Father Reverend Griffith decided to hold a meeting in Sa-Dame Rebekah at 0600 hours. The Brothers, Sisters, Deacons, and even Elders were expected to be there. This was unusual for Father Reverend Griffith to do. Usually when he held meetings, he met with the Deacons and the Elders, but because the Brothers and Sisters were included, they believed that this had to be an important meeting. They didn’t know what the meeting was for and why it was held, at least, not at first.

Brother Nir was a bit late, mostly because of Adino. Adino was holding him back in bed—quite literally, to be frank. Adino had his arms wrapped tight around Brother Nir’s waist, tugging him back onto the bed when he tried getting up. Usually he didn’t mind when Adino was clingy, but this morning was not the time, especially when Father Reverend Griffith started an impromptu meeting. Brother Nir forced himself to pull away from Adino, telling him he’ll be back by noon. Adino pouted, his ash-blond hair falling over those perfect, almond-shaped emerald eyes. Brother Nir’s fingers twitched, fighting the urge to brush the hair out of Adino’s face and kiss the younger male’s forehead. He instead slipped on his cassock and ruffled Adino’s hair, causing him to whine.

“You say noon but you mean evening,” Adino whined, his voice husky from last night’s activity. That delicious rasp in Adino’s voice made Brother Nir want to pounce on Adino and claim him again, but he held back. “Nir, why won’t you look at me?” Adino asked as he sat upright on the bed, the blanket falling to reveal the younger male’s chest and the gorgeous dip of his hips. Adino’s golden skin stood out against the stark white sheets, making him look like an angel buried in snow.

“It’s Brother Nir, now, Adi,” Brother Nir muttered faintly. “I’m about to head to Church.” He forced himself to peel his eyes off of Adino’s body but it was hard. “I’ll see you at noon.”

“Promise?” Adino asked as he hugged Brother Nir from behind, causing Brother Nir’s footsteps to falter.

“Yes, yakiri,” Brother Nir murmured, kissing the top of Adino’s head. He patted Adino’s cheek and he left the house. It was rather windy out, which caused his cassock to billow. His eyes hurt from the wintry wind and he shivered, regretting not bringing his hand-knitted shawl with him too. He made his way to Sa-Dame Rebekah, seeing the massive gothic Church come into view.

Sa-Dame Rebekah was an eerily gorgeous building, despite its haunted features. Its towering spires stood tall against the early morning dark sky, the flying buttresses sturdy despite its tainted colors. There were multiple niches that held statues of Michael the Archangel, Gabriel the Archangel, and Jerahmeel the Archangel. On top of its arched roof donned a massive jacinth cross that gleamed under the lurid moon’s light. Pushing open the church’s heavy oak doors, Brother Nir was welcomed with the sight of the towering stained glasses that reached upwards to the heavens, the ribbed vaults stretching across the spacious ceiling. There were rose windows that let in the moonlight, spilling eerie, kaleidoscopic patterns onto the marbling porcelain tiles. As Brother Nir continued down the nave, he passed the narthex and the apse before stopping in front of two heavyset oak doors with iron door knockers. Normally, he’d use the door knocker to announce his arrival, but already being late, he carefully pushed open the door and the sanctuary came into view.

Father Reverend Griffith was at the pulpit, the Bible propped open on the surface. The others were gathered at Father Reverend Griffith’s feet, kneeling before him. When Brother Nir opened the door, everyone turned to look at him; Father Reverend Griffith paused his talking, icy gray eyes looking above his wire-rim spectacles. The man did not look happy—he looked deeply disappointed in Brother Nir.

“Why are you late, Brother Nir?” asked Father Reverend Griffith as he closed the Bible, stepping down from the pulpit to approach him.

“I overslept, Father Reverend,” Brother Nir responded weakly. Internally, he felt his heart twinge, like a jolt of lightning burst inside of his heart. He hated lying to the Father Reverend, but he had no choice. It left a horrid taste in his throat, but he had to lie in order to protect Adino.

“Overslept, Brother Nir?” Father Reverend Griffith echoed after him. “Is that so? You do realize, as stated in Proverbs 6:16-17, that ‘These six things doth the LORD hate…/A proud look, a lying tongue’ while Colossians 3:9 tells us to ‘Lie not one to another’. So, I’ll ask again. Why are you late, Brother Nir?” Father Reverend Griffith asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

Brother Nir felt his throat clog up and he cleared his throat, saying in an even tone, “I overslept, Father Reverend.” As much as he hated to reiterate his lie, if he didn’t stand his ground and changed his lie, that would only worsen this whole scenario.

Despite looking unconvinced, Father Reverend Griffith gave off a low noise of disgruntlement before turning back to the pulpit, propping the Bible back open. He began leafing through the fine pages, brows knitted. It was obvious that Brother Nir’s lie was bothering him, but he didn’t press it—he instead began talking about the scripture, focusing on the Book of Romans.

Brother Nir took his place at Father Reverend Griffith’s feet like the others, withdrawing his Bible from his leather satchel. He winced when Brother Joaquin elbowed in the space between his ribs. He gave him a look and Brother Joaquin muttered, “Why did you lie to Father Reverend, Brother Nir? Don’t you know that ‘all liars…shall…burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death’?”

Brother Nir gave the younger Brother a discontented look. He didn’t like how the younger Brother was reciting from the Book of Revelations—it made him feel uneasy. He merely shook his head and muttered to him, “You know no such thing. Pay attention to what Father Reverend is teaching.” He inclined his head to Father Reverend, trying to divert the conversation away from himself.

Sa-Dame Rebehak was quiet besides the sound of Father Reverend Griffith droning on about the great Apostle Paul and his letters to the churches in Rome, spreading the gospel of salvation that was through the true faith in Lord Jesus Christ. The Elders and Deacons were riveted by Father Reverend Griffith’s preaching, as well as the older Brother and Sisters, but the younger ones were mildly bored. They didn’t understand what was so important about meeting this early to talk about the Book of Romans, especially on a Thursday. They had met up yesterday morning, to talk about the Book of Acts, and they were there until nightfall because Father Reverend Griffith held an event for the village.

Furthermore, it wasn’t like Brother Nir got much sleep immediately after that event, Wednesday night. After the event ended around 2200 hours, he had gone back home and found Adino lying in bed, freshly showered. The young male had a lavender-colored robe that hung loosely over his shoulders, baring his sharp clavicle. His ash-blond hair was damp from the shower, dripping water droplets against his cheekbones and down the curve of his throat. His golden skin glistened from the residue of the water, thick droplets running down his smooth chest. Brother Nir didn’t think twice. He had walked over to Adino, his fingers sliding over the nape of Adino’s neck, fingertips weaving through the soft hair he found there. He’d drawn him in for a deep kiss, causing the younger man to give off a stifled noise, but it was quickly swallowed by Brother Nir’s mouth. Adino’s mouth was hot and desperate against Brother Nir’s, making him feel hotter and hungry for more.

Brother Nir had slipped out of his heavy frock coat, letting it fall to the ground. Using one of his hands to tighten in Adino’s hair, he used his other hand to push aside Adino’s robe, baring his body more. Adino’s hands had busied themselves by undoing Brother Nir’s waistcoat before moving to his thin white shirt, his nimble fingers hot against Brother Nir’s chest. When Adino had reached Brother Nir’s breeches, he glanced up at him, his emerald green eyes half-lidded and dark with carnal desire, eyes roving over the bulge in Brother Nir’s breeches.

Adino had run his tongue over the bulge and Brother Nir had grinned at him, running his thumb over Adino’s cheekbone. The younger male was ravenous for a taste and Brother Nir gave it to him, sliding down his pants and underpants, letting his erection to be free. Adino had wasted no time, his hand fisting the hard shaft before closing his mouth over it. Brother Nir had groaned, his hands sinking into Adino’s soft ash-blond hair, hips rolling into Adino’s eager, hot, tight mouth. He could never get over this feeling, of Adino’s beautiful mouth locked around his throbbing member, his tongue skillful and so damn playful, teasing his wet slit and underside of his member. As Adino worked his mouth, tongue, and hand on Brother Nir’s twitching member, Brother Nir had slid in and out of Adino’s mouth, the wet sound creating a cacophony of exquisite noises. He’d slammed deep into Adino’s throat and the younger male’s eyes went hazy, a choking moan leaving the depth of his throat as he continued taking Brother Nir’s thrusts.

Brother Nir could feel his hips stuttering as he neared his release and he tried pulling away but Adino’s nails dug into Brother Nir’s hips, preventing him from pulling back. Nir groaned, tugging Adino’s hair as he gritted out, “Fucking Christ, Adi, I’m gonna come—”

That was exactly what Adino wanted, and Brother Nir knew it. Brother Nir stared down at the younger male with unadulterated adoration and passion, his chest heaving with gasping breaths as his vision went white as he hit his euphoric release.

“Fuuuck,” Brother Nir had groaned out, fingers knotting Adino’s hair as he tried catching his breath. He was still painfully hard as he pulled out of Adino’s mouth with a soft pop. Adino’s mouth was parted slightly, come and saliva dripping from his red lips. Adino had licked his lips, grinning mischievously at Brother Nir, and Brother Nir purred throatily at him, “Such a good boy, aren’t you?”

Brother Nir had then made love to Adino until sunrise. The sound of flesh against flesh, of Adino’s precious voice breaking into desperate, sultry moans, of feeling Adino’s body clench and throb as he thrust deeper into him felt like paradise. Nothing could take away this feeling from him. It was too perfect, too surreal—he wanted to replay it over and over again in his head.

He’d come to a stop when Adino had groaned out, “Nir…I can’t feel my hips…” and Brother Nir had stopped, cooing over him, now tending him carefully.

It was around 0400 hours when both men had decided to go to bed. That was, until the candlestick telephone rang at 0500 hours, startling them both. Deacon Gideon was calling Nir, telling him that Father Reverend Griffith planned on starting a meeting at 0600 hours.

After Brother Nir hung up, Adino had a disbelief look on his face. “He’s joking, surely, isn’t he?” He sounded agitated. “That bastard kept you all up until 2200 hours on Wednesday so why does he want you again? What more could he possibly want to say?”

Brother Nir had frowned and cupped Adino’s face, murmuring to him, “Yakiri, motek, you can’t call Father Reverend that. He is a vessel of God. Our Heavenly Father must have a duty for Father Reverend if he’s calling forth a meeting this morning.”

The younger male had exhaled hard, burying himself deep under the covers, mumbling, “Whatever. Just…stay with me for now. Please? Surely, you wouldn’t abandon your lover after making love to him…right?” Adino’s emerald green eyes widened in an innocent gesture, but Nir knew that he was using it to coax him back into bed.

And it worked. That was why Brother Nir was late for the impromptu meeting.