Bad Omens: The Carnival (Novella)

Balloons

Crowley and Eden held hands, until they approached the Petting Zoo. They had arrived right when Gabriel and Aziraphale arrived and as soon as Eden saw them, she let go of Crowley's hand and ran straight to Gabriel who did indeed look as good as new.

Crowley let out a sad sigh as he watched his daughter run to the Archangel, practically knocking him over when she collided with him to hug him tightly. Crowley growled deep in his throat as he watched Gabriel's hands wrap around Eden's waist, which were a bit too low as far as he was concerned....

"Did you two have fun?" Aziraphale asked, knowing full well what his husband was growling about. "Crowley, he doesn't mean any harm."

"We had a great time. Just peachy, absolutely tickety boo...." Crowley said through gritted teeth. The Archangel moved his hands off of his daughter's waist, but now they were just standing there by a wooden fence post talking quietly, their arms still wrapped around one another which was way too much physical contact in his opinion....

"Splendid, ooh, you got balloons!"

"I got ya a balloon." Eden said as she extended out her left arm, showing off the two balloons tied to her wrist. "As soon as I saw the dark purple one, it reminded me of your eyes and I got it for just for you."

Gabriel watched, touched, as Eden untied it from her wrist and with intense concentration tied it to his own left wrist. No one had ever gotten him a gift before in all of his six thousand years of existence.

"What do I do with it?" Gabriel asked as he stared up at the strange floating object.

"You wear it for as long as we're here and you keep it until it stops floating. It's just something nice you get for yourself or for someone you care about."

"But I didn't get you one. A gift I mean..." Maybe he could get her a stuffed animal or something from one of those booths she told him about....

"You don't need to give a gift in order to get one. That's not how it works. You give because you want to and because you care about the person on the receiving end. It's like when you gave me back my barrette; I loved it even more than my other birthday presents because you thought of me. You'll never know how happy I was when I peeled away that wrapping paper and saw something I thought I had lost forever. I know a balloon can't compare to that but it's a start."

Gabriel wanted to tell that she had done more than enough already, so much more, but Eden grabbed him by the hand. "Now, come on, let's get the critters some treats so we can introduce ourselves!"