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"Keys, my dear?"
Aziraphale was standing between the screen and him, holding out his hand.
Crowley raised an eyebrow, " Hm?"
Aziraphale rolled his eyes, "Don't pretend you don't know, I told you I needed the Bentley to get to Cookham. Apparently there's a museum library that's about to close and it looks like they have some very old manuscripts and..."
Crowley was no longer listening.
Of course he remembered. Aziraphale had been talking about it ever since he'd gotten a call about it. On the other hand, Crowley had deliberately chosen to forget that the angel had needed the Bentley to get there.
"Crowley? The keys, please."
Crowley fumbled in his pocket and, with obvious reluctance, placed the keys of the Bentley in the angel's outstretched hand.
Aziraphale smiled indulgently and said gently, "It's only for a few hours and I promise to take good care of OUR car."
The rascal, he knew full well the effect it had on Crowley to hear him speak of the car as a common possession. Crowley sighed and the angel leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room. As he walked through the door, he turned and told him with a wink, "I promise not to make too many changes."
Crowley called out, "Angel!" and heard Aziraphale laugh slightly as he left.
The demon stood and couldn't help but look out the window as the Angel got into the car, and he followed the car with his worried eyes until they were out of sight.
"Um...Crowley? Could you help me?"
He turned to Muriel and raised an eyebrow as he asked, "With what?"
Muriel replied, "Well, I'd like that book, but it's too high for me."
Crowley looked at the top of the shelf and turned to them, saying "You know you have abilities, magical ones?"
Muriel replied hesitantly, "But... but it's not right to use them for such trivial things..."
"Says who?" asked Crowley gently.
Muriel answered shyly, pointing to the sky, "Up there."
Crowley leaned toward them and said quietly, "I'll tell you a secret, whether it's up there or down there, they're pretty blind. Aziraphale and I have been using our powers for little things for thousands of years with no consequences. So don't worry about something as trivial as taking a book off a shelf, they won't see anything."
Seeing the angel hesitate, he added: "Aziraphale and I won't let anything happen to you.
Muriel asked, "Why are you both being so nice to me?"
Crowley leaned against one of the columns and replied, "The fact that you ask the question gives you the reason. You shouldn't have to wonder why people are nice to you when you've done nothing to deserve anything but kindness. Because we know how people like you are treated up there, and you don't deserve it. I've seen your loneliness, my little bee, and you don't deserve that either." Then he added playfully, "And then I saw that there was some potential here in breaking the rules. I like that."
He gestured to the top of the shelf and asked them, "So, are you going to bring that book down?"
Crowley watched in amusement as Muriel narrowed their eyes and the book quickly floated into their hand. Then they cautiously opened one eye, then the other, as if expecting retaliation.
Suddenly, Crowley frowned and Muriel looked at him anxiously, "They've spotted me, haven't they?"
Crowley shook his head, "It's Aziraphale, the car, he's done something to it again. It's okay, you can read your book, I need to talk to him."
Muriel nodded before they hurried to their favorite spot in the alcove of a window and began to read.
Aziraphale was on his way out of town when the Bentley's radio emitted some interference.
"Angel! I know it! You've done it again!"
Aziraphale replied innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yellow! The wheels are yellow! Change them immediately!"
Aziraphale sighed and replied, "You're really not funny."
"Why yellow anyway?"
Aziraphale hesitated a bit before answering, then smiled gently, figuring it was easier to tell the truth when you couldn't see each other.
He said softly, "Crowley, my dear, what color are your eyes?"
Only silence answered him.
"Crowley?"
The radio resumed playing the music the angel had chosen just before, indicating that the demon had cut off communication, then the song changed.
He needs you anyway, anyway
Not often easy to say
Anyway, anyway
Ooh-ooh ya
Who knows what it leads to
Just know that he needs you
Anyway
That was enough for Aziraphale, who said to the car, "Turn around, we're going home."
This time he didn't care about the speed limit.
It took him less than twenty minutes to pull up in front of the bookshop. He entered and saw Muriel reading in their usual corner and asked, "Where is he?"
The angel shook their head, "He went upstairs and hasn't come down since."
Aziraphale nodded and hurried up the stairs. When he reached the room, he saw Crowley standing at the window and, a rare sight when he was inside, his glasses on his nose.
The angel called softly, "Crowley?"
The demon turned and exclaimed, "Angel? You're back already?"
Aziraphale replied, "Well, the way our conversation ended, I was worried about you, so I rushed home."
Crowley sat on the edge of the bed and shook his head, muttering, "I don't understand..."
Aziraphale crouched in front of him and, placing his hands on the demon's knees, asked softly, "What don't you understand?"
Shaking his head, Crowley replied, "How can you love a color that reminds you of these eyes? My snake eyes, my demon eyes..."
Aziraphale raised his hands and removed the demon's sunglasses before placing them on the bed beside him.
Then he sat down on the other side and, turning to Crowley, cupped his face in his hands and said softly, "These are your eyes, how could I not love them? I don't see a snake or a demon when I look into them, just you. I see their warm color, the hues that change with your mood when you're not wearing your glasses."
Crowley asked softly, "But...wouldn't you rather my eyes be like the day you first met me? Like before..."
Aziraphale sighed before answering, "That is a difficult question..."
"I knew it..." Crowley started to turn his face away, but Aziraphale stopped him and said, "Silly, I didn't mean it like that. To have your eyes like before would mean you hadn't gone through everything you did, the fall, etc., so in a way yes...but also no, because I love the demon you are now and no longer the image I had of the angel. Don't you see? I love who you are, not the idea I had of you. Which means I like those eyes too..." he traced the eyes with his thumbs before moving his face closer to the demon's and kissing him softly on the lips.
Pulling back, he continued, "And so, yes, I love the color that reminds me the eyes of the one I love."
Crowley muttered, "That's no reason to change the color of the Bentley."
Aziraphale raised his hands in surrender and replied in an amused voice, "I promise I won't do it again."
Crowley grabbed the angel's hands to pull him close, then wrapped his arms around him, holding him to his chest. He whispered into his hair, "Thank you for loving who I am."
Aziraphale replied softly against his chest, "I wouldn't have you any other way."
The demon pressed him a little closer, burying his face in his neck, and when the angel felt a certain wetness where Crowley's face touched his skin, he simply tightened his embrace and continued to whisper words of comfort and love into Crowley's hair.
A few minutes later, when the demon lifted his head, his beautiful eyes glistened with the tears he had shed. Aziraphale kissed each eye devoutly and then pressed his lips to the demon's in a kiss that made him understand, far better than words, how much he was loved for exactly who he was.