Chapter Text
The back door of the bookshop slammed shut. Aziraphale sat on the doorstep, crossed his arms, and huffed loudly. He stewed with his thoughts until he noticed movement. He smiled.
“Hello again,” Aziraphale called.
A ruddy cat with long, elegant features sauntered towards him. He—Aziraphale had decided he was a he—seemed too well-kept to be a stray cat, but he would curiously visit Aziraphale's back alley from time to time.
“You always seem to visit me when I’ve had a rotten day of some kind.”
The cat sniffed his offered fingers, rubbed against them, and sat next to him, lazily peering at the surroundings.
Aziraphale took a long, measured breath. “It’s my friend again. He got huffy with me. Again.”
The cat flicked his ear, not even feigning interest. Nevertheless, Aziraphale continued.
“It's not like we were even arguing about anything, at first. I just wanted to…”
Aziraphale sighed, counting the events back. “I did his temptation in Epsom so that I could catch a show in the Palladium, while he did my blessing in Middlesbrough. I tempted his target to gamble while he was supposed to go and bless a new soup kitchen. Instead, he blessed some old man!”
Aziraphale huffed, half amused. “After I'd gotten properly riled up, he explained why. The man had grown poorly but thrived later in life. He funded not only the soup kitchen but also multiple other charity projects. Crowley truly did more with less.”
The cat let out a small, gravely mrrp, and Aziraphale obligingly petted him, scratching behind his ears and under his chin. The cat stretched his neck into Aziraphale's hand, closing his eyes in pure bliss.
“He looked so pleased with himself! It was contagious. I forgot to keep my joy to myself, I told him how he's nice and clever and… Well, he didn't react very nicely at all.”
The pleasant night had got abruptly turned into a bickering match that had ended with a demon storming out and an angel smoothing his metaphysically ruffled feathers.
“Why won’t he get it into that mule-stubborn head of his that a compliment won’t discorporate him? He's the clever one out of the two of us—look at him, he's doing my job better than I've ever managed!”
Aziraphale focused on petting the cat's silky smooth fur before continuing. “I’m fairly certain he would grow a third wing if I were to be so direct, but I wish he would know that, that even if no one else is, that I…” Aziraphale lowered both his head and his voice. “That I’m proud of him.”
The cat under Aziraphale's arm stiffened, but he didn't notice, deep in his thoughts.
“Always been, ever since before… Well, before. And I can never tell that to him.”
Aziraphale’s hand stopped, and he gave a small, joyless chuckle. “But what would I know? No one’s ever… I mean. I’m fulfilling Her mission on Earth, aren’t I? I should be grateful—I am! Bursting with heavenly pride, me. Sometimes, maybe a bit too much.”
Aziraphale pulled his hands to himself, held them against his knees, and looked at his palms.
“I’ve… I’ve said some abhorrent things to him. More than some. He, he should know how it is! We’re never safe to just… mingle. But I'm afraid I've laid it too thick. I've tried apologising but he always shoos me off, saying it's fine. I know him, I—I know it's not fine.”
His voice was only a whisper now. “Maybe… maybe he doesn’t believe me? When I give him a sincere compliment—Because I don't have his trust?”
His lower lip quivered. “I, I don’t know how to fix t-that—oh…”
Aziraphale’s voice broke, and he pressed his palms to his eyes, hard enough to see stars. The dull ache was preferable to the alternative, which he was desperately attempting to staunch.
He felt pressure against his thigh, and something tickled his hands. Through the roar of blood in his ears, he heard… A croak?
Aziraphale startled, moving his hands to stare right into the cat’s yellow eyes. Front paws on his thigh, he was pushing his head against Aziraphale’s hands repeatedly. The cat meowed—or tried to, his voice was so raspy. His tail was swishing about restlessly as he was intently staring at him.
It was befuddling enough to rouse Aziraphale out of his funk. He took a sudden, shuddering breath. “I’m fine. I’m fine! Everything will be fine. Tickety-boo,” he muttered, attempting to smile.
Aziraphale took a few calming breaths while petting the cat crowding him. He seemed to calm down, too. What an extraordinary cat.
“Thank you, my dear. You remind me of my friend; you’re so kind.”
Suddenly, the cat jumped off and ran back into the shadows.
“Fickle creatures,” Aziraphale said fondly and went back in.