Chapter Text
A few days had passed since Terzo's meeting with Copia in the library. Despite the awkwardness, Terzo found himself thinking about the cardinal more often than he’d like to admit. His surprising offer of assistance had stayed in Terzo's mind, giving him a little hope in finding an assistant.
Terzo was on his way to a meeting and his thoughts wondered back to Copia. He thought about what the cardinal was up to, whether he was sat in a boring cardinal class or doing some paperwork in the quiet library.
As Terzo’s thoughts continued, he turned a corner and nearly crashed into someone coming from the opposite direction. He stumbled back, catching himself just in time to avoid a collision.
"My apologies, Your unholiness," a familiar voice said, the amusement clear in the voice.
Terzo looked up to see Copia standing before him, a small smile pricked at the corners of his lips.
"Copia," Terzo said, surprised that the man he was just thinking about was suddenly stood before him.
"It seems we keep running into each other," Copia said, a smirk appeared across his face.
Terzo couldn't help but smile.
"Yes, it appears so," he replied, an unfamiliar feeling washed over Terzo at the sight of the cardinal.
As they stood in the corridor, a comforting silence sat between them, despite the brothers and sisters of sin bustling around them.
The longer they stood together, the more Terzo found himself studying Copia's features. His hair was neatly done up this time and the corner of his eyes crinkled every time he smiled.
"Listen, Copia," Terzo began, breaking the silence. "I've been giving some thought to your offer of assistance..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a loud bell chimed, indicating that the next class was coming up.
“I’m sorry Papa, but I need to get to this class,” Copia said. He gave the Papa a genuine smile and hurried off.
Terzo watched as he disappeared down the hall and he sighed to himself, slightly disappointed. Though, he had to get to his own meeting anyway.
***
The meeting passed in a blur. Terzo’s mind kept drifting back to Copia at every chance he got. He would definitely need to borrow someone’s meeting notes.
As the meeting concluded, Terzo politely but quickly excused himself, bidding everyone a good afternoon as he left. He noticed some of the clergy members were giving him a few looks as he left, but he didn’t care. He was eager to see the Cardinal once again.
He knew class would be over by now as it was past 4 o’clock, but he wasn’t sure where the cardinal would be.
He checked some of the classrooms and peeked into the library, but there was no sign of Copia. Disappointed, Terzo decided to make his way back to his quarters, knowing that their paths may not cross again today.
As he was walking back towards his living area, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Before he could react, a hand grasped his arm, spinning Terzo around.
When Terzo turned around, he saw a slightly flushed Cardinal staring at him. Terzo couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.
“Copia,” Terzo said, his excitement clear in his words. “Wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” that was an obvious lie. He just spent almost half an hour trying to look for him and it was clear Copia knew he was lying. Terzo looked down at the cardinal with happiness.
“I remembered our small conversation earlier, I was curious on what you wanted to say so I had to come see you,” Copia said, looking directly at Terzo. “And I apologise for leaving so suddenly.”
Terzo was slightly shocked at the words that came out of Copias mouth. His mind dwelled on the words I had to come see you , but he mentally slap himself back to reality when he realised he was taking too long to respond to the cardinal.
“Oh…I was going to say that I have given your offer on becoming my assistant a lot of thought,” Terzo started, still slightly surprised at Copias words, “and I think I am going to accept your offer.”
A large grin stirred across Copias face and his eyes seemed to twinkle.
“You may come to my office tomorrow at noon and we can discuss the details and what you will be assisting me of,” Terzo said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
Copias grin turned into a smile and he happily said “Thank you Papa, I’ll be sure to be there”
Terzo stared at Copia with a smile. His relief bubbled into something else and he didn’t quite understand it. He caught himself staring at the cardinal once again and had to reel himself back to real life again.
“Well, I will you see you tomorrow Papa,” Copia said, his smile had turned into a small smirk and he walked past Terzo in a confident stride. Terzo watched him disappear down the corridor for the second time that day, a smile still spread across his face.
***
“You have got to be kidding me”
Secondo said slightly bewildered. He slumped down on his large leather chair which faced his younger brother who was sprawled across a matching lovers seat.
“What? I met him at the library a week ago and we started talking!” Terzo said “I told him about my struggles with finding an assistant and he offered. He is qualified for the job, he is smart and is even top of his class.”
“You praise him as if you have known him for several years. You only know of him because you found him in my bedroom,” Secondo sighed, he stared at his brother with slight annoyance.
“Didn’t you hire the first person you met?” Terzo quipped, giving Secondo a sly look. That shut him up.
“I am not saying it’s a bad thing Terzo, I’m just…surprised,” Secondo said, rubbing his forehead. “If you think he can help you through your…er… difficulties ,” [Terzo rolled his eyes at that], “then I will support your decision.”
He flashed his younger brother a small smile. He understood the problems Terzo was facing and was genuinely glad that he had found someone who could help him. He huffed out a small laugh and took out a cigar and lit it.
“What are you laughing at?” Terzo asked, leaning upwards to stretch.
“It just had to be him?” Secondo said, bringing the cigar up to his lips.
“ Oh, per l'amor di Satana!” Terzo yelled and flopped back down onto the sofa.