Crumbs for the Rat King

Benin/Elliott

Tags: Devil X Priest (au), Demon, priest, prehensile tail, out in the open, demon contracts, blowjob, aphrodisiac bodily fluids, inappropriate use of religious paraphernalia.

The mass lulled on. Benin felt he could do this in his sleep. Over his years at home, in formal training, and finally out here, serving the city, he'd basically memorized the Holy Texts front to back. A passage here added to an anecdote there, a song, a lesson.

The mass lulled on. Benin glanced down from his podium a moment. His eyes drifted through the crowd gathered. Even as his mouth moved, he was able to multitask at this point; of two minds, one talking to him helping a couple sort out social relief, the other on those attending. His eyes soon landed on the gentle grey of another man's. Sat in the front row, he was hard to miss. About his age, and coming to the congregation since a few months back, now. He'd found the company welcome. Much of his job circled back to time spent alone on the grounds of the church; having Elliott around started as a welcome distraction, soon evolving into something close to a friendship. While there were some secrets he would never tell a mortal soul, he felt able to speak freely with him, for the most part. Elliott seemed to feel the same way, talking about parent troubles and his hound at home.

He'd been glad his relationship with the man wasn't veering into the professional realm. While other congregants might share private details with him, it was always for advice, prayers, or absolution; in turn, he remained professional in return. But here, with Elliott, things were not so. It was... nice, admittedly.

Benin's eyes left Elliott's in that moment. While nothing had struck him as evil about the man, he always felt a presence. Even when they made eye contact, it was like Elliott saw through him. Like something else was watching him from below, waiting.

Mass came to a close. Benin gave his remarks and the orchestral choir joined to perform a melody. He closed his holy book before moving off, stepping down to the pews. Luckily, today, no one moved up to him in a hurry.

Rather, someone did stand and stride towards him, moving against the current of the crowd streaming out of this place. Again, as Elliott approached, Benin was awash in that watched feeling. "Father." Elliott greeted.

Benin swallowed. "Just Benin is fine, Elliott. Unless you wish to ask me a question on mass or religious matters."

"I do, actually." Elliott chirped. Benin's brows raised in surprise. What could he want? "I was hoping to discuss... well, confess to you, today."

"Would you like an official confessional?" Benin stood a bit straighter. "We can absolutely do that. Ah, just hang back until everyone filters out. I best go out there, see if anyone needs me before we talk. I'll be back in a few minutes." Benin masked his hurt with a smile before he was off.

He'd return about twenty minutes later, having been swept up in conversation on conversation. "Mr. Jordan asking you about the black cat thing, again?" Elliott asked as Benin strode to meet him near the front of the church.

Benin cracked a smile. ""For the seventh time, they aren't"." He said in the tough-but-sympathetic voice he used with congregants. "Unfortunately, Mr. Jordan asked if seven related to seven years of bad luck, which went on a tangent... the things people ask their priests nowadays."

"Miss burning women at the stake?" Elliott crossed his arms and cocked a brow.

"Only witches, right?" Benin joked in turn. "Come along then." The two proceeded down to an adjoining room to the main congregant hall. Within were a few of the booths used for confessional, all rich brown wood. Benin would gesture for Elliott to take the door to the booth before slipping through the door for the seat separated from Elliott's. Benin found himself staring across the woven separating window at Elliott. He detected a moment's hesitance from the man, and wondered what Elliott sought him out for. Considering their friendship outside of work, it was undeniably irksome that Benin was forced to pull back from it because of this. Otherwise, they could have kept up that which made Benin excited for the following days Elliott would visit the church. Benin shifted in his robe a moment, then realized Elliott was staring across the woven separator, too. He caught himself and looked away, distracted.