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[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Date: May 2, 2003
Place: Crowley's bedroom
Status: Public
Summary: Everything's settled down in the Manor, and so Aziraphale focuses on recovery - for both of them, but mainly for Crowley.

Crowley had lost consciousness in the name of preventing Aziraphale from hitting his head again.  Of course, had Crowley not done such a thing Aziraphale still would have been worried for his counterpart, but as it was he felt compelled to drag him through the roughed-up Manor and back to the Serpent's bedroom, laying him down, getting him in comfortable pyjamas, and making sure his wounds were as healed as he could manage.  He left the door open in case anyone was looking for either of them, as he didn't want anyone to assume they'd died overnight.

Aziraphale's neck was still sore and so he had to sit up in an easy chair.  He didn't have the energy to go look for a book in his room, so instead he grabbed the newspaper and started looking at it, too overwhelmed to actually read.

He just prayed that nothing was going to go wrong when Crowley woke up...  The poor thing had been so skittish, and really how could he not, because things had been said and...

He sighed and tried to focus on the words.

Comments

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

He was wearing tartan. Crowley had stirred, opened his eyes, noticed that he was in bed and feeling better, but mostly he noticed the pajamas.

Groaning a bit as his head caught up with the rest of his body, he rubbed his forehead. "Tartan?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale calmly rolled up the newspaper and gently bopped Crowley over the head with it. "There's nothing wrong with tartan, and none of your pyjamas were as comfortable as mine. How are you feeling?"

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"...sort of stupid actually. Did I really manage to bust my sodding head in on top of the whole getting stabbed in a dream thing?" Crowley asked, rubbing his forehead and miracling the pjs black.*

*The miracling increased his headache slightly, but some things were worth the pain.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale pinched the bridge of his nose at the miracle but decided not to call him on it. "Yes, you did manage to bust your head after getting stabbed in a dream. Do you have any residual problems? The Manor's awfully quiet but I believe such injuries have not vanished with them."

Hm. He "believed" indeed. After all, his neck hurt.

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"I'm okay, I think. Sore." Crowley stretched a little and tried to recall the last waking memory he had, but then he noticed the angel was sitting awfully stiffly.

The Serpent raised an eyebrow. "Did I not do a good enough job healing?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale looked him over. "You look like you did a decent job," Aziraphale murmured. "After all, you're able to sit up now. That's a good sign."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Crowley gave Aziraphale his 'Oh Sstop Being Purposefully Dense' look.* "What I meant, as you well know, was, 'Did I not do a good enough job healing you?'"

The concern he felt for the angel made the demon uncomfortable, which was normal, but it also reminded him of something...something that really would make him squirm, if he remembered it.

*This look had been perfected over the millenia.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale merely shrugged, ignoring the little blush that came to his cheeks that Crowley even remembered, or cared. "You did a fine job healing my neck, dear. But I jostled it in the fall down the stairs, and more to the point, an artificial Crown of Satan crushed the vertebrae, so if it weren't still sore I would have been absolutely shocked."

He sighed. "But things have been quiet. Perhaps once you go back to your nap I'll go find Gabriel to find out what's been going on. The chances of Michael having any ideas are slim, and knowing Raphael he's likely in a coma that could have been easily avoided had he not been worrying about someone else."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"The fall down the stairs..." Crowley went still as he remembered rushing up them to flee. Oh, right. NOW he remembered the Realization he'd had, but he really didn't WANT to remember it. Why couldn't it have remained entrenched in good ole demonic denial? After another minute of silence, he came back to himself and realized the angel was looking at him. "Uh, about that...sorry."

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale chuckled. "Sorry for my grabbing you and dragging you backwards? Sorry for my losing my balance and taking you with me? Silly thing. I should be apologising to you, not the other way around." He smiled at the demon fondly. "So, sorry. Knocking you unconscious was, I promise, not my intention. I suppose it worked out all right as neither of us got killed by another nightmare, but still... it's the principle of the thing."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"Sorry for...running out like that. Well, trying to." Crowley shifted, sitting up more. "Have you been here all night and into the morning? Things feel back to normal, so you don't have to stay around and smother me with your mothering instincts, y'know."

The Serpent was a bad patient at the best of times and did always complain, especially if Aziraphale was fussing over him, just on principle. This time, however, Crowley really wouldn't mind if the angel left because maybe then Crowley could have the mental breakdown he felt scheduled to have now that he had Realized just WHY he gave a flying fig. Bugger it all.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale bopped him on the head with the newspaper. "Oh hush, you. I'm not going anywhere until you're 100 percent. And I don't 'mother.' I nurture."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"Same thing," Crowley retorted, crossing his arms. "And if you hit me with that newspaper one more time I WILL put it somewhere that will be very uncomfortable for you."

The demon gave the angel an intimidating look--well, the one he always used when they were bantering and that seemed to have no effect whatsoever. "As for you staying, do what you want, but I'm perfectly fine now."

The nice thing about being the Serpent was that one was really good at lying without giving any indication one was doing so. Sadly, though this was one of his skills, it never seemed to work around Aziraphale. Just as Crowley's counterpart knew the looks he was giving under his shades, he also seemed to be able to ferret out his lies, particularly at those times in which Crowley least wanted him to do so.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale chuckled. "I'll stop tapping you with the newspaper when you start behaving less like a puppy and more like an adult. You're ill, and I'm taking care of you, so you ought to focus on recovering yourself rather than lying to me or fighting me."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

"If I were a puppy, I'd bite you. Or widdle on the floor." It wasn't the best comeback he'd ever thought of, and demons generally were very good at that sort of thing*, but honestly he was doing pretty well considering a small part of himself was still running around in circles and panicking.

*Although angels like the Metatron would be quick to point out that the Creator always had the last laugh. Just look at platypi.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale gave a fond sigh. "And then I'd spank your hind-end and put you outside so you'd learn your lesson. Would you just relax? You don't have to talk to me, you just have to stay in bed."

He frowned. Crowley had, after all, gotten injured running away from him, so maybe...

"Of course, if you do feel the need to talk to someone about whatever's the matter with you, you know I'm always willing to listen to you, my dear."

[pointisdolphins.livejournal.com]

Crowley did not have an appropriate response and so he did something he occasionally did in that sort of predicament: he went to sleep.