004 | Restoration

[eyesofaserpent]

[Crowley has been searching for his sunglasses for the past five and a half weeks. All of which he's had to do manually since he's been as weak as a normal human the entire time. And recently he found the only thing better than his powers: Aziraphale.

All in all, Crowley's in a good mood. Sex will do that. And it's about to get better

Comments

[misplacedsword]

Oh, excellent! I knew you'd find them, my dear.

[He wisely doesn't add something like, 'if you just had faith,' and instead simply beams at Crowley.]

[misplacedsword]

[All right. Now Aziraphale's suspicious. He eyes Crowley and his suspiciously quickly changing expressions, raising an eyebrow.]

You're welcome.

[eyesofaserpent]

Hey, Angel... I was thinking...

[He hesitates a touch.]

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale frowns slightly, the hesitation tinging his suspicion with concern.]

What is it, my dear?

[eyesofaserpent]

I... I want to go to your world.

[Ah, there it is. That laid back charm he always seemed to exude, especially when he was uncertain.]

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale freezes. For a long moment, he can't do anything but stare.]

No.

[It's more forceful than he'd intended, but he can't bring himself to amend it. Still, his next statement is softer.]

They'll find you.

[eyesofaserpent]

[He watches him a bit more carefully than before. His posture seems to get even more relaxed.]

And? I can come back here if there's trouble.

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale's shaking his head before Crowley's even finished talking.]

Not if we don't know there's trouble until it's too late.

[eyesofaserpent]

[His brows furrow.]

They think I'd dead, right? So coming to your shop for short periods of time should be okay.

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale is not going to allow himself to be convinced of this. No matter that he'd actually originally thought of it with the intent of offering to bring him back. He'd very quickly realized all of the ways it could go wrong.]

Can't they sense you? Wouldn't they know if a demonic presence suddenly appeared in London?

[eyesofaserpent]

I think your shop is a safe space. You've been there long enough it'll mask me for a while. And don't you have perimeter trips to let you know if someone unsavory is coming? I know you at least have that little annoying bell on your door that jingles whenever someone opens it.

[He's not backing down without a fight. He will never openly admit it¹, but he greatly misses London and the bookshop. At least London the way it ought to be.]

¹This is not true. Crowley will admit that he misses London the next time he returns to his own world and looks out over the rubble to the blood filled Thames.

[misplacedsword]

[It's incredibly difficult standing his ground when he's fighting against something he actually wants to do. But what Aziraphale wants doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is keeping Crowley safe, and he's already proven that he can't do that in his world.]

What if they don't use the door?

[eyesofaserpent]

That's what the perimeter---- Wait, you don't have more than just the bell?

[He looks a bit affronted at the idea of so little security the angel might have. He had layer upon layer of perimeter warnings to make sure he'd be prepared at his flat in Mayfair. They were never going to take him down without a fight.]

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale is briefly offended.]

Of course I have more than the bell. I couldn't take the chance after the Apocalypse was stopped.

[His shoulders sag a bit. There is a reason they hadn't hidden in Aziraphale's shop, after all, aside from that it would be the first place anyone would look. And Aziraphale didn't want his books involved.]

But not much more, and nothing that would be of use should a high ranking demon simply choose to appear in my shop.

[eyesofaserpent]

[He's quiet a long moment and holds out his hand, looking expectant.]

Give me your hand.

[misplacedsword]

[Aziraphale watches him uncertainly during the silence. Still, as soon as Crowley asks for his hand, Aziraphale gives it to him, taking Crowley's hand gently.]

What do you need my hand for?