A few months ago he would have pushed. A few months ago he would have seen the flicker in Aziraphale's composure, marked it as a weakness, and taken every advantage. In fact he opened his mouth to do just that and then paused.

Gabriel had opened up, unintentionally, and Aziraphale hadn't pushed. And something about the expression made his stomach flipflop unpleasantly. So instead the archangel said with a crooked smile, "I'll work on that. So tell me: how'd you keep yourself sane in London all those years? Don't tell me it was just the booze, or I'll have to book you for extra lessons in not being boring."