"It is, yes," he says, meaning it. He watches Crowley closely: the strange exhaustion, the hard edges, this tentative, tactile curiosity. Southdown, he thinks again, is a good place for quiet resting, making things right (Aziraphael has faith). He doesn't think he'll have to work very hard to convince Crowley to stay for a bit.

"I've missed you. Though perhaps that's already clear enough."