Take These Broken Wings And Learn To Fly

Chapter Five

God I've let you guys wait for this one, sorry about that. Plot needed to happen but your girl just wants to write her dramatic emotional dialogue lol

But I finally got something! I pulled an all-nighter as a birthday present to myself and here we are xD

Thanks so much to everyone who's still here, hope you enjoy, always feel free to share your thoughts and yell at me in the comments :)

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

It's worse than the pain of his own blade slicing through him.

Aziraphale presses his teeth together until they hurt, but it only works for a few moments before another scream is ripped from his lungs.

His back feels like it's on fire, every burst of Crowley's energy making him feel like his flesh is melting from his bones.

He breathes through it for a second, two seconds, three, the edges of his vision going white.

Crowley stops, pulls away.

Aziraphale's entire body slumps down as the worst of the pain goes with him, opening space for the angel to feel the worry radiating from the demon like a tangible thing in the air, knows what Crowley is going to say before he even opens his mouth.

"Again", he says before the demon gets a word in. "Go again."

"Aziraphale-"

There it is, in his voice. Aziraphale can't look at him, can't look at the clenched teeth and the furrowed brow and the caring eyes.

"Again!", he says. "Crowley-"

"I can't!"

Aziraphale has to turn around at the distress in Crowley's voice, finds the demon's features etched with anguish.

"I'm hurting you! You're literally screaming, Aziraphale!" Crowley's eyes seem to water, but the demon quickly looks away. "It's too much, I can't-"

"Is it working?", Aziraphale breaks him off, breathing deeply to hide the way the searing pain in his back is still bothering him. "Crowley", he says more gently, waits until the demon looks at him. "Is it working?"

Crowley looks reluctant, bites his bottom lip. Then he nods.

Aziraphale takes a breath.

"Then I want you to go again."

"I-"

"Please, Crowley." He looks at him imploringly. "I'm asking you to do this." He hates that he has to do it like this, hates that he knows exactly what he's doing, because he knows that Crowley never denies him anything he asks for. "For me", he adds, because he's selfish, and he knows it will work. "Keep going, until it's finished. I promise I can take it."

He also knows Crowley wants to say no. He understands. He's not sure he would have it in himself to hurt Crowley like this either, even knowing it will help in the long run.

The demon presses his lips together, looking anywhere but at Aziraphale as he wrings his hands.

"Okay, fine", he says then, curt words pressed through gritted teeth. "Let's get it over with."

They get into position, both steeling themselves in their own way, and Aziraphale finds himself reaching for Crowley's free hand, squeezing it hard when the next wave of burning pain hits.

Soon, he loses track of how long they've been going at it, his throat feels raw and his screams echo in the room like they're someone else's. The pain that had started as a local point of searing anguish wherever Crowley focused his energy has melted together into one big tapestry of aching torment, overtaking his senses until his head is swimming, black spots dancing before his eyes.