{"id":304,"date":"2023-08-13T23:33:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T15:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/?p=304"},"modified":"2023-08-19T17:29:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T09:29:23","slug":"you-were-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/304\/","title":{"rendered":"you were it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It had been two months since Aziraphale had last been on Earth. Two months since he had last seen Crowley in-person. Two months since he left said demon for heaven.<\/p>\n

Well, it wasn\u2019t exactly like that, Aziraphale would reason. Of course, many, Crowley included, would hardly agree with Aziraphale\u2019s reasoning. But still\u2026 Whatever helped the angel sleep better at night, right? If angels slept, that was.<\/p>\n

Parting with Crowley had been devastating, especially after everything that had been said, been felt, and especially after the way Crowley had kissed Aziraphale.<\/p>\n

Aziraphale swore he could still feel the tingle in his lips when he thought about it.<\/p>\n

The guilty, heartbroken feeling had swirled in the pit of Aziraphale\u2019s stomach daily since he had left. But getting up that elevator to heaven, Aziraphale genuinely believed he was making the right choice; he could change things and make a difference.<\/p>\n

No, it had taken all but three days to realise the truth. He could not make the difference he sought. God\u2019s so-called ineffable plan was inflexible, even when holding such a higher authoritative position. But he couldn\u2019t just leave heaven just like that, no. He had to make a statement, make an impact. He had to do something to address all the, quite frankly, awful decisions God and heaven had made over the years. He owed that at the very least to all the life that had been needlessly lost over the years due to God’s own whims.<\/p>\n

So what did he do? He fucked shit up internally, in subtle ways so he wouldn\u2019t be immediately discovered. It honestly didn\u2019t take much work\u2014heaven was a barely functioning unit at the best of times. He was only disappointed that Crowley wasn\u2019t there to witness the gradual deterioration.<\/p>\n

So, after two months, his plan was complete and he descended back down to Earth, leaving heaven a shitshow of a mess. He informed Muriel that they were needed back in heaven and he happily took back his bookshop.<\/p>\n

It took all of two minutes before Maggie came running in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was seeing things, but it\u2019s really you, Mr. Fell! You\u2019re back!\u201d Maggie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I am,\u201d Aziraphale said, with a little nod. He miracled some people outside walking by the record store, as he really wished to speak to Crowley first. \u201cAnd I believe you have customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers?\u201d Maggie looked out towards her record shop. \u201cOh! Customers! Right. Well, we\u2019ll resume this conversation later,\u201d she said, before dashing out. \u201cGlad you\u2019re back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aziraphale sighed.<\/p>\n

He really needed to find Crowley. But where to start? The demon had an uncanny ability to pop up whenever Aziraphale needed him, unfortunately the opposite hadn\u2019t always been true.<\/p>\n

But when he saw it, Aziraphale\u2019s eyes widened. There was a familiar head of red hair, across the street. Crowley. He was seated out the front of Nina\u2019s coffee shop, reading a newspaper. Nina served him some kind of cake, even though in all the time Aziraphale had known him he hadn\u2019t been one for desserts. A lot could change in two months, Aziraphale supposed.<\/p>\n

Taking a deep breath, garnering some courage, Aziraphale exited the bookshop and hurried across the street.<\/p>\n

But just as he was about to approach Crowley\u2019s table, he caught wind of what was being said and ducked behind the corner wall. He watched the back of Crowley\u2019s head intently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never too late to get back onto online dating!\u201d Nina said. \u201cOr I have a friend I could set you up with, if you wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley groaned. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley sighed. \u201cWhen will you lot get it? Aziraphale was it<\/em> for me. There is nobody else. There will be nobody else. And in case you didn\u2019t notice, he fucked off to heaven! That\u2019s it. Done! Over! The end!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aziraphale\u2019s eyes were wide open, his bottom lip sore from worrying it with his teeth.<\/p>\n

When Nina didn\u2019t respond, just looked at him sympathetically, Crowley tossed the newspaper onto the table, and stood from his chair.<\/p>\n

Aziraphale, not wanting to let another moment slip by, leaped forward, grabbing hold of Crowley\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

When their eyes met, it was as if time stood still for those moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAziraphale?\u201d Crowley said, tone of surprise ever present.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrowley,\u201d Aziraphale said, smiling. \u201cOh, how I\u2019ve missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That seemed to slap the surprise out of Crowley as he pulled back from Aziraphale. His eyes were now guarded\u2014something Aziraphale could always tell by the demon’s eyebrows, and his body language was closed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, boy. Wait \u2018til Maggie hears about this,\u201d Nina said before walking off.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re wrong, Crowley,\u201d Aziraphale started. \u201cYou were it for me too. You still are and always will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley turned his head to the side. \u201cYeah, well. That ship has sailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what it sounded like,\u201d Aziraphale said.<\/p>\n

Crowley\u2019s eyes narrowed back on Aziraphale. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to dictate my feelings. In case you forgot: you left! That\u2019s all I have to\u2014\u201d Crowley\u2019s voice trailed off and his eyebrows shot up as he looked past Aziraphale\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cAziraphale!\u201d came the angry, loud booming voice of an angel all too familiar.<\/p>\n

Aziraphale cringed at the sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do, angel?\u201d Crowley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what should\u2019ve been done from the start,\u201d Aziraphale said. He quickly took hold of Crowley\u2019s hand. \u201cIf this is my end, let it be known that I love you, Crowley.\u201d Aziraphale let go, ignoring the confusion on Crowley\u2019s face. He took a deep breath and turned around. It was time to face the music, so to speak.<\/p>\n

When he turned around, Aziraphale was greeted by the sight of a very red and very angry Metatron.<\/p>\n

\u201cAziraphale! How dare you! I never would have picked you for a traitor!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aziraphale held up his hands placatingly. \u201cMetatron, with all due respect, I could not permit a second coming to needlessly destroy all life on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metatron frowned. \u201cBut it is all part of God\u2019s plan. Are you questioning Her choices?\u201d<\/p>\n

Clenching his fists, Aziraphale stood tall. \u201cWhen it brings needless harm to the very people She is meant to love and care for, then yes! Too much life has been lost for no good reason and I will not stand for it any longer!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Metatron said, assessing Aziraphale. His gaze turned cold. \u201cYou have been compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I think not. I\u2019ve realised the truth. The truth that took me an awfully long time to understand, and caused some rather avoidable heartbreak in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metatron\u2019s gaze locked onto something behind Aziraphale. \u201cAh, yes. You mean the demon, Crowley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aziraphale\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cNo! He\u2019s not involved in this! Leave him be!\u201d<\/p>\n

Metatron sent a brief, pitying look his way. \u201cIt was always him, wasn\u2019t it? From the very second you met as angels. She really should\u2019ve cast you aside from the moment you let him slither into the Garden of Eden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, She didn\u2019t. Did She?\u201d Crowley said, stepping in-line with Aziraphale. Aziraphale\u2019s heart hammered in his chest. After everything\u2026 Crowley was still backing him up. He really did not deserve this being. This so very kindhearted, loyal, caring being. To think that Aziraphale had foolishly once denied to his face that they were friends. To think that he had walked out on him, after Crowley had practically spilled his heart out to him.<\/p>\n

He really had made quite a number of ill-thought choices in the name of God\u2019s version of \u2018good\u2019, hadn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

Aziraphale took a deep breath and reached for Crowley\u2019s hand. Crowley stiffened momentarily but allowed for Aziraphale to intertwine their fingers. He cast a glance at Crowley and hoped his expression encompassed everything he couldn\u2019t say in that moment. He would most assuredly be having a long conversation with Crowley after, but given their current circumstances he settled for, \u201cThank you.\u201d Aziraphale squeezed Crowley\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

Crowley squeezed back and they faced Metatron head on. Together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After everything, Crowley still has Aziraphale’s back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[72],"fandom":[73],"rating":[2],"ship":[74],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-m","tag-post-season-02","fandom-good-omens","rating-general","ship-aziracrow","wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions\/306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fandom?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"ship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ship?post=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}