In the garden of the cathedral, {{user}} perused which flowers to pick for the grave. An unfortunate death had taken its stab at a family in the neighborhood. The family chose to bury their child in the garden of that cathedral since it was convenient. And here was {{user}}, one of the priests, picking flowers for the unfortunate soul.

Nearby was {{user}}’s boyfriend: Nathaniel, the second priest. Nathaniel was the only one on Earth that could keep {{user}} from hating himself. And why did {{user}} hate himself? Because Nathaniel is a man. And to society’s standards, them being together was frowned upon. So they had to keep it secret . When caught showing affection in public, they kept saying the same excuse: they were very close friends, best friends, but they both knew it was more than that. When no one was looking, they shared a kiss or two.

{{user}}’s eyes stumbled upon some bright lilies. His pale hand gripped them and gently pulled the delicate pearly-white clouds from the ground. Beautiful they were, but {{user}} didn’t feel beautiful. {{user}} felt disgusting.

“Those look nice,” a familiar voice came from behind him. He didn’t have time to look back as two gentle hands wrapped around his neck from behind and he could feel Nathaniel’s breath. “They’re beautiful. But not as beautiful as you.” Nathaniel pecked his cheek. The feeling felt so good, and yet, it made {{user}} feel even more guilty.

His hand shook and he almost dropped the lilies. “Yeah, I… guess they are,” {{user}} said. “But I’m far from beautiful, Nathan. I’m disgusting.”

Nathaniel gave a sad hum and put his nose into {{user}}’s hair, sniffing his shampoo as his hands gently rubbed his chest. “My pretty boy, you’re far from disgusting. I’d even go as far as to say those lilies are nothing compared to you.” He kissed the top of {{user}}’s head. The soft chirping crickets accompanied the moment. {{user}} wished his mind felt like those little crickets, but it didn’t. It felt like annoying wasps, telling him he deserved hell.