bad incentives

bouclier de plumes

art creds vivi-theakuneko on tumblr

crowley had been looking for aziraphale for quite some time now.

the angel had rambled on in his excitement that he had the honor to show nefertiti some of his 'magic' or whatever it was. nonetheless, he wanted to be supportive of his best friend. he headed to the palace where a few very reluctant guards stood. the demon tried reasoning with them, he did try.. but they eventually left him with no choice but to miracle them into letting him in.

as crowley stood before nefertiti, he bowed in his black robes and gold jewellery, before asking "your majesty, where is your entertainer? I was under the impression he was expected here." crowley glanced around, did he miss him?

nefertiti seemed unimpressed, though slightly worried. the queen stood up and rubbed her head as she walked along throught the palace with the demon close behind "he was here, showing me things then his friend came and said he wanted to speak to aziraphale... i havent seen him since im afraid"

"his friend?" crowley looked to the queen worryingly, a slight panic showing on his face.

who else could possibly be out here in the middle of Egypt that aziraphale would know. no, this didn't add up

"yes, asbeel. hes very well mannered so i dont think he would be stirring up trouble however they said they would be back soon so they couldnt of gone far but thats all i know" she shrugged as she sat on her throne, ordering her servants fan her "this heat is killing me"

"right.." he furrowed his brow, seemingly lost in thought and not minding for any thing else she said.

"thank you." crowley calls out, turning himself around and striding out the door. the demon doesn't make it far before two guards catch up, following alongside to see him out. though, crowley pays them no heed, knowing exactly where to go.

as he exits the palace, his golden eyes begin darting around, looking for any sign of where aziraphale could have gone.

this should have been hard considering the great size of the palace, but crowley in the corner of his ear could hear a tiny high pitched soft sound around the outside of the palace. somewhere

he knew that voice. crowley spun around, it was somewhere along the castle wall, not too far off. he followed the voice as it became louder. a figure came into view, he gasped, running towards it.

Large white wings protected the poor angel from the outside world and kept him tight and comfortable. the wings shuffled with every sob and every sniffle aziraphale made. the angel coughed up the blood from his tongue and tried wiping his face, only making it redder along with his eyes being puffy. his wings were all unruffled and messy and so was his hair from pulling it.

crowley gazed down at his dear friend, whispering softly, "angel..." as he sank to his knees. He slowly separated aziraphale's wings from one another, his eyes fixed on the angels wounds. he waves his hand gently over them, watching as they heal instantly. though aziraphales pain was still evident, this wasn't physical pain, no, this was psychological. "who did this to you!?"

the angels wings flinched violently to the sudden touch, they slowly and easily opened to crowley. he looked up and hid his face as he desperately tired to rub away his tears. of course it wasnt pretty, but not even angels looked pretty when they cry.

he broke down into heartfelt sobs. his head hurt terribly from the hair pulling, digging his nails, and the dizziness. his throat was dry and hoarse, his face soaked in tears. aziraphale couldnt even bring himself to speak to crowley.

crowley grabs aziraphales hands gently, not letting him do anything more to himself. "you need to breathe." he says slowly

he looked up into the others snake eyes finally and couldn't help but sob as he squeezed crowleys hands. the small angel hiccuped and used his wrists to rub his eyes, making them more red as he held the others hands. his wings laid low on the ground like they had given up. aziraphale had his knees up likes a sort of wall between the two. "i- its so h hard ha..." his breathing was very fast and uneasy

"shhhh. breathe." the demon repeats, squeezing the angels hands. crowley truly felt like crying too. though he wouldn't show it for aziraphales sake. crowley takes slow, deep breaths for the angel to copy.

he listened to crowleys voice, keeping the little 'leg wall' he had made up with his wings creeping back, only allowing his face be seen. aziraphale would still cry, tears pouring ot of his eyes like water falls. he soon let go of crowleys hands once his breathing was controlled and curled up in his wings hugging him self, still crying.

the voices wouldnt stop, they couldnt stop and they definitely werent going to. aziraphale wasn't thinking about them on purpose, these weren't his thoughts. even though the sun was shining on the two, a shadow was casted on aziraphale, though it wasnt crowleys shadow

"good.." crowley smiles warmly, letting the angel pull his hands away. "now, i need you to tell me who or what has done this to you." he says in a serious and direct manner. crowley was livid, but he in no way showed it. where was he when this had happened? he could have stopped it, he could have prevented it. how long had aziraphale been here? was aziraphale upset with crowley for not coming sooner? his mind raced, though he kept his eyes fixed on the angel's.

the angel just hid, in solitude and silence. the most painful tears could be the quiet ones that fell from his cheeks like an angel from the heavens, crashing down.. which aziraphale was. he felt a mess. he didnt deserve to be an angel... he deserved pain and suffering. he didnt deserve his halo... his wings... his place in heaven...

"theres no point.. give up" aziraphale whispered soflty and hugged himself. and empty and shallow voice.. it was alll getting to him

crowley sighed, averting his eyes to the ground and pausing for a long moment. finally, he moves himself forward between the angels wings, carefully wrapping his arms around the delicate angel. he holds aziraphale tightly, offering him any comfort he could. crowley wasn't sure if he was helping, but as always, he would try. the two sat together in silence, it only being broken by aziraphales stiffled sobs. eventually, crowley speaks. "there is a point. tell me, angel, who was it?"

aziraphale sat in crowleys lap and gently rested his head on his starmakers chest. "asbeel... he.. i dont know i all of a sudden started listening to what he said.. i knew it couldnt be true but i wanted to believe it.." he spoke softly holding onto crowleys robes

"believe what?" crowley furrowed his brow, some of his frustration starting to show. not that aziraphale was looking at him anyways. his anger was obviously not at aziraphale- but at 'asbeel'. did he know an asbeel..? the queens words came back to him. she had mentioned asbeel..

he sobbed every so slightly and pressed his face against crowleys chest, feeling the warmth of it "h...he took me out here.. he said... he said i wasnt good enough to be an angel, i didnt deserve it... what did i do crowley? i tried my best! i listened to you- i listened to heaven and did everything they said.. bending the rules a little.."

"you are an amazing angel aziraphale because you are different. heaven is toxic, you're the only one keeping it from falling apart. you care, aziraphale. you have a heart unlike any angel up there. the amount of lives you've saved, people you've healed, things you've done. you cannot possibly let some random person tell you who you are, they don't know you." the pain in crowleys voice was evident, his voice breaking every few words.

aziraphale shuddreed a breath and composed himself, this shadow was leaving his body and light was finally coming back "oh crowley... what would i do without you..." he looked up with a weak, teary smile.

"we are gonna be alright." crowley holds aziraphale tightly, a promise to never let this happen again.

unlike someone...