Chapter Text
Crowley glared at what he considered “garish” window displays. The red hearts, chubby Cupids, and whatnot irked him. “Valentine’s day,” he growled. “Bloody commercial claptrap.”
A shudder suppressed he hurried towards Nina’s café for his usual six shots of expresso, thankful that he and his angel didn’t bother with the bloody annoying day. They’d reached an agreement a few years back and were both more than happy to just treat the day like any other.
Holding onto that like an anchor, he entered the café then practically screeched to a halt on seeing red hearts decorating the counter. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Morning to you too,” said Nina, ignoring his outburst. “I see you’re in your usual cheery frame of mind.”
Fortunately for her, his nuclear level glare remained hidden behind his sunglasses. “What’s with... with, those things!” He asked, gesturing towards the offending paper hearts.
“There're for Valentine’s Day. You got something against it?”
“What do you bloody well think! Thank someone Aziraphael feels the same way about the day as I do, or I might lose it completely.” As he finished, he noticed a smile appear on her lips. “Wot?”
“You sure about that?”
“Yup. We have an agreement. We ignore all this claptrap and treat the day just like any other one.”
“Is that so? Well,” she chuckled, “I guess he’s had a change of heart because I saw him take some Valentine’s Day decorations into the bookshop an hour ago.”
Crowley slowly turned towards the window, taking in the bookshop. Surely not. No, there was no way his angel would break their agreement. As the thought registered, a sinking feeling set up home in the pit of his stomach, anger quickly moving in next door. If Aziraphael thought for one second he would indulge in the mayhem of the day, then he was about to get one hell of a shock.
His coffee taken down in one he left the café, striding across the road towards the bookshop. The second he stepped inside a wave of nausea slammed into him. Dotted around the interior were paper hearts and bloody cherubic Cupids. The whole thing scratched against his teeth as if he’d eaten way too much sugar coated rubbish.
“Hello my dear, I -”
“Don’t ‘hello my dear’ me, angel. What is the meaning of all this,” he asked, gesturing at the decorations.
“It’s for Valentine’s Day.”
Barely keeping his temper in check, he took a mental ten count then spoke. “I thought we had an agreement about the bloody day.”
“We did, but this year I wanted us to celebrate it.”
Us? Crowley’s brain stuttered, then shot back online. “Nope, not gonna happen.”
“But Crowley, I -”
He reached behind him for the doorknob, yanking the door open the second his fingers wrapped around it. “You know how I feel about the day, angel. So if you want to indulge in it, then be my guest, but I’m not gonna be a part of it. I’ll be back when all this chaos is over for another year.” With that, he stormed out. He’d head back to his flat and sleep the rest of the week away, avoiding the whole stupid, pointless day.
~
Aziraphael watched him leave, too stunned to utter an immediate response. So when his brain finally caught up, Crowley was long gone. Oh dear, everything had gone so wrong and he knew he needed to fix it. How though? Perhaps he should call? No, given how Crowley left; that might not be the wisest of things to do.
Bereft of any useful ideas, he headed over to the café for an Earl Grey and perhaps some Eccles cakes to calm his nerves. The moment he entered he knew it had been an unwise move when Nina pinned him with one of her trademark glares. “What happened?”
“Happened?” he replied, his voice two octaves higher than usual. “Nothing happened. I merely find myself in need of an Earl Grey and some Eccles cakes.”
“I saw Mr. Tall, dark, and angry storm away from the bookshop, so I’m assuming this had something to do with Valentine’s Day.”
Aziraphael struggled to keep his bottom lip from trembling. “Oh Nina,” he said, his shoulder sagging, “I think I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Right, you go sit by the window and I’ll bring your tea and Eccles cakes over, then I’m calling Maggie.”
“Maggie?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “If anyone can help you, it’s Maggie. Now go and sit down.”
Unable or perhaps unwilling to fight against hurricane Nina, he complied. Moments later his order arrived and he started picking at an Eccles cake, not really interested in eating anything.
“Mr. Fell, Nina told me you and Mr. Crowley had a fight?”
He looked up as Maggie took a seat opposite him, tears threatening to break free at her worried expression. A sip of tea taken to fortify himself, he let out a low sigh. “I’ve upset him.”
“Upset him how?”
“Well, you see,” he said, still picking at his Eccles cake, “for quite a while we’ve had an agreement to not celebrate Valentine’s Day. But this year I wanted to, and please don’t ask why. So I placed some decorations around the bookshop and... well, he didn’t take well to them being there.
“So, you broke the agreement and put up decorations without telling him first?”
When it was put like that, he could see why his demon reacted in the way he had. “I really have been a fool, haven’t I.”
“Mr, Fell, why didn’t you tell him about your change of heart?”
Could he tell her the reason? Given how everything had gone there was really no point in keeping it a secret any longer. “I... well, I.” He started wringing his hands as he tried summoning up enough courage to explain his reason. “Well, you see, I intended on...” Oh why was it so hard to get the words out. Be brave, you fool! Fighting back the wince his mind’s admonishment sparked; he steeled himself. “You see I intended on proposing to Crowley, but now everything has gone so terribly wrong.”
“Propose? Oh, Mr. Fell that’s wonderful news!”
“Yes. Well, it would be if I hadn’t been such a complete idiot.” He gave her a watery smile as she reached across the table then placed a hand over one of his.
“I’m sure this can all be sorted out so you can still propose to him.”
“How? He made it completely clear he intends on sleeping through the rest of the week.” Silence greeted his words. Maybe he should just forget about it. Put everything off until things calmed down between them.
“Do you still want to propose on Valentine’s Day?”
He nodded.
“In that case, would you let me help you come up with a plan so that can happen?”
Aziraphael stared at her, thankful for her friendship and for not criticizing him for his ill thought out plan. “I... I would welcome your help, my dear Maggie.”
“Good. So finish up your tea and Eccles cakes then meet me in the record shop. We have a plan to come up with.”
As she left, he took a sip of his cooling tea, a tiny shoot of hope rising within his chest. So you’re not giving up then? He smiled, yes it was small and tentative, but it was there. No, he wasn’t giving up. He’d intended on proposing to Crowley on Valentine’s Day and he would do just that.
The last of his tea finished, he grabbed the plate of Eccles cake and headed for the bookshop to start working on a plan. One which would end with Crowley wearing the ring he’d purchased so everyone above, below, and in between knew the demon was his and his alone.