2017

"Bloody hell, I love this place." Eliza said with as much affection as Ezra would usually hold for a bookshop.

The Garden had only been open for a few months, but Eliza had managed to go at least once a month from the first. Ezra could see the appeal, it was like walking into some sort of enchanted world. He'd never seen plants that lush, that perfect.

Well, he'd seen a few, very well taken care of plants that looked this nice in the past, but never on such a large scale.

"Mummy said a bad word." Adam said in a small voice, a slight up turn to his lips as he held Ezra's hand while Eliza looked around.

"Yes, she did." Ezra agreed. "But we know better than to repeat everything mummy says, don't we?"

Adam nodded, his tiny little smirk growing into a big, wide grin.

"Anathema!" Eliza cheered excitedly, and Ezra looked over to see a very lovely woman with a style nearly as antiqued as his own go over and hug his sister.

"Dear lord, do you really come here so often that you've taken to hugging the staff?" He teased.

"When was the last time you hugged anyone not your nephew or me?" Eliza snipped back with no bite, and Anathema smiled.

"Your brother?" She asked in an accent that was a different sort of Spanish than one he was familiar with from his travels.

"Yeah. This is Ez," Eliza introduced him with a flick of her wrist.

"Ezra," He corrected. "She's literally the only person I will allow to call me that, and only because she has seniority." He said with a smile, offering his free hand to Anathema.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ezra." She said genuinely. "Nice jacket, by the way."

"Thank you," He smiled smugly at Eliza who groaned and rolled her eyes. "It's an antique."

"You're an antique." Eliza retorted. "I'm going to go off and look at plants." She said, skipping off to the potted succulents in another part of the shop.

"It's for the best she sticks to the small ones," Ezra commented. "We don't have a lot of room to stash all the ones she keeps bringing home."

"Yeah, she told me once when she was eyeing up one of our yucca trees." Anathema replied, turning back to Ezra and eyeing him curiously. "So, Liza told me you were a teacher?"

"How much does she talk about me?" Ezra frowned.

"Probably more than you'd like." Anathema scrunched her nose. "Like, for instance, I know there's a particular bloke who keeps nipping at your heels?"

"She really does tell you everything." Ezra grumbled.

"If it helps, she told me that one over a cup of coffee." Anathema said with a shrug.

"Ah," Ezra mouthed, nodding in understanding. "So when she told me she'd given up men and was going on a date with a woman last Sunday, she meant you, didn't she?" He smirked.

Anathema laughed, "Yeah, I guess she did. Seems I'm everyone's girlfriend these days. Even my boss, AJ, tells people he's going on a date when he's just hanging around with me."

Ezra wasn't sure what to say to that so he simply smiled.

She was still looking at him.

"I think you'd get along with him." She said simply.

"Oh, no, please." Ezra said immediately. "I have really no intentions of meeting anyone new."

"It doesn't have to be like that, " Anathema assured. "But he does like everyone if you know what I mean."

"Well, that's quite lovely for him, but I will have to decline." He insisted.

"I'm making you uncomfortable." Anathema said with a slight furrow in her brow.

"Yes, I'm quite afraid you are." He said a bit too hastily.

"I'm sorry." Anathema apologized sincerely. "I get a bit nosy with people sometimes."

Ezra wasn't sure what to say to that without agreeing too emphatically, so he merely gave a nod with a slight purse of his lips. Someone had tapped Anathema on the shoulder, turning her attention away from Ezra.

He breathed a sigh of relief and led Adam away, partly to get away from the overly personal woman his sister befriended, and partly to find Eliza before she bought anything too drastic.

"Where do you think mum went?" he asked the little boy at his side.

"I dunno," He said, sounding as bored as any new three year old would in a shop such as this.

They made their way through the aisles, until Eliza's laugh caught Ezra's ear, and he headed toward it.

He rounded the corner, but didn't make it all the way because for the first time in his entire life he'd found his sister looking flustered. It had him stopping so short Adam bumped into him, but he could only offer a half focused apology.

Eliza was blushing, and bashfully smiling at a -frankly- beautiful man. Tall, with a smooth head, and a brilliant smile, Ezra felt the briefest pangs of envy.

He could hear the man speaking, though of what Ezra couldn't quite catch. He had noted that the man was American, but his dialect was much softer than Gabriel's, his voice not as booming.

But the way he smiled at Eliza, and Eliza at him, felt almost too intimate to walk in on.

Ezra backed away, telling Adam that he heard tell that there was an enclosed snake somewhere in the shop, and maybe they could see if the rumor was true.

~C~

"Hi," A man said as he approached the arrangement counter Crowley was currently manning in the Tadfield location.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" Crowley asked with a quick grin.

"I'm here to get some flowers." The man replied, and Crowley had to smirk at the obviousness of such a statement from the nervous bloke.

"Date or doghouse?" He asked, and that earned a chuckle out of the gorgeous fellow.

"Umm, date. First date, would really like to make an impression. I met this woman about five months ago. Here actually, and, well."

"Five months ago," Crowley said with surprise as he began grabbing flowers and arranging something for the poor sap. "Must be worth it, first date this far down the line. And getting close to the holidays at that."

"Yeah," The guy laughed nervously. "She's… she's stunning. And smart, er- clever. She's quite vivacious."

"It's not Anathema, is it?" Crowley asked, pulling scissors out of the drawer to begin trimming.

"No, no, she's just this woman I helped out when she tried to grab a cactus that was a bit too high for her."

"A cactus?"

"Yeah, she says her brother's terrible with plants." He shrugged.

"Smart of her, then, going that route." Crowley acknowledged as he bundled the bouquet together, preparing to tie it up before wrapping it.

"Yeah, well, smart was a factor here." The bloke's grin faltered as he realized the level of awful his comment was. "Oh, I'm going to fuck this up."

Crowley chuckled. "Mate, just be yourself. I mean, five months, yeah? She must have gotten to know you in that time, must know you make bad jokes."

"Yeah," the bloke agreed.

"So, don't worry too much. Go better if you relax." The Crowley shrugged. "But what the hell do I know? I haven't been on a date in a couple'a years."

That had the bloke really laughing, which brought out a glorious smile. Pity he was doing up flowers for the man's date, otherwise Crowley might have been tempted to take a swing at him himself.

He told the man the price, and the bloke handed over his credit card.

Crowley glanced at the name. "Alright, Gavin. Good luck tonight, yeah?"

"Thanks," Gavin said as he took back his card, tucking it in his wallet and putting it away before grabbing the flowers. He gave a quick wave to Crowley before heading out the door, and Crowley watched him go before sighing heavily.

He was starting to get lonely.

He had no shortage of friends these days. Bea and Dagon came by his flat in Mayfair regularly, and Anathema was practically his shadow when he was here in Tadfield, even on the days she would have had off. He got along with his other staff, and on occasion he'd see the blokes from school, though they had grown more apart as time passed.

And there was Warlock, of course, who was the light of Crowley's life and remaining the most important person in his world. He loved spending time with him, especially since now he had a personality of his own that he could actually express.

But he was starting to miss that connection with another person, the intimacy of falling into something that looked and tasted like love even if it never quite became the real thing. He didn't know what it was about the shop in Tadfield that made him want that all the more, though if he had to guess it was because Tadfield felt more like a dream come true than the London shop ever did. He wanted to share that with someone.

He was damn near ready for Bea to set him up again, which he may come to regret.

Still, better than watching a bloke walk away and be jealous of the date he had.

~A~

"What are you doing here?" Ezra frowned as he opened the door to Gabriel.

"Wine?" Gabriel replied with a confused frown, showing Ezra the bottle of red.

"You're not a fan of wine," Ezra retorted.

"But… you are." Gabriel almost sounded uncertain.

"Still, why are you bringing wine by the flat?" Ezra replied. "Hardly like I can have more than a glass, I'm watching Adam tonight."

"I know, I remembered you telling me. Thought maybe I would come by and keep you company."

Ezra blinked. "Gabriel I hardly need to be kept company in my own home."

"Yeah, but-"

"Oh, just… come in. We're going to let all the heat out if we keep this up, and Eliza will be quite displeased." He stepped aside and let Gabriel over the threshold.

"Uncle Ezra?" Adam asked sleepily, coming down the hall.

"It's just Mr Haven." Ezra replied, closing the door and going over to scoop the boy up, carry him back down the hall to the bedroom Adam shared with Eliza. Ezra kissed Adam's cheek as he placed him back in the toddler bed he was starting to get too big for. He knelt down beside his nephew, tucking him in and brushing back the unruly curls. "Do you need anything?"

Adam shook his head, then paused. "When's mum gonna be home?"

"Quite late." Ezra replied. "Way past when you'll be asleep. But when you wake up in the morning, she'll be here."

"Okay," Adam said sleepily, heavy eyes already starting to fall shut before Ezra was even back on his feet.

He backed out of the room, and closed the door, feeling a bit more of the resolve he'd started to feel settle around him in the last few months. He closed the door, then returned to the kitchen area where Gabriel was already removing the cork, two wine glasses from the cupboard on the counter.

"I didn't wake him, did I?" He asked guiltily.

"No, I doubt it." Ezra assured. "He probably heard the door and thought Eliza was home. I came to realize she hadn't been on an evening date since he was quite little. Before mum passed, actually. He's used to being away from her, at nursery and what not, but he's not used to her not being around in the evenings."

"At least he has you," Gabriel said as he wiggled the cork out of the bottle, minimizing the pop of the bottle. He brought the glasses over, beginning to serve.

Ezra sighed. "Yes, he does." He agreed. "But I've been thinking for quite some time about getting a flat of my own."

"Oh?" Gabriel asked, his voice cracking a bit and a bit of the liquid hitt the side of the wine glass instead of the perfect center pour he'd become practiced at.

"Adam's getting a bit big to be sharing a room with his mother. And, frankly, I would like to have my solitude back now that Adam's a bit more… vocal."

Gabriel chuckled. "Nice way of calling him a chatterbox, Ezra."

Ezra shrugged one shoulder. "It's far more difficult to read and relax than it was when he was a babe. And don't get me wrong, if Eliza insisted she still needed me here, I would oblige her, of course. But tonight… oh, Gabriel, I wish you could have seen her. I haven't seen Eliza that nervous or excited over a date ever. This man, Gavin, he seems to have really charmed her. And while I do worry that she'll get hurt as badly as I have in the past, she is so close to falling in love with him already."

"You think she might have met someone she's going to want to be with."

"For the long haul, yes," Ezra smiled at the thought. "Another reason I should find a place of my own."

Gabriel handed Ezra the glass of wine, and the two of them headed over to the living area. They sat down on the sofa, the middle cushion between them, though they were both partly turned toward one another.

"You know," Gabriel started. "I do have a spare room."

"I couldn't," Ezra immediately replied. "I would be going from someone else's home to another, and many of the same obstacles for privacy would come up."

"They wouldn't," Gabriel assured.

"And when you meet someone, and perhaps wish to take that someone to your home? How will you explain having a roommate in your thirties when it's not necessary."

Gabriel grinned. "I wouldn't have to." He shrugged.

"You would, dear fellow."

"Ezra, you know I'm not seeing anyone serious enough for that."

"But one day, you may."

Gabriel looked about to say something, then thought better of it. He nodded instead, and said. "I may." He took a sip of his wine, barely able to hide the grimace he had. "I do know that there are a few places near mine."

Ezra snorted. "Sorry, Gabriel, but I can't fathom spending that sort of money for a place to live. No, a flat will be just fine for now. Preferably somewhere near the school.

"You know we have a teacher there now that's nearly our age."

"Oh?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, a Newton Pulsifer. He took over when Binns retired a couple weeks back. A nervous and shy fellow, but quite nice."

"Is he?" Gabriel asked with a tensed jaw.

"Indeed." Ezra smirked. "He comes from Surrey everyday, if you can believe it. I suppose he was having a hard time finding work, I do recall what that's like. And he's a math's teacher, like my former beau, David."

"Mmmm," Gabriel hummed, and Ezra's nostrils flared as he noted Gabriel staring at his glass with barely concealed disappointment.

He really does fancy you, doesn't he? Ezra thought to himself as he watched Gabriel take another sip of a drink he barely tolerated.

For a fleeting moment, he considered perhaps asking Gabriel if he would like to attempt a proper date, one where they were both fully aware of what was happening. Maybe that was what would be needed to see him as someone more than a friend, to erase the shadow of the single night between them from memory. Maybe it would be beautiful?

But then the wine in his gut churned, and he found his eyes seeking out the spine of one, particular book on a shelf across the room.

No. He wouldn't tempt fate with yet another friend, not after the last time ended so poorly. He was lucky that things with Gabriel hadn't turned on its head after having done so much more than snog against a kitchen counter. Perhaps it had been age or experience that prevented another apocalyptic end to yet another decade-plus friendship.

Ezra took a drink of his wine, cleared his throat.

"It's a shame most of the staff think the young man is gay. They keep hinting far too frequently that I'm single, though they fail to realize I intend to remain single for quite sometime. Not like it would make a difference either way."

Gabriel looked at him then, eyes darting over him as though he was sizing him up. "You're still not dating?"

"No," Ezra shook his head. "No, I'm just… waiting, I suppose. Waiting to meet someone. I'd like to think that maybe I still have moments left like Eliza had with this Gavin bloke. Of a charming encounter at an unexpected time."

"Do you approve of him?" Gabriel asked.

Ezra gave him a side eye, seeing he was serious. "Gabriel, in all the years you've known us, when have you ever known Eliza to care if I approved of someone?"

"Good pointed," Gabriel conceded.

"He makes her smile," Ezra said after a moment. "He makes her laugh, and she's as smitten as I'd ever seen her. Her biggest fear was agreeing to this date, and having it turn out terrible and ruining this fragile thing they found. So to answer yours question: yes, I suppose I approve of him very, very much."

~C~

"I don't want to!" Warlock screamed so shrill, Crowley was sure it had hit a level only dogs could hear.

He felt a moment of embarrassment, because what would the neighbors think if they'd heard? Despite the flat being essentially sound proof, he still had moments where he felt he and Warlock should be virtually silent lest people around them hear them.

Then came the guilt, because he frequently ran on guilt these days.

Finally came frustration, and he leaned on that harder than he should.

"I said get your damn shoes on!" He snapped, ignoring the teary eyes and the pouty lip from his son. "I have to go to work, you need to go to nursery. End of discussion, young man."

"But I hate nursery!" Warlock stomped.

"Do not stomp your foot at me," Crowley warned. "I hear you when you say you hate nursery, but we don't have any other choice. Where else are you gonna go, Lock?"

"I can go with you!" He protested, his little hands balling at his sides.

Crowley huffed, pulling on the short strands of his hair, guilt gnawing at him and threatening to have him cave in to the whims of his child. He had to turn away.

Nursery had started in September, and at first Warlock had liked it. He liked having other kids his own age to do things with, and he liked the independence from Crowley it gave him. But within the last month, things seemed to have changed, and all the meetings he'd had with the teachers and supervisors would not yield an answer.

It wasn't that the kids were bullying Warlock, or refusing to work or play with him. It's just that he wasn't the first mate they'd go to. Or the second, or even the third. More often than not, Warlock would end up playing by himself, and while he didn't complain he was clearly bothered by it. There was only so much the teachers could do, and only so much Crowley could do to bolster his spirits.

"Lock," He sighed. "It's not like going to the shop here. Tadfield is a bit away, and it's bigger. And when I'm there I'm there for physical work, not doing paperwork. I won't be able to watch you or hang out with you."

"I can take duck, and a couple of toys. And a book!"

"You can't read," Crowley smirked.

"I can look at the pictures and remember the story." Warlock said with a shrug.

Crowley grit his teeth, wanting to find fault with this.

"You're gonna be bored." He tried again.

"No I won't." Warlock retorted.

Crowley sighed, looking around the flat, eyes falling on the tall, skinny Christmas tree in the corner.

It was getting awfully close to the holidays, and while every other parent he knew pulled the whole "Santa won't come unless you're good" nonsense, Crowley couldn't. Warlock wasn't a bad kid for the most part, and he always felt that if you're going to have a magical man leave toys for kids, arbitrary measurements of good and bad shouldn't be a factor of his visits.

He did, though, believe that it should be a time for family. He couldn't dwell on the experience he had growing up, it tended to make him more melancholy than a man in his position ought to be for the season. It certainly wasn't given to him by the people who raised him, and Tony hadn't been around enough to have that sort of influence.

Without his meaning to, he remembered a three person home that was welcome to everyone, but especially those they held dearest. For a split second, he imagined he caught a whiff of mulled wine and homemade cider, of bread, and cookies, and pine, and his heart ached for it.

Holidays were meant to be spent with those you love, and who did he love more than his son? A boy who genuinely didn't ask for much, and who probably desperately wanted a break from feeling so utterly alone.

Crowley could relate to that.

"You can come." He relented. "But you have to stay in the back, in the office, not the staff room."

The utter joy that lit up Warlock's face was worth the cave in, and he ran off to his room to throw things in his bag, calling the whole time that he promised to be good.

Crowley just smiled, feeling only slightly better, but he'd take it.

~A~

"Adam," Ezra snapped, and the boy stopped dead in his tracks, the "uh-oh" clear in his eyes as he turned to his uncle.

It was the first day of Christmas break, only three days left before the holiday, and Ezra had taken Adam out for a bit of shopping for Eliza. She still had work for a couple days, and while he could have had Adam and he shop while in London on the weekends with either Oscar and Richard, or on the odd occasion with Gabriel, he could never seem to fit it in.

And he wanted Eliza to have a surprise from her son, something she wouldn't have expected.

But the cost was beginning to wear on him.

It was the first Christmas in which Adam really seemed to get it . All the magic and expectation. He was becoming an increasingly frustrating ball of energy.

"Sorry, uncle Ezra." Adam apologized, though Ezra doubted very much he knew what he was apologizing for.

He knelt down in front of Adam when he caught up to him, thankfully not a great distance, and took his hand.

"I appreciate that," Ezra said in a measured tone. "But it is very busy, and a bit icy. You can't run off, you have to stay close. I would prefer if you hold my hand, but I can't make you. It's for your safety that you can't take off away from me. You wouldn't do that with mum, would you?"

Adam considered this and shook his head ever so slightly.

"No, you wouldn't. And am I any different than mum?"

Adam shook his head, much more certain in this.

"No, I'm not. So you have to listen to me and stay close. Or else, we won't be having an outing like this again for a while." Adam nodded. "Now, maybe before we continue on our mission to find the perfect gift for mum, we should stop for a spot of cocoa and maybe a cookie."

It was a bit backwards, of course, giving the child sugar when he was already all over the place. But Ezra figured if he could get Adam in a chair he could talk with him. It was the other reason Ezra had him out and about.

Adam was about to experience a major change in his life, and he knew Eliza hadn't told him yet. Ezra had wanted to find a pleasant way to ease him into it, and doing something special just them would hopefully help.

They approached a nearby cafe just as someone was backing up against the glass door.

"Here, allow me," Ezra said when the door was open a crack so as not to throw the lady off balance.

"Oh, thank y- Ezra!" Anathema said cheerfully as she stepped out, a paper tray in her hands, the middle cup very clearly that for a child.

"Hello, my dear," He said, then nodded to the tray, "trying to find the wonder in the holidays?"

Anathema glanced down in confusion and then laughed, "My boss brought his son with him to work today."

"Ah, yes." He nodded, glancing down to Adam. "The holidays have started for him as well?"

"I think so. He's been bringing him the last couple days." Anthema replied, then her eyes lit up. "Maybe you can come by, ask him about it." She said with a strong hint.

"My dear, you know what I'm going to say." Ezra responded politely.

"Yeah, you're right." She shrugged. "Besides, he I think said recently he thinks he might've met someone, so there's that. Probably best to let that one lie."

"Yes, I would say." Ezra agreed, another person exiting through the open door, another entering, and he suddenly realized he was still holding it. "I won't keep you." He said.

"Right," Anathema said as if suddenly realizing she should be going. "I'll see you around." She said before turning around, her skirts flaring around her a moment, and then continuing on down the road toward the Garden.

"Why doesn't mum bring me to work?" Adam asked as Ezra ushered him inside.

"Because mum works for people, and she can't well have you there. Miss Anathema's boss runs his shop, so he can bring his boy when he likes. Plus, it's very likely an older boy. Now, what shall we get?"

They ordered, and Ezra found them a table by the window where they could watch the snow slowly fall, and the people passing by doing their holiday shopping.

"Adam," He began. "Has mum talked to you about changes that might happen."

"Mmmhmm," Adam nodded, kicking his little legs about since they didn't touch the floor where he sat in the chair. He did, however, not swing them so far or so hard as to dirty Ezra's pant legs. "Mum told me she got a boyfriend. And that that means she might be out with him sometimes and I'll be with you. But not to worry because she will always love me more."

Ezra smirked. "I'm glad she brought him up, but that's not the changes I mean." He said gently.

Adam frowned.

Ezra cleared his throat. "You're becoming quite the big boy, aren't you?" He started, and Adam nodded proudly. "And I think a big boy like you should have his space. And, well, you've gotten so big that mum doesn't need quite as much help with you as she used to, does she?"

Adam's frown deepened. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, I mean, you're not a baby. Baby's are a lot more work to keep safe and happy than a strapping young lad like you. A baby, for instance, doesn't pick up their own toys after play time, or eat without their mum helping them."

"Suppose," Adam nodded.

"Well, I lived with you and mum because mum needed help. But most people don't have their uncles live with them."

"No," Adam said somewhat somberly. "Most got mums and dads."

"Yes," Ezra agreed. "So I helped where I could. But now, I'm not needed around as much. And while I love you, and I love your mum, I think it's time that I live apart from you like an uncle normally does."

Adam looked utterly crestfallen. "So I'm not going to get to see you anymore?" He asked in a small voice that shattered Ezra's heart.

"Oh, Adam, my darling boy, that's not what I'm saying at all." Ezra replied, opening his arms for Adam to walk into them.

He hopped off his chair and stood between Ezra's legs, letting his uncle hold him while he listened.

"You and I will still have our Saturday adventures, and I will still be the one to watch you while mum is out with Gavin, or miss Anathema, or whoever. The only difference is that I won't be there every night to tuck you in, and I won't be the one to make you breakfast in the morning."

"I don't want you to go." Adam said softly. "I want you around."

"And I love that you do," Ezra smiled, squeezing a little tighter. "But you'll see, you won't miss me as much as you think you will. Because while I won't live there with you, you'll only see me just a little less."

Adam was quiet a moment before he mumbled, "okay."

"Okay," Ezra said, kissing him on the head and letting him go back to his cocoa.

"You promise we'll still do fun things together?" Adam asked, looking at his cup.

"I promise." Ezra swore, already making a mental note of everything he could do with his nephew. "And it will make them that much more fun when we don't see each other often."

Adam pursed his lips and twisted his mouth a moment before giving a single, solitary nod.

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that his word held true.

"Now. What shall we get mum, eh?"