Eyes
One thing that Aziraphale never seemed to understand was that Crowley didn't just wear his sunglasses to hide his snake eyes from the mortals. He also didn't wear them only to be fashionable. The thing that Crowley never actually told anyone was that he wore them because his serpentine eyes were extremely sensitive to artificial light. Sunlight he could handle with no problem for the most part, but artificial light was rather akin to jabbing a needle into his brain through his eyeball.
Crowley could handle using a smart phone, or a television, or even a computer because he could control the brightness of the screen. He could set it to where he could see it without any problems at all. He couldn't do that with every light in existence, unfortunately. And it really didn't help that when they were out and about, Aziraphale preferred well lit places that made it much easier to read. That was one of the main reasons that Crowley's sunglasses were so dark. He could get away with having lunch at the Ritz if he didn't end up with a headache from the lights.
The bookshop wasn't so bad because most of the light was natural, and what little light wasn't natural was provided by soft yellow bulbs that didn't bother Crowley quite as much as the bright white ones did. That was why he could sit around without his sunglasses on in the shop. It was a safe haven from all of the garish brightness of the rest of the world. The only other place he could go and feel the same way was his flat. A place he'd designed specifically to need as little artificial light as possible. And the plants liked the natural light as well.
The invention of the LED was a particular problem for Crowley. The excruciatingly bright lights could pierce their way through even the darkest of sunglasses. Because of their usefulness, and the fact that they used such a small amount of electricity, they were starting to be used everywhere. It was next to impossible to avoid them.
The lights had been particularly bothersome that day and Crowley could just feel the headache coming on. He'd tried to miracle away the headaches before and it just didn't work. He had to put himself in a dark place and wait for them to go away. He could have done this at his flat but he really didn't want to be laying alone in the dark just then. He knew that Aziraphale didn't mind when he came over, even if it was to sit in a dark room for a while, so he made his way to the bookshop. Crowley parked outside the shop and just sat in his car for a moment. The fact that it was after dark made things a little worse because of the street lamps. He took his sunglasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to at least get the headache to subside long enough to get inside without appearing to be drunk.
"You really should be careful, Crowley. You never know what could happen." Daigon's voice came from his radio. Crowley looked up just as an enormous truck with bright white headlights came around the corner. Headlights that happened to be in Crowley's direct line of sight.
"Damn it!" Crowley hissed as he closed his eyes tight. It was going to take him at least an hour to get the shadows to fade away.
"Like I said, Crowley. Must be careful." This was followed by what could only be described as an evil chuckle and then the radio went silent. There was something about the words that sent a cold shiver down Crowley's spine. He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to get rid of that feeling. He opened his eyes and then blinked several times. This wasn't the usual bright light shadows that would eventually fade. At least he could still see a bit around the edges. This was complete darkness. Not even the tiniest glimmer of light. For the first time since having to confront Satan himself, Crowley started to legitimately panic.
Aziraphale saw the Bentley pull up to the curb and assumed that Crowley would be in shortly. He made sure to have a bottle of wine ready, as well as a pot of coffee. He wasn't sure which Crowley was in the mood for that evening. Sometimes it was both. When ten minutes had passed and the demon still hadn't come inside, Aziraphale sighed softly. He walked outside and rapped lightly on the car's window.
"Are you coming in, dear?" He asked with a bit of a smile. The smile faded very quickly when he felt the level of fear that was coming from Crowley. Something was very wrong. He tried the door and wasn't surprised when it came open.
"They've done something to me, Aziraphale. I....I can't see." Crowley his head in the direction that Aziraphale's voice had come from. He heard the angel gasp.
"Good Lord, Crowley....." There was a hint of sadness in his tone and he reached down to take Crowley's hands. His eyes were no longer the bright yellow serpent eyes he'd had before. They were almost completely black. It was an unsettling look. "I'll help you inside, surely there's something that can be done."
"Right." Crowley cleared his throat and reached for Aziraphale who quickly took his hands and led him into the bookshop. He maneuvered Crowley over to the couch and got him to take a seat, kneeling in front of him and just looking at him for a moment.
"Perhaps I can heal you." Surely that was an option, wasn't it? He put his hand over Crowley's eyes and a soft white glow formed beneath his fingers. Crowley gripped the couch as a stabbing pain started to move from just under Aziraphale's hand through to the back of his head. He bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed. After another thirty seconds it was too much and he cried out.
"Stop!" He was gripping the couch cushion hard enough to leave tears from his fingernails. Aziraphale quickly pulled his hand away and moved back just a little bit.
"I'm sorry...." He wasn't sure why it hadn't worked. He'd healed Crowley before.
"Did you honestly think it was going to be as simple as that?" Daigon's voice came from the small radio that Aziraphale kept in the shop. "Punishment can not be undone, Crowley. You know better." And then the radio went silent again. Aziraphale watched as Crowley closed his eyes and seemed to just deflate. It was the only way to describe it. He slumped into the couch, completely defeated.
"That's it, then." Crowley's voice shook a little bit. He pulled the keys to his beloved car out of his pocket and held them out to Aziraphale.
"What are you doing?" Aziraphale shook his head and backed up just a bit more. He wasn't going to take the keys.
"You heard him, Aziraphale. Punishment can not be undone." He cleared his throat. "This is my punishment. Hell finally decided that they could mess with me after all."
"But that's your car...." Aziraphale started.
"What good is a car to a man that can't see, Aziraphale? Huh? How exactly am I supposed to drive it now?!" He angrily threw the keys across the room. Crowley got up and tried to storm off, but immediately ran into a chair and ended up on the floor. He just lay there for a long moment before curling up in as little of a ball as possible.
"I'm sorry, Crowley. I truly am." Aziraphale moved over and lay down next to Crowley, wrapping his arms around him tightly. There was a long road ahead and Aziraphale wanted to make sure that Crowley knew he wouldn't have to travel it alone.
Crowley could handle using a smart phone, or a television, or even a computer because he could control the brightness of the screen. He could set it to where he could see it without any problems at all. He couldn't do that with every light in existence, unfortunately. And it really didn't help that when they were out and about, Aziraphale preferred well lit places that made it much easier to read. That was one of the main reasons that Crowley's sunglasses were so dark. He could get away with having lunch at the Ritz if he didn't end up with a headache from the lights.
The bookshop wasn't so bad because most of the light was natural, and what little light wasn't natural was provided by soft yellow bulbs that didn't bother Crowley quite as much as the bright white ones did. That was why he could sit around without his sunglasses on in the shop. It was a safe haven from all of the garish brightness of the rest of the world. The only other place he could go and feel the same way was his flat. A place he'd designed specifically to need as little artificial light as possible. And the plants liked the natural light as well.
The invention of the LED was a particular problem for Crowley. The excruciatingly bright lights could pierce their way through even the darkest of sunglasses. Because of their usefulness, and the fact that they used such a small amount of electricity, they were starting to be used everywhere. It was next to impossible to avoid them.
The lights had been particularly bothersome that day and Crowley could just feel the headache coming on. He'd tried to miracle away the headaches before and it just didn't work. He had to put himself in a dark place and wait for them to go away. He could have done this at his flat but he really didn't want to be laying alone in the dark just then. He knew that Aziraphale didn't mind when he came over, even if it was to sit in a dark room for a while, so he made his way to the bookshop. Crowley parked outside the shop and just sat in his car for a moment. The fact that it was after dark made things a little worse because of the street lamps. He took his sunglasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to at least get the headache to subside long enough to get inside without appearing to be drunk.
"You really should be careful, Crowley. You never know what could happen." Daigon's voice came from his radio. Crowley looked up just as an enormous truck with bright white headlights came around the corner. Headlights that happened to be in Crowley's direct line of sight.
"Damn it!" Crowley hissed as he closed his eyes tight. It was going to take him at least an hour to get the shadows to fade away.
"Like I said, Crowley. Must be careful." This was followed by what could only be described as an evil chuckle and then the radio went silent. There was something about the words that sent a cold shiver down Crowley's spine. He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to get rid of that feeling. He opened his eyes and then blinked several times. This wasn't the usual bright light shadows that would eventually fade. At least he could still see a bit around the edges. This was complete darkness. Not even the tiniest glimmer of light. For the first time since having to confront Satan himself, Crowley started to legitimately panic.
Aziraphale saw the Bentley pull up to the curb and assumed that Crowley would be in shortly. He made sure to have a bottle of wine ready, as well as a pot of coffee. He wasn't sure which Crowley was in the mood for that evening. Sometimes it was both. When ten minutes had passed and the demon still hadn't come inside, Aziraphale sighed softly. He walked outside and rapped lightly on the car's window.
"Are you coming in, dear?" He asked with a bit of a smile. The smile faded very quickly when he felt the level of fear that was coming from Crowley. Something was very wrong. He tried the door and wasn't surprised when it came open.
"They've done something to me, Aziraphale. I....I can't see." Crowley his head in the direction that Aziraphale's voice had come from. He heard the angel gasp.
"Good Lord, Crowley....." There was a hint of sadness in his tone and he reached down to take Crowley's hands. His eyes were no longer the bright yellow serpent eyes he'd had before. They were almost completely black. It was an unsettling look. "I'll help you inside, surely there's something that can be done."
"Right." Crowley cleared his throat and reached for Aziraphale who quickly took his hands and led him into the bookshop. He maneuvered Crowley over to the couch and got him to take a seat, kneeling in front of him and just looking at him for a moment.
"Perhaps I can heal you." Surely that was an option, wasn't it? He put his hand over Crowley's eyes and a soft white glow formed beneath his fingers. Crowley gripped the couch as a stabbing pain started to move from just under Aziraphale's hand through to the back of his head. He bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed. After another thirty seconds it was too much and he cried out.
"Stop!" He was gripping the couch cushion hard enough to leave tears from his fingernails. Aziraphale quickly pulled his hand away and moved back just a little bit.
"I'm sorry...." He wasn't sure why it hadn't worked. He'd healed Crowley before.
"Did you honestly think it was going to be as simple as that?" Daigon's voice came from the small radio that Aziraphale kept in the shop. "Punishment can not be undone, Crowley. You know better." And then the radio went silent again. Aziraphale watched as Crowley closed his eyes and seemed to just deflate. It was the only way to describe it. He slumped into the couch, completely defeated.
"That's it, then." Crowley's voice shook a little bit. He pulled the keys to his beloved car out of his pocket and held them out to Aziraphale.
"What are you doing?" Aziraphale shook his head and backed up just a bit more. He wasn't going to take the keys.
"You heard him, Aziraphale. Punishment can not be undone." He cleared his throat. "This is my punishment. Hell finally decided that they could mess with me after all."
"But that's your car...." Aziraphale started.
"What good is a car to a man that can't see, Aziraphale? Huh? How exactly am I supposed to drive it now?!" He angrily threw the keys across the room. Crowley got up and tried to storm off, but immediately ran into a chair and ended up on the floor. He just lay there for a long moment before curling up in as little of a ball as possible.
"I'm sorry, Crowley. I truly am." Aziraphale moved over and lay down next to Crowley, wrapping his arms around him tightly. There was a long road ahead and Aziraphale wanted to make sure that Crowley knew he wouldn't have to travel it alone.
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