x Ducks x
Meredith smiled while she munched on a doughnut. She had been staying on earth for a week now and while she continued with her mission, she had also been taking time to learn the names of all of the delicious foods she had been trying. So far her favourites had been the doughnuts and a green thing whose name eluded her at the current moment. She pulled herself up from her seat and looked around St. James' park. She had been listening in at Crowley's flat and had overheard the demon making plans to meet with the Angel for a picnic today, so she had decided to head there first, scope the place out, set up a base and so on.
Her senses picked up something, a holy something. She turned and saw the Angel from the other day walking up to the pond with some bread. She felt the urge to mess with him, but instead chose to observe him. He was tall, taller than any Angel she had ever seen before- not that she had much experience with Angels, Aziraphale may have been short by Angel standards for all she knew. His skin seemed to reflect as much as it absorbed the sun, which was probably something to do with his holy presence.
"Avert your eyes from me foul beast." The Angel snapped. He turned to her with a scowl, his dark eyes piercing.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh shut it." she crossed her arms, her panther spots shimmering in the sun. "I've no interest in you or whatever it is that you're doing." she eyed the loaf of bread in his hands and the ducks who were watching him expectantly. "Giving the ducks a spot of love?"
"That is none of your business." he snapped, his cheeks tinted red, but she was unable to tell if he was embarrassed as in that moment she heard the sound of laughter. She turned and saw Crowley in the distance, he was laughing loudly about something.
"Shit." she hissed and looked for somewhere to hide, with a little bit of magic she found herself sitting in a tree, the branches obscuring others from seeing her, but she could see quite well.
"Get out of my tree." a voice from beside her hissed.
She glared at the figure in white beside her. Really, who wore white jeans, white shoes and a white button up top? He looked like one of those pillars of salt from Sodom. "This is my tree salty."
He blanched at the nick name. "S-Salt, what is that supposed to-" he cut himself off as their targets drew closer. He sent her a scathing glare, which she returned before pulling his notepad and pencil from his shirts pocket and readied himself.
Meredith rolled her eyes but she also took point. She watched as Crowley and his Angel stood by the pond, they were looking around as if trying to come to a decision. "You smell." she whispered to the Angel, she grinned when his hand clenched around his pencil, she could feel his teeth grinding at her presence.
Her eyes widened and she went still as Crowley gestured to the tree, her tree, the tree that she was currently hiding in. She tensed, they surely wouldn't know that she was there, unless they could sense the Angel beside her. She glanced at him and found him in a similar position to her. At least she wasn't the only one terrified of being caught.
She felt herself hold a breath. She watched as the two walked to the tree, they knew, they knew, they knew she was there and she was in trouble- her eyes widened as Crowley took a blanket that had been tucked under one of the Angels arms and spread it out on the grass under the tree. She started breathing again, they were sitting on the blanket, she hadn't been caught. She noticed that the Angel beside her had relaxed.
She watched as Aziraphale set a wicker basket on the blanket between the two of them and clicked the lid open. He took out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine and went about pouring the wine. She watched the red liquid mournfully, she wished that she had some wine.
The Angel jotted something in his notepad and she rolled her eyes at his fastidious behaviour. She watched the pair clink their glasses together; why would they do that? Perhaps that was some strange human custom? Or perhaps they were performing a ritual to increase their powers? She made a mental note to look into it.
The two drank their wine before Aziraphale reached back into the basket and proceeded to take out some bowls of food. She recognised some, mainly the grapes, pears and some chocolate cake, there was some more of those triangle things and a yellow circle with a knife sticking out of it. She doubted that this had anything to do with their powers and was instead the two of them meeting to eat their food. She held back a sigh, this was going to be boring. She glanced at the Angel beside her who was taking notes, she rolled her eyes. She leaned over to take a look and he, catching her movement, clutched the pad to his chest and sent her a suspicious look. She sat back on her branch and glared down at the two having their picnic; Satan it was boring.
"S-So, I received a letter from Adam Young." she heard Aziraphale say, her eyes widened at the sound of the anti-Christ's name and she put her focus back into paying attention to their conversation.
"Oh yeah?" Crowley replied. "How is the kid?" Crowley used the knife to cut a piece of the yellow circle before holding it up to the Angel's lips. Aziraphale opened his mouth to receive the morsel and seemed to moan in delight.
Meredith groaned. Did she really need to be watching this?
"D-Did you hear something Dear?"
Shit. She bit her lip and was careful to not make any other sounds. She could feel the Angel beside her scowling at her. She understood why, she had probably just exposed the both of them- at least she wouldn't need to report her failure to Hastur, Crowley would probably use holy water on her and end it all.
"Eh?" Crowley tilted his head as though listening. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, probably one of them ducks, getting hungry." he gestured in the vague direction of the pond.
"They probably are." came the Angel's reply. "Adam is well," he replied to the earlier question. "He and the dog are happy and he is still close with his friends. He… he asked about you and if, if we would like to visit him sometime."
"Oh yeah, we could do that." Crowley leaned over, his face was so close to the Angel's that Meredith could not tell if they were kissing or whispering things to each other. She had good hearing, so the fact that she could not hear them, worried her a little bit.
Aziraphale turned to Crowley and Meredith wished that she was in a better vantage point so that she could see what was happening, as it were, she did not want to move lest she draw attention to herself. "How is the cheese?" she watched Crowley pull away from the Angel and cut at the yellow circle. She watched him feed the Angel the piece.
Aziraphale smiled and ate the piece. "It is good," he looked to Crowley with a smile. "It is nice that we are able to do this- we should picnic more often Dear."
She watched as Crowley nodded and made a sound of agreement before he crawled closer to the Angel and situated his head in his lap while he stretched himself out on the rug. Meredith's eyes widened, well, she supposed, it seemed as though Hastur and the other demons were correct about the pairs relationship. She watched the Angel reach for some grapes with one hand while he threaded his other hands fingers through Crowley's hair. Aziraphale seemed to say something, but she was unable to hear, but it seemed to cause some excitement from Crowley.
"Would you shut up about that!" while the words seemed nasty, Meredith could hear the fondness in his voice. It caused her to frown, Angel's and Demon's should not be interacting together the way these two were- it was just wrong. The pair stayed like that for some time, Crowley napping while Aziraphale nibbled on some fruit before moving on to reading a book. They looked so sickeningly sweet and at peace with each other, Meredith wanted to be ill. However, she also felt curiosity prickle at the back of her mind. She wanted to know how the pair had adopted such comfort with each other, such an obvious care, for each other, what series of events could culminate to such a union between the pair.
The Angel beside her scribbled furiously beside her. She watched him for a little while, whatever he was writing, it must have been detailed and important. She didn't think that he had stopped writing since the two had sat in the tree- she knew it was an Angel trait, but one would think that you'd rather view and mentally record everything than take notes. She leaned over and took a sneaky glance at his notepad and blanched- he was drawing the park! She wanted to laugh, it was just too funny!
As if feeling her eyes on him, he looked up and scowled at her. He hastily flipped his book shut and inched away from her. His dark eyes threatening her, her green ones glittered back at him cheekily. He placed his notepad back in his pocket and turned his attention back to the two on the rug. With a smile smile she copied his actions. It was almost an hour later when Aziraphale and Crowley packed away their picnic.
"We have some leftover bread, shall we share with our friends My Dear?"
"Why not? They've been watching us for the last two hours."
Meredith froze, something in her clenched as a thought took her. That thought being that they were talking about herself and the Angel beside her, but they couldn't know that they were there, could they? As it turned out, she did not need to worry, the 'friends' that they had been talking about, happened to be the ducks and swans who were swimming in the pond. While she watched them, a thought struck her, it was ridiculous but Hastur would have her head if she did not even test the theory.
So once the pair had left the park, she found herself jumping from the tree with haste, considering what she had been sitting beside for the last two hours, and walking to the vendor. She purchased a muffin, with some 'real' money, and headed to the pond. She eyed the ducks who eyed her back. She felt stupid, this was completely ridiculous, they were ducks, they weren't special except for the fact that they apparently tasted amazing.
"Oh Ducks," she felt stupid while saying. "Please grant me power." she broke up the muffin and threw it to the birds who flocked for it ravenously. She waited for some time but did not feel any different, she wanted to sigh, of course it didn't work, she knew that it wouldn't work but had still done it.
"They're just ducks you know." she looked over to see the dark haired Angel standing beside her.
"Oh shut it."
X
"Would you look at that," Crowley gestured towards the St. James' pond. "There's our stalkers." he glanced at Aziraphale through the corner of his eyes.
Aziraphale returned the look with a crooked smile. "They appear to be fraternising with each other."
Crowley let out an unnecessarily loud laugh, which turned into a light chuckle while he watched the two scramble to hide. While they walked to the pond he wondered if they had noticed that they had both picked the same tree to hide. He glanced at the Angel at his side and found him eyeing the tree thoughtfully. He grinned.
"Shall we… have our picnic under that tree," he pointed to the tree in question. "It's such a big tree, very shady and… treeish."
Aziraphale raised a brow and tore his eyes from the tree to look at Crowley. "What are you playing at, Crowley?" he murmured.
Crowley grinned. "I just think that it would be a nice place for us to have our picnic." and with that he headed towards the tree. Aziraphale shook his head with a fond smile and followed after him. When they reached the tree, Crowley took the blanket from Aziraphale and laid it out on the grass. The two settled down and Aziraphale got them each a glass of wine. When his glass was passed to him he smiled as a thanks.
"Cheers Angel."
"Cheers Dear." their glasses clinked together and they each took a drink.
Crowley drank his drink while he watched Aziraphale finish his and proceed to take their lunch from the basket. Crowley liked watching how careful the Angel was with his handling of the food. It was similar to watching Aziraphale tend to his books, fingers cradling the treasures while he placed them gently on the mat. He watched as Aziraphale eyed the food once it was laid out, the Angel looked as though he was going to drool, it was a word that was definitely not the word adorable.
"Some grapes," Aziraphale gestured to the bowl.
Crowley lips lifted to a side smile. "Sure." he opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. He inwardly grinned when the Angel's eyes widened and his cheeks reddened. The Angel however, did not protest, and instead lifted a grape and placed it gently onto the offered tongue. Crowley curled his tongue to take the offered fruit, but no without sliding his tongue against the fingers holding the grape.
Aziraphale's breath hitched and he held his hand while Crowley tongued the appendages. He only took his hand back when Crowley pulled back to eat the fruit. He coughed lightly and placed his hands in his lap. "S-So, I received a letter from Adam Young."
"Oh yeah?" Crowley replied. "How is the kid?" he picked up and knife and proceeded to slice a piece of cheese off the small wheel. He took the piece in his fingers and held it to the Angel's lips. His eyes darkened as Aziraphale's mouth opened to take the piece of cheese. He watched intensely while the cheese was consumed and he had to resist the urge to jump him on the spot when the Angel moaned. He resisted the urge to laugh when he heard the groan from the tree- well if they were going to stalk them, they deserved this.
"D-Did you hear something Dear?" Aziraphale sent him a pointed look.
"Eh?" Crowley tilted his head and pretended that he didn't know what was happening in the tree above them. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, probably one of them ducks, getting hungry." he gestured in the vague direction of the pond. Behind his glasses, he winked at the Angel.
"They probably are." Aziraphale replied thinly. He clearly was not enjoying the prank. "Adam is well," he replied to the earlier question. "He and the dog are happy and he is still close with his friends. He… he asked about you and if, if we would like to visit him sometime."
"Oh yeah, we could do that." Crowley leaned over and placed his lips close to Aziraphale's ear. "We'll go sometime next week if you like." he made his voice quiet, so quiet that the creatures in the tree could not hear him, but his Angel could.
Aziraphale turned and their noses brushed. "What are we going to do about our problem." he glanced upwards briefly.
"We'll have some fun with it, see where it goes, we'll be careful Angel." he brushed his lips against the Angel's briefly. He grinned as he felt a tremor run through Aziraphale.
Aziraphale let out a sigh, of pleasure or frustration, Crowley did not know. Possibly both.
"How is the cheese?" Crowley asked cheerfully as he pulled back and went about cutting another piece off the wheel. He held the piece against Aziraphale's lips.
Aziraphale smiled and accepted the piece. "It is good," he looked to Crowley with a smile. "It is nice that we are able to do this- we should picnic more often Dear."
Crowley nodded with a hum of agreement before letting out a small yawn. He pulled himself onto his knees and crawled over to Aziraphale and placed his head in the other's lap. He made himself comfortable and stretched out on the rug. He liked this position, he wondered if Aziraphale would let him sleep here for a long time, like say, a century. He almost purred when Aziraphale's fingers threaded themselves through his hair. He could ear the Angel eating and wondered how long it would take him to pull out a book to read.
"You look so a peace right now, My Dear." he heard Aziraphale say softly, a thumb brushed against his temple. "When you look like this, it shows just how nice you are."
"Would you shut up about that!" Crowley grumbled exasperated. He really wished that he would stop calling him nice. It just wasn't something that he wanted to hear. He snuggled further into the offered lap and appeared to be napping while Aziraphale read his book. To an onlooker that is all it looked like, and while it was, there was more happening. The two, under their guise, were observing their 'stalkers' who were sat in the tree.
"They are diligent." Aziraphale murmured quietly thirty minutes later.
"The demon's bored, enjoy your book." Crowley replied just as quiet.
"I do wish that they would leave us alone."
"So do I, Angel, So do I."
"...Perhaps we should move to Alpha Centauri."
"...so now you agree with me."
It was almost an hour later when Crowley felt Aziraphale gently rubbing his cheek to wake him. He blinked rapidly, he couldn't even remember dozing off. He pulled himself up to a seated position and stretched. At the sound of movement he turned to see Aziraphale begin to pack away the picnic. He wordlessly moved to help the Angel. When they were done he held the blanket under his arm while he watched Aziraphale count the food.
"We have some leftover bread, shall we share with our friends My Dear?"
"Why not? They've been watching us for the last two hours."
With that said they walked to the pond and went about feeding the ducks some of the bread leftover from the sandwiches. Crowley grinned, there was something about the way the birds went crazy for the food that always made him chuckle, they were just so crazy, so chaotic in their fight for the food.
"They're taking notes on us." Aziraphale said quietly.
"Let's go back to the shop, we've sufficiently bored them, we have the afternoon to ourselves."
"Crowley!"
With a chuckle Crowley linked their arms and lead him back to the Bentley.