Aziraphale & Crowley: An Ineffable Love Story

Secret Messages

A.Z Fell & Co, Basement
Present  

As the present pulled him back from his memory lane, Crowley wished he never erased the full dedication from the book. He felt uneasy. It was difficult to accurately describe the feeling. Perhaps it was regret or anger at himself. 

He couldn't help but wonder about the alternative outcomes if he let Aziraphale know sooner. Yet, he recognized that Aziraphale was not ready to hear his words. His emotional state was constantly in conflict when Crowley was involved. Crowley despised making Aziraphale feel tempted whenever they encountered each other. Though, he found comfort in the fact that Aziraphale was too pure for Heaven. His tolerance for blindly following celestial orders only went so far.

Unfortunately for Crowley, Aziraphale was naive to believe that he could deter Heaven from burning the world. He had come to terms that the Angel had chosen to walk with the self-proclaimed righteous army of God. Only the blind would completely disregard that angelic legions were still an army moved by selfish interests, which more often than not, did not align in favor of humanity.

"Why would he lead a crowd like that?" thought Crowley.

He proceeded to bury his head in the first edition of Inferno and was determined to get some answers that would shed light on Aziraphale's abnormal behavior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crowley spent the whole afternoon analyzing the book. He carefully looked for any sign or message that Aziraphale could have left behind. For the first time in months, Crowley's yellow eyes glistered with hope. He had convinced himself that the book was the key, which would lead Crowley straight to his Angel, or at least a proper explanation.

From his last field trip to Heaven, he had learned that the Angels were planning some sort of global catastrophe. Yet, he had failed to find any further information about it. Besides, he was a disgraced, lone agent. He had not heard from Hell in months. He had simply thought that the silent treatment was his hell-appointed punishment for interfering with the hunt of Gabriel.

He imagined that Aziraphale kept any devious plans for the destruction of Earth at bay. It was uncertain though how long would his reign as a Supreme Archangel last when Heaven (and Hell) wanted a war.

Crowley ached for his Angel to have chosen to stay. Perhaps then, they could once again have paved the way to save humanity and Earth together, as a united force. He couldn't understand why he was left behind. Without Aziraphale, he thought it was helpless to attempt and prevent another Armageddon. Apart from the occasional international news check for occult activity, he had not committed himself to save the planet.

As time passed though, his optimism of finding secret information in the book started to dwindle. There was nothing out of the ordinary: no invisible writings, no worldly-coded notes, no evidence that the book had been tampered with to get Crowley's attention.

Crowley decided to give up, at least for the day. He carefully tidied the desk and returned the book to his glass case. Then, he slowly made his way upstairs.

He thought of calling Muriel to say goodbye, but he changed his mind. She probably wouldn't have to officially have the knowledge that Crowley had been scrolling around in the bookshop unsupervised.

So, he walked out and silently closed the door behind him. The gray clouds carried a chilly wind through the street. Crowley pulled his hands into his coat pocket and hesitantly started walking to his Bentley.

"Hey there Six-shots of Espresso, leaving without saying hello?" said a familiar female voice behind him.

Crowley came to a halt and smiled. But, he turned around holding a neutral face.

"Nina, what a surprise?" he said.