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“So, how are things going between you and Aziraphale?” Anathema asked as she settled into the first officer's seat opposite Crowley in the aircraft's cockpit. She had just returned from doing the preflight walk around.
Crowley smiled. “Couldn't be better. Everything alright out there?”
“Yes.” Anathema reached for a clipboard and helped Crowley finish the required checklists. “He's on this flight too, correct?”
“Yep.”
Anathema nodded. “Newt is too.”
As the two pilots worked to finish their preflight requirements, the cabin crew in the back started preparing the passenger cabin for the passengers. “Not a full flight today,” Newt commented to his fellow flight attendant, Aziraphale.
“It is not,” Aziraphale confirmed, making sure that the snack trolley was stocked.
“The weather is nice, thankfully,” Newt said. “That should make for a smooth takeoff and ascent.”
Aziraphale pursed his lips. “Even if it was not, my boyfriend is an exceptional pilot,” he said.
“Anathema might be the pilot flying for this one,” Newt said. “She said Crowley always asks which role she prefers to do first…but they do usually switch halfway through on long hauls like this one.”
“How is the weather back in London?” Aziraphale asked.
“Wet, as usual,” Newt replied with a sigh. “But nothing too bad.”
Aziraphale nodded, and turned to head up the aisle. “Everything is good back here, I'm going to get confirmation from the cockpit that we're ready for boarding.” He went to the front of the aircraft and knocked lightly on the cockpit door.
Crowley got up and slipped past Anathema to open the door. “Angel,” he smiled at his boyfriend.
“Crowley,” Aziraphale replied with a smile of his own. “We are all set in the back. I just wanted confirmation from you and Anathema that everything is good for boarding? I know we were waiting on maintenance.”
Crowley nodded. “I believe so. Anathema?”
She turned to look at the two men. “Yes, we are good to proceed with boarding. I was told during my walk around that the maintenance was complete.”
“Ah, jolly good. I will let the gate know that we are good to begin boarding.” Aziraphale gave Crowley another smile before heading back to the aircraft’s door. He picked up the phone and rang the gate. “We are all set for the passengers, whenever you are.”
“Thank you, sir,” the woman on the other end of the line replied. “We will begin sending the pre-boarding passengers shortly.”
“Thank you.” Aziraphale hung up the phone and went to inform the three other flight attendants that they were beginning the boarding process. Newt, Muriel, and Eric joined him at the front of the aircraft to help the passengers.
~*~
Once all of the passengers were settled into their seats, Aziraphale and Newt walked down the aisle, closing all the overhead bins and making sure everything else was secured in preparation for takeoff. A few seconds later, Aziraphale felt the brakes release on the aircraft as the plane moved slowly away from the gate. Next the overhead speakers turned on and he heard his boyfriend’s smooth, reassuring voice on the intercom. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Crowley said. “Welcome aboard British Airways flight 1511 with direct service from JFK to London’s Heathrow. I am your captain, Anthony Crowley, on this lovely morning. Our flight time comes in at just over 7 hours today, and the weather for the majority of that time appears to be calm and uneventful. Assuming we do not see any delays while we are still here on the ground, my first officer and I plan to have you safely on the tarmac in London at approximately twenty hundred hours British summer time. Please let our lovely flight attendants know if you require anything throughout the flight. Thank you for choosing British Airways, please turn your attention to the centre aisle now for our safety demonstration.”
Crowley turned off the intercom and then asked ATC if they were still good for takeoff. “BA 1511, you have clearance for runway 31 left,” the controller told them. Crowley confirmed that he had heard the controller and then told Anathema that they had clearance as she had decided to fly the aircraft for the first half of the flight.
As Anathema turned the plane and brought it to a stop at the beginning of the runway, Crowley picked up the intercom again. “Flight attendants please prepare for takeoff.”
Back in the cabin, Aziraphale did one final sweep of the aisle to ensure that all the passengers and luggage were properly secured before taking his seat in the rear galley of the aircraft. He buckled his seatbelt just as the sound of the jet engines began to roar.
The plane jolted forward with full thrust into its takeoff roll, Anathema easily guiding it down the runway while Crowley watched for potential obstacles and issues. Anathema pulled up and the plane smoothly lifted off of the ground.
Crowley watched his instruments until he was certain that the aircraft was climbing successfully. “Positive climb,” he said.
“Okay, gear up then,” Anathema replied.
Crowley reached over and grabbed the gear lever. He attempted to push it into the ‘up’ position but the lever did not move. “What the-?” he muttered as the aircraft’s ECAM system sounded an alert and suddenly displayed the message ‘LANDING GEAR SHOCK ABS FAULT’, before immediately displaying a second message ‘NOSE WHEEL STEER FAULT’.
Anathema glanced at him. “That’s pretty serious,” she muttered.
“Yeah,” Crowley replied, trying not to worry. “Our landing gear is shot.” He took a breath. “Okay, you just keep climbing for now. I’m gonna ring up ATC and see what they can do to help us.” He pressed the button to call the control tower. “JFK, this BA 1511, uh, we are receiving red ECAM warnings regarding our landing gear. Requesting permission to enter a holding pattern while we figure this out.”
“Understood, BA 1511,” the controller replied. “Climb to 14000 feet and maintain these vectors for your holding pattern.”
Crowley reached for their emergency manual while Anathema took note of the vectors for the holding pattern from the control tower. “Anthony, I can’t engage the auto pilot or auto throttle,” Anathema said, worried.
“Okay, well you’re just gonna have to fly the plane manually,” Crowley said. He glanced over at her when she didn’t reply right away. He saw that she looked distressed. “Hey,” he said, softer. “You got this, Anathema. It’s just a holding pattern, easiest thing to do aside from flying straight ahead. If you need me to take over, I will, but I need you to fly this aircraft while I ring up head office.”
Anathema bit her lip, but nodded. “Do you need me to take over with ATC too?”
“If you don’t mind,” Crowley said with a sigh. “I don’t know what management is going to tell me…but I’m going to find out.”
Crowley rang up British Airways Headquarters. “Hi, this is Captain Anthony Crowley,” he said when the dispatcher picked up. “I’m currently on flight 1511 over in the United States. I need you to transfer me to technical support. We are currently receiving red ECAM warning messages and I need a remote diagnostic done on my aircraft.”
“One moment, sir,” the dispatcher said and then Crowley heard a beeping sound on his headset as he was transferred.
“Hello, you’ve reached technical support,” the man on the other end of the line said.
“Yeah, this is Captain Anthony Crowley,” Crowley said again. “I’m getting red ECAM messages regarding the landing gear on my aircraft. I’m wondering if you can run a remote diagnostic for me.”
“Flight number?”
“1511.”
“Okay, just give the system a moment while it checks your aircraft,” the man said.
Crowley waited and tried not to think about what Aziraphale was doing in the back. The flight attendants must have noticed that something wasn’t right by now. They all knew what a holding pattern was. He was surprised that none of them had tried to ring up the cockpit by now. He muted his headset for a moment. “How long do you think before one of our flight attendants tries to ring us over this?” he asked Anathema.
“I am honestly surprised that neither Newt nor Aziraphale has tried,” she replied quietly. “They both would know that we’ve entered the hold.”
Crowley sighed. “Yeah, they would,” he muttered. He heard a beep in his headset and unmuted his microphone.
“Captain Crowley?”
“Yeah,” Crowley replied. “What does the report say?”
“It shows a possible issue with one of the plane’s indicators,’ the man said. “But it was not clear about which ones specifically.”
“Well, it must be one of the landing gear indicators,” Crowley said. “I am not able to retract the landing gear at all. The auto pilot and auto thrust are also not working. I am not comfortable continuing with this 7hr flight if there is a possibility of my landing gear failing upon arrival in London.”
“Understood,” the technician replied. “What was your departure airport and where are you now?”
“We have entered a holding pattern just east of JFK, which is also the departure airport,” Crowley said.
“Are you able to return to JFK for our maintenance team to take a look at the aircraft?”
“Let me ask my first officer to contact ATC regarding this request. One moment.” Crowley muted his headset again and turned to Anathema. “Can you please ask ATC if we can have clearance to return to the airport? British Airways wants to inspect the aircraft…given that we are able to land successfully.”
Anathema nodded and then rang up ATC on her headset. Crowley unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the pilot’s seat. He went to the phone near the cockpit door and picked it up to ring the cabin crew.
His boyfriend picked up on the first ring. “Crowley?” Aziraphale asked, panicked. “Why are we in a holding pattern? Is everything alright?”
“Try to relax, angel,” Crowley soothed as best he can. “I am working on dealing with the issue. But you do need to know that there is a potential serious problem with our nose landing gear. It is stuck in the down position and we cannot auto pilot the aircraft. I’ve contacted head office and was told to attempt to return to the airport. Anathema is working on that request with ATC right now. But you need to prepare the rest of the cabin crew and passengers for, at the very least, a hard landing and possible evacuation. We will not be able to taxi to the terminal.”
Aziraphale swallowed. “Understood,” he replied.
“I will ring you again when I know more,” Crowley said. He sighed. “For now, just hang tight. I’m going to do everything I can to get this plane safely back onto the ground.”
“I know you will, Anthony,” Aziraphale said. “I will wait for further instruction.” He hung up the phone and Crowley returned to his seat.
“We are good to return, we just need to let them know when we are ready to…attempt a landing,” Anathema said.
“Alright,” Crowley replied, putting his seatbelt back on. He unmuted his headset. “Still there technical support?”
“I am,” the technician confirmed. “This is Captain Crowley?”
“Yep,” Crowley said. “My first officer has confirmed with ATC that we are able to return to JFK.”
“Okay, please let us know when you have successfully landed.”
Crowley muted his headset again. “Anathema, I spoke with Aziraphale,” he explained. “He was rather distressed but I did inform him about what was going on.”
Anathema nodded. “Are you able to take ATC communication back or are you still on with headquarters?”
“They told me to ring them back once we’re back on the tarmac,” Crowley said. “I can take over the ATC communications and the flying if you want.”
“I can continue to fly,” Anathema replied. “There does not appear to be any other issues with the aircraft. But you will have to land, per protocol.”
“I know…alright,” Crowley said as he took a breath. He didn’t like the idea of having to attempt to land the plane when he had no idea what might be wrong with the landing gear. He thought for a moment before deciding to see if ATC could tell him anything if they were able to get a quick look at the aircraft. “I’m going to ring ATC again. Maybe we can do a low flyby of the tower or something…I need to know if they can see anything wrong with the nose landing gear.” He pressed the button to ring ATC. “JFK control, this is BA 1511, I was wondering if we could do a low flyby of your tower so that someone can visually check my nose landing gear?”
“BA 1511,” the controller responded. “I do not see an issue with that. Give me a moment to clear you for descent.”
“Copy,” Crowley said. He looked over at Anathema and nodded.
“BA 1511, begin your descent for the flyby.”
“Will do,” Crowley confirmed. He muted his headset. “Anathema, you are clear to descend and perform the flyby.” He watched the flight controls as she began the descent and then leveled off.
Anathema got close to the tower but still kept a respectable distance so that it did not cause unnecessary alarm to anyone in the tower or in the cabin of their aircraft.
“BA 1511,” the controller came into Crowley’s headset. “Your nose landing gear is situated 90 degrees off its axis.”
Crowley’s stomach dropped. This was worse than he had originally hoped. “Noted,” he said. “BA 1511 declaring mayday with permission to climb to 6000 feet for holding pattern. We need to further investigate the issue.” He sighed heavily, trying to keep his anxiety under control.
“Permission granted,” the tower replied. “We will standby.”
Crowley muted his headset. “Climb to 6000 feet and hold,” he told Anathema as the tower gave them the vectors for the holding pattern. He stayed silent while Anathema brought the aircraft back up the holding altitude.
“What do we do, Crowley?” she asked once she had leveled off the plane.
Crowley took a breath. “There’s nothing in our manuals for this sort of thing,” he replied. “The closest that we would have is landing with unsafe landing gear. But that’s not exactly the same.” He indicated the green lights on their landing gear monitor. “It says the gear is safe…” Crowley sighed and looked at the amount of fuel left. “With the landing gear turned 90 degrees, there’s a good chance it will fail. Especially with all this weight…”
“So dump fuel?” Anathema suggested.
“We will likely have to,” Crowley said. “I don’t like the idea, but it greatly increases the chances of a safe landing…I’ve got to talk to head office again.” He called headquarters again and asked for technical support. Thankfully he was given the same technician that he had previously spoken with so that he did not have to explain what was going on. But he did have to tell them that he had confirmation that their nose landing gear was not in its proper position.
Crowley wondered if there was some way to reset the landing gear, with the hope that it would put it back into its original position. But the technician stated that this was not possible. “Okay, well in that case,” Crowley said. “I think my only option is to take as much stress off of the landing gear as possible.”
“Yes, that would be best.”
“Yeah, thanks. I’ll ring you back if I have more questions.” Crowley ended the call. “We’re gonna have to dump fuel,” he told Anathema. “Get as much weight off the front of the aircraft as possible.”
“What about moving the passengers and hand luggage to the back of the plane?” Ananthema asked. “We don’t have a full flight. There are lots of extra seats.”
“That could definitely help,” Crowley nodded. He got out of his seat again. “I’ll ring the back and tell them to begin moving the passengers.”
Crowley picked up the phone and waited for Aziraphale to answer. “Crowley?”
“Yes, angel,” he paused. “Um…so as you probably know, Anathema did a flyby of the controller tower. I asked her to do this so that someone inside the tower could look at our landing gear.”
“Is the gear okay?” Aziraphale asked.
“Our nose gear is 90 degrees off its axis, which is a major problem…” Crowley took a breath. “We don’t have anything in our manuals for something like this. But I am working on a plan with Anathema to attempt to deal with this as best we can…I’ve declared a mayday with ATC so that we get priority landing when we’re ready to attempt it.”
“Oh…” Aziraphale blinked, his heart started racing. “What do you need us to do back here?”
“I need you to move all of the passengers and hand luggage, along with anything else that is heavy but able to be relocated to the back of the aircraft,” Crowley explained. “I want to attempt to stop the landing gear from collapsing from weight. We will be dumping as much fuel as possible. Please make the passengers as comfortable as possible and I will brief them on this issue as soon as I can.”
Aziraphale didn’t reply and Crowley immediately sensed his boyfriend’s worry. “I’m sorry that this isn’t what you wanted to hear,” Crowley said, softly.
“I’m scared, Anthony.”
“I know,” Crowley replied gently. “I’m doing everything I can, I promise.”
It was another long moment before Aziraphale did say something. “I should inform the other flight attendants so that we can get to work on your request. Thank you, Crowley.”
Crowley heard the click that indicated that Aziraphale had hung up the phone. He sighed, wanting to go to his boyfriend to comfort him, but he knew he couldn’t at the moment. He went back to his seat. “Anathema, please ask ATC if we can have a long but wide runway for landing. I’d like to keep this aircraft on the pavement for as long as possible and if I’m going to have trouble steering it during landing, I’d like the widest runway I can get.”
“Yes, Crowley,” she said and then contacted the tower to ask.
While Anathema was talking to ATC, Crowley heard the phone ringing from the cabin crew. He got up again and answered it. “Yes?”
“Crowley,” Aziraphale said. “I’m sorry but I forgot to ask about an evacuation?”
“Oh um,” Crowley thought for a moment before replying. “It may not be needed. If the nose gear stays intact after landing and doesn’t collapse, we can disembark the aircraft once stairs are brought to us. But if it does, you need to initiate an evacuation. I will, of course, tell you to. Please do not use the aft emergency exits as the slides-”
“They may not reach the ground, I know,” Aziraphale said. “We’ll use the front exits only. Thank you, dear. We are working on moving the passengers and luggage.”
“Good. I’m going to take control of the aircraft now, we will dump the fuel and then hopefully make a successful landing.”
“Good luck, my love.”
“I think I’m going to need it,” Crowley sighed and then ended the call.
“We have permission to land on runway 4 left,” Anathema said. “That runway is a bit shorter than 31 left but 50 feet wider.”
Crowley took a breath as he sat down. “That will have to do,” he said. “I have asked the cabin crew to move the passengers and luggage as you suggested. They are currently in the process of doing that. I would like to have control of the aircraft now. If you could take over ATC and monitoring, please.”
“Of course,” Anathema said as she passed control over to Crowley.
“Please inform ATC that we would like to exit the holding pattern to dump fuel,” Crowley said. He continued to keep the plane in its holding pattern while he waited for ATC confirmation that he could leave it and head further out over the water. While he was flying, he went onto the intercom to inform the passengers of the situation. “This is your captain speaking,” he said. “Unfortunately we are having an issue with the nose landing gear of the plane. Due to the potential of an unsafe landing at our destination, we have decided to return to JFK to have the plane inspected by maintenance. I apologize for this inconvenience but it is my duty to keep all of my passengers and fellow crew members as safe as possible. Please follow all directions from the flight crew during this possible difficult landing, and please do not take anything with you should we need to evacuate the aircraft upon landing. Thank you and good luck to you all.” Anathema glanced at him and Crowley gave her a sympathetic look.
Once he was far enough from the shore, Crowley began dumping the fuel until the plane was within his calculated landing weight. “JFK, this is BA 1511, requesting clearance to land on previously confirmed runway 4 left,” Anathema said into her headset. “We have completed our fuel dump and are ready to attempt a landing.”
“BA 1511, begin your descent. You are clear for runway 4 left,” the controller replied. “We have emergency vehicles on standby for assistance.”
“Copy,” Anathema replied as Crowley headed back towards the airport and gently turned the plane to align with the runway.
Thankfully it was a clear day and he could easily see the runway through the front of the aircraft. He hit the intercom button on his headset. “Flight attendants, prepare for emergency landing.” He then turned off the intercom and looked at his first officer briefly. “Listen to me carefully, Anathema,” Crowley said, taking a calming breath. “Upon achieving a safe landing, I will tell you to shut down the engines. Do this immediately. We will not be using any spoilers or auto braking either.”
“No reverse thrust?”
“No, the engines don’t reverse thrust when shut down anyway,” Crowley replied. “I want to prevent a possible engine fire. We will use the length of the runway and manual but easy braking to slow and stop the aircraft.”
“Understood.”
Crowley took another deep breath as he guided the plane into a normal descent onto runway 4 left. At 1000 feet he called out, “depressurize the cabin.” Anathema did as instructed to ensure that there would be no lingering pressure should an immediate evacuation be needed.
At 500 feet, Anathema pressed her intercom button for the cabin and called out, “Brace! Brace! Brace!”
Crowley held the controls of the aircraft steady and he brought down the rear landing gear onto the tarmac. It was bumpy but he held the nose of the aircraft up slightly, just enough to keep the nose gear off of the pavement. He prayed that they didn't tail strike either, thankfully the aircraft held steady for him. “Cut the engines.” Anathema hit the fire buttons for each engine, effectively shutting them off.
Crowley knew he couldn’t keep the nose of the plane in an upward position for much longer. He’d have to bring it down, or the plane would never stop in the remaining runway space. He eased the controls down as gently as he could and then immediately applied careful manual braking.
The aircraft vibrated violently as the tires on the nose gear blew out and Crowley fought to keep the plane straight, knowing that if they exited the runway things would get a lot worse. While he focused on keeping control of the aircraft in the middle of the runway, smoke and sparks flew out from underneath the body of the plane. The steel wheels of the nose gear grinding on the pavement.
After what seemed like an eternity to everyone onboard the aircraft, it came to a stop in the middle of the runway. Crowley’s heart was pounding in his chest as he continued to grip the steering control stick. He breathed heavily. “Anthony?” his first officer asked after a moment. She was breathing hard too.
“Just wait,” Crowley said, swallowing. “There’s still a chance that the gear will collapse…” Anathema nodded and both pilots took deep breaths while they waited to ensure that their plane was still mostly structurally sound.
The nose gear did not collapse after several moments, so Crowley shakily rang up ATC. “JFK, this BA 1511, we are safely on the ground. Requesting external steps for our passengers to safely leave the aircraft.”
“BA 1511, congratulations on a safe emergency landing. We are sending the steps to you now.”
Crowley switched over to the intercom and cleared his throat. “Captain Crowley here, please do not evacuate the aircraft. It is safe for now. The airport is sending us some portable steps for you to exit the plane. Flight attendants, please disembark passengers via the front left side of the aircraft once the stairs arrive.”
Still shaking slightly, Crowley removed his seatbelt and moved to the back of the cockpit. He pulled the circuit breaker to the cockpit voice recorder and then collapsed back into his seat with a heavy sigh.
“Are you alright?” Anathema asked quietly.
“That was the most nerve wrecking flight of my life,” Crowley muttered. He sighed heavily, taking a deep breath.
“Yeah mine too…” Anathema muttered. “Probably was for everyone else on this plane too.”
Crowley nodded, wondering how Aziraphale was dealing with this. While Crowley only had to wait for everyone else to exit the plane, Aziraphale still had to help the passengers off of the aircraft. That was another reason why Crowley did not want to finish his flight attendant training. He was good under direct pressure, but the moment that pressure was relieved, he usually didn’t have the mental or physical capacity to help everyone else. Although he knew that his role in this incident was far from over. There would be an investigation and as soon as he entered the airport, Crowley knew that he would be approached by the manager of British Airways and asked to explain everything.
“What happens now?” Anathema asked. “Have you ever experienced any kind of incident before?”
“We wait for everyone else to get off the plane,” Crowley muttered. “Then we get whisked away by head office to be questioned. Probably for hours…before they either put us up in a hotel or ship us back home as passengers on another flight.”
“Will they think we did something wrong?”
“We did nothing wrong,” Crowley told her. “Nobody died. We would have known by now. There's likely at least some damage to the aircraft and runway. But neither of us are to blame for this. It has to be a mechanical issue.”
“What about our flight attendants?” Anathema looked worried.
“They will be questioned too about their experience, but like I said, we have nothing to worry about,” Crowley said, firmly.
“Well, that's a bit reassuring,” she muttered.
Crowley heard the door to the aircraft being opened. “It shouldn't take them too long to get the passengers off,” he said. “They can't take their luggage.”
“Newt can be a bit of a nervous wreck,” Anathema said quietly. “I hope he's alright.”
“Go and check on him,” Crowley replied. “There's nothing stopping you from opening the cockpit door and going to see your partner…but I do know that Aziraphale would take good care of him…or at least he will until I walk out of this cockpit.” Anathema gave him a curious look. “Aziraphale holds too much of a soft spot for me…he always has. In a situation like this, he will immediately come to me if he can…I guarantee you that the only thing stopping him from trying to break through that door is his duty to the passengers and the fact that I confirmed that the evacuation was not necessary.”
“Is that why you're still in here, then?”
“Part of it…” Crowley replied. He shrugged. “I don't want to be clapped and cheered at for simply doing my job.”
“It's going to happen anyway, you know that,” Anathema said with a soft smile.
“I know…” he sighed.
A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the cockpit door. Crowley stood and went to open it. Aziraphale and Newt were standing on the other side of it.
Crowley immediately found himself with an arm full of his boyfriend. “Ooof…hello, angel,” he muttered into Aziraphale’s blond curls as he bent his head and tenderly kissed the top of the other man's hair.
“Oh Crowley, you saved us all!” Aziraphale cried into his chest.
Crowley chuckled softly, but blushed. “Don't thank me for doing my job, sweetheart,” he muttered.
“You sweet selfless man,” Aziraphale looked up at him with big blue eyes. “I love you so much. And you most certainly did save us all. No one could have brought this plane down safer than you. You clever man.” He beamed at him.
Crowley’s face was red from the praise. He looked away. “Again, it was just my job, angel.” He glanced at Anathema who was lightly rubbing Newt's back. “I couldn't have done it without my favorite first officer.” He smiled softly at her.
“Thank you, Anthony,” Anathema muttered.
“Have all our passengers made it to safety?” Crowley asked.
“Yes,” Aziraphale replied. “No one was injured. They are being bussed back to the terminal. Muriel and Eric are accompanying them.”
Crowley stepped back. “After all of you then,” he said, gesturing at the door.
Newt exited the aircraft first, followed by Aziraphale and Anathema, before Crowley finally exited as well.
As soon as he'd made it to the bottom of the stairs, Crowley was approached by a woman in a British Airways corporate uniform. “Captain Anthony Crowley?”
“Yes,” Crowley replied, trying not to sigh. He was not looking forward to having to recount the last few hours to his employer. Even if none of this had been his fault.
“I need you and your first officer to come with me, please,” the woman replied.
“Alright,” Crowley said.
“You pulled the fuse on the cockpit voice recorder?” the woman asked as Anathema went over to them.
“Of course we did,” Anathema said.
“Good, follow me.”
Crowley turned to Aziraphale. “I will see you again as soon as possible, sweetheart,” he said with a sympathetic gaze.
“I love you, Anthony,” Aziraphale called to Crowley as he was led to a waiting car.
~*~
It was late in the afternoon when Crowley was finally able to drag his luggage up to the hotel room British Airways had put him and Aziraphale up in for the night. Their flight back to London was scheduled for departure the next afternoon, neither of them would be working it thankfully. He used the key card to unlock the door.
“Crowley?” Aziraphale looked up from the book he was reading in an arm chair next to the window.
“Yeah, it's me, sweetheart.” He kicked off his shoes, left his carry-on in the doorway and immediately went to the bed where he flopped face down with a groan.
Aziraphale came over to the bed and sat down next to Crowley. The exhausted pilot crawled onto the bed and turned onto his side, lying his head in his boyfriend's lap. “The internet is calling you a hero, you know,” Aziraphale whispered, lightly petting over red curls.
“Eh…” Crowley groaned. “You know I don't like that…”
“I just thought that you'd rather hear it from me before you go poking around on your mobile,” Aziraphale said as he gently scratched his boyfriend's scalp. Crowley whimpered. “Relax, dear. Have you eaten?”
The pilot shook his head. “Not since breakfast.”
“Do you want room service or shall I order something for you on one of the delivery apps?” the flight attendant asked. “I already had lunch.”
Crowley reached into the pocket of his uniform trousers and pulled out his mobile, handing it to his boyfriend. “Order me something,” he said. “I'm not leaving this hotel room by choice until tomorrow.”
“Fair enough,” Aziraphale replied. “I'll use one of the apps, and I will go down to the lobby to get it. What are you in the mood for?”
“I don't care,” Crowley muttered.
Aziraphale set the mobile down on the bed and shifted. “I think maybe you should rest instead,” he said. “I can tell how exhausted you are from stress, and I'm sure being questioned by head office for several hours did not help.”
“I'm not supposed to talk about it,” Crowley whispered. “Not until the investigation is finished…which takes weeks at the very least.”
“I know, dear,” the flight attendant said. “I'm not asking you to talk about it. I just want to comfort you as a boyfriend should.” He grabbed a pillow. “I'm going to get up and grab your carry-on.”
Crowley pushed himself up slightly so that Aziraphale could stand up. His boyfriend slipped the pillow underneath his head and the pilot laid back down.
Aziraphale grabbed the black carry-on and brought it over to the bed. “Can I ask if they subjected you to medical and drug testing?” He wondered if this was part of the reason why Crowley seemed to be upset.
“Drug and alcohol, yes,” the pilot replied, quietly. “No to the medical…at least not yet. I was asked if I had any injuries. I'm fine.” Crowley sighed. “Anathema and I just spent hours filling out paperwork and being interviewed by every airline regulatory company in the damn world…or at least that's what it felt like.”
Aziraphale nodded and opened the carry-on. He searched for something comfortable for his boyfriend to wear. He was certain that getting Crowley out of his captain uniform would help. “How long is your administrative leave?”
“Until they determine that nothing we did led to this,” Crowley muttered. “I really hope Anathema didn't miss anything on the walkaround…I trust her judgment…but I honestly have no idea…I shouldn't be telling you this…at least they have not suspended my pay since no one was injured.” He rubbed at his tired golden eyes, groaning in frustration.
“If it helps, I told them that I believed that it must have been a mechanical fault,” Aziraphale said. He placed a pair of joggers and a t-shirt on the bed for Crowley. “Everything else appeared to be fine and you two expertly handled the situation.”
“Yeah, thanks, angel,” the pilot whispered. He pushed himself into a seated position. “I think I want a relaxing hot bath. I hope the bathtub is big.” He undid the buttons on his captain's jacket and pushed it off his shoulders.
“It is,” Aziraphale smiled softly at him before moving back over to Crowley and helped him get undressed.
Aziraphale then went into the bathroom and started the bath for his boyfriend. “Go and get into the hot water, dear,” he said. “It will help. I know you're not injured but that was still a rather rough landing and you'll be sore tomorrow.” He kissed the pilot who whimpered at the feel of his lover’s lips on his own. “Hush, dear. I will give you pleasure later after you’ve relaxed a bit and eaten. Now do as I said and get into the bath. I have something else for you.”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Crowley replied and stripped off his pants before heading to the bath.
His boyfriend had been correct when he’d said that the water would immediately help. Crowley leaned back against the back of the tub and let his body relax into the heat of the water. A moment later, Aziraphale appeared in the bathroom, holding a small paper bag. “Muriel showed these to me once while we were on an overnight layover in Canada,” the flight attendant said. “Turns out they are a British company…” He pulled out something that resembled a bar of soap. It was orange colored and shaped like a shrimp but smelled like an orange creamsicle lolly.
Crowley chuckled quietly. “Orange soap?”
“It’s called a bath bomb, dear,” Aziraphale rolled his pretty blue eyes and then promptly dropped it into the tub. “It’s fun and will make you smell absolutely scrumptious.”
Crowley watched the bath bomb as it fizzed in the water, the shape of the crustacean dissolving quickly as it turned the water a bright orange color. “I’m not going to look like an orange when I get out of here, am I?”
It was the flight attendants turn to chuckle. “Of course not. But like I said, you will smell heavenly. And I may not be able to resist you…” He blushed.
Crowley blushed too. “Well then, even if I do turn orange, it’ll be worth it,” he said when Aziraphale leaned down and kissed him. “Order pizza for dinner?”
His boyfriend nodded. “Any preference?”
“Well you mentioned Canada,” the pilot replied. “So I want a Canadian pizza with some chicken nuggets.”
“I think they call them chicken chunks,” Aziraphale said. “But I will get them for you.” He straightened up. “I’ll order now so that we can have it whenever.”
“Sounds good, sweetheart.”
The flight attendant smiled at his pilot boyfriend before going back to the other room to place the order for their dinner. It arrived while Crowley was getting out of the bath and Aziraphale went down to the hotel lobby to bring it up to their room. He found Crowley on the bed, naked and waiting for him, smelling like sweet citrus. Their pizza and chicken got cold before they were able to eat it, but neither minded.