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ineffableaddiction · 1 month

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Part 9: Heaven and a Bookshop

A Good Omens Fan Fic

It should have been like coming home, yet it seemed more like losing something that you didn’t realize had been there. For a brief time out of, well, forever, there has been excitement. She had felt things in full color, yet knew that had only been a glimpse of what was on offer. Immediately, things changed and she has returned to the pristine, minimalist place that she hadn’t realized she didn’t miss.

As she made her way to her destination, she sensed something was different but was not able to determine exactly what the cause was.

Muriel approached a new desk, where an angel she didn’t recognize was standing nearby. “Hello there. I’m supposed to report to Mr. Fell. Oh…. I mean…. the Supreme Archangel.” Smiling nervously, she awaited further instruction.

Raziel smiled. “You must be Muriel. I’ll let Aziraphale know that you’re here.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice behind Muriel. “Hello Muriel. It’s wonderful to see you again. Please, walk with me.” Aziraphale smiled, and shifted his gaze to Raziel. “Raziel, could you please let everyone know we’re going to be meeting soon to discuss the upcoming events?”

“I will.” Raziel was serious, but not intimidating. Muriel thought that Raziel seemed lovely during their brief interaction.

Aziraphale turned back to Muriel, gesturing the direction he wanted to proceed. “Shall we?”

Together, they walked nowhere in particular.

“How do you like running the bookshop?” Aziraphale missed his shop, and his books.

A smile lit up her face. “I’m still learning. Sometimes people make me nervous and I haven’t opened the store much, but Mr Crowley is teaching me all about humans and running human shops.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. We even opened the shop one day. Mr. Crowley’s taught me how to talk to the humans when they come in.” Muriel parroted some of the phrases she’d practiced, excited to show off her newfound skills.

Smiling kindly, Aziraphale praised Muriel. “That’s wonderful. It sounds like you’re doing a perfectly reasonable job. Are you enjoying things on Earth?”

“Oh yes! It’s amazing! I’m still trying to learn about the people, and I’ve been able to read a lot of books.” Muriel told him of her favorites, as Aziraphale kindly smiled and asked questions on occasion. As they passed others, Aziraphale would greet each one and give them words of encouragement.

Muriel realized what felt different when she arrived earlier. There was kindness and a feeling of love, both emanating from and toward Aziraphale.

“How do you like being back in heaven, if you don’t mind me asking?” Now that Muriel had spent time on Earth, she wasn’t sure what it would be like to leave it behind.

Aziraphale didn’t answer immediately. No one had asked him that before, and he had tried not to think about it. He was actually making progress, and heaven wasn’t a place he longed to be away from as much as he had in the past. However, planning for Earth’s demise was difficult. It ripped away part of his soul, and he desperately missed so many things about Earth. So many things…

“I believe this is where I’m meant to be. I do miss the bookshop and the beautiful things about Earth, but there are important things to plan. And that’s something I wanted to discuss with you, Muriel.”

A look of surprise crossed her face. “Me? You want to talk to me?”

“We have been talking, have we not?”

Flustered, Muriel attempted to calm herself, with some success. “What would you like to talk to me about, Mr Fell?”

The use of his human name caused him some pain, but Aziraphale ignored it and went on. “I know that you’ve been enjoying your time at the bookshop, but there’s an important task I would like to have your assistance with. If you are willing to listen, I can explain and you can tell me what you think.” He paused for a moment and turned to face Muriel. “I don’t expect you to agree, and if what I ask of you is not something you’re interested in doing, please let me know. I want you to be honest and don’t want to cause you any unhappiness.”

Muriel, struck again by Aziraphale’s kindness, nodded. “Please tell me. I… I will tell you what I think afterwards.”

“Please remember though, this is to stay between us.”

Muriel nodded. Aziraphale began explaining what he was asking of her.

After perhaps too much whiskey and not enough thought, Crowley and Barachiel walked back to the bookshop. Crowley wanted nothing more than to be alone so he could think and not have heaven’s envoys watching his every move.

It’s not that he didn’t like Barachiel, who seemed to be impressively open-minded for an angel. They had managed a decent conversation lacking in judgmental undertones, or blatant judgment, that usually came from that lot.

Crowley was just tired.

Barachiel seemed to realize that she wasn’t welcome. “Is there a room that I can rest in tonight?”

“Just my room, but I won’t be using it.” He showed her to his room. “Just don’t touch the plants. Those are mine.” As Crowley was walking away, he turned back and told Barachiel that the wall over the headboard was the best place to sleep in that room, and then went back downstairs.

Sitting down at the desk, he looked at the book that had been sent by Aziraphale. “The book will reveal itself after you do. What the heaven does that mean?” He opened the book and flipped through the pages again, as if the blank pages would magically reveal the answer. They didn’t.

Sighing, Crowley closed the book and leaned back in the chair. “Find the place where the mother lies. Whose mother am I searching for, and why would I want to find her?” There was still no answer.

After some time had passed, he stood up and started organizing books. They were in a state of disarray thanks to Gabriel’s time here, and it gave Crowley something to focus on. Genres, authors, styles of books and manuscripts and scrolls were sorted through, and Crowley felt oddly proud of the progress. “No miracles needed!” he proclaimed to himself, slightly smiling. He walked back towards the desk but stopped quickly.

There was something on the floor, the something that had fallen from Aziraphale’s book.

Crowley picked it up slowly and examined it. There was a packet of papers and other thing, neatly packaged and tied together with a thin, yellow ribbon. Unsure of what to do with it, he just continued holding it, without moving. “Well, it’s definitely not a journal, so it should be safe to look at.” He untied the ribbon and sat in the chair, laying the papers out across the desk. Papers and…

There was an audible gasp. He had thought it was destroyed, it had been too dangerous to keep. But he was holding it. He set it down and continued through the packet. He took his glasses off and laid them on the desk while studying the collection of items that were in front of him.

A drawing from Florence, showing the two of them together. It was the first permanent visual reminder of them, and his mind wandered to those days, posing for their friend Leo, who had asked them to sit for him so many times that they finally agreed. He had previously drawn them each individually, wanting to use their likeness in a painting that he planned to do. Leo liked to draw people and study their forms.

Crowley and Leo got along splendidly. He was one of a handful of humans Crowley could sit with and endlessly discuss science, philosophy, art, literature, and… well, almost anything with.

Setting the drawing down, his gaze went to the photograph. It was fairly recent, from the time of the German attacks on London. Crowley had assisted Aziraphale with one of his magic shows, and this photograph had almost got Crowley brought back to hell. As terrible at magic as Aziraphale was, he had somehow managed to make the photograph disappear without the idiots from hell noticing. This should have been destroyed, but…

Crowley remembered that night. His angel, his best friend, had rescued him. He’d never been rescued before. Well, not really. At least not where he actually feared losing the precious freedom he had on Earth. Sure, hell gave him jobs to do, but those didn’t take long. The rest of the time was his to use.

“But that night…” Crowley whispered quietly.

He set the photograph down and looked through the remaining pages. It was like looking a history of them. He’d had no idea that Aziraphale had kept these things, and didn’t remember some of them existed. He easily recalled the moments together, but Aziraphale appeared to have found certain things that symbolized pieces of them throughout time. A small rock from Palestine. A piece of parchment from Pergamum. Papyrus from Rome. A handbill from London. An illustration from Nicaea. So many snapshots off their lives together, all splayed out before him. He had to stop looking at these for awhile, but he tucked the drawing and photograph away so they wouldn’t be found by visitors.

Crowley had known Aziraphale cared for him. They’d been through so much together, from the creation of stars to the apocalypse that was averted. Their story was the story of the Earth and all the time the preceded its creation.

Different emotions passed through him, some just a brief glance, others coming together, dancing beautifully, then moving apart, and some settling even further into the home they’d created inside him.

And for the first time since Aziraphale left, a single tear fell from Crowley’s eye.

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #ineffable spouses #good omens fanfiction #absense makes the heart grow fonder is such bs #absense sucks #glimpses

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