Work Text:
Looking out of the plane window, Aldo Bellini was gazing over the terrain beneath them, contemplating how different it all looked from so high up above. Perhaps when this business concluded, he'd go on a retreat somewhere and truly enjoy the passing sceneries without having diplomatic matters in the back of his mind. Anything to get away from the affairs of some of his colleagues.
Aldo had been travelling on a business trip as Cardinal Secretary of State, and so far it had gone rather smoothly, with only minor hiccups along the way. One of which was the occasional but always unpleasant run-ins with Tedesco.
The next stop was a short layover in Paris. Aldo rested his head against the headrest. He truly could not wait to get this all over with. He then accepted a bottle of water from the flight attendant while silently praying that the remainder of his trip would be uneventful. However, he was unaware of the events that would transpire.
He had been quietly fidgeting with his pectoral cross by the gate area when he heard the noise from a commotion nearby. One of the voices sounded suspiciously like the one person he did not want to come across on this trip. Unable to deny the need to look towards the loud voice, he did a double take upon having his suspicions confirmed.
There, arguing and gesturing angrily at the security officers, was Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco, the Patriarch of Venice himself. And behind him were his assistants, looking like they did not quite know what to do in this situation.
“Your Eminence, smoking is prohibited in this area. Please-”
By the sound of it, the security officers were well aware of Tedesco's identity. No surprise there. Whatever he was doing here, he made no secret of who he was, whether that be from the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, his subordinates trailing behind him, or the much more obvious cassock. And Tedesco, it appeared, was not interested in him obeying clear norms that everyone else could easily follow, as he smacked away the hand reaching for him.
“Ma non mi toccare! You people, siete degli idioti! What, you think I am giving everyone cancer? Ah, repressing me with your laws? Aiuto! Aiuto! I'm being repressed!”
This was too much for Aldo as he walked towards the commotion with the intention of ending it.
“If I may be allowed to join this dialogue… You excuse my colleague's behaviour.”
Upon seeing Bellini suddenly speaking behind them, Tedesco's eyes widened for a few seconds before his expression returned to its indignant state.
One of the security officers gave Aldo a searching look before explaining the situation.
“Your Eminence, Cardinal Tedesco has denied our request multiple times to put away his vape.”
After the sentence was spoken, Tedesco hit the vape right away - perhaps as a sign of defiance. This only led to more chaos, however, as multiple officers attempted to take action and confiscate the red vape, while Tedesco struggled against them with venomous Italian insults mixed and ordered them not to touch him. All Aldo could do was make an effort to calm down the other Cardinal.
The next few minutes were a blur for Aldo, but the previous kerfuffle had somehow led to both Aldo and Tedesco sitting two feet apart on a bench in some quiet corner of the airport. Also was sitting on the bench with his head lowered against his hands, which were strained together in prayer – the very opposite of Tedesco who looked like the very definition of nonchalance, legs crossed and still hitting that vape, which Aldo almost had been certain was confiscated from him. Did he have a hidden stash hidden away somewhere?
Unable to stand the drawn out silence between them, Aldo decided to break it. “You know, for someone so set on regulations and tradition, you certainly don't seem very set on following the common norm when it doesn't suit you,” he said sharply.
He didn't really get the response he was hoping for in return – whatever response that was – as Tedesco merely shrugged.
Aldo felt something unsettling settle within him. He had expected complaints and the usual back-and-forth between them by now, but the vaping Cardinal seemed content to just sit there in silence, his mind unreadable. Aldo tried to extinguish the uncomfortable feeling growing within him from the tranquility, and the feeling growing in his gut from discreetly observing the manner of how the other man took slow puffs of his device, and then inhaled after a few seconds.
Surprisingly, Tedesco then asked him a question, which led to Aldo having to stifle his startled reaction.
“Is our Secretary of State out on business?” Tedesco asked calmly without looking at him.
Aldo took a deep breath and raised his head – not looking at the other man either – before responding.
“Indeed. Yourself?”
“Retreat.”
This caused Aldo to finally turn to the other.
“Retreat? I didn't really get that image of you from watching you back there.”
Tedesco snorted and looked back at him. “Not my fault you have no sense in that cervello liberale of yours.”
Aldo inhaled deeply yet again to calm himself down – a common habit he had developed by having prolonged exposure to Goffredo Tedesco.
Eventually, he couldn't resist speaking out about what was the most bothersome thing about all of this.
“I'll miss my flight because of this, you know?”
The other Cardinal merely raised an eyebrow. He really couldn't care less, could he? “Are you insinuating that it was my fault? You realise the blame lies with you, ever since you decided not to ignore it?”
A well of irritation rose up within Aldo. His fault? “My fault?” The nerve of this man never ceased to amaze him. “Well, perhaps one of us actually has a sense of responsibility to step in when they see their colleague cause a scene which could cause a scandal!”
This made Tedesco smile in return. Not a very nice smile, but a smile nonetheless.
“Ah, responsabilità… Worried for your colleague, eh? Sei preoccupato per me? Not very like you. Perhaps if it was Tommaso, but…”
Aldo thought it was rather embarrassing of him not to come up with a quip back right away, but before he could come up with a clever response, Tedesco had already uncrossed his leg and stood up, looking like he was about to go somewhere.
“Where are you going? To your little pretend-retreat?” At the very least he managed to say something before Tedesco could take off.
“Something like that. Besides, my friends have informed me about a matter I intend to tend to. But there's no rush. Festina lente. I could make use of this free time.” As he spoke, he gazed at something in the distance, but Aldo was too preoccupied trying to stare him down. From the way Tedesco spoke and acted sometimes, Aldo could almost mistake him for some mob boss instead of an esteemed patriarch. He immediately put an end to that line of thought, as he didn't want to share even the slightest similarity with Tedesco's narrow-minded, stereotypical mindset.
“What, are you just going to take a leisurely stroll around the city? Do you even know where we are?”
Infuriatingly enough, Tedesco shrugged again. He couldn't be serious, right? He had to be trying to mess with him at this point.
Aldo shot him an unimpressed look before he sighed. “We're in Paris.”
“Tsk. Francesi. Mah. Better go. Gli idioti are coming.” He then pointed to the distance, and Aldo could just make out the silhouettes of the security officers running in their direction, no doubt having seen the vapour coming from the vape. For a moment, Aldo couldn't help but be impressed by the sharp eyes of the security officers. He now also understood that Tedesco's planned ‘stroll’ was more of a planned ‘escape’.
“Oh, dear,” was all Aldo could mutter.
They swiftly departed the airport together, all the while they were bickering with each other – Tedesco telling him not to follow, and Aldo insisting that he was simply leaving the airport as well and couldn't help that they were walking the same way. Still, they ended up eating at the same restaurant patio, all the excitement from earlier catching up to their empty stomachs.
Tedesco especially was eating with particular gusto. He had ordered a rather sizable portion of pasta carbonara, a few baguette slices and some wine. Aldo on the other hand, had settled with some simple croque monsieur and French wine.
“Nice to dine al fresco, no?” Tedesco mused between large bites.
Aldo simply gave him a grunt of affirmation. He couldn't deny that it was rather nice, as the weather was quite pleasant, even though the company was fairly questionable.
He decided to voice the suspicion that had been on his mind ever since he set eyes on the other man at the airport.
“A strange coincidence to run into you in Paris of all places. You're not following me as part of some scheme, are you?”
“So sospettoso, Bellini. I was surprised to see you here too, you know? And if I ever wanted to do such underhanded deeds, I'd have someone else follow you. You are not worth that much of my time,” Tedesco huffed, resulting in colour rising on Aldo's face as he clenched his fists.
“Oh, relax, Bellini. Enjoy the good food! You should eat more actually. You look too thin. Here, have some pasta.” He then gathered some of his pasta carbonara on a fork and leaned over the table, looking like he was about to spoonfeed him.
“Have you had too much wine?! Stop that!” Aldo almost shrieked. This caught the attention of one of the waitresses, who came across the scene of Tedesco leaning over the table with his fork directed at Aldo's reddening face.
“Can I interest you in this week's Couple's Special?” The waitress offered innocently.
Both men promptly retreated to their seats and almost fell over, their expressions ranging from revulsion to panic. They began speaking over each other, desperate to make it clear to the waitress that she had gotten the wrong idea. Aldo wasn't sure how Tedesco thought it would be a good idea to rant and rave in Italian to the poor waitress to make her understand, but Aldo in turn tried explaining in both English and French to really bring it home.
After they made sure they'd gotten their point across to the waitress who sheepishly retreated, they both leaned against their chairs, with an additional kick to Tedesco's shin under the table.
The pure surprise on Tedesco's face was almost comical as he gestured with his arms as if to ask ‘what's the deal?’, and Aldo had to stifle a smirk.
They then ate the rest of their food in silence, only interrupted by Tedesco taking large gulps from his wine glass. After their food had disappeared into their stomachs, Tedesco once again came up with the most outrageous things to say.
“I think you should pay the bill to make up for us losing our flights.”
Aldo's jaw almost dropped to the floor. “That was on you!”
He had to refrain from punching Tedesco's face as he once again shrugged in his utterly insufferable manner.
“A better diplomat would have been able to assuage the situation.”
Aldo took deep breaths. He then put on the best fake smile he could muster before retorting.
“What, does the Patriarch of Venice not make ends meet to pay for a simple meal?”
The look of pure spite directed towards him almost made him regret his words. He couldn't say he was used to seeing such a look on the Patriarch's face, even when they were both in the middle of their worst shouting matches.
Worried that he had truly upset the other man with his words, Aldo pulled up some cash and laid it on their dining table.
“Consider this a tithe.”
Tedesco subtly nodded his head in thanks.
Evening had come, and they decided to spend the night at a hotel – both knowing they'd be going there together. They walked together in silence, with only the occasional glance exchanged between. Aldo dearly hoped he'd be able to catch another plane tomorrow.
He stood by the reception, ready to get both their rooms in order, as Aldo was well aware he'd probably have to pay for Tedesco this time as well. He silently swore this would be the last time he treated the intolerable man.
Unfortunately…
“Apologies, sir, but we only have one more room left,” the receptionist said apologetically.
Aldo rubbed his temples.
“Oh, you have got to be-”