Post-canon PSL

[buenpastor]

[ it's been over a year since the rances, months now since the vatican officially sanctioned tomas as an exorcist, twelve days since they— because it's they, even if marcus isn't officially working for the church. twelve days since bennett sent them to vienna, to see to a young man named jakob who'd been hearing voices.

marcus had warned tomas about the dangers of complacency, and tomas understood why now; they'd done two exorcisms since casey, and they'd both been simple in comparison. the demons hadn't taken tomas seriously.

this recent one had. there's a learning curve to becoming a good exorcist, or so marcus kept saying, and he'd let tomas fight the demon up until it became a danger to the host, then he'd stepped in.

god likes it better when they work together; the words flow more easily, their voices join in as one. tomas knows he can be strong on his own. with marcus he feels unbeatable.

they have a room in jakob's house, it's a single bed and a bathroom that have seen very little use since their arrival. when jakob's eyes clear up and his voice is his own again, after niceties are exchanged; thank yous, a doctor is called, the family reassured. tomas and marcus go to that little room and close the door behind them.

once they call bennett he'll have them on a plane outside the country within hours, but it's late and they can afford a few hours to take a breather. ]

Comments

[buenpastor]

It was an accident.

[ this is... so much food... he has no idea of where to start. he looks at marcus in confusion before grabbing some bacon. ]

This is for both of us, right?

[missio]

It is, it is.

[ he has a shirt and boxers on, by the way. it’s dangerous to cook naked.

he’s slouching low against the headboard with a piece of bacon, chewing. ]

Did I ever tell you I used to smoke?

[buenpastor]

You didn't, but that's very like you.

[ he's actually pretty hungry, so he digs in with gusto once marcus confirms he's also eating. ]

Why did you stop?

[missio]

I was never that bad, but hardly infrequent. Smoke breaks on the job since I was perhaps nineteen. And then some years later I submitted to carnal appetites. It was a curious time for it, the late eighties, early nineties. You was just born round then.

[ he does know tomas’ birthday, after all, had read it on his license quite without his permission. also he’s eating much more slowly, probably because he’s the type to pick at the fixings while he’s cooking. ]

His Holiness John Paul II issued his condemnation of condom use in ‘89. I believe it was the same year I first started in with blokes. And near the zenith of the AIDS epidemic. Curious time for sexual misadventure, near unjustifiable time to be a Catholic priest.

[ he picks apart bacon strips as he speaks. there’s an uncanny matter-of-factness in his tone and body language. ]

I figured the job was rough enough without putting my life in the bin on my own bloody time, so it’s been condoms, no smoking, and floaties in the ocean ever since.

[buenpastor]

[ tomas slows down to pay attention. marcus doesn't usually volunteer information about himself without a reason and tomas is always interested.

he's not entirely sure of where marcus is going until he brings up the AIDS epidemic. tomas remembers that well enough; god punishing sinners, according to his religion teacher. ]

So, is this your way of turning down barebacking preemptively?

[ he knows it's a serious conversation, and that this is maybe him not approaching it with enough gravity. but, well. he's pretty sure marcus wouldn't expect him to know the term barebacking and making him choke is always super entertaining. ]

[missio]

[ he pauses, at length, bacon halfway in his mouth, chewing slowing to a stop and expression crinkling in something between bewilderment and ????????

after a long moment he swallows.

c r i t i c a l l y s l o w l y ]

I. Haven’t ruled it out.

[buenpastor]

[ tomas looks very proud of himself, still eating like he did't just say the thing. ]

If you're concerned at all we could get tested.

[ tomas himself isn't worried at all, but he doesn't think marcus would risk it and he would like to try sex without a condom. so he's just being practical here. ]

[missio]

[ … blankly … ]

We could …

[buenpastor]

[ what, what did i do. ]

Sorry, is this too fast? I thought this is were you meant to go with that conversation.

[missio]

Not so directly, no.

[ he wipes his hands on a napkin and settles back against the headboard again, contemplative. ]

But--

[ wow this is surprisingly difficult to say for reasons of I Am Not Good At Feelings ]

I don’t have plans to sleep with anyone else.

[buenpastor]

[ godddd he's leaning over to kiss him. his old cranky boyfriend is so cute and dumb. ]

[missio]

[ ahhhhahaha this is the closest to flustered as marcus ever gets ever, which is Basically Never.

but like, the most intimate word he’s used to refer to tomas has been colleague. the idea of being in a relationship is very puzzling.

kissing back, hesitantly. ]

[buenpastor]

I thought exclusivity was a given.

[ he kisses him again, very sweetly. ]

[missio]

[ marcus frowns a little. it’s mostly puzzled, and mostly at himself, his hand coming up over tomas’ face. (he’s careful with the scratch that still curves its way down.) ]

I haven’t thought about it, exactly.

[ mostly because if he did, he’s fairly certain that tomas could, you know, land a better deal. arguably celibacy is a better deal than marcus keane, he’s literally that much trouble. ]

[buenpastor]

We've been practically married for a year.

[ he's frowning at marcus now. trying to figure out what's wrong. ]

Are you okay?

[missio]

[ that doesn't sound accurate, but marcus doesn't know enough about marriage to dispute it. ]

Yeah. Lots to think about.

[buenpastor]

[ he's trying very hard to pinpoint the problem here, since there's obviously one. ]

Are you uncomfortable with the idea of defining our relationship?

[missio]

[ why can't u let an old man be old ]

I'm alright, Tomas.

[ ??? ]

It's rather uncharted territory. That's all.

[buenpastor]

[ I JUST HAD A COCK IN MY ASS. YOU DON'T GET TO BE THE NOT OKAY ONE. ]

Are you sure?

[missio]

Yeah, yeah. I just--

[ he's still touching tomas' face. ]

They way I feel about you. Is unprecedented.

[buenpastor]

[ oh no. now tomas is having Feelings too. this is terrible. ]

... oh. Okay.

[missio]

And I'm not exactly a poet.

[ or a romantic to begin with. ]

[buenpastor]

You could've fooled me. I've seen your art.

[missio]

[ marcus' face cracks into a grin. ]

That's not comparable.

[buenpastor]

I don't know. I think you can say just a much with a picture.