Notes: Written for Ineffable Valentines prompt 'love token'.
Crowley loves humanity for its ingenuity.
It definitely makes his job easier when humans come up with a new gadget that they pin their entire lives on. No more need to start huge wars or inspire leaders to megalomania in order to perform evil. Knocking down phone networks and jamming up motorways go farther, in some cases, towards driving humans to sin than the fear of a missile crisis.
But since he considers Earth his home, one worth fighting to keep, he also appreciates humanity for its creativity, its style, especially where it comes to their more frivolous material possessions.
His Bentley is his baby.
His flat, which he barely stays at, has become a status symbol he doesn't need - huge for one person, and lavish beyond belief by mortal standards, costing more than seventy-five times the average wage earner's yearly salary.
His clothes are designer whether he miracles them or not, as are his favorite accessory - his sunglasses - of which he keeps dozens on hand for emergencies.
The watch on his wrist is utterly ridiculous with regard to its aesthetic and value.
But it's Crowley's wedding band that has risen the ranks as one of his all-time favorite things.
Aziraphale picked it out, bought it for him on the sly when Crowley would have happily flipped the bill for whatever ring his angel chose to get for him. But putting away the money to afford it is part of the human tradition, Aziraphale had explained. And he'd wanted to take part in the whole ritual, including the less desirable ones like breaking the bank to afford the perfect ring.
It's not the ring Crowley would have chosen. If he'd been put in a room with a thousand rings, this one probably would not have landed anywhere near the top five. It's tacky, to be honest, and with its three-dimensional angel wings perched on top, a little too on the nose. Aziraphale is a brilliant angel but he has no particular eye for fashion, nor does he seem to grasp the concept that, as far as jewelry is concerned, certain metal/gem combinations are more sought after than others.
He saw something he liked, something that reminded him of his relationship with Crowley, something he thought Crowley would love as well, and he gave it to him.
It's not cheaply made by any means, but Crowley often kids (completely to himself) that there's a definite possibility Aziraphale fished it out of a Cracker Jack box.
But as much as Crowley loves his own wedding band, Aziraphale's is, by far, Crowley's favorite thing in the world. He admires it as often as he can, sneaks glances at it, caresses it when they hold hands, runs a thumb over it when they're in bed together.
Like Aziraphale did for him, Crowley picked Aziraphale's ring out himself.
Strike that - he had Aziraphale's ring specially made.
It's platinum instead of gold since Crowley thought that suited his angel better. It's a simple band, but not a small one, taking up Aziraphale's ring finger from his last knuckle to the middle one. He had it set with three blue diamonds, and on the band he'd had three symbols engraved - a serpent, a sword, and an apple tree.
Crowley thought the overall affect very clever, and patted himself on the back several times that it pulled together so well, but he isn't such an egotist to say it's his favorite because he designed it (though he easily could).
It's his favorite because Aziraphale wears it all the time.
His angel never takes it off.
Aziraphale admires it, too, from time to time, even kisses it when he thinks Crowley isn't watching.
When Crowley presented it to him, Aziraphale accepted it with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes.
But accepting Crowley's ring, with himself engraved into the metal, means Aziraphale accepts Crowley, for good or bad.
And he wears that acceptance proudly, for Heaven and Hell and all the world to see.