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London,1824
Crowley wasn't entirely sure why he had decided to attend,or why he had woken up at all.The finger snap he did when asked why he wasn't on the list was almost automatic.
His feet sorta moved on their own when entering the castle,when he was finally inside he understood why his consciousness had brought him there.
Another finger snap inside the lavatory later and the demon dressed themselves with Feminine attire.
Crowley hadn't worn a corset since 1734 and she totally understood why,how could women dress as such everyday?
Her overly flamboyant red hoop skirt Was decorated with black Lace in the pattern of flowers Crowley knew to be poppies,a necklace in the shape of a snake dangled from her neck,the metal cold on top of her skin. Since she was pretty much shivering,she also made sure to miracle a coat, which not only kept her warm,but also complimented the outfit rather well. A feathered hat rested on top of her head,over a complicated hairstyle she had only seen in magazines, rightfully so, because any hairdresser would have fallen to their feet if asked to style anyone's hair as such.
And of course,a mask,to conceal her identity and hide her hideous eyes from the weak of heart(which most likely included everyone in the other room, except for one).
in hindsight,it was probably a bit over the top for the time,but women's attire from the beginning of the century never fit Crowley right for some reason,so it was somewhat refreshing to finally get out of those boring-all-the-same suits.Not that Crowley had to endure that long,since he had been sleeping through most of the century and didn't plan on stopping,and even now that he had woken up,he was not amused to know that not much had changed.
Crowley made her way to the dance floor, slightly flicking her serpentine tongue to locate the familiar scent she was hit with when setting foot in the room.
It didn't take her long to locate the angel.
Beige tailcoat,blue-ish vest,white pants and tartan cravat,his mask was terrible at conceiving his identity, especially since his hair was rather peculiar compared to those around him.
He wasn't dancing though,he was instead preoccupied with talking to some higher class women,with the occasional intervention of who Crowley presumed to be their male companions.
"I bring my greetings, lovely people"
Crowley said,with a slightly over the top pitch and a little more excitement than necessary,even with the masks on Crowley was sure they had given her a nasty look as she placed her coat and hat on the couch.
"Greetings well accepted stranger!" said Aziraphale.
Crowley couldn't help but be a little disappointed he hadn't recognized her,but was also rather amused at the angel's stupidity,plus she was sure it would make great teasing material later.
Crowley offered Aziraphale her hand "would you be so kind as to sway the night away, stranger?" She made sure to emphasize the last word.
Aziraphale's expression suddenly changed to one of confusion,he appeared reluctant.
"I believe there's already someone I fancy, actually"
Ouch ok,that kinda hurt. But wait,he couldn't possibly mean…
"oh is that so? perhaps you could tell us about the lovely lady who stole that soft heart of yours"
It wasn't meant to sound rude,but to Aziraphale it probably appeared such.
"i-…actually…"
Aziraphale looked at the group he was talking with before being interrupted,a blonde madame moved her hand towards the floor where everyone else was dancing to a waltz Crowley found very boring.
"it's decided then.I think I changed my mind.i accept your offer"
Crowley took the angel's hand and led him to the dance floor.
Now that they were more or less alone(or rather,inside a crowd so big no one could hear them)the demon could have very easily dropped her voice down and revealed her identity.But something inside her thought that seeing where this would go was way more interesting.
"I think this is a good time to tell you I don't really…dance that often"
Crowley shook her head
"me neither"
All of Which was very much proved by the fact they were quite literally…walking.
Aziraphale's hands were on Crowley's hips and hers were on the angel's shoulders,they started to mirror the other couple's movements,but to no avail.
"wow we're truly helpless aren't we"
Said Crowley,maybe intending more than what was shown on a surface level.
That's when her vision started to get blurry.
Ever since the fall Crowley's eyes had been extremely sensitive to light,and they had already started to complain of the extremely bright chandelier which was definitely lower than intended.
"There's a few things I'd like to speak to you about,shall we move somewhere quieter?"
Aziraphale didn't need to be told twice,he just nodded and Looked around for the nearest balcony.
Crowley made sure the disgustingly lovey-dovey couple outside left,so that they could be truly alone.
"Would you mind telling me more about this…lover of yours?"
"oh they-we're not-"
They were staring at the vastness of the plains in front of them,A few trees or houses or flower fields thrown here and there to make the landscape appear less…well,plain. Not that the night allowed them to see much.
Aziraphale took a while to respond,as the question made him clearly uncomfortable.He tried to open his mouth once or twice,but he couldn't find the right words.
"they…they're not my lover.i think.I mean-not in the traditional sense I suppose"
Crowley's heart skipped 2 beats:one because she feared he might not be talking about her, and another one in case he actually was talking about her.
"tell me about them,I am rather interested now that you've said that"
Aziraphale took a deep breath and adjusted his cravat,making it a little looser than before.
"I mean…I do love them,they're amusing and talented and honestly one of the best people I've learned to know over the mil- years"
"go on"
"I'm not sure what to call our relationship,I mean,love exists in a lot of different forms right?4 to be exact.Ancient Greek philosophers which I've me- studied talk about them in some of their greatest masterpieces and yet...no words can explain what I feel. It's almost as if the affection we have for each other can just…exist on itself.As much as I try to convince myself i must hate them because of their…upbringings"
Ok,He was definitely talking about Crowley.
All of this was way too much for her to handle. Aziraphale loved her.Maybe not in the same way she loved Aziraphale,but he didn't completely hate her.
Soft tears of which Crowley could not guess whether they were of happiness or desperation started to form in her eyes, luckily Aziraphale wouldn't have been able to tell,since her eyes were covered.
She needed one last confirmation,just to be sure.
"And…what do they look like?"
The angel closed his eyes,not knowing the person he was trying to visualize was right in front of him.
"They're slightly taller than me,they have red hair, they're always wearing dark clothes and have wonderful eyes some might find threatening but that I find delightful,They always have something to say like a sharp remark for example,if you've met them you already know who I am talking about"
Oh angel,stupid,clueless angel,you have no idea.
Crowley just left after that,no warning,no goodbye.
He would be totally sleeping through the century now,but not before a few bottles of wine, though.
He even forgot about the coat and hat.
__________________________________
Soho,London 2025
It's been 3 months since Crowley and Aziraphale made up.
It, of course, wasn't easy.
After so much time apart it was hard going back to some sort of routine,and it was infinitely harder to act like nothing had happened,and very much impossible to NOT think about the fact that Micheal was now Supreme archangel.
Before leaving, Aziraphale had suggested Uriel as a replacement, who he deemed a lot more fitting for the job,but he was back to being worthless to heaven now,so of course,his suggestion didn't really matter.
Crowley had found the advertisement on an Instagram page.
He didn't really use the app,he only followed the bookshops account which he created and to which Aziraphale technically had access to,he bought a phone during lockdown after all.
Crowley was pretty sure it was inside a drawer under dozens of newspapers which Aziraphale so stubbornly cherishes. He says they're like small pieces of history,Crowley once found one with the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the cover right under one about the great depression,and right above one about princess Diana's death.
He had Italian newspapers with articles about the rise of fascism,some from Japan about the Hiroshima bomb,even some from communist Russia which featured disgustingly amusing propaganda.
Aziraphale always said he would eventually get around to organizing them,and Crowley mentioned it could be a nice activity to do together, therapeutic,almost.
looking at historical events they had experienced together and being able to see how far they've come since then.
And so, when Crowley mentioned them to the angel again a few weeks later,he was more than happy to work on them together.
He brought it up while they stacked newspapers from the 1930's.
Aziraphale had thought about it with a stoic expression.
"I don't see why not.i haven't attended a masked ball since…"
"the 1820's?"
"...yes,I believe that's correct"
The angel was clearly confused as to how Crowley knew about this information,but didn't feel the need to pressure him about it.
"Does the attire need to be historically accurate?"
"no,no I don't think so.It's open to pretty much everyone angel,and not everyone has historically accurate clothes from the 19th century laying around like we do"
"we?I thought you said you miracled yours away"
"exactly,I said I miracled them away not that I threw them away"
Aziraphale nodded slowly
"Have you ever been to a masked ball?you don't seem the type"
"oh I am not.I did attend one though,sometime in the 1800's"
Crowley thought it would be nice to keep it intentionally vague,he was planning to do something bigger with the information left untold for now.
"I see…well I attended them pretty often in that time period,a shame we couldn't meet at one"
This time,it wasn't a castle.
It was more like some rich fallen aristocrat's Mansion;it was a little too baroque for Crowley's liking but Aziraphale seemed to enjoy it, because of course he did.
It's kinda shameful for Crowley to admit they were matching clothes.
Aziraphale had decided to still use some of his vintage pieces while putting a modern spin to them(Crowley had to beg him to do so)
The vest and cravat were original,but he was wearing simple cigarette shaped pants,paired with one of his dozens waistcoats,even though wasn't even sure what century it was from.
Crowley was pretty much wearing the same thing but in his signature black/red color palette,instead of a cravat his neck space was occupied by a bowtie with a (fake) crystal at the center,a piece he wore for their trip to Edinburgh around the same time period.
Both of them were, of course,wearing masks.
This time, the room was also a lot less bright,which was definitely a relief for Crowley.
"Oh dear, there's so many people here!"
"Well,a bit unexpected I have to admit.guess a lot more people than I thought like that Victorian vibe Uh"
"guess so"
This time, Aziraphale was the one to offer their hand,and Crowley sure as hell wouldn't hesitate to accept it,not now that they were finally going to dance as a couple .
This time,They both knew what they were doing.
Crowley took Aziraphale's waist as soon as they entered the crowd,and the angel responded by gently squeezing his shoulders.
They danced and danced and danced.
Aziraphale occasionally spined Crowley in the air and the demon responded with that over the top and entirely unnecessary move where you lower your partner till they're almost touching the floor, Aziraphale played along and raised his leg for an even more over the top and entirely unnecessary effect.
At this point everyone in the crowd was staring,not in a malicious way, rather…they were amused.Maybe they could sense how much love those two beings irradiated, maybe they were just fascinated by the smoothness of their moves,or maybe they were jealous because their partner was stiffer than a streetlight, perhaps a bit of all.
This time,the balcony faced the city.
billboards,cars, buildings.So many lights yet so much darkness.
"I wish we did this sooner"
Said Aziraphale.
it was time.
"Who said we didn't?"
Aziraphale turned to look at Crowley and away from the view.
"well we didn't…did we?I don't recall us ever meeting at such an event"
Crowley sighed.
"1824,angel"
Aziraphale gave Crowley that typical confused look of his and tilted his head.
"I went to a lot of balls then,how could I possibly-"
Realization hit him all at once.
He looked away,Hiding his face in the Palm of his hands,pacing around the balcony.When he opened his eyes again, Crowley was wearing the same exact clothes from that night.
"surprise"
Crowley snapped his fingers and changed back.
"how?what…that's-"
Crowley had the biggest grin on his face and his smugness was unmeasurable.
"I'm the one you poured your heart to that night angel.You could even say you confessed before me"
"Oh I'd hardly count that as a confession love"
Crowley flinched at the pet name.It should have felt normal by now,but Aziraphale says it so softly it feels like he's saying it to him for the first time every time.
Crowley got closer to his life partner,and gently laid his head on his shoulder,while the both of them admired the view.
"I love you"
said Crowley.
"just as much as I did then,maybe even more"
"Me too,dear"
To this day, neither of them knows if the fireworks were miracled by the other or not.
This time, Crowley didn't run away,like he always did.
They kissed under the colorful lights of fireworks that danced in the night sky like splashes of color on a black canvas.
And for the first time after millenia,Both of them felt free from any type of judgment.