Proof #2
tightened his grip for a moment before letting him go. The look in his eyes
was feral.
“Of course.” There was something tense in Thomas’ face as he snapped
back to reality. Rubbing his bruised wrist, Jacob quickly made his way out
of the bathroom to find Joe.
He quickly found Joe at the bar finishing up a phone call. He couldn’t
tell exactly what was being said, but he did catch “…it’s quick, but it’s the
only way. We just have to hope he says yes..” Jacob wasn’t sure what he’d been talking about, but as soon as he saw him, he threw his arms around
Joe.
“Can we go?” Jacob asked, shaken.
“Of course.” Joe whispered. “What happened?”
“Just a bad experience I hope.” Jacob responded.
“I mean I did just get us two drinks if-” Joe said holding up the drinks. “Thanks. You’re the best.” Without waiting, Jacob grabbed one and
downed it in one gulp. Joe simply looked at him aghast for a moment
before smiling and complying.
“Okay then- bottoms up.” Joe responded by bringing the drink to his
lips and finishing it just as fast as Jacob. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.” Jacob said as he left, wondering if Thomas was out there
still watching.
18
Cortado.
The club had been deafening, but the night was surprisingly peaceful. The cool air on Jacob’s skin was sweet. He held tight to Joe as they quickly made their way back.
For a long while neither said anything. Joe seemed to have something else on his mind, but so did Jacob so the walk wasn’t uncomfortable, but still had a strange tension. After a couple blocks Jacob finally spoke.
“Sorry- I just needed to get out.” Jacob sighed.
“Did something happen?” Joe asked.
“Yeah… Thomas kind of came at me in the bathroom. It was intense…”
Joe frowned.
“Thomas? Your friend Thomas?” He enquired.
“Yeah- from trivia.” Jacob shrugged it off, but Joe stopped walking
entirely.
“But… Isn’t he straight?” He asked.
“Apparently not.” Jacob sighed.
“A lot of that going around lately.” Joe chuckled. “You must really be
something.”
“Oh, I’m something alright.” Jacob frowned. That guilty feeling settled
in. He tried to ignore it- he was normally so good at repression - a benefit
of being white- but now …
“Are you okay?” Joe could see how upset Jacob was.
“I… I’m really not sure.” Jacob responded. “I just want to get home.” “Yeah, of all the times not to have your emotional support bird.” Joe
responded.
“Yeah. He’d know what to say right now.” Jacob sighed.
“What?” Joe paused.
“Nothing. Sorry, my mind was wandering.” Jacob gave Joe’s arm an
affectionate squeeze.
“Your mind does that.” Joe smiled. “Often from what I can tell.” “I just- It’s a lot. I feel like it’s my fault that things are crazy right
now.”
“I mean, it probably is to be honest.” Joe said. “I mean if you could see
that ass I doubt you’d question it so much.”
“My ass is nothing special.” Jacob blushed - just as a man leapt out of
the alley to corner them.
“Stick your hands up.” Screamed the shabby looking man in an
oversized coat with an angry expression. He held a knife up at them (rude)
and glared with wild green bloodshot eyes.
“Listen buddy, we don’t want any trouble.” Jacob said, stepping back
with his hands raised. Joe however was completely motionless- but very
tense. His energy became like a tiger about to pounce.
“You don’t want to do this-” Joe hissed, his voice low and steady in the
exact way Jacob’s wasn’t.
“Just give me your wallets. your phones. Give me your stuff and no one
will get hurt.” The man sneered as he levelled the blade at them. His hands
were shaking.
“Okay, it’s fine. I’m going to reach into my pocket and-” Jacob began,
but Joe held up his hand to stop him.
“We’re not giving you anything,” Joe began.
“Joe, we don’t want any trouble-” Jacob urged.
“We won’t have any. This man is scared. Look at how he is shaking.
He’s desperate. I’m not going to comply with you- but I will give you a
chance to walk away.” Joe sounded so forceful that even Jacob faltered for
a moment.
“You’ll give me-” the man sounded confused. “I’m the one holding the
knife!” In a desperate move he swung his hand back to slash, but before
he could, Joe smacked his wrist causing the knife to fall. With a quick jab,
he extended his other hand directly into the man’s throat causing him to
stutter and stagger back. Then, with a quick punch into the man’s stomach
he collapsed onto the ground. Jacob stood there shocked.
“I did try to warn him.” Joe said.
“Holy shit.” Jacob was gobsmacked. Somehow his boyfriend had
completely neutralized the threat in seconds. It was the first time he’d
seen Joe act like a Templar. It was scary, and threatening and… kind of
hot?
“Are you okay?” Joe asked.
“I’m fine… but is he okay?” Joe knelt beside the man and checked to
ensure he was breathing.
“He’ll be fine.” Joe responded. “His breathing is fine.”
“You just kicked his ass.” Jacob flabberghasted.
“In my defense, I gave him every chance to walk away. He could use
assistance though.” Joe said as he checked the man’s vitals. “I think I’m
going to walk this man to the church. Ensure he at least has a space to stay
tonight.”
“You’d do that to someone who just tried to rob us?” Jacob was
surprised.
“Well he doesn’t need the hospital, but he could use a good meal and
some help. There’s a night program there and the church beats jail.” “To some maybe.” Jacob responded.
“You don’t need to come, but I’m going to ensure this man gets the
help he needs.” Joe snipped. “So either come with me- or go home.” Jacob
wasn’t used to Joe being so blunt with him.
“I’ll come.” Jacob nodded.
“Okay. Help me get this man standing.” Joe ordered. Together they
draped the man over their shoulders and carried him over to Joe’s church
which thankfully wasn’t very far.
Their walk there was quiet. Joe seemed lost in thought and concern over
the man, and Jacob was still reeling from what had happened. He couldn’t
tell exactly what was going on with Joe, but something was feeling off ever
since he had met Tic.
He was always surprised by how big the place was. Upon getting there,
Joe knocked on the door and within minutes, a small older woman
answered it.
“Is she a nun or something?”Jacob asked.
“No. She helps run the homeless shelter.” Joe chuckled to himself. “You have a homeless shelter?” Jacob hadn’t known what a night
program was, but for some reason the obvious answer hadn’t seemed
correct.
“And a soup kitchen. And a clean needle exchange. And a recycling
center.” Joe said. “You’re telling me when you were here last time you
didn’t explore any of this?”
“I guess I was distracted.” Jacob sheepishly replied. “Those church
ladies are spectacular.”
“That they are.” Joe said, a warmth returning to his smile. “Well
they’re one of many pieces we have going on. A church door should never
be locked. It should always give people the space to have what they need
and a protected place for the most vulnerable.”
“I mean, that’s not been my experience with churches sadly.” Jacob
responded.
“Yeah. I’m aware. Most people don’t see them as what they should be.
They only see what they’ve been. But the world is too fragile and angry
these days. Sometimes people need to be reminded of what they are able
to become to know that it’s not all doom and gloom out there. There’s still
some good left- and we must find it and protect it.”
“I guess it can’t hurt.” Jacob responded. “Doesn’t this all cost a lot of
money to maintain?”
“Of course, but what are we going to do? We need to reinvest in the
people or the entire system falls apart. Those who have the most need are
the ones we need to invest in hardest- We can’t hoard it for a few
otherwise we all lose.”
They made their way into the sanctuary and down the stairs to the
shelter space. As gently as they could, they laid the man down on a cot. It
was modest but it at least looked more comfortable than the street. The
lady then checked the man to ensure he was okay before muttering
something in Polish. As they were preparing to go, she gave them both a
hug, thanked them for helping and then shooed them away so she could
tend to her business.
“I’m glad you showed me this.” Jacob responded.
“Of course. I’m glad you came with me.” Joe said as he reached out and
grabbed Jacob’s hand. It was a simple gesture, but one that Jacob
appreciated as they made their way back home.
19
Breve.
When they finally got back Joe took a shower and Jacob caught Teddy up on the events of the evening.
Teddy listened as best he could, but being a seagull, he had to be tamed with some snacks before he could fully pay attention.
Once he was done Teddy shook his head as if he was clearing out cobwebs and settled into his roost.
“That’s a lot.” Teddy said after way too long a silence.
“It is.” Jacob said.
“Are you okay?” Teddy asked.
“I think so. I wasn’t expecting you to actually care about that sort of
thing.”
“Hey!” Teddy exclaimed. “I’m your companion. I’m your emotional
support bird. Apparently. So fuck you, I care- alright?”
“I’ll ensure I never question your integrity again.” Jacob felt touched. “Damn fucking right.” Teddy quipped. “But yeah- sounds like you’ve
made a couple messes here. Big ones. Bad ones even.”
“I’m aware of that.” Jacob responded. “But what do I do about it?” “Die inside?” Teddy asked. Jacob shot him a look. “What?” “I’m being serious here Teddy.”
“Well, from here you have to worry about Thomas going full stalker- that’s the biggest issue. But if you break the love spell on him, will that
also affect your love spell for Joe, and if so, what happens if you don’t?” “I don’t know.” Jacob sighed. “I hadn’t even thought about that. Oh
god, what if breaking my love spell for Thomas breaks it with Joe!” “These are the tough questions.” Teddy said, nodding in a very
unhelpful way.
“Plus, I’ve got to see what happens when he goes full Templar mode.