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Bobby had a lot to learn. He knew it, and he jumped at any opportunity to gain new knowledge. The world was big and scary and had so many secrets it would be impossible to know them all. That being said, there was a lot Bobby did know.
The sounds of his own house, for example. He knew each creak and groan by heart, which was why when the Winchesters were halfway across the country and he heard the floorboards shifting under someone's weight, Bobby knew he wasn’t alone. At first he thought it might have been Cas, but the angel usually had the courtesy to either knock or phone ahead these days… unless he was appearing in the room with him.
Given none of these things had happened, Bobby quickly picked up his shotgun, snagged his flask of Holy water from his bedside table, and carefully began making his way down the stairs. He swiftly rounded the corner, shotgun ready to fire. He was surprised to find the room empty. The hunter blinked for a moment before growling. "I know you're here, so you might as well come out."
There was a pause, then a quiet, "Oh bother," before a startlingly unassuming man appeared by the fireplace, an open book in his hands. Everything about him screamed he wasn't a threat, from his somewhat frumpy middle, to his curly white hair, to the light embarrassed blush on his cheeks. His jacket and waistcoat looked particularly old fashioned, even in Bobby's outdated living room.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I- ah…"
"I told you he'd recognize you."
Bobby jumped and whirled to face the source of the voice, who was a tall, lanky man dressed in all black draped against the door jamb opposite Bobby. His fiery hair appeared to be organized chaos, as did everything else about his appearance.
Bobby stiffened. "They're not here," he said gruffly.
Though the taller man, who Bobby knew to be Crowley, was wearing his sunglasses and therefore housing his eyes, his head twitched in a way that suggested he'd rolled them. "We know. You can relax; we're not here to cause trouble."
"Then why the hell are you in my house?" Bobby still hadn't lowered the shotgun. He knew it likely wouldn't do any good against the two beings in his Library, but it made him feel better. Just a bit.
"I do apologize for showing up unannounced," the shorter man, Aziraphale, said. "I rather wanted to look through your books and thought it might be best to do so without disturbing you."
Bobby eyed the former angel warily. Sam had shown him a little of the book store while they'd been on the video call, and from what he’d said about him, the older hunter thought he might even be able to like Aziraphale, if only for his taste in literature. Even so, he did not appreciate having his house invaded without notice; especially in the middle of the night. "Yeah, well, I'm disturbed." He finally lowered the shotgun. If they weren’t going to start trouble, then neither was he. Let it not be said Bobby was a stupid man. "What are you looking for?"
Aziraphale shrugged, gently closing the book in his hands and placing it back on the shelf. "I was mostly curious to see what you have." He ran an appraising eye over the shelves. "I must say I am rather impressed with your collection."
"Anything you don't have?"
Aziraphale nodded, still gazing up at the books. "Several, actually. I see a few first editions, too." Jealousy was clear on the man's face, though he did a good job keeping it out of his voice. Mostly.
Bobby hadn't been sure why he asked, but he had to admit he felt a swell of pride knowing he had something Aziraphale didn't.
"I've been trying to find any lore on what you two might be," Bobby said, "but there's nothing. Not even theory."
Both beings stiffened and Bobby belatedly realized this was likely a sensitive topic. As a younger man he would have tried to dig himself out of trouble but being older and wiser now he opted to shut his mouth while he was ahead.
The tense silence stretched on several minutes before Aziraphale broke it. "Of course there isn't," he said, as though Bobby was silly for trying. His words seemed to soothe his partner, who relaxed again.
"We were thinking of calling ourselves some sort of combination between 'Nephilim' and 'Cambion'," Crowley said casually, watching Aziraphale browse. “Only problem is, no part of us is human.”
Bobby thought for a moment. “Have you thought about Hebrew?”
Aziraphale turned around to glance at him before looking at Crowley. Something passed between them before the former angel shook his head and reached up to select another book.
“Well,” Bobby said, “there’s no proper word for ‘Hell’ in Hebrew, but maybe instead of combining the words for half-humans, you could mix Shamayim, Adamah, and Sheol?”
Crowley raised an eyebrow. “You want us to call ourselves a combination of Heaven, Hell, and Earth?”
Bobby shrugged. “Worth a thought.”
Crowley hummed, still watching Aziraphale, who was now flipping through his latest book of choice. “We can talk about it.”
Awkward silence fell over them again. Bobby was a little unnerved by the way Crowley just stared at his partner, but Aziraphale didn’t seem to mind. He just went about looking through the book as if he was standing in his own home instead of a stranger’s.
Bobby finally spoke. “Well, as long as you don’t take anything, you’re welcome to look through them I guess. Just stay out of the rest of the house and we’ll call it good.”
Aziraphale offered him a bright smile. “Oh, thank you! That is incredibly kind of you.”
Not like I have much choice, Bobby thought, but chose not to say it out loud. “Okay, well, I’ve got stuff to do so just don’t damage anything.”
He’d actually been on his way to bed when he’d heard them arrive, but there was no way he was going to be able to sleep knowing two being of indeterminable power were ruffling through his library. He decided to grab a beer and the book he’d been working through and settle in the kitchen, where he could keep an eye on the pair and stay out of their way at the same time.
No sooner had the grizzled hunger sat down, one of his numerous phones rang. He glared at it for a moment before answering with a gruff “What?”
“Bobby,” Sam said, then to someone else, “he answered.”
“I’m right here, ya idjit, what do you want?”
“We tried you cell and you didn’t pick up. We were worried,” the youngest Winchester explained.
“I just left it upstairs, no reason to panic,” Bobby said, catching Crowley watching him. The former demon grinned at him and went back to staring at Aziraphale. “I came downstairs in a hurry.”
Sam’s voice was suddenly alert. “Everything okay?”
“I’m fine, just got a couple of visitors rifling through my library.” Bobby glared at Crowley, who he could tell was still listening in on his conversation. Even so, he wasn’t willing to get up and leave the pair unattended in his house.
“Who’s there?” This time it was Dean’s voice, coming from further away.
“Your friends from England,” Bobby said.
The brothers were quiet, and when Dean spoke again he was closer. “What do they want?”
“Nothing with you. Apparently Aziraphale just wanted to look at my books.”
Crowley smirked, but still didn’t look back in Bobby’s direction. Aziraphale didn’t seem to be aware of the conversation, absorbed in reading as he was.
“Do you need us to come back?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know what the point would be; you’re halfway across the country. I’m fine; you boys finish up your hunt. Was there a reason you called?”
“Oh, um, we were just going to let you know we finished up with the ghouls, but it looks like there’s a vampire nest not far from here so we were going to deal with that before heading back.”
“Right. Go ahead and take care of it. Call me if you need anything.”
“Of course, Bobby.”
“You idjits be careful.” He hunt up, glared at the man-shaped being lounging in his doorway, and stubbornly opened his own book to try to get something productive done while he had guests.
Bobby woke some time later after an incredibly pleasant dream, back stiff from sleeping in the kitchen chair, to find an empty house and a note on his desk.
Thanks for letting us look around. I left everything as I found it. If you would ever like to see my own collection, feel free to call!
A phone number followed.
Bobby hmphed, tossed the paper in the trash, and headed towards the stairs. Halfway there he paused, turned, and retrieved the note before finally heading up to bed. One never knew when having access to that kind of collection might come in handy.