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“We need to have just a little more patience, I'm sure of this,” Aziraphale said to the two children he was carrying in his arms.
“But I'm hungry!” The smallest kid lamented.
The angel was well aware that it wasn't a tantrum: the kids and their parents had eaten little food in the last four days since they had been trapped beneath the mountain. They had been walking the whole time and they were at their limit.
The angel couldn't ask the kids to drink some water from a nearby pool to soothe the hunger bites so he secretly pulled out two biscuits out of his pocket, one for each kid.
The children enthusiastically ate those in less than a minute but, despite the angel's hope, one of the adults saw them.
After pulling the kids away, the human pushed Aziraphale against the cavern wall and put his knife at the angel's neck: “So I was right: you stole our food for yourself!”
“I-I-I dddidn't! I can… I swear!” the angel frantically said, “those two biscuits were just my ration I haven't eaten yet.”
Since he didn't need earthly matter to sustain himself, Aziraphale for the whole four days hadn't eaten any food, often sharing some with the humans or putting that back in the sack without taking a bite.
However, the principality couldn't deny he was starving too at that moment.
However, it wasn't about food: it was about Grace.
Those tunnels had been too close to the entrance of Hell so God's Grace was almost nonexistent.
Aziraphale had already done too many miracles, like saving everyone from the landslide, almost completely just using his own power without being aided by God's Grace and it was starting to show its toll on the angel.
The principality really hoped no demon would pop out of those tunnels or he had no idea about how he could protect everyone.
"Just a little more,” the angel pleaded, “and we'll be out o-”
“You - the man interrupted- have been saying that for the last three hours or so but no exit is in sight!”
Aziraphale puffed his chest: “I trust my source of information dearly: if he says there is an exit there will b-”
“Well, maybe I won't be able to go on until I've got a nice meal,” the human said while eyeing the angel up and down a couple of times, “and maybe the solution is in front of us the whole time…”
Thinking that the man had discovered he was an angel, Aziraphale spoke again: “I-I-I don't have more food nor I can miracle it from ‘thin air’ at this moment, I'm afraid.”
“Oh, but I wasn't expecting to make it from thin air,” the man sinisterly laughed at him, “I was thinking you could be our dinner.”
“Are you gone mad?” A woman asked with an horrified tone. “I won't kill and eat him: that's dishuman! Also, we need him as our guide!”
The man licked his lips and insisted: “Oh, I can assure you he'll just taste like pork. Or veal.”
An aurea so malignant rose around that human that almost made the angel retch.
“If you don't like him since he's so old,” the human continued, “we can try one of the kids…”
At those words, the angel's hand grabbed the blade and he didn't let it go even when blood started staining his arm and sleeve.
“You won't harm any of them,” Aziraphale firmly declared, letting all his remaining holiness seep through his corporation and reveal himself, engulfing him with his light. The human’s mind and malice couldn't bear all that holiness and he simply fled away, towards Hell's gate.
The angel’s little power waned until no glow was seen and his strength failed him, not letting him keep himself up. However, Aziraphale never fell down on the ground: a tall dark creature held him up almost effortlessly.
“That was a dumb thing to do so close to Hell,” Crowley hissed in the angel's ear with a concerned expression that couldn't be hidden behind his smoked glasses. “You couldn't know if that worked or which demon was near you…”
“Oh, dear,” the angel mumbled horrified, despite his tiredness, “tell me I haven't hurt you with m-”
“Not hurt… …I'm just torn between pissed off and impressed by your bravura. At the moment I'm more pissed off, to be honest, because it could have ended really badly.”
Despite being so close to hell, Aziraphale was feeling much better, like something was giving him strength and sustaining his soul: he was probably sure who he should thank but he was sure he couldn't do that, especially in the earshot of Hell.
The demon, after he had put the angel’s arm over his shoulder, looked back to the humans and said: “Come on, everyone: here are the last two miles before you'll feast better than kings! I just know the right inn for that. You should thank your angel that you're already on the right shortcut here!”
As a matter of fact, in less than an hour, everybody, angel and demon included, were feasting with foods and drinks of any kind, tastier than any king would have at his table.
Nobody could tell if it was just a miracle or the love that was in the air that night.