The next morning Crowley awoke to a tangle of limbs, and surprisingly, they weren't his own. Aziraphale's head was buried in the crook of his neck and a leg was strewn over the serpent's torso while an arm was thrown across his chest possessively. The demon himself was just as entangled with the angel, one of his hands grabbing onto Aziraphale's forearm and his leg hooked around one of the angel's. Never in a million years would he have imagined ever waking up this way... yet it was perfect.
From what he remembered, Aziraphale didn't sleep. The angel he remembered much rather be curled around a book or a cup of tea than venture into the unconscious. He had never expected — and was never going to push — him to try it. Which made this experience all the more thrilling. The angel's small snores and the warmth of his body against his, was giving the demon a blissful high. He couldn't believe this was real, that they were married.
Crowley grinned and shifted so he could have a better grip on the angel, pulling him closer. He could stay like this forever. Just the feel, the smell, and everything else was perfect. His other arm snaked up Aziraphale's torso to the tangled mess of blond curls on the angel's head. Gently, he massaged and just let himself drink it all in, enjoying the contented sighs of Aziraphale relaxing ever so much more against his body. They seemed to meld together with each little stroke and touch that at some point he didn't know where his body ended and the angels began.
It was probably about an hour later that Aziraphale finally began to stir. There was a shift in the angel's body as their legs disentangled.
Crowley, still in a daze and riding a high of the angel being this close to him grumbled at the movement. Why couldn't they lie together just a little longer?
"Mornin," Aziraphale whispered gruffly into Crowley's ear.
Oh. The demon could have lived in that moment, everything just felt so perfect. He wrapped himself tighter around the angel, never wanting to let him go.
Aziraphale sighed pleasantly, "I missed you."
Crowley chuckled, "I've been here the whole time."
"No, I meant I missed this." Aziraphale corrected, a hand drifting up to the nape of the demon's neck to play with the hairs there.
Crowley shivered at the touch, "Why- why didn't you tell me? You knew I have loved you forever. Waking up like this would have been... shocking but not unwelcome."
Aziraphale shook his head, "I didn't know for sure. We... We never talked about that."
"We never talked about how long I've been in love with you?" He asked bewildered. That didn't seem like something he would leave out.
The angel sighed as if mourning the past, "The first few years after the apocalypse I was rather... delicate. Well... erratic is probably a better term for it. I wouldn't have been able to handle that you had been in love with me for so long. I could barely even say the words myself."
The demon pulled back to look at the angel in his watery blue eyes. There was so much that he didn't understand about his own past and their journey together. He didn't remember the troubles and bad times. He didn't even remember the good times. Let alone the fact that he had just found out they were married less than twenty-four hours ago, and he was already criticizing how Azirpahale handled it. The one pair out of the two of them that actually remembered their past.
His hands stilled from where they were tracing patterns into Aziraphale's back. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay my love." the angel whispered, a look of bliss overtaking his features as he shivered, "It does feel good to say that again... love."
Crowley could feel himself growing flustered. He fidgeted against Aziraphale and tried to hide his no doubt bright, blushing face from him. Early anxieties melted away by how the angel said the word 'love'.
"Though, finding out you felt the same even back in 500AD is a pleasant surprise." Aziraphale pulled away, almost seeming to relish in the flushed demon, "You get a lot of new firsts." The angel leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose.
Crowley stared wide eyed and was sure he had transported to another dimension, "Oh."
Aziraphale giggled and moved to get out of bed. Crowley reluctantly let him, still laying in shock that this entire morning was reality. "Come, let's have breakfast." the angel called, treading out the door in those ridiculous pajamas
"Breakfast." Crowley repeated breathlessly and followed him in a stumbly daze.
"So... we're married." Crowley muttered dumbstruck for probably the seventh time that morning.
Aziraphale chuckled lightly from where he was in the kitchen, preparing Crowley's coffee. "Yes dear."
"You married me." The demon restated.
"Yes love." the angel chided, placing the mug into Crowley's hands, "And you married me. That is how marriage works."
"Right." The demon sipped at his coffee as Aziraphale sat by his side at the kitchen table. "We're married."
Instead of responding, Aziraphale just leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. The demon flushed accordingly. "Would you like to put the ring on dear?" he asked quietly. Crowley still had Aziraphale's old ring tied around his neck and had been clutching at it sporadically throughout the morning
Crowley whirled, wide eyes on the angel, "You want me to?" he asked.
Aziraphale nodded, "Only if you want to dear. I know this all must be overwhelming dear. Just do whatever you're comfortable with."
The demon shakily untied the cord from around his neck and unstrung the ring from it, "Are you sure?" he asked again. "It's just, it's not me that you married. It's me in a thousand and some years. What if-" he gulped, "What if I'm different now, and you change your mind?"
Aziraphale silenced him with a kiss, "I will never," he said, pulling away, meeting Crowley's wide eyes steadily, "ever stop loving you. No matter what you remember or don't. You are you and that's all that matters," The demon blinked away his tears and looked away, "but don't do something you aren't ready for, dear."
"I think..." Crowley started, clearing his throat. "I think I'm going to keep it around my neck for now," he finished quietly, gingerly tying the string back together.
The angel smiled encouragingly and kissed his forehead, "Perfect," he whispered.
Crowley blushed and fidgeted uncomfortably. He coughed, "So, what are we doing today?"
Aziraphale pulled away and put his dirty dishes in the sink, "Whatever you would like, love. I figured you would have a lot of questions and I don't have any plans." The demon followed him like a lost puppy, "Or if you need more time to process I can give you space and-"
"No." Crowley interrupted quickly, "I- I don't want you to leave."
The angel smiled kindly, reaching out and grabbing the demon's hand, "Then I won't. Whatever you would like."
Crowley just stood gaping at Aziraphale for a solid minute. "I love you," he finally said pulling the angel into a hug, "I can't believe this is real," he clutched him tightly, trying his hardest not to cry again.
"Oh my love." Aziraphale embraced him, trying to convey all the warmth and affection he could with his touch. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Crowley built up the courage to pull away — a courageous feat for the demon. Wide watery golden eyes looked up at the angel with such a sense of awe.
"Can we talk in the garden?" he asked, voice tight and quiet. The garden seemed like a safe place. He had liked it out there when he went exploring a few days ago. There were little trophies and hints at a past life that he didn't remember and it seemed like a good place to start.
Aziraphale smiled down at him, tugging the demon by the hand and guiding him to the door, "Of course."
The two entered the garden and Crowley breathed in deeply, trying to get a hold of his emotions. Aziraphale's hand was still in his and the angel didn't seem keen on letting it go. That was... something. Having his comforting strong presence right next to him was both grounding and incredibly distracting given that it was in fact the one being he had been pining after for a millenia.
They stumbled over to the pear tree where they had sat the other day. The day where Crowley had unintentionally made Aziraphale cry. Not a great memory, however it was a great place to sit. So they sat together, fingers intertwined as Crowley took in the garden once again with the new lense that this was theirs.
"So thissss..." he started, the hiss coming back into his voice unbidden, "garden. Is it yours or mine?"
The angel sighed, "Well, technically it's ours but you're the one who does all the upkeep and actual gardening." he explained patiently.
"And the statues?"
Aziraphale blushed, "All yours. You were very attached to them even before we moved in together."
Crowley's mind recalled the wrestling statute and his cheeks flushed. That made more sense actually. Aziraphale would never have something like that of his own. He nodded, ducking his head to the side hesitating a moment before asking, "Where did we get married?"
The angel's expression melted into one that was impossibly soft. "Oh it was so wonderful, my dear. It was at a cliffside not far from that oyster restaurant we visited and- Oh!" he fished for something in his pocket, "Do you have your phone dear? There are pictures on it from the event."
Crowley miracled it to his hand. He hadn't touched the thing since he had woken up. He barely knew how to work the device — only seeing glimpses of the blueprints in heaven — and didn't want to mess anything up for the future him. Such as accidentally deleting the lockscreen picture of Aziraphale. Definitely did not want to even touch that.
He held it out to the angel so he could pull up the pictures. Aziraphale grabbed it with a smile. Brows furrowed as he tapped a few things in deep concentration. This phone was a different style than his own so it was clear he was having difficulties. After a few minutes of this, Crowley had just about given up on seeing the pictures when Aziraphale made a victorious noise and wiggled happily.
"Here it is!" he beamed, holding it out for Crowley to hold. "Just swipe and you can see them all."
Crowley gingerly took back the device and saw the first picture of Aziraphale at the altar, dressed in a white suit and his heart stopped. Oh.
"We had a photographer come and take candid shots throughout the wedding and reception." Aziraphale continued as if he hadn't just completely changed the demon's entire world. "The humans we invited are the ones who were there at the apocalypse, look you can see Adam here." He pointed somewhere in the audience of the picture; but Crowley wasn't even paying attention. Eyes still trained on the Aziraphale in the picture.
Aziraphale continued to talk about the ceremony, going into a tangent about the food for thirty minutes before returning to the topic at hand. He spoke of the outfits and the vows and the exchanging of rings, everything. Yet, it all just passed over Crowley like a wave as he swiped through the pictures, forgetting to blink.
He moved grandeously slow, pausing on each picture for a minimum of five minutes. He tried to commit each image to memory and it was only three pictures in did he start crying silently. Bringing his knees up to his chest and having the phone screen as close to his face as possible while still seeing everything clearly. It was strange to look through his wedding that he didn't remember.
It was all so beautiful. His hair had been windswept for half of the pictures and Aziraphales was frizzed up around his face like a halo. All of the scenery was absolutely perfect, Crowley couldn't have imagined a better day. He just wished he could remember it.
"Are you okay, love?" Aziraphale asked finally after about an hour of gushing about one of the pictures where they exchanged rings.
Crowley shook his head and sat quietly, a steady stream of tears flowing down his cheeks. He dared not to remove his eyes from the screen. "I need a minute," he forced out.
Aziraphale hesitantly brought an arm around the demon's shoulders and pulled him close to his side, "Of course," he said quietly, kissing the top of the demon's head.
When Crowley finally got through all the pictures he turned and sobbed into the crook of the angel's shoulder, mourning those beautiful memories he lost. Aziraphale shushed and hummed in support, rubbing circles into the demon's back comfortingly.
"It's alright, you're alright," Aziraphale cooed, holding Crowley tightly.
The demon choked on his tears, before sputtering, "I want them... the memories... I need them back."
"Oh my love." Aziraphale squeezed his own eyes shut, a single tear escaping, "I'm so sorry."
As carefully as he could, Crowley set the phone and all the images down. His hands came up to the angel's coat and he gripped the fabric like the world was ending, burying his face into the Aziraphale's chest. "Angel," he sobbed, "What are we going to do?"
Aziraphale brought a hand up to the back of the demon's head, cradling him carefully. "I'm not sure, my dear." he kissed the tattoo at the demon's temple, feeling the shudder of Crowley's body against his, "We will do whatever we need to do to get them back. We'll face it together, like always."
Crowley squeezed his eyes shut and let himself be held by the angel.
The world was starting to spin around him and in a wave of exhaustion that took over the demon's body; he passed out.