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Normally, one would find the angel Aziraphale in his Soho bookshop, nursing a warm cup of tea and nibbling on biscuits on a damp, rainy afternoon. This afternoon, however, was unlike any of the others in a recent slew of gloominess that had overtaken the city of London as of late. No, instead, any given person might have noted a short, stocky gentleman in a tweed suit and red bowtie flitting from shop to shop, clearly looking for a specific kind of store and becoming more distressed upon the discovery he had entered another incorrect location. Of course, any person might also have ignored it or missed it altogether, seeing as not all humans are so involved in other people’s business.
Aziraphale, on the other hand, grew more and more frustrated with himself by the second. “In the name of all that is good,” he muttered to himself, “Where in the bloody hell was that shop?” You see, the angel had misplaced the receipt for the ring that he had purchased for Crowley, his longtime friend, and lover. On said receipt was the address of the store and Aziraphale, although known to be quite bright and sharp, had neglected to memorize the name or address of the place. All he knew for sure was that he needed to pick up the ring before the store closed for the day and that he needed to acquire it before Crowley came over to the shop to pick him up and take him to their shared cottage in the South Downs.
After the Nopocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley had dined at the Ritz, and, over what many humans would consider too many bottles of wine, they had agreed that would forever be on “their own side”. Both had agreed that being “at odds” with one another for so long despite being friends had become tiresome and that all they really wanted was to be able to act like normal human friends without the forces of Heaven or Hell sticking their noses into their respective businesses. Their conversation continued far after dinner, into Crowley’s Bentley and into his apartment, where he had offered Aziraphale to stay the night. The angel was already making plans in his head to restore his bookshop to its former glory the next day, but the excessive wine (and the few glasses of scotch he drank at Crowley’s apartment) fogged his brain and sidetracked him. Before he knew it, he spilled his guts to the demon, who had stared at him for a solid five minutes before bursting out into hysterical laughter and moving to kiss him and call him adorable (which he was not pleased about, for the record, because, between the two of them, Crowley was the cute one, not him!) From then on, they talked and debated, and finally, they settled on the idea of moving in together in the South Downs, but allowing Crowley to keep his apartment and Aziraphale the small bedroom above his bookshop for appearances only.
Aziraphale had been so caught up in his memories that he had forgotten his surroundings. Thankfully, a rough jolt against his left side brought him out of his reverie. He let out a quiet huff, pushed his shoulders back and assimilated himself back into the crowd on the busy London sidewalk. He trained his blue eyes on every storefront, knowing that he would most likely recognize the shop by sight and not by name. He glanced down at his watch, frowning slightly. Crowley would be coming by the shop in less than an hour, and it was going to be at least a thirty to forty-minute walk back. He stepped up his pace a bit, still scanning the shops on either side of the street and politely dodging and apologizing to people as he dashed through the crowd. Finally, he came upon a familiar-looking store and flitted in the door, clearly flustered and in a hurry.
“Oh, excuse me, miss!” Aziraphale called out to a woman he thought was an employee, “I’m here to pick up a ring. I already paid for it, but I’ve gone and lost the receipt like a bloody idiot. I am in a bit of a hurry, so perhaps we could speed this process up?”
The woman did not respond to him, so he tried again, “Er, Miss? I do hate to bother you so, and I know this is all my fault, I just need-”
Now, Aziraphale had no idea that Crowley, his best friend and the love of his life, would also be in the shop that day. Imagine his surprise when who he thought was a woman turned around and he was faced with a familiar sunglasses-clad face that made him flush slightly with embarrassment. Apparently, Crowley had no idea that his angel would be at the shop either, so imagine his surprise upon hearing his lover’s voice echoing through the shop, prattling on about losing a receipt for a ring and being in a rush. The demon knew of no one else that the angel loved, so the ring must be for him, which sent such a shock through his system that he missed the other calling his name.
“C-Crowley? Crowley, dear boy, what are you doing here?” Aziraphale asked after taking a pause to calm his internal panicking.
Crowley only snapped back to reality when Aziraphale laid a hand on his shoulder. “Ah? Oh, hey angel.” The demon tried to sound casual, but he could not help the panicked squeak that came out in his voice, “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Admiring the merchandise?” Aziraphale asked curiously, coming up beside his boyfriend to see what he had been looking at. His heart pounded a bit faster as he realized that the demon had been admiring the very ring he’d come to collect. “That’s a very lovely piece, dear,” he commented, tilting his head to the side a bit, “Looks custom-made.”
“Looks like someone else snatched it up already,” Crowley muttered, gesturing to the ‘Sold’ sign next to the ring, “Must’ve cost them a fortune. Custom pieces aren’t cheap, angel.”
“Yes, dear, I am aware of that,” Aziraphale replied breezily, trying not to give too much away.
Thankfully, a young woman approached the couple at the case with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry, gentleman, but as you can see, this piece has already been sold. We do have other rings available for purchase over this way if you’re looking for something.”
Aziraphale coughed into his fist, “Actually, ma'am, I’m here to pick up something I ordered. The last name is Fell. The first name should be Ezra.”
The woman’s face instantly brightened, “Oh, Mr. Fell! I was hoping you’d come today. I know you said your anniversary was today, and you were hoping to-”
“Ah, yes, I am,” Aziraphale interrupted rather quickly, feeling his ears burn, “Do you mind just packaging it up? And then I will be on my way.”
“Our anniversary is today,” Crowley commented, causing Aziraphale to look over at him.
“Of course it is, love,” Aziraphale replied easily, loosening his bowtie slightly. When had the store gotten so hot?
“Our anniversary is today,” Crowley repeated, drifting away from the ring and toward the angel, “And you came to pick up a ring that looks like a snake with wings on it. Aziraphale, what’s going on?”
Aziraphale rubbed his forehead and muttered to himself, “Oh bother. Can I ever stop cucking things up today?” After a moment, he sighed and looked at Crowley with an almost apologetic expression, “Dear boy, I know you are not always the biggest fan of spectacles, but…”
As if reading his mind, the sales clerk handed Aziraphale the box with the ring inside. The angel held the box out to the demon, opening the lid to reveal the ring that had been in the case in front of them not even a few moments prior. Crowley’s golden eyes flitted between Aziraphale and the ring and, for once, he was grateful for the black lenses obscuring his face. He tried to blink back the tears, rebelling against the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. His angel had planned on proposing to him; his beautiful, sweet, kind angel wanted to spend the rest of eternity with him. Just as quick as it came, the touching feeling went and was replaced by frustration.
“This is not how this was supposed to go,” Crowley interjected, waving his hands.
A look of utter confusion crossed Aziraphale’s face and his posture visibly drooped, “Crowley, dear, please don’t be angry. I wanted to do this later when it was just the two of us. I wasn’t expecting to-”
Crowley put up a hand in an attempt to stop the angel from continuing his ramble, “Angel, I’m not upset. Not by a longshot. I just…” He felt his face flush and he looked away from his lover, muttering more to himself than his boyfriend, “I wanted to be the one to propose.”
Aziraphale sighed fondly, “Darling, you know I can’t hear you when you murmur like that. What are you saying, now?”
Instead of responding, Crowley pulled a box out of his back pocket, offering it to Aziraphale in lieu of an answer. The angel nearly dropped the box outstretched in his own hands in surprise. A minute or two passed before he broke out into a joyous chuckle and a wide, cheerful smile stretched across his face. Once he recovered, he sighed and shook his head, placing the box in his hand on the counter and gently pulling his lover closer to him by the arm. The angel carefully took the box from the demon, opening the lid to reveal what was inside. The ring resembled a sword with flames on either side of the blade. He carefully removed the ring from the box, smiling when he noticed the inscription on the inside. À toi pour toujours .
“So, whaddya say, angel?” Crowley asked, making Aziraphale look up from the ring, “Care to go through this crazy thing called life with me?”
Aziraphale smiled, slipping the ring onto his left ring finger and retrieving the box he placed on the counter, “Of course. Only if you promise to do the same, dear boy.”
Crowley snorted, taking the box from Aziraphale and mimicked his lover’s earlier motion with a flush on his face, “I think I can handle that.”
Aziraphale smirked, pulling Crowley close to him, “Very good then. I suppose we should consider ourselves engaged.”
Crowley rolled his eyes, tugging Aziraphale’s collar to bring their lips together. A moment later, a cough sounded from behind them. They pulled apart, the demon looking clearly more embarrassed than the angel, who acted as though they had not just casually proposed to one another in a jewelry shop.
“As touching as this display is, we’ll be closing the shop in a few minutes,” the sales clerk said apologetically.
“Oh, right. So terribly sorry for the interruption,” Aziraphale replied, coughing a bit, “Well, then, darling, I suppose we should be on our way, then.”
“Mhm,” Crowley replied, linking his hand with Aziraphale’s and enjoying the gentle ‘clink’ sound of their rings against one another, “I’m parked outside, angel.”
“Wonderful!” Aziraphale replied cheerily, “Oh, and Miss? You can feel free to re-use those boxes. As you can see, we will not be needing them.”
Aziraphale and Crowley turned and left the shop for the Bentley hand-in-hand. The sales clerk, though touched by the display of love before her, still had a job to do. So, as much as she wanted to run home and tell her husband how much she loved him and what a strange day she had at work, she set to her final task of closing up for the day.
She was shocked to find that she received double her normal salary for her paycheck of the week that the supernatural beings came to visit. When she asked why, the manager simply replied that she did great work, and she needed to be appreciated every now and again.