Ineffable Husbands Oneshots

Scars

Part two to Abused. There will be a third part coming out soon.

Crowley kicked in the door to the little bookshop and yelled out, "Angel?!"

"I'm in the back, my dear!" The faint voice answered.

Crowley sauntered his way to the back, winding through the piles of dusty books. He got to the doorway and leaned against it. Aziraphale's back was to him and Crowley got a nice view of the round arse facing him. He quickly looked away, blush creeping up his face.

"Why, hello my dear boy." Azi turned and smiled at the demon. "What brings you here?"

Crowley shrugged, but noticed the strain in Azi's voice. A feeling of unease creeped up his spine. The angel was hiding something, he could always tell. "You okay?"

Azi nodded, a strained smile on his face. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He looked back at the opened book laying on the desk. A dark bruise peeked out from under Azi's coat collar.

"Did Gabriel visit you?" Crowley knew the angels were dating. His heart ached that he was too late in asking him to be his boyfriend.

"Y-yeah. He was in a bit of a bad mood." Azi's eyes glazed over as he thought of last week. Snapping out of it, Azi clammed up. He said too much.

"In a bad mood? Did he do something to you? Is that mark on your neck because of him?" Crowley questioned, his blood boiling.

Azi shook his head quickly, looking everywhere but Crowley. His hands fiddled behind him. Wrong move.

The sleeves to his jacket slid up, exposing just enough skin to show thin pale and pink lines, not to mention bruises that were a deep purple.

Crowley had his wrist in his hand before Azi realized what happened. He held it in a firm, but gentle manner. He didn't want to accidentally add to the injuries.

Yanking the sleeve up, Crowley exposed all the scars, new and old, littering the pale skin. Aziraphale cowered, his wings out in a defensive manner, wrapping around him. He trembled, fearing what Crowley would do. Though he knew his friend would never hurt him on purpose, the hatred of physical contact was now a natural reaction for him.

Pulling Azi into his arms, Crowley gently hugged him. Azi whimpered, becoming even more tense the longer the contact was held. Crowley took notice and stepped back, arm still gently holding onto the sleeve of Azi's jacket instead of the skin. "Why?"

Azi looked at him in confusion, seeing tears streaming down the demon's face. Crowley's eyes roamed over the scars. His face contorted with anger and sadness. "Why didn't you say something? I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It was my fault." Azi spoke softly.

"No." Crowley snapped, then softening his tone when Azi yanked back. "None of this is your fault. There is nothing you have done to deserve any of this." He took a breath, "If anyone is at fault, it's me. I could have done something, anything. I could have seen it a lot sooner." It was true, ever since the two started dating, Azi was a lot more guarded. Crowley's voice shook as he trembled in anger. He glared at the floor. "I'll ask you again. What did Gabriel do?"

Azi couldn't speak. He was scared of the consequences, but he was also a little relieved that someone could finally help him. All the pent up grief and anger at Gabriel and himself was too much. He fell to the floor, sobbing.

Crowley sat down next to him, keeping his distance as to not spook his friend. He looked at him. He had a sinking feeling that his arms were just the tip of the iceberg. His eyes roamed over him, checking to see if he could find anything else out of place. "Angel, will you show me what else he's done to you?"

Azi wanted to yank his shirt off and show him, but the fear instilled into him kept him from doing so. He was having a mental battle with himself. He squeezed his eyes shut as the voices argued in his head. He put his hands to his head and dug his fingers into his skull. He was suffocating, he was trapped.

As Azi started shaking and rocking back and forth, Crowley got to his knees. He knew what panic attacks look like because he's had numerous ones himself.

He gently grasped Azi's hands and pried them off. "It's okay. You're safe. No one can hurt you now." Crowley spoke in a soft whisper. He ran his thumbs over the shaking hands. "He's not here. I promise he will never come near you again."

After a few minutes and Crowley whispering assurances and promises, Azi was somewhat back to normal. He wiped his tears, makeup smearing. He hadn't realized what he did until he looked up at the demon.

Crowley was wide-eyed. In front of him over half of the angel's face was a bruise. It was every color under the sun. Crowley was appalled. An angel did this. No, not an angel, a monster.

Azi took a peek at one of the many reflective surfaces he had and gasped. He quickly turned and his his face. "It's not what it looks like."

Crowley clenched his fists and jaw. Gabriel better start fucking praying that he'll survive the ass whooping Crowley was about to bring. Crowley somehow kept his cool and helped Azi to the couch.

They both sat there, a thick silence between them. Azi glanced at Crowley every so often, hoping to figure out what he was thinking. He feared what would happen if Gabriel heard that their secret got out. He was also worried that Crowley would do something drastic. He didn't want Crowley to be hurt because of him. He would gladly take any beating as long as his friend was safe.

"Angel?" Crowley turned to Azi, yellow eyes unreadable.

"Hmmm?" Azi shifted, turning all the way towards the demon.

"Thank you for showing me. And sorry 'bout this." Before Azi could question what he meant, he was put into a deep sleep. Crowley shifted and laid the angel down. He summoned his wings and flexed them, joints cracking. He stalked out of the shop. It was time to visit the Archangel and give him the beating he deserved.