"Oh, well, I mean, it's very fun." Remus informed Crowley with an almost childish smile before he turned back. Aziraphale was very talented, in his own unique way, he did card tricks, he made some balloon animals for the crowd and Sirius soon found himself holding a balloon dog. It was all very sweet.
And then Aziraphale did do some singing. From Mary Poppins. And hell yeah, it was a bop.
Felix gave a standing ovation by the end, still holding the rabbit. "You go, girl!"
"Thank you, thank you. You made an old woman very happy."
Remus laughed, wondering how old the guy was. He may have acted like an older woman but he didn't look that old, maybe like 40 at most? "He's pretty good, yeah, I like it."
"She's a riot, isn't she?" Sirius grinned, wrapping both arms around Remus and nuzzling him with the balloon dog, which made some of Remus's hair stand up. Fun stuff. He laughed and watched as Crowley pushed away from the wall to take Aziraphale's hand in his instead. He pushed a button on the stereo and then they were dancing to Good-Old Fashioned Lover Boy.
It was sweet, really, because no matter how embarrassed Crowley might be by some of the antics, he was always there to dance at the end. "See? Romance is not dead."
"Romance for the elderly, I see. Just be careful you don't dislocate a hip!" Sirius nodded wisely and a few blokes laughed, but it was all in good fun. This was a wholesome performance.
"I love you the same now as I did back then." Aziraphale proudly told Crowley and then kissed him, the boys in the audience whistled and Aziraphale turned to them, breaking character with a charming smile. "Your elders, yes. We fought so you could have it the legal way. We pave the way, because we must, that's our role. Each generation makes the next better."
Aziraphale pulled away from Crowley, did another slight of hand and then produced a bucket. It had 'AIDS fund' written on it and he pointed passed it out to them.
"Donate well or I'll be most displeased."
Remus pulled a face and patted himself down, pulling out a crumpled fiver. "That's all I got. You got anything?"
"I'll cover for you two, chill." Felix assured the boys as he pulled out a fifty. "Don't want you both starving."
"I think I got a tenner somewhere, so... Halfway to curing it, I'd say." Sirius grinned, arms still tightly around Remus, who looked pretty healthy today. By Remus's standards, anyway. Working here, stopping the meds, regular food and sleep, it seemed to do something for him. Some colour in those cheeks.
Crowley had taken over the bucket to collect, figuring it wasn't really a thing for a lady to do. "Cheers," he told Felix when he put the fifty in, "It's all going to what the Rathaway kid is working on this time. He's talked to Aziraphale and apparently been completely charming, which sounds fake."
He had met that kid too, after all. But then, Aziraphale brought it out in people. The good, the best.
"Do you want more tea, madam?" Holden wanted to be a good host.
"I trust in Hartley more than anyone in the government. Besides, he could use a win. Harry is in hospital." Felix informed Crowley grimly as he watched the other collect, both of them knowing what a bad sign that would be. "He said that what we need to do is remove a protein that creates something in our ... RNA? MNA? MBA? I forget. All I know is he thinks it's a cocktail of chemicals that will work better that the AZT."
And that was all that he could follow.
"He said AZT works better as a mix and it can help prevent the symptoms from getting worse but if you already have AIDS, it's pointless." Remus explained because he had a lecture from Hartley not that long ago.
"More tea is good, I think." Aziraphale said as he pulled his wig off and sat in a nearby chair, smiling at Holden. "I have already donated a considerable sum to young Rathaway, a very lovely boy, so polite!"
"Maybe Hartley paid someone to be him." Felix muttered to Holden as he walked by to get the kettle.
Holden snorted involuntarily, but nodded enthusiastically to Aziraphale, not wanting to disagree with him. "He is, he is. Quite brilliant and very driven." Also angry, but it was difficult to blame him for that, with his own history and circumstances and how they reflected the history and circumstances of the entire community.
"Apparently Hartley's lover is in hospital right now, angel," Crowley told Aziraphale as he brushed shoulders with him before taking the bucket to the other side, still gathering donations.
"I'll go visit," Sirius said, determined, "Harry's not a bad sort at all, used to have loads of fun with him back when." He looked at Remus and clarified, just in case. "Platonically. Anyway, if anyone can find a cure, it would be Hartley. Maybe he can just yell the virus into submission."
"Harry is ... I don't know him, he doesn't talk much in group." Remus found that Hartley spoke more and Harry seemed mostly checked out, making sarcastic remarks more than anything. He had a very tired energy that Remus understood well. "He's pants are always so tight... not that I'm looking! It's just -- I mean, well, I like to be comfortable when I'm sick..."
"No more tight than Crowley's." Felix pointed out and then wolf whistled at Crowley when he walked by again. "Harry is alright, I never knew him before, only now. He's-- well, yeah. You know. Me and Holden are going to visit so we can dive you two with us, if you fancy."
Remus nodded as he watched Aziraphale run his finger along his cross, eyes closed, saying a prayer. Huh. He never considered that a gay could be a Christian. So odd.
"Me and Crowley will give you baked goods to bring." Aziraphale assured them both, once he was done. "I'll make cookies!"
"You always like to be comfortable," Sirius said, teasing a little. He wasn't knocking it, even though he had tried to coax Remus into a more daring outfit once or twice. "He's got a very nice bum, my Remus." He still wanted people to know.
"Well, maybe he can take part in the next contest over at the bar, see how high he'd place." Holden was momentarily distracted by Crowley's pants now that Felix had pointed it out. It was difficult to ignore. "But, yes, you two should come with us. I'm sure Harry would rather it was young people than us."
Or maybe no one. Harry was moody these days, not that he could blame him. "I'm sure Hartley will appreciate the baked goods."
"Oh yeah." Sirius nodded, "I've seen him on a muffin high once. No drugs, just got giddy from eating too many muffins."
"Aww, that's cute. I get that, sometimes I get a chocolate high..."
"You kids are so cute." Felix remarked as he helped Aziraphale put his bunny back in it's transportation cage. "Honestly, in my day, we just did cocaine. Am I right, Aziraphale?"
At first Aziraphale laughed and then he thought about it and his eyes widened. "No! No, you are not right. I never once touched drugs. Never had to. I am high on life. It's a natural high and it's free for everyone."
"Your boyfriend is still hardcore, huh?" Felix teased Crowley, coming back over to Holden. "Just like mine."
"Oh, yeah. He's a tough bastard," Crowley claimed, while handing the bucket back over to Aziraphale. "Not a bad turn-out. You've charmed them." He smiled, loving in a way that was so obvious Sirius almost felt as if he should avert his eyes.
"I'm more hardcore than Aziraphale," Holden stated, not thinking that was saying much, "None of my boyfriends ever called me angel."
"I need a nickname for you, Remus," Sirius announced suddenly, as if he was realising just how vital that was, "What do you think it should be? Honey bear... Chocolate button?" He was considering his options here.
"Nah, I don't think we need a nickname." Cause they all sounded awful. "Though I do like chocolate buttons..."
"Oh yeah, a bad nickname can set you back. I've had some rough ones for Holden." Admittedly, one of them had been an accidental racial slur - he didn't realise some terms were racist to Irish people. And one time, he did try to call him a little leprechaun but that didn't go down well either.
"Angel is nice." Remus admitted, finding Crowley and Aziraphale very endearing. "It's a hard one to top."
"Oh, he is. You've no idea. He gets so fussy." Crowley was sure that Aziraphale wouldn't catch onto the innuendo there, at least not any time soon, so he just winked at Remus, from behind his glasses, and then looked around. "You are the new bookstore hire, aren't you? Is Holden treating you right for doing such a boring job?"
"He doesn't think it's boring," Sirius exclaimed, finding that odd as well, but having come around to it, "And he's brilliant at it! He can ring people up all by himself now." He was ready to brag with literally any little thing Remus achieved.
"Maybe he should teach Aziraphale. I don't think he knows how to sell a book." Crowley couldn't resist the tease.
"Aziraphale helped me a lot when I first set this place up. You should really go see his store some time, just don't buy anything." Holden would rather discuss that then revisit the nickname issue. Only so much eyerolling he could do.
"I love my job, it's really interesting. It's getting to be pretty easy going, now I get the register." Remus admitted, relived that it was starting to make sense and happy that, in general, they didn't exactly get loads of people. They got most their sales of community days and around pride. "... why can't I buy a book?"
"He can buy a book. Don't listen to them. Come and see for yourself. I will guide you where you need to go, there's plenty you can buy. Just -- not the first editions."
"You have prices on them though." Felix pointed out, amused.
"Shh." Aziraphale hushed. "You can buy whatever you like." He could never afford his precious, rare books so he had no worries there.
"Aziraphale doesn't like to part with books," Crowley explained, finally sitting down next to his lover and taking his hand in his without even thinking about it. They always held hands when they had the chance.
"It's a wicked looking store though," Sirius assured Remus, "All proper old and brilliant. Smells like the library back at my school and that was ancient too." He felt quite nostalgic over it himself. "It's a really classy place."
"Thanks," Holden said drily, "I like to believe we have some amount of class here as well." Kind of. He glanced at the wall, noticing a new scribble. "Huh. Apparently Colin has a big dick. How nice for him."
"It's a different vibe, that's what you want. I gear to collectors, you have a more -- down to earth vibe. And the property is well situated for the younger crowd. It's all part of the vision, I promise." Aziraphale assured Holden, having been the one to find him the property to begin with. Well, he couldn't very well risk his precious books by becoming an outwardly gay store, even if he didn't hide the pride flag stick in the corner of his door.
"It's cosy here. And everyone likes coming here, even when they don't like reading. It's safe here." Remus pointed out, knowing he felt that way too. "Holden and Felix, they're... they're nice."
He said it very sheepishly, not sure what else to say.
"Colin... I wonder which Colin." Felix mused, cocking his head to the side. "If it's Colin Johnson, strongly disagree."
"There's a lot of Colins, but I'm not sure I know the size of any of their equipment," Holden said honestly, before nodding at Aziraphale, "Don't worry, I was never looking for classy. I'm not classy myself. But Remus is right, it's about having a place they all like to go."
"Cheers to that," Sirius said, even if they all just had tea. Still, cheers. He drank some tea and then shrugged, "And you've gotten fewer bricks through the window so far this year!"
Sometimes it was the little things worth celebrating.
"To fewer bricks and big pricks," Crowley said cheerfully. They could all agree on that.
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And then Aziraphale did do some singing. From Mary Poppins. And hell yeah, it was a bop.
Felix gave a standing ovation by the end, still holding the rabbit. "You go, girl!"
"Thank you, thank you. You made an old woman very happy."
Remus laughed, wondering how old the guy was. He may have acted like an older woman but he didn't look that old, maybe like 40 at most? "He's pretty good, yeah, I like it."
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It was sweet, really, because no matter how embarrassed Crowley might be by some of the antics, he was always there to dance at the end. "See? Romance is not dead."
"Romance for the elderly, I see. Just be careful you don't dislocate a hip!" Sirius nodded wisely and a few blokes laughed, but it was all in good fun. This was a wholesome performance.
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Aziraphale pulled away from Crowley, did another slight of hand and then produced a bucket. It had 'AIDS fund' written on it and he pointed passed it out to them.
"Donate well or I'll be most displeased."
Remus pulled a face and patted himself down, pulling out a crumpled fiver. "That's all I got. You got anything?"
"I'll cover for you two, chill." Felix assured the boys as he pulled out a fifty. "Don't want you both starving."
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Crowley had taken over the bucket to collect, figuring it wasn't really a thing for a lady to do. "Cheers," he told Felix when he put the fifty in, "It's all going to what the Rathaway kid is working on this time. He's talked to Aziraphale and apparently been completely charming, which sounds fake."
He had met that kid too, after all. But then, Aziraphale brought it out in people. The good, the best.
"Do you want more tea, madam?" Holden wanted to be a good host.
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And that was all that he could follow.
"He said AZT works better as a mix and it can help prevent the symptoms from getting worse but if you already have AIDS, it's pointless." Remus explained because he had a lecture from Hartley not that long ago.
"More tea is good, I think." Aziraphale said as he pulled his wig off and sat in a nearby chair, smiling at Holden. "I have already donated a considerable sum to young Rathaway, a very lovely boy, so polite!"
"Maybe Hartley paid someone to be him." Felix muttered to Holden as he walked by to get the kettle.
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"Apparently Hartley's lover is in hospital right now, angel," Crowley told Aziraphale as he brushed shoulders with him before taking the bucket to the other side, still gathering donations.
"I'll go visit," Sirius said, determined, "Harry's not a bad sort at all, used to have loads of fun with him back when." He looked at Remus and clarified, just in case. "Platonically. Anyway, if anyone can find a cure, it would be Hartley. Maybe he can just yell the virus into submission."
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"No more tight than Crowley's." Felix pointed out and then wolf whistled at Crowley when he walked by again. "Harry is alright, I never knew him before, only now. He's-- well, yeah. You know. Me and Holden are going to visit so we can dive you two with us, if you fancy."
Remus nodded as he watched Aziraphale run his finger along his cross, eyes closed, saying a prayer. Huh. He never considered that a gay could be a Christian. So odd.
"Me and Crowley will give you baked goods to bring." Aziraphale assured them both, once he was done. "I'll make cookies!"
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"Well, maybe he can take part in the next contest over at the bar, see how high he'd place." Holden was momentarily distracted by Crowley's pants now that Felix had pointed it out. It was difficult to ignore. "But, yes, you two should come with us. I'm sure Harry would rather it was young people than us."
Or maybe no one. Harry was moody these days, not that he could blame him. "I'm sure Hartley will appreciate the baked goods."
"Oh yeah." Sirius nodded, "I've seen him on a muffin high once. No drugs, just got giddy from eating too many muffins."
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"You kids are so cute." Felix remarked as he helped Aziraphale put his bunny back in it's transportation cage. "Honestly, in my day, we just did cocaine. Am I right, Aziraphale?"
At first Aziraphale laughed and then he thought about it and his eyes widened. "No! No, you are not right. I never once touched drugs. Never had to. I am high on life. It's a natural high and it's free for everyone."
"Your boyfriend is still hardcore, huh?" Felix teased Crowley, coming back over to Holden. "Just like mine."
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"I'm more hardcore than Aziraphale," Holden stated, not thinking that was saying much, "None of my boyfriends ever called me angel."
"I need a nickname for you, Remus," Sirius announced suddenly, as if he was realising just how vital that was, "What do you think it should be? Honey bear... Chocolate button?" He was considering his options here.
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"Oh yeah, a bad nickname can set you back. I've had some rough ones for Holden." Admittedly, one of them had been an accidental racial slur - he didn't realise some terms were racist to Irish people. And one time, he did try to call him a little leprechaun but that didn't go down well either.
"Angel is nice." Remus admitted, finding Crowley and Aziraphale very endearing. "It's a hard one to top."
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"He doesn't think it's boring," Sirius exclaimed, finding that odd as well, but having come around to it, "And he's brilliant at it! He can ring people up all by himself now." He was ready to brag with literally any little thing Remus achieved.
"Maybe he should teach Aziraphale. I don't think he knows how to sell a book." Crowley couldn't resist the tease.
"Aziraphale helped me a lot when I first set this place up. You should really go see his store some time, just don't buy anything." Holden would rather discuss that then revisit the nickname issue. Only so much eyerolling he could do.
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"He can buy a book. Don't listen to them. Come and see for yourself. I will guide you where you need to go, there's plenty you can buy. Just -- not the first editions."
"You have prices on them though." Felix pointed out, amused.
"Shh." Aziraphale hushed. "You can buy whatever you like." He could never afford his precious, rare books so he had no worries there.
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"It's a wicked looking store though," Sirius assured Remus, "All proper old and brilliant. Smells like the library back at my school and that was ancient too." He felt quite nostalgic over it himself. "It's a really classy place."
"Thanks," Holden said drily, "I like to believe we have some amount of class here as well." Kind of. He glanced at the wall, noticing a new scribble. "Huh. Apparently Colin has a big dick. How nice for him."
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"It's cosy here. And everyone likes coming here, even when they don't like reading. It's safe here." Remus pointed out, knowing he felt that way too. "Holden and Felix, they're... they're nice."
He said it very sheepishly, not sure what else to say.
"Colin... I wonder which Colin." Felix mused, cocking his head to the side. "If it's
Colin Johnson, strongly disagree."
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"Cheers to that," Sirius said, even if they all just had tea. Still, cheers. He drank some tea and then shrugged, "And you've gotten fewer bricks through the window so far this year!"
Sometimes it was the little things worth celebrating.
"To fewer bricks and big pricks," Crowley said cheerfully. They could all agree on that.