No matter how much Barnaby liked his sweater, he needed some proper clothes. It was obvious that the boy was done talking so they might as well get something done. Aziraphale would just have to figure out some other way to coax answers of out his small charge. The principality was lucky that his shop was in the historical district. There were plenty of little clothing boutiques and second-hand stores nearby. In fact, there was a small shop that specialized in children's wear only a few blocks away.
"Barnaby? We're going to go out for some supplies today, so I need you to tuck your wings in,"
The boy looked up at Aziraphale then back at his feathers. That was a strange request, he never needed to hide his wings before.
"Why?"
The principality crouched down so he was eye to eye with Barnaby and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Because you can't show anyone your wings under any circumstances. No one can know," he said forcing as much authority into his voice as possible, "People simply can't handle it and that makes them dangerous,"
Barnaby tried to grasp what Aziraphale was telling him, but it didn't make sense. How can just seeing his wings make people a threat? But the way Aziraphale said it meant it was important. This was no joke.
"Look, you don't want to go back right?" the angel tried again,"If anyone saw your wings, meaning to or not, they could alert those men after you and they would find you again,"
A cold shiver ran down Barnaby's spine, with a new understanding he pulled his wings into his gown-like sweater. If you looked closely you could still see russet feathers through the slits, but it would work for now. Grabbing his shoes and coat, Aziraphale made his way downstairs to lock up the shop. Excited, Barnaby bounded down the stairs after him and went straight toward the door bare feet and all.
Bruised and bleeding feet from last night flashed in Aziraphale's mind. Quickly he scooped the boy up before he could reach the sidewalk. "Without shoes you're not! I spent too much time healing those for you to cut them up all over again," scolded the angel as he shifted Barnaby to a more comfortable position. The boy pouted, not seeing the need. He felt just fine and didn't mind getting his feet a little dirty. But there was no point in arguing, Aziraphale wasn't going to budge.
They were a strange sight walking down the street that weekday morning, and more than one passerby gave them a second glance. The anachronistic angel always looked several hundred years out of place, which wasn't too strange by itself. But the half dressed child in his arms attracted a lot of looks. He seemed slightly past the age were it was acceptable to be held, but still young enough for it to be possible. Feeling uncomfortable Barnaby pressed his face into his guardian's shoulder .Few people were roaming the streets this Tuesday morning, but still Aziraphale quickened his pace. What he wouldn't give just to be driven there in the Bentley. Crowley would know what to do and how to help. He could always handle hard or strange situations. But for now the angel was on his own so he would have to manage.
By the time they made it to the little store, Barnaby was starting to get heavy. With a sigh of relief, Aziraphale set him down on the carpeted floor. Gabriel was right, maybe he was a little out of shape. A small snort came from the young lady at the counter.
"Having a bit of an emergency?" she chuckled, looking down at the barefooted boy in only an over-sized sweater.
"Well, I had an unexpected guest," heat started to rise in Aziraphale's cheeks. Taking Barnaby's hand he ushered him to the little boy's section. Underwear and socks were easy enough, Aziraphale grabbed a large pack of both. He opened the package of socks, having Barnaby put on a pair. Picking out pants were another thing though, there were so many different kinds, yet not enough differences for anyone to have much of an opinion on them. Jeans are popular with people nowadays right? Crowley had a pair or two that he wore often, so they must be. Except, Aziraphale had no idea what size Barnaby was. Finding a pair that seemed the right length, he made sure to grab both a size up and a size down.
Finding the right size for shits was easier than pants, but there were a lot more options and designs. Barnaby had never picked out anything before and didn't want to mess it up.
A lot of the shirts had people or characters that he didn't recognize or strange sayings he couldn't read. Besides, he had no idea what normal people even wore. Looking around another rack, Barnaby came across the dress clothes. The long sleeve button up shirts reminded him of something Aziraphale would wear. Grinning he pulled down a pale yellow one.
"You should pick a few," suggested Aziraphale, holding out a white shirt with blue checkers. Barnaby froze eyes locked on the shirt. For a second he stood there, a cold terror keeping him in place. But it ended just as quickly as it began, Barnaby shook his head and went back to selecting new clothes. He enjoyed picking as much variety as possible, from a deep maroon to one with tiny ducks on them. Barnaby seemed to like everything except white, light blue, and especially any mix of the two. Sometimes when just touching a white shirt, his small hand would start to tremble.
"The changing rooms are over there if you need them," the lady who talked to them earlier pointed out. She was stocking the shorts looking kind of bored. It had been a slow day for her and this gentleman and his darling little boy were her first customers. Strange two, in her opinion.
The changing room was small, barely more than a closet with a mirror on the wall. But both of them managed to fit. The jeans were fine, they would just have to buy the smaller size. The shirts would be a problem though, simply too tight on the wings. When buttoned up they pressed tightly against them, leaving an recognizable bulge. Barnaby's discomfort was obvious by he didn't say anything. If staying hidden meant feeling crushed, he would just tough it out. But Aziraphale had a better idea.
"Wait here," he said stepping back into the store. The principality checked from rack to rack until he found the coats. Lots of them, big fluffy ones to smaller denim jackets. One for almost every occasion. A black rain jacket caught his eye. The kind with a hood, light and waterproof yet still warm. It was just what he needed. Next to it he also grabbed a gray knit hat, one with a fluffy white pom-pom on top. He wouldn't want Barnaby to catch a cold with such short hair.
"Hand me your shirt,"
Aziraphale pulled a pair of scissors out of his coat. He thought he might need them. Quickly, the angel cut slits into the back and handed it to Barnaby. Confused he slipped it on and pushed his wings through.
"Won't people see?"
"Not if you wear this over," smiled Aziraphale tossing the coat to Barnaby. It was perfect, loose enough to hide the folded appendages yet tight enough not to look strange. Barnaby looked just like any other little boy in London, maybe a little fancifully dressed but not noticeably. Like he came from a fancy dinner or some sort of dance. Remembering the hat, Aziraphale slipped it onto Barnaby's head. Now all the boy needed was a pair of shoes.
The shoe section was in the back corner of the store, it had a bunch of shelves stacked to the brim with rectangular boxes. Sometimes on top of the shelves there was a display showing off the small footwear inside. They seemed to have everything from flip-flops to high heels, in all sizes too. Barnaby wrinkled his nose at a pair of toddler sized fluffy boots and moved on to the next box. On top of not knowing what to pick, he didn't know what size he was. There were so many numbers that made no sense, like why was one bigger than thirteen?
"Do you need any help?" asked the young lady with a smile. She had been watching them struggle in the shoe department for awhile and decided to lend a hand. Barnaby gave a thankful nod putting back the box in his hands.
"Now, what size are you dear?" All she got back was a blank stare from both child and adult. Shaking her head, she went to grab the measuring machine. It was kind of funny how more often than not, her customers had no idea what size they needed. Bringing back the metal contraption, she got even more confused looks. Most parents forget their kid's shoe size, but the young lady rarely ran across one who wasn't familiar with the measuring. With a sigh she gestured the little boy to sit down on one the benches.
"Let's measure your foot then," she said moving to his right. She sweetly talked out the whole process while adjusting the contraption and taking measurements. It only took a few minutes and the boy sat there ever so politely. However, the older gentleman seemed fascinated by the foot measuring device, peering over her shoulder as she worked to get a better look at it.
"Okay buddy, you're a twelve and a half," the she announced, "Those should be over here,"
Now that he had a size, that narrowed down Barnaby's search by quite a bit. But he had never worn shoes before and had no idea what he liked. Some of them had complicated strings, or random holes for no apparent reason. Idly he pulled out a bright pink pair of 'sneakers' that had the designated 'twelve and a half' on the box. As they started flashing Barnaby quickly jumped back and shrieked. It was so unexpected that he dropped the box right in the middle of the walkway. The strange shoes blinked a few more times then went dark.
"What's wrong?" Aziraphale raced over with the lady on his heels. Barnaby was standing there eyeing the shoes suspiciously, when the shop owner broke out laughing.
"Oh honey, they're supposed to do that. See?" chuckling she picked up the shoes and clicked them together. Little lights in the sides turned on, flashing baby blue and purple. After a few seconds they turned off by themselves. Realizing they weren't a threat, Barnaby carefully took them back and gave them a shake himself. The fun little lights flickered on and started dancing almost magically. Barnaby liked these shoes.
"I choose these," he declared proudly. The shop lady had to stifle another laugh. She pulled out another box from the shelf, revealing the exact same shoe but in blue and green.
"How about this, you don't want girl's shoes do you?"
Barnaby violently shook his head, "No, I want these ones," He liked the bright color, it was so unlike anything else he wore before. The lady looked like she was about to object when Aziraphale interrupted.
"Then it's settled," he decided, picking up the empty box. Grinning, Barnaby slipped his new shoes on, tightening the Velcro straps. Every couple of steps as they headed to the checkout he would jump up to make the shoes light up and coincidentally cause the white pom-pom on his hat to bounce.