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Aziraphale paced outside the hallway, his strides becoming more and more clipped with each pass he made. One wall, and then the other. One wall, and then the other. It felt like he’d been going back and forth like an anxious little ping pong ball for hours, but logically he knew it must have only been for a few minutes. Every so often he would stop his frantic tracks and stare up at the door at the end of the hall. The polite but firm No Alphas Permitted sign reminded him of why he was trapped outside while his Omega was inside. He strangled the beginnings of a pathetic whine in the back of his throat. Some small part of him knew he was being ridiculous. Crowley was more than capable, and he trusted him implicitly with this decision. It was just hard sometimes for the Alpha in him to calm when he was separated from his Omega for any length of time.
In hindsight, the sign made a lot of sense.
An Omega orderly walked past during one of these rare still moments, giving Aziraphale a look full of pity as he stared forlornly at the door. She shook her head, tutting, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Come over and sit down, dear. I’m sure you’ll feel better soon enough.”
The hand on his shoulder tightened and she led him over to a row of chairs. The tense muscles of his legs seemed to have forgotten how to bend, but she pressed him down into the chair with surprising force. The Alpha in him couldn’t even find the energy to be mad, too relieved to have an excuse to calm his racing heart.
“All that pacing is starting to make the others a little nervous. Is there anything I can bring you?”
Aziraphale shook his head mutely, a little ashamed. The orderly just smiled kindly, no hint of judgement. She must get Alphas like him fairly regularly, he assumed. His cheeks burned, but she only patted his shoulder gently one more time before heading off back down the hall.
Aziraphale ran his hand through his already messy curls, the feeling of nails scraping against his scalp grounding him as he tried to relax. He looked out at the window, focusing on the lush greenery of the courtyard below and letting the soothing imagery seep into his aching mind. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes against the visions of green and smiled gently. He focused on it, on taking slow breaths, and on reminding himself why he and Crowley were there in the first place. Something about nature always calmed him. He supposed it was because of how much it reminded him of his mate whose palms were always stained with dirt from working in their garden. The space felt like an extension of him, and, because of that, Aziraphale loved it fiercely.
His fingers slid into his pocket, pulling out his phone and reflectively thumbing to his photo app. He raised his head so he could look through the many pictures he had taken over the last few months, a contented smile crinkling his tired eyes.
Yes. This moment had been a long time coming, and he knew they were ready. Crowley and he had so much love to give - so much that Aziraphale felt like he could barely contain it. It only made sense to grow that love and to grow their family with it.
It had been a hard and heartbreaking road, more than Aziraphale had ever prepared for - heats with lost pups, infertility, and so many meetings with various doctors. He watched Crowley fight with his own body every heat cycle, the lines of devastated grief growing deeper and deeper over his brow with every new piece of bad news.
The Cottage Adoption Agency was their last chance.
They planned to spend a few months coming to visit the pups, allowing them to get used to their scents and seeing if any of them reacted positively. Surprisingly, it hadn’t taken nearly as long as they had anticipated. Their first day at the Agency, a young boy with a messy mop of blond hair had come right up to Crowley full of confidence and curiosity.
“You smell like home.” The pup had said simply, as though it was a natural observation. Then, without any other introduction, sat beside the Omega and began to color.
They had visited little Adam over the next few months, staying as long as the orderlies would allow as they chipped away at the necessary paperwork and background checks. Meanwhile, they eagerly readied their home.
Bringing home a new pup was a lot of work. The two of them had been spending the time as paperwork processed remodeling Aziraphale’s old office - painting and buying furniture to make sure it was ready for the newest member of their family. Crowley, especially, had grown quite an obsession with buying new supplies. Aziraphale was often woken from restless sleep at some ungodly hour to find Crowley fussing with the room or ordering some silly new toy for Adam he was convinced was absolutely necessary. In these moments Aziraphale and he would come together on the pup’s bed, cuddling and rubbing their calming scents into the bed sheets to welcome him home with. They would discuss their hopes and excitement for their little one and pour their love into the empty spaces of the pup’s nest.
This little ritual became a nightly occurrence towards the end. It seemed to help soothe the worst of Crowley’s nerves, although there were still days where he would lose himself to an anxiety that not even Aziraphale’s scent and the crooning sounds of The Best of Queen could pull him out of. The Alpha would find him sitting amongst the plants in his lush garden, fingers flexing unconsciously in the soil, his eyes far away as his mind whirred with fears and possibilities.
He found Crowley like this more often in the week leading up to his final interview. He knew that a lot was riding on this last meeting before the Agency would officially allow Adam into their care, and the closer it got, the more tense his Omega became. He had been silent the whole car ride here, and it pained like a physical wound when Aziraphale had to stay behind and watch him face this alone.
It was natural to be afraid. Aziraphale would be lying if he said he wasn’t also kept awake some nights by the weight of expectation that made him too heavy to rest. He wanted to do right by his pup, to be the father he deserved. He had no doubt that Crowley would be an excellent parent, his heart so full of love. But sometimes Aziraphale looked at how well his Omega cared for life and found himself wanting. Could he be the Alpha his pup and his Omega needed him to be?
The sudden noise of a door opening made Aziraphale jump to his feet before his mind even consciously registered the source. He looked to the door to the main office again and found Crowley standing in the doorway, his eyes red and puffy. Instantly, Aziraphale felt his hackles rise, a growl bubbling up his throat, and he stalked closer to his mate. Crowley could see the tizzy Aziraphale was quickly working himself into and raised a hand.
“Calm down, Big Bad Alpha. I’m okay.” He gave a wet little chuckle and leaned his forehead against Aziraphale’s shoulder. The sound made Aziraphale relax, tension melting away as his Omega started to scent his neck. The Alpha wrapped him up close, rubbing a soothing hand down his back.
From over Crowley’s shoulder, Aziraphale could see a prim looking Beta in a well fitting suit standing a little behind him, The Beta gave them a kind smile, stepping closer now that he could see they were both sufficiently calm.
“Well, Fell Pack! Would you like to meet your son?”
Our son.
Aziraphale’s eyes widened and he looked down at his mate, a shocked laugh bursting out of him. Crowley’s responding grin stretched so huge his eyes creased, a purr rumbling to life in his chest.
“Oh my God. Crowley. Our son!”
Aziraphale pulled his Omega close to his chest, lifting him up off his feet and spinning him as he peppered his face with kisses. Crowley giggled, loud and blissful, and the Alpha was sure he would remember those sounds of pure joy coming from his mate for the rest of his life.
Hand in hand, Aziraphale and Crowley walked down the hall towards the toddler rooms, where they had play time during the day. Crowley opened the door and had to bite his lip to stop from crying again as Adam noticed them right away. He ran straight towards the Omega, barreling into his legs at full speed, gripping his knees in an eager hug.
Crowley gave the top of his head a gentle pet before bending down to pick him up. Adam squealed with delight as Aziraphale and Crowley both held him tight, nuzzling the pup’s cheeks and scenting him.
“How long can you play today?” Adam asked. He was always trying to get them to stay for longer play dates, and it had broken the couple’s hearts every time they were forced to look into the toddler’s tearful face and say goodbye.
But, this time, Crowley just smiled.
“We didn’t come to play today, little one. I came to ask if you wanted to come home with us?”
Adam’s face lit up, and he looked over their shoulder at his caretaker as if wanting to confirm this wasn’t some kind of joke. When the caretaker just smiled and nodded encouragingly, he yelled so loud Aziraphale thought he might have a burst ear drum. The toddler wiggled with excitement in Crowley’s arms.
“Yes! Yes! I knew you were going to be my new mummy and daddy!”
It was a surprise to absolutely no one when Aziraphale was the one to finally cave, happy tears spilling down both cheeks as he gathered both his mate and his son in his arms.
“Yes, Adam. It’s time to come home.”