One-Shots - Good Omens | Ineffable Husbands

Lonely

Aziraphale had been out of town for three days, and Crowley was suffering. He didn't know where the angel had gone as Aziraphale didn't really explain. He just kind of ran out the door, saying that he had someplace to be and that he would return soon. He also told Crowley not to do anything "too dumb" but Crowley hadn't had the energy to do anything "too dumb", let alone the energy to do anything.

He just missed Aziraphale. He was bored, lonely, and just overall wanted his angel home. Sure, it had only been three days, but Crowley spent every day with Aziraphale so when you take that away from him, he lost a lot of motivation.

Fortunately, though, Aziraphale had given Crowley the key to the bookshop in case Crowley "needed something to read", although right now Crowley was not reading in the bookshop.

Instead, he was getting drunk in it.

Aziraphale kept many cases of various types of alcohol in his store. He had wine, champagne, rum, vodka, anything a celestial being could desire. Aziraphale wasn't a big drinker but he had acquired the bottles for 'special occasions'.

It wasn't Crowley's original plan to get wasted by himself on a Friday night in an antique bookshop, but one thing led to another and there he was. He came over to the bookshop because he was bored.

Well, that and he had the tiniest hope that Aziraphale might have returned home and just forgot to tell him, but that was not the case.

Crowley had come into the bookshop because it was the first time he had left the flat in three days. When he arrived, he browsed the books, despite not being a big fan of reading. When nothing piqued his interest, he found a box of old records. Crowley put on music, found the stashes of bottles and decided to pour himself a drink.

One glass led to another, and then to another, and eventually, he had downed two whole bottles. One plus side of being a demon is that he didn't have to worry about liver failure, passing out, or anything that would usually happen to a human that drank two bottles of red wine.

"Aziraphale!" Crowley slurred. "If only you were here, we could have so much fun!"

Crowley tripped over the leg of a table and knocked piles of books onto the floor. He scooped one up and stumbled to his feet.

"I'm Aziraphale and I'm a genius! I'm a lovely little angel who knows..." Crowley hiccuped and dropped the book to the floor. "Who knows... who knows..." He lost his chain of thought.

If you had asked Crowley what had happened next, he wouldn't have told you even if he knew what happened.

Crowley was dancing around the bookshop- or well, stumbling, - wearing no shoes, no pants, and one of Aziraphale's long jackets. He sank to his knees as he sang the final lyrics of Don't Stop Me Now by Queen into the top of an empty wine bottle.

The silence in the air let Crowley know that the record had ended, so he staggered to his feet and began to make his way over to the record player, but didn't make it the whole way. He tripped over his own feet, but he landed face down on the couch he didn't feel like moving. He settled into the couch and closed his eyes, letting the empty bottle slip from his intoxicated hand.

---

Aziraphale climbed out of his cab, thanking the driver as he drove off into the night. It was late and he had returned from a book auction in Edinburgh. He did feel a little bad for not inviting Crowley along, but he knew that this wasn't his cup of tea. Aziraphale could have been home a little earlier, but he took a day or so to do some sightseeing, which wasn't Crowley's cup of tea either. In the end, though, Aziraphale was home with a first edition copy of Canterbury Tales. Sure, he had to perform a little miracle to not pay the millions of dollars it was worth, but he had gotten the copy nonetheless.

As he approached the bookshop, he noticed that the lights were on. Surely Aziraphale hadn't left them on this whole time? When he stepped inside, his first thought was that there had been a robbery. Books were scattered about, the furniture was rearranged and there was broken glass on the table.

Aziraphale's thoughts changed completely when he saw a pair of pants tossed on the floor, followed by a shoe. As Aziraphale eyes around, he spotted the other shoe placed high on a bookshelf. His eyes landed on the empty wine bottle, and then he saw something even more shocking.

There was someone laying on his couch! Aziraphale placed his bag down and marched up to the figure, fully prepared to reprimand whoever had broken into his store. They even had the audacity to steal Aziraphale's clothes! Aziraphale kept that jacket for special occasions only-

Aziraphale saw the deep red hair and then the gangly arm dangling off the couch. It was Crowley!

Right on cue, the demon began to stir. He slowly sat up, but then rolled over and locked eyes with Aziraphale. Panic washed over him.

"A.. A... Aziraphale!" Crowley stuttered. "You're back!"

"Seems you had fun while I was away," Aziraphale said, glancing around the shop.

"It... well..." Crowley let out a slurred laugh. "Where'd ya go?"

"Edinburgh. For a book thing-"

"You went to," Crowley groaned in the middle of his sentence. "You went to Edinburgh without me?"

"Crowley, it was a book auction. Plus, you're still drunk," Aziraphale said, concerningly.

"I missed you! Why didn't you let me come?"

"Crowley, dear, it was a book thing. I figured you wouldn't want to come," Aziraphale explained.

"But you coulda asked! It's lonely here! I missed my angel..." Crowley swayed to the side in a drunken state.

"I can see that," he chuckled. "Why don't you just go back to sleep, hmm?"

Aziraphale was fully aware that he could simply ask Crowley to sober up, but he didn't really want to deal with whatever crisis Crowley was going through.

"But Aziraphale, I've been so lonely!" Crowley's voice cracked.

Aziraphale couldn't quite tell if Crowley was just wasted or if he really did miss Aziraphale that much.

"I'll still be here in the morning,"

"But-" Crowley fell to the side and laid back down on the couch.

"I'll go fetch you a blanket," Aziraphale said.

By the time Aziraphale had returned, Crowley was snoring lightly. Aziraphale took the blanket and placed it over top of the demon. He let his eyes linger over his sleeping friend and couldn't help but think how his large coat looked quite ravishing on his drunken friend. 

- 1135 Words -