Piece of Eden

A blue Audi trundled up the pebbled drive that led to the cottage of the outskirts of Petersfield, parking up next to a small silver car that seemed to huddle into itself as it stopped. Cheerfully, the young woman greeted the Audi's occupants as they got out, the taller patting the roof of the car more out of habit than fondness.

"Mr Furst and Mr Aster," She shook both of their hands, "Congratulations on your purchase. Here are the keys."

With a wide beam, Aziraphale accepted both key rings, thanking her enthusiastically while Crowley simply stared up at the cottage's exterior. Bidding them goodbye, she drove off in the silver car and left them on the front doorstep.

"Shall we?" Aziraphale jingled the keys.

"Go on then," Crowley gestured with a smile, "Open it up."

Aziraphale obliged, unlocking the door and pushing it open, but was stopped from entering by a hand gently grasping his wrist. He looked back at Crowley with a concerned frown that was met by an all-too familiar mischievous grin.

"I've heard of a tradition I want to try," the demon explained, before sweeping an arm under his angel's knees and lifting him with a strength that didn't quite match his wiry frame – even with Aziraphale's slimmer one.

"Honestly!" Aziraphale shook his head in mock severity, quite enjoying himself really, as he was carried into the building.

Thankfully, the interior of the house had been decorated fairly recently, so it was long before they had decorated it to their tastes - a few pieces of vintage-looking comfy furniture, a few that were more sleek and modern – though not completely without disagreements, of course.

Some places brooked no arguments. The second bedroom was one – which rapidly turned into what Aziraphale called a study and Crowley called a library waiting to happen. The garden was another – which Aziraphale was more than happy to leave to Crowley as long as he made sure there were lots of flowers.

Despite the cottage's interior renovations, the garden had clearly been neglected for a good few years. It was wildly overgrown, so much so that it was almost impossible to walk in as the plants, left to their own devices, had claimed any sign of people. This was a state that Crowley admired, for the first few days, before he set about taming the wilderness and rectifying that state it had been left in.

Two weeks after their official move in, the sun was starting to set and Aziraphale hadn't seen Crowley since the morning. This was unusual for two reasons. One, Crowley almost always brought him something to eat during the day, even if it was just a sandwich. And two, Aziraphale had spent the last hour with the study window open blasting a radio station he knew Crowley hated, at top volume, in an attempt to draw his demon inside while he built the last bookshelf for the study. This made Aziraphale fidgety.

Logically speaking, they had new names, new appearances, new paper trails… there was no way that they could have been tracked down.

Logically speaking, if any agent of Heaven or Hell had tracked them down, there would have been some sort of disturbance, which would have alerted him.

Logically speaking, Crowley had probably just lost track of time while gardening and hadn't heard the radio because he had earphones in.

Aziraphale was finding 'logical' very difficult.

He picked up his phone. One of their new rules (there were really only three) was that they should always have their phone with them. Looking at it, he told himself that he was being silly. Of course, Crowley was fine. He didn't need to call him to check.

He hadn't even completed the thought before his finger had pressed the call button.

"Hey Angel."

Thank goodness. "Where are you? I've not seen you all day."

"In the garden," Came the reply. Of course.

"It's going to be dark soon. Are you coming in?"

"Not yet," he could hear the grin in Crowley's voice, "Come and find me, first."

Aziraphale blinked as his phone made its end-call chirp. He could see into the garden from the study window, and so he stood to peer out of it. No sign of dark hair anywhere among the tangle that was being tamed. No surprise there. Only one option then.

Crowley had been working on finding and clearing the stone paths that the garden had hidden when he'd found it. He'd known immediately what it was (how could he not) and set about clearing the path to it so that it was much easier to follow. Then he'd cleared a space around it. And then, very carefully, with a sense of bitter-sweet nostalgia, he'd climbed and settled himself securely a few feet up.

Once secure, he'd had a bit of a nap, it was – after all – rather sunny where he'd perched himself and he had done a lot of heavy lifting and shifting. He was woken by the sound of Freddie Mercury and answered Aziraphale's call, feeling rather full of life after his sun-soaked nap. Having told his angel to come and find him, he grinned, anticipation prickling his skin.

The part of the garden closest to the house, which Crowley had almost completely tidied at this point, was devoid of any lanky brunets – demonic or otherwise. Instead, Aziraphale began to follow the paths Crowley had begun to clear, sometimes more like tunnels than paths, occasionally calling out, "Zeke?"

Even in their own home, they couldn't be too careful.

Crowley listened as the class grew closer and closer, until Aziraphale finally appeared in the small clearing he'd spent most of the day creating. Part of him wanted to call out immediately, but he squashed the urge. It would be much funnier to be found.

"For goodness sake," Aziraphale muttered darkly, "Zeke!" He continued to scan around, too focused on finding his demon to notice the large tree that dominated the clearing.

"Up here!" Crowley called and enjoyed the sight of Aziraphale's surprised upwards look.

"What are you doing up there?" Aziraphale beamed up at him, worries momentarily forgotten, walking closer to the trunk and placing a hand upon it.

"Reminiscing," Crowley grinned, carefully laying down on the branch he'd made his perch so that his legs dangled below him.

"About what?" his angel tilted his head, placing his hands on his hips. Crowley only grinned wider in answer and Aziraphale shook his head. "Seriously, come down before you fall."

"Too late for that, don't you think?" Crowley rested his chin on the branch. "I'm fine, don't worry. Hey! Does this remind you of anything?"

"I'm serious, come down before you get hurt," Aziraphale fussed, placing both hand back onto the tree.

"Angel, what kind of tree is this?"

"An old one? Please."

Crowley spotted the shift in body language. His discovery wasn't funny enough to upset his angel over. Carefully, he climbed back down. "It's an apple tree, angel," he said, somehow making it sound like an apology. Aziraphale wrapped him in a hug, relieved he was down safely – never mind that he could fly if he so chose – and he continued, "I thought it was funny, us buying this place. The garden being all wild and having an apple tree. Like we had a bit of Eden."

"My dear," Aziraphale placed a hand on his cheek, "Anywhere with you is Eden."


This one has been the toughest chapter to write so far (this is the fifth attempt). I am so glad it's done.