The City Inbox

[inlovewithmycar]

⛧A.J. CROWLEY⛧ "This is Crowley. I'm not in. You know what to do, so do it with style. Chow."

code by MANUAL

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[inlovewithmycar]

For you? I got two.

Something the matter?

...Well, being kidnapped to another world.

[benedicus]

No, no.

( a brief pause. )

Well, yes. If I must acknowledge the . . . displacement.

( he's an angel, honesty comes a little baked into him. )

But that's not what I am calling about.

( another pause. )

I have. . . A proposal. Of sorts.

[inlovewithmycar]

[This is novel - usually Crowley is the one coming at Aziraphale with proposals.]

Hit me, angel.

Uh, not literally - I mean. Uh. You know, just lay it all out.

[benedicus]

Mm.

( softly, thoughtful.

then very declaratively, he adds: )

I have decided on a place of residence. ( ahem, ahem. he clears his throat. ) I believe it would be in our best interests to stay in the same place.

[inlovewithmycar]

[There's a contemplative hum, Crowley making a whole show of thinking it over, as if there were ever any question of them separating for any real length of time in such a dangerous situation.

But, you know. Can't sound too eager.]

I think that's a good idea, angel. You said you got a place all picked out, yeah? Let me know where you are, and I'll swing by.

[Because his angel gps is apparently broken!]

[benedicus]

( there is a soft sound of relief from aziraphale's end of the receiver. )

Oh, good. I was worried you might disagree. But I just don't feel comfortable with, well—

( no, no. that's not important at the moment.

crowley had asked where it is, hadn't he? )

Mm, yes. Right. It's the condominium complex by the park. The one with the thick trees. I'm in Number 7.

( there wouldn't be a problem with him teleporting there, would there? )

[inlovewithmycar]

[Teleportation is, apparently, a problem.

He gets roughly the right location, but wrong altitude.

There is a brief ascending note that sounds like some very rude language, and then it stops abruptly when there's a crash and crackle of snapping tree branches.

Not his first tumble from great heights, and between his wings and one of the thick trees breaking his fall, it's far from his worst. There's a thud outside the patio door that sounds like a bony demon making a less than graceful entrance.]

Angel? [He announces himself, tucking away his wings. Black feathers litter the patio, but they'll blow away soon enough.] I'm coming in -!

1/2

[benedicus]

( . . . )

[benedicus]

( what a show.

not only had aziraphale bore witness to the bulk of that mid-air kerfuffle, including the pathetic scrambling of his too-thin limbs, but he'd nearly been bowled over by the demon's entrance into the condo. he comes in through the patio doors a little too quickly and in a small wind of feathers, clearly too frazzled to see what's in front of him.

or whom.

taking a quick step backward, aziraphale barely avoids a collision. )

Uh-!

( he says intelligently.

then all too suddenly, he's making a frantic gesture with his hands. he drops his phone in the process, the device clattering against the floor with an audible noise. )

Hello! What—what was that?

[inlovewithmycar]

A bungled miracle.

[Crowley's answer is curt, in the usual tone he takes when Dagon has done something particularly infuriating and he wants to rant about it, but will need at least a few shots of Aziraphale's best whiskey before he starts giving away critical secrets (gossip) about Hell's administration (he's seen clown shows that are more functional).

Crowley readjusts his shades, then thinks better of it and takes them off, stuffing them in his jacket pocket. There are bits of twig in his hair, and pieces of tree clinging to his black attire.]

Everything seems to be on the fritz for me; smaller stuff works fine, but anything bigger is spotty at best. It's like when I give reality a little push, it shoves back. Erm. Sorry 'bout the tree. I reckon it'll live though.

[benedicus]

( the tree is the least of his concerns.

aziraphale is far more worried about what the tree hit, with that being crowley. rather than the flora! whatever damage had occurred there was surely fixable, where as the demon might have been injured. that sort of fall must have hurt something fierce.

his pride as well as his body. )

Take a seat, you're getting debris everywhere.

( with a smooth gesture, he tries to lead crowley over towards the couch. )

Are you alright?

[inlovewithmycar]

[No one would consider Crowley particularly proud. Audacious, perhaps, bordering on shameless, but Pride was never his wheelhouse so much as Sloth. He enjoyed a bit of Wrath and Avarice from time to time and he'd certainly got a tinge of Lust for Aziraphale, but it was all tangled up in other terribly human emotions that it was hard to sort his vices from his virtues.

He didn't have the energy to be too fussed about his fall - not if it means getting to loudly complain while Aziraphale fusses at him.

He loves their little dances. He's always loved their little dances. It's so easy now too, just the thinnest excuse and they can just... reach for each other.

He's always known. But now they really can go nice and slow as they please.

He let's Aziraphale point him to the couch, kicks his shoes off and throws himself down in a bony heap, and then abruptly shoots upright with a very indignant squawk. He plucks a branch that managed to get tangled in his beltloop and glares at it, before sinking down back into the soft cushions - slowly this time. He's had enough surprises for today.]

M'alright, angel. I've taken worse tumbles than that. How're your miracles holding up?

[It doesn't seem like Aziraphale has had the pleasure of any backfires, but then again, he may just not be using his powers. He was never the show-off of the two.]

[benedicus]

Have you considered putting a stop to these tumbles?

( genuinely asked, but said in such a tone that one might believe that aziraphale thought crowley could just simply stop. he doesn't—he's long since understood that being a demon meant that a certain amount of resistance was to be expected from the world. a sort of pushback, if you will.

he begins to stride across the room, tucking his hands in together.

then crowley is asking a completely different question. one that aziraphale isn't ready for. )

Ah. That's a little direct, don't you think?

( hand wring, hand wring. )

[inlovewithmycar]

[There's some bitter retort on the tip of his tongue, his usual sarcasm rearing from the earth of his being; why yes angel, why didn't he think of that, just not fall?.

He bites it back, because Aziraphale is doing that thing where he's wringing his hands and Crowley knows it isn't the time. He knows Aziraphale's tells like he knows the back of his hand, and there is the fidgeting where Crowley has asked the kind of uncomfortable questions that draw in little flecks of Doubt, and then there's the fidgeting where Aziraphale might have done something that was both absurdly kind and very against the the Rules, and then there's the fidgeting when something is very, very wrong.

The sharp look melts away into worry.]

Angel...? What's wrong...?

[His tone is plaintive, soft.]

[benedicus]

Hah.

( a thoughtful little sigh as the angel searches for the right words to articulate himself with.

the answer isn't exactly a simple one and he isn't entirely sure that crowley would be able to understand him either. he had never had the experience of being an angel on earth. they had already talked about this some, he didn't know what it was like to be intrinsically connected in the way aziraphale had been. which is pretty unfortunate because it would certainly be a lot easier to explain if so.

aziraphale accidentally lets the silence stretch on too long, caught up in the tangle of his own thoughts. )

Erm.

( he eventually says when he notices he's taken too long to answer. )

I don't want you to be troubled.

( this is not an answer. )

[inlovewithmycar]

I come predisposed to being 'troubled', angel, it comes with the territory. Don't worry about me.

[He hates it when Aziraphale goes quiet, the way he tries to make himself small and insignificant and unnoticed. Hell was awful in it's own myriad of ways, but it never once tried to make it seem like it was for Crowley's own good.

He takes his hands in his own in careful, halting movements, in case his friend wants to draw away. He cups them in his palms so delicately, like they're fragile - some fine-boned bird weak and dehydrated.

It is the same tender care with which he's held the hearts of newborn stars.]

Angel [Plaintive, there's the crack in his voice, the damning evidence he isn't wheedling or tempting.] You can tell me what's wrong.

[benedicus]

( aziraphale sighs, mouth falling into a frown. )

Oh, see, this is exactly why I was hesitating to tell you. . .

( for as much as aziraphale found the demon's concern to be touching, he also truly didn't want him to worry. he didn't want to see him caught up in knots over this when there was nothing he could do about it. things like that had a tendency at eat at crowley, becoming nagging little doubts and intrusive thoughts.

he lets out another little noise, steeling himself. )

It's just—Well, it drains me. I can perform them, but only at cost. I am not sure what will happen if I use it too much.

( the answer to that particular riddle is that he'll pass out and be forced to sleep for a while, but he doesn't know that yet. )

[inlovewithmycar]

[Crowley doesn't particularly mind having something to worry for. Or at least something to complain endlessly about; their new home has already lost its luster in that regard; he'd be beating a dead horse at this point.

The messing with their miracles is fun and exciting new territory, for him to find grievance with. It's good to keep the mind occupied; if Heaven hadn't been so celestially boring he might never have Fallen to begin with.

The point being, if Crowley wasn't twisting himself in knots over something or another, he'd probably expire on the spot.

Right now, he's livid on Aziraphale's behalf. Not, perhaps, as angry as he'd been when he relayed what Gabriel had said, no. But still, there's that twisting of his mouth into a thin, tight line.]

I don't know of anything outside of Herself who could do something like this to... us.

[Well, other angels and demons probably could if they ever managed to develop an iota of creativity and a sense of cooperation. But that was about as likely as an amoeba developing sentience; that lot tended to stick to the classics.

It just wasn't going to happen.]

But this isn't really Her style. Not enough dead firstborns, pillars of salt, and drowned corpses.

[Yeah he was still a bit miffed about all of that.]

[benedicus]

The salt pillars had been more of Sandalphon's concoction than Hers.

( aziraphale corrects, but with a certain disdain in his voice. it was ugly business all of that. it had been a different time, an entirely different world, but it hadn't sat right with aziraphale.

just one of many things that weight down his chest like rocks. )

The first time he'd ever shown a jot of creativity and he came up with that. Salt!

( don't get him started. the other angels just had a different mind to them. aziraphale has long since accepted that, exploited that, and even depended on that. he's so familiar with their thinking and practices that he hasn't seriously thought that god might be behind it.

beyond, of course, ultimately.

this is something else. this isn't upstairs or downstairs. it's something entirely new. )

I fear we might be dealing with something like the Anti-Christ again.

( another being beyond the scope of either side.

maybe they were here on purpose? )

[inlovewithmycar]

Sadistic bugger.

[It's an idle, off-hand remark, which speaks a great deal about how much thought Sandalphon deserves to be spared. There are some angels that smite - fair enough, comes with the territory, but there are some who take such twisted delight in it, you'd almost mistake them for demons.]

Something like Adam, though... huh.

[The kid had been alright. Extraordinary in his ordinariness. Altogether a good kid but also Crowley hoped they never crossed paths again. That would be nice.]

If that's the case, whatever this is can just bend reality to their will. Bet they're having a right lark, watching us run around like whatsits with their heads cut off, trying to figure out their master plan.

[But the more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Hadn't Adam initially wanted to clear the board, so to speak? Rearrange the world to his liking? Maybe he hadn't been entirely off on his initial freakout when he got off the train. Maybe the apocalypse had happened.

And this was the aftermath, the 'fixing of the world' by whatever this universe's antichrist was.

He rests his chin on his palm, eyes settled on Aziraphale.]

Not sure what we can do about it. It's a little late to play dress up as Nanny and Gardener.

[benedicus]

I doubt it would have had any influence if we had.

( simply. dress-up wasn't the solution to all their problems.

aziraphale waves a hand, moving himself along. he has thoughts that he wants to share about it. )

I don't really get the impression that's this . . . shebang is personal at all. Have you noticed? How everything is catered towards the humans?

( honestly, with the way their luck pans out sometimes, it probably wouldn't be a surprise if they ended up here by accident. were never intended to be residents. just like coral swept up in the waves. )

But I believe we can find the solution in working together.

[inlovewithmycar]

[He gives a noncommittal shrug.]

Mmn, I noticed.

[There were a lot of humans about, so it stood to reason that things would be catered towards them. Crowley and Aziraphale liked their food and drink, but they didn't need it the way humans did. In fact, despite the place being a city, it was a lot like the g-]

...Together...?

[Crowley had a thought just a moment ago. It was a good thought, very sensible, very clever. It's gone now; that train derailed and falling to shambles into the river of forgetfulness by a much bigger train that had no desire to share the the tracks.

His eyes are enormous, his crooked smile a tremulous, hopeful thing. He's sure he looks terribly soppy, but he really couldn't be bothered to care. It's not like they were in public or anything.]

You'd be alright with that...?

[His tone is casual, but the yearning look is anything but. It's a thrill, really, how they can just do what what they want, but he still feels like he has to make sure. He's been thrown for enough loops, thank you.]

[benedicus]

( as crowley's expression begins to soften, aziraphale's begins to brighten. slowly, slowly, slowly. like cranking the dial. all of his concerns and awkwardness about the situation rapidly start to lose priority, fading away as thoughts to be addressed later. how could he be more concerned with anything beyond how crowley is looking at him right now?

aziraphale smiles. )

More than alright.

( because of course it is. they work well together, don't they? and there is a very honest part of aziraphale that is excited at the idea of the two of them having a problem to tackle together again. )

Mind, we'll need to cooperate with the others so it won't always be just the two of us.

[inlovewithmycar]

[Just them and the humans solving the mystery of this city.

Yeah, Crowley can live with that.

Especially with that smile; he loves when Aziraphale lights up like that and he especially loves being the cause of it.

He lets himself sink into the moment for a little while, the way he would sink into a hot bath. Nothing wrong with a bit of indulgence right? Nothing wrong with sitting side by side while he thumbs lazy little circles over Aziraphale's knuckles and they smile at each other, right? They can have that for just a little while.

It's fine. He's fine. Definitely no Evil thoughts winding through his head.]

Of course, of course. [He agrees with a wave of his free hand, though abruptly aborts the motion. He didn't want to perform any accidental miracles; not the way things have been backfiring, he thinks glumly as his hand falls back to his side.]

Humans are good at figuring these sorts of things out. We'd just be going in circles if we didn't get their help. Still...

[He's about to say something else for a moment, but it gets caught in his throat. It's wrapped up in too many long, tangling feelings, and he has to swallow it back down. Instead, he gives Aziraphale's hand a squeeze, his lopsided smile back again.]

...eh, we'll be alright. It's not the end of the world.

[benedicus]

( there is something stuck in aziraphale's chest, something warm, bright, and oh-so-full of love. it sits heavy within him, threatening to burst forth. threatening, threatening, threatening in that way that it always does whenever he finds crowley to be particularly charming. he thinks that he would have to be made of stone not to find himself moved by the show of tender affection.

tender hands, tender looks, tender thoughts.

for brief shining moment, aziraphale thinks about how anywhere with crowley could be tolerable.

he returns the squeeze with his own, saying something that he doesn't have the words for. )

It's not.

( said a little too softly, a little too warmly. )

I don't quite know what it is, but the stakes don't seem to be as astronomical.

( then abruptly, he's reminded that he is actually supposed to be welcoming crowley into cohabitation. not thinking any bold thoughts. how he's supposed to do that exactly, he's not so sure, but he imagines that he can cobble something nice together. )

Oh, I'd almost forgotten. Do you need anything to be comfortable? ( then a quick gesture with his free hand out towards the condo. ) I haven't gotten to redecorating it yet.

( more like he's been snooping around for clues and hasn't wanted to disrupt the area yet.

however, the motion of his hand and the warmth of the feelings in his chest spark an unexpected miracle. a cluster of small led tea lights appear from the air, clattering loudly against the coffee table as they tumble downward and spill onto the floor. )