Though the room doesn’t get brighter, the glow of Aziraphale’s wings grows somehow warmer, as if every beat of his heart is bringing some hidden heat inside him to the surface.
If he tried to put it into writing, he knows, it would take him years and every language he’s ever learned to put into words what happens to his heart when she declares which finger she wants to wear his ring. Never, in any of his wildest dreams, could he have imagined that she would both understand and reciprocate his desire to share a life; this simple, unmistakably human gesture fills Aziraphale’s soul with a deep and resonating joy.
And it’s human vows he imagines, as he takes her left hand gently in both of his own.
This gold and silver I thee give, fragments of themselves exchanged for safe keeping. With my body I thee worship, a devotion they’ve been perfecting for months and in the cloakroom at the Ritz and outside a theatre during intermission and right here in their shared bed. With all my worldly goods I thee endow, everything precious to him under the same roof and shared by the dearest soul in all of creation.
Even in the soft light, her eyes are a rich and molten gold. Aziraphale doesn’t look away for a moment as he slips the ring onto her finger.
Set me as a seal upon thy heart, a seal upon thy arm: for love is as strong as death. Let this, then, be the guiding force in their shared life from now on—love, without regret or hesitation.
It is fantastic and don’t worry, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t recycle good images!
If he tried to put it into writing, he knows, it would take him years and every language he’s ever learned to put into words what happens to his heart when she declares which finger she wants to wear his ring. Never, in any of his wildest dreams, could he have imagined that she would both understand and reciprocate his desire to share a life; this simple, unmistakably human gesture fills Aziraphale’s soul with a deep and resonating joy.
And it’s human vows he imagines, as he takes her left hand gently in both of his own.
This gold and silver I thee give, fragments of themselves exchanged for safe keeping. With my body I thee worship, a devotion they’ve been perfecting for months and in the cloakroom at the Ritz and outside a theatre during intermission and right here in their shared bed. With all my worldly goods I thee endow, everything precious to him under the same roof and shared by the dearest soul in all of creation.
Even in the soft light, her eyes are a rich and molten gold. Aziraphale doesn’t look away for a moment as he slips the ring onto her finger.
Set me as a seal upon thy heart, a seal upon thy arm: for love is as strong as death. Let this, then, be the guiding force in their shared life from now on—love, without regret or hesitation.