Complexus

Complexus

Constantine blinked at stared at the women until they finally stopped chatting after a few seconds. Both of them stared at him in return before Abel’s mother finally spoke up, a warm smile on his face.

“Abel said you’d be here, or at least, he thought you would still be here. It seems he was right.” She let out a small giggle, watching him. “I swear you spend more time here than you do at your own apartment, Constantine.” She moved her way inside with Maria. “Your apartment is just downstairs, yet I still find you in here.” She gave him a small warm smile, closing the door behind himself.

Hearing her words, Tines’ face flushed a dark crimson as he watched her get settled in. He mumbled incoherent words about how it wasn’t his fault, though Abel’s mother quickly brushed it off. Setting down her purse she turned and looked at Constantine, a bright smile on her face. “So dear, how many dates have you two gone on?” She asked him, her face dead serious despite how much he wished that she was joking.

“Uh… none? What makes you think we’ve been on dates?” He asked softly, his face burning bright red. He was sure that if she asked any more questions like that his face would definitely catch on fire.

“What makes me think that, is the fact that you’re wearing his clothes.” She said, letting out a small laugh. “That and he made you breakfast this morning.” The older woman added in as a second thought. “Anyways, the main reason I came here is because of this young woman!” She turned towards Maria, smiling brightly. “This young woman saved my life last night.”

“From a demon?” Constantine asked, disbelief filling his voice as he stared at the so-called hunter from the previous night.

“No. A mugger.” Maria answered smugly, a smirk clearly evident on her face. Abel’s mother nodded in reply, her warm smile still evident on her face.

“Afterwards I took her out for some pie at the diner for payment. We got chatting and I asked what happened to her arm.” She paused and looked over at Maria, giving a warm smile. “She told me that she had saved someone when they were being attacked by a demon, by killing the demon of course. As repayment, the person took her to a priest that they knew to fix up her arm since they would do it better than any hospital. I almost immediately recognized who she was talking about as my sweet Abel.” She clasped her hands with joy in front of her, eyes shining as she looked around. “I can’t wait for Abel to get home. It’s time he finally gets all the appreciation and rewards that he deserves!” She announced joyously. Constantine let her be happy and think what Maria had told her, after all, he wasn’t one to claim his own kills. He would let Maria have his fame, even if he secretly wasn’t happy with it.

“It’s a small world, isn’t it,” Maria said, a small, wistful smile on her face as she thought about what was happening.

“No. It’s just Manhattan.” Constantine replied rather blandly, looking towards the door. He knew that Abel would be getting home soon, but he couldn’t help but feel impatient. It’s not that he was in a relationship that would make him impatient with the wait for Abel to get home, God knew that probably wouldn’t happen. It was more that he was worried. With more demons crawling towards the surface he was worried about the priests’ safety.

“Why don’t you two go watch tv? I’m going to make Abel’s favorite pie, and one other surprise.” She let out a small laugh, urging the two in the living room before going into the kitchen, already busy with her surprises.

After an awkward moment between both Maria and Constantine, the pair sat down on the couch. Constantine turned the tv on, sitting on one end of the couch while Maria sat on the other. He passed the remote to Maria, glancing at her slightly.

“Pick whatever channel you want.” He voiced, leaning back and staring blankly at the television set as Maria picked a show. Soon, his mind began to wander, not even paying attention to the show. Like usual, he couldn’t get Abel out of his head, though this time there was something poking at the back of his mind. Something important, he was sure of that, but he couldn’t remember what was so important. Instead of driving himself crazy by trying to remember what it could be, he focused on the priest.

He could imagine spending every night on the couch with the man, leaning back against him while watching tv. The rain hammering down in sheets outside, blocking out the noise of the outside world. It was just them in this moment. There were no demons, there were no problems, there was just them. The more he thought about it, the more his mind began to run with the idea, yearning for it to be a reality. Just him and Abel on a couch at night, watching their favorite shows. He leaned back against Abel’s chest, the priest's arms wrapped around him, holding him close. The warmth that came from the black haired man filling him with a warm, permanent happiness that he hasn’t felt in so many years.

He would turn around and place a soft but passionate kiss on the man’s lips, and that kiss would be returned with an equal amount of passion and love. Constantine would run his fingers through those thick black locks, enjoying the silky smooth texture that they held. There was no lust, only love. A romantic feeling that neither of them had felt for another before. Soon enough, Constantine would move his hands away, and rest his head on Abel’s shoulder, a small sigh of content leaving his slightly parted lips. He’d close his eyes, enjoying the moment. Enjoying Abel’s presence. Enjoying the love that they shared. Abel would place a soft kiss on the top of his head before resting his own head on Tines.

The tv would continue to play, though neither of them was paying attention to it anymore. When they finally went back to watching the show, they would have to rewind it back to what they last remembered. Though that would mean they would end up at the beginning of the show again because both of them remembered it being at different points in the episode. At the end of the show, Abel would realize it’s almost midnight and decide that they should head to bed. Constantine would pout a little bit about going to bed already, though he would get over it as soon as Abel placed a warm kiss on his lips. Almost immediately, Constantine would kiss back, their lips pressed together in a sign of love and care. He’d take Abel’s hand and give it a soft squeeze before following the man to bed when they turned off the television.

In bed, they’d lay under the covers together, enjoying the warmth from the bed and from each other. Abel would have his arms wrapped tightly around Tine, never wanting to let go. Tine wouldn’t want him to let go either. Instead, he’d just bury his face in Abel’s chest, breathing in that familiar scent of pine that he would smell every morning and every night. And just like that, they would drift off into the world of sleep together. The next morning they would wake up and Tine would get up and get ready to go to work, Abel sleeping in for a little bit longer. He didn’t have to be to the church until later in the day. Constantine’s job as a secretary for a law firm would have to start earlier in the day, that way the two could get home at the same time and spend the night together.

He let himself get lost in this world that he had created, even though he knew it would never be a reality. He would never get to work in a law firm… at least not as long as the demons were roaming around. Not just that, but he wasn’t sure that Abel was even interested in him. Shaking the thoughts away, he sat up a bit straighter, his day suddenly losing that happy glow that it had before. Now he was just upset. He had made himself upset with that stupid little day dream and he was kicking himself for it. He cast his eyes from the television to the floor, silently cursing himself out. He only looked back up when he heard the door open and a familiar voice call out.

“‘Tine? You still here?”

He perked up slightly, though his joy was quickly deflated when he heard Rocki call out as well.

“Is he still here? Did he not go hunting today?” He only let out a small groan in response before attempting to sink further into the couch. While he loved Abel to death, he could not stand Rocki. The man creeped him out half of the time, and the other half he was just scared of him.

“Abel? Sweetheart, is that you?” His mother called out.

“Mommy? What are you doing here?” Abel’s voice sounded out, filling with disbelief. Constantine turned his head, looking over the top of the cough to see Rocki standing behind Abel, who looked very shocked to see his mother in his apartment. His mom was smiling brightly before looking over at the couch.

“I’m making a cake! It is someone’s birthday after all,” she whispered not-so-discreetly. “And yes, Constantine is still here. I also brought a friend over. The girl you helped last night saved me from a mugger. She wanted to give you proper thanks so I brought her here.”

As they continued to talk about what was going on, Rocki made his way over to Abel’s study, going to do whatever it was he usually did.

Constantine sunk back into the couch, already deep in thought. Whose birthday was it? It wasn’t Abels’ birthday, his birthday was April 17. It wasn’t his mother’s birthday, after all, why would she be making a cake for herself. The more he thought about it, the more confused he was until it hit him, and it hit him hard. It was almost like he had been punched in the gut by a super soldier at peak strength. That was the important thing that he couldn’t remember. It was HIS birthday today.