For I have sinned...
The principal cleared his throat, eyes scanning the notes that he had wrote down before this meeting. It already lasted an hour, and the teachers gathered in the faculty room were becoming restless and bored. But indeed there were some things to discuss, with the concert that the senior class was supposed to perform at the end of the semester, and with recent staff changes.
William glanced down at his watch, sighing softly. His class was starting in 15 minutes, so at least, whether the meeting will be done soon or not, he will get to excuse himself. He looked out of the window, his mind wandering. Principal’s voice turned into white noise in the background. It was a pleasant day, late summer. But William was looking forward to a slightly cooler weather. Wearing all black could really be bothersome at times.
“And lastly, I am pleased to announce that we have finally found replacement for the violin teacher. Dear Mr Tanaka, may he rest in peace, was with us for so many years that I’ve been concerned we won’t be able to find someone as good as to fill this position.” the principal spoke. “But Mr… Michaelis, was highly recommended to me, and he indeed has impressive references. He will be starting this week, so please welcome him warmly once he will arrive. Ah yes… about that. He will arrive today at noon, I need someone to pick him up from the train station and bring over for the tour around the school. Any volunteers?”
William was barely listening, and definitely not paying much attention. He glanced at his watch again, and saw that it was time to leave, as his class was about to start. He raised his hand to excuse himself, and little did he know, he just volunteered.
“Father William! Excellent!” the principal exclaimed. “Just don’t be late, the train arrives at noon.”
“Train…?” William questioned, raising his brow. He had a feeling he was missing something…
***
Right after the meeting, William had to run for the class, so he had little time to clarify what exactly he had volunteered for. He was a piano teacher in this Music Academy, but also he served as a priest in local church. Well respected, and rather liked. So when he later found out it was about the new violin teacher, he didn’t refuse. Who, other than himself, would be a better choice to introduce a newcome to their community?
So even though he raised his hand by accident, he accepted this fate.
After classes, at noon, William took a taxi and drove to the train station, to pick up their new teacher. Wearing black trousers, and a black shirt with a thin tie, was absolutely dreadful in this weather, so William quickly found shelter under the roof of the station platform, that provided some shade.
The train had just arrived. William had no idea how Mr Michaelis looked like, but he figured he will just look for someone carrying a violin case with them.
He was in for a bit surprise.
@crazyvik97
William scoffed a little at Sebastian when he got teased that doing something ‘instead of being miserable’ was unlike him. But well, it was true that lately he was mostly miserable all of the time. Sebastian was very patient with that. But William felt like maybe it’s time to crawl out of his misery shell, and start living again. He has been waiting for this for so long after all! A normal life, finally.
“I love you too, baby. So much.” William murmured, pressing a sleepy little kiss to Sebastian’s lips. And for the first time since this mess started, William fell asleep easily, and slept soundly throughout the night, not troubled by dreams or thoughts. He just rested, safe and sound in his boyfriend’s arms.
And the next morning, William woke up with a much better attitude. He cleaned himself up, walked downstairs first thing in the morning, fed the kitties, and started on breakfast. Sebastian joined him later on, and they ate their breakfast on the sofa, in front of the TV, watching the morning news. Very domestic. William felt a pleasant tingling in his chest. This wasn’t much, this wasn’t anything spectacular, but it felt good. “So… what do you want to do today, love? We have been sitting at home a lot these past days.”
That night was definitely way more peaceful than the others they’ve had. William slept safe and soundly, Sebastian did too. And then in the morning they had breakfast together, getting to plan about their day.
Sebastian nearly choked on his tea when William suggested what to do - and not sit inside all day. That was new, very much so. Sebastian was happy that clearly William was feeling better. The news were just talking about the weather being nice out today and Sebastian had a bunch of ideas…
„So are you suggesting that we could actually…leave the house?“, Sebastian didn’t say it just to tease - not entirely. „Like…both of us? At the same time? Sorry, no, I don’t mean to tease, honestly. I‘m just so glad to hear you say that. We can absolutely go somewhere. What are you thinking? You mean around town? Or we could also drive somewhere else?“
Sebastian had some ideas of course. What it they just did a little walk? They couldn’t hide forever anyway. And matter or fact was, they didn’t need to any longer. Everyone knew. In a way, that felt very freeing as well.
„What about a walk…we could to the beach? It’s not warm enough to swim yet but…to enjoy the breeze?“, he suggested with a smile, „If we go closer to noon we could combine that with lunch at the fish place near the beach. What do you say?“
“Oh my Gooood, yess I’m saying we should go out together out of the house. Stop teasing.” William groaned. It’s been just a few days, it’s not like he was stuck at home hiding from the world for a year or something.
William took a bite of his toast, pondering about Sebastian’s suggestions. “A walk on the beach sounds nice. Aw, if we had lunch there at the seaside diner it would be exactly like the day we met… that sounds lovely.” he smiled. He had very fond memories of that day, obviously, and now as they were officially beginning their new life together… it felt symbolic. “Yeah, let’s do that.” he decided, taking a sip of his coffee, while Dexter and Pawla squirmed around his lap, fighting for this prime spot to sit on. “We still have those few days off before we need to get back to work, so why not use them to actually enjoy ourselves.”
Alright, alright, maybe Sebastian did like teasing William at times. Someone had to, heh. They both agreed though to make this a walk and combine it with lunch too. Of course Sebastian had fond memories of that place as well - that’s why he suggested it. It was crazy to think back, when they had lunch there for the first time together. William still a priest and Sebastian the very new teacher, a complete foreigner to the village.
Snowflake was purring softly on Sebastian’s lap and Pawla and Dexter both fought for the best spot on dear William - domestic, lovely. Sebastian couldn’t believe yet that they really didn’t have to hide anymore. Probably once they actually went outside it would sink in a little more.
Until that happened, they finished their breakfast slowly. William was right - while they still had those days off, better make good use of them. Reality would slap them in the face soon enough anyway.
After breakfast, since William had cooked breakfast, Sebastian volunteered to clean up the kitchen. They still had the TV running in the background creating soft background noise and every now and again a cat meowed, went outside into the garden or downright screamed at Sebastian, demanding more snacks. The house was really full by now - two humans and a ton of cats. Sebastian wouldn’t want it any other way. Then shortly before noon, they got ready. And despite it all, Sebastian felt a little nervous.
He didn’t want anyone to confront them. Or throw vile words at them. Anything. That was at the back of his mind, no matter what.
William was nervous too, but he wanted to… rip off the bandaid, so to speak. He knew that they eventually just needed to live their normal life, and not hide in the house forever. The whole point of him leaving the priesthood was to stop the secrecy and just be able to live their life unapologetically! So yes, he was nervous, and he knew that if anyone confronts them it will get him upset. But… that’s going to happen sooner or later anyway. So better to get it over with. Just move on. Let people see, let them talk, and then, eventually, they will move on too.
So, they got ready, and William encouraged Sebastian to bring his camera with him as well. Their first little walk together as an official couple! Worth commemorating, right? First time not hiding in public. It was a big deal.
And… they went. Just like that, and not really. This time, going for a simple walk, felt like a rite of passage. William’s hand was trembling just a little when he reached over and took Sebastian’s hand into his own. His heart was pounding. Walking through town hand in hand for the first time… it was so exciting, but unnerving too.
Sebastian agreed there that they just had to get it over with. Sooner rather than later they would be seen anyway and it was better to set things straight (or in their case gay) as soon as possible.
So when they stepped out, Sebastian with his camera even, and initiated to hold hands, it felt…electrifying. Sebastian felt the anxiety deep within but at the same time he felt brave, simply because they were doing it together. And there was also a part inside him that just fiercely wanted to protect William. What would they do in case of confrontation, hide? Apologise? Anyone who as much as looked at them weird, Sebastian should fuck them up. He wasn’t one to just take such insults anyway. People shouldn’t get comfortable being bigoted to them - so it was best to defend themselves, for sure. Just like Sebastian screamed at William’s mom, he would do the same with anyone who decided to act rude towards them.
With that in mind, he felt a little more secure. They walked down the sidewalk of their neighbourhood - it was a normal weekday so most people were at work or at schools - and thus not many, if any at all, people could be seen. Sebastian squeezed William‘s hand. They followed the side walk down the road, eventually turning to their left on a little path that led away from the streets but further down towards the beach. It was a little shortcut so to say. It was a little before noon but they had time. They would enjoy the beach first before making their way to the diner. And so far, they didn’t meet any people - that they knew, anyway.
„Oh…there, this is lovely. You want to sit down on that trunk and I take a picture of you?“, Sebastian suggested and gestured towards that dried up wood on the beach, once they arrived there. It was beautiful weather, a beautiful scenery with soft waves and a little wind. It wasn’t chilly but it wasn’t warm either. Pretty perfect.
So far it wasn’t so bad, mostly because there weren’t a lot of people out and about, so they could just walk casually. They saw a couple of people on the way, walking out of the stores or occupied with walking their dogs, and everything was just… normal, so far. Everyone was minding their own business, probably not even noticing them.
By the time they got to the beach William was a little more relaxed, and not as nervous anymore. He knew it won’t always be like this, especially not at school, but this first time was the hardest. Each next time surely will be a bit easier, and he will be a bit more confident.
The day was lovely, and being on the beach quickly made William forget about his worries. The view, the scent of salty sea water, the gentle breeze, it all always had a calming effect on him. He sat down on the wooden log so Sebastian could take a photo, and then they took a few more together - propping the camera over some rocks and setting up the timer.
This time, they didn’t have to pretend. They could freely take couple photos, arms around each other, little kisses. It was a small thing, but felt strangely freeing.
“Seb? What did your doctors back in rehab said about returning to working out? Maybe we could start something together… jogging, or going back to our yoga? I would love to go for a hike up to the Abbey ruins again… but I don’t want you to strain yourself too much while you’re still recovering.”
Once they took their first pictures together, Sebastian really felt this becoming more natural, without the anxiety. Surely this would get better with time. Now they just had to get it over with but…eventually it would be fine. They took some lovely couple’s pictures by propping the camera up somewhere and Sebastian supposed there were even some people farther away that took notice of it but…nothing happened.
No one approached them to cause commotion but they did earn some stares (from far away anyway). It didn’t bother them though. It was subtle enough. And their photos turned out way too good to have this experience tainted.
“Hmm…wait, let me think. I’m pretty sure they said to take it easy first. And start slowly, but I already trained a fair amount back at rehab. To at least get a basic amount of muscle back. So I’m sure if we start with yoga and walks first, it’ll be fine. And build up my stamina. If I went up there now, I’m pretty sure you’d have to carry me back down”, he smirked a bit.
“Our third anniversary is approaching though”, Sebastian remarked, “Our friendship anniversary that is. Maybe we can plan this. To train in advance for when we want to hike up there, for our anniversary in summer. That’d be…also very romantic, dove. Let’s have a picnic up there, what do you say? Applepie for dessert?”, he smirked.
“That is an excellent idea.” William immediately perked up. “We can plan the hike for our friendship anniversary and train steadily until then. That should work.” He agreed excitedly. “Let’s start with yoga and walks, yes. Ohh this will be so fun!” William smiled, hugging his boyfriend and giving him a kiss. Oh! This was spontaneous, but… first kiss in public!
Okay, William was nervous about this before, but now he was starting to love this. Such freedom… he could just do whatever he wanted! It was worth it. Even if some people will be against them.
“But you know what… there is something that is coming up even sooner than our anniversary.” William grinned. “Your birthday is soon! We should host a party together, for the first time officially as a couple!”
Honestly, with all these things going on - Sebastian’s recent rehab, the whole illness story before that, then William’s official resignment and now the scandal - Sebastian simply didn’t think about his birthday at all. When William mentioned it, it felt as if he just punched Sebastian in the face.
Yea, Sebastian still never got over the simple concept of aging.
“Oh god”, he blurted out, it was the first thing that came to his mind. “I mean-…no, sure, yes absolutely, we should host a party, for sure”, Sebastian agreed - genuinely so. “Just no-…no numbers, right? No numbers on the cake or balloons. We could do a little barbecue and I could invite all my friends from London again…and then break the news to them that we’re together”, he grinned. He was excited for a party - just a party that didn’t remind him how old he got. He supposed as long as he didn’t have grey hair yet, it was fine…
“Alright, honey… no numbers, promise.” William hummed, amused by Sebastian’s obsession with aging. He was barely above 30. Oh Gosh. He really thought this was over once Sebastian realized that losing hair didn’t make William love him any less. Apparently not.
“But a barbecue sounds very nice. We will do decorations, and buy all sorts of meats and veggies, and fresh buns for homemade burgers.” William babbled a little, planning happily. He was excited, this was new. He was just excited to… do normal things, but as a couple! Officially! Without pretending or hiding!
“We can invite everyone you want, it will be like a double celebration - your birthday and your recovery. It will be so fun!” William announced happily, and gave Sebastian another kiss.
Then, he took his boyfriend’s hand once more, and they kept strolling along the beach. And now it definitely felt less stressful. It felt good.
William of course agreed to Sebastian’s birthday conditions - it was mostly harmless anyway. Maybe eventually Sebastian would get over it but…not on this birthday. He generally had some other struggles. He was very vain, that was no secret. Now that he was back to health and “had time” to worry about more mundane stuff, it might as well be his surgery scars that could bother him now, or his wrinkles (that no one noticed except him) or his hair (or lack thereof).
Either way. William agreed and gave him a kiss and then they continued their walk, holding hands. Without hiding!
This felt less scary now indeed. They walked further down the beach, the wind was brushing through their hair. They were gradually approaching the diner but there was no reason to rush. Sebastian took some more pictures of William’s hair flowing in the wind. He looked so handsome - and Sebastian made sure to let his beloved know that.
Sebastian tried not to think about it all too much. It felt uncomfortable now but…well, this could hardly go on forever. After they took some more pictures and enjoyed the fresh ocean breeze, gradually they got hungry.
What was especially scary about entering the diner - the owner knew them both. It was family owned, the Mrs even was part of Mrs Broadchurch’s book club. And they were somewhat frequent visitors. When Sebastian and William entered, it was only a few other guests there, chatting and studying the menu. Delicious smell was coming from the kitchen. A waitress, that they knew by face, greeted them right away and led them to their table. …Well, so far so good…
Going into the diner now felt different than walking the beach or even the streets of St Michael’s. Now they were kind on the spot, other guests, the owner, the waitress… all of the eyes on them. William definitely felt nervous, because it was pretty much their first ‘public appearance’ as a couple.
It was unavoidable. They definitely attracted attention, some people began talking quietly between each other. William just tried to ignore it, just… let it happen, let their curiosity flow. They were paying attention because it was something new and surprising. Simple as that.
Well, easier said than done. As they sat down at the table William got a little tense as he heard people whispering, as he felt their looks. He tried to act casually, but of course it was all awkward. Nothing about this was casual.
A waitress approached them, friendly as ever, offering the menu cards. “Hi there, Mr Michaelis, Father William…” she greeted them with a nod.
“Just William.” he corrected, his face burning as he said that out loud.
As they walked further into the diner, Sebastian supposed it couldn’t be helped that they would get stared at. People knew them and people knew what happened for sure, this spread like wildfire. Sebastian just didn’t expect people to openly whisper among them when they were literally sitting right there. It was uncomfortable but Sebastian tried to shake off that feeling. He felt their stares right up his neck…
As the waitress handed them the menu cards, she called William ‘father’ again - of course as she usually would. Sebastian could sense how uncomfortable William was when he corrected her, his face was red as a tomato. But the waitress handled that casually.
“William it is. Do you already know what you’d like to drink or would you like to check first?”, she smiled and her friendliness didn’t appear fake at all. It was just like always, really. Sebastian didn’t give himself any reason to relax yet though.
“Uhm-…Coke for me, please”, Sebastian ordered - they didn’t need to check the menu for that. They usually always ordered the same drinks. Once the order was taken and the waitress left them, the tension in the air was still palpable. Sebastian couldn’t remember the last time he was this tense during a lunch.
Maintaining a low profile, Sebastian looked around a little, to see if he recognized anyone in particular. Well, he saw familiar faces but he couldn’t exactly tell where he knew them from. Students’ parents? People attending church? Oh, maybe he actually saw some in William’s masses before, but he wasn’t sure…
Upon glancing back at William, he immediately noted how tense William still was. His cheeks were still flushed and he awkwardly stared into the menu, as if he refused to look anywhere else.
Sebastian hesitated at first but then he leaned over and put his hand on William’s. “…I guess that’s the hard part”, he whispered.
William just sighed and nodded, smiling at his boyfriend slightly. “Yeah, we knew this won’t be easy.” he hummed. “Let’s just… try to ignore it, and go about our day. If we act bothered or ashamed, it will be worse.” he decided. Of course, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with all this, but what else could he do? Just act normal, and not let other people’s opinions dictate his life.
“Alright so…” William opened the menu, looking through the options. “What do you want to get?” He of course knew the diner’s menu pretty well, and had his favourites, but today William was in the mood for trying something new.
“Oh look… they have a new special - crab dumplings. That sounds great, I think I will get those to try. And then maybe some fries and a salad on the side. Sounds delicious.” William decided. It was clear that he was trying hard to just ‘act normal’ but was still nervous. But oh God, he just wanted to have dinner out in town, was that a crime? No.
He made a decision to leave the priesthood and be with Sebastian, and even if the unfortunate article didn’t happen people would still be shocked anyway. So… he needs to own up to it. He did it to live his life the way he wanted to.
Sebastian agreed with that - to just act normal. He wasn’t ashamed to be here after all, or for what they are. People were judgemental all the time - and they would be even without the article, had William just resigned without any scandal around. So they just studied them menu unbothered (on the outside at least).
„Hm crab dumplings sound delicious… But you know me, I can never say no to catfish…“, Sebastian sighed with a smile. It was true, most of the time he ordered the same thing again and again, „However…maybe I‘ll have some coleslaw on the side instead of fries…wait, we could share the fries, let’s take the big size?“
As they discussed their food, soon their drinks came as well. The waitress seemed unbothered, asked them for their food order. Fish for Sebastian, dumplings for William, salads for both and the big fries - to share. She grabbed the menus and was on her way again. Well at least the waitress treated them like normal people…
Still Sebastian felt slightly tense. People were still whispering, they were still staring. It felt as if they were on display. They didn’t even sit in the center of the restaurant. They had a lovely little spot by the window in some corner, with a great view out towards the sea. Still, people noticed them. From other tables, from the stools by the bar.
Then he remembered.
Sebastian grabbed his camera and started looking through the photos they took together just earlier. Just to do something with his hands and to ignore those rude stares. And to…talk away the tension.
„Aw…you know, we really need to print these. For the album? I think if we put them all on the wall, we’ll run out of room so quickly…“
There, they were acting normal. Sebastian kept talking, about nothing really. It really didn’t take long until he saw someone approach them out of the corner of his eye though.
„Hello William, Sebastian - greetings from the kitchen. Sorry, I didn‘t mean to interrupt“, it was Mrs Pascoe - the wife of Mr Pascoe and also owner of this very restaurant. Adrenaline shot up Sebastian‘s veins - to be fair. Oh what was coming now… She placed some cucumber sandwiches on their table - their classic greetings from the kitchen. He noted that she clearly left out the ‚father‘ already…
„I just heard you returned from your rehab just days ago. I needed to ask how you’re doing, you’re already looking so much better and healthier“, she smiled - she was on a first name basis with them both, really - she was older than them, in her mid 50s - and of course had heard of Sebastian’s cancer story and all that. And well…she was part of the book club…
At first Sebastian thought she wanted to pry and ask them about something else. He completely forgot that he still wore the aftermath of his treatment right on his very head. He had such short hair now.
„Oh-…yes, yes, indeed. No I‘m doing great, really, thank you for asking. Rehab went well, it was great up there in Newcastle“, he smiled.
„And I see your hair is already growing back. Oh that’s such a relief. Cancer can be so scary and to have to deal with it so young… I thought of you often, my nephew had something similar years ago, he was just 20. Oh he’s healthy now, thank goodness. But really makes you focus on the important things in life…“, she sighed.
William supposed that this whole experience in the diner was the perfect representation of how people in town generally might react. Some of them will be unbothered and kind, like the waitress. Some of them will whisper and gossip. And they simply need to… deal with that. Go about their lives, and focus on them and not what other people think. That was really the best (and only, really) thing they could do. William just didn’t see any other way. Just wait it out, try not to pay attention to the whispering and gossiping part.
After the waitress took their order, they looked through the photos Sebastian took, and William tried to decide which one was the nicest, to choose one to print and frame for their wall gallery. However, that was interrupted by the diner owner, Mrs Pascoe, who came out of the kitchen and approached their table.
William immediately got tense and nervous. His mind got flooded with the most pessimistic scenarios. Was she coming out to tell them they’re not welcomed in the diner anymore? That must be it, right? Mrs Pascoe was a church goer, she probably thought William was an awful sinner and she didn’t want to serve him!!
William got pale, and he expected the worst, but Mrs Pascoe just brought out cucumber sandwiches as appetizers and started casually chatting to Sebastian. She very kindly asked about his rehab and about how he felt, she was clearly sympathising. William relaxed a bit, but he still felt awkward so he wasn’t saying anything, just sitting there quietly and lightly nibbling at one of the sandwiches.
Sebastian felt that Mrs Pascoe was genuinely being friendly - her asking about his health didn’t seem superficial and she also wasn’t the kind of person for that. He knew her as friendly and kind - although also avid church goer so he had some worries.
However, the conversation remained calm and nice.
“…so yea, chemo was definitely the most intense phase, but it’s much better now.”
“Oh…well the main thing is that you’re well again”, she smiled. Then, her eyes briefly flickered towards William.
“I imagine he took good care of you”.
Sebastian chuckled: “He certainly did”.
“Oh now that I think of it. Any idea who’ll be taking over the parish?”, she asked then, looking at William now.
“I’m…not sure actually”, Sebastian answered, looking over at William for a moment, “I don’t think we get any infos anymore”, he smiled, with just a little bit of tension.
William nearly choked on his cucumber sandwich when Mrs Pascoe spoke directly to him. He was on edge, a bundle of nerves, expecting to be ‘attacked’ at any given moment. Which was wild, because Mrs Pascoe was just a nice diner owner, and not a violent crowd with pitchforks and torches.
“Um… I’ve only been told that the diocese has already found a new priest. But I don’t know who it is, or even if I know him. I’ll be meeting him this weekend when I hand over the keys.” William explained. It was… a little strange to so openly talk about him moving on from the church. But well, it was official now.
“I was told the transition will be smooth so… this Sunday the Mass should commence as planned.” William added with a small, nervous smile, and then immediately showed the rest of the cucumber sandwich into his mouth.
“Oh I see, I see. Well, I’m curious to see how he gets on. He’s got big shoes to fill. Anyway”, she hummed, “I’m not gonna bother you any longer. Enjoy your lunch”, and with that, she showed them one more friendly smile and turned on her heel, to leave them to it.
For a moment there was still this slight tension left in the air. Sebastian didn’t say anything for a few seconds and he just…watched her go, vanish into the kitchen in the back behind the bar.
“…big shoes to fill”, he repeated eventually and glanced over at William.
William didn’t want to get his hopes too high but…
“That’s… that’s a compliment, isn’t it?” he whispered to Sebastian. “Big shoes to fill? As in… I was a good priest. And it will be… hard to replace me?” William questioned, wanting his boyfriend’s confirmation. It was pretty obvious, but William was so paranoid that he was wondering if he wasn’t reading too much into it.
But the fact was that Mrs Pascoe was kind and friendly to them today, welcoming as ever. There was no indication that she was thinking less of William now, or was upset with him or something.
So… good. Surprising, but good.
And soon enough, the waitress also brought their food, once again offering them a kind smile. That was what counted… all those good encounters, all the people who didn’t treat them any different, all the people who accepted them. Not the gossip and whisper.
„Honey, that is a big compliment“, Sebastian whispered right back, going over it again and again in his head. But there was no denying it - Mrs Pascoe was very friendly towards them, no doubt. She had asked Sebastian about how he was doing health wise, then casually asked about the new priest, clearly hinting at the obvious. Sebastian couldn’t blame William that he overthought stuff so much. He was too.
But this was very good news, indeed. Soon their food came too and again, no incidents. It smelled delicous too. But that was no surprise, it was always delicious no matter what they tried here. William got his crab dumplings. Heh, Sebastian would definitely steal one.
For now, they forgot all about the whispers around them - the interaction with Mrs Pascoe just now had been too friendly - a relief for them, really. So they dug in and enjoyed their meal to the fullest. William even gave Sebastian a dumpling - he didn’t even need to steal one! Heh, in turn Sebastian also shared some of his fish. The usual between them. Only now they didn’t need to hide it.
Overall, despite all the anxiety and the uncomfortable feeling that being stared at and whispered about brought upon him, William eventually managed to quite smoothly slide into a sense of normalcy. Once he and Sebastian started to eat, chat casually in between, share food, try each other’s meals… the atmosphere definitely loosened up. William stopped noticing the people around him, and by extension - he stopped caring. It still felt a little… odd, just because it was new, to so openly ‘be a couple’ in public. But slowly, William discovered he was getting used to it. They were already doing such things whenever they would travel to other cities, so it wasn’t completely foreign - that helped too.
So in the end, their lunch ended up actually lovely. Not as stressful as William had feared. Obviously, he knew things won’t be ideal, and that they will most probably have to deal with some backlash anyway… but this was a good start. An optimistic start. It was proof that not everything was going to be hopeless as William worried, and that there will be people on their side here in town.
After lunch (the crab dumplings were delicious!) William of course ordered dessert. Big slice of apple pie with hot crust and a portion of vanilla ice cream. He deserved to treat himself after the big challenge that he overcame today. First time in public after this awful article caused this whole scandal.
Indeed their lunch turned out lovely in the end either way. Their food was delicious and of course William had something sweet afterwards. Sebastian never told him no, and especially today he needed some sugar too for that additional good mood. So he snacked on that dessert a little bit too. Heh, all his treat though.
Before they left, Sebastian covered the bill without letting William pay a penny. He wanted to treat him today. People might have been still staring but at this point they didn’t care as much - this was not so bad. So far, much more people have shown themselves supportive than not. It really gave them courage - before they left, they even exchanged some more words with Mr and Mrs Pascoe, complimenting their food. Then they went their way.
It was odd to walk around in town like that on a random Tuesday. Afternoon by now, the town was just a little bit more lively but not by much. The town‘s main square was the most popular spot, with lots of shops to visit. In the rest of the town, barely anyone to be seen.
„I think lunch went really well, dove. Honestly, way better than I expected“, Sebastian smiled as they were already on their way back again, nearly back in their neighbourhood. „Mrs Pascoe was so friendly…I bet that’s because she’s in that damn book club! I swear, Mrs Broadchurch is behind this in some way…“ It was funny to think about that Mrs Broadchurch could have formed a conspiracy like this - spreading the word to have everyone treat her dear neighbours nicely. Who knew? Why else was everything running so…smoothly?
„I think I‘ll ask her next time she invites us over for-…what the hell?“
Sebastian stopped in his tracks once they reached their road, their house just on the opposite side of the street. In front of their house, parked next to Sebastian‘s and William’s very car, were two other cars with number plate from London. And then Sebastian noticed people by their front door - two men and a woman. He immediately got a bad feeling - what the hell was that? Who was that? One of them carried a camera… He approached them.
„Hey. Can I help you?“
William was in a really good mood after their lunch. It all went much better than he had expected, so he was relieved. He truly thought everyone would hate him and judge him, but so far a lot of people were supportive. It wasn’t as bad as he had imagined, and once again I realized he has been overthinking a lot and creating pessimistic scenarios in his head, but the reality was much different. Much better. Seb would always tell him that, trying to stop him from spiralling, and William would learn time and time again that his boyfriend was just always right about these things.
As they walked back home, William laughed at the idea that Mrs Broadchurch might have been working as their ‘secret agent’. But who knows! Maybe she actually was putting in a good word here and there. It wasn’t so far-fetched, after all, she was well-known and well-liked in town and had lots of connections.
But, just as they arrived at the cottage, another surprise awaited them. Two cars with London plates were parked in front of their house, and strange people were lurking around. The London plates unnerved William at first, but upon closer look he could confirm that he didn’t know these people and they didn’t look like anyone connected to his family. He looked over at Sebastian and shrugged.
Well, that mystery was quickly resolved. Once Sebastian approached and reluctantly greeted the strange visitors - they hurried to introduce themselves.
“Oh hi! Jenna Stark, Daily Mail. And this is my partner, Steven Abbott.” the woman greeted them with an exaggerated smile, and immediately offered a hand to shake.
The third man followed by introducing himself as well. “Gregory McTumm, Daily Mirror.”
The names of major newspapers instantly caused William’s hair to stand on ends. More reporters? At their doorstep?! This had to be some kind of a nightmare…
Well shit - these were reporters, just like Sebastian feared. The woman extended her hand to shake but Sebastian didn’t take it - he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Surely they weren’t just here to ask about some weather phenomenon.
Jenna Stark didn’t let Sebastian’s gesture bother her, clearly. She focused on William then, standing right next to Sebastian. „Mr Spears, is that right? And Mr Michaelis? We’re just here for a few questions regarding your newest article- as you surely know everyone has been wondering what-…“
„This is private property. How did you get this address?“, Sebastian interrupted her, then suddenly he heard a click sound. The camera. This Steven-guy over there was taking pictures.
„Hey. No pictures“, Sebastian held his hand up against the camera lens, „I have no problem calling the police to settle this, you have no business being here. We will not be answering any of your questions anyway, thank you. And you delete that photo.“
That was clear enough. But of course these people were used to that. The camera man did nothing of the sort to start the process of deleting any picture whatsoever.
„Oh no, there is no need for that, we just did some research with information that is available to the public anyway. We are on no private property as far as I‘m concerned“, Jenna Stark said.
„Oh you are“, Sebastian now pointed down at the line between street and his lawn in front of the house, „The border of this property starts here, so yes, you are on private property. I will not repeat myself“.
„Mr Spears, we just want to ask a few questions and then we’ll be gone, it‘ll be quick and easy“, the guy from Daily Mirror, Gregory McTumm, said now and focused on William, since they noted that Sebastian was blocking them completely. „Our readers want answers, there has been a great disarray of different stories and versions so we just would like you to clarify. This relationship had been going on for much longer during your priesthood, is that right? When did this start? You had no intention of resigning or making this official in any way? Did you have any plan, did you feel guilty? And do you only resign now because you are forced to by the church?“
„I said we are not answering any questions“, Sebastian sternly said again and somewhat took a step in front of William, as if to shield him. Jenna immediately took this as an opportunity: „Mr Michaelis, Mr Spears didn‘t yet have the chance to speak. Why are you not letting him speak? So is it true what Mrs Spears said, did you manipulate Mr Spears to be with you?“
Oh, this was… extremely unnerving and unpleasant. Honestly, thank God Sebastian was there, because William got very much overstimulated very fast with all of those invasive questions being thrown at him. Seb instantly went into protective mode, stance with arms crossed, refusing to talk to these people other than to order them off their property, and shielding William behind himself.
William was just… overwhelmed, really. He didn’t expect any actual reporters to appear in person in their town, in front of their house. He figured… well, if any other news outlets get a hang of this, it will probably be all based on the info from whoever first provided the pictures and information to The Sun. He literally thought that all he has to deal with right now are people here in town, at school, and his family. Not press chasing him.
Honestly, it was good that Seb was taking charge here, because the reporters managed to very quickly overpower William and almost convinced him to speak. Because at first, when the guy from Daily Mirror said that this is an opportunity to clarify and tell his side of the story, William perked up a little. Surely this was better than letting rumors and exaggerated versions fly around? “Um, Seb? Maybe we should…?” William began, but then changed his mind quickly as the reporter began shooting very invasive questions at him. That really made William backtrack, because it all seemed like they were asking for very private things, and just fishing for ‘the juicy bits’.
At this point William was ready to just… ignore them and go back inside, and Sebastian was also very firmly telling them that they’re not answering questions and to get off the property. Jenna Stark was already waving her business card around, sensing that she won’t get any comments today anyway, so at least she wanted to wedge her way in somehow, to leave her phone number in case William wavers. But then, the one question made William stop in his tracks and really get angry now. Because so far all the other questions were about him, and deep down William felt like he deserved this mess because of the decisions he made that were objectively wrong. But when the reporters attacked Sebastian too, William truly got upset. And they mentioned his mother's claims, which was crazy. Did his mother talk to the press about this?! Apparently. William just couldn't let his mother's words to be just there out in the world, slanding his boyfriend, without him saying anything in his defense.
“Hey!” he pointed his finger at the reporter, his voice firm. “I was not manipulated by anyone. Leave Sebastian out of this!”