When in Rome
(Part Two- 64 AD)
A Good Omen AU fan-fiction
Rome was no longer the place to be. The great city of twenty years prior had begun to crumble. The great Empire was sinking. There were no markets to be seen on this day, nor laughter or any happiness. Only the sounds of distress. The screams and shouts could be heard from a great distance away. Women wept as they ran with children. Dogs barked as they ran loose. Horses whinnied, their hooves clattering over the stones and rubble in the streets, the sounds mixed with the uproar of calamity. Soldiers roamed the streets, trying to bring order without managing to do any good. There had been nothing good about this day. Only disaster.
A blond-haired angel had felt an uneasy feeling early in the morning and now found it had been rather unfortunately justified. She made her way through the wreckage and flames to the outside of the city, holding her white robes close about her, the smell of the fire clinging to her nose.
From the top of an overlooking hill, Aziraphale had a good vantage point to watch as Rome burned. It was not a pretty sight.
The angel shook her head. Hearing the screams made her heart ache. She used her finger to wipe a bit of ash from her eye. Off to her left there was a sudden movement.
She was not alone.
Aziraphale looked over to see a tall dark figure, outlined against the black night sky by the flames down below. Aziraphale's curiosity got the better of her and she moved a little closer. The man's profile was familiar. Before she had gotten close enough to see his face, the man spoke.
"Come to watch Rome burn, have you?"
"No, I haven't," she said.
"But here you are," Crowley said, his arms crossed over his black robes, one yellow eye peering at her over his glasses.
"I could do nothing," the angel said. "I can only watch." She sniffled without meaning to.
"It's just a city," Crowley said, his voice flat.
"So many people, so many people live here," Aziraphale said. "They can't all escape the fire."
"You can't save everyone, angel," Crowley replied. "Some are bound to die."
"I could have saved some," Aziraphale mumbled, watching once beautiful buildings tumble and the flames leap higher. She was feeling sick to her stomach. So much beauty, so much life- no more. A silver tear trickled down her cheek.
Crowley caught sight of it, making him feel uncomfortable.
"They are saying the emperor set fire to the city," she said in a faint voice. "I can't understand it. He was such a promising boy. Some of the things Michael said he's done. It's… awful. Nero loved music. I helped him."
"I remember," Crowley put in.
"It's all my fault," Aziraphale whimpered. She put her sleeve up to her face as the tears flowed more freely.
Crowley's conscious tugged at him as he watched the angel's misery. He hadn't seen her cry since that day on the hill of Golgotha. Seeing the angel cry hurt something deep inside him, as it once had so long ago in the Garden.
"It wasn't your fault," he said.
"But I mentored him," she protested.
"You couldn't see how he would turn out," Crowley countered. "He's a human, not a plant. Sometimes even if you raise them with all the right influences, they still go bad. It happens."
"But I failed! And failing is bad."
The tears were coming quicker now. Crowley had to do something. He didn't want to divulge why he was also here on the hilltop. But he had to stop the tears.
"Look, angel," he said, "this really isn't your fault. You didn't fail at anything."
"But Nero-"
"He didn't do it. For all I know, he's off in his palace happily strumming his harp. He didn't set the fire."
Aziraphale glanced at him, something like hope shimmering in her wet eyes.
"He didn't?"
"No."
"How did-?"
"I did it."
"What?!" She dropped the edge of her toga to stare in agitation.
Crowley stared at the flames because he couldn't look at her. Aziraphale's mouth hung open, her tears forgotten.
"You set fire to Rome?" she asked, her words showing her appalled feelings.
Crowley set his jaw and frowned.
"For the love of Heaven, why?" the angel whispered.
"No need to drag Heaven into this-s-s," Crowley hissed slightly, his forked tongue tripping up the last word.
"But why?"
Crowley let his gaze go to the angel's face. Her expression made him hurt. The demon hadn't wanted to set fire to a city. He didn't like violence or death, in spite of his job description. He also wasn't a big fan of fire, be it the regular earth kind or hellfire.
"Wasn't my idea," he said.
"The Christians are being blamed," Aziraphale said.
"Didn't I just say it wasn't my idea? I don't go around lighting stuff on fire just for the heck of it. I'm not Hastur. He loves fire. Thinks he invented it, the arrogant snob."
Aziraphale was looking a little less stunned and a bit more inquisitive.
"Was it an assignment?"
"Call it that if you want," the demon grumbled.
"I'm sorry."
Crowley raised a serious eyebrow. "You're sorry I did something head office told me to do?"
"I'm sorry you had to do something you don't agree with," she corrected.
"Oh." Crowley felt a rush of warmth in his cold being.
"You don't like doing evil," Aziraphale said.
Whether it was a question or a statement, Crowley wasn't able to tell. He turned away, heat rushing to his face that was not from the fire.
"No, I don't," he admitted softly.
Aziraphale heard. She reached out and touched his arm.
He looked down at her hand. "Thank you, angel."
The night stayed illuminated for hours as Rome continued to burn, bringing much more than just a city to its knees.
One by one we will call for a ceasefire
One by one we will fight for a better end
One by one we could rewrite the headlines
Standing side by side….
One by one, love is building an empire
One by one, reaching out to our enemies
One by one we will make it to the finish line
Standing side by side…
Notes:
-lyrics are from Ceasefire by Seth Mosely, Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone, Tedd T and For King and Country