To anyone else, the concept of "alternate universes" might not have been so foreign. Aziraphale had never had much interest in matters of quantum sciences or even the very fantastical science fictions that humans were so fond of writing. Not that he didn't have a wide collection of those in his bookshop. They just weren't his favorites.
He nodded slowly at her when she confirmed it was a dream, though the look on his face was definitely skeptical.
"Yes, my dear, that's been well established." But then she was scolding him, prattling on about Crowley and the things he'd apparently said? And he felt a small twinge in his corporation's heart. Oh, Crowley.
"I assure you, Crowley is far from a monster, and I am no saint." His voice was sad, concerned. Crowley was loud, brash, cynical and quick to be short when frustrated, yes. But the thought that he might view himself as something so awful as to be monstrous hurt, made him want to wake up so that he could seek him out just to reassure himself that his friend wasn't out of sorts. He huffed back at her accusations, shaking his head. What?
"Why are you saying these things???" Was this some deeply-seated guilt surfacing to point out all of the things he may have said in the past to make his friend feel less then worthy of his...companionship? Forgiveness? He dimly recalled the day in the park, watching Warlock wander through the statues of mythical, "prehistoric" practical jokes, and the way his eagerness to perform slight-of-hand magic tricks had vexed the demon, the way he'd sighed and retorted back a light-hearted 'you're no fun.' "He knows I didn't mean that, surely! Oh, I never meant that in earnest, I was only joking!"
The tenor of his voice had taken on a bit of a distressed tone, and if she were to look back at him, the look on his face would have been one of actual guilt and worry. Crowley surely knew better then to take the things he said when they bantered to heart, didn't he? He gave it as much as he received, it had been their way of teasing each other for as long as he could remember! His hands fidgeted in front of his chest, wringing gently as she prattled on, and he only seemed to be half listening to her for a long moment. He seemed to have completely missed the grumpy way she pointed out the blueberries in the field and his nightmare-in-a-dream as if that proved her point.
When he finally seemed to check back into the conversation, he gave a small, thoughtful nod, considering what she said as he dragged himself back to the present. It was an unusual concept, true, but he supposed it made a certain kind of sense?
"Well, yes, of course, it could certainly be something that She might have done. B-b-but there would have to be so many! I-...I...I don't dare try and confess to understand what She has planned for us, not the way I once did. But if that were true, then..." Would that mean there was another Universe where he and Crowley had failed? Where the world had been lost to fire and death and destruction?
Where Crowley had...
He bit down on that thought sharply, fighting it back even as the implications threatened to stop the purely-optional breaths in his chest. When he focused on her again, when she described her Doctor friend and his resemblance to the demon, he felt a little surge of pride breaking through the discomfort. Yes, yes, that sounded a bit more like the Crowley he knew. He was so very fond of the humans, even if he had trouble showing it. But that, he realized, wasn't the point of what was being said, and he shook his head to refocus his attention.
"You...you realize that...if the things you're saying are true...If this dream is...somehow more then what it seems, and has been...trapping people from other of Her Creations, then...the implications are astronomical! And it's a little hard to believe, mind you." But then it was certainly not something he could have ever imagined himself dreaming up. And that, in and of itself, was telling, wasn't it? When she chided him for thwarting Crowley's temptations, insinuating that it was not the tit-for-tat Arrangement that they had had for hundreds of years, now, his nose curled slightly, a little bewildered. She-...if she were really a part of his mind...she should know this.
The look on his face slowly shifted, to one of slowly-dawning horror.
"My Dear...Do you really not know?"
She may have just stumbled upon the proof needed to convince him without even having realized it.
no subject
He nodded slowly at her when she confirmed it was a dream, though the look on his face was definitely skeptical.
"Yes, my dear, that's been well established." But then she was scolding him, prattling on about Crowley and the things he'd apparently said? And he felt a small twinge in his corporation's heart. Oh, Crowley.
"I assure you, Crowley is far from a monster, and I am no saint." His voice was sad, concerned. Crowley was loud, brash, cynical and quick to be short when frustrated, yes. But the thought that he might view himself as something so awful as to be monstrous hurt, made him want to wake up so that he could seek him out just to reassure himself that his friend wasn't out of sorts. He huffed back at her accusations, shaking his head. What?
"Why are you saying these things???" Was this some deeply-seated guilt surfacing to point out all of the things he may have said in the past to make his friend feel less then worthy of his...companionship? Forgiveness? He dimly recalled the day in the park, watching Warlock wander through the statues of mythical, "prehistoric" practical jokes, and the way his eagerness to perform slight-of-hand magic tricks had vexed the demon, the way he'd sighed and retorted back a light-hearted 'you're no fun.' "He knows I didn't mean that, surely! Oh, I never meant that in earnest, I was only joking!"
The tenor of his voice had taken on a bit of a distressed tone, and if she were to look back at him, the look on his face would have been one of actual guilt and worry. Crowley surely knew better then to take the things he said when they bantered to heart, didn't he? He gave it as much as he received, it had been their way of teasing each other for as long as he could remember! His hands fidgeted in front of his chest, wringing gently as she prattled on, and he only seemed to be half listening to her for a long moment. He seemed to have completely missed the grumpy way she pointed out the blueberries in the field and his nightmare-in-a-dream as if that proved her point.
When he finally seemed to check back into the conversation, he gave a small, thoughtful nod, considering what she said as he dragged himself back to the present. It was an unusual concept, true, but he supposed it made a certain kind of sense?
"Well, yes, of course, it could certainly be something that She might have done. B-b-but there would have to be so many! I-...I...I don't dare try and confess to understand what She has planned for us, not the way I once did. But if that were true, then..." Would that mean there was another Universe where he and Crowley had failed? Where the world had been lost to fire and death and destruction?
Where Crowley had...
He bit down on that thought sharply, fighting it back even as the implications threatened to stop the purely-optional breaths in his chest. When he focused on her again, when she described her Doctor friend and his resemblance to the demon, he felt a little surge of pride breaking through the discomfort. Yes, yes, that sounded a bit more like the Crowley he knew. He was so very fond of the humans, even if he had trouble showing it. But that, he realized, wasn't the point of what was being said, and he shook his head to refocus his attention.
"You...you realize that...if the things you're saying are true...If this dream is...somehow more then what it seems, and has been...trapping people from other of Her Creations, then...the implications are astronomical! And it's a little hard to believe, mind you." But then it was certainly not something he could have ever imagined himself dreaming up. And that, in and of itself, was telling, wasn't it? When she chided him for thwarting Crowley's temptations, insinuating that it was not the tit-for-tat Arrangement that they had had for hundreds of years, now, his nose curled slightly, a little bewildered. She-...if she were really a part of his mind...she should know this.
The look on his face slowly shifted, to one of slowly-dawning horror.
"My Dear...Do you really not know?"
She may have just stumbled upon the proof needed to convince him without even having realized it.