Chapter Text
Crowley didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing. People were going on with their mediocre lives, while he had no idea what his was supposed to be like. It used to be easier when… well, at least he had stuff to do back then. He considered the park. No, the park held too many memories. Most of London did, really.
“Aziraphale?” Michael asked, “We have a… preposition, to consider.”
“Well, go ahead,” he replied. Aziraphale pulled on the cuff of his new suit. Acrylic, and way too tight. He didn’t particularly like the modern style of the suit either, but he could live with it. His bow-tie had been replaced with a regular tie which seemed to suffocate him.
“We were thinking of giving people more temptations. Well, hell was thinking of that. More like the Victorian era, whatever that is.”
“Oh, uhm,” he immediately thought of Wee Morag, “that’s, uh, something. I don’t think it would do much. The world has enough negativity already I believe.”
“Yes, possibly. That friend of yours, Crowley, is he still working for hell?”
“Crowley? Uhm, well, I don’t think so, no,” he mumbled, the name burning in his mouth. He pulled some more on his suit. Oh, how he hoped that Crowley was doing fine.
Crowley sat in his Bentley. The engine was roaring, ready, but he just sat there. He should drive somewhere. Anywhere. So he did. Way too soon he came to a stop. He knew the place. Someone knocked on his window. Great, he would have to clean that later.
“Hey,” said a voice he recognised, “are you all right?” He looked up, and saw a familiar face, Nina.
“Er, yeah, quite fine, er” he said looking at the building across the road. “You?”
“I’m doing well, thanks,” she smiled, “can I interest you… oh.”
“Oh what?” He growled as he saw the look on Nina’s face.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have… well… interrupted your moment here. I’ll be where I always am if you need me,” she quickly said before hurrying off. Crowley just sat there, dumbfounded. Well, he should probably get out of the car now. He crossed the road like he did many times before and he stood in front of the bookshop. He had vowed never to come back, but some promises are meant to be broken. He just looked at the door. The same door that has been here for what seemed like forever. Still, it felt different. Nothing lasts forever.
Aziraphale looked out Heaven’s windows. It felt unusual to spend so much time up there. Unlike most angels, he spent most of his time on Earth. The light was too bright, the walls too white. Everything looked the same. He wasn’t particularly enjoying the angelic harmonies either. He shook his head. No, he was too accustomed to the Earthly wonders. He should distract himself. With what? There was no food, no books! He didn’t know what he would do if Muriel was selling his books. Oh, what if she was? Those books weren’t meant to go anywhere! What was he thinking, leaving her there, with such a responsibility.
Crowley still had hope. Hope that Aziraphale was here and that nothing had changed. Not hope. Hope is like grief. It’s too much, too strong. He wasn’t grieving. So, it couldn’t be hope. Demons probably don’t feel hope anyway. They do feel desire though. He just had the two things mixed up. He was filled with a desire to see Aziraphale in the bookshop, to feel his presence, touch him again. The door swung open. The bookshop smelled different. He knew what Aziraphale smelled like. It wasn’t this. Right, Muriel was in charge now.
“‘Ello, ‘ello, ‘ello,” they said with the largest grin, “oh! Crowley!”
“Heya Muriel. What have you been up to?”
“Nothing really. I did read all the books though. Some were quite disturbing. I was thinking of buying some new ones! Oh, and I tried to sell some books but no-one ever buys any! Do you know why?”
“Er, yes, Muriel,” he said, remembering the miracle Aziraphale performed all those years ago, “most people aren’t really interested in books. They just like to look.”
“That makes sense! Oh, Crowley! One more thing! Do you know what a… uhm… a doock is?”
“A duck, you mean?”
“Yes! A duck,” they scribbled something in a small notebook, “A duck!”
“It’s a bird. Quite nice birds, really. You haven’t been in the park, I assume.”
“No… should I have?
“You know what, I’ll take you there. Not today. Not for some time. One day.” Muriel’s face immediately lit up more than it already was.
“Okay! Do you want to come in? I learned myself how to make something called hot chocolate!” Crowley remembered Gabriel, renamed Jim, and how all this happened because of that tiny miracle. Damn that miracle. He shook his head.
“No. I, well, I can’t. Sorry.” Muriel looked defeated. “And also,” he added, “you say you taught yourself. Not learned yourself. Got it?” They nodded eagerly, noted it down, and asked, “What have you been ‘up to’?”
“Well, not much. But here’s an idea, Muriel, go talk to the peop-, er, humans. They are full of… wonders,” He said, and started to walk away.
“I’ll be right on that! You’ll be back, right? It gets kind of lonely here. Not as bad as in heaven though. But still, please come back!” Muriel yelled to Crowley's back, who understood all too well how that felt. He got into the Bentley, put on Queens Greatest Hits, and drove off.
Aziraphale was well on his way to the elevator when Uriel stopped him.
“Where are you going, Aziraphale? Earth?”
“Well, yes, I feel I should check up on the shop.”
Uriel pushed against his chest, “You have other duties up here. Try to… forget the Earth a bit. Let the bookshop be a bookshop. It’ll be fine without your constant supervision, trust me.”
Aziraphale was slowly stepping backwards, staring intently at the elevator. He said, “Uriel, as the Supreme Archangel I feel I should be kept up to date with the events on Earth, don’t you agree?”
“No,” they quickly replied, “that is not in your job description. I’ll let Muriel know to get in contact with you occasionally so you can remain ‘up to date’ about the earthly events, as you said.”
Aziraphale just nodded, not taking his eyes off the elevator. There had to be something he could do to get down there. He missed it. He missed Crowley. He missed everything. He hoped he could fix whatever happened. He had to. But first, he had to change Heaven.