Bleeding Out
2019-11-23 22:52![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mekachu04"the first nigt, he was so exauhsted, emotionaly and physically, that once he'd shown aziraphel around his flat, crowley had almost immediatly fallen aleep the first moemnt he'd sat down. He hadn't meant to, he'd jsut drifted off half way though his thought. He'd woken up in his bed an hour or so before day break, home dark aside from a soft hazy glow filtering in from his office.
Azirpahale had set himelf up at corlwey's desk. unlike crowloys typicl sprawn in the thone, the Angel sat proper, but still and staring blankly toward the front door. THe lights in the flat where off - had he even turned any on when they'd gotten in last night? - the soft glow coming from azirpahle himself.
Corlwy had seen aziropahles hlo in the past - once the angel had given away his swould, a lit of light play was his best defence against the forceds of hell - but azirpahle was careful to keep in tamperd down from day one. Human faired little better then demons did, and Azirphale was always very conciousns of possible collaterale damage. But that had been a few thousdand years at this point.
This week had been a rollercoaster for them both, so, standing in the door way, sunglasses frimly in place, Crolwy stood deadly still, ""Azirpahle.""
He didn't yell, just called out firsmly, looking down around soft polish brown shoes, as the angelisc light flared strongly as he could feel his friend turning to judge him. He could feel the moment Azirpahle came back to himself, and the ligth fleed from the room, ""Crowlye?""
A snap brought the lights of the office on, and when he looked up he did so with a soft smile, ""Angel, whatcha sitting here in the dark for?""
He din't let his worry show on his face, watching as Azirpahle blinked, looking around the office as if the room had ay answers.
-
He bounces back, at least Azirpahle looks like he bounces back. Crowley can almost forgive that first night and toss it up to just mentel fatigue. But the first week into the rest of their life, azirpahale spaces out again. It happens when corlwy dozes off after a nice shared lunch. It was a quick thing, a power nap that likely didn';t last mor ethen ten minures, but when he wakes up, Azirpahle is stariring blanked at the front doors of the book shop. He's glowing aga
Crowley doesn't move at first, following the angel's gaze, but he can't see anything. Azirpahle's gaze is emptionless, but lazer sharp, and when corwley leans forward into the angel's personal space, the air crackles with holiness.
""Angel?""
Heart dropping, Azirpahle doesn't respond. Crowley, careful not to touch, slinked around unil he knelt in front of azirpahle.
It was like looking at the Angels of the Walls of Eden. He'd snuck past them enough, six thousdans years ago, but he'd never been as close as he was right now. ""Azirpahle.""
Like stings being cut, azirpahle slumps in place, the glow fading as he turned to regard crowley,""what.. why are you down there?""
Crowley plays it off with a chuckles, not wanted to frighten his freind.
-
Azirpahle is exchuasted. Crowley can sence that now that he's looking. When the two are together - and corlwy is awake - Azirpahle seems to be running on fumes, but still running. The problem is when crowly drifts off. It takes some faking it see what hapenes, but instead of resting, when corwley falls alsspe, any energy Azirpahle seems to have gathered durnign their shared time gets refocused in to full blown sentry mode. Crowley watched in growing horror as his friend quietly panics himself into his most basic stae of being. Azirapahel was built to be a guardian, and it seems everything criwly rested, the 'guard' part of azirpahle takes charge.
Crowley watches in horror as he watches his friend dissappear into a default gaurdian, realising that once he falls alseep, azirpahle starts to drift off himself; for an agnel that's never needed to sleep, he deperatly needs it, corlwy can see, watching azirpahel panic as he starts to nod off. When he can't fight it anymore, he allows default programing to take charge, setting up himself as sentry over crowley.
Unable to let the crhad go on, crolwey knees next to his friend, glasses filtering out the angelic glow, but carefully avoiding touching the gaurd. ""Azirpahle.""
It never storps hurting that the angels name is the trigger to pull him out, and not the fond /angel/ that crowly usually calles his frind.
The familour confusion starts to set in, and he guides the angel to his feet though the standadrd questions, leading him over to the couch Crolwy usually slept on. ""Crowly, what?""
""Your turn, angel.""
""My.. my turn? for what?""
""Your ou think yturnt o rest. sleep if you can, but unlitmatly, you're gonna close your eyes and just give yourself a moemnt to relax.""
Azirpahle jsut looks at him in confusion, and Crolwy cups his cheek. ""I wills tay awake this time, and i'm gonan stand guar.""
""Don't be silly, I don't need-""
""Yes. you do.""
-
he still glows when he rest, but it's softer. Crowley does not need to sleep, defiantly does not need to sleep on a nightly basis, and now that he has caught on to azirpahle's delima, he holds off on an otherwise enjoybale hobby. Azirpahle shouldn't need to sleep either, and corlwy does NOT want to think too hard on it, but azirpahle also seems much better and alreat ofter dozing off.
And the long her goes without sleep, the quicker he gets warn down.
He never gets back up ot the energy he had on hte first day of hte rest of their lives, and corlwy is starting to get scared.
Azirpahle is pointling refusing to think about it, becuase he's starting to get scared too.
Becuase he's not getting better, he's just not getting worse as quickly. It's becoming easier and easier to fall alseep, somehting that scares him more than he can possibly put into words, and it's becomeing harder to wake up.
Harder to stay awake.
He curls next to crowley in the demon's bed; the dawning sun filling the room. He's afraid to ask how long he's slept tis time; he's so tired, he jsut wasn't to drift back off again. Fighting off that instinct, he clings to corwley instead, feeling the demon's arm tighten around him protectivly. He doesn't want to leave this momtn"
