Through the Years (Ineffable husbands...kind of)

4. 41 AD, Rome

I had been in Israel for a while, given Jesus being there and all, and all the holy action, but after his death, I packed it up and left. I wandered here and there for the next few years, until I eventually found myself in Rome. I rather liked their clothes, or they were different, at least, from the cloaks I had been wearing for most of history. I mean, I was still wearing a loose, black garment, but it really was different. I also liked a pair of dark glasses I had found, which were acceptable to wear in Rome, and very few other places. In order to really look native though, I changed my hair. It was time, I'd had my long tresses for millenia and wanted to try something new; so, I cut it all off, forming the fashionable little circular curls that you plastered to your head. I also added a silver laurel wreath, as I felt it completed the look.

I was stopping at a restaurant, or tavern of sorts, when I happened to run into a certain angel friend of mine.

"What have you got? Give me a jug of whatever you think is drinkable." I said, sitting down at the bar and addressing the serving girl. A moment later, she returned with a cup, and said, "Jug of house brown. Two sesterces." setting it down in front of me. I was getting out the money to pay when all of the sudden I heard, "Crawley-Crowley?"

I turned to my right, and sure enough, there was Azirapahle. I tilted my head back a bit, drinking in her appearance. I had seen her last in Golgotha, at Jesus's execution. She had been smothered in clothes at the time, so I hadn't been able to discern much of what had changed since the last time I'd seen her, but now I could.

Like me, she had adopted the Roman style of clothing; she had on a long, loose white toga, with a green cord that wrapped around her waist and over her chest and shoulder on one side to keep it from falling. Her hair had also been intricately arranged in a style very difficult to describe; there were two different types of braids on the right side, on going into a bun of sorts with a different section of hair that had bands in it, and the other braid ending at the nape of her neck, and flowing into long waves. There were also some loose curls framing her face, and some small, pale pink flowers woven in the braids, which really set off the rich blonde color of her hair; in other words, she looked dazzling.

"Well!" The angel exclaimed, happily and smiling. "Fancy running into you here." She said, pulling out the chair next to me. The serving girl eyed us warily, as I returned to my drink.

"Still a demon, then?" Aziraphale asked stupidly, trying to make conversation. God, she was in such a peppy mood, even more so than usual, although at least there was no dark and significant event hanging over us like many of the previous times we had run into each other.

I turned to face the angel, how could I not with a dumb question like that? "What kind of stupid question is that, 'Still a demon?' What else am I going to be, an aardvark?" I finished, slightly bitterly. After all, it's not like I had wanted to be a demon, not like I'd wanted to fall from Heaven. It had just happened, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

Aziraphale, being the, well, angel that she was, let it go. "Salutaria!" She said, raising her cup in the air and looking at me expectantly. Giving in to her whims, I exasperatedly turned and raised my cup to hers, clinking it in the celebratory fashion. What she was celebrating, I didn't know. I suppose I was celebrating the opportunity to take a sip of my drink without having to talk to my bubbly companion.

"In Rome long?" She asked, not even taking a sip of her drink. I pursed my lips. It wasn't her fault really, I just wasn't in the mood at the moment.

"Just nipped in for a quick temptation." I responded quietly, knowing the angel wouldn't like that answer, but also knowing that she would recognize I was just doing my job, and that I didn't have a choice; that was something she knew all too well. "You?" I asked politely.

"I thought I'd try Petronius's new restaurant. I hear he does remarkable things to oysters." Somehow, it didn't surprise me that Aziraphale had traveled all the way to Rome from God knows where, possibly the yet-to-be-discovered Americas for all I knew, to try food from a restaurant she'd heard about.

"I've never eaten an oyster." I said innocently, knowing Aziraphale would take the bait and run with it.

As per expected, the angel looked utterly shocked that someone such as myself had not tasted one of the finer foods that Earth had to offer. "Oh," She said, frowning almost, "Oh, well, let me tempt you to-"

I almost burst out laughing as I turned to look at my saintly friend, who had just proposed that she 'tempt' me into doing something. It took all I had not to start grinning from ear to ear as Aziraphale realized her mistake, stuttering out, "Oh, no. No, that's–that's your job, isn't it?" As a pretty, crimson color began to creep its way up her cheeks. I pulled my drink to my mouth and took a sip, so I could smile without her seeing. I was glad to see the angel, I had to admit, and who knew when I would next see her?