"How long do you think this rain will last?" The red haired demon asked the angel who shielded him from the falling shower. It had started raining just as the two humans made their shelter out in the wilderness. He huddled close as he could get under the angel's white wing.
"I'm not too sure, my understanding is that she is trying to cleanse Eden. I don't really know what She will do with the Garden now." Aziraphale looked up in the dark grey sky, the rain was cooling, a refreshing feeling after a long warm day. He couldn't help but feel that perhaps the Almighty was saddened more than angry at what had happened. His gaze roved over the now empty garden, even all of the creatures had left. All that remained was the lush plants, their colors fading from their green to a more yellow and orange colors.
"Ah!" Crawly hissed as the ground underneath the safety of the wing started to get wet. The water seemed to burn the flesh of his corporation's feet.
"Are you alright, dear fellow?" Aziraphale peered under his wing.
"I think there's something with this rain. It's not regular water like in the pool. That water didn't hurt me." The demon stood on one foot trying to avoid the water. How can water hurt?
"Oh dear, I think the rain is blessed. It's meant to cleanse this place after..." Aziraphale paused, not wanting to be inconsiderate to someone he only just met. "Ah, well after everything that happened."
"Right. Well I certainly can't stay here, this holy water isn't very pleasant. I'd rather not end up discorporating just after coming up here." Crawly's feet hurt; it felt like THAT all over again, only much worse. And he never thought anything could ever hurt worse than that!
"Can you get back to... hell?" Aziraphale asked awkwardly.
The demon looked over his shoulder, down at the garden, the ground seeming to get muddier by the minute. "Nah, don't think that's possible, angel. Looks like everything down there is covered by this water, and therefore my gate is blocked off.
Aziraphale looked around wondering what they could do. The Lord's rain was likely to do more than just hurt the demon. He caught sight of animals in the distance finding their own shelter from the rain. If only it was possible for the demon to hide like they can. He suddenly got an idea. "Crawly, can you shapeshift back into a snake like you were in the garden?"
"Eh, possibly, but that'd just make me a bigger target to get wet."
"Not if you could control the size you became, do you think you can?"
It never occurred to the demon to try that, but he would try anything to get out of this rainfall.
Aziraphale stood under a tree, in the pouring rain. The rain showed no sign of letting up, so the thick foliage of the tree above him seemed the best place to stand, all things considered. He had the hood of his robe over his head, shielding the pale blond curls from the wetness.
"How much longer do you think this will go on, angel?" A small voice asked from next to his ear.
Beneath the hood, tucked safely beneath his white robes was a small black and red snake, barely longer than the angel's forearm. He watched the rainfall warily. .
"I'm not too sure. It will probably be some time though. She really was heartbroken about what had happened."
Crawly made a small non-committal noise, not sorry in the slightest at what he did. He let his thoughts wonder for a moment, snuggling further into the warmth of the angel's form. It was nice, in a very stark contrast to how it was in hell. He might stick around on earth, if this angel was going to be staying here as well. Might make things fun.
"Ah, Aziraphale, there you are!" Crawly flinched at the voice of another angel nearby. He didn't sense the other heavenly being, probably because of this blasted heavenly rain.
"OH! Gabriel, to what do I hold the pleasure of the visit?" Aziraphale kept his voice perfectly level, as if he DIDN'T have a demon hidden beneath his robes. He did clutch at the lapels of his hood, to shield the small snake from the dark eyes of the archangel.
"I'm here to tell you that Eden is closing. As far as I can tell all of the animals are gone. All that is left is to seal the gate. You're welcome to..." Gabriel trailed off at the sight of something unusual on the principality's person.
He reached into the angel's hood and pulled out the tiny snake that was hiding in there. Aziraphale started o say something to stop the archangel, but closed his mouth, unsure on what to say in his defense of harboring the Enemy, and certainly wasn't sure what he could do should Gabriel decide to toss the snake out into the holy rains. He only had just met Crawly, but he seemed rather pleasant to talk to in the short time they had.
"What an unusual creature." Gabriel sneered at the creature in his grip.
"Ah, yes. I believe the humans named it a snake." Aziraphale's heart was pounding, he fiddled at the ring on his hand.
"Hmm. Wasn't it one of these creatures that tempted the humans?" Gabriel glared at the harmless snake, noting it's blank expression, yellow eyes staring back at him unblinkingly, it's tongue tasting the air in front of it.
"Oh, oh yes. It was, but I can promise you that that snake was much, much, bigger than this harmless thing." Aziraphale took the snake carefully from the archangel's hands, tucking it back into his hood.
"Why do you have it on your person? Shouldn't it have gone out with the other creatures?" Gabriel looked at the other angel with skepticism.
"Yes, but when the rain began, it seemed to struggle to make it through the mud. I was going to let it go outside when I made my rounds." Crawly was impressed at the fast lie the angel told. He could detect the nervous energy radiating off of him, but it seemed to go over the archangel's head.
"Oh, yes that does make sense." Gabriel smiled. "Well, as I said, it's time to leave the garden. Once you make sure the Eastern Gate is closed, you're more than welcome to come back to heaven, Aziraphale. No need to stay down here any longer than necessary."
Aziraphale felt a pang of sadness. He didn't want to leave the Earth just yet, It was still very new. And even though they broke the rules, he was curious on how Adam and Eve will fair. "Ah, well I was hoping to stick around for a little while. I want to make sure that wiley demon who started all that doesn't cause any more trouble, you know."
Gabriel mulled that over for a moment "You do make a point. Especially considering you just let it go instead of taking care of it at the time."
Aziraphale's grip on his hood tightened. He couldn't help but feel guilty about that, and feel guilty for actually hiding the adversary right at that moment. Crawly could feel how tense the angel was, and he decided he didn't like the angel feeling like that. He wouldn't understand why till thousands of years later, but in that very moment he realized he preferred the relaxed and happy Aziraphale.
"Right. So, I will go and seal up the Eastern gate. Get things cleaned up and all." Aziraphale gave a big smile, hoping it was good enough for the archangel.
"Yes, good work Aziraphale, take care, and try not to get too attached to this world."
Gabriel vanished in a flash of light, and the sound of the rain came back. Aziraphale relaxed, leaning against the tree. He could not believe he just lied to another angel. Angels aren't supposed to lie!
"Well, that was fun." The smaller voice stated from his hiding spot.
"I certainly wouldn't have called that fun. I'm sure my nearly being caught by my side harboring the oposition was loads fun to the likes of a demon." Aziraphale was feeling very unpleasant. He didn't have a name for the feeling he had, it was certainly worse that the time he fell the first time he flew.
"I was trying to be funny, angel. It was a joke." The snake flicked his tongue out, tasting the air, and perhaps not so accidentally tasting the angel's neck.
Aziraphale relaxed. "Oh, I see." He took one last look around Eden. It was a shame; the garden was such a lovely place. "Come, my dear fellow. Time to leave the garden." He walked towards the gate he had only a few hours prior opened, to allow the humans and animals to leave.
Though it was still raining, the rainfall on the outside of the garden was ordinary water, so it was safe for Crawly to come out of his hiding spot. He shifted back to his human corporation. There wasn't a whole lot to say. Demons aren't much for gratitude, and he certainly wasn't going to acknowledge that he needed protection from an angel. As he wondered off from Eden, he made a promise to return the favor, no matter what.
...
If you aren't following me on tumblr or ao3, your missing out on illustrated fanfiction! This one has a drawing of Aziraphale standing under a tree with the snake Crowley in his hood!