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It had been about a month since the failed execution of Beelzebub and Hell was still in a bit of an upturned state. From what Aziraphale had told him Heaven didn’t seem to be in much better shape. Still despite the business the pair had found the time for their regular meeting in St. James Park. The angel and demon had spent most of their meeting discussing how things had been going with the war being postponed. However at a lull in the conversation Aziraphale brought up a strange new topic.
“Would you like to get married, Crowley?”
It was stated very casually while the angel kept his eyes on the ducks he was feeding, Able napping on his shoulders. Crowley on the other hand was caught very off guard by the question. He turned away from the pond and fixed Aziraphale with the most confused look he could muster.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh was that a bit too forward? My apologies.” Aziraphale finally turned to look at the demon before he asked again. “Would you like to marry me Crowley?”
“Angel, that's not how this works. Besides, how would that even work? It’s not like I can walk into a church.”
“Of course not and I cannot enter a government building.” A shiver went through the angel at the thought. At the disturbance Able perked up and tiredly nudged the angel’s cheek until he received a few reassuring pats and continued his nap. “We do not have to do silly human things like that.”
“Well then how would we get married?”
“I suppose I just wanted to get matching rings really.” Aziraphale wrung his hands together. “Just a simple symbol that we will always have each other. Maybe add some nice miracles to them.”
“We’ve never needed something like that before. What’s brought this on all of a sudden?”
“I suppose everything that happened last month with the failed Armageddon. As well as seeing Gabriel and Beelzebub risk their lives for each other. It has all made me realize how important you are to me.”
The demon gave him a soft look at the words. Crowley honestly felt bad that he’d never said something like that to his angel before. In his defense their relationship was rather hard to pin a label to.
“I guess I see what you mean. If the world really did end then we’d be at war right now. Kinda hard to have meet ups like this in a warzone.”
“It is not like we have not before.” The angel smiled. “Remember the Crimean fiasco?”
“Ugh, how could I forget? That’s why I’m not allowed to pick meeting spots anymore.”
“No, that was meeting time. The Titanic is the reason you stopped picking the place.”
Crowley let out a groan at the reminders, bringing his hands up to cover his face. Aziraphale simply let out a soft laugh and set a gentle hand on the demon’s shoulder. When Crowley finally peeked over at the angel he was still looking at the demon with gentle concern.
“Okay fine.” Crowley quickly conceded. “Let’s do it then. Let’s get married in the least normal way possible.”
“It seems only fair given how atypical of a pair we are.”
With that the pair set off towards the Bently to see about finding a nice jewelry store. Since they were going to a more crowded place Able was coaxed into Aziraphale’s pocket to avoid further disturbances to his nap.
They ended up settling on a small mom and pop store that Aziraphale mentioned being around for a good amount of time. The angel had been friends with the original owner and was very excited to mention that the great granddaughter was the current owner. After a pleasant chat with said owner and a solid perusal of the rings they both settled on simple bands with a single inset stone. Crowley selected a nice silver band with a ruby inlay that he thought would go well with his angel’s usual fashion sense. Aziraphale chose a gold band with a sapphire inlay that he commented would look lovely with the demon’s eyes and provide a spot of color. Aziraphale then asked for each to be engraved with interlocking snakes for the silver and a pair of wings for the gold.
When the newly engraved rings were secured the two then moved on to the much more difficult task of finding a nice place to exchange vows. Their usual park bench seemed too public and lacked a certain amount of intimacy. However there were some nice, secluded trails within the park itself and the pair eventually settled on a nice little grove near the center of the park but far enough off the paths to avoid interruption and prying eyes. They also put up a quick miracle to ensure they would be unbothered.
“So now what?” Crowley asked once the pair had settled under a large tree trunk.
“I suppose we exchange vows.” Aziraphale said, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Able took this as a cue to go back to his favorite spot, sunning on the angel’s shoulders. “Would you like to start or shall I?”
“You can go ahead.” The demon sputtered, caught off guard by how prepared his angel was. “S’ only fair since it’s your idea.”
“Alright, if you insist.” With that Aziraphale cleared his throat and took one of Crowley’s hands into his own. “Crowley, my dear, from the moment I first met you I understood what my destiny was. It was more than Her divine will that guided us together. Between the garden wall and private cliff tops you never failed to show me kindness I would never have expected from a demon, let alone a Duke of Hell. I truly do not know where I would be had I never met you all those years ago. And while you have your moments of vile wiles and temptations, if I can get over the Crimea and Titanic incidents there is very little you can do to drive me away. I suspect the same is true for you since no matter how much I complain or insist on doing good you have stuck with me. In the 6000 years that I have known you, you have never betrayed my trust or pushed my boundaries in any way. It has taken me quite some time to pin down exactly how I feel towards you but I have decided on the term ineffable. Our relationship is hard to explain but I know that this is where I am meant to be for the rest of my life. I will always put my faith in you and with this ring I make my protection eternal. As long as you wear this ring no harm shall come to you from the Heavenly Host. My grace is yours in your time of need. While you may doubt yourself in worthiness and ability, know that I will never share that doubt. I have complete faith in you my dear.”
When he finished the vows Aziraphale put the note back into his pocket before gently placing the gold ring onto Crowley’s hand. Both were blinking a few joyful tears from their eyes. Once the angel had finished the demon took a moment to gather his thoughts before starting his own vows.
“Angel I can’t promise that my vows will be as organized as yours but it’s the thought that counts right?” The pair shared soft smiles before the angel nodded for him to continue. “Aziraphale the moment I saw you on the garden wall I fell for you. Your genuine kindness and compassion for humanity has always made my cold heart thaw a little. But to share those same feelings for me was more than I could ever ask for. You’ve always been so forward and honest about your feelings both for me as well as everything else was almost infectious. Even if you sometimes bottle everything up until you boil over you always open up eventually. I am so happy to be your safe place to land. With this ring I offer you the same comfort and safety for the rest of our lives. The Armies of Hell shall never raise a sword at you and should anyone be foolish enough to try I’ll send them to the darkest pit. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect or that I’ll never get crossed with you but I can promise to always make it up to you when I do mess up. If you’ll have me, angel, I’ll always be here.”
In a similar way to Aziraphale, Crowley placed his ring on the other’s hand once he had finished his vows. For a moment after that the pair simply stood in silence, hands interlaced and eyes fixed on the newly placed jewelry. At last Crowley broke the moment.
“So what now?”
“Now we just have to seal the pack for the miracles.” Aziraphale blushed and looked away. “Humans normally do so with a kiss but we don’t have to if you do not want to.”
“Is that how you want to do it?”
“I think it would be nice. But as I said, please do not force yourself for me dear.”
“Just shut up and kiss me, angel.”
With that they both leaned in for a gentle and short kiss. At the contact Crowley felt the miracle on the rings bind, a warm glow in his soul that originated from the spot on his hand. With the promises sealed the two dropped hands and simply took a moment to bask in the new, if a little strange, feelings.
“Thank you my dear.” Aziraphale said after a moment. “This was a lovely outing.”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything.”
“Well I really did not expect you to agree on the first try.”
“How many arguments did you plan for?”
“I expected about three but planned for five. I must say I was quite proud of my rebuttal for ‘but what will the others think?’.”
“You’re such a worrier, angel.” Crowley couldn’t help the fond smile that crept over his face.
“It is never a bad thing to be prepared, my dear.” Aziraphale had turned his attention to Able who he had been ‘neglecting’ due to all of the excitement. Crowley had explained several times that the snake didn’t need constant attention but it always fell on deaf ears. “I suppose I should be getting back to head office. Talk of the next apocalypse is never over.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right.” Crowley agreed. The disappointment in his voice matched the look on Aziraphale’s face. “But maybe we could make some time to meet in three weeks eh?”
“I would be agreeable to that.” Aziraphale suddenly perked up at the suggestion. “There is that fair coming to town soon.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Crowley nodded. “I’ll buy the tickets.”
With a final hand squeeze the two headed off their separate ways. Crowley had far too much of a bounce in his step for a demon but couldn’t bring himself to care, too caught up staring at his new ring. It was fine, if anyone said anything about his glee he’d play it off with a successful misdeed or just send them down to processing.