A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

This chapter is now fully fan fiction. I have promised a happy ending for OffGun and that's how this story will end.

Third Person POV

Father Charles, or Chuck, as he wanted Off to call him when they were not within earshot of the superiors, met Off at the entrance of the seminary.

Chuck took one of the two suitcases that Off was lugging with him and helped him to bring it to Off's room.

At the long dinner table, after the thanksgiving prayers were recited, the director of the seminary congratulated Off on his decision to proceed with his ordination. Off was the last one among his batch to return to the seminary.

"I was worried for a while that you were not coming back to the seminary," the director addressed Off. "It took you quite some time to send back your Consent to Ordination document. Were you having second thoughts about coming back?"

Off just smiled and did not say yes or no. The director took it to mean that Off did have second thoughts and the director was absolutely right. Gun's image came unbidden to Off's mind and he tried to focus on dinner.

After dinner, when the seminarians and priests were given a fifteen minute break before proceeding to the chapel to recite their vespers, Chuck quickly approached Off and took him aside.

"Let's spend our break in the patio," Chuck suggested and Off followed him there.

Chuck motioned to Off to sit with him on the cement bench under a leafy tree with wide reaching branches.

"Are you a hundred per cent sure?" Chuck asked and Off knew what Chuck meant.

"You want an honest answer?" Off asked.

"I wouldn't accept anything less," Chuck replied.

"I wanna go back to Gun," Off said, covering his face with the palms of his hands so that Chuck would not see the tears that were starting to fall down his cheeks.

Chuck grabbed Off by the shoulders.

"Listen to me, you idiot," Chuck said firmly. "Do not make the same mistake I did. Do you want te be stuck in the priesthood forever? Remember what the bishop says to the ordinand at the end of the ceremony?  "You are a priest F O R E V E R."   That is the Church's way of telling you that papal dispensation is just a term given to something that does not exist. You will never get a papal dispensation once you become a priest. Remember that."

Remember that......... remember that......... remember that.........

The words echoed in Off's mind throughout the evening and throughout the night, and were the first words that came back to his mind when he woke up the following morning.

Off was among the last to enter the recreation room after dinner the following day. Someone had put on some music just as he was walking in through the door.

Long ago, in someone else's lifetime

Someone with my name, who looked a lot like me

Came to know a man and made a promise .........

"Chess," the word came out softly from Off's lips. The song being played was "Someone Else's Story" a song from the Broadway musical, Chess. It was Gun's second favorite song that he sang at the pub.

Was this some kind of message to him from somewhere, telling him to withdraw from the ordination ceremony before it was too late?

Off's thoughts made his attention stray from the song, but when he listened to the song again, the lines came rushing through his brain.

......  and yet I wish it wasn't so

Will he miss me if I go ......

He missed Gun. He was missing him right now. He was missing him badly.

Off left the recreation room and went in search of Chuck. He went straight to Chuck's room, hoping that Chuck would be there.

Off knocked softly before opening the door slightly and looking to see if Chuck was there. Off was in luck.

"I need your help," Off said urgently.

Chuck looked at him wide eyed.

"Let's go quickly," Chuck said. He knew instantly what kind of help Off needed. "I will watch out for you while you make your way to the parking lot through the side exit."

Thankfully, Off's dad had refused to bring Off back to the seminary so Off's car was in the seminary parking lot.

Off's dad had told him, "If you want to go back to the seminary, you have to drive yourself back in your own car."

"I will take care of packing your clothes and personal stuff and shipping them to you,"Chuck whispered to Off as they stealthily made their way to the side exit.

=========

Gun rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes before reaching for his phone and turning off the alarm. He had set the alarm an hour earlier than his usual waking up. He needed to be at the hotel an hour early to make sure that things had been taken care off for an important conference that had been organized by the city. All the high ranking city officials were going to be in attendance. Gun had to make sure that everything went without a hitch. He wanted the city to book their banquet hall each time that they scheduled an important conference like this one.

After his morning routine and after he had put on his best executive clothes, he dabbed on his favorite cologne. 

He turned off the light in his room before walking into the living room. He had to turn on the lights because it was only five o'clock in the morning so the sun had barely come out of the horizon. 

A glance at the time on his phone screen told him there was no time to make himself any breakfast. He could always stop by the kitchen later and ask the chef to prepare something for him.

Gun grabbed his car key and his briefcase and rushed out the door and promptly tumbled over a figure sitting on the top step of the short flight of stairs of his mini porch.

Off caught Gun just before Gun could lose his balance.

AND    OFF AND GUN    LIVED    HAPPILY    EVER    AFTER.

THE END