Forgive Me, Father, For I... (Baccano!/Suikoden III, Czeslaw + Sasarai) Title: Forgive Me, Father, For I... Author/Artist:catdevigri Fandom: Crossover - Baccano! x Suikoden III Pairing/characters: Czeslaw Meyer & Sasarai Rating: PG Warnings: none Word count: 375 Prompt/challenge you're answering: Czeslaw & Sasarai, "Give me your hand." Author's comment: Putting Sasarai in the world of Baccano!...
If Maiza trusted someone, it wasn't enough for Czeslaw to do the same, but he'd withhold his judgment. The priest visiting today was apparently the confessor of a good number of members of the Martillo family. If nothing else, that meant not much could shock him. That, and he was good at keeping a secret. If he weren't, he wouldn't have stayed in their good graces for very long. ...It had been a long time since Czeslaw had given any more than cursory attention to religion, but a very long time ago, when he had lived with his grandfather, the heretical work of alchemy in that home had been ornamented with the trappings of Catholicism.
The priest had very bright green eyes that followed him disconcertingly around the sitting room. His smile was too uncomplicated to hide anything, but his gaze still gave Czeslaw a shiver. Czeslaw was certain that somehow the man could tell.
"Even if you've been away from the church for a long time, you can still be welcomed back if you return with a sincere heart," the man said to him, confidentially, when they were the only ones in the room.
That was practically enough to make Czeslaw turn tail then and there. He had been right. The priest could tell.
"I- I don't think I'm ready for that." Not now. Maybe not ever. Czeslaw shook his head. And if he really did believe, he felt he had a lot to account for.
"That's okay too," the priest replied. "My name's Sasarai. I've seen you around here a bit lately. Enough to imagine you're going to be sticking around, just like I am. If you ever want to talk to me- about anything, it doesn't have to be religious- I'm a regular hereabouts myself." He held out his hand. Against his better judgment, Czeslaw decided a handshake was safe enough.
"Whatever has gone before, you know God loves you, and he'll forgive you."
The young-looking man swiftly withdrew his hand. Words like those had power, if not from their truth, from the depth of faith with which they were said. ...Perhaps they also stirred up memories Czeslaw would rather he forget. "I know," he said, though it didn't mean he believed.
-- Also, a drawing! ...I did this before I wrote the fic and it doesn't match up perfectly, but it's on the same subject: