The Known/Unknown Quantity

Chapter One: Three days

Chapter One: Three Days

"THREE DAYS!?!"

"M' yes, I believe so."

"But why! I mean how, I mean, oh dear..." the angel's brilliant smile fled as his eyes widened and he halted his pace with Crowley. And Crowley, who had been observing him through these last few days, kept walking a bit more before he languidly paused and turned at the waist. Azirphale's hand went to his gentle face, now aghast, crystalline eyes gaping.

"I let three entire days slip away from me? 72 hours, night and day! But, how?"

Crowley turned bodily toward him and did a full-on shrug. "WWWeeeelllllll, you were having such a good time and you were smiling the whole time..."

"You!" The angel pointed dramatically with the other hand, his legs bending at the knees. Crowley couldn't help but smirk a little. "You orchestrated this! You let this go on—"

"Aw come on, what was the harm?" the demon playfully growled. He let his head fall sideways, his hands thrust in his pockets. Even now he was observing the angel in ways he'd never been able to do so freely, and in doing so observing himself.

Crowley sauntered up to his friend until the space between them closed and the angel was forced to put his arm down and stand up straight. Azirphale was puffed up with righteous indignation, or seemingly so. The demon smiled full on this time.

"You were having so much fun! Come on, the escape room? The theater with the interactive detective play? The countless dinners? The ice cream? And so many other things, some of which you never thought you would like."

Azirphale's eyes flickered for a moment as he considered this. Well, the roller coaster seemed a bit silly at the time. After all they could fly, but he never plummeted down to...ohh, hmmm. But...but the Ferris wheel was nice too, after his heart fell back from the top of his head, deciding to continue thumping so hard it would burst....

...No, he had to stay focused. His head whipped back and he dared to poke the demon in the chest. "You deliberately let me squander my hours! You led me on," now he actually sounded hurt.

Crowley's smile fell from his lips. The angel sagged a little bit. He was hurt. He had been...manipulated...by his closest friend. And so easily. It was dehumanizing.... for lack of a better word.

The demon came closer, so close that their foreheads nearly touched. His voice became soft and deliberate. "Angel," he said. "You were smiling, ear to ear. Not just once but continually, like your head would snap in half if it went any further. You finally had a chance to relax, and you just...shone so much. I wanted to watch that for as a long as I could."

"You wanted to watch," the angel muttered, "you wanted me to be happy?"

"M' yes."

"And this made you happy?"

"You weren't just happy, angel, you were joyful."

"I'm perfectly capable of being joyful on my own! I'm a perfectly jolly chap."

"Not when you're afraid the head office will catch you."

The angel pulled away from him, stared, but nodded. "So, you were happy just watching me be happy."

"Oh, yes."

"Yes, but for THREE DAYS?"

"You're not the only one who needed a break."