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The first thing Crowley saw when he walked into the library was his mate’s arse sticking up from under his desk. It was a nice view and made Crowley have some interesting thoughts, but he reminded himself that he should try and find out what Aziraphale was doing first.
He cleared his throat to announce his presence.
“Oh!” Aziraphale let out a little surprised squeak and sat up, so he could look behind himself.
“What’s up, Angel?”
“I’m looking for something I lost,” Aziraphale said. “I only noticed that it was missing and wondered if it had fallen under the desk.”
“What did you lose?”
“My ring,” Aziraphale was wringing his hands and Crowley noticed that the gold ring he usually wore was gone. “I feel quite unsettled without it.”
“Huh. Would you like some help finding it?”
“I'd appreciate it, my love.”
They began to look through the library, then the living room, then the kitchen.
“Oh, I hope I haven’t lost it outside,” Aziraphale said after he had looked through the breadbasket and the fridge.
“I don’t think I’ve ever asked what’s so special about that ring,” Crowley noted. “Does it have special powers or something? Some Heavenly influence that could be harmful for humans?”
Aziraphale laughed.
“It’s not exactly The One Ring to rule them all,” he answered. “There are no special angelic powers in it if you were wondering. I don’t need it to make miracles. At first, when I first started wearing it on Earth, it was a reminder of my Heavenly mission, but these days it’s only a nostalgic item that makes me think about how far I’ve come.”
“Mmm, I like the Lord of the Rings. It’s spooky but not all doom and gloom all the time.”
“It’s a long book. I didn’t think you would’ve read it.”
“Angel, audiobooks and movies exist,” Crowley said. His eyes weren’t much suited for reading but he did enjoy good storytelling.
“I met Mr Tolkien once. Such a clever chap! We had some interesting conversations about language and storytelling,” Aziraphale said. “The Lord of the Rings is all about the battle between good and evil. I would think we'd have different opinions about it.”
“Not really though. It’s full of shades of grey. Characters who make you question which side they’re on. Full of temptation. I like that sort of thing,” Crowley grinned. “Anyway. About that ring of yours. Where do you remember last seeing it?”
“I definitely did have it when we came home from the restaurant last night,” Aziraphale pondered. “I had it when I took off my overcoat and put my umbrella to dry. Huh. It could be in the bedroom.”
They’d headed to the bedroom as soon as they came home from the restaurant. Not for sleeping either. There had been several slippery substances on Aziraphale’s hands (and Crowley's arse, as well as other parts of their bodies), so it would make sense that the ring might have slipped out of his finger in the middle of their activities. Crowley’s face felt hot when he thought back to last night.
“I’ll go see while you finish looking out here,” Crowley said. In the bedroom it took him some minutes to check under the bed and the wardrobe until he finally noticed the glittering in the middle of the bedsheets. Crowley took the ring and cleaned it up a bit before heading back to the living room where Aziraphale was waiting.
“What have I got in my pocket?” Crowley asked. Aziraphale blinked and then a smile spread on his handsome face.
“What iss it, preciousss?” he asked in the most horrible Gollum imitation Crowley had ever heard. Bless it, but he loved his Angel so much.
“I’m not Bilbo Baggins,” Crowley said and pulled out the ring. “And I don’t have a need for this, no matter how tempting it is to ask for favours before I give it back.”
Aziraphale took the ring and slid it back into his finger.
“Thank you, my dear. It’s a sentimental item and I would have been sad to lose it,” Aziraphale said. “Anything you would like as a reward?”
“There are so many things I would accept as a reward from you,” Crowley waggled his eyebrows. “But don’t worry about it. You know I like rescuing you.”
“I do. And that makes you much more precious than any piece of jewellery,” Aziraphale said.
“My preciousss,” Crowley responded with much more believable hiss than his Angel's.