TITLE: break my cage and spread my wings
SUMMARY: Everyone called the Titanic the 'Ship of Dreams', but for Aziraphale, it was the ship of nightmares, carrying her away from her home in England, and her dreams of freedom, and towards the bleak future of her arranged marriage in America. The only spark of light in the darkness is her new and tentative friendship with the boldly intimate Crowley.
AO3 TAGS: Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion, Ineffable Wives (Good Omens), POV Aziraphale (Good Omens), Human Aziraphale (Good Omens), Female Aziraphale (Good Omens), Rose Dewitt Bukater Aziraphale (Good Omens), Human Crowley (Good Omens), Female Crowley (Good Omens), Male-Presenting Crowley (Good Omens), Female-Presenting Crowley (Good Omens), Jack Dawson Crowley (Good Omens), Caledon Hockley Gabriel (Good Omens), Ruth Dewitt Bukater Michael (Good Omens), Arranged Marriage, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Flirting, Teasing, Smooth Crowley (Good Omens), Protective Crowley (Good Omens), Hand Holding, Dancing, Touching, Neck Kissing, Light Angst, Temporary Break Up, First Kiss, Kissing, Gentle Kissing, Naked Female Clothed Female, Naked Aziraphale (Good Omens), Insecure Aziraphale (Good Omens), Virgin Aziraphale (Good Omens), First Time, Top Crowley (Good Omens), Bottom Aziraphale (Good Omens), Cunnilingus, Vaginal Fingering, Tribadism, more tags to come (probably), tags only look scary because of all the '(Good Omens)' additives (set by AO3 not me)
Chapter Eleven: Boldly Requesting
Chapter Summary: "Will you- Will you draw me wearing only this?"
Chapter AN: Where Aziraphale Requests Like She's Never Requested Before
1912 April 14, Sunday - Day 5 (Part Five)
Legs still weak from the kiss at the bow, Aziraphale practically stumbled into her suites and nearly took Crowley down with her.
"Careful, angel," Crowley laughed, closing the door and tugging at the connection of their linked arms, pulling Aziraphale upright and against the closed door. She reached up to touch Aziraphale's face and her eyes flicked down to Aziraphale's mouth, and Aziraphale held her breath, waiting for another kiss. "Careful," Crowley said again, and then kissed her nose with a grin before turning away.
By the time Aziraphale peeled herself off the door, Crowley was across the room, studying the small bookcase Aziraphale had been allowed. "Should we be expecting anyone any time soon?" she asked, crouching down in such an unladylike manner that Aziraphale had to stifle a giggle as she moved towards the safe.
"Gabriel won't come back until the cigars and brandy run out and mother always returns after he does," Aziraphale said, twisting the dial to unlock the monstrosity.
She wondered if Gabriel even realized she knew the combination to his ugly little safe or if he just didn't care. Why would he worry that she might steal his money when she had nothing to spend it on? She had never been a danger, never even felt dangerous, but she felt a strange thrill, a sense of wrongdoing, as she pulled La Pomme d'Eden's box out of the safe. When she opened it, she was struck again by the sight of it, the knowledge of what it must have cost and how much she hated it.
Arms wrapped around her waist from behind and Aziraphale jumped, guiltily snapping the necklace box's lid closed. A chin settled on her shoulder and lips pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"Whatcha got there?" Crowley asked, but she seemed more interested in nuzzling the side of Aziraphale's face and making her giggle at the ticklishness of it than what Aziraphale was actually holding. Trying to duck Crowley's mouth while trapped in her arms, Aziraphale opened the box again. After a moment, Crowley paused.
"That-" Crowley started and then stopped, pulling away from Aziraphale's face and arching her head further over Aziraphale's shoulder. "That is fucking hideous."
"Crowley!" Aziraphale exclaimed, startled by the vulgar expletive.
"Am I wrong?" she asked, reaching out with one of the arms around Aziraphale's waist to lift one side of the necklace's chain with a finger. "Hideous and heavy. Is it your mother's?"
Aziraphale blinked down at the gem. Her mother's? "No. Why would you think it was?"
Crowley snorted. "It doesn't suit you at all." For some reason, the confident way Crowley said it was warming - perhaps it was because, even after only two days, she seemed to know Aziraphale better than either her mother or Gabriel did. "That fiancé of yours bought it for you then, didn't he."
"Mhm," Aziraphale nodded. Crowley tugged at the necklace and Aziraphale pulled it off the velvet and deposited it into Crowley's waiting hand. She stepped forward to set the box down and Crowley let her go, though her touch lingered. When Aziraphale turned back around, Crowley was standing near a sconce, frowning at the jewel.
"It's got an unusual shade for a ruby," Crowley mused, though her vague curiosity was tempered with disgust. It made Aziraphale smile.
"It's a diamond."
Crowley's eyebrows shot up and she gave a low whistle. Aziraphale hadn't been sure that Crowley would know what that meant, how rare a red diamond was, and she was oddly comforted that Crowley did understand the cost that would have gone into making the necklace.
"This isn't a gift then, angel," Crowley said, holding the necklace back out to her, expression cold, but Aziraphale was comforted by the self-assured knowledge that Crowley's ire wasn't directed at her. "That's a collar."
Aziraphale swallowed thickly as she took the necklace back and found herself staring down at the way the gem glittered in the light. Crowley's words weren't a surprise to her, not when she'd thought the same thing herself. She'd known it the moment Gabriel had opened the box. An expensive collar for an expensive bride. It made her chest feel like her heart had been replaced with a gaping chasm.
But she wasn't a bride yet, and Crowley was here with her, filling up the hole in her chest with her larger-than-life presence and her genuine affection. And while she was with Crowley, she knew that there was nothing that was forbidden to her. That Crowley would not only never think to restrict her, but would actively encourage shenanigans and trying that which she'd never been allowed to in the past.
"Will you draw me wearing this?" she asked hesitantly. She glanced up and found Crowley looking surprised, but her expression quickly shifted to pleased.
"'Course, angel."
Aziraphale swallowed, and felt her heart stumble at the words lingering on her tongue. "Will you- Will you draw me wearing only this?"
Crowley stared at her for a long moment before the corners of her lips curled. She took a slow step towards Aziraphale, and didn't break eye contact when she took the necklace back from Aziraphale's hand. Aziraphale could hear the shifting of the chain but she couldn't bring herself to lower her eyes either, and a moment later, Crowley raised the two ends of the chain for Aziraphale's approval. She nodded and Crowley settled the gem against Aziraphale's sternum, her knuckles brushing Aziraphale's skin as she clasped the chain closed behind Aziraphale's neck.
Neither the chain nor the pendant were any heavier than when Gabriel had placed the necklace on her two days prior, and yet the weight seemed to sit differently on her, on her heart, pinning her in place. There was no real technical difference between Gabriel putting the jewel on her and Crowley doing it, but the contrast was almost glaring. Unlike Gabriel's proprietary ownership, Crowley seemed… reverent. Like she wasn't marking Aziraphale with her ownership, but rather that Crowley was being graced with being allowed to adorn Aziraphale. Adore her.
When Crowley pulled back, the tips of her fingers traced the line of metal against Aziraphale's skin, making Aziraphale shiver. Crowley's smile turned sharp, almost a baring of her teeth than a proper smile, but Aziraphale felt no fear or trepidation because of it, only a strange and breathtaking thrill. It was a sensation that only became more acute when she realized the gold of Crowley's eyes had become eclipsed by the black of her pupils.
"It would be my absolute pleasure, Aziraphale," Crowley murmured, her voice so warm it made Aziraphale flush with heat.
A moment later, Crowley's gaze flickered down to the necklace, and Aziraphale found herself frozen in place as Crowley dipped down and bestowed a lingering kiss to the gemstone that Aziraphale felt where she ached most, as if Crowley had pressed her lips there.
The thought, and the accompanying need, shocked Aziraphale, and she nearly fell when she jerked backwards, only just catching herself on the dresser. Crowley looked up, eyes twinkling, and Aziraphale felt her skin heating in the face of Crowley's clear amusement.
"I- I have to change," she stuttered, and fled to her room.
"Take your time," Crowley called after her, laughter in her voice.
Aziraphale slammed the door in response.
TBC
I did actually research the cost of large red gems before deciding on a diamond cuz apparently red diamonds are rare, more-so than rubies, and all the more expensive for it.
Short chapter but the next one is longer. It's also That Scene.
Update next Sometime and don't forget to toss a reblog to your Writer (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, post / 190591686323)~