23

seems you're quite popular with the ladies today, aren't you?" Aziraphale asked with a slight smirk as he gazed out of the window into the garden, his arms folded across his chest as he eyed an old lady who was approaching us, carrying two mugs of tea.

"Shut up," I retorted, rolling my eyes at him as I opened the door to let the elderly woman through the front door.

A few moments later, as we sat on the sofa watching television, he cleared his throat.

"Did you know, love… that the word 'bisexual' was invented because men and women were attracted to each other? And that it was considered to be abnormal for both sexes to feel the same attraction… It seems there might have been some truth in that."

As the familiar voice made contact with my ears, I turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"That sounds rather unlikely," I commented dryly as I handed him one of his teas, watching him take a sip, "I doubt many men are attracted to women."

Aziraphale smiled faintly at me, shaking his head gently in disbelief. I laughed lightly to myself.

"Oh, but you don't understand, my dear," he replied quietly It was actually women who invented bisexuality. Men may never be attracted to the same woman twice. You see, it was actually a female named Sappho who suggested that men could develop a particular attraction to another man based on the gender of his partner. Women could be bisexual for two reasons: because both the male and female part of the anatomy had to be male in order to reproduce and the male organ was also considered the source of sexual pleasure..."

There was silence for several seconds.

"...I didn't realise you could read Greek mythology…" I whispered in awe, completely shocked that someone else could understand such a great amount of literature and culture.

"I can read it better than most", Aziraphale admitted proudly, his eyes shining brightly with excitement as he stared dreamily at the TV screen. His fingers drummed lightly on his knee and a soft smile spread across his lips.

"But that aside, I'm serious. Do you really doubt it?"

"...Well… Yes, to some extent, maybe. I haven't exactly spent much time studying the subject or reading Greek mythology. Or literature for that matter…" I muttered, averting my gaze slightly.

"Don't be silly now", he replied cheerfully, reaching out to pat my cheek affectionately as he sipped at his tea once more.

I chuckled slightly So how come women invented bisexuality? I mean... How can a girl, a woman even if she's a lesbian, go through puberty and get pregnant by herself, let alone be able to carry a baby out of her body? Surely men can't be the only ones that can achieve that sort of miracle."

"Well… The reason why girls could go through puberty earlier than boys was that while they were growing up their bodies changed and they began changing genders, so boys had to wait until puberty to experience sexual attraction… Or perhaps the reason why men are unable to experience sexual attraction is that there is an invisible barrier between them and the object of their affections. Perhaps it's as simple as a spell," he speculated as his eyes lit up in interest.

"That's... Quite fascinating, actually... Although I must admit that I don't exactly understand why you're telling me all of this," I replied, resting my chin in my hands as I peered down at him through narrowed eyes.

"Well, for starters," he replied smugly, "I wanted to get to know you better. You fascinate me so much, Angel. I find myself wondering how far I'd get before you ran off to Heaven and left me stranded here all alone...