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A few months after Crowley kissed Aziraphale in a desperate attempt to keep him here, Aziraphale couldn't take it anymore. He had to see Crowley. A certain fire burned in him and he thought he could ignore it, or it would at least lessen after a while. But it just didn't. It kept growing and growing. eating his every being alive the longer they were apart. It was breaking Aziraphale, pushing his limits, there was no question anymore. He had to see Crowley. His feelings were still difficult to process, but he was better than he was before.
Aziraphale, now standing in the elevator down to Earth, was tapping his foot anxiously. He left quite abruptly, but he didn't think anyone noticed. But really, he had run out and EVERYONE noticed. They just didn't care enough to stop him, or even acknowledge him. When did they ever?
The elevator dinged.
The doors opened.
He was back on Earth.
He walked out very nonchalantly as if he didn't want to scream Crowley's name and sprint every which way in an attempt to find him. Aziraphale studied his surroundings for a quick moment, realizing he had entered the wrong elevator and was quite a few blocks away from his bookshop. He knew he couldn't go back, so he began to walk in the direction of his shop.
After walking for a while, Aziraphale noticed the sky growing darker and was puzzled for a moment, as it was still the afternoon. A drop of rain suddenly fell onto his nose, then 2 more on his cheeks, until it started to pour. Everyone was running to get inside to their homes, or under a terrace. Aziraphale started to run to, wanting to get to his bookshop so achingly bad. Then he ran into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry, are you alright?" Aziraphale asked the poor person that he ran into, dark, baggy clothing covering their entire body, a soaked hood over their face. Aziraphale felt an odd sense of familiarity, and when this person spoke up, he knew exactly who it was.
"A-Aziraphale?" Crowley stuttered, lifting the hood off of his face to reveal his messy red hair, longer than Aziraphale had seen in years. It hung in front of her face, covering those yellow eyes Aziraphale missed so much.
"Crowley? Oh, Crowley!" Aziraphale grinned, tears forming in his eyes, threatening to drop at any moment.
"I can't believe it's you." They both said in unison, Aziraphale saying it with a grin he hadn't worn since they parted, while Crowley said it with the frown that came with Aziraphale's departure. Tears begin to stream down Crowley's cheeks, his mouth slightly agape.
"W-why are you h-here? Shouldn't you be shouldn't you be with the 'good guys'?" Crowley angrily stutters, their balled-up hands diving into their pockets. They look out at the rain, unable to stare at Aziraphale any longer.
"O-oh Crowley… I- I'm so sorry, I didn’t-" Aziraphale tries to explain, "Didn't what? Think?" Crowley snapped, and Aziraphale was slightly taken aback, a hand going to his chest slowly. "I, I didn't. Oh, l-look at you, god what have I done?" Aziraphale steps closer to Crowley, but she backs away, eyes shutting closed. "I've left you here, all alone."
"Not alone, actually. Muriel took care of me, and your bookshop, while you were gone." Crowley's posture slouches more.
"Still, I've left you here. Crowley, I- I cannot tell you how sorry I am. And I know- you don’t want to hear it. I know you will never take me back but it would kill me if you never knew I feel the same. I realize now you thought when I asked you back to heaven, I feel like we had a huge miscommunication. I think you thought I was trying to change you back to an angel. I'm not, I love you for who you are. I wouldn't dare to change you, ever. I just- I wanted to give you your stars back. The ones you created all those centuries ago." Hot tears stream down Aziraphale's face.
Crowley's expression changed entirely. His demeanor was different now, His eyes became softer, and he finally turned to Aziraphale. "R-really?" Aziraphale shuddered in the cold, "Yes! Yes yes yes yes! I couldn't imagine you not being you! If I changed you, you wouldn't be you anymore! Why do you think I've stuck by you all these years?! Because you are different!" Aziraphale's hands are around Crowley's now, both of them shaking due to the cold.
"Crowley- Crowley I love you, I always have. Ever since I first saw you. When the stars in the sky erupted, all I could look at was, was you, dear boy. I-" Aziraphale is cut off by Crowley's lips on his. Aziraphale puts a hand on Crowley's waist and moves them closer. The cluttering sound of rain around them begins to lessen and they both turn to realize the rain has now stopped. Both of them are quite damp, but not entirely soaked luckily.
Then, they suddenly hear a voice in the distance. "Crowley! There you-" It was Muriel. They run next to the lovers and smile widely at Aziraphale, "Oh! Hello Aziraphale!!" Aziraphale smiled at them, "Hello again, Muriel! I hear you have been taking great care of Crowley and my bookshop?" Muriel smiled brightly, "Yes!!! Crowley taught me just how to do everything, and when I couldn't remember any of it, he made me a small book on how to do everything!"
Aziraphale smiled at Crowley and spoke softly, holding her hand, "You- you made a book on how to take care of my books?" Crowley shrugged and blushed a bit. "It's nothin' much, just scribbled down some stuff I always noticed you'd do and gave it to them."
Muriel had been searching their pockets for a little now, and then they pulled out a small book. It was a nice, brown, leather-bound book with gold engravings. It read, 'Aziraphale's Bookshop: How to Take Care of It. By Anthony J. Crowley'
Crowley chuckled softly as Aziraphale studied the book, carefully skimming through it, the tips of his fingers turning the pages carefully. Tears began to form in Aziraphale's eyes and Crowley started to become worried until Aziraphale spoke again.
"Oh- oh Crowley this is wonderful..." He sounded so happy, so gleeful, it made Crowley feel like he was glowing.
"Glad you like it, angel," And Aziraphale beamed. He hadn't heard that in too long.