tramitem_log | and watch how you play

Who: Aziraphale and the Crowleys (Anthony and Alec)
What: A picnic with chaperone. The ineffables have been having memories of each other and Alec is determined to keep them from destroying their lives over it.
When: May 11, noonish
Where: New York Botanical Gardens
Rating/Warnings: None--if Alec has his way.

It was a chilly, dreary day befitting Aziraphale's mood when he woke up. No hangover, thank goodness, but he did sleep in, which meant his morning was spent in a rush acquiring the necessary goods for the picnic.

He packed a selection of cheeses and a baguette, crackers and a fig compote, some grapes and small oranges (and wasn't this getting heavy now), and a bottle of red wine (because Anthony had shown a preference for it and it certainly fit with Aziraphale's). It was turning out a little fancy and a tiny bit romantic, unfortunately, but then again...weren't all picnics (that weren't children's peanut-butter-and-jam sandwiches and riddled with ants) a little romantic? That was the nature of a picnic.

(Oh, but was that enough food? Maybe he would pick up a few sandwiches on the way, just in case. And some cake.)

But this would be a nice, friendly picnic between two Friends and allies and they could discuss Aziraphale's memory. It hadn't even occurred to him that Alec might have mentioned any part of Aziraphale's conversation at the Gala to Anthony--mostly because he'd spent the better part of the morning trying to prepare for a picnic he probably should have just cancelled. But he was determined to keep this completely normal. They were adults. They could sit there and be civil and talk about things without being weird.

This was healing, right? Making his peace with the fact that the emotions stirred by memories were not reality?

Aziraphale, bundled in a warm coat and a nice scarf, arms just a little tired of carrying the picnic basket, paid for his own admission to the gardens since he had already been planning to come for the art event, and sent off a text.

I'm here! Do not rush on my account.
Is there any place in particular you would like to meet?
I'm afraid it did not warm up as much as I had hoped.

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There was nothing wrong in the idea at all. He could go for a good Netflix and Chill, maybe with a large bowl of popcorn and a convenient shoulder to snuggle up against. It just... well, seemed a bit fast really. Anthony had always been a bit of a speed demon when it came to cars but when it came to relationships this was the fastest he had ever moved. Engaged one second, then getting swept away by all those too powerful feelings, ready to run away with a man who held rogue sandwich tomato like it were made of fragile glass.

There was a touch of trepidation just below the surface, like the fluttering of butterfly wings, but the rest was all too exciting and desired. He felt rescued. Freed from a comfortable mistake so he could be swept away in a torrent of passions. Heh, and here he had always thought those romances where that happened to the characters were cheesy. He understood the feeling completely now.

"I'll dabble in anything you feel up to dabbling in."

He patted around for his sandwich only to discover he had devoured during some moment of timeless staring, so he switched for the wine instead, to have sip and to follow it with a few grapes.

He hadn't meant to go so quickly, but there was just something so freeing about being around Anthony now that he didn't have to bottle up this flood of emotions. It was like he told Alec earlier: sometimes it was fine enough when they were apart. He could sensibly, rationally look at his relationship from a distance. But then he would see Anthony, with his charming smile and his beautiful eyes and his brilliant hair... And something affectionate would rise up in Aziraphale's chest. And now it didn't need to be restrained and tethered anymore.

Must be what driving on the autobahn with no breaks and no reason to stop would feel like.

Someday soon they might need to have a serious talk about, well, dabbling and other things, since they weren't experiencing a normal progression of a relationship where these things might have been expressed before being quite so enamored with each other. But for now, he was going to enjoy the chance to have Anthony all to himself.

He blushed and failed to smother a smile at having the innuendo thrown back at him. "Oh. Good lord, that sounds indulgent. Just... drink your wine. I don't want to send you back to work hungry. The point of this was lunch."

One wouldn't have had any guess from the very cool and not at all desperate way in which Anthony had handled his confession that he felt the very same way. After speaking to Alec he had come here thinking to break off this... confusing whatever it was he had going with Fell that had him inviting the guy out for picnics and searching for him in the Gala crowd when he ought to have been perfectly content with Grace. It was leading the man on, giving him too much to hope for, and the last thing Anthony had wanted to do was hurt him. Only when the time came for it he had found himself blurting out the opposite. Away from Fell he could be a reasonable person, able see the path a 'normal person' might take, but when Fell was around he was a total fool. This lovely obsession was something he needed to dive into completely.

And the idea of dabbling made him far too giddy. Yes, back to the wine... do try not to think on that too long.

"We should do this more often. Lunches, picnics... dinners."

Outside the patter of rain began to soften, perhaps soon it would stop entirely leaving a brilliantly washed garden for Aziraphale to enjoy.

"I'd like to take you around to my new favorite exhibit. I found it very inspiring."

and watch how you play

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