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Late on Christmas Eve Aziraphale found himself wringing his hands while he glanced out the window yet again, hoping for a glimpse of that familiar sleek black car pulling up to the cottage. The cup of tea beside him had gone cold and his book was still open to the same page it had been fifteen minutes prior. Crowley had been acting strangely…well stranger than usual for the past few weeks and Aziraphale had no idea what to make of it.
Aziraphale had thought, perhaps, the issue lay with the Christmas season itself. As soon as Aziraphale had started decorating their shared cottage, Crowley had inundated him with a litany of complaints about the holiday. Aziraphale had simply kissed him on the nose and asked if he would like to help him decorate the tree while the cookies were baking. He sputtered as the demon was wont to do, but ended up helping put up Aziraphale's collection of antique ornaments and ate a Christmas cookie or two…or five. Crowley had developed something of a sweet tooth in his retirement. In the end it seemed that Crowley had accepted Aziraphale's enthusiasm for the holiday, but as they advanced towards Christmas day itself Crowley had started acting more and more peculiar. It had finally culminated today. All day the demon had been particularly distracted and after they had settled in bed together — sleep being a new shared pastime of theirs — Crowley had snuck out without saying a word!
Aziraphale was not about to let Crowley ruin his favorite holiday with his shenanigans. With his mind made up to confront the demon, he settled back into his chair in front of the fire place and picked his book back up. Before too long he heard the roar of the Bentley
"Angel, I'm home." He heard Crowley call out from the entryway, but Aziraphale simply turned the page in his book.
"Angel?" This time spoken much closer. Aziraphale could see snake skin boots in front of him in his periphery.
"Hmm?" Aziraphale looked up with an eyebrow raised to see his beloved's face filled with confusion.
"Something the matter?" Crowley questioned.
"I don't know, Crowley, is there?" He challenged.
"Pfft nothings the matter with me! You're the one being all weird!" Crowley gestured wildly to him.
Aziraphale slammed his book shut. "Me! Being 'weird'!" He slammed his book shut. "You have some nerve, Crowley!" He stood up, knocking against the side table and upsetting the tea . "Oh bother…" A quick minor miracle later it was cleaned up, but the wind and been taken out of Aziraphale's sails.
Aziraphale sighed. "Oh Crowley, dear, I just don't know what has gotten into you lately," he said as he looked back out the window, "I just wanted us to have a lovely holiday together in our new home and I just don't know —"Aziraphale cut himself off as he turned to look at Crowley who was down on one knee in front of him grinning with a small box in hand.
"You idiot," Crowley said fondly. "I was going to wait until tomorrow, big old grand gesture in front of the tree, but I sssuppose one early gift wouldn't hurt." A slight hiss was the only give away of how nervous he truly was as he opened the box. "Took ages to find the right one, wanted it to be perfect, you know? Figured you'd be wearing it for a long time, or well, I hope you will anyway. 'Course if you don't like it I can always—"
"Yes! Oh my darling Crowley, of course I'll marry you." Aziraphale cupped Crowley's face before crushing his lips in a kiss infused with all the love and adoration he felt in that moment for his silly, wily serpent.
Over the course of many years Crowley and Aziraphale would continue to have ridiculous misunderstandings and arguments, just as they had for centuries, the only difference now were the matching rings on their left hands.