It was a lot to be getting on with all at once--trying to say the right thing, and hoping it didn't somehow change or even, Heaven forbid, ruin the camaraderie they'd had with one another for all these years, and if Crowley was going to tease him on top of it all then really...really, he ought to do something about it, Aziraphale thought.

He found himself smiling, a little tremulous but nonetheless genuine, watching Crowley after he had lifted his hand and kissed it. The hint of tenderness he felt underneath everything else was surprising. It was the bravado in Crowley's voice, maybe, that brought it out of him--this couldn't be simple for Crowley, either. "Well then." It seemed that he was at liberty to pursue what he wanted, so Aziraphale said, "Would you like to come closer?"