The sun was shining, despite the cold temperature, and Crowley was the first to arrive at the restaurant.

He settled down at a table by the window. His hands felt clammy, his nerves getting the better of him. He tried to rearrange his hair in the reflection of the window, gave up and then used the camera on his phone instead.

A taxi pulled up across the street and Crowley's heart fluttered when he saw Aziraphale climb out. He put down his phone and tried to look nonchalant. He considered waving to get Aziraphale's attention, but he wanted to look cool, and waving like a maniac would ruin that. Slouching back in his seat, he tried to appear suave and relaxed. He'd read online that confidence was sexy, so he tried his best.

Aziraphale didn't seem to notice him, his eyes fixed on the door as he crossed the street, and then, when he came inside, he just stood there looking lost. Crowley waved wildly, all thoughts of looking cool forgotten, and when Aziraphale saw him his face lit up, making Crowley feel warm inside. Aziraphale was just as adorable and gorgeous as Crowley remembered him.

Crowley wasn't sure what kind of clothes he'd expected Aziraphale to wear in real life - when he wasn't dressed as an angel anyway - but he certainly hadn't been expecting him to be dressed like an English Professor. He was very beige, with a waistcoat and a tartan bow tie. It suited him. Crowley suddenly had a vision of Aziraphale as a librarian, bending him over a desk and telling him to be quiet. In fact, Aziraphale owned a bookshop, so he was halfway there already. Crowley felt his cheeks heat up and quickly focused on the here and now.

Aziraphale sat down opposite him at the table, a nervous smile on his face, and Crowley found himself relaxing once he realised he wasn't the only nervous one. He did his best to put Aziraphale at ease, and soon they were both chatting as comfortably as they had on Friday night, menus in hand as they discussed what they wanted to eat.

"I had their risotto the last time I was here," said Aziraphale. "And it was absolutely scrummy. But on the other hand, their salmon is to die for." He looked up from his menu, their eyes meeting. "How is a man supposed to choose between, er…?" Aziraphale stopped, seeming to forget what he was saying, staring at Crowley with a look of fascination.

Crowley raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Aziraphale said, his face turning pink. "It's just... Your eyes are beautiful. I didn't see them before. They're almost amber."

Crowley felt his cheeks flush. Of course, he'd been wearing his coloured contact lenses when they'd met. "Thanks. They're technically hazel, but they do look almost amber in certain light."

"They're lovely."

Crowley shrugged, a smile pulling at his lips, feeling embarrassed and delighted all at once. At school, the other kids had teased him relentlessly for his unusual eye colour, but people rarely commented on it these days. Sometimes, he forgot how much they stood out.

The waiter came and took their orders, and before long they were eating, talking animatedly as they did. They were still chatting long after their plates were empty. Crowley was just trying to figure out how to make their date last longer – perhaps they could order dessert or go to the Christmas Market in the nearby park – when Aziraphale casually mentioned seeing a poster for a Shakespearian play on the drive over.

"Big fan of Shakespeare, me, though I prefer the funny ones," Crowley said.

"Oh, I'm glad you appreciate Shakespeare too. It's Twelfth Night, so definitely a funny one."

Crowley picked up his phone and checked to see what times it was showing. "There's a showing in half an hour. D'you wanna go?"

Aziraphale made a sound of delighted surprise. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea," he said, as though he hadn't been subtly hinting the entire time. Crowley booked the tickets on his phone.

They had just enough time to get popcorn and drinks before heading into the theatre, and after the performance they strolled over to St James's Park, discussing the show as they went. Crowley had enjoyed the show immensely, although that was partly down to having a laughing, smiling angel sat beside him the entire time.

It was dark, and the park was illuminated by Christmas lights which were strung up between the lampposts as well as artfully wound around tree branches. There was a Christmas market and they stopped at a food vendor and got a burger each, as well as mulled wine in plastic cups. There was a little stall selling tins of hot chocolate which Aziraphale gravitated towards, and they each bought a tin to take home.

It felt as though the evening was drawing to a close, and Aziraphale became quiet, deep in thought as he sipped at the dregs of his mulled wine. Eventually he looked up at Crowley with a nervous smile. "My bookshop isn't far from here. About a fifteen-minute walk, I'd say. You can come back for a nightcap if you like? Although, I know you have work tomorrow. And you're handing in your notice. So I understand if you need to be getting home."

"Drinks at yours sounds great."

Aziraphale looked delighted and relieved.

Crowley knew that Aziraphale lived in the flat above his bookshop. He was being invited back for sex, wasn't he? His heart raced at the thought it. He wanted to. It'd been a long time since he'd felt a connection like this to anyone, but he hoped sex wasn't all Aziraphale wanted from him. To be fair, if all he'd wanted was a quick fuck he probably wouldn't have invited Crowley out for lunch and then spent the whole day with him in public.

As they walked to the bookshop, Aziraphale's hand snuck into Crowley's own and it made his heart leap, all of his worries and insecurities melting away, even if just for a little while.

The bookshop, when it came into view, was elegant and distinguished, suiting Aziraphale perfectly. Aziraphale unlocked the front door, letting them into the shop itself, and Crowley was even more impressed with the interior.

"Wow, it's like a Victorian library crossed with a hobbit hole."

"Oh, have you read Tolkien's work?"

"Er. No. I've seen the film's though."

"Oh, I enjoyed the films. Fairly faithful to the books – where it counted at least."

Crowley spotted Aziraphale's desk and was reminded of his librarian fantasy from earlier. His cheeks suddenly felt hot.

"Let's go into the backroom," said Aziraphale. "Would you like whiskey or wine? Or I've got coffee if you'd prefer to keep a clear head for tomorrow?"

"A glass of wine wouldn't hurt."

"Perfect. I've got a lovely bottle of red I've been dying to open."

They settled together on the sofa, so close that their thighs were touching, the heat of Aziraphale's body wonderfully distracting. Crowley could smell Aziraphale's aftershave. The wine was delicious, and he told Aziraphale as much.

Aziraphale looked up at him from under his lashes. "I'm glad you like it, it's one of my favourites."

They smiled at each other and then they were both leaning in, their lips pressing together. The wineglasses were pushed away onto the table, and suddenly Aziraphale's fingers were in Crowley's hair and the kiss became deep and hungry.

Crowley was hard in his trousers, and he could tell Aziraphale was too - his trousers had tented. Crowley's hand fell to Aziraphale's thigh, giving it a squeeze before sliding up until he was palming at him, drawing the most delicious little moans from him.

A hand pushed under Crowley's shirt, pawing eagerly at his chest. "Can I take your shirt off?"

"Yes. Fuck. Is it okay if…?" Crowley's hands hovered at Aziraphale's tartan bowtie and Aziraphale nodded enthusiastically.

While Aziraphale made short work of Crowley's shirt buttons, Crowley tried desperately to figure out how the hell bowties worked.

"Just pull here," Aziraphale said, gesturing with his fingers.

Crowley pulled at the bowtie and it unravelled in his hand.

"I'll pull on something else in a minute," Crowley said with a wicked grin.

Aziraphale let out a scandalised sound, though his widening grin betrayed his delight.

Soon their shirts were strewn on the floor, and Crowley was trailing his hands across Aziraphale's newly bared skin, admiring his broad chest, his soft middle. His hands moved lower and soon they were both unbuckling each other's belts and unfastening trousers.

Aziraphale got to his feet and slid Crowley's trousers down his legs and off, throwing them to the floor. Aziraphale's own trousers were open but still in place, the white of his underwear visible.

Getting down onto his knees, Aziraphale pulled Crowley's underwear down, and Crowley's breath hitched as he was exposed completely. Aziraphale hasn't been in a position to see his cock in the maintenance shed, but now he was making hungry sounds in the back of his throat as he looked at him, and it made the fire in Crowley's belly burn all the brighter.

Shuffling closer, Aziraphale took hold of the base of Crowley's cock before lowering his head and opening his mouth.

Crowley gasped as wet heat enveloped him and Aziraphale started to suck. Crowley pushed his fingers into pale fluffy hair while Aziraphale bobbed his head up and down, finding a steady rhythm, taking him deep, right down to the hilt. His cock was hitting the back of Aziraphale's throat, and Crowley was panting, his thighs trembling, marvelling at how good Aziraphale was at this, at how deeply he was taking him. "Ngh. You're gonna make me cum..."

Aziraphale made a pleased sound around his cock and looked up at him, still bobbing up and down in his lap. The sight was too much, leaving Crowley whimpering and stammering out a warning moments before he came down Aziraphale's throat. Aziraphale swallowed every drop.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Aziraphale sat back on his haunches, watching as Crowley lay there, exhausted and panting. Crowley pulled Aziraphale into a kiss, groaning at the way he could taste himself on Aziraphale's tongue.

A glance downwards told Crowley that Aziraphale had unfastened his own trousers completely and shuffled them down his hips a little way. It looked like he'd had his hands inside his pants while he'd been sucking him off.

Crowley pulled Aziraphale up onto the sofa beside him and then pushed his hands inside of Aziraphale's underwear, pulling him free. He was just as thick and heavy as he remembered him. Scrambling to the floor, Crowley settled between Aziraphale's legs and started to lick at him, only taking him into his mouth once Aziraphale had dissolved into desperate needy sounds. Fingers were stroking through Crowley's hair, so gentle and careful with him, and then Crowley realised he was sweeping his hair away from his face to get a better view. He looked up and saw Aziraphale watching him with half-lidded and greedy eyes.

Aziraphale made a shaky sound, thighs tensing. "Crowley, I'm close..."

Crowley groaned around his cock, fingers squeezing Aziraphale's thigh in encouragement, eager to feel him cum, and suddenly Aziraphale was making broken sounds, trembling as he spilled into Crowley's mouth. Crowley sucked and licked, doing his best to swallow every drop.

Crowley found himself being pulled up onto the sofa to lay sprawled on top of Aziraphale, strong arms wrapping around him. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged him like this, and he wanted it to last forever.

Were they boyfriends now? He hoped so but he didn't know how to ask, and he didn't want to ruin this moment. So he lay there, enjoying the feel of Aziraphale's fingers stroking through his hair.

After a while, he looked at the grandfather clock against the wall, and his heart sank when he saw it was 11.30pm. If only he didn't have to go to work tomorrow.

Aziraphale must have followed his gaze. "It is getting rather late, isn't it. You're welcome to stay the night, although I understand if you need to be getting back."

A warmth spread through Crowley's chest at the invite. He'd been kicked out of bed a few too many times, and here was Aziraphale, offering to let him stay. "Thanks, angel, but I should be getting home." Crowley perked up a bit. "There's still enough time to finish our drinks and indulge in a bit more of this cuddling though. I think it'll only take me about twenty minutes to walk back."

Aziraphale made a sound of distress. "But it's cold and dark outside! And I think it's drizzling. Please let me to call you a taxi. There's a good one near here, I rarely wait more than fifteen minutes. I'm chummy with the drivers, you see."

How could Crowley say no when confronted with those puppy dog eyes. "Yeah, go on then."

They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a little while longer, before eventually sitting up to drink their wine and call a taxi.

"Would you like to go out again sometime?" Aziraphale asked hopefully as they waited for the taxi, standing by the window at the front of the shop.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot," said Crowley. "Are you still free next Sunday?"

"I certainly am."

They made plans to meet for lunch on Sunday at a little café which served afternoon tea. Aziraphale had never been there before, but Crowley felt confident that he would love it there.

Before long, the taxi arrived, a blue car with 'Turpin Cabs' written on the side.

"Ah, hello, Newton," Aziraphale said cheerfully, waving through the open car window.

"Hi Aziraphale," said Newton with a smile.

Aziraphale opened the passenger side door and then stepped aside, ushering Crowley forward. "This is my friend, Crowley."

They exchanged hellos as Crowley got into the car.

Aziraphale ducked down and kissed Crowley goodnight. "I'll see you on Sunday."

"I look forward to it."

The drive home was a pleasant one, and Newton was very chatty. Crowley made sure to tip him well, and once he was safe in his flat he checked his phone and saw that he had a WhatsApp message from Anathema.

'How was your lunch date?'

'Great! Turned into dinner and then drinks at his. I'm home now but I'm gonna see him again on Sunday.'

It was only when Crowley got undressed that he realised he'd been having such a good time that he'd completely forgotten to give Aziraphale his handkerchief back – it was still folded in his back pocket. He laughed as he returned it to his bedside drawer to give to him another time.

Aziraphale felt on top of the world as he locked the door and then leant against it. Their date had gone even better than he'd dared to hope, and Crowley wanted to see him again! He gave a little wiggle of excitement and then returned to the back room to gather their wine glasses and take them into the little kitchenette.

After he'd washed up he decided to check his phone. The last time he'd looked at it had been on the way to the restaurant to see if he had any last-minute messages from Crowley.

He had two text messages, both from Tracy. The first one said, 'Good luck on your date! Have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do ;)' And the second, which was from about fifteen minutes ago, said, 'Well, it's midnight and I haven't heard from you, so I assume the date went very well indeed!'

Aziraphale blushed, and then typed out his reply. 'We spent the entire day together, and it was wonderful. Crowley is lovely! He's gone home now, but we've arranged to see each other again next week. Do NOT give him the third degree at work tomorrow.'

'No problem. The third degree can wait while Tuesday! Seriously, though, I'm glad it went well. You are both sweeties.'

Another text message came through soon after, and this time it was Crowley, letting him know he'd gotten home okay, and that he looked forward to seeing him again.

Aziraphale smiled as he texted him back, and he was still smiling when he went upstairs, climbed into bed and closed his eyes.

Sunday couldn't come soon enough.

It was Monday morning and Crowley was at work. He'd already handed in his notice and talked things through with Michael. Things were going great. He was just heading back to his desk when he saw Tracy in the corridor. There was an excited smile on her face as she waved hello, and Crowley gave her a little wave back.

They exchanged pleasantries while people wandered around them, and then, once they were alone in the corridor, Tracy grinned and lowered her voice. "I hear you met a good friend of mine at the Christmas party."

Crowley felt his cheeks heat up. "Yeah. Aziraphale said the two of you were friends. Great guy." As much as he wanted to wax lyrical about how much he liked Aziraphale, he didn't want to risk going overboard and seeming like a besotted puppy.

"He's a sweetie," Tracy said. "A real keeper."

Crowley smiled. He glanced around, and then lowered his voice. "I'm sure Aziraphale already told you, but Gabriel doesn't know. He's not very fond of me, so we're gonna keep it on the down low for now."

"My lips are sealed," Tracy said with a chuckle. She clasped her hands together. "A secret romance. How thrilling!"

Crowley had just opened his mouth to respond – he was mostly just going to make an embarrassed sound – when the loudspeaker interrupted them. 'Anthony Crowley please report to Meeting Room A. That's Anthony Crowley to Meeting Room A."

Crowley froze, confused. He had a meeting? He had no recollection of it. Was he supposed to have known about it? Maybe it had something to do with him handing in his notice.

"Sorry, I'd better go," Crowley said.

"Yes. Oh! By the way, I baked some cookies, so feel free to swing by my office when you get a chance."

"Thanks Trac.' Will do," Crowley called over his shoulder as he headed off towards Meeting Room A.

As Crowley strode down the corridor, his imagination ran riot. What if this was to do with the incorrect order he'd made for the branded pens? He'd only meant to order 200 of them. It had been an accident, and Dagon had said she'd sorted it out.

Well, he'd handed in his notice now, so what did it matter?

He knocked on the door before opening it. "Hi, there was a tannoy asking me to- Oh. Hi." Crowley trailed off and just stood there awkwardly.

Gabriel was sat at the head of the table with a stern look on his face. There was no one else in the room.

After a moment's hesitation, Crowley closed the door behind him and tried to look nonchalant. "What's up?"

"Sit down."

"Right." Crowley sat down. He had a horrible feeling about this. Surely this couldn't be about Aziraphale? Gabriel didn't know about their date, which meant this must about the pens. Dagon must have let slip, and Gabriel did enjoy telling people off.

Gabriel let out a long sigh, and Crowley steeled himself for a bollocking. "Stop sniffing around my brother."

Crowley let out a nervous laugh. "What?"

"My brother. Zira. People saw you trying to flirt with him at my party and giving him your number. I invite you into my home and this is how you behave?"

"Hey, hang on a second. Aziraphale is a great guy. We got on really well, so I just thought-"

"Oh, don't pretend like you're genuinely interested in him. Everyone knows you'll go home with anyone."

"Excuse me?!"

"I'm not letting someone like you get involved with my brother."

"Well, it's not up to you, it's up to Aziraphale. And that's slander. I'm not some sort of… of…"

"Slut?"

"Oh, you can fuck right off. This is very unprofessional." Crowley got to his feet, ready to storm away. "You don't know anything about me."

"You don't want to be in my bad books, sunshine. I can make life very difficult for you here."

"Good luck with that. I handed in my notice this morning."

Gabriel leapt up and suddenly he was between Crowley and the door.

Crowley's blood ran cold. He forced himself to stand up straight and to keep his voice level, though he felt like a cornered animal. "There's a camera in here, just so you know. Get out of my way."

"If you hurt him, I'll hurt you."

"I'd buy the concerned brother act if you weren't trying to get him back together with someone that likes beating people up."

Gabriel glared daggers at him. "You don't know anything about it. Sandy's good for him, unlike you."

"Get out of my way," Crowley said firmly.

After a moment which seemed to last forever, Gabriel stepped aside. Crowley strode to the door, fear and fury burning in his chest.

"FYI, those cameras are never switched on," Gabriel said as Crowley yanked the door open.

Crowley gave him a withering look and marched off down the corridor.

Gabriel called after him. "And why the fuck did you order 20'000 pens, you idiot?!"

Crowley ignored him, rounded the corner and went into the gents. He made his way through the locker room and to the toilet stalls beyond. He locked himself inside the furthest cubicle. There was no one else around and so he sat down on the closed toilet seat and put his head between his knees, trying to steady his breathing.

What the actual fuck? Gabriel was insane. Crowley couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd known Gabriel didn't like him but he hadn't realised just how much. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, that he wouldn't be working with him much longer, but he was Aziraphale's brother, which meant he was always going to be in his life – assuming things worked out with Aziraphale. Which they probably wouldn't if Gabriel had his say.

Tears sprang to his eyes. He felt humiliated by the things Gabriel had said, and the thought of him saying those things to Aziraphale made him feel sick. What if he already had? What if Aziraphale saw him as nothing more than a quick fuck, a bit of fun. What if he didn't see him as boyfriend material? He shook his head. No. They went on a lunch date and spent the whole day together. They'd arranged another lunchtime date too. Aziraphale wanted more than just sex.

The door to the locker room opened, and Crowley heard footsteps. He kept himself quiet.

There came the sound of lockers being opened, pleasantries being exchanged between two, no, three men. Crowley decided to wait until they'd gone. It'd give him more time to calm himself down.

"Were you at Gabriel's party Friday night?" said a voice that sounded like Eric.

"Nah. You?" That sounded like Hastur.

"Yeah. Was okay. Food was pretty good," said Eric.

"Did Crowley wear that snake outfit he's been going on about?"

"Yeah, but he looked more like a lizard."

Crowley resisted the urge to burst his way out of the cubicle and defend his outfit.

"I thought it wasn't fancy dress in the end though?" said the third person. Ligur.

"It wasn't," said Eric. "The only people who were dressed up were Crowley and some guy dressed as an angel. Crowley was flirting with him. Hard. He was absolutely wasted."

"Wait… Is Crowley gay?" asked Hastur.

"Yep. Anyway. What's-her-name from accounting overheard Crowley giving the angel his number."

"Holy shit," a fourth voice piped up. It sounded like Brian. "You know who the angel was, right?"

"Er. No, actually. Didn't recognise him," said Eric.

"Gabriel's brother."

"No way!" said Ligur. "Did Crowley know? Did Gabriel notice any of this going on?"

"I have no idea," said Eric. "To be honest, Gabriel was probably too busy flirting with Bee to notice much of anything."

They all started laughing.

"Yeah, that'll happen when Hell freezes over," said Ligur.

"I know, right?" said Eric.

Hastur lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I heard a rumour that Bee and Gabriel made out at the Halloween party."

Ligur scoffed. "Fuck off. They did not. She's married."

The door swung as they left, leaving the room silent.

They were all talking about him. Everyone knew. No wonder Gabriel heard about it. Who told him? He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. After a few minutes, once he'd pulled himself together - and he was sure there was no one else there - he left the cubicle and went straight to Tracy's desk. He was relieved to discover that she was the only one in the small room.

"Oh, Crowley. I saved you a cookie," Tracy said with a smile.

"You're on your own?"

"Er. Yes. The others are on their breaks, and Pepper's on holiday this week. Why? You okay?"

"I just overheard people talking about how I was flirting with Aziraphale at the party. Seems a couple of people saw it. Is it common knowledge?"

Tracy looked surprised. "Oh, no. I don't think so. No one in here has mentioned anything anyway. Except Beatrice saw you both bonding over being the only people in fancy dress. No mention of any flirting."

"Right. Right. Okay," Crowley nodded as he perched on the edge of her desk. He took a deep breath and then everything came tumbling out. "Gabriel knows I gave Aziraphale my number, and he threatened to make my life difficult if I don't leave Aziraphale alone. Jokes on him though - I already handed in my notice. But seriously, what the hell is wrong with that guy? Who does that? I mean, I knew he didn't like me, but c'mon. He blocked the door at one point so I couldn't leave."

Tracy looked furious. "You should tell Michael about this. Make an official complaint."

Crowley let out a humourless laugh. "Yeah, right. All the managers think the sun shines out of Gabriel's arse. Especially Michael. It doesn't matter, I'm leaving soon anyway. Besides, I don't think Aziraphale would like it if I tried to get his brother into trouble."

"This is Gabriel getting himself into trouble, and Aziraphale would understand and be on your side."

"Please don't tell Aziraphale about any of this. I don't want him to worry, and I don't want to make things awkward. This is still so new and I don't want to ruin it." Crowley put his head in his hands and rubbed at his eyes. How well did he even know Tracy? He shouldn't have said anything. There was just something about her that always made him want to confide in her. "Sorry for dumping all of this on you."

"It's okay, dear. But you should tell Aziraphale what happened. He'd want to know. Besides, keeping secrets in a relationship is never a good idea. It'll be okay, I promise. Aziraphale knows how spiteful Gabriel can be."

Crowley looked up at her. "Gabriel said some pretty awful things about me. Which aren't true, by the way. But what if he tells Aziraphale those things? What if he already has?"

Tracy smiled. "Aziraphale knows Gabriel spouts nonsense. He won't believe a word of it. But please talk to him."

Crowley sighed. "Yeah, you're right. okay. I'll talk to him when I get home."

"Good. Now have this cookie, and don't let Gabriel get to you."

Crowley took the cookie gratefully.