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It was a nice night. The angel and the demon sat next to each other, one of them staring down on the white streets of Soho and the other one staring at the sky above them. The fireworks had stopped a while ago already and instead the night sky was clear with countless stars shining softly. Just a few clouds were hiding the constellations the demon knew so well.
“Crowley?” Aziraphale sounded like he was scared of interrupting the shared silence, while he followed a couple walking down the street, one of them bending down to touch the fresh snow. Maybe there weren’t all of the people home already.
“Yes angel?” Crowley answered and took his eyes from the night sky and instead turned his head to his friend sitting next to him.
“How do you think the new year will be like?” while talking, he slowly brushed with his thumb over the back of the demon’s hand. They had started to hold hands a few minutes after they sat down on the roof of the bookshop, about an hour before midnight. Since then neither of them ever let go of the others hand.
“Do I look like a fortune teller?” Crowley raised his eyebrows while talking.
Aziraphale felt like he was caught up in the demon’s snake eyes for a few seconds.
“Well…” the angel answered, tilting his head, like he had to think about it. Crowley glared at his friend disapprovingly before chuckling softly.
“I mean it, what do you think will happen?” Aziraphale turned serious again and slowly scooped closer to the demon.
“Look angel, I don’t really care as long as you’re with me.” Was the answer which made him light up instantly.
“That’s very sweet my dear.” The angel whispered and softly placed his head on the shoulder of the demon.
For a while it stayed silent. Both of them thought about the past. About centuries ago. About years they couldn’t even remember anymore. About all the changes they had seen. And still, after all those years, they were together. Now closer than ever before.
“Crowley?” Aziraphale started again. Crowley’s lips twitched. With every other person, or well being, he would be annoyed. But he didn’t mind it because it was his angel.
“Yes?” he asked and let his eyes wander over the couple who still walked down the road.
They were holding hands and every few steps they stopped and looked at each other. Aziraphale watched them too and smiled softly.
“Do you think change is scary for humans?” he wanted to know. Instantly the demon’s eyes narrowed.
“I guess so. But why are you asking?”
“Oh I was just thinking about all of the changes we have seen in all those past years. Humans see so much less. So every change they go through have to seem so much more drastic than for us.”
Without thinking about it twice, Crowley answered: “You have read too much poetry books the last few weeks, angel.” With a clearly amused edge in his voice.
Aziraphale made a sound which could be categorized as a small laugh, before he sighed, “I mean it Crowley.”
“Yeah. I do too. Stop reading poetry, your questions are getting harder to answer with every page.” It was a longer laugh this time. Crowley couldn’t hold back his own smile now too.
“So you won’t do me the honor of participating in that conversation?” Aziraphale wanted to know with an obvious teasing tone in his voice. The demon sighed deeply.
“I think you are right, angel.”
For a few seconds the heavenly being actually blinked surprised, before his friend continued: “A lot of humans seem to be scared by changes.”
Aziraphale nodded softly, his head still laying on Crowley’s shoulder.
“Do you think there are things we can do to… help them with it?” the demon took a deep breath. Naturally Aziraphale wanted to help, how angelic of him. But, Crowley had to admit that… That was one of the things he liked about his angel.
“What are you doing here, New Year’s resolutions?” as soon as the last word had left his mouth, his friend lifted his head and instead looked at the demon from the side. Instantly Crowley missed the touch of the angel.
“That’s actually a great idea, my dear!” the demon rolled his eyes. That wasn’t what he had intended with this.
“How could we help humans?” Aziraphale pondered and Crowley wouldn’t be surprised if he miracle a notebook to write down his ideas.
“Well…” he started, while not believing he actually was about to say this out loud, “We’re technically not really allowed to help humans, especially me, I’m a demon, remember? So I’m out of that plan either way.” he shot the angel next to him a “be careful” glance.
“Oh Crowley, you’re secretly helping humans since years.”
“Don’t say that!” Crowley hissed. Suddenly resembling a snake very much. But the angel just smiled at him. Loving. Adoring. The demon tilted his head at him and let his eyes wander over his friends face. As Aziraphale realized he instantly turned his head away and instead focused on the streets under them again.
“So… I can’t just miracle their problems away… I don’t think upstairs would approve of me doing this very much.. But what about…” Aziraphale stared very focused into the distance.
Crowley did the same, and before he knew what was happening words left his mouth.
“Changes… Small gestures can change a lot too.” He whispered. Instantly the angel’s head turned around to him.
“What did you just say?”
“Oh I don’t know… It was just a Tv commercial from years ago. Nothing to think about longer.” Crowley waved off.
“No.. No my dear I think you might be up to something there.” Aziraphale answered and something in his eyes told Crowley that he wouldn’t let that idea go. The demon sighed. Great.
“What if… I did some good things-“
“A good deed?” he interrupted his friend, teasing.
“Yes my dear, a good deed every day. But it’s just something very small.” Crowley raised his eyebrows.
“So heaven doesn’t suspect anything?” he examined, an unsure sound in his voice.
“Precisely!” Aziraphale exclaimed, clapping his hands together happily.
“And what are you thinking about?” Crowley wanted to know, still not convinced.
“Things like, spontaneously meeting a friend while walking through the city, or finding out that your favorite meal is on sale, or going into a bookshop and spotting just the right book to read. Things like that.”
Crowley could see how Aziraphale lit up while talking. He was really happy about his idea. Slowly his friend tilted his head, looking at him. The pure shining of the angel made his heart feel warm.
“Like getting a great parking spot without trying?” the demon offered.
“Precisely!” the angel repeated, laughing softly. Completely overjoyed.
“Hm. I suppose I can’t say much against this idea.” The demon grumbled, weighting his head from side to side. If he was being honest, he didn’t really want to say anything against the idea either. He couldn’t be truly critical about something which made his friend, the love of his eternal life, so happy.
“See, even you can’t argue against it!” Aziraphale said and beamed at his friend.
For some minutes it stayed silent, the angel still enthusiastic about the idea, letting his eyes wander over the sleeping city under them. The demon on the other hand was pondering about something now too. He tried to forget why he was thinking about this in the first place.
“You know…” Crowley started and instantly Aziraphale looked over to him. Something in his voice had given his thoughts away, “What if I did mean things to humans,” normally the angel would interrupt the demon while saying this, but he could hear, very clearly that there was another side to his words, “just to turn them into surprising nice things?”
Aziraphale chuckled. Maybe knowing someone for thousands of years gave you the ability to sense what they were about so say. Because he had felt something like that coming.
“Like what?” the angel wanted to know.
“Well, to take your first example, I could make humans late, so they miss their bus and have to walk. But while they are annoyed at first, they met a friend on the way they would normally never have seen if they got the bus. Or…” Crowley stared at a point in the far distance, “Being forced to try something new, just to find out it’s actually nicer than what you’ve been used to.”
He saw the angel next to him practically glowing, so he slowly looked over at him.
“What do you say angel?” he wanted to know and couldn’t hold back an amused smile.
“Oh I love you Crowley.” Was the only answer. Instantly the demon widened his eyes while the nicest, most beautiful feeling ever rushed through him.
“Just because I think about being nice to humans?” the demon asked and blinked at his friend innocently.
“Not just because of that, my dear.” Aziraphale answered and leaned more into the demon’s direction to lay his lips on his cheek for a few seconds.
“And I think your idea is wonderful too. Not really demon-ish though.” The angel said, with a amused spark in his eyes.
“I’m doing bad things to them. Well, minor inconveniences. I can’t control what happens after those.” Crowley shrugged his shoulders.
Aziraphale smiled, something very adoring in his eyes before he laid his head on the demon’s shoulder again.
“I like our New Year’s resolutions.” The angel concluded, giggling.
“If you wish to call it that.” The demon grumbled but it turned into a small chuckle sooner than he had intended…
“But I like you more.” Aziraphale added after a while.
“Oh I hoped that very much. I love you too, my angel.”
They stayed like this for the main part of the night. Sitting on the roof of the bookshop, looking at the city under, and occasionally at the stars above, them. As close as possible.
While thinking about the nice things they could do for humans. More or less directly. More or less visible. More or less obvious.
So maybe, if something like that happens to you this year, you’ve been chosen by either an angel or a demon for something small, nice, to help you through your life. Take it as a little greeting from two celestial beings, who want to watch out for humans all over the planet. Even if it’s just with a good parking spot, or a great book. After all, you never really know when those two are involved.