Hey hey, here is the next chapter, I'm actually running out of words to publish and havent had the chance, motiviation or what have you for writing, so please please please comment!
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Not only was William turning out to be very intelligent, through Aziraphale's tutelage, he was turning out to be quite the gardener thanks to Crowley.
In the past Crowley would exceed his ire on the plants that misbehaved, the ones that dared to wilt or allow brown spots show on their leaves. But ever since taking care of of the anti-Christ child, he has learned to channel that into firm scolding, and only taking it out on the offending leaf instead of the offending plant. It still worked just as well. William seemed to have a knack for gardening, even adapting the demon's firm hand. He was very proud.
After William had turned eight, he learned a rather important lesson, one about truth, and when it is okay to lie.
It had started like any ordinary day, some time late in August.
"Crowley, dear? Have you seen my mug?"
"Which one, angel?" The demon had started to clean up from breakfast. He was wearing a dark grey long sleeved dress, enjoying the cooler weather for the late August day.
"The one with the wings for the handle?"
"Oh, that one I got you ffffew years ago?" Crowley nearly said forty years, as that was about when he had gotten Aziraphale the novelty angel mug. It was as thanks for the flask of holy water. He hadn't realized however it was the very same one, as the mug isn't very uncommon to come by.
"Yes." Aziraphale looked around in the other cabinets, as if perchance it had just been misplaced. "It's my favorite mug, and I was hoping to have some hot cocoa with my reading."
While the two of them were talking, William had gotten up quietly from his seat, picking up his dishes rather carefully, something that did not go unnoticed.
"I'm not sure, angel. It can't have gone far, mugs don't just get up and fly away." He handed the angel a novelty Golden Girls mug. "Use mine for now."
"Thank you, my dear." Aziraphale went to brewing up his hot cocoa.
William had started quietly to head to his room, and Crowley noted that the boy was still unusually quiet. He had a suspicion as to why.
"William, can you come help me in the garden?"
"Oh, sure dad." He grabbed his sweatshirt and followed Crowley outside.
Crowley pulled his hair up into a long ponytail. While he liked having it long, it often got in the way when he was gardening, or in this case, parenting.
"Come over here first, William. I'd like to chat real quick." Crowley sat down on the grass, patting the spot next to him.
"What's up, dad?"
"Is there anything that you want to talk about?"
William sat for a minute thinking, before shaking his head no. "No, don't think so."
"No? Not even about papa's mug?"
It was at that that the boy went quiet. He looked down, idly picking at the grass.
"William, you know how we feel about lying."
"Yes, dad." William nodded.
"And have we ever given any reason for there to be secrets?"
William kept his gaze downward. "No..."
Crowley gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "Then... can you please tell me what happened?"
William sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "I broke it. It fell out of the cabinet when I was getting my own cup."
"I see. So why didn't you tell us?"
William shrugged. "I dunno, I was scared."
"Scared? Of what?" Crowley was genuinely clueless as to why the boy would be scared. They never raised their voices to him. They wanted nothing but the best for him, and even their discipline was not what humans would normally call discipline.
"I didn't want papa to be mad. It's his favorite cup. I know I get mad when other kids mess with my favorite things."
Crowley nodded understandingly. "So you thought it would be better to hide it?"
William nodded, pulling his knees to his chest.
They sat in silence for a moment. "William."
"Yes?"
"Did you break the mug on purpose, or with any malicious intent?"
The child shook his head fervently. "No! It was an accident, I swear!"
"Then papa won't be mad. Accidents happen, dear heart. He'll understand, especially if you are honest about what happened."
William sniffled, rubbing the tears that had spilled out of his eyes. "You really think so?"
"I know so. I've known him longer than you can imagine. While he can have a temper on some things, he won't on this. Now, come here and let me dry those tears." Crowley pulled his son into his lap, hugging him tight, running a hand up and down his back until the tears stopped. Then they just sat there watching the wind roll over the garden. He wished quiet moments like this would last forever. "Sometimes it's best to be honest. There is only very rare moments when it is okay to lie."
"When's that?"
Crowley thought a moment, wanting to think of the best way to phrase his answer. The first thought of course went to when Aziraphale lied to God about the whereabouts of his flaming sword. He chuckled to himself at that.
"Hmm. Well you definitely should try to be honest to those you l..." His voice caught on the word. He cleared his throat quickly. "Care for. I think the best time is if there is honestly no choice. Or if the truth would hurt the person you care for more than not."
William made a small noise, his tears having fully stopped. He laid his head against Crowley's chest, He sighed.
"So... what did you do with the mug after it broke?"
William pointed to a less than healthy looking patch of sunflowers. They weren't too bad looking like some of the other rebellious plants, but they weren't as healthy looking as the other surrounding sunflowers.
"I buried it when I realized I couldn't fix it."
...
Crowley did not know what to expect when William dug up the mug. He had given a good effort in his attempt to repair the cup, the biggest damage having been on the wings. A good chunk of one wing was missing, along the crest and part of the tip, and the other one, the pieces were half upside down. All in all, it was a valiant try for an eight year old.
They entered the cottage, William holding the mug close to him. Crowley squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.
"Angel, can you come down to the kitchen?"
"Yes, my dear. One moment please." Aziraphale entered the kitchen and looked at the two of them standing by the door with a smile. "What's going on here?"
"William has something he would like to tell you." Crowley gently pushed the boy forward.
William held out the broken mug. "I... I'm sorry, papa. I broke your favorite cup."
"Oh!" Aziraphale knelt down to be at eye level of his son. "Let me see." He took the mug and looked it over, a slight frown on his face as he glanced over the cracks and chips. "I see. Well I'm glad to have it back, I was quite worried it had just up and vanished. Thank you for returning it to me, my dear." The angel smiled at William. "But I must ask, why didn't you tell me about it when it got broken?"
The boy shuffled his feet nervously, looking up at Crowley, who gave him a reassuring smile. "I wanted to try to fix it first. It didn't go like I wanted. I'm sorry it got dirty."
Aziraphale cupped his cheek, wiping away a tear that had escaped. "That's alright, my dear. Thank you for being so honest with me. Even though I won't be able to use it anymore, it now has a new reason to be my favorite mug." William returned his smile, and hugged Aziraphale, who returned the hug rather haphazardly given the awkward position. "There, there. Now, run along to your room."
"Okay!" The boy ran up to his room, with a smile.
Aziraphale stood up, looking more over his mug.
"Such a shame, it was a nice mug."
"Hmm. You can fix it, you know."
"Yes, well... I have plenty of extra mugs back in Soho, and this one, well... he certainly tried, didn't he?"
"N... yeah, he did. What are you going to do with it?"
Aziraphale looked down at the fractured cup, as if it was the most important treasure in the world. "Put it in my study, as a reminder of what is important." He looked up at Crowley with unshed tears in his eyes.
"Like you said, angel. We will win. This, it will work." It has to, was the unspoken thought.
Aziraphale nodded; he truly wanted to believe that. Even so, he could not help but have even the smallest of doubts, given how the other angels in heaven were acting about how having good try to influence the anti-christ (or whom they thought was the anti-Christ) would most likely fail. But to be perfectly honest, aside from God, there was one other person he had the utmost faith in, and that was Crowley. If his friend was sure this would work, he would be sure on that as well.