Archive of Our Own

Prompt: “Stuck at work on Christmas Eve”

Crowley: Never been a problem. Quite the contrary.

Crowley is a freshly retired soldier, back to civilian life. Searching for quieter activities, he first works in security services for companies, exhibits or shows, then he finally settles in the countryside, as a night watchman in a municipal museum and its old library.

Books, pictures, statues and old items, everywhere. Alone and free of any colleague or disturbance, Crowley spends his night shifts looking at the surveillance screens while trying to learn guitar or enjoying some good audiobooks. Roaming around in the dark alleyways and enjoying the silence. Perfect job for such a solitary man.

Until one fateful night, when Crowley realises that the library already had a guardian, sneaking out of his own painting, trotting along the crumbling staircases and the dusted showcases.

An angel, graceful and luminous, tidying up books that weren’t in the right place, reading everything he could with a curious enthusiasm and a wonderful smile.

Time passes. It’s been a year now, and they are… colleagues? No. Friends? Probably even more. And for this new particular night, Crowley wants to gift his Angel with a little something.

To give him back just the smallest part of the awe he feels every night.

“Stuck at work? Not a problem..."

"With you by my side, every night feels like a Christmas Eve.”

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