Title: Confession
Summary: He is a Scottish Presbyterian but he finds his soul in need of confession, despite this.
Characters: Watson, Holmes, Priest
Rating: PG
Warnings: None. And that I'm not Catholic, nor religiously inclined at all so any mistakes on that front... Yeah, apologies.
Count: ~350
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It has been a long time since he has last stepped into a church, let alone a Catholic church. He is a Scottish Presbyterian but he finds his soul in need of a confession, despite this. So he leaves Baker Street, skirting around Holmes who is staring at him with curious eyes and he double checks to make sure the detective is not following him.
In the church, he watches confessors come and go for some long minutes and he rises from his pew to enter into the confession box when someone skirts in before him. He sighs, seats himself again and keeps a ready eye on the box. Then from the back of the room another Priest comes out, full robes and Watson begins to think this is a bad idea. The Priest turns his body in Watson's direction and Watson wants to flee.
The repentant sinner eventually leaves the box and Watson rushes towards the curtain and slides in behind it, sinking down onto his knees. He does not look up to the grate separating him from the Priest when he begins:
"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned."
There is a long pause and Watson winces wondering if he has gotten the line wrong. He looks up to the prayer sheet on the wall in front of him, memorising the words in case the Priest realises he is not one of the congregation.
"I had wondered how long you were going to sit out there." His entire body freezes, his palms clasped together, his eyes riveted to the sign on the wall. "Now, Watson, tell me all about your debauched affair with your fellow-lodger."
There are no words in his mind, only outrage and indignation and he cannot seem to remember anything he was taught; not vocabulary, not breathing, not anything. So he settles for the only thing he does know, the one thing he always remembers.
"Holmes!"