Title: The Lady Gardener
Author: jessthereckless
Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21519955/chapters/51296005
Wordcount: 80,912
Summary:
What if Crowley had known in advance about Aziraphale’s ‘Brother Francis’ disguise and talked him out of it?
And what if Aziraphale had followed Crowley’s example and also gone undercover as a woman?
It’s an Undercover At The Ambassador’s Residence AU! (The porn starts in chapter three.)
NSFW: Lots of, to quote Aziraphale and Crowley in the fic, ‘Rampant Lesbianism’ (soo much smut).
Why this fic is awesome:
This fic is fundamentally, completely, beautifully, glorious. As the summary says Aziraphale arrives at the Dowling Household as Miss Frances Fell, the gardener and Crowley- who has of course always been in love with Aziraphale in any and all forms- is totally bewitched by an Aziraphale who discovers a new sense of liberation and freedom in this female corporation.
The descriptions of both characters, from each others’ eyes, are lush, lustful and intensley beautiful (because of course rather than learn how to garden to get into the role, Aziraphale went around buying a lot of luxurious underwear instead). The fic also contains some wonderful portraits of the Dowling household, Warlock and Harriet Dowling and Nanny’s friendship (and a Nanny who suggests she was in MI5 because Crowley really really does think she could be James Bond, okay?)
This is not normally my jam which is why I love it so much that the author has completely convinced me into this tale- and there are some wonderful humorous moments which I won’t spoil, but also terrific little asides and details that just work, like:
“It had clicked for Crowley in the strangest way, when one day Aziraphale had been humming around the rose garden and regaling the teacup climbers with snatches of West Side Story. When you heard a being like Aziraphale announce in song that she felt pretty and witty and gay, you tended to believe it. Especially the gay part. It seemed that no matter what her presentation or corporation, her essence remained the same – gay as a rainbow flag and camper than a row of pink tents.”
And
“Like most angels, Aziraphale sang, but in true Aziraphale fashion she didn’t quite get it right. In her regular corporation she was a powerful light baritone. Too powerful, in fact, and she’d been shunted discreetly out of the Heavenly Choir for sounding a bit too Gilbert and Sullivan.”
IT JUST MAKES IT WORK SO WELL.
The descriptions are so lush and beautiful you will want to devour this in one sitting, but also equisitely agonisingly you want to make it last!
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