𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 | 𝐀𝐳𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰 -*★•._

Stars

It had been... an amount of time since both Crowley and Aziraphale had departed from their respective homes to their new one.

Aziraphale, the good, spent most of his time altering Earth to Adam and Eve's liking, subtly nudging them in the right direction and steering them away from Crowley's temptations. He meant well, but often times acted incorrectly on a whim, e.g. giving away his flaming sword to a very pregnant Eve.

Crowley, the bad, spent his time differently. In his attempts to misguide Adam and Eve, he had taken the form of a snake numerous times; lowering suspicion greatly. One of his proudest, and most recent accomplishments was succeeding in tempting Eve to eat the forbidden apple. Poor Aziraphale couldn't help but sigh.

-*★•._

Aziraphale stood upon a large wall, once again tutting in either Adam or Eve's direction. This was a commonality, the pair had become arguably more comfortable breaching over the boundaries of the garden. No thanks to Crowley.

Crowley, as per usual, took this as his chance to sneak up and frighten the still-Angel. He quickly slithered up the vertical bricks, watching as the black scales morphed back into his pale skin.

"Oh, Crowley!" Aziraphale yelped, quickly spinning around to face him, his eyebrows furrowed.

Crowley could never truly tell if the Angel's annoyance was faux or not. Either way, it was funny.

The clouds were just beginning to fall below the wall's height as the sky above faded from a pale blue to an orange. The pair knew they were supposed to be sworn enemies, and, at first, they had been. But one specific night had changed that.

-*★•._

Aziraphale let out a sigh of relief, he, as well as Adam and Eve had managed to avoid Crowley's misguidance for a short while. The Angel perched on his usual spot upon the large wall, and settled down to watch the sunset once more. The clouds, just below the wall, drifted in their own respective directions, reflecting the warm colours of the sky as they did. This had been his normal for... however long he'd been on Earth.

However, tonight was different. Aziraphale could feel a familiar grey presence near him. He spun his head around and saw Crowley hunched over one of the wall's battlements, sniffling. The Angel shifted uncomfortably, watching his fallen friend.

'Crowley,' He started, watching as the red-headed demon turned to look at him. 'Are you quite alright?'

'Fine' He muttered, lifting his hand to wipe away a tear that had fallen down his cheek.

Aziraphale stared at him, unimpressed at the Demon's pitiful lie. Eventually, he stood up, slowly tottering towards Crowley.

'Pretty bad lie for a Demon' He smiled, letting one of his wings fall to the floor, the other staying tucked neatly on his back. A muffled sound of Adam and Eve laughing over something unidentifiable could be heard, as well as numerous birds singing their final notes of the day.

Crowley muttered something inaudible, but he lifted his head up and allowed it to fall onto his palm. The Demon winced, and as Aziraphale followed his eyes, he could understand why.

There was a multitude of shooting stars racing towards the ground along the skyline. The small amounts of light each of them let out deteriorated as they reached their locations until the sky became a plain colour once more. Just then, Aziraphale lifted one of his wings, covering Crowley's lower back.

In their own silent way, the pair developed somewhat of a language. On different nights, this gesture could mean something entirely separate from the night before. But on nights like these, when Crowley felt particularly emotional about the stars and what they represented, it would mean something like 'I understand your pain, but it will okay.'

-*★•._

"C'mon Aziraphale, thought you would've grown to expect me by now." Crowley teased, nudging his heavenly counterpart softly.

"Yes, well..." The Angel trailed off, unable to come up with one of his usual witty responses. Adam and Eve had just welcomed their second child, and the baby's crying was distracting him.

"It's loud."  The Demon sighed uncomfortably after a few excruciating moments of silence. Usually Aziraphale gave him something to bounce off of, but this evening he was left hook line and sinker. Just then, that evenings round of shooting stars began to fall; Crowley inhaled sharply, as if he'd been stung by a nettle.

That caught Aziraphale's attention, and he quickly extended one of his dove-like wings, inviting Crowley closer. The demon obliged, shuffling his body nearer to Aziraphale.

The pair watched as a multitude of Angel's faced the same fate that Crowley had all those years ago, now simply streaks of light chasing each other over the dark canvas. While Aziraphale's eyes traced the stars, Crowley's turned to the Angel instead.

-*★•._

Another short chapter, my bad 🙏