The A in Angel

3

"Hello, Aziraphale."

The voice came out of nowhere as the angel was just about to rearrange his bookshelves again. They had been in such a mess, Aziraphale couldn't even tell how. They had been for months, in fact, but the angel didn't want to look for new ones. Modern ones. The whole shop had been a mess which he didn't seem to clean. Although Crowley had told him many times. And even his flat, with all the plants in there, hadn't even started to dust.

By the time of hearing the voice, Aziraphale spun around. Even without turning around, he would have recognized this nasty, familiar tune everywhere.

He swallowed hard, asking himself what the boss of the archangels wanted from him. All he could remember was inhabiting Crowleys body and the failed trial in Hell. While the demon had been up there in Heaven, inhabiting his body. Aziraphale had always believed Hell was the bad place on Earth. A place where Satan punished the Fallen, for being disloyal or too nice to humanity. Those had been the stories Gabriel had told him, a long time ago on his very first arrival in Heaven. Stories of a kingdom in never ending war with their enemies, the Risen against the Fallen. It had been written in the sacred texts, better known as the Bible.

"Once an angel, always an angel!", Gabriel had told him again and again while looking over the massive clouds at the sky, the golden sunbeams circling around him like being his own God.

"We do miracles to save. To protect, Aziraphale. Never forget that. And the most important thing: Never ever fraternize with the enemy, a rude, evil demon. It could turn you to the dark side, faster than you think. But I am very sure you gonna make it down there!"  

Fraternize. 

What a word...

He had done way more than that. He had comitted a sin, told a lie to his master. The Almighty herself. No one would forgive him. 

He had failed all of them. Not just God.

He had failed every other being in Heaven. Just because of his love for a demon. 

But they never had figured it out...hadn't they?

Gabriel smiled a bit...his usual nasty smile. No single emotion, no sign of care the angels used to have. It wasn't the usual grin Crowley used to do when being happy, no. For sure, Crowley was another kind of creature, dealing with his feelings the other way around. He wasn't one of them. He belonged to Hell now. One way or another, the archangels never would allow both of them being together for eternity. 

Anyway...what could be the reason for his visit after such a long time? 

Aziraphales eyes focused on the archangel, his hands shaking. Silence fell between them, eerie and strange. It wasn't like the meetings with Crowley. Since he had seen Gabriel last time, he knew that the archangel couldn't stand him. In his eyes, his best employee was just a snooper thwarting his plans for Armageddon. No wonder why he had shown aversion against Aziraphales habits on Earth. 

"Long time no see, Aziraphale!", his deep voice echoed through the bookshop, making the angel jump. Rudely awakened from his thoughts, Aziraphale tried to act so normal as he could, hiding his shaking and sweaty hands. 

After a while, he replied: 

"Y-Yeah, absolutely...uhm, to be honest, I wasn't expecting you! I...you know, I was just about to clean a bit, the shop has been a mess lately -" 

"And there's nothing to worry about, right?", Gabriel cut him short, fixing his purple scarf. He had begun to circle him like a hungry eagle, his eyes glowing. He bended over to Aziraphale, so close that the angel could smell his intense mint breath. Hissing, he repeated the last word of the sentence:

"Right?"

Aziraphale nodded, his body trembling all over. All of a sudden, he was scared of his boss. 

Utterly scared. 

He didn't know what to answer, so he just made something up. His voice squeaky as he spoke. 

"Uh...uhm...yes, Gabriel! N-Nothing to worry, really nothing...how about some tea?"

He reached over to the shelf with the tea pot and cups in it, but the archangel was faster than him. And stronger. Before Aziraphale could realize what was happening, he found himself getting pinned on the ground by his boss. Gabriel strangled him, his face going red and his eyes full of madness. Insanity. Or whatever you would call it. 

He had gone completely crazy. 

"YOU'VE LIED TO US!", the archangel screamed, lifting Aziraphale off the ground as if he was a doll. His hands wrapped around his throat, he glanced at him with nothing than pure anger.  

All warmth fitting an usual celestial being had been taken away from him within seconds. Gabriel wasn't an angel. Never had been. 

Now, it all made sense...unfortunately, it was too late. 

"I...I've done nothing...", Aziraphale tried to speak, but the hard grip around his neck just made him barely breath. Gasping for air, he finally finished saying one word. 

"P - Please..." 

Then, everything around him faded to black. 

Whatever he had done, maybe it  had been worth. 

Worth dying for...

Crowley woke up screaming. He was drenched in sweat, still laying on the muddy floor in the destroyed bookshop. At first, he couldn't remember what exactly he had seen, but then the demon noticed the tears streaming down his face. 

It had been Gabriel. He had captured his angel, taking him to head office for...for what? For betraying them? For betraying a bunch of fancy dressed losers who treated their employees like rubbish? For loving him, a demon?  

What an idiot he had been! Believing they wouldn't figure it out as they had swapped bodies. Believing they wouldn't figure it out as they had met in the parc. Believing they wouldn't figure it out what had happened between them. 

Maybe, his insurance would have been useful at last...

Crowley wiped the salt out of his face, clenching fists. He was strong. He wouldn't cry, sitting there and doing nothing. 

Today, A.J. Crowley would become a hero. He would rescue his true love out of a dungeon...the most dangerous dungeon in the whole universe. For creatures like him, it meant certain death. A suicide mission. 

But, he wouldn't resist. He wouldn't hesitate to torture anyone of the archangels for torturing his angel. 

Whatever it would take.