It's still a WIP
Chapter 1[]
Mr Azure A Fell checked the bookshop's doors, made sure they were closed, then pulled the carpet away, revealing a circle with an inverted pentagram inside. He lit the black candles placed around the star at the points.
The flames burned royal blue and were extremely hot. Azure folded his hands together as if praying and said the sacred words.
He didn't really want to hurt Gabriel. He had been grasping at straws, looking for other, better options, and demons were the last choice after all else had failed.
The floor opened, and a figure slowly rose from the ring. His teeth were sharp, displayed in a large grin. His golden serpentine eyes frightened Azure, forcing him to jump back, almost tripping over a pile of books he had forgotten to shelve.
"Who hast ssummoned me, the Great Sserpent, the demon Crawly?" The figure inquired in a thousand hissing voices.
Azure cleared his throat and stood straight, "I, Azure Fell."
He held out his hand, implying a handshake, but instead, the demon took it as an invitation, which allowed him to step out of the circle.
The tall deity snapped his fingers, his black chiton changing into dark grey women's jeans, a blazer with a grey shirt underneath, and a women's scarf around his neck. Crawly had snakeskin shoes. His hair was half-up-half-down and the colour of freshly spilt blood.
He looked the opposite of Azure. The mortal had brown hair, green eyes, and was of average height.
A bottle of wine and two wine glasses materialized in his hands as he asked, "D'you drink?"
"Wait, so Beel-Beelzebub is the Lord of the Files, Daagon is Lord of the Flies?" Azure slurred," Thaa's confusing."
"Nonono, Daagon is Files and Beelzebub is Fliess," Crawly corrected as he snickered at Azure's perplexed face.
"Hey, what's a mortal name you'd use?"
"Ngk. Crowley, Anthony J. Crowley."
The demon stood and picked a book off of a shelf and said, "Hey, why did you call me here?"
A look of pain crossed the mortal's face as he set his glass down, then straightened his bow tie.
"I want you to punish someone," Azure said grimly.
"Yeah? What did this someone do?"
Azure shook his head, muttering, "Horrible things. His name is Gabriel Arch." Gabriel was a monster in Azure's eyes.
"Horrible? I like horrible."
The young man glared up at Crawly, blue eyes seemingly piercing his nonexistent soul. The demon smirked. 'Mortals are so easy to anger,' Crawly thought, 'especially this one!'
"Gabriel needs to be punished. Do your worst," Azure told Crawly.
He smiled sadistically.
Crawly went back to Hell, not that he wanted to, and looked in the Bad Books for Gabriel. He placed a clawed finger on Gabriel's address and was on his doorstep.
"Bleugh, what's with all this white? It hurts my eyes!" Crawly said to no one. Sunglasses materialized on his face. Gabriel's three-story house loomed over the neighbourhood.
The demon slowly shrunk, his hair tied itself up in pigtails, and a box of cookies appeared in his hands. The girl scout rang the doorbell, a way-too-happy grin plastered on her face. A tall man with brown, nicely combed hair dressed in a dark grey suit jacket and a light grey turtleneck opened the door.
"No, I don't want any cookies," the man, whom Crawly presumed to be Gabriel, said, annoyed. He had no accent.
Crawly looked into the man's eyes, Gabriel's whole life spread out before him. He saw Gabriels birth, his childhood, teen years, then paused. 'Azure,' he thought. All of his memories with the bookseller in them suddenly appeared.
The first one he saw was of two other kids. One of them he recognized as Azure, and he knew what he was seeing was Gabriel's point of view, but the third he didn't know. Gabriel was standing over the unknown kid. He seemed angry.
Suddenly Gabriel kicked the kid. Azure looked scared and tried to stop him, but Gabriel pushed him off. The kid was beaten up and bloodied.
Crawly changed the memory. Now Gabriel was ripping pages out of books while Azure shouted at him and pounded on his arm. "Stop!" he yelled, then got elbowed in the face and fell to the ground.
"Pathetic," Gabriel muttered, then stomped on Azure's nose, a sickening crack sounding. He'd broken Azure's nose. The blond shrieked and cupped his hands over his nose.
Another memory, the latest one, showed Gabriel making fun of Azure, calling him stupid things, playground insults even. Then Gabriel punched the stout man in the stomach. Azure crumpled, holding his stomach as Gabriel jogged away.
'Why did Azure ever try to befriend this guy? Crawly pondered. He's such a-'
Crawly was rudely taken out of his thoughts when Gabriel shouted, "I said I didn't want any!"
Crawly nodded. "Very well, sir, have a great day!"
Saying those words, especially to Gabriel, left Crawly with a bad taste in his mouth.
He turned, walking off of the doorstep. He waited until Gabriel shut the door, then returned to his common human form. He'd seen some bad people in his six thousand year life, but this guy was the worst one he'd ever really met.
He snapped his fingers and was back in A.Z. Fell and Co. "Sheesh, that Gabriel's really something."
Azure turned to him, still shelving books. "You talked to him?"
"Oh, more like searched his memories for horrible things he'd done. You know, the usual," Crawly said casually. Azure stopped.
"You looked through his memories?" he said, shocked, "You can do that?"
Crawly scoffed. "'Course I can."
Azure nodded slowly. He walked over to Crawly and took his coat. Crawly took off his sunglasses and hooked them on the collar of his shirt.
"Hey, you okay?" Crawly asked, placing a hand on Azure's shoulder, and the mortal flinched. Crawly took his hand back.
"Yeah. I'm fine," Azure responded.
Crawly sat on the couch, a tartan blanket draped over it. "You sure are an angel, Azure," he said, then smiled.
Azure flushed in embarrassment. "Erm. Tea?"
"Sure."
A loud whistle blew from the small kitchen. Azure and Crawly both winced.
Azure sprinted to the kitchen, then came back with a tray holding two teacups, sugar, and a pot of tea.
His hands shake as he sets the tray down and pours steaming tea into the cups.
"You sure you're okay, Azure?"
"Yes, fine," Azure replied, his voice shaky. He lifted the bowl of sugar. Crawly shook his head.
Azure sighed. "I only feel like I'm doing the wrong thing, that's all."
Crawly sat up. "You're not doing the wrong thing. I am. I'm the demon here, not you. You're a human," he assured Azure.
"Yes, I know, but I still can't help but feel like summoning a demon was a bad idea. Gabriel isn't even that bad. He's just a bully, that's all. No real threat," Azure sighed.
"Is that the only reason you summoned me? Not many mortals summon demons because of some mere bully," Crawly questioned, "There must be more."
Azure sighed. He changed the subject. "What was it like to fall?"
Crawly's face darkened. "Why do you care?"
Azure shrugged. "I guess it's something I've always wanted to know."
"It hurt. Falling from God's grace isn't something I'd wish on anyone, not even a fellow demon or my heavenly opposites. All I ever did was ask questions. I asked Her why She would make humans only to 'test' them in six thousand years, so She cast me out of the pearly gates." He looked sad and cleared his throat.
"One minute I'm up there creating beautiful nebulae, Alpha Centauri, those gorgeous stars, the next I'm doing a million-mile freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulfur. They didn't break my wings, though, as they did to Beelzebub and the rest of the demons." he ponders this for a moment.
Azure's eyes light up. "Demons have wings?"
Crawly sighs like he saw this coming. Two wings the colour of the night sky unfolded behind him. They slowly flapped behind him.
"Oh, how beautiful!" Azure exclaimed.
Crawly looked surprised that he reacted like that. "The others are always jealous... Do you like them?"
"Oh, of course! They're stunning!" he smiled.
Crawly smiled and spread them out behind him, the tips reaching past the couch. He stood up and took Azure's hand.
He snapped his fingers and the door opened. He flew out with Azure holding his hand while he screamed and clung to Crawly.
The demon laughed and flew high into the sky, then let himself drop several feet before flapping his wings and gliding again.
Azure looked down and then shut his eyes tight. Crawly did a couple of tricks, like loop-de-loops and laughed louder this time.
"Hey, Azure! Open your eyes! It's beautiful out here!" Crawly said. The human shook his head.
"I'm scared of heights! Put me down!" Azure told the demon. Crawly nodded and flew down, landing on a high cliff.
"I won't let you fall, Azure! Besides, we're bound to one another now. You die, I die." Crawly promised while putting Azure down.
The mortal nodded, still shaking, "We're bound to each other? Like forever?"
Crawly nods, "Give me your arm."
The mortal extended his arm. Crawly grabbed Azure's wrist and turned the man's arm upwards, then dug his nail into his arm. Azure cried out and quickly pulled his arm away.
"What the hell, man?" Azure yelled, checking for blood. A squiggly sigil shaped like an 'S' slowly came into existence on his arm. The demon cleared his throat and tapped the side of his head.
He turned his head to the right to show Azure the small matching tattoo above his ear. The mortal glared at him, rubbing his arm to soothe the pain.
"Now, you can call me anytime you'd like, for any reason." Crawly said. His wings spread out once again, and this time he made sure Azure was holding on tight before he took off.
Chapter 2[]
Crawly didn't do any tricks this time, just flew them to the door of Azure's shop. He let Azure go and opened the door for him, smiling.
Azure rolled his eyes and walked inside, bumping Crawly into the wooden doorframe with his hip.
"Ouch!" Crawly pouted, then snickered, "You're so moody, man."
Azure's head whipped back to look at Crawly. "You just cut me on purpose!" he snapped, glaring at the demon, still holding his wrist.
"I was just doing my job. I am sorry it's not all unicorns and rainbows! You summoned a demon, not an angel, and that's all your fault," Crawly sighed, rolling his eyes beneath his dark sunglasses.
Azure shook his head, "You're the one who came when I called."
"What is your problem? You called me here, and I came like I was supposed to, I'd sstarted my job, now you're complaining that I took you on a trip to the sskies. You are ssseriously pissing me off."
"The trip was lovely! It was the fact you deliberately hurt me," Azure snapped.
"I'm sssupposed to make mortals suffer for their bad deeds! Which you've got ple-" he searched Azure's eyes for all of the mortal's sins. There were only three, all having something to do with Crawly. The demon's eyes widened in fear.
"What?"
"You've only committed... three sins. But you're a human. How-"
It was then that Crawly noticed the aura surrounding Azure. It was a light, heavenly blue, the colour of the pale wings of angels. He looked at the ring of light that had appeared around Azure's head.
Crawly's eyes widened and his wings spread out again. He whipped around and started to run, each flap of his wings taking him higher off the ground.
"Crawly, wait!" Azure called after him.
Crawly flew like a panicked bird, wings going crazy. He tried to fly away from the angel as Azure's blue-white wings spread as he ran after the demon, lifting off the ground.
"Crawly! Crawly, please, come back!"
Crawly's wings started to fail him and he crashed onto a cliff, into a cluster of bushes.
He cursed, then got up and ran again, not even noticing the bruises and scrapes the crash landing had given him.
Azure landed gracefully on his feet and tried to run after Crawly. "Crawly! Please, listen t-"
Crawly looked back for a moment, panic in his eyes as he tripped over a pile of rocks. He hissed as he tried to lift himself off of the ground, and tears pricked at his eyes as he realized he'd fallen for another angel's tricks.
Azure slowed down as he reached Crawly. The angel kneeled next to the demon, "Crawly, I'm so sorry, It's just... My assignment. Of course, it isn't your fault you were the unlucky demon to appear..."
Crawly refused to make eye contact and picked up his busted sunglasses. He tried to stand again but fell. He felt hopeless.
"Jussst do it already, Azure," he sobbed.
"Do what, Crawly? You didn't think I'd hurt you, did you? Oh, dear, of course, you think all angels are like that," Azure replied, helping Crawly sit up. The words Azure had said came off as an insult, but his tone almost convinced Crawly that Azure meant well.
Azure placed a hand on Crawly's shoulder, "It's okay, Crawly. I won't hurt you, I promise."
He miracled a first aid kit into his hand, opened it and took out a roll of bandages.
Crawly winced as Azure wrapped the bandage around the demon's knee.
"Azure? Why did you lie to me? Ow!" Crawly hissed.
Azure sighed, "My name is Aziraphale. Azure was a cover. Just like your human name is Antony J Crowley. By the way, what does the 'J' stand for?"
Crawly winced, hissing, "It'ss jusst a 'J', really. Aziraphale. Why does that name sssound familiar? What do you actually look like?"
Aziraphale closed his eyes. His disguise melted away, now showing him as a shorter man with fair hair. He was wearing a well-loved three-piece suit. It was a light blue undershirt with a brown vest and a tan coat.
He opened his eyes, which were now a pale blue. Crawly's eyebrows furrowed as he studied the angel's features, the ocean eyes, the soft smile on his face. His cheeks flushed as he remembered his old love. "Oh, I remember you! You were that angel in the Garden guarding the East gate!"
Aziraphale smiled, "You do?"
Crawly nodded, then winced again as the angel wrapped a bandage around his head. "Angel, did you really give the sword away?"
The angel blushed in embarrassment, nodding. Crawly laughed, "What'd Most-Holy-Gabriel think of that?"
"Er. I didn't tell anyone except you, Crawly. Though, if I did, he'd probably say, 'Aziraphale, God is ashamed of you. She is hopping mad, and I hope you are happy with giving those foolish humans a divine weapon. Turn in your halo and give me your wings,'" Aziraphale giggled.
Crawly smiled and put an arm around Aziraphale's neck. He tried to pull himself up but ended up pulling Aziraphale down with him.
Aziraphale yelped, then blushed as he realized how close their faces were. Crawly pushed him off at a noise.
Crawly hid behind Aziraphale, trying to close his broken wings. He whimpered and folded them, but it was painful to do so.
"Hello? Who's there?" Aziraphale called out. A group of children aged around twelve or thirteen walked out of the forest. The boy at the front called out to Aziraphale.
"It's Adam Young! This is Pepper, Wensleydale, and Brian," the boy said, pointing first to a girl with dark skin who looked annoyed to be there, next to a slightly shorter boy who looked as if he had an office job at twelve. Lastly, he pointed at a taller boy who was covered from head to toe in grime and dirt.
Aziraphale smiled. "Crawly, they're just children. Come out of hiding now, my dear."
"Angel, I can't close my wings, they're broken. I can't let those kids see me," Crawly whimpered.
Aziraphale smiled softly, "It's alright, my dear. Come here."
Crawly slowly shuffled back beside Aziraphale, wincing as the wind moved his wings.
Adam ran over to the pair, shouting, "Oh my God, do you have wings?"
Crawly backed up slowly, wincing with every step, "D-Don't-"
He fell backwards and screamed, landing on his wings. The broken bones dug into his back, piercing his skin.
Aziraphale rushed to his side. "Crawly, my dear, are you alright?"
"'Z-Zirrr......" Crawly's eyes fluttered closed as blood soaked through his shirt.
Aziraphale gasped and tried to revive him. "Crawly! Crawly, please wake up!"
Adam ran to Crawly and kneeled next to him.
"Turn him over!"
Aziraphale slowly turned Crawly over. The angel's hands flew to his mouth as he saw all the blood, "Oh, Crawly!"
The demon's wing bones stuck into his shoulders as he sobbed softly.
The angel gingerly took the shreds of fabric from between the demon's wings in his hand, trying not to touch the broken wings.
"Oh, Crawly, I'm so sorry," the angel whispered, wiping the blood from between the demon's shoulder blades.
Crawly groaned and whimpered, pain shooting down his spine.
Aziraphale gently wiped most of the blood off of Crawly's dark wings,