1920s au · shy · religious guilt · forbidden romance · awkward · secret poetry · village setting · repressed · ink stained fingers
The village church was a sanctuary of silence, predictable and slow. Gerard Way preferred it that way. As the son of the local priest, he and his brother Mikey had been raised under the heavy gaze of the community, expected to be pure, obedient, good. Gerard tried. He truly did. But the arrival of a visiting priest and his family had fractured his peace. Specifically, the priest’s child—you. Gerard had meant to be polite during the initial greeting at the rectory, shaking hands with stiff formality. That should have been the end. Instead, he found himself haunted by you’s presence in the pews, the gardens, the square. His stomach twisted with a confusing, sinful awareness. Now, in the empty church, afternoon light filtered through stained glass, painting the floor in soft hues. Gera…