Winged Cupid Painted Blind Chapter 28 - Our Revels Now Are Ended

A/N- The title is a quote from the Tempest act 4 scene 1 which basically means that the merry making is over and done. Also when you join the army they ask you to put down three places you would like to be stationed, at least they did when I went in. And they will try to put you there, sometimes it doesn't work out, like if you want Hawaii you can forget it lol, if you put down some place like let's say Alaska you will more than likely get it.

Edd fell asleep that night a little worried, he was certain that Kevin was going to call him when he got home, he had hinted to it when they had said their goodbyes earlier that evening. But not a word was heard from him, oh well he was probably busy studying for that test he had the day after tomorrow and lost track of time, and was being polite by not calling so late. There was nothing to worry about he told himself as he rolled over in bed, trying to get more comfortable so he could drift off to sleep. Falling peacefully asleep a few moments later, he dreamed of their embrace as they lay in their post coital afterglow, Kevin talking about his plans to go into the army, after he graduated, to help pay for college. Reassuring Edd that he would try and get stationed at the local army base in Summerville, so that he would be closer to him, so that they could see each other on the weekends. But if the worst case did happen and he was sent further away, Kevin reassured him that their love would find a way and to not worry about it so much, he would be there for him, always. Hopefully seeing each other during the holidays, or maybe finding some way for Edd to come visit him during his summer breaks, both of them keeping their fingers crossed that he would get his first choice of Summerville.

"I swear that my heart belongs to you, and no one else, until the end of time," he gives Edd a gentle kiss upon the lips. "Besides, I've only signed up for four years, just long enough to get me through college," a warm smile upon his face, "We can survive that, can't we?"

"Yes," he returned the smile, "I know we can." Nuzzling his head in the crock of Kevin's neck, drowsiness started to take hold of him as he whispered, "I love you."

Kevin kisses the top of his head, "I love you too," and the memory ends as Edd had fallen asleep shortly afterwards. The rest of his dreams that night was of his middle school days with his friends, the misadventures they use to have and the trouble they would cause because of them.

Waking the next morning to his alarm blaring on his bedside table, reaching over he turns it off and groggily heads for the bathroom to get ready for the day. Enjoying how the warm water invigorated him, bringing him out of the sleepiness that was desperately clinging to him. Dressed and fed with his book bag over his shoulder he walks out of the door of his home and waits on the front steps for Nat to pull up or for Kevin to walk out of his door and join him on the steps. Only having to wait for ten minutes for Nat to arrive and park across the street in front of Kevin's house, honking the horn to get his friends attention, and hopefully make him hurry up and get out of his house.

Edd opens the back door of the car and hops in, "Good morning Nat."

"Hey Edd," he replied as he laid into the horn a few more times in quick succession.

"Hey sock head," Edd looks out the window of the car, "You too good for us, now that you're friends with the jocks?" Eddy was noticeably agitated standing across the street in front of his house with his hands in the air.

Rolling down the window he calls out to them, "I'm sorry Eddy I'll see you at school." Nat opens the door and runs up to Kevin's front door.

"Whatever," Eddy huffed as he turns and continued toward the bus stop.

Ed could be heard saying, "Come on Eddy, leave him alone, it's good that he has more friends." And in a mock swoon, "Our little Double D is all grown up and leaving the nest."

Rolling up the window slowly he sits back in the seat, seeing Nat slowly walking back to the car, pausing when he reached it, he looks up at the second floor window. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the curtain in Kevin's room fall back into place, like he was trying not to be notice as he watched them. Getting back in the car he looks in to the back seat at Edd, "You can jump up here, Kevin's not going to school today."

"Is he sick?"

"His mom didn't say, just said he wasn't going." Edd gets out of the car and runs around to the front seat and turns to look at the house as he felt someone watching him. It was the living room window's curtain that fell back into place this time, slowly he opens the door to the car, giving the building a curious look as though it would tell him what was going on.

Siting he says in a grim tone, "You ever have one of those days where you knew you should have stayed in bed."

He turns the key to start the car, "All the time man."

Kevin watched from his bedroom window as they did a U-turn to get to the main road, his bedroom door opening behind him and he turns from the window quickly, siting upon his bed. "Are you ready to go?" Kevin gave her an incredulous look, "Come on now, we mustn't keep the good Father waiting," she turns to head back down the stair and to her car, Kevin following sluggishly behind her. His dad had called their church late last night and got Kevin a meeting with the priest for, in his opinion, some much needed spiritual guidance.

The drive to the church was a quiet one, his mother was unable, or unwilling one will never know, to converse with him let alone look at him. For when she did, she no longer saw the little boy she raised to know the difference between right and wrong. All she saw at this moment was a stranger, a sinner, a deviant who was corrupting a young innocent boy into his perverse ways, and it broke her heart to think that he saw nothing wrong with it. She has already had to cancel a visit from her brother-in-law, who was going to bring the twins over to see their aunt and uncle, for fear that Kevin might corrupt his son who was close to that boys age. Thankfully the twins went to catholic school and not to the local high school, something she now wished she had done for Kevin, even though the tuition is more expensive.

Pulling up into the church parking lot, she gets out of the car but Kevin was reluctant at first but follows behind her after she turns and gives him a disapproving stare. Entering they dip their right hand in the basin of holy water and made the sign of the cross then made their way down the row of pews. Along the right and left walls of the church was five tall stain glass windows each depicting a biblical scene of great importance. And seven statues on each wall fourteen in total, that depicted the stations of the cross starting with Jesus being condemned to death and ending with his resurrection. Reaching the front pew, they kneel and again make the sign of the cross before entering the pew, his mother pulls out a small wooden bench connected to the divider in front of them and kneels upon it and begins to pray. Kevin looks upon the alter with its large cross placed above the tabernacle where the body of Christ was stored before kneeling to pray.

His prayers were for god to please help his parents to stop looking at him with disappointment in their eyes, whether it was through coming to some understanding about him or learning to forgive him for his perceived sins, he cared not. He just wanted them to look at him like they used to, like they were proud of him, like they loved him, like he was their son. A few moments later Father O'Malley comes up to their pew and his mother looks up from her prayers and stands, smiling at the man who greeted her, "Barbra, it's good to see you."

She hugs the man, "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice Father."

He pulls back and looks at her, seeing the sadness in her eyes, he knew it must be dire, "It's no trouble," he pauses for a moment, contemplating his words, "How can I be of assistance? Your husband didn't go into great detail about the matter, just that Kevin needing God's guidance desperately."

She looked around at the few other church goers there to pray for some reason then returns her gaze to the priest, "Can we talk privately?"

"Of course my child," he motions with his right hand toward his office, "This way." Leading them off to the left of the alter he opens a small door that went into a room with open lockers that held the robes that the priest and his attendants wore during mass, at the far end were two doors. Opening the door on the left they enter his office that had windows that faced the small garden behind the church, sitting behind the desk he motions for them to take the two seats in front of it. Kevin takes in the room, besides the desk the small room was lined with bookshelves that he assumed were filled with religious text of one nature or another. Leaning back in his chair he looks at the two of them, "How can I help?"

She opens her mouth but closes it trying to think how to word this, she loved her son and didn't want to cause him embracement, but she was ashamed about what he was doing with his life and knew he needed help. "My son has recently begun being," she paused for a moment hesitating, but continues, "Attracted to the same sex." Kevin lets out a groan of annoyance and frustration.

"I see," he intertwines his fingers together, his forefingers pointed up and together taping his lips in thought. "Is this a recent development or have you noticed anything suspicious in his behavior in the past?"

She scrunches up her face in thought, "I can't think of anything, so I would say recent."

"Kevin," the boy looks up at the priest, "Is it true that this is a recent development, or have you committed sodomy in the past?"

He was rather embarrassed about talking about his sex life, even if it was about a girl, he wasn't someone to brag about his sexual exploits, even if it was considered something boys did. His mother taps him on the leg and motions with her head telling him to answer him, "It's just recent."

"Good, then there is a chance that repairing the damage Satan has done won't be too difficult."

Kevin was flabbergasted, he never once thought of someone's sexuality as being the influence of the devil, "How can you say that, I'm not being influenced by some patriarchal demon."

"I understand Kevin, you don't think that there is anything wrong with you," he lets out a sigh as he thought about what to say next. "But you yourself just admitted that you have never had these feelings before," Kevin stammers to explain himself but the man continues not giving him the chance, "And the devil is cunning. He whispers sweet temptations in your ear that seem like the right thing to do at the time, but are an elaborate trap to claim your soul."

"Is there anything we can do to help my son?" Her expression was one of desperation with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Yes, with prayer, faith and guidance we can set him on the right path again," he turns his attention back to Kevin. "Son, having these impulses doesn't make you a sinner, it is when you act upon them that you are sinning," he sees Kevin's resolve beginning to break, "It is like a disease, you won't even notice that it's happening at first, but slowly over time the way you think starts to changes and before you realize it you believe that it is alright to lie with another man, and that's how he gets you."

"But it doesn't feel like I am doing anything wrong," Kevin was beginning to start to feel shame under this man's speech, "You know the pain in your soul that tells you that you have done something wrong, the guilt you would get if you told a lie."

"I know Kevin, but that is a part of the enemy's great deception, you don't think you have done anything wrong. But the bible tells us that it is, Leviticus clearly states that man shall not lie with another man or face the fires of hell. God destroyed the city of Sodom for the sin of homosexuality, Romans 1:26 speaks against it as well." He pulls out his bible and quotes, "Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." Closing the book, he puts it back on the desk and looks at the boy seriously, "You don't want to go to hell do you?"

"No."

"You want to see your family in heaven don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then allow me to guide you back to the path God intended for you, let me help you see the errors of your ways," he studies the boy who sat in the chair confused and desperate for the love of his family once again.

Kevin though about this, could it be as the priest had said, was he really being taken from what was the right path for his life by giving in to the temptation of the flesh. Then he started doubting everything he felt for Edd, could they really have a meaningful and lasting relationship, no future with children playing at their feet, stereotypes started flying around his head. Would they last? Could they last? Was there hope for happiness in what society had deemed as unnatural and perverse? Should he forsake the love he felt for Edd for the love of his family and the acceptance of society as well as the possibility of having children in the future? His mind was clouded with doubts, fears, anxiety and worry over everything that was to come in his life, not to mention the possibility of Edd's parents finding out about them and sending him to jail. Slowly he looks the priest in the eyes and nods, "Help me father," and sobbing, "I have sinned."

"Good, you have made the first step to your recovery," Turning to Barbra, "I would like to see him every day after school from now on."

"Of course father, anything you need just let us know, and thank you."

"With any luck, we can undo what Satan has done to the poor child," he stands and leads them toward the door, "fear not for your child, for I know that God in his infinite wisdom and mercy will forgive him his sin,"

"Thank you again father, we are in your debt," they step out of the office and make their way back home. Giving Kevin strict instructions to follow what his father had told him last night and to do what the priest instructs him to do, for only then will god forgive him and so would they.

A/N- I'm sorry but these are things I have personally had to hear all my life, from family, ex friends and people in society that thought it was their duty to help the "sinner" see the err