Chapter Text
“I’m going to get some wine for dinner.” Aziraphale looked up from the book he was reading when his husband spoke. “Be back soon.” Crowley was by the front door of the bookshop, shrugging a jacket onto his lean frame.
“You’re leaving?” Aziraphale asked, marking his place before closing the book. He shifted in the chair slightly, stretching out his back.
Crowley paused, mid zip. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, I was just going to light some candles and take a little bath before dinner.” Aziraphale looked over to where the kids were playing in front of the fireplace. “Can’t really do that when there are three little ones depending on you to keep an eye on them.”
Crowley followed his gaze and smiled at the toddlers. “I can bring the boys with me.”
“My dear, they are three years old. A liquor store is not an appropriate place for them to spend their evening.”
The demon lifted a twin onto each hip and shrugged as he watched his husband pick up their youngest child. “Nonsense. We’ll have fun. Right, boys?” The two nodded happily, grabbing for Crowley’s shoulder-length auburn hair that he had been growing since the Armageddon-that-wasn’t. He shook the strands free from their fists before miracling it up into a bun on the crown of his head.
“Might even stop at the sweets shop down the road on the way home…” Crowley lilted.
Aziraphale gasped, a pleased blush spreading across his cheeks. “Oh, if you do, please grab me some of those lovely macarons! You know the ones I like.”
Crowley chuckled and kissed the angel on his forehead. “Of course, dove.” He watched Aziraphale lean forward and kiss both boys on the tops of their heads. “Now go start that bath so you’re ready for dessert when we get home.”
Aziraphale gave his husband a smile and a soft kiss on the lips before he looked down at their daughter. “I suppose I could set up a playpen for Rosie in the bathroom with me.”
“That’s the spirit, angel. We’ll be back soon, alright?” Crowley set the boys down by the door as he helped them into their jackets, hats, and mittens. “Let’s get all bundled up, yeah? Don’t want my little snakes to get cold!” The twins giggled before one opened the front door. “Zachary, don’t you dare go down those steps by yourself!” Crowley yelled after him.
The younger of the twins smiled cheekily and turned on his belly to scoot down the stairs to the sidewalk in front of the bookshop. “Bye!”
Crowley quickly finished dressing the other boy, AJ, before picking him up and scurrying outside after his son. “What did I tell you?” he glared at the little boy before grabbing his hand and leading him to the Bentley that sat parked across the street. He set both boys into their car seats and began the laborious process of buckling them in. Both kids made it especially difficult as they squirmed around, trying to escape the car. “Hey!” Crowley hissed a little, his tongue catching on his extended fangs. The boys froze for a moment before they laughed, reaching for their father. The demon only sighed, finishing the straps on both car seats before slipping into the front himself. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the twins and couldn’t help but smile as they kicked their feet in anticipation of the ride. Starting the car, he flipped on the radio to a station that was miraculously playing Queen. When he slowed to a stop at the liquor store, he miracled a stroller to be waiting beside the car. Unbuckling AJ, Crowley tried to place him in the seat.
“No!” AJ squirmed and kicked in his father’s arms. “Want to walk!”
“There is a lot of breakable things inside this store,” Crowley tried to explain. “You have to sit or you might get hurt.”
“No!” AJ wailed, going limp in Crowley’s grasp as he started to cry.
Crowley sighed as he settled the toddler into the top seat of the stroller. He turned around to grab the other boy, who had begun to cry as well. He buckled both securely into the stroller before he knelt down in front of them. “Look at me,” he said. Neither stopped crying, so he tried again. “Want to know a secret?”
AJ hiccupped, rubbing his eyes. “What?”
“You have to stop crying, or I won’t be able to tell you.” It took a few moments for both boys to stop crying. When there was nothing left but sniffles coming from them, Crowley smiled encouragingly. “Your Papa has to sit when we go shopping here, too.” He wrinkled his nose with a little smirk as they pondered over what he had told them.
“Really?” Zachary asked.
“Yep,” Crowley confirmed. “He’s broken too many things.” The twins began to giggle as Crowley pushed them inside. “There we go,” he smiled. “No more sad faces.” Two stuffed unicorns appeared in the laps of the boys and they squealed with delight. “Let’s go find that wine for your Papa.” He pushed the stroller down a few aisles before he stopped in front of a long row of shelves. Crowley pursed his lips before settling his sights on one of the more expensive bottles. “Hm…” He picked up a Bordeaux and glanced at the label. “1986,” he mused. “Not a bad year.”
“Nine, one, four…” AJ read.
“Good job, buddy,” Crowley grinned. “That’s right. Nine hundred and fourteen pounds. I think your Papa is worth that, don’t you?” Both boys nodded. Crowley took the wine to the front counter to pay.
“Aww, they’re adorable,” the cashier cooed as she rang up the wine. “How old are they?”
“How old are you?” Crowley asked them. Both struggled to hold up three fingers. “Three,” Crowley confirmed.
“Daddy is six thousand!” Zachary told the cashier with a wide grin.
“Is that right?” she laughed. Zachary nodded, hugging the unicorn to his chest. Crowley whipped out a credit card and paid for the wine. He wheeled the boys back outside, where it had begun to lightly snow. The twins leaned forward in their stroller reaching out to grab the flakes from the air. Crowley smiled before getting the kids settled into their car seats. He glanced back at their glum faces as they looked out their windows at the snow and sighed. He pulled out his phone and dialed his husband.
“This is Aziraphale.”
Crowley rolled his eyes at the way the angel insisted on answering the phone. “I know who it is, you idiot,” he said teasingly. “I called you.”
“Crowley!” the voice on the other side of the line immediately brightened. “I was just slipping into the tub.”
“You’re not already in?”
“No,” Aziraphale sighed. “Rosie needed a diaper change and then I had to set up her playpen. Just as I set her down, she began crying, so I had to give her a bottle. And you know how messy she is, so I had to completely change her. I’ve just started filling the water.”
“You didn’t forget your lavender bubbles, did you?”
“Of course not!” Aziraphale scoffed. “I’m frazzled, not incompetent.”
“Of course not,” Crowley parroted back, his voice soft with fondness. “Look, since you haven’t had any time to relax yet, I think I’ll bring the boys to the park for a little while. It started to snow and they could use a little outdoor time.”
Aziraphale let out a soft sigh of relief. “That sounds wonderful, my dear.”
“We’ll be home in a little while, and I’ll make sure to grab you those macarons.”
“Thank you, Crowley.”
Crowley ended the call and turned to look at the boys in the backseat. “We’re going to a park!” They both squealed, copying their Papa’s wiggles of excitement. Crowley’s heart swelled as he looked at his boys. When they arrived at the park, everything already had a light dusting of powdered snow. Crowley let the twins out of their seats, releasing them to the playground. They rushed to the slides, racing each other to be the first one down. “No pushing!” Crowley yelled after them. “Or we go home!” He watched them make their way down the various slides of the park with a smile. After a little while, he made his way to an open patch of snow and stopped time around them before opening his wings. “Come here,” he called to the boys. “And watch this!” He spread out his arms and fell backwards into the snow. He wiggled for a moment before springing up and turning around, brushing the snow from his falling bun and coat while he shook out his wings.
“It’s a real snow angel!” Zachary gasped.
“Snow demon,” Crowley corrected his son, resting his wings against his spine. “Let me show you how to make one.” He coached the boys through opening their little wings and flopping onto their backs. They kicked their feet around for a bit before raising their arms for Crowley to lift them up. He pulled both kids out of the snow and set them down a few feet away from their impressions in order to admire them. They grinned and Crowley helped them tuck their wings away before he restarted time. “Go run around,” he encouraged them back towards the park. “Tire yourselves out,” he mumbled after they had run off. He cleared a bench and lowered himself into it as he watched them play.
“Daddy!” AJ yelled from the top of a slide. “Watch!”
“I’m watching, buddy,” Crowley reassured him. “You’re doing a great job.” He leaned on the bench and spread his arms across the backrest as he stretched out his legs in front of him. A shiver ran down his spine as a few snowflakes made their way down the nape of his neck. He watched the twins for a while longer before he pursed his lips with a smile. Leaning forward, he scooped up a little bit of snow and with the small help of a miracle, made it land directly on AJ’s head.
“Aahh!” he shrieked before he sat down to cry.
Crowley cursed under his breath and ran to pick up the toddler. “Shh,” he tried to console him. “It’s just snow. It’s fun, see?” He made another snowball and tossed it towards Zachary. It ended up hitting him in the back, knocking him forward onto his face. He pushed himself up from the snow and began to giggle. AJ sniffed and wiped his mitten underneath his nose before Crowley set him back on the ground. Zachary began making his own crude snowballs before throwing them towards his dad and brother. Most of them fell flat, with only a little bit of powder hitting their intended targets. AJ smiled a little before bending forward to scoop up some snow. “Now you throw it at your brother,” Crowley told him.
“Okay,” AJ bit his lip before he turned around and tossed his handfuls of snow at his father instead.
Crowley gasped in shock, blinking in surprise as AJ ran to join his brother. “You little liar!” The twins began to pelt their father with snowballs as he cowered away from them. Crowley held his hands out in a crude shield as he burst out laughing. “I’m gonna get you two for that!” The boys squealed and ran away, looping around the playground in order to avoid their father’s wrath. Crowley tried to toss snowballs towards his children, but they managed to hide before they could hit their targets. He shook his head and miracled up a snowball twice the size of the boys. Their eyes widened as they looked at the looming shadow above them. With a smirk, Crowley dropped it, burying the boys in loose snow. Their heads popped out of the pile, giggles and smiles abound. They clambered out of the snow and rushed to tackle the demon.
Crowley fell onto his back as the twins piled on top of him. He laughed, wrapping his arms around them in a tight hug. They pushed their cold noses against his cheeks as they snuggled into his warmth. He hoisted himself to his feet, carrying the boys back towards the Bentley. AJ sneezed as Crowley finished buckling him back into his seat. “Cold,” he sniffled, scrubbing his mitten underneath his pink nose.
“You’re cold?” Crowley’s forehead creased as he realized how flushed their cheeks were. “I suppose you would be. Let’s stop and get your Papa those macarons and get you two some hot chocolate.” Their faces immediately brightened as Crowley drove back towards the bookshop. He pulled off the road at the little sweet shop and helped the boys out of their seats. Taking hold of their hands, he led them inside the store. They approached the counter and ordered a baker’s dozen of various macarons for Aziraphale, some peanut butter cookies for Crowley, and cutout sugar cookies and cocoa for the boys. They sat down at a little table and ate their cookies. “Feel warmer now?” Crowley asked. They nodded enthusiastically. “Good. How are your cookies?”
“Good!” they both exclaimed.
“You know, I couldn’t hear you when you got your cookies.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” they said in unison, cookie crumbs stuck all over their faces.
Crowley smiled. “Alright, you two. Let’s get you home and cleaned up before your Papa starts to worry. And don’t tell him you already had dessert.” The boys nodded, each charged with carrying a little bag of cookies back to the car. They settled into their car seats without fuss, allowing Crowley to buckle them in with no protests. They drove home in fine spirits, parking outside of the bookshop and walking into the warm store. Crowley ushered the boys into the kitchen to put the cookies on the counter. He frowned when he noticed that there was no meal waiting on the stove for them. Not that he expected Aziraphale to cook for them, but it was something the angel thoroughly enjoyed. “Huh,” he muttered. He shook his head as he walked the boys down to their bedroom, hearing some splashing coming from the bathroom. “Let me get your Papa and sister out of there so the two of you can get cleaned up.”
“Okay,” they smiled, already tugging off their shirts and pants. Crowley shook his head as they stumbled around their room in their diapers and socks. They were so close to being potty-trained, but hadn’t quite grasped the concept of telling their parents when they needed to go.
Making his way back towards the bathroom, Crowley knocked on the door. “Angel?” Rosie gave a cry at the sound of her father’s voice. “Angel, we’re home.” He tried the handle, but found it locked. “Aziraphale, the door is locked.” Rosie cried louder at the sound of the rattling door. “Aziraphale? Is everything okay?” The only sound that came from within was his daughter’s cries. “Aziraphale!” Crowley returned to the boys’ room and set them in their cribs. “Daddy’s gonna be right back,” he promised them. “Just stay here.” He closed their door behind him, ignoring their confused faces and questioning reaches. After trying the handle to the bathroom one more time to no avail, he gave in to using a miracle in order to unlock the door. “Azira–” his eyes widened as his voice collapsed into a horrified whisper as his daughter began screaming, “–phale…?”