2019

For a day that was so utterly awful, so ripe with questions and uncertainties, the night was beautiful.

They had gone up stairs after many tear flavored kisses, and found themselves quietly and gently entwined. And after they'd come down they entwined once more. Legs and fingers hooking together, touching where they could.

And they talked.

Well, Anthony talked, and Ezra listened.

Ezra kept his reactions as small as possible as Anthony began to weave the tale of how he believed James Crowley had found out about their engagement. About the lunch time confrontation, and the quiet calm before the storm that made Anthony temporarily forget all about the threat. Ezra soothed him when he explained his long hours. Of how he was trying to at least get some of the staff to the Tadfield location in hopes that maybe he'd be able to keep that location, and therefore keep the staff he'd known and was most loyal to should James win.

"Which he likely will." He said not for the first time. "I just… I knew you would want to leave."

"I wouldn't have left, not completely." Ezra said in a hushed tone, stroking his thumb over Anthony's cheek. "I'd have perhaps asked Marjorie to keep the flat open, paid rent there for another year, made it look on paper as though we were no longer living together. And, if need be, I would… well, I just wouldn't…."

"You wouldn't have married me." Anthony filled in the blanks.

"No," Ezra managed to confess. "I would have stayed in the shadows so James would be satisfied, and you would be able to keep the Garden."

Anthony stole a half dozen pecks on Ezra's lips before he said anything.

"We're not kids anymore, angel. I don't need you to keep your distance so 'daddy dearest' won't get the wrong idea." He furrowed his brow. "Nothing would have gone back the way it was. Mum still left him, James still knew for certain he wasn't my father, and I had known the whole time. Which, really, is sort of the point of all this. He's not my dad, he never was, and he wouldn't keep pretending to be. I can't let him keep finding ways to 'keep me in line.' I just… I wish I knew what to do. If he'd be willing just to buy the damn thing outright, but that's not a good idea, I don't think. Wouldn't know, can't find someone to work for me."

An idea sparked in Ezra's mind, brow furrowing slightly as it slunk in and took root.

"You know, this actually means Tony doesn't have to keep quiet about who he is anymore." Anthony said, distracting Ezra. "Could tell Lock the truth, give him and Adam the grandpa they deserved."

Ezra hummed in agreement, tucking his idea away for the moment to focus on Anthony and the moment they were in. "Adam doesn't remember having a grandmother. He knows about my parents, obviously, but he doesn't have memories of mum, and dad is sort of just this bloke Eliza and I used to mention from time to time."

Anthony brushed his cheek, caressed it with his thumb. "I am so, so sorry I'd forgotten." He apologized again.

"Darling, I promise, it's alright."

"It really isn't, though." Anthony countered. "I let you down. I let you down and bloody Gabriel was there."

"And so were you at the end of the day." Ezra reminded him. "It doesn't matter to me what reminded you, what does matter is when it was brought to your attention you came to me."

Anthony shook his head, limited as he was by the pillow. "I shouldn't have lost myself in all this. Should have been more here ."

"You're too hard on yourself." Ezra chided.

"You're not hard enough," Anthony smirked. "You're letting me off way too easy."

"And how would my brow beating you over a simple mistake help at all?" Ezra asked softly. "It wouldn't, not at all. You've been keeping all this suffering to yourself, and I wanted to help carry the burden, not make it worse."

Anthony grinned and leaned in to press another kiss to Ezra's lips. "Can't believe I get to marry you." He said sleepily. "Would do it tomorrow if I thought it would stop those silly thoughts of you not being worth it."

Ezra hummed, pleased.

"You should sleep, my darling." He told them as he watched Anthony's eyes grow heavier.

"So should you," Anthony countered. "May not have been terribly present, but I know you've not been sleeping much."

Ezra pulled him closer, feeling slender arms wrap more snuggly around him, and shut his eyes, not expecting to drift off any time soon.

"Papa," Adam's voice cut through the fog of sleep.

Ezra grunted in reply, blinking open his eyes, then rolled his head to the side to see the boys frowning at him in confusion.

"Are you alright?" Warlock asked with great concern.

"Yes, perfectly well," he replied with a sleep-heavy voice, rubbing at his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"It's nine o'clock," Adam answered, and Warlock nodded wide eyed. "You never sleep that long."

Ezra frowned, stretching to the side and reaching for his phone, Anthony grumbling a little, sounding half awake. Sure enough, the time read 9:02 am on his screen, though thankfully it was Saturday.

"Suppose I needed it," Ezra said as he sat the phone down. "You two go on down stairs, we'll be along shortly."

"Alright," Warlock said, grabbing Adam's arm and tugging him along.

Ezra watched them go, cringing when they happened to leave the bedroom door wide open.

"Anthony," He said, soft but firm. "Wake up."

Anthony grumbled. "What?"

"We left the door unlocked." Ezra replied in a quiet, measured voice so the sound wouldn't carry.

"Don't we always?" he grumbled back.

"Yes," Ezra said, "but we normally put our clothes back on before we fall asleep."

That woke Anthony up, and he flipped around from where he'd ended up on his stomach so he could look down at their bodies, the blankets pooling at his waist as he sat up and looked them over.

He blushed. "Oh, that might have been not good."

Ezra chuckled, "it still might not be." He said, gesturing to the wide open door. "Do you have access to anything…?"

"Oh, shit, we left the lube out." Anthony said as he buried his face in his hands, his hair falling around his face.

Ezra couldn't help but laugh at that, throwing his head back even as he felt horribly, terribly embarrassed at the prospect of being questioned by a pair of five year olds as to what the thing on dad's night stand was.

He felt something soft collide with his face, and realized after a moment it was his sweater vest from yesterday.

"This isn't going to help," he said between giggles.

"Know that," Anthony snapped, "had to move it to get to your trousers, didn't I." He handed said trousers over to Ezra who slid sideways out of bed, putting his legs right in as he went and had them up and fastened. He then moved to the door, peeked out to make sure there were no little one in the hallway, and then closed it, laughing again as he met Anthony's eyes, seeing something happy in them for the first time in week.

~C~

He went to work on a Saturday, mostly to help Anathema catch up on the orders that he wasn't getting to because of the whole thing with the lawsuit.

But there was a smile he hadn't realized had been absent from Ezra's face when they parted in the morning, and a kiss that seemed more loving, more everything than it had in the last week.

"I'm not going to say I told you so," Anathema said as they worked as a team on the finishing touches for an arch.

"What would you have to say I told you so about?" Crowley asked, glancing at her as he fixed another Rose on the structure.

"I can tell, you know. That you told Ezra. Your aura's a lot lighter."

"Shut up," Crowley smirked. "He dragged it out of me, the bastard."

"And I'm taking it he's not packed his bags and disappeared?" She said as she began wrapping lace around the structure.

"No, he has not." Crowley retorted, pausing as a wave of fear and nausea hit him. "He almost left again. He won't say that's what he would have done. Says he'd have just called off the wedding, maybe moved back out, but we know where that would lead."

Anathema dropped the roll of lace and stood, wrapping her arms around him, pressing her head against his side as he remained on the step ladder.

"He loves you," She reminded him, though he didn't really need it. "He'd have never stayed away for long."

"Or he would have gone for maybe twenty years this time, hope maybe James would crock before then." He sighed, patting her back, and Anathema let go. "But, he stayed. We worked it out. Bloody talking, who'd have thought."

"I don't know, normal people? Or maybe that's just women." Anathema said as she knelt down and resumed doing the lace.

"Newt still not getting the hint?" Crowley asked.

It was Anathema's turn to sigh. "He's still not made a move or anything, though he knows Eric and I broke up. If I ask if he wants to do something, he'll say yes. But he won't ask me himself. And he won't take my hand when we're together, let alone anything more. But he's interested, I know he is. I can sense it."

"Maybe you just intimidate him," Crowley shrugged, and felt the ball of lace hit him on the side of the head. He looked down at Anathema who scowled petulantly at him. "You can look at me like that all you want. You're intense, Anathema. Believe me, I like that about you, but I'm also not interested in you. I like that you know what you want, and you have the confidence to go for it, but I know a lot of blokes who aren't even that forward. And you gotta remember, we come from money."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Anathema said as she collected the lace and kept going.

"It means we've had a certain amount of luxury that allowed us to be that confident and sure. We never had to demur to anyone to keep a job. Even when I was a gardener for that family, I was the only gardener."

"You still had a boss." Anathema pointed out.

"She was my friend." Crowley said absently.

Anathema stopped. "She?" She asked after a moment.

"Yeah, Harriet was the one who was around. She'd come by and chat while I worked in the flower beds when I'd do the hedges. Just someone to talk to, pair of lonely souls we were."

He finished the roses, and as he glanced to see where the lace was, he noticed Anathema staring at him wide eyed.

"What?" He asked.

" She's Warlock's mom, isn't she." Anathema said very, very quietly.

Crowley didn't react fast enough.

"No," He said.

"Yes, she is. I can tell." Anathema said, putting her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my god. You… and with a married… does Ezra-?"

"Yes, he knows." Crowley growled in a whisper. "Now keep your mouth shut. I have enough problems right now, I don't need someone overhearing us and deciding to go on a little hunt. I only have my suspicions as to how James found out, I don't know for sure.

Anathema continued to stare at him, stunned, so Crowley took the lace from her and finished up the arch before the delivery driver came by to pick it up with the rest of the wedding order.

"I have questions." Anathema finally managed to say.

"I'm sure you do." Crowley countered, moving to the work table where the order slip was, ripped a copy from the book and returned to gently pin it to the arch.

"I'm not going to ask them. Yet, or at least here. But… holy shit, how did I not know this about you?"

"Because I can't, or at least shouldn't, talk about it." Crowley retorted. "Now, we were talking about you and Newt. And I was making a point, and my point is Newt didn't come from a place of being well off. He came from a working class family, single mum, all that. He's quiet and shy, and you're not. You're unattainable to him, even when he has you. So… make yourself attainable. Talk to him, tell him what you want. I'd say make a move, but you've done that already."

"Talking from experience, are you?" Anathema asked.

"Might take some flowers home for Ezra," Crowley avoided the answer. "Sorta saying-"

"Sorry I was an ass, oh loving spouse of mine?" Anathema smirked.

"Yeah, something like that." Crowley snarked back. "Now, what else do we have?"

"Oh," Ezra said with delighted surprise as Crowley showed him the bouquet of purple hyacinths, red roses, and a few sprigs of ivy. "They're lovely, darling. Thank you."

Crowley kissed his cheek then moved for a vase in the cupboard over the fridge. "Where are the boys?" He asked curiously, getting the vase and heading for the tap to fill it with water.

"They're upstairs. In Adam's room or Warlock's, I'm not sure, they've been going back and forth. Last time I went up they were discussing pirate aliens, and what their ship would look like." He said as he continued to cook the simple meal he'd been preparing as Crowley had come home.

He paused as he brought the flowers to the table and took it all in, understanding that he'd been close to losing this all from not opening up a little more. Of the idea of their boys upstairs playing, and Ezra doing little domestic things while waiting for him to come home. Of how later he'll help clean up, and they'll go back to that routine he'd so carelessly tossed aside to drive himself mad with worry, bury himself in a problem he couldn't work out.

"I love you." Crowley said simply, watching as Ezra gently tapped the wooden spoon on the side of the pan before turning to face Crowley with a little wrinkle in his forehead. Crowley grinned. "I just wanted to say it. That I love you."

"I love you, too, darling." Ezra said, eyes crinkling, sparkling with a deep fondness that Crowley had suddenly realized had always been there. "How was work?" Ezra asked as he turned back to dinner preparation.

Crowley placed the flowers in the vase and went to join him, leaning against the counter.

"Caught up and then some," he replied. "Pleased to say that, means I might get to go back to London this week and talk more with Bea. Trying to convince her that if she's not going to leave for here, then she should at least take over a more managerial role."

"When do you think you'll be going to London?" Ezra asked curiously, shutting off the stove and opening the oven to check on something that smelled wonderfully savory.

"Umm, Tuesday, I think. Works best, gives me a chance to see what they have from over the weekend, what I might be able to take back to Tadfield with me to work on."

"What a coincidence." Ezra said as he pulled a pan from the oven and set it on an empty spot on the stove. "I happen to have a workshop in London on Tuesday."

Crowley watched Ezra with narrow eyes, but he was utterly sincere. "You just happen to have a workshop on Tuesday. What workshop?"

Ezra met his eye with a tilt of his head. "The modernization of Shakespeare in the classroom. New ways to get students interested in the bard's work. It sounds thrilling."

"And when did you find out about this?" Crowley asked.

"Earlier in the week," Ezra replied. "I had thought that, if you weren't going to London on Tuesday, and weren't able to give me the lift, I could have asked Gabriel. I'm sure he would've been willing."

"Sure he would be." Crowley grumbled.

"Oh, do stop, Anthony. He was how I was able to attend those workshops prior to your returning to my life. They don't tend to have many in the last months of school, you see."

"And where's this workshop in London, exactly?"

"It's in a meeting room at one of the Hilton's. I'll give you the address, presuming you'll take me."

Crowley gave him a wicked smirk.

Ezra rolled his eyes. "You're impossible. And absolute menace. You knew precisely what I meant when I said that, and yet here you are turning it into something… unseemly."

"Unseemly?" Crowley repeated, barely keeping himself from laughing.

"Behavior wise, yes. The act itself… hardly." He replied with a light brush and a slight upturn of his lips.

Crowley snagged his arm around Ezra's waist and brought him closer. "I will take you to London." He said as maturely as he could. "And tonight, if you'd like, I can-"

"Dad!" Adam and Warlock shouted as they came off the stairs, and Crowley blushed at nearly being overheard saying all the things he was about to say to Ezra.

He still hadn't gotten over the mortifying ordeal of having their room and themselves in the state it was in when the boys came to wake them up that morning. Thankfully, neither had asked any questions about it, because Crowley wasn't sure he'd have lived through any sort of explanation that could have been given.

He turned, listening to the boys as they relayed their day while Ezra got their food on plates.

~A~

"Are you nervous?" Anthony asked with a frown as they left the motorway and headed into the city.

Ezra smiled through the guilt and glanced at Anthony. "Perhaps a bit." He confessed. Then added, "I don't do these terribly often, and I don't tend to fit in with the others."

Also not a lie, really. Ezra had tended to be awkward at workshops, his knowledge on most literature being a bit more in depth than most of the others. He was also given various sorts of looks from his colleagues as they took in his form of dress, which didn't vary much from his normal work dress or casual. But he wasn't attending them for their social aspect.

Of course, he wasn't attending a workshop at all.

Only Anthony didn't know that.

"Will you be breaking for lunch?" Anthony asked with an inquisitive lilt. Maybe you and I can meet up."

"That would be lovely," Ezra replied, meaning it with his whole heart. "Do you have a certain time, or?"

"No, just shoot me off a message or call when you're ready." Anthony replied casually, and a bit more guilt seeped into Ezra.

He hated lying, hated keeping secrets, but he hoped that the secret wouldn't be kept for long. And unlike what Anthony was doing, he wasn't trying to keep him in the dark, he just didn't want to get any hopes up.

It made it very bittersweet when the Bentley pulled up outside the hotel Ezra gave the address to.

"I shall see you later, darling." He said before leaning across the gap between the seats and kissing Anthony soundly, much like he would any other day.

And Anthony chased after another one. "I hadn't realized until yesterday that I was missing these." He said with a smirk.

"Hardly like we didn't," Ezra frowned.

"Yeah, but I wasn't really there for them." Anthony explained. "It became more like a habit, which it is. But… but it was quick and without much thought or affection. Don't want it to become a habit like that."

"Then it won't." Ezra said simply, stealing one more. "I should get a wiggle on."

Anthony smirked. "Right. Well, have a good day, angel."

"See you at lunch, my dear." Ezra said before getting out of the car, slowly making his way toward the entrance of the hotel. He made a show of pausing to check his phone as the Bentley drove away, waiting until he knew for absolute certainty that Anthony wasn't anywhere near the building.

He then pocketed his phone, turned around and, heading down the street and around the corner with purpose.

It was nearing ten in the morning, so many places of business would be open. He did wonder, for a moment, why Anthony hadn't questioned the lateness in which this supposed workshop would have begun, but he supposed he should take the blessing for what it was.

He approached the relatively modern building, made his way across the lobby to the lifts, and pressed the button for the top floor as he made his way inside. He wrung his hands, feeling the need to get most of the nerves out of him. It didn't work terribly well.

The lift chimed, and stepped out, the office he wanted being immediately before him. He pushed open the glass doors, and made his way over to the front desk.

A young woman turned toward him and paused. She took a second to look him up and down, then said, "welcome to Young, Marks, and Martin, do you have an appointment?"

"Of sorts." Ezra replied. "I'm here to speak to Mr Martin. Ezra Fell, he's expecting me."

The young woman smiled a condescending grin. "Mr Martin is probably on the phone with a client. Unless you've a scheduled appointment-"

"You will find, madam, that if you were to go to his office and tell him Ezra Fell is here to see him, he will be quite prompt." Ezra cut her off. "And while I do not have an official appointment, he is expecting me."

She rolled her eyes and got up from her chair, her heels clacking on the floor as she disappeared down a hallway to the left.

Ezra waited, looking around the bland, nondescript space. He could hear the sound of heels returning at a much quicker clip, and he smiled at the woman when she came back looking quite embarrassed.

"Mr Martin says to go right on back." She said with a gesture, barely able to look Ezra in the eye.

"Thank you," he said with a quick bow of his head, and then followed her direction.

Most of the doors he passed were closed, so he had no difficulty finding the one he needed.

"Ezra!" Lucas greeted him with a wide smile and open arms. Thankfully he didn't attempt a hug, but took Ezra's hand in both of his for a hearty handshake. "Good to see you."

"And you," Ezra said as Lucas stepped past him and closed the door. "You're well?"

"I am, very well, actually. And you? The… Adam?" he asked a little nervously.

"We're both fine," Ezra assured him. "I actually came hoping your offer of 'whatever I needed' might extend beyond menial family affairs."

"Oh," Lucas said as he gestured for Ezra to have a seat before moving around to the other side of the desk and doing the same. "Sounds serious."

"It is," Ezra agreed. "I'm not sure what type of law you tend to practice, but I was hoping the least you could do was offer some advice. My fiance, Anthony-"

"Fiance!" Lucas crowed. "Oh, congratulations. You two were just seeing one another a few months ago. Shall I expect an invitation."

Ezra's eyebrows shot up. "Would… would you like one?"

"It's what family does, isn't it?"

"I suppose." Ezra agreed.

"Excellent," Lucas said with a clap of his hands. "Now, continue. What is happening with Anthony?"

Ezra took a breath, and explained what he knew to Lucas.

"I wish I had had the summons with me, but unfortunately I hadn't a way of getting a hold of it without asking Anthony for it. And if I were to ask, he probably wouldn't hand it over at all readily. He only just told me about it the night before I texted you to see if we could have this meeting."

Lucas pursed his lips, tapped his finger against it. "You know, when I was younger, fresh out of law school, I had the greatest displeasure of being part of the firm that James Crowley utilizes. He was a bastard, an absolute nightmare, and one of the reasons I was quite eager to take up with my current partners when the position was offered."

"I can't say I blame you." Ezra said. "I tended to avoid being anywhere near the man when we were growing up."

"Given why he's going after Anthony, the real base reason, we may be able to use that to our advantage. I'll have to see the summons, what's the reason listed for why he's suing, but it's possible we may be able to find a work around."

Ezra grinned. "You'll take his case?"

Lucas shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? I said anything you need, Ezra, and I am a man of my word. And, frankly, having your fiance lose his means of income would certainly affect you and the boy, be a hardship, and that's precisely the sort of thing I would like to help avoid."

"Well, I appreciate it." Ezra said whole heartedly. "Truly. I might get an earful when I see Anthony at lunch, but I'm sure in the end he will understand."

Lucas smirked, "As long as you tell him before I step in. Now, let's see…" He said, leaning forward, grabbing an appointment book and dropping it on his desk before flipping it open. "I don't have any spots available during the week. But, perhaps, I can go up to Tadfield this weekend, have a look, talk it over with both of you."

"Would you be able to come to the house?" Ezra asked.

"You send me the address, and I'll meet you there."

"Wonderful. I won't take up any more of your time." Ezra said as he rose. "I'm sure you have a busy day ahead of you, and I appreciate you fitting me in."

"It's no problem at all," Lucas said as he stood, walking Ezra out and to the lobby. "So Saturday, probably not until the afternoon."

"I'm sure it will be just…" He pressed his lips together, making sure a 'tickety-boo' or 'tip-top' didn't spill out. "Wonderful." He managed to say before parting ways with Lucas, and heading back out to the lifts.

He felt both lighter and yet much more weighed down as he crossed the lobby. A relief mixed with dread providing an interesting cocktail. There was only one way to set it right, and unlike a certain someone, he wasn't going to wait nearly a week and have it dragged out of him. So, Ezra pressed the button for the first floor and braced himself for a walk to Soho.

~C~

"AJ," Bea said as he finished up with a customer. "Your husband is here."

"My what?" He asked with a frown, turning first to Bea and then to the door to discover that Ezra was, in fact, inside the Garden with a nervous smile.

Crowley stared for a few minutes, trying to figure out why his fiance would cross town to meet him at the shop instead of just texting. They couldn't have terribly long lunches at workshops, especially when they start so late, and-

"Oh, you bastard!" He said as realization smacked him upside the head. It didn't just catch Ezra's attention, who turned that nervous smile on him with the eyes of a very guilty man, but a few customers who were suddenly on alert, wondering what was about to happen. "There was no workshop, was there?"

"Afraid not," Ezra confessed, and while a few customers went back to browsing, the other, more nosy ones watched.

"Why are you here, then? In the city?" Crowley asked as he crossed the space to Ezra, taking his hand.

Ezra's smile wavered. "I'm afraid you're going to be rather cross with me, my dear."

"How cross?" Crowley asked with a frown. "Are we talking mild annoyance where I'm going to hang it over your head for a week or so? Or are we talking 'sleeping in the spare room for a while' cross?"

Ezra paled. "Oh. Oh, I do hope it doesn't come to the latter. I'm…." He glanced around the shop. "Perhaps we can speak about this in your office?"

"If you did something stupid enough to have him mope more," Bea said with warning, crossing their arms.

"I doubt there will be any moping." Ezra assured. "Though I apologize in advance for the possible ranting and lamenting."

Bea seemed to consider this a moment before nodding once and waving them off.

Crowley took Ezra's hand and led him to the back, into his office, where he closed and locked the door.

He took a moment to mourn the fantasies of this very act, of Ezra surprising him and them finding themselves locked in this very room, before he turned toward his fiance and crossed his arms.

"First," he began, "do you actually go to workshops?"

"I do," Ezra assured. "But they start far earlier in the day. I usually would get a lift with Gabriel, as he would leave early enough for me to arrive on time."

Crowley nodded, accepting this, wondering why he hadn't clued into the late start before.

"Right. Well, I'll still give you lifts. Avoiding the knob and all." He said. "But if you aren't here for work, or the knob, why are you in the city?" Then, with dawning horror, asked, "You didn't go see James, did you?"

"What? Of course not!" Ezra said with a scowl. "What on Earth would have you believe I'd go see your- James? Not like the man would ever deign to see me. No, I… I went to see Lucas Martin." Crowley puzzled at the name, feeling it linger on the edges of his mind but constantly being just out of reach. It must have shown on his face, because Ezra added, "Adam's birth father."

"Oh," Crowley replied. "Okay, why? Was he needed because of the adoption, or?"

"No," Ezra shook his head. "No, Lucas wouldn't be needed, there is no record of him being Adam's father anywhere. But, see… he's a lawyer."

Crowley had been nodding nearly as much as a bobble head when what Ezra said hit home.

"Angel," Crowley said, now shaking his head when he put together what was happening.

"Now, hear me out," Ezra placated.

"Ezra, I could handle this." Crowley lamented. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. Well, one of the smaller reasons I didn't want to tell you. You didn't need to do this, you don't need to fix my problems and save me."

"I know that, you idiot." Ezra snapped back with a little bite. "But you told me you couldn't find anyone to take your case, and I didn't see the harm in asking."

"And I suppose you were laughed out of the office." Crowley said with a glance at the clock. It was only just heading round to eleven, barely more than an hour since he dropped Ezra off.

"No," Ezra replied, frowning. "Actually he intends to come have a look at the papers over the weekend."

Crowley hummed, "Well, legal advice is better than nothing, I suppose."

"He wants to be your lawyer, Anthony." Ezra said as though he were slow.

"He does not." Crowley replied childishly.

"He does," Ezra said firmly. Then, with a slight smirk, added, "imagine if you had only told me a week ago when this all happened, all this stress could have been - if not avoided- then greatly minimized."

"Suppose," Crowley grumbled. Then he blinked. "Hold on. Wait, let me get this right: you went behind my back to our son's birth father, to talk to him about my legal case against… my former father?"

"Yes," Ezra said with a slight blush.

"So, your whole spew Friday about me keeping things from you-"

"Now, hold on." Ezra cut in, hands starting to flail.

Crowley suppressed a smirk, "No, no. You said we shouldn't keep things from each other, that our marriage would work better if we talk."

"There is a very large difference between you keeping something that affects our whole family close to your chest, with no intention of ever sharing, and my… making an arrangement with someone when I didn't want to get your hopes up. Or have you say no, because heaven knows you'd have been too stubborn to go that route."

"Oi," Crowley scowled.

"Don't 'oi' me, Anthony Crowley. I've known you since we were thirteen years old, I'm well aware of how patently unmovable you can be when you're not fond of an idea."

"Not stubborn," Crowley grumbled, the fight already leaving him. He didn't want to argue, even if he wasn't exactly thrilled about what Ezra had done.

By the smile Ezra gave him, he knew that. It was as cautious as it was affectionate, and when he stepped forward, he seemed hesitant to touch Crowley's cheek.

"You are stubborn, darling. But sometimes I think it's your stubbornness that kept us at each other's sides in our youth. And I am sorry that I didn't tell you my real intentions for coming here, but I truly didn't wish to give you any hope if I couldn't secure it."

"You shouldn't have had to secure it for me in the first place." Crowley replied, his hands finding Ezra's hips. "This is my problem."

"It's ours by virtue that we are a couple."

Crowley pressed his forehead to Ezra's. "This? What you're doing? The worrying and taking time away from your job to try and fix this? This is one of the reasons I didn't tell you. A much smaller reason, mind, but one of them."

Ezra hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing.

"So," Crowley said after a time. "How are you going to repent?"

"Repent?" Ezra repeated incredulously.

"I believe I did a fair bit of worshiping to make up for my transgressions."

"Yours was far greater, and for far longer." Ezra countered, leaning away. "How about I buy you lunch?"

"Is that all I'm going to get?" Crowley asked, teasing just a bit.

Ezra tilted his head slightly. "For now."

"Suppose it will do." Crowley sighed, "but I expect a more thorough apology later."

"If I must," Ezra smirked a moment before sobering. "I am sorry for having kept my plans from you, love. Perhaps it may have had a touch of petty revenge within the action, but it was never my aim to hurt you."

"Not hurt, angel." Crowley assured as he stepped away. "Miffed, put out, a little annoyed, but not hurt. And not angry."

He took Ezra's hands, but Ezra shifted within them, taking Crowley's in turn and bringing Crowley's knuckles to his lips.

"Now," he said, giving Crowley's hands a squeeze. "I can wait here if it's too early."

"Might as well go now," Crowley said. "But it means a lot longer between lunch and when I can knock off. What will you do while you wait?"

Ezra pondered as Crowley led him out the door.

"Perhaps I'll go see Richard and Isabel." He said as they headed down the hall, back into the main store. "They don't live terribly far from here, and maybe I'll get lucky and Oscar will be around as well."

Crowley waved to Bea, glancing around the shop as he and Ezra exited when he noticed someone familiar placing an order with Eric. He frowned, taking in the man when he heard the bloke say "Crowley" when prompted for the name of the order.

Then he remembered, that was the same bloke who had been in a few weeks back, when he'd bought Ezra his ring. When he'd shown Bea.

Crowley very nearly stormed over, demanding the man be removed from the premises, but Ezra's hand on his stopped him.

"Everything alright?" Ezra asked softly, and Crowley grit his teeth.

Not worth it , he thought. Not worth it at all .

"Fine," he said before turning back to Ezra. A flash of hurt and understanding came with his angel's quick smile, and Crowley shook his head. "Tell you on the way to lunch," he amended, then led the way.