Start Again

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"Maybe, I can try my powers with him when we get there, maybe it was a temporary thing, he'll be okay, he needs to be okay, I can't loose him, I can't"

That's all Aziraphale could think while waiting for a taxi to take them to the bookshop.
"I remember this place!" Crowley cheered, Aziraphale's face lit up with happiness.
"Do you?"
"No, I don't"
"At least your sense of humor is intact..." He sighed.
The Bentley was at the door, and Aziraphale was hoping Crowley would remember it. For longer than 60 years, that car had always been by Crowley's side, in fact, Crowley's imagination was what kept it running, so the bond was quite hard, but sadly, this Crowley had lost that demonic touch, and when he stared at the Bentley, Aziraphale could see how it started to fall apart.
"Better get inside, I feel like you need to catch up." Aziraphale was shocked about the car, and the fact that Crowley didn't even blink when that happened, that was what scared him.
The headed to the back of the bookshop, where Aziraphale last saw the old Crowley, he wished more than anything that his powers worked, he needed his boyfriend back, but first he felt like he owed a few explanations to this new Crowley.
"Right there" The angel pointed the couch were Crowley used to sit "sit down, theres about 6000 years of facts you need to catch up with, starting now"
"You actually own this place? Were did you get all this books?" Crowley seemed distracted by the huge amount of books he was seeing.
"I, I..." He wasn't sure if he should drop the angel bomb on him directly or just lie, so he did the second, postponing the inevitable "let's say I pay quite well for them"
"I do not remember reading any books, but somehow I know the stories to this ones right here" He pointed to a pile of about 50 books
"That's because you have never, ever read a book by yourself, I used to read them to you, right here, and you loved it"
Crowley opened one of the books, and tried reading, but something in him didn't allow to do so, so he just closed it, confused. "Was I alliterate or something?"
"You were not, you know well how to read and write, something you clearly remember because you've read the title of this books. You just didn't quite enjoy it"
"Okay so, Aziraphale? What am I missing from my mind?"

"Good God, this isn't going to be easy to explain"

"I think we should start with the basics, your name is Crowley, it used to be Crawly, but you changed it, you said it was quite old-fashioned"
"Wonder why. What kind of parents name their kid Crawly? Speaking of those, I do not remember them"
"Yeah, about that, you don't really have a father or a mother, the closest thing you have to that is The Almighty."
"So I was religious then?" But Crowley didn't actually remember any prayer.
"I wouldn't say it like that, actually religion is based upon you in a certain way, as well as history."

"Here it goes."

"I'm sorry but I'm not catching you there."
"I think it's best if you see it by yourself" Aziraphale stood up "Let there be light" and celestial light surrounded them.
"Oh good lord turn that off, it hurts to my eyes" Crowley covered his eyes until the light faded away. "How did you do that?"
"I am an angel of the Lord, well now, not exactly, I'm quite retired and it's kind of your fault but that's a topic for later"
"And that makes you my guardian angel?"
"Oh I wish, but actually I am not, you are, you know..." He couldn't find the words to explain it to him without risking he got scared, humans, demonic or non-demonic, sometimes tend to be afraid of what they can't understand.
"An angel of the Lord?"
"Kind of, but not exactly"
"So that makes us brothers right?"

"I should have probably thought about that first before dating you."

"I don't see it like that, see, you are a demon, I am an angel, and technically we share no blood bond because for starters, we have no blood, we are ethereal."
"But we were brothers right?" At this point he was just acting stupid.
"We are not brothers Crowley! You are my best friend, and my boyfriend, my fiancé actually." Aziraphale noticed Crowley didn't believe a word he said, so he lost his nerves.
Silence filled the room.
"Okay so let's see if I understand it, I am a demon, you are an angel, and we are engaged, what's next? Unicorns are real?"
"You were upset they died in the first place."
"I just think you are crazy."

"He is refusing to believe, maybe it could be..."

"Well, the thing is, I actually wouldn't mind taking you out of that idea you've formed of me, but I seriously need the old Crowley back, and I wanted to tell you all of this so you would understand what I want to do."
"And what is it exactly?"
"I want to heal you"
"And then what?"
"If it works, old Crowley will be back, and probably won't be able to remember this moment."

"And I pray for that, because if he remembered how rude this 'him' is being to me he'd be ashamed for life."

"And if it doesn't?"
"You'd continue exactly like you are now, and continue to believe I'm crazy"
"Well then, try and make me see I'm wrong, Mr. Angel."

"This better work or I'll seriously hit him again on the head to see if he learns some manners."

Aziraphale held his hands up Crowley's head, and tried, and tried, but it didn't work.
"Am I healed yet?"
"No, you are... Not" Aziraphale was terribly disappointed, and not only that, but this Crowley was way too rude for him, he was a soft angel, and this one had the cruelest of human attitudes, ignorance. But Aziraphale somehow figured out what was wrong with him, it was quite easy, but not that easy to fix without powers. It might even be linked to why they do not work with Crowley, who was now reaching for the door.

"He thinks he's a human, and as long as he thinks so, he is mortal, he will get old, he will die, and I can't use my angelic powers with him lord knows why. I can't help him, what can I do now?"

"Were are you going?"
"Home."
"Do you even remember where it is?"
"I... Actually don't."
Aziraphale reached for a paper, where he wrote the address, and on the back, his number.
"There you go, on the back you've got my number, if you need anything call me okay?" Even if this Crowley was not nice, he was willing to help him.
"Fine, whatever, see you" And he left.
"So, so rude."
Aziraphale had a hypothesis of the problem. They say that 'if you don't believe, it can't hurt you', and that was basically what was wrong with Crowley, he didn't believe in himself, he didn't believe he was a demon, he forgot how to act like one, so he is powerless, and refusing to believe in that, was not helping.
Aziraphale now knew the solution to all of this, he had to make him believe, he had to make him fall in love all over again, and he knew perfectly well were to start.
He was ready to start again.

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