Chapter Text
The teachings said that evil was never too far and that one should be wary of it. What Alhaitham didn’t expect was for evil to literally sprawl on his doorstep, looking very much like he had had a battle with himself and lost.
“So…rry…” he mumbled, grabbing his chest. “I…”
That was a second before he fainted.
Alhaitham lightly kicked him with his feet, just in case, but he didn’t move.
Sigh.
It took him a few seconds more to lean down and put an arm under the shoulder of the demon who had fallen on his door. It wasn’t difficult to lift him up. He seemed to be starving, if his weight and state meant anything.
Alhaitham settled him on his bed, but only because there was no other place. He barely brushed his skin and immediately realized how hot he was. He looked down, for good measure, but there was no bulge there that indicated that it was anything but a fever, so he put a cloth on the demon’s forehead. It seemed reasonable. If angels were similar to humans, why would demons be any different?
30/06
Not like this one was just like other humans. Despite being pale and sick, this demon could only be described as pretty. Hot even. Unruly blond hair that framed his face like a lion’s mane, long eyelashes that quivered in his sleep, and smooth contours that made one trace the shape of his jaw before they moved to his lips. The very image of temptation. No wonder he was an incubus.
20/06
Alhaitham was reading his bible trying to find if there was any part that talked about what to do if one found a demon asking for help when said demon suddenly sat up, panting. He looked around, seemingly confused by the new place.
“You’re awake.” The book shut with a thud under his fingers. “Now you can tell me what you came to my church for.”
“Church…? I-I’m not inside…” he muttered.
“No, but you’re in my home, which is in the church’s lands. I assume that’s where you wanted to go before you fainted on my door, so speak before I throw you out.”
That was the reasonable thing to do. He had only let the demon in because it was the charity that was expected from a priest that was living rent-free and still getting paid by the church. Now that he could stand up, he should be well enough to go back the way he came.
The demon bit his lip and looked away, conflicted.
“I wanted to… confess,” he admitted, the last word coming out harshly, as if it hurt him.
He had once again the desire to sigh.
“Didn’t you think about coming at a more normal time? Before mass? Never heard of that?”
Something between a glare and an offended look came his way like a spear, yet Alhaitham didn’t even flinch. The eyes that confronted his were a charming crimson, like a gemstone’s. Alhaitham should know that staring back was dangerous, but he still did. They were on the church’s lands. The demon was weakened. He had control.
“You…! If I could do that… You know I can’t…” he babbled, not compromising with any sentence. He pursed his lips together to restrain his words before continuing. “I’m about to die.”
Now that was certainly a sentence.
“And you had to come die on my bed?”
“You’re too rude to be a priest!” He looked seriously aggrieved. The tension on Alhaitham’s mouth started to fight to relax. “I just… thought that if I confessed maybe I could be forgiven before I died…”
Right? It would be very easy if only you could confess and suddenly every evil you had ever done would disappear so Barbatos would embrace you among the souls protected by the wind. However, Alhaitham’s reading time had already been interrupted and he was curious. Why would a weakened demon walk on holy land? He knew that would only affect him more. It was like he was not struggling against his supposed incoming death at all.
“You can speak, but only if you promise not to die on my bed.”
“I can’t promise that!”
That pull on his mouth again. How strange.
“Let’s go to the kitchen then.”
He made tea for two.
The demon started fidgeting with his fingers on the cup for a long few minutes before he started speaking.
His name was Kaveh. He was the son of an incubus and a woman, which functionally made him an incubus as well. Since he had been born like that, it wasn’t until he became an adult that his biology se settled and he started being affected by his instincts. He told him with a light blush on his cheeks that had affected his sex life, as after his first attempt, he had not been able to stop feeling like he was manipulating other people to be with him. He felt bad for feeding from that person at that time and he refused to do it again. Instead, he had been feeding himself with crumbs, from the desire that was felt in places like bars and parties, but that was not enough. Because of that, he had been weakening all this time to this point when he could barely move and going out to the places where he used to feed himself had become impossible.
Alhaitham had to raise an eyebrow when Kaveh shut his mouth.
“Is that your confession? I was expecting something else.”
“You—!” Kaveh almost sputtered on his face. “That’s offensive. You can’t say that you were expecting something else from another’s heartfelt confession… How are you even a priest?”
“I passed a course. I was expecting, I don’t know, for you to have abused people.”
“If I had done that, I wouldn’t be dying?!”
“Touché.”
The way he looked at Alhaitham. Everything was reflected clearly on his face, unlike what happened with Alhaitham. It was really funny. He found himself thinking that it would be a shame if he died.
“You are supposed to pray to show your repentance,” he reminded him. If you’re a cambion and you haven’t done anything to harm others with your powers as you said, you’ll be okay.”
“I don’t know if I can trust you… Alright, it’s not like I was expecting to keep living.”
That’s what he said, but his hands were shaking when he grabbed the book of prayers and he started to read it, as if he was still scared that it would burn him. Obviously, he was afraid. He didn’t want to die. However, he didn’t want to do evil to others either. It was a bit ridiculous, if Alhaitham thought about it, and may Barbatos forgive him if he thought differently, but for him, wanting to live and doing what was possible to achieve that was natural. No one blamed a lion for eating a gazelle. It was his bad luck that he had been born an incubus.
Kaveh survived the pray, of course, and, by the time he finished, it was already late.
“It’s about time you go back home,” Alhaitham pointed out, holding back a yawn.
“Oh, yes… My home…” Kaveh bit his lip, recovering that anxiety that had dissipated while he prayed.
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t ask me to let you stay here.” He couldn’t have an incubus staying close to him at night, less one as hungry as Kaveh looked.
“I wasn’t going to!” Kaveh quickly left his chair. “Neither was I going to do anything else!”
“So energetic, you will surely make it to tomorrow. Good night.” Alhaitham gestured towards the door.
A shame that he had to leave because it had been enjoyable, for once, to talk with someone else, but just like he couldn’t afford to let him stay, he couldn’t make him come back either. Besides… mingling with someone who was so determined to find his own destruction wouldn’t bring him any good. There was little to do.
“There’s no need for you to repeat it,” Kaveh huffed. He stumped his way to the door. Nevertheless, a few seconds later, he stopped by the doorstep. “Uhm… Can I come back?”
It was not a good idea. A demon in a church. Alhaitham should, logically, tell him no. Yet, logically to, a priest could not shut the church’s doors to those who wanted to better himself. Surely there were worst parishioners.
“You didn’t ask for permission to come in the first place.” He shrugged.
“Tsk. You’re the worst priest, you know that?”
“I can remember a few people who told me something like that.”
“Great. Good night.”
“Bye, Kaveh.”
If he stayed on the door looking for that speck of blond hair disappear from view, it was only because he wanted to make sure that Kaveh left okay. That was what was expected of a priest. It had nothing to do with the person. At least he could keep thinking like that for some time more.
30/06
-
“There are so many people that want to fuck you here,” Kaveh said with a grimace.
“Okay,” Alhaitham replied without looking back.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“Whatever else should I say?”
“I don’t know? Should a priest really go around inciting people to engage in sinful thoughts?”
“People can’t control their thoughts, only their actions. And I can’t do anything about any of those.”
Kaveh huffed, leaning back against the pillar as he saw Alhaitham close the doors. He had been doing a lot of that lately. Not only leaning against the pillars, but also coming to the church, despite of the fact that he couldn’t stay inside for a long time. It was hard for Alhaitham not to look at him when started squirming before he stood up to leave. And yet, he kept stubbornly trying as if that would change anything in his biology. Then, he would wait outside until it was over and go to talk to Alhaitham before he went back to work.
Apparently, he was an architect. Alhaitham thought it fitted him because Kaveh would, ever since he had the energy to, complain about the state of Alhaitham’s house. He made sure Alhaitham knew that only having walls covered by books and decor which Kaveh considered “ugly” was not aesthetic at all. But they also talked about other things. They discussed sociology and psychology and philosophy and it seemed the words never ended between them even when they parted. It was a bit insane, something Alhaitham never had before. He could even call him a friend, yet…
“I thought you were going to die last time?” Alhaitham asked casually, side glancing Kaveh as they walked back to his house. Did he have something to “eat”?
“I didn’t lie.” And Alhaitham didn’t say that. “It’s because of people’s lust for you. It’s like having a piece of bread every day.”
“So you are saying that you come to church to engage in sinful activities?” he threw back.
“Shut up. Of course not. It’s just a side effect.”
They had just entered his home when Alhaitham turned back to him, both in the small entrance. Kaveh noticed and raised his eyes to his. He loved that, even when Kaveh’s gaze was so unfriendly, he still had to look up at him.
Alhaitham would always stare at him during mass, only because it was easier to focus on one person but, from up close, it was harder to ignore how gorgeous Kaveh was. How those eyes made his skin prickle.
Once again, he thought Kaveh’s worries were unwarranted, and the question came out before he could hold it back. “Why don’t you just do it?”
His eyes wandered down before going up again. When he wasn’t so sick, Kaveh’s lips were red and plush. Kaveh raised his eyebrows, that furrow leaving them for just enough. The words hung in the air for a few seconds.
“What?” Kaveh managed out.
“Why don’t you find someone, explain to them what you are, and let them decide whether they want to fuck with you or not?” His voice was low and deep. They were too close to talk about this. Here, he could feel Kaveh’s body heat, and it was scorching hot.
Kaveh swallowed saliva. “Whoever would believe me enough to be fully aware of the implications?”
“There must be people.”
“Oh? And are these people in the room with us?”
Were they? They shouldn’t be. Even if Kaveh’s voice was tempting and his scent was sweet. He became painfully aware of that as he got too big for his little cock cage. That had never happened before. The sting was enough to make him huff.
He pushed Kaveh’s chest with his fingers spread, just barely separating them. Had he been charmed too, after all?
“Maybe you should go looking for them. Unless you want to die?”
“You…! Of course I don’t!”
And maybe Alhaitham was a little bit too happy when Kaveh didn’t leave and instead invited himself to make dinner for the two just because he was personally offended when he heard Alhaitham didn’t like soup and wanted to change his mind. It was unnecessary. It was nonsensical. However, the soup was warm and Kaveh’s presence wasn’t half as bad.
At the end of the night, he had no complaints.