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Aziraphale received no warning about guests to their cottage, only a flash of Crowley as he darted past the open door of his library.
"Darling?" Aziraphale set down his book and pulled off his reading glasses. "What's all the rush?"
Crowley popped back into view in the doorframe, a somewhat guilty smile on his face. "Er... we're about to have company, angel. Last minute request. I'm pet-sitting for a cousin."
"Cousin?"
"Half-cousin, technically." He disappeared again, in the direction of the back door. "Don't bother to get up!"
Aziraphale sighed and pushed himself out of his comfy armchair. This deserved his attention.
He caught up with Crowley in the garden, where the ping of demon tickled his senses. Not just the familiar woodsmoke scent of his husband, but the unusual auras of two other demons, ones that he was certain he'd never met.
"What on Earth," he muttered, as his gaze fell upon two creatures: a blue tiger with large orange eyes and tusk-like teeth, and a six-eyed magpie that was standing on top of the tiger's head.
The magpie was wearing a little black hat.
"Crowley, what is going on here?"
"These are the pets I was talking about. Their owner is part of a singing group and they're performing in London this weekend, so I offered to keep an eye on them."
He shrugged casually, as if this was an everyday occurrence.
"And do these pets have names?" Aziraphale asked with a raised eyebrow.
"'Course they do. The magpie's name is Sussie and the tiger's name is Derpy."
Aziraphale sighed. "Crowley, be serious."
"I am!" Crowley grinned at the demonic animals. "Aren't I, fellas?"
The magpie bobbed his head in acknowledgement. The tiger continued to stare at Aziraphale in silence with his eerie, unblinking eyes.
"Anyway, they won't be any trouble, angel. They're only technically demons, they won't -- Oi, leave that alone, Derpy!"
The tiger had accidentally knocked over a watering can and was now slowly, unsuccessfully, attempting to right it with his paw. The magpie gave a long suffering look, rolling all six of its eyes.
"Oh!" Aziraphale suddenly recognized the two creatures. "You're the tiger and the magpie from Korean folklore, aren't you? I've seen you in paintings!" He smiled benevolently at Sussie and Derpy. "Good omens, the both of you. You're more than welcome here."
Sussie chirped happily, then poked his beak on Derpy's head. The tiger reluctantly abandoned the watering can to give Aziraphale an extra dopey smile.
"Thanks, angel." Crowley looked relieved, but he shouldn't have worried.
Aziraphale always had a soft spot for nice demons.
~*~
The weekend passed uneventfully, despite their unusual houseguests. Derpy spent most of his time in the garden with Crowley, while Sussie kept Aziraphale company in the library. They spent their evenings together in the living room, Derpy purring at Aziraphale's feet while he knitted, and Crowley and Sussie playing Gonggi on the coffee table (Sussie won the most games).
"Rumi's here," Crowley announced at the end of their pet-sitting adventure, poking his head into the kitchen. "Why don't you come out, Aziraphale? She wants to meet you, too."
Aziraphale wiped his hands on a dish towel and stepped outside. There was a young, purple-haired woman -- Rumi, he presumed -- who was fussing over the two demon animals, along with two other young women. The rest of the singing group, perhaps? They all seemed to be having a grand time.
"Thanks again, Crowley," Rumi said brightly to the red-headed demon before looking over at Aziraphale. Her eyes widened theatrically. "Wow, is this Aziraphale? Hey, girls, look, it's Crowley's husband!"
The other two women looked up and aww'd appreciatively. "So cute!" the shorter one with dark-hair squealed. "He looks like a sweet steam bun!"
"That's Zoey," Rumi said, gesturing to the dark-haired woman. "And that's Mira."
Mira gave Aziraphale an assessing once-over. "You're an angel, yeah? You ever do any demon-slaying?"
"Er, not particularly. Although I did once defend Earth from Satan with a flaming sword."
Mira's eyes lit up. "Sick," she replied. Aziraphale assumed that was a compliment.
"Where you girls headed to next on your world tour?" Crowley asked as he gave Derpy one last pet goodbye.
"We're actually in London for one more show before we leave." Rumi smiled at him and Aziraphale. "You two should come see us! You can join us and Bobby for the pre-show, too."
"What do you say, angel?" Crowley looked at him questioningly. "You up for a bebop concert?"
"Bebop?" Zoey wrinkled her nose. "Huntr/x is K-pop."
"K-pop, bebop, it's all the same to him," Crowley explained. "He hasn't listened to popular music since 1941."
"No... no, I've heard at least one Korean pop song," Aziraphale mused, the term jogging his memory. "It was all over the airwaves. Very catchy, too." He shimmied his shoulders and hummed the chorus. "Hmm, hmm... something, something... my little soda pop!"
All three women glared at him, arms crossed over their chests. "Never mind," Mira said flatly. "He's not invited."
Crowley cackled. "Don't hold it against him, ladies, he thinks Taylor Swift is a type of broom."
Aziraphale gave Crowley a little swat on the shoulder. "I would be honored to see you perform in person," he said to the other three, hoping that would smooth over whatever faux pas he had committed. "Crowley told me about your success with the Honmoon. You are true warriors of the Light."
The annoyed expressions melted from their faces. "Oooh, it's impossible to stay mad at him," Zoey cooed. "He's too sweet!"
Rumi texted something on her phone. "There, Crowley, you've got all the concert info. We'll see you tonight."
~*~
Aziraphale ended up enjoying the concert well enough (although his favorite part was the pre-game feast beforehand). "We ought to petsit more often," he told Crowley as they filed out of the stadium afterwards. "It was fun."
Crowley grinned at him. Even at night, with his shades on, Aziraphale could see the warmth in his eyes. "Even if they're demons?"
"Even if they're demons." Aziraphale gave his hand a squeeze.