As above, so Below

VIII. In the deep end

"Slow down!"
I practically yelled through the halls as Terzo was walking as briskly as possible. I'm considerably shorter than Sister so you can guess how much shorter I am than Terzo.
He stopped dead in the middle of the hall which caused me to walk into him.

"Mía Cara, I'm trying to come to terms with this as much as you are. I apologise for my behaviour but I do feel that I could show you the ropes better than Cardinal can..."
He trailed off and ran the back of his hand gently along my cheek.
"Mía Cara..."
He repeated

"...Mio Dolcezza..."
I looked up at him, he was visibly shocked which had resulted in him retreating, was he embarrassed?
Judging by his reaction, he has never had someone retort to his advances in this way.
He turned away from me and continued down the hall for a short distance before we had finally approached Cardinal's room.

"Here we are...join me for dinner later? 7pm sharp..."
I smiled up at him and shrugged.
"I'll need to see if I'm not busy, I can't commit at this time Papa but I shall try..."
Was this how it done? I was finally not being a yes man...woman...being.
Terzo nodded in an understanding manner before placing a kiss on my cheek and leaving.
I stood frozen on the spot like an idiot for God knows how long with my hand on my cheek, revelling in the sting his kiss brought me.
I took a deep breath and knocked on Cardinal Copia's door.

Almost immediately, Copia answered with a smile on his face.
"Come in, come in!"
He exclaimed excitedly, I enjoyed seeing him this happy, he gets it rough from the rest of the Papa's but I know he has this role in him...somewhere.

In the corner of the room I spotted a small rat cage and I excitedly danced on the spot.
"Little babies!"
I ran over to them and sat on the floor playing with a few of them.
Out of the corner of my eye I seen that he was watching me endearingly, pleased that someone loved his pets as much as he did.
Copia took a seat beside me on the floor as we played and cuddled with the rats.

"So what brings you to my room Tesoro?"
He looked over at me, giving me all of his attention, giving all of his vulnerability to me. This was something that Terzo did not do.

"Sister sent me to work alongside you leading up to your papacy..."
I was honestly incredibly nervous about this as I've been thrown into the unknown and given an important job immediately.
"No need to be so nervous...we're in the same boat, we're both new to this"
Mentioning his papacy had brought out another side of him, he seemed a little more confident, his expression was that of a caring Papa.
Copia had a pull to him that Terzo did not, it was like Copia wanted to know everything about someone. He wanted to put in the effort. He wanted to know what you love, what you hate, your interests, what makes you tick, what makes you happy and sad...everything

A few moments had passed before we realised that we were both just looking at eachother, admiring the others physical appearance and who they are as a person.

"I'm so sorry Copia..."
I blushed heavily and looked back down at the rats to pet their soft little heads.
I felt a hand under my chin, Copia had redirected my gaze up to his...I have never been in this position before but I was too curious and naive to turn it down.
There was so much I was not allowed to do, to say, to think, to believe.
What have I been missing out on this whole time?

I placed my hand ontop of his beneath my chin. His thumb grazed my cheek and I leaned into his touch.
My breath hitched as he pulled away and lifted one of his rats.

At a loss of his touch, I didn't know what to say whilst simultaneously feeling as though I didn't need to say anything.
"So what's first on the agenda?"
I shrugged and laughed
"I don't know...I was just told I had to bring you out of your shell...that's all I know. I don't even know how to do that so I guess it's on the job learning...Oh and I'm now a Latin teacher"
I wiggled excitedly and cradled one of the rats.

"What is that...wobble?"
"I'm excited, I love kids and I love teaching. I feel it's important that kids are taken good care of. They're all innocent no matter where they live and they all deserve love. You never know what's going on at home"

He had a look of admiration on his face once again as he nodded in agreement.
"I wholeheartedly agree although the Papa's may not...people down here could learn a thing or two from you."

"I beat a man with a chair..."

"Exactly, you defended somebody who was in danger...he deserved it"
I loved how he thought, he was compassionate and empathetic, something that wasn't displayed in heaven. It's a bit ironic if you ask me.

"So when is your um...inauguration?"
I was fully expecting it to be in a month but I feel like I was dropped into the deep end.
"Eh...Next week?"

"Next week?!"
I exclaimed in shock, how am I supposed to have him ready by then.