Crowley had come in at some point and covered him up. No longer was it the same day, if the tiny date on the alarm clock meant anything. It meant that Crowley had cared for the child all alone, and Crowley shouldn't have had to do that all alone.
The door was pulled open, and Aziraphale tried his hardest to ignore the squeaking noise that was released. Crowley was in the doorway, smiling at him. Aziraphale tried his hardest to smile back at the demon.
Crowley was wearing a leather jacket over a dress. It was a very simple dress, Aziraphale thought. Crowley was one for dramatics and flair, and the dress really didn't have any of that. The dress was simple fitting, although it did slim near the hips- Aziraphale suspected that was where it skimmed given Crowley's practically nonexistent hip bones. After that, the rest of the dress clung tightly to her legs and knees.
"That's... different." At seeing Crowley's look, Aziraphale continued to blabber onward. "I mean, for you. It's different for you. You're still very lovely. All jolly good and dandy. Very jolly good and dandy. Dandy and good."
Crowley's lips curled into a smirk. "That loud one was screaming about immodest dressing being the end of the world. He's loud, and I'm just not today. Besides, I think seeing you all... flustered and worked up does great things to me. And, I'm taking Warlock for ice cream, and we're going to meet up with Anathema. Would you like to come?"
"No," said Aziraphale. He realized, suddenly, that he was a fool. Crowley had power over him, and she knew it. He hated that she knew it, and Aziraphale realized he needed to regain control of the situation. If she knew what she was doing, she would have Hell praising her for the corruption of an angel.
No, no, no. Crowley would never do that. Crowley wasn't cruel like that, nor did he think that she would wait more than six thousand years to finally begin corrupting his soul. Hell wouldn't give her such a relaxed deadline- eleven years was the limit, apparently.
He realized he was telling himself what he wanted to hear. He wanted to believe that she could love him and that she would never betray him. He believed himself to suddenly be unable to use his judgement and see what was good and bad. He believed that- in this moment and this moment alone- he wouldn't be able to see three thousand red flags if they were right in front of his face.
"Are you okay?" Crowley's face softened, and the smirk left her face. "You never say no to ice cream angel. Besides, Anathema said she has some big news."
"I'm jolly good," commented Aziraphale quietly. "I'm just... going to stay here and work on my collection of books. A couple of them were out of place."
"You could have said no to me much more simply angel," said Crowley. "You've done it before in less. Are you okay though, really? I know having Beelzebub here must have been a surprise, and I really didn't know she was coming. I would have said something."
"Demon, leave me alone." At Aziraphale's tone, Crowley stepped back. Azirapahle looked like he was equally as surprised. "I... I don't know where that came from. Crowley, I didn't mean anything bad."
Crowley gave him a small smile, like she also knew this. "I know, you clueless angel. But I am going without you for ice cream. Be nice when we get back."
She was just so great. Would it be bad of Aziraphale to get out of bed and kiss her? He never even told her he loved her, and he was stupid not to. He'd felt like she was truly special since the book rescue in Germany, and he realized that she had been special long before that. She had been special in Eden, and he wondered if God knew that he thought she was special.
Crowley pulled the door closed behind her before Aziraphale could get out any other words.
~
Aziraphale had never realized the appeal of sleeping. It was just so easy and there and ready. It was a time to be away from everything and everyone. Crowley's one hundred year nap made much more sense now, Aziraphale realized. It was about comfort and peace, and Aziraphale wondered if that was how Crowley had felt. Did Crowley do it for the almost therapeutic feeling?
Aziraphale realized that sloth was a deadly sin, but he honestly thought it was too late to start keeping track of that now. Aziraphale had made the deadly sins a checklist by this point, and the only one he hadn't indulged in was lust. If he kept going the way he was, Aziraphale was sure he'd check that one off too.
Aziraphale wondered if any other angels had went as rogue as he had. Aside from Gadreel and himself, none of the other angels had went rogue or committed fatal sins. None of the other angels felt temptation, unless one counted the need for an apocalypse as temptation. They weren't supposed to feel those sorts of things, especially not for demons.
Nothing could save Aziraphale now. Whatever God had created him for had obviously failed. Now all Aziraphale did was pining and chasing after something that would no doubt lead to his demise. But he loved it. It was sweet and divine feeling, although Aziraphale knew that it was unholy. This feeling was like poison, it was great until it was too late. Everything about what Aziraphale was doing was bound to end in flames. He was sticking his toes in the hellfire, and he liked it.
Maybe a nap would be better for him. It might be a hint of self-indulgence, but Aziraphale figured it was better than over analyzing a situation that he had let spiral out of control.
His eyes closed, welcoming him into an embrace of darkness and dreams. All the thoughts he had had vanished, fading from the world like the sun when it began to get dark out. Of course, everything would be back when Aziraphale woke up, since angels didn't have the same memory capacity as humans. Angels remembered so much, while their human counterparts did not remember so much.
The darkness that embraced him soon turned into a variety of bright, flashing colors. There was bright colored sand, clear water that reflected almost a silver color, and a dash of greenish brown trees dotting the horizon. It seemed like somewhere bright, but Aziraphale believed that if he wandered for too long, he would end up in somewhere with less light. Upon looking around more, Aziraphale realized that he was on a beach.
"Hmm... this is odd. I've always wanted to go to a beach. This is... jolly good," commented Aziraphale, looking at the sky. He realized that the sky was warping, that something was falling through it.
That something an angel, followed by something that Aziraphale recognized almost immediately. It was Eden, the very Eden Aziraphale had watched over. It was tumbling from the sky so quickly that Aziraphale was afraid it'd wipe him out, along with everything else nearby. Aziraphale closed his eyes, and he reopened them.
He was back in the bedroom, still laying in the bed. It wasn't exactly the same, Aziraphale noticed upon further inspection. There was a large business chair in front of him, the back of it facing him. Aside from the curtains being open to show bright flowers blooming and the business chair, nothing else had changed.
"Hello Aziraphale. Shall we begin our conversation with the matter of you lying to me about the flaming sword, or shall we discuss your current predicament? Or what happened at the Christmas party?"
~
"Hello Anathema," said Crowley, giving her a hug. She turned to give Newt a hug. "And hello to you too."
"Hey Crowley." Newt turned and grinned at Warlock. "Hey dude."
"Hello. Where's my ice cream?" Warlock looked around. "Can I get my ice cream?"
"Of course honey. Why don't you go order and take this money to pay for it?" Crowley handed Warlock a couple euros. "Get whatever you want."
"Yay!" Warlock cheered before running off to get his ice cream.
Crowley carefully took in her surroundings, checking for dangers and any other form of potential danger. Crowley was powerful enough that she could likely fend off danger herself, but Warlock was no such thing. Crowley was immortal; Warlock was mortal. At some point, Warlock would ascend to another plane, and Crowley would be unable to protect him or help in any way- unless he went to Hell, and Crowley didn't want that for him.
Anathema was dressed in a long skirt that swept the ground when the wind blew, the darkness of it reminding her of the sky at night. Her shirt looked like it had a silk feel to it, the teal color reminding Crowley of something she couldn't remember. It was simple, yet it made Anathema look gorgeous.
Newt was beside her, looking awkward but equally attractive. His glasses were pushed midway down his nose, and he kept pushing them up his nose every couple of minutes. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, and he was repeatedly apologizing before unbuttoning it and trying to correctly button it. His fly was likely unzipped, but Crowley wasn't checking, and Newt was struggling enough as it was.
"Crowley... have you ever had kids?" Anathema asked after everyone had sat down at the table.
Newt was asking Warlock if he knew anything about computers, which Warlock said he didn't. They were talking animatedly- their hands flying wildly, their eyes bouncing from one object to another. They weren't paying attention to anything the others said, which was fine with both Anathema and Crowley.
"Well, when you say have kids, what do you mean exactly?" Crowley glanced quickly at Warlock, then back to Anathema.
"Have you ever given birth?" Anathema asked. "To a baby, I mean."
"Anathema, I'm worried about what you think I would have if I had ever given birth. Did you think I would have an armadillo or a platypus?" Crowley smile at her.
"Well... that is a good point," added Anathema.
"But no, I have never given birth." Crowley looked at Anathema with a certain look- a curious, pointed look. "Honestly, for a very long time, I didn't know much about any of the reproduction systems. To have a kid, I realize that one must take part of a reproductive action, and honestly, I don't have time for that."
"Hmm... do you like kids?" Anathema paused. "Like, I don't know if you kids or what not."
"I love children," said Crowley. "Ngk, that sounded wrong. What I mean is that children are dear. I did all I could to protect them through the years. What made you ask that?"
"Crowley, I'm pregnant."
"Oh. Are you expecting a duck or a platypus?" There was a moment of silence on Crowley's part. "Ngk... damn it! That's not even what I was going to ask! Were you planning for this or no?"
Anathema shook her head. "Not really. I wasn't planning on having kids for a couple more years. I mean, I was thinking about having kids after Newt and I got more settled. I mean, it's completely fine. I just wasn't expecting this so soon."
"Yeah. How far along are you?"
"Four or five weeks," commented Anathema, smiling at Newt when he gave her a vanilla ice cream cone with sprinkles on it. "I only know because of a spell I was preparing."
"Mhm. I did raise Warlock since he was fairly young. His mother left him in my care for the most part, and I grew attached to him. Kids are so rad because they're chill with nearly everything. It's the adults you have to worry about."
"Yeah," said Anathema quietly. "Do you think I'll do alright? I didn't have siblings or anything. I have no practice with infants or even toddler, like at all. How will I know when they want their diaper changed, or when they need to be feed, or when they want to nap?"
Crowley just smiled. "Anathema, people less qualified than Newt and you have had children that turned out perfect. Babies are specific little things. You'll get to know them and their little quirks. I know this isn't the same, but when I started caring for Warlock, he used to cry and cling on to my skirt. After a couple days, I realized he wanted to me to hug him. Kids have no issues asking for things that embarrass adults."
"Thanks," said Anathema, standing up to go to the other side of the table to hug Crowley.
~
"Oh, this is jolly good," Aziraphale lied. This was not jolly good.
One could imagine it like this: You're going to married. Your future mother-in-law is bringing her new partner to the wedding. Her new partner is your ex, who hates you more than your future mother-in-law. However, your spouse insists that they sit in the front row, right in front of you. The priest who is going to marry you is your ex's twin. The DJ is your ex's mother, and the caterer is your ex's father (you're pretty sure he poisoned your food). Everyone at the party is related to your ex. Your beloved spouse is secretly your ex's sibling. You spent a trillion dollars on a wedding, and you are not getting married.
Now multiple that by seven. And replace the ex with God. Yeah, yikes won't cover that.
God was currently in the form of a human. Their hair was done up in a pixie cut. A long white dress fitted the human form, the length of the dress causing it to whip against the floor. Dark eyes stared into Aziraphale's soul, as if searching his very core for answers; Aziraphale wondered idly if he had a soul.
"You have a soul," answered God. Their voice was warm and welcoming, almost overbearing kind.
Aziraphale knew that the gentle voice could turn and become as sharp as the wipe that cracked the back of the Savior in a matter of moments. It was like witnessing the calm right before the storm came and wiped everything away. It unsettled him, and Aziraphale wondered if that was why this was as it was.
"Do you think of me as overbearing Aziraphale? Are you afraid of me?"
Aziraphale laughed uncomfortably. You terrify me. "Uhm, haha. What? Me! Of... of course not. Ahaha."
"Aziraphale, I am God. I know of what has happened in the past, as in now of what is happening in the present and what shall happen in the future. Do you think lying to me will work? Why are you lying? I already know the truth."
"Then why are you asking?" questioned Aziraphale.
God smiled. "Tell me, why have you not told Crowley of your love for them? Do you not like that I created a companion for you so that you won't grow lonely?"
"You created Crowley for me?"
"No, but also yes. Crowley was created for you, and you for Crowley. I created you as a pair- a rogue angel rebelling against Heaven, and a demon rebelling against Hell. I need you to protect humanity, and you needed each other to protect humanity. Don't think I didn't know of your scandalous love affair, except there is absolutely no love going on. All of this ridiculous pining."
"What are you telling me?"
"I'm telling you to quit overthinking. I'm telling you to love Crowley, and let Crowley love you. I created you to love each other." God smiled at Aziraphale. "And what happened between Gabriel and Crowley is in the past. I'm telling you you that Crowley lied at that party to spare your feelings for something that happened at the beginning of time. Run along, and quit moping about."
"I think I'm hallucinating," muttered Aziraphale.
"I'll leave you a sign."
When Aziraphale woke up, he saw that there was a dark burn mark on the dresser. And a note that said, "MAKE YOUR MOVE!"
"Wow! God didn't want to talk me." Aziraphale shrugged. "Wait a minute. This changes everything! Everything!"