Iggy/Port WIP Beginning.
I felt like updating my journal so, have my WIP.
Title: Untitled
Rating: Rated PG/PG-13 currently but it could go up.
Pairings: England x Portugal (Gabriel)
Warnings: OC (Portugal), AU fic, religious themes and conflicts, gay boys.
Summary: Arthur doesn't know Gabriel is very Catholic, and when he finds out it drags Gabriel's inner struggles about whether or not he can be a good Catholic and date Arthur at the same time.
I'm Arthur, a sophomore at United Nations University. My boyfriend, Gabriel, and I have been dating for a few months since the end of freshman year, but over summer break we hadn't had much contact; I was at my parents’ home in England while he was at his mother's house in Portugal separated by hundreds of miles. The new semester was just beginning, and the first weekend I was available I invited Gabi for a Sunday breakfast at a local cafe, remembering many such mornings spent this way before class in freshman year. Since we had been parted for so long and it was too early for our professors to have assigned much work, I was extremely surprised and a little hurt when he declined.
“I can't make it tomorrow morning. I’m sorry Arthur, maybe some other time?”
I quickly assented, but was curious and a little nervous, wondering if perhaps he had decided that we should separate over the summer.
It's the next morning and I walk from my dorm to the double Gabriel shares with his brother, knocking loudly when I arrive. Gabriel's brother Antonio opens the door.
“Hello, Arthur! Gabi isn't home right now, but I'll tell him you stopped by when he gets back~”
“Thank you, Antonio, do you know where he is?”Antonio looks hesitant, so I press on. “We haven't really seen each other in months, and the first chance I get to invite him to breakfast he says no. Please, Antonio, tell me; I'm worried.”
“Ah...” Antonio sighs. “Alright. Follow East 45th Street and take a right on 5th Ave. It's 5 long blocks down. Then follow 5th Ave for 6 short blocks; that's where he'll be.”
Following the directions, I end up at a magnificent Gothic style cathedral that I hadn't even known existed to this point. It towers over me, framed by skyscrapers, I stand awe of the magnificent architecture before entering the cathedral. While walking in I wonder why Gabriel would be there; he had never seemed especially Catholic to me. Shrugging it off and I told myself I'd ask him later.
The inside isn't as full as I thought it would be; I had assumed that since Sunday mornings meant Church it would be full, but a sign on the inside says that mass isn't for another few hours.
I spot Gabriel's curly black hair near the front of the cathedral, head bowed. Quietly walking up and sit beside him, the church evokes fond memories of my childhood; of attending church on Sundays with my parents.
He doesn't look up immediately, continuing to murmur under his breath; eyes closed, rosary beads in hand. “Perdoai as nossas ofensas; assim como nós perdoamos a quem nos têm ofendido.”
I listen to the unfamiliar words wondering how I'd never known that he knew them, that he loved them. The way he spoke them was as gentle and loving as the way he caressed me.
“Não nos deixeis cair em tentação, mas livrai-nos do mal” He finishes the prayer and turns to look at me.
“I didn't know you were religious.” I say.
“Mm. It's really more of a personal thing, and you never seemed that interested.”
“Of course I'm interested, I love you, I mean-” But he cuts me off.
“I'll be done in a moment. We'll talk more about this outside.” He seems embarrassed, which confuses me as he's never been embarrassed to talk about our relationship before. I quietly wait until Gabriel finishes his prayers, and join him as he approaches the priest to say goodbye.
“Thank you, father. I'll see you again next week. ”
“I will see you then, Gabriel. Peace be with you.”
“And also with you.”
We exit the church, and start walking back to the dorm together.
“So. You're-”
“Catholic? Yes.” Gabriel sighs. “What else do you want to know?”
“It's important to you.”
“Yes.”
“...So if it's really important to you, why did you never tell me? I mean I love you, I care about you, and if it really is private I understand… but I don't understand why you didn't think I'd want to know.”
“I...It's not something that private. But give me some time, okay? This is really important to me, and I've been living in accordance -strictly in accordance- with the Bible my entire life. And you're really important to me too. And sometimes it's hard to find a middle ground where you can both be important.”
“I understand that, but... .” I feel torn. He doesn't want me to help, but in a way it's my fault. I'm the one making him struggle like this. “Are you sure there isn't any way I can help?”
Gabriel's frown softens. “Yes, I'm sure. And this isn't your fault, so don't go worry about it like an old man okay?” he returns to his normal cheerful and joking tone as he tries to assure me that he's fine; he sighs again when he sees that I'm not buying it.
“We can talk about it if you want?” I offer, “I have some of that barbaric coffee you like.” knowing my own attempt at jocularity is weak, I smile as I attempt to cajole him into talking about it; confessing if you will. Gabriel looks reticent, but almost willing, so I go on. “I want to listen to you, Gabi, and I promise I won't make you choose. I just want you to have someone to talk to, and I want you to feel like you can talk to me... I know I'm not exactly the nicest person to be around, but I like to think you feel comfortable enough with me to know that I won't hurt you. I am not as devout in my faith as you, but I was raised attending church, so I'm not entirely uninformed.”
Gabriel raises an eyebrow at what is admittedly an unusual display of openness for me, but gives a faint smile as he replies “I think I could go for some coffee right now.”
(Whoo~ Time skip of awesomeness)
I finish brewing Gabriel's coffee and my tea, and we sit awkwardly in my cramped single dorm. I sip my tea slowly as I wait for him to start talking, but the silence descends heavily.
Comments are much loved~
Title: Untitled
Rating: Rated PG/PG-13 currently but it could go up.
Pairings: England x Portugal (Gabriel)
Warnings: OC (Portugal), AU fic, religious themes and conflicts, gay boys.
Summary: Arthur doesn't know Gabriel is very Catholic, and when he finds out it drags Gabriel's inner struggles about whether or not he can be a good Catholic and date Arthur at the same time.
I'm Arthur, a sophomore at United Nations University. My boyfriend, Gabriel, and I have been dating for a few months since the end of freshman year, but over summer break we hadn't had much contact; I was at my parents’ home in England while he was at his mother's house in Portugal separated by hundreds of miles. The new semester was just beginning, and the first weekend I was available I invited Gabi for a Sunday breakfast at a local cafe, remembering many such mornings spent this way before class in freshman year. Since we had been parted for so long and it was too early for our professors to have assigned much work, I was extremely surprised and a little hurt when he declined.
“I can't make it tomorrow morning. I’m sorry Arthur, maybe some other time?”
I quickly assented, but was curious and a little nervous, wondering if perhaps he had decided that we should separate over the summer.
It's the next morning and I walk from my dorm to the double Gabriel shares with his brother, knocking loudly when I arrive. Gabriel's brother Antonio opens the door.
“Hello, Arthur! Gabi isn't home right now, but I'll tell him you stopped by when he gets back~”
“Thank you, Antonio, do you know where he is?”Antonio looks hesitant, so I press on. “We haven't really seen each other in months, and the first chance I get to invite him to breakfast he says no. Please, Antonio, tell me; I'm worried.”
“Ah...” Antonio sighs. “Alright. Follow East 45th Street and take a right on 5th Ave. It's 5 long blocks down. Then follow 5th Ave for 6 short blocks; that's where he'll be.”
Following the directions, I end up at a magnificent Gothic style cathedral that I hadn't even known existed to this point. It towers over me, framed by skyscrapers, I stand awe of the magnificent architecture before entering the cathedral. While walking in I wonder why Gabriel would be there; he had never seemed especially Catholic to me. Shrugging it off and I told myself I'd ask him later.
The inside isn't as full as I thought it would be; I had assumed that since Sunday mornings meant Church it would be full, but a sign on the inside says that mass isn't for another few hours.
I spot Gabriel's curly black hair near the front of the cathedral, head bowed. Quietly walking up and sit beside him, the church evokes fond memories of my childhood; of attending church on Sundays with my parents.
He doesn't look up immediately, continuing to murmur under his breath; eyes closed, rosary beads in hand. “Perdoai as nossas ofensas; assim como nós perdoamos a quem nos têm ofendido.”
I listen to the unfamiliar words wondering how I'd never known that he knew them, that he loved them. The way he spoke them was as gentle and loving as the way he caressed me.
“Não nos deixeis cair em tentação, mas livrai-nos do mal” He finishes the prayer and turns to look at me.
“I didn't know you were religious.” I say.
“Mm. It's really more of a personal thing, and you never seemed that interested.”
“Of course I'm interested, I love you, I mean-” But he cuts me off.
“I'll be done in a moment. We'll talk more about this outside.” He seems embarrassed, which confuses me as he's never been embarrassed to talk about our relationship before. I quietly wait until Gabriel finishes his prayers, and join him as he approaches the priest to say goodbye.
“Thank you, father. I'll see you again next week. ”
“I will see you then, Gabriel. Peace be with you.”
“And also with you.”
We exit the church, and start walking back to the dorm together.
“So. You're-”
“Catholic? Yes.” Gabriel sighs. “What else do you want to know?”
“It's important to you.”
“Yes.”
“...So if it's really important to you, why did you never tell me? I mean I love you, I care about you, and if it really is private I understand… but I don't understand why you didn't think I'd want to know.”
“I...It's not something that private. But give me some time, okay? This is really important to me, and I've been living in accordance -strictly in accordance- with the Bible my entire life. And you're really important to me too. And sometimes it's hard to find a middle ground where you can both be important.”
“I understand that, but... .” I feel torn. He doesn't want me to help, but in a way it's my fault. I'm the one making him struggle like this. “Are you sure there isn't any way I can help?”
Gabriel's frown softens. “Yes, I'm sure. And this isn't your fault, so don't go worry about it like an old man okay?” he returns to his normal cheerful and joking tone as he tries to assure me that he's fine; he sighs again when he sees that I'm not buying it.
“We can talk about it if you want?” I offer, “I have some of that barbaric coffee you like.” knowing my own attempt at jocularity is weak, I smile as I attempt to cajole him into talking about it; confessing if you will. Gabriel looks reticent, but almost willing, so I go on. “I want to listen to you, Gabi, and I promise I won't make you choose. I just want you to have someone to talk to, and I want you to feel like you can talk to me... I know I'm not exactly the nicest person to be around, but I like to think you feel comfortable enough with me to know that I won't hurt you. I am not as devout in my faith as you, but I was raised attending church, so I'm not entirely uninformed.”
Gabriel raises an eyebrow at what is admittedly an unusual display of openness for me, but gives a faint smile as he replies “I think I could go for some coffee right now.”
(Whoo~ Time skip of awesomeness)
I finish brewing Gabriel's coffee and my tea, and we sit awkwardly in my cramped single dorm. I sip my tea slowly as I wait for him to start talking, but the silence descends heavily.
Comments are much loved~