div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; color: #2a2a2a; border-style: solid initial initial initial;" role="complementary"
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Who knew cooking for a fussy angel and a prophet would be so stressful? Crawly felt more at peace stroking fire for the first time and almost setting the first group of cave people on fire than doing this. His stomach was doing ninety-two synchronized backflips and he was not about that at all./p
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1088.62px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; color: #2a2a2a;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Crawly can we please come into the kitchen area now? I'm starving!" Aziraphale whinned from the sitting room. Crawly frantically placed the centerpiece in the middle and quickly gave the flowers a heart attack by glaring at them to stand up straight./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Uh...not yet!" Crawly called back frantically wiping the sweat from his brow. Who knew cooking for a fussy angel and a prophet would be so stressful? Crawly felt more at peace stroking fire for the first time and almost setting the first group of cave people on fire than doing this. His stomach was doing ninety-two synchronized backflips and he was not about that at all. "And plus angels can't starve so aren't you being a little overdramatic?" Great Crawly. Smooth. Real smooth./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"That earned an annoyed humph from Aziraphale. Crawly sighed and silently resigned his perfectionist side. It wasn't perfect by any means but it would have to do. He tried his best so that had to have counted for something right? He marched into the room where Aziraphale and Isaiah had supposedly been going over the next plans for what to say on the next prophecies but as per usual had gotten distracted by talking about the impracticality of camels. Crawly had probably done a number on his serpent eyes for the number of times he rolled them whilst listening to their dumb and unproufound conversational pieces they brought to the table. He supposed this was why Aziraphale only hung around other nerds like Isaiah because they discussed the weirdest things. It honestly made him feel left out at times./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Ta-da!" He proclaimed as the two walked through the doorway and took in the spread./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"There were boiled soybeans and cucumbers laced over with rice in bowels on elegantly placed wooden plates. The first-ever yellow rice wine from the Shang Dynasty lay in a sand-colored jug with inscriptions of fire breathing dragons on the sides in elegant and well-crafted designs. There was a bag of sorghum laid out just to spread enough of the grain out for it to appear like a waterfall effect of sorts. There was boiled beef, mutton, chicken, duck, and pigeon accompanied by a plate of tofu and bean curd. A beautiful teapot with the blue gentle waves of the ocean painted on it along with matching teacups near the personal plates where the tea had already begun to steam. There was also coffee and cocoa as well. Bowels of noodles and wheat nd millet and rice. In the center of the table a beautiful display of flowers accompinaned everything their eyes took in so nicely. Like a bow wrapping up a wrapped present. And the smell was making Aziraphale's mouth water./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Oh, dear boy you really outdid yourself! This looks marvelous!" Aziraphale said in awe as he rubbed his hands together. Crawly whiled his cheeks not to turn red at this which he felt them doing for some reason. Betrayed by his own body again. Damn it!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well I can't eat some of this but the rest looks delicious!" Isaiah said looking with relief of a man who was pushed to his limits. Poor thing was but who was Crawly to judge or feel sympathy for./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The meal itself was pleasant although Crawly felt the drag about Moses's laws taking a turn in the conversation made him want to curl up in a ball and sleep for the next century. He slowly sipped on the wine carefully while watching the angel eat and talk and watching that happiness return to his face. His features were never complete without the smile. Crawly felt silent relief when he saw how Aziraphale seemed to enjoy every last bite and compliment Crawly on every little thing whilst Crawly angrily told him to shut it although secretly lapping every honey-sweet compliment thrown in his general direction. In Hell, they never gave him compliments like this./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"That happiness did not stay when the two of them heard the next prophecy on the street the next day./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants— it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers. The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord's majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: "Glory to the Righteous One." But I said, "I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!" Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again. In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Crawly felt his entire chest become heavy. He turned to Aziraphale./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""God is going to destroy the world." Disbelief filled him even as he said those words./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Mmmhmm." Aziraphale said not looking out him but finding interest in a donkey nearby./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But why?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well for a rematch of course."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""A rematch?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yes. The great second battle between Heaven and Hell." Aziraphale finally worked up the courage to look Crawly in his eyes without fearing doubt appearing in his own but saw confusion and horror there. "But...did your side not tell you?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""No. No they didn't." Something in Crawly's tone changed to a much darker and angrier sound with a hint of overlying sadness./p
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