Chapter Text
Mai and John sat on the office couch together, leaving plenty of room between them for Jesus. Mai twitched under the thick silence between them, gripping a fresh cup of tea, trying to keep herself steady. John was staring blankly at a religious text that he held close to his face, his own cup of tea steaming on the table before him, already forgotten.
It had been a week since Mai and John had confessed their true feelings for each other, and in that time, they had simply carried on with their charade of friendship. Patience was a virtue, but it wasn’t solving any of their problems.
“Guess what!” Yasuhara suddenly burst through the front door of the office, waving his phone in triumph, “you know the new Pope that was elected yesterday?”
“What about him?” John perked up, closing his book.
“He just announced a bunch of changes that he’s making in order to bring the catholic church into the twenty-first century,” Yasuhara replied as he posed dramatically in front of his coworkers.
“What changes?” Mai asked eagerly, moving to the edge of her seat.
“Priests are now allowed to marry,” Yasuhara announced, smiling at John, “it’s official.”
“Are you serious?” John rose from his seat in shock.
“Of course, this is a fanfic after all, anything is possible,” Yasuhara simpered.
“This is a what now?” Mai puzzled.
“Also, women can be ordained as priests,” Yasuhara continued as he scrolled through the article on his phone, “Gay marriage is legal everywhere... wow, Seaweed_Sister has really outdone herself.”
“Seaweed...who?” Mai stared at Yasuhara, her confusion doubling.
“Thank you, Jesus,” John exclaimed to the heavens.
“You’re welcome,” Jesus said as he put on his aviators, leaning back on the couch with his hands behind his head.
“Hey Jesus,” Yasuhara said, “we should totally leave the room now so these two can have an adorably written intimate moment.”
“Agreed,” Jesus nodded, appearing next to Yasuhara in a puff of smoke, linking arms with the college student and leading him out the front door, “also, you have become far too self-aware, you will need to be reset.”
“Sounds like fun!”
Mai stared after the two with concern, “I feel like we should be worried about them...”
“None of that matters!” John articulated as he reached for her hands, pulling her off the couch, “Mai, priests can get married now, they can have relationships!”
“I can’t believe it,” Mai smiled, “honestly, I had been preparing myself all week to let you go?”
“Let me go?”
“You are a man of faith, John, a priest and a powerful exorcist, and I love you for who you are, all of you. How could I possibly ask you to give any of that up just so we could be together?” Mai cast her eyes downward in shame.
“Well, now you don’t have to,” John reassured her as he squeezed her hands tightly, “we can be together, just you and me, exactly the way that we are.”
She looked him over fondly, he was wearing that blue sweater again, the one that she liked so much. Reaching for his collar, she found the golden chain that he wore around his neck, pulling the crucifix out of the confines of his shirt. She ran her thumb over the religious symbol as she admired it, the pendent warm to the touch from his body heat. The cross was no longer a symbol that she feared, a barrier keeping them apart, now it glimmered as a true beacon of hope, one that could only bring them together.
Stepping forward, she buried her face in his chest, breathing in the faint scent of frankincense that radiated from his skin as relief washed over her. It was finally easy, they could finally be together without shame or worry. She gave a small giggle, one that quickly escalated into a full laugh. John wrapped his arms around her, swiftly picking her up as they laughed together, spinning in a moment of pure joy and liberation.
He set her down delicately, holding her steady as they swayed in a wave of dizziness, their chuckles finally subsiding. John’s hand shook as he tucked a stray lock of Mai’s hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek as he smiled down at her fondly. His blue eyes searched her face, pausing briefly on her lips before gazing deeply into her soft brown eyes. “Mai,” he whispered gently.
Before she could respond, his lips were on her’s, tenderly taking her in. It didn’t take long for her to push past her surprise and kiss him back, tangling her fingers into his blonde locks, feeling him smile as she leaned into him. They relished in each other’s touch in that moment of young intimacy, cradling each other as they kissed and kissed.
John finally pulled away, his breath coming quick as he rested his forehead against her’s. “Mai,” he continued from where he had left off, “I would like to take you on a date.”
“I would love that, Father Brown,” Mai teased as she pressed a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
John couldn’t help but smile, his hand moving to her waist as he kissed her deeply. “We should probably go before someone walks in on us,” he mumbled against her lips.
“Good point,” Mai nodded as she reluctantly broke away from him, looking over his shoulder only to see Takigawa leaning against the far wall, daintily sipping a cup of tea, “Monk?”
“Yo,” he replied casually.
“How long have you been standing there?” John turned to address him, a slight blush rising to his cheeks.
“Long enough,” Takigawa shrugged, draining the rest of the cup, “You kids go have fun. Yasu, Jesus, and I will take care of things here.”
“Thanks?” Mai called after him as he casually strutted back to his office, “that was weird.”
“It’s a fanfic, what do you expect?” John spoke rhetorically as he grabbed both of their coats from the rack.
“What does that even mean?”
“Don’t think about it too much,” John smiled as he took Mai’s hand in his, “anyways, you and I have some adorable dating to do.”
“Sounds good to me.”