"I'm Gunn. Charles Gunn. It's nice meeting you all." Gunn said it with a smile and Barty was simply watching him. Cleary a traumatised boy, on guard and untrusting. He was familiar with the look, but it was still a little unsettling.
"And my name's Holden. Nice to meet you two. What's your names?" Holden smiled casually and sat down opposite the boys in a chair, watching as Barty's grip on Aziraphale tightened a little.
"Hello." Barty said it politely. "My name is Barty. My brother is Aziraphale. We belong together."
"Yes, I can see that."
"Of course you do, I'd never have left my lil sis either," Gunn agreed, stepping closer. "We've just got a few questions for you."
"I'm Aziraphale and I'm eight years old." Aziraphale introduced as he sat in his brother's lap and watched the two men curiously. He had no idea what was happening, everything had been difference since he got punished. He was bad and Barty was worried, he wasn't home and everything was different. He barely slept last night, what with their daring escape and then sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. It was a lot at once.
He felt Barty hold him tighter and he looked tentatively at Holden.
"Barty is a really good brother, he's just taking care of me. We aren't doing anything bad, I swear." He didn't want anyone to misunderstand Barty, he was a lot nicer than he looked.
"Oh, I know. I don't think he's doing anything bad. Or you. You're being very impressive and good boys, actually." Holden smiled and then opened up his bag, pulling out a colouring book. He got a box of crayons next and held both out to Aziraphale. "That's for you. Do you like colouring?"
"He's very good at it." Barty knew from the pictures of bible scenes Aziraphale had coloured. "He's talented."
He was convinced of it.
"Yeah? I was never any good at colouring within the lines," Gunn confessed. "Hey, Aziraphale. Is it all right if I talk to your big brother for a bit while you colour with Holden? We'll just stand right over there."
Aziraphale considered it all and they probably wanted to have grown up talk with Barty but that didn't make him any less anxious. He looked at Holden for a moment and then Barty before he leaned up and whispered in his brother's ear. "Make sure to come back for me." He didn't want to end up lost and alone, he was terrified of the idea.
At that, he slid out of Barty's lap and took the colouring book and crayons into his hands.
He watched Barty get up and walk over to Gunn before finally, he let himself focus on Holden. "Is Holden your first name or your surname, sir?"
"That's my first name. My full name is Holden O'Shea. It's Irish." He explained, since Aziraphale seemed curious. "You don't have to call me 'sir', I'm not that formal."
Barty and Gunn were standing in the other corner of the room, but they hadn't left it. Barty's body language was defensive, but not aggressive, so Holden relaxed a little. He was sure Gunn could handle it. "Aziraphale, I have a bit of a strange question for you. Do you like apple pie?"
"I don't think I've ever had it." He had apples before and he'd had pies but they usually had meat in them. He had heard talk of an apple crumb and had once been snuck a bite of treacle by one of the older ladies but he had never had apple pie. Intriguing. "I liked baked apples a lot. It's my favourite. You just add some sugar, some cinnamon and apple juice - it bakes for ages but it's well worth it."
He set his gifts down on the floor and then sat down to look at them. "Thank you for the colouring book and the crayons. May I use them?"
"Of course, darling boy. That's what they are there for. You can start colouring right now, if you want." Holden watched Aziraphale, reading his body language and analysing as best he could. Polite, wary, but not directly scared of him. A lot more trusting than his brother, that much was obvious. "I really love baked apples as well."
He could agree with that. "But, see. Where I live, we have an apple tree. And I really want to bake some apple pies and I was wondering whether you'd help me. Because I think your brother and you might come and stay with us."
"I don't know... I have to ask Barty. I'm not supposed to go with anyone unless Barty says it's okay. Even father." He had been told yesterday that he had to stay by Barty and listen to him. And he never ever wanted to upset Barty, he needed him a lot right now. He was scared and unsure but everything was way easier with Barty - he could read when he wanted, ask any question he wanted to ask and no one yelled or hit. It was nice.
He opened the crayons carefully and frowned a little. "I would like too though. I always wanted to learn to make things in the kitchen but my brother Gabriel says only girls do that sort of thing. Which is awfully silly."
"That is awfully silly. I don't think that's true at all. You're a smart boy if you already know that." Holden smiled and glanced at Gunn and Barty again. "Of course you can ask Barty. You and Barty will have to agree and then you can come with me. It's a nice little cottage, you'd have a room. And we have an apple tree in the garden, as I said."
Which carried a surprising amount of apples and he really had to find a productive way of getting rid of them. "Do you get along with your brother? I've been told he's a smart boy."
"I like Barty, yeah. No one else does but I do. I think he's nice but people don't see it. He's reading me Peter Pan and he hugged me after I-- I-I had to be punished because I was bad." Aziraphale swallowed hard and pushed the trauma down, smiling instead as he looked up at Holden happily. "I like him the best out of all my brothers. He doesn't yell or make me do sports. I want to read, not play football. It's ghastly."
Aziraphale said it with such confidence and conviction, not really sounding like a normal eight year old and more a 40 something stuff bookshop owner.
"Ghastly, huh? That's quite the strong word." He had to smile. That was adorable, even in contrast with what Aziraphale had said about the punishment. Such a sweet little boy. He'd never understand how anyone could abuse a child, it was beyond wrong. "Barty likes you a lot too, from what I've heard. That's why I want to make sure you two stay together. But, see, you are a bit too young to stay by yourself. So, I'd like to take you to my home. I'll take care of you there, when you need it. And then Barty does not have to be your parent. He's still a boy too."
Aziraphale mumbled anxiously as he looked over at Barty, playing with the sleeves of his jumper anxiously. "I don't want to leave. Father will be mad. God will be mad. I never got to repent and-and I don't know if I'm supposed to have gone with Barty. He said we had to go so I went but maybe I should have stayed. Maybe I'm really bad." He didn't know, it was hard to understand any of this. If he went home with Holden, how long was it for? Would he have to stay forever? "If I am, you might not want to have me, I would be trouble." And he seemed like he had enough going on.
"You don't seem like you'd be trouble. I can't think of anything you've done that is all that bad." Given the running away and, oh, right, driving a car while underage was all Barty's doing. "I believe in God as well, Aziraphale. You know? I believe that He is there and watches over us. That He helps us make the right decisions. But I don't believe that God would ever want a boy like you to be punished like that. I think that is an awful, awful thing to do. I agree with your brother that it should never happen to you again."
He frowned for a moment, then continued. "Or to Barty. He gets punished a lot, I've heard. I think you are both good boys, really. And I am sure God knows that too."
"No but that's just the way it is. To suffer is to be close to Christ." Aziraphale informed Holden wisely but he didn't fully understand what he said, he just said it because that's what they always said to him. He swallowed nervously and the reality that he was probably never going home was starting to sink in. He was never going home.
His hands started to tremble and his eyes welled up suddenly.
He didn't know if he even felt sad, the person he spend the most time with was Barty and he was here but suddenly there was change. Scary change. He was moving and he couldn't ever go to his room and read in his little corner. He was banished. And all cause he did something really bad. And suddenly, breathing was hard and he ducked his head. He choked out a sob, the reality starting to sink in. He was bad and got Barty in trouble and now they were never, ever going home.
Holden was about to make a move to pull Aziraphale into his arms, but Barty had already dashed across the room. He sat on the ground, wrapped around Aziraphale, rocking him gently as he held him close, held him tight.
These two were cute, Holden could not deny it. "To love and act out of love, that is the way to act the most like God," Holden assured Aziraphale.
Barty rolled his eyes, but he also kept shushing Aziraphale. "It's all good, sunshine. They want to help us. I told you, I'm taking care of us. It's all working out."
"There is a lot of documentation," Gunn muttered to Holden, coming to stand next to him. "Hey, Aziraphale. Why are you crying? Is it because of the thing behind your ear?"
He leaned down and held a hand behind Aziraphale's ear, producing a piece of candy from there. "Ahh, raspberry candy. That would hurt your ear a bit. It's yummy though, you should try it. Do you want it?"
Aziraphale didn't mean to cry, it was just a lot and he was in shock. He felt so nauseous that he was afraid he'd puke up his cheerios. He turned his head away and pressed it against Barty to hide against him and let himself be held. Barty was good at holding, he was a lot better at it than -- well, anyone else he knew. Barty held him all nice and proper, it was really nice - like a proper big brother did.
He sniffled as Gunn spoke to him and suddenly, there was candy and he took it, his eyes wide. He was stunned. Not by the candy, by the trick. He raised his hand to touch near his ear, looking at Gunn like he was truly magical.
How did he do that? He sniffed and then showed it to Barty. "This was in my ear..."
How? Why? Did he put it there? How did -- he didn't feel it come out either.
"Oh? Must be magic." Barty knew it was a trick and it was a silly trick at that, but the wonder on Aziraphale's face was so genuine, he didn't want to tell him that it was a trick.
"Is it still feeling weird, your ear? Maybe I should check again." Gunn frowned and reached out, then shook his head. "Nothing here. Maybe the other side?" He moved his hand and then laughed, producing another piece of candy. "Look at that! Your ears are full of candy."
Aziraphale's eyes were wide as he took the other piece, so amazed by the trick. Then he laughed for the first time since he got punished, hicuping slightly but recovering from his little meltdown. He never stayed down for long, that much was obvious. Turning to Barty, his eyes were full of joy as he held a piece out for him. "I had candy in my ears."
Well, that definitely made it a bit less scary. He leaned his head against Barty and watched Gunn curiously. "Are you a saint?"
"'fraid not, kiddo. I'm just an ordinary guy. I just have a good eye for candy, because I like candy a lot." Seemed as good an explanation as any. He held a hand out to Aziraphale, smiling. "Do you want to see whether there is candy anywhere else?" He probably should buy Holden some time to talk to Barty alone. And maybe he should check on Wesley in the kitchen. How long did it take to make tea?
"We could look." He held Barty tight once more and then, with great effort, he crawled from his lap and took his hand. As he looked back, he knew Barty and Holden had to talk so he left them too it.
As they entered the kitchen, Wesley was writing on some paper, three books open on the kitchen table, the pot of tea set aside. He just didn't want to get in anyone's way. He smiled at Gunn and then at young Aziraphale. "How is it going?"
"Good. I had candy in my ears but now they're out." He looked curiously at the books and then looked up at Gunn. "Elder Pryce is a scholar. He knows everything."
"Everything? Wow. That's a tall order, that's very impressive. I'm nowhere near that, I barely know where I am sometimes." Gunn grinned at Aziraphale, taking a seat at the kitchen table and helping Aziraphale onto a chair as well. "Do you want to try eating the candy I found? Might be best, before it hides behind your ears again."
Seemed only fair to consider that. "What do you like to do, Aziraphale? Do you also like books a lot?"
"Nobody can know everything, Aziraphale. No one should. I think their heads would... explode." Wes felt exploding seemed the most likely, honestly. sometimes it felt like his head would explode. He went back to translating scriptures, trying not to pry too hard.
"Books are fun. It's like a new world in each one and you can go in and explore it. I like fantasy the best." He loved Peter Pan and the Hobbit and he was really excited to start Watership Down. "I hope to one day study like Elder Pryce does. With rare scrolls and texts. And books. I really do love them."
"It's a terrible job, it doesn't pay well." Wes muttered as he jotted down notes. It took forever to get this PHD, nevermind funding.
"Well, you don't have to worry about how much it costs. Your big brother is determined to be rich enough to pay for anything you want." And he had gotten that just from talking to Barty for a few minutes. He didn't doubt that boy would figure out how to see his ambitions through. "So, books are totally a good way for you to go. Maybe you can even write your own book."
Might not be the worst way to work through some of his trauma. "I'm not the biggest reader, but I really love some books. Holden has a lot of books. Also comics, he collects those. I was at his house, he showed me all of that."
What a nerd. "Do you like anything other than books? What games do you like to play?"
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"And my name's Holden. Nice to meet you two. What's your names?" Holden smiled casually and sat down opposite the boys in a chair, watching as Barty's grip on Aziraphale tightened a little.
"Hello." Barty said it politely. "My name is Barty. My brother is Aziraphale. We belong together."
"Yes, I can see that."
"Of course you do, I'd never have left my lil sis either," Gunn agreed, stepping closer. "We've just got a few questions for you."
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He felt Barty hold him tighter and he looked tentatively at Holden.
"Barty is a really good brother, he's just taking care of me. We aren't doing anything bad, I swear." He didn't want anyone to misunderstand Barty, he was a lot nicer than he looked.
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"He's very good at it." Barty knew from the pictures of bible scenes Aziraphale had coloured. "He's talented."
He was convinced of it.
"Yeah? I was never any good at colouring within the lines," Gunn confessed. "Hey, Aziraphale. Is it all right if I talk to your big brother for a bit while you colour with Holden? We'll just stand right over there."
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At that, he slid out of Barty's lap and took the colouring book and crayons into his hands.
He watched Barty get up and walk over to Gunn before finally, he let himself focus on Holden. "Is Holden your first name or your surname, sir?"
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Barty and Gunn were standing in the other corner of the room, but they hadn't left it. Barty's body language was defensive, but not aggressive, so Holden relaxed a little. He was sure Gunn could handle it. "Aziraphale, I have a bit of a strange question for you. Do you like apple pie?"
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He set his gifts down on the floor and then sat down to look at them. "Thank you for the colouring book and the crayons. May I use them?"
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He could agree with that. "But, see. Where I live, we have an apple tree. And I really want to bake some apple pies and I was wondering whether you'd help me. Because I think your brother and you might come and stay with us."
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He opened the crayons carefully and frowned a little. "I would like too though. I always wanted to learn to make things in the kitchen but my brother Gabriel says only girls do that sort of thing. Which is awfully silly."
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Which carried a surprising amount of apples and he really had to find a productive way of getting rid of them. "Do you get along with your brother? I've been told he's a smart boy."
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Aziraphale said it with such confidence and conviction, not really sounding like a normal eight year old and more a 40 something stuff bookshop owner.
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Aziraphale mumbled anxiously as he looked over at Barty, playing with the sleeves of his jumper anxiously. "I don't want to leave. Father will be mad. God will be mad. I never got to repent and-and I don't know if I'm supposed to have gone with Barty. He said we had to go so I went but maybe I should have stayed. Maybe I'm really bad." He didn't know, it was hard to understand any of this. If he went home with Holden, how long was it for? Would he have to stay forever? "If I am, you might not want to have me, I would be trouble." And he seemed like he had enough going on.
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He frowned for a moment, then continued. "Or to Barty. He gets punished a lot, I've heard. I think you are both good boys, really. And I am sure God knows that too."
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His hands started to tremble and his eyes welled up suddenly.
He didn't know if he even felt sad, the person he spend the most time with was Barty and he was here but suddenly there was change. Scary change. He was moving and he couldn't ever go to his room and read in his little corner. He was banished. And all cause he did something really bad. And suddenly, breathing was hard and he ducked his head. He choked out a sob, the reality starting to sink in. He was bad and got Barty in trouble and now they were never, ever going home.
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These two were cute, Holden could not deny it. "To love and act out of love, that is the way to act the most like God," Holden assured Aziraphale.
Barty rolled his eyes, but he also kept shushing Aziraphale. "It's all good, sunshine. They want to help us. I told you, I'm taking care of us. It's all working out."
"There is a lot of documentation," Gunn muttered to Holden, coming to stand next to him. "Hey, Aziraphale. Why are you crying? Is it because of the thing behind your ear?"
He leaned down and held a hand behind Aziraphale's ear, producing a piece of candy from there. "Ahh, raspberry candy. That would hurt your ear a bit. It's yummy though, you should try it. Do you want it?"
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He sniffled as Gunn spoke to him and suddenly, there was candy and he took it, his eyes wide. He was stunned. Not by the candy, by the trick. He raised his hand to touch near his ear, looking at Gunn like he was truly magical.
How did he do that? He sniffed and then showed it to Barty. "This was in my ear..."
How? Why? Did he put it there? How did -- he didn't feel it come out either.
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"Is it still feeling weird, your ear? Maybe I should check again." Gunn frowned and reached out, then shook his head. "Nothing here. Maybe the other side?" He moved his hand and then laughed, producing another piece of candy. "Look at that! Your ears are full of candy."
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Well, that definitely made it a bit less scary. He leaned his head against Barty and watched Gunn curiously. "Are you a saint?"
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As they entered the kitchen, Wesley was writing on some paper, three books open on the kitchen table, the pot of tea set aside. He just didn't want to get in anyone's way. He smiled at Gunn and then at young Aziraphale. "How is it going?"
"Good. I had candy in my ears but now they're out." He looked curiously at the books and then looked up at Gunn. "Elder Pryce is a scholar. He knows everything."
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Seemed only fair to consider that. "What do you like to do, Aziraphale? Do you also like books a lot?"
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"Books are fun. It's like a new world in each one and you can go in and explore it. I like fantasy the best." He loved Peter Pan and the Hobbit and he was really excited to start Watership Down. "I hope to one day study like Elder Pryce does. With rare scrolls and texts. And books. I really do love them."
"It's a terrible job, it doesn't pay well." Wes muttered as he jotted down notes. It took forever to get this PHD, nevermind funding.
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Might not be the worst way to work through some of his trauma. "I'm not the biggest reader, but I really love some books. Holden has a lot of books. Also comics, he collects those. I was at his house, he showed me all of that."
What a nerd. "Do you like anything other than books? What games do you like to play?"