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the-late-one · 7 months

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Hello and welcome to a new episode of me writing a thousand words ficlet that turned into a 4k+ one.

Today, I am presenting you some pre-fall fluff and other things at the end.

Enjoy !

I knew you

(A Good Omens ficlet) G-rated

One star was shining brighter than the others in that part of the universe. A white blinding dot was sitting here, on what will much more later be the floor of an immaculate Heaven's building, but was for now invisible.

"Gnnnnk- Ouch !"

The figure, which appeared to be an angel with his wings deployed, was grumbling and swearing while picking at his feathers.

Aziraphale should have known not to get too close from the asteroids belt, but he really wanted to see the Earth from closer. The project was still kept secret, and the angels were authorized to suggest ideas for creations just because the Archangels couldn't handle all the work by themselves. But the final result, everyone would see it only when the almighty would decide to show it.

Now there he was, hiding, trying to heal his hurt wings away from his superiors. He could already hear Gabriel criticize the state of him. Luckily, he was just a cherub, and nobody was paying attention to him.

"Come on come on come on…" Aziraphale whispered, as if the broken feather on the back of his left wing was gonna get closer to hand reach.

"You need help with that ?"

The voice behind him made him jump, and before he got the time to turn around, the rebellious feather got plucked off.

"Ouch !" The cherub let a little cry escape his throat, taken by surprise.

"Oops, sorry. I'm not used to doing it for the others."

Aziraphale looked behind him to find the other angel standing here, examining the feather with crossed eyebrows.

It was him. The star maker, with his red hair and big brown eyes. Eyes that flicked to Aziraphale's face in a second.

"Ah ! Aziraphale ! I was sure I'd seen these wings before." The angel smiled, all teeth out.

"It's you ! Wait, you remember me ?" Said Aziraphale, turning completely to the mysterious angel.

"Of course I remember you ! Why wouldn't I ?"

Aziraphale stumbled upon his words, "Well I'm– I'm not–"

"What happened to you anyway ? Look at your feathers, are you hurt ?"

The star maker circled him to check on the wings.

"Nothing, really." Said Aziraphale, folding the limbs against himself, "I just flew too close to erm… what do you call it ?... Asteroids ! It's entirely my fault."

"Not my asteroids I hope ?"

"Oh, no ! No no it was down there." The angel pointed behind him, "Around the Earth."

The star maker nodded, palming his chest in relief, "Phew ! You got me worried for an instant ! As you are here and that's my part of the universe. Well, not my part, but the part I helped crafting. We helped, by the way."

"I did nothing." Replied Aziraphale, a strange feeling building in his cheeks.

The star maker jumped in front of him, "You're joking ? Without you all of this would still be dark matter and dust !"

The feeling in Aziraphale's cheeks became more and more present. It was warm, and growing up the roots of his hair. If he could have hidden his head completely between his shoulders, he would have. Instead, he stared at the translucent floor under his feet.

The angel was high ranked, he could feel it. He didn't know his name, but you can't create stars and nebulas without a decent amount of power. Aziraphale wasn’t even sure he had the right to talk to him directly. At least, this angel was nice to him, the small cherub hoping to make friends among the vast Universe the Almighty created. Was he his friend now ?

Aziraphale got pulled off his trail of thoughts by soft hands landing on his left wing.

"Why don’t you use a little miracle to get them all clean ?" Wondered the star maker, absentmindedly stroking the longest feathers.

Aziraphale tried to ignore the chills running down his spine at the contact, "I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm not powerful enough to perform miracles for myself."

"I can do it for you–"

"No !" Aziraphale shouted, and the other angel stared at him with round dark eyes, "No, I don't want you to use your powers for me. Even less for my mistakes. I don’t think she would like that."

Aziraphale stepped aside, sitting back on the ground and gripping nervously at his wings, "I'll take care of that myself. But thank you for offering." He fumbled into the feathers to get back to work, suddenly very flustered.

Why would this angel perform miracles for him ? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t his fault.

After a short moment of silence, Aziraphale felt a presence sitting behind him.

"Let me help you with that, at least." Said the star maker, running his fingers between the feathers to preen them.

At first, Aziraphale froze, undecided if the angel's insistence at helping him was a good thing or not, but he had to admit that a helpful hand was welcomed. He relaxed after the first few feathers being plucked, but kept his head low to be sure his new friend couldn't see how red his face was.

"You shouldn't do that." Aziraphale said, voice low and quivering.

"Hm ?"

"You shouldn't– you probably have way more important things to do than taking care of me."

"This is important. Isn't it important for you to look good ?"

Aziraphale hesitated, "Well, it is but-"

"Then it's important for me."

A long silence followed. Not an uncomfortable one. Not a heavy one. Just the kind of silence one could find relaxing after a hard day of work, even though work hasn't been invented yet.

It's the unnamed angel that broke it, shifting position to get somehow closer to Aziraphale.

"So, what are you doing here ? I thought you were working on the Earth project ?"

"I wasn't. I mean, in a way, but I wasn't directly involved in anything. I'm not qualified for that."

The unnamed angel hummed, very focused on his task. Aziraphale continued :

"I made a few suggestions though. About plants mostly. Did you know that humans will have to ingest things to survive ? I did not understand how it works exactly but, they will. It's called "eating"."

"Weird."

"Isn't it ? I'm sure it will have a purpose."

"So what did you suggest ?"

"Oh I'm not sure it-"

"No no, go on, I'm curious now."

Aziraphale hesitated. It was the first time someone was asking him about his work here with genuine interest.

"Erm… I thought about something round. Maybe not completely round but, something soft, with multiple colors. Maybe red, or yellow, or green. It grows on trees so it's easy to find. I'm not sure about the name."

"Little colorful balls ? That's funny."

Aziraphale smiled, "Really ?"

"Yes. Sounds funny at least, especially to eat. What a concept. What is it called ?"

"I wrote down 'abble' but maybe they'll change it. To be honest, I don't even know if they'll use my idea."

"I did one too."

"Oh ? What about ?"

"Not for eating activities, it was for a living thing."

Suggestions for living things were only taken from the cleverest angels, because they supposedly knew better about life. That's what Aziraphale heard when the Archangels asked for ideas.

"A living thing ? You mean animals ?"

"Yes, one of those. I don’t think it's gonna make it to Earth neither, I didn't finish it. Had to fix a black hole before finishing it and when I came back the paper was gone, so." The angel giggled, "It was stupid. It's like a long thing with a head but you can't really tell where the neck stops and the body begins. And it has big teeth that hide inside his mouth so they don't stick out of it, and I was supposed to add legs and wings but I couldn't ! They just saw the sketch of the poor thing and went with it apparently."

"It doesn't have legs ?"

"No ! Maybe they'll add some themselves but otherwise it will have to crawl on the ground or something."

"Oh no…"

Aziraphale tried to contain a laughter but failed, and soon the two angels started to laugh together at the imaginary picture of the failed being. Hiding behind one hand, Aziraphale heard a new song that instantly became his favorite : The star maker's laugh. It was deep and unashamed, head falling backwards and eyes squinted so hard tears were starting to pool on their corners. For a moment, Aziraphale forgot about everything around, all the stars and nebulas and galaxies, because the shiniest object in space was the angel laughing in front of him.

When the star maker took a deep breath to stop himself, Aziraphale turned his head right away, realizing just now that he was staring, and that the other angel had started staring in return.

"That's cruel !" Said Aziraphale, composing himself.

"Not my fault !" Retorted the other, swiping his eyes, "Those idiots had to let me finish my work, that's all."

Aziraphale stopped smiling all at once.

Idiots

This wasn't a word anyone was supposed to use to call the upper angels. He tried to change the subject, suddenly tensing.

"And erm- what are you doing here ? The universe is so vast, have you already finished all the stars ?"

The star maker shifted again to be in Aziraphale's view, "My work is done for now. We have other things to care for. Something called 'gravity' for a start, so your humans will not float away from their planet. And it's gonna keep everything in place around us."

Aziraphale made a little sound of approval, honestly more focused now on the angel busying himself with his wing than on his own task.

"So I stay here, checking if everything is working well." Continued the angel, "Plus, this is one the best spots to look at my creation."

With a growing smile, he pointed at the stars above them, "Look. You see these ones over there ?"

Aziraphale followed his finger, but for a novice, every object looked the same. He squinted his eyes, and his neighbor probably saw it because he got closer to him, aligning their eyes so they could look in the same direction.

Aziraphale tried very hard to ignore the funny feeling building in his stomach when their temples brushed together, staring right in front of him instead.

"Here." The other angel insisted, lowering his voice to just above a whisper, "See the star next to the gas cloud. Well it looks like just one, but if you look closely there are two, and a third little one, staying close to each other."

Aziraphale finally spotted the star system the angel wanted to show to him, and in an attempt to nod, forgot for a second their proximity, almost bumping their heads together. But the star maker didn't seem to bother, suddenly grinning with excitement.

"These are my favorites ! Alpha Centauri, I called them."

Aziraphale made his eyes dance from the angel's cheery face to the stars, trying to understand why, in all the colorful, gigantic, artistic creations displayed in front of them, these three little stars were making him so happy.

He couldn’t stop his own smile from stretching his lips. "They are beautiful." He agreed, staring at the angel's glittering eyes.

The star maker's expression changed into something softer, content, as he turned to Aziraphale. "They are ours." He said, scanning his face with a new interest.

Before Aziraphale got the time to ask why, the angel sat back and resumed the preening. "I'm glad you like them too." He said, and for an instant, Aziraphale was sure he saw the angel's cheeks changing colors. Changing into something warmer.

"I like all of them." Aziraphale stated, almost shouting, words escaping his throat like a punch. Why did he say that ? He was meaning it, but did he need to say it out loud.

"Aw, thank you. They're not just mine but... thank you." The angel answered, visibly proud.

They both averted their eyes to focus on the last ruffled feather again, before the star maker mumbled something.

"I'm not getting that a lot."

"Hm ?"

"Compliments." Precised the angel with a clearer voice. "I don't– they never told me they liked them. Up."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Said Aziraphale, a sudden need to get closer to the other drowning him. He wanted to take his hand. He never wanted to take anyone's hand before, or even touch another angel. What was that ?

"It's all right. They don't tell me a lot of things to be honest. Sometimes I feel like they're avoiding me."

Aziraphale took a moment to digest this information. How could anyone want to avoid this angel ? He was the nicest being he met so far. He was joyful, clever, even a little bit funny.

"Oh I'm certain it's just a feeling." Aziraphale tried to reassure him. "They've all been pretty busy lately."

"I'm not the only one thinking that you know ? Actually we're a few thinking the same thing : it's like they were trying to push some of us aside."

"What are you talking about ?"

"I'm telling you, something is up with the Archangels."

Aziraphale was confused, and a certain fear grew inside of him.

The other angel went on :

"Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a conversation, and all of a sudden everyone around is giving me a look and telling me that they have things to do somewhere else. Once or twice, I understand, but now they barely speak to me anymore."

Aziraphale was stunned. What this angel was telling him was beyond understanding. Was he saying there were teams forming ? It was impossible. Everyone was under the same umbrella, putting aside the ranks. And above all, negativity had no place here.

What was even more worrying was that, apparently, the star maker wasn't alone feeling this. Who else ?

"Maybe, " tried Aziraphale, a small smile on his lips, "Maybe they just don't understand what you're talking about ? I like hearing you speak about the cosmos but, I have to admit, I'm not as passionate as you are and I feel a little lost sometimes."

"No it's not about that. Earlier, I was trying to peek on what was going on with the planets, because you know they made an almost exact replica of Earth next to it ? Well they almost erased it, took all of the water off, and put it on Earth instead. I asked why, they told me she preferred Earth, I said 'but why not use both ?' and they answered they didn't have time for that. Samael was so sad, he built it all by himself."

The angel was visibly becoming more and more angry.

"They want to destroy everything anyway. You told me the Universe would be gone in 6000 years. Earth too ! The people you worked on, they'll be gone ! Nothing left ! Lucifer told us. This one is a good guy, always welcoming."

The name echoed in Aziraphale's head.

Lucifer

The supreme Archangel.

"What is the point of working so hard to create everything for nothing ?" Concluded the angel.

Aziraphale released his wing, turning to the star maker, whose face was scrunched in this somehow adorable way Aziraphale saw earlier. He wasn't that angry, he was more confused and disappointed.

"I don't think you should get that upset about all of it. We can’t do anything about it, it’s God's plan. We can’t question it. It's ineffable."

"Well maybe someone should start questioning it ! Several angels even. Maybe you should."

"Would you please stop that !" Yelled Aziraphale, standing up and taking a step away, covering his mouth immediately.

The other angel stared at him, startled. "Oh, sorry, did I hurt you ?" He asked, concerned and looking at the wing he had between his hands the moment before.

Aziraphale shook his head, "No, you were very gentle, thank you. But it’s not about my wings ! You have to stop confronting the almighty like you do !"

"Why ?" Asked the angel, shrugging.

"Because it's- it's wrong !" Aziraphale was searching for a better answer, but he didn't have one. All he knew was that he had a bad presentment about all of this.

He looked around themselves nervously, then crouched in front of the star maker.

"Listen." He murmured, "I really don't want you to get into trouble. If she planned all of this, it's for a reason, and we shouldn't care."

"Why are you so scared ?" Asked the other, leaning closer, adjusting his tone of voice to match Aziraphale's.

"I'm not– … I don't know. I just- feel like this isn't right."

"I'm just asking questions. I just want to understand."

"I know. But-" Aziraphale took his hand in his. It was warm, so warm. It was the first time his angelic skin was touching another, and it felt magical, almost too good, almost too much. But instead of dropping it, he squeezed lightly at the fingers against his palm. "What if it annoys her ? I don't want anything to happen to you."

The star maker stared at him for a moment, not saying a thing, letting his eyes jump from their joined hands to Aziraphale's eyes, and other spots on his face apparently as much interesting to look at. Then he smiled softly, using his free hand to cup the cherub's cheek.

This time, Aziraphale felt something inside of him stop. He didn't know what, but it stopped. The warm feeling nested in his face since the beginning of their interaction flowed down his entire corporation, making him feel like he was about to turn into a cloud of stardust. He couldn’t move, and he was pretty sure that if he started to speak, what would escape his mouth wouldn't sound like any form of language.

It didn’t last long before the star maker took back his hand, letting it fall on Aziraphale's.

"You could make a good principality." He said, his expression shifting into the excited one Aziraphale found himself so fond about all of a sudden.

"What ?" He whispered, his voice half gone to the nearest galaxy.

"You seem so attached to protect me. I think protection is your thing. They're searching for applicants to protect the people of Earth."

Aziraphale came back to himself, "You know things about Earth ?"

"I'm just hearing things." Said the star maker nonchalantly, a smirk stretching his lips.

Aziraphale looked at their squeezed hands, thinking for a moment. "A principality ? Me ?"

"Why not ?"

"It's a very high rank for me. I'm nothing. I'm just a cherub." said Aziraphale, sharing a small smile.

"So ? We were all cherubs once. We just got assigned jobs without asking. You should try. And hey, haven't you helped me create my nebulas ? That's one big step. Plus, we've got you all set, look at you ! All clean and fresh !" Said the star maker, pointing at Aziraphale's wings.

Aziraphale chuckled, looking at his feathers. He turned back to the angel, catching him moving his lips in a silent word while staring at the white wings. He didn't catch it, and instead took back his hands to slide an open palm against the rearranged down.

"Thank you. For that. I really needed a hand."

"Anytime." Answered the star maker, winking and standing up, and he instantly changed his expression again. "Not that you should get hit by meteors again ! But, if you need help, anything, I'll be there. Somewhere. Just– call my name very loudly and I'll come to you."

The burning feeling in Aziraphale's cheeks came back. "Oh that's very kind of you. I'd like to reciprocate but I don't know if I could be of any help at all."

"Noted." Said the other. "Being there for each other, there should be a name for it…"

Aziraphale frowned, thinking for a moment before the star maker interrupted his path of thoughts.

"Friends ! That'll do it. We're friends now !"

"Friends ?" Aziraphale wanted to protest again, claiming that they couldn’t be friends because of their rank difference, but he didn't. Somehow, the shining smile of the other angel made him forget about his worries. "All right. Friend… you're my first friend !" The cherub giggled.

"So are you for me." The star maker chuckled.

They looked at each other one last time, without a word, scanning each other’s face, searching for something, something they couldn’t put a name on yet into their eyes.

Without a warning, the star maker unfolded his wings and turned away, "Well, see you, Aziraphale !".

"Until we meet again !" Answered Aziraphale, raising his hand, "Wait !"

But it was too late. The star maker disappeared in a reddish ray of light across the sky.

Aziraphale put down his extended palm, intertwining his fingers together, suddenly feeling very alone. He stared at the dark spot where his friend was sitting a moment ago, mumbling between his teeth.

"You didn't tell me your name…"

***

"I'm Aziraphale ! By the way."

Crawly looked at him from head to toes, eyebrows crossed, "Yeah. I know." He said with a soft voice.

Aziraphale couldn’t contain his surprise, along with the feeling of happiness and relief growing in his chest. "You- You know ? You remem–"

"Yeah, I heard you talking with the humans. It's not my first day here, y'know. Had to do a little bit of scouting before executing the plan."

Aziraphale's expectations died there and then. Crawly, as it was his name now, wasn't remembering him. He had no idea how bad of an effect the fall could have on an angel, and sadly, he was starting to get the picture. The demon next to him was only looking like someone he used to know, he probably wasn't him at all anymore.

His hair wasn't looking as soft, his skin was paler, his eyes the ones of a snake. His wings were pitch black and ruffled, not white and impeccably preened.

He was someone else.

"Thank you."

Aziraphale didn’t answer, only nodding at the unexpected gratitude. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Crawly for too long, memories of his lost friend stinging his heart like a thousand wasps. Instead, he kept observing Eve and Adam going away in the desert.

When they disappeared from his view, he sighed, tilting his head to the sky to feel the rain pouring on his face.

"Interesting." He mumbled.

Crawly was still looking at him. He could feel the golden eyes heavy on him. Maybe it was the first time he was seeing an angel since his fall. Or maybe he was trying to remember…

"It’s called 'rain'." said Aziraphale. "I heard God talk about it but I never thought I would see it happening."

Crawly turned his eyes away.

"Amazing isn’t it ?"

"Huh ? Yeah…"

They both looked away.

"You’re not afraid of me ?" Asked Crawly.

The question was strange. "Should I ?"

Crawly took a minute to answer, "I don't know. I'm a demon, we're supposed to fight each other, aren't we ?"

"I don't wanna fight. It's not my role. Do you think I'm a danger to you ?"

Crawly’s eyes danced from the angel's face to his wing above his head, then he scoffed, "Really ?" He shook his head. "I don't wanna fight either."

The rain eventually stopped, leaving the two beings completely soaked. They parted ways, Crawly awkwardly stepping away from where he was being sheltered.

Aziraphale shook his wings in a few bats before starting to preen them, using just enough of a miracle to dry them clean. He was done in a few seconds.

"Well, that was something !" He said, with a cheeky smile on his face. "A few more minutes and we would have turned into fish !"

Crawly, on his side, wasn't in the mood for a laugh, struggling with his damp feathers.

"It’s not an easy task, is it ?" Tried Aziraphale, guardedly approaching the demon.

"I’ve never been wet before." Said Crawly, shaking his wings.

Aziraphale fumbled with his hands before stepping closer, "I can give you a hand if you wa–"

"No ! I can do it myself !"

It was brutal and defensive. Snake eyes fiercely piercing through the angel's ones. It was so aggressive that Aziraphale had to back off to feel safe again, the demon's aura becoming darker.

"All right." Aziraphale whispered.

They stopped Interacting for a few seconds before Aziraphale started again, opting for a lighter tone.

"I have. Been wet before, I mean."

This seemed to get Crawly’s attention back, but the demon was still looking away. Aziraphale went on.

"I wanted to see the waterfall from closer. Until I remembered why it was called a waterfall. Didn’t know it was only water. Silly me."

Aziraphale smiled at his own story while Crawly looked at him in disbelief. He couldn’t contain a little smirk and turned his face away. Aziraphale heard a small chuckle before the demon looked at him from above his shoulder.

"You are not the principality I was imagining while coming up here." He admitted.

Crawly stood up, deploying his black wings completely.

"Are you sure you don't want my help ?" Asked Aziraphale once more.

"No, don't bother."

And in a snap of Crawly’s fingers, the wings were dry, along with his hair and togas.

He still had his powers.

Aziraphale stared at the feathers with more insistence now that they were completely exposed.

"There are a few broken ones." He murmured. He wasn't supposed to say it out loud, but Crawly heard him.

"They're still growing back." Said Crawly, eyeing at the black feathers.

Growing back ?

Aziraphale didn’t dare to imagine what this single sentence implied. Flashbacks of the war popped in his mind, and screams filled his ears. One scream in particular, and one painful smile.

Without realizing it, the angel had stepped so close to the demon that his hand had landed on one of his wings, tracing the damaged plumage with his fingertips. He came back to the present moment when he heard Crawly gasping under his touch.

"Oh ! Sorry ! I didn’t mean to do that !" Aziraphale pulled back abruptly, feeling the tears that started to nest in his eyes on the verge of falling. He blinked them away, holding his right hand with his other one as if he was incapable of controlling it.

"It's all right. You're curious. I get it."

"I really shouldn't have."

"It's okay, I– argh !"

Suddenly, Crawly grabbed his chest, like he was being pulled to the ground by some invisible force.

Aziraphale wanted to run to him, but kept himself to do so. What if it was his fault ? "Oh no, are you all right ? Did I do something wrong ?"

"Yes. I mean no. I think they’re calling me down there. I have to go."

"But- Oh… so that's how they do it." Murmured Aziraphale.

Crawly stood up, finally visibly relieved, and approached the end of the wall. He turned to Aziraphale.

"I guess," started the angel, "I'm not supposed to say it was nice meeting you ?"

Crawly huffed, "No. I think that's against our side's rules."

"Maybe, until next time then ? Who knows. Sometimes you think you’ll never see someone ever again, and yet…" Aziraphale lost the end of his sentence, reminding himself that he was the only one remembering Crawly’s past life.

Crawly nodded, and was about to jump from the wall, when he turned one last time to Aziraphale.

"It was nice anyway." He admitted, barely looking at the angel's eyes. He raised a finger "Oh and you better clean what you’ve done to the wall before going. Trust me, you don't want her to see that."

Aziraphale frowned, looking around in panic, "How much do you know about what I've done here ?"

Crawly smirked, jumping from the wall to land lightly on the ground, "Until next time angel."

Aziraphale smiled at him in confusion, and watched as the demon turned into a snake again, before disappearing under the lush vegetation of Eden.

A feeling of emptiness gained him as he walked alone along the walls of the garden. The humans were gone, and the only other being he could talk to was not only a demon, but also went back to where he came from. The tiniest hope that Crawly would remember him was also gone.

Nervously, Aziraphale fiddled with his ring, looking up at the sky, mind filled with questions, about why they've done this ? Why to him ? Why send him back to Aziraphale ?

He asked nothing, hurrying instead to mask what he'd done for Adam and Eve.

As much as he loved him, he didn’t want to end up like Crawly.

He didn't want to fall.

But deep down, he knew.

Maybe it was too late.

#good omens fanfiction #good omens ficlet #good omens #crowley #crawly #Aziraphale #pre fall crowley #angel crowley #before the beginning #garden of eden #the author is healing #fluff #light angst

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