for salutosinedelectat

[sauntered_downward]

Follows this.

They couldn't just teleport themselves there. Any miracles, demonic or otherwise, would attract too much attention. No, Crowley was actually going to have to sit there, plugging their information into an online search engine, and do it all manually. Fluctuating airline prices were demonic work, and right now a trip to Japan was over six thousand pounds more expensive than if he had bought it three days earlier, which was totally outrageous. Crowley didn't know a lot about money except what it made men do to each other, he'd never had to. But now, making money appear out of nothing could turn the wrong eye on them if he wasn't careful.

Luckily, he had quite a few credit cards that never needed paying or had a limit on them. They would work in a pinch for a moment like this. He didn't know if that sort of perk-of-being-a-demon could ever be taken away from him, but he hoped not.

The flight itself was a long one, and Crowley settled himself in for it by making sure they were flying at least first class. That way they could see everyone coming at them and have a few glasses of wine on the journey.

"I don't think they know about these passports," Crowley says. "They might, but I doubt it. I had them made back during the last World War, just kept them in good condition."

The second World War was something that Crowley took responsibility for, but he hated every moment of it, and what his side did to make it worse made him sick. He was more than prepared to hide away if he needed to when things went wrong back then. And, at the time, he had also created a passport for Aziraphale, in case he wanted to come along. No other reason for that, he told himself.

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[salutosinedelectat]

Aziraphale opens his mouth, makes a couple of unsure noises, then closes it. He's never been a particularly...er, capable angel. He fought in a war, yes. They all had, demons too. It's not something to hold at a standard. And one didn't need to look too close to find that he never exactly held the respect of his divine peers. So he might be a little biased, specially as someone who, until as of late, was meant to tout the strength of Heaven.

"I would say we don't want to handle any of them, preferably." Which is a fact, rather than a ranking. "But we don't have any way of knowing what they're doing now, not with them believing we are impervious to--" Ugh. "er, conventional ways of disposal."

[sauntered_downward]

"Disposal," Crowley repeats, taking another sip of the sake. "Elimination. Destruction. Murder. Might as well just call it what it is. They want to murder us. For doing what? Being friends? Stopping the destruction of billions of people and boiling the oceans? Which was probably Her plan all along!"

Not that the angels and demons will see it that way, of course. They only see the War, the War they had looked forward to and wanted all this time. Can't win a War if there isn't a War.

"We can stop them, but we have to be ready, the way we were before the trials."

[salutosinedelectat]

He winces slightly when Crowley lists all the words for their death, and takes another sip to wash it down.

"Before the trials, we had help." The prophecy, even the Antichrist. They've always been on their own, but things were different in that time. "Unless we happen to come upon another piece of paper with an answer by sheer luck, I don't think we have a way of knowing their next steps."

[sauntered_downward]

"We don't need prophets from four hundred years ago to know what they're planning," Crowley says. "We know them. We worked for them. We sent them memos, we followed their moves. They...they just do what they think is the cleverest. And we were cleverer than them for six thousand years, angel. We can beat them now."

Can and must are interchangeable here, because they have to be. Crowley can't see another way they're getting out of this one.

[salutosinedelectat]

Aziraphale looks at him, wanting to believe those words, wanting to believe they can do it all over again and come out the other side. He wants to have faith in that, if nothing else. He wants peace, and he wants to enjoy it with Crowley.

He's very, very tired. He didn't think it was possible for him to feel tired. It's a very odd feeling.

But his side of the motivational seesaw is interrupted when the waiter brings them their order - a nice sushi assortment for the table, along with the appropriate sauces and sides.

He smiles up at her and thanks her, watching her leave, then setting his eyes on the dish.

A pause and a little breath. And a slightly more chipper sounding tone, to go with the food, of course.

" Would you like to try it?"

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley tilts his head as he looks at the dish. He recognizes some of the things on the dish, and he's seen sushi in a variety of things, most recently in a rewatching of the Breakfast Club, so he basically knows everything there is to know about it. Except...

"What's in it, exactly?" he says, looking warily at it. All the same, he picks up a set of chopsticks. You eat sushi with chopsticks, right? And who is Crowley to deny Aziraphale something that will make him happy?

[salutosinedelectat]

There it is, a much better subject to focus on than their apparent imminent destruction. He will gladly leap at it with open arms.

"Oh, well" He gestures along as he goes. "This one is very simple. Avocado, shrimp tempura, and cucumber-- and the rice and seaweed, of course. This one has eel, this one has tuna. They're all really quite different. You're supposed to eat them, the rolls - nigiri with your hands, but it's become quite common to use chopsticks. You should only eat sashimi with your chopsticks-- this one, the salmon. And you should only dip the fish."

He's just going to keep going if he's not stopped. Save yourself, Crowley.

[sauntered_downward]

The look on Crowley's face is one of extreme dubiousness. Aziraphale could be explaining a part of the ten commandments that were rewritten for the modern audience and Crowley would have a similar, uncertain expression. He doesn't really like food all that much on his own, but there's something very wonderful and special about sharing food with Aziraphale, and that really is moments like this, where he's being extremely excited about it in ways that Crowley just isn't.

One can't be around someone as excited about food and not feel a little excitement themselves.

"All right, so this is one of the rolls---" Crowley says, pointing at one of the eel. He reaches out to take one, carefully.

[salutosinedelectat]

Aziraphale gleefully watches him, even if Crowley picks it up like it might gain sentience and attack him.

" Yes. You're not quite supposed to dip it in the soy sauce. But I suppose to each one their own." he is watching closely. Very giddy. " There's also the Wasabi, if you feel like it."

This is definitely how adults handle their situation.

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley points at the green blob with his pinky. "That?"

Oh, Aziraphale is enjoying this too much. But if he can make Aziraphale this happy just by trying food, especially considering the straights they're in, he'd eat the whole damn plate himself no matter what it tasted like.

He pops the sushi into his mouth and gives it a careful chew. He really shouldn't have worried. He's never eaten a food Aziraphale has suggested that has been disgusting. Even oysters, which had a very strange texture, were delicious.

honestly, any adult I know, including myself

[salutosinedelectat]

The angel is entirely too excited about this, watching Crowley like one would watch a particularly enticing game of gold, should gold be their thing.

"Well? What do you think?" Aziraphale has known for many, many centuries that the demon doesn't quite enjoy food as much as he does. Or anyone with a mild enjoyment of food. But the demon also does most things the angel asks or suggests without much fuss, so that first part ends up not mattering much.

[sauntered_downward]

"There's a lot of things going on all at once," Crowley says, around the mouthful of food. "Milder than I expected."

But then again, all sorts of eras and places have all sorts of palates. He's tried the very bland and the very spicy and it's all never really mattered unless he was in the right company. Well, one very specific company. He picks up the piece of wasabi. "Do I just eat this?"

Someone enters the shop, and Crowley turns his head to look at the door. Just a tall, unassuming American tourist. Or is it? It could be anyone.

did he just pick up a glob of wasabi paste

[salutosinedelectat]

"Well, you--"

But his thought is cut short, turning his head the same way Crowley does. He watches the person, suddenly very quiet, very careful.

behold the demon all the fangirls swoon over

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley notices Aziraphale's gaze and his heart stops. Is it just a tourist? Is it just a person? What does a soldier from Heaven look like? Would Crowley be able to smell them? Could he tell? How would they even fight them?

"What do you think?" he murmurs.

oh my god crowley, sweetie, no

[salutosinedelectat]

Aziraphale watches them carefully, someone who stands out as much as they do, and he's not entirely able to get a read on them. Could easily be just a tourist. Could also be an angel or a demon hiding their true essence.

" I'm not sure." He murmurs just as quietly. "Could be nothing..."

crowley yes

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley considers the person for a moment. He thinks he could tell if it were a demon. If it were one of his kind, hiding. They were so bad at it, first of all. Second, they gave off a distinctive smell, and he could usually detect it. But angels, they were a whole different story. He could always tell Aziraphale's scent, but that was just because Aziraphale was always around, and that was just part of what Crowley had become accustomed to. Another angel? Different story.

"Maybe we'll just stay quiet," he says, very serious. "Maybe they won't notice us."

With that, he puts the green blob into his mouth. And promptly starts loudly coughing at the intense, strange spice.

CROWLEY NO!!

[salutosinedelectat]

He is certainly very startled when Crowley falls into a coughing fit, as well as very confused. They are extremely good at this.

"My dear boy, what--" Oh, this is terrible. He fills Crowley's glass back up, handing it to him in hopes of helping, and glances over towards the center of the room again. There's a few people staring, but most of them seem more preoccupied with their own dinner and don't give it a second thought.

He's not sure where the person went. Takes him a second to remember that mortals use bathrooms, so he really hopes that might be the case.

😈

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley takes a large drink of the small cup of sake. The alcohol burns, the spice burns, and human food is so very stupid.

"What the Heaven...?" he sputters. That tasted nothing like the sushi he had just tried and was nothing like what he expected at all. He looks around the shop, and realizes the person who entered has vanished.

He looks at Aziraphale and coughs. "Do you think...?"

crowley being victimized by human food will be the reason for their divorce

[salutosinedelectat]

Aziraphale glances at him, then takes another look around the room. As everyone else focused back on their own food and companions, it only serves to make him entirely sure he person is not there anymore.

"I'm not sure..." But it's clearly ringing alarm bells. In the state they're in, he's not sure if he's being paranoid or if they're being tracked down by, most probably, angels.

He looks at Crowley, nervous. "What do we do?"

crowley has a very long list of grievances caused by human foods and would like to enumerate them

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley looks longingly at the wine in front of them, and less longingly at the sushi that has just betrayed him, and then at Aziraphale. Aziraphale just wanted to come to Japan and enjoy himself, not spend all of his time running.

"We could stay, have them come to us, which they probably won't do surrounded by all these people," he says. "Which could also mean they surround the shop now that they know we're here. Or we could take a risk and run for it. Keep moving, try to lose them."

aziraphale will not stand for this slander

[salutosinedelectat]

He did just want to spend some time in Japan. He did just want to have some peace and enjoy new sights, just wander around with his companion, blissfully and calmly. But, deep down, he expected this. It had been the real reason they traveled all the way out here, after all.

He gives the plate of sushi his own longing look. Damn near heartbroken. He sulks. "I...suppose it would be safer to go."

number 3,452: that time wasabi ruined their japan holiday

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley could handle a lot of things. He could handle being chased, nearly killed, almost obliterated by holy water. But seeing Aziraphale like this really, truly upset him. The angel deserved better. He should have been enjoying things. Should have been the happy person he was thirty seconds earlier, going on about how to eat sushi.

Crowley waves his hand, and the sushi disappears, and the bill appears, paid. He's probably risking it, pulling on a few miracles, but it's also pretty likely they've already been spotted.

"It'll be waiting for us," he says, getting to his feet. "Though if that sashimi stuff is anything like the green thing, I'm never trusting you again."

That is incrimination!! Also he made his husband uwu

[salutosinedelectat]

The angel perks up, looking at Crowley, down at the check and then back up at him. It takes him a moment but, much like any other times Crowley has come through in ways that make the angel feel truly understood and cherished (and maybe a little loved), he smiles brightly.

He gets up, slightly turning his head in an attempt to hide the brightness, the sweetness of that smile. Oh, Crowley.

He adjusts his jacket and clears his throat, attempting to get back to some form of focus. "Do you think we can get there from here?"

anything for you, aziraphale <3

[sauntered_downward]

That? That's what Crowley wants. Smiles like that. They've been too hidden, too much not to smile about. Crowley would do anything to let the angel just be his stupidly happy self, no matter what idiotic situation that ended him up in. Though, really, this situation was more dangerous and impossible than just idiotic, but Crowley did end up in his fair share of idiotic situations because of Aziraphale.

"We can take a taxi," Crowley suggests. "More likely to get lost in the crowd of cars, than just two people walking along the street."

take notes, gentlemen

[salutosinedelectat]

He gives it some thought, starting to head towards the door. "I do suppose doing more conventional matters might help thwart them." Although they did find their plane and risk ending the lives of several innocent mortals for it. Although there's the distinct possibility that the actual purpose of it was just to flush them out. Or, alternatively, they didn't care.

"Perhaps if we move closer to the inner city--" He turns his head as he talks, spotting that one tourist having a chat with one of the waitstaff, near the door to the kitchen. In that moment, he swears they lock eyes.

Something in him distinctively does not like that.