Written as part of the 'Knights of Elysian' prompt.
AN: True Songfic. 'Take Me To Church,' by Hozier.
"My lover's got humor
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval…"
It was her laugh the first drew him forward. In the great Lunarian Hall of Moons, he'd never heard anything like the merry sound that echoed to the rafters. In the Elysian court there was joy and frivolity, but nothing like the pure noise of enjoyment he'd heard escape from her pink lips. As he entered the room, she closed her mouth, but had clearly seen his eyes upon her. Upon his award of the title of Shitennou, he had taken vows, serving the pillars of purity and affection. As the first to receive such an honor, he strove to drive impure thoughts from his mind – to serve only Endymion and the Court.
He had no time for laughter.
In truth, neither did she. He knew of her reputation – she was the leader of a divine group of women sworn to protect the crown princess. The Venusian had cut her teeth in battle at the edge of the solar system, flung to far off moons he'd only read about. Without explicit permission from the Queen, the princess of the Morning Star did things her own way.
"I should've worshipped her sooner…
If the Heavens ever did speak,
She is the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak."
He fought. He fought his attraction every step of the way. The laugh haunted him. In meetings, in lectures across rooms speaking of diplomacy, she was serious – intelligent blue eyes flashing, delicate hands gripping the beads at her waist. Among her fellow senshi and in gentle protection of the princess, she was all smiles, but among the Elysian fellowship, she remained focused.
If she recognized his feelings, she did not acknowledge them, until, they shared their first kiss – a torrid advance in the hallway after a particularly heated series of trade agreement discussions. He didn't initiate the interaction, nor did he back down. She took him off guard…at least that's what he told himself. He hadn't lived as a monk prior to his vows, but the illicit nature of her embrace made him realize he was fighting a losing battle.
While he knew his fellow soldiers were most likely indulging in affairs of their own, he had remained above temptation. Although he knew the taste and feel of a woman, he'd forced himself to forget those memories.
He resisted, but he was only a man.
"A fresh poison each week
'We were born sick,' you heard them say it
My church offers no absolution
She tells me 'worship in the bedroom.'"
Intoxicated - once fallen, he dove. Into her arms, her bed, her body. He was insatiable for everything about her – her abilities with a sword, the devious humor, her brilliant tactics. Although his devotion to Endymion never wavered, there was little time to worry about his regent. If she knew of them, she did not inquire of his vows, broken or otherwise. She asked him not of his past, only welcomed him into her bedroom – over and over again. Perhaps it was the furtive nature of the act, but each time with her energized him, leading him to wonder how he would be expected to maintain his commitment to purity.
He saw judgment in the eyes of the Terran court, but ignored the silent accusations.
"Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life."
An anonymous note appeared in his quarters and a sliver of doubt crept into his mind… Had she caused his fall? Had she required him to break his vows? Had he been set up to fail? He dared not go to Endymion with word of his disobedience. The prince represented all that was good and whole. Did Endy deserve his loyalty? Would he be replaced? Could he live in a world where he wasn't shitennou? As the first to take the vows, what would his punishment be? What life would he lead stripped of his title?
Or was he being paranoid? Purity could mean any number of things - purity of heart, soul and mind. His struggle with these concepts was something that did not go unnoticed by her. He saw the questions in her eyes, but knew she respected him too much to say the words aloud.
"If I'm a pagan of the good times
My lover's the sunlight
To keep the Goddess on my side
She demands a sacrifice
To drain the whole sea
Get something shiny
Something meaty for the main course
That's a fine looking high horse
What you got in the stable?
We've a lot of starving faithful
That looks tasty
That looks plenty
This is hungry work."
His first time with the red witch was strange. She came to him on earth, sneaking in at sunrise, surprising him. He resisted, but as she pressed his own knife to his throat, he was shocked when his body responded. Broken as the vows were, why should he be limited to one woman? He had made no oath to the senshi.
The woman in his bed was all whispers to the wild passion of the Venusian. Her body was strange and different and did not fit like the soft curves of his lover on the moon. She demanded harsh actions and whipped into a frenzy the more violent they became.
He said nothing of his new mistress. Were the shoe on the other foot, would some stranger become intimate with the blonde princess, he would kill the man who dared enter her bedchamber. He felt shameful of his hypocritical thoughts, but could not seem to banish the red witch or her increasingly dangerous requests from his life.
"No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Amen. Amen. Amen…
…Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life."
The General of Purity and Affection stood in front of the Senshi of Love and Beauty. Between them, a gulf of lies, a smoldering city in ruins – two dead regents, their lifeblood pooled in horrible crimson puddles – even the power of the great crystal tower could not revive them. No amount of prayer could bring them back to life.
She did not laugh.
Deep in the depths of his mind, he recognized her.
Who had he failed the most? Himself? The ideal of the kingdom? Was it the impossible vows? Or was it human nature?
With the last moments of sanity, he knelt in front of Venus and lifted up his bruised face, hoping she understood his request. Nodding through her tears, she lifted the great sword and brought it down.