Liam hadn't realized that his phone had betrayed him yet. He hadn't exactly
thought to pick it up to look, not with Gregory there. And Gregory had been
there far too long this time. But thankfully, by the time Riley was
pounding at his door, the demon had finished with him and taken his leave.
Honestly Liam didn't know what he would do if Riley had arrived while his
keeper was still there. The very last thing he wanted was for Gregory to
even have awareness that the priest even existed; nothing good came from
the demon's attention falling on someone good and kind like Riley.
He heard the pounding on the shop door. A floor below, but it was loud and
frantic enough that he couldn't miss it. Frowning, he considered ignoring
it. Whoever it was couldn't possibly need an antique that bad, right? He
was tempted to just burrow further under a blanket on his couch and wait
for the world to forget he existed. Instead he made his way from his
apartment down the back staircase into the shop proper. Night had fallen,
and the streetlights had kicked on not long ago now, and in their dim light
even through the frankly torrential rain, he could make out the figure
standing there. His eyes went wide and his step quickened to bring him to
the door, fumbling with the bolt before jerking it open.
"Father? What are you doing here? It's hellish out there. Get inside before
you get washed away." He stepped back enough to let Riley inside and out of
the weather. The shop was small but neatly kept, scented of wood and
varnish and the unmistakable scent of old leather and paper, only the
lights that Riley had flipped on as he hurried to the door shedding any
light. It was enough to see by anyway. Liam looked a mess. His hair was
damp still from the shower he'd taken, mostly standing in the spray as hot
as he could stand it until the hot water had run cool. He'd pulled on a
pair of flannel pajama pants and an oversize hoodie, his feet bare and just
now noticing the chill of the floor beneath them. Even with the hoodie, a
bite mark was visible on his neck -- and not a playful love bite. Teeth had
both bruised and broken the skin and thensome, a deliberately visible and
ugly thing left with him as a reminder. The dark circles under his eyes
seemed darker tonight as well. Though perhaps stranger still, and more
alarming, was the fact that in the low light shadows seemed to swirl behind
him, emanating from his shoulders like tattered spectral wings. Piece by
piece, he was losing more of his humanity. Eventually there'd be only the
parts of him that had been twisted into something demonic left. Liam didn't
seem to be aware of this, or at least he was far too busy looking at Riley
in concern.
"Did you need an end table to go with the bookcase this bad?" It was a thin
joke, but it was his best attempt at acting like himself. "I've got a few I
can show you, but first we're going to get you a towel and something hot to
drink. Come on." He apparently did not expect to be argued with, since he
reached back to grab a hold of Riley's hand and start to lead him to the
rear staircase and up to his apartment so he could get the priest dried off.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-06-02 07:45 pm (UTC)Liam hadn't realized that his phone had betrayed him yet. He hadn't exactly thought to pick it up to look, not with Gregory there. And Gregory had been there far too long this time. But thankfully, by the time Riley was pounding at his door, the demon had finished with him and taken his leave. Honestly Liam didn't know what he would do if Riley had arrived while his keeper was still there. The very last thing he wanted was for Gregory to even have awareness that the priest even existed; nothing good came from the demon's attention falling on someone good and kind like Riley.
He heard the pounding on the shop door. A floor below, but it was loud and frantic enough that he couldn't miss it. Frowning, he considered ignoring it. Whoever it was couldn't possibly need an antique that bad, right? He was tempted to just burrow further under a blanket on his couch and wait for the world to forget he existed. Instead he made his way from his apartment down the back staircase into the shop proper. Night had fallen, and the streetlights had kicked on not long ago now, and in their dim light even through the frankly torrential rain, he could make out the figure standing there. His eyes went wide and his step quickened to bring him to the door, fumbling with the bolt before jerking it open.
"Father? What are you doing here? It's hellish out there. Get inside before you get washed away." He stepped back enough to let Riley inside and out of the weather. The shop was small but neatly kept, scented of wood and varnish and the unmistakable scent of old leather and paper, only the lights that Riley had flipped on as he hurried to the door shedding any light. It was enough to see by anyway. Liam looked a mess. His hair was damp still from the shower he'd taken, mostly standing in the spray as hot as he could stand it until the hot water had run cool. He'd pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and an oversize hoodie, his feet bare and just now noticing the chill of the floor beneath them. Even with the hoodie, a bite mark was visible on his neck -- and not a playful love bite. Teeth had both bruised and broken the skin and thensome, a deliberately visible and ugly thing left with him as a reminder. The dark circles under his eyes seemed darker tonight as well. Though perhaps stranger still, and more alarming, was the fact that in the low light shadows seemed to swirl behind him, emanating from his shoulders like tattered spectral wings. Piece by piece, he was losing more of his humanity. Eventually there'd be only the parts of him that had been twisted into something demonic left. Liam didn't seem to be aware of this, or at least he was far too busy looking at Riley in concern.
"Did you need an end table to go with the bookcase this bad?" It was a thin joke, but it was his best attempt at acting like himself. "I've got a few I can show you, but first we're going to get you a towel and something hot to drink. Come on." He apparently did not expect to be argued with, since he reached back to grab a hold of Riley's hand and start to lead him to the rear staircase and up to his apartment so he could get the priest dried off.