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Aziraphale had closed his eyes and was tapping his fingers on the armrest to the rhythm of Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, the notes of which were playing on the gramophone.
He didn't hear the shop door open, and it wasn't until Crowley gently touched his shoulder that he opened his eyes.
The demon said softly, "Hello, angel."
"Crowley? I wasn't expecting you yet."
Aziraphale raised his hand to stop the gramophone as the demon settled down on the arm of the chair, right across from the angel.
Aziraphale couldn't help but smile as he felt the light pressure of Crowley's lips on his hair before the demon replied, "Maggie told me she found a rare Velvet Underground record reseller, but it's not a very nice place. She asked if I could go with her, bad boy aura and all."
Aziraphale chuckled, "Bad boy, that's right.
Crowley shrugged and, rising to his feet, asked, looking surprisingly a little hesitant, "How about dinner at the Ritz tonight?"
Aziraphale's eyes lit up and he replied, "Temptation accomplished."
Crowley smiled, but Aziraphale had a strange feeling that he was hiding something from him. He asked, "Are you all right, my dear?"
Crowley immediately replied, "Yes, yes, fine. Well, I'm off, see you tonight then, shall I drive you?"
Aziraphale barely had time to nod before the demon was on his way in the direction of Maggie's store.
Aziraphale put it aside, figuring the demon would tell him if anything was wrong.
He was looking forward to dinner tonight. It had been a long time since they'd spent so much time together.
The thought of food made him long for the delicious Eccles cakes at Nina's, so he left the bookshop, crossed the street and entered the coffee shop, going to the counter.
"Hello, Nina!"
"Hello Mr. Fell."
Aziraphale shook his head and replied, "Oh, no, after all this, you can call me Aziraphale."
Nina gave him a half smile and asked, "What can I bring you?"
"Two Eccles cakes, please."
Nina nodded, and as she prepared the cakes, she asked, "So, since the events, how are you getting along with... Mr. Grumpy."
Aziraphale couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname that more and more people seemed to be adopting before he replied with a slight blush, "It's going very well, in fact, we're going out to dinner tonight."
Nina raised an eyebrow, "Oh? First date?"
Aziraphale asked with a confused look on his face, "First what?"
“A date is an appointment to meet someone or go out with them, especially someone with whom you are having, or may soon have, a romantic relationship. It can be, a long drive, natural place, music, and candlelight dinner, sitting on the beach, taking a long walk, cuddling, long conversations, icecream, chocolates-”
"Muriel, I think Mis- Aziraphale has understood," Nina interrupted, watching the man become increasingly agitated as the angel recited what they had probably just learned in all the new books they were reading.
Muriel bowed slightly and said quietly, "Don't worry," before sitting back to continue her book.
Aziraphale now wondered if Crowley's invitation had a double meaning and if that was the reason for his strange expression earlier.
"Aziraphale, are you okay?"
Nina's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he nodded before grabbing the cakes she held out.
He said quickly, "I have to go. Thank you and have a nice day," then he hurried out of the coffee shop and into the bookshop. There, he began to walk back and forth.
A date.
He had no idea what to do.
Was it different from other meetings?
The only thing he knew about love was what he'd read in the novels of Jane Austen and other authors, but that was all from another age. He had absolutely no idea what to do in this kind of encounter.
"Get humans wet and staring into each other's eyes, vavoom, sorted. I saw it in a Richard Curtis film."
That was it! Crowley's movies! He'd found the solution!
Half an hour later, thanks to the DVD store around the corner and a little magic, the angel was sitting in front of the TV he'd summoned, watching the first movie he'd bought.
When Harry Met Sally.
Much later, his plate of Eccles cake long gone, two cups of hot chocolate down, and his handkerchief damp, he thought he'd found the answer thanks to those movies and looked forward to finding Crowley.
He checked his outfit for wrinkles and decided to go to Maggie's to see if they'd returned. As he left the store, he saw the Bentley parked in front of the record store and headed toward it. Not seeing Crowley, he decided to wait in the car.
He didn't wait long: five minutes later, Crowley opened the door and got behind the wheel. No doubt the car had tipped Crowley off one way or another.
The demon raised an eyebrow and said to Aziraphale, "You're early."
Aziraphale coughed, tried to act natural, and replied, "When you realize you're going to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want that rest of your life to start as soon as possible, my dear."
Crowley said nothing, but Aziraphale couldn't help but notice the slight blush on the demon's cheeks, so he figured he'd said the right thing.
The demon also coughed and murmured, "It's... it's... the same for me. Well, let's go."
They soon arrived at the Ritz, at their usual table, and eventually the evening unfolded like any other of their encounters. Their conversations were the same as usual. The only difference was that from time to time, in moments of silence, he would catch Crowley's strange glances at him.
Aziraphale enjoyed a bite of the scrumptious meal he'd ordered and said in what he hoped was a natural voice, "I think I'd miss you even if we'd never met."
He watched Crowley out of the corner of his eye, but this time the demon didn't look as flustered as Aziraphale expected and instead raised an eyebrow and replied, "Did you just quote the wedding date?"
Aziraphale shook his head and, avoiding Crowley's gaze, replied, "I don't know what you mean, I've never seen that movie."
"Angeeel?"
Of course, Aziraphale could no longer lie to the demon and sighed before answering, "Yes.
Crowley chuckled softly and asked, "What possessed you to do that?"
Then Aziraphale told him why he had decided to do it and by the end of his speech Crowley was laughing and when he caught his breath he said, "You watched When Harry Met Sally, The Wedding Date and Bridget Jones's Diary in one afternoon to know what a date is? Oh, Angel, we're both idiots. I don't know what I'm doing any more than you do, but in the end all we have to do is be who we normally are. We're having a good time, aren't we?"
Aziraphale had to admit that was the case and nodded. He was about to pick up his fork again when suddenly Crowley's hand slid down the table, palm up, right next to his. He looked at Crowley, then at the offered palm and placed his hand on it, the demon's fingers immediately closing on his hand and their fingers intertwining naturally.
Crowley said nothing and took a sip of wine, so Aziraphale did the same and continued eating.
In the end, it was that simple.
New but familiar.
Usual but different.
Learning together.
And so the evening went on.
Their hands searching for each other, letting go, naturally, as they chatted as usual.
A little later, Crowley's hand held Aziraphale's again as they walked from the Bentley to the bookshop.
Arriving at the door, Crowley turned to him and said with a wink, "A good night kiss to end this perfect first date?"
Aziraphale chuckled softly and nodded. Crowley framed his face with his hands and pressed their lips together in a tender kiss that grew longer and deeper, neither wanting to stop.
When they had no choice but to part to catch their breath, Aziraphale murmured against Crowley's lips, "Nice boys don't kiss like that."
Crowley, panting slightly, asked him, "Don't tell me you just quoted Bridget Jones's Diary?"
Aziraphale chuckled against his lips and Crowley continued, "Then you know what I'm going to say?"
Aziraphale nodded.
The demon murmured, "Oh, yes, they fucking do," before pressing his lips to the angel's, showing him that, yes, nice boys kiss like that.