Two weeks later…
Marcus stealthily climbed through the broken front window of the motel, looking around cautiously as he took in the chaos left behind by what looked like a massive fight. There were overturned chairs, broken planters, bullet holes sprayed over the walls and maps, coupon books and attraction booklets torn and strewn around on the floor and blowing out of the open window.
Marcus cocked his head as he took notice of a thick trail of dark blood that led from the lobby around to the back of the front desk and he cautiously followed it.
"Oh God…" he startled in surprise as he immediately dropped his bag from his shoulder and rushed to where Mouse sat, leaning lazily against the back of the desk. The center of the white tee under her flannel shirt was darkened with blood and more blood pooled down around her hips and legs.
Mouse coughed and closed her eyes in relief when she saw her old mentor and lowered the gun she had raised in his direction, letting it clatter onto the tile next to her.
Marcus quickly pulled his hunter green long sleeve shirt over his head as he kneeled at her side and balled it up before pressing it to her wound.
"Marcus…" she whispered, her eyes filling with tears and her voice breaking, "I'm—I'm sorry…"
"Shhh…" Marcus soothed her as he held the shirt to her wound with one hand and brought the other up to brush her cheek
"Bennett—" she choked, then coughed again, "He's—he's been compromised. He's one of them now. We—thought—Tomas thought he could-"
Marcus squinted his eyes in pained sympathy as he watched her struggle and choke and cough up blood before she weakly continued, "Tomas wanted to try to reach him—"
"Where is he?" Marcus asked worriedly, "Where's Tomas?"
"I left him in our room- 114. I came out here when I heard the gunshots—the Vatican protectorate," Mouse sighed weakly, "They found us. They killed the hotel manager. He's in the back room."
Marcus suddenly looked around anxiously, but Mouse said, "They're gone and they took Bennett."
"I couldn't get back to Tomas," Mouse whimpered as she closed her eyes in pain and tried to adjust herself against the back of the desk, "I don't know how long it's been—"
"Shh…." Marcus shook his head, "Don't worry. I'll go to him. But, first, we need to get you help—"
Mouse limply raised her hand and placed it over his where it still rested on her cheek.
"No," she whispered, her eyes dulling as she met his, and Marcus knew that she knew she was beyond the skill of any doctor, "Forget me. Help Tomas. He needs you, Marcus."
"Mouse—" Marcus' started
"Marcus…." she insisted, "I'm at peace with this. All I ever wanted was to do was be an exorcist and help people and I have you to thank for that," she coughed, "I forgave you long ago, I hope you know that..."
Marcus pulled their entwined hands from her face and kissed her palm
"Go, Marcus," Mouse coughed again, looking down to where he still held the shirt against her stomach, then whispered as she looked up again and met his gaze, "This next part I have to do alone."
#####################
There was a loud crash and the splintering of wood as Marcus kicked in the door to room 114.
He sucked in a breath when he took in the sight of Father Tomas Ortega lying flat on the bed, his arms and legs tied to the four posts. He was dressed only in a white undershirt and black pants and his feet were bare.
Tomas' eyes were rolled back in his head as he lay rigid and unmoving, obviously in a trance. He must still be trying to reach Bennett. Mouse had tied him to the bed to protect him and herself in case things got out of hand.
"Oh…Tomas…" Marcus whispered, his eyes softening as he moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over Tomas to untie his wrists, then moved down to the end of the bed and untied his feet.
As he moved back to Tomas' side, Tomas whimpered and Marcus took his face into his hands and said softly, "Tomas, it's me—it's Marcus. Can you hear me? I need to you to wake up, Tomas. Please…Listen to my voice. Come back to me."
Suddenly, Tomas started convulsing on the bed and Marcus closed his eyes as he brought Tomas' head to his chest and held him as he recited out loud.
"And when he came to the den, the King cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel," Marcus said, his voice breaking, "'Daniel, O, Daniel, servant of the living God. Is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?'"
After a moment, Tomas began to still, his body slacking into Marcus and Marcus took in a sharp breath of relief, then continued, resting his chin on the crown of Tomas' head, "Then said Daniel unto the King, 'O, King, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions' mouth, that they have not hurt me. For as much as before him, innocence was found in me, and before thee, O King, have I done no hurt.'"
######################
Time seemed to pass too slowly as Marcus laid on the hotel bed, trying to will Tomas out of his trance with every passage from the Bible he could think of.
Somehow, in his heart, he knew that he just needed to keep talking so that Tomas could follow his voice out of wherever he was.
"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications," Marcus whispered as he lay on the bed next to Tomas, turned on his side and holding the younger man's face in his hands as he searched his face for any sign that he was coming out of his trance state, "If thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared—"
Suddenly, Tomas gasped and his dark brown eyes rolled forward and widened when they saw Marcus in front of him.
"It is you…" he said softly, searching Marcus' eyes, then lurching forward and embracing Marcus in a hug, "I—I heard your voice in the darkness. I thought it couldn't be real."
Marcus sighed and closed his eyes in relief as he felt Tomas' heart beating against his chest as he tightened their embrace.
"It's real," Marcus whispered
####################
"Thank you," Marcus said softly to the paramedic as he climbed down from the back of the ambulance where two covered stretchers were loaded side by side. One of them held Mouse's body, the other the hotel manager.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder as the paramedic shut the doors and the lights flashed without a siren as it pulled away.
Marcus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he turned back and started walking toward where Tomas was sitting on the back step of a second ambulance with a shock blanket wrapped around him.
Marcus nodded to the female paramedic as she pulled her stethoscope out of her ears and took her hand from Tomas' wrist, where she was taking his pulse.
"Your heart rate is coming down, Father," she smiled, "I think you should be fine. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and get some rest."
She picked up a clipboard from where it lay on the bumper next to him, "If you could just sign this for me, saying that you are refusing hospital treatment?"
Marcus watched as Tomas signed the form on the clipboard, then handed it back to her.
"Thank you," Tomas said to the woman as Marcus sat down next to him
When she had left them, Tomas said softly, casting him a side glance, "Did you take care of Mouse?"
Marcus nodded as he looked down to where he rubbed his hands together, "I'll talk to the coroner in the morning and arrange for her to be sent back to the Isle of Wight. The nuns will take care of her."
"I am so very sorry, Marcus," Tomas said, his voice threatening to break with emotion and anger, "I should have never tried to…." trailed off then shook his head in disgust, "I should have never left her alone—"
"Don't do that Tomas," Marcus interrupted, lifting his head and turning sad and serious eyes on the young priest "Don't do that to yourself. You could be dead, too. And I—I couldn't…."
Marcus closed his eyes and lowered his head before he continued, "I couldn't do this without you, Tomas. I just couldn't."
Tomas took in a shallow breath and swallowed, studying Marcus
"I think you know what I am going to say about Bennett and how reckless what you did was," Marcus continued softly, opening his eyes and taking in a breath
"Marcus, I think we need to talk about the last few months—" Tomas began
"While I would really like to know what the two of you have been doing and what would cause you to do what you did after I already warned you…." Marcus interjected quickly, then raised a hand to stop himself, "No. Not yet."
"Mouse-" Tomas started again, hoping to help his friend in his grief
"I did my mourning for her a long time ago." Marcus said softly, staring off into the distance, "Lets just leave it at that for now."
"Fair enough," Tomas replied, raising his hands slightly in defense
Tomas followed Marcus' gaze to the flashing lights and the police officers still walking around and in and out of the motel, a couple of them placing yellow crime scene tape around the building.
"Did you talk to our friends in blue?" Marcus asked, nodding toward the officers
"Yes," Tomas said, shrugging the shock blanket off his shoulders, "Amazingly, they didn't find it hard to believe that a priest and his colleague just happened to stumble upon all this when they arrived after receiving a distress call from a friend. And, you were right, it helped to put on my collar," Tomas smirked, then continued, "Anyway, they said they'd call if they had any more questions."
"Oh, Goody," Marcus smiled as he stood up and stretched before running a hand over his short hair, "I can't wait for that."
Tomas stood up and walked non-chalantly up to Marcus' side as he put his hands in his pockets, "I disconnected all the motel security cameras and erased all the footage for the last week. They'll think the cameras have been broken. Surely not uncommon for a run-down motel on this side of town. And I've already destroyed the sim cards in our phones. They are wrapped up in the shock blanket I just put in the back of that ambulance."
They both turned when they heard the female paramedic shutting the back doors from inside the back of the ambulance as it started to pull away.
"Well then…" Marcus sighed, "That's that."
"Yeah…" Tomas sighed too
"Do you know what I could use right now?" Marcus asked, looking over to Tomas, "A bloody drink."
Tomas smirked as Marcus put a hand on his shoulder
"Would you like a drink?" Marcus asked with a cheeky smile
"God, yes." Tomas laughed
###################
Loud music filled the pub as Marcus held the front door for Tomas and they walked in.
"This is atmospheric!" Tomas smiled as he looked back over his shoulder to Marcus
"I discovered it a couple of days ago when I first got into town," Marcus shrugged, "It reminds me of where I grew up."
They weaved their way through the crowd of patrons and Tomas took a seat on a stool at the bar and Marcus slid onto the stool next to him.
"Evenin'," a tall, middle aged bartender with rust colored hair greeted them with a waning British accent as he tossed coasters down in front of each of them, "What can I get you fine gentleman in the way of libations?"
"Guiness," Marcus immediately replied as he took hold of handful of mixed nuts from a bowl on the bar and the bartender winked at him when he heard the hint of Marcus' own island accent.
"Uh…I'll have whatever you have on tap," Tomas answered, uncertain
"Right now…" the bartender smirked, "That would be Guiness."
"Alright…I'll have….a Guiness?" Tomas relented and Marcus smiled as he popped the hand full of nuts in his mouth, then shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the stool on the other side of him.
"Here we are," the bartender said a few moments later, setting two glasses of dark beer in front of each of them, then he raised a glass with a finger of scotch in his own hand toward them, "Here's to making it to heaven before the devil knows you're dead."
Marcus and Tomas turned to each other and shared a knowing look
"Sounds about right…" Tomas chuckled, then raised his glass with Marcus toward the bartender
The man downed his drink in one and then moved on to serve a patron down at the end of the bar who had signaled him
"Should we be worried that the bartender drinks?" Tomas leaned over and whispered to Marcus
Marcus shrugged and took another handful of nuts and popped it in his mouth
"This looks like motor oil," Tomas chuckled, looking down into his beer, then picking it up and looking into the glass from the side, "I'm not sure I should drink it."
Marcus smirked as he chewed the nuts, then picked up his own Guiness and chugged it down.
Tomas watched as Marcus then slid his now empty glass in front of the younger priest and took his full one
"Bless you!" Tomas laughed as he made the sign of the cross over Marcus
Marcus smiled as he signaled the bartender and the man appeared in front of them. Marcus then pointed at Tomas, "Can you pull a bottle of Corona for my friend here?"
The bartender's eyes widened and he crossed himself for dramatic effect, looking up to Heaven and muttering something, then turned and walked down toward the cooler.
He returned in a few moments with Tomas' beer and, seemingly against his better judgment, set it on the counter in front of him.
"Anything else for you gents?" he asked with a raised eyebrow
"Chili fries?" Tomas said, taking the Corona in hand, "I want chili fries. Like a lot of chili fries."
Marcus smiled and affirmed, "The man wants chili fries."
"Coming up," the bartender replied amused, drumming his hands on the counter before turning around and walking toward the kitchen window to put in their order.
"Corona and chili fries seems like a dangerous combination," Marcus laughed, holding Tomas' gaze as he took a drink from his glass
"Well, after facing down a demon, the last thing I am going to worry about is heartburn," Tomas replied, then took a drink from his own beer, closing his eyes as he savored it. He then opened his eyes and looked at it lovingly, "Dios Mio."
"Good, huh?" Marcus asked with a smile
Tomas sighed again, then took another swig.
They sat in completive silence for a moment, Marcus fingering in the medallion bracelet on his left wrist as Tomas twirled the bottle of Corona in his hands
"Marcus…" Tomas started, not meeting the older man's gaze, keeping his dark eyes focused on the wooden bar, "I think we should talk about—"
Marcus turned and looked at Tomas with sad blue eyes, "There will be plenty of time for that later, but, for now, just drink your blasphemous beer."
"I don't think you can say that to a priest, boyo" the bartender suddenly arrived with Tomas' chili fries, setting them in front of him
"It's alright," Tomas responded with a good-natured scoff, pulling his clerical collar off and putting it in his pocket, "I'm off duty."
"Can't say our kitchen gets many requests for chili fries," the bartender smiled looking down at the plate as he wiped his hands on a bar towel, "But we did our best."
"Thank you," Tomas answered
"Alright everyone!" the lead musician coming to the microphone across the room called out, after the song that the band had been playing had finished, "As you know, it's Valentines Day and we are taking requests. This next song is a classic. It's dedicated to Ailee, a 'Galway Girl', from her boyfriend, James. Sing along if you know the words."
The crowd clapped and cheered in response
"Wait….It's Valentine's Day?" Tomas asked, turning to Marcus with a raised eyebrow as he popped a couple of chili fries into his mouth, "You've got to be kidding."
Marcus lowered his glass from his lips and swallowed, then placed it down on the bar with his left hand as he turned his right wrist toward Tomas, showing him the face of his watch.
The date was clearly displayed – February 14th
"Wow…" Tomas mused as he took a swig of his beer, then shook his head, "Bummer."
"Ha! That's an understatement," Marcus laughed
Suddenly music filled the air as the lead singer began to sing
"Well I took a stroll on the old long walk
On a day -I-ay-I-ay
I met a little girl and we stopped to talk
On a fine soft day -I-ay"
Tomas turned toward the band for a moment, then swung his head back around with wide eyes when he suddenly heard Marcus singing along.
Marcus stopped and shrugged before saying loudly over the music, "It's a classic song! And I'm half Irish! Of course I'm going to sing!"
"And I ask you now, what's a fella to do,
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue?
And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl,
'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl"
"Alright," Tomas said over a mouth full of chili fries before wiping his hands on his pants and taking another drink of his beer, then he shouted over the din of the music to Marcus, "I'm going to excuse myself to the little priest's room before you embarrass us both and start dancing!"
Marcus just smiled as he continued to sing along with the crowd
"We were halfway there when the rain came down
On a day -I-ay-I-ay
And she asked me up to her flat downtown
On a fine soft day -I-ay"
Tomas stood and moved off the bar stool, "Don't eat my fries!"
Marcus crossed his heart and smiled
"And I ask you now, what's a fella to do?
Because her hair was black and her eyes were blue"
Then, still seated on his stool, Marcus suddenly reached forward and took Tomas' hand in his and, before he knew it, he was twirling the younger priest under his arm as Tomas laughed in surprise
"So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl…"
When Tomas faced Marcus again, their eyes met and Tomas took in sharp breath when a long moment passed and he realized that Marcus was still holding his hand.
"Oh, and I lost my heart to a Galway Girl…"
Tomas swallowed as electricity crackled between their skin. He had noticed it before—quite frankly from the moment they had first met—when Marcus had thrown him up against the wall at St. Aquinas.
And over the last year, it had only seemed to gradually intensify.
And then there was that night during Andy's exorcism, when Marcus took him aside and, with soulful eyes, told him that he didn't want to lose him.
Against his better judgement, Tomas had wanted to kiss Marcus in that moment. In fact, he had moved closer to Marcus, intent on doing so, but stopped himself.
It wasn't the right moment he had told himself then. They were fighting a demon and it wasn't the right moment. So, he gently put his hand on Marcus' neck, leaned forward and met his gaze and told him to bring him back from the depths.
"And when I woke up I was all alone
With a broken heart and a ticket home"
But, now as he looked down to Marcus' hand still holding his, with his thumb seeming to absent mindedly caress the fleshy part between Tomas' thumb and forefinger, he waivered.
"And I ask you now, tell me what would you do?
If her hair was black and her eyes were blue"
Marcus suddenly realized what he was doing and for how long, seemingly startled, and gently pulled away.
"You see, I've traveled around and I've been all over this world
But, boys I ain't never seen nothing like a Galway Girl"
"I'll be back," Tomas finally said softly, trying to avoid Marcus' gaze as he turned and stepped away from the bar, giving a quick and uncertain glance over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd.
########################
After using the restroom and splashing some water on his face and through his dark hair, Tomas let out a steadying breath before opening the door and exiting down the dark hallway toward the sound of the music and into the swell of people moving around the pub, dancing and chatting.
Somehow, there seemed to be more people in the pub than before he left to go to the restroom. When he made his way back to the bar, Tomas saw that Marcus' bar stool was empty, his glass was empty and his jacket was gone.
Concerned, he laid a fifty-dollar bill under the half-eaten plate of fries and took one last swig of his beer before flagging down the bartender and leaning over the bar to ask in a loud voice above the music, "Where is the man I was just in here with?!"
The bartender just jerked his thumb toward the main door.
Tomas sighed as he pulled back from the bar and made his way through the crowd toward the door.
He walked through, just after a man held it open for a couple of young women to enter.
When he descended the steps and onto the sidewalk, Tomas looked both ways, scanning the darkness for Marcus.
"Tomas," a familiar voice suddenly came from the darkest part of the sidewalk to his left, along the side of the brick building that housed the pub.
Marcus pushed off the wall where he had been leaning and walked into the pool of light cast by the streetlights, a cigarette in his hand, slowly coming to Tomas' side.
Tomas let out a relieved breath, "I thought you had left, again."
Marcus studied him as he took a hit, then blew out a string of smoke and lifted the black cigarette in his hand.
"Sorry. I just needed a fag," Marcus squinted as he looked over his shoulder, "Cryin' shame you can't smoke in pubs now a days. I never thought I'd actually live long enough to see that happen."
Tomas chuckled as he rolled his head on his shoulders and closed his eyes, "There are a lot of things I never thought I'd see happen."
"Yeah?" Marcus asked with a smile, then brought the cigarette to his lips again as he watched Tomas close his eyes and bring a thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose, "like what?"
"Like me being an ex—" Tomas began as he opened his eyes, then caught himself when he saw a group of young women walk behind them on the sidewalk and lowered his voice, "exorcist."
Marcus sniffed as he looked down and shuffled his feet with a smirk
"It was not exactly what I envisioned when I took that career aptitude test in high school," Tomas added and Marcus laughed as he tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and smashed it under foot.
Tomas shook his head, then leaned over and picked up the cigarette butt and tossed it in a nearby trash can
Marcus bit his lip with an amused look as he watched Tomas
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Tomas, I actually wanted to be a policeman in the Garda Síochána when I was a lad."
Tomas smiled with a raised eyebrow, "What?"
Marcus put his hands in his pockets as he looked down to his feet, "Yeah. I-I uh….I wanted to help people who needed it—like my Mum."
"What stopped you?" Tomas asked, genuinely curious
Marcus looked up and turned to face him, "Well….God, you know… the big man upstairs. He decided he had other plans for my life—other ways that I might help people. In the end, it was a much harder road—sometimes even a more painful one—but a rewarding one, becoming a priest and an exorcist."
Tomas nodded, knowingly
A silence fell between them for a few moments before Tomas asked the question he had been wanting to ask since he woke up next to Marcus earlier that afternoon.
"So, you are back?" Tomas asked timidly
"I'm back," Marcus assured him
"What happened?" Tomas continued cautiously, "Where were you?"
"Around," Marcus replied, running a hand over his head, "Waiting….and Listening…"
"For God?" Tomas inquired
"Yes," Marcus replied, his eyes softening as he stepped toward Tomas, "But, as it turns out, the voice I actually most needed to hear was yours."
"Mine?" Tomas asked, his heart suddenly climbing into his throat
"I told you, Tomas," Marcus continued, "You believe in God and I believe in you."
Tomas just studied him without a word
"When I left, I spent a couple of months working on a fishing boat on the east coast. And one day, I had just gotten off a two day trip and was sitting on the end of the key dock, feeling the ocean on my face, like I did when I was a boy…." Marcus said, closing his eyes, lost in the memory, "when I heard this high-pitched noise, like my ears were ringing. It seemed to come closer and closer with the clouds that moved over head, until I felt this warmth…this warmth all over my body—like—like the first time I truly felt God's love and saw his face when I was 12."
Marcus shook his head and smiled as he opened his eyes and met Tomas' dark brown, tears welling up in them, "But it wasn't God's face or God's voice that I heard, Tomas, it was yours. You called to me. You needed my help. And that's when I realized that I was a fool to leave. Because it doesn't matter if I hear God's voice anymore. I've sinned so greatly…." Marcus' voice lowered to a whisper, "Maybe I truly am no longer worthy of his grace and mercy and love—and maybe I don't deserve to hear his voice ever again. But, I'd be insane not to realize or admit that I do still feel his love every time I—"
Marcus stopped himself and smirked sadly
"Marcus?" Tomas asked, worried
"No," Marcus said stepping back. He wiped under his eyes and shrugged, turning on his heel, "It's not fair. You don't deserve that. You deserve more than—"
"More?" Tomas interjected, his eyes narrowing as he followed Marcus as he began walking down the sidewalk toward the corner, "More than what?"
"It's nothing," Marcus sighed, running a hand over his face to hide his emotions, "I'm just tired and I'm just rambling. Forget it. We should head back to the truck and hit the road."
Marcus reached into his pockets for the truck keys and sniffed, trying to refocus himself
"Marcus," Tomas said as he reached forward and caught the older priest's arm, "More than what? Hey, come on. Tell me."
"Me!" Marcus cried, turning around quickly on his heel and facing Tomas, causing the younger man to skid to a halt, his eyes wide in surprise, "Alright?! Me! You deserve more than me. You deserve more than a washed up, has-been priest, who can't even hear the voice of God anymore! A broken man who needs you more than you need him—"
"Who says I don't need you?" Tomas suddenly replied, throwing his hands up in the air, his voice rising
Marcus narrowed his eyes in disbelief, then blinked quickly, taken aback, "What?"
"Who says I don't need you?" Tomas said again, this time more softly, stepping forward
Marcus took in a shaky breath when he saw the softness in the younger man's eyes
Did Tomas have feelings for him? He couldn't believe that could be true. He'd had feelings from the moment he had set foot in his apartment over a year before. But, for the sake of their mentorship and Tomas' position within the church, he had worked hard to keep his feelings in check.
"Tell me this…" Tomas said under his breath, moving even closer, "When you heard my voice that day on the dock, what did it say?"
Marcus let go of the breath he had inhaled and bit his lip as he put the car keys back in his pocket and watched a man and women with linked arms walk around him out of the corner of his eye.
When he believed they were out of ear shot, he finally replied, "You…you called my name. But, it sounded like you were in pain—like you needed my help—"
"So… I needed you," Tomas finished
Marcus gave a defeated laugh and shook his head, "I guess you did."
"And you came." Tomas said
"And I came," Marcus replied
"Why?" Tomas asked
Marcus swallowed as he took a step toward Tomas, "Do you remember when we were in that barn with Cindy in the middle of nowhere? And you said that you wanted to go home? That you missed your routine—hearing mass, seeing your nephew, your sister's cooking?"
Tomas nodded with a soft laugh at the memory
"Well, I don't have that, Tomas. At least, not anymore. I don't have a place that means 'home' and I haven't for a very long time. But, I realized that I do have a person…" Marcus trailed off as he met Tomas' eyes, "It's you, Tomas. You are my home. And I now realize that the only time I still feel God's love is….well, it's when I'm with you."
Tomas' face softened as he closed the distance between them and suddenly embraced Marcus without saying a word.
Marcus' face crumbled as he felt Tomas' embrace tighten around him and he slowly wrapped his own arms around Tomas, lowered his face into the younger man's shoulder, breathing in his scent.
After a few moments, Tomas pulled back and found himself with his forehead resting against Marcus'
Their faces lingered together for the moment—each of them with their eyes closed in thought as they seemed to contemplate their next move.
Finally, Marcus opened his eyes and started to pull away, but before he could, Tomas leaned forward and captured his lower lip in a soft uncertain kiss.
Marcus was startled for a moment, but then leaned forward and returned Tomas' kiss, deepening it.
After a few moments, they slowly pulled apart breathless
"I'm… I'm sorry…" Tomas said quietly, stepping back, seemingly confused, "I shouldn't have done that—"
"You're right," Marcus whispered, interjecting as he lazily opened his eyes, "I should have."
Before Tomas could reply, Marcus grabbed his arm and pulled him back into a kiss, gently cradling his face in his hands as their lips moved slowly and languidly together.
When they finally pulled apart again their eyes met for a long moment, silence hanging between them.
"Jessica?" Marcus whispered and Tomas immediately understood his meaning
"Not anymore," Tomas replied with a sad smirk
"I'm sorry," Marcus said automatically, furrowing his brow
"No, you're not," Tomas said
"No, I'm not," Marcus affirmed with a small smile on the corner of his mouth
######################
Marcus opened the driver's side door of the truck and climbed in. Tomas had fallen asleep a few hours before, when they were still on the road, no doubt exhausted from his trance state earlier in the day. When they had pulled into the hotel parking lot, Marcus had left him to sleep in the truck while he went inside, not wanting to disturb him.
But, no doubt, he would find it more comfortable to sleep in a bed than in the front passenger seat of the truck.
Marcus' eyes studied Tomas face, relaxed in sleep, for a few long moments before he reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Tomas," Marcus whispered
Tomas didn't stir.
Marcus smiled softly as his hand moved slowly up Tomas' shoulder to the side of his neck, where he let two fingers caress the skin there, just above his shirt collar.
Tomas moaned pleasantly in his sleep, then leaned against Marcus' hand
After a moment his eyes fluttered open and he turned to face Marcus
"Hey," Tomas smiled sleepily
"Hey," Marcus replied, "We're about six hours from Chicago. I thought we'd stop for the night."
Tomas nodded as Marcus pulled his hand back and Tomas sat up straighter his seat as he yawned and looked at his watch.
"How long have I been asleep?" Tomas asked, blinking his eyes
"About three hours," Marcus yawned, rolling his head on his shoulders, "It's nearly dawn."
"Why didn't you wake me? I could have driven some—"
"Hard Pass," Marcus interjected with a mischievous smirk
Tomas rolled his eyes as he leaned down and picked up the ruck sack at his feet with one hand and pulled the door handle with the other.
Marcus followed suit and exited out his own door, closing it behind him as he pulled his bag from the truck bed.
When he met Tomas at the tailgate, Marcus pulled two key cards from his pocket and handed one toward Tomas.
But, Tomas didn't reach for it and, after a moment, Marcus pulled it back.
"What's wrong?" Marcus asked, furrowing his eyebrows
"Do—" Tomas started, then stopped, tightening the grip on the strap of his bag flung over his right shoulder, "Would it be alright if I just stayed with you tonight?"
Marcus searched his face for a long moment, then smiled softly, "Of course you can."
Tomas let out a long exhale like he had been holding his breath, then followed Marcus as he put Tomas' key back in his pocket, then made his way toward the outside stairwell and began to climb.
######################
Marcus turned off the light and exited the bathroom in their suite, walking into the room to see that in the few minutes he had been in there, Tomas had fallen asleep sitting up on the end of the king size bed, remote control in his hand and a baseball game on the television.
Marcus smiled as he approached slowly and gently pulled the remote out of Tomas' hand and turned off the television. Then he tossed the remote aside onto the bed before putting his hands under Tomas' shoulders and lifted him up as he said softly, "Come on, you're exhausted. Let's get you to bed."
Tomas' eyes fluttered opened and his breath hitched as Marcus began unbuttoning his shirt
"It's alright," Marcus whispered, "Trust me."
Tomas closed his eyes, partly to relish Marcus' touch and partly because he was too tired to keep them open.
Soon Marcus had pulled the tails of Tomas' black dress shirt out of the waistband of his pants and gently pushed it back over his shoulders, gathering it in his hand and folding it haphazardly before tossing it on a nearby chair.
He then began to unbuckle the belt on Tomas' hips and pulled it through the loops on his pants, tossing it on the chair to join the shirt.
Marcus then slowly unbuttoned Tomas' pants and the younger priest waited for them to drop to his knees, then lumbered out of them.
Marcus left them there on the floor, because now Tomas brought his own hands forward and started unzipping Marcus' pullover and unceremoniously slipped it off his shoulders.
"Now, I'm not the only one who is getting undressed," Tomas chuckled sleepily and Marcus smiled softly as he looked down and saw Tomas pull the bottom of his black tank top from the waist of his pants, then pull it over his head as Marcus raised his arms up to make it easier for him.
Tomas tossed the shirt aside without looking to see where it landed, then brought a tentative hand to rest on Marcus's chest, just over his heart, taking in the solid build of his chest and the St. Michael medal resting around his neck.
Then he closed his eyes again and leaned forward, touching his forehead to Marcus' as both men relished the warmth in each other's touch
"I'm too tired to do any more," Tomas whispered with a smile
Marcus smirked, his eyes still closed as he placed a gentle hand over Tomas' on his chest
After a long few moments, worried that he might fall asleep standing up, Marcus released Tomas and watched him climb sleepily into bed in his under shirt and boxers, slipping under the covers and sighing when he laid back and rested his head on the pillow.
When he turned on his side, he soon felt Marcus' body spoon him, his gentle breathing behind his ear.
Tomas reached back and took Marcus' left arm and pulled it over him and to his chest.
They had slept in the same bed before on the road, of course, when it had been a necessity—when there hadn't been enough rooms available at a hotel and/or if the room they acquired only had one bed instead of two. And of course, there were times when Tomas had had a particularly rough encounter during an exorcism and didn't want to be alone at night with his thoughts and wanted to stay in Marcus' room instead of his own. And then there were the dreams, well nightmares, really.
But, this—this was beyond Marcus' imagination. He never thought they would ever sleep this close, let alone that Tomas would reciprocate any feelings for him.
Marcus closed his eyes as he buried his face in the back of Tomas' neck and breathed deep
"Have you been having the nightmares again?" Marcus found himself asking in a low voice
Tomas' grip tightened on Marcus' hand, "Yes…. And after what happened today, I—I just didn't want to be alone."
Marcus tightened his hold around Tomas in response
There was a long silence, and Marcus had wondered if Tomas had started to drift off to sleep, until he spoke again.
"Marcus, can I ask you something?" Tomas inquired in a soft voice
"Anything," Marcus replied
"When did you know…." Tomas trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence
Marcus smirked, understanding where this was going, "Well, the long version is that there have been a few men and women over the years. I'm more of a person who enjoys the wine and not the label affixed to it. I became an exorcist when I was fourteen and a priest when I was 24. And while I had some experiences with love and desire before those two life changing things occurred, I can't say I have been truly intimate with anyone since. I have walked the path that God intended for me and I have not really strayed. Only Mouse, and maybe Peter, have scratched the surface since I was ordained. But, you…"
Marcus closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, then continued, smiling as he opened his eyes and heard Tomas' soft snores
He leaned forward and whispered in Tomas' ear, "You are scored on my heart, Tomas Ortega. I'm falling in love with you."