Had Gabriel mentioned those other things, Aziraphale might have paused and stopped thinking for a moment and considered the possibility, the validity of that kind of connection. After all, what else were they here for if not to create connections, to become, in their own ways, human? He could at least have used it as an excuse. He would at least have thought about it; the idea would have niggled at the edge of his mind.

Instead he dismissed it. Hedonism was not his cup of tea, or so he liked to tell himself, and as such he refused to think about this topic any longer.

"I'll take the mockery, then," he said, with a firm but friendly smile. "You can corrupt me any way you like but that one. It simply won't work."