#conclave fics

3.5k | t | major character death

Vincent coughs again, then rests back, winded. His hand drifts toward the apple plate on the bedside table. Thomas steadies it. Helps him take a slice. It trembles on the way to his mouth. “They used to say I would fracture the Church,” Vincent murmurs. “Let in rot. Invite sin with open hands. All because I believed the ones furthest from the altar were often the ones carrying the most grace.” Thomas doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to. He’s heard this pain before — in meetings, in private, in exile. “They wanted Peter’s fire,” Vincent says. “But I gave them Joseph’s silence. That wasn’t enough.” He pauses. The slice of apple, half-eaten, sits in his palm like a relic. (Or, ten years after the conclave that elected Pope Innocent XIV, it seems that Cardinal Lawrence will need to organize yet another one in this lifetime.)

life on earth could be heaven

chapter one: if you want love, then the love has gotta come from you

five traits thomas and vincent's child inherited from them, and one that is entirely her own.

the press starts to observe thomas and vincent from afar.