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At Aziraphale's request, Crowley was on his way to pick up a classical music record that the angel had ordered from Maggie. As he walked through the door of the record store, Crowley realized that Maggie wasn't there and was about to call out to her when he heard a voice.
"Nina, I assure you, I'm fine."
Crowley was torn between leaving and staying to tell his angel some gossip.
"But as for this demon, I no longer know their name -"
"Shax."
Shax? Why were they talking about Shax?
"Yes, Shax, what they said to you was extremely hurtful. And I don't want you to think that..."
Maggie's voice interrupted her, "Nina, everything you told me was stuff I've heard before. But I know who I am and what I'm worth. What hurts me more is what they said to Mr. Fell."
"He said you could call him Aziraphale."
They talked about his Aziraphale?
"Yes, Aziraphale. I think he seemed more affected by what they said to him than I was."
Crowley couldn't stand it any longer and joined them in the back room, "What did Shax say to him?"
Both women gasped and Maggie hesitated.
Crowley insisted, "Tell me everything."
Maggie replied quietly, "I don't remember the exact words, but they insisted he was soft, mocked the fact that he liked to eat so much, and asked if they should get him some sushi, and Mr. - Aziraphale looked almost sad for a moment.
That bitch, Crowley thought, feeling anger well up inside him on behalf of Aziraphale.
"Hey, you're not going to pull that lightning trick again, are you?"
Nina's voice snapped him out of his spiral and he shook his head. The coffee shop owner then asked him gently, "Do you need any coffee, like 6 shots of espresso?"
Crowley shook his head, "No, on the other hand, I want six of your biggest Eccles Cakes, if you've got any left."
Nina nodded, kissed Maggie on the cheek, and said to Crowley, "Come on, I'll give you this."
As they walked to the coffee shop, Nina asked him, "Are you going to be okay?"
Crowley replied, "Yeah... no... I hate the idea of him... anyway, let's just say his last employer never really treated him right, even though he never did anything wrong, so..."
Nina nodded, "I know, even if Maggie and I aren't, weren't, well, anyway, when that old witch talked to her like that, if it hadn't been a demon, I don't know if I could have held back. So I can only imagine now that you and he..."
"Yeah." Crowley replied simply as they reached the coffee shop. Nina quickly disappeared behind the counter and returned with a plate of Eccles cakes, which she handed to Crowley, saying, "This is on me. Take good care of him."
Crowley nodded and stomped out of the coffee shop, heading straight for the bookshop.
As he entered, he spotted Aziraphale standing in front of one of the shelves and called to him, "Angel, may I tempt you to a little snack?"
As the Angel turned, he showed him the plate of cakes, pleased to see his eyes brighten as he nodded eagerly.
Crowley asked, "Isn't Muriel here?"
Aziraphale shook his head as he followed, "No, while studying the books they came across a compendium of the city's monuments and expressed a desire to explore the city."
"Oh, very well," Crowley replied, placing the plate of cakes on the small table, "Sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea."
"Oh, you're an angel, thank you."
Crowley turned and replied with a cheeky smile, "No, angel, that's you."
He heard the angel chuckle as he entered the small kitchen to prepare the tea.
A few moments later, he returned to Aziraphale with the tea and sat down next to him after placing the cup in front of him.
He handed the plate to Aziraphale, who greedily grabbed the cake and lifted it to his mouth.
Crowley couldn't help but smile at the various sounds of pleasure the angel made as he tasted the cake.
"What's the matter?" the angel asked, looking confused as he finished the first cake.
Crowley shook his head, "Nothing's wrong," then handed him the plate.
Aziraphale picked up another cake and asked with a smile, "Are you afraid I'm not eating enough?"
Crowley replied, "Nothing of the sort, angel, I just want you to eat what you feel like."
Having just bitten into the cake, Aziraphale smiled back, "That's sweet of you, but also a little strange."
I want you to forget what that idiot said to you.
"Crowley, my dear, I find you a little weird. Not that I dislike your attentions, but I have a strange feeling. Is something wrong?"
Crowley shook his head and replied, "No, nothing, eat."
The angel frowned and said in a falsely scolding tone, "Crowley...no lies between us. I sense there's something on your mind. I may often be oblivious, but I can see that you're upset about something."
Crowley sighed and replied, "I just heard from Maggie what Shax said to you that night.
Aziraphale looked puzzled at first, then Crowley caught the moment when the demon's words came back to his mind and immediately saw the angel's expression as he shrugged and said softly, "It's nothing I haven't heard before, at least Hell and Heaven are connected on this."
Confused, Crowley asked, "What do you mean?"
Aziraphale explained, "It's nothing much, Gabriel used to chastise me too for eating human food and that it made me soft." He unconsciously ran his hand over his stomach, but Crowley saw it and grabbed it, saying, "You know that's crap, don't you?"
"Well..." Aziraphale breathed, looking away, "for two people to be talking about it, there must be something to it."
Crowley grabbed his chin and turned his head toward him, saying in a firm voice, "I'm telling you, it's crap. It's coming from two people who are incapable of enjoying life -even if that's no longer true for his former royal smugness. You know, watching you eat is one of my favorite things, Angel?"
The angel shook his head gently, "How could it be?"
He gently ran his thumb over the angel's lips and replied, "When you eat, you look absolutely delighted, you're the picture of bliss, and I don't see the angel anymore, I only see you, Aziraphale. You don't hold back, and it's like seeing you fly on your own wings, if you'll allow me the metaphor. Forget what they told you, both of them. Don't be ashamed of who you are. Yes, you're soft, but so what?"
Crowley wrapped his arms around Aziraphale's waist and pressed his cheek against his stomach before continuing, "I like that softness, and I wouldn't have you any other way. And besides, it's all mine now."
He felt the angel laugh softly against him, then felt his hands settle into his hair, forcing him to lift his head.
Aziraphale leaned toward him and said softly, his voice trembling slightly, "Thank you..."
"Thank you for what, Angel?"
The angel replied softly, "For always telling me what I need to hear. Always."
On the wall, after telling the demon how he had given away his flaming sword, Aziraphale worried, "I hope I didn't do the wrong thing.
The demon looked at him, smiled, and said gently, "Oh, you're an angel. I don't think you can do the wrong thing."
Aziraphale said in a desperate voice, "I lied. To thwart the will of God."
Crawley nodded and replied in a gentle tone, "Yes, you did, but... I won't tell anyone," then turning to him, he added, " Are you?"
Aziraphale didn't answer, so the demon continued, "No. Then nothing has to change, does it?"
Aziraphale sat down on the bench and asked, lost, "But what am I?"
Crawley replied comfortingly, "You're just an angel who goes along with Heaven as far as he can.”
Crowley straightened and, cupping the Angel's face in his hands, replied gently, "Angel, I've never told you anything but the truth, nothing more. Just as I'm telling you today. I want to keep seeing you enjoy what you love. I want to keep seeing your eyes light up when you see a dessert that should be banned for its sugar content. I want to keep hearing you marvel because you've just discovered a new restaurant. Because that's who you are, and that's who I love."
When he heard Aziraphale gasp, Crowley realized what he had just said and didn't regret it, knowing it was the perfect moment. He leaned in to kiss the angel, but Aziraphale shook his head and pushed him a little, "W-Wait, Crowley!"
Crowley replied, "Don't even bother asking me if I'm sure, because..."
"I love you too, you idiot!"
"Oh..."
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Only they could have this kind of declaration of love, chaotic and messy, but so them in the end.
When they had calmed down, Aziraphale repeated more softly, "I love you."
Crowley didn't answer, closing the distance and pressing his lips to the angel's in a kiss that celebrated a love that had been sown many millennia ago, that had taken time to grow and was finally blossoming into the light.