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Traveling through India had been an inspired idea.
"It's turning out to be quite the culinary delight." Aziraphale thought. He mentally thanked Crowley once again for tempting...no, no, no, that was the wrong word. Enticed? No, that wasn't right either. The angel glanced skyward, tense that just thinking of Crowley and their...collaborations would get him into trouble. Time passed and nothing happened. The angel eased just a bit and began wandering the Agra street market again.
Aziraphale popped the last of the samosas that he had bought in his mouth as he tried to think of the right word for whatever it was Crowley seemed to be doing to him. He gave a satisfied hum at the blend of flavors.
"Indians are certainly ahead of the game with spices. I do hope it catches on. The possibilities are endless." The angel thought.
Both Crowley and Aziraphale marvelled at human ingenuity at times. Aziraphale had a particular affinity for cuisine and music.
Aziraphale wandered past the stalls finding all sorts of diversions. As he went, he had to stop and try as many different foods as he could, always bestowing blessings to each merchant. Along the way, the angel realized he could hear music. It was so unique he looked around for the source. A few stalls down from where he was was a man sitting cross legged on the ground in front of his business and he was playing a flute type instrument. The angel drew near to get a closer look. The music itself was rudimentary but the sound fascinated the angel. With a glance and a few questions, Aziraphale realized that the man was selling these instruments (the merchant called it a pungi) and he was demonstrating them. The angel quickly bought one and paid the man handsomely for a quick lesson on how to use it. After blessing the man's music Aziraphale dashed off to try his hand at it.
It was early afternoon so there wasn't much in the way of shade yet, but Aziraphale managed to find a spot by a stall that was selling crockery wares. The sun would soon be behind the structure affording the angel some comforting shade. Thus satisfied, Aziraphale sat down cross legged like he had seen the merchant do to the left of the shack next to some clay pots. The angel wiggled in anticipation. He put the instrument to his lips and blew. The first few minutes were certainly less impressive than what he had heard the merchant produce.
The angel didn't realize that his noise making was causing a stir. Inside one of the clay pots on the ground beside the angel was a certain snake that had his nap interrupted. The snake stirred and rose up just high enough to see what was causing all the racket. He was pleasantly surprised to see the angel again. He wasn't so happy about the noise.
Aziraphale, unaware that he was being observed, dropped the pungi into his lap in frustration. The snake chuckled to himself. If anyone had seen the snake they might have said that it looked to them like the snake nodded towards the man sitting next to him. And Aziraphale was too engrossed in trying to figure out this instrument to hear the sound of a miracle.
The angel sighed and picked the pungi back up, determined to give it another go. To his astonishment and utter delight the music was better than before, much better. Not to sound too prideful but Aziraphale thought it might even be just a tad better than the merchant had been.
"Oh, I do believe I've finally gotten the hang of this." He said grinning from ear to ear. Beside him, still as yet unseen, a snake smiled.
As the angel played, the snake rose up out of the pot so the angel would finally see him, and he was, for lack of a better term, dancing to the angels music. The red and black snake swayed rhythmically keeping his yellow eyes trained on the angel. Seeing the snake almost caused Aziraphale to drop the instrument again.
"Crowley!" He exclaimed. Then he lowered his voice. "What on earth..."
The snake simply rose up another inch higher to reach the end of the instrument and tap it up, then looked expectantly back to the angel.
Aziraphale looked back and forth from the instrument to Crowley for a moment before he got the message.
"You...you want me to keep playing?" Aziraphale asked tentatively. The snake gave a slight nod.
The angel cleared his throat, unsure. He put the instrument back to his lips and with an encouraging nod from the snake, he began playing again. Crowley and the angel kept their eyes fixed on one another, seeming to forget the world around them and the small crowd they were beginning to draw.
Aziraphale played and Crowley danced, all the while watching only each other.
Slowly Crowley danced closer to Aziraphale and began winding his body around the angels upper arm. Aziraphale's eyes go wide and his music momentarily falters at the demons touch. Crowley makes his way up to Aziraphale's shoulder. The snake flicks out his tongue into Aziraphale's ear. The angel shivered. The snake slithered over the back of Aziraphale's neck to the other side. Crowley flicked out his tongue again, this time to Aziraphale's neck.
Once again, the angel's music stuttered. He had to concentrate hard on the music to avoid thinking about the fact that, had Crowley been in his human corporation, that could have been a feather light kiss.
Crowley made his way down Aziraphale's chest into his lap and then back over to the clay pot he had come out of. Once he was out of sight Aziraphale stopped playing. He dropped his hands into his lap and just stared at the pot where Crowley was.
The crowed cheered and threw coins on the ground at Aziraphale's feet, finally drawing the angel's attention. He quickly scrambled to his feet. He picked up the coins and tried to return them but the people would have none of it. They simply begged him to accept the money and their reverence and asked him to spare their land. With the angel's assurance that he had no ill will towards their people, they bowed and took their leave.
Aziraphale snatched up the pot with Crowley in it, paid the merchant for it and headed to the nearest tavern.
Sometime later, Aziraphale and Crowley, now in his human corporation, were sitting together in the back corner of the sharing a meal.
"What were you doing in that clay pot of all places?" Aziraphale asked.
Crowley shrugged then readjusted himself more comfortably. "Well, they hold heat really well, even after the sun is gone."
"Oh, I see," said the angel. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes drinking before Crowley spoke up.
"What brings you to this part of the world anyway, Angel?" Crowley asked.
"I had some work to do nearby and when that was done I decided, since I was in the area, you see, that I should try some of the Indian food. I had heard about all the things they had come up with and was simply fascinated. I mean, the Indian people are a clever lot as far as food goes and..."
Crowley couldn't help but smile as Aziraphale rattled on. This was the result of Crowley's favorite temptation. It wasn't so much the fact that he had successfully tempted an angel, but that he had helped the angel realize the pleasure of being on earth among humans. It was worth it if the the angel enjoyed himself.
"Isn't it fascinating how you can take the same food and prepare it any number of ways based on region, developing culture, even religious beliefs?" Aziraphale commented.
"Personally," said Crowley with an air of boredom, "I'm more interested in drink than in food."
Aziraphale gave his companion a pointed look. "Of course you would be." Aziraphale never understood why Crowley never ate, since he was the one to get the angel to try food in the first place.
At one point, the proprietor of the tavern came to refill their drinks.
"Have you heard?" The man said by way of conversation.
"Heard what?" Crowley asked.
"There are rumors about town that there is man with incredible power in our midst. They say that he has been traveling from town to town doing all kinds of magic. He even has the power to control a dangerous snake, right here in our town. Saw it with my own eyes right out there in the market place. Charmed the snake to his will."
Aziraphale tried to hide his giggle behind his glass. Crowley just raised an eyebrow at him.
The proprietor lowered his voice. "No one knows what to make of such a powerful man among us. We don't know if it's a good omen or not."
"Oh, definitely good, I assure you."
The man just shook his head, not knowing what to think and carried their dinner dishes back to the kitchen.
As he left Crowley noticed that the angel was looking every bit of guilty innocence.
"Out with it, Angel. What have you been up to?"
"I really don't know what you mean." Aziraphale answered innocently.
Crowley snorted. "Then let me guess. If I know you," the demon began looking hard at the angel, "you've been going round sampling any goody you can get your hands on...and you just can't resist blessing and healing when your're stuffed to the hilt of food and happy as can be."
Aziraphale felt transparent, and a bit embarrassed. The demon did know him through and through. A strange thrill ran through the angel at being so familiar.
"Well, I....I mean...I'm an angel. That's what we do, blessing and healing, I mean."
"And what of the food?" Crowley asked, grinning.
"Well....If I'm going to living among the humans for the duration, then it stands to reason that I should partake." Aziraphale argued, then he brightened by an idea. "It would be rude not to and that is definitely unbecoming of an angel." He sat up straighter to accentuate his point.
Crowley looked unconvinced. "Right." He said, deciding to let that slide...for now. There were bigger fish to fry right at the moment and he was enjoying this immensely. "And what about this...rumor?" Crowley questioned significantly.
At first, Aziraphale tried to act as if it were all fresh news to him, but Crowley's penetrating gaze wasn't letting him off the hook that easy. Crowley kept staring at him from behind dark shades until the angel was squirming.
"Alright, alright." The poor angel finally blurted out. "I may have gotten carried away a few times along the way." He finished quietly, looking around nervously, as if confessing to a great crime.
Crowley grinned. The details weren't exactly necessary but he was sure they would be interesting all the same. But some other time. "So," he began slowly as if he were just now thinking this through, "you're not going to correct them, you're just going to let them keep thinking..." He trailed off.
"Well if you must know, I was doing quite a bit of miracles at the time. Some of them couldnt be easily explained away and before I knew it the rumors had spread before I could do much about it. And you know how hard damage control is on something like that?"
"Why don't you admit it, Angel? You were too busy sampling to pay attention to the rumors." Crowley accused light heartedly.
"I most certainly was not! As it happens, it is ill mannered for an angel to engage in...gossip."
"Whatever you say, Angel." Crowley relented, taking a long drink. The next several hours passed quickly in conversation about respective jobs they had, where all they had traveled, what they had seen, the progress of humanity, etc.
Several times during the course of the evening when the angel wasn't regaling Crowley with something new that humans had come up with in other parts of the world, Crowley noticed that Aziraphale would stare off into space and absently touch his neck where Crowley had flicked his tongue. Crowley hoped that doing so hadn't left a hellish burn. He would have healed it for the angel if it had but he didn't know how to ask if it had so he let it pass.
When the establishment was ready to close for the evening the proprietor shooed them out after they hastily paid their bill. They walked down the now dark street without any real destination in mind, but both reluctant to say goodbye just yet.
"Well...," began Aziraphale to fill the silence, but he didn't know what else to say now.
The demon eyed the angel as they walked and then stopped and just kept looking at Aziraphale with a speculative look on his face.
Aziraphale noticed that Crowley had stopped and turned to face him. "What's wrong?" He asked.
Crowley cleared his throat before he spoke. "Angel, what if...what if we kept traveling together and kept up this charade of some sort of medicine man?" Crowley watched carefully and hopefully as Aziraphale seriously considered the offer. It gave Crowley courage to continue. "I mean you could always continue your blessings and I could tell my side that I was thwarting you by getting the locals to worship an animal or something. They always seem to like that bit."
"Well, I..." Aziraphale was momentarily flustered. Then he gathered himself and, putting his hands behind his back, said, "yes, I believe that would be agreeable...just to keep an eye on the enemy and his plans, you understand." He finished, growing serious, but he and Crowley both knew it was all part of their understood 'plausible deniability.'
Crowley was grinning again. He closed the distance between them and patted Aziraphale on the shoulder.
"I'm charmed, Angel."
Now the the angel and demon were both smiling and talking as they walked on into the night.