What You Were

Sitting up in bed, Michael stretched and gave a huge yawn.

Haven't slept that well in awhile.

Getting to his feet, he straightened and let his left hand scratch himself over his boxers. He wasn't really sure when he had taken off his clothes, but he did tend to sleep in his boxers, so he'd probably just kicked off his pants and tossed his shirt sometime during the night.

Oh well. What I need now is a shower. A nice, super hot shower. God does that sound so good.

Just the thought of the scalding water running between his shoulder blades made his body hurry its way into the bathroom, even though he was still half asleep.

Convenient, shower's already on.

Letting his boxers drop to the floor, he carefully stepped into the shower and drifted beneath the water. It would help him wake up eventually, but the first few minutes were just for relaxing.

"Enjoying my shower?"

Michael grunted incoherently.

"The soaps are right behind you on the ledge to the left."

Michael nodded sleepily and grabbed the black bottle of shampoo, clicking the cap open so that he could squirt a small amount onto his palm. Scrubbing his hair was his second favorite part of showering. Lifting his hands up over his head, Michael massaged the shampoo into his scalp, tilting his head back slowly as he worked, though he made sure to stop just before ducking it beneath the water.

"I've never seen anyone orgasm from washing their hair, but I suppose there's a first for everything."

"....heck yeah."

Michael was just leaning back to rinse out the soap when his eyes jerked open. That left him staring straight up at a very amused Church.

Michael's back was against the wall near the spigot in less than a second. He had ducked under the water to do it, but thankfully the soap was just running between his eyes and around the sides so that they didn't get burned, yet.

There were a lot of things he wanted to scream at the demon who was suddenly there. He also had a lot of questions. A lot of expletives, as well. And a lot of muscle... and that's a huge—"My face is up here, human."

Michael's cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree when he realized that he'd been staring at something he definitely shouldn't have been. It took a lot of effort to actually lift his eyes to meet Church's.

"What are doing in my apartment?" he finally asked, honestly confused as to why the demon was there.

The question was barely a whisper, but he was pretty sure that he could hear it, even with the shower running between them.

"Your apartment, hmm?"

Michael gave a confused nod at his nonchalance and replied quietly.

"Yeah?"

Michael's hands splayed against the cold tile behind him when Church leaned forward slightly.

"Take a look to the left."

He did as told, seeing the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles.

"Are those yours?" Church asked with a raised eyebrow.

Michael shook his head slowly from side to side even before he was able to process the fact that they weren't his soaps.

"Now, look to the right. Is that your shower curtain?"

Michael did what he said again, and found his head shaking once more while staring at the light brown curtain.

"Good. Now get the hell out of my shower before I throw you out," Church growled.

That threat seemed to snap Michael out of his sleepy daze enough to realize where he actually was, and who was in front of him. Wait. He's threatening me? He can't even touch me without getting burned. That thought put a smirk on Michael's face that Church clearly didn't like, if the sneer that took over the demon's was any indication.

With his smug grin firmly in place, Michael took a step closer, ducking back under the water for a second before emerging on the other side.

When he blinked his eyes open he couldn't help but feel a little bit of self-satisfaction. Church had had to move back in order to not touch him, and he didn't look happy about it, either.

"Aww here, let me wash your back," Michael said mischievously.

He grabbed a damp washcloth sitting on a soap-holder fastened to the tile as he spoke. Church snarled in response, which was expected, but when Michael lifted the cloth toward him, his right hand snapped forward and caught Michael's wrist... and it wasn't burning.

Church seemed just as shocked as he was since they both let out a surprised gasp at the same moment. Church, however, seemed to recover much faster as he leaned over, trying to intimidate him... and it kind of worked.

"Someone isn't quite as holy as they had been, hmm? Stared a bit too long at something they shouldn't... and perhaps, liked it?"

Michael's heart plummeted at his words. He did not want anything to do with him! Let alone in a sexual way! Before he could scream those words at him, though, the doorbell chimed through the apartment.

Michael couldn't help but look toward the slightly ajar bathroom door, but when he glanced back up at Church, he was still watching him, but also seemed to be listening, considering that his head was tilted slightly. After a tense minute the bell rang again and Church growled. Michael thought that he was going to throw him out like he had promised, but instead, he climbed out of the shower himself and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist as he stalked towards the door. Michael had noticed his palms were fairly red, so at least he wasn't completely able to touch him without consequences. It was good to know.

Taking the opportunity he'd been given, Michael quickly scrubbed the shampoo from his hair and jumped out of the shower. He couldn't find an extra towel, so he ended up running back to the bedroom, which he now knew was Church's, and pulled on his dirty pair of pants from the previous day.

Church really wasn't in the mood to be annoyed by anyone right then.

Why the hell are people here? he thought as he yanked open the door.

"What?"

There was no welcoming comfort from his voice in the least. In fact, it sounded more like an annoyed hiss over anything else.

The two men standing just outside held up badges, but they weren't quite dressed in full police uniform. Both had the shirt and tie on, but their pants were a tan color instead of the normal black or dark blue.

Giving a bored sigh, Church crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow.

"How can I help you, officers?"

One of them, a balding man who looked close to fifty or so with light brown hair, stepped forward and handed him a piece of paper. Hanna's picture smiled up at him from the piece of black and white paper, the words missing printed in huge font over the photo.

"We have information that this young boy has been living with you for some time."

Well, this is a pain in the ass I hadn't expected... nor wanted.

"Yes, he's here."

The other man, a red-head who looked like he ate all the doughnuts at the shop down the street, daily, responded with a cocky attitude that Church didn't particularly like.

"You have had him this whole time and you have not seen his information on the news or any newspapers with his photo on the front page?"

Incredulous much?

"Exactly. Sir, I'm an extremely busy person and I couldn't care less about television in most cases. I also do not bother with the newspaper as it is mostly political propaganda."

They both looked at each other, then back to him before the skinnier of the two pulled out a note pad and small pen.

"What is your name, sir?"

"Church Remaro."

The cops blinked, eyes widening as they recognized the name.

"Well then, Mr. Remaro. We would like to take Hanna into state custody now, since, to our knowledge, you two have no relation to each other. Please bring him to the door."

"As much as I'd like the kid out of my hair, he isn't exactly fond of people," Church replied without much enthusiasm.

They seemed to get annoyed with his response, but the more plump of the two just shrugged it off.

"The orphanage is used to handling shy children. Please bring him here."

There was an uneasy feeling crawling up the sides of Church's stomach as he forced a nod and turned, walking through the apartment towards Hanna's room. He had left the door open, figuring that the officers wouldn't bother trying to mess with him as long as he just did what they asked.

He found Hanna sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes to try and wake himself up.

"Hey there, Hanna."

The little boy looked up at him, his head full of dark red curls that somehow still managed to form a disgustingly cute halo around his head, even after a night of sleep.

"I Chej..."

Church smiled and leaned over, picking Hanna up when he reached his little arms towards his shoulders.

"There are some people here to meet you."

He had no doubt that the kid would freak out, but it was always better to give him a heads up so at least he knew what was coming. His eyes bugged out, bringing him to complete awareness before he hugged Church tightly.

"No, Chesh!"

"It's okay, I'll be right here. Be a good boy, please?"

His mop of curly red hair just shook from side to side as his nose brushed against Church's neck.

Of course not.

Instead of leaving him, Church just decided to carry him into the living room, then down the hall to stop at the open door. The officers looked relieved to see him.

"He looks very well taken care of. Thank you for keeping him safe."

"No problem."

The chubbier of the two men tried to reach forward and take Hanna, but the second his stubby fingers touched the boy's sides Hanna screamed and literally scrambled up Church's chest until he nearly had his legs wrapped around his neck.

"Yeah, I told you he doesn't like people."

Both men looked surprised.

"His family history says that he was an easygoing boy who loved attention."

"Yeah, well, whatever happened to him obviously changed that."

The taller officer rolled his eyes and reached for Hanna, but this time he held on when Hanna freaked, making the boy shout louder. Church had to admit, Hanna was a force to be reckoned with. The man managed to actually hold him for another few seconds before he was scratched and kicked. Church nearly snarled at him for letting Hanna fall when he landed a particularly hard hit, but he thankfully managed to catch him with his much-faster reflexes before he could get hurt. The second Church set him down on his feet Hanna was gone, no doubt hurrying to disappear under the large bed to hide.

"So, do I have to say it again? Cause, you know... he doesn't like people," Church said with a slightly sarcastic tone and raised eyebrows.

The men growled and shoved past him, getting a quiet grumble from Church before he followed after them. They found Hanna right where he knew he'd be, tucked way beneath his king-sized bed. He had used it as a hiding place the first few days, and had only come out to use the bathroom. He wouldn't even eat unless Church had pushed food under the bed.

The officers were already kneeling down by it but Church's attention was focused on Michael, who was standing off to the side looking a bit upset... and quite, damp.

Oops, only left one towel in the bathroom and I have it on.

"You need to get him out," one of the men said as he continued to look under the bed.

"Why does he have to go to the orphanage?" Michael asked, honestly surprising Church.

I would have thought that you were the one who had called them. Glad that I was wrong on that, at least.

The thinner man glared up at Michael for his question.

"Because he's an orphan?"

That, in turn, pissed Michael off even more.

"Got that part, but why can't he just stay here until he's a little more comfortable with people? It's not like Church is going to randomly vanish with his huge company here and Hanna is obviously in good health. He just needs time to get better with people again."

Aww, what a terrible priest. I approve.

The bigger man stood, followed by his partner. They both looked frustrated but ended up sighing.

"Fine. We now have this place's address and we have checked that the boy is not being abused but does clearly need time to reacclimate to other people. Are you doing anything to help him with that?"

Michael spoke up again, allowing Church to simply listen.

"Yes. We're taking him to church and he seems to really enjoy it. He even played with another boy there, but still isn't good with adults yet."

The slim officer wrote a few things down on his notepad and then tucked it into his back pocket.

"Alright. We'll be back periodically to check on him, and when he's ready to go into foster care or be adopted, we'll be back to pick him up. You are responsible for his healthcare for the time being. If you need financial assistance please contact the orphanage."

Church nodded, knowing that he wouldn't need any kind of help with money.

"Okay. We're leaving then, so we don't stress him out any further. We'll be in touch."

Church nodded again before seeing them out. The second the door was shut he snarled loudly and stalked toward his room. Dropping to his knees by the bed, Church opened his arms and called to Hanna.

"Come here, Hanna. They're gone. Chesh wants a hug."

The little boy was suddenly in his arms, wailing away even though the evil people had already gone. He could also feel a growing wet spot where his hand was resting, holding up the little boy's backside.

Of course.

"Want to take a bubble bath, Hanna?"

He didn't nod or shake his head, still too busy crying to bother with an answer.

I'll just take that as a yes.

Carrying him into the bathroom, Church got the water running with his free hand and then set Hanna down on his feet so that he could help get his soiled clothing off.

"I-I sowwy I poddy."

"It's okay. Hanna, look at me."

It took him a minute before he could meet Church's eyes. When he did, Church smiled and leaned forward to press a little kiss to his nose.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you, Hanna."

He sniffled as Church finally managed to get his wet pants off, which he was pretty sure the kid had slept in, again. Tossing the pants aside, he got his boxers off, then followed them with his shirt. When Church turned back towards the bath it was already half-full and bubbles were beginning to rise above the water.

Huh, Michael must have put the soap in.

He noticed that he was sitting on the toilet seat with the little bottle of bubble bath in his hand. Giving him a slight nod, Church carefully lifted Hanna into the warm bath. He wasn't a huge fan of getting clean, but he did love himself a good bubble bath once in awhile... but Church hated them. There was really no soap in the bubbles so he always ended up fighting them off just to scrub him enough to call it cleaning.

"He doesn't have any bath toys?"

Glancing sideways, Church raised a brow at Michael.

"No."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he just leaned over and handed Church the body wash he used for Hanna. It was gentler on skin then his own was, making it perfect for the younger boy. Church cleaned him as fast as he could while Hanna played with the bubbles, his towel dropping from his waist with the constant movement. He paid it no mind, however, as he gently lifted Hanna out of the water and Michael unplugged the tub so that the water could drain.

Church expected him to stay and help, then come to work with him, but when he walked out a moment later, Church's lips turned down into a slight frown as he started drying Hanna. Michael was walking towards the door, fully dressed in what he had been wearing the day before, less than two minutes later.

"Where are you going?" Church called out to him.

Michael stopped for a moment but refused to turn around as he shouted his reply back.

"Confession!"

Then the door slammed shut, leaving Church with a lopsided smirk on his face.