Work Text:
“I don’t see why I can’t drive my own car, Angel, remind me again why you have to drive,” Crowley grumbled from his place in the passenger seat of the Bentley. “And what’s with this blindfold?”
“Because it is a surprise where I am taking you, and if you drive you’ll figure it out before we get there. Now, be a dear and keep the blindfold on, darling. You said you trust me,” Aziraphale said, patting his demon on the thigh, placating him.
Cleveland had been a lovely diversion, they had found many wonderful things to do while they were there. Aziraphale had thought of it and realized that much of what they did together on any given day, even at home in London, was what he wanted to do. Crowley would never deny him anything he wanted.
“I do trust you, Angel, I just…” Crowley took a deep breath and fidgeted in his seat, the set of his jaw clenching and unclenching. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you, it’s that, well– I’m a bit out of my depth here.”
“You’re feeling out of control,” Aziraphale observed. There was no malice, no judgement, it was a poignant statement of fact. “You feel safer when you’re able to navigate us. Don’t worry, my darling, we will get you there safely,” Aziraphale smiled warmly at the dashboard of the Bentley, while giving his demon a gentle squeeze on the thigh. “I promise you that.”
Crowley gave a non-committal noise, the tension in his jaw softening slightly, his posture shifting more into his casual recline. Aziraphale could feel some of the anxiety in the vehicle dissapate. “Aha,” Aziraphale exclaimed in a whisper, “there you are.”
Crowley turned his blindfolded face in Aziraphale’s direction. The speed of the car slowed and Crowley could feel the vehicle navigate turns and hills. The sounds outside the car changed. “Are we in a car park, Angel?”
“We are, how very observant of you, Crowley,” Aziraphale praised him.
“Please be careful, Angel, these places are…”
“Ah,” Aziraphale chided him, good-naturedly, “I will be careful. We will park on the tip top quite a ways from the other cars. Here we are.”
Crowley felt the car glide to a stop. There was nothing about the parking job that he could tell he needed to grumble about, so he kept quiet. He felt his angel reach across his lap and pop the door open from the inside for him.
“Stay for a moment, love, I will come and get you. Please keep the blindfold on,” Aziraphale said, and skittered to the other side of the car. He gently placed his hand against Crowley’s to help him up. He waited a moment for Crowley to situate himself on two feet. “I need you to trust me some more, very hard, my dear. Come along,” Aziraphale said softly. “I have you, you’re safe with me. I promise you’ll be safe.”
Crowley nodded and threaded his arm around his angel’s, and took tentative steps while Aziraphale led the way. Crowley could tell Aziraphale was taking his time and minding any potential hazards. The cold wind on his cheeks burned where the blindfold did not reach. Once inside, warm, dry air flooded his senses. “Crowley,” Aziraphale said kindly, “please wait here a moment, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll only be about ten paces to your left, but I would like to check in with the woman at the desk. I am afraid that it will be quite obvious to you where we are until we are exactly where we need to be.”
Crowley hesitated before nodding in his angel’s direction. “Okay, angel, I’ll stay here.”
“There’s a good lad,” Aziraphale said, squeezing his hand. “I’ll only be a moment, love.”
Crowley tried to make sense of his surroundings, the blindfold robbing him of his most fragile sense. Ever since the fall, his vision had not been what it had been before. The sunglasses didn’t help- not that he was wearing them with the blindfold. He knew Aziraphale had them safely tucked in his suitcoat, right next to his heart. The snake-like eyes he hid from the world also effectively hid the world and its beautiful nuances from him. His stars, his precious galaxies. He could no longer see the stars from Earth, a punishment long after the loss of his wings or his halo stopped impacting him so much.
Crowley could tell he was, indeed, indoors. The dry air was thin around him, and completely still. He could tell he was in a large place, with immensely tall ceilings. Why? What was around him? He heard almost no movement, no footsteps on the tile floor, no voices louder than a reverent whisper. Was he in a church? Certainly not, there was no pain. Aziraphale also would never lead him to a church on purpose. The air smelled somewhat musty. There were old things near by. Ancient things. Things as old as he was. Where on Earth…?
“I am back, my love,” Aziraphale said, tucking a slip of paper into Crowley’s hand. “Here is your ticket, hold it tightly,” Crowley gripped the thick paper in his hand. “And follow me.”
As they walked, the ceilings seemed to get lower, closer to the tops of their heads. And then they were in a very tight space. “This is a tunnel, love, our destination is just on the other side.”
Crowley’s jaw tightened nervously, “I honestly have no idea what to expect, angel. I mean… I’m getting clues but they don’t add up to anything.”
“Be patient, we are almost there,” Aziraphale said, giving him another gentle squeeze. “Mind your step, darling, it gets a little tight here.” The noises shifted and Crowley felt the air change in the room, still thin, dry, and musty. Those quiet whispers all seemed so much closer around him, but it was clear they were not in a tight space. “Here dear, reach your left hand out, oh- no your other left,” Aziraphale said with a laugh, guiding his hand, “It’s an armrest to a chair, like at the movie theaters, have a seat. I am right next to you.” The seats creaked and groaned. Crowley shifted uncomfortably.
“Can I take off my blindfold now? I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic.”
“Yes, you may.” Aziraphale took Crowley’s hand.
Crowley pulled the blindfold off. The room was exceptionally dim, deeply blue, with a tall, domed ceiling. Most interesting of all was the giant, metal object in the center of the room, with the chairs spread in semi-circles around it. The object was about as large as a park bench, with a rotating sphere on one end, with many pin-prick size holes in its surface. “Angel, what is this place?” Crowley asked, eyes taking in everything around him. The room was so dim that adding the glasses back would completely blind him, and also weren’t necessary as those around him were both not paying attention to him enough to catch his eyes, and if they did, it would be to dark to notice a difference.
The angel didn’t respond as the lights dimmed further, until the room was pitch dark. A young woman’s voice came across the speakers, she was situated off to the side with a computer and other complicated-looking electronic devices. She held a remote in one hand and a microphone in the other. “Welcome, welcome everyone, to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Planetarium and Observatory! You’re in for a special night, tonight we will take in the offerings of this room, as well as the state of the art telescope. Tonight, you’ll get a chance to experience the stars as closely as humans on Earth are able to do. Are you ready?” The crowd, including Aziraphale clapped reverently.
Crowley’s breath caught in his throat. Experience the stars? Him? He chanced a glance at Aziraphale and noticed the angel was looking at him. “Are you ready, Crowley? I’d like you to let me show you the stars.” Crowley let out his breath, and along with a loud clacking noice as the projector clicked on, drew in a gasp as the navy blue ceiling exploded with light as the stars- his stars- danced to life right above him. Some stars were even different colors, appropriate to the stars that could be seen in the winter in Cleveland. It all matched. Every detail. Down to the tiniest constellations. He could see the largest and clearest, the hunter, Orion. He could even see the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades star cluster. He could count all seven stars that made up the constellation, though they were so close together and so tiny, as in the true night sky. It was like looking up into the heavens with 20/20 vision. Miraculously clear and intimate. They were all there, all accounted for. Crowley gaped, his jaw slack, eyes wide, reflecting the miracles around him in his golden irises.
“Crowley?” Aziraphale asked gently, “What do you think, love?”
“Angel, I…” Crowley started and faltered, “I don’t know what to say. It’s… it’s incredible.”
“Well, hold on, my darling, because it only gets better from here,” Aziraphale promised, and as if on cue, the sky started to shift, rotating around them imitating the course the stars take around the night sky as the planet turns. “Keep an eye there,” Aziraphale pointed up. “That one, that’s the North Star, Polaris. That one will appear like it isn’t moving, they’ll all rotate around it, watch.”
Crowley did as he was told, doing nothing to stop the tears as they began to fall. He clutched at Aziraphale’s hand, his other grasping at his chest. “They’re all here, Angel.”
“Yes,” Aziraphale whispered. Had Crowley looked away from his stars, he would have seen that Aziraphale was still looking at him, with tears in his own starry eyes. “I love you, Crowley,” Aziraphale said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “So very much.”
“I love you too, Angel, more than I can say,” Crowley responded, looking at his angel, choking up when he noticed the affection on the angel’s face. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for always being there for me, my Polaris. My North Star, you are always present for me,” Aziraphale said, pursing his lips as if to hold back further tears. Crowley said nothing, what was there to say? It was all feeling now. He gazed back at Aziraphale and smiled a watery, tearful smile.
“I’ll always be here,” Crowley said, finally, leaning his head on Aziraphale’s shoulder. Aziraphale let out a quiet breath and leaned his own head over onto Crowley’s, placing a quick kiss to the red hair in its short quiff on top.
“I know,” the angel responded. “I know I can count on you.”