Aziraphale ignored the buzz coming from his phone. If that was anyone else, they'd have to wait as now was not the time, but if it was Anthony... Anthony could definitely wait--the man had made this mess and he was too little too late to dig them out of it. If Mrs. Crowley didn't like what Aziraphale had to say, that would be a new problem on Anthony's plate.

He raised his chin a little defiantly, trying not to squirm under her gaze. "He's changing directions--perhaps not the direction you want him to go--but he's not throwing away his life." His voice edged with nerves. "I apologize if you had certain, uh, expectations and hopes for him, and if this new direction is in defiance of that, but I do not apologize for loving him or for the fact that he chose me."

And Aziraphale didn't think, really, he had done much to encourage Anthony to choose him over Grace, especially not there at the end of his relationship with her. It just...happened. A fault of the Bureau, perhaps, or of conversations he was not privy to. Anthony had all but made up his mind, he thought, by the time they spoke in the Stone Mill.

"He's your child, Mrs. Crowley, and you of course want what's best for him. I want what's best for him, and I will try to be that. But he's not a child." Nor was Alec, but Aziraphale kept that to himself. If anyone needed a little coddling, it was Alec, and if he would only accept it from his aunt, then so be it. The man had to let someone love him. "And even if this whole situation is a little odd, he made his decision. This is what he wants, and he needs your support and approval, even if it's not what you want."

He was trying to be brave, but he felt suddenly very small.