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“Well, that could've been worse.” Aziraphale sighed.
“It could've been better.” Crowley complained.
“What matters is that everything worked out though, right?”
“Of course. It always works out in the end.”
Aziraphale took a deep breath and nodded.
Crowley looked at him for a moment, as his mind began to wonder.
After everything they'd been through in the last few years, he wondered if they'd ever get an opportunity to rest.
Sure, this seemed like the end, but who's to say the world wouldn't be set on fire tomorrow? Or a plague wouldn't break out? No one had a clue what God was planning, so how would they even know if they made it tomorrow?
It just seemed logical to make the best of today, to make the best of everyday, really.
“Angel,” Crowley began.
“Yes, dear?” Aziraphale turned to face him, the relaxed expression on his face making the demon suddenly a little nervous.
“Well, y'know, I've been thinking… We're always getting mixed up with affairs from our old lot…”
“Yes, quite often, we are.”
“And well, there's no guarantee for tomorrow, really?”
“What are you getting at, my dear?”
“Well,” Crowley nervously paced around, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I… If there's no guarantee for tomorrow, I'd at least like to spend today with you.”
Aziraphale chuckled softly, walking closer to Crowley.
“That's awfully sweet of you.”
“Oh shut it, you.” He tutted, giving the angel a playful eyeroll, but he felt his face grow slightly warm.
“So, what are you suggesting?” Aziraphale asked.
“Well, I never did take you on that picnic.”
Aziraphale beamed from ear to ear, smiling so bright, Crowley thought he might go blind.
“I thought you'd never ask.”
“Perfect, because I think I know a place. It might be a bit of a drive, though.”
They got into the Bentley, Crowley not even needing to turn the key as it began to drive off.
A quiet piano melody started playing from the speakers, a tune not usually played in the car.
“Oh, you changed it.” the angel pointed out.
“I didn't, actually.” the demon admitted.
That certain night, the night we met…
There was magic abroad in the air…
There were angels dining at the Ritz…
And a nightingale sang in Barkley square…
It was their song.
Of course, neither of them had ever outright said it was their song to each other, not really anyway. It just was, and they both independently knew that.
Over the years, this song had played in each other's company, and the two of them would turn and smile when the other wasn't looking, listening to the relatable lyrics.
But tonight, they both happened to look at the same time.
They were both slightly caught off guard, not expecting the other to be looking back at them. They both looked away quickly, feeling their cheeks grow warm with bashful embarrassment.
Aziraphale smiled awkwardly when he looked
away, fidgeting with the hem of his waistcoat.
“This song plays a lot for us, doesn't it?” Aziraphale pointed out in an attempt to break the silence.
“Im afraid I hadn't noticed.” Crowley lied, keeping his eyes on the road and nervously away from Aziraphale.
"Oh come now, you can't be that unobservant to the music that has played around you.”
“Dunno what to tell you, angel. I guess I just don't notice little things like that as much as you do.”
Aziraphale's smile faded, he thought the two had mutually decided this was their song without ever saying it, but now he was having his doubts.
He slumped back in the seat, looking out at London's streets through the window.
“I guess not…”
Crowley looked at Aziraphale, the angel's expression giving him a sudden pang of remorse. He looked back at the road, trying to think of a way to apologize while still being cool and nonchalant about it.
As he brainstormed, the car honked on its own, almost as if it was urging Crowley to say something.
“Yeah, yeah, I'm on it!” He hissed quietly to the car.
Aziraphale looked back at him as he conversed with his own vehicle, causing Crowley to forget what he rehearsed in his head, and end up not sounding like the smooth and nonchalant demon he thought he was.
“Uh– well- ngk– just– okay, maybe I noticed a little… Y'know, maybe once or twice…”
Aziraphale smiled, feeling that warmth come back to his face, and feeling a little in his heart too.
“You know, you're not as mean as you say you are.” He said with so much sweet and adoring affection, Crowley thought he might get cavities.
“Yeah, yeah, save it.” He mumbled under his breath, along with a string of constants that were too hard to decipher, but Aziraphale could see how hard he was trying not to smile.
They continued to chat the rest of the car ride until they got to their destination, mostly talking about their former jobs, how much they don't miss working there, and how they hope they won't have to deal with them ever again.
The demon parked somewhere secluded, wanting to choose a spot in the park that no one else was at. He then locked the Bentley once they were both out.
“Oh, I recognize this place,” Aziraphale said as he was exiting the car. “South Downs National Park.”
“I thought it'd be nice here. A lot of places to watch a good sunset I thought.”
“But why here specifically?” The angel asked. “There are many other parks closer to London.”
“Well, yes…” Crowley agreed, a hand nervously scratching the back of his head. “It's just that… You always talk about what a nice place it would be to live, and… I dunno, I guess I thought you'd like to visit.”
Aziraphale was so endeared, he felt like squealing and kissing the demon a million times over and over, but he restrained himself.
“My dear, that's so thoughtful.” He beamed, holding his hands close to his chest like he was trying to stop it from leaping out.
“Alright, alright… enough of that…” The demon said dismissively, acting as if he didn't absolutely adore Aziraphale's compliments.
Side by side they walked, Crowley peeking over at Aziraphalel during their travel along the path to find a picnic spot, watching the serene look on the angel's face as he carefully paced along the path, his hands neatly collapsed over each other.
Once the two had reached a hill, Aziraphale stopped, deciding this was a good place to sit, so they could watch the sunset like Crowley wanted.
“This seems like a good spot, shall we start our picnic?”
“Hm? Oh, right, the whole reason we're here.” Crowley remembered, getting a little distracted.
In that moment, it finally occurred to Crowley it was probably not a good idea to spontaneously suggest something he had not at all planned for prior, as they had brought no picnic supplies with them.
“Er, I just realised we didn't bring anything…”
“Wait, didn't you plan this prior?” Aziraphale questioned.
“Not really, it was just a spur of the moment thing.”
“And it only just now occurred to you?” Aziraphale huffed, getting a little irritated.
“Angel, what part of ‘spur of the moment’ aren't you getting? You really think I'd have time to plan something like this ahead of time with how busy we've been the past few days!? And furthermore, you think I'd walk out of the car without a basket of food or something?”
“I don't know, I guess I wasn't thinking that far ahead!”
“Well, that makes two of us!”
As if the weather was chained to their emotions, rain suddenly and pattered down around them, dampening the grass beneath their feet.
Aziraphale looked up as the rain grew stronger, big droplets rolling down his face.
Without a second thought, he unfolded his wings out to shelter Crowley, only to realise the demon had prepared to do the same thing, when their feathers intertwined with each other.
“Oh, sorry–” they both gasped at the same time, talking over each other, chuckling bashfully as they attempted to untangle themselves out of the other's wing.
Once they untangled themselves out of the other's wing, they created a makeshift canopy of feathers by overlapping their wings over the other.
“There we go.” Aziraphale smiled, and almost as if it was contagious, Crowley found himself smiling too.
The demon stared into angelic blue eyes, completely losing himself in the starry shape that they reflected.
The angel reached out, removing the glasses from Crowley's face, so he could stare into golden-yellow eyes. Crowley seemed to find them a burden, but Aziraphale loved his eyes, he couldn't get enough of them.
They were like rich pools of honey, glowing amber when they caught the sunlight, they were like sunlight themself, really. To him, they were perfect, more than perfect, too beautiful to describe, almost…
Aziraphale gasped, “ineffable.”
“What?” Crowley asked, being finally brought back to reality after losing himself in pale blue eyes.
“Oh, it all makes sense now…” The angel chuckled quietly, shaking his head lightly.
“What? What makes sense?” Crowley questioned, growing more and more confused.
“too extraordinary to be put into words: ineffable.”
“But, what is ineffable!?”
Aziraphale put warm hands on the demon's cold cheeks, and without thinking, brought him to his lips in a soft kiss.
The demon gasped softly, and felt as if time itself stopped. It felt like little fireworks went off through his body, and his nerves were set alight. His heart raced and his face felt hot. Was this what dying felt like?
He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Aziraphale to bring him closer instinctively. And when Aziraphale pulled away, both their hands remained where they were, like they were now forever glued to one another.
Crowley looked at Aziraphale in mild shock, eyes wide and pupils dilated like a cat.
“Oh, wow… Ineffable.” He muttered.
Aziraphale smiled at him, before his smile quickly turned into a look of guilt.
“Sorry for getting mad at you… I know you just wanted to do something nice for me, so it was rather rude of me to shout at you like that.”
“Nah, I deserved it. I shouldn't have invited you to something I hadn't prepared for whatsoever.” The demon admitted, and the angel scrunched his nose in disagreement that he deserved it. “Oh, although I think I have wine in our car, if you wanted to share that? There's no point having a picnic now it's raining.”
“Aw, you called it our car…” Aziraphale cooed, smiling brightly for the fifth time that day and nearly stopping the rain with his brightness alone.
“Yeah… I supposed it was time I gave into that label,” he said nonchalantly as if that wasn't such a big deal to either of them. “As long as you don't go turning her yellow again, got it?”
Aziraphale felt so giddy, he thought he might jump out of his skin. Wiggling from side to side would have to do though.
“I want to kiss you again.” He said way too excitedly he nearly squeaked.
“Oh– ngk- um, alright.” Crowley muttered, being quite taken aback by the request. Without missing a beat, he gave the demon another soft kiss to the lips, holding onto his cheeks as he did so.
“I guess I'm going to have to get used to that now.” Crowley smiled nervously, still flustered over the first time Aziraphale kissed him.
“And I'm never going to get over that feeling.” Aziraphale said adoringly, still holding onto Crowley’s face.
“I suppose that makes two of us.” the demon admitted, chuckling slightly out of surprise.
He paused for a second, just living in the moment. If it was up to him, this is how he'd live the rest of his life, just spending eternity with his best friend– no, with the love of his life, his angel, his eternity.
“So, shall we have that wine, then?” Aziraphale asked.
The demon smiled and nodded, and they headed back to the car, the clouds still pouring down with rain.
Once Crowley got the wine out of the Bentley, he got out and shut the door. Aziraphale looked at him with slight confusion, meeting him at his side again.
“We aren't having it in the car? It's pouring down with rain right now, there won't be anywhere to sit.”
The demon looked at the angel, then smirked like he had something on his mind.
“Nah, because I have an idea.” Crowley then held both of Aziraphale's hands very tightly.
“Wait, what are you—” Crowley spread his wings out and flew above the clouds, away from the rain before Aziraphale even had the chance to finish his sentence.
“Crowley!” Aziraphale gasped. “You should really warn someone before grabbing them and flying away like that!”
“But then that'd ruin the surprise, wouldn't it, angel?” Crowley snorted.
The angel tutted and rolled his eyes, only then realising he was holding onto Crowley's waist and quickly let go as he unfurled his own wings.
“Fiend.” Aziraphale scoffed.
“Angel.” Crowley said sweetly, treating the insult like a pet name.
Aziraphale didn't look impressed.
“Why did you bring us up here, anyway?”
“To have our picnic away from the rain.”
“And what? You just expect to find a tall tree to sit in or something.”
“I don't think trees actually get this high, angel.” The demon pointed out as he literally sat on the clouds they were flying above.
Taking this opportunity to get relaxed, he sprawled his limbs out all over the place, almost in a way that looked like he wasn't used to having them.
Aziraphale gave Crowley a flabbergasted look, nearly flinching out of surprise.
“I didn't know you could do that!?” Aziraphale exclaimed in surprise.
“You didn't!?” Crowley asked with the same taken aback intrigue Aziraphale did.
“Not in the slightest! Has this always been a thing we can do?”
“As far as I'm aware,” the demon said with a shrug. “How have you not known?”
“Well, no one really expects clouds to be a sittable surface, now do they? I mean, humans certainly can't sit on them.”
“But we're not humans, are we, angel?” Crowley argued.
“I suppose we aren't.”
Aziraphale paused, circling the cloud below him with his shoe and watching wisps of fog twirl upwards and encircle his leg.
He hesitated, ritualistically adjusted his waistcoat, and finally sat down beside Crowley, sitting politely on his knees.
“Oh, wow. It's… Not as fluffy as I expected. It's almost like you're just… Floating. Sitting on nothing.”
“Weird, isn't it? I was like that the first time I tried. You'll get used to it.”
“Mmh.” Aziraphale nodded, realizing there were a lot of things he was getting used to recently, and realizing that Ineffable feeling wasn't so different from the floating feeling when sitting in the sky. It felt scary, but safe, and new and exciting. If it was up to Aziraphale, he'd live in that feeling forever.
Aziraphale silently reached over Crowley to grab the wine bottle from his hands. He effortlessly opened the bottle and took the first swig, then handed it back to Crowley for him to take a sip too.
Crowley grabbed the neck of the bottle from Aziraphale, letting his fingers linger over the angels for just a little longer than usual, before taking a sip of wine.
The two sat in the clouds, sharing wine in silence for quite a while, just independently enjoying each other's company. It was probably the first chance in a long time they really had the opportunity to do that, to just sit down and actually relax.
So that's exactly what they did, relax, and just watched the captivating sunset, painted with golden yellows and pale oranges. And a subtle dash of pink if you looked at it from the right angle.
As Aziraphale was handed the wine back with the last few sips in the bottle. And when the sky began to darken and be dusted with stars, he finally spoke, breaking the silence they were silently enjoying together.
“Crowley?” He piped up.
“Angel?” The demon answered.
“Do we… Have to label what we are?” He asked, handing the bottle back to Crowley.
“What do you mean, angel?”
Aziraphale sighed.
“You know? Us. Do we necessarily have to give us a label? Or are we just… ‘us’?”
Crowley took a sip of the wine. When the bottle left his lips, he answered.
“We don't have to if you don't want to.”
He knew Aziraphale's history with wanting to not go ‘too fast’, so even if he himself wanted to put a label on it, he was willing to wait until Aziraphale was comfortable with it. Even if it likely would take another six thousand years.
“Well… What if I did? I did want to, I mean.”
Although, Aziraphale did kiss him twice today. So what did he know?
“Wh– h- ngk- you'd want to? Do you want to?”
Aziraphale drew circles in the clouds bashfully, looking down and watching the clouds spiral up as his cheeks went rosy.
“Maybe. I mean, don't you want to? I feel like that's something you've indirectly asked me many times before. Today, for example?”
“well… I— I mean, I guess.” Crowley muttered nonchalantly, acting like Aziraphale didn't totally just read him like the books he loves so dearly.
“Well?” Aziraphale queried.
The demon processed the words just said to him, his face and neck becoming embarrassingly flushed. He paused.
“Just to be clear, you're like, full on asking me out here, right?”
“If you want to put it that way,” Aziraphale nodded. “making ‘us’ official, it seems like the most logical next step going forward.”
“Er... if you say so?”
“You don't sound as enthusiastic as I had hoped.”
“I dunno, angel, I've never done this before! I have no idea what I'm supposed to say!?” Crowley hissed, his nervousness causing him to get irritated.
“It's a simple question, yes or no?”
“Yes, of course! I love you, you stupid idiot!”
Aziraphale couldn't help but smile and laugh, his body filled with so much excitement he couldn't contain it.
“That's what I wanted to hear.” He beamed, wiggling excitedly.
The angel then leaped forward into the demon's arms and scooped him up, spinning him around enthusiastically atop the clouds.
“Angel!” Crowley gasped, having the wind knocked out of him when Aziraphale grabbed him. “You gotta warn a demon before scooping them up like that!”
“It'd ruin the surprise then. Wouldn't it, my dear?” Aziraphale grinned, paraphrasing what Crowley had said to him prior.
The demon sighed, he knew when he was defeated.
“Touche, bastard.”
The angel reached out and held Crowley's hands, looking down at them with a shy smile. For a moment, he hesitated, instinctively looking up momentarily above them, before he finally spoke.
“I- I love you, by the way. I feel like that isn't always clear… or rather that I don't make it clear. But I do love you, so very much.”
Aziraphale felt almost like he was ten times lighter. He felt almost as light as the very clouds he was standing on. Aziraphale kept his composure, an excited starry glint in his eye.
“Wow, that…” He chuckled. “That felt really good to say… I love you.”
He bounced up and down on the tips of his toes, disturbing the clouds below his feet.
“I love you.”
He squealed, each time he said it making him more overjoyed than the last.
“I love you,” He giggled. “I love you, I love you, I love you!”
Crowley chuckled at his angel's enthusiasm. Seeing him so happy just made the demon's heart melt.
“I love you too, angel.” He said through Smitten laughter.
Aziraphale waved his hands around excitedly, still holding onto Crowley's as he did so.
“Yes, yes!! I love you, Crowley!” he squeaked.
Still holding onto the demon's hands, he unfolded his wings and flew higher above the clouds.
“Angel?!” Crowley gasped, taken aback once again.
“Fly with me.” Aziraphale requested Giddily, already soaring off with a headstart.
Crowley smiled defeatedly, shaking his head slightly as he watched the angel fly ahead of him. You couldn't stop the angel once he got excited, but by God, by Satan, by whoever was listening nowadays, Crowley didn't at all want to.
After Crowley stopped gazing lovingly at Aziraphale, he spread his wings and flew away after his angel.