Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Phil was tired.

This said a lot when you consider that ghouls didn’t need sleep to function. For them, sleep was a hobby. It is an enjoyable way to pass the time without feeling each dragging second of the mortal realm. 

Since the “overthrow” months ago, he found himself with fewer siblings to assist with work and more responsibilities. Now he and Cowbell were stuck handling everything Imperator used to on their own. It had taken a few weeks to arrange several sibling transfers from their Linköping branch. 

The special ghoul was currently curled up under his desk, hoping to close his eyes for a few moments in between meetings and get a small catnap. He leaves his mask on the desk, choosing to drop his glamor altogether, and throws an arm over his eyes. Finally. Some quiet. He lets out a long content sigh as he relaxes, curling his tail around his torso almost like a self-soothing hug. 

He’s almost completely asleep, the soft blank darkness was warm around him, when his desk phone rings, jolting him awake. “Fuck,” He hisses, sitting up slightly as he reaches over the edge of the desk to pull the phone closer. 

He’s quick to pull the handset off the receiver, “Yes? Hello?” He says quickly, hoping the frustration of being woken up isn’t too evident in his voice.

“ Now Phil, is that any way to greet an old friend? ” The English-accented voice on the other end purrs, making the ghoul sit straight up and slam his head onto the underside of the desk. 

“I’m so sorry, sir. Hello there,” Phil pushes himself out from under the desk as he clutches the phone. “How can I help you?”

“ I’m being sent to check in on some girl at one of your ministries. You know good old Lucie, too busy to check on the humans he gives gifts to but happy to send someone else. ”

Phil frowns, picking up his mask and slipping it onto his head. “Ah, that girl wouldn’t happen to be an Olivia Sinclaire, would it?”

“ Yes, it would. I take it you know her?”

“I do, yes. I think you’ll get along well with her. When should we expect your arrival?” Phil pushes papers out of the way to look at the large desktop calendar he has all of the important appointments scribbled onto. 

“ Angel has a blessing to do there next week. We were hoping to travel together this once. The end of next week when I manage to drag him out of his books. ” 

Phil scans over the calendar with a soft hum, snagging a pen before scribbling down a note and circling the end of the week. “We’ll have a room prepared for you and your companion. Shall I inform her of your arrival?” 

“ Nah. Let’s keep it a surprise. I’d rather have her be herself. No need to roll out the red carpet for us, Phil. ” 

“Of course, sir. I’ll inform the Papas and keep her schedule clear.” 

“ Good man. ”

“Any time. Have a good afternoon, sir.” Phil says, humming softly as the man on the other end hangs up. He sets the handset down on the receiver after a moment of listening to the dial tone. 

“Fuck me!” He shouts after a second of silence, sinking back down into his desk chair. Is it too late to just start playing guitar again?

“And onto the topic of next week,” Phil sighs, eyes scanning over the Papas gathered around Copia’s desk. “We have very important visitors coming into town and staying with us.” 

Terzo looks over from where he is spinning a small box in his fingers. That was a habit that had appeared soon after Omega brought back a ring from the jeweler a few weeks ago. “Who? Why weren’t we told sooner?” He asks, causing Secondo to hum in agreement.

“Because I got the phone call ten minutes before this meeting. He and his Angel will be here at the end of next week. To check on things around here.” Phil pulls the clipboard he was holding back up to his chest as he looks over at Copia. “ He is visiting on orders from his dark excellency.”

Copia’s eyes grow wide for a moment, “Like him, him ? What does he want?” 

“He’s just here to check on things for him. It’s not a big deal. He wants to keep the visit low profile since he isn’t traveling alone.” Phil lets out a long sigh, “This news stays between us. He doesn’t want everyone knowing.” 

Primo hums, smiling at the ghoul, “I think we can keep it a secret for a week.” He looks around at his brothers for a moment, “Right?” 

“Of course we can,” Secondo sighs, “It’s not that hard.”

The other ghouls were piled in the central living space of the den when Phil walked in. The others look over at him as he tosses his mask down onto the table in front of the sofas before slowly sinking to the floor. 

“Rough day?” Sodo asks from his spot on the top of the pile. 

“You could say that,” Phil groans, pressing his face into the shag carpet. “Got a phone call today from one of our supervisors.”

“Fuck, which one? Please tell me it wasn’t Hastur,” Cumulus groans, not lifting her head from where it’s buried in Cirrus’s neck. 

“Of course, it’s not. It was Crowley,” Phil sighs, stretching his limbs out as he curls his fingers into the carpet.   

“Thank fuck,” Rain sighs, shifting slightly under Sodo. The fire ghoul hums in agreement, lifting his head to look towards the main door to the den when it opens again. 

“Phil?” Cowbell asks, popping his head in for a second before fully entering. 

“Yeah?” The ghoul sprawled on the floor calls back, voice muffled by the carpet. 

“There ya are,” Bell lets out a sigh, making his way over. “I was worried, you weren’t in your office after you met with the Papas.” He kneels next to Phil, hands moving to gently press against the sore spots he knew were bothering the smaller ghoul. 

Phil lets out a small moan, head turning to rest his cheek on the floor, when Bell starts to rub his back. “Did you need something?” He mumbles, eyes sliding shut as the taller ghoul moves to straddle his hips and put a bit more pressure against the knots just under his shoulder blades. 

“Just company and to let you know I finished booking flights for the new siblings.” Bell hums softly watching as Phil relaxes underneath him for a moment before shushing the other man when he opens his mouth to speak again. “Just relax. Everything else can wait until morning at least. We’re done until mass today.”

“Bell is right, Phil,” Swiss says, looking away from the game he was playing on his phone to smile at them. “You should rest. You’re stretching yourself too thin. I’m sure the bosses wouldn’t object to you skipping mass tonight.”

“Not like we have any other choices,” Phil groans, tail snaking around Bell’s waist as the other ghoul presses down on the center of his back and pops it. “I had to take over, I was the only one with experience doing it.”

“You’re just handling this well,” Aether says, glancing over toward the two special ghouls on the floor. “Maybe you’ll be able to take a week off once the new siblings have settled into their roles.”

“I can fucking hope,” Phil lets out a long sigh, his tail letting go of Bell when the other ghoul moved to lay down on top of him. “I’m not going to leave my room for that entire week.”

The family dinner was oddly quiet that night, the four men around her had gone practically silent after Nihil insisted on sitting with them. 

“I want an intern,” Olivia says, looking around at the others at the table. The four brothers look up from their food in surprise, watching as the blonde folds her hands on the table and straightens her back, clearly waiting for them to respond. Nihil let out a scoff, crossing his arms as he sat back in his chair.

Copia is the first to clear his throat and speak, “Darling…” He lets out a sigh, trying to figure out what exactly to say. 

“I know, it’s a lot to ask,” Olivia continues, “But I find that some of the things now being put into the archives from Nihil and Imperator’s shit is a lot more than I can handle on my own.” 

“First she gets a gift, now she wants an intern to move my shit out of my room?” Nihil protests, crossing his arms at his seat at the table. “What the fuck? Do I not get any say around here anymore?” 

“No,” Primo says simply, pointing his knife at the ghost. “As soon as you come back to life you’ll get to make choices in the living realm.” 

“Yeah, till then, shut up dickhead,” Terzo says, shaking his head as he picks up his wine glass to take a sip. 

Nihil lets out a huff, standing before wandering off from the table. “Fuck off,” He calls back to them. 

Secondo scoffs, “Run off. Fuck that’s just like you to run from your problems.” 

Olivia turns to watch him go, sighing as he flips them off and passes through the closed door. 

“Well then,” She mumbles, shaking her head as she looks back at the men left at the table with her. “Half a vote for no, what about the rest of you?” 

Secondo chuckles softly, shrugging as Olivia focuses on him and takes a sip from her glass. “Have you spoken with Phil about this plan?” He asks, making the blonde frown as she sets down the glass. 

“Why?” She asks, thumb playing with the back of her ring. Why would I be going to Phil about an intern? 

“Because, amore, Phil now handles our bookkeeping,” Copia says, reaching over and gently laying his hand on her wrist. “He’ll be able to tell you if you can afford an intern, not us.”

Fuck. He’s got a point. “Then I guess I’ll speak to Phil about it…”

The next day Olivia finds herself walking through the hall containing most of the lower clergy offices. Phil was one of the few ghouls with an actual office, tucked into the far back corner of the hall. She comes to a stop in front of a door decorated with the small doodles of the other ghouls. 

Olivia smiles, looking over the doors for a moment before bringing a hand up to knock on the door in front of her. 

“What now?” The voice on the other side groans.

The blonde slowly opens the door to pop her head in, “Hey, I have a question for you.” 

Phil looks up from his pile of paperwork, surprise clear in his eyes as he slowly nods to her and stands. “Of course.” He motions for her to come in. 

Olivia smiles, slipping fully into the office and closing the door behind her. “I was talking to C and the other Papas last night and they told me you would have the answer.” 

Phil goes completely still, one eye seeming to twitch as he looks at her. Olivia’s smile twitches slightly before taking a moment to fully look the ghoul over. “I was just wondering if I would be able to get an intern to help with getting everything ascentioned and documented in the archives.”

Phil slowly nods, hands playing with the pen in his hands. “An intern? A singular one shouldn’t be too much trouble. Were you hoping to pay them as well?”

Olivia nods quickly, “I was if that's possible.”

The special ghoul lets out a small groan, “I’d have to look into it but I think we might be able to swing it.” He shifts slightly on his feet, turning to look back towards the whiteboard on the wall next to his file cabinets. 

Olivia glances over to spot Phil’s schedule for the week, several notes taped up along the edges of the board covered in to-do lists, and a list of things to find time for. Fuck he’s overworked. She looks back over at him, watching as the ghoul seems to be struggling to figure something out. “I can handle finding one. And if you give me the budget for my department I can start handling it until you get more help.” 

The obscene moan that escapes the ghoul makes Olivia giggle softly. “That would be fantastic…” He lets out a content sigh, head falling back as he closes his eyes for a second. “I can have Bell bring the budget files down this afternoon.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Olivia says gently, carefully making her way around the banker's boxes that were stacked around his desk. He opens his eyes to watch as she comes to stand in front of him. “I really mean it. Thank you for making time for me,” She says softly, mismatched eyes making contact with his as she squeezes his arm. 

“Of course… Anything for Mama,” He whispers, the title slipping out as he leans into the touch. 

Olivia can’t help but laugh softly, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss on the side of his mask. It wasn’t the first time someone had called her that, especially since Copia had proposed and the ring had appeared on her hand. “No rush, yeah?”

Phil nods slowly, blinking rapidly as she pulls back and lets go of him. “I’ll always make time for you,” He whispers.

Olivia smiles brightly, moving to head back towards the door, “I’ll let you get back to it. Let me know if you need anything.”

A week later, Phil finds himself stepping out the front doors of the ministry as a black Bently pulls into a spot across the street. He tightens his grip on his clipboard as he walks down the steps to meet the two men climbing out of the car. 

“Phil! My man,” The man dressed in dark colors cheers, his sunglasses focus on Phil as he offers his hand out to the blond quickly rounds the car and takes it. 

“Hello sir,” The ghoul says, eyes squinting slightly as he smiles underneath the mask. He can spot the blond man staring at him and shifting uncomfortably. “Welcome to the Ministry,” He adds, watching the man dressed in cream colors practically hide behind the slimmer redhead. 

“Ah, looks the same as last time I visited,” Crowley says, tucking a hand into his pocket as he approaches the ghoul. 

“If you’ll follow me,” Phil bows slightly to them before guiding the men up the stairs and through the door. 

“Where’s the girl?” The demon sighs, glancing around as they head through the entryway and down the hall.

“She’s in the crypt still, I can bring her up if you would like me to.” The ghoul glances back over towards the pair. 

The angel seems to relax the further they go into the ministry. “Loved. This entire place feels loved.” The man whispers with a smile as they begin to head down a stairwell to the crypt. 

Phil can’t help but chuckle, “Because it is.” He doesn’t glance back at him as they reach the bottom of the stairs. 

There’s the soft sound of music playing from down the hall that makes the two visitors pause, frowning slightly as they look at each other. 

“Is that Phantom of the Opera?” Crowley asks softly, looking back at Phil who hums affirmatively. 

“She’s on a Phantom kick right now.” The ghoul gives a small shrug as he walks towards the music. 

“Point of No Return,” The angel says, letting his demon guide him towards the archives. “Rather ominous in my opinion,” He mumbles making the demon chuckle.

“ Anywhere you go, let me go too. Christine, that's all I ask of … ” A soft female voice sings along to the song, trailing off for a second before seeming to scream along with the song. Phil lets out a curse, almost dropping his clipboard. 

The angel jumps, grabbing onto his demon’s arm tightly. “Does she just do that sometimes?” He asks, focusing on the ghoul as they step into the archives and spot a blonde woman in front of a workbench packing a box. 

“Not often. But yes,” Phil sighs, shaking his head as he steps to the side to let the other men fully enter the archives.

The ghoul clears his throat, trying to get Olivia’s attention but when she doesn’t look over at them he sighs and turns down the music she had going. 

Olivia quickly turns to look at him a curse escaping like they had surprised her. Her eyes widen as she looks between the three men in the doorway. “…the fuck,” She says softly, pulling off the white gloves she had on and throwing them down on the table. 

“Sir, this is Olivia Sinclaire,” Phil says, choosing to ignore the blonde’s language. “Just call me if you need anything else.” 

“Thank you, Phil,” Crowley purrs as he steps forward towards her. 

Olivia watches as Phil bows slightly to both men before walking out of the room.

Chapter Text

This had to be the strangest thing Olivia had done recently. 

Tea with a literal demon and an angel. 

She had been joking about that weeks ago. It was supposed to be a joke. It was no longer a joke. 

Here she sat in an armchair staring at the demon and angel on the sofa in the papal apartment she shared with Copia. 

“So,” The Angel, Aziraphale as Olivia had quickly learned, starts with an awkward smile as he rests his mug on his knee. “An archivist. Do you enjoy your work?” 

“I do yeah,” Olivia quickly nods, leaning forward to set her mug down on the coffee table. “I’ve always enjoyed the organizational aspect and being able to look at a bunch of artifacts.”

Crowley lets out a groan, “The organizational aspect?” He asks in a mocking tone. “How dreadfully boring.” 

“Crowley,” Aziraphale snaps, looking over at the demon for a second before back at Olivia. “I understand, my dear. The best part about adding a new book to my collection is finding a new home for it.”

“What kind of books do you collect?” She asks, a smile forming as she tries to brush off Crowley’s comment. 

“Oh, all of them. It’s a very extensive collection,” He says simply, smiling brightly at her. “I run a bookshop in Soho.”

To Olivia, it seems like the man is practically glowing, the sudden bright light causing her to close her left eye as she tries to block it out. “Do you enjoy that? When you're not doing… whatever angels do?” She finds herself asking before looking down at her mug with a frown and picking it back up, suddenly looking for something to do with her hands. “Sorry, if that’s a rude question. What to do if you come across divine entities wasn’t a class in college.”

Crowley sits up straighter, dark glasses seeming to watch her closely as she reacts to his angel’s aura. “Looks like your gift works.” He takes a long gulp of his drink before setting it down and completely relaxing on the sofa. “Great. Now how's making the antichrist going?”

Aziraphale’s eyes widen, looking between the demon and the young woman across from him. “The antichrist? Oh, great havens. Making the…” The angel seems to go pale as Olivia laughs nervously and a slight blush creeps up on her face. 

“C and I aren’t ready for kids yet,” She says quickly, a hand coming up to play with her necklace. The matching ruby in her ring seemed to catch the light just right, catching the eye of the angel and causing him to look her over more closely. 

There was something about her that made Aziraphale shiver the longer he looked at her. The feeling in his stomach got worse when the door to the apartment opened, making the three turn to look.

“Oh,” Copia freezes in the doorway, looking between the three for a moment. “Hi there…” The man shifts awkwardly as he fully processes who, or what, the two people on his couch are. 

“Ah,” Crowley purrs and stands up to fully face Copia. “The newest Papa Emeritus. Just the man I wanted to see.”

“Hello, your dark excellency.” The Papa steps fully into the apartment, closing the door behind him as he bows slightly to them. “Principality.” 

“Come join us,” Crowley says, gesturing towards the other armchair next to Olivia. “We were just speaking with your prime mover about things.”

Copia nods slowly, going over to the chair as Crowley sits again. He pauses at Olivia’s side and presses a light kiss to the top of her head before sitting down.

Terzo looks away from the book he had in his hands when the door to his apartment is opened. “Welcome back, bambina .” He gently closes the book as he stands to greet her, he smiles as she shuts the door behind her.

“Hi,” Sydney says softly, smiling over at him as she sets her backpack down by the door and moves to join him. The redhead moves into his open arms, head instantly tipping forward to rest on his shoulder. 

“How was your presentation?” He asks gently, arms wrapping around her to gently squeeze her. 

“Shit. It got picked apart,” She whispers, pressing her face into his neck. “I’ll have to redo it. My professor said it seemed like I didn’t understand any of it.” 

He hums, running his hand through her hair, “I thought your field was rather subjective.” 

“It is but my opinion was wrong,” Sydney slowly pulls back slowly, offering him a weak smile. “How was your day?” 

“Good. We have rather important guests that arrived today. They’ll be joining us for dinner,” Terzo says, gently brushing some stray hair behind her ear.  

Sydney lets out a groan, leaning her face into his hand. “Please tell me these are at least exciting guests, not ones like the archbishops again.”

“My darling girl, trust me. You will not want to miss dinner,” He whispers to her, leaning in to steal another kiss. 

“Fine,” She mumbles pulling back out of the kiss for a moment, “But I reserve the right to bail on an after-dinner conversation.”

“If it’s dull enough for you to want to leave, I will join you,” Terzo promises, thumb smoothing over her cheek as he slides a hand down her back.

Sydney hums softly to herself as she leans against the counter next to Olivia as she tidies up Primo’s kitchen. “So,” The redhead whispers to the blonde. “Why are they so important? They just seem like two weird Brits.” 

Olivia’s eyes dart over towards her, the white iris seeming to dig into Sydney for a moment as the redhead sips on her wine. “They work for higher powers…” The blonde starts, eyes seeming to drift away from Sydney’s face to look behind her towards the table where all the men still sat. 

Sydney can’t help but frown in confusion, “I don’t think I understand.”

“Syd… Think about what the ministry is based on really fast,” Olivia says gently, turning back towards the sink as she rinsed another plate to put into the dishwasher.

Sydney frowns, turning to glance behind her where the two strangers were chatting with the Papas before slowly turning back to Olivia with wide eyes. “No way,” She whispers excitedly. “No fucking way.”

“Yeah, it’s been a strange afternoon,” Olivia laughs softly, picking up the last plate to rise. “Did Terzo not tell you who they were?”

She quickly shakes her head, “No. He didn’t. Guess he thought it would be more fun to let me figure it out on my own.” She lets out a soft laugh before finishing the rest of her glass. “That bastard,” She mumbles jokingly, reaching past Olivia to put the glass into the top rack of the dishwasher. 

“Don’t feel bad, C didn’t even tell me they were coming,” The blonde steps forward out of her way before sliding the last few things away and starting to dry her hands. “Didn’t you have class today? How’d it go?”

“Not great. I was the only one to present today, which always sucks,” She shifts to lean against the edge of the counter again as she looked over at the table again. “Kevin is going to let me redo it but still. It sucked to stand there and waste everyone’s time.” 

Olivia hums sympathetically, “I’m sorry Syd. That’s rough.”

“Yeah. Could be worse. One of the undergrads in the department is struggling to find an internship that is still looking for people. If he doesn’t find one soon it’s looking like he won’t graduate on time.” Sydney gives a small shrug when she spots Olivia looking over at them. Her out of the corner of her eye.

“What’s his focus on?” Olivia asks, a small grin appearing as she tosses the drying towel down onto the countertop and crosses her arms. 

“Western and Byzantine art, mainly I think,” Sydney hums softly, slowly turning her head to look over at her friend. “You have that planning things face. What’s going on?”

“Do you think he’d be uncomfortable working here with me?” She asks. “I’ve been green-lit for an intern, a paid intern at that.” Olivia suddenly frowns and looks over towards a space on the other side of the kitchen island. “You heard your sons, they said you don’t get a vote. Take up your complaints with them.” 

Sydney glances between the space and Olivia in concern. She’s been talking to thin air more than normal lately… Maybe I should ask Terz about that. It’s worrying. “I can reach out to Lex and see if he’d be interested in it,” Sydney says suddenly, wanting to break the glaring contest that Olivia seemed to be having with her hallucination. 

“Great,” Olivia says, head snapping over to look at Sydney again, smiling at her friend brightly. “When do you think he can start? Next week? I can give him full-time at fifteen an hour if he needs more of an incentive.”

“I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow, I should run into him then,” Sydney says with a small amused shrug. 

“Good. Give him one of my cards, I think you have one still right?” Olivia pauses to think for a moment before humming to herself. “And have him call me or just come by for an interview. I don’t have a solid meeting schedule anymore.”

“Hey,” Sydney calls from the ensuite doorway, looking over at where Terzo was lying in bed. She leans against the doorframe as she pulls the toothbrush from her mouth. 

Terzo hums, opening his eyes to look over at her. He smiles gently at her, hand smoothing over his bare chest as his eyes wander over his redhead’s bare form.

“I was just wondering if you’ve noticed Liv talking to thin air a lot lately?” She asks, shoving the toothbrush back into her mouth as she watches him frown.

“No. What do you mean?” 

Sydney shrugs, “She’s been cursing and glaring at thin air,” She says around the toothbrush in her mouth. 

Terzo shifts to sit up on his elbows, letting out a confused breath as he thinks for a moment. “Oh,” He says suddenly, eyes widening in understanding, “She’s talking to the dickhead. Nothing to worry about.” 

The redhead watches him lay back down on the bed like that was a perfectly reasonable answer to give someone. A dickhead? What the fucking kinda answer is that? Sydney lets out a soft groan, shaking her head as she heads back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. 

When she reenters the bedroom, she can’t help but sigh at the sight of Terzo still lying the wrong way on the bed, legs hanging off the edge. Sydney smiles softly, running a hand through the sleeping man’s hair before slipping under the covers on her side. “Terz?” She asks softly, smiling a bit wider when the man hums sleepily. “Love you.” She clicks off the light before reaching down to play with his hair as she closes her eyes. 

“...ove you,” Terzo mumbles, mostly asleep, making Sydney laugh. 

“You’re gonna regret sleeping like that, hun,” She teases, closing her eyes and giggling when the man next to her mumbles something incomprehensible. “It’s up to you though,” She murmurs, not bothering to try to move him.

The next day Sydney found herself sitting at lunch, staring across at the older redhead sitting across the table from her. He was splitting his attention between the salad in front of him and the book in his hand. 

“Lex?” Sydney tries getting the man’s attention, repeating his nickname a few times before letting out a sigh and flicking the back cover of his book. “Felix.”

He jumps slightly, looking up at her with wide eyes, “What?” He asks quickly, still startled by her. “What’s wrong?” He glances around quickly before sliding his bookmark into place and closing his book. 

“I found you an internship,” She says. “But you need to have an open mind, you got that right?”

“Yeah,” Felix sets his book on the table, head tilting slightly as he focuses on her. “Where? Can they give me twelve or more hours a week?” 

“My friend, Olivia, is an archivist for one of the ministries right on the edge of town. The big one?” Sydney says, waiting for the man to nod before continuing. “She’s looking for someone to help her in the archives there.”

“Alright. When can I interview? I need to turn in the paperwork in a few days.” Felix shifts slightly in his seat, starting to eat his salad again. 

“She’s free anytime really. You can ride over with me after class if you want and I’ll introduce you to her. I need to pick something I forgot before the department meeting tonight.”

Felix nods eagerly, “That would be great. Thanks.”

Chapter Text

Sure, Felix knew that there was a Satanic ministry here, after all, he had lived in this town for almost four years now. Had he expected the one grad student he managed to be friends with to be involved in that ministry? Not really. He had clues that she was on the edges of the occult, the skeleton and pentagram stickers all over the girl’s laptop were a sign, but he had no clue that she was in this deep. 

He glances over at Sydney as they head up the front steps, head tipping back to look up at the massive stone cathedral building for another second. “So you basically live here now?” He asks again, looking back at her as she pulls open the ministry front doors. 

“Yeah,” Sydney gives a small shrug, “Terz is… well he lives here and it’s started to feel more like home than my apartment.”

Felix hums, nodding as he steps in after her, eyes quickly scanning the entry hall. “It’s beautiful here,” He murmurs, struggling to keep up with her and looking around.

“Right? I was in awe the first time Terz showed me around,” Sydney glances back at the other redhead for a moment before looping her arm through his and guiding him down the hall towards the stairs into the crypt. 

“Liv works down here,” She starts as they walk down the stairs that end in a somewhat dimly lit hallway. “I thought it was so creepy the first few times I was down here. You get used to it.” 

He nods slowly, glancing back down the hall as they walk, and can’t help but frown at the black void at the other end of the hall. “What’s back there?” He asks softly, turning to look at Sydney again. 

“Oh, that’s just the ghoul den,” She says as she pulls him into the very well-lit archive room. 

“The what?” He mumbles, clearly confused as she lets go of him. Felix watches as she heads towards the closed office door and knocks loudly. There was the muffled sound of someone cursing loudly on the other side of the door. 

“Liv! I brought you that friend I told you about,” Sydney raises her voice to almost yell, knocking a few more times before the door is pulled open. 

“You did?” The blonde asks quickly, pushing past her friend as her eyes settle on Felix. “You did. Thank fuck. Hi there, I’m Olivia.”

“Felix Green,” He says, stepping forward and offering his hand out to shake. He had to force himself not to stare at her too much when he noticed she had two different colored eyes. 

“This is going to be the shortest interview you have ever had,” Olivia says, taking his hand in both of hers. 

Felix finds himself slowly nodding and returning the smile. “Alright.”

“Is your handwriting legible?” She asks, smiling brighter as he nods. “Great! Do you like music? Any kind, it doesn’t matter what kind.”

“Yeah, of course,” Felix says softly, looking at her with a confused smile. 

“You’re hired. Fifteen an hour sound good to you?” She asks, squeezing his hand before pulling away and stepping back. The blonde glances over at Sydney with a smile as she heads to grab something out of her office. 

“Sounds fantastic,” He glances over at the other redhead before watching the blonde grab her keys off her desk. 

“Great,” Olivia reappears in the doorway focused on Felix completely. “Would you like a tour around? It’s a big place.”

Felix glances at his watch, “I think I have time for that.” He glances over at Sydney who nods with a smile. “Sure.”

Secondo looks up from his papers with a small sigh, hearing voices coming from the hallway. He hums softly when he recognizes Olivia’s voice before his head tilts in confusion at the sound of an unfamiliar male voice replying to her. 

“And this is the upper clergy hall. We’ll only really come up here for meetings with the Papas about tour prep or if you need to speak with them about any of the items that we’re ascending,” Olivia says, stepping into view in the doorway to his office. He can’t help but offer the blonde a smile as she peaks in and gives him a wave. “Speaking of Papas, this is Papa Secondo,” She says, stepping off to one side and letting her companion peak in. “Papa this is my new intern.”

“Hi there,” The redhead says, pulling a hand from his pants pocket to offer him a small wave. “I’m Felix.” 

“Lovely to meet you,” Secondo gives the younger man a small nod as he adjusts his sunglasses, silently thankful for them as he looks him over. Felix seemed to like green, judging by the green sneakers and the sweater that he was wearing. Did Olivia really have to hire a high school-aged intern? Especially one already dripping in my colors… I thought the person Sydney knew might be college-aged at least. At least then I wouldn’t feel like a pervert flirting with him. “Welcome to the Ministry.”

“Thanks.” Felix smiles brightly at Secondo, tucking his hand back into his pocket. Secondo can’t help the amused chuckle as Olivia retakes the younger man’s arm, saying a quick goodbye before dragging him down the hall.

It was rare that Crowley called meetings, he tended to try and avoid most work-related things choosing to spend his days pining after his angel and drinking. 

“You lot aren’t scary enough,” The redheaded demon says, hands moving to his hips as he looks between them all. 

The ghouls all seem to frown looking at each other for a moment before back at him. Rain slowly raises his hand, patiently waiting for the demon to call on him. 

“You have a question?” Crowley hums softly, head tilting as he looks at him.

“If we’re scary then how are we supposed to seduce the mortals to our side?” The water ghoul asks, slowly lowering his hand as he watches the demon at the front of the room smile mischievously. 

“That, my little raindrop, is a very good question. But you see, scary is in right now with the youth,” He says, taking a few steps back and toward the two figures covered in black sheets. “You know what else is in with the youth right now?” He pauses to look at the group standing in front of him, giving them the opportunity to answer as he grabs hold of the sheets. 

The ghouls all seem too nervous to answer, looking between the two covered figures, giving him small shrugs after a moment. 

“It’s steampunk. It seems big on that roller website,” Crowly says, pulling the sheets off the two standing on either side of him, revealing two ghouls standing beside him in strange black helmets, black military-like uniforms, and shoulder capes. The two give them a small wave and the shorter female ghoul smiles brightly at them from the mouth opening in the mask.

“You remember Mist and ChAir. They both kindly volunteered for this.” Crowley says, resting his hands on the two ghouls’ shoulders as he smiles at the others who look at him with wide eyes. “So, what do you think? I designed these myself and want your honest opinion.” 

“They look like bugs,” Sodo mumbles, hissing as Mountain roughly nudges him. “Cool bugs,” He tacks on, causing the others to all slowly nod. 

“So this is the new stage uniform then?” Swiss asks, crossing his arms as he glances over toward Aether for a moment. 

“Right you are my sweet cheese,” Crowley says, pointing over at Swiss and snapping as he nods eagerly. “Think you can see yourselves wearing these?” 

“Sure we can…” Cirrus says, voice oddly cheerful as she nods, looking at the others with a forced smile. “Right, guys?”

“Yeah of course,” Mountain says quickly, offering the demon a smile. “When do we get these new uniforms?”

“Funny you ask that my fruity pebble,” Crowley laughs, pulling away from Mist and ChAir to grab one of the large boxes set up behind him. “Because I have them all right here, your tailor was so useful in getting these done in time for my visit.” 

“Oh fuck,” Sodo groans softly, head falling forward as he brings a hand up to rub his forehead. 

“See, Sodo can’t even contain his excitement,” Cumulus teases, as Crowley starts passing out boxes with their names on them. 

“Don’t worry fireball, I’m sure you’ll look even better in this uniform,” The demon says, shoving the box into Sodo’s hands with a bright smile.

Olivia hums softly along with the music she had playing in her headphones, flicking the light off in her office as she starts to head out of the archives. She pulls the door to the hall closed as she walks through it, smiling softly to herself at the transition between songs. Her head bobs along with the soft guitar as she starts towards the back staircase, which isn’t as well-lit as the main stairs back towards the entrance to the ghoul den. 

“ A dreaded sunny day, so I meet you at the cemetry gates,” She mumbles along with the song softly, pausing at the base of the stairs to turn and look back down the dim hall with a small frown. The blonde goes quiet for a second, pulling the headphones down around her neck, trying to hear if there was someone else in the hallway with her. The soft sound of The Smiths spilling out of her headphones is all that she hears for a few moments before she spots it near the edge of the light from the main stairs.

Something shifts in the darkness, light reflecting off something, almost like a cat stalking prey in the darkness. Olivia feels dread pooling in her chest as her eyes widen and she hears the heavy footfalls of boots on the marble floors and the soft sound of whispering. The footsteps and glints of eyes in the darkness seem to multiply causing the blonde to panic, dropping her bag before quickly starting to stumble up the stairs. The footsteps behind her seem to speed up into a run as the voices yell her name, causing her to try and pick up the pace. 

The blonde can’t help but curse, half falling on the last step when she makes it to the next floor, catching herself on the wall for a moment before breaking into a full sprint down the hall. She hazards a glance back at them, only to trip over her own feet, and let out a scream as she hits the stone floor. Olivia feels the cold of the floor sinking into her clothes as she attempts to turn over, pulse racing in her ears as she scrambles back against one of the walls. 

Her eyes widen as she fully lays eyes on the figures, breaths turning into small gasps, suddenly feeling like she is back in the cold darkness, helpless on the altar. She can faintly hear voices around her as she presses herself against the wall behind her. Her vision starts to get blurry as the shadowy blobs start to surround her, hands reaching out to grab at her, and she lets out a sharp scream of terror. 

Her scream tappers off as the world around her seems to lurch to one side, eyes rolling back as her shoulder hits the floor. One of the shadowy figures seemed to lunge at her, a warm hand catching her head before Olivia’s world went fully dark and quiet around her.

By the time Secodno was leaving his office, the redhead pair had headed back to the university and Nihil had decided that this would be the perfect time to bitch at him again. 

“The nerve of that girl!” Nihil groans, crossing his arms as he follows behind his son. “Hiring some little boy to clear out my apartment. How could you all just let her do that? Back in my day we just left things alone.”

“For the last fucking time Pops, leave Liv alone. She’s just doing what we’ve asked her to. You should be glad she’s packing it away rather than tossing it into the dumpster,” Secondo hisses, glancing back at the ghost for a moment before continuing through the halls. 

“The fucking dumpster!” Nihil exclaims, “How dare you speak to your father like that young man.” 

“My father?” Secondo laughs, “You lost that title long before you died, dickhead.” He flips off the ghost as he turns the corner and starts to head down the stairs.

He listens to Nihil babble on, eye twitching behind his shades as a soft growl escapes making him pick up his pace. 

Nihil falls quiet at the sound of a woman’s scream somewhere on the main floor. Secondo pauses for a second, hearing another, before rushing towards where the noise had come from. 

The Papa rounds the corner to see the ghouls all dressed in odd black uniforms and helmets gathered around something on the floor. “What’s going on here?” He asks loudly, coming to a stop a few feet away. “And what the fuck are all of you wearing?’

“We didn’t mean to scare her, she just took off running,” One says, standing as they all turned to look at him. Secondo faintly recognizes the voice as Rain as he frowns and steps closer as they step back to let him through. 

“His dark excellency designed them for us,” Sodo sighs, crossing his arms as he lets his head fall forward.

Aether sat with his back against the wall, helmet discarded next to him, with Olivia held close against his chest as his hand slowly ran through her hair. He looks up at Secondo, opening his mouth to say something as the blond in his arms starts to stir, causing everyone to look back down at her. 

Her eyes slowly flutter open, frowning as lets out a soft groan. Olivia shifts slightly, hands moving to grab onto Aether as she tries to fully come back. 

“You okay?” He asks softly, hand gently holding the back of her head as her eyes sluggishly look around at all of them. 

“..the fuck are you guys wearing?” She mumbles, fingers curling into the vest he was wearing as she shifts to sit up. “I’m fine…think I must have come up the steps too fast,” Olivia offers them all a small smile, a shaky hand coming up to rub her temple. 

“Livie,” Cumulus says, leaning in closer with a frown, “Did you eat lunch today?” She asks, spotting the slight shake the blonde had. 

“Sure I did,” She says, taking Secondo’s hand when it was offered out to her and letting him pull her back up onto her feet. “Girl lunch, two crackers, and a cup of coffee that was mostly creamer,” Olivia mumble sings with a small laugh as the others frown. 

“That is not lunch,” Secondo sighs, holding her arm with both hands as she gets her footing. 

“He’s right,” Aether says, snagging his helmet as he stands. “That’s why we always brought you lunch.”

“Eh,” Olivia waves her hand, offering them all a smile, “I’m fine really. I don’t think I hit my head.”

“Aeth caught ya before you could,” Swiss says, hand adjusting the strap holding the cape. 

“Thank you,” Olivia says, looking back over at Aether with a smile, as she takes a step closer to Secondo who pulls her close against his chest. 

“Of course,” Aether says with a smile as he pulls his helmet back on. 

“Ah,” Crowley says cheerfully, walking down the hall with his angel on his arm. “I see you’ve gotten a chance to see the new uniforms. What do you think?” 

They all turn to look at the pair, watching as the blond man seems shocked to see all of them together.

“Very steampunk,” Olivia says quickly, smiling at them. “The cape is a nice touch as well. The blue matches C’s robes wonderfully.” 

“A very lucky coincidence,” Crowley says, clapping Rain on the shoulder as he drags Aziraphale into the small group, “My angel kept saying that you lot would hate the new look.”

“I did not,” The angel protests softly, looking around at the others as he shakes his head. “You all look great in them. I’m very glad you like them.” 

Sodo looks over at the angel, shaking his head slightly, causing the man to let out a small laugh. 

Crowley glances back at Aziraphale, who gives him a forced smile, before focusing on Olivia again. “I knew I liked you for a reason,” He says, pushing a stray clump of hair out of her face. 

She can’t help the softer smile that appears, eyes focusing on the lenses of the demon’s glasses. “Thank you,” She says softly. 

He seems to pause, nodding as he slowly pulls his hand away. “You are a very interesting case, Olivia…” He whispers, before nodding to Secondo as he steps back towards his blond. 

“Call if you need me,” Crowley says, snagging Aziraphale’s hand. “I expect invitations to things.” 

They watch as the demon drags the angel towards the main doors of the ministry, all mostly confused about how abruptly he was ending the conversation. 

“And work on the antichrist thing, yeah?” He calls back to them.

Olivia blushes as the ghouls start to giggle, turning her face to press it into Secondo’s chest. “Sure,” She says, voice muffled as she tightens her grip on the man’s jacket. 

The group seemed to wait for the echoing sound of the main doors closing before turning to look at where Olivia was hiding her face. 

“So how is the baby making coming?” Sodo asks, reaching over and tugging on one of Olivia’s curls. 

Aether reaches over, smacking Sodo on the back of the head as the ghoulettes start to laugh.

“Was this meeting not on my calendar?” Copia teases, coming down the stairs nearby. 

Secondo shakes his head, letting Olivia go as the blonde pulls away. “Make sure she eats something. She passed out not long ago,” The older man says, shaking his head with a playful sigh as he moves to walk away.

“You fainted?” Copia instantly is focused on Olivia, pulling her into his arms, shifting to fully carry her despite her protests.

“She skipped lunch,” Cirrus calls as Copia starts to turn and carry her back up the steps. 

“Traitor,” Olivia cries, “I’m fine, C. Really I am. I’ll just have some more salt and be fine for mass tonight.” 

“We’ll handle mass tonight, fratello,” Secondo calls, “You take care of your girl.”

“Thank you,” Copia says cheerfully. “You are going to rest and we are staying in tonight,” They hear him say before the pair fully disappears from view.

Chapter Text

“Here’s the space we need set up,” Phil sighs, glancing back at the Bishop standing in the doorway. “Is there anything you need?”

“Not really,” The man smiles, pushing the cart into the room. “Just everyone to stay out. I’ll get everything set up and can do the basic-level tests. I’ll call for them when it’s sound check time.” 

The special ghoul nods, “Can do. I’ll keep them out of your hair until you’re all set. Thank you again, I know this was a rather sudden ask since you just got here a few days ago.” 

“It’s alright. I like keeping busy, so it isn’t a problem.” He looks over the space, taking in the already-placed instruments and lighting rigs. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Phil walking towards the door again, “I’ll find them as I need them. Don’t worry.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Phil calls out, slipping out into the hall and shutting the door behind him. 

This is going to be fun , The man thinks as he starts to unpack the cart. I haven’t gotten to play around with a sound check like this in months. He checks his watch before smiling. The band was just going to be rehearsing in here this afternoon, sometime after three pm, which meant he had a few hours to fuck around after getting everything set up.

Rain and Sodo were lingering in the hall just outside of the door leading into the space where they were scheduled to film the new music video. 

“I thought Mount was still in the den?” The fire ghoul says, frowning as they listen to someone on the other side play the drums. 

“Am I where?” Mountain asks, coming down the hall as the drumming stops, causing the other two ghouls to look over confused. 

“In there? Who the fuck is playing then?” Rain asks, looking back towards the door as the sound of his bass leaks through the door. 

“Whoever it is really knows their shit,” Sodo says, pulling his helmet off to press an ear to the door. “First they nail my style of guitar, then you on drums, and now Rain?” He frowns, eyes darting over to look at the other two ghouls. 

“Seems like they’re playing the individual bits for the first parts of Rats ,” Mountain shrugs, crossing his arms. “Why don’t you guys just go in?” 

“Phil said we couldn’t before we got invited in. Besides it seems like the door is locked from the inside,” Rain sighs. 

The bass stops for a moment before there's a clicking sound before a recording of all of them playing starts. The instrumental starts, as the person on the other side clears their throat in front of the microphone, causing all three ghouls to focus on the door again.

 “ In times of turmoil. In times like these ,” The voice sounds like Terzo singing for a moment before the music abruptly stops. “Hey.”

“No! Not like that,” This voice sounds more like Copia this time, causing the trio to look at each other in confusion. “You’re not growling enough.”

“ Idiota ,” Secondo’s voice sighs, “Try a different song. Maybe something closer to what they’ll actually be recording?” 

“How about we try all of that again,” An unknown voice sighs as one set of footsteps walks across the room. 

“Brilliant idea,” Copia’s voice says softly before the room goes quiet again. 

“I guess the bosses must be in there with the sound guy then…” Mountain says with a hum, causing the two in front of him to look up at him confused. 

“I figured I’d be the first one here,” Copia’s voice says behind them, causing the three ghouls to turn and watch as he strolled toward them. He frowns softly at the confused head tilts the trio had. “What’s wrong?” He asks, taking a sip from his silver tumbler. 

“Who is in there with the other Papas if you're here?” Sodo says, pointing at the door as he steps closer to Copia. 

Copia raises an eyebrow, “I don’t know what you mean, my fratelli aren’t in there. Terzo has gone out with Sydney for lunch, Primo and some of his ghouls have made a trip out to the garden center in town, and Secondo was brooding in his office last I checked.” 

The sound of someone messing around on a guitar could be heard for a second before the intro to Dance Macabre starts, causing all four of them to focus on the door. 

“ You’ll soon be hearing the chime, Close to midnight ,” The sound of Copia singing could be heard through the door, causing the ghouls to turn and look at him.

The Papa gives a small shrug, “It could just be a recording.” He looks past them at the door.

“If I could turn back the time… something something. There's a sting in the way you fuck me .” The person on the other side sings, voice shifting into something more nasally towards the end before starting to laugh and stop. 

“Really? You're going to tell you recorded that?” Rain says with a scoff. “And I can fly.” 

“I don’t think I did,” Copia mumbles, frowning as he listens to the person impersonating him bicker with someone who sounds like a more mocking version of Terzo. 

“If you’re going to try and sing an actual song then get it fucking right,” Terzo’s voice playfully scolds. 

Copia steps closer and joins them as they press their ears to the door again in time to hear the unfamiliar voice hum. 

“Oh well,” The man says, footsteps starting to get closer to the door, “You’re out of time anyways.” 

The group quickly scrambles away from the door, trying to act casual as they hear the door unlock and the man mumbling something to himself. They all turn to look over as the man pulls open the door and freezes as he spots them. 

“Papa,” The man says, bowing his head slightly. “I can do your sound check first if you’d like.” 

“Have you ever met Bishop Forge before?” Copia asks, picking up his wine glass as he watches his brothers look at each other around the dinner table. Olivia and Sydney can’t help but roll their eyes as they watch the men give shrugs. 

“Forge? I feel like I would remember that name. Why?” Secondo asks, fingers drumming slightly on the table.

“He set up the audio equipment in the rotunda room for the music video tomorrow,” Copia starts, sipping his wine for a second before setting the glass back down. “He does scarily good impressions of us all.”

“He does impressions of us?” Terzo laughs, “The fuck do you mean?”

“I mean he does our voices, speaking and singing. He had conversations with himself like he was us having a conversation. He played a bunch of the ghouls' instruments in their styles. It’s incredible.” Copia says quickly, leaning forward as Primo starts to chuckle. 

“Ah then you met Tobias,” Primo says, shaking his head as he moves to stand, picking up his glass and moving towards the living area in his apartment. “We usually have him do demo tracks for the ghoul writers. He’s talented. He’s just horribly shy and gets stage fright.”

“What?” The three brothers say in unison, turning to watch Primo walk away. 

“You all really never questioned where the rough demos come from and why the person singing sounded like you?” Primo calls back as he settles into his armchair by the fireplace with a laugh. 

“When will we get to meet him?” Sydney says as she pats Terzo’s shoulder and stands. 

“If he’s part of the permanent group of siblings staying here with us, then soon I assume,” Copia says, turning his eyes away from Primo to look back at the others left at the table. 

“He sounds interesting,” Olivia says softly, leaning closer to Copia and pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

“I would pay to watch him talk with all of you in your voices,” Sydney says, finishing her wine and as she steps away from the table. 

Olivia can’t help the cackle that escapes her, “Fuck, I would too.” She steals a short kiss from Copia before standing as well. The three men still sitting at the table watch as the women head over to join Primo in the living area, deciding to settle on Primo’s sofa together.

In the few weeks Felix had been working at the Ministry had been interesting. 

In the crypt, there were people who seemed to live there and wear odd helmets and masks with different-looking uniforms. Sydney had called them ghouls, but to Felix, that seemed like an awfully rude name for the nice basement dwellers. Olivia and the Papas seemed to randomly argue with thin air whenever they were packing up things from one of the recently vacated apartments in the residential wing of the ministry. The siblings seemed to be weary of him, something that only got worse once the newest transfers arrived. Nothing he wasn’t used to, clicks were commonplace in organizational systems like this.

He easily settled into his new routine, classes in the morning and the ministry in the afternoon. In Felix’s opinion was nice to finally have a busier daily routine again, he felt more useful again. It reminded him that there was more to life after the service than school. He loved most of the random tasks Olivia sent him to do. 

Cleaning out Nihil’s old apartment was a task they started to do on Fridays. Sorting through the trash and stuff worth keeping was a challenge. Although he hadn’t expected all of the odd things he would discover while sorting through a dead guy’s things, the blend of shot glass collections, small crystals, and old porn magazines.

Felix frowns softly, looking at all the random photo albums he was pulling down off the bookshelf he had been put in charge of packing up. “So this guy was your father-in-law, right?” He asks, glancing over his shoulder at where Olivia was tossing all of the random trash around the space into a trash bag.

“Yeah, didn’t really get a chance to get to know him before he died though,” Olivia says, nose scrunching in disgust as she tosses a few more crusty pairs of old socks into the bag. “He’s become even more of a pain since he died. Why?” 

“Because I’ve never come across an album of artistic nudes before,” He looks back to the open album in his hand, “Like do we try and identify these women or do we just file them away under unknown nude woman numbers one through four?” 

Olivia chuckles, setting down the trash bag as she walks over to look at the photos with him. 

“I can see if C knows who any of them are,” She says pulling one off the shelf with the Roman numeral for one on the spine. She flips open the cover and can’t help but frown softly at the picture of young Nihil and an unknown sister posed in a formal-looking portrait on the first page. 

She wore similar-looking robes to the ones Nihil was wearing, her long, almost platinum-in-color, hair carefully styled and arranged over one of her shoulders. The woman’s smile seemed oddly familiar to Olivia, causing the blonde to hum in confusion as she flipped to the next page. “Well…if he took these himself he knew his way around a camera,” Olivia can’t help but be impressed by how artsy some of the photos were, flipping through a few of the pages before closing the album. “What number is that one?” She asks, glancing over towards the pages Felix had open in his hands. 

“These are in number three,” Felix hums, eyes scanning over the full-page print of two dark-haired women lounging nude and extremely pregnant on a dark red chaise lounge together. 

Once again, the two women looked somewhat familiar to Olivia, causing her head to tilt slightly. “Why don’t you take these up to the Papas and see if they can identify them?” She says, “I know C is busy filming today but I’m sure one of them has to be around there.”

Felix nods as he closes the album, sticking it and the others into the box in front of him as Olivia passes him the other one. “And if none of them are up there?” He asks, picking up the box and starting to head towards the door out into the hall. 

“Then you can just leave them in my apartment, I’ll get C to look at them tonight. It’s at the end of the hall, with the four on the door. Just leave them on the kitchen table. I’ll unlock the door before I head back down to the archives. I think we’ve done enough in here today,” The blonde sighs as Felix hums in agreement.

“Alright. I’ll see you down there then,” Felix calls, smiling over at her as he slips out the door and into the hall.

The only Papa in his office with the door open was Secondo. Felix stops just short of the doorway, glancing down at himself for a moment and shifting the box to be under one arm so he could run a hand through his hair. 

Why am I nervous? Felix asks himself,  staring at the nameplate by the door with a soft sigh. He’s a guy. A very hot older guy. He’s probably straight. They’re always either straight or taken.

The redhead takes a deep breath, putting on a smile as he steps into the doorway and knocks lightly on the doorframe. He watches as the man behind the desk looks up from his papers, watching him look between the box and his face as he steps into the room. 

“How can I help you, Felix?” Secondo asks, setting his pen down and moving to stand. 

Felix finds himself fighting to hold in the excitement of knowing that he knows his name. “Papa,” He says softly, hoping that is the correct greeting for the man as he bows his head slightly. “Olivia said you might be able to help us identify who’s in these pictures.” 

Secondo’s polite smile fades into a confused frown, head tilting slightly as he looks at the box. “Were they unlabeled?” He asked, clearing space for Felix to set down the box. 

“I looked through a few of them, but I couldn’t find a name anywhere in them,” He sets down the box and lets him pull out the top album. 

Secondo motions for Felix to have a seat as he sits back down in his desk chair with one of the albums. Felix’s eyes dart down to look at the spine of the book, taking in the number two on the spine. 

“Oh,” The Papa pauses on the first page of the album, gloved fingers ghosting over the image under the protective plastic. “This was my mother I think,” He whispers, moving to flip the page, causing Felix’s eyes to widen.

“You might not want to look any further,” He says quickly, standing and reaching out for it. “The rest of the photos are explicit.” Felix’s breath catches in his throat as he locks eyes with the ones previously hidden behind shades. 

“I think I’m old enough to look at explicit materials,” Secondo says playfully, making Felix blush softly as he slowly nods. The Papa waits for Felix to be fully seated before flipping through the pages and quickly shutting the book. 

“…Told you,” Felix says softly, a soft laugh escaping at the look on the man’s face. 

Secondo lets out a sigh, setting the album on the desk before sitting back in his chair and bringing a hand up to rub his forehead. “So…are all of them like that?” He asks after a few quiet moments.

“Yep,” Felix says, starting to chuckle, “I’m guessing that the other three are his other wives then?” 

“Prime movers,” Secondo instantly corrects, before nodding and offering Felix a small smile as he moves to put the album back into the box. 

“Right. I’ll try to remember that.” Felix smiles, watching as the Papa snags a blank sticky note and his pen to scribble down a name before passing it over to him. 

“You’ll have to ask my brothers for their mothers’ names. I only remember mine,” He sighs. 

“Thank you, Papa.” The redhead reaches out and carefully takes the note from him as he stands. 

“Not a problem… So you graduate soon right?” He says watching the younger man slip the sticky note into the correct album before getting it back into its place in the box. “College plans?”

“The end of this semester yeah,” Felix says, looking back up at him with a smile as he picks back up the box and shifts it into his arms. “And I think I’m done with school after this. Maybe I’ll go back at some point but I don’t think another degree I might not use.” 

Secondo hums, nodding as the redhead moves towards the door again. “Well, either way, enjoy it while it lasts.” 

Felix looks over his shoulder with a smile, “I’ll try, I promise Papa.” He turns away as he heads back out into the hall, feeling the other man’s eyes linger on him as he does. Maybe he just needs time to warm up to me…maybe by then, I’ll be over this crush.

Secondo was sure of one thing as he watched Felix stroll out of the room. That boy was going to be the death of him. Death in the form of well-fitting dress pants, collared shirts, and sweater combinations. It felt dirty knowing he was getting flustered by a boy who was so close to graduating from school.

He couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from the redhead’s ass as he went through the door. Secondo waits for the footsteps to fade down the hall before slowly leaning forward to rest his head in his hand. I’m a fucking creep. He’s hardly an adult yet.

“Papa?” Two young voices ask in unison, causing Secondo to quickly straighten up and look towards the door again. 

“Yes?” He asks, frowning slightly at the sight of unfamiliar twins holding hands in the doorway. “Is there something I can help you two with?”

The one on the left nods quickly and smiles as she tugs her brother further into the man’s office. “Mum sent us to find Da, but we don’t know where he would be,” She says, coming to stand in front of his desk on her tiptoes. 

“Who’s your father little one?” He asks, moving to stand as he offers the pair a soft smile. 

“Bishop Forge,” The boy says, stepping forward to join his sister. 

Secondo hums, nodding as he walks around his desk and offers his hand out to the twins. “He’s helping Papa with sound for the taping today, I can lead you there.” 

The girl looks over at the boy and blows a raspberry as she takes Secondo’s hand, “Told ya.” 

The boy lets out a soft huff, rolling his eyes as he moves to follow Secondo and his sister out of the room. “We could have found him eventually…”

The door to the set is open when they finally get there, causing the twins to let go of his hand and run ahead, making Secondo chuckle softly to himself as he continues to stroll behind them. 

The children cut straight across the space toward a man standing with a few of the ghouls, launching themselves at the man dressed in the normal uniform for a bishop. The man stumbles forward a few steps at the force of the twins' impact and lets out a soft laugh as he reaches down to rest his hands on their heads. 

“So that’s him then?” Secondo asks as he comes to a stop next to Copia, who is in the middle of finishing a bottle of water. 

The younger brother nods, taking a deep breath as he recaps the empty bottle, “Yeah, that’s him. Are those his kids?” 

“Yeah, they appeared in my doorway like those creepy ones the dickhead used to have follow him around,” Secondo says as he tucks his hands into his pants pockets.

The brothers watch as Tobias excuses himself from his conversation with the ghouls to speak with his children. The twins quickly pass along the message their mother had sent for him, before quietly begging their father for something. The kids keep looking back toward where Secondo and Copia are standing, causing Tobias to glance up at them before letting out a sigh as he nods. 

Secondo finds himself holding back a chuckle as the twins drag their father towards them. The father offers them an awkward smile, stumbling behind his children as the twins smile up at Copia. “Sorry Papa, they wanted to meet you,” The man says, nodding at the two Papas. 

“It’s not a problem,” Copia quickly assures him, moving to crouch in front of the kids. “You two wanted to meet me?” He asks, smiling at them.

The two nod quickly, “We wanted to see if Da actually sounded like you,” The girl says causing Secondo to snort, pulling a hand out to cover his grin as he scans the room. 

“Oh?” Copia asks glancing up at Tobias with a ‘what now’ expression. The man looks like he debating grabbing the kids and ending the interaction altogether. “Does he? I heard him doing a bit of my voice yesterday. It was so good he had the ghouls convinced,” He looks back at the kids with a bright smile, missing how pink the man was turning. 

“He did?” The boy gasps, holding onto his father’s sleeve and tugging on it excitedly. “See Da, it’s not a stupid talent. Papa even thinks you sound like him.” Tobias struggles to come up with an answer, just smiling down at his son as he nods. The boy didn’t seem quite done, looking back at Copia, “Da said it took the longest to get your voice down.” 

“Did it?” Copia asks, moving to stand again as he watches Tobias look between his children and the two Papas in front of him. 

“It did, yeah… Uh, it was just more growly than the others in spots…it-uh took a few tries to get the demos after Rats to sound more like you,” Tobias chuckles nervously, moving to pick one of the twins up to keep them from climbing up him. “It means a lot that you think I’m that accurate with the voices.” 

“From what I heard about it,” Secondo starts, clearing his throat softly as he focuses on the trio in front of him again, “You have all of our voices mastered.”

“Mastered isn’t the term I’d use, but thank you, Papa,” Tobias says with a small nod of thanks.

Copia glances over towards Secondo for a moment before humming and turning back to the man and his children. “Would you like to come to dinner sometime next week? As a thank you and a welcome. Primo insists on a casual family-style dinner once a week, and I know our other brother and our prime movers would love to meet you and your family.” 

“Oh-uh,” Tobias stumbles over his words for a few moments before the girl in his arms sighs. “He’ll have to talk to Mum first,” She says looking over at Copia with a smile. 

“She wears the pants,” The boy adds, taking hold of his father’s hand and nodding. 

Secondo lets out a chuckle, smiling at the kids before starting to walk away. “Of course she does,” he mumbles as he heads over towards the ghouls to say hello.

“Okie-dokie, just let me, or any of the other Papas, know at some point before next Thursday,” Copia says, nodding to Tobias and the kids, waiting for them to nod before saying a soft goodbye and quickly following after his brother after seeing how uncomfortable Tobias looked.

Chapter Text

“Things are different now aren’t they?” Lucifer asks, patting the back of her hand where it was resting on his arm. 

Olivia hums softly, nodding as she looks up at him with a small smile. “It’s a good different though…” She looks back around the garden they were walking through. “I just wonder if we’re disappointing you.”

He looks down at her with a soft smile, “My dear, you’ll never be able to disappoint me.” 

The blonde laughs, shaking her head slightly as she looks back around the greenery they are passing through. “I don’t know about that.”

“Our plans are inevitable, darling. One way or another, I’ll find a way to make it work when I decide it’s time. Even if you and Copia have children, I might decide not to select them,” He says, thumb smoothing over her skin for a second before pulling his hand away again. 

“We want them… Just not quite yet. Not while things are still settling out,” She says softly. “In the next few years maybe.” 

“You worry for their safety don’t you?” He asks, head tilting slightly as he focuses on her fully. When she gives him a small nod, he can’t help but chuckle. “Darling, if they’re who I pick then it’s everyone else’s safety you need to worry about.” 

Olivia lets out a soft sigh, nodding as she stops walking causing the man to turn and face her fully. 

His eyes seem to search her face for a moment, spotting the worry in her eyes, “Need more proof that everything will be okay?” He asks, hands moving to rest on her shoulders.

“Please,” She whispers, fingers starting to fidget with each other in front of her. She watches as he nods and leans in closer to her. The blonde closes her eyes briefly as he kisses her forehead and everything brightens.

For a moment it feels like the ground drops out from under her, and then suddenly the gardens seem to shift into a brightly lit room inside, a soft humming coming from a person on the other side of the room. Olivia turns and spots Sydney sitting in a rocking chair holding something wrapped in a purple blanket and she can’t help but frown. 

“I can’t believe she’s this perfect,” Sydney says, looking up at Olivia with a smile. 

“Of course she’s perfect,” The blonde says, finding herself walking closer and coming to stand next to her friend. “She’s yours, Syd.” 

The redhead laughs softly, looking back down at the bundle held close to her chest, bringing one hand up to stroke the infant’s cheek. “I’m sure I’ll be saying the same thing when you have a baby.” 

Olivia can’t help the soft laugh that escapes her as she moves to kneel next to the chair and get closer, she starts to reach out to tuck the blanket a bit more around the baby before- 

She jerks awake with a soft gasp, staring up at the ceiling for a few seconds before slowly sitting up as her hand reaches out to touch Copia. Olivia takes a deep breath, resting her hand on the man’s back for a few moments before slowly laying back down and pressing herself against him. Looks like I’ll be talking with Syd in the morning…

Sydney sits on the bathroom floor, eyes shut as she leans her head back against the door, and she tries not to panic too much. She had been late before, she had just never been this late before in all of her time on the pill but stress still tended to throw it off towards the of the semester. It seemed like this semester had thrown things off, she was nauseous, and some of the foods she normally enjoyed just turned her stomach so badly. 

She takes a deep breath, trying to focus on the soft sound of Terzo snoring in the bedroom on the other side of the door. She squeezes her eyes shut a bit tighter as she feels tears starting to build. They hadn’t fully discussed children before, despite having talks about ‘settling down’ after graduation. 

She had eventually wanted kids but she had never talked about them with Terzo before. She had told him repeatedly she wasn’t settling down

The timer she had set on her phone started to go off next to her hip on the floor, the soft vibration of her phone on the tile making her suck in a nervous breath. Slowly Sydney reaches over and hits the end button on it, before standing as she holds her phone tightly in one hand. The redhead slowly makes her way over to the vanity where she had left the tests sitting by the edge of the sink.

“Terz!” Sydney whispers. He could faintly hear her voice from somewhere above him. 

He could faintly feel her moving on the bed next to him before her hand landed on his shoulder and started to shake him. Terzo can’t help the sleepy groan he lets out, turning his face towards her as she whispers his name again. He slowly cracks an eye open when he hears her sniffling, 

“ Tesoro mio, cosa c'è che non va? ” He mumbles, shifting to turn and face her fully as he blindly moves a hand over to touch her. 

“I took a test,” She says, nervousness clear in her voice. “I was late so I took a test.” 

“Okay?” He asks, confused about why she is telling him about one of her school tests this early in the morning. “Did you pass?” 

This was, according to the sob she let out, not the correct thing to ask, making Terzo push himself up to sit with her. He carefully pulls her against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “ Bambola , I’m sure you’ll still graduate. Your grades are plenty high enough for it and even if you were late to class you still were there for attendance.”

“Not that kinda test,” She cries, pressing her face against his bare chest. He’s instantly aware of her tears, feeling the warm wetness that started to pool between their skin. “Terz, I’m pregnant.”

Terzo blinks in confusion, slowly processing that information, “Like with a baby?” He whispers after a second. I’m going to be a father? 

“No with a dragon,” Sydney lets out a soft huff of a laugh, “Yes with a baby…” She goes quiet again, something that makes him tighten his arms around her. 

Terzo’s eyes slowly widen as he processes the information, looking down at the top of his girl’s head as a wide smile slowly spreads across his face. “A baby…” He whispers, pressing a long kiss to the top of her head. 

They seem to fall silent, listening to the soft sounds of the rest of the ministry waking up around them for a few moments.

“Terz…” Sydney whispers, slowly pulling her face away from his chest to look up at him. “What are we going to do?” 

Terzo feels his heart drop for a moment as his smile shifts into something softer, “We can do whatever you wish to. It’s your body, you can choose whatever would make you most happy.” He leans in and presses a soft kiss to her forehead as she sniffles again.

“I know we hadn’t talked about kids… we’re not even bound or married yet,” Her thumbs smooth over his back, a small frown appearing on her face. “Do you even want kids?”

Terzo finds himself actually taking a moment to think. 

Before Sydney had nipped her way into his life, Terzo would have quickly said no. He was happy without the responsibility that came with parenthood. He was unwilling to repeat the actions of his father, the dickhead, and be off fucking other women while the mother of his child(ren) was pressured into being faithful. Before Sydney, he had enjoyed having a rotating number of Sisters joining him in bed every night he wanted a partner. He had enjoyed the lifestyle of a Papa tending to his flock. Almost all of his consultations had ended in orgasm before Sydney, no matter what the sibling had come in to speak about. 

That had mostly stopped after Sydney. After he started seeing a life outside of the Papacy with her. A retirement where he could easily tend to the needs of one for the rest of his life, should she allow him. After seeing her dressed in a habit that matched his robes, he could imagine her standing beside him at masses as his prime mover. He could imagine a life 

“ Amore mio ,” He whispers, moving a hand to gently push the hair out of her face, “With you yes.” 

Despite the early morning news, the day seemed to continue like most normally did. Sydney left for class after a short breakfast with Olivia, Terzo eventually made his way to his office after coffee with his brothers, and there was paperwork to do.

Around noon there was a soft knock on the door to his office that caused him to look up at it with a raised brow. 

Olivia shifts the binder in her arms as she steps into the room with a smile. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything, Papa,” She says cheerfully making him smile.

“Of course not, principessa. I’ve always got time for you,” He says, setting down his pen, “How can I help you?” 

“I just need you to identify this woman,” She says, carefully setting down the binder in front of him and opening it to the first page. 

Terzo’s brows scrunch slightly in confusion, watching Olivia’s face as she opens it before slowly looking down at the portrait on the first page. He recognized the dickhead instantly and immediately focused his attention on the dark-haired woman sitting in a chair just in front of his father. 

She looks sad… He hums softly to himself, eyes focusing on each detail that he could make out of her. “This is my mamma,” He whispers, smiling softly at the memories that started to come back to him. 

“I figured,” The blonde says, moving to stand next to him and look down at the photos with him. “The rest are mostly nude images of her but there is one…” She reaches out and carefully turns toward the back of the album, revealing a picture of the woman holding a dark-haired infant posed in purple formal wear. 

Terzo can’t help the soft noise that escapes him, leaning in a bit closer to get a better look at the image. “Where did you find this?” He asks softly, glancing up at Olivia with a smile. 

“Nihil’s apartment. He had four on the shelf…” She says, hand moving to his shoulder and giving a light squeeze. “I was wondering if you knew her name, it doesn’t feel right leaving her unnamed.”

Terzo frowns softly, shaking his head as he looks back down at the album and he starts to flip through the pages again, unbothered by the nudity of the woman on the pages. “My mamma was one of the first of the dickhead’s prime movers to leave…” 

Whatever noise he lets out next has Olivia humming sadly. He feels her hand tighten on his shoulder for a second before feeling it slide across his shoulder and pull him into her side. “I’m sorry, Terzo,” She whispers. 

He nods, clearing his throat as he gets lost in thought for a moment. “Can I keep this for a while?” He asks, hands tightening their grip on the album in his hands. 

“Of course,” She nods, giving him another squeeze before pulling away. Olivia shifts awkwardly next to him for a second, “I did have another question… You don’t need to answer.” Her fingers lace in front of her as Terzo looks over at her. “I had another one of those dreams… the future type ones I think.”

Terzo’s eyes narrow in confusion, head tilting as his thoughts start to race. What horrible things has she been shown now? “More death?” He asks softly, silently hoping that it wouldn’t be the same kind of dreams that plagued her about Nihil. 

“Birth actually…” Olivia whispers, offering him a soft smile. “Sydney didn’t find it too funny this morning when I brought it up. Apologize for me, please. I didn’t realize it would happen this soon, I should have kept it to myself.”

She knows about the baby… Dreamed about it. “You know?” He whispers, watching the blonde nod and offer him a gentle smile.  

“I’ll try to keep other spoilers to myself next time when they aren’t death-related,” She says, stepping closer and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Take care of her for me.”

Terzo sat at the small kitchen island in his apartment, staring down at the photos on the pages of the album. The smiling face of his mother seemed to stare back up at him.

She had been the first of the dickhead’s prime movers to flee, he could remember that much. He was small enough that the memories were hazy, but he could remember the way she screamed and cried in the hall. He could remember clinging to her skirts, crying as he looked between his parents. How he held on to her so tightly as a ghoul tried to pull him away. 

His mother cursed out his father as she tossed her ring at him. The sparkle it had in the air as it bounced off of the marble floors. She turned to look at him, whispering something that he couldn’t understand over his sobs before kissing his face and storming off.

Terzo takes a shaky breath, turning the page and scanning over the image of Nihil and all of his prime movers. None of the women looked happy to be in the same room as him, something that was more accurate from what he could remember. 

His mother was the first to flee, then Secondo’s, and then, after Nihil tried sending Primo away to Italy to study at the ministry there, finally Primo’s mother left. All three of their mothers were driven away from their children by a dickhead with an obsession for a sibling who despised the idea of having children. He couldn’t help but be upset at himself, he couldn’t remember his mother’s name. He could remember Secondo’s mother Caterina and Primo’s mother Elizabeth. Both of them had been siblings before their bondings to Nihil unlike his mother. 

He pulls his eyes away at the sound of the door opening, a soft smile appearing on his face as he watches Sydney come in. “Welcome back, bambina ,” He says softly, turning to face his girl as she sets her bag down and makes her way over. 

“Hey Terz,” She says with a smile, coming to stand in front of him and leaning down to give him a light kiss. He hums happily, wrapping an arm around her hips and pulling her closer to him. Sydney rests her hands on his shoulders as she pulls back out of the kiss, glancing over at the album open on the countertop. 

“Who are they?” She asks, leaning her cheek against the top of his head as she scans over the photos visible. Her eyes scan over the two women sitting with Nihil and then over to an image of the dark-haired woman alone on the other page. “She’s very pretty.”

“That’s my mamma,” He whispers, turning back to look down at the photos as he lets her climb into his lap to look through the pages. 

Sydney hums softly, nodding as she turns a few pages before cooing at the image. “Is that baby you?” She leans closer to the picture before looking over her shoulder at Terzo and giggles as he nods. “You were such a cute baby.” 

He can’t help but smile as she studies the pictures of him as an infant and the ones of his mother pregnant. 

“She looks so young,” She murmurs as she looks over a photo of his mother and Caterina with him and Secondo. 

He hums, “She might have been.” He rests his cheek on her shoulder and closes his eyes, content to hold her as she flips through the rest of the photos. 

“Your dad really had a think for pregant nudes, didn’t he?” She asks causing Terzo to chuckle as he turns his face to tuck into her neck. “Will you make a prego nudie album of me too?” She teases, causing him to tighten his grip on her and lift his head up to look at her. 

He smiles brightly at her, “Don’t tempt me, dearest.” He whispers as she looks over at him. He steals a brief kiss, hands starting to drift under her shirt to drift over her skin. “I’d have a large print made for over the fireplace if you’d allow it.” 

The redhead giggles, squirming in his lap as her hands move to press against the back of his. “You wouldn’t,” She squeals.

“Oh, yes I would. The divine form of my prime mover should be displayed, like the work of art you are, amore mio .” He purrs hand drifting up to cup the swell of her breast. 

“Prime mover?” She asks softly, going still in his hands as she tries to pull back enough to look at his face. 

Terzo slowly pulls his face out of her neck, nodding as his eyes scan over her face. “It would be an absolute honor if you would spend the rest of your days on this mortal plane with me,” He says gently. “I know you didn’t want to settle down until after you are out of school. I don’t need an answer now but-” 

Sydney pulls him into a kiss, cutting him off for a moment before pulling back and nodding. “Of course silly,” She says softly, hands cupping his cheeks as she presses their foreheads together and closes her eyes.

Chapter Text

Felix shifts his bag as he starts to make his way out of the archives, deciding to make his way towards the main stairs for once. He pauses at the bottom of the stairs as his phone buzzes in his pocket. He sighs as he pulls it from his pocket before hazarding a glance at it. 

His class group chat, the one he had to beg them to add to, was starting to blow up with texts of people canceling their study session tonight. He mumbles a curse, slipping it away as he rubs his forehead. There go my plans for the night… I have the feeling they’re still getting together without me.  

“You look sad,” Someone says, causing Felix to jump and quickly look over at them. From what Felix could tell, it was one of the basement dwellers, one of the smaller guys. 

The redhead offers him a small smile, “Just disappointed. My plans for the night got canceled.” He gives a small shrug, tucking his hands into his pant pockets. “For once I was looking forward to being social.” 

The helmeted head tilts, causing the light to glint off the lenses as the guy hums softly. “You can come hang out with us if you want. We were planning on a human movie and drinks since we don’t have mass tonight.” 

Felix lets out a soft laugh at the term ‘human movie’, smiling somewhat nervously as he raises an eyebrow. 

“You are old enough to drink, right?” The man asks, stepping closer to Felix when the redhead starts to laugh. 

“Of course I am. I have been for the last decade,” His head tilts slightly when the man seems to doubt his answer. “I know I have a baby face but I can show you my ID if you want.” He finds himself fishing out his wallet as the man holds out a hand and gets closer to him. 

The man instantly snags the first form of ID Felix pulls out, “Fuck, you’re thirty-one? Thank fuck for twinks.” 

Felix laughs, smiling as he nods, “Yeah. That’s the same reaction when I ordered a drink at a bar the other day.” 

“We’ve all been thinking you’re a high school intern this whole time. Why the fuck are you interning at thirty?” He offers the redhead his ID, offering him a small confused smile as he watches him take it.

“Because my dumbass wanted to go back to school for art history this time around. I needed an internship to graduate. Syd told me about Olivia needing help and here I am.” Felix looks down at his wallet as he slides the ID back into its spot with his driver’s license. 

When Felix looks back up, the man is turning back towards the darkness at the end of the hall and motioning for him to follow. Not the strangest invite I’ve ever gotten, Felix thinks as he adjusts his bag on his shoulder again and follows him into the darkness.

When Sodo, as Felix later learned, said ‘Watch a movie and drink’, he really meant ‘A movie plays in the background while we drink liquor like it’s water and grind on each other’. 

Felix was too drunk to care when they all seemed to start shedding clothes. He was perfectly content to sit in the corner of the couch, splitting his attention between ‘Lost In Translation’ and watching Sodo sit in Rain’s lap as the two heavily made out.

“Like what you see?” A voice purrs from somewhere behind him, causing him to slowly lean his head back against the couch and look up at the man standing behind him. Felix feels himself blushing heavily as the masked man leans closer to his face, eyes locked onto his reflection in the lenses. He had thought he had been rather careful about keeping his eyes on them for too long. 

The redhead’s mind struggles for an answer for a bit too long, making the man chuckle. “Yes…” Felix finds himself whispering when the back of the man’s fingers brush over his cheek. 

“You can stare. Those two love being watched,” He says, fingers drifting into Felix’s hair and gently pulling his head back upright and turning it towards the two on the other end of the couch. “We all rather enjoy it,” The man whispers into the redhead’s ear. “You could even join if you wished.”

Felix can’t help the sharp breath he sucks in, causing the man to chuckle again, and shiver at the feeling of the man’s breath on his neck. He swallows thickly as his eyes focus on Rain and Sodo again, watching the larger man pull the flowy shirt off the man in his lap. Felix’s eyes trail over the newly exposed skin, shifting slightly in his spot. 

Fuck why are they all hot… best way to get over a crush is to get under someone right? Felix asks himself. They aren’t technically my boss or my boss’s boss like Hot Papa is.

Suddenly hands are slowly sliding up his thighs, making Felix struggle against the hand in his hair and look down at the person. The man kneeling between his legs smiles widely at him, Swiss Felix’s brain sluggishly reminds him. Between the feeling in the air and the toothy grin, Felix was feeling more like prey trapped in a web. A breathy gasp escapes him as the hands stop and grip his hips.

“Cute and makes pretty noises,” Swiss laughs, fingers pressing a bit harder into his hips. “I told you we should have invited him in sooner, Aeth.” 

“I wasn’t about to risk being wrong about twinks always looking eighteen,” Aether sighs, breath hot on Felix’s neck as his fingers play roughly in the red strands. “Besides, Papa did say not to…” 

Felix lets out a small confused hum, trying to turn his head and look over at the mention of a Papa. “What?” He asks. Which one? 

“Ooo,” A female voice chimes in, Felix couldn’t remember her name just that it was cloud related. “That got his attention. Does little Lexie have a crush on a Papa?” She teases, coming to sit in between Felix and the two ghouls who were basically fucking on the other end of the couch. 

“I think he does,” Aether says, letting go of Felix’s hair and moving his hand to his shoulder. “Look at how red he is.” 

Felix’s face felt like it was on fire and the cool hand of the cloud lady briefly on his cheek only made him blush harder as more of them gathered around him and started to laugh. 

“Come on Lexie ,” Swiss teases, squeezing him again to get his attention again. “Which one is it?”

The human lets out a nervous laugh, quickly shaking his head and getting dizzy, “I dunno…it’s silly. It’s just a stupid crush. I’m too old for those.” The words feel like mush in his mouth as he speaks, a smile forming on his face as they all coo at him. 

“Shall we guess then?” The other cloud-named lady says, head peeking around Aether’s shoulders to look down at him. “We love games like that.”

“He hasn’t met Primo yet,” Swiss says as one of his hands drifts to grab at Felix’s belt. “So it can’t be him.”

“Terzo and Copia are in relationships…” Aether muses, a small frown appearing as he thinks, “You don’t seem the home wrecker type, Lex.” 

“That leaves Secondo,” The woman next to him squeals, grabbing hold of Felix’s arm to squeeze it. Felix’s eyes widen as he struggles to come up with something to change the subject, his eyes dart between them as he lets out a confused noise. The group seems to laugh, letting out amused cheering as they glance around at each other. 

“So I take it we’re playing matchmaker again?” Sodo says, voice muffled by where his face was tucked into Rain’s neck. 

“Looks like it,” Rain mumbles, causing the woman in between them and Felix to gasp excitedly. 

“This might be the easiest one,” She says, standing up and clapping her hands together. “We just get Secondo to watch Lex before we take him home. Secondo learns Lex is an adult and actually allows himself to start flirting.” 

“Not the stupidest plan,” Aether hums, “It might even be stupid enough to work.”

Felix looks around at them confused as all the eyes start to focus on him again. “You’re sending me home?” He asks softly, peaking around Swiss’s head to see the screen again. “But the movie…”

Secondo was sitting in his armchair by his fireplace, sipping on a brandy on the rocks and reading a novel he had been meaning to read, content to spend his night in silence for once. He hums softly, setting his glass down on the side table before flipping the page. He reaches for the glass again as his front door is thrown open. 

“Papa!” A ghoul practically screams as they come in. “We need your help.”

“Yes?” He sighs, turning to look over at the group, watching as they drag in Felix. “What is going on?” He asks, quickly closing the book and standing. 

“Hi Papa,” Felix slurs, pulling up his head as best he can and smiling brightly. 

“Felix is too drunk to drive himself home and is too drunk to join us for the orgy tonight,” Cumulus says, helping Swiss lay the redhead down on Secondo’s couch. “Can he hang out with you until were can drive him home?” 

“You got a child drunk?” Secondo asks, “He’s nowhere near old enough to drink.” 

“Sodo said he checked his ID,” Swiss says with a shrug, resting his hands on his hips. “We didn’t bother to double-check.”

Felix lets out a groan, “I’m fine…” His head turns towards the group standing around the couch. “I wanna participate.” 

“You are trashed, Lex,” Swiss chuckles, reaching over and pushing the hair off of Felix’s forehead. “Maybe next time. Papa can take care of you.” 

The redhead hums as Secondo lets out a sigh. “How about I take him home? You lot won’t be done any time soon,” The Papa says, shaking his head as he turns away to set his book down and moves to start getting ready to leave. 

“Thank you, Papa,” Cumulus squeals, grabbing hold of Swiss’s hand and starting to quickly drag him towards the door to the hall.

Felix fumbles as he clumsily tries to pull his keys free from his bag, leaning heavily against Secondo as he does. The older man eventually takes pity on him and gently takes the keys from him and unlocks the door. He helps the redhead in and closes the door behind them, watching the younger man lean against the wall as he walks further into the apartment. 

“Make yourself at home,” Felix slurs, letting his bag fall to the floor before stumbling over to the couch and having a seat. 

Secondo hums, closing the door behind him as he glances around the rather tidy apartment. He notices the wall of books and music, an instrument case, and a music stand tucked into a corner as he heads into the kitchen to find Felix a glass of water before leaving. 

He can’t help but pause to look at one of the photos on the wall when he went to walk by. “Is this you?” He asks, glancing back at the redhead sprawled on the couch for a moment before looking back at the photo. 

Felix lets out a soft groan, picking his head up and looking over towards his voice. “Oh, those? Yeah.”

Secondo lets his eyes scan over the photographs of Felix in uniform and surrounded by similarly dressed individuals. His eyes drift back to the first one, a close-up picture of Felix in full military dress playing oboe on a stage. He looks over at the redhead as he continues into the kitchen, watching him lay his head back down and close his eyes. 

Out of all of the instruments Secondo could have imagined Felix playing, oboe, or even saxophone judging by some of the other photos on the walls, was definitely not it. 

Felix opens his eyes as the older man sets the glass down on the coffee table by the couch and the small trash can Felix kept by the desk in the living room down next to his head on the floor. “Thank you,” He mumbles, smiling up at him as he reaches a hand out to grab his sleeve. He misses the first few times before finally grabbing hold. “Thank you, Papa.”

Secondo stares down at the redhead as he lets out a soft hum and nods. “Of course, Felix. Any-” He’s cut off by the redhead suddenly using his sleeve to pull himself onto his side to empty his stomach into the trash can.  

Secondo lets out a soft groan, somewhat trapped there as the redhead clings onto him and the trash can.

“You’re back awfully late, Papa,” A female voice says, making Secondo pause as he unlocks his door. He looks down the hallway to see Lake and Mist strolling down the hall towards him. 

“Yes, I had to go into town earlier and it took longer than expected,” Secondo says, not entirely sure why he didn’t just say that he drove the very drunk intern home. 

“Did you have fun?” Lake asks, head tilting as he looks the Papa over. “Did you take that poor kid the others got drunk home?”

Secondo lets out a sigh, nodding as he tucks his hands into his pockets. “I did, yes.”

The pair seem to look at each other with knowing smiles before back at him. “You should have heard him talking earlier in the den,” Mist teases, holding onto Lake’s arm as she leaned more against it.

“Oh?” Secondo can’t help but raise an eyebrow as the two laugh softly.

“Yeah boss,” Lake chuckles, “You should ask him about it sometime. Assuming he remembers, it was like they were trying to wreck that poor human’s liver.” 

That seems about right, considering how much he was throwing up. Looks like Copia will need to have another chat with his ghouls about drinking with humans.

The first things Felix was aware of were the throbbing in his head, the stale taste of vomit in his mouth, and the fact that he had been stripped down to his underwear at some point and tossed into bed. 

I’m never drinking with them ever fucking again. He cracks open one eye to look up at the ceiling, watching his fan for a moment before sliding it shut with a groan as he feels his stomach protest. He shakily brings up a hand to push the hair that was stuck to his forehead with sweat away as he turns his cheek to be against a cold section of the pillow. I haven’t drank like that since my twenty-first.  

He fades in and out for a few more minutes before he hears his phone buzzing on the nightstand. Felix can’t help but frown as he opens his eyes and slowly reaches for it, taking in the full glass of water and the bottle of painkillers that were sitting next to his phone. 

He squeezes an eye shut as pulls his phone off the charger and is momentarily blinded by how bright the screen is. Once he gets the brightness turned down he scans over the message.

Olivia:

Hey, Lex. Heard about last night from Sec. Go ahead and take today as a sick day. (I can send you a list of what I do to base today’s journal on) If you feel up to it, feel free to come in if you really want to. It’s going to be a slow day.

The redhead mumbles a soft thank you as he types one out and sends the text. Now I have the full day to process that the man I like watched me throw up, undressed me, and put me in bed. 

“I’m so gay,” Felix whispers to himself, his mind trying to piece together the fuzzy memories and blank spaces after they had entered the apartment. It seemed like his imagination was trying to push forward images of Secondo stripping him and running his gloved hands over his skin.