Over the next few days, with Aziraphale's permission, Crowley used his powers once or twice per day, mostly to bring out his wings and to style his hair. He did not use his powers by accident even once.

"I'm gonna head up to bed," Crowley said, getting up from where he had been sprawled out on the sofa in the bookshop. He didn't need to sleep - not anymore - but he found that he still craved a bit of shut eye.

Aziraphale looked up from the paperwork spread across his desk, his little spectacles slipping down his nose. "Alright. Good night, my dear."

"Good night, angel. Er. Is it alright if I perform some magic up there? Before I go to sleep? I just want to make some, um, body modifications. Hairstyles and stuff."

"A new makeover?" Aziraphale said, looking delighted. "Of course you can. Neither of us have performed any miracles today so feel free to play around a bit."

"Thanks."

Crowley rushed upstairs, his face flushed with embarrassment and anticipation. It was a relief that Aziraphale had not asked any follow up questions because he might have been forced to lie to him. Technically, he'd been telling the truth so far, he certainly planned to change his hair and much more besides.

Once in the privacy of his bedroom, with the door and the curtains securely closed, he started to take off his clothes.

He wasn't sure how Aziraphale would react if he knew what he was about to use his powers for - he'd probably be disappointed in him - but Aziraphale would never know, and besides, it was none of his business anyway.

Naked, he stood in front of his full-length mirror, gazing at his slender body.

He closed his eyes tightly, concentrated with all of his might, and then he felt his body change.

Crowley opened her eyes.

Staring back from the mirror was Crowley's female form, just the same as she remembered it. As a woman she was just as tall and slender as she was as a man, but now she was curvier, her facial features softer, and her Adams apple less prominent.

It was like seeing an old friend.

"Hi, stranger," Crowley whispered.

Crowley felt like a woman, just as surely as she'd felt like a man before. Oh, how she'd missed this body. A hundred years was a long time, even for someone thousands of years old.

She leant forward, gazing with curiosity at her golden serpent eyes. There was another form she has not taken in a very long time too.

Crowley fell to the floor, limbs shifting and then disappearing, her body elongating. She twisted and flailed until she had a good view of her reflection in the mirror.

A serpent stared back at her, black scales shining in the light.

The last time Crowley had taken this form had been 6000 years ago. Memories came flooding back in sharp focus.

Crowley was cowering in one of the darkest pits of Hell, scared and in pain. His feathers had just turned black and his eyes were now narrow slits.

All around him, his comrades - the other fallen angels - were still changing, just as confused and terrified as he felt himself.

There was a sound like thunder from above, and Crowley looked up. There were thousands of angels descending from the ceiling, and within moments they were colliding with the demons below them, attacking them while they were disorientated and weak.

Nearby, a demon was crawling towards some rocks to hide, their wings still turning from white to black. They froze, momentarily struck blind as their eyes changed from blue to blood-red. In this moment, the Archangel Michael collided into them, pinned them to the ground, and forced something into their mouth. The demon screamed, thrashing around for agonizing seconds before going limp.

Michael looked up, and immediately met Crowley's eye. She jumped up, spread her wings, and then flew at him.

Crowley ran.

A new and powerful instinct kicked in, and Crowley threw himself at the ground, turning into a serpent before he'd even hit the floor. He slid into a narrow gap between the rocks, and kept moving through tight passageways, now able to fit into small and cramped spaces. Crowley stayed hidden, scared and alone, for what felt like eternity but - as he was told later - was actually only about 24 hours.

Crowley was the last demon to be captured – the angels had finished rounding up all of the other demons almost two hours before – and it was Michael who finally caught him. She was proud of it, as though it made her a hero.

The angels that captured the most demons were allowed to choose one to keep as a servant. Michael wanted Ligur, but someone else had picked him first, so she settled for Crowley instead.

The memory of that day was a horrible one, and Crowley hated to be reminded of it. Being a serpent only brought back those feeling of helplessness and of being hunted like an animal, and so Crowley turned back into a woman, shaking slightly, biting her lower lip as she sat down heavily on the bed.

Crowley scratched her knee, and her arm brushed against the side of her breast. She was so used to being in her male form that the touch surprised her. She looked down, absentmindedly cupping her breasts, fondling them, rubbing her nipples, which were more sensitive in this body.

She lay down on her back, eyes drifting closed, her earlier panic fading away as she rediscovered her body. Her nipples hardened as she touched them, and a familiar ache grew between her legs.

She reached down, pushing fingers through red hair before sinking lower and finding the wet heat below. She shuddered with pleasure as she rubbed and palmed at herself.

Crowley glanced at the door, painfully aware of how vulnerable she was, naked and aroused with her legs spread open. Aziraphale wouldn't barge in uninvited, but all the same she pulled the duvet over herself, enjoying the shift of cool, soft material against her skin.

Rolling onto her stomach, she reached between her legs, slid one finger inside of herself and then adding a second. Her hips started to move, rocking to meet each push of her fingers, her whole body hot and sensitive, breasts rubbing deliciously against the sheets as she moved. She was breathing loudly, and had to bury her face in her pillow to try to keep quiet - she didn't need to breathe, but she found herself gasping against her pillow all the same.

Her whole body tensed. She let out a strangled cry and trembled as she came, hips moving desperately in erratic little pushes. She kept moving, unable to stop, squirming as her hips rolled and her hands rubbed, until she was shaking and gasping all over again.

Crowley went limp, exhausted but happy, eyes closing as she lay there basking in the afterglow. Before long she was drifting into a deep and contented sleep.

There was a knock at the door.

"Crowley? Are you awake? I've brought you some coffee. Shall I bring it in?"

Crowley opened sleepy eyes and smiled, more than ready for a hot drink. "Please, angel."

But Crowley's voice sounded softer than usual, and there was such a lot of hair scattered about her face. She shifted in bed, thighs rubbing together, and then her eyes went wide with realisation.

The door opened and Aziraphale bustled in. He was carrying two mugs, one for himself and one for Crowley. "Here you are, sleepy head. Coffee in bed. How decadent!"

Aziraphale's smile turned into a look of surprise.

Crowley was still getting used to having her powers back, so it took a few seconds to change her form. She pulled the duvet up over her face, only lowering it when she knew she looked male again.

"Sorry," Crowley said, blushing furiously. "I forgot I did that."

Aziraphale placed Crowley's mug on the bedside table. "That's alright," he said with a smile. "I can leave if you would prefer some privacy?"

Crowley shook his head, wanting to explain first. "No. You can stay. Er. I was just curious, is all. I'm definitely male. I swear. I won't do it again."

Aziraphale looked shocked. "I don't mind what gender you want to be. I shouldn't have assumed you were already your preferred gender. I'm sorry, I should have checked."

"No, it's alright. They let us choose in the Demon Rehoming House. I'm male. I chose to be male."

Aziraphale nodded. "Alright. But you can be female if you want to. Whenever you like. I honestly don't mind how you like to present."

Crowley hesitated. "But you- You said you wanted a male demon."

Aziraphale looked guilty. "Oh. Yes, I suppose I did, didn't I. But I didn't really know what I wanted. I was rather overwhelmed by everything, to be honest, and I guess I felt…" Aziraphale paused. He looked away in embarrassment. "I've tried making myself female before, and I've tried being male, but I've always felt more at home in a male body. Does that make sense? I know it's unusual - angels are supposed to be sexless, but I've always felt like a man. I suppose I thought I wanted someone who might feel the same."

Crowley nodded thoughtfully. He felt as though his own gender matched whichever body he wore, but he still had days where he felt more feminine or more masculine despite his physical appearance. He could understand how Aziraphale felt.

"I understand. You're like Michael – she told me she's more comfortable as a woman. She let me try both genders so that I could decide too."

"Oh, good," Aziraphale said, a big smile on his face. "I'm glad she let you choose. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who prefers a gender. I didn't know that about Michael."

"Michael never told you? I suppose it's probably not the sort of thing angels talk about, is it."

"No. Sex and sexuality are considered human things. I don't talk to Michael all that much anyway to be honest."

Something shocking occurred to Crowley. "I hope it wasn't a secret! I assumed other angels knew… I never thought Michael would share a secret with me."

"It's alright, I won't tell anyone. It's nice to know some other angels feel like I do. I must confess, I was a bit worried I was an oddity in that regard. Gabriel once told me that he only presents as male because he learnt that humans are more likely to listen to him when he's a man, which is sad really."

"Yeah."

"Do you like swapping between the sexes then? Sorry, that's quite a personal question."

"I usually present as male, but I like being both. I've always spent more time as a man, so that's my default, I guess."

Crowley paused. He watched Aziraphale's face, feeling nervous, and then he turned into a woman again.

"Do you think I'm ugly like this?" Crowley asked quietly.

Aziraphale gave him a fond smile. "Of course not. You're beautiful, male or female. Not that it matters what I or anyone else thinks. I want you to feel comfortable in your own skin."

But it did matter. Crowley liked to feel attractive, even though Aziraphale had made it clear that he would never act on his feelings.

Crowley smiled back, overjoyed that Aziraphale accepted his female form. "Thank you."

"We could go clothes shopping and buy you some female clothes if you like? And any other clothes you might want."

"I'd like that."

"How about tomorrow?"

Crowley nodded, grinning. He turned back into his male form again.

Crowley felt delighted, not just at the thought of choosing his own clothes, but at the knowledge that Aziraphale wanted to take him out into the human world again. They hadn't been outside since his powers returned. Aziraphale must be feeling more comfortable with his powers if he was ready to take him out amongst the humans again.

Beelzebub yawned as she trudged along the hallway towards the kitchen. She had just woken up and she was feeling hungry.

A metallic sound came from the kitchen and she froze, alarmed. She had thought she was alone in the house.

The sound of whistling drifted through the air, and she knew it was Gabriel - who else would be giving such a heartfelt rendition of 'My Favourite Things' from the Sound of Music? Beelzebub rolled her eyes.

She pushed the door open anxiously, her worst fears realised the moment she sniffed the air.

"Boiled cabbage?!"

Gabriel turned away from the saucepan that was bubbling on the hob, a grin on his face. "It's good for you! Full of nutrients!"

"Nutrients taste like shit."

Gabriel glared at her. "Have you only just woken up? It's midday."

"There was a CSI marathon last night," Beelzebub said.

Gabriel sighed, and then turned back towards the saucepan. "Would you put the shopping away please."

She moved towards the shopping bags on the table. "I need nutrients about as much as you do," she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm an angel - I don't need to eat like you do. You need healthy food."

Beelzebub scowled at Gabriel but he had his back to her. They both knew she didn't need food to survive, though she did enjoy eating - when it wasn't boiled cabbage at least. Gabriel had not given her any 'medicine' in thousands of years. He'd always been reluctant, always forgetful, leaving it late every time. Once, he'd left it two weeks too late, and she'd known her powers were close to coming back. She'd felt so on edge that she'd ended up reminding him. He'd just looked at her in confusion and told her she'd already had her tablets - she must have just forgotten. They both knew he was lying. Then her powers came back, and Gabriel missed the next dose, and the one after that, all while pretending everything was normal.

Beelzebub had tried to talk to him about it numerous times but he always refused to acknowledge the truth, to the point of acting like he didn't even know what she was talking about. Sometimes she suspected that he'd been lying to himself for so long that he'd started to believe it.

Beelzebub pulled out a box of healthy looking cereal that she was sure even a rabbit would find boring. She pulled a face and groaned.

"The body is a temple," Gabriel informed her.

"If that's true, then I want to fill my temple with nice things - not this rubbish."

Beelzebub took out the final items and then threw the bag to one side. Hidden behind it was a brown paper bag with a yellow 'M' on the side.

"Holy shit!"

"Language!"

"Fucking shit!" she corrected, opening the bag. "You got me a Macdonalds! No pickle, right?"

"Of course."

"Thanks," she said, sitting down at the table and unpacking her food.

"I knew it was the only way to stop you from whining about the cabbage- Woah! Eat the cabbage first," Gabriel demanded, dishing up some green goop onto plates. "Besides, I'd better reheat that for you."

Beelzebub hesitated. "I could reheat it?"

"What? No. It won't be the same if you use the microwave. I'll use a miracle."

"I could use a miracle?" Beelzebub said hopefully.

Gabriel glared at her. "That's impossible."

Beelzebub raised an eyebrow, but he refused to look her in the eye. This level of denial was impressive.

Long ago he'd told her in great detail, in a meaningful way, about a demon that had gotten their powers back, but no one knew because they never used their powers in front of their owner or when home alone. Gabriel might as well have been telling her 'don't do miracles right in front of me or when I'm not here.' She wished she could use her powers in front of him now, but this way Gabriel could carry on pretending.

She was glad to have been surprised with a MacDonald's, although, to be fair, she had Gabriel's credit card so she could order whatever food she wanted online anyway, which was especially handy when Gabriel was away for days on end due to Heavenly business. Last night she'd ordered a Hawaiian pizza for delivery, and then ordered a new watch online while waiting for it to arrive.

Gabriel joined her at the table, and while they ate he told her all about some angels at work who were getting on his nerves, and then about some humans that refused to be led on the righteous path. Beelzebub told him about a really good episode of Midsomer Murders.

"I saw Aziraphale a couple of weeks ago," Gabriel said as he nibbled at his green slime. "He's adopted a demon."

"Oh, yeah? Who?"

Beelzebub thought Aziraphale could make a good owner for a demon. He was always very polite to her on the phone anyway, unlike some other angels Gabriel hung around with.

"Cr- Crill-? The serpent one. You know. Red hair. Used to be Michael's."

"That'd be Crawly."

"That's the one," Gabriel said. He sat up straight, an outraged look on his face. "You won't believe what Aziraphale wanted me to do!"

"What?"

"He wanted to borrow you!"

"Oh? What for? Did Crawly want to hang out?" She felt excited at the thought of it. She'd not seen Crawly in ages. Michael didn't approve of demons seeing each other but maybe Aziraphale was different.

"Aziraphale said it was so Crawly would have another demon to talk to, but I know it's really because he wants to do weird sex stuff to the both of you. Threesomes - stuff like that. I'm not letting that pervert anywhere near you."

Beelzebub's eyes went wide. "Is Aziraphale abusing Crawly?"

Gabriel shrugged. "He's a demon. He probably likes it."

"Don't be stupid! I'm a demon too!"

"You're different. Cowlee is an actual demon - you were just confused."

"His name is Crawly! And just because he's a demon doesn't mean angels are allowed to rape him!"

"I'm sure Crawly's fine. He's evil, anyway."

"He's harmless! Crawly used to follow Lucifer around like a little lost puppy - he just wanted to fit in with the cool kids. He had no idea what he was getting himself into."

"…Neither did you."

"I want to see him. I need to make sure he's okay."

"I'm not leaving you alone with those two weirdoes! They'll do perverted stuff to you!"

"No, they won't. Not if you're there too. And Crawly wouldn't dare attack me anyway. I'd kick his ass. Besides, he's the least violent person I've ever known."

Gabriel scowled. "But you don't know Crawly anymore. It's been thousands of years since you last saw him. He's probably turned into a maniac."

"I need to see him. I need to make sure he's alright."

Gabriel made an irritated sound. "You're worrying over nothing."

"How was Crawly when you saw him?"

"I don't know. Quiet."

"Well, that's not like him! He never used to shut up! I don't like this at all. You're going to take me with you to visit him. And you're going to leave me alone with him so he can talk freely."

"Absolutely not!"

"Don't argue with me, Gabriel! This is happening!"

Gabriel opened and closed his mouth a few times. He didn't respond.

Beelzebub continued. "And if Aziraphale is hurting him then you're going to do something about it."

Gabriel looked miserable. "I don't want to get involved in another angels home life."

"You are involved, so get used to it."

Gabriel threw down his cutlery. "You're just going to bitch about this until I say yes so I suppose I don't have a choice!"

"Exactly." Beelzebub said, eating the last of her French fries while getting to her feet. "Right. Let's go."

"What? Now?!"

"Yes. Now!"

"But you've not had any of your cabbage!"

"I'm too worried to eat."

Gabriel looked at the empty Macdonald's bag pointedly, but Beelzebub ignored him and left the room to put on her shoes. Gabriel followed her into the hallway. "Don't tell Crawly anything about your life here. He might repeat things to Aziraphale." Gabriel averted his eyes. "Obviously don't mention the holy water thing."

Beelzebub stared at him in amazement. This was the closest Gabriel had ever gotten to acknowledging the fact that she had her powers. "Of course I won't. Thank you for not giving me those tablets-"

"C'mon. Let's go," Gabriel said, wrenching the door open. Beelzebub noticed with some satisfaction that there was a blush to his cheeks.