Never to Return

Into your Sanctum

(Notes at the end.)

The next morning, Copia woke up on a random couch in some random flat that was definitely not his in the Ministry. Fuck, and his head hurt. He was definitely in for a rather nasty hangover. Well - it was surely not as bad as his almost-one night stand's hangover, he assumed.
It was early still, and he quickly checked in on her to see if she was still soundly asleep. She was. She lay there, and he had stripped her out of her uncomfortable dress to at least be able to sleep in her undergarments, her long blonde hair all over the place. He also put a glass of water on the nightstand, in case she was thirsty when she woke up. Copia couldn't help but smirk a bit as he leaned against the doorframe.
Damn, what a night, he thought to himself, before he turned and clicked the door shut. He'd rather let her sleep a little longer.

Copia walked towards where he had already found out the bathroom was to relieve himself and sprinkle some ice cold water in his face. Looking into the mirror there, he frowned, studying the smeared black paint around his eyes and his tousled hair. Fuck, he was wasted. The Whisky a Go-Go still had him by the balls, just like in the old times.
Speaking of balls, he chuckled incredulously to himself, steadying his underarm on the mirror then, and leaning his forehead against it with a shake of his head. He was insane. He just remembered that he desperately fucked his fist right there in her bathroom after he had taken care of her passed out self. He really didn't want to, but said balls were threatening to turn blue. He was just too worked up yesterday night.

He also remembered that right after he had finished his rather indecent late night business, he had walked over to her living room, and to his pleasant surprise, he found a balcony there. Copia quickly opted for the obligatory post-coital cigarette while enjoying the fresh summer night's air against his bared chest, mending his agitated thoughts. Leaning against the railing, he inhaled the smoke deeply, closing his eyes in the process. What a night. He was just out to celebrate his ascension. He finally ranked as a Cardinal, and he was now one step closer to becoming Papa as well. Cardinal Copia. It sounded so perfect.

Well, he certainly didn't anticipate driving home with a smoking hot girl. Then when it happened, he also didn't think he'd be robbed of the opportunity to fuck her senseless, because the senselessness already came before they did. Well, shit happens, right, eh? He giggled to all to himself.

With one last, relishing drag, Copia closed his eyes once again and held the smoke in his lungs for a moment, before he breathed it out into the warm night's air. The city below was quiet, and so he decided to finally get some rest as well. He didn't want to leave her just yet, to make sure she was safe in the morning. He responsibly disposed of the remains of his cigarette, and went to lay back on her couch. He was determined to check on her in the morning, and leave her a little note before he needed to head back home.

Well, there he was now. Hanging around in a stranger's flat. She seemed fine. He didn't want to wake her, oh by Satan, or to scare her even. Copia was sure she'd freak out if she suddenly found a random guy in her room after a heavy night of drinking. He decided to make prepare some breakfast for her, and then he was going to call one of his Ghouls to pick him up. Well, that was once he figured out where to pick him up from.

Walking towards where the kitchen was, Copia started to boil some water so she could at least have some coffee. Alice, that was her name. A beautiful one, he thought. He was fully immersed in his kitchen duty that it took him a while to understand how awkward this situation was. He was acting as if it was his own home, his own kitchen. But he somehow did feel quite at ease there. The flat was bright, clean, cosy and its owner surely had a sense for aesthetics. It was a perfect balance between modern structures and old wooden planks.

Since he didn't find any good food in the fridge, Copia tiptoed to where he thought the pantry must've been. He did find a door there, and although he felt like an intruder, he went to open it anyways. It led him into a tiny room, and he had to switch the light on to fully make out what it was that was rustling in there. He was sure already, he could smell it, and his eyes widened in surprise as the lamplight confirmed what he suspected it was. There were two little rats eagerly looking for some food in their cage, and Copia immediately realised it must've been way past their breakfast time already.
He smiled when he walked over to greet the little rodents.

"Oh he.. hello-oh you tiny little things!", he cooed, sticking his finger through the bars to connect with them. They were squeaking happily, greeting the stranger with tiny little sneezes.
"Oh you two are so cute aren't you?", Copia whispered, trying not to wake Alice, "here, let me let in some light, eh? And then I'll bring you something to eat". He was totally enraptured by the little creatures.

He leaned over to open the curtains in the little room and also opened the window there to let in some fresh morning air.
"Well, there you go now, eh? You like that, yes?". Copia chuckled, his eyes lighting up as he watched the two rats scurry around. How delightful!

He watched them for a moment, following their quick little movements with shining eyes. Then, he sighed, hearing that the water was thoroughly boiled, and he was on a mission still: he had to find a pantry.

Turning around, he suddenly froze in place.
oh. fuck.

"Uhm... eh.. I.. I'm sorry, I... eh... I can.. I can explain!!", Copia managed to babble, mortified with his hands in the air like he was caught red handed. He stood there, still only clad in his pants only, his face devoid of black paint around the eyes and his upper lip. In short: he looked absolutely not presentable.
"No no no it's fine". It was Alice, standing there in front of him with a bathrobe wrapped around her frame. She was blushing. Not the good kind, though, he realised.

"I swear it's not... I didn't.. I don't steal-", Copia whimpered, backing off, "it's just that I-". She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
"It's fine.. uhm.. Copia but... but what are you uhm...", Alice was speechless, "why are you here?". Both their faces went blank as they stared at each other almost comically.
Copia went to open his mouth to explain what he was doing there, raising his index finger to underline his point, but Alice was quicker again:"you shouldn't be here".

———

Notes:
I will add to the chapters when I see fit! Don't worry, I have already prewritten some, so it won't take too long! ;)

Lemme know what you think! <3