After bidding goodbye to Elliot, which he insisted on calling it a successful date, Cassi met Aziraphale by the car park where the angel had loaded up the souvenirs, food, and other knick knacks he had purchased. "I gather from your little smile everything went well?"

Cassi blushed. "Papa."

Aziraphale chuckled entering the driver's side. "Flashes of love." He teased.

"Papa, stop."

"Ah, the joys of new love. The erratic heartbeats, the daydreams, the way you notice everything about the other person."

Cassi giggled in her seat. "Hang on, did you actually daydream about dad?"

"I did, yes, quite often in fact. Occasionally when he was talking to me. Keep this between us but often times, when he would pin me to the wall, I would stare at those adorable lips of his and daydream, well wish, he would kiss me."

Cassi raised her brow. "Um…pin you to the wall, did he? It happened a lot?"

"The trick was to point out how nice he was." Aziraphale laughed as he recalled once upon a time memories. "I'm just glad I don't have to trick him anymore in order for him to do such an act."

"Gross, papa, please. I was staring to erase the images from my mind already."

The angel wholeheartedly chuckled in his seat. "Oh, I apologize, darling."

Once home, Aziraphale bombarded Crowley with gifts and food. The angel could tell his demon was still in a mood from yesterday's conversation. During dinner he opted to wear his glasses and when questioned, he mentioned how much the light bothered him. That night was the first night Crowley slept with his back turned to the angel. Usually, he clung tight to Aziraphale for dear life as if he was afraid the angel would disappear at any moment. "A historic gardens guide?" Crowley inspected one of the items Aziraphale handed to him. The demon was lying on the armchair, legs dangling on the armrest, the television on a documentary about the galaxy. "Thanks." He placed the item on the end table, crossed his arms, and resumed watching the television.

Cassi had given Crowley a mug, which Crowley thanked her enthusiastically and with a genuine smile. "Had a wonderful day, papa. Thank you." She called out as she headed up the stairs.

Aziraphale yelled out "you're welcome" towards the stairs and decided to sit on the sofa parallel to the television. "Light still bothering you?"

"Somewhat."

"I, um, shared some stories with Cassi about our days throughout the centuries. Do you recall some nice memories? Maybe you can share some with our daughter, she seemed interested."

The demon sighed, "Alright." He then snapped his fingers and raised the volume on the telly.

They remained silent for the most part and Crowley was so still, Aziraphale had to wonder if he had fallen asleep. It wasn't until the narrator mentioned a constellation which made Crowley mutter on how he helped build that one. "So, um, dearest, I was wondering if we might go to London tomorrow? The three of us."

Crowley exhaled quietly and took a while before answering. "What for?"

"All that reminiscing had me thinking about the shop, the park, and of course The Ritz. We can…can make it a day. What do you say?"

Crowley stood from the chair, not one glance at the angel. "Whatever you desire, Aziraphale."

Before Aziraphale could say more, the demon walked out of the room, leaving the angel feeling guilty and somewhat hurt.

Unfortunately for Aziraphale, dinner had the same tension as the previous night but what took him by surprise was Crowley's insistence of not sleeping in their room or sleeping for that matter. "We don't need sleep after all." Crowley stated as he put on his hoodie. "I'll just be out in the garden. Give you time to read if you'd like."

Aziraphale wore his tartan pajamas and sat up in bed. "I can help you with whatever you need in the garden; I don't need to read."

"It's snowing, you might get cold."

"You said we don't get cold or hot and you might get cold as well for that matter. So please, come to bed." He opened the sheets for the demon.

Crowley smiled politely, removed his glasses, and laid next to the angel. Though his back was to Aziraphale, that did not deter Aziraphale from snaking his arm around Crowley's waist and pulling him closer. "The documentary reminded me of the first time we met. Do you recall?"

"Bit of a blur, really."

Aziraphale tightened his grip around Crowley's waist. "Aziraphale." Crowley whispered. "I'd rather not tonight."

"I'm sorry?" Aziraphale asked, completely baffled.

Crowley removed Aziraphale's arm from his waist and stood. "Not tonight, sorry." He gestured his chin towards Aziraphale's lower half. "I'll be in the garden."

"No, tha-that was not…I'm not…"

Crowley nodded and left the room quietly.

Aziraphale groaned and buried his head under a pillow. "It's not my fault my body reacts to you, you idiot." He whined.

It was a little bit after 3 a.m. when Aziraphale decided to look for his lover. He put on his tartan robe before heading out into the snowed, moonlit garden. Once outside, no trace of a demon could be found wandering about; however, the angel's ears perked when he heard movement inside the greenhouse.

Aziraphale proceeded with caution when opening the doors to investigate where he found Crowley replotting some plants into bigger pots. "Dearest? Um, it's rather late and cold…perhaps you can come to bed. You can leave that for tomorrow."

It looked as though Crowley hesitated before answering, "Are we not going to London tomorrow?"

"Surely, you can do this when we get back."

Crowley exhaled sharply, rolled down his sleeves and walked past Aziraphale. "Alright."

Having Crowley not really acknowledge him for more than a day, left Aziraphale feeling discouraged. "If you're angry with me," Aziraphale's voice was barely a whisper, "please let me know and I'll try to make it better."

Crowley turned to face the angel and with a tiresome voice he replied, "I'm not angry."

Aziraphale played with a loose stitch from his robe. "It-it feels as if you are. You've barely spoken to me and when you do, it sounds like you wish to get it over with. So please, share with me and I'll see what I can do."

Crowley looked up at the clear roof and noticed how snow began to fall. He sighed heavily before answering. "I'm…disappointed." Perplexity showed in Aziraphale's expression, letting the demon continue. "Disappointed to find out the man who I let myself be vulnerable with, the man who I poured my secrets and feelings to, the man who I love, the man who shares a daughter with me…thinks we have been dating for mere months when it's been bloody centuries." He did not yell but stated everything as a matter of factly.

"It hasn't been centuries because you kept your feelings to yourself."

Crowley let out air through his nose and muffled, "Tsk, and it could have been a year if you didn't leave."

"Now, stop!" The angel raised his voice. "I-I-I left because I wanted us to be safe. I didn't leave because I wanted to, and I have explained that to you countless of times." Aziraphale's tone shook as he tried his best not to cry. "I left because I wanted to be with you and that was the only way I could. And who knows, maybe, if you would have told me how you felt about me, about us, a long time ago, we could have been together. But please, do not place all those unsaid words upon me."

The demon clenched his jaw. "I did tell you, I showed you in 1941 but you told me to leave. You told me it was wrong, and I had to bury my feelings deep down inside me so we would be able to keep our friendship. Every fucking day after that day was bloody torture and I kept my distance because it was too painful to see you. You were the one who sought me out months later. You were the one who kept tempting me! An angel tempting a demon…how pathetic is that?" Crowley's eyes stung with unshed tears. "I fell once before and if loving you is also worthy of another fall, then I would be falling for eternity." With nothing more to say, Crowley left the greenhouse, leaving a regretful angel behind.

The next two days were odd ones for Cassi. The house seemed quieter, less lively, and the only time she heard any sound was when her angelic father made his way to the kitchen to gather another bottle of wine. For an angel, he looked like hell; his blonde curls were running wild on his head, with a small beard beginning to form on his once pristine chin. He had also swapped his usual clothing for his tartan pajamas and began clutching the giant snake plush her dad had gifted him. Speaking of her dad, he had not been around much lately, actually not at all. On the first day, he had called to inform her he would be out for a while and to please stay with her father for the time being. The second day was met with a phone call inquiring of her status and if she needed anything. When she asked him where he was and if he would come home soon, Crowley simply apologized and hung up.

Like clockwork, Aziraphale made his way down the stairs, plush in hand, and rummaged through the cupboards. "There's no more wine, papa."

Aziraphale let out a heavy sigh and quietly made his way to the living area where he sat on the sofa and proceeded to space out. Cassi was about to follow her father when her phone chimed.

R u there?

Nowhere else to be, dad.

Right

Picking

Up mail

Alright.

2 mins

Cassi ran to the living area. "Papa," she pulled Aziraphale up to a sitting position and tried to fix his hair, "I need you to snap out of-" she gestured her hand up and down the angel, "-whatever this is. I'm too old for my parents to separate. You have two mins to tell me what happened, and I'll fix it."

Aziraphale grunted in reply and cupped Cassi's chin. "Spitting image of him." He whispered before laying back down.

Cassi groaned in frustration but quickly snapped out of it when she heard the Bentley's tires on the outside gravel. "Shitshitshit!" She pulled Aziraphale back up, gestured towards heaven and hell, and did a double snap as the front door creaked open.

If the angel could be described looking like hell, it was quite the opposite when the demon walked into the cottage looking glorious. He wore his usual tight skinny jeans, watch on his wrist, black turtleneck under his everyday jacket, glasses on his face, and a half updo with a bun with absolutely no strand out of place.

Crowley clicked his tongue when he saw no sign of life and cautiously made his way up the stairs to look for Cassi. He avoided his and Aziraphale's bedroom at the end of the stairs and took a left towards Cassi's room on the opposite side of the hall. "Cassi?" He inquired in a low voice as he opened the nephalem's bedroom. Still no sign of life.

The demon decided to pack some of his band tees and hoodies while he was there and walked back to the other side of the hall. He knocked on his bedroom door and as no one answered, he opened the door and walked through.

Crowley took a few steps inside his room, although it was not at all his bedroom he had walked into but the beloved shop back in Soho. He turned around to find his white bedroom door long gone and replaced by the shop's familiar front doors with the "closed" sign facing the street. There was no indication he wasn't at the shop while everything looked exactly, well, like the shop, down to the last detail. The shop's lights were on as it seemed it was evening, making the shop a little bit more magical. Crowley snapped his fingers to make the illusion disappear and unfortunately for him, nothing happened. Shop was still there, no bedroom, and when he tried to run his fingers through his hair, his hat fell. His hat fell?

He looked down and noticed his hat from 1941 right there on the floor. He picked it up, extremely confused, and it was there where he noticed his appearance through the window's reflection; gone were his modern clothing, and his long hair as all was replaced by a nice dark suit, red tie, long black coat, his glasses were different, and his hair was shorter and styled in a certain distinguished way. He shook his head in disbelief and looked down to inspect himself and he concluded he was definitely wearing what he wore back in that time period.

"Right," he clanked his teeth together, "okay…maybe have been drinking too much…yea that's just it… ain't it? I blackout and ended up here." The demon walked further on and halted when he saw his angel sitting on a table towards the back. The angel did not take in the demon's presence and chugged some more wine down his throat. The angel's hair was shorter, his clothes were slightly different, and Crowley knew he was looking at a 1941 Aziraphale. "Aziraphale, what the hell is going on?"

The angel looked straight at Crowley, "Oh, now I'm hallucinating some more. How precious." He slurred his words and drank more wine.

"Aziraphale."

"Have some wine, Crowley."

"I don't want wine." He said through gritted teeth. "I want to know what the hell is happening here."

Aziraphale smiled and chuckled lightly. "The hallucination is uncanny."

"Aziraphale," Crowley walked closer to the angel, "I'm not a hallucination and I need you to focus."

"Pfft, you know I rather did like this look on you. Quite disappointed when you decided to go with the trends and lose the suit." He gulped down his wine and tried to pour himself another glass only to notice the bottle was empty. He groaned in annoyance as he stood up and looked for some more.

Crowley grunted and gently pulled Aziraphale back by his arm. "Angel, listen to me," he placed his hands on Aziraphale's shoulders, stopping the angel's swaying motion, and tried his best to keep his voice calm, "I'm not an illusion, this is some sort of miracle, and I need you to fix it." He nodded his head slowly. "Do you understand?"

Aziraphale was that of a drunken fool, grinning ear to ear and he began to play with Crowley's lapel. "Let's do another magic act together. You can be my assistant."

Crowley shook his head. "Nononono, I need you to focus."

Aziraphale pouted, furrowed his brow, and pushed the demon away. "I need more wine."

"This is ridiculous." He walked back to the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I pushed you away again." The angel choked out. "You're going to walk through those doors, and I won't see you for months."

Crowley looked back. Aziraphale had found another bottle of wine and began to pour some into his empty glass.

"You'll stand outside for at least twenty minutes while I'll stand on the other side of the door wishing you'd come back. Same when I go to heaven." He took a sip of his wine. "Every time you walk out that door…I always wish you'll come back."

Crowley sighed frustrated. "You could have asked me."

"Don't be silly." Aziraphale gave a small smile. "If hell finds out they will destroy you and I will truly lose you."

Crowley breathed in and looked around. Silence loomed between them until, "Ask me. Ask me to come back…to stay."

Aziraphale's eyes widened, and it took a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry I pushed you away. You'll ask me for a lift in a couple of years and…you don't go too fast…I go too slow. We…we can meet in the middle if you'd like. Wait for me to catch up. I'll be ready in about eighty years." The angel's eyes stung with unshed tears. "And after those years, when I'm ready to meet you…I'll make the mistake of pushing you away once more and my heart will break as you walk through those doors again. Every single day afterwards, I'll feel lonely…feeling as if the other part of me is missing. I'll look to my left, fantasizing you'll be there but you won't. You'll be a million miles away on earth, probably drinking your sorrows away, grumbling to yourself and cursing my name." He looked up at the ceiling and let out a shaky breath, he then looked around the shop as if he was finally realizing where he was. After a small pause, he walked towards his desk where he rummaged through things and located a small wooden box.

"So," he continued as he now walked towards Crowley, "before all that nonsense happens, I want to ask you to please turn around and come back into my arms because I don't plan on letting you go again." He got down on one knee and opened the small box where a wedding band glistened. His voice broke as he spoke. "And if I do fall, after all this, for whatever reason, I know you'll be there to catch me…even if it means you would hold your arms out for eternity because I'm willing to do the same for you. Not so much as my friend but…but as my husband. If you'll have me, that is."

Crowley choked out a sob as his knees buckled. He wrapped his arms around Aziraphale and held him tight, hiding his head on the crook of the angel's neck. Aziraphale patted the demon's back, letting Crowley cry every feeling, every unsaid word, and every frustration out. "I-" Crowley tilted his head back, "-would…never let…you f-fall." He managed between sobs.

Aziraphale removed Crowley's glasses. "I take that as a yes?" He chuckled and wiped Crowley's tears.

Crowley sniffed, nodded and sobbed louder when Aziraphale removed the ring from the box and placed it on his shaking finger.

The ring was simple in its shade of grey and engraved inside was a snake wrapped around an angel wing, along with it, held the inscription: US