^Vices and Virtues^Tordtom^Biblical au^

Episode 16: Midnight Confessional

There was no angel answering his call, Tord walked through the empty olive garden before seeing a person sitting on the grass, surrounded by lilies, enjoying the light breeze of the wind. Droplets of rain hit Tord's skin, he opened one of wings and used it as a roof for the two of them.

"St. Anthony, where are the others?"

There was silence, St. Anthony had his eyes closed, Tord sat down next to him and closed his eyes as well.

"What are you looking for Tord?"

"The other angels-"

"Are you sure that's all you're looking for? What did you really lose? People come to me when they lose something"

Tord took a deep breath and spoke slowly,

"Divinity, I think I'm losing mine because I've associated myself with a demon, I don't want to lose it, but I still want to keep them"

"I don't think you've lost your divinity, it's still here"

He placed his index finger against Tord's chest, until it gave out a warm glow; Tord was a bit more at peace, he had more questions, but he didn't want to overstay his welcome...

"I think you're more scared of losing them, so my advice to you, keep the light burning, enjoy the time you have with them before it runs out"

St. Anthony stood from where he sat and helped Tord up, the stars had come out to play as they illuminated the path. Tord waved goodbye before finally waking up at his altar.

The stars shone brightly today, Tord looked at his finger and inspected the small scar on his finger. The sound of the front door alerted both him and Dante, he quickly made his way downstairs and saw a disheveled Tom trudging slowly towards the stairs.

"Hey, how was your day today?"

"It was great, we Laurel had a party and we—no—and I met up with Jon and Yanov, and they were really rough"

Tom rubbed his back and held onto the railing for support before latching onto Tord's arm for support instead. A small smile made its way to his face, he couldn't find any reason to be angry at him for 'hanging' out with other people, there's no need for him to be jealous at all—because he has something the other's don't have—divinity.

Tord opened the door to Tom's room and watched Tom topple to his bed as Dante excitedly nudge the box next to him.

"Oh, what's this?"

"Open it"

Tom opened the box and his face immediately lit up when he saw the bear's small nose poking out. He pulled it close to his face and gave it a hug before pulling Tord and Dante into the hug as well. Tord nuzzled his face into Tom's hair and hugged him back tighter. Dante removed himself from the embrace to let the two enjoy the moment.

"Thank you Tord"

There was a soft breeze in the room, Tord was the only one slightly illuminating Tom's room, it was extremely quiet, Dante had fallen asleep on top of their legs, making it hard for him to leave.

"Is there something you want to talk about Tord? How was your day?"

"I met with Matt, he said that if you ever need him, he'd be there, you never told me that you and Matt are in some kind of arrangement"

"We have an agreement to keep it open and if we ever fall in love with other beings, then we are free to do so, we're each other's first last resort. Matt's a really jealous type, he'll do anything to keep anything he owns, I just keep a distance from him"

"So, what does that make me? What am I to you?"

"Whatever you're comfortable with"

Tom's fingers drew circles around Tord's chest, Tord gulped before grabbing the bottom of Tom's chin and closing the gap between their lips. The feeling of their teeth hitting against one another, along with Tom's tight grip on his clothes.

Tord pulled away quickly, his breathing was heavy, he gently pushed Dante off him and shuffled out of the bed.

"Tord-"

"Can I be honest with you? After that day, I can't look at you the same, when I'm around you I feel great and maybe—I don't want to stop feeling that way, but I have to because I won't be the angel you count on anymore, I can't be an angel and be in love with you at the same time, I need to keep a distance from you or I'll lose the very thing that makes me 'me', I don't know what to do now"

"You love me?"

"Yes! A lot actually! I want to be with you, I haven't had this much excitement since you've walked into my life"

Tom fell silent, his eyes darted around the room, comprehending what happened. Tord closed his mouth before turning bright red, he was visibly shaking, fumbling with the doorknob as steam escaped from the top of his head. Tom got up from the bed and cupped Tord's cheeks.

"Calm down, you're just confused, and your feelings are all over the place because of the spell, it happens, I'm used to it, I just have to satisfy whatever you desire, and you'll be all better"

Tom pulled on his shirt but Tord stopped him before things progressed. Tord held both of Tom's hands, not caring if his palms were sweaty. Tom stared into his eyes, his calm demeanor doing nothing to hide the prominent panic, it made Tord even more nervous.

"I just need to have this conversation with you"

"If you need my help deciding, then I suggest you give yourself a grace period or a time to recollect yourself...a cheat day or week, just some time to think"

Tord took a deep breath, and gently placed down Tom's hand on the bed.

"Then I want to try and spend a week with you"