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Crowley had finally gotten one of the things he most wished for - Aziraphale had moved in with him. The two friends, outcasts of both Heaven and Hell after the averted Apocalypse, had not seen or heard from any representatives of the ethereal realm in several years, so they figured they had been written off as a loss, or just forgotten about. Therefore, they had decided to take advantage of their outsider status to finally live together and retire to the countryside. They had obtained a lovely little cottage that looked small from the outside, but had plenty of room for both of them on the inside. Crowley had a plant room and Aziraphale had a library; they each had their own bedroom and shared a living room and a kitchen. Outdoors, there was a quaint little garden that the two of them had created together. They spent a lot of time in the garden, whether talking, sharing a bottle of wine, reading books, or just sitting side by side, enjoying the weather.
Now that they were spending almost all their time together, Crowley kept thinking about the concept of weddings. He had never really thought about the topic much before now; he tended not to concern himself with such boring human rituals. But now, he was starting to see the appeal of making a relationship so official . It sounded so beautiful, announcing to the world that you had found your special person whom you would love and cherish forever.
But a few years ago, when he had tried to refer to Aziraphale as his “husband,” the angel had politely ranted for a while about how that was not an appropriate term for them to use to describe their relationship. Crowley understood the angel’s point of view, but still secretly wished that they could at least say they were married.
The funny thing was, Aziraphale loved weddings. He had even invited himself to a number of them throughout history; humans would call this “crashing” a wedding, but Aziraphale did not “crash” anything - he politely, unobtrusively observed. Crowley would patiently listen to Aziraphale describe the decor and the outfits and the music, and just how happy he was for these couples that he didn’t even know.
An angel/demon wedding, though? Absolutely out of the question for Aziraphale. Still, Crowley wished he could do something to show Aziraphale just how much he adored him.
...
"Azira?" asked Crowley softly as they snuggled together in bed one night. "Are you still sure that you don't want me to refer to you as my ‘husband’?"
Aziraphale rolled over to face Crowley. “Oh, Crowley...I love you so, so much. Why does the label matter?”
Crowley reached out to stroke Aziraphale’s hair. “Humans seem to care a lot about labels. They love to have weddings and show off how committed they are to each other.”
Aziraphale sighed, wondering why Crowley had to bring this up when he had been close to falling asleep. Luckily, he had figured Crowley would ask him about this at some point, and he had already prepared a small monologue to explain his views again :
“Marriage is a strictly human thing. There are many reasons I could list. It is a legal matter that cannot apply to us. It implies the opportunity for sex and reproduction, which also does not apply to us. It often involves symbolism, such as the exchange of rings, that means nothing to us...why would you want to describe our relationship with such a human term? Especially when marriage is often not taken seriously, such as when people decide on the spur of the moment to have a wedding in Las Vegas officiated by an Elvis impersonator. Or when they get divorced soon after the wedding."
“What’s wrong with a Las Vegas wedding with an Elvis impersonator?” Crowley asked. Now that the idea had been presented, he kind of wanted to bring Aziraphale there. “Las Vegas is such a great city. Lots of temptations everywhere...basically vacation time for me!”
Aziraphale was not amused by this. “Crowley, can we talk about this tomorrow? I really love you, but right now I want to sleep.”
“Okay. Just forget about it for now, angel. Time for some snuggles.”
...
The next morning, Crowley was sitting at the kitchen table with Aziraphale, as the angel drank some strong Irish Breakfast tea.
“I’m sorry I was bothering you last night,” Crowley apologized.
“It’s really no problem,” said the ever-forgiving Aziraphale.
“What I really wanted to say is - I suppose that I just want to be able to call you something meaningful. 'Husband' sounds so much more important and permanent than something like 'partner.'”
"Why not 'friend' or 'best friend’?” Aziraphale asked. “We already call each other those things."
"You can have lots of friends, but you can only have one husband,” Crowley countered.
Aziraphale thoughtfully sipped his tea. "How about if we come up with a new term we could use?"
"We need something that shows commitment," said Crowley.
"And love."
"And equality."
"And doesn't appropriate from strictly human experiences."
"’Lover’? I think that has somewhat naughty connotations for some humans, but it's very literal for us."
“No, I don’t like that.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
"Not at the moment, but I’ll let you know when I think of something.”
…
Later that day, they were both in the library; Aziraphale was reading an encyclopedia, and Crowley was attempting to play chess against himself.
“Lovebirds!” exclaimed Aziraphale. “How’s that for something we can call ourselves?”
“Lovebirds?”
“Lovebirds! It just sounds so cute and pure. And lovebirds are snuggly and have wings, just like us!”
Crowley smiled. "Lovebirds. That's the best idea either of us has had so far," said Crowley. "You'll forever be my lovebird." He could practically feel the love and happiness Aziraphale was experiencing at that moment.
Neither of them thought of anything else to say, so they went back to their previous activities. After a few minutes, Crowley got another idea.
“Angel…” he said. “I like the ‘lovebird’ idea, but I’ve thought of something else you might like, that sounds more serious. ‘Beloved.’ You’re my beloved.”
“Beloved,” said Aziraphale. “That’s perfect.”
“Are we using both, then?” asked Crowley. “‘Lovebird’ and ‘beloved’?”
“Sounds good to me!” replied Aziraphale.
…
A few days later, Aziraphale was thinking about how Crowley wanted to call him his ‘husband,’ and realized that maybe it wasn’t so bad. The more he thought about it, the more he thought he could understand Crowley’s point of view...and the more he realized that deep inside, he really liked it.
That night, while Crowley was saying goodnight to his plants, Aziraphale put on his favorite white pajamas, made his wings appear, fluffed them out for maximum cuteness, and then sat on Crowley’s bed to wait for him.
“Angel!” exclaimed Crowley when he came into the room a little while later. “You’ve got your wings out!”
“Indeed I do,” said Aziraphale with a smile.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,” Crowley continued. "For some reason I thought you’d be sleeping in your own bedroom tonight. What’s going on?”
“I just wanted to talk to my beloved a little while longer before I go to bed. Come sit with me.”
Crowley sat down on the bed, putting an arm around Aziraphale as they both reclined against Crowley’s pile of pillows.
“Crowley…” began Aziraphale, once they were both comfortable. “I know I’ve said before that I don’t want you to call me your husband, but on the other hand…”
Aziraphale turned to face Crowley, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pinned him against the headboard.
“I actually love it when you call me your husband!” Aziraphale said quickly and breathlessly. “I thought I didn’t like it, but then I realized that I feel SO loved and honored that you feel enough love and commitment to this relationship to call me that!”
Crowley stared at Aziraphale with an expression of surprise. He was completely taken aback first by the way Aziraphale was handling him, and then by the angel’s confession that he secretly loved being Crowley’s “husband.”
“Angel…” he said, unable to think of any other words.
Aziraphale seemed to suddenly feel embarrassed by the situation, and let go of Crowley.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” said Aziraphale softly, repositioning himself beside Crowley and averting his eyes while Crowley tried to catch his breath and think of something to say. “I don’t know what came over me just now.”
Finally Crowley glanced over at Aziraphale, who was sitting up straight and looking a bit worried.
“Angel…” said Crowley with a bit of confusion. “...is this supposed to be a marriage proposal?”
Aziraphale looked both surprised and embarrassed.
“Actually no, not at all,” he said. “I still don’t think that’s appropriate for our relationship. But...I was thinking...we could have a commitment ceremony instead, just the two of us, if it would make you happy to formalize things a bit.”
Crowley’s eyes lit up. “A commitment ceremony?!” he said with a smile. “You’d do that for me?”
Aziraphale smiled back. “Nothing too fancy,” he said. “Just have a little wedding of sorts out in the garden, and we can write some vows that are meaningful just to us.”
Crowley hugged Aziraphale tightly. “You have no idea just how happy this makes me!” he said. “Can we do it tomorrow?”
“All right!” said Aziraphale. “I suppose there’s nothing making us wait.”
“We can dress up! And maybe have a cake!”
“Whatever you want, my beloved .”
...
Crowley hadn’t felt this excited in a long time. Even if Aziraphale hadn’t wanted to use words like “husband” or “wedding” or “marriage” to describe their relationship, the fact that he had suggested a “commitment ceremony” was huge . Crowley spent some time that evening writing down ideas for music and vows that they could use. Aziraphale read through some typical Christian wedding ceremonies in one of his many books, and decided that very little of the content made sense for him and Crowley.
“We don’t need to say things like “for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,” he told Crowley. “Those are such human promises. We already know we’re together forever, right?”
“That makes sense, angel,” replied Crowley; his heart did a little leap when Aziraphale said “together forever,” even though there had really been no question about that.
“And ‘you may now kiss your bride’?” continued Aziraphale. “I’m not your bride , and I’d rather not have you kiss me.”
“You don’t want to kiss ?” asked Crowley with mock indignation. Aziraphale’s eyes grew wide. “It’s okay, angel, I’m completely kidding.”
“So much of this is based on a wedding being a community celebration,” continued Aziraphale. “But I want this to be just the two of us. A secret, I suppose, but a happy one.”
“That sounds good to me, angel.”
“Why don’t we just write down whatever we want to say to each other, and read it to each other at the ceremony?” suggested Aziraphale. “We don’t need to be bound by human customs at all.”
“That sounds wonderful!” said Crowley. “All I really want to do is read our ‘vows’ and then dance.”
“That sounds lovely, Crowley.”
Meanwhile, Aziraphale was hoping that he had done the right thing. He still believed that marriage was only meant for humans, but there was nothing wrong with a formal exchange of vows as long as they didn’t call it a wedding, right? Really, nothing was going to change between them. He just loved Crowley and wanted to make him as happy as possible.
After they finished their planning, they cuddled in Crowley’s bed until the next morning.
...
The following afternoon, it was time for their commitment ceremony. The two agreed to surprise each other with their choice of formal wear; Aziraphale wore one of his vintage 1800s outfits, including a top hat, and Crowley wore a modern tux with a red tie.
“You look scrumptious,” said Aziraphale, looking Crowley up and down.
“As do you, angel.”
“Do you have your written statement?”
“Indeed I do.”
“Very well then,” said Aziraphale, removing a folded sheet of paper from his pocket to read from.
“Dearly beloved…” began Aziraphale, gazing into Crowley’s eyes, since he had memorized this first part. “You, and I, and God, and whatever plants and animals may be listening…” he gestured to the garden around them. “We are gathered here today to bear witness to the lifelong partnership of two ethereal beings, who against all odds have become the greatest of allies and the best of friends. We have chosen today to verbally express our deepest love and commitment to one another.”
Crowley smiled. Everything that Aziraphale was saying was perfect.
“Crowley, would you like to begin by reading your statement of commitment and love?” Aziraphale asked.
“Of course,” said Crowley softly, then began to read from his handwritten sheet of paper:
"Aziraphale, I have loved you longer than you know. We've had so many adventures over the years, but never formally committed our lives to one another - until now. Aziraphale, you are my best friend, my partner in crime, and my favorite being in the entire universe. In spite of all the odds, we, an angel and a demon, realized that we’d rather be with each other than have anything else. My life would mean nothing without you. You are my love, my joy, my peace, and my truth. You make my life so much better just by being my friend and by being yourself. I am eternally grateful that you have decided to make your home with me. I, Anthony J. Crowley, hereby declare that you, Aziraphale the angel, are my beloved eternal partner, confidant, and hero."
By the time he was finished reading the statement aloud, Crowley was trying to blink back tears. It meant so much to him to be able to say all this to Aziraphale.
Aziraphale then read his statement:
"My dearest Crowley, we are here today to state plainly what we've felt for the longest time. When I first met you, the world was brand-new, and I had no idea about what would happen in the thousands of years to come. The world has changed so much, but you have always been there for me, even when I didn’t realize it. You have been saving me from all sorts of predicaments for centuries now. You showed me that there is so much more to experience than good vs. evil. You invited me to be on our side, distinct from the factions warring around us. You challenge me to try new things, and to be true to myself. I love and trust you beyond measure. I am forever yours. You are my most beloved one, and I pledge to love and honor you forever.”
Aziraphale gently took the paper from Crowley’s hand and set both of their written statements aside. He then held both of Crowley’s hands, smiled lovingly, and said, “You may now...hug...your partner?”
Crowley grinned and hugged Aziraphale for a long time, wishing it could last forever. When it finally felt like it was time to separate, he said, “And would you like to dance with your partner?”
“Always, Crowley.”
“I made a short playlist of songs we can dance to.”
“Any waltzes? All I know is the waltz and the gavotte.”
“No, but we can make it up as we go along.”
After Aziraphale took off his top hat and set it aside, the two held on to one another waltz-style and danced to the playlist Crowley had made, starting with Elvis Presley’s “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.”
Every time that you're near, all my cares disappear
Darling, you're all that I'm living for
I want you, I need you, I love you, more and more
Next, they slowly swayed to Queen’s “Bicycle Race,” which made Aziraphale laugh.
“Don’t think of it as being strictly about bicycles!” Crowley said. “It’s about being able to do whatever you want.”
The playlist ended with two of Aziraphale’s favorite operatic love songs - “O mio babbino caro” and “O soave fanciulla.” Not very danceable, thought Aziraphale, but oh so meaningful, leaning his head against Crowley’s shoulder as they shuffled around the garden. As the last song ended, Crowley gently kissed the top of Aziraphale’s head. An unconventional kiss for an unconventional wedding, he thought.
“What now, my husband?” Crowley asked gently.
“What do you want to do, my beloved?” replied Aziraphale.
“It’s our wedding night,” said Crowley. “What do you want to do? What’s your wildest romantic fantasy?”
“You could feed me cookies and tell me I’m beautiful,” said Aziraphale, with a mischievous grin. “How about you?”
“I want to stand on the roof and point at you and yell ‘That’s my husband,’ loud enough for the whole world to hear.”
“I can definitely picture you doing that.”
“Want to get something to eat, angel? I don’t think we have any cookies, or any wedding cake...but we have ice cream.”
“That sounds lovely, Crowley.”