We will break away together

Introduction: Hello my friends, I am mama Nihil as most friends know me on twitter and tiktok. This is the first fanfiction I have ever written, its a fluffy one, and very self indulgent. It is a Cardinal Copia fic from the band Ghost, he (and his Papa IV form) is my favorite frontman so expect more fics starring him in the future. This may just be a part 1 as I have more ideas I want to follow this up with, but lets have this one first as a little starter.

-Copia x Reader, SFW, intended fluff and fun, bit of insecurity sprinkled in, there is a sort of established life already-

It was a Friday morning, the ministry was quiet, but you knew it wouldnt be quiet for long. On Friday, siblings and clergy members usually got more and more exuberant as the day progressed in anticipation for the weekend. Ever since Papa Emeritus III got passed down the papacy, things changed around the ministry. Most of them made the siblings happy and even though the clergy members didn't let it show, you knew they also enjoyed the recent changes.

For example, Papa Emeritus III, or Terzo as he was known amongst the siblings of sin, put Saturday and Sunday down as free days. On these days the siblings could do however they pleased and multiple people would often host soirees on Fridays and Saturdays.

A couple of months ago, during the first of many soiree's hosted by none other than Papa Emeritus III himself, everyone had been elated for such an activity after a stressful period of the Ghost project touring and all the logistics that came with a new Papa. It was an open invitation and of course, you went. The grand hall of the ministry had buzzed with excitement and laughter, everyone seemingly enjoying the evening. In a chair in the far corner you could see Papa I and Papa II, Primo and Secondo, slouching and somewhat pouting, even though Secondo seemed to warm up to the idea. The sight of it made you laugh as you and your siblings of sin joked about them for a bit. After a while, Terzo got Secondo to enjoy the evening a bit more. He looked a little stiff and wasn't sure how to act, wanting to hold onto the times as he knew them. Primo still looked as if he was pouting, but wouldn't admit it. 'Some new changes are good', he would say with clenched jaws.

It was that soiree that you saw him, standing in a corner holding a glass of wine. The Cardinal. He always looked taken care of, with pressed, clean clothes and shiny shoes. Not a hair out of place and his face in check. You had seen him before, but just for fleeting moments in the halls. You were intrigued by his quiet demeanor and mismatched eyes, just as all the Emeritus brothers had. Yet something was different about him, something that told you he wasn't quite like the three Papa's.

Ever since then you couldn't help but think of him more and more often. First out of curiosity, wondering what he would talk about, what he would be like. Then, as he snuck into your dreams, out of an interest that made your heart flutter. You weren't sure if he would even look at someone like you like that, you thought yourself an unassuming sister of sin. Even though you were well versed in the history of the ministry and the clergy, the Cardinal seemed a little intimidating.

On this particular Friday morning, Terzo had asked for the Cardinal to help him preparing for the final dark mass of the week. However, unlike the Cardinal, he had been late. Hadn't shown up at all, even. After an hour of waiting, which Terzo secretly didn't mind so he could slack off a little bit, he wanted to get to business. He had been sitting in the library, at a large desk, papers scattered in front of him. He had been leaning back in his chair on its two back legs with his eyes closed when he heard footsteps near and a chair dragged across the floor. Without opening his eyes, he spoke. 'Cardinale, finally, I've been waiting for you this morning. Have you-' he stopped in the middle of his sentence, having opened his eyes and seeing it wasn't the Cardinal. It was you, your plan being to do some more research regarding the Ghost project out of a personal interest. The only free place had been the desk next to Terzo's.