The first time it happened, Aziraphale had been so excited.
The prototypes of the "people" he had helped to design were finally ready, and to Aziraphale's surprise, Gabriel had been quite pleased with them! Well, his exact words had been "acceptable, I suppose", but coming from Gabriel, that was practically a commendation.
Maybe, Aziraphale thought, he could even show the prototypes to the nice angel he had met the other day—to get his opinion and show him who they were creating all of this for.
He didn't quite know what it was about the starmaker, but for some reason, just the thought of seeing him again made Aziraphale want to vibrate with joy. Talking to him had been so lovely, and it was exciting to meet someone who seemed to love the universe just as much as Aziraphale did. Maybe—
Belatedly, Aziraphale realized that he didn't just want to vibrate with joy—he was indeed vibrating. There was a strange rumbling coming from his chest, a soft, quiet sound he had never heard before. Was there something wrong with his corporation? For a moment, Aziraphale considered reporting this anomaly to one of the Archangels, just to be sure, but then again… It felt so good. Soothing, somehow, like every worry, every bit of tension was leaving his corporation all at once.
Aziraphale closed his eyes and focused on this new, soft feeling. This was nice. He wished he could stay like this forever… Or maybe, once he had finished his work, he could show this new discovery to the nice angel! Maybe—
"Aziraphale!" said a stern voice behind him and Aziraphale flinched, turning around to find Gabriel staring at him. "What are you doing?"
"I-I, uh," Aziraphale stammered, "I was—Well, I—"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Spit it out, Aziraphale."
"I—" Aziraphale paused and took a deep breath. "I noticed something new about my corporation—a new sound, or, well, feeling, I suppose, and I-I was trying to figure out where it came from."
"A new… sound?" Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow. "What—Why is your corporation making sounds?"
Aziraphale stared at him in confusion. "Is it not supposed to do that?"
"Supposed—No, Aziraphale, it's not supposed to, you're an angel! Angels don't make sounds! Now," Gabriel demanded, "will you stop wasting my time, or do I need to report your misbehavior?"
"Yes!" Aziraphale stammered. "I mean, no, I—I will stop, Gabriel, I-I'm sorry."
Gabriel was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Good." He turned to leave, then added, "And Aziraphale?"
"Y-Yes, Gabriel?"
Gabriel wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Make sure you don't bother me about your… defects again."
By the time Gabriel had left, there were tears in Aziraphale's eyes, and he blinked rapidly, trying not to let them fall, not to let another one of his weaknesses show. He felt the urge to make that strange sound again, hoping it would comfort him somehow, but he pushed it down, too afraid that one of the other Archangels would hear.
By the time Aziraphale returned to his work, he had swallowed his tears and put on his brightest smile. He was an angel, after all, and he would behave like one.
He only hoped the new "people" would be allowed a little more freedom.
***
For more than six thousand years, Aziraphale managed to hide his secret.
He hid it on his first day on Earth, when he was guarding the wall of Eden and so excited to see the familiar face of the starmaker—now a slightly less giddy, but still just as charming demon.
He hid it when he met a cat for the first time and it purred loudly at him, when he was so happy there was another being in this universe who made the same strange sounds as him that he could have cried with relief—even when the other being in question was just a fluffy little kitten.
He hid it when he and Crowley saved the world once again, when he could barely contain his joy—when he could finally tell his demon that he loved him back.
Aziraphale hid his purring his entire existence—until one rainy Sunday afternoon, he finally slipped up.
***
They had been planning to have a nice little picnic in the park, but then, the rain had surprised them, and without a single word, he and Crowley had both agreed they would stay inside and spend a quiet, cozy day on the sofa instead.
At first, Aziraphale had tried to re-read some of his favorite Jane Austen novels—it had been far too long since the last time he had read Persuasion—but he was soon distracted by Crowley's increasingly unsubtle attempts to shift closer to him.
"Crowley, my dear, if you want to cuddle, you just have to ask."
"Ngk," was Crowley's eloquent reply, and he hid his face in his hands—but not before Aziraphale could see the blush spreading across his cheeks.
He chuckled and held his arms open. "Come here, dearest."
Almost immediately, Crowley was in his arms, snuggling as close to him as he could, and Aziraphale sighed happily. "Oh, that feels so lovely."
"Yeah, it's pretty terrific," Crowley agreed, and for a while, the two of them just sat quietly, enjoying each other's company.
After six thousand years under Heaven and Hell's control, neither of them was very used to relationships, and they had needed some time to figure out what they both wanted.
Their first kiss was filled with painful memories, but after their reunion, they had given it another try. And their second first kiss? Vavoom, as Crowley liked to say.
Other, more… carnal matters weren't something either of them wanted to try, but they had quickly discovered that there was nothing in the world they loved more than cuddling. They had been separated for so long, and now hardly a day went by without them falling asleep in each other's arms.
Aziraphale was almost certain that Crowley had dozed off when suddenly, the demon mumbled, "What are you humming?"
Aziraphale looked at him in confusion. "Humming? I'm not humming."
"Yes, you are," Crowley insisted, raising his head and blinking sleepily at Aziraphale. "You're doing it right now."
Aziraphale was about to protest when he noticed it—the soft, rumbling sound coming from his chest, the way his body seemed to vibrate gently…
"No," he whispered. "No, please, no—"
"Angel?" Crowley asked, now fully awake. "What's wrong?"
Aziraphale squeezed his eyes shut, trying to escape the memories of Gabriel staring at him in disgust.
"Angel!" Crowley called out, gently shaking Aziraphale's shoulders. "It's okay, angel, it's okay. Breathe. You're okay."
Aziraphale shook his head. "No," he croaked.
"Yes, you are," Crowley promised. "Talk to me, angel, please. I don't know how to help you if you don't talk to me."
Crowley sounded worried—panicked, even—but Aziraphale couldn't answer him, not yet. He was too scared of Crowley's reaction. What if he was disgusted by him? What if he wanted him to return to Heaven, far away from him?
"I'm sorry," he whispered after a while.
"Sorry?" Crowley frowned, looking more and more confused. "Angel, what in Somebody's name are you sorry for?"
Tears welled in Aziraphale's eyes. Was Crowley really going to make him spell it out? "For the purring, of course!"
"The—" Crowley stared at him. "That's what that was? Purring?"
"Yes!" Aziraphale exclaimed. "Please forgive me, I won't do it again, I promise."
A few tears escaped, and Aziraphale hid his face in his hands. He had already embarrassed himself enough today without Crowley seeing him burst into tears. He should have been more careful, should have—
Suddenly, there was a hand on his back, and Aziraphale looked up to see Crowley smiling sadly at him. "I won't forgive you," Crowley said softly, "because there is nothing to forgive. You never have to purr again if you don't want to, but honestly? I liked it."
"You did?" Aziraphale sniffled.
"Yeah. S' cute. Like you."
"I-I'm not cute," Aziraphale protested, blushing. "And besides, it's not angelic at all! Gabriel said—"
"Gabriel? Gabriel's a wanker, you know that!" Crowley shouted, softening when he saw Aziraphale flinch. "Shh, it's okay. Is that why you never told me? Because he made you feel ashamed?"
Aziraphale nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Don't bother me about your defects again.
"I'm sorry, angel. I promise you're safe with me, I won't make fun of you or—"
"I know," Aziraphale interrupted, surprising himself with how much he meant it. "I know I'm safe with you. I-I think that's why I started purring in the first place—you make me feel so safe and happy, I… I couldn't help myself."
Now Crowley's eyes were filling with tears, and he held Aziraphale's hand tightly. "Really?"
"Yes, really, you silly demon," Aziraphale chuckled softly. "It's why I started purring in the first place, all these years ago. I-I think meeting you made me so happy that my corporation didn't know what to do with it."
Crowley stared at him wide-eyed, and for a moment, Aziraphale wondered if he had made a mistake, if Crowley was going to leave him after all, but then, a grin spread across his face. "Angel. I need to hug you right now, because I adore you so damn much that my corporation doesn't know what to do with it."
Aziraphale laughed softly and melted back into Crowley's arms with a sigh. In hindsight, it felt a bit silly to think that his sweet, wonderful demon would hate him for something out of his control.
For the first time in his entire existence, Aziraphale allowed himself to purr in front of his partner—hesitantly, at first, but when he noticed Crowley's besotted smile, he purred as loud as he could.
Crowley laughed and kissed Aziraphale's cheek. "I think this is my new favorite sound."
"That's very sweet of you, my dear," Aziraphale said, "but you don't have to lie to me. I sound like an old car trying to start."
"Ngk. I'm not sweet," Crowley grumbled. "And I'm not lying, either. You sound… Okay, you do kind of sound like an old car, but a very happy one! It's relaxing."
Aziraphale laughed. "Well, in that case, how about we resume our cuddling session so we can relax some more?"
Instead of answering, Crowley practically climbed into Aziraphale's lap, resting his head on Aziraphale's chest. "Terrific," he whispered.
Within a few minutes, Crowley was asleep, and Aziraphale smiled fondly at him. If his demon liked it so much, maybe purring wasn't the worst thing in the world after all.