Chapter Text
Three months had passed before Gabriel managed to force himself to return to the bookstore. He could have told himself that he was too busy with work or that Uriel had scolded him a lot the last time, she was getting suspicious and he needed to do something to protect his secret. But it all would be pure bullshit. The truth is he was totally freaked out.
It was like baby Jesus business repeating itself all over again, but this time he was the Virgin Mary. Or Crowley was Mary and he was a very confused, terrified and not supportive enough Joseph.
In his defense, with the matching bound established, he could feel the demon’s presence at some point on earth and know he wasn’t distressed, abnormally sad or in danger. Besides that, Aziraphale had said with all the letters that, if something like this were to happen, Gabriel didn't need to worry, as he and Crowley could handle it smoothly.
The archangel had the feeling it wasn’t exactly true.
Still, he was too afraid of the possibilities… Heaven finding out, and then Hell finding out. He falling. They sending someone after Crowley and Aziraphale and the… The whatever happens when an angel and a demon spend a heat together.
The last one triggered another part of him that grew stronger every day. The bond dragged him down, to be close, to be present, to be there. The alpha in him scolded his cowardice. Why wasn’t he there? Why wasn’t he protecting his omega? Why wasn’t he protecting their pup? He thought the “pup” one was probably a demon thing, induced by the bound, as angels didn’t raise their fledglings together… Even so, Aziraphale and Crowley don’t have a whole team of angels specialized in caring for the fledglings. They would have to do it alone and somehow discover what an angel-demon baby turned out to need along the way. Hide from it was certainly not the moral thing to do, and he was supposed to be the good one in this situation.
So, Gabriel came back for a very awkward conversation.
Or he tried to.
When the archangel got to the bookshop, the door was locked. From past experience, he knew that it shouldn’t mean anything good. He looked over his shoulder before miracling the door open. He didn’t announce himself coming in.
However, something was indeed wrong.
Some of the books were missing from their places on their shelves and some of them were placed in cardboard boxes around the floor. It would be normal as Aziraphale was constantly re(des)organizing the shelves and receiving new books, but, it didn’t seem to be the case. The sofas were covered in white and tartan sheets, the tables were clean and when he tried to go upstairs to look for then, Gabriel discovered that most of the flat, some rooms included, were missing. He looked out the window and Crowley’s precious car was not parked outside.
It was not possible that a task had been assigned to Aziraphale. He was his superior. He would’ve been informed! Maybe, they were at Crowley’s… He knew the demon had a flat here in London, somewhere. He realized he had never asked were. He told himself it was not a reason to despair. They both were always involved with some sort of unholy adventure or another. They should be fine.
But after two, three, four days… He lost it. He even went to the park. There were a lot of questionable-looking individuals feeding the ducks, but the not the questionable-looking pair he was looking for.
Maybe he could assign Aziraphale a mission and then he would have to show up and report back to him. Besides that, there was always Michael’s back channels trough with surely wouldn’t be hard to find Crowley… But both options would drag too much attention and he didn’t want that.
And then Aziraphale was back.
Gabriel just showed up the next day, hopeless and there was the angel, searching his boxes.
“Aziraphale! Were the fuck were you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I looked for both of you for the whole week! Where were you?”
Aziraphale opened his lips, realizing something “I’m utterly sorry, dear. I thought, as you have the ability to appear in the worst moment every time I’m in the middle of an assignment, you had the same radar thing of always knowing where I am, like Crowley”
“And were is Crowley? What is going on here anyway?”
“We decided to move somewhere else. A bookshop full of ancient, rare, invaluable books isn’t a place for a baby. Or forty-two snakes” The angel chuckled. “A bigger house would be nice too, so we bought this adorable cottage in a little village called Tadfild and… Oh, come see it for yourself!”
Aziraphale snapped his fingers and they were in the middle of a garden.
Gabriel looked around and saw a mane of red hair under a giant sun hat, kneeling in front of a shaking bush. The demon got up to face them. He was wearing a floral dress that didn’t fit his usual style at all.
“His pants don't fit anymore. But he refuses to wear maternity pants. Or regular pants”
There was a small bump visible now and it made Gabriel’s face grow very, very hot, and prevented him from being able to say anything. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to.
“Mr. Fell, you are back! I didn’t even hear you coming. Who is your friend?”
A Lady with her face covered in dirt and a shovel in her hand emerged from behind the bushes.
“A human.” Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from saying. At least he could suppress the “thou shalt not fear”, though.
“A witch” Corrected the human-witch.
“This is Anathema, our neighbor. She and her boyfriend are having tea with us later. We are just expecting Azie to come back” Crowley introduced.
“Well, I’m going to get the tea started, then. Why won’t you clean up and call Newt?” Aziraphale said, entering the house. Anathema finally notices the dirty in her face, laughed, and went back to her side of the fence.
“Looks great, hum? Almost like Eden.” Crowley smiled, opening his arms to show his new plant-project.
“Are you not mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“Because I went missing for weeks”
“Ngk. When Aziraphale and I have a fight, sometimes we go decades without seeing it other. Weeks are nothing.”
“It’s a long time when you are like this” Gabriel looked to the bump, too afraid to touch it.
“Like this?”
“With pups”
“Azie told you you don’t to worry about it, didn’t he? It’s fine. I know it’s not an angel thing to stay around. We will figure it out”
“I don’t want you to figure it out alone. What if it really is forty-two snakes?”
Crowley laughed. “I was kidding! It’s like ten snakes, maximum. We can put then all together in a trench coat and no one is going to notice...”
Gabriel’s lips were on his, making him shut up for once. The demon hugged him.
“Why the Hell are you like this?”
“Hmm...?” My poor boy Newton standing there, with a cake on his hands, looking very confused.
“Hi, Newt! This is Gabriel. Babe, this is Newt, Ana’s boyfriend” Crowley hadn’t let him go, so the angel wrapped his arm around his hips, the point of his fingers encountering the bump.
“Who you are again?”
“Gabriel… Archangel?” Very subtle. “Just checking my pup. You are going to see me around”
Saying “my pup” makes everything feel more real. He hugged Crowley a little closer. It made him feel a little bit proud.
“Your pup?”
“Baby”
“Baby?”
“Yes”
“So, he is the baby’s father?”
“Yes”
“Not your husband?”
“Aziraphale is my husband”
“And he knows about...this?”
“Yes?”
“And, Are we all going to have tea together?”
“I don’t like tea”
“Right...”
“I brought pumpkin bread!”
Anathema was back, with to dirty in her face this time. Newt was still confused. But Gabriel was happy, at least.