Apples and Oranges

Aziraphale and Crowley like each other's company, although they'd both be the last to ever admit it. Evidence of their comfortable friendship appears very early in the book. For instance, Aziraphale addresses Crowley as "my dear" and "my dear boy," which would be telling if not for the fact that Aziraphale is the type who could address anybody that way. However, more solid evidence comes later. After Crowley drops off Aziraphale at his bookshop right after their trip to the Tadfield Manor, Aziraphale leaves, and Crowley is left "suddenly feeling very alone" (page 98).

Even more telling is the way that the two of them run to each other right away when they're in trouble. Crowley brings the Antichrist into the world, and less than ten minutes later who does he call up on the phone? Aziraphale, the Enemy. Later, when Crowley betrays his superiors and has to flee the Wrath of Hell, the first place that he runs to is Aziraphale's bookshop. And Aziraphale, upon finishing his reading of The Nice and Accurate you-know-what and discovering the impending disasters about the engulf the Earth, spends a while debating whether he should tell Heaven or Crowley first. Aziraphale gives in to his primary obligation to Heaven, but does contact Crowley immediately afterward.

Aziraphale and Crowley "nearly understood one another... and had far more in common with one another than with their respective superiors" (page 217). The most important thing that Crowley and Aziraphale have in common is their fondness for the Earth. The one thing that Crowley and Aziraphale can always agree on is that "the world was an amazing interesting place which they both wanted to enjoy for as long as possible" (page 70).

At the climax of the novel, even Crowley finally has the guts to admit his true feelings.

     "I'd just like to say," (Aziraphale) said, "if we don't get out of this, that... I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you."
     "That's right," said Crowley bitterly. "Make my day."
     Aziraphale held out his hand.
     "Nice knowing you," he said.
     Crowley took it.
     "Here's to the next time," he said. "And... Aziraphale?"
     "Yes?"
     "Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking."
     ~ page 340

That's another reason why I love the characters of Crowley and Aziraphale so much. Demons and angels should be like apples and oranges; incompatible and incomparable. However, this particular demon and this particular angel are able to transcend the limitations of their respective sides of the cosmic battle and enjoy a real, genuine friendship, based on understanding each other as more complicated personalities than one would normally assume.

  Guest Commentary

Have Crowley and Aziraphale always been so comfortable around each other, or always been so, well, buddy-buddy? Ainokistune writes:

They don't seem to be terribly close at the start of the book. They know each other and have a working relationship, certainly, and their Arangement, but becuase it's a book and in a book the characters are required to grow, it seems to me that they grow closer during the course of the story, and are not simply acting out the tried and true behaviours and roles of a long relationship. As evidence, I point to the scene where Aziraphale found Anathema's book and basically took off, leaving Crowley feeling all lonely and abandoned--apparently a new feeling for him, to judge by the way it's described in the book.

I would contend, therefore, that the book is a study of their relationship growing suddenly beyond its earlier confines due to their being forced to spend a great deal more time in each other's company, beginning with the birth of the Antichrist. Before it was a working relationship, but by the end of the book it developed into something approaching actual friendship.

Daegaer responds:

I think this is actually a really good way of reading what *Crowley* says their relationship is like. As far as Crowley is concerned this is just a work arrangement - at least I should say this is Crowley's public presentation of it, and how *he himself* wants to think of it. It's from his POV that we see the statement that they wouldn't have chosen each other's company if they hadn't been forced to associate, that they don't like each other and so on. But almost in the same breath Crowley tells us that an enemy for 6000 years is a sort-of friend (just like he tells use demons don't have free-will, and in the same breath goes off to find Aziraphale because he's picked up free-will from hanging round humans).

I think you're right, and they suddenly start spending a lot more concentrated time together for the last 11 years, but there are clues that they have hung round in the past - references to getting accustomed to the only other face that's been around almost continuously for the last 6 millennia, Aziraphale's outright lie to Shadwell on the ease of getting rid of demons (based on the fact that a gentle hint to Crowley about having a lot of work will get rid of him - which implies to me the presence of a hanging-round demon) and so on.

I think Crowley is practising plausible deniability in case he's ever called on this by his Bosses.

Ainokitsune responded: "Ok, so, you know I have to ask: if this is how Crowley sees their relationship, then how does Aziraphale see it?" Thus, Daegaer continues:

I think they probably see it in the same way: they're 'sort-of' friends. Now, that's most likely deliberate understatement, because they are officially Enemies with a capital E. But the more treason they commit (and they *are* committing treason), the more they have to depend on each other not to suddenly lose their nerve and tell the Bosses, the closer they get.

One of the most telling things about them being friends, I think, is the easy way Crowley lists off all of Aziraphale's hobbies as things he'll have to give up if the world ends. Collecting Regency silver snuff boxes has absolutely no bearing on their work, is nothing that Crowley needs to know, probably isn't a shared interest and yet Crowley can list it in its correct place in Aziraphale's hobby- hierarchy.

So I think Aziraphale and Crowley both actually consider themselves to be friends - and were drinking partners and discussion partners before that - but they literally can't admit it to themselves in case there's an investigation.

Andrea offers some additional thoughts:

On page 27, Crowley does admit to have some attachment to Aziraphale. "But an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend." That does imply that there is a level of friendship between them. It might not be something that they admit, being on two different sides of a long standing 'war' would make admitting it something of a problem as far as their superiors go. So they could have been making a conscious effort to deny it, and avoid trouble with their higher ups. It also seems that they had been on friendly terms - if not actual friends - for a long time. Page 35 Crowley takes Aziraphale to lunch.

"'Let's have lunch,' he said 'I owe you one from, when was it...'

'Paris, 1793,' said Aziraphale."

Since that is so early in the book it would be hard to say that their friendship had grown to friendship already, and it seems to be more than just a 'working relationship' already. The page before it Crowley admits something that could be viewed as a limitation to himself, and probably most other demons. ["But my people are only in favor of disobedience in general terms. It's specific disobedience they come down on heavily" [Also a bit of a double standard >>;;]] Limitations on what you can, and can't do, isn't something most people would just admit to an enemy...a friend, however, is completely possible, if not expected to be told that.

So...all in all, I do see the points that Ainokitsune and Daegaer make about their friendship becoming that over the course of the book, they do seem to get closer, but...I just think it was more than a working relationship from the start, and they got to be closer friends over the book.

Sirius Luva adds:

Anyway, I was checking out the Apples and Oranges page, and I was surprised no one mentioned Crowley's reaction to the burning bookshop, although it's been so beautifully illustrated here. You can really see the desperation and fear on his face, and it's also a very vulnerable moment for him. Crowley is so concerned about Aziraphale that he is unselfish and courageous enough to run into a burning bookshop, completely disregarding the firemen there. Sure, he can take care of himself in such situations, presumably, but we do know that it's possible for him to be discorporated. Imagine him trying to explain to Beelzebub or whoever's in charge of new bodies that he was burnt in the flaming bookshop belonging to an angel he was NOT trying to save. This clearly shows that Crowley, at any rate, cares about Aziraphale, as much as he would like to hide it; he cares enough to be scared at the sight of Aziraphale's bookshop in flames (and he's a demon, so he certainly isn't scared of fire) and to run straight in to look for him.

BTW, any additional guest commentary that anyone has to offer is most certainly welcome.

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