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Their unspoken agreement stood for the next few centuries. Whenever something interesting happened on Earth the pair would meetup nearby. Around the invention of calendars, the agreement became a more certain thing. Meetups were scheduled with years and days instead of just intuition that the other would show. They would pick a place where humans would normally socialize in large groups to better blend in and reduce the chance of getting caught. By the 1800’s they were meeting once a year at balls and galas.
They had been bold one time and agreed to meet up at a park in London before going off to the gala. Aziraphale had suggested it. He hated how noisy parties got, claiming he could hardly hear what Crowley was saying. It was understandable so Crowley was quick to agree to the request.
“See this is much nicer than all those balls.”
The demon had to admit he was right. It was a warm spring day and the bench they were sitting on had the perfect amount of shade over it. The only problem was that if any angel or demon happened to walk by and see them it was very obvious that they were spending time together, but Crowley pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
“Yeah I guess so.”
“If you do not like this my dear we can leave.”
“No, I'm fine. It’s just a little weird is all.”
“I know what you mean. It reminds me of garden walls and cliff tops.” The angel smiled at him in a sly way that conveyed centuries of shared moments in an instant. “Maybe we could start making it part of our routine. Both of our sides are less active on Earth nowadays so the only ones we have to look out for are Gabriel and Beelzebub.”
“Not saying I’m against it but let’s just see how this one goes, alright?”
Aziraphale nodded before launching into a story about the nice couple he’d met at the church service that Sunday. Crowley listened intently but still kept his head on a swivel just in case someone was watching. By the time Crowley relaxed enough to really take in what Aziraphale was saying the angel had moved on to complaining about how boring Heaven is, not that those were the words he used.
“I mean surely it would not be the end of creation if we had a few potted plants scattered about, maybe spread out a nice rug.”
“Nah then it’d be too crowded angel, you’re forgetting to account for how much ego is up there.”
“That is not very nice Crowley.” Aziraphale huffed and crossed his arms. Crowley knew he wasn’t really mad. “Just because you are a demon does not mean you cannot have manners.”
The angel finished off his admonishment by pointing an accusatory finger at Crowley’s chest, not touching though.
“Fine, fine.” The demon held up his hands in mock surrender. He then made a show of looking up to the sky with a hand to his forehead and the other over his chest. “I am so terribly sorry, angels of Heaven. Can you find it in your big heads to forgive me?”
That earned him a poke in the ribs from Aziraphale which caused him to launch into the fit of laughter he’d been holding back. He leaned against the angel for support but the angel, being quite fed up with him, promptly shoved him off his side and subsequently off the bench.
“Oh my dear I’m so sorry.” Aziraphale gasped as he hadn’t meant to push the demon that hard. “Are you alright?”
In lew of responding Crowley continued to laugh like an idiot while laying in the grass. Aziraphale also let out a few chuckles at the sight before standing and offering Crowley a hand up. The demon grabbed the hand which he used to pull the angel down onto the grass with him.
“Oh how rude Crowley.” Aziaphale was clearly trying to sound cross but it was rendered mute by the laughs that escaped along with the words.
“I’m a demon.” Crowley responded once he got his laughter under control. “We aren’t supposed to be nice.”
“Well you could have fooled me.”
“Oh yeah that reminds me.” Crowley said, sitting up on his knees. Aziraphale looked at the demon, eyes filled with amusement, from where he’d propped himself up on his elbows. “I got you a little something.”
“Oh Crowley you shouldn’t have. I mean that quite literally.” The angel now sat up fully, his usual perfect posture returning. “I don’t have anywhere to put, well, anything.”
“You’ve got an office right?”
“Well yes but-”
“Perfect. He doesn’t need much space.”
“I don’t feel like you’re hearing me.” Aziraphale had pushed his glasses up to rub at the bridge of his nose. It was a nervous habit that Crowley had seen more than he’d like to. Mid deep breath the angle paused and fixed Crowley with a concerned look. “Did you say he? Why did you say he?”
“Relax angel. Just come here and let me explain.” Crowley stood up and moved back to the bench they were sitting on earlier. He did not move to offer Aziraphale help standing since he didn’t want to pressure the angel into the situation. When he chose to sit next to Crowley it would mean he was ready to listen.
“Alright,” the angel moved to sit after taking a brief moment to breathe. “Go ahead and explain yourself, my dear.”
“Okay. Hold out your hands.”
Aziraphale fixed the demon with a skeptical look but did as he was told after a moment of hesitation. Crowley moved his hand above the angel's open palms and delicately placed his gift down. The pair were silent for a minute as they both processed different things. Crowley was watching the angel to gauge if he liked the gift or not while Aziraphale took in the small creature in his hand.
“Is this a snake, Crowley?” It was a stupid question. They could both see what the thing was. It was meant as a polite way of saying ‘why did you give me a snake?’.
“Well it’s one of mine, y’know.” The demon shifted uncomfortably, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “I thought we could use him instead of letters.”
“How would that work? Like a carrier pigeon?”
“No. See I can talk to them, my snakes, they report to me if I send them on missions. Mostly just use them to mess with Beelzebub nowadays. I thought it would be a good way to plan meetups.”
“Oh I see. That’s very thoughtful, my dear.” Aziraphale shifted the snake so it was settled in one of his hands and moved the other one to stroke the snake's head. Crowley struggled to hide the shudder that went through him. Maybe he should tell the angel that he can feel what the snakes feel as well as what they hear. However that thought quickly evaporated when Aziaphale pressed a small kiss into the snake's head filling Crowley with so much warmth. Well no need to tell him everything, it might make him stop. “He is rather cute. Does he have a name?”
“Why would he have a name?”
“Do you not name your snake? I have been naming them for centuries.”
“I never really thought they needed names. I ‘spose you can call him whatever you like.”
“How about Abel?” The question was directed more at the snake than Crowley. “I’ve always liked that name. I thought it was rather short lived.”
“Sure we can call him Abel. More importantly he can change size and fit wherever you want him.”
“That is perfect Crowley. Thank you.” Aziraphale paused in his petting of Abel to grab Crowley’s hand.
“It’s no trouble angel.” Crowley was trying to play it cool but the contact was filling his stomach with butterflies. “All you have to do is speak to him like you would me. I can’t exactly talk back though so it only works for relaying information not a conversation.”
“And here I thought you gave him to me to get out of our meetups.” The angel teased as he carefully placed the snake into his coat pocket. He then stood up and extended an arm. “Well we should be going if we want to get to the Equinox Gala on time.”
“You know I prefer being fashionably late.” Crowley stood and looped his arm with Aziraphale and the two set off to the second half of their meetup.
After that day the two started to meet every three months and in varying places; the park, a cafe, or an outdoor market. It was a very nice set up that they had and with Abel. Crowley felt more connected to Aziraphale even when they weren’t together. The demon had heard from the angel that he had miracled up a nice enclosure for the snake to live in that was right next to the angel’s desk. The angel had also placed a protection charm onto the snake manifesting as a gold diamond to warn others away from bothering the snake should something happen. In addition to the physical touch aspect Crowley had also failed to tell Aziraphale that Abel told him everything Aziraphale said whether it was directed at him or not. Crowley found this aspect almost more fun than the random affection because Aziraphale complained quite a bit when he thought no one was listening.