His brain doesn’t have any say in the matter; this response comes directly from his heart. It spills out of him like a clumsy splash of magma, heavy hot truth searing his lips and tongue.
(For a second he feels the weight of sodden burnt wings on his back, the rasp of breath in a throat newly broken.)
“They wouldn’t let you come back up to earth for a long time.” Aziraphale’s voice is strained, tight with hurt. “Maybe not till Armageddon gets started. Partly to interrogate you, and partly just out of spite. You wouldn’t get to spend any time with humans, unless it was to watch them suffering. You wouldn’t be able to affect anything for the better.”
He draws a ragged breath before adding, “I don’t want that for you. I couldn’t bear it.”
Silent between them, unspoken but heavy as storm clouds, is a silent knowledge. I couldn’t bear the pain it would cause you. I can never tell you what it feels like, I can never fully explain, and I don’t want you to know firsthand.
We’ll get to it! Meanwhile, a holiday and tender smut?
His brain doesn’t have any say in the matter; this response comes directly from his heart. It spills out of him like a clumsy splash of magma, heavy hot truth searing his lips and tongue.
(For a second he feels the weight of sodden burnt wings on his back, the rasp of breath in a throat newly broken.)
“They wouldn’t let you come back up to earth for a long time.” Aziraphale’s voice is strained, tight with hurt. “Maybe not till Armageddon gets started. Partly to interrogate you, and partly just out of spite. You wouldn’t get to spend any time with humans, unless it was to watch them suffering. You wouldn’t be able to affect anything for the better.”
He draws a ragged breath before adding, “I don’t want that for you. I couldn’t bear it.”
Silent between them, unspoken but heavy as storm clouds, is a silent knowledge. I couldn’t bear the pain it would cause you. I can never tell you what it feels like, I can never fully explain, and I don’t want you to know firsthand.