Chapter Text
Elena had lived in London for twenty years, and in the Soho area for nearly ten. So of course, she was at least passingly familiar with A. Z. Fell and Co’s Bookshop, in an abstract way. She had never felt the need to actually go inside— Elena liked reading as much as the next person, it was just that the sort of books inside A. Z. Fell’s looked old and kind of expensive— but she had walked by plenty on her way to and from work or class.
She was on her way home from class, in fact, hurrying through the dusky evening in the hopes of beating her flatmate home so she could choose what takeaway they would get for dinner, when she happened to turn her head at just the right moment and saw it through the window of the bookshop.
It being a large, black snake curled up on a chair in the last patches of quickly fading sunlight.
Elena jerked to a stop with a gasp, right in the middle of the pavement. Soho was still bustling, and a few people pushed past her with some muttered rude words before she had the presence of mind to step better out of the way, closer to the window.
Elena all but pressed her face to the window, studying the snake curiously. It was quite large, even coiled as it was in its big leather armchair, and although its golden eyes appeared to be open, she could tell that it was probably snoozing. “What a beautiful creature,” Elena said to herself in a hushed, awed voice, and then made the snap decision to go inside the shop for another look. She was so excited, and in such a hurry, that she didn’t even notice the little sign on the door proclaiming the shop closed as she entered with the cheerful tinkle of a bell.
Elena paused in the doorway, letting the door swing closed behind her as she took in the bookshop. It wasn’t lit very well, the narrow paths between shelves very quickly fading into shadows and only a few lights and lamps scattered around to fight the darkness, and it smelled rather musty... yet there was a familiar, almost comforting air to the place.
Elena cautiously hefted her bag a little higher onto her shoulder before calling out, “Hello?”
From the back, somewhere hidden among the shelves, a voice called back, “I’m sorry, we are quite closed.” A moment later, a man who could only be the bookshop owner bustled out, frowning just slightly. He was on the older side of middle aged, with fluffy blond hair and a bow tie. He blinked a bit owlishly at Elena, as though surprised that she hadn’t left yet.
Before he could kick her out, Elena said quickly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were closed, I wasn’t exactly looking to buy any books anyway.” She winced slightly. That probably wouldn’t exactly endear her to the owner of a bookshop.
But to her surprise, the man seemed to relax a little, and his frown changed from displeased to confused. “Then what can I help you with, my dear girl?” he asked.
Elena shuffled her feet, and then decided to go for broke. “I, ah, I saw your snake through the window, and I just had to come in for a closer look. I’m thinking of studying herpetology, you see, and—”
“My snake?” The bookseller (Mr. Fell? That was probably right) interrupted, sounding puzzled. Elena’s stomach sank. How could he not know that he had a massive snake in his shop? If he didn’t know about it, he probably wouldn’t want it around, and Elena would never forgive herself if she got the authorities called on such a lovely reptile.
And then, to her relief, the bookseller’s expression cleared, and his eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh!” he said, clasping his hands in front of himself. “Great big black thing, probably lazing around in the sun?” Elena nodded. Mr. Fell smiled fondly to himself. “That wily old serpent.”
“Can I see him closer?” Elena asked eagerly.
Mr. Fell’s smile turned a little mischievous, and he said, “I don’t see why not. He’s been lying around plenty.”
“Thank you!” Elena exclaimed. Mr. Fell smiled warmly, perhaps just a bit bemused, and beckoned her into the shop, weaving through the shelves until they reached the small nook by the window where the snake was still napping in his chair.
Elena stood back just a bit as Mr. Fell approached quietly, and gently ran a hand over the snake’s back near his head, murmuring, “My dear boy, we have company.” The snake seemed to come alive at that, coils rustling as he raised his head. If he weren’t, well... if he weren’t a snake, Elena would have been sure that he made eye contact with her, and almost looked irritated.
“That’s what you get for being so slothful,” Mr. Fell said with that same, teasing smile, and then slid his hands under the weight of the snake’s coils and lifted him up. The snake hissed lowly and slithered almost grumpily in his grip until he was draped over the bookseller’s shoulders like a large, scaly scarf.
Elena gasped in delight and stepped closer, studying him admiringly. “He’s so lovely,” she said, and reached out to gently run her fingers over his snout. The snake hissed threateningly, and Elena withdrew her fingers just slightly, looking questioningly at Mr. Fell.
“Be nice,” Mr. Fell chastised his snake, and then added to Elena, “He’s not venomous, but he does get a bit tetchy from time to time.” The snake hissed again, this time showing off a little fang.
Elena grinned, and then all her questions spilled out. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a snake quite like him, and I can’t quite identify him, what species is he? And he’s so long, how old is he? Where did you find him? Oh, what does he eat, is he hard to feed at all? What’s his name?”
Mr. Fell blinked. “Ah, in all honesty,” he said slowly. “I don’t think I know the answer to most of those. He’s, well... he belongs to, to, my partner?”
Elena’s eyes widened, and her queer heart fluttered hopefully in her chest. “Business partner, or...?” She trailed off meaningfully.
Mr. Fell smiled privately. “Husband.” He absently petted the snake as he spoke, and the snake’s head relaxed against his shoulder. “Crowley is awfully fond of serpents of all kinds. He knows quite a bit more about them than me.” He smiled down at the snake. “I’m just happy to have him around.”
Elena couldn’t quite hold back her delighted grin. “Cute!” she said, and then, emboldened, reached out and booped the snake on the snout. Surprised, the snake let out a loud hiss and then slithered off of Mr. Fell, knocking over a stack of books before disappearing under a bookshelf. “Uh,” Elena said, embarrassed.
Mr. Fell waved a hand, dismissing her concern. “I doubt he’ll sulk for long,” he said airily.
Elena glanced again at where the snake had disappeared from view, and then sighed quietly to herself. “Anyway,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll get out of your way. Thank you very much for letting me see your snake.”
“Of course,” Mr. Fell said warmly.
Elena let herself out as Mr. Fell bent to straighten the stack of books his partner’s snake had knocked over. Just as the door was closing, though, she thought she heard an unfamiliar male voice say, “Angel, if I didn’t like you so much—” and Mr. Fell reply, “Oh, but my dear, you really are so lovely—”
Elena grinned as the door shut behind her. She’d definitely have to stop in again.
***
“I find it rather hard to believe that a bookshop owner just had a massive snake in the middle of London,” Mira said sniffily, and Elena gritted her teeth and sighed to herself. Her flatmate was quite wonderful, most days, but didn’t she just get on Elena’s nerves sometimes.
“So you think I hallucinated it, then?” Elena said waspishly, weaving her way through the crowds in Soho with Mira at her heels.
“I think sometimes you get worked up after a long day and too many espresso shots,” Mira replied primly.
Elena almost argued, but she had mistaken the coatrack in their flat for a monster just a few too many times for that argument to hold completely. “Well, I’ll show you,” she said instead. “It’s just up there.” She gestured up the street, to the corner where A. Z. Fell’s resided.
“We’ll see,” Mira said doubtfully, but she followed nonetheless as Elena made her way up the two short steps of the bookshop, checking this time to make sure that the sign on the door said the shop was open before letting herself in.
Mira stumbled to a stop behind Elena, and gazed open-mouthed at the bookshop. “Oh, my god, why haven’t I ever come in here before?” she whispered, hushed. Elena smiled in spite of herself— of course, her incurable bookworm of a flatmate, would be utterly enraptured with the kinds of books A. Z. Fell’s had to offer.
“Come on,” Elena said a tad impatiently. “You can moon over the books in a second, I want to see if Mr. Fell’s snake is around today. And then you’ll know that I wasn’t hallucinating.” She reached out and grabbed Mira’s hand and gently led her through the shelves, steadfastly ignoring the way her heartbeat sped up for just a moment. Mira obligingly let Elena lead her to the little nook where the snake had been sleeping the last time, although Elena could hear her quietly gasping and exclaiming whenever she saw a book she liked.
Unfortunately, when they reached the nook by the window, there were no snakes to be found. Instead, a lanky, red-haired man in black was sprawled in the armchair, one leg slung over the arm and a pair of dark glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose just slightly as he leafed through a newspaper. When Elena and Mira appeared he looked up, and one eyebrow crept up his forehead.
He glanced significantly at their still clasped hands, before returning to his paper and saying, “I’m all for encouraging a little risqué behavior, but I don’t think Aziraphale would much like that happening in his bookshop.”
Going red, Elena dropped Mira’s hand. “You’ve got the wrong idea,” she squeaked. The man hummed noncommittally.
“We’re looking for a snake,” Elena added hurriedly. “He was over here the other day. That’s all. Nothing, uh, nothing else.”
That made the man look up again, and Elena almost imagined he was squinting behind his glasses. “A snake?” he repeated, and then he closed his newspaper and swung his leg back over the arm of the chair so he was sitting properly. “Oh, you’re snake girl!” He grinned, and Elena honestly couldn’t tell if it was friendly or not. “Sorry, no snakes today.”
Elena tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. “How come?” she asked instead.
The man’s eyebrows somehow managed to go up even further. “How come?” he repeated. “It’s cloudy and rainy today, no self-respecting snake would be out and about.”
Elena frowned slowly, and then it clicked. “Wait, is the snake yours?” she asked excitedly, all disappointment forgotten. She didn’t want to judge or stereotype, but the man seemed much more like the kind of person to have a massive snake than the kindly bookshop owner.
The man’s grin somehow grew. “In a manner of speaking,” he replied. “He’s his own snake, I should say.”
Elena ignored that bit of weirdness, and said, “I have so many questions!”
“Do you, now,” the man said, and yes, that was definitely indulgent amusement in the curve of his lips.
Mira, clearly able to tell that she was gearing up for quite the interview, poked Elena on the shoulder. “I’m going to browse,” she said in a low voice. “Let me know when you want to leave.”
“Gotcha!” Elena chirped, and pulled up a convenient chair, plopping down. “How long have you had your snake? What’s his name?”
The man absently shuffled his newspaper, and said thoughtfully, “I suppose his name would be Crawly. He’s been around more or less since Eden, I should think.”
The man (Mr. Fell’s partner, he must be— which meant his name was Crowley, if Elena remembered correctly) entertained Elena’s questions for a little while, even if some of his answers were frustratingly cryptic, obviously incorrect, or just straight up bizarre. For the kind of man who wore sunglasses inside for no discernible reason other than the fact that he seemed to think it looked cool, Crowley was surprisingly patient— he seemed mostly amused by her, and genuinely interested when she started talking about her studies at university related to herpetology.
At one point, Mr. Fell himself bustled over, and seemed mildly surprised to see his partner actually being social, but didn’t interrupt. A bit later, he brought them both tea, and kissed Crowley on the top of the head, and Crowley gave him in return a scowl with absolutely no malice. At another point, Mira returned with a book in hand and found herself another convenient chair to curl up in.
Night was falling by the time Mr. Fell stopped by again, and said regretfully, “I’m sorry, my dear, but I do have to close up soon.”
Elena nodded. “Of course,” she said.
“You’re welcome to come back, of course,” he added quickly, and then gave Crowley a surprisingly teasing smile. “You’re being dreadfully kind, my dear.”
“Shut up,” Crowley drawled, flopping back in his chair as Elena got to her feet.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Crowley raised one eyebrow. “Big fan of questions, me,” he replied, and then glanced up at Aziraphale. “Fancy dinner, angel?”
“That sounds lovely,” Mr. Fell replied with a warm smile.
Elena and Mira glanced at each other, and then took that as a cue to leave. Elena smiled as she let the door close behind her— she could hear Crowley and Mr. Fell playfully bickering over where they were going to go for dinner.
“So,” Mira said, bumping her shoulder with a small smile. “I didn’t see any snakes.”
Elena gaped at her, appalled. “I was literally talking to Crowley about his snake for two hours? Oh my god—”
Mira laughed. “I’m winding you up.” She brushed her hair out of her face thoughtfully. “Mr. Fell was nice,” she said. “Had a lovely talk with him about some of his nineteenth century literature, and he didn’t even seem to mind that I couldn’t afford to buy anything.”
“It is a nice shop, isn’t it?” Elena added thoughtfully. She smiled slightly. “Maybe we’ll just have to go back.”
Mira’s fingers brushed the back of her hand for just a moment. “Maybe we will,” she replied.