Tickety-Boo (Ineffable Husbands Week 2019)

5: A Horrible Fright (4,200 Words)

A loud crash through the bookshop window sent both Crowley and Aziraphale sprinting out of the back room. They were met with two peculiarly ugly looking demons. Once they saw the couple, they lunged forward to attack. Crowley threw Aziraphale out of harm's way and tackled the female looking demon, trying to incapacitate her as much as possible.

The male demon quickly pulled him back and off the other hellion. Crowley spun around aiming to punch him but the demon blocked him and the other kicked him in the spine. The groan that emitted from his throat made Aziraphale come out of hiding. Without even thinking, he grabbed a nearby bottle of wine they had finished off a few hours ago and swung for the male demon's head. He fell to the floor like a bag of bricks, unconscious. Thankfully, the bottle had not shattered so Aziraphale still had his non-lethal weapon in hand.

The female demon lunged at Aziraphale, taking him down, wrapping her hands around his neck and trying to strangle him. The angel tried getting out of her grip but she was much stronger than he anticipated. Suddenly she was yanked off him and flung against a bookshelf, sending many books tumbling down on top of her. It gave the principality enough time to readjust himself before noticing that Crowley had turned serpent, and not in the usual form. The usual form would be the size of a normal rubber boa, this form was that akin to an anaconda.

Aziraphale was surprised by his size. It had been ages since he had seen him like this, and boy, was it a good thing the snake was on his side because the rage in his eyes could be enough to kill a lesser being just by staring at them.

The demon started moving from under the books and Crowley hissed loudly. When she finally emerged, Crowley lunged at her, sinking his fangs into her neck and she screamed. He began coiling himself around her and squeezing. He wasn't trying to take the air out of her lungs, no, he wanted to crush every bone in her body before doing what he had planned. It seemed to be working, until he felt a sharp pain somewhere along his elongated body. He bit down harder, but inevitably let go of her.

Once she was free, she tried attacking the angel again. This time, the angel was more prepared. He dodged the first attack, made his way behind her and used the bottle, sort of, like a garrote. He held her in place like this and began praying and rebuking her. She screamed loudly, painfully, so it must've been working. Unfortunately, Aziraphale stepped to the side and tripped over the still unconscious demon. Once again, she was on top of him, only this time, her weapon was clearly visible. As she was about to plunge it into his heart, they were all drenched in liquid.

Holy water.

The female demon screeched and melted on top of Aziraphale and all the residue leaked to the fallen demon, reducing him to a puddle too, without the screams. Aziraphale was mortified and was trying to process what had just happened.

Crowley had transformed back into his human vessel to see where exactly he had been stabbed. After shrugging off the injury, he had gone searching in an old trunk near the angel's desk. He had taken out a crystal orb from it, which was full of holy water, and flung it in their direction during the scuffle. It shattered upon making contact with the female demon's back and did exactly what it was meant to do. Crowley kept his distance, but the concern on his face was obvious even with his glasses still on.

"Angel, are you alright?" He asked.

Nothing. Just the principality looking off into the distance through the broken window.

Crowley began to worry more. "Aziraphale, please say something."

"...Holy water..."

Great, he had registered what had just happened. The demon was afraid the goo had done something to him. "Yes, that's right."