Aziraphale woke up with a horrible headache. The sun shining through his window felt like a thousand tiny daggers piercing through his brain and his mouth felt as if he had eaten a wad of cotton. For all he could remember, it was possible that he had. He rolled away from the window and tried to piece together his memories from last night. He had gone to the club; he had seen Serpent, or Crawley, was it? That didn't seem quite right, but regardless he had seen the man. He had gotten a drink- many drinks by the feel of things. He hadn't meant to get drunk, but here he was.
Aziraphale groaned as the memories came flooding back to him. He had made a bloody fool out of himself. Time to pack up to Peru, give up alcohol, and never speak to anyone again. It was the only way he could hide his shame. And if he got lonely he could just start adopting cats, because there was no way the other man would want to see him again after all that. Aziraphale sighed and got up to go to the shower; he was being dramatic, he knew it, but my goodness was this embarrassing. He blushed as he got undressed, wondering how on earth he could possibly face the other man now. As he unbuttoned his shirt he noticed a long black chain tucked underneath it. This was Crawley's, no, Crowley's, right? It had to be. He vaguely remembered the man slipping it over him on the stage and blushed even harder. If he was going to see the other man, to return the chain and apologize for last night, then he really had to get his blushing and stuttering under control. Without the use of alcohol. He very gently took off the necklace and placed it on his sink before getting into the shower.
After a light breakfast, some of the painkillers from his nightstand, and a new, unrumpled set of clothing Aziraphale was feeling much better. He still had a headache, but that was par for the course, really, considering how much alcohol he drank the night before and the considerable fall he had had. Besides the light throbbing in his head it really was a lovely Saturday; the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He looked at his watch; it was almost 2 o'clock, so the club wouldn't be open yet, but maybe they would be setting up by the time he got there.
Aziraphale decided to walk down instead of taking a taxi. The air was bracing and, if he went the long way, he figured he would have time to prepare himself mentally for whatever was about to happen next. The streets had been fairly busy, being a Saturday, but when he turned down the crossroads of Gaiman and Pratchett the traffic died considerably. It was an unusual street with peculiar shops lining the east side- the west being occupied by a park. He could hear children running and laughing to his right as he read the storefronts to his left. He passed a small church with nuns bustling to and fro, a fertility clinic, and a new restaurant called Chow™. Tucked between a neon sign shaped like a hand with the words 'Madame Tracy's Palm Reading' below it and a shop claiming to have the best pies in all of Soho was a weathered shopfront called 'Anathema's Apothecary and Gifts'. Aziraphale wondered if he should get the other man something, maybe a case of tea. It was a shame they most likely didn't make cards saying "Sorry I got utterly flustered seeing you almost naked, passed out, and made you drag my drunk arse home". Aziraphale breathed out a sigh as he entered the store- what did you give someone in a situation like this?
A bell on the door rang out as he stepped inside. It appeared to be a cozy store filled with plants and books, pharmaceuticals, candles, candies, and any number of trinkets and baubles. A woman in a long, dark blue lace dress stood behind the counter and smiled at him as he walked in.
"Anything I can help you find?" The young woman asked.
Aziraphale shook his head and smiled politely, "Just looking, thank you."
"Well," she began, "I would suggest searching near the gemstones. I think we'll have exactly what you're looking for."
The woman had said it with such certainty that Aziraphale couldn't help but to go in that direction. The crystals were all nestled between a bookshelf of candles and incense and a display of succulents, herbs, and occult books. The table the gems were on was home to geodes, large quartz wands, and crystal balls; it also had two small shelves on top of it all filled with gems and crystals of varying sizes and shapes. On the first shelf there was malachite in the shape of a small elephant and rose quartz shaped like hearts; there were varying gems shaped like Buddah, a couple cats, a black onyx shaped like a snake, a white onyx shaped like a dove, and a few crystal bonsai trees here and there. The second shelf was smaller and only had one large crystal tree on it, but from each of the branches multiple pendants were displayed. Even the floor below the table was covered with small wooden baskets of loose gems- each with small slips showing their meanings. Aziraphale bent down, picked up one of the slips, and read. "Angelite: helps facilitate communication with angels and spirit guides, converts fear, anger, and anxiety into tranquility and faith, and encourages forgiveness." It was a very pretty stone, but not quite what he was looking for. It'd be fairly strange to just give Crowley a rock, wouldn't it? He wondered why the woman had thought to send him here. He straightened up and was about to leave when something caught his eye. Hanging from the crystal tree was a small pendant, quite different from the colorful geode slice necklaces around it. It was a cloudy gray pointed crystal connected to a silver chain by a black metallic snake that wrapped around the gem. He took it off the branch almost reverently. "Yes," he thought, "this would be perfect."
The woman smiled at him again as he made his way to the front. She rang up his purchase and put it in a small paper bag, adding a small glass vial as well; "on the house," she had said. When Aziraphale had asked what it was in the vial she replied that it was simply some lavender essential oil. Perfect for headaches- and restlessness. She had winked.
"H-how did you know I have a headache?" Aziraphale asked.
"My family has run apothecaries for as long as I can remember; it's our job to heal. Plus, I've just got a knack for knowing these things."
"And sending me towards the crystals?"
"Like I said, I've got a talent for knowing what my customers need. Anathema Device," she proclaimed as she held out her hand.
Aziraphale took it warmly. "Aziraphale."
"Well, Aziraphale, I think you've made the right choice with the smoky quartz pendant. Your partner's going to love it."
"Part-no, he's not, that is to say, it's," Aziraphale stuttered. "It's not a romantic gift."
"Oh, I guess I can't get it all right. I'm sure whoever's receiving this will love it though," Anathema smiled kindly, but the look in her eyes, behind her rounded glasses, was knowing.
Aziraphale thanked her profusely, but left the store with more questions than answers.
When Aziraphale took the pendant off the original chain and connected it to Crowley's black one instead he was pleased to see that it was a perfect fit. He put the chain he bought into his pocket and placed Crowley's into the paper bag and then walked the rest of the way towards the club. The Garden of Eden was just opening as he walked up. He tried to be inconspicuous as he entered, but seeing as it was so early, he was the only one there. There were a few dancers walking around, but no one was on the stage and he didn't see Crowley anywhere. A young blonde woman walked up to him and smiled a syrupy smile.
"Hi honey, I'm Temptation. The stage dancers don't start for another half hour, but you can buy a private dance now if you'd like. Or I can show you to the bar and our bartender can make you something nice."
"Oh. Um, that's quite alright. I was actually just looking for someone. Do you happen to know if Cr- uh, Serpent's around?"
"I think I saw him in the back. I'll go get him- you just relax at the bar and Red'll take care of you 'til he gets out, okay sweetheart?" She ran her long nails through his hair and gave him a wink before turning around and traipsing away.
Aziraphale sat down on an empty barstool and waited. He ordered a ginger beer from the bartender because it was alcohol-free and left a nice tip because the bartender looked ready for a fight and he didn't want to be on the other end of her fury. He drank in silence and tried, in vain, to avoid the bartender's large smile- it was one that didn't reach her eyes.
"Back for more, huh?"
Aziraphale turned towards the voice, "Crowley! Or, er, Serpent? I'm not really sure what to call you to be honest."
Crowley leaned against the counter next to him. "If you're throwing around money like last night then you can call me anything."
"I'm just here to deliver something, actually," Aziraphale pressed the small paper bag into Crowley's chest.
Crowley took the bag and slowly began to open it. "Deliver?"
"You never took your necklace back from last night."
"Oh, you didn't have to do that; I have tons of them," Crowley pointed to the identical necklace adorning his neck. Then he took the other one out of the bag. "...Mine didn't have this crystal on it."
"Ah, no," Aziraphale answered, "I found that. I thought it would match your whole, well, you, really."
Crowley stuttered. It seemed it was his turn to be embarrassed. Aziraphale assumed he was trying to say thank you, but it came out more like this. "Tha, y-you, uh…" He ran his hands through his hair and looked away. "That was, you didn't...do you want a lap dance?"
And just like that the embarrassment baton was passed back to Aziraphale. "What?"
"You know," he said, gesturing wildly with his hands, "you sit, I dance."
"I got that much," Aziraphale answered slowly. "What I meant was why?"
"Well, you came all this way. Be a bit of a waste if you just left, right?"
"I-I suppose, if you insist."
Crowley nodded. "Follow me."
He led them to a back room behind a velvet curtain. The room was low-lit and fairly small with a large red couch being the only furniture inside besides a large mirror that hung on the wall across from it. The music was much quieter here; Aziraphale barely noticed it over the sound of his breathing and his heart beating. Crowley instructed him to sit and he did so. They stared at each other for a moment before Aziraphale broke the silence.
"Is it always quite this awkward?"
Crowley ran his hands through his hair again as he paced. "No! Never! I just, oh, I don't know."
"Can you take your glasses off?" Aziraphale asked.
"No. The glasses always stay on."
"Why?" Aziraphale questioned, extremely curious. He had seen the man's eyes once and they were beautiful; he had no idea why he would hide them.
Crowley glared, or at least Aziraphale assumed he was glaring- it was hard to tell with the glasses after all. "They just do."
"Please?"
Crowley huffed, "fine." He ripped his glasses off his face and tossed them gently on the couch next to Aziraphale. "I've never done this without my glasses so if this all goes pear-shaped I'm blaming you."
Aziraphale smiled, "deal."
"Ready?"
"Absolutely."
