neutral_omens | (no subject)

Time: July 1, 2000
Place: Library
Status: Public
Summary: Where have all the flo ... er books, I mean ... books gone?

Asking Odin about fiends hadn’t sounded like such a good idea after all once Loki had thought it over. Not, if John wanted his problem kept secret. If it had been any other person in the manor, Loki would have just made up a story, but he knew Odin wasn’t likely to buy it no matter how well thought out it was.

So he decided to use the old fall-back: Read up on it.

He wandered into the library and over to the well-stocked section of books on Satanism and hell. ... Or at least he remembered it being well-stocked. There were still more books in there than in any other section, but the once tight packed shelves looked oddly empty. Some books had even fallen over, because there weren’t enough others left to support them.

None of the titles looked promising. Loki pouted at the meagre collection and went to search the next shelf over. The romance section still looked quite full. Maybe the books had simply been mis-shelved?

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Crowley swiveled back to Loki, eyes blazing. "It's not a matter of telling him the truth," he ground out. "He can see it with his own two eyes."

"Oh please, stop playing word games. Not telling or not showing the truth. It's very much the same thing, you know." Loki sneered at Crowley, though he had to secretly admit that he'd used a similar strategy himself more often than he could count. Words were such wonderful tools to play with.

The angel had been halfway up the stairs when he'd heard Crowley's aggravated shout, and went easily back down, arriving, flushed and happy, to see the two of them at each other's throats.

Lovely.

"Now what seems to be the matter here? My dear Loki, I have never seen Anthony here harm our kitten in any sort of manner. I assure I spend quite a bit of time with the both of them." He smiled indulgently, resting a calming hand on Crowley's arm. "Chicago was a welcome gift to the both of us, and she is well-cared for."

"Are you absolutely sure? Someone who'd fry an innocent dog shouldn't be trusted with kitten care. How do you know what he does when you aren't watching?"

He really didn't get this pairing and it wasn't just because they were both male shaped. After all, Uriel had demonstrated how well not-gods shape-shifted. No, he just didn't get what kind and gentle Ezra saw in an abusive monster like Crowley.

"I'm absolutely certain," the angel told him, brutally honest. He was betraying the extent of his trust with those words, but that trust was never meant to be a secret. "I am."

He sent Crowley a sideways look, a tug starting at the side of his mouth. "Frying a dog?" he asked so only Crowley could hear, eyebrow raised. "Better not be Adam's..."

"Well, if you're sure you can trust him," Loki said a little hesitantly. "Though I wonder whether you aren't just a little bit too trusting."

But then Ezra ought to be able to make his own decisions and he wasn't a relative. As far as Loki was concerned that meant it wasn't his problem. What he really should be doing right now was return some of the books he didn't need anymore to the library, before he was accused of stealing them.

"Keep a good eye on that kitty for me, Ezra," he said turning to leave. "She's a cute one."

Raising an eyebrow at being called Anthony - had Aziraphale ever called him that before? - and placing his hand atop the angel's, he replied sotto voce, "I didn't fry anything. He told me I felt more like an angel than a demon and I told him that if he didn't take it back, I'd set fire to his wolves. It was just a joke. It didn't mean anything. Then he dug a hole into our floor and catnapped Chicago, refusing to give her back until Ellie showed up. He's the reason why we couldn't... you know..." the demon gestured towards his trouser reigon, "last week."

Directing a death glare at Loki's retreating form, Crowley said nothing to him. The sooner he left the better.

Aziraphale watched him go, then slid his gaze back to Crowley. "Oh? I didn't have a clue at the time, but simply assumed only the most innocent of explanations."

The smile widened, and the angel looked towards the stairs. "Well, as it were, I'm sure you're quite up to standards just now and well, there is the small matter of a library that needs christening." His ears had gone a deep, bright pink. "In a manner of speaking. If you are, er, up for it?" He hadn't expected to be so bold, but the original flush of excitement had yet to wear off...

"Yeah, well, one doesn't like to talk about being temporarily bested in battle by an unfair knee to the groin when one is trying to defend the honour of one's feline companion," said Crowley, a faint grin playing on his lips.

"But I expect I could be up for assisting you by the time we get there." He grabbed Aziraphale's arm and pulled him towards the stairs.