Gosh. That was all Aziraphale thought when he felt the tug of his stitches. He wasn’t even sure how exactly it had happened, a little stumble on the way to the chimney tearing enough of a hole into his trousers to get to the stitching on his thigh. He’d been lamenting to Crowley about having to fix his trousers, halfway through a, “It’s not exactly difficult. I’m just terribly-” Down he’d gone, ripped off balance on an already very unstable roof.
Gravity worked fast, but Crowley worked quicker. Aziraphale didn’t even see him move, that barely-human form whipping into a coil of scales in a fingersnap, catching him so safely none of the rest of him had a chance to fall apart.
They were cool and smooth and, when Aziraphale looked up into golden eyes and saw the sharp fangs of a creature who could easily tear him into fluffy bits, he nearly shivered. It was better than his best nightmares and Aziraphale had excellent nightmares, if he did say so himself.
He swapped forms quickly, looping a secure arm around Aziraphale’s waist, his babbling entirely lost on the patchwork being as he was helped inside. Something about him ripping out that shingle and throwing it as far as he possibly could and so sorry, angel, I should’ve paid more attention to you. He was helped into the armchair and then Crowley disappeared again, picking up the bits of stuffing he’d lost along the way, and Aziraphale was still feeling rather too dazed to comment on the mortification involved in that. He just quietly closed the hole in his vacant trousers to give himself something to focus on.
Until he felt a phantom touch.
The needle went straight through his finger, and his breath caught. Crowley was touching his leg. He could feel it even from a distance, though it was light. A gentle touch to his calve, a grasp around his ankle. He didn’t know what was happening, but he could feel his leg slide against something - perhaps it had landed in the bushes. He hadn’t been paying overmuch attention, really. What was a lost limb when one was being cradled by an enormous serpent?
Gosh, now there was a hand on his thigh. That was…
Crowley’s long fingers pressed into the soft fabric of his leg, thigh and calve held gently until Crowley walked in, his cheeks dusted with colour. It was humiliating and awful and, truly, there could be nothing better than the feeling of Crowley’s hands on him.
“Hey, angel, I found your leg!”
It took Aziraphale a moment before he nodded. “I-I know, d-dear…” Oh, did he ever know. “Thank you.”
@saminander this is your fault for your wonderful art and for pointing out that yeah Crowley would have had to get Aziraphale’s leg, lol
Set in ch 4 of mine and @theladydrgn‘s Nightmare Before Christmas AU Sit Together, Now & Forever based on this glorious art - please show them love; they’re a lovely person and fab artist
