Proposals
There were four separate occasions in which Crowley proposed marriage to Aziraphale. At least that's the way he saw it. A demon asking an angel to run away with him seemed like a proposal to him. And yes, two of the proposals had been during the almost end of the world but it did still count, didn't it? "We can run away together" sounded like an excellent plan, and why else would they run away together but to get married? But Aziraphale just didn't seem to get the hint at all.
The actual first occasion had been quite a long time before the almost end of the world. More than fifty years, to be exact. Though he supposed that he'd been far too subtle with the proposal then. And Aziraphale's response of "You go too fast for me, Crowley." Was a pretty good answer. They hadn't even really expressed any kind of feelings beyond friendship at that point so of course it was going too fast.
The fourth occasion was just about as subtle as the first. Crowley wasn't very good at coming out and saying what he actually meant when it came to his feelings for the angel. "You can stay at my place." Seemed good enough, but once again the angel didn't catch on. He wasn't understanding all of the subtext behind what Crowley was saying. It was going to take an actual outright proposal for Aziraphale to finally get it. Crowley decided that this time he was going to plan and make it a perfect night and make his question absolutely obvious in a way that even Gabriel would be able to understand what Crowley was asking.
Crowley had exactly two settings when it came to organizing. Either he didn't bother to plan anything at all and just went with whatever happened, or he over planned and organized to a point that made Marie Kondo look like an unorganized slob. There was absolutely no inbetween with him. When Crowley actually wanted to take the time to plan something, he obsessed over every tiny detail because it absolutely had to be completely perfect. And when it came to planning something involving Aziraphale, his dedication to the project tripled. It was to the point that he hadn't actually spoken to the angel in nearly a year.
"We're quite closed, I'm afraid." Aziraphale said as he answered the book shop phone.
"I'm quite aware of that, angel." Crowley said with a smile that Aziraphale could hear.
"Crowley. How nice to hear from you. Been napping again?" Aziraphale chuckled softly.
"What? Oh, no. Not napping. Been....up to something. Listen, are you doing anything on December 12th?" He had a notebook out on his desk and was doodling in a corner as he waited for Aziraphale's answer.
"I'm not quite sure, Crowley. I mean...that is three months away." Aziraphale chuckled softly. Crowley never asked about anything this far in advance.
"Is it? I hadn't really noticed. Time kind of got away from me." He shrugged even though Aziraphale couldn't see it. "Will you make sure to be free then?"
"I believe I can arrange that, yes. Have something special planned?" Aziraphale joked a bit.
"Perhaps. Just have to wait and see. December 12th. And....wear something nice." Crowley then hung up the phone.
"Wear something nice?" Aziraphale stared at the phone before hanging up as well. Those three words could encompass a rather large amount of wardrobe choices. At least he had three months to decide.
Crowley had the venue picked out two months before he'd even called Aziraphale. He had his own wardrobe choices in the process of being made. Yes, he could miracle himself up something to wear but nothing said "I put in a lot of effort for this" like a bespoke tuxedo with his own little embellishments. He was insistent that everything had to be completely perfect in every last detail.
When the day came the weather had threatened a bit of a storm which would somewhat ruin some of Crowley's plans so he decided to miracle that problem out of the way. It was still overcast, which was fine, but there was no rain to be seen. Also it wasn't so cold as to make a lovely dinner outside completely unreasonable.
Aziraphale had decided to wear his nicest suit. He'd gotten a new waistcoat so as to put on his best appearance, the slightly worn spots on the one he usually wore didn't feel quite right. Crowley had told him that a ride would arrive for him promptly at six pm and that he needed to be ready. Aziraphale was expecting the Bentley to pull up outside the bookshop and was most definitely surprised when a gleaming white limousine pulled up instead. The driver got out and opened the door for him.
"What are you planning?" Aziraphale asked no one in particular as he got into the back. This was most peculiar. He watched out the window as the limousine drove through the streets of London and actually started to leave the city.
"Um, excuse me driver. Where are we going?" He was starting to get a little anxious.
"Master Crowley insisted that I tell you only that it's a surprise." The driver smile at Aziraphale before turning his attention back at the road.
"Yes, of course." Aziraphale nodded and continued to look out the window. At least the scenery was lovely.
After about forty five minutes the driver finally came to a stop in a little park that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere. He got out and opened the door for Aziraphale, who stepped out and was happy to find a paved path that would keep his shoes from getting dirty. The driver motioned for Aziraphale to walk on ahead and then got back in the car, though he didn't drive off immediately.
Aziraphale followed the path a ways into a grove of trees and then there was a clearing. Inside the clearing the trees were decorated with tiny twinkling lights. There were flowers on pedestals around the perimeter of the clearing and a table in the center. It was set with fine gold and white china and two crystal wine goblets. There was a bouquet of white and red roses sitting in the middle and two black taper candles in silver candle sticks. Soft classical music was coming from seemingly nowhere.
"Crowley?" Aziraphale asked as he looked around the clearing.
"Yes, dear?" Crowley said with a smile as he stepped out of the opposite side of the clearing. He was wearing a beautifully tailored black tuxedo with little red embellishments on the lapels and cuffs. He hadn't bothered with his sunglasses on this particular occasion and his hair was actually smoothed down rather than in the messy style he usually wore it. He looked absolutely beautiful.
"What? I mean....what is all this?" Aziraphale moved over to the table and Crowley walked around to pull his chair out for him. On instinct, Aziraphale took a seat.
"Today is a very, very special occasion." Crowley smiled before going around to take his own seat. He opened a bottle of deep, red wine that he'd been saving for a very, very special occasion. One of the rarest bottles of wine to exist.
"Is it?" Aziraphale asked as he held up his glass to be filled. He was definitely never one to turn down wine.
"It is. You don't remember, do you?" He offered a little smile before sipping his glass of wine. Oh it was definitely exquisite. Aziraphale swirled his wine in his glass as he thought about it for a very long moment.
"I'm quite afraid I don't. I do apologize." He blushed a little before sipping his wine.
"That's quite alright, darling. It was a very long time ago." Crowley set his wine glass down and placed his hands on the table. "It's our anniversary. So to speak."
"Our....I'm not sure....it is?" Aziraphale tilted his head and got that adorably confused look that Crowley loved so very much. He could just look at him all day like that.
"Yes, it is. Six thousand and twenty years ago today, we met on the garden wall." Crowley sat back in his chair and picked up his wine glass again. He smiled as Aziraphale just stared at him in shock.
"That was....how can you possibly remember that?" His wine glass was forgotten in his had at this point.
"It's really rather difficult to forget the day you meet your first love." Crowley kept his eyes on Aziraphale's face as he carefully sipped his wine. He watched the angel go from confusion to realization in a very short period of time and it made him smile.
"I....um......are you saying what I think you're saying?" Aziraphale set his wine glass down, afraid that he was definitely going to spill it.
"I've been in love with you since the wall, yes. That's what I'm saying." Crowley knew for a fact that Aziraphale couldn't say the same thing and he didn't mind it at all. He just knew that they had some kind of feelings for each other.
"Oh goodness." Aziraphale cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter in his chair. He fidgeted with his bowtie and straightened his waistcoat. All little things that he did when he was nervous and unsure of what to say.
"I know you can't say the same, angel. It's alright." He smiled and got to his feet, moving around to stand next to Aziraphale's chair. "But....I would hope that there's a point at which you can say you feel the same way?"
"1941." Aziraphale responded, looking up at Crowley. He felt a bit bad that Crowley had been pining for him for millennia and he could only say it hadn't even been a whole decade. "When you saved the books...."
"I thought as much." Crowley said with a chuckle. "So, the feelings are definitely mutual then." He nodded. At least he could confirm that. "And....I guess that really only leaves me with one question then."
"And what's that?" Aziraphale had relaxed considerably just then. Crowley didn't seem at all upset that there was such a difference in the time they'd loved each other. Aziraphale gasped as Crowley got down on one knee next to his chair. He pulled out a small, black velvet box from his inside coat pocket and held it out. Opening the box, Crowley revealed a ring that he'd had custom made specifically for this occasion. The ring was black and silver intertwined with a sapphire and a ruby inlaid at the top.
"I've been attempting to ask you this question for a few decades now and I keep getting it wrong. So tonight I wanted to make sure that you absolutely understood what I was asking. No hinting around. Just straight to the point." He cleared his throat and looked the angel in the eye.
"Aziraphale, angel of the Eastern gate, principality of Heaven......will you marry me?" Crowley started to get very nervous when Aziraphale just kept looking back and forth between him and the ring. Was he wrong about the whole situation? Was this a very, very bad idea? Had he actually managed to render Aziraphale speechless? All those thoughts were going through his head as he watched Aziraphale's face. After a long moment, he smiled brightly.
"Yes. Absolutely yes." Aziraphale finally managed to say with tears pooling in his eyes. He didn't think he'd ever been as happy as he was in that particular moment. Crowley relaxed visibly before he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Aziraphale's finger. Of course it fit perfectly. "You ridiculous man." Aziraphale said as he put both hands on Crowley's cheeks and pulled him into a kiss.
The actual first occasion had been quite a long time before the almost end of the world. More than fifty years, to be exact. Though he supposed that he'd been far too subtle with the proposal then. And Aziraphale's response of "You go too fast for me, Crowley." Was a pretty good answer. They hadn't even really expressed any kind of feelings beyond friendship at that point so of course it was going too fast.
The fourth occasion was just about as subtle as the first. Crowley wasn't very good at coming out and saying what he actually meant when it came to his feelings for the angel. "You can stay at my place." Seemed good enough, but once again the angel didn't catch on. He wasn't understanding all of the subtext behind what Crowley was saying. It was going to take an actual outright proposal for Aziraphale to finally get it. Crowley decided that this time he was going to plan and make it a perfect night and make his question absolutely obvious in a way that even Gabriel would be able to understand what Crowley was asking.
Crowley had exactly two settings when it came to organizing. Either he didn't bother to plan anything at all and just went with whatever happened, or he over planned and organized to a point that made Marie Kondo look like an unorganized slob. There was absolutely no inbetween with him. When Crowley actually wanted to take the time to plan something, he obsessed over every tiny detail because it absolutely had to be completely perfect. And when it came to planning something involving Aziraphale, his dedication to the project tripled. It was to the point that he hadn't actually spoken to the angel in nearly a year.
"We're quite closed, I'm afraid." Aziraphale said as he answered the book shop phone.
"I'm quite aware of that, angel." Crowley said with a smile that Aziraphale could hear.
"Crowley. How nice to hear from you. Been napping again?" Aziraphale chuckled softly.
"What? Oh, no. Not napping. Been....up to something. Listen, are you doing anything on December 12th?" He had a notebook out on his desk and was doodling in a corner as he waited for Aziraphale's answer.
"I'm not quite sure, Crowley. I mean...that is three months away." Aziraphale chuckled softly. Crowley never asked about anything this far in advance.
"Is it? I hadn't really noticed. Time kind of got away from me." He shrugged even though Aziraphale couldn't see it. "Will you make sure to be free then?"
"I believe I can arrange that, yes. Have something special planned?" Aziraphale joked a bit.
"Perhaps. Just have to wait and see. December 12th. And....wear something nice." Crowley then hung up the phone.
"Wear something nice?" Aziraphale stared at the phone before hanging up as well. Those three words could encompass a rather large amount of wardrobe choices. At least he had three months to decide.
Crowley had the venue picked out two months before he'd even called Aziraphale. He had his own wardrobe choices in the process of being made. Yes, he could miracle himself up something to wear but nothing said "I put in a lot of effort for this" like a bespoke tuxedo with his own little embellishments. He was insistent that everything had to be completely perfect in every last detail.
When the day came the weather had threatened a bit of a storm which would somewhat ruin some of Crowley's plans so he decided to miracle that problem out of the way. It was still overcast, which was fine, but there was no rain to be seen. Also it wasn't so cold as to make a lovely dinner outside completely unreasonable.
Aziraphale had decided to wear his nicest suit. He'd gotten a new waistcoat so as to put on his best appearance, the slightly worn spots on the one he usually wore didn't feel quite right. Crowley had told him that a ride would arrive for him promptly at six pm and that he needed to be ready. Aziraphale was expecting the Bentley to pull up outside the bookshop and was most definitely surprised when a gleaming white limousine pulled up instead. The driver got out and opened the door for him.
"What are you planning?" Aziraphale asked no one in particular as he got into the back. This was most peculiar. He watched out the window as the limousine drove through the streets of London and actually started to leave the city.
"Um, excuse me driver. Where are we going?" He was starting to get a little anxious.
"Master Crowley insisted that I tell you only that it's a surprise." The driver smile at Aziraphale before turning his attention back at the road.
"Yes, of course." Aziraphale nodded and continued to look out the window. At least the scenery was lovely.
After about forty five minutes the driver finally came to a stop in a little park that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere. He got out and opened the door for Aziraphale, who stepped out and was happy to find a paved path that would keep his shoes from getting dirty. The driver motioned for Aziraphale to walk on ahead and then got back in the car, though he didn't drive off immediately.
Aziraphale followed the path a ways into a grove of trees and then there was a clearing. Inside the clearing the trees were decorated with tiny twinkling lights. There were flowers on pedestals around the perimeter of the clearing and a table in the center. It was set with fine gold and white china and two crystal wine goblets. There was a bouquet of white and red roses sitting in the middle and two black taper candles in silver candle sticks. Soft classical music was coming from seemingly nowhere.
"Crowley?" Aziraphale asked as he looked around the clearing.
"Yes, dear?" Crowley said with a smile as he stepped out of the opposite side of the clearing. He was wearing a beautifully tailored black tuxedo with little red embellishments on the lapels and cuffs. He hadn't bothered with his sunglasses on this particular occasion and his hair was actually smoothed down rather than in the messy style he usually wore it. He looked absolutely beautiful.
"What? I mean....what is all this?" Aziraphale moved over to the table and Crowley walked around to pull his chair out for him. On instinct, Aziraphale took a seat.
"Today is a very, very special occasion." Crowley smiled before going around to take his own seat. He opened a bottle of deep, red wine that he'd been saving for a very, very special occasion. One of the rarest bottles of wine to exist.
"Is it?" Aziraphale asked as he held up his glass to be filled. He was definitely never one to turn down wine.
"It is. You don't remember, do you?" He offered a little smile before sipping his glass of wine. Oh it was definitely exquisite. Aziraphale swirled his wine in his glass as he thought about it for a very long moment.
"I'm quite afraid I don't. I do apologize." He blushed a little before sipping his wine.
"That's quite alright, darling. It was a very long time ago." Crowley set his wine glass down and placed his hands on the table. "It's our anniversary. So to speak."
"Our....I'm not sure....it is?" Aziraphale tilted his head and got that adorably confused look that Crowley loved so very much. He could just look at him all day like that.
"Yes, it is. Six thousand and twenty years ago today, we met on the garden wall." Crowley sat back in his chair and picked up his wine glass again. He smiled as Aziraphale just stared at him in shock.
"That was....how can you possibly remember that?" His wine glass was forgotten in his had at this point.
"It's really rather difficult to forget the day you meet your first love." Crowley kept his eyes on Aziraphale's face as he carefully sipped his wine. He watched the angel go from confusion to realization in a very short period of time and it made him smile.
"I....um......are you saying what I think you're saying?" Aziraphale set his wine glass down, afraid that he was definitely going to spill it.
"I've been in love with you since the wall, yes. That's what I'm saying." Crowley knew for a fact that Aziraphale couldn't say the same thing and he didn't mind it at all. He just knew that they had some kind of feelings for each other.
"Oh goodness." Aziraphale cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter in his chair. He fidgeted with his bowtie and straightened his waistcoat. All little things that he did when he was nervous and unsure of what to say.
"I know you can't say the same, angel. It's alright." He smiled and got to his feet, moving around to stand next to Aziraphale's chair. "But....I would hope that there's a point at which you can say you feel the same way?"
"1941." Aziraphale responded, looking up at Crowley. He felt a bit bad that Crowley had been pining for him for millennia and he could only say it hadn't even been a whole decade. "When you saved the books...."
"I thought as much." Crowley said with a chuckle. "So, the feelings are definitely mutual then." He nodded. At least he could confirm that. "And....I guess that really only leaves me with one question then."
"And what's that?" Aziraphale had relaxed considerably just then. Crowley didn't seem at all upset that there was such a difference in the time they'd loved each other. Aziraphale gasped as Crowley got down on one knee next to his chair. He pulled out a small, black velvet box from his inside coat pocket and held it out. Opening the box, Crowley revealed a ring that he'd had custom made specifically for this occasion. The ring was black and silver intertwined with a sapphire and a ruby inlaid at the top.
"I've been attempting to ask you this question for a few decades now and I keep getting it wrong. So tonight I wanted to make sure that you absolutely understood what I was asking. No hinting around. Just straight to the point." He cleared his throat and looked the angel in the eye.
"Aziraphale, angel of the Eastern gate, principality of Heaven......will you marry me?" Crowley started to get very nervous when Aziraphale just kept looking back and forth between him and the ring. Was he wrong about the whole situation? Was this a very, very bad idea? Had he actually managed to render Aziraphale speechless? All those thoughts were going through his head as he watched Aziraphale's face. After a long moment, he smiled brightly.
"Yes. Absolutely yes." Aziraphale finally managed to say with tears pooling in his eyes. He didn't think he'd ever been as happy as he was in that particular moment. Crowley relaxed visibly before he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Aziraphale's finger. Of course it fit perfectly. "You ridiculous man." Aziraphale said as he put both hands on Crowley's cheeks and pulled him into a kiss.
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