EDIT: I've now decided to turn this book into a One-Shots collection!

*Word Count: 8748
Please don't forget to vote if you liked it, and feel free to comment if you wish, thank you!

***

The bookshop never really did feel the same after life began again. It was like the stain - should it have been miracled away, the thought of it being there would always be an annoying, yet monotonous, thought.
Aziraphale couldn't look at his books the same way...he'd bonded with them all, over the years, and these just seemed too much like replicas for him to truly appreciate them as much as he used to.
Even the bookshop itself seemed different...
Although, his priorities hadn't been to visit the shop post to it burning, so he hadn't seen it. He knew though.
And the books could never be the same.
His home, his beloved artifacts- were like strangers to him now.
Even his body felt uncomfortable to him now that it'd practically been miracled back into a physical existence.
There was silver lining though.
There was a constant in his life that he could rely on.
Crowley was unchanging, in the eyes of Aziraphale. He'd been there at the beginning and he was here now. Same antics, same attitude, same peculiar eyes and shades to match. From the inside out, Crowley was Crowley.
Sure, he'd changed over the years as a person, but Aziraphale didn't see it as change, he saw it as development.
Crowley was Crowley.
He was a constant and a foundation.
Books or no books.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you with that thought, I do enjoy you too." Aziraphale hummed politely to the book he currently held, "And don't take this personally, I'm merely fetching myself some Hot Cocoa." He stood up with a slight stretch and grunt in remarks to a pop in his knee upon stretching. He gently closed the book before setting it down on his desk in the back room of the store, currently closed as it was a Sunday. Just something Aziraphale had gotten used to, regardless of no longer swaying on one side or the other.
It gave him a day to relax, a day to himself that he could spend reading or drinking divine Cocoa. Both usually.
He paused in thought, in reminder, of the fact that he could miracle himself up a hot cocoa. Then again, he didn't want to abuse this power as he knew it would involve paperwork up above, and he didn't exactly want them back on his case nor anyone else's down on earth for quite awhile longer.
So, he settled for turning towards the cupboard in the way back of the back room and grabbing some powder along with a mug, heading over to a small refrigerator not far and pulling out the milk.
He set these ingredients on the coffee table in the back room and got to brewing.

"Need a hand with heating that up?" A hum came from the entrance to the back room, making Aziraphale jump in surprise before glaring down at the ingredients before him, the glare meant to be directly at Crowley who sauntered in, but instead being taken out on the innocent products of food, "You really should knock next time, you know."

"I know. But then that would make me polite, which dreadfully boring." Crowley scowled as he moved to slouch in one of the chairs around the coffee tables

"I'm polite, are you calling me boring?" Aziraphale pouted in mock offense as he poured some powder into the mug he'd gotten.

"Oh, Angel, please, I've known you for six thousand years, you are not polite." Crowley smirked.

Aziraphale furrowed his brow, "I am too polite."

"You didn't welcome me in." Crowley sighed dramatically, "That's quite rude of you, you know."

"Rude? You came in uninvited!" Aziraphale scoffed.

"When am I ever not invited here? You're welcome to kick me out any time that you like." Crowley lifted his arms with a shrug.

"I'm not going to-" Aziraphale sighed, "I'm not going to kick you out, Crowley and you know that."

"How polite of you." Crowley gasped with highly detectable sarcasm.

"Oh, do be quiet." Aziraphale rolled his eyes and stifled a smile of amusement as he began pouring the milk in on top of the powder. Once it filled to the near top he stopped, screwing the cap back onto the milk bottle and then pausing.
He then looked up at Crowley expectantly.

Crowley looked over his shades to give Aziraphale and a look that dripped the word of Really?

Aziraphale gave a tiny smile, a question.

"Fine." Crowley rolled his eyes, leaning forward and taking the mug, holding it in his hand for a moment as it heated up, glowing a bit as it touched the glass and heated up it and the contents.

"Don't turn it into sand now, dear." Aziraphale fretted.

"Mm, a fine idea..." Crowley continued for a moment as Aziraphale began to reach for the mug, "But I'm in a rather good mood, so not today." He blew on the mug quickly and it went from boiling to a steady steam before he passed it over to Aziraphale who quickly rescued the mug.

The angel pressed it gently to his lips before taking a sip and looking delighted, "Perfect temperature."

"As you like it." Crowley leaned back as Aziraphale took the seat across from him to nurse the cocoa.

There was a silence as neither had any idea of what to say.

Then Aziraphale cleared his throat, "So, why are you in a good mood?"

Crowley looked a bit surprised by this question, not having expected the angel to recall him mentioning that, "Ah, you know, stole a kid's lollipop, made it rain on a sunny day, danced atop somebody's grave."

"Crowley, be serious, you might be a demon but you're not that evil."

"Well, I did dance on somebody's grave- it was empty at the time though." Crowley leaned back in his chair.

"How did you-"

"How about you, Angel?"

"Me?" Aziraphale looked confused by the question.

"How's your day?" Crowley rolled his eyes as if this should have been obvious.

Aziraphale sputtered, "You- are you? Did you just ask me how my day was?"

"No, I asked you about what happened to your flaming sword." Crowley dead-panned.

"Crowley, you were there-"

"Yes, I asked you how your day was." Crowley huffed, "What of it?"

"Well, it's just...you've never been one for caring about how my day's gone- not the details at least." Aziraphale smiled bashfully look up from his cocoa.

This look made Crowley stumble over his words, "Of course I- what makes you think I wouldn't- I always- how the heaven was your day you-" He couldn't land on a negative name that fit the angel, none he desired to call him, not today, probably not ever should fate allow, and quietly shut up.

"Well, it's quite fine, actually. I just paused reading-"

"Don't tell me," Crowley sighed, "Hamlet, for the...four thousandth time?"

"Four-Thousand and one, actually." Aziraphale corrected, "But, yes." He smiled, "It never get better than the original, I'm afraid, though."

"Books are never as good as the real thing." Crowley hummed.

"Excuse you," Aziraphale's gaze narrowed, "I'll have you know that books are the foundation of th-"

"I don't have a problem with books, Angel, please, I'm merely comparing them to actual scenarios- like, witnessing. For example, The Book Of Accurate Anthropology is much better experienced than-"

"Crowley!" Aziraphale slammed his mug down and some cocoa spilled onto the table, face turning bright red.

Crowley grinned from ear to ear at this reaction.

Aziraphale sighed sharply and stood up, turning to go get some paper towels before Crowley cleared his throat and the angel turned his head to glare at the demon from the corner of his eyes.

Crowley blew gently on the table and the remains of cocoa disappeared into thin air.

Aziraphale pauses before sitting back down, "You know, you really shouldn't do that."

"And why's that?" Crowley folded his arms over his chest, slouching to his right in a bored manor.

"They'll..." Aziraphale quickly motioned downwards, "If they get too much paperwork about you flaunting your miracles around-"

"I wouldn't call them miracles exactly-"

"-Then they might-"

"Do you really think hell sorts through their papers regularly?" Crowley snorted, "We're about...oh, I don't know, nine-hundred centuries, give or take a few, behind on paperwork. I'm sure they're still going through some from our prime."

"Our prime?" Aziraphale cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know, back when you strictly did good and I, for the most part, strictly caused chaos, you know?"

"I wouldn't exactly call that our prime." Aziraphale mumbled around the rim of his mug.

"Oh? What would you call our prime then, Angel?"

Aziraphale seemed to consider this for a moment, "Right now, I'd say.."

Crowley lifted his eyebrows as if to prompt the other to explain, "Yeah?"

Aziraphale set his mug down, "Yes."

"Why's that?" Crowley propped his feet up on the table to which Aziraphale glared at but didn't bring up. Instead he reassumed a more thoughtful expression.

"Well, we don't have to worry about sides...we have our own choices...and we've got each other now, right? We don't have to worry about anyone else interfering with that." Aziraphale leaned back in his chair to assume better posture, "I don't have to worry about anyone getting after me for being around you."

"Why would you do such a dreadful thing such as that?" Crowley grinned wickedly.

"Because, I care about you, Crowley." Aziraphale frowned.

Crowley's grin slowly fell and with that came brief silence.

Aziraphale suddenly became very confused, "The world is new, why shouldn't we appreciate the choices we've got now? Dont tell me you got some kind of thrill out of keeping hidden our-"

"..You do?" Crowley finally murmured.

"I do, what?" Aziraphale sighed in frustration at how vague the other was being.

Crowley's expression seemed to have changed significantly because he now had a very thoughtful look on.

"I don't trust that expression, you look like you're scheming- are you scheming, Crowley?"

Crowley didn't answer, rather he studied the coffee table with quite a bit of concentration.

"What's gotten into you? Silence is hardly something you usually-"

"Angel," Crowley seemed to say promptly.

"Yes, my dear?"

Crowley shifted uncomfortably in his seat and...could Aziraphale see under his shades, he might have seen that he looked almost shy, something never painting the other's expressions.

"Would you..." Crowley looked as if he was having second thoughts before letting out a curt sigh and continuing, "Would you maybe like to go out with me?"

"Out with you?" Aziraphale looked confused.

"Well, yes, out with me," Crowley muttered, "You know...like...well, officially...on the record."

Aziraphale seemed to shake his head in concern.
Why was Crowley so upset over this? They went out all the time, there was hardly a time when they weren't out together. Officially? Meaning outside of the bookstore at an actual establishment, where one could get a check for their meal?

Crowley may have been lying about causing it to rain but, no doubt, it was sprinkling out there, and Aziraphale dreadfully wished not to soil his white coat yet again.

Aziraphale finally shook his head, "No, I don't particularly want to." He remarked simply.

The look on Crowley's face was quick. The change from a confused expression into one a kicked puppy might give, visible even through his shades, almost a grimace, before his jaw set and his fingers curled into tight fists. His lips formed a nearly perfect line with how tightly they pressed together.

"Right." Crowley's voice sounded strained and quiet, "Of course, I- well, I should be off then." He cleared his throat and swiftly turned towards the front room where the entrance, and exit, was located.

"Oh...if you're sure- do be careful though, it's raining and-"

"Got it." Crowley left without so much as a wave or rude gesture, leaving Aziraphale in a confused state as to what he'd done to make the other leave so promptly.
Finally settling on the answer of That's just how Crowley is sometimes, Aziraphale was able to get back to his reading in a more or less comfortable way.

***

Aziraphale was beginning to get panicked when he hadn't heard from Crowley in three days. It wasn't normal for even one day to go by where the demon didn't at least check in or something of the sort.
Since the time that Crowley had come back to find Aziraphale both physically and celestially missing from the face of the earth, he'd checked up on Aziraphale at least once a day.
Now it had been three, and Aziraphale was getting worried. He'd tried contacting the other multiple times, only to hear the same message he gave everytime- and Aziraphale was trying hard to do it in style this time more than ever when the beep came.

"Crowley, I demand you answer your phone this instant. If this is some kind of joke, it is not funny," Aziraphale's concern came off as anger that he didn't mean to express, "I'm going to be at your flat on within the hour if-"

"Don't bother." Crowley's voice growled over the phone.

"Crowley!" Aziraphale sounded overcome with relief, "Are you alright? Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"If you don't know why then perhaps you're even more stupid than I previously thought you to be." Crowley scowled.

Aziraphale's expression faltered into one of confusion and hurt, "E-Excuse me?" He scoffed, "Is this because I didn't want to go to lu-"

"Go find someone else to bother, Aziraphale. I'm busy. Stop calling me before I block your number." Crowley sneered.

Aziraphale stuttered, not used to Crowley calling him by his given name. He finally found words, "How do you expect me to believe you can place a block on a phone numb-" Aziraphale's eyes widened as the repetitive beeps the phone made indicated that Crowley hung up on him.

"The nerve! All because of- because of what? Because I didn't go to lunch with him? Rubbish!" Aziraphale complained to the book set on his desk. His heart sank as he sat down in the chair that slid into the desk, "Complete rubbish. Not my fault I'd rather not get my coat wet, right?"

The book didn't respond.
For obvious reasons.

"I've denied him lunch before, haven't I? What's gotten into him?" Aziraphale rolled his eyes before straightening up, "Fine then. I will bother someone else."

***

"Oh, um...actually, I was planning to go out with Anathema tonight-"

"Perfect! Where should I meet you then?" Aziraphale called cheerfully into the phone.

Pulsifer sighed nervously, "I mean it was kind of like a da- is Crowley busy?"

Aziraphale frowned at the mention of the other's name, "Yes."

Pulsifer felt guilty. He couldn't say no, that would be rude. He wasn't rude.
The only thing he had in common with Aziraphale though was the fact that they both were aware of the Ineffable Plan and what had gone down with Adam. Really, Anathema was the one closer to him, with how they both geeked out over books. He didn't want to risk his girlfriend's relationship with the Angel because of one spoiled date between them, "Alright...well, yeah, we're going to a pub down our street so just, well, you know where to find us- first and only pub there, can't miss it."

"Fantastic!" Aziraphale grinned, "See you then!"

"See you then." Pulsifer smiled politely despite knowing Aziraphale couldn't see it over the phone line.

"Who was that?" Anathema hummed from the dining room's table.

After the soft-reset of the world, Anathema had instantly suggested that she and Pulsifer move in together.
A huge step, undoubtedly.

While at first taken aback, Pulsifer wasn't simply going to deny an opportunity to split rent with someone- that and Anathema was unarguably the best person on the face of the earth, hands down. Regardless, it was questionable how fast this relationship had moved.
For Pulsifer, he had only just met Anathema.
For Anathema, she'd known Pulsifer, or at least, known of him, for her entire life.
She had fallen for the idea of him and was now falling for him.
It was an interesting duo for sure, but quite dynamic.

Pulsifer was still working under the wages that Crowley provided for Witch Hunting, despite Pulsifer himself being quite satisfied with the one which he had found.
It was quite a sum, and only split between two people, quite brilliant actually.
With the knowledge of the fact that Crowley was, in fact, a demon, something that Shadwell had yet to fully grasp, and the fact that Crowley was the original Crowley versus Crowley's son- quite confusing- with this knowledge, Pulsifer felt some guilt in taking the demon's money, quite aware that he could probably do the witch hunting himself should he so desire, better even, perhaps.
This thought is what also lead Pulsifer into choosing not to deny Aziraphale dinner. The angel and demon were inseparably, therefor helping one was helping the other, right?
Probably.
Good enough.

"Just Aziraphale- change of plans." Pulsifer responded sheepishly.

Anathema cocked an unamused eyebrow over the magazine she read, gently setting it down.

"He's tagging along with us for dinner." Pulsifer breathed out.

Anathema sighed heavily, "Great, now we have to deal with their awkward sexual tension."

"Crowley's not coming, actually." Pulsifer sat down from across his significant other.

"Oh? That's not good." Anathema hummed as she picked her magazine up again.

"Why not?"

"Have you ever known them to do anything separately? They're joined at the hip. If one of them goes out and about, the other follows- like ducklings except they're both imprinted on each other." Anathema shrugged.

"Oddly specific but I suppose you've got a point." Pulsifer crossed one of his legs over the other, "Trouble in paradise you guess?"

"Trouble in paradise, trouble in heaven, trouble in hell— this should make for an eventful dinner."

"I don't know. He tends not to be very open about these things, you know." Pulsifer shrugged.

"Yeah, because nobody asks the right questions, clearly. If you want to know if someone's single, you don't blatantly walk up to them and ask oh, excuse me miss, are you single at the moment? You did that stupid thing where you ask if object A or object B are things bought from their significant other. If it becomes a trope, it also becomes flirting, so you hit two birds with one stone." Anathema turned the page of her magazine to the next.

"Right..." Pulsifer nodded as if he understood, "Why didn't you ask me if I was single, then?"

Anathema paused to slowly look up at Pulsifer with an amused look of disbelief before reading his expression as completely serious and stifling a laugh before looking back down at her magazine, "With some people, you just know."

"Like with my aura or...?"

"Sure, yeah, let's go with that." She cleared her throat before changing the subject, "Regardless, I suppose it's not our business to mettle in."

"Um, obviously it is." Pulsifer scoffed.

"Why?"

"We've got a man of habits on our tail who seems to have broken a habit of his- don't you think he'll want to mend it?"

"Let him mend it on his own then."

"No, I mean, he might mend it through replacement- replacement as in we're never going to have a meal without his attention again."

"You don't really think he would-?"

"He's been living on the same pattern for god knows how long, why should he stop?"

Anathema pinched the bridge of her nose, "He's a polite person, Newt-"

"And oblivious too. I'm not going to get on the bad side of someone who was prepared to shoot a child if necessary, I don't know about you." Pulsifer leaned back in his chair.

Anathema groaned, "Fine. We can mettle- I just hope you're better at fixing people than you are at computers."

***

Aziraphale picked at his food lightly. He wasn't one for hot wings and soda, especially when it was considered abnormal to eat chicken wings with a fork.

"I will only go so far as to risk a stain on my shirt." Aziraphale had remarked upon Anathema judging his antics with the wings.

It was true. Buffalo sauce was terribly difficult to be rid of.

If it had been up to him, they'd be dining somewhere of much higher class...versus a small, enclosed, noisy bar where one could hardly hear their own thoughts, let alone much else.
Aziraphale was more than grateful when they played a slow song, it gave him a moment to take in a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This really wasn't his crowd. But he refused to allow Crowley to win in his battle to isolate him, so here he was, an Angel dining in a pub with two...they weren't exactly good friends, but of course they weren't bad friends either.
Aziraphale consider someone a good friend should he know them for a couple hundred years.
Humans didn't last that long, so Crowley had really only been the one good friend he had.
It was off-putting to dine with other people, he hasn't done that in centuries, hadn't had the need to with Crowley not too far and always keen on stopping by.
It upset, nearly angered, the Angel that his thoughts wouldn't clear of the demon. Was Crowley really that a substantial figure in his life?
Well, that was a stupid question, of course he was. But was Aziraphale that reliant on him in which he couldn't feel comfortable having dinner with anyone else?
It didn't feel like that was the case.
It simply felt off this time, like this was some how logically his fault. Which, it clearly wasn't. He was allowed to refuse dinner, lunch, or any meal for that matter, with anyone he so pleased. Especially if he had a reason for it.
What was frustrating was the lack of logic that this situation brought, and the fact that Crowley denied him the explanation to such logic or solution to this.

"Don't like your food?" Anathema murmured as she set her final chicken wing bone down.

Aziraphale was dying inwardly as he kept himself from pointing out that there was sauce all over Anathema's fingers and mouth. He opened his mouth to respond when the girl began to quickly lick her fingers clean before wiping them with a napkin. He held back a gag. He never needed to go back to America if this was their etiquette.

Anathema dabbed her face with the napkin before cocking an eyebrow at Aziraphale.

Aziraphale snapped out of his daze of judgement, "Oh, yes, I mean- just not a big...sauce fan."

"Why'd you order the wings then?" Pulsifer chuckled.

"There are three things on this menu and I was not going to get the frog legs or escargot- why do they even have that here? It doesn't even remotely make sense-"

"Pubs don't have to make sense. They serve what people will eat or be dared to eat so they can make money off our drunk asses." Anathema snickered.

"Well, I for one disapprove." Aziraphale leaned back.

"Mind if I?" Anathema gestured vaguely towards Aziraphale's untouched wings.

"Oh, go ahead." Aziraphale pushed the plate across the small table.

Pulsifer quickly nabbed a wing.

Aziraphale let out a curt sigh and began tapping his foot.

"Why so anxious?" Pulsifer asked as soon as he finished his wing, placing the bone down on Anathema's plate, who gave him a quick glare.

"Anxious? Me?" Aziraphale chuckled, "My dear, I hardly ever get anxious, you must be mistaken."

"No, actually, I'm pretty good at seeing the signs- physical ones at least. Your foot won't stop moving and you've been bending that fork in and out of shape for the last fifteen, or so, minutes." Pulsifer hummed.

Aziraphale quickly bent the fork back into shape and bashfully set it down, "I suppose it's just...the environment."

"Does heaven not have parties?" Anathema questioned.

"Not usually no, but it's not that." Aziraphale shook his head.

"I think this is the first time you've ever had dinner with us, Aziraphale." Anathema suddenly added.

"Why, yes, that would be correct." The angel nodded.

"Your aura's messed up." Anathema added.

"It? Excuse me?" Aziraphale looked concerned, "Is that something to worry over?"

"Possibly. Depends on what caused it." Anathema tapped her fingernails along the glass of the coke she'd gotten. She wouldn't be in the drinking mood until later.

"Leave it to a demon to-"

"Crowley?" Pulsifer questioned, earning a slap on the knee from Anathema and a stern glare that said Too soon.

"How did you-?" Aziraphale shook his head, "It doesn't matter."

"Clearly it does, you've got a monster of a color swamping you right now." Anathema sniffed.

"I do?" Aziraphale fretted, looking up as if he'd be able to see this, "What color is it?"

In all honestly, it was mainly a blinding white, but in it were splotches of black that curled around the perimeters. It didn't look bad, it matched the Angel quiet well in fact. That would press any information though. And gossip was something that anyone loved to thrive off of, "Pink and green." It was the worst color combination that she could think of to go with Aziraphale.

Aziraphale gasped, "That most certainly does not match my outfit- nor my personality."

"Because you're not you at the moment, care to explain?" Anathema pressed her lips together. The sooner she found out what exactly was wrong with the angel, the sooner she wouldn't have to worry about this dinner thing becoming a regular with him. Not that she didn't appreciate the other- he could just be...quite extra sometimes.

"Oh, fine. Crowley and I just had a bit of a...falling out, is all." Aziraphale straightened his bow-tie self-consciously.

"A falling out?" Pulsifer frowned.

"Yes, well, he's just...being difficult."

"Difficult how?" Anathema pressed.

"Oh, you know, dramatic, really- won't answer his calls, not mine at least, hasn't come to visit in a few days now- which is unlike him-"

"Why?" Anathema leaned forward curiously.

"I was getting to that." Aziraphale hissed quietly.

"Go on." Anathema sighed.

"Well, it's stupid really," Aziraphale rolled his eyes, "Like I said, dramatic really, asked if I would go out with him and-"

"He did?" Pulsifer and Anathema exclaimed at the same time.

"Money. Now." Anathema held her hand out to Pulsifer.

"Oh, come on, that's not fair, you had a book that told you the future." Pulsifer grumbled before pulling out a handful of coins and depositing them into Anathema's palm, who gladly took them and pocketed them.

"Agnes never mentioned anything about this, it's just obvious." Anathema rolled her eyes.

"What's obvious?" Aziraphale narrowed his eyes, at the exchange that the two had made, suspiciously.

"What were Crowley's exact words? Do you remember?" Anathema folded her hands on top of the table.

"Well, let's see..." Aziraphale hardly forgot a word that Crowley said. He could write a whole collection of books full of direct quotes- angel's were notorious for a perfect memory, which was handy in some cases, and in other cases it got a handful of others asking you what happened to your flaming sword. In this case, Aziraphale was able to apply this to the finer things in life, more important matters, such as the words that rolled off of the demon's tongue. Nearly all of them witty or informational- all personal in some way or form.

"Well, if I do recall, he said," Aziraphale cleared his throat, mimicking Crowley's tone, "My dear boy,- oh, sorry, that's an insert," He sighed, "Really, I'm not used to his slang-"

"Go on." Anathema prompted.

Aziraphale reassumed his tone, "Angel, to which I responded yes, my dear?" He recounted the story word for word, "And he went on to say- oh what was it- would you perha- maybe, like to go out with me? It did look important, I suppose, but formalities aside-"

"Did he say anything that indicated it was an official ask?" Pulsifer frowned in thought and Anathema nodded in agreement.

"Official- official? That word- Why, Yes, Yes, he did mention something about that, after I clarified where he meant by out, I said Out with you? To which his response to that was, well, yes...officially, on the record. Which is a silly thing to call an establishment with bills-"

"You are such a complete and utter-" Anathema stuttered over he words.

"Yes, well, before you finish that sentence-" Pulsifer tried to come up with a reasonable response but shook his head, "No, really, that's the only valid response, go on."

"Idiot!" Anathema's eyes widened along with Aziraphale's.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What was your response?" Anathema physically leaned over the table, causing Aziraphale to lean back.

"I- why should that matter-?"

"You said no, didn't you?"

"I was polite about it- I said No, I don't particularly want to." He defended himself.

Anathema stiffened before leaning back into he chair and letting her head fall into her hands with a groan.

"Oh, wow, and I thought I was bad at-"

"Aziraphale." Anathema whispered just above the murmur of the crowded restaurant.

"Yes?" Aziraphale furrowed his brow, prepared to be offended again- and rightfully so.

"How daft are you?" Anathema's voice rose.

"A-Ana!" Pulsifer gasped quietly.

Aziraphale's eyes rounded in dismay, "Am I not allowed to refuse a trip to lunch when it's raining? Pardon me if I'd rather not get my coat in poor condition!"

"He wasn't-" Anathema sighed sharply but shook her head, "I didn't think there could be someone this oblivious that actually exists on the face of this earth.."

"What is she on about?" Aziraphale scoffed, turning a head towards Pulsifer.

"Crowley must be Morosexual." Anathema grumbled.

"Actually he-"

"He was asking you out on a date, Aziraphale." Pulsifer interrupted.

Aziraphale suddenly grew quiet as his jaw set.

"Thank you." Anathema sighed sharply, rubbing he temples.

"He- He was what?"

"A date, it's when-"

"I know what a date is." Aziraphale responded sharply before shaking his head, "No, what confuses me is why Crowley- why would he do something as stupid as that?"

"The man's been pining over you for God knows how long, literally, and you're calling that stupid? Daft and rude-" Anathema remarked bitterly.

"What she means to say is, why is that stupid?"

"Oh no, I meant what I said." Anathema narrowed her eyes.

"Well, it's just-" Aziraphale struggled for words and promptly sighed, sitting up a bit straighter than he already was, which seemed nearly impossible, "Crowley and I are celestial beings. We're not bound by physical nature- nor traditional natures."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning human antics...they've hardly ever applied to us...dating, right? Dating is a human cultural thing and...it's just not done where we come from...but we already have...that we have...I know I have...feelings.." Aziraphale grew quiet.

"Does Crowley know that?"

Aziraphale knew he loved Crowley, he had for centuries. It wasn't a thought he had to dwell on because it was a fact that wasn't going to change.
He just hadn't realized that the demon had...felt the same way.
Love was the one universal thing.
Aziraphale has rationalized it by the idea that proclaiming one's love was foolish and unnecessary. You should know someone loves you by how they act...but, then again, he'd always found himself lingering on the word love...he'd wished it would come up in conversation...a part of him wanted to hear it from Crowley himself, that he loved his angel, really...but...
Anyone could love anything if they really liked to.
Aziraphale loved books.
But not in the same way that he loved Crowley.
That was...what stood apart...
It was a different kind of love...
One that was fragile and had to be tended to like a plant...one that had to be categorized, to be specified...
One that wasn't one-sided but a mutual...a mutual attraction.
Humans...
Brilliant minds really...
They'd come up with a system to deal with such feelings. To categorize them in a way. To handle them and...proclaim them...
It was different and it made sense.
Once Aziraphale was able to analyze it, that is...once he was able to realize it.
One couldn't simply say I love you...otherwise Aziraphale would have said that to Crowley centuries ago...something held him back- a fear of rejection. Because it wasn't as simple as knowing it.
Crowley knew Aziraphale loved him.
Aziraphale knew Crowley loved him.
But never in an intimate way. Never more than merely friends.
It had always been something that each of them felt towards the other but never shared.
Aziraphale knew he loved Crowley.
Crowley knew he loved Aziraphale.
Apart from anyway either would ever love another.
And this was difficult to put to words and difficult to admit and-

"I-I rejected Crowley..." The words fell from Aziraphale's mouth broken.

"Yes, terribly too, I'll add-"

"Ana!" Newt hissed.

"He literally said he didn't want to date him, how is that not terrible? The guy has reason to he ignoring him-"

"I need to go." Aziraphale shakily stood up, pushing his chair in before nodding to the two across from him, "Thank you, really, even if this was a mess."

"Anyti-" Newt choked As Anathema socked him in the gut to shut him up.

Aziraphale hurried from the pub. His feet couldn't go fast enough, in his opinion. He let out a strangled huff as he waved a taxicab down and hopped into the back seat.

"Where to, mate?"

Aziraphale provided the driver an address and was finally given some quiet time to think.
He felt he should cry. The guilt that reached from the top of his heart to the pit of his stomach made him want to. But the quiet anger that he also possessed kept any tears at bay.
Why were native emotions so complicated? Why was Crowley so complicated? ...That's what made the demon special.
He wasn't much of a demon- he was hardly any evil at all, really.
It was as if he were trying to act in the role of a demon but was failing dreadfully.
The serpent was an interesting case...
But, overall...he was good.
He was good for Aziraphale and very much so good enough for him. Nobody else in the entire universe could truly compare to Crowley, and that's what kept Aziraphale tapping his foot on the cab's carpeted floor for nearly the whole ride...he couldn't lose Crowley...he'd never forgive himself ever and he knew that. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do without the serpent. He was his anchor and his foundation.

He was his constant.

Nothing had ever changed for the past six thousand years but-

It had.

Aziraphale knew it hadn't been love at first sight with Crowley...appreciation at first glance maybe, but not love. The love had grown...blossomed...until it became so overwhelming that Aziraphale just had to silently come to terms with it. But both their feelings had changed over time- and this sure as anything was going to change them tremendously.

But even after all that.

Crowley was still Crowley.
And Aziraphale was his angel.

No matter where either one was.
No matter the argument or concern.
That would never change.
Aziraphale was sure of that.

"Right here, please." Aziraphale murmured to the cab driver who pulled over to the side of the road and turned back towards Aziraphale with a cocked eyebrow.

Aziraphale paused before snapping out of his daze, "Oh, yes, right, of course- here you are." Aziraphale pulled out a banknote from his pocket and slipped it into the man's hand, who gladly tipped his hat before promptly leaving after Aziraphale departed from the vehicle.

He sighed, staring up at the building that held Crowley's flat.
He wasn't exactly sure what he'd say.
For the first time ever, as he walked through the doors and into the lobby, nodding kindly to the receptionist before hooking a left to the nearest elevator, for the first time he felt himself planning on what to say to Crowley.
That had never happened before.
He'd always known what he needed to say and blatantly said it to the demon.
But now...it had to be more than just I love you— it felt more than that and...on top of all that confusion was also the fact that he had to right things with the other.
That was the difficult part.
He knew how stubborn Crowley could get over things, especially things important to him...had Aziraphale rejected him kindly, it would have been a different story, but for all the serpent knew, their tie was broken for the moment.
However, Aziraphale was having none of this as he stepped into the elevator and hit the button that led up to Crowley's flat.
He wasn't exactly sure of how to say what he wanted to say, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to say it. Even if it took centuries of pleading and talking with Crowley, he was going to get them back to their usual placement- more than that, should he be successful.
Aziraphale found his fists clenching as the elevator door opened on the level of Crowley's flat. His knuckles grew white and he suddenly realized it was possible to feel even more unprepared than he had a moment before.
The elevator doors began to close and he quickly exited before it closed behind him.
He let out a shaky sigh and looked down to where the door that led to Crowley's flat was located.

It frustrated him that he felt...uncomfortable. Crowley was the one person who was supposed to be able to feel okay around- definitely not what he was feeling right now. He felt like he'd been thrown into a tornado and his body was spinning at a different speed than his head was and he couldn't find the ground beneath his feet.
He could really use some wings on them versus his back right now, to keep him from standing right outside Crowley's door and hesitating. He felt his throat close up and he cursed humanity for providing him these emotions. They had overcomplicated things and part of him wished he could go back to being ignorant.

Aziraphale took in a sharp breath before opening the door into a small lobby-like area. It was gray with a few faded Van Gogh pieces. They didn't look like the real pieces but were in fact just that. Aziraphale smiled fondly at them. Vincent hadn't been one of Crowley's favorite artists but was a good enough friend to keep his work up. Da Vinci was more Crowley's speed, but Aziraphale didn't have a preference, he didn't want to upset the feelings of either artist by selecting a favorite.
He shook his head to clear it of these distractions and approached the door that led into the main office of Crowley's flat.
His hand felt it might fall off due to how tightly he was clenching it as he lifted it to knock on the door. He paused before touching the door. He could easily just ring the buzzer but that didn't seem important enough, or loud enough, considering music was blasting from inside the flat.
With a final nod to himself, Aziraphale knocked on the door.

No answer.

"Crowley!" Aziraphale called as he knocked another time.

No answer.

"Crowley, please open the door...we- we need to talk! Please!" Aziraphale was sure he sounded desperate but it was to no avail.

Still not answer.

Aziraphale clenched his jaw and furrowed his brow, balling his fist up tighter, which he didn't think was possible but, in fact, was, he didn't need the door or the buzzer technically, he could miracle himself in, but that would he rude.
Then again, so was a raised voice.
"Crowley, I demand you open this door this instant so I can speak with you, please." There was no response at first and the angel's shoulders sagged, "Crowley, please." He knew his voice was quieter than the music.

The music didn't quiet down but there was a click and the door unlocked.

Aziraphale was quick to turn the knob and step in, as if it might shut on him if he wasn't quick enough. Once inside he let out a sigh of relief. Best he could considering the tune of Hooked on a feeling blasted from the living room.

Aziraphale straightened his bowtie before making his way into the living room to find Crowley sprawled out on the couch, sunglasses on for an odd reason, considering he never wore them at his home, hand lifted as he lazily moved a finger in beat to the song.

"Crowley, I-" Aziraphale was interrupted as the music got louder. He pursed his lips together into a thin line before continuing, "Crowley I think we need to talk-"

Crowley began to hum to the tune.

"Really, Crowley this is absurd, I-"

The IIIIIIIIII bit came on and Crowley sang it obnoxiously loud.

"For heaven's sake, Crowley, I know you can hear me!" Aziraphale was losing his patience. He felt a bit guilty. He didn't feel as if he had the entire right to be mad right now- he was more mad at himself for how stupid he'd been, "Crowley, I made a mistake and I need to right it but I need your full attention- lord, even just half of your attention would be satisfactory if you just- you don't even like this song!"

Crowley hummed louder and the music became a head-throbbingly loud volume.

"If you'd just-" Aziraphale repeated.

"IIIIIIII'm hooked on feelin'!" Crowley sang.

"Listen to me!" Aziraphale snapped, literally, he snapped his fingers and the stereo disappeared. He stormed over to Crowley looking genuinely angry. More so, he was upset, "You are acting like a child right now, you're not even giving me the chance to explain myself and— Crowley, are you crying?" Aziraphale's eyes went wide as saucers as he saw the tear tracks on Crowley's cheeks.

"No, that's ridiculous!" Crowley scrambled backwards but Aziraphale snapped and his sunglasses disappear to reveal splotches of red in Crowley's usually gold eyes.

"O-Oh my lord..." Aziraphale felt his heart throb and twist.
In all the six-thousand years that Aziraphale had known Crowley, this...

This was new.

Crowley began to dig into the side of the couch and pulled out a new pair of shades, but before he could pull them on, Aziraphale advanced and grabbed the other's wrist, gently stopping him.

"Angel, I highly advise that you not do that." Crowley growled.

Aziraphale quickly moved his hand into a less threatening position, rubbing a thumb over Crowley's knuckle as he suddenly wasn't sure what to say, he looked down, guiltily, "I'm...sorry."

Crowley didn't look at Aziraphale but gently took his hand away, putting his sunglasses on.

Aziraphale let his hand fall to his side and he sat on the edge of the couch.

"For what?" Crowley murmured, "Because if you're sorry for not giving me the response I wanted- don't." He muttered this bitterly.

"No, Crowley it's- well, more or less, it is my response that I'm concerned about-"

"Good, because it was rubbish if you ask me. You-" Crowley sighed sharply, glancing over at Aziraphale, "Look, Angel, I'm not going to get on you about saying no, but saying," He chuckled without any humor behind it.

"It's not what I meant to say, my dear." Aziraphale sighed.

"Yeah?" Crowley sneered, not convinced.

"Crowley, I thought-" Aziraphale pinched the bridge of his nose, "Words fail me sometimes."

"Seems like it." Crowley huffed.

"Crowley-"

"Stop saying my name before every sentence." Crowley rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's just...Cr-" He quickly corrected himself, "We're not humans...I didn't know we would...we've never exactly followed human rituals...I didn't- that is to say-" Aziraphale felt his embarrassment get the best of him, "What I'm trying to...get across is-"

"You didn't realize it was a date, did you?" Crowley snorted.

"...Yes." Aziraphale trailed off, hands in his lap quietly.

"Satan- I should have known that." Crowley groaned as he set his head onto the back of the couch, moving to sit on one half so Aziraphale could sit on the other.

"Oh, please, don't act like you're the idiot here."

"You're not- well, no, I can't argue with that." Crowley hummed.

"Cr- mm, my dear, we aren't human-"

"Aren't we?" Crowley hummed.

"Meaning?" Aziraphale cocked an eyebrow.

"We don't have a side...we have humanity. We're on the side of humanity."

"What happened to our own side?" A small smile curved on the edge of Aziraphale's lips.

"Well, I'd say it's a heaven of a side to be ours, considering humanity's never had a demon nor angel more than us, eh?"

"I do suppose you're right...Crowley," Aziraphale glanced over at him, "Why were you...why were you crying?"

Crowley's face went a light red, "I wasn't."

"Fine then, if you had been."

"If I had been..." Crowley seemed to test the phrase out, "I suppose it would be because I lost my best friend."

"That seems to be the pattern.." Aziraphale nodded slowly, "You really should know that that isn't possible- losing me...quite frankly, you're stuck with me." Aziraphale smiled.

"You're a sap sometimes, you know that?" Crowley looked over his shades at Aziraphale.

"I'm an angel. It's a trait."Aziraphale lifted his chin defensively.

"Yeah, I s'ppose that's true...it's not a bad one." Crowley shrugged.

Aziraphale smiled at him brightly.

"Don't do that." Crowley scowled, "It wasn't supposed to be a compliment."

"And I didn't mean to say no." Aziraphale sniffed.

Crowley quieted for a moment, "..You didn't?"

"Not if I'd known the context." Aziraphale shrugged.

"And if you had known the context?" Crowley studied the ceiling over his shades, shifting where he sat slightly.

"Obviously I would have said yes- maybe not exactly that day due to the rain, but- Crowley, why is the sofa shaki- oh my lord." Aziraphale sighed and rubbed his temple as he glanced over at the writhing snake next to him that spun in quick circles before forming back into a grinning Crowley, "Got all your excitement out, have you?" He couldn't suppress a smile of his own.

"Excitement? Obviously not." Crowley was still grinning, "Now, why would you do such a stupid thing as to go out with a demon?" Crowley hummed teasingly.

"That's easy, I love you." Aziraphale said this with a more serious expression.

Crowley's face instantly dropped into a squinting, confused look as his lips moved to speak but no words came out.

Aziraphale suddenly felt his face heat up, "Oh dear, was that- was that fast?"

"It's been about a century so I'd- I'd say that's quite alright." Crowley's voice came out quiet as he pursed his lips together, keeping them from moving as they threatened to break into a wide smile. He clearly couldn't let the angel see that.

"Oh dear, only that?" Aziraphale let it slip before quickly judging his choice of words.

"Only that? Angel, how long have you fancied me?" Crowley grinned mischievously.

"Wipe that grin off your face, you serpent!" Aziraphel glared, though not to much luck as he simply looked flustered at the moment- which he was.

"Well, it's an honest question." Crowley hummed.

"It depends on what you're referring to-"

"You referred to it as love."

"No, I meant- well, let's go with the term attraction." Aziraphale suddenly felt the same feeling of discomfort make his skin prickle.

"Oh, that silly word? Please, six-thousand years ought to do."

"Crowley!" Aziraphale's eyes widened.

"What can I say? I have a thing for idiots." Crowley smirked.

"My word!" Aziraphale scoffed.

"Calm down, I'm kidding." Crowley waved his hand dismissively.

Aziraphale gave a mock-pout and looked away.

"What?" Crowley rolled his eyes.

"You still haven't said it." Aziraphale turned his head away dramatically.

"Said what?"

"That you- well, that you love me." Aziraphale nodded.

"Angel, that's idiotic-"

"So you don't then? Oh, well, a true shame." Aziraphale sighed sarcastically.

"Oh come on, Az! You can't be serious right now?"

"Is Gabriel an arse?"

Crowley sighed, "I love you, Angel."

Aziraphale felt his stomach do flips and suppressed a squeal, instead still glancing away, "I suppose I love you too."

"Sorry, what was that? Couldn't quite hear ya'?" Crowley grinned.

Aziraphale rolled his eyes and turned around to find Crowley had scooted over to him to give him a cheeky wink.
Aziraphale was amused but done with playing around. He reached over and took off Crowley's shades, "I love you, Crowley." He smiled sweetly. He enjoyed the look of Crowley's pupils, usually slits, rounding a bit and a smile twitching on his face.

"I love you too, Aziraphale." Crowley's excited smile turned into a genuine one.

"Well, that's new." Aziraphale smirked.

"What?" Crowley's brow furrowed.

"You called me Aziraphale, you snake." Aziraphale rolled his eyes with a snort.

Crowley's face heated up and he rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time in the last few minutes, "Don't get used to it, it won't happen again."

"I'll just have to settle for the one time, then." Aziraphale smiled and took Crowley's hand from where they faced each other on the couch.

"This could have all been avoided if you weren't such a daft-" Crowley was interrupted as Aziraphale kissed him on the nose sweetly and Crowley's mind went blank.

"Come on, let's try out this...date thing." Aziraphale stood up, lacing his fingers with Crowley's to pull the still dumb-founded demon up on his feet.

Crowley followed on numb feet before it all seemed to crash on him and he tugged Aziraphale on the hand.

The angel turned around and was surprised by a hand brushing his cheek.

"Six thousand years of potential interest," Crowley's eyes glinted as he looked down at the shorter, "A nose kiss?"

Aziraphale smiled sheepishly, "An Angel can only sin for so long without temptation."

"Oh, please, do allow me to tempt you, then." Crowley smirked before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to the angel's lips, the other kissing back less than a second after before both pulled back a few millimeters.

"Don't think we'll explode, do you? Being a demon and an angel?" Aziraphale cocked an eyebrow.

"I might." Crowley muttered.

"Those are called feeling, dear."

"Obviously, what do you think I feel when you smile at- fuck, stop grinning, that wasn't a compliment either." Crowley glared.

"The feeling is mutual." Aziraphale's eyes shone brightly and Crowley had to look away so the angel wouldn't see the fondness in his eyes.

"Right then, where to?" Crowley looked towards the door.

"Anywhere but a pub." Aziraphale grimaced.

"What did you- did you go to a pub without me?" Crowley looked genuinely offended.

"You weren't answering my calls!"

"I thought that you'd-! Never mind, fine. No pubs- for now."

"No pubs, ever. I am not soiling my jacket."

"Then borrow mine for hell's sake." Crowley scoffed as they headed out the door.

"Oh, that's sweet of you." Aziraphale smiled, "But it wouldn't match my hair."

"Wow, here I am trying to be a gentleman and you-"

Aziraphale snapped and Crowley's jacket turned white.

Crowley looked down at it with slight disgust, "Oh, antichrist, what have you done to it?"

"Huh, white looks good on you." Aziraphale admired, "Perhaps we can go to a pub now."

Crowley sighed deeply before waving a hand in front of his face, causing a pair of white shades to appear, for the mere purpose of matching his current outfit and nothing more. Other than the color, they were an exact replica of his black ones, "Fine. But you'd better get me my jacket back by the end of today- I am never wearing this again."

"Good, then I can steal it." Aziraphale beamed.

"You're quite the little bastard, for an angel."

"And you're quite the charmer, for a demon."

"I suppose that's inevitable." Crowley smirked.

"Don't you mean ineff-"

"Finish that sentence and I'm ignoring you again, Angel."

***
(Excluding A/N)
Word Count: 8748

This took me way too long to make— anywho! Should Ineffable Husbands get popular enough on Wattpad, I might make a one-shots book, but for now this is a stand-alone short (thus why it's long as anything—)
But yeah! If you read it all, good job, gold star, made a difference to me- please don't forget to vote if you liked it and feel free to comment, comments mean the world to me!
-Jay 😇 😈