My Ant and Dec One shots

💙 Hallelujah

This is the sequel following on directly from Take Me To Church. It's a longish one so buckle up :)

Wrote a much more depressing version of this and then remembered people wanted a happy ending 🤣

Song for this part is Hallelujah (my favourite) version by Jeff Buckley.  If you haven't heard it I'd 100% recommend giving it a listen

There was a high chance I'd only managed to gain a couple hours of sleep before the sound of my front door clicking open and then quietly creaking shut stirred me awake.

I didn't open my eyes or think to investigate, since I knew all too well who it was.

After all, there was only one other man with a key to my home.

I couldn't really describe how it started, but this sort of routine had become a fairly regular occurrence in my life. After almost half a year of weekly visits, I didn't even question it when Declan's light footsteps padded up towards my lonely bedroom door.

I had a spare room of course, one which he was welcome to use at any time, however that wasn't what he came for.

Declan was a complicated man, from the moment we'd started to reconnect to now, I couldn't truthfully claim to be any closer to solving his puzzle. He was an enigma and never let anyone close enough to know his trauma.

As a result, It was a mystery exactly what led him to my front door but I could say I had enough experience to know exactly what he wanted from me.

Just like how i always slept in Pyjamas now; I knew not to sit up as he stumbled into my room and began removing his shoes; I knew to keep my breathing steady as not to spook him; I knew not to look or speak as he sat on the edge of my bed, drunkenly battling with himself about what he was about to do and I knew that pretending to be asleep as he tentatively dipped beneath the covers was the only way I could keep him with me.

The Young father stank of some strong booze that particular night, but he didn't always arrive wasted. The Level of intoxication did however determine how much he allowed himself have... how much he he allowed himself to take from me. It was never sexual, although sometimes I got the feeling he wished it could be and just didn't have the capability to be intimate with anyone, let alone me.

In the priest's head, as he shuffled closer and pressed his small body against mine- his arms curling around my torso, he was committing a crime. He'd been conditioned in such a way that he deeply believed wanting affection and comfort from another man was a sin and he'd certainly find a way to punish himself for his perceived weakness later.

I didn't put my arms around him, I'd made that mistake enough times to know it would only make him pull away and become mad at me for touching him and mad at himself for liking it. I laid completely still, drinking in the feeling of him gripping my body tightly and nuzzling his nose into my neck with a deep longing sigh.

For me, these nights were in many ways the highlight of my weeks, but in others, complete torture. We'd made progress together, it took a lot of work to get to the point where he could be near a bed with me let alone laying in one, but It had all taken so long, it felt like he'd never heal enough for me to be with him the way I really wanted. I had a tactic though, but it was a plan I'd save for the morning.

I waited patiently until his deep, drunken breathing evened out as he drifted to sleep and finally turned my head, opening my eyes so I could take a look at his lithe body curled around mine.