"Yohoo!"
Aziraphale blinked, sitting up straight and clearing his throat as he fixed his tartan bowtie. He found himself smiling and pulled his lips into a frown. He lightly shook his head, looking a little lost. The two were sitting in the backroom in two comfortable chairs, having a little tea and biscuits.
"I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes," Madame Tracy huffed, sipping from her cup of tea. The bookkeeper checked his pocket watch and rubbed his face, giving the scarlet haired an apologetic smile.
"I apologize, last night-" Aziraphale took a deep breath, rubbing his temples, "I don't think any of it was real..."
Madame Tracy patted his arm affectionately, "You can tell me. I won't tell a soul." She winks.
The white haired leaned back in his chair, putting a hand over his eyes, "Last night, I went for my evening stroll and these two men jumped me," The scarlet haired let out a gasp, taking his hand into hers.
"You poor thing! Are you hurt? Did they-"
"No! No...I'm fine," He sighs, giving her hand a squeeze, "They didn't even lay a finger on me."
Madame Tracy huffed, giving him a knowing eye, "Be careful! Who knows what's out there! I heard that wizard Gabriel is lurking about," She shivers, shaking her head, "You shouldn't get involved with that horrible man. He could put a spell on you, if you're not careful."
"I...can't explain what happened. It all went so fast..." He fiddled with his fingers, feeling his cheeks grow hot, "One moment, I was surrounded and the next...this...person took me away in his car, to put it loosely-"
"Like in he 'whisked you away'? How romatic!" The scarlet haired fluttered her eyelashes and wiggled her shoulders excitedly. The bookkeeper rolls his eyes, playfully batting her hands away.
"Oh stop it~"
"Hush. It's true. You're in love!"
"That is ridiculous!"
She giggles, cradling his cheek with her palm, "It's written all over your face. Who's the lucky fella?"
Aziraphale groans, "I don't think I can continue this sober..."
A clinking noise caught his attention as two glasses and a wine bottle appeared out from under Madame Tracy's beautiful colorful coat, "You're just in luck."
Xxxxxx
"...We were chased by these...awful people." Aziraphale slurred, nursing his cup of wine. They finished eating the biscuits and now were on some little slices of cheesecake.
"Oh dear."
"They were...riding these-electric velocipedes-"
"You mean motorcycles?"
"...motorcycles...and one of them held a flaming sword."
"A flaming sword?"
"Yes, it was glowing and everything. I thought we were going to die." Madame Tracy tutted, stroking his cheek comfortingly.
"How did you manage to get away?"
"...I can't recall. I just looked out the window and there we were, right outside the bookshop."
"I've been meaning to ask," She pulls a black velvet box with intricate gold embellishments from the bookkeeper's desk and placed it in front of the white haired, "I saw it earlier. Do you know what this is?"
"I've never seen this before." Aziraphale picked up the box and examined it from all angles. He carefully placed the box in front of him and lifted the lid. Inside was a book. Other people would think it was just an ordinary book. But in his eyes... He quickly put on his white gloves from his desk and took out his glasses from his pocket. Licking his lips, he slowly took the book out of the box and ran his fingertips over the cover of the book. It was the very first edition copy of "Cloud Atlas". It had the author's signature on the first page and what looked like a coffee stain on page 6. Aziraphale shook with exhilaration as he examined the book from top to bottom. He checked the box to see who left this rare item. No note or letter to be found.
"Is it from the handsome stranger?" Madame Tracy sighs dreamily, looking into the box as well. The bookkeeper shook his head.
"There's no name, not even a note."
"It has to be him! That's so romantic." She purred.
Aziraphale rolled his eyes, "Not everything has to be about him."
"So it was him who 'whisked you away'!" Madame Tracy squealed.
The white haired pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "You're never going to let this go, aren't you." The scarlet haired gave him a wink. The bookkeeper groaned.
Xxxxxx
Aziraphale locked the doors to his shop and turned off the lights, getting ready for bed. He was just about to head upstairs when the bell rang above the door.
"I'm sorry! We're closed!" Aziraphale called out, quickly turning around to see who walked in. A tall man with short styled dark hair wearing all grey, with a grey scarf and a grey jacket. He had a bored look on his face as he perused the books, picking up one casually. A shorter man followed suite, wearing a brown coat and waistcoat.
"This is such an old shop..." The taller one mumbled to his companion, waving away imaginary dust from his face while coughing a little.
"It smells...ancient." The shorter one sniffs the air, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Aziraphale clenched his jaw as he watched the two linger, restlessly tapping his foot.
"Would you be so kind-"
"Do you have any..." The taller man tossed the book back on the table casually, his bright purple eyes peering at the bookkeeper as if he was looking right through him.
"Pornography?" The shorter man smiled, his gold tooth shining in the moonlight.
"Pornography!" The taller man grinned ear to ear. "Up top, Sandalphon!" The two gentlemen high-fived each other as the white haired strode over to the front of the shop, veins popped out of his forehead.
"Look, I'm afraid the shop's closed. The exit's this way." Aziraphale opened the door wide, gesturing to the two gentlemen.
"I swore I locked this door..." He mumbled to himself, quietly.
The taller man chuckled, "This is not going to work, cupcake. Do you know who I am?" He loomed over the white haired, catching the bookkeeper off guard with his non-human-like speed as his purple eyes pierced through Aziraphale's soul, "I'm wizard fucking Gabriel and you're going to do everything I say."
"Y-your...wizard Gabriel-" Aziraphale's grip on the door handle faltered as he took a step back.
Gabriel grinned, his eyes glowed purple, "War, Pollution, Death. You know what to do." The door pulled away from the white haired's fingers. Three beings entered his shop and gripped his shoulders. They all were wearing leather bike gear. One in red, one white, and one black. Familiar bright red hair flashed in the corner of his eye, her smile as sharp as a knife. He could feel the blazingly white heat against his skin as the flaming sword caressed his neck. The other being had startlingly white hair and eyes and the other still wore his bike helmet, covering his face.
Gabriel grabbed his chin, bring him close to his face and almost touching nose to nose, "This is going to be fun."
With a snap of Gabriel's fingers, Aziraphale felt the prickling of lightning on his skin and a loud boom. His ears rang and his whole body felt all tingling. The hands on his shoulders released him as his knees gave away; a sharp pain burst behind his eyes.
"It has been a pleasure, sweet cheeks. The best thing about all of this is you can't tell anyone about it. Say hello to dear old Crawley for me." The tall man gave the bookkeeper a wink as he slammed the door behind him.
"All that glitters is gold." Sandalphon grinned, laughing as he exits the shop.
Gabriel saunters over to a black limousine waiting out in front. A dark skinned man in a crisp black and white suit bowed, opening the car door for the wizard.
"Famine, you the man." Gabriel shot finger guns and a wink at Famine, sliding into the car. The car slowly drove away from the quiet town of Tadfield; the sounds of the motorcycle engines following close behind.
Xxxxxx
Notes:
Hullo again! I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! I think Madame Tracy would be the best person to gossip with. Lol. And now Gabriel has come into play...dun dun dunnnnn! Now I know "Cloud Atlas" isn't an old book, but Aziraphale loves collecting first editions and rare books right? (And I also can't get enough of listening to the beautiful music from the movie..."The March" makes me cry every time). Well see you in chapter 3! Tada ;)
