In a quiet town in Tadfield, Oxfordshire a bookshop sat in between an ice cream store and a crepe stand. This lovely little bookshop had the words, "A.Z. Fell & Co." written on the front. The bell on the door rang as four young girls entered the shop. Behind the counter, a middle aged man with white fluffy hair by the name Aziraphale, smiled and greeted the young girls before they ran off to browse his establishment.
A loud sound of an engine caught the girls' attention as they ran to the window. A shiny dark grey Bentley drove past as if it was chasing a hellhound.
"Crowley!" One of the girls swooned. Smoke and a little bit of fire tailed the Bentley.
"He's gone!"
"No he's just hiding behind the fog."
"Did you hear about that boy, Brian? They say Crowley tore his heart out!"
"Now I'm too scared to go out!"
"Don't worry, he only preys on pretty boys." The girls laughed and giggled among themselves as they exited the shop.
Aziraphale rolled his eyes and he let out a sigh. These rumors about some mysterious, handsome man flew like hellfire all throughout the town. He was just about to continue reading his book about a blimp, a treasure map, and sky pirates when the bell rang again.
"Hello dear! I hope we aren't intruding." Familiar poofy scarlet hair came into view as Madame Tracy gave the bookkeeper a wink. Aziraphale gave her a huge smile as he eyed the package in her husband's hands, "We brought you a little gift, didn't we Shadwell?" She elbowed her husband in the side, tutting when he grumbled in response.
"For you." Shadwell dropped a box of wonderfully smelling pasteries onto the counter, which was full of stacks of books and papers. Aziraphale took a deep breath and sighed heavenly, immediately taking one that had a strawberry on top.
"Southern pansy..." Shadwell muttered under his breath. Madam Tracy scoffed and hit her husband's shoulder.
"Don't mind him," She shooed Shadwell over to the cook books section and took one of the pasteries herself, "So, have you heard?"
"About the new prime minister?"
"Oh, pish posh. No! The new man in town," Madame Tracy batted her eyelashes, "That handsome fellow that came into town recently. Everyone's been talking about it."
"He's been scaring away my customers..." Aziraphale muttered. She chuckled, patting his arm affectionately.
"Well we best be off now. You enjoy the rest of the pasteries. We'll see you tomorrow. Come along!" Madame Tracy gave the white haired a wink as she dragged Shadwell out of the shop. Aziraphale waved them goodbye as he popped another pastry in his mouth.
Xxxx
Aziraphale closed up shop and decided on going for an evening stroll. He waved at a few neighbors that walked past, grinning awkwardly at the old man with his dog as the dog licked at his fingers. He turned a corner and walked down a dirt path, breathing in the damp evening smells.
"Hello." Two shadows lurked in between the trees; their grins glowing despite there barely being any light out. Both men were dressed in leather jackets. One had light grey hair the other an onyx color.
"Look what the cat dragged in." The two beings circled Aziraphale.
"Now, look-" The bookshop keeper piped up, but they didn't seem to listen to him.
"Hastur, don't scare the poor thing."
"Ligur, it's only just a little mouse. We'll take good care of you."
"Ah, there you are. Been lookin' everywhere for you." A heavy hand landed on the white haired's shoulder.
"Wha- Who are you?" Hastur stumbled.
"Look it here-" Ligur started as he rolled up his sleeves.
"I'd appreciate it if you leave my friend alone." Aziraphale tried to look behind him when the stranger hissed in his ear.
"Just do as I sssay."
The stranger snapped his fingers. Hastur and Ligur stared at the stranger in horror then ran off, screaming. The stranger laughed, clutching his belly. Aziraphale cleared his throat and was about to thank this being who saved him when the stranger turned him around, "Come on, Angel."
"Wha- Who are you calling Angel?"
The stranger pulled the white haired man through the woods, his arm still tight around Aziraphale's shoulders, "Don't look now, but 'm being followed."
"Where are you taking me? Who are you?!" Aziraphale turned got a good look at his "kidnapper" (in the loosest of terms). Long auburn hair blew in the wind with one loose braid on the right side of his head. The man wore all black; a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and black sunglasses. He walked as if he didn't have any joints in his hips, all swagger and oozed 'cool'. He couldn't see past the sunglasses, but this stranger had an air of nonchalance.
The growl of motorbikes were getting closer in the distance. The stranger snapped his fingers once again and a dark grey Bentley appeared in front of them, "Get in, angel." The doors flew open and Aziraphale suddenly had the urge to get into the car. The stranger stepped on the gas as "The Best of Queen" blared over the radio.
"The name's Crowley by the way." The stranger adjusted his dark sunglasses on his face.
"A face to the rumors..." Aziraphale muttered under his breath as he watched the blur of the scenery go by.
"So you've heard about me?" Crowley grinned.
The white haired adjusted his tartan bowtie and brown waistcoat, "When you have a shop with romance novels in the front window," he sighed heavily, "you attract all sorts of people..."
"You own a bookshop?"
"...Yes I do."
The growling of the motorcycle engines got louder. The auburn haired swore repeatedly. Aziraphale looked in the rear view mirror and saw four motorcycles riding in and out of the trees. One in particular had bright red hair. She pulled out a flaming sword seemingly out of nowhere and was close enough to almost slash the tires.
"Go fassster!" Crowley growled, gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. "Africa" by Queen hummed in the background as Aziraphale held on. They raced down winding roads, walls of trees and shrubs.
The bookkeeper frantically looked around, "Where are we going?"
"Away from them!"
"You can't do 90 miles an hour in lower Tadfield! You'll get us killed!"
"There's no one on the road."
"Except the people trying to kill us!"
The auburn haired glared in his rearview mirror and flipped a hidden latch. He turned a dial and suddenly they were covered in fog. Aziraphale squinted as he tried to look out the window. The sounds of the motorcycles echoed as if they were in a tunnel and faded. The Bently slowed to a stop as the car gone eerily quiet. The white haired looked over to Crowley, furrowing his eyebrows at the knowing smile on his face.
"We're here."
"Pardon?"
"Take a look."
As Aziraphale opened the door, the fog cleared away to reveal a familiar little bookshop with a sign that says "A.Z. Fell & Co." The white haired looked back at Crowley, lost for words.
"This is your bookshop, correct?"
"...Yes, but how did you-?"
The auburn haired winked, "Just a lucky guess."
"But-"
"Night Angel." Crowley waved goodbye as he drove away. With a blink of an eye, he was gone.
Aziraphale stood, dumbfounded, "Right."
The bookkeeper made himself a cup of cocoa while he changed into light blue jammies. He sat in his bed, trying to wrap his brain around what had happened that evening. Was it all in his imagination? Was he drunk? He didn't know when he fell asleep, but he woke up to a soft hissing sound tickling his ear. He dreamt of a garden and apples and black and white feathers.
Xxxxxx
Notes:
It has been awhile since I've written any fanfiction (hence why my stories have been deleted..sad)...so bear with me. Was inspired by a video by DurchHaliya, "Rewrite the Stars | Howl's Moving Castle {Good Omens AU". Even though I got the impression that it wasn't technically something that wasn't going to be an actual video (sorry if that sounds terrible lol) I got inspired to write this. Howl's Moving Castle is my all-time favorite Ghibli movie (besides Spirited Away) and I thought merging my two favorite movies/shows together sounds fun! I probably might not be able to squeeze in a lot of the Good Omens characters, but I'll try to put in at least the main ones. I don't know how this story will turn out in the end, but I will try my best lol. I hope you enjoyed reading this so far and I'll get chapter 2 up as soon as I can. :) Thanks! 3 Tada!
