(no subject)

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

Date: April 20th, 2001
Setting: Heathrow Airport, UK; Tibet
Status: Private - Ellie, Aziraphale (Complete)
Summary: Formalities first.




"I didn't know British Airways flew to Tibet," the passenger behind them was saying as Aziraphale, expression pleasantly mild, held two tickets out to the manicured stewardess checking their flight tickets and passports, as security loitered near the entrance of the plane.

They'd quite neatly bought the tickets legitimately, although there had been a little bit of fiddling with the records, seeing as British Airways actually didn't fly to Tibet. Although seeing as how quickly the flight had filled up, they probably should.

However, the passports were somewhat less legit... Aziraphale had one, but his had been made for him back when they'd decided passports might be a good idea, and even then the birth date had been in the twenties or so. It would have been hard to explain to the nice security men that while the passport was quite authentic, it just didn't look it, and the angel doubted that hand creams - and face moisturizers, if he could admit it to himself - wouldn't get him quite that far. He'd managed to forget to even ask Ellie if she had a passport prior to arrival, and decided it was for a very good cause if he could just miracle one up.

"All right, sir, go on through. Enjoy your flight."

Smiling in thanks, Aziraphale offered Ellie his arm. "Shall we?"

The stewardess kept calling behind them, "Business class first, please! Business class first! Only business class now..."

Comments

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Let's," Ellie agreed, sliding her arm through the angel's and smiling at him over her sunglasses (carefully chosen to bear as little resemblance to a certain other individual's shades as possible, of course, but there was no way she was going traveling without any.)

She nodded politely, carefully hiding a smile at the speculative look the boarding attendant gave them as they passed. It wasn't the first they'd received since arriving at the airport, and it almost certainly wouldn't be the last. There was no doubt they made an unlikely couple: a seemingly middle-aged, distinctly unfashionable man who set off every gaydar within a hundred yards, and a bombshell like herself (false modesty had never been one of her flaws) who radiated just the opposite. It was amusing, watching the general reaction, which was good; she needed the distraction. Pity she couldn't share the joke with Aziraphale, who as usual, was blissfully unaware of the image he projected.

"Convenient, but won't diverting a commercial airliner raise a few eyebrows Upstairs?" she murmured as they made their way up the boarding ramp.

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I very much doubt it," Aziraphale remarked idly, retucking the paperwork back into his jacket, "Unless we hit an angel or two on the way.

"Good afternoon," he smiled, to the kind stewardess gesturing to their seats. "And, er, I very much doubt any sort of response from Upstairs whatsoever. We may be in their vague direction, but with so many aircrafts about and Up Above not technically being the upper stratosphere, what's one more? As for British Airways..." Cocking his head slightly, he leaned closer to her, on the pretext of looking for a missing copy of the Times that should rightly have been provided for him. In truth, all it did was prevent their conversation from being picked up by the highly overweight businessman walking past them (who was gawking slightly too close to Ellie for normal conversational volume). "Well, all I had to do was plant a suggestion of Shangri La into one of their employees' heads. Quite simple, really. Did you know it's based off of the Tibetan Shambhala?"

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Tsk. Straying perilously close to Temptation, wasn't that?" Ellie teased, effortlessly shunting the businessman's attention toward a less-stunning but more biddable little hussy in Row 13 who was just aching for a big, fat sugar daddy amenable to divorce--she'd count it a favor Crowley owed her, as she was technically retired from the biz. "And no, I didn't. Come to think of it, I'm not a hundred percent sure I know what Shambhala is." This was, in fact, her first trip to Tibet. Once a favorite of Queen Triskele, she had usually landed more cosmopolitan assignments (at least after big cities had been invented.)

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

"It's the original Shangri La. Paradise, you know. In the Tibetan tradition. I've myself been to Tibet three times and not once seen such a thing, but it can be quite beautiful to fly. Cold, perhaps." He smiled. "When we arrive, we'll travel by car when we can, but I think it would be better if we..." Fluttering his fingers lightly, he glanced at Ellie for comprehension. "Well, locally, at least. We may be able to search more thoroughly that way."

Sitting back, he found someone's eyes on him, and looked over a row ahead to see a man wave back, fluttering his fingers as Aziraphale had. He must've thought he'd been waving... "Oh dear," the angel murmured as the plane began to move.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Ellie smiled deviously and leaned in close to Aziraphale, placing one hand on his arm in proprietary fashion, much to the apparent confusion and disappointment of the waving man. "I agree. It would be difficult to explain to any monks or pilgrims how we managed to get a rental car up the side of a mountain with no roads. And I haven't stretched mine in a while, anyway. ...do be careful, Aziraphale darling, we don't want to be giving people the wrong impression." Although, to be sure, it would be very difficult to give anyone the right impression, under the circumstances.

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

A small video about safety began to play in the background as the plane was slowly towed to the takeoff strip, which the angel promptly ignored, having seen it a hundred times. It was almost shameful how many times he'd seen this particular one from British Airways, as he was one of the very few beings who used the airline who had the ability to fly.* It was rather like taking your car to the shop down the road when you have a perfectly good, if slightly grimy, bicycle. Conveniently, the film took the focus off himself, and he could continue chatting to Ellie as they did up their belts.

"Are you certain you will be all right to..." - he didn't dare move his fingers again - "...then? It is the Himalayas, it's not quite easy. Well. At least there are two of us, after all."

*He had had an updated passport, come to think of it, though it had perished along with his bookshop. He remembered because the photo had a picture of his old face and body, and though the new one could probably past muster the one he'd had a few months ago - a year ago - would have gotten him imprisoned if he'd tried to use it.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I think so. I may be a little rusty, but I'll manage." With any other companion, she'd have made a sly double entendre about ways of keeping warm, but...oh well. "I'm sure between us we should be able to cope with anything we come across." Except, of course, possibly their quarry, but that pretty much went without saying.

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

Nodding, he closed his eyes and made himself comfortable, pondering her comment carefully. "I certainly hope so. Although if we find something that we can't, as you put it, cope with, then we ought to know about it in the very least. Say, for example, the abominable snowman..."

Mumbling now. "No laughing at my slept-on hair when I wake up either, please."

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ellie said solemnly. "Sleep well." She crossed her legs, pulled a magazine out of the seat-back slot where it hadn't been a moment before, and spent the next several hours gradually and silently driving the middle-aged CEO accross the aisle to absolute distraction.