Oh no, no-no-no, Crowley does not understand what it is he's challenging, it's not that Aziraphale doesn't think he could hold his own against her, necessarily, it's just he'd really rather this not get any worse than it is. Something twists in his gut at Crowley's suggestion of a deal, something that is mostly secondhand embarrassment at the idiotic notion, the bravado, all of it, Crowley can be so bloody insufferable sometimes1.
And then Illyria has to go and say that.
He looks at Crowley a bit helplessly, spreading his hands in a sort of 'I don't know how I can possibly explain this' gesture, because really, she's not wrong.
"It's been a trying morning," he says, as if that clears it up.
1 It has nothing at all to do with embarrassment over the sort of protective undertone, that is certainly not something he's feeling at all, deeply or otherwise.
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And then Illyria has to go and say that.
He looks at Crowley a bit helplessly, spreading his hands in a sort of 'I don't know how I can possibly explain this' gesture, because really, she's not wrong.
"It's been a trying morning," he says, as if that clears it up.
1 It has nothing at all to do with embarrassment over the sort of protective undertone, that is certainly not something he's feeling at all, deeply or otherwise.