A/N: Just a quick explanation about what papal dispensation is all about. When someone who has been ordained a priest wants to leave the priesthood, he has to apply to the Vatican for papal dispensation. It's a long torturous process which could take years of waiting. In the meantime the applicant for papal dispensation has to remain within the Church and if he insists on leaving then he gets ex-communicated by the Church. This means he cannot take part in Church activities and Church rites and sacraments will be denied to him.

Third Person POV

The staff who made the error of assigning the corner table to Off which had already been given to the young man was beside himself with profuse apologies.

He suggested to Off a different empty table which was not by a corner and with the offer that his dinner and drinks would be on the house to make up for the error.

Off was studying the face of the young man standing in front of him even as the staff of the pub was pitching his offer to him.

For some reason, Off wanted to spend the evening getting to know the young man.

Suddenly he had an idea.

He looked directly at the young man, saying, "Would you be okay with me sharing your table? I will pay for your dinner and drinks as compensation for the inconvenience."

The young man did not answer right away. Off noticed him squinting his eyes in concentration as if weighing his offer.

"Why won't you take the offer of a different table in exchange for free dinner and drinks?" the young man countered.

Shit, the young man seemed intent on keeping the corner table for himself.

Off decided to come clean.

"Let me be honest with you," said Off, his heart beating fast with the anxious thought of getting rejected. "I really would like to get to know you and have a pleasant chat over dinner and drinks with you."

Off felt the young man studying him closely. He waited with bated breath for the young man's reply.

Finally after what seemed a long wait to Off, the young man spoke up.

"I'm actually here mainly for their karaoke. I come here almost every Friday night because I like doing karaoke, so I won't be able to chat much with you."

"Oh, that's fine with me," said Off. "So is that a yes?"

"I guess so," the young man replied, already taking the menu booklet from the other staff and studying what the menu had to offer.

Since it was a Friday, the menu offered a variety of seafood dishes. So apart from Karaoke Fridays, the seafood dinners were also the reason that the young man would come to this pub on Friday nights. (A/N: I wasn't a vegan yet at that time lol, I turned vegan after our breakup)

"For starters, I would like an order of your coconut shrimps," said the young man. 

The waiter asked the young man if he wanted any of their seafood soups but he declined.

"For the main course, please let me have your lemon baked codfish," Gun said.

"Any drinks, sir?"asked the staff.

The young man looked at the person who offered him free dinner and drinks in exchange for sharing his corner table.

"Would you like to share a bottle of riesling with me?" he asked.

"Are you sure you don't wanna have the bottle all for yourself?" Off teased.

"I'm a lightweight," the young man confessed.

"Very well," said Off, actually pleased with the young man's offer because his long years in the seminary prevented him from drinking any wine except the wine being consecrated at holy mass which had very low alcohol content and from which he and the other seminarians could only take a sip daily, and so he was fairly certain that if he touched any wine this evening he could get buzzed pretty quickly.

The staff looked at Off, waiting for him to give his own order.

"I would like to have whatever he's having," said Off.

"Very well, sir," said the staff before walking away.

"Excuse me," said the young man to Off, as he stood up from his chair. "I'm gonna give my song requests to the staff in charge of the karaoke."

Off nodded, starting to get more and more curious about the young man.

"The usual songs, sir?" the person in charge of karaoke asked the young man.

"Yes, please, thank you," the young man answered with a sheepish smile.

From the frequent Fridays that the young man would ask him for the same three songs, the person in charge already knew what songs to get ready for him.

If the young man was lucky and there were not too many requests from the other customers, he got to sing all three songs. But if there were more than the usual number of karaoke requests, the young man got to sing only two of his requests and on really busy nights, only one.

The person in charge of karaoke handed the young man his ticket with a number printed on it. After he sang his first song, he would have to get another ticket for his next song to give others a chance to sing the song of their choice.

"Thank you," the young man accepted his ticket and walked back to his corner table.

"Our starters have arrived," said Off, but before taking from it he extended his hand to the young man. "My name is Off by the way. What's yours?"

The young man accepted Off's proffered hand. "I'm Gun," he said simply as he shook Off's hand very slightly.

"I frequent this place, mostly on Fridays," said Gun, "I've never seen you before. Are you a visitor to this city?"

"I would say yes, simply because I have been gone for so many years, but I am a native of this city and I come to visit my father once a year," Off replied.

"Oh, you work in another country?" Gun asked.

Off hesitated to reply. He weighed briefly in his mind whether he should give his new acquaintance his real current situation or if he should just make something up.

"It's okay, you don't have to answer," Gun said, already stuffing himself with the coconut shrimps.

Shit, I hesitated too long, Off thought. I should at least tell him something.

"I don't work in another country, but I work in another city and the kind of work I'm in is 24/7 with very brief rest and recreation time so it doesn't afford me a chance to see my father much. I am in constant touch with him by phone, though."

"I see," said Gun, and just at that moment, the staff arrived bringing two long stemmed wine glasses. The staff poured the riesling carefully into each glass.

"Thank you," Off and Gun said at the same time as they accepted their drinks.

Just at that moment, Gun's number was announced. 

"Excuse me," he said to Off.

Gun stood up from his seat and started to walk towards the karaoke center. He had taken only a few steps when he decided to go back to the table to pick up his wine glass.

When Off stared at him wide eyed, Gun said, "I don't trust you with my drink, sorry."

Off let out a loud laugh. "I was just about to drop a packet of barbiturate powder into your glass. You must be psychic!"

In spite of making a joke out of it, Off could not help feeling offended but then again, he told himself that it was reasonable for Gun to take precautions since they had only known each other for a few minutes.

He heard Gun's voice starting to sing the first few lines of a song which he found vaguely familiar. Then he realized it was a song from a Broadway play. Was it possible that Broadway was just one of the things that he and Gun shared in common.

I won't send roses, or hold the door

I won't remember which dress you wore

My heart is too much in control

The lack of romance in my soul

Will turn you gray, kid

So stay away, kid

Off smiled involuntarily at the line... My heart is too much in control...... Was that a warning for him not to get involved with Gun? Was he in for a heartbreak? Wait, he was thinking too far ahead. He didn't even know if he would be seeing Gun again after this evening.

Just as Gun was singing the last line of the song, Off's phone went off with a text notification sound. He took out his phone from his pocket

The text was from one of the younger priests in the seminary with whom he shared a close friendship. Father Charles or Chuck as he asked to be addressed when the superiors were not around, had been the one who had sort of taken Off under his wing when he was still new in the seminary and was struggling with adjusting to the seminary routine and duties. He not only provided guidance to Off, he would even sometimes help out with Off's assigned chores. They had instantly bonded.

Off's heart sank upon reading the text.

"I received a letter from the Vatican today. My application for a papal dispensation has been denied."

"You look upset," said Gun to Off as he took his place back at their table.