Of Books and Roses

Crowley took a look at his expensive and unnecessarily complicated watch. The poor machine was starting to be too conscious of the stares, as the demon was checking the time every few seconds. The watch wondered why the demon couldn't just miracle the time forward, but it was glad he didn't. Any kind of time manipulation gave the watch a headache.

The demon decided that perhaps staring at it indefinitely would make the time advance. The watch blushed and stopped working.

"Oh, come on!"

Crowley got up from his throne and grabbed the vase full of roses that was shakingly waiting for him. He didn't want to resort to arriving early, as it wasn't proper demonic activity. No evil creature arrived before the indicated time to a date. Crowley needed to be rude.

But he was growing out of patience, and the angel he was going to meet knew too much about him already to start worrying about appearances now.

When he got to the bookshop, he glared at the red roses once more. They were the most perfect bouquet he had ever grown, but they didn't need to know that. The petals were soft and slightly shining, opening up to the world. Their colour was the perfect shade of red, deep and passionate.

Crowley was oddly nervous. They held these dates every single year as a celebration, but it was the first time since the World Didn't Quite End. It was probably going to be just as always, but Crowley couldn't help but sense something different in the air. Perhaps it was just the roses.

The bookshop door greeted him with the usual bell ring, and familiar voice came from the back of the stop."Crowley! You're here early!"

He grimaced -- he knew he should've waited longer to be fashionably late.

That train of thought stopped the moment he saw his angel. Aziraphale was practically shining, and he was wearing a bowtie with a snake scales motif. Something Crowley had never seen before.

Before he could open his mouth and say anything, Aziraphale's eyes stopped on the bouquet and shone.

"Oh, Crowley, those roses are stunning. I can even smell them from here."

The demon stuttered and decided to awkwardly hand him the vase, as his mouth was refusing to work. Aziraphale took it and their fingers touched.

Aziraphale lowered his face to the roses and took a deep breath, his nose slightly brushing the petals. Crowley smiled a little bit, satisfied at the angel's happiness. All that time yelling at the plant had been worth it.

"Please, Crowley, come in. I have a new wine we can try."

They stepped into the back room, where Crowley, shocked, noticed the atmosphere. There were candles everywhere, giving it all a new, intimate vibe. On the coffee table there was a package waiting for them.

Crowley stood by the door, trying to decide what to do with his limbs, as Aziraphale stepped in and put the vase down. He opted for reclining against the doorframe, and nearly fell. Luckily, the angel didn't seem to notice.

Aziraphale waved his hand at the general direction of the couch. "Have a seat, if you want." He also appeared nervous. Noticing that didn't help Crowley's ball of anxiety at the pit of his stomach.

He decided that sitting down on the couch was as good a decision as any. So he sat down on the arm of it, as any cool person would do.

Aziraphale approached him and sat down at his side, something unusual. He normally preferred the armchair. Crowley watched his every move with big eyes protected by the sunglasses.