Chapter 6: In a Name

Having decided on taking a rest, they extended their stay to two weeks, during which they slowly relaxed, apologised, and got back to a semblance of normal. There seemed to be no sign of danger and they began to believe that, for the time being at least, they had managed to escape. Yet even with this relief, they knew that wherever they went next, they would need new names and new forms, would need to retire the forms and names they had had for so long.

Crowley, of course, reinvented himself first.

"Well? What's the verdict?" he asked as he sauntered out of the bathroom, turning slowly to give Aziraphale the full effect. He'd kept the lanky frame – though he seemed to have bulked it out a little this time – but changed his hair to an almost black, dark brown and made his corporeal form look closer to being in its later 20s, early 30s. Through a great force of will, he'd also managed to get his eyes to become a light hazel colour, though Aziraphale was too busy looking at the rest of him to notice that yet.

After spending a while looking him over, Aziraphale had to admit that it was a pleasant view. And that, somehow, he'd managed to look more like himself than before, while at the same time being so very different. Explaining that in a way that would make sense proved to beyond even Aziraphale's vast vocabulary, however, so he settled for, "Suit you."

"Good," Crowley stretched languidly, and Aziraphale couldn't stop his eyes raking over him again, "because it feels very comfortable. Now all I need to sort is a name. I'm thinking… something Aster? Maybe keep the Anthony?"

"Anthony Aster?" Aziraphale pulled a face.

"I'm not sold on it either," Crowley admitted with a shrug and jumped onto the bed beside him. "Have you had any ideas?"

Aziraphale groaned and lay back, covering his face. "I've never been any good at this."

"I'd never have guessed, A. Z. Fell." And there was that wickedly mischievous grin from before that Azirpahale couldn't help but smile back at.

"I'd have thought you'd have gone for something more… spacey."

"I'm keeping Aster," Crowley insisted.

"So have a space-related first name?" Aziraphale suggested, "Something like… Sirius, Orion, or…"

"No constellation names." Crowley screwed his nose up. "They seem… pretentious? Arrogant? And not entirely sneaky, what with the whole I-use-to-make-stars thing." He rolled onto his stomach, looking thoughtful and Aziraphale resumed looking at the ceiling, wondering what on Earth he was going to pick for a name. He'd not even thought about a new corporeal form yet!

"What about… Ezekiel – Zeke really?" Crowley asked quietly and Aziraphale shot him a sideways glance. He looked miles away, laid on his front with his chin resting on his arms. Aziraphale spent a few moments trying to match the name to the new appearance beside him.

"Not Ezekiel."

"Too angelic-sounding, right?" Crowley partially turned his head to face him.

"Zeke, however…" Aziraphale remembered the last time Crowley had changed his name, becoming Anthony. He'd never really gotten used to it and had always been confused when Crowley had answered to it in public. "Zeke sounds nice."

"Zeke Aster," Crowley rolled the name around thoughtfully, then gave him a pleased smile, "Yeah, that's a name I could get used to."

"Which just leaves me," Aziraphale sighed, pulling a pillow over his head.

"We've got time. There's no need to rush," Crowley told him, wriggling closer.

"You looking so much younger than me is rather strange, my dear," Aziraphale complained as he wrapped his arms around him.

"Just think of me as a toyboy," Crowley grinned wickedly and Aziraphale tutted at him, wondering how his demon would feel if he knew the thoughts that such a statement conjured in his mind.

Maybe it was the new body, maybe it was the strangely different dynamic they seemed to have fallen into as they rested, but as he tried to work out what he wanted to change his corporeal form's appearance to, Aziraphale realised that Crowley was watching him more. And sometimes, he even caught of glimpse of a new emotion in his eyes. One he'd though he'd never see after their conversation all those months ago. It was that that spurred him on to settle on an appearance.

"Help me with a name?" He asked a television watching Crowley, who readily agreed, then Aziraphale disappeared into the bathroom to change as it was the only place in the room with a mirror.

Crowley opened up his laptop, wondering if he should invest in something more portable for everyday use before concentrating on the task at hand. Language was one of Aziraphale's fascinations, despite the fact that he seemed to struggle with modern lingo, so whatever his new names was, there needed to be some sort of linguistic play, Crowley decided. Knowing his angel, it also had to be something easy for him to remember – he was just awful at remembering code names and was still forgetting to call Crowley 'Zeke' more than half of the time. After all, him introducing himself as Aziraphale defeated the whole point of running away.

"Maybe Alexander?" Crowley muttered to himself, laptop upon his knee, "Or Ezra? He'll probably pick Alexander, he loved that library. Surname? Phhhh…." He surfed for a while, muttering to himself. "Something Ward? Nope, nope, nope." He leant back and sighed, frowning, "This is much trickier than doing it for myself."

Perhaps, he considered, he was going about it the wrong way. He'd picked 'Aster' for himself for two reasons, three really. One, it was a type of plant. Two, despite Aziraphale suggesting a spacey name for his first name, Aster was already a little spacey – Asteroids, for example. And Three, it sounded like the name he'd chosen for his time as Warlock's nanny, which he thought was amusing. Almost as amusing as Anthony JustaJay Crowley, even though that had never reached to payoff he'd hoped for. He blamed the Nazis for that. Aziraphale might have risen to the bait more if he'd not been in the middle of such a dangerous situation. And Ezekiel…

He pushed the thoughts away. He'd picked Zeke because he liked the sound of it. It had nothing to do with fact that 'Ezekiel' had a hauntingly familiar feel to it, like a name he'd known long ago. Zeke was a human name, an inbetween name, neither heavenly or hellish, and Crowley – Zeke! He reminded himself harshly, he needed to get used being Zeke – was feeling more and more like an inbetween person.

He shook his head in an attempt to shake off the distracting thoughts and get back to the task Aziraphale had given him, shutting the lid of his laptop. He'd do this alone. Without the internet. Before Aziraphale exited the bathroom, he'd come up with an idea. He just hoped his angel liked it.

Crowley was watching TV when Aziraphale finally came out of the bathroom. Fidgeting for his sleeves, the angel cleared his throat and Crowley turned away from the TV, his attention caught, his eyes widening as he looked up and down. Aziraphale tried to keep a satisfied smile from appearing on his face, but failed to completely contain it. Crowley, however did not seem to notice it.

"You're taller," he commented as he stood up, his eyes still roaming, "and… slimmer?"

"Just a little," Aziraphale admitted. He'd made himself appear around the same age as Crowley had, darkening his hair to a dark blond but keeping his blue eyes and softer looks. "Is it okay?"

Crowley closed the gap between them, running a hand gently through the darker curls, nodding, asking softly, "Does it feel… are you okay with it?"

Aziraphale smiled and wrapped his arms around Crowley's waist, pulling him in close enough for a kiss. The change in height didn't seem to have changed much there. "I missed this," he murmured when they finally broke apart.

Crowley touched their foreheads together, it was much more comfortable to do so now. "I think I've got a name for you."

"Oh? Do tell, my dear."

"Ezra or Alexander?"

"You've been internetting," Aziraphale scolded him gently.

"Googling," Crowley corrected him with a smile, "Only a little."

Aziraphale sighed, shaking his head. "Ezra sounds familiar. Hebrew?" Crowley shrugged in answer. "Ezra… not too far from Azira… I think I could remember that… Yes. I like it. It feels… right."

"Just need a surname then," Crowley grinned at him.

"No keeping 'Fell', I suppose." He sighed.

"Ezra Fell?" Crowley raised his eyebrows.

"Point taken. Don't suppose you've got any better ideas?" Crowley's grin got wider. Aziraphale gave him a little shake. "Well?"

"Furst, F-U-R-S-T." His grin was even bigger now. Aziraphale knew that grin. It was the I've-just-done-something-very-clever grin.

"Furst? Where did you get that then?" He asked, playing along.

"Principality, principalis-" Aziraphale started at the Latin word, "First, with an I. Change I to a u. Furst."

"Oh. Oh, that's… that is very clever." Aziraphale admitted and Crowley began to look smug. "Ezra Furst."

"You like it?"

"Very much, Crow- I mean, Zeke."

They were going to have to get used to these new names.


To those who reach this far, thank you! I hope you are enjoying this. Updates will probably be coming in thick and fast as, like so many others, I've found myself with an awful lot of free time. Hope you are all staying safe and well. -Nova