Chapter Text
“Relax, honey. I’m sure you’re going to love it.”
Aziraphale took a deep breath. “You’re right, mum. I’m just a bit…”
She rubbed circles on his back. “It’s perfectly normal to be nervous. These are big changes. But I’m just a few hours away, hm?”
“Yes, I know.”
“And you’ve been talking to your roommate, haven’t you?”
He smiled. It was a random housing assignment, but they got along well over text so far. He considered himself quite lucky on that front – his older brother and his first roommate hadn’t been so fortunate 1, and he couldn’t say he wasn’t extremely anxious about meeting the same fate with his own. “Yeah, I have. He’s nice.”
“What’s his major?”
He sighed. “Environmental biology, I think. And a minor in astronomy – he really likes stars and stuff – and he’s thinking about adding one in botany, I’m pretty sure. Everything all… figured out.”
The elevator dinged, and the pair stepped out, Aziraphale doing so very reluctantly.
His mother put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I think it’s smart that you’re going in undecided. You’re such a clever boy, and you could take that mind of yours in so many directions. And you’re only 18, after all. Better to take some time to sort out what you want than to waste time on classes you’ll hate. Plus you’ll get the gen-eds out of the way early.”
He smiled half-heartedly. “You’re right.” He slightly readjusted his grip on the box in his hands as he scanned the numbers on the wall. 328, 330, 332… “Here, mum. This is it, 334.”
“Ooh, exciting!” She shimmied her shoulders. “I wonder if your roommate is here yet. What was his name again?”
He shifted his box into one hand so that he could use the other to fiddle around in his pocket to try and find his key card. “Crowley. I don’t know if he’s here, I guess we’ll see.”
He finally found his card and fumbled with it until it swiped through the slot in the lock on the door. His mom pushed it open for him, and he was greeted by a few boxes sitting on the floor. Ah, so Crowley was there already. He would have second pick of a bedroom, then, but he really didn’t mind.
His already famous flatmate sauntered out into the main part of the room, his boots 2 clicking across the floor, and a package in his hands blocking his face. Aziraphale’s posture stiffened. His mom looked at him expectantly, and he summoned up all of his courage in his body, convincing his bashful mouth to speak. “Hi, I’m… Aziraphale!”
“Oh, hey, Aziraphale, nice to meet you in person. Can you hold this?” Before he could get a good look at him, Crowley dumped the box into his arms, right on top of the one he was already holding. His voice had been clear and warm, and nice.
Aziraphale’s mom laughed. “Hello, you must be Crowley. I’ve heard all about you.” She shook his hand. “I’m Frances, this one’s mum.”
“Good to meet you, Mrs…”
Oh, Fell, thank you. How respectful he is, ‘Zira! It’s lovely to meet you too, young man 3.”
After what felt like an eternity of listening to his mother make small talk, he was finally relieved of his temporary job, and properly greeted by two deep, amber eyes. The face which held them was framed by two long wavy strands of red, the rest of which were tied up lazily in a bun at the back of Crowley’s head. When their gazes met for the first time, they really didn’t let go for a good couple of seconds. They both froze, Aziraphale snapping back to reality as he felt his cheeks heating up.
“Hey, hi, uh, I’m Crowley. You knew that. At least, I’d hope. Er, I guess you’d hope that this was me, or else there would be some stranger in your flat, that’s no good. Ha. 4” He shoved his hands in his pockets, then made an
oh shit
kind of face, took them back out, wiped his right one on his shirt, and reached out for a handshake, and then he realized Aziraphale was still holding a box. “Oh, erm, sorry. Can I take that for you? Put it down somewhere?”
He smiled a smile that outshone the fluorescent light on the ceiling. “Oh, why thank you.” Then, they actually shook hands, and his heart thrummed in his chest. “I’m glad to meet you in person too, Crowley.”
A phone rang, effectively ruining the moment. Frances fished the culprit out from her purse. “Sorry, kid, it’s Gabe. Tell you what, you two chat, I’ll take this and get some more stuff from the car.”
“Ok, thanks, m-” she was already out the door. Aziraphale sighed. “Sorry about that. Gabe’s my brother.”
“Older or younger?”
“Older.”
“How much?”
He thought for a second. “Six years.”
“Any others?”
“Gabe’s the oldest, then the twins – Michael and Uriel – then me.”
“Ah, you’re the youngest. I’m an only child, me.”
Despite the topic of conversation perhaps being one of his least favorite – he detested Gabe – the smiles were natural. He was glad they were already clicking. “Ah, I envy you. Mine can be proper pains in my arse.”
Crowley picked Aziraphale’s box back up as he was talking. “What’s in here, then? ‘S heavy.”
“Hm? Ah, just my books.”
“Just? By the weight of this you’ve got loads of ‘em.”
He laughed. “Well, I had to pick my favorites, I couldn’t bring them all, of course. My collection at home is much more impressive.”
“I’m sure. I don’t read much, maybe you could give me a few recs sometime.” He started to walk off somewhere before seemingly remembering something and turning on his heel. “Oh, sorry, we’ll take these to your room, yeah?”
“Oh! Yes, of course. Sorry to make you hold them.”
“Nah, it’s alright, I’ve been carrying stuff all day.”
They started towards the unclaimed bedroom together. “Have you moved in yourself?”
“Yeah, drove here earlier, car’s out back. My dad had meetings, the usual. I’ve got everything in though.” He gently smacked himself on the forehead with the heel of his palm. “Oh, and I stopped for a Chinese takeaway. Got you some too, ‘s in the fridge, just took a wild guess on what you might like.”
He felt his cheeks warming again, the kindness having touched him. “Well thank you. I love Chinese.” He sat on his bed and bounced on it a few times. “How long was your drive?”
“‘Bout an hour and a half. I’m from London.”
“Ah, yes, I thought you’d said that. I’m from-”
“South Downs, yeah? Coastal area, sounds quite nice. Round Sussex? How far is that, about the same?”
He smiled widely, delighted that he had remembered. “Yes, all correct. What food did you get?”
“There’s a curry chicken and a veggie stir fry in there. You can have first pick. Or if neither of those sound good we can order something else. Oh, and rice, of course. And egg rolls. And prawn crackers. Might’ve went overboard. Well, we’ll have leftovers then, and that’s not bad at all. Or not, maybe we eat it all. Uh…”
There was a knock on the door, and Crowley interrupted himself to jump up and answer it, while Aziraphale stayed seated on his bed and tried to collect himself. 5 It wasn’t long at all before he heard one half of a conversation happening in the other room.
“No, dear, I- oh really, I don’t think- for god’s sake Gabe, I-” Aziraphale stepped into the room, and his mum looked at him regretfully. “I’m sorry, Z, it’s trouble with- Gabe! Calm down, please! This is not the end of the world, and I have bigger things to deal with at the moment! What do you mean what? I’m literally- Gabe, I’m helping your brother move into school- yes, I can see you forgot that was today. Please, get this under control, I’ll call you on the way home- yes- yes, alright. Ok, bye.” She shook her head, exasperatedly. “It’s the partner again. I swear, he’s thinking Bea is mad at him every other day.”
“What’d they do this time?”
She laughed, annoyedly. “They put a bottle of water into his lunch instead of an iced tea.”
Crowley cracked a smile, and Aziraphale looked over at him and did the same. “He is so ridiculous. I can’t believe a grown man needs his partner to pack his lunch.”
Frances shrugged. “Maybe it’s an American thing.”
“American?” Crowley raised an eyebrow.
“Let me get the rest of your things from the car. I’ll be back in a mo.”
Aziraphale looked at Crowley and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, once he and his partner got married, right after uni, they moved to the states together. I truly have no idea why. And he insists on trying to do the accent, too. He is such a bizarre man.”
“Sounds that way, I don’t really have the patience for…” he gestured around vaguely. “People.”
Aziraphale shrugged playfully. “Could’ve fooled me.” He sniggered a little bit.
Crowley tried to frown. “Shut up. Oh, I brought a few bottles. A red, I like red, and a white, if that’s more your style, and a bubbly one, y’know, sort of a celebratory thing.”
“Hm. Is the red sweet or dry?”
“It’s a cabernet sauvignon.”
“Well pour away, then.”
He smiled, and walked towards the other bedroom. “You’ve got good taste. Be right back.”
…
“You’ll call me if you need anything, yes?”
“Yes, I will.”
“And you’ll be smart?”
“Yes, mum, I’ll be fine.”
“Alright. I guess that’s all, then. Crowley, it was great to meet you. You be nice to my son now, alright?”
He nodded to her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Alright. Z, I love you. The house is gonna be so empty without you, you’re welcome home whenever you like.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a hug. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you then.”
“Don’t be a stranger, love. I’ve got to deal with your brother the next couple hours, but feel free to call anytime tonight.”
“Ok. Goodbye, mum.”
“Goodbye, dear.”
He let out a breath he hadn’t really realized he was holding.
“More wine, then?” Crowley asked not a moment too late.
“The sparkling, please.”
……
A week or so later
“Hey, Aziraphale.”
He turned his head to Crowley, who was draped casually in his doorway. “Yes?”
“Heard about a party at a house not too far away. Wanna go?”
He frowned. “I’m not sure if that’s really my… jam.”
“That’s alright, we can stay in, then. Want me to order anything?”
Aziraphale tried to keep to himself how much warmth ran through his chest. He wasn’t quite so used to being so… cared about. “Oh, it’s no trouble, you go on without me.”
“Nah. Not as fun alone.”
He tapped his lips with his finger, looking at the ceiling, in thought. “Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try and get out a bit. Yeah, let’s go to the party.”
He grinned. “I’ll get ready. We’re leaving at 10.”
…
“Primadonna girl, yeah, all I ever- hhh- world, can’t help that I- nnn- it all, the primadonna- rise- fall-”
Crowley clapped and hooted from his spot in the crowd. “Yeah, Aziraphale, go on!” He had on a black button-down shirt – with several buttons undone – with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had paired it with some black jeans and his usual boots, as well as a star earring dangling from his right ear and a little silver snake wrapped around his left middle finger. He also sported black sunglasses, which he insisted were because the bright lights gave him headaches. (It was true, but he also just thought they looked rather cool.)
“Well thank you! Oh, uh- someone else’s fault, got you wrapped around my finger, babe, you can count on- mmm- to misbehave, primadonna girl!” He soaked in the meager applause as the song wrapped up, and the sheer amount of people in the room made him seem to greatly regret his choice to wear a sweater. It was nice, though, a pleasant blue, which brought out his lovely eyes.
“YEAAAAAH, GOOD ONE!”
Aziraphale trotted over to Crowley. “This is fun.”
“Really? You’re liking it? Good, I’m glad. Ooh, let's do another to celebrate!”
“Another-” he watched Crowley’s somewhat uncontrolled hands grab a bottle off of a table and start pouring shots. “Oh, right, yes.”
He paused. “You want one? Sorry, don’t wanna push.”
“Yes, give it here.”
He flashed that dazzling smirk of his and extended the drink to his friend. “Here we are.” They tapped the rims of the plastic cups together, then downed the liquid inside. They both smiled at first, and then Crowley’s face twisted. “Eugh. Might be testing it a bit now.”
The other placed a concerned hand on his arm. “Oh, dear, are you alright?”
His face turned bright red 6. “I- uh- bathroom.”
“I think I saw one over here. Come, let's go.”
“Oh, you don’t have to-” An arm snaked around his waist, and his bright eyes opened wide at the contact. “Ngk. Ok.”
Crowley was helped down to his knees in front of the toilet as soon as they got there, and while his savior was locking the door, he absolutely spilled his guts. Some gentle fingertips traced shapes on his back until he stopped.
“How are you feeling?”
He winced as he tried to swallow through his now raw throat. “Peachy. Can we stay in here a bit? I’m feeling a little… yeah.”
“Of course. Between us, I was getting a tad overwhelmed anyway.”
Crowley’s face sank. “If you had told me, I would’ve gotten us out much sooner.”
“Oh, but you were having such fun.”
He fought off a grin as he stood and perched himself on the sink. “You’re really quite an angel.”
Aziraphale’s face lit up. “You’re too nice to me, really.”
He pursed his lips like he had just eaten a bit of lemon. “Nah, just nice enough, I think. Anyway, this is just as fun.”
“How do you mean?”
He cursed himself for saying something so saccharine 7. “Oh, uh, just that you’re a good conversationalist. Must be… uh… the books. Yeah.”
He giggled. Giggled. “Well, you’re easy to talk to.”
Alright, maybe Crowley had a little crush.
……
The end of summer, a few years later
“Hellooooooo!”
Aziraphale sprang up from his bookshelf with a huge smile on his face. “Oh, good, you’re finally here. I was just unpacking.”
Crowley ambled into the room in all of his black-clad glory. He perched his sunglasses on the top of his head of fiery hair, which was tied loosely into a braid. “Need any help?”
The room was a bit bigger than the one he had at their last flat, and he was having a field day deciding where to put all of his things. “Oh, I think I’m alright, but you know what you could do?”
He looked at his flatmate expectantly, though being confident he could guess what he was about to request, tapping his foot. “Hm?”
“Would you mind getting us something for dinner? I really have gotten quite-”
“Sushi’s on the table, angel.”
He turned from the books, giving his friend his full attention. “How did you know?” The shimmering delight of his face was undeniable. “Just what I wanted.”
“We’ve lived together three years-”
“Going on four.”
He chuckled. “Yes, going on four, I took an educated guess.”
“Well thank you. Did you get the-”
Crowley was already holding up a bottle of the brand of soy sauce that Aziraphale liked. “Figured you hadn’t gotten a chance to go to the store yet. We can go together later, if you want to, by the way.”
“You are the best.”
Somehow, in all this time, the words of affection that were fairly commonly directed his way hadn’t lost even a bit of their splendor. “Ngk. ‘S nothing. Eat up.”
- Although his brother is quite a dick, so it was probably his fault anyway, he thought. [go back]
- Which were made of sleek black leather, contrasting the overall beige-ness of the flat. [go back]
- Crowley grimaced at the use of the word man, but not enough for anyone to notice, not that Frances was really paying much attention, anyway. [go back]
- Most people would have immediately clocked Crowley as being quite flustered here, but Aziraphale was far too wrapped up in trying not to show his own reaction to the prolonged eye contact to really notice. [go back]
- Because his roommate was gorgeous, but he didn’t really think that was the sort of thing people were supposed to think about their roommates. [go back]
- Which, if he was asked about it, he would say was because of the heat in the room, and the lurching of his stomach, and absolutely nothing else. [go back]
- And so true. [go back]