Stars In Our Hearts

Chapter Four

Aziraphale returned to the bookshop later that day, hanging his hat on the wall near the front door. "Crowley!" he called. "I'm home!" He didn't hear anything except the creaking of the bookshelves settling into their foundations. "Crowley?" He heard a soft voice flitting down from the ceiling, and he began to climb the stairs in order to find the source. He stopped in the hall outside of the baby's newly-formed nursery and smiled, his heart fluttering. Crowley was sitting on the floor above of their daughter, raising and lowering his sunglasses onto his face.

"Here I am!" Crowley grinned, lifting the glasses from his face. "Uh-oh, where's Daddy?" he set the frames back onto his nose. Carina laughed, looking up at her father and reaching for the lenses. "Here I am!" He removed the sunglasses completely and lifted the baby into his arms. "You and your father are the only ones who get to see my eyes," he said quietly, almost as if it were a secret. The little girl reached out to put her hands on either side of his face.

"And we both love them," Aziraphale said, entering the room.

Crowley jumped a bit, clutching the baby closer to his chest. "Don't do that, angel!"

"I'm sorry for frightening you, my dear." He knelt down next to his husband and wiggled a finger towards Carina, grinning widely when she took his whole finger in her fist. "If she develops anything like a human, she should be sitting up completely on her own in a month or so."

"I know that, how do you know that?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I was a nanny, you were a gardener."

Aziraphale rolled his eyes. "First of all, I have helped raise children for thousands of years. I am an angel, after all. And secondly, I own many parenting books. Rather than wasting my time sleeping, I choose to read them."

"Aren't you noble?" Crowley sneered, but no malevolence was present in his voice.

"Yes, well, it comes with the job description," he smiled.

Crowley sighed and shook his head. "Why do I love you?"

"No idea," Aziraphale stood up after releasing his hand from his daughter's grasp. "But we've been married for thirty years, so you'd better figure it out soon."

Crowley lifted the baby from the floor and set his sunglasses on top of his head. "Although we've really only acknowledged it in the past year."

"And whose fault is that?" the angel lifted an eyebrow.

"Yours," Crowley scoffed, laying Carina down in her crib to sleep. He tucked her new blanket around her and waved his hand to turn down the lights. "I was trying to ask you out in the seventies. You're the one who said I moved "too fast" for you."

"You drive ninety miles per hour in central London!" Aziraphale hissed, following him out into the hallway.

"That is not what you meant, and you know it," Crowley said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, well..." Aziraphale blushed. "You can't do that with a child in the car, you know."

"Ah, she'd be fine," Crowley waved a hand dismissively as he made his way downstairs. "Takes after me, you know."

Aziraphale raised his eyebrows. "Does she now? And what makes you believe that?"

"She sleeps all the time."

"That's what babies do, Crowley," Aziraphale sighed. "They sleep."

"Maybe I'm a baby," Crowley shrugged.

Aziraphale nodded, "Yes, I do believe that title suits you quite well."

The demon narrowed his eyes. "Hm." Aziraphale smiled innocently. "Well, that Mrs. Washington brought us a gift as well." He lifted the bottle of wine. "What do you think? Care for a little drink with your husband?"

"Are you tempting me?"

"Always," Crowley's face shifted into a genuine smile of adoration. "Come on," he held out a poured glass of wine. "Take it."

Aziraphale sighed just enough to be dramatic, taking the glass from the demon's outstretched hand. "An evening to ourselves," he said. "Won't that be nice?"

"We've had evenings before," Crowley pointed out.

"Yes, but this time Carina is actually asleep before seven, so we can have time to ourselves before we both inevitably pass out."

"You don't sleep," Crowley scoffed, throwing himself over the side of the couch.

"No, but there isn't much for me to do without you awake."

"I like what you're suggesting," Crowley wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk. He leaned forward and puckered his lips dramatically.

Aziraphale pushed him away with a laugh and an open palm to his lips. "Naughty demon!"

"That's the point," he took a sip of wine. "That's the whole point, angel." He leaned in again and this time got the kiss he sought. "I love you so much."

"I know, my dear," Aziraphale put a gentle hand on the demon's cheek. "I love you, too." Crowley groaned and threw his head back. "What?"

"I dreamt of moments like this for thousands of years, angel. Sometimes it just gets to be a bit overwhelming."

Aziraphale's face softened as he set their glasses on the table in front of them. "Crowley," he took the demon's hands in his own. "I'm so sorry I didn't have the courage to choose our side all those years ago." He looked down, sighing. "I should've told you that I loved you long before I did."

"Oh, angel," Crowley sat forward. "Angel, it wasn't your fault. Heaven had you under their thumb for the longest time. They would have done something terrible if you'd professed your love."

"I still wish I had chosen you sooner."

"You chose me now, and that's all that matters," Crowley smiled. "And now we have a daughter and everything is perfect."

"Never thought I would have a child of my own. Of our own," Aziraphale said, smiling a little.

"And now we do," Crowley smiled back. "We also have a bit of time to do the things we missed out on for hundreds of years," he leaned forward and traced his hand down his husband's chest. "And the things we've been too busy to do..." Aziraphale smiled and closed his eyes, leaning closer to the demon for a kiss. His eyes snapped open and his smile dropped when Carina began crying. "Ooh, she's a little devil," Crowley groaned. "Spoiling the best night I've had in a long while..."

Aziraphale looked at his husband with an apologetic smile. "Hmm. Interrupting important moments?" Aziraphale raised an eyebrow and stood to attend to the baby. "You're right: she's just like you."