I Forgive You

Chapter Nine

Literally finished this up lying on the beach on vacation. What can I say. You gotta set your priorities strai- uh, I meant gay.

Had to proofread this on my phone so sorry if it sucks xD

Enjoy some dumb idiots in love:)

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

"Come on."

Aziraphale reached out hesitantly and took Crowley's offered hand, his stomach doing giddy flips of nervous anticipation as the demon pulled him along down the dim corridor of his flat.

The angel wasn't quite certain what to expect from the night's development, all he knew was that he wouldn't want to be anywhere else but on his way to Crowley's bedroom to spend the night beside him, and that he absolutely couldn't afford to mess this up, whatever it was that would come of this.

They passed a room with gorgeous houseplants, all lush and green and even bigger than Aziraphale remembered from his last visit here, and Crowley seemed to startle violently at their sight, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Are you alright, dear boy?"

Aziraphale looked at the demon in concern, but Crowley lightly shook his head, blinking a few times before he relaxed.

"Fine, angel." He squeezed Aziraphale's hand reassuringly. "Was just taken aback for a second. Had this dream, y'know, doesn't matter now. Plants were gone, there. Just forgot that wasn't actually real, is all. "

"Your plants were...gone?"

"Died", Crowley said, shrugging his shoulders, but something in his voice caught the angel's attention and made his brow furrow in worry.

That dream Crowley had...the demon loved those plants, would never allow them to carry even a single leaf spot, let alone have them wither away completely - whatever that dream had been about, it couldn't have been anything good.

"Crowley..."

"Aziraphale." Crowley turned to him, lightly shaking his head. "I know that tone. Know what you're thinking, but please, not right now. I can't-" He broke off, swallowed hard. "Maybe I'll tell you, one day. But just...not right now, alright?"

"Alright." Aziraphale nodded in understanding. He probably wouldn't let this go, but he could see how this might not be the time to put salt in whatever wound this might reopen. "Whenever you're ready", he said instead. "If you'd want to share, I'll be here."

Crowley gave him a grateful smile, tugging on his hand to lead him on.

"There we are." Crowley pushed a door open, letting go of Aziraphale's hand to gesture for him to enter instead. "I hope it's alright, I can change it, if you like-"

"Oh no, please don't go through any troubles for me." Aziraphale smiled shyly as he stepped cautiously through the doorframe. "I'm sure I shall like it perfectly fine just the way you usually keep it."

The last thing Aziraphale wanted was for Crowley to feel like he needed to change anything about himself to appeal to him. He knew Crowley had gone out of his way for thousands of years to please him, had bent himself backwards to make him happy. It was just like Crowley to be thoughtful and selfless like that - the least he could do was try to show him that Aziraphale loved him just the way he was, even if bedroom decor was quite a poor way to go about it.

But it may be a start, and Aziraphale could use all the opportunities he could get. He wanted to learn who Crowley was when he was alone, how he looked when he slept and if he used a miracle to make his bed in the morning, if he was even grumpier before his first coffee and how he dressed when he wanted to be comfortable instead of devilishly (demonishly?) fancy. He wanted to learn everything there was to know that he hadn't had the pleasure of witnessing before, and the way he chose to keep his home was only one of many things he looked forward to exploring.