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Aziraphale stood outside the golden door. He shifted from foot to foot and wrung his hands. He was not certain how he was going to bring up his ..…. problem.
He did hope that Phanuel at least would not repeat what he said to Gabriel. Gabriel had issues with Aziraphale speaking to other archangels. He did not think it was Aziraphale's place to "bother" the others. This was not a Gabriel issue however.
Aziraphale knocked at last. "Come in."
Aziraphale slipped in, being sure to close the door behind him. "H-hello Phanuel."
"Aziraphale?" Phanuel did not offer any false smiles or fake warmth that was common among some angels. Her expression was confused but sincere. "What brings you here?"
"Well, it is something of a personal nature. Do you think you would mind being my confident about something?"
"I would not mind. Has Gabriel done something, is that why you can't go to him?"
"Oh no, nothing involving Gabriel. It is just that I feel a bit more comfortable discussing this with you."
"I see. Have a seat and feel free to tell me what is bothering you."
"Well you see, it is about um….sin." Aziraphale still did not want to give away certain shameful things he kept only to himself.
"Sin?"
"Well yes you see, there has been a lot going on in the places I work for the past few hundred years. The people have split into so many groups and are claiming to know this and that about heaven and are listing sins. I just wonder if they are right."
"They could be right about some things as well as wrong about others. You know how that goes of course. So why don't we discuss more specifically what you think will cause them to sin."
"Well not just them, but us as well. What is a sin for an angel? I mean, take eating for example. I do like to eat, but is gluttony a sin, and if I eat too much what will happen?"
"Well, if you eat too much and there is not enough for others would that be okay?"
"Well no I only eat when there is plenty to go around. I could never keep food from people who need it. That would be cruel. Especially since I don't really need it."
"And if you were to engage in acedia, and stopped doing your work the people would suffer because of what you did not do. That could also be wrong."
"Yes of course, and well I suppose lust could hurt a person in some way as well." Aziraphale was trying to get to the crux of things without giving personal feelings away. He was very worried he might be missing something important that made lust worse than it seemed to him. It usually seemed that lust wasn't all that bad.
"Well of course." Phanuel stated plainly. Aziraphale knew there was a catch.
"Which is?"
"Well I mean…… you remember." Phanuel seemed to squirm. "Before the flood."
"Oh, the," Aziraphale whispered the last word "nephilim." It still was never talked about in polite society.
"Yes, if you have any interest in a human I must advise you most ardently against it. They are considered children compared to us and it was made clear any further involvement, of that manner, would not be tolerated."
"Oh no! No, that is absolutely not the case! Humans can be beautiful, but anyone who spends much time with them should be able to clearly see how they are not beings of divinity and should not be trifled with as they were in the early days. They simply don't understand enough to make an informed decision."
"Good, good." It seemed as if the air was finally back in the room. " That is the sin of lust taking what you want, the inequity of an unbalanced relationship that benefits one and removes the basic rights of the other."
"So wanting to be with someone, even in a physical way would then not be a sin, as long as they are equals."
Phanuel smiled at this. "Of course not."
"Well thank you, that was very helpful." Aziraphale started to leave.
"Are you not going to tell me who it is?" Phanuel smirked.
"What?"
"Who you are interested in."
"Oh," Aziraphale blushed slightly, "I didn't mean specifically, I didn't, er mean for me. I was asking because I was worried about a friend of mine. Yes, and you were very helpful. Thank you so much. Goodbye then." He hustled out the door.
Aziraphale really couldn't wait to continue enlightening his counterpart, who he considered very much to be his equal. They had had a few discussions on the nature of sin and he felt well prepared to put the matter to bed at this point.