really can't help himself, one day..."
When Aziraphale returned from Maggie's with new records, Muriel motioned for him to be quiet and pointed to Crowley, who had fallen asleep on the sofa.
Aziraphale nodded, entrusted the records to them, and whispered, "Can you put them with the others and check the record box?"
Muriel obeyed, but from where they stood they could see the sofa and couldn't help but watch with curiosity.
Aziraphale grabbed the blanket and covered the demon before crouching down in front of him.
Muriel saw him reach out to the red head, as if to stroke its hair, but he pulled his hand back just before touching it, made the gesture several times in a row, then suddenly, as if losing or winning a battle with himself, he gently stroked the sleeping demon's head.
Hesitantly at first, then more confidently when he saw that the sleeping demon leaned its head into the angel's hand.
So he continued, and even from where they stood, Muriel could see the sleeping demon's smiling face, and also the adoring expression on the angel's face.
Maggie, beaming after Muriel's story, said with a smile, "That's the perfect example. So adorable. Being smitten, it's full of little things like that, you know, a special smile for each other, sometimes you feel like they're in their own bubbles, or their expression changes when the other one enters the room."
Muriel nodded, finished their mugs of chocolate and asked, looking innocent, "Does that mean you two are smitten, too?" Maggie's eyes lit up as Muriel continued, "Because Nina's expression changes every time you walk into the coffee shop, Maggie."
Maggie raised an eyebrow and turned to Nina, "Really?"
Nina decided to ignore her and replied to Muriel, "I think you know enough about that word now. And your cup is empty."
Muriel laughed softly, because they were getting used to the two women who reminded them of Aziraphale and Crowley, with Nina sometimes being as grumpy as Crowley.
Maggie got up as Muriel did.
"Let's go home together, Muriel, maybe you can tell me about the times you think Nina is 'smitten.'"
Nina exclaimed, "Maggie!"
Maggie laughed as she and Muriel quietly left the coffee shop.
Across the street, in the bookshop, indifferent to the gossip of which they had just been the center, Aziraphale and Crowley sat side by side on the sofa, the demon enjoying his coffee and the angel his cinnamon rolls.
Crowley, amused, looked at him and asked, "Isn't that cannibalism?"
Aziraphale stopped eating and looked at him, confused, "What?"
Crowley's smile widened as he replied, "Well, it's like you are eating yourself..."
Aziraphale's eyes widened as he muttered, "Don't talk nonsense."
Crowley retorted, "Angel, everyone knows you're a real cinnamon roll."
Aziraphale waved the cinnamon roll in front of him and replied, "You're being silly… again."
"Whatever, angel. Give me a bite, please".
He opened his mouth, waiting until the angel brought the pastry to his mouth. Crowley took a mouthful, munched on it, and said mischievously, "It's really sweet. But I need to check something..."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the angel's in a light, tender kiss before pulling away and saying, "...that's what I thought, you're much sweeter."
"Crowley!" Aziraphale exclaimed with a slight blush in his cheeks. However, the embarrassment did not stop him from finishing his cinnamon roll under the demon's amused gaze.
Not to be outdone, after swallowing the last bite, the angel murmured, "You're lucky I love you."
That made Crowley nearly choke on his last sip of coffee, and now Aziraphale wasn't the only one with slightly rosy cheeks.
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before they began to laugh, mocking themselves.
Then, when the laughter died down, Crowley cupped the angel's face between his hands and captured his lips in a sweet, coffee and cinnamon-flavored kiss.
Had Muriel entered at that moment and caught the demon's gaze on the angel just before their lips met, the word "smitten" would no longer have been a mystery to them.