La Nostra Bestemmia.
Series: Cantarella.
Pairing: CesarexChiaro.
Rating: T+/M.
A/N: So, this little ficlet is my first venture into the amazing world of Higuri You's Cantarella. It has become my favorite manga, but it's really tricky to write for. Anyway, I hope I got the Italian right, since I don't speak it very well. It's the Lord's Prayer. If that offends you, don't even read the fic. The title, I believe, means something along the lines of "our curse" or "our blasphemy". If anyone spots any mistakes in my Italian, please let me know in a review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Cantarella. If I did, it wouldn't be on hiatus and Chiaro wouldn't have so much as looked sideways at Lucrezia.
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Padre Nostro, che sei nei cieli,
Sia santificato il tuo nome…
Somewhere, in the dark of the night, someone was praying. Somewhere else, in that same dark night, two bodies were entwined in something that could only be sin. Heedless of piety or prayer or anything even distantly related to God, one man and another were giving themselves over to the heat of passion.
Venga il tuo regno,
Sia fatta la tua volontà…
One was a Cardinal, the other an assassin; a child of light and one of darkness, though not respectively. Whispered endearments filled the air alongside fervent, desperate moans. In their own, secret hearts, a cocktail of emotions stewed, never to see the light of day. Beyond the locked doors of a darkened chamber, they were nothing more than allies, comrades, and friends. It was only here, tangled in the silken sheets, that they could open to each other and become one.
Come in cielo, così in terra.
For Cesare, making love to Chiaro was an experience like no other. Not only was it the singular, unparalleled sensation of being touched by the one he loved more than any other; it was the feeling of having all of the darkness in his soul pushed away. His assassin's light was the only salve for the aches that dwelled so far beneath the skin. In those moments, his grand ambitions of unifying his beloved Italy were quieted, and he would give it all away if it would allow him to always know the blessed peace of being with Chiaro.
Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano,
E rimetti a noi i nostri debiti…
For Chiaro, lying with Cesare was remittance of his sins. The faces of those he had murdered in the name of his Cardinal's aspirations faded. All that was true and real was centered in the young man he held in his arms. They were not what they had to be outside; rather, they were all they could not be anywhere else. They were merely two lovers discovering one another in the sanctity of a stolen midnight. Every demon they would face in the morning – both figurative and literal – was unwelcome in this delicate web of affection and passion.
Come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori…
They had to be careful – if they made one sound too loud, they would be discovered. It was one thing for a Cardinal to debauch himself with a woman, but with another man, it was utterly unforgivable. They would lose everything, and though it mattered not now, when the sun rose and reality returned their senses, they would regret like they never had before, so without quite knowing the reason why, they kept their voices down.
E non ci indurre in tentazione,
Ma liberaci dal male…
Whenever they slept together, Cesare and Chiaro felt a sense of urgency, as though time was short and the morning, ever shortening, would see them separated. In a way, this was true, but not to the extent that they felt it. In response to this impractical rush, the two of them always moved quickly, so that they would have time to actually sleep. Of course, they did so entwined with each other, heedless of the world just outside the door. Though they hurried, climax was always satisfying for both – the imaginary constraint on their time together only heightened the passion between them, offering a dangerous, aphrodisiac rush that settled into blissful warmth thereafter. Perhaps it was blasphemy, what they did with one another when no one could see, but it was worth every drop of damnation. After all, it was silently agreed that there was no Heaven awaiting them, and so it only made sense to make their eventual perdition worth their while.
Amen.