Atticus [BL]
Chapter 31 Swallow You Whole

Chapter 31: 31 Swallow You Whole

At Nolan’s bedroom.

Nolan quickly fell asleep as he lay on his back, the mattress sinking under his weight.

Suddenly, the subdued light of his room snuffed out, putting his whole room in dimness. As Nolan lay on the bed unconscious, a pair of hands covered in a black glove scooped him from his position and laid him properly on the bed.

A figure of a man with slicked-back white hair stood by the bed, leaning forward as he carefully removed Nolan’s suit before unbuttoning two buttons of his shirt.

"Hnn..."

Nolan stirred, his hand unconsciously reaching for the hands that were unbuttoning his shirt.

"... Atticus..." he murmured in his sleep.

The hands paused before one gently held Nolan’s, caressing it. Unconsciously, Nolan tightened his grip on the hand holding him before gradually loosening it.

In the silence of the night, a black-gloved hand lifted Nolan’s hand and pressed it against his lips.

The moment lasted for two seconds before he let go, leaned back, and then removed Nolan’s shoes, tucking him in afterward.

He stood by the bed, gazing at Nolan’s sleeping figure.

"Good night, Young Master."

In the dimness of the room, the intruder reluctantly turned his back to Nolan before his figure disappeared into the darkness.

*

After a hearty dinner, Rebus casually made his way to the Deacon’s bedroom.

Due to his unexpected appetite, Molly had been forced to prepare a large meal.

When he arrived at Frantz’s bedroom, he didn’t bother knocking—he simply opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was small, containing a modest bed, a nightstand with a lit candle atop it, and a small wardrobe filled with his few belongings.

Rebus immediately caught sight of Deacon Frantz at the corner, kneeling in front of a small altar, murmuring prayers.

Without a word, he closed the door behind him and strode toward the small bed, inviting himself to sit on it as he waited for Frantz to finish his prayer.

"... Father of the absolute goodness, I implore you to cast us your blessings and protection again like what you have always done..."

Rebus watched Frantz’s reverence prayers. He was holding an open book on his lap.

The whispering of his prayers finished. Deacon Frantz reverently bowed, his forehead gently touching the altar before he finally stood up.

"I hope I am included in your prayers," Rebus said with a smirk, looking straight at the Deacon.

Deacon Frantz closed the book and merely cast him a glance before striding toward his wardrobe, his back turned to the other. "Didn’t Abel show you where your room is?" he asked as he began removing his cassock.

Rebus lay on the bed and turned to his side, watching him, "He did, but it feels lonely there. Let us sleep together instead."

Deacon Frantz carefully tossed his cassock at the near basket. He then removed the shirt he was wearing underneath his clerical robe, revealing his muscled back to the man lying on his bed.

Rebus instantly examined his exposed upper body, his eyes examining the contour of his muscles.

"My bed is enough for me, you sleep on the floor if you want to stay the night in my room," stated Frantz as he opened his clothes cabinet and pulled a plain white shirt.

He seemed to be unbothered by the presence of Rebus. After closing the cabinet, he went to his bed and sat on the edge before removing his shoes.

"But I don’t have an extra pillow and blankets for you."

Rebus didn’t reply. Unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around Deacon Frantz’s waist and pulled him to the bed next to him. "I don’t think you’ll mind it if we sleep next to each other tonight. Look, we just fit fine on your small bed."

Surprised and caught off guard, Frantz instinctively pushed him away.

"W-what are you doing?!" he exclaimed in a restrained voice.

Rebus grinned to see him flustered, "Why? Are we going to sleep now?"

"No, let go of me. I need to shower first..." Deacon Frantz replied, trying to untangle the man’s arms from his waist.

"Shower?" Rebus leaned closer to him and sniffed him, prompting Frantz to flinch in surprise and was unable to react. "You don’t smell bad, rather, I like your smell."

"Atticus, I need you to—"

Deacon Frantz’s words were cut off when Rebus closed the distance between them, pulling him tighter until their bodies pressed together. But what startled him most was the sudden seriousness in Rebus’s scarlet eyes—his smile had vanished.

"I’m not Atticus, stop calling me by that name," Rebus spoke in a serious tone, but there was an unmistakable pout in his voice, like a child on the verge of a tantrum.

Deacon Frantz suddenly stopped struggling and looked at Rebus in his eyes.

"Call me Rebus,"

When Frantz stopped struggling from his hug, Rebus took the chance to nuzzle his face into the Deacon’s neck, inhaling his scent, and wrapped his arms tighter around his waist.

Deacon Frantz shuddered.

"H-hold on...! What do you mean?"

If his name was not Atticus, then who exactly was he? Another evil God who was living amongst humans? And who was Atticus then?

Rebus didn’t answer and simply continued inhaling his scent. Deacon Frantz took a deep breath before pulling Rebus’s hair, tilting his face upward to meet his gaze. His ragged, scruffy face was serious.

"Ugh... What? I’m enjoying your scent, let go of my hair." groaned Rebus.

Their faces were inches apart. But it looked like Frantz was not bothered about it, or he was just more bothered about the real identity of the man.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

Rebus blinked, his eyes lingering from Deacon’s Frantz eyes then trailed down to his lips.

"I told you, I’m Rebus. That’s enough asking, this is why you always lack sleep because you keep overworking your brain."

Deacon Frantz let go of his hair, Rebus quickly nuzzled his face back into his neck. Frantz finally reacted and once again tried to push him, pushing him on his shoulders, but Rebus was not even budging.

"Please, let go of me..."

With a smirk on his face, Rebus pulled back and grabbed Deacon Frantz’s wrist on his shoulder, "Call me by my name then,"

The realization of their position began to dawn on Deacon Frantz. Suddenly, he couldn’t meet Rebus’s gaze and quickly looked away.

"... Rebus, let go of me."

"No," Rebus answered immediately, "Let us sleep like this."

Before Frantz could say anything, Rebus was already nuzzling on his neck again, inhaling his scent.

"Fuck... inhaling your scent is not enough, I need to swallow you whole."