Chapter Text
"I've done some research so you can sleep better."
The angel told the demon, and led him to the second floor of the used bookshop, a room that had been turned into Crowley's bedroom.
That was the beginning of the commotion.
Aziraphale was very worried about Crowley, who was suffering from insomnia.
A few years after the Armageddon incident, the lockdown due to the plague was lifted and life was finally returning to normal, and Crowley consulted the angel about the days when he "couldn't sleep for some reason." He could sleep. But he didn't feel refreshed when he woke up.
According to Crowley, he had been "sleeping lightly" for days, and he was so sleepless that he started to feel uncomfortable sleeping in Mayfair's bed - the wrinkles in the sheets and the plumpness of the pillow.
"You didn't sleep too much during the lockdown?" Aziraphale asked, and Crowley shook his head.
"Even after sleeping for nearly a century, I was able to sleep normally after that. I can't imagine that I would become insomniac after only a few months of sleep. To put it simply, it's like eating a meal at a fine restaurant and not feeling satisfied at all."
Then he sighed deeply.
Using the food example, Aziraphale was finally able to sympathize with Crowley's situation. How painful it is to feel unsatisfied even though you should be happy. He was also hurt by Crowley's nervous and tired state.
"Is it harassment from hell or stress? If I could find the cause, I could solve it, but I don't even know that, so that's the problem. There is no medicine that works on demons who suffer from insomnia."
Seeing Crowley muttering, Aziraphale decided to do something about it. Seeing Crowley in trouble was the most painful thing for Aziraphale.
For several weeks, Aziraphale continued to search through the documents in his collection, and finally came up with a solution.
***
"...So that's this magic circle and bed."
After hearing Aziraphale's explanation, Crowley looked back and forth between the floor and the bed (the bed was a brand new king-size bed prepared by Aziraphale). Having been brought to the room as soon as he arrived at the second-hand bookshop, he was still holding a bag of souvenir sweets (a new product from Aziraphale's favorite store).
"Do you think you can sleep?"
Aziraphale asked. "I copied a magic circle from a very old book onto the floor. It's said to be a spell that brings sound sleep. It's not... Heaven's work, so I don't think it will harm you."
He pointed to the pattern that was drawn all over the floor, surrounding the bed. It was the result of copying it with chalk overnight yesterday.
"You didn't have to go to all this trouble," the demon took a step back. "It's still morning."
"Your happiness is my happiness. But look, it seems to have had an effect already."
Perhaps due to lack of sleep for days, Crowley was yawning.
"Well, I'll take you up on that offer. I'll borrow your bed." Crowley handed Aziraphale the gift bag, snapped his fingers, changed into his pajamas, and approached the bed.
"Goodnight, Crowley. Sweet dreams."
After making sure that Crowley had his head on the pillow, the angel gently closed the door.
Around noon, a small figure approached Aziraphale, who was reading a book in the bookshop downstairs. When Aziraphale looked down, he saw a black cat sniffing around him.
"Hey, Crowley. What's wrong? Why are you looking like that?"
Aziraphale knew that Crowley would choose the black cat form. So he called out to him, but the moment the cat turned around, he realized he had the wrong person, the wrong demon, no, the wrong cat. The cat had blue eyes. Crowley had yellow eyes even in cat form, so this cat was not Crowley.
"Sorry, Crowley... I mistook you for a demon. Where did you come in from?"
The shop had been closed since this morning, so it couldn't have been the entrance.
The black cat ignored Aziraphale and started staring at the ceiling.
Aziraphale then asked, "Since you're a black cat, are you Crowley's friend or familiar?" He didn't think the cat would reply, but he asked just to be sure. If it was Crowley's familiar or acquaintance, Aziraphale would have to take care of it while Crowley was sleeping.
Aziraphale looked into the cat's eyes again. He couldn't explain it well, but he thought it was different from an ordinary cat. At least it wasn't a messenger from heaven. And it didn't smell like hell either.
"Who are you?"
The cat didn't answer the question, and started walking away from Aziraphale. When it reached the foot of the stairs, it started to climb. Aziraphale slowly followed behind. It doesn't seem like a dangerous creature, but it would be troublesome if it disturbed Crowley's peaceful sleep.
"Do you want to come in?"
When Aziraphale caught up with him, the cat was standing in front of the door to the room where Crowley was sleeping, looking up at the doorknob. The only thing inside the room was Aziraphale's treasures.
"Look, isn't it cute?"
As soon as he opened the door, Aziraphale spoke to the cat. He didn't say out loud that he was his pride and joy, but he still wanted to brag about it, even if it was a cat.
"If you were Crowley's familiar or an acquaintance, you might have slept with Crowley..." The cat just glanced in Crowley's direction, but didn't come near him.
"As long as you're careful of this magic circle, you're free to come and go as you please."
He called out to the cat. If he damaged the magic circle, the spell that allowed Crowley to sleep peacefully would be broken.
"I want Crowley to stay here forever..."
This time, he was talking to himself, not to the cat.
Crowley sometimes distances himself from Aziraphale. A few months ago, he seemed to have gone out somewhere, and he didn't contact Aziraphale or invite him to lunch. During that time, Aziraphale was anxious, and when he finally met Crowley again, he was so happy that he glowed.
Although the frequency of their meetings increased after Armageddon and the lockdown, Aziraphale honestly wanted to spend more time with Crowley. Deep down, Aziraphale knows that Crowley's bedroom was created out of a possessive desire to "have Crowley by his side." If Crowley is by his side, Aziraphale will not be unable to contact him.
"It's not like once in a hundred years like before, so maybe I'm just asking too much."
This was said to the cat. However, the cat looked up at the tower of books and did not answer the angel.
"Are you interested in books?" he whispered to the cat, trying not to wake Crowley. He realized that it would be troublesome if the cat climbed the tower of books. The tower might collapse and hit Crowley. Aziraphale, panicked, said, "Let's go back down," and picked up the black cat and took him away.
The angel did not notice that the black cat he was holding was staring at the window.
The sun set before long. The cat did not have a collar, but its fur was well groomed, so it must have an owner. Aziraphale, who could not miss the chance to do a good deed, picked up a pen.
"I'm looking after a black cat. Blue eyes. No collar. A.Z. Fell"
He wrote it on the back of the wrapping paper and stuck it on the door of the bookshop.
"I hope this helps." Crowley would have used an efficient method to find the owner, but since he was asleep, that was not an option.
"I'll open the shop tomorrow, as my owner may come." Then he called out to the black cat,
"Where would you like to sleep tonight?" As usual, the black cat did not reply to Aziraphale, but just stared at the paper.