Request by: the Ineffably Tired kiwiaku
You all are so valuable to me, and I just want to say, I will gladly accept having two hours of French homework if that means you guys reading my fanfiction. But I have experienced hell, which is two hours of French homework... Also I'm suddenly realizing how much I love the Raphael!Crowley headcanon.
"Crowley! Crowley where are you!"
The angel looked around in the darkness. Hell was so much darker when he was in his own body. He knew that Crowley was somewhere in the pit. He'd check all nine circles if he'd have to.
Lucky for him, he didn't have to. After a bit of wandering he heard Crowley ask, "Is that you, angel?"
Aziraphale stumbled towards his voice. He responded, "Crowley, it's me. I can't see you."
A hand grabbed Aziraphale's arm. Crowley sighed, "I've got you. Stay quiet and come here."
The angel could only be pulled so far. A wall of bars separated the two.
Aziraphale asked, "Crowley, are you locked up? Why are you in a cage?"
Crowley caressed Aziraphale's cheek and said, "Angel, you don't need me. You're such a beautiful, amazing, brilliant angel. You'll be fine without me."
Crowley felt Aziraphale nervously shutter.
"Crowley, dear, you're not saying you're going to be here forever. Don't tell me that. No, please, no."
Aziraphale began to cry. The demon wanted to cry just as bad. All that he could manage to let fall out of his mouth was, "I'm afraid to hurt you angel. I think I love you, but I'm a demon and I'm not supposed to be able to love. I also can't trust that you really do love me. I'm a demon, Aziraphale. You're supposed to hate my guts, and the moment I give into everything hellish that floats through my mind, you will hate me. You'll hate me more than anything. I don't want to see that day, so I locked myself in here."
Aziraphale felt Crowley's thumb wipe a tear from his cheek. The angel placed his hand on top of Crowley's, wanting it to stay there forever. He didn't want to leave Crowley, he knew that he'd have to though. Angels can't stay in Hell very long. Their delicate lungs for singing will slowly begin to burn from the sulfur in the air. Demons don't sing for this reason. While they may have the best mix tapes, they can't sing at all.
Aziraphale knew that he had a little time left with Crowley.
"You used to be an angel, Crowley. I believe you still have love in your heart, since you still have control. Tell me about when you were an angel, please. I don't care that you don't remember everything. Just tell me about when you were good."
Crowley closed his yellow eyes. He smiled and said, "Heaven used to be nice, remember those times Aziraphale? Clouds were sweet as they were soft. We all sang. We played in the gardens, at least most of us did. I spent most of my time building stars. You know that. You used to joke with me and some of the others about the stars. You told us that you'd spread your wings and touch one someday. That's all I remember of Heaven though."
Crowley tapped his head against one of the bars. Aziraphale swallowed and asked, "Were you the archangel Raphael?"
Crowley responded, "Yes, I was. You finally figured it out after all this time."
Aziraphale said, "Makes sense. I remember when you took me to see the stars. We snuck out together."
Crowley reached out for Aziraphale's free hand. He sighed, "I don't remember that. Did we get caught?"
Aziraphale shook his head and laughed, "No, silly. You never got caught, everyone knew that. Yeah, it was you I used to sneak out with. Not the same person though, I suppose."
Crowley said, "Yeah, not the same, I guess I'm completely different now than what you remember."
Aziraphale closed his eyes, thinking back to his time with the angel Raphael. He hummed, "No, not really Crowley. Not that different now that I think about it. You look a tad different though."
"A tad? Aziraphale, I don't remember what I looked like. You know that everything is fuzzy," Crowley sighed. A soft smile rested on his face. Aziraphale mumbled, "Your hair was long, and strawberry blonde. Much, much lighter than the copper tint you have now. You had freckles made of stars too. Should have figured out who you were when you kept going on about stars. You also had eyes made of pure gold. Lots of eyes sometimes, if you wanted to."
Crowley said, "I bet I was stylish then. Now I have an eternity to think about that."
Aziraphale sighed, "You don't have to, you know. We can leave here, together, go watch stars or something."
The fallen angel squeezed Aziraphale's hand and said, "You go on without me. I don't have a key to get out of here. Didn't make one when I made the cell."
Aziraphale began to cough. Crowley could see pain in the angel's eyes.
"You won't be able to sing anymore if you stay. Go on Aziraphale before it's too late. Angels don't belong in Hell anyways," Crowley whispered.
Tears started to pour from Aziraphale's eyes. Crowley could hear them sizzle against Hell's floor. He then realized how burnt the angel's feet would be. He hoped that the angel would take a nice bath with holy water.
Aziraphale leaned in towards where he thought Crowley's face would be. "I guess this is goodbye then."
Crowley sighed, "Yes, I suppose it is," before planting a kiss on Aziraphale's lips. It was long and soft.
"I'm going to miss you angel, for all of eternity, and believe it when I say I'll think of you everyday. Hush now. Don't cry."
After that Aziraphale left, stumbling through the dark alone.
That night he stayed out late, drinking and gazing up at the night sky. Crowley's stars twinkled overhead. Aziraphale would have done anything for the demon to be there with him.
He loved the demon, more than anything in the whole universe. More than anything in Heaven or Hell. Crowley was his fallen angel, and all he needed.
Everything seemed too still for Aziraphale. He felt like it should be pouring rain, with howling winds and tree branches falling.
The only thing that was moving was a simple meteoroid. If it was any other day Aziraphale would have leaned over to Crowley and said, "I like shooting stars. They're so pretty from right here."
It wasn't a normal night though. A simple hand reached down and touched Aziraphale's back.
"You like the shooting stars? Don't you, angel?"
Aziraphale smiled and said, "Yes, I do. They remind me of you."
Crowley sat down next to Aziraphale and kissed his forehead. Aziraphale asked, "How did you get out?"
Crowley wrapped his arm around Aziraphale and said, "You were my key. After you left the door just opened. Decided that meant I should come after you and try to not be so afraid."
Aziraphale laid his head on Crowley's shoulder. The angel smiled and said, "I love you, there's nothing you need to fear."
Crowley pointed up at a particular bright star and said, "That right there, Alpha Centauri A, I made that one for you. I remember it now. A little bit fuzzy but I think I know the gist of it. I made it because I loved you, but I never was able to tell you. I fell right after making it. Luci made Alpha Centauri B and fell with me."
Aziraphale asked, "Isn't that system your favorite? You wanted to go there instead of face Armageddon."
Crowley said, "Yeah, it is. Now I have a reason for it to be my favorite."
Crowley then kissed Aziraphale.
"I love you, angel."