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Crowley didn’t often look at the stars.
After the Fall, his ability to see them well was taken away. Looking at the sky, he was lucky if he saw even a few.
It was, for this reason, why he was hesitant when Aziraphale proposed the idea of them going stargazing .
But the angel was looking at him with wide, glistening eyes, and he couldn’t bear to break his heart.
“Alright, fine, we can go stargaze. If you really want to.” He said, waving his hands dramatically, “If it’ll make you happy.”
“Oh, it really would.” Aziraphale said in delight, “You can marvel at the stars you made, I can witness the beauty of seeing the milkway without light pollution, and we can make a nice little date out of it!”
“Ngk- A date? You didn’t tell me it was going to be a date!”
Aziraphale frowned, wringing his hands. “I’m sorry. Do you… not want it to be a date?”
He hid his face in his hand, cursing the blush that crept across his cheeks. “Of course I want it to be a date, angel. I wouldn’t have contemplated doing it if I had known that it would be a date.”
Aziraphale beamed. “Then there’s no doubt about it! We shall leave an hour before nightfall.” He announced, still smiling as he disappeared amongst the bookshops shelves.
Crowley stared after him for a long moment, before shaking his head and sinking down in his seat.
Aziraphale was going to be his destruction.
☆
Driving down the long road to Aziraphale’s desired spot, Crowley pondered over the night that was to come.
His hand currently rested on the angel’s thigh, thumb rubbing soft strokes against his clothed skin. Aziraphale had opened the window an exact ten minutes and forty-eight seconds prior to that moment.
He claimed he wanted ‘fresh air’. He never had been a good liar.
Crowley took a moment to glance at the speed, smiling to himself at what it read. A hundred and twenty an hour. He considered that quite impressive.
Aziraphale told him it was ridiculous, but Crowley still allowed himself the guilty pleasure of going at such speeds.
“Dear, you really should be careful. One divot and this car could go hurtling off the road.” Aziraphale said nervously.
“Oh, the Bentley would never let that happen. Would you?”
The Bentley revved its engine in response. Crowley took that as a sign to go even faster.
They managed to make it to the spot an exact five minutes later, at the exact time Aziraphale had been hoping to get there. Crowley was nothing but punctual, after all.
He strolled around for a bit, while Aziraphale set out a blanket for them to sit on. The sun was due to set in a half hour, and his heart was beating through his chest. How silly of him. A demon, getting flustered over a date.
Aziraphale called his name, and he made his way over to where he was. The angel held a glass of wine out to him, and Crowley took it graciously, sitting himself down onto blanket. Aziraphale smiled at him, holding his glass forward. Crowley tipped it against his with a small tink, before taking a long sip.
“It’s a very nice night to be out.” He said, looking at the angel, “Did you happen to do anything about that?”
Aziraphale flushed, the pink in his cheeks barely visible in the dying light. “I may have had something to do with it. A small miracle on my part.”
Crowley gave a little laugh, finishing his glass and setting it aside. He fell back onto the floor, staring up at the sky with contempt.
Aziraphale carefully slipped his glasses from his face, a smile tilting his lips. “There they are.” He said softly, leaning over to kiss the bridge of his nose. Crowley smiled softly, letting his eyes fall shut. How Aziraphale could love his eyes so much, he had no idea.
There was no point in hiding them around the angel, and Crowley was starting to warm up to the idea of that. “Loving you is too easy.” Aziraphale whispered, “Every bit of you was made to be cherished.”
Crowley stared at him with wide eyes.
He didn’t need the stars, when he had one right in front of him. He couldn’t articulate the feelings he had in his heart, couldn’t form words to explain how much it hurt to even look at him.
Aziraphale traced the shape of his face with loving hands, a touch so gentle it ached. Crowley closed his eyes, losing himself in the feel of it.
“The suns nearly set.” Aziraphale said, the blanket rustled as he laid down beside him, “We’ll be able to see the stars soon.”
Crowley opened his eyes once more, taking in the darkness that was the sky. “Aziraphale, I…” He trailed off, cleared his throat, “After the Fall, I’ve never really been able to see the stars well. I think it has to do with my eyes.”
Aziraphale’s hand found his, fingers tangling like a lost string. “Then I’ll just have to explain it to you.”
The demon looked at him, and the soft shape of his face. He traced the outline of his profile like it was a painting, and he was a critic of the art. Except he could never criticise his angel, so he was left to wordlessly admire, crushed under the weight of words he couldn’t yet put together.
“Oh, Crowley! You can see them.”
He turned his head to the sky once more. The darkness was a shock, after having looked at the light for so long. “What do they look like?” He whispered.
“There’s thousands of them, clustered so tightly together the sky is barely even black.” He spoke so softly, like one loud sound could break the moment, “It’s like a delicate cloud, spun by the stars themselves.”
Crowley smiled to himself. They sounded just like he remembered them.
He curled closer to the angel, as he continued to describe it as best as he could. At some point, Crowley’s head found a place on his chest, legs twined through the angel’s like a vine. Out there, under the stars, Crowley felt unbreakable. Not even Hell and Heaven could break him down. Their weapons would dull in the attempt to do so.
Looking up at his angel’s face, he wondered if—just maybe—it was Aziraphale that made him feel as such.
Aziraphale looked down at him, meeting his soft gaze. He looked scared, which made Crowley sit up ever so slightly, elbows braced against the cold floor. “Is something wrong?” He asked.
“Not at all. Quite the opposite really.” The angel said, but he still sounded worried.
Crowley hesitated. “What is it then?”
He stared at him for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “I know this is a very… human thing.” Aziraphale said, he looked up at the sky for a moment, back to Crowley, “Crowley, my dear, dear love. Six thousand years can not house my adoration for you. I want to be able to look at you every morning that you wake up, and I want to know that you are truly mine, in every way that you possibly can be.”
Crowley couldn’t breathe. “What are you saying?”
Aziraphale smiled. “Would you like to marry me? I understand if not, and that it’s a silly little thing humans do, but-“
Crowley cut him off with a kiss, hands caressing his stupid angelic face. Oh how he loved his face. “That shouldn’t even be a question, angel. I would like nothing more than to marry you.”
Aziraphale took a deep, shaky breath. “Oh thank gods. I think I might have wilted if you had said no.”
Crowley smiled, hands sliding into his white curls. “You could never wilt, angel. All you ever do is flourish.”
It was the stars that had brought them together all those years ago, and Crowley supposed that until their end, they would continue to bring them closer yet.