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Interviewer: It's been a while since we last talked. What is the nature of your relationship now?
Crowley: We’ve been together for a few years now. I mean, we’ve known each other for thousands of years, but a lot of things happened recently that made us realize we were meant to be a couple. Demons aren’t supposed to fall in love - especially not with an angel - but I couldn’t help it. He’s perfect . Perfect for me, I mean - he’s not a perfect angel, but I’m definitely not a perfect demon, either.
Aziraphale: I’d loved Crowley for a long time...after we sort of helped save the world together, I finally told him that I love him. He admitted his love for me too, though I never doubted it - I always sensed that he liked me, though he couldn't admit it. Since we'd helped each other out so much over the centuries, we had become very close. We were already sort of failing at our respective jobs anyway, so we decided to just retire from active duty and move in together. Crowley started referring to us as husbands, which I didn’t like at first, because angels are forbidden from getting married, and I still wanted to obey that rule. But eventually I decided that we can be husbands. (smiles) We just can’t call it marriage , because that’s strictly a human thing. And we can't legally get married - we have to live outside the realm of human laws in many ways. But we can be husbands in our own way.
Crowley: One night I was over at his place for a drink, and then he told me he loved me...the next night I asked him to sleep over at my place...and we’ve barely been apart since then. I’m quite the snuggler, and luckily Aziraphale is fine with that.
Aziraphale: I’d never done much "touchy-feely stuff" - no need to - but now that Crowley has shown me how nice it is to snuggle someone you love, I enjoy it very much. We have separate bedrooms, even though we share a house now, but we still end up sharing a bed most nights, because spending the night in each other's embrace is so important to both of us. I remember feeling uneasy the first time I shared a bed with Crowley, because I was so used to sleeping on my own, and nervous about being so close to a demon - even though I loved him - but after that first night I realized just how good of a snuggler he is, and how much I enjoyed having him wrapped around me, whether in human or snake form.
Crowley: I feel completely safe when I’m around Aziraphale. To everyone else, he may seem very soft and friendly - well, at least when he's not being standoffish and trying to get people out of his bookshop - but I know he’s still a powerful angel underneath all that. Honestly, I’d do anything for him. I can’t think of a single thing I’ve said no to while we’ve been together.
Aziraphale: Crowley is more adventurous than I am in some regards, but he always respects my decisions and doesn’t try to make me do things I don’t want to. We’ve had a few little arguments here and there, but we love each other too much to let disagreements bother us for very long.
Crowley: I can’t stand to be apart from Aziraphale. I thought he was dead for a while, when his bookshop burned down shortly before the world was supposed to end...but ever since I learned he actually wasn’t dead, I’ve wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Aziraphale is more independent - he likes the idea of going on a solo trip for a few days. I suppose I’ll have to let him do that sometime. But I will miss him very much. I’m just so used to having him around and hugging him, kissing him, snuggling him whenever I feel like it.
Aziraphale: Throughout most of history, I wouldn’t have believed it if you told me that someday Crowley and I would be living together and calling ourselves “husbands.” But I’m so very glad it turned out this way. I can’t imagine ever going back to the way things were before.
Does anyone else know that you're a couple?
Aziraphale: I'm not sure what people think of us. I usually introduce us to people as "I am Aziraphale, and this is my friend Crowley." Beyond that, we don't often have the opportunity to refer to each other as "my husband," or anything like that. Since we are together so much, people might assume we're a couple. But people around here are very polite and don't like to ask many personal questions.
Crowley: Does anyone else know? I don't know. Do you know? Is someone around here talking about us? Well, sometimes I want everyone to know that we're together, because I love Aziraphale so much. But another part of me doesn't want to talk about it. I'm still afraid of other angels or demons trying to get us in trouble for "fraternizing with the enemy." Anyway, to answer your question, I think some people have their suspicions. In fact, I'm sure that anyone who knows that we live together probably thinks we're a couple. I really don't care what people think of us. But Aziraphale is so self-conscious; he doesn't even want to hold hands when we're out in public. He's even expressed some worry in the past that if people realize we're a couple, they might think we do...something more than snuggling, if you know what I mean. Just to be clear, for Aziraphale's sake: We don't, we can't, and we don't want to. But I personally don't care at all what people think we do. I know the truth about our relationship, and that's what really matters.
You said that you don’t advertise the fact that you’re a couple...let’s say you’ve been out in public. What changes when you go home?
Crowley: Aziraphale almost always holds my hand or puts his arm around me as soon as we're inside...he's such a sweet boyfriend. I mean husband. (gets confused) Can he be both?
Aziraphale: Usually Crowley takes off his sunglasses right away once we’re indoors. I like that. I like seeing him in sunglasses, but I also enjoy being able to look him directly in the eye.
What's your favorite small thing you like to do that makes your partner happy?
Aziraphale: Holding his hand as we fall asleep.
Crowley: First off, we are husbands , not partners! Anyway, I like sneaking up on him while he's reading and kissing him. Or telling him to trust me when he's unsure about trying something new with me, like showering or getting a massage.
What does being "husbands" mean to you?
Aziraphale: Referring to us as "husbands" was Crowley's idea, and I resisted it at first due to reasons I've already mentioned, but eventually I went along with it. To me, it means that we're committed to spending our lives together, that we love each other deeply, and that we tend to see ourselves as a unit. There is no Aziraphale without Crowley anymore. He's an integral part of my life. Having a husband or a wife somehow linguistically glues you together in a way other words don't.
Crowley: It means that he loves me enough to stay with me forever. There's a lot of other things that are part of it too, like living together, falling asleep and waking up together, being there for each other when we're sad, and unlimited hugs, kisses, and snuggles.
Did anything actually change when you decided to start referring to yourselves as"husbands"?
Aziraphale: Not really. It just makes the relationship sound more permanent and serious. I felt strange about using the word at first, but then I grew to love it. It makes me feel very loved and cared for when Crowley calls me his husband.
Crowley: Nothing majorly changed, but I think it was a huge step forward in how we view our relationship. Deciding to use the "H word" helped us decide to have a small commitment ceremony, just the two of us, where we finally said out loud just how dedicated we were to each other. It wasn't really a wedding, but it sort of felt like one. And now I'm very proud of having Aziraphale as my husband. We've tried calling each other a lot of things in the past, but nothing sounds as good to me as "husbands" does.
Is there anything that annoys you about your husband?
Aziraphale: (sighs dramatically) When he's across the room and makes kissing sounds at me to get my attention so I'll go give him a hug or whatever else he wants. He could always just come over to me himself! And when he drinks too much wine and starts sobbing about how much he loves me or how beautiful I am. Crowley may look and act tough, but hiding underneath is a lot of insecurity and loneliness and fear. I do my best to help him heal from all that. But he's also overflowing with loyalty and love.
Crowley: (gets quiet and averts his eyes) When he won't go to bed with me. Ideally, I'd share a bedroom with Aziraphale, and we'd sleep together every night, but Aziraphale insists on having his own room and sleeping alone occasionally. Yes, we've talked about it, and I understand his reasons, but it still feels like rejection every time it happens. But other than that, he's perfect .
Is there anything you wish your husband would let you do?
Crowley: First, I want to say again that Aziraphale is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better husband. But I would like to try some more adventurous snuggling sometime. I want us to go to bed together not wearing much, if anything, so I could wrap him up in my arms and legs and just have complete skin-to-skin contact. I'm not sure he'll ever let me do that, but it's not necessary. It would just be icing on the cake for me.
Aziraphale: I think Crowley lets me do anything I want already! He's very attentive to my needs and treats me with more kindness than I could ever have expected.
What is your favorite thing your husband does for you?
Aziraphale: Putting up with my eccentricities. Always being available to snuggle. And I hate to admit it, but the times he's made me go a bit out of my comfort zone were all worth it in the end.
Crowley: When he grooms my wings! Putting up with my moodiness. And besides that, just being his wonderful loving self.