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Marcus walked down the stairs slowly, letting the crowd flow around him like he was a rock in a fast-moving river. The Christmas Eve “midnight” mass had been solemn, but the further the parishioners got from the sanctuary, the more animated their conversations became. Marcus was a stranger to them and while a few curious glances were sent his way, no one really tried to engage him.
Tomas, on the other hand, was another story.
The younger man had opted to attend the mass without his collar, a choice that had caused Marcus to raise an eyebrow, but not comment. Even without knowing he was a priest, members of the congregation were more welcoming of Tomas and Marcus smiled as he watched Tomas fend off two different invitations for Christmas dinner. It wasn’t just that Tomas was drop dead gorgeous, although that didn’t hurt, but people responded to Tomas’ innate goodness instinctively. Marcus couldn’t blame them for that, not when he had the same reaction.
Bennett didn’t have an exorcism for them and the two men had found themselves in Indianapolis with too much time on their hands and an emotionally-laden holiday rapidly approaching. The first few days they’d both slept, but eventually they’d caught up on their rest. Bennett wanted them to keep a low profile and so they didn’t leave the motel much. By an unspoken agreement, they avoided the subject of the church in general and exorcisms specifically.
The last couple of days had been filled with sleeping, watching television and debating the relative merits of various soccer teams. Marcus had done some sketching, while Tomas had indulged in jogging every day. The time had gone quickly, easily even, which was a rare occurrence for Marcus. He didn’t get downtime often and never had someone to share it with. It was strange, but a strangeness that he could get used to all too easily.
Suddenly it was Christmas Eve.
There was no question about attending mass, it was a given for both men, even if they hadn’t been able to observe the Advent before Christmas as much as they would have liked. They’d picked a church at random and sat in the back. That had suited Marcus well at the time, but now that mass was over and he saw how Tomas was interacting with other people, he wondered if it had been the best choice for the priest. Tomas was far more a people person than Marcus. Seeing Tomas with a congregation, even if it wasn’t his own, reminded Marcus of just how much the younger man had given up.
“Sorry,” Tomas was sheepish when he met Marcus at the car.
Marcus had arrived a several moments earlier and was leaning against the vehicle, watching with amusement as Tomas extricated himself from an elderly woman who was clearly reluctant to let him leave.
“I think I should be the one to apologize,” Marcus smirked. “She was a cheek pincher. I should have come rescue you.”
Tomas laughed softly. “No worries, I’ve encountered her type before. Shall we head out?”
Marcus tilted his head, indicating where the church’s priest was still talking to parishioners. “We can stay and talk shop if you’d like.”
“I don’t like,” Tomas’ answer was quick and firm, but his tone gentled when he realized that he’d startled Marcus. “If we introduce ourselves as visiting priests, then we’ll have to say why we’re here and that will lead to questions. Bennett told us to lie low, remember?”
Like Marcus often did as he was told.
“One priest, remember?” Marcus’ tone was gently mocking. Tomas took Marcus’ excommunication a lot less seriously than Marcus did. Not that the younger man didn’t sympathize, he just tended to refuse to believe that the church could declare Marcus’ vows invalid. Tomas, as he’d proven to Marcus too often, wasn’t one for strictly following rules either. Marcus wouldn’t mind so much, if it weren’t Marcus’ completely logical suggestions regarding his own safety that Tomas often ignored.
Tomas shrugged. “The number of priests makes no difference and you know it. If Father Greg becomes aware of us, he’ll be obliged to play host and he’s got enough on his hands right now.”
Marcus would have to take Tomas’ word for it. He’d been an exorcist before he’d worn the collar and had never been assigned the duties of a regular priest.
“Where to now?” Marcus asked instead. “Are you hungry?”
The church they’d chosen held its “midnight” mass at 7 pm. That was a little too early for Marcus’ taste, but he had to admit that it made it easier for the younger – and older – members of the congregation to participate. It also meant that they might be able to find a restaurant that was still open.
“Famished.”
They ended up in the ultimate Christmas restaurant cliché – Chinese. Tomas didn’t seem to mind and neither did Marcus. The atmosphere was surprisingly congenial. Marcus had spent many a holiday meal as an anonymous customer in an unfamiliar restaurant, but never had he seen a spontaneous Christmas singalong happen. Tomas didn’t start it, but he participated. Marcus didn’t, but neither did he make a sarcastic comment about it, which for him, was pretty much the same thing. Tomas, showing an uncharacteristic survival instinct, didn’t press the issue.
When they got back to their hotel, Tomas claimed the shower. Marcus’ mellow mood lasted just long enough for the door to close behind the other man. Without Tomas’ warm presence, Marcus realized how dingy the room actually was. He’d tried to warn Tomas about the hardships on the road, but Marcus doubted that Tomas had been prepared to be so far from his family on Christmas, celebrating in an unfamiliar church and eating at a restaurant with a bunch of strangers.
Reminding himself that Tomas was a grown man and responsible for his own decisions hadn’t done much to assuage Marcus’ guilt. He changed into his night clothes, but then sat on the edge of the bed facing the bathroom, deep in thought.
Caught up in his own thoughts and guilt, Marcus missed the sound of the water turning off. The first clue he had that Tomas was finished was the light and humid air spilling out of the bathroom.
“If it weren’t sacrilegious, I’d thank the lord for the water pressure in this place,” Tomas announced as reentered the main room. “It’s better than my apartment in Chicago.”
Marcus winced. Tomas was probably wishing he was in Chicago.
“What’s wrong?”
The concern in Tomas’ voice caused Marcus to look up. As he did, he barely held back a groan. Tomas was wearing knit sleep pants and a t-shirt so old that soccer team logo could barely be made out on it. Worse, Tomas had toweled his hair dry without combing it down, leaving a curly mop that was as unruly as the other man could be. In short, Tomas was beautiful. Or, more beautiful than usual, since as far as Marcus was concerned, even covered in filth during an exorcism, Tomas was always breathtaking.
“Marcus?”
Until Tomas said his name. Marcus hadn’t realized that he’d just been staring. He shook himself out of his stupor.
“I was just thinking what a letdown this all must be,” Marcus gestured to include himself and the room they were in. “Watching the priest in that church tonight… it should have been you addressing your parish, spending the holiday with your family.”
Tomas didn’t answer right away, instead moving to sit on the bed across from the one Marcus was perched on. The two beds were so close that their knees touched.
“This is the best Christmas I’ve had since,” Tomas paused to think for a moment. “Before seminary, that’s for sure.”
Marcus looked at him skeptically. “Pull the other one, mate. I know you’d prefer to be home for Christmas.”
Tomas shook his head emphatically. “I’m doing the work that God called me to. Righteous work.”
He paused for a moment, as if he were searching for his words. Since words weren’t always the easiest for Marcus either, he stayed quiet until Tomas was ready to speak again.
“Serving a parish is God’s work too, being the shepherd and spreading the word,” Tomas eventually continued. “But it’s also making sure that the church elders aren’t offended by the younger attendees wearing jeans to mass, or trying to get funding so that the choir can afford to buy sheet music, or shoveling the front walk in the winter. Sometimes it feels like the work of God gets buried beneath a blanket of pettiness.”
Marcus looked at the younger man, a realization slowly dawning over him as Tomas spoke. “Not wanting to talk to the priest tonight had nothing to do with laying low – you were playing hooky.”
He knew he was right by the way that Tomas blushed and smiled sheepishly. The younger man looked downright boyish as he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s been a long time since I haven’t had the responsibilities of a congregation at Christmas.”
“What about Olivia and Luis?” Marcus asked. He knew he was as idiot for questioning the fact that Tomas seemed to be content with the direction his life had turned, but he couldn’t help but poking for more answers. “Don’t you miss being at home?”
Tomas’ expression got serious. “Home is where you are.”
Marcus blinked. “Say what?”
“I’m doing the work that I was born to do,” Tomas stated, his gaze catching Marcus’ and refusing to let go.. “And I’m doing it with the man that I’m meant to do it with.”
Tomas put a hand on each of Marcus’ knees. The warmth touch bled right through the thin cotton of Marcus’ sleep pants like it wasn’t even there. He stared down for a moment, half expecting Tomas’ hands to be glowing red. They weren’t, of course. When Marcus looked back up, Tomas had leaned forward until his face was inches from Marcus’ own. Like his hands, Tomas’ eyes seemed full of heat.
Moving slowly, Tomas brought his lips to Marcus, giving the older man a chance to stop him. Marcus didn’t. At the first tentative touch of Tomas’ lips against his, Marcus’ eyes filled with tears at the gentleness. Tenderness wasn’t something that Marcus had a lot of in his life.
After the kiss ended, Tomas rested his forehead against Marcus’. “I’m home when I’m with you,” he repeated.
“Tomas, this is not wise,” Marcus made himself say, although his heart wasn’t really in it.
“No, but it’s what is right,” Tomas answered.
“I’ll not be responsible for you losing your collar,” Marcus warned. He tried to move away from the younger man, but couldn’t make his body move. “You’ll be excommunicated too if we’re caught.”
“So we won’t get caught.” Tomas was flippant at first, but then became more serious. “Jessica led me away from God, you lead me towards him. Besides, the new pope is talking of letting priests marry.”
Marcus smirked. “I don’t think this is what he has in mind.”
“I know this is what you want too, don’t try to deny it.”
Tomas started to get up, but almost before Marcus knew the younger man was moving, he’d grabbed Tomas by the wrist. With an inexorable pull, he drew Tomas close again and leaned forward to take Tomas’ mouth in another kiss, this one as passionate as their first had been gentle. In fact, it was borderline savage as Marcus surged forward. He kept kissing Tomas as he pushed him back, until Tomas was on his back on the mattress, with Marcus straddling him.
When he finally released Tomas lips, Marcus sat back and smirked again. “Did that seem like I was trying to deny anything?”
Tomas eyes were dark. “No.”
Marcus reached forward and cupped Tomas’ face. “If we do this, Tomas, you’ll have to be more careful than you are with demons. I’ll not be the reason that you ruin your career.”
“I’m always careful; I just don’t always agree with you,” Tomas retorted. When Marcus listed one eyebrow in obvious skepticism, he sighed. “Where you’re concerned, I’m careful.”
Marcus sighed and rolled off Tomas so that he could lie next to him on the bed. “I guess that’s as good as I’m going to get.”
Tomas smiled, but managed not to be too smug about it. “Can we share a bed tonight?”
“As long as it’s just sleep,” Marcus shifted uncomfortably. “It might take some time to teach this old dog some new tricks.”
“I hate to tell you this,” Tomas blushed. “But this dog needs to learn new tricks too.”
Marcus stared at Tomas in disbelief for a moment and then laughed. “Aren’t we a pair?”
“We certainly are,” Tomas said with some satisfaction. He moved closer to Marcus and pillowed his head against the older man’s’ chest.
Marcus reached up and began 1to stroke Tomas’ hair. Tomas made a noise of contentment and snuggled closer. Marcus’ mind was working fast. The evening hadn’t worked out even remotely the way he’d thought it would. Instead of potentially losing Tomas to going back to Chicago, he found that there was reason to believe that he wouldn’t lose Tomas at all.
At least, not to anything of this world.
Remembering the way that Tomas recklessly threw himself at any and every demon they encountered, Marcus pulled Tomas close. The younger man was already half asleep and made a vague sound of contentment. Marcus resolved to protect Tomas, from both demons and the possible outcomes of his own courage.
“Merry Christmas,” Marcus kissed Tomas softly on the forehead. “Thank you.”
The life of an exorcist was not an easy one, but now, at least, Marcus no longer had to lead it alone.
~the end~