#heh............

     the  wine  glass  in  his  hand  pauses  in  its  trek  to  his  lips ,  and  crowley  looks  over  to  the  angel .  (  not  his  angel ,  no .  regardless  of  how  much  he  sometimes  wishes .  )  it's  unusual  for  aziraphale  to  be  this . . .  maudlin ,  even  considering  the  wine  they're  drinking .  generally  when  their  nightcap  turns  to  a  night  of ,  well ,  just  drinking ,  their  conversations  range  from  the  absurd  to  the  theological .  (  he  hates  when  they  discuss  the  latter ,  if  he's  honest  ---  it's  not  that  he  hates  god ,  not  really ;  he's  just  bitter .  )  he  sniffs ,  then  finishes  taking  his  sip .  ❝  i  don't  see  why  those  are  the  only  two  options ,  angel .  ❞    though  his  words  are  incredibly  blase ,  he  supposes  he  understands  aziraphale's  concern .  

     before  crowley's  fall ,  he  hadn't  really  liked  many  of  the  other  angels  to  begin  with .  never  really  fit  in .  asked  too  many  questions ,  didn't  have  a  stick  up  his  ass .  aziraphale  doesn't  quite  fit  in ,  either ,  crowley  thinks .  if  he  did ,  he  wouldn't  have  agreed  to  the  arrangement .  wouldn't  have  given  him  the  time  of  day ,  regardless  of  how  many  centuries  they'd  spent  dancing  around  each  other .  (  not  that  angels  dance .  )  (  if  aziraphale  did  fit  in ,  he  wouldn't  have  given  humanity  his  sword ,  crowley  thinks .  he's  been  different  as  long  as  they've  known  each  other .  )  

     he  doesn't  care  for  aziraphale  thinking  his  differences  could  possibly  be  wrong ,  but  he  gets  it .  he  understands .  that  palpable  fear ,  especially  since  he's  taken  to  spending  time . . .  fraternizing  with  the  enemy .  so  crowley  doesn't  have  anything  to  say  that  could  possibly  help .  nothing  other  than  assuring  him  that  his  not  fitting  in  upstairs  means  he  fits  in  just  fine  on  earth .  (  fits  in  just  fine  with  crowley .  )  

     but  he  doesn't  think  that  would  make  his  the  angel  feel  better ,  so  he  simply  refills  the  other's  wine  glass ,  and  raises  his  own  up  as  if  to  cheers  him .

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