Chapter Text
It had been two days since their first kiss and Aziraphale was starting to notice just how attached he had gotten.
Crowley had only been gone for a few hours, to water his plants, and already he was worrying. There weren’t exactly many things that could hurt a demon, sure, but what if he was sulking again? He wasn’t quite used to being loved… at all, and although Aziraphale had no problems with giving the dear some space he couldn’t quite tolerate the thought of Crowley hiding in a corner, trying desperately to wrap his head around why anyone would ever love him.
A knock on the door interrupted his fussing.
“We’re closed.” He said to the dark cloaked figure.
Another knock.
“Yes, it’s a Friday, I know. We’re still closed.”
Repeated knocking.
Aziraphale rolled his eyes and got up from his armchair and put away the book that he was pretending to be reading.
He didn’t like customers and he liked stubborn costumers even less, however his angelic duties required him to be kind to everyone and so he would kindly tell the person off and go back to trying to read as soon as possible.
What a strange man it was, who had visited him today... They were wearing a large black hooded cloak, and once Aziraphale opened the door, the bright red high heels poking out from under the cloak caught his eye. If the angel had to guess, he would have assumed that they were some sort of Hollywood spy on their day off.
He had prepared a very reasonable speech in his head, something to permanently shoo the stranger away but he hesitated when he noticed the demonic presence.
The cloak opened slightly, revealing weapons of mass destruction and taking the angels breath away;
smooth, long, bare legs glistened with an inhuman, almost scaly shine. Following them up Aziraphale noticed the red dress that oh so very nearly revealed everything Crowley had to offer. The hood was removed and the demon showed off the ridiculous hat.
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake Crowley!” The angel laughed. “What did you slither into this time?”
The demon dropped the cloak and sauntered into the bookshop wearing nothing but a sexy Santa getup. The outfit was meant for women, as most clothing’s were. However, by some demonic trickery he looked gorgeous in it, as he did in most things.
“Got to drive your purity away somehow.” Crowley joked, twirling around and showing off.
“We cannot go to the Ritz with you dressed like that.”
“I was thinking something a bit more private this time.”
Crowley got closer and Aziraphale unfurled his wings in order to fully hide how crimson red he was blushing.
“Crowleeey...!” He whined. This was so unfair; he hadn’t prepared at all!
“Oh, nothing like that, you big pervert.” The demon countered. “I meant something more along the lines of... just... celebrating?”
Aziraphale peeked out from behind his wings. “Christmas?”
“Yes. Couldn’t really celebrate it last time or... well, ever if I’m being honest.” He shrugged. “And with the two of us now finally... together, well, I thought a celebration was in order.”
“Oh, my dear boy.” The angel beamed. “That’s so sweet.”
“Sweet? Nonsense, ‘m not doing this for you!” He huffed.
“Really?”
“No, what gave you that idea?”
“The outfit?”
“It was the only thing I could find.” Crowley said, like a liar.
“Oh?”
“I’m not just going to wear an oversized sweater.”
“Extremely logical.”
“This is much more comfortable.”
“Yes, of course.”
“And warm.”
“Oh, dear you must have been freezing like that-“
“WARM.”
“Yes, right, obviously.”
When the demon was sufficiently satisfied that Aziraphale had seen through his bluff, he started to unpack the tiny purse he was carrying.
How he had fit two wine bottles in it, Aziraphale had no idea. He assumed a miracle, once Crowley pulled out a thermos as well.
“I can’t cook-“ He explained. “without making it in some way poisonous. NOT lack of talent, just lack of...” and he snapped his fingers, trying to think of the right word. “...that one secret ingredient.”
“Love?”
“And here I thought it was a secret.” He huffed, with a fake irritation.
“I doubt that you lack that.” Aziraphale said, pulling the distracted demon closer by the waist. There was, he noticed, a bit of hatred whirling around in the demon’s chest. Not directed at the angel, never directed at the angel, but most likely either a result of the sheer absurdity of a demon celebrating Christmas or the result of him still not quite understanding the angel’s affection for him.
Still, he leaned into the touch and pulled Aziraphale closer.
“It’s in my nature.” The demon shrugged before pulling away in order to unscrew the top of the thermos, letting a heavenly scent fill the air. “But hot chocolate is just so inherently good that it defies the laws of nature.”
If the smell was anything to go by then it probably contained actual chocolate. Gourmet handmade stuff… and if Crowley had made it himself, dear god, he would know the exact calorie count, Aziraphale noticed.
“It does smell delicious.” The angel confessed.
“Oh, it no doubt is.”
“Dear?”
“Yeah?” Crowley grinned widely.
“Dear, are you going to tease me mercilessly?” The angel asked, sweating bullets. There was simply no way one could resist the heavenly goodness of cocoa! Yet, the awful pain of the teasing would damper one’s enjoyment quite heavily...
“Naaaaah.”
“Bless your soul.” He sighed.
“Ow.”
The cocoa was gorgeous, leaving the taste of melted chocolate in the angel’s mouth with just a hint of vanilla. Crowley did not lack talent, at least when it came to this.
Aziraphale eyed the demon. His high heels were polish to a ludicrous degree, to the point where the angel could see his own reflection in it, his legs shared a similar shine. Saying that the skirt was high would be like saying that Santa only tangled one leg down the chimney before getting off the roof and politely knocking on the door in order to be let in.
It must be some demonic miracle, the angel thought, that the dress didn’t show anything more than leg.
The angel couldn’t quite muster up to courage to look Crowley in the eyes after checking him out so thoroughly but once he did, he was not disappointed. It was so wonderful seeing those golden eyes uncovered for once. The Santa hat dangled loosely off his hair and every now and again the demon would play with the white pom-pom in a quite adorable way.
“Did it take a lot of effort to look this stunning, dear?”
The demon blushed. “What? Nooo. It’s easy when you look like me, you know?”
“That’s a very good point.” And the demon blushed further.
“I just wanted to do something nice for you, for once.”
“Something nice?” the angel teased.
“Aziraphale, no.”
“You are nice.” He mused.
Crowley smiled a bit too widely and looked just a little infuriated as he pressed his nails against the sofa he was sitting on. They were both sitting on the sofa, as of late. It was originally specifically designed to be able to contain a single very dramatic demon but the two figured out quickly that when the demon was topped, he turned a bit more humble, allowing the sofa to fit two.
There was a brief attempt to fill the air with Christmas carols which the angel quickly decided was probably not a good idea and so the music basically stopped as soon as it began, drawing a giggle out of Crowley.
“This isn’t really working is it?” the demon asked.
“If you had just told me you wanted something special, I could have bought you gifts.”
“Oh! Gifts! Right!” Crowley looked a bit flustered. “I forgot to… well, I mean I did bring wine but I should have wrapped it, I suppose.”
“Oh, but you did wrap it!” the angel said, inching closer. “I can’t wait to unpack later.”
Aziraphale’s smile was so absolutely innocent that the demon could barely contain his laughter at what he was suggesting. Bless the angel, so pure in every situation.
“I could strip for you.”
“Really?”
“Anything to tempt my angel.”
“I think I would really enjoy that.”
The demon laughed at that and despite his confusion Aziraphale joined in. He stopped abruptly though when he noticed that Crowley’s laughter was sounding a lot more like sobs than anything.
“I don’t think I’m ready for sex.” The demon said and Aziraphale almost couldn’t believe his ears.
Hadn’t Crowley waited 6000 years for this? Oh, but he had waited 6000 years for this…
“Are you nervous?” the angel tried. It seemed to cheer the demon up quite a bit.
“HA! Nervous! A demon nervous about sex?” he went quiet. “yes.”
“I’m not just going to walk away if things get awkward, you know. Surely, you understand by now that I’m here for you and not just hot spicy sex.”
“Hot spicy sex. Wow, say that again angel.” Crowley joked.
“No, I mean it. Dear, I love you for you. No need to rush anything.”
Aziraphale cupped Crowley’s face in his hands, forcing the demon to look at him. What a sight the angel was, with those pink puffy cheeks and that bright smile… but Crowley wasn’t exactly sure that he deserved any of this.
Everything was… well, it was happening so fast.
“You’re too good for me.” he mumbled.
“Crowley, nobody would dress up like that and stroll into my bookshop just to impress me.” der lord, that smile was stunning. “You are the one who is too good.”
“Eh. Good point.”
And with that said, their words turned into kisses; conversations happening in silent bliss. Even though the both of them weren’t aware of it yet, this was the day that a new tradition started. A festive event celebrated by two. Aziraphale called it the late Christmas, Crowley called it Love.