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Yeshua1 stared at the glossy brown doors of Aziraphale’s bookshop. Chara.2 Hesitantly, he turned the knob with scarred hands and pushed the door open. The bell tolled from above. He didn’t dare cross the threshold.
“Hello?” Perhaps she didn’t hear the bell? Perhaps she didn’t feel Yeshua enter? Yeshua knew she was asleep. He also knew that she wasn’t that deep of a sleeper.
Almost instantly, there was a crash heard from above. Yeshua winced. Yikes. That was bound to hurt.
Snakeskin boots slammed against the stairs as she clumsily made her way down. Soft black downy feathers floated lazily alongside the dust. Yeshua wasn’t surprised to be met with a harsh glare.
She hadn’t changed at all. Her hair was shorter, but it curled all the same. Her eyes were rimmed red with tears, but they still stared sharply into his soul. Her chin was dotted with a short stubble, but she still held it high. She hadn’t changed at all.
She towered over Yeshua, so tense she might snap in two. “You. What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
Me. I. Him. Yeshua grinned, his face lighting up. “Miriam,”3 he breathed out, relief flooding his eyes. Crowley relaxed instantaneously. Was she worried that he hadn’t remembered her?
She snorted. “Not my name. You know that’s not my name.” Crowley tilted her head to the side slightly, surveying the surroundings. “Get in, kid.”
Yeshua huffed. “Crowley, I am half your age.”
“Yeah. You’re a kid. Now get inside.”
Yeshua stepped over the threshold. With a snap, the blinds fluttered shut, and the lamps scattered around the books and shelves illuminated a warm glow.
Crowley rolled her eyes. She sauntered to a little corner with a desk and a deep red armchair, and sank into the cushions. She shuffled around, draping her legs over the arm of the chair. She was held up solely by her arm hanging over the edge of the chair.
Yeshusa leaned back, curling his legs on the cushions. He wondered, briefly, what filled them. Feathers? Wool? Synthetic materials? Either way, it was incredibly comfortable.4
Crowley leaned forward. At some point, she had put on shades to block her eyes from view. “So. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be…?” Crowley pointed an accusing finger Upwards, a frown marring her features.
Yeshua pressed his nails against his scars. “Left.”
Crowley cackled in delight. “About damn time! I told you you’d despise it up there! Oh, angel’s gonna have a field day about this!”
Yeshua blinked, meeting Crowley’s gaze. It was blocked by her sunglasses. “You two are talking again?”
Crowley made a noncommittal squeak, making a so-so motion with her hand. “Someone thought it would be a wise idea to go missing.”
Yeshua laughed. He hadn’t felt so human in a long time. “I’m glad my refusal to harm others helped the two of you put aside your differences.”
Crowley slunk back. Was she sulking? “Eh. Not quite. We still… we still have to talk about a lot of things. But when we win, because we will win, we’ll figure everything out. Right now, we need to focus on all of this.”
Yeshua winced. “Sorry.”
“Why the fuck are you apologizing?” That was a great question. Yeshua had multiple answers.
Crowley raised a finger, intending to shush Yeshua. “Don’t answer that. For fuck’s sake, you're worse than Aziraphale.”
“Oh! That reminds me! When you see him again, do please send him my thanks for these clothes. They are infinitely better than those stuffy suits heaven now insists on.”
“‘M a demon. I don’t do thanks.”
Yeshua nodded along. They both knew that Crowley wasn’t a good demon. “Of course, of course.”
Crowley looked Up for a moment before speaking. “You shouldn’t stay here,” she said, “the bookshop would be the first place they look.”
Yeshua nodded. “Perhaps… perhaps I could travel across the kingdoms of the world. If I don’t stay in one place for too long, they wouldn’t be able to find me.”
The tinge of a miracle. Crowley handed Yeshua a thin rectangular prism. A phone, was it? “It has my number on it. I’m sure you can figure out how to use it. At least, faster than Aziraphale can.”
Yeshua gripped the phone, staring at his reflection on the screen. It was so odd to see himself so young.
“Whatcha think of your new face?”
It was young. So very young. He didn’t have a beard anymore. His curls weren’t matted from the heat. There used to be grays, spattered about like stars, from years of work and stress. Those were gone too. His eyes didn’t crinkle in the same way. He didn’t look exhausted. He certainly felt exhausted.
“Odd.”
Crowley smiled, so soft that both of them could pretend she wasn’t. “Eh. That makes sense. You aren’t used to having a new corporation. It’ll feel like you soon enough.”
Yeshua tore his eyes from his reflection to stare quizzingly at Crowley. “How would I travel?”
Crowley’s forehead wrinkled. It was the only signal that Yeshua had so that he could understand that she was deep in thought. “One of the shopkeepers is bound to take you in. Nice folk, those lot. Except Mr. Brown. He’s a bit of a stuck-up.”
Yeshua stood up, placing his newly-acquired phone in his cardigan’s pocket. He hesitated for a moment. Crowley stood up as well, clearly intending to lead Yeshua out.
Having made up his mind, Yeshua lunged forward, gripping Crowley in a tight hug. “Thank you.”
Crowley didn’t seem to know what to do for a moment. She eventually settled on lightly gripping Yeshua’s shoulders. “I’ll allow it just this once.”
There was silence for a moment “Hey.”
Yeshua tilted his head, curious as to what Crowley was about to say.
“If you see Yehudah5 somehow, tell him hello for me. And maybe kick him in the dick.”
Yeshua laughed, a watery thing. “Of course. Just for you.”6
They had to break apart just as quickly as they came together. But not yet. Just for a moment, Yeshua could relish this.
Yeshua swallowed a lump in his throat. “Lehit'ra'ut, achoti,”7 Yeshua whispered into Crowley’s shoulder.
He left before he could hear her quiet ‘shalom’.8
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1. Jesus. Or, more accurately, Joshua.
3. As in Mary Magdalene. Aziraphale found it quite hilarious that Crowley was one of the Apostles.
4. Yeshua was certain that at some point, he would attempt to figure out how to build one of these. It could be a fun challenge.
6. Yeshua was more than happy to oblige to the former. He wouldn't dare do the latter.
7. להתראות, אחותי -- "Goodbye, my sister".