Chapter Text
“Crowley-” The demon had barged into the bookshop so suddenly that it had actually startled Aziraphale - he would be searching for spots of tea for weeks after the mug he’d dropped splashed it everywhere in his surprise. “What’s. Er. Is something the matter?”
Crowley didn’t reply right away, busy flipping the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Very Much Closed’ and checking every window before lowering their shades, paranoia in full swing.
”Crowley,” Aziraphale tried again, tone more serious. And somewhat worried. “What on earth are you doing?”
“They’re coming, Angel.” It was the only explanation he offered before running up the small spiral staircase to close the shades upstairs, too. He didn’t elaborate until that was finished, and he was standing in front of his angel - he hadn’t removed his glasses yet, but Aziraphale could see the fear behind them in his eyes. “They’re coming and I don’t have a lot of time.”
“Who’s coming?” It could be anyone, really. Crowley, despite his general good-naturedness(whether he wanted to admit that he had it or not), had amassed quite a few enemies in his time on earth. Most of them had become that way due to his rebelliousness - not anything truly impish or petulant he had done.
But the very real terror in his voice told Aziraphale this was much more than a simple wronged contact or dropped favor.
The demon couldn’t form words. All he could do was point a shaky finger Upwards.
Aziraphale shared in the terror, looking over to the door quickly. “What do you mean Upstairs is looking for you? Crowley, what have you done?”
“Nothing,” he squeaked out, suddenly breaking out into a quick pace back and forth across the bookshop’s floor like a caged and weary animal. “Nothing new anyway. I. They.” He sighed. Shook his head. Removed his glasses with trembling hands. “You’re going to be so very cross with me.”
“Will you tell m-” His voiced rose and fell almost instantly, calming himself. If Crowley was this scared, there was scarcely anything he could tell the angel that would make him take back any offer of help. “If I don’t know, I can’t help.”
Crowley hesitated. And again. Then hesitated some more before he sighed once more, glancing away.
“...I took it back.”
Confused silence crossed Aziraphale’s face, and he shook his head slowly. “Took wh…?” There was only one thing Crowley could mean, in a situation like this. Realization dawned, and the angel’s eyes went wide. “You what?”
“I told you!” He hissed, pointing at Aziraphale. “I told you you’d be cross! I knew it!!”
The angel was beside himself. “In what galaxy did you think that would be a good idea?” He stopped himself again, hands out to calm himself - and Crowley - before he went any further. “That doesn’t matter right now. Heaven knows, and now they’re-”
Oh, this was definitely a bit of a big mess.
“I don’t know what to do, Aziraphale. I have nowhere to go.”
The angel’s head titled curiously. “Can’t you…? You always talked about…”
“I don’t… Want to leave you here. And be somewhere where I can’t hear from you, if something goes wrong. Gggghhngngngraaaa it’s the whole bloody reason I took it back in the first place-”
More touched than angry now, Aziraphale stepped up to Crowley to comfort him in his. Er. Crisis. Not that it wasn’t one, but the demon tended to beat himself up a bit sometimes if things started to go pear-shaped more than either of them accounted for.
“Crowley. I’ll be alright,” he tried to assure, gently gripping his arm and placing a hand on his back. “You don’t need to worry about me so much.” Even though the angel knew it was one of his favorite things to do. “You sure you can’t just… Pop off to Alpha Centauri for a little while…? Maybe I could give it back, claimed it found the ‘rightful owner’ or something?”
“I’m not leaving you here. I can’t risk them- They’re going to assume-”
“Breathe, Crowley. I know you don’t need to, but imagine how embarrassing it would be to hyperventilate yourself into discorporation.”
Obediently, Crowley did as he was told, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Counted to ten, like he’d been taught. “They’re going to assume you have something to do with it. No matter what. I can’t be- I can’t be countries or universes away.”
An idea flitted across Aziraphale’s mind, and on instinct he pushed it away. But knowing what Crowley said was quite true, he let it float freely in his mind despite the discomfort.
“There is… one place you could go.” Crowley would not like it. Aziraphale probably wouldn’t, either. But until he could return the stolen property, or get Heaven to write it off as a loss, he couldn’t think of any other options.
“Where?” The demon brought his eyes to Aziraphale, still just as pained as they had been moments ago. Aziraphale was smart. Smartest person he knew. If there was a place he was overlooking, the angel would know it. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Quite the opposite, actually.” Aziraphale’s voice was nervous now as he stepped away from Crowley gently, and opened his arms.
“Angel.” Crowley sized him up then, trying to catch any hint of jest in his tone or actions. When he saw none, he shook his head. “No.”
“It’s the safest place I can offer you. Where they won’t think to look. Crowley, it’s the only place I can protect you as much as you’ve protected me. And I’m offering it willingly. It isn’t as if I have no agency in this matter.” The demon’s prior urgency was toxic; swiftly poisoning Aziraphale as it twisted his gut with worry. To think that at any moment, Michael, or Uriel, or Gabriel could come bursting through the doors of his bookshop and drag Crowley off to Someone-knew-where to do Someone-knew-what until he told them what they wanted to hear... “Please, Crowley. Let me protect you.”
Aziraphale was correct. Crowley did not like it. The idea terrified him more than whatever Heaven could do to him for what he’d done. But what terrified him more was being away from the angel in this situation - he couldn’t leave Aziraphale. It wasn’t to do with his mixed-up feelings, it was just. Simple fact. Now, Aziraphale was not weak. He did not need Crowley to take care of him. But he worried that in being gone, options may not come as easy to the angel, and even a split-second of indecision could mean…
“Only as long as necessary.” He finally gave in, but still hesitated. “You sure we won’t explode? You were very worried about that before- before Madame Tracy.”
Aziraphale smiled bravely. He was not ready for this. But then again, when was this ever something they’d have to consider? “Only one way to find out.”
The demon’s look was pained. He couldn’t apologize if this went poorly, or hurt Aziraphale, or just didn’t work. But he hoped the angel would know his regret and the depth of his contrition if something went wrong.