Chapter Text
The Second Coming had come and gone (or perhaps a second ''Another Aversion of the Apocalypses'' being put in the books had been a better way to look at things) but in any case, all was right with the world once again.
Mostly.
The unfortunate thing that came with a huge public resurgence in interest in the All Mighty, tended to also trigger a resurgence in interest in the Adversary, thus a plethora of summoning circles and open portals.
Amature summoning circles and open portals.
Fortunately, the shelf life of said same circles and portals was minimal, and within days of the cessation of hostilities, the circles and portals simply fell into obsolescence.
Mostly.
In other times, the occasional foolish demon who allowed themselves to be trapped by a summons, staffing shortages in Hell, and an uneasy cease-fire with Heaven (who were rumoured to be experiencing staffing upheavals of their own) meant that said circles and portals had to be closed manually. *
To Aziraphale's (and Hell's) surprise, Crowley had volunteered to assist.
It wasn't entirely altruistic, he had told Aziraphale. After all, having Hell (and possibly Heaven) owing one favours, especially given their own position was far from a bad thing.
What he hadn't told Aziraphale was, quite simply, that it sounded fun. Undoubtedly, down the line he would run into a human that was foolish enough to challenge him, and a good 'put the fear of Crowley' to keep his hand in was just what he needed. Aziraphale had insisted he keep a mobile phone on him.
Just in Case.
And he did,
- * While popular literature extolled a hundred ways to trap or compel a demon, such as salt or iron, those were the product of Hell's publicity department. Rumour had it that the demon Crowley had a hand in it, as most demons were functional illiterates, but no one was really keeping track these days.
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