promuseboxing | (no subject)

In the aftermath of saving Harper from her mother, Marcus suggests they take a break. Not forever, but long enough for them to lick their wounds and steel their hearts for the next trial that awaits them. Maybe he sees the exhaustion nipping at the edges of Tomas’s spirit. Or perhaps it's that Marcus himself is tired of sleeping in the truck as they trade shifts on the long journey to their next destination. Whatever his reasons are he keeps them to himself. Tomas agrees and they find a quiet town with a nice motel that won’t demolish their funds, close enough that they can go to Harper if she needs them.

The town is small, a bit off the beaten path but lovely all the same. Plenty of shops to visit as well as what looks to be an active church congregation going by the festival happening in the park beside the church. For a while, Tomas trails after Marcus as they pick up supplies, half distracted as his eyes keep straying toward the festivities. It reminds him of Saint Anthony's, setting off an aching homesickness that always seems to be waiting to hit him at the least opportune moment. Marcus finally waves him off after they finish putting their bags into the truck, telling him he'll catch up after he investigates the music store they passed. Tomas can already see new cassette tapes in their future.

He finds out as he wanders through, looking at the stalls and stands that the fair is to help raise money for the church's roof which has been in need of repair for several months now. It doesn't take long for Tomas to be drawn to the bake sale table, chatting with a few locals as he tries to decide what to buy. The congregation isn't Catholic but the spirit is familiar enough that Tomas finds himself at ease as he makes his picks. A few chocolate pastries for himself and some jam tarts he's started to recognize as Marcus's favorite.

"What brings you out this way?"

"We were passing through and decided to spend a few days resting. The town is lovely."

"With your wife? You chose a great time to stop in, the weather is amazing this time of year."

"Oh, no. I don't have a wife. I'm traveling with my partner, he ought to be around soon."

"How wonderful!"

The conversation continued on amicably, Tomas asking about local landmarks and restaurants they could visit. Gossip that he has no stake in but listens to anyway, letting the words wash over him like the tide. He tells a few stories from Chicago, editing enough details to keep everything anonymous. When the subject very suddenly turns to a crazy news story about a pair of priests kidnapping a woman just one state over it feels like a bucket of ice water has been dumped over his head. He quietly thanks every saint watching over him that he had left his clerical clothes at the bottom of his bag, that he's dressed in plain clothes that hint at nothing special. The words leave him off-kilter, fumbling to catch up as the conversation continues without him.

When he spots Marcus making his way over there's no disguising the relief on his face. He takes two steps over to meet him, opening his mouth to say they ought to leave when one of the women speaks up, sounding absolutely delighted.

"This must be your husband! I'm sorry-- partner." At Tomas's look of helpless surprise, the woman winks at him. "You don't need to worry, honey. We aren't the sort of folks who care about who a person loves."

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Marcus can't help it, his eyebrows shoot up in question at the woman calling them husbands -- no, partners -- and he thinks he can see how this mistake happened but. Well. It's actually good for their cover, honestly. Who would suspect a couple to be priests?

A slow smile spreads over Marcus' face, though the 'what the fuck' of it all isn't completely gone. He can play it off as surprise as he comes to a stop at Tomas' side, catching the other man's desperate 'go with it' look... don't worry, Tomas, he's going with it. Perhaps more than you'd like. He drapes an arm over Tomas' shoulders easily, looking back to the gossipy church ladies.

"Glad to hear that, madam, it's just lovely to meet you. Have you been keeping him entertained for me?"

The arm thrown over his shoulder is the least surprising part of this and Tomas does his best to smile and lean into Marcus like they do this all the time. Which... isn't actually a stretch, since Marcus is so physical all the time. He even manages to casually put an arm around Marcus's waist to try and sell the act a little more.

"Oh he's been just lovely."

"These ladies were just telling me something interesting." Does he dare try to do a pet name? No. No. Even if the women believe it he knows Marcus will never stop teasing him. "They said that there are two priests running around, kidnapping people." Catch the hint, Marcus. There's stories spreading too fast for comfort.

Tomas, Marcus is about three miles down the road ahead of you. He gives a slightly different surprised look, one that Tomas can tell is feigned but the women cannot, as it's extremely convincing.

"Priests? That doesn't seem very... what's the word, ladies, help me. Not godlike, but there has to be a commandment against that, yes?"

"Well it certainly isn't holy behavior!"

"I don't think 'thou shalt not kidnap' is in the bible." Tomas chuckles, suddenly grateful for all those times he had to keep his composure even when his parishioners were being absurd. "Perhaps it falls under the one about not stealing?" Both women giggle, buying their act. It's strange, two priests pretending they know nothing about the commandments. Still, this is the last subject he wants to deal with and he reaches for any distraction he can.

In this case, jam tarts. Tomas offers the box to Marcus. "I found those tarts you like so much, that's what kept me so long." And doesn't that make Tomas seem like such a good partner? The women both look charmed by his thoughtfulness.

Marcus laughs as well, partly to sell it and partly because he actually is amused by both the comment and the direction this ruse is taking. They can discuss whether or not the commandments should have had some more blanket-esque statements to account for such interpretations... although God does tend to shy away from vagaries at that point in history.

He accepts the box and this time the surprise in his voice is actually genuine, though the expression is more subtle. Of course Tomas noticed -- they know how the other takes his coffee at this point, why not favorite foods? But he's still surprised... no one's ever cared enough to remember such things before.

"Well that certainly makes up for having to hunt you down in this fair. Very thoughtful, darling. Shall we go?" At Tomas' nod he turns back to the church ladies and delivers, smooth as silk, "And you all have a fantastic day now."

With that he steers Tomas back towards the car and lets go so they don't fumble the walk back arm in arm -- that sort of thing takes practice to not look awkward. No, he just steps forward and lets his arm slip away naturally, catching Tomas' hand instead until they reach their truck. Inside, slipping the key into the ignition, he smirks.

"That was interesting."

Of everything that's happened so far perhaps the hand holding is the least surprising thing to happen. Marcus is always so physical that Tomas is used to a gentle hand patting his cheek or curling around the base of his neck to ground him after a rough exorcism. He knows the shape of those hands intimately and there's nothing easier than interlocking their fingers until they reach the car, studiously avoiding the subject until they have the privacy to discuss it without an audience.

He's even more studious in ignoring that smirk, resisting the urge to slouch down in his seat.

"Interesting is a word."

As far as cover went, being married was new. At the very least no one will immediately associate two priests on the run with a supposed gay couple vacationing in the pacific northwest. Still, he knows being memorable to anyone doesn't help their cause.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into that. I misspoke when I was talking to them." And isn't it just typical that Marcus has had to once again clean up after one of Tomas's messes? Not even a bake sale is safe from disaster.

"Oh, I can full well see how it happened, but it's not a bad cover at all. Maybe we should keep it. And are these actually jam tarts?"

Marcus takes a moment before starting the car to peek into the box, and sure enough there are his favorite treats inside. There was an equal chance Tomas was bluffing, but no. He actually was that thoughtful, the little shit.

His smirk only broadens as he repeats, more teasingly this time, "Very thoughtful, darling, thank you." The box gets closed again, and he's turning the key now. "Should we find some real dinner before going back to the motel?"

That smirk draws Tomas out of his sulk as he rolls his eyes at the teasing pet name. He may eat one of the tarts out of spite now, possibly the very last one just to see what sort of face Marcus makes when he does.

"Food sounds like an excellent plan. I think I saw a diner not far from the motel." A diner was a safe choice for their next meal, even with their funds running a little tight. Bennett hasn't sent anymore money their way which means Tomas may need to find a way to access his savings if they are to continue their work.

Maybe we should keep it.

The thoughts turn over in his head as Marcus pulls out of the parking lot and out to the road. "And if we are keeping that story I think we need rings, darling." At least they won't need to think of false names thanks to the fake IDs that Bennett provided for them.

Marcus remembers the place Tomas is referring to, and nods as he pulls away from the curb to head back that way. Dinner's the easy part of this. They need to discuss their next move, if they're going to try and meet up with their people or continue as they have been on the run alone, helping whoever they can. He knows there's more at stake than one soul at a time, but they could probably both use a break. They just can't lay low for long, with their cash dwindling.

"Rings, hmm? There's something I never thought I'd be shopping for, but you did say partner. We might get away with saying we just aren't married yet. Or we're just living in sin, that's about as far from priests as you can get."

He turns right on the road back to their motel, scanning for the diner. It should be coming right up.

Edited 2019-05-13 23:56 (UTC)

Their work is so important, yet Tomas chafes at how slow it can be. Brick by brick they are trying to disassemble the edifice that the demons gave built and it feels like for everyone one they remove three more replace it. But there's still a bone-deep ache of tiredness in Tomas, especially after Harper's mother did her level best to cave in his skull with a hammer.

They need this break. It feels good to banter over things that don't involve someone's immortal soul. No lectures about risk-taking. Just... a very strange situation.

"Fair enough." A marriage could complicate things as well. People could poke at their story for holes. Better to let them fill in the gaps with their assumptions so that they could tell as few lies as possible. "At least they were pleasant about it." So many people used god as an excuse to hate, it left a sour taste in his mouth.

He spots the diner, pointing it out as Marcus. "Hopefully their coffee isn't terrible." After the day they've had, Tomas would kill for a decent cup of coffee. Too many cups of subpar gas station brews has left him craving something better.