Ineffable

And We Danced with Muriel

“It’s time to wait and see!” Aziraphale tells Jophiel, attempting to be mysterious and funny as he guides the other angel while covering his eyes with his hands.

Jophiel laughs, asking, “Would that be a part of Knowing I’ve yet to discover?”

“Oh no, of course not.”  Aziraphale’s quick to say. “Or perhaps it is. Who could say? But will you trust me, Jophiel?”

The other angel nods from behind Aziraphale’s hands, so Aziraphale keeps pushing Jophiel in a certain direction.

“This way. Be very careful..”

At that, Jophiel asks, “Should I be worried about discorporation?”

Aziraphale replies simply, “If you do, it’s through no fault of my own.”

At that, Jophiel tenses up, which Aziraphale has to point out, “My dear, what’s the matter?”

Jophiel explains, “Now you’ve got me all nervous.”

Aziraphale laughs, “What’s to be nervous about? Don’t you trust me?”

Jophiel scoffs, indignant, “Of course I do!”

Aziraphale attempts to calm him down, “You’ll just have to take my word for it. But please be careful, because there’s still room for discorporation.”

Jophiel stomps his foot as he keeps walking, “See that? What does that even mean? What have I allowed you to get me involved with?”

And then they’re there, and Aziraphale suddenly has Jophiel stop.

“Alright, now we stop.” He gently moves around Jophiel so his hands are still covering his eyes, then once he’s standing in front of the other angel, kisses him on the lips lightly.

“I think I’m liking this surprise already.” Jophiel remarks with a smile.

Aziraphale smiles as well as he still holds his hands over Jophiel’s eyes. “Are you ready?”

Jophiel shakes his head, “Not in the slightest.”, then backpedals, “I changed my mind. I am.”

Very slowly and deliberately, Aziraphale lowers his hands, watching as Jophiel blinks his eyes open, then turns his head to look around.

Aziraphale asks, “Are you surprised?”

Jophiel nods his head, “I absolutely am. I have no idea what we could be doing in the Garden of Eden prototype.”

Aziraphale paces as he explains, “So, I had the thought, ‘What can I do for my Starmaker that he can’t bear to do for himself?’”

He sweeps his hands out, and some large plant leaves clear the way, revealing one tree, ripe with fruit.

“And then I answered myself, ‘Well, I suppose it couldn’t have been easy to lose his best friend, and for his only comfort to get through it was dancing and making up his own celestial hymns. By himself.’”

Now he’s standing underneath the tree, “And then I realized, ‘Well, what if he had someone to do those things with him?’”

Jophiel’s already nodding, but Aziraphale starts to move towards him, reaching for his hand, and when Jophiel takes it, he’s pulled into Aziraphale’s arms.

“Alright, I think I like this.” Jophiel decides.

Aziraphale lights up, “Do you?”

Jophiel nods, “I do. Thank you, Aziraphale. Very much.”

Then the time for talking ceases, and they start slow dancing, right underneath the tree in the heart of Eden, as Aziraphale quietly sings a celestial hymn he made up just for Jophiel.