There Will Come a Day: A Good Omens Fanfic

Every night some heart betraying

"You can't possibly marry her."

"Why not? Seemed like a nice girl." Crowley smiled, slow and satisfied, as they walked towards Aziraphale's hotel. Dawn was pinking the horizon, although a few stars still burned faintly. "What's her name again? I suppose I should know my fiancee's name. Might be awkward otherwise."

"Marie. She's a very nice girl. Good solid American Episcopal. My dear fellow, she'd want to get married in a church. You'd—you'd explode."

"Look, be grateful. I was just getting your head off the chopping block. She and her mother would have had you signed and sealed by the end of the night. How would that look on your record, seducing innocent young humans into marriage? You know how Upstairs felt about the Nephelim."

"Seduce—Oh, Crowley, don't be so irritating. You know I was doing nothing of the sort."

"You can't turn up to a marital hunting ground, looking like that , and not expect to get engaged, darling. It's not fair on the humans."

"Like what?" Aziraphale demanded, outraged.

Crowley was oddly silent, and his swagger faded. Aziraphale turned his head to give him a look. Under what remained of the moonlight, Crowley was looking thoughtful, and a little uneasy. "You know," he said at last. "Well-heeled. Cultured. Indulgent. Kind." He said the last word as if it was a curse. "It's just inviting trouble."

"Nothing of the sort," Aziraphale snorted. "Of course I was kind, she'd just lost all her stake. I was just giving her some cheering advice and making her understand the ills of gambling. And you're a fine one to talk about inviting trouble. That poor girl."

"Oh, don't you worry about her. The moment Mama finds out that charming Anthony is not, as she thought, a wealthy scion of the aristocracy but a notorious gigolo, Marie won't be allowed out of the hotel until I'm gone. And she'll have learned a useful lesson about trusting strangers. I practically did a good deed, despite myself. Turned her towards virtue. Ugh, that is not going in my report. Besides, I lost money too, and you didn't melt with sympathy and pat my hand consolingly over my losses."

"You only lost because I wouldn't let you use magic to cheat."

Their steps trailed to a stop outside the hotel. "You going in?" Crowley asked at last.

"Naturally." Aziraphale didn't move. There was some air of anticipation around them that he didn't quite understand. Crowley was standing very close again, and looked like there was something he wanted to—say? Do? Amazing how expectant a pair of dark glasses could look. Maybe it was the mobile mouth beneath them, the hint of a forked tongue.

"I don't know why you bother with a hotel room, angel. It's not like you sleep."

"It's nice to have some space to myself to read. Besides, the people there would think it odd if I have no place to go. How about you?"

"I've got used to sleeping."

"For years, apparently."

"It's enjoyable. You should try it. You like other human pleasures—well, most of them." The desultory conversation tailed off. "I'm staying further down. Well, au revoir."

"Au revoir."

"It had better be, too. No disappearing again. Well." Crowley turned and walked in direction they had just come from. So, they had passed his hotel. Rather nice of him to walk Aziraphale home. And look at the way he moved, half strut, half serpentine slide. Aziraphale could recognise that walk in a crowd of thousands. He had learned, at some point, to look for it.