Ineffable Husbands (Thingies)

4) Pictures

Crowley hung upside down off of the armchair, squinting at the blurry shapes dancing around on the page. He was reading, or at least trying to read, a book that Aziraphale had recommended, and he simply could not understand any of it. He had read upright, lying down, standing up, and every other way you can imagine, and the words still weren't legible.

Aziraphale watched as Crowley squinted at the pages of The Hobbit.

"How are you finding the book, dear?"

Crowley looked up from the book.

"Oh, yeah, I've just, um, gotten to the bit where..." Crowley paused, "Um, the Hobbit, um, fights the wizard?"

Aziraphale looked at him suspiciously, not trusting the demons unsure tone.

"Well... Um, angel, promise me you won't hate me for this, but I can't read it."

The angel was confused by what he meant.

"What I mean, is that the words are blurry."

Aziraphale was hit with a wave of realization. With Crowley's snake-like eyes, of course he couldn't read! He suddenly felt guilty for putting the demon through such torment.

"It's okay, angel! Just because you put me through intense torture-" Crowley paused, realising what he had said, "- Sorry, it's a habit - It doesn't matter, angel, it's not your fault."

The angel doubted this, and was thinking about it for the whole day into the evening, even after Crowley left the bookshop.

After thinking it through for all that time, Aziraphale had an idea. His drawing skills were non existent, but he was sure that Crowley would appreciate it, and anyways, it was Aziraphale's job to be nice.

So the angel set to work illustrating the whole of The Hobbit, and since he didn't need to sleep, he worked on it the whole night. Each illustration was better than the last, and by 4am, Aziraphale had a complete comic of The Hobbit.

Aziraphale walked over to the phone to call Crowley, when it rang, and of course, it was that same demon on the other side.

"Oh! Hello, dear, could you come over, I have something to show you."

Crowley told Aziraphale he was on his way, and set off, speeding through London on his Bentley, Queen blasting at full volume.

As he opened the bookshop door, the bell rang to let Aziraphale know, and Crowley couldn't help but smile at the cheerful angel walking towards him.

"Hello angel, why are you so happy then?"

Aziraphale handed him the book, and blushed as Crowley flicked through the pages.

"Though I have to admit, my drawing skills aren't up to scratch-"

"This is amazing, angel."

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