Chapter Text
Apprehension felt like it was seeping into your bones as you made your way down the familiar halls of the abbey. It wasn’t unusual for you to make your way to Sister Imperator’s office; but it was usually to drop off some overdue paperwork that Papa had finally filled out. But today was different; you had been going about your normal duties in Papa’s office when the phone rang. You could just about make our Sister’s voice on the other end of the line as Papa’s brow creased. This is in turn caused you to be slightly concerned as you knew that the two of them didn’t exactly have the best relationship.
Once Papa had hung up the phone, he said that Sister had requested your presence in her office. You of course left at once, the last thing you wanted to do was to keep her waiting. She unnerved you at the best of times. You scurried out of the office and down the hall as quickly as you could without drawing any unnecessary attention to yourself from the other siblings of sin that were making their own way through the halls.
Several minutes passed and you found yourself outside Sister Imperator’s office, you tentatively knocked on her door waiting for her to bid you to enter. Several questions raced through your mind whilst you waited. What could she want with me? I’ve only been Papa’s assistant for two weeks; I can’t have fucked up already! This was your primary concern, as you had recently been assigned to Papa Emeritus III’s office as his last assistant decided to leave the Ministry as she had a crisis of faith and went back to her old life and old belief.
“Enter!” You heard from behind the door.
You gingerly opened the door and stepped into Sister’s office. Imperator was looking down at some paperwork spread across her desk. She flicked her eyes up to see whom it was who had interrupted her and once she realised it was you, laid her pen down and looked at you intently but instead of her usual cold stare; there was something of an unusual softness in her eyes.
“Ah! Sister, I’m glad you arrived promptly.” She said.
You quietly cleared your throat, trying to hide your nervousness. “Is there something you needed of me Sister?” You asked, praying to the Dark Lord that you hadn’t cocked something up.
“No, actually I received a message for you.” She sighed.
“Oh?” You exhaled, the weight of concern lifting from you slightly.
“Yes, well, I’m very sorry to have to tell you this but shortly before I rang Papa’s office; your mother called and left a message.” She explained. Dread now filled the pit of your stomach, the relationship you had with your mother was tenuous at best, filled with anger and disappointment at worst. “She wanted me to pass along the news that your father has passed away, I’m truly sorry.” Sister’s face softened as she dealt you this devastating blow.
You stood in shock, not comprehending the words that had just left Sister’s mouth. After what seemed like a lifetime, you managed to eke out “S-She d-didn’t want to tell me herself?” Tears started to blur your vision as a wave of pain began to spread outwards from your heart over your body.
“Unfortunately no, my dear, it seemed that she just wanted you to know. The call was rather short. If you need it, I can inform Papa that you will be taking the rest of the day off at the very least.”
“No. No thank you Sister. To be honest I would rather remain busy.” You tried to remain as stoic as possible, despite the feelings of hurt and pain crushing you. You managed a very weak laugh. “You know how far he can get behind with his work in a blink of an eye.”
Sister blinked and leant back in her chair seeming slightly surprised at your resolve to remain on task. “Very well, but don’t hesitate to ask either Papa or myself if you need anything.”
“Actually Sister, there was one thing.” You paused. “Did my mother mention the funeral arrangements at all?” You felt you probably knew the answer, but you couldn’t stop yourself from asking despite the inevitable pain it was going to cause you.
“No my dear, I got the feeling that she couldn’t get off the phone quick enough.” Sister sighed.
“Oh okay. No problem, I’ll return to Papa’s office then.” You replied. Sister Imperator nodded and turned back to her papers and your shoulders slumped and you turned and exited her office. You quietly closed the door behind you and took a few steps down the hallway back towards Papa’s office when you stopped.
You stood, unable to move, your blood pounding in your ears, your head suddenly feeling very fuzzy, so much so that you had to reach out and lean against the nearest wall to steady yourself. How could your mother not want to tell you herself? You knew she vehemently disapproved of your faith and lifestyle and early on when you became open about it voiced her opinion as frequently as she could, but still? This wasn’t about the two of you, this was about Dad! You knew that he had had some health concerns from the letters he wrote you but he always played it off as nothing major. But now he was gone! Questions beginning with “What? How? Why? and When?” took turns spinning through your mind until you broke. You slid down the wall and slumped to the floor. Your sobs muffled by your arm whilst tears cascaded down your face and dripped onto your habit. You weren’t even aware of how long you’d been sat in a pile of your own sorrow or the steps coming down the hallway.
“Sorella, are you okay? I was expecting you ba-.” You looked up to see concern etched on Terzo’s face as he took in your tear stained face and bloodshot eyes. He quickly knelt down in front of you at the sight of your distress. “Tell Papa what has happened cara.” He said soothingly.
You tried to squeak out what had happened but every time you attempted it, the words caught in your throat and all you managed was a mixture of sobs and malformed words. Worry filled Terzo’s eyes for you and he gathered you into his arms in a comforting hug and then brought himself back onto his feet bringing you with him. “Come sorella, we will go back to my office. Perhaps a little wine will calm you and you can tell your Papa what is causing you so much pain.” He took your hand in his as you made your way back down the hall to his office.
Sooner than you realised, you were back at his office door. Terzo turned the doorknob and swung the door open, gently pushing you inside. You took a few steps in and stood frozen, still not really seeing anything due to the tears still clouding your vision. Placing a hand lightly at your back, Terzo guided you towards the sofa near the fireplace in his grand office, bidding you to sit down and get comfortable and settled. He drifted over to his wine cabinet and selected a bottle and filled two glasses and came back to where you were sat numbly and unseeing.
“Usually, I would let this breathe for a while, but you look like you need this now tesoro.” He stated as he wrapped your hand around the glass. He settled onto the sofa beside you. “Now, tell me what has happed between you leaving for Sister’s office and me finding you in a state on the floor.” He asked. “She didn’t upset you did she?” Terzo enquired suddenly getting defensive for you.
“N-No Papa, nothing like that.” You mumbled, looking in his direction but not really taking him in.
“Please cara, when we are not officially working; you can call me Terzo. You know this si?” His mismatched eyes trying to catch your gaze fully.
You nodded and raised the glass to your lips and took a deep draught of your wine and placed the glass onto the coffee table in front of you for fear of breaking it. You inhaled, ready to pour all of your pain and grief into the open, something that ordinarily would not come easy to you. “Sister summoned me to her office as she had received a phone call from someone.” You began.
“Si?”
You exhaled. “It was from my mother. She wanted Sister to pass on a message to me . . . she wanted me to know that my Dad . . . my Dad h-has d-died!” At this acknowledgement of the truth, a gut wrenching sob wrenched from your body so hard you truly believed for a moment you would be soon joining him. Terzo almost threw his glass onto the coffee table and pulled you towards him holding you firmly yet tenderly as he attempted to calm and soothe you.
“Oh sorella, I am truly saddened to hear this.” He cooed into your hair rocking you in his arms. “I hear from Sister that your family did not approve of you coming to us.”
You sniffled against his chest, “It was only my Mum and my Gran who didn’t approve, my Dad didn’t care who or what I believed in . . . he only wanted me to be happy!” A fresh sob wracked through you, your hands gripping onto Terzo’s jacket for dear life. “A-and now! Now I’ll never hear from him again!”
Terzo continued to hold you closely until you had cried yourself into near exhaustion; he encouraged you to sit up and to finish your wine and then settled you back against his chest, wrapping his arms around you.
“Thank you Papa.” You mumbled against him, your eyes feeling very heavy after so much crying as well as the rich fruity red wine.
“Terzo.” He gently chided with a faint chuckle in his voice.
“Terzo.” You whispered as exhaustion finally took you into sleep.
About an hour later, Terzo moved out from behind you as gently as he could and adjusted you on the sofa so you would be sufficiently supported. You mumbled something unintelligible in your sleep as his body left yours. He slid off his jacket and laid it over you hoping that that in itself would be enough to put you back into the deep slumber you so desperately needed.
He wandered back over to his desk, wine glass back in his hand and slumped into his chair looking at you worriedly. Despite only having been working for him for the last two weeks, he had become extremely attached to you. You kept his days on track better than any of his previous assistants ever had, whether it was because you wouldn’t put up with his weak excuses as to why he couldn’t do this or that; or if it was because you laughed at his silly jokes and his sometimes inappropriateness towards you; he couldn’t say. The one thing he did know for certain; as he looked over at your sleeping form was this; he couldn’t and wouldn’t lose you to your grief.
This came as a revelation to him. Sure; he’d had plenty of partners throughout the years and there had always been a long line of willing siblings who would gladly warm his bed but none had ever evoked the strong protective feeling that he was now currently experiencing. As Terzo took a large swallow of his wine, he internally swore to Lucifer that he would do everything he could to get you through this and get you smiling again.