Work Text:
The church was peaceful, delightfully so. The organ's melody sounded harmonically in the background, and it added a divine aura to the splendid insides of the church which bathed on the sun that came in through the vitrals hung high on the decorated walls.
This was quite possibly one of Sunday’s favorite ambiances, it brought him a sense of internal peace he could feel even from within the confessional, such peace he hoped the individuals who walked into the other side of the structure could also feel as they gathered the courage to open their box of sins for him to cleanse.
He sat straight inside, peering his eyes open to check his watch. 2 minutes until the time for confessions ended. Today had been a day with scarce confessions, it was not sunday after all.
He hummed at the known tune the organ played, and he had already begun to get up when the familiar sound of the door on the other side of the confessional opening reached his ears. He sat down again. From the other side, he heard the individual kneeling as they got ready to confess their troubles.
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned” A woman’s voice, he noted.
“Worry not my child, confess to me, He shall forgive you, for He loves all of His children” Sunday's calm voice rang through the confessional clearly, compassionately.
“Father” A moment of hesitation “Today I come to confess for my thoughts. As I went home, I saw a couple hugging, and the thought of doing so crossed my undeserving mind.”
Sunday leaned back, contemplating your confession in slight confusion. "There is no need for such harsh judgment of yourself, my child, I do not see sin in your actions. Having thoughts of such nature is only natural. It's a sign of your humanity."
There was silence.
“But Father, I am married… Is it not sinful of my part to wish for something my husband doesn't wish for me to have?” His wings twitched, and the sequential toll of the church bell was heard.
"To desire affection is a natural need" he said solemnly. "Your feelings are not a sin, my child, much less for something as innocent as a hug."
He paused.
“Are you unhappy in your marriage, child?” He had to ask, for it was his duty to help those in need.
“Goodness- perish the thought!” You straightened your back by reflex at the unexpected question “My husband has never done anything to me”
“Hmn, I see” he responded “Pardon my question, but your confession seemed to bear a certain discontent, know that confession is exactly to express our troubles so He can help you.”
He heard some shifting from your side “Thank you for your words Father, but everything truly is alright, we have no health problems, live in a lovely house, and have no money issues. I just felt the need to confess my thoughts early for being greedy and wishing more than I already have” The other side of the confessional creaked, a display of its old age and continuous usage. “I shouldn’t detain you any further, the time for confessions has already ended, hasn't it?”
Sunday hummed, indeed the toll indicating their ending has sounded a while ago “It has, but know that the church doors are always open to those in need my child, the time matters not. And if you truly feel guilty for your thoughts before, even if I see no sin in them, then you may pray hail Mary once, for the peace of your mind.”
“Thank you Father, that reassures me greatly, thank you for listening to me.” He hummed and once again emphasized the church is here for anyone who needs it. He heard your door opening, the faint sound of your shoes echoing through the church, and then the space fell into silence, complete silence. Sunday stood there for a while, wondering if he should have pressed on any further. You did not sound discontent at all, but the whole situation left a somewhat weird aftertaste on his mind. It was a very odd confession, barely counted as a confession if he thought about it. He wondered if confessing mundane things such as this were part of your daily life and if to you, they were truly sinful. It really left a bitter taste on him.
He sighed and got up, adjusted his clothes, and got out of the dark space that was the confessional cabin. He needed to get ready to the next mass after all.
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Author: At this point I plan on making our dearest mc confess a few more times to get these 2 more acquainted. I need Sunday to recognize mc’s voice for -reasons-
I don't want to make the husband abusive, but I want to explore being in a relationship where you almost don’t exist, you are there do housework and little more, I want a healing journey with Sunday's and Robin's help. I don't know if there is a trigger warning for this, so let me know in the comments.
Plot points:
You 2 are new to the city, your past and reasons as to why you have this need to constantly apologize for completely normal stuff will be explored and revealed as we go on. (if you squint you can see me coping for all the years I was made to go to the church)
I will make Sunday and you meet outside of confessions, obviously. He was in a cafe with Robin and he recognizes your voice. I just don't know if you recognize him on the spot yet, depends if I make you go to church masses or if you just go confess. i think the latter is more interesting tho, since you will get to know him outside of his priest job.
ROBIN WILL BE OUR FRIEND!!
Boothill lives next door with his daughter (Let me cope)
I want to make this a healing journey, slow burn, and I need to make Sunday conflicted with himself, something along the lines of: Sunday is stuck on this IS wrong, she IS married, he is confused and decides to distance himself, but by doing so he realizes he's more down bad than he thought.
I already thought the confession scene out btw.
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Another sample of the fic, this one more midway (Sleep over at Robin's):
You sat on the nest of blankets you and Robin had placed on the living room floor mindlessly eating popcorns, she had gone to the bathroom to fetch her brush and hair utensils, because you quote "It's too pretty to leave unattended" you smiled at the memory of her head wings flapping when she had the idea to play with your hair. Briefly you wondered if Sunday let her play with his hair, but the thought was cut short by Robin jogging over from the bathroom, brush and other supplies in hand.
"Turn around for me" she cooed with determination, her wings flapping still. You wasted no time and did as she said. Moments later, you felt the blankets shifting and her hands bringing all of your hair to your back.You looked at her by the side of your eyes.
"What do you plan on doing?" you curiously asked. You haven't had your hair attended by another person since you were a child, so you were curious what she had in mind.
You heard her chuckle, and pausing for a moment as if in thought "A surprise"
And so she began soothingly brushing your hair, carefully taking small sections of it and combing trough them while the two of you made small talk and commented on the movie passing on the TV in front of you, occasionally feeding her popcorns since her hands were busy, you suspected she was doing some sort of braid when the topic of the talk caught you slightly off guard "So", she began as she selected another portion of your hair to brush "Tell me about my brother."
You were confused "Sunday??" You chuckled "Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" You feed her some popcorns.
"No, not that! I want to hear about your impression of him, what you think of him, as an outsider" She took a pin from one of the pouches she brought from the bathroom and held it in her mouth "You knowm he bawely has a sociawl liffe outshide of work" she barely managed to say.
You pondered "Well...for once he is patient, given the amount of trouble I have given him I'm surprised he still talks to me at all, I know my husband wouldn't" you laughed faintly. Robin didn't, but she knew this was you trying to cope, and that was progress, so she hummed in response. "I'm... grateful honestly, ever since i moved here I feel like you two are being my pillars, making me see things differently,things that I thought were normal" You began playing with your fingers, Robin's brushes still combing through your hair "Even this sleepover is something completely new to me, so thank you, Robin"
"Aw, come here" You felt Robin's arms sliding around you and pulling you flush against her, she then rested her head on top of yours "You don't need to thank us, we are only doing what anyone would do, plus Sunday has been more cheerful as of late, I have my suspicions you have a hand in that" She said in a tender voice " So don't sell yourself short, you are being a good influence to him as much as he is to you"
Robin picked up a portion of your hair to keep working on it, on this position, you could see, that it was indeed a small braid, you reckoned there were others "...I doubt it" you began "but he's always so harsh on hims-"
The door clicked open and both of you turned your heads to face it.
Sunday came into view, the door creaked softly as he pushed it open. Turning to the side to hang his priest coat, he was met with the unexpected sight of you and Robin lounging on the floor, hugging. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, a smile formed on his lips "Good evening you two, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" He quietly closed the door behind him, and proceeded to take off his shoes.
"Oh welcome brother!" she greets smiling, and you see her wings flap twice on the sides of her head "I was just doing y/n's hair! How was your day?"
He hummed, stepping closer to you two "It was quite normal, the mass was more noisy than normal though, I don't like to admit it, especially since we have a guest, " he smiled softly at you, you nodded to acknowledge it "but i am rather tired"
You chuckled a bit "The wind didn't have any mercy on you either it seems"
Robin seemed to notice as well and suppressed a laugh, Sunday was confused until you gestured to your head. He seemed to realize and imitated the gesture, an "Oh" came out of his lips when he saw a couple of leaves falling off from his hair. "Indeed. I always seem to catch the worst of the weather" he sighed and turned to you, voice covered in a reassuring tone "I am sure my sister has already said this, but make yourself at home" he smiled and turned away "Well, I won't bother you two any further, have a good night" Your eyes lingered on his lean figure as he gradually disappeared on the hallway.
Robin's gaze switched between both of you, and a determined grin grew on her face as a light went up on her head "Wait brother! " her head wings flapped enthusiastically "Why don't you join us!?" Both you and Sunday turned to Robin.
Sunday tilted his head, his halo following the motion "Join you two? Whatever for?".
"Your hair is a mess right?? I figured since we already have all the hair stuff we could take care of it , plus it'll be fun!" You could feel her wings fanning your face from how set on this idea she was, turning back to Sunday, he had reached out to touch his hair. He could feel the strands poking out in an unnatural was, as well as one more leaf.
He sighed "You are not entirely wrong" Sunday admitted moving his hand away from his tangled hair, he then glanced briefly at you, wondering your opinion on the matter.
"Come on brother, she doesn't mind!" she turned to you "Right y/n?" You nodded in agreement with her, not really being able to come up with another answer. "You see!? Come sit here!"
Sunday mouth was slightly agape and he was positively exhausted, but he couldn't bring himself to deny his sister's request, and given the fact that you seemed to want his presence too... he let out an amused sigh "Very well then"
Both yours and Robin's smiles widened. She was visibly pleased with her success, and both of you separated to make space for Sunday. "Come sit here, brother!" she tapped the spot in front of both of you.
He walked over, and as instructed, sat in front of both of you, seeing from this close, his hair was indeed, a mess "goodness..." you let escape. Robin's hands had briefly covered her mouth in awe as well.
Sunday chuckled "So it's that bad" he began taking off his gloves, no need for them at home after all, "If it's too much trouble, I can do it myself"
"Nonsense" he was cut short by your voice "Robin said earlier you have been coming home tired, let me at least do this for you"
Sunday smiled "Well then, I am at your mercy" He closed his eyes and you nodded at Robin, both of you began tending to the mess that was Sunday's hair.
You and Robin dutifully began removing the entangled leaves and combing through the knots, Her hands moved skillfully and you wondered if she used to do this sort of thing often, like before your mind wandered to Sunday... Given how stubborn he is you doubted that was the case.....so maybe... when he was younger? You wondered if he was a cute-looking child, a troublemaker maybe? you doubted, but the thought was amusing nonetheless.
Sunday had begun chatting with Robin at some point, but absorbed in your thoughts as you were, you didn't note any of it, instead, you were fixed on his silver hair. Its color was beautifully mesmerizing, you caressed one of its strands, the hair once rid of the leaves and stray debris was silky smooth as well, surely Robin had a hand on his hair routine, you repeated the gesture, this time beginning at the roots, your fingers casually brushing against his scalp. You had only wanted to see his hair, but this proved to be more effective than the brush, so you did it again, and again, each time brushing your fingers against his scalp, beginning at the base of his neck, brushing them up, and gently pulling them towards you, taking your sweet time to undo any knots.
You would have noticed it if you weren't so absorbed, but Sunday had most definitely leaned into your touch, even as he was talking with Robin, he had inhaled sharply when he first felt your fingers on his scalp, and his ears were ever so slightly red. Robin refrained from commenting on any of it though, instead faking getting a message from a friend asking for studying materials, and left to her room to photograph them.
The sensation was soothing, a welcome break from the exhausting day, even if he would rather not admit it, Robin leaving, however, seemed to have awakened you from your trance. "Is everything alright Robin?" you asked, concerned.
She looked back at you, waving her phone in her hand "A friend asked for some studying materials, I'm going to send him photos of it, be right back, you two can keep going" she smiled and jogged from the living room up the stairs.
"Sometimes I wonder where she gets all the energy from" you commented. Sunday eyed you, amused. Noticing, you immediately covered your mouth.
He chuckled softly, "Don't censor yourself, she does have an abundance of energy, even as children she would always radiate energy" You perked up.
"Did you?"
"Me?" Sunday pondered "Sorry to disappoint, but I was a rather calm child" he went silent, as if reminiscing in nostalgia, as if deciding to share more of his past or not, in the end, he half turned to you, and leaned back so his arms were propping him half-up, his arm ended up against your leg by doing so "I suppose it was because I always needed to keep an eye on Robin... her curious nature was rather troublesome at times" He let his head fall back, facing the ceiling, his voice laced with sweet amusement "She was quite a handful growing up"
As he did so, you noticed what you thought to be a piece of a wood stick stuck on the side Robin was tending to. As you eyed it, Sunday's eyes turned to you, he seemed to notice as his wings twitched once. He sighed, he tried to run his fingers through his hair to get rid of it, but they just got stuck midway through his silver locks, in fact, his attempt seemed to make the situation worse.
"...Can I?" You offered.
Sunday glanced up at you, his expression with a hint of resignation, but he ultimately understood the necessity of asking for help. "...Yes please."
The tangled mess was presented to you, and you began little by little untangling it, being as careful as you could not to push his hair by accident, whenever you did, his wings would twitch, you found this to be an extremely cute trait, and couldn't help but smile. You ended up massaging the spots on his scalp every time his wings warned you. "I hope my hair isn't too much of a trouble for you"
"Never, It's the least i can do given the kindness you have shown me, both in confession and outside"
His eyes were closed "It's my duty as a priest to guide those who seek me," a pause, you watched as his wings fluttered slowly "and as a friend to provide help when needed."
You hummed in response, returning your attention to the almost free branch, skillful fingers effectively freeing small portions of hair from the intruder.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he added, his voice tired, but still willing to be of service.
Not really, if you were being honest, still, you picked up one of the hair brushes and handed it to him "If you could pass me this when I need it will already be helpful"
He "hmn"ed as you placed the brush gently on top of his chest.
He was probably on the verge of sleep when you managed to free the little devil from his hair given that he didn't hear the "finally" you murmured when you managed to do it. Watching now, it seemed that he had gradually lowered himself to the point his head was almost completely laid on the pillow that was by your legs.
Sunday is....a person of reserved nature, there was no denying that, so the fact this situation is even happening should already speak for itself. Yes, he was exhausted since he arrived, but we need to acknowledge that Sunday is not the type to be vulnerable in front of individuals he doesn't feel comfortable with.
Looking from this close, he truly was beautiful, ethereal even, silver hair, golden eyes, soft expression, pure white wings... you wondered if anyone had ever mistaken him with an angel, voice as soothing as he had, you wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Your hands drifted to his hair and once more you began caressing it, matching the rhythm with his steady breathing, his wings once again, fluttering every now and then, you wondered if it was a natural reaction? They seemed well taken care of, same as Robin's, not that you knew what type of care they needed, if they needed any at all. Sunday's piercings seemed to indicate that some form of basic maintenance was needed though.
Speaking of which, your attention turned to them, fingers glazing over their sharp tip and drawing imaginary circles around one of them, you wondered about their story, Sunday didn't seem the type to like this kind of jewelry, you kept circling around its metal structure, maybe they mark an important phase of his life? maybe just a personal sense of aesthetic? If so, did he have piercings anywhere else? Lost in this line of thought, it took you a while to notice your fingers had reached the point where the piercing connected with the wing.
And it was soft, extremely so, you caressed it lightly, your mouth slightly agape, the plumes were so very soft....it made you want to kiss them, to see if they were as soft on the lips as they were on the fingers, this was of course only a thought and nothing you could manifest, because for once, it would be disrespectful to Sunday to do such a thing, and secondly...because glancing your left hand, a golden ring could be found on the index finger, your smile faded mildly.
'What would Sunday think if he had heard my thoughts just now' went through your mind, and immediately you cursed yourself for thinking so. You sighed, they were only fleeting thoughts, you convinced yourself as you kept caressing the white feathers of his wings.
In the end, however, you didn't realize how despite being bound by vows, your issue was with what Sunday would think, and not the other way, but that is a matter for later, since for now Robin had returned to the living room, seemingly done with sending the studying materials.
Despite the situation, she did not seem surprised at all, in fact, her first reaction, was to snap a picture of the scene before you could object. She chuckled softly as she approached "He really was tired..." She smiled "I hope you managed to clean the rest of his hair, I'm sorry I lef..t..." Her words fell short as she looked down and saw you caressing Sunday's wings the same as one would to their beloved's hands, her own cheeks heated up slightly.
You tilted your head "Is everything alright?" you asked concerned. Her wide eyes snapped to you.
"Ah-m, no, no don't worry about it, I just realized I forgot to send part of the pictures to my friend, I will take care of it later, so don't worry" she made a dismissive motion with her hand as if to reassure you further. "For now lets wake up Sunday yes?" she walked the rest of the way, and knelled by his sleeping form "He has an important meeting tomorrow and he will probably get back pain if we leave him like this, help me?" she sweetly looked at you.
"Hmnn sure" you answered as you detached your hands from his head, her reaction was a bit weird, but if she said everything was alright, you believed.
Robin then began gently tapping his hand, you did the same on his shoulder "brother..." she said softly "brother wake up " She gently squeezed his hand and you gently shook his shoulder, suppressing the temptation to poke his face. Eventually he emitted signs of waking up, a small protesting grunt came out of his mouth and his lashes snapped open and he immediately sat up.
He looked calm, but his breathing was quick, almost hasty. His hands darted to his ears, or so it seemed from your view point and as he tried to talk, his mouth opened but no sound came out the first time he tried, it took him a few tries to succeed "Ahem" he cleared his throat, his hand rested on his lap while the other helped propping himself off the floor. Opposite to you, Robin looked more embarrassed then worried as both of you followed Sunday's motions, least his balance failed him. As he stood up, he apologized for for startling both of you, inhaling sharply as his eyes landed on you, blaming it on stress and finally excused himself. You watched him with a worried expression as he hastily went up the stairs.
Robin's comforting hand landed on your shoulder gently pushing you down once more "Don't worry too much, he's just stressed with work" she sighed "A vacation would do him well" she laid on the blankets nest and covered herself, "should we turn in as well?"
What just happened didn't sit quite well with you, but you weren't about to ask about it, both Robin and Sunday were rather dismissive with it, so better not to talk about it now.
You nodded and followed suit, both of you tucked in, and you couldn't help chuckle at Robin covered up until the neck with her wings peeking out, she laughed as well and both of you watched movies until you gradually fell asleep.
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Sunday was, to put it shortly, not ok.
He leaned against his door, composure completely out of the window, previously brushed hair now completely disheveled by his own hands which had roamed it completely trough while trying to appease the frantic feeling his wings were providing him. His ears were flush red, his wings fanning and his body was quite literally burning to the point of being almost unbearable.
He tried to breathe, his pretty eyelashes fluttering shut as he did so. You didn't know, so you were forgiven, he didn't blame you in the first place either way. This was ok, this was normal. This reaction was a perfectly normal result from stimulating a halovian wings for a while. He unbuttoned his garments, hoping doing so would let him breath, escape from this tight, exasperating cage he felt he was in-!
His eyes turned to his bathroom.
A shower.
Yes, a shower would do the trick.
It had to.
A cold shower. Sunday thanked god for showing him mercy, and as nimbly as he could, he made his way to the bathroom
-------- 3 am--------
Light. Your eyes opened slightly, still in the veil between the land of dreams and reality. The room was silent, but not so far, the kitchen light was turned on, this had half awakened you from slumber.
There, in a much better state than before, was Sunday, now in much more loose, comfortable clothing. He had come down to drink fresh water from the fridge. Not that you were really getting any of these details giving that you were half-asleep.
Cuddling your blanket further you called, "...Ivan" a yawn "...is that you...?" the weight of sleep pushing your eyelids down once more.
Sunday turns, in silent surprise, and dimming the kitchen lights, he walks over, glass in hand, his face serene "hmhm, its me, Sunday" he corrected.
You half stretch and bury yourself further into your pillow, soft smile forming on your features
"...good"
You managed to say before being once more, claimed by the deep sleep that had you just moments prior. Sunday stood there for a moment, but ultimately, silently bids goodnight to both of you and and goes up stairs.