"Just so. Thou understandest me," Claudius says, smiling over the rim of his cup. "And they have a history. Crowley told me they circled each other for ages -- I'm sure real ages, rising and falling epochs -- before deciding they preferred each other's company to any of their respective sides. And this is a secret only known to myself and Crowley." There's no need to lean closer, in Lan Wangji's private rooms, but Claudius does lean a little.

"There was a book of magic in the library here that foretold the future. Whether or not it comes true may be up to the person who reads it ... but I think the futures concerned those closest to one's heart. For Crowley, it said that he'd live one day with Aziraphale in a cottage in South Downs. Again, thou needst not know where South Downs is -- neither do I, but I hear it's a bucolic place."