Hey guys! This is it! The final chapter!
So the whole fic was rather self indulgent, but this chapter in particular was probably the most self indulgent, I wanted things and so I wrote them, hopefully you enjoy it too.
I'll let you get to the chapter now, but be sure to check out the end notes for a little surprise, much love xox

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

In a double first for sleeping in the forest, Crowley woke the next morning not only without intense pain – the dull aches he'd grown accustomed to in the past week were still there - but also before Aziraphale. The poor guy must've been absolutely knackered; he had mentioned that he hadn't been sleeping well, which Crowley knew was his fault, but he was trying to not beat himself up about it since Aziraphale had already forgiven him, a blessed miracle really. Once the entire truth had been revealed, Crowley had been prepared to do some grovelling for the next however long it took to prove himself sincerely apologetic and devoted, but his love truly was an angel. That didn't mean that Crowley couldn't still shower him with extra dedicated love, affection, and pleasure though.

Sometime during the night they had both rolled over so that Crowley's body slotted perfectly in behind Aziraphale's, making Aziraphale the little spoon, with their legs and tails tangled together. Speaking of which, Crowley noticed that the tuft of his tail reached closer to his ankles than his knees now, it'd had a growth spurt overnight. Moving his arm slowly, so as not to wake Aziraphale, Crowley felt for his horns, noting that they'd also added an extra half an inch to their height. Time was ticking for him, he needed to go back to his flat and start sorting things out, like now.

He didn't want to wake up Aziraphale by rushing off though, so he decided to wake him up in a much nicer, far more pleasing fashion.

The early morning sunlight streaming in the window made Aziraphale's fur look even more pale than usual, and gave him an ethereal glow. Peering at his face, or the half that Crowley could see, he noted that it was quite obviously still slack with sleep, lips parted just a touch, his breath fluttering a nearby feather that was sticking oddly out of the side of the nest. An adoring smile took over Crowley's face as he simply stared at the beautiful, quietly purring creature fast asleep next to him. He couldn't wait to wake up like that every single morning for the rest of their lives, which who knew how long that might be, considering that Aziraphale was already around the three hundred mark and still going strong. It didn't matter, eternity together sounded perfect to him.

Experimentally, Crowley brushed his fingers feather light down the shoulder and arm that was accessible, and when Aziraphale didn't stir, he did the same thing along the side of his body. Tracing ribs, and rubbing his thumb over the hip bone, continuing down his thigh, where he drew patterns into the soft skin, slowly dipping his fingers closer to the inner, more sensitive part of his thigh.

The tip of Aziraphale's tail twitched against Crowley's leg, at the same time his nose crinkled, before smoothing out again, and then his hand flexed where it was thrown above his head. An audible sigh fell from Aziraphale's mouth as Crowley lightly pressed his fingertips into the purple mark he'd left on Aziraphale's thigh.

The more he touched Aziraphale all around the delicate skin of his groin, the more Aziraphale reacted in his sleep, beginning to squirm, and breathe heavier. Crowley watched lustfully as Aziraphale's cock started to fill out, and then begin to dribble from the tip, at which point he decided was a good time to wake up his love.

Maintaining his sensual touches, Crowley trailed kisses along Aziraphale's upper arm and shoulder, then his neck, up to his ear, where he flicked his tongue at the shell, and then sucked on the lobe.

Aziraphale's hips started rutting the air slowly as he let out a needy moan, and a half conscious, "C'owley."

"Time to wake up, Angel," Crowley encouraged, voice silken in his ear.

"Mmnnn…fuuccck," he whined breathily.

The cuss made Crowley grin broader than the Cheshire Cat.

"I was having the most pleasant dream," Aziraphale told him, and Crowley wasn't sure that his brain had caught up with the situation yet.

"Oh yeah? Did it go something like this?" he inquired, letting his hand slip down the crease of skin where thigh met groin, and then slid his palm back up over his sac and up his shaft.

Aziraphale moaned, and pressed himself into Crowley's hand, "Mhmm…you-you were touching me everywhere."

"Well, how could I not when I wake up, and you're there looking like a treat? Did I make you horny, sweetheart?" the question was unnecessary, but Crowley was enjoying himself, as well as Aziraphale's just awoken and extremely lust addled state.

"You-? Oh!"

Crowley chuckled as the penny dropped.

"You fiend," Aziraphale tutted fondly, all the while rubbing himself against Crowley's palm, "I have never woken up s-so turned on in my life."

Between kissing behind Aziraphale's ear, and the back of his neck, Crowley queried, "You've never had a sex dream?"

"Well, I mean, yes, I have, but…uh, but Crowley, this was so much more intense…"

"Good," Crowley said smugly, skimming the pad of his thumb through the slick on the tip of Aziraphale's cock making him moan.

With a final kiss to Aziraphale's shoulder, Crowley sat up, and before Aziraphale had a chance to protest, or complain about the lack of hand to rut against, he'd manhandled his love onto his back and was settling between his legs.

"Wanted to wake you up with your cock in my mouth, but I wasn't sure that I'd make it there without disturbing you," Crowley rambled before licking over one of the matching bruises on Aziraphale's thigh, making a shudder run through the body beneath him, "but since you're awake now…"

Crowley sunk the warm, wet cavern of his mouth as far down onto Aziraphale's length as he could without choking.

"Oh my, hnnn!" Aziraphale cried out, head back, and tail flicking about next to them.

Aziraphale's slick was thick on his tongue as Crowley bobbed his head, lapping it all up with little twists and flicks between the suction of his mouth. He was cautious of his new elongated teeth though, so he went slower than he usually would, but made up for it with other tricks of the tongue and lips.

While his tail caressed Aziraphale's calf, Crowley's hand gently fondled his balls, and the other one gripped his own neglected, rock hard cock, then started pumping it fast, and faster as his own state of need was suddenly registered in his brain. He'd been so focused on Aziraphale that he'd hardly even considered his own desires.

"Crowley, ah, ah…"

Crowley knew that tone, those moans, so he clamped his mouth down around Aziraphale's cock, and let his throat vibrate with a deep groan of his own. Suddenly his throat was filled with hot, salty sweet fluid as Aziraphale's orgasm peaked, and he spilt into Crowley's mouth with a guttural sound of pleasure.

"Mmmnn!" Crowley moaned, mouth full, eyelids fluttering, as he jerked himself to completion, angling his hand to catch most of his spend.

Finally pulling his mouth off of Aziraphale's deflating cock, Crowley gulped down breaths of air, and grabbed some cloth to wipe his hand on. Aziraphale was still blissed out when he leaned up to kiss his love on the mouth, just dipping the tip of his tongue through the seam of his lips to give him a little taste, which made Aziraphale whine quietly when he pulled away again two seconds later.

"I love you," Crowley whispered, followed by a far more chaste kiss.

Then he forced himself to get up, and hopped out of the nest, knowing that he really needed to get a crack on now that he'd treated Aziraphale to a nice wake up call.

"I love you very much, my dear," Aziraphale replied dreamily. However, a moment later his eyes flicked open and his eyebrows furrowed, "Where are you going?"

Crowley picked up his pants off of the floor and stepped into them, tucking in his tail, and then looked around for a shirt that was wearable, "I gotta get a move on, I've got a lot to do."

"W-what? You're leaving? B-but I thought…"

Crowley could see the panic in his eyes, and he hurried to reassure him, "Whoa, whoa, hold on," he moved back into their nest and crouched down, taking Aziraphale's hands in his own, "you misunderstand, I'm coming back, I promise you," he leaned in and kissed the back of Aziraphale's hand, "this is my home now, but I've got a whole life to dismantle before I can stay permanently, and I'm running out of time to do it. A beanie and loose pants aren't going to hide my horns and tail for much longer."

Aziraphale held his gaze a moment longer, then took a deep breath in and out, and nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier, I sort of assumed it was obvious that I'd have to go sort all that out, but, um, yeah, I should've made it clear."

"No, you're right, it makes complete sense, my dear, my apologies," Aziraphale sighed in relief, though some of his pep was clearly gone.

"It's okay, it's my fault," Crowley kissed the back of the other hand, "you will see me a lot though, I'll have to make a few trips to drop off things between everything else."

"Oh?"

"Presuming that you don't mind me moving in some of my stuff, mostly useful things like some more blankets and towels, but I've got a few more sentimental things that I'd like to keep too…" he explained. It was all happening so fast that they hadn't really had a chance to discuss anything about living together.

"No, no, of course, dear!" Aziraphale assured him, then glanced about the room "I'll, er, make some space for you to put some things while you're gone."

Crowley followed his gaze, and chuckled, "Yeaaah, I might need to figure out a way to bring some draws or another shelf for my stuff."

"I…I could give you some books to take back with you, I suppose," Aziraphale suggested weakly, looking ill at just the thought.

"No, you bloody will not," Crowley put his foot down and stomped out that idea, "I won't have you getting rid of a single book for me. I'll find some space, don't worry, love, I'm a minimalist, I don't own much to begin with, only need a corner really."

He really wasn't that attached to most of the things he owned, a lot of them were just human necessities that he could, and would, easily sell, give away or dispose of.

"You are welcome to more than a corner, darling," Aziraphale told him sweetly.

Crowley leaned up and kissed Aziraphale's forehead, "Thank you, we'll work it out, Angel. But I do really need to go…"

"I know, it's alright, I'll walk you to our meeting point," Aziraphale acknowledged.

Crowley stood up, helping Aziraphale to his feet at the same time, and then embraced him in the circle of his arms. Instantly Aziraphale melted against him, which felt just as amazing as it always did, and a couple of minutes passed by easily before Crowley forced himself to let go and find a shirt to wear.

As soon as they had parted ways at the cliff cut out, after a lot of kisses, and promising to be back in three days for the first drop off, Crowley pulled out his mobile phone and started to create a list of all of the things that he needed to do. The size of the list was daunting by the time that Crowley got back to the car park, but he'd also used the time between adding things to the list to write a letter of resignation for his job.

Reception lit up the signal bars on his phone, and Crowley quickly whipped up an email to his boss, attached the letter of resignation, and then hit send. He didn't care if it wasn't professionally worded, or had mistakes – it wasn't like he would ever need a reference - he just needed them to know that he was quitting effective immediately. While he was at it he sent another email to his real estate agent telling them that he was moving out, and gave a date just over two weeks away that he would be vacated by. He pitied whoever had the displeasure of moving in after him and had to put up with his neighbour though, maybe he should leave his neighbour a strongly worded letter about how to be a decent human being. Something to consider, if he had the time.

He ticked off those two items from his list, and then started the drive to his flat, unfortunately he'd thought of four more things to add by the time he arrived.

Three days flew by in a blur of phone calls, emails, and driving from place to place. It hardly felt like he'd done anything, and yet he'd checked off a number of items from his list, just not as many as he'd hoped, though he realised that certain things needed to happen in a specific order, and it wasn't all going to happen in a day. Somehow in those three days he had managed to pull apart his flat in a very disorderly fashion – disorderly for him anyway – and that had him a bit stressed too. He hated moving, there was a reason that he had put up with his awful neighbour for so long.

Fortunately being a minimalist meant that he didn't have much to sort through, and it was easy to box up the things that he needed to keep. Well, it would be when he got there, as it was all he had managed to ready to move was some flat packed shelves that he'd bought to put together in the cabin, the tools for said shelves, and some linen. He'd also bought one of those pull along carts to take everything from the car to the cabin, because there was no way that he wanted to carry everything that far, it would take entirely too long, and that was time that he didn't have to waste.

The first trip was a bit of trial and error with the cart, but he got the hang of it eventually, figuring out how to manoeuvre it around tree roots and over rocky sections. He only got the wheels stuck twice, and the entire cart only tipped over once, there was some cursing involved however. Aziraphale helped him unload everything once they got to the cabin, and they left the shelves leaning against a wall to be put together later when Crowley had more time. Thankfully Aziraphale understood that he didn't have time to dawdle, so they only spent half an hour on the lounge eating berries and making out before Crowley hurried off again.

The second time, a few days later, was a lot easier with the cart, despite it being much fuller. That load was an assortment of things ranging from pillows to kitchen knives to Crowley's sex toy collection, any household items that he thought would be useful to them was in the cart. There was one special thing in the load though, which Crowley had been pretty chuffed with himself for thinking of.

Crowley made sure to take that one thing off of the cart before Aziraphale could, he wanted to actually give it to Aziraphale as it was a 'moving in together' gift of sorts. It was even wrapped up in a gift box with a ribbon around it. When the cart was unpacked, they sat on the lounge again, which was more comfortable now that they'd patched it up with some pillows and blankets, and took a snack break. Having worked up the nerve while eating, Crowley swallowed the berry that Aziraphale had fed him, then reached beside himself and presented the box to Aziraphale.

Eyebrows raised, Aziraphale glanced from the package to Crowley, "A box? For me?"

Crowley nodded enthusiastically, "Well, go on, open it…"

Crowley would have just ripped the whole thing open in a flash, but Aziraphale meticulously untied the bow on top, and then slipped off the lid, peeking inside.

"Oh!" he immediately scooped up the three photo frames, "These are pictures of us…"

"Yeah, I printed them out and put them in frames so that we could put them around our home," Crowley explained, suddenly anxious that Aziraphale wouldn't like the idea, which was ridiculous, but that was anxiety for you.

After keeping Crowley in suspense while he looked at each one again, Aziraphale turned his gaze to Crowley, a huge grin on his face, "Crowley, this is a wonderful gift. I love them, thank you."

Phew.

"Well, I'm glad that you do, because that's only half of the gift," he pointed a finger at the box where a photo album took up the rest of the space inside.

Carefully Aziraphale pulled the photo album from the box, and then opened the cover. There had been a blank page in the front of the album where Crowley had written both of their full names and the year so that they wouldn't forget. The following pages were all made to insert photos into, and they were completely full with every photo that he'd ever taken of Aziraphale, and the two of them together. The first photo felt like it had been taken a life time ago, even though it had only been a few months, while the last one had only been captured days ago. It would be the final photo that they ever had together, so Crowley had wanted it to speak volumes about them, and he'd ended up snapping a shot of them wrapped up in each other, kissing in front of their cabin. He thought that it was the perfect ending to the album.

Aziraphale seemed to agree as he turned to Crowley once more, that time his expression was watery though, "Crowley," he sniffled.

The album and photo frames were placed back into the box and set aside, then Crowley had a lap full of troll, and was being thoroughly kissed.

"I love you," he proclaimed, peppering kisses all over Crowley's face, "oh, darling," cheek kiss, "you're so thoughtful and sweet," jaw kiss, "I love you so much," nose kiss.

Giggling by the end, Crowley grabbed Aziraphale's face in his hands, effectively keeping his head still, "I love you too, you gorgeous thing," and then he brought their lips back together.

Needless to say that they got a bit distracted after that, but Crowley still managed to leave well before dusk.

Between then and the next drop off date Crowley was able to off load most of his furniture, and, much more sadly, rehome the majority of his plant collection. It did make him feel better that he knew that the lady who took them was an avid gardener and would take good care of them all, but he was still quite regretful to have to let them go. There was one that he refused to part with however, and he took it with him on the next trip to Eden Forest, with the majority of what was left for him to move there.

Crowley had carried the terracotta pot in one hand, curled against his torso, and pulled the cart with the other. It had taken him a little longer to reach their meeting point like that, but he was feeling a little morose about the rest of his plants, and didn't want to just sit that one in the cart with everything else to be jostled about.

Waiting for him on the rock platform like usual, Aziraphale hopped down to ground level the moment Crowley had come into view.

"Hey, Angel," Crowley greeted, instantly feeling somewhat better upon seeing his love's smiling face.

"Hello, dearest," Aziraphale returned cheerfully, immediately swooping in for a kiss, "oh, and hello to you too, little one," Aziraphale cooed, stepping back and bending slightly as he spoke to the plant in Crowley's grip.

"Um, yeah, so I know bringing non-native plants is probably a no-no, because of the whole invasive species thing or something, but this one is sentimental... I-I couldn't leave it behind," Crowley blurted out, a touch frantic, needing to get out his explanation.

Aziraphale gave him a sympathetic look that coupled with the soothing stroke to his arm, "It's alright, my dear, I'm sure that this one little plant isn't going to hurt anything, would you like to tell me about it?"

"It's an orchid, so it's slow growing, it'll get white flowers in the cooler months, and the flowers last for a long time. It also doesn't mind being inside, and doesn't require much water, so I thought that we could put it on the dining table, or in the bedroom," after the minor information dump, he felt compelled to add," it was given to me by...um, someone who isn't around anymore...to, uh, remind me that 'even when it's cold and dark, beautiful things can still survive and thrive'," he cleared his throat at the end, fighting back emotions that he didn't have the time or desire to deal with right there and then.

"That's lovely, darling, it will be a brilliant addition to our home," Aziraphale smiled encouragingly, "thank you for sharing, and if you ever wish to talk about this person who was special to you, you have an open invitation to do so, but if not, that's okay too."

Crowley swallowed around the lump in his throat, and then nodded, "Yeah, thanks," was all he trusted to come out of his mouth, he hoped that it came across grateful and sincere.

"How about I take the cart so that you can carry…er, does it have a name?"

"Beez."

"Beez?"

"Yeah, it's, um, short for Beelzebub," Crowley explained, gaze pointedly on the plant and not Aziraphale's soft expression.

"I see," Aziraphale laid his hand over the one of Crowley's that was still holding the cart handle, "well, how about I take this so that you can carry Beez home, hm?"

Crowley let go of the handle, and flipped his hand to lace their fingers together, so that he could bring Aziraphale's hand up to his mouth and kiss the back of the palm in appreciation. Whether it was sooner or later, Crowley knew that he was going to have to take some time to process everything that'd happened in the last month. It was a lot in such a short time, and despite the fact that it was all working out to the best possible outcome, Crowley could feel all of his emotions festering, and he needed to deal with them or he'd have a meltdown, and he didn't want that. He also knew that it was important to tell Aziraphale all of that, and communication still wasn't one of his strong points.

Not letting go of Aziraphale's hand, Crowley gave him a small smile, "Let's go," he agreed, waiting for Aziraphale to pick up the cart handle with his free hand.

Crowley resolved to work on talking about his emotions with Aziraphale as they walked back to the cabin. And he thought he did not a bad job of it, his communication skills still needed work, but he got out actual words rather than just sounds, and Aziraphale seemed to understand, so that was a positive start.

Over the following few days Crowley had been forced to wear an ankle length, hooded coat if he went out. His tail and horns were simply just too big to hide without the extra measure at that point, he'd also taken to wearing a fabric mask to cover his mouth after a lady had freaked out over his teeth. It made him frustrated, anxious, and stuffy, but he didn't have a choice since he still needed to leave the flat for things.

The flat was almost empty by the time Crowley made his final 'drop off' trip to Eden Forest. There hadn't been much left to move, but Crowley needed to get rid of his car, which was another sore point for him, so he'd wanted to make sure that there was nothing left to take on the day that he entered the forest for the final time, knowing that he would never leave again.

Instead of a half empty load, Crowley had decided to spend a heap of money, it wasn't like he needed it anymore, and bought up as many books as would fit in the cart for Aziraphale. He realised his mistake as soon as he'd started pulling the cart; it was fucking heavy. Thankfully he'd grown somewhat stronger the more troll-like he'd become, and managed to pull it to their meeting place, but they would have to take turns on the way to the cabin. The thought of watching Aziraphale's biceps and thighs flexing with the strain had him nearly salivating.

Aziraphale's eyes had nearly popped out of his head when he'd seen what was in the cart.

"What…Crowley…I…there's so many books!"

A satisfied grin bloomed on Crowley's face, as Aziraphale poured over the boxes of books, "I couldn't help splurging for my angel one last time. Plus I got you a few blank ones, and some pens and pencils in case you wanted to start a new journal, or do some drawing, or write a recipe book, whatever tickles your fancy really."

"Oh, Crowley," Aziraphale said, voice filled to the brim with gleeful emotion. "Thank you so much."

He skipped up to Crowley, giving him an appreciative kiss, their tails twining together. Crowley's was nearly as long as Aziraphale's now, and basically identical, though his was entirely straight, his didn't have any loops like Aziraphale's, and his fur was a dark reddish brown instead of creamy white.

"You're most welcome, but that isn't all I have for you…"

"Wha-?"

Crowley dug around in his pocket, and pulled out two silver keys on a long chain, holding it out to Aziraphale.

"What is this?" Aziraphale inquired, slowly taking the chain and cupping the keys in the palm of his hand.

"These are the keys to your very own bookshop."

"Pardon?"

"Okay, it's not a bookshop, more like a book box," Crowley clarified with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Look the point is…I had a book donation box installed in the car park, and that is the key to it."

Aziraphale's studied the keys, "A book donation box?"

"Yeah, see, I can't get new books for you anymore, so hopefully there are some kind people around who will donate their books to you without you having to jump them."

"Oh! You…you…" Aziraphale gave him a watery smile, "you have been so generous, my dear."

"I know that the car park isn't the best spot for us, but it is for gaining the most books, and we'll just go to collect the books at night, so it should be fine," Crowley had it all figured out.

Aziraphale put the chain over his head, the keys jingling around his neck, and then he damn near jumped Crowley there and then as he was pushed against the cliff face and kissed until he was breathless, and his heart felt like it might burst.

The reaction, and amount of kisses he received certainly made it even more worth the trouble of organising the book box. Once they were back at the cabin, Aziraphale had immediately sunk to his knees in front of Crowley, nearly tearing off his pants to suck him into his mouth and show his appreciation all over again.

With only a handful of things left on his check list, and a couple of days left in his practically empty flat, Crowley double checked, then triple checked that he had done everything. He would and wouldn't miss the life that he'd had, but he thought that it was probably because it was all that he had ever known. Leaving everything behind was scary, but underneath the stress and worry of the past few weeks, he was the happiest he'd ever been. He was in love, and loved in return, and had found a freedom like he'd never known before, in a place that he was enamoured with, and would soon belong to.

For his final day, Crowley handed in the keys to his flat, and then spent hours driving around town, for once not getting annoyed with the traffic, just going with the flow. It was nice to just enjoy the town for once, he appreciated it that day in a way that he hadn't before. Soon enough the time came for him to part with his beloved Bentley at the car yard, hoping that the next person to own his car would appreciate it like he had.

It was late afternoon when the taxi dropped Crowley off in the empty car park of Eden Forest. A few minutes passed by after the taxi left where Crowley just stood at the entrance to his regular path while a range of emotions passed through him. He thought about everything that had brought him there to that point in his life, especially his time with Aziraphale, from the first moment he'd laid eyes on the love of his life, to their last kiss a few days prior. A jolt of excitement ran through him despite the variety of other things he was feeling. A new adventure was what he'd wanted, and that was exactly what he'd gotten; the best adventure of his life. But the past few months had just been the beginning, the first chapter, and he was more than ready to find out what happens in chapter two.

Not once did he look back after he'd set foot on the path, nor did he stop until he'd reached the cliff cut out, and his love.

In Aziraphale's hands was an old, thick black plastic mug, and set inside with earth was a baby carnivorous plant.

"This is for you," he offered the plant to Crowley, "I know that this whole ordeal hasn't been easy for you, and you've had to give up a lot, but I'm so happy that you're here, and I want to you to be just as happy," he continued to ramble adorably as Crowley took the makeshift pot, "I hope I transplanted it okay, you were so distraught about your plants, and I thought that this would appeal to you. It eats insects."

The amount of affection, adoration, and love that had built up in Crowley's chest by the time Aziraphale had finished talking was immeasurable. It took him two tries to speak through the overwhelming emotions, "It's perfect, you're perfect, Aziraphale, I love you."

Holding the plant in one hand, he cupped Aziraphale's jaw in the other, and used his tail to pull Aziraphale in, and kissed him with a tender passion that he hoped conveyed everything that he couldn't say at the time.

"I love you too, Crowley," Aziraphale murmured back against his lips while weaving their tails together, "welcome home, my dear."

XXX

ONE MONTH LATER

Time passed neither slow or fast in the forest. Each day just started with the sun rising, the birds singing, and a warm body draped over him, and ended with the stars blinking, insects nattering, and a warm body curled up against him. The days were whatever they made of them, and the nights were the same, they were free to do whatever they pleased.

That particular day they were sunbathing in the big, wildflower clearing, well, Crowley was sunbathing, Aziraphale was reading a book, back against the tree stump, and Crowley's head in his lap. Rhythmically, Aziraphale stroked a hand through Crowley's nearly shoulder length, auburn hair as he read, lulling Crowley into a light doze under the heat of the sun.

"Crowley…" he thought he heard a voice whisper.

"Mm?"

"What's that, dear?" Aziraphale queried distractedly as he turned a page.

"Thought you said my name," Crowley told him.

"Perhaps you were dreaming."

"Yeah, must've been…" he shrugged, and tried to settle back down.

Unfortunately, even with Aziraphale's hand in his hair, and caressing his fully grown, black horns, which were an impressive eight inches long, and bent in two places over the top of his head, he quickly grew restless. After a few minutes of fidgeting with the clovers next to him, Crowley sat up, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

Aziraphale's hand fell into his own lap, "Are you alright, darling?" he asked, eyes not leaving his book.

Crowley opened his mouth to respond, but he caught sight of something between the trees on the edge of the clearing. A double take revealed a barefooted young woman in a tattered white dress staring at him, a soft smile on her lovely face. He cocked his head to the side, and she beckoned him with her hand before turning and disappearing behind a tree.

"Crowley?"

"Huh?" he blinked, wondering if what he'd just seen was real, however the journal of A. Z. Fell came to mind, and Crowley wondered if he'd just seen her.

"I asked if you were okay," Aziraphale repeated, now looking at him slightly concerned.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he replied, "'M fine, just getting fidgety, gonna stretch my legs a bit…"

"No worries, don't stray too far," Aziraphale warned, with good reason.

The good reason being that Crowley had gotten himself lost once already when he'd wandered too far from Aziraphale when they were out foraging, and couldn't figure out how to get back.

Crowley gave his hand a squeeze, "I won't, promise," he told him as he got to his feet.

"Mhm," Aziraphale hummed, nose already back in his book.

Immediately, and with only a small amount of caution, Crowley headed directly for where he'd seen the young woman. He recognised the opening between the trees as the one that they had entered via the first time that Aziraphale had taken Crowley to the clearing many months ago. With a backward glance to Aziraphale, Crowley slipped through the opening, and found that he was being waited on.

"Come," said the lady in a calm, quiet voice.

Obeying, Crowley followed her the short distance, but he didn't do so in silence, he had questions, and he didn't know if he'd ever see her again.

"Are you a forest nymph?"

She seemed to ignore the question and kept walking.

"Did you somehow turn him and I into forest dwelling creatures? Also, why do only I have horns?"

No answer.

"Why us? Why me? I don't understand…I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about it, er, anymore, but I still don't get the how or why…"

She was again silent.

"You're not going to tell me anything, are you? Why are you here then?"

Suddenly she stilled, then spun to face Crowley, and he thought for a moment that she was going to be angry with him, but her expression said otherwise. Turning her head to the giant tree that she had stopped them at directed Crowley's attention to it also. He recognised the tree, it was the enormous one with the knot in the trunk, the one that Aziraphale had described as very old and wise.

When he returned his gaze to the young woman, she finally spoke, "The trees are waiting," she told him cryptically.

"What does that mean?" he asked, glancing back at the tree.

Of course she didn't answer, and when Crowley looked back at her moments later, she was gone.

"Well that checks," he grumbled with a sigh.

He was going to just return to the clearing, but being in front of that particular tree made him remember the first time he'd seen it. Aziraphale had gotten him to touch the bark, asked him if he heard it, if he felt it, he hadn't then, hadn't even known what the troll had been talking about…but what if…

Compelled, Crowley tentatively reached out with his hand, and pressed his palm against the tree trunk, and immediately jumped back as if shocked.

"What the-?"

He did it again, that time prepared for the little zap, and suddenly he felt…connected? There was an energy to the tree that he'd never felt before, and touching it must be what plugging into a power socket felt like. The energy felt light, pure, old, and it vibrated slightly under his palm – or was he imagining that? There was a hum too, murmurs, on the edge of his hearing, as if people were whispering in the distance. He couldn't make out the words, but somehow he understood.

He knew now what Aziraphale had meant, the entire forest was connected, Aziraphale was connected to it too, and now so was he. He belonged here, not because he was a troll, not because of Aziraphale, but because this is where he wanted to be, deep in his soul. The forest had known, it had accepted him, welcomed him not as a visitor, nor a friend, but as a part of it, part of the forest. It had somehow made it possible for him to stay, given him what he hadn't even known that he'd truly wanted, this was a gift, not a curse.

He stood in awe for a few more moments before pulling his hand away, the energy and the hum ebbing away, "Thank you," he whispered.

As he processed what had just happened, he recalled again months ago when he'd put his hand on the tree, how he had felt nothing, heard nothing, then, but now…now he understood. He was different now, he belonged there.

Holy shit.

He ran back along the path to the clearing as fast as he could.

"Aziraphale!" he called out as he slipped between the trees and back into the sun lit clearing.

A pale head of hair popped out from behind the book he was reading, "Crowley? Is something wrong?"

"I understand now," Crowley supplied simply as he made it back to the tree stump, breathing slightly laboured.

Aziraphale raised an eyebrow, lowering the book completely, "Understand what, my dear?"

"The forest," he explained, "I touched the old, wise tree, connected with it…I heard it, I felt it."

"Oh," comprehension made Aziraphale's expression go soft, adoring, pleased, and proud all at once. He reached out a hand to Crowley, who took it in his, and sat down next to Aziraphale among the clovers and wildflowers. Resting his head on Crowley's shoulder, Aziraphale sighed contentedly, "I always knew that you would, my dear."

XOXOXOXOX

I can't believe it's over! Ahhhh!

Again, a massive thank you to SmutKeeper for being so wonderful and amazing and supportive, and for creating some fantastic art for this story.
And thank you to all of you for reading. This has truly been the best journey I've ever gone on writing and posting a fic, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being here and giving this AU your love and time.

NOW for the surprise...while I've been posting this fic, I've been busy working on some one shots that follow on from this story. Some are finished, some are still WIPs, and I'll be posting them more sporadically, so keep an eye out for more trolls!

Alright, thats it...Now tell me your thoughts...k go :D
Much love xox