Seeing as the two of them made a point of leaving the party at different times, the guests were oblivious to the fact their disguised Papa and resident alchemist were slinking off to the department’s office to enjoy each other’s company away from the spirited celebrations.

Copia had insisted that the office be their meeting place. Although the Clergy no longer followed his every move, he wouldn’t have put it past them to use the time he spent enjoying the festivities to snoop around his things, so the department’s headquarters seemed like the perfect place for him to entertain Aemelia for the rest of the night.

And for that reason, he’d been the first to leave the party in an unremarkable fashion. He’d hovered his head over her left shoulder to whisper a short, desirous goodbye, his mouth lingering by the pale skin of her ear. His lips were poised there a good while after his whispery words left him like he was toying with the idea of leaving a kiss over her pallid skin... but he resisted the temptation and drew himself away from her with a reluctant sigh, smoothly spinning on the soles of his shoes until he faced the archway. She emptily watched him as he slipped through the outskirts of the bustling crowd that obstructed the cathedral’s elaborate exit, and she rolled her eyes, folding her arms over the front of her cassock.

Aemelia waited a little over ten minutes, just like they’d planned, and when the music shifted to something softer, the clusters of people on the dance-floor started to head for the drinks tables and she finally decided to make her move. She merged with the wave of panting dancers, surrounded by their unpleasant heat and perspiration, until she could shuffle out from their colourful, costumed stampede to fight her way towards the chapel’s carved archway. She scowled due the fact they were oblivious to her urgency, but ensured she kept her mouth shut by gritting her teeth together. Elbowing her way through the last of the chattering guests, she unleashed a relieved breath once she stepped beneath the archway, and when she found herself outside the cathedral, the marble-clad walls were a rather reassuring sight. The neat lines of purple powder and garlic salt she’d placed out the previous day were now well and truly scattered about the stone slabs, and she huffed in annoyance, raising her pace to reach the department’s office as quickly as she could.

The candlelit corridors felt monotonous to her at that moment, as did the over the top Halloween decorations and broken powder trails. Then again, she’d seen an awful lot of those marble-clad walls recently, so the festive spark had probably worn off on her. Nevertheless, she was grateful for the party’s ambience, the flood of noisy chatter and music obnoxiously echoed from wall to wall, filling the vast void of fading shadows in front of her. It was much louder than she recalled it being earlier but she supposed the party was just reaching its peak now that she’d left. If she was honest, she was quite thankful she’d had a reason to leave, the cathedral was far too crammed for her liking.

The slow melody of the music kept her pleasantly distracted as she wandered the densely decorated hallways, her leather-clad hands clutching at the black fabric of her cassock as she hugged herself for warmth now that she was nearing the chilly threshold of the old complex. To her surprise, even when she stepped into the long, winding corridors, the music was still as clear as it had been in the modern complex. The stone-clad walls echoed each note perfectly and the candle-sconces flickered frantically as she raised her pace. Her mismatched eyes searched the left side of the wall for the distinctive shimmer of gold lettering amongst the blackness, and once its telling glimmer appeared a few yards in front of her, she eagerly jogged the rest of the way there, her echoing footsteps overwriting the vanishing sounds of the slow, haunting melodies.

Now that she was nearing the office door, she slowed to a casual stop and unleashed a couple of deep breaths to gather herself. Her gloved hands reached up to her head and she pushed back her long burgundy hair, her fingertips tucking a couple of unruly strands behind her ears. Another couple of breaths escaped her as she reached her right arm forwards to administer a knock to the door... but the brazen return of heavily echoing music caused her to pause. The presence of a distinctive disco beat caused her to snort but she tried her best to refrain from wearing a crumpled smile, and once she let out a loud huff to compose herself, she firmly elbowed the door a couple of times seeing as the gloves she was wearing seemed far too cushioned for her to give the surface an audible knock.

There was an unbelievably short pause when she retracted her arm to casually drape it by her side before frantic shuffles seeped through the wood of the door. She took a step back in preparation of it opening and bit her lip to stop herself from smirking at the loud lock rattles, and after a considerably long ten seconds of them being released, the door eventually shrieked open, leather-clad fingers creaking loudly as they wrapped around the thick edge of the door-frame.

Aemelia raised an eyebrow when Copia’s shaded eyes appeared, his head tilting into an uncomfortable-looking position so that he could peer through the small gap in the door-frame. The glisten of the smoky lenses that shrouded his gaze was obvious to her – even in the indistinct darkness – and she inhaled to stop herself from chuckling when he awkwardly cleared his throat, unsure what to say to invite her inside.

“Daddy Cool's on. I’m surprised you were fine with us leaving before the annual mosh-pit.” Aemelia simply stated before he could utter a word. He parted his mouth in consideration and backed away from the door to open it wider, and before she could casually glance at the office’s interior over his shoulder, he confidently reached forwards and seized hold of one of her sleeved arms to yank her inside. His free arm hurriedly closed the door behind her and he tugged her into his chest, the creak of his leather trench coat causing her to scrunch her face in playful protest.

“The mosh-pit? Eh, it’s whatever. Who cares? I went all out with it last year so I don’t need to do it again this year, you know? Plus... I have you all to myself. Which doesn’t compare at all.” he responded, keeping his voice quiet as he gently tugged her further into the room. She scowled at him in suspicion but allowed him to execute his actions, her mismatched eyes narrowed in accusation.

“Well, that's not very you to say that.” she snapped, tilting her head when he slowed his movements to reach up his free hand and gently caress the right side of her jaw with his leathery palm. “What happened to the soul of the party Copia that wouldn’t take no for an answer?”

“He’s still here! I just, I, eh... I have some things I... wanted to discuss, so... the party can wait. These things, they are very important to me so... sorry if I am not so peppy. I am just – shit. I’m a little nervous, you know?” he confessed, swallowing thickly when his back bumped into the heavy leather arm-chair that was situated before the bureau. Its feet quietly squeaked over the floor when Aemelia leaned into him, her gloved hands wrapping around his forearms to rub them reassuringly.

“Of all the fuckin’ things that’ve happened tonight... this is what makes you nervous?” she asked, wincing when he gladly succumbed to her gentle touch by lowering his hands from her.

“Absolutely.” he began in a passionate, grating whisper, his wincing eyebrows barely noticeable due to the frames of his black sunglasses. “I think the spirits are finally getting to me this year, you know? And I am not meaning the drinks I had back at the bar, heh heh. I mean... the ghosties in this place. I feel like they are pushing me towards you. A-And believe me, I am very grateful for it, I very much want you... but I just feel like there is pressure tonight, if that makes sense?”

“Come off it, ghosts aren’t bothered about us, Copia.” she emptily replied, which caused him to part his mouth to unleash a heavy shuddered breath. “Halloween is the only night they have the option to fuck off and do whatever they like. If you think your brothers are still loitering around this place, I think you underestimate how bored they get around here. If they have any sense, they’ll already be rat-arsed and on their way to Vegas.”

“Heh heh, yeah... yeeeeah... I guess so. But, eh... what about Nihil? You saw that shit just now... someone has a very, veeery good Nihil costume. I fail to believe it.” he responded in a grave tone, dipping his head until he could nestle the tip of his nose into the thick maroon hair that covered the top of her head.

“Right... so you’re worried that he’s pressuring you from the grave or what?” she murmured in contemplation, a thoughtful frown manifesting over her brow when his arms relaxed by his sides and his warm breath puffed across her scalp.

“Sure, I’m little uneasy. He always pushed me to do things when he was alive. It’s not really a stretch to assume he’s resurrected to do the same now he’s a stiff, no?” he explained, raising his head from her when she tipped hers back to face him earnestly.

“I think you’re being overly paranoid. And even if you’re not... I s’pose – in a way – Nihil’s only telling you that he approves.”

“Mm... I guess so.” he said in a distant tone, presumably lost in her mismatched eyes, it was rather difficult to tell due to the smoky lenses that obscured his gaze. “The old fuck was pretty keen on having me date you when he was still kicking.”

“He what?!” she cried, glaring at him when the corners of his lips curled upwards. “You’re not just going to leave that there, are you? Fuckin’ hell.”

A loud, impish chuckle rumbled out of him and his arms snaked upwards until his hands firmly grasped each side of her waist. His leather clothes creaked as he gently pulled her towards him and he cautiously lowered his head again, his tongue subtly licking his bottom lip when she stuck her chin out like her mouth was patiently awaiting his kiss. He puckered his lips slightly but couldn’t resist the curl of a conniving smirk.

“Ah, well... of course. I cannot just bring this up for us both to forget about it, that would be veeery cruel and inconsiderate of me, heh heh. But let’s make ourselves comfortable before we talk about this some more, ah?”

The hands on her waist loosened and he side-stepped away from her to turn and gesture towards the arm-chair in front of her, his trench coat swishing as he calmly rounded the bureau to draw out the seat on the opposite side. Aemelia narrowed her eyes now that he wasn’t blocking her view of the office and she shook her head in amusement. During his short head-start of ten minutes, he must have rushed to set the mood of the place.

The office’s dim atmosphere was strangely pleasant. The pillar candles that were dotted about its many paperwork stacks were flickering with golden flames, shadows retreated to the darkest corners of the room due to subdued silvery rays that came from the bureau’s green bankers lamp, and now that Copia had coolly lounged back in the ox-blood arm-chair, its light illuminated his skin, causing the lines of his face to seem harsher and deeper. One of his gloves gently gestured towards the seat in front of her again and she cautiously obliged him, her mismatched eyes flicking between a couple of bottles and immaculate wine glasses that were set out over the desk in front of him. One bottle was uncorked and contained red wine, the other was missing its cap and much smaller, the presence of bubbling diet coke causing her to unleash an amused huff.

She finally sat down over the leather upholstery and he coolly slouched back in his seat as he intently watched her shuffle to get comfortable, confidently raking his eyes down the front buttons of her black cassock while he was certain that his gaze was hidden from her.

“Bleedin’ hell, wine and diet coke? What's the occasion?” she softly poked, leaning forwards to settle her sleeved elbows over the edge of the bureau, her white eye vividly shining due to the stark light of the desk lamp. A smug smirk spread across his face and he casually draped his arms over the arm-rests beside him, tipping his head forwards so that his curious, mismatched eyes could gleam at her without the obstruction of his black sunglasses.

“Ahhh... the occasion? Nothing in particular. It’s not Halloween at all, Cipolletta. And it's absolutely not because I have a little surprise for you.” he teased with such a large amount of cynicism that it caused her to snort in amazed amusement... apparently her sense of humour was finally starting to infect him.

“With your track record, a surprise doesn't sound very positive.” she said impassively, crossing her arms over her stomach when he idly sat up to draw the empty wine glasses closer to him.

“Ahh, don’t worry, baby. It will aaall become clear to you very soon, ok? Just keep yourself comfortable while I pour you a drink.” he murmured, keeping hold of a thin wine glass stem to angle it towards himself. She observed his actions closely as he swiped up the bottle of diet coke with his other hand to carefully tip its fizzing contents into the pristine glass, and once it was half-full, he cautiously set down each item over the bureau’s surface before he smoothly slid the glass towards her, a firm leather-clad finger pushing against its wide, glistening base. She rolled her eyes and took hold of her drink, which prompted him to wear a grateful smile as he sat up a little straighter to coolly pour out a generous helping of red liquid from the wine bottle.

“Why did Nihil want you to date me?” she bluntly questioned while she raised the rim of her glass to her lips. She ensured she parted her mouth wide so that her painted moustache didn’t smudge and took a long sip when he abruptly set down the wine bottle to scrape his glass from the desk’s surface.

“No fucking clue.” he confessed, pausing to take his first generous sip of red wine. “I guess he could see that I liked you. Kinda funny when you think about it. He was unaware of everything else but he could see that I liked you so clearly, huh... weird old fuck – ah shit! His ghostie might be around here, I forgot!”

She sighed with amusement as he placed his drink down to press his hands together in apologetic prayer, his head slowly trailing from left to right like he had the feeling Nihil’s apparition might have been present with them at that very moment.

“Sorry, man. There are no hard feelings, alright? I may have got your job when your heart exploded but... I took your advice. Me and her... we’ve already been on a couple dates now, ok?! And we are going well. At least... I think so.”

Once he finished with a heavy sigh, his words were simply met with silence and another slurp from Aemelia. He unleashed a relieved huff at the lack of response and relaxed over his seat, reaching up a gloved hand to finally swipe off his black shades. Once he’d placed the pair of glasses beside his drink, he instinctively used a leathery palm to smooth back his mousy brown hair, and he cleared his throat, his mismatched eyes staring at her hopefully.

“We’re going well, right?” he softly asked, his eyebrows subtly wincing when she plainly returned his gaze.

“Well... I’m not thinking of dumping you, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’re in too deep now.” she admitted, her mismatched eyes stark amongst the thick black paint that surrounded them as they strayed away from his face to glance at the various wavering candles that were scattered around the room. “You trust me, and I trust you. To some degree. And we work well together, in most ways.”

“Only most? Not all?” he teased, tilting his head slightly before he closed his eyes to focus on the taste of his next gulp of wine.

“Yeah, most. We disagree on a lot of things, and... we’ve not exactly had time to... ” she trailed off and his eyes immediately flashed open to glare at her. “... we haven’t had much time for each other, what with all these fuckin’ cases coming up left, right and centre. It brings us together, I s’pose. Just... not how we’d like.”

“Heeeey, if you are raring to go and we’re on our way to an investigation... just say, ok? The back of that sedan is veeeery spacious, heh heh.” he purred with a faint smirk, his mischievous irises gleaming with sincerity.

“Yeah, if we’ve managed to fit a genie and twenty-seven imps in the back of there, I’m sure there’d be plenty of room for us to... ” she trailed off again and closed her eyes when an amused snort escaped her. “... who am I kidding? I’d probably need to shift the front seats, then I’d have to move them back after... doing whatever, and they’d be all uncomfortable because they were in the perfect place before and – fuck. Sorry, this is so picky, it just took months to find that fuckin’ sweet spot. I can’t risk losing it again.”

Copia impishly chuckled and reached a gloved hand across the desk, gently catching hold of her relaxed hand. She carefully set down her drink with her other hand and focused on his movements, parting her lips when he carefully tugged at the bottom of her leather glove. He gently slid it from her skin and her fingers wavered when he dropped it onto the bureau beside her glass. Lightly grasping her wrist, he raised her hand towards him until her arm stretched out in front of her.

“Ah... we wouldn’t need so much room, Aemelia.” he murmured, dipping his head down until his warm mouth poised over the back of her hand. “We would be very close to each other, no? If it’s a little too cosy for you, you could always sit on top of me.”

“Sit on you? I’d probably snap your creaky knees.” she quipped darkly when he pressed a kiss into her skin, her expression completely deadpan when a high-pitched titter left him. He masked the rest of his amusement with a wavering smile instead and immediately let go of her hand. Once her arm draped down so that her fingertips rested over the desk, he shook his gloved hand, a leather-clad finger pointing out at her like he was pretending to be insulted by her playful joke.

“Eh! I could take it, baby.” he insisted, relaxing his hands to loosely settle one of them around his glass of wine. “And how do you know about my creaky knees? You been snooping through my medical records?”

“Wha – medical records? Fuck no. I was just hinting that you’re not getting any younger. Crumbling bones and all that.” she replied, tipping her glass slightly so that she could take another sip of diet coke.

“Heh heh... I know, I know... I was just kidding with you. How, eh... how old do you think I am?” he lightly asked, their mismatched gazes meeting, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, her eyes wide with astonishment.

“I'm not going to answer that. That shit's dangerous waters.” she simply responded, stubbornly holding his stare.

“Ah, c'maaan, take a guess. I’m curious.”

“Well, don't blame me if you end up getting your trench coat in a twist.” she huffed out, shrugging off all responsibility of what she was soon to admit.

“Hmmm, I would love to get that cassock in a twist, heh heh.” he muttered, smoothly pincering the stem of his wine glass to coolly lift it up to his mouth. He took a loud, lingering slurp this time, his wild eyes filled with patient anticipation as they peered at her over the pristine rim of the glass.

“I reckon that you look ten years older than you actually are.” she bluntly replied, regardless of his suggestive comment, and it caused him to choke down his drink. His free hand thumped against his chest as he wheezed out in astonishment, his empty wine glass wobbling after he abruptly dropped it onto the bureau’s surface.

“What?! Then... then how old do I look?!” he cried, his voice harsh and raspy from his grating wheeze.

“Oh, I’d say about... sixty-ish.” she casually said, beaming him a mischievous smirk when he glared at her in horror. She confidently returned his wide-eyed stare and took another sip of her drink, subtly shrugging like her reply had just been a natural admission. His mouth parted slightly and he gawped at her when a pause manifested between them, and her amusement vanished with a heavy sigh and roll of her eyes.

“Oi, don’t look at me like that. You asked for it.” she snapped, her eyes narrowing when he leaned forwards to rest his elbows in the desk space between them. His eyebrows knitted together in a pained wince and he tilted his head slightly, the genuine sadness in his eyes causing her teeth to sink into her bottom lip to stop a smile from appearing.

“You really think I look like an old guy?” he whispered, the melancholy in his gaze replaced by glistening hope when she sighed in defeat and reached her glove-less hand towards him. Her mismatched eyes trailed over his features as her fingers lightly caressed his left cheek.

“Naa, you just seem a little more... weathered. Kind of like a metal sculpture that’s been out in the sun too long.” she softly said, her fingertips gently grazing through the fluff of a sideburn. He cleared his throat as pink started to flood to his cheeks and he subtly sat up straighter like he was attempting to defy her words.

“Well - ahem - just so you know... I'm only half a century old... and a year, ok? Not as old as you thought.” he defended in a peaking voice, his nervous eyes hurriedly searching the soft expression in her irises.

“That's exactly how old I thought you were, Copia. Like I said, you look a decade older than you actually - ”

“Ok, ok! You do not have to rub it in, Miss Vial.” he grumbled in feigned irritation, her breathy laugh causing him to wear a faint smile.

“You really shouldn't have pressed for an answer. You're all offended now, aren't you?” she calmly said, subtly shaking her head in amusement when her fingers reluctantly lowered from the side of his face.

“Mm-hm. Maybe just a little. You feel, eh... kinda uncomfortable with how old I look?” he asked in a small, wary voice.

“Fuck no. I was only messing. I couldn't give a toss... why are you even asking that?”

“Because you are so... youthful in comparison.”

“Not my fault you've had a hard paper-round and I haven't.” she quipped, the distinctive roll of her eyes causing him to unleash a couple of thankful chuckles. “But seriously, I couldn't care about that, Copia. You make me feel comfortable and that’s a fuckin’ rarity nowadays.”

“I do?”

“Yep.” she replied with a confident nod of her head. “And honestly, I'm not that far behind you. I already feel like I've passed the fifty mark sometimes.”

“If you have its a fucking miracle... heh heh... you haven't, right?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes in playful suspicion as he tilted his head inquisitively.

“No, I haven't.” she murmured, lowering her gaze from him to focus on taking another sip of her drink.

“Then... what age - ?”

“It's no fun if I tell you. You can try working that one out for yourself. Without cheating, of course.” she remarked, returning her glass to the desk in front of her. “And before you even think about it, my passport’s well under lock and key.”

“Heh heh heh... okie dokie.” he chuckled out, resting his elbows over the bureau so that he could support his chin with his leathery palms to ensure his gaze didn’t move from her. “So you, ah... you cool with an old guy like me trying to get with you?”

“Fuck’s sake, you're not that old. And of course I’m cool with it, or I would’ve told you to fuck off a long time ago. And I certainly wouldn’t have turned up here, would I?” she reassured in her usual impassive manner, which caused his eyes to widen into surprised saucers.

“Why? You are... expecting something to happen?” he squeaked, the hope in his irises plain to her.

“Not exactly.” she huffed out, reluctantly meeting his gaze with a curious frown. “Are you going to tell me about that surprise you mentioned? Or do I have to suffer you stalling me for a fuckin’ eternity?”

“Ahhhh, it has peaked your interest, no?” he commented in a flirtatious tone, his mismatched eyes unwavering as a wily smirk tugged at the side of his mouth. “I was going to wait a little longer but... nevermind, you have persuaded me otherwise, heh heh. I am very surprised you haven’t noticed what it is. In fact, I’ve been waiting for you to ask me about it but... I will tell you and put you out of your misery. I figure it will come in very useful for the two of us.”

She scowled at him and he sighed lightly when his irises began to search her intense, hardened eyes. He could already see the blazing impatience in her mismatched stare and he wore a small smile like her irritation had conjured his affection for her.

“I know you were very disappointed with this office at first, and that was completely my fault.” he continued, his voice low and sincere as he admired her softening eyes. “I let slip that... I had a couple renovations done to this old place, but I was not meaning this room. I meant... eh, the other one. The one that was looking very sad. The ceiling had caved in, you remember?”

She sat up straighter and parted her mouth in realisation. She nodded her head in response but kept quiet to allow him to carry on.

“You never noticed that... you don’t need to step around it anymore? Or that the wall there has been rebuilt?” he asked, his voice wobbling with amusement. “I had it all fixed up and figured you could use the room for more storage. I know you can’t fit all your ingredients in the apothecary so - ”

“What’s the catch?” she cut in, leaning back in her seat to fold her arms in front of her chest.

“Catch? Ehhh... there is no catch, baby. Unless... you are meaning what I get out of this?”

“That’s obviously what I meant, Copia.” she snapped, wearing an unimpressed scowl that caused him to swallow back an amused chuckle.

“Right... right, eh... weeeell, you know that my rattos are growing in size and number. I can only keep so many at my place during the night, so I thought it would make a cool pit stop for them. And at least we would have a good excuse to be in the same room together... alone. No one would think anything of it, ah?” he explained, the wise yet mischievous glint in his eyes causing a soft smile to crack across her face.

“You’ve already figured this out, haven’t you? How long has it been like that?” she asked, tilting her head slightly when he unleashed a breathy chuckle.

“Ehhh... only a couple months. I didn’t rush to tell you because I wanted it to be fully equipped for you. There are plenty of cupboards, shelves, that kind of thing... I remembered seeing those little capture-box thingies you had in the back of the car, so there is a wall of safe-boxes for you to use as well, and some cages for the more lively stuff too, heh heh.”

She peered at him with unbridled admiration, too stunned by his consideration for her practicality to speak. Instead of replying to him, she abruptly leaned forwards and upon her reaching her hands out towards him, his gloves lowered from his chin to allow her firm hands to squeeze around his wrists. She pulled him across the desk and each wine glass precariously toppled side to side as a consequence. He was forced to stand from his seat to reach her and she abruptly dropped hold of his arms when his head hovered in front of hers to wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace. He winced and melted into her firm hold, his chin resting over her right shoulder when he hurriedly reached his gloves up to return the firm embrace.

“You feeling ok?” he whispered, wincing deeply when her hands balled into fists, the creaking leather of his trench coat obvious now that her fingers were scrunching bunches of it into her tight palms.

“Thanks for being thoughtful.” she murmured, squeezing him to her tightly. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Heeey, you don’t have to thank me, Aemelia. For someone who has very little room to work with, you’ve managed to make a massive fucking difference to the Ministry... more than any other person in this place, ah? Everyone else gets everything they need without being so, eh... supportive, just because they are welcome to be part of this church. So it’s only fair that you get something too... I mean, you will be getting shit tons more, trust me, heh heh...”

“I don’t want anything. I don’t need anything.” she whispered when she loosened her grip, which caused him to gently back away from her. Their eyes met and he studied her gaze intently, his adoration plainly on display as they simply held onto one another.

“But... you deserve everything.” he breathed out, dipping his head until their noses brushed. “And this renovation thing... it is only a small surprise, Aemelia. It’s something for your work, so it’s no big deal, ok? I’m not spoiling you how I really want to.”

To his disappointment, she huffed in defeat and dropped her arms from him. He stood wearing a rejected wince and she held his stare as she slumped back into her seat, a faint smile manifesting over her lips.

“I know. I’m just surprised you thought practically, for once.” she confessed, which prompted him to slowly sit back down, his eyes searching her pallid features in fascination. “I thought you’d go all dramatic with a renovation, but you’ve actually thought about it.”

“Suuuure, suuuure, of course.” he responded in a flippant, peaking tone, casually gesturing his gloved hands at her. “Now I have my – ahem – little money issue, I have to be very careful with what I fund, but I was certain this was worth doing. You know, I think the last time I really splashed out on something was when I had my business cards printed... but even then, they are practical, no?”

“Not really.” she calmly disagreed, her blank expression an obvious mask due to the mirth in her eyes. “When you’re out and about, everyone’s already looking at you, you’re a walking advert. And if they don’t know you, they’ll be trying to figure out who you are, especially if they don’t have the balls to approach you. So there’s no real need for the cards.”

“Heh heh heh... good point, Cipolletta. But this does not change anything. I’m still stuck with three crates of them. Ah well, guess I will just have to persist and hope I get rid of them.”

“You will... eventually.” she said, raising her brows when their eyes met again, an amused smile managing to find its way onto her lips. Another breathy laugh escaped her when he sent her a playful wink and she shook her head, swiping up her wine glass to neck down the last of its fizzy contents. He simply watched her for a moment, his eyes trailing over the black clerical collar that tightly clutched to her throat. The fact that the same material had once clutched to his skin in the same manner caused him to swallow thickly and sigh deeply. He shuffled over his seat to part his legs slightly and Aemelia suddenly tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in subdued realisation, her glass quietly tinkling as she rested it over the surface between them.

He glared at her when he nervously trailed his eyes up to her face again, fearing that she’d noticed his restless, creaking legs now that he was somewhat aroused by her. But now that there was a thin silence between them, he realised she was likely listening to the presence of the party’s music, which was plain to their ears now that it had considerably increased in volume. The echoes from the corridors outside masked the tune well, but the sound of Lay All Your Love On Me was still far too recognisable.

“I swear they’ve just shuffled the same playlist from last year.” Aemelia stated in a distant tone, the sides of her mouth twitching as she became subtly lost in Copia’s mismatched eyes.

“Hm? What you mean?” he whispered, quietly amazed by the emotion in her conflicting irises.

“Almost every song played at last year’s party, just not in this order.”

“Son of a bitch. I will have words with that fucking disc jockey. See if I can get a discount for his laziness.” he muttered with a disappointed sigh, confidently leaning back into the leathery cushions behind him as he calmly draped each of his arms over the arm-rests.

“At least this song is good, no?” he added, wearing a subtle wince when she relaxed her hands over the opposite side of the desk . “It’s aged reeeally fucking well after last year. Whenever I hear this, I always think of us dancing together.”

“I wouldn’t call it dancing, you could barely stand up.” she retorted, raising an eyebrow when his mouth wavered into a crumpled smile.

“Heh heh heh, true. True dat, heh... you wanna dance?”

“What? In here? You must be joking.” she snapped, the mirth still present in her eyes when he lifted his gloved hands from the arm-rests momentarily in an apologetic manner.

“No no! Really, I mean it.” he assured, her expression softening now that he was keen on explaining himself. “We are here in private, so I just figured if you wanted to dance all close and sexy, it would be better to do that here, you know?”

“Right... and what happens when you start twirling me about all over the bloody place and one of those falls over?” she said, motioning her gloved hand towards the nearest flickering pillar candle. “With all this fuckin’ paper, this place would fry in seconds.”

“I mean... you have a good point about this, Aemelia, but... it’s just another excuse.” he responded with a wily smirk, pointing a knowing leather-clad finger towards her. “You are trying to get out of having fun this year.”

“Oi! I got in the spirit and dressed up this year, you fuck-wit. What more do you want?” she barked defensively. “Anyway... maybe I just want to chill this Halloween. I don’t want to have to go back to that fuckin’ party, there’s too many people this time round. It was getting overwhelming after you left and I’m not particularly fond of tight spaces.”

“Mm... I see.” he murmured, concern evident on his face as he leaned forwards slightly. “So... you just want to chill here for the rest of tonight? Or we could head back to my place?”

“I think it’d be wise for us to stay here for a while. At least... until the party’s over. Once everyone’s gone back to their rooms, we can decide from there.” she suggested, lowering her head so that she could stare at the shiny surface of the desk like she was suddenly avoiding his stare.

“Sure, we can do that. You’re comfortable here, right?”

“Yeah, ‘course. I mean... it’s a bit chilly but that’s nothing new.” she grumbled, frowning at the distinctive creak of his leather gloves. He was suddenly gripping the chair with a lot more force and he swallowed thickly, his gaze trailing over her neat face-paint.

“You... ah... might feel a little cosier if you sat on my lap.” he quietly murmured, his eyes suddenly widening when he realised he’d actually voiced something he’d been thinking.

“Oh... definitely.” she confidently replied, pushing her glass away from the side of the bureau before she lifted her head to stare him square in the eyes and assuredly stand from her seat. “Your lap’s your only source of body heat.”

He chuckled impishly but his amusement swiftly cut off when she rounded the end of the desk like she was abruptly accepting his offer. He parted his mouth in amazement when she slipped her second glove from her hand, then he tipped his head back when she finally reached him, her warm hands firmly clamping around his tense shoulders. The creak of his coat was satisfying in that moment and he closed his eyes, unleashing a deep breath when he felt her weight on his leather-clad thighs. He angled his chin upwards in surrender and parted his relaxed legs to support her behind more successfully, an involuntary whimper whining out of him when he felt her warm breath puff into his face.

“You know, now you are sat like this... you are making things a lot harder for me, baby.” he murmured, gritting his teeth together to stop himself from groaning in appreciation.

“That was kind of the idea, yeah.” she simply said, her hands firmly kneading the snakeskin leather that covered his shoulders.

“O-Oh.” he squeaked, persisting to keep his eyes closed when he felt her smooth lips graze the right side of his jaw. “Cool, cool! Just... making sure you are down, heh heh... well, not literally. U-Unless... you want to do that. Because that would be reeeally cool with me so - ”

“Shhh...” she hushed, pressing a warm index finger to his lips. “... stop talking so much and kiss me, will you?”

“Ah! Yes! Yes! Of course, of course! I - fuck.”

He clumsily centred his head and carefully leaned forwards, swallowing as he slowly began to open his eyes... but before he could complete his action, her hands slid down his front to claw a bunch of his coat’s leather to pull him closer. When she angled her head and abruptly closed the space between their faces, a choked gasp escaped him and he squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth immediately reacting to her firm kiss.

“I knew Abba would get you all hot and bothered.” she whispered against his mouth as she briefly paused to catch her breath.

“Mmm... the music, along with the wine and your presence... it is... fucking irresistible.” he confessed, his gloved hands trembling as he raised them from the arm-chair to slide them around her middle until they were resting over her lower back, the subtle scratch of the cassock’s material as she brushed against him causing him to swallow back an aroused groan. “You know, I’ve never screwed myself before. Or at least... someone dressed as me, heh heh.”

“Screwed?” she teased, her mouth curling into an amused smile against his lips. “I thought you made it clear it wouldn’t just be screwing? What happened to the whole “making love” thing?”

“Ah... shit. You know what I meant, Cipolletta. I was just... fuck! I cannot think straight to form sentences right now, I am... shit, you got me all flustered, you know? I am thinking in like... five million fucking languages here.”

She huffed in defeat and pressed her mouth into his again before he could explain himself any further, the hands on his shoulders stroking up to his neck. He quietly growled, like he was frustrated that he couldn’t feel enough of her this time, and reacted to her kisses more passionately. He leaned towards her and slid his hands away from her back to firmly pull at the sides of his trench coat.

Realizing he was frantically trying to shrug it off, Aemelia backed away from his lips. Her actions caused his eyes to flash open and he panted out harshly, stripping the thick clothing from his person. His hands were frantic as he discarded the heavy coat to the floor beside the chair, and he sent her a grateful glance, his mismatched eyes wide with amazement when that mysterious, unknown emotion swam in her eyes once again.

Aemelia parted her lips like she was attempting to say something but he was far too eager to make love to her to care for words, and he closed the gap between them, their eyes falling shut in unison. As their mouths worked together, he wrapped his arms around her middle and grunted into their kiss when he hoisted her upwards, his leather-clad thighs audibly tensing as he awkwardly shuffled forwards to set her down on the sturdy surface of the bureau. Once he’d pulled himself out of the arm-chair, it thumped over the floor as it rocked side to side, and when he was certain that she was safely settled over the desk, he reluctantly let go of her to hurriedly swipe his arms out at any items that happened to be beside them. A couple of papers and pens were tossed into the air, his black sunglasses – along with one of her stray leather gloves – landed over the floor behind him, the green desk-lamp briefly shifted an inch and their beverage bottles and empty glasses clinked together as they slid down to the opposite end of the bureau.

Some more paperwork slid from its surface as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her waist to press their chests together, but they persisted to kiss, regardless of the mess they were causing. He squeezed her firmly when she reacted to his passionate mouth movements with the odd flick of her tongue and an aroused groan rumbled out of him, her arms snaking between their bodies until she settled her wrists around his neck. Now that he was certain she was securely in place and pressing against him, he hurriedly let go of her and blindly pulled each of his gloves off, discarding them over the cleared desk-space beside him.

Returning his hands to her middle, he groaned into their kisses, his bare hands desperately clutching at the black fabric that covered her body. The cassock’s familiar texture comforted him and his palms firmly stroked up her sides, hot breaths escaping his nose when her fingertips gently tickled the gathered skin of his nape. He reluctantly drew away from her when his collar loosened, heavy, relieved gasps pumping out of him. He leaned back and opened his eyes when her warm hands settled over the black fabric that covered his heaving chest, his mismatched irises trailing over the hopeful wince that clutched to her pallid features.

Her neatly painted moustache had been smudged into nothing after their zealous kissing, but the thin black paint that coated her top lip was still somewhat present and he chuckled deeply, confidently drawing his bare hands up her front to settle them over the buttons of her black vestment. He simply poised his fingers over a couple of buttons and gently tugged them like he was silently hinting that he wanted to go further, and her mismatched eyes immediately opened, her mouth parting in realisation when she instantly met his hungry, wishful eyes. Her eyebrows knitted slightly but she tipped her head back and nodded in surrender, which prompted him to sink back down and press his mouth into hers, gasps escaping their noses as his hands frantically pulled at the buttons between their bodies.

They could feel the thumps of their heartbeats as his fingers moved up the cassock’s middle, and once he’d freed a decent amount of buttons, the fabric parted and his unusually warm hands slid beneath it, the feel of her black work shirt causing his kisses to become slower and firmer. He didn’t hesitate and began to pick at her shirt’s buttons and her fingers tightly grasped onto his loose collar to ensure he kept kissing her, but he parted with her mouth again for a moment to catch his breath, his hands still undoing her buttons.

“I've longed for this for too fucking long.” he confessed in a string of strained whispers before he dipped his head back down to continue their deep kisses. She responded with a muffled moan and a loud groan rumbled out of him when her shirt finally fell to her sides, revealing the pallid skin of her form. Even though he was curious to study her body, he was too overwhelmed by their actions to back away to do so and slid his palms over her warm skin instead. He stroked across her abdomen and rounded her ribs until he could stroke his palms over the length of her back. His fingertips lingered over the clasps of her bra but he was too amazed by the feel of her to consider freeing it. Instead, he continued to caress her, and she reacted to his touches by kissing him harder, sharp breaths puffing out of his nose now that her mouth’s movements were strong and lustful.

Though he was enjoying everything immensely, he winced and reluctantly parted with her mouth again, desperate to at least see a glimpse of her pale skin. Kneading his palms into her back, he backed away from her slightly and trailed his eyes over her, deep breaths escaping his parted lips as he studied her pale abdomen. His stare lingered on the deep scarlet bra she was wearing and he unleashed a relieved groan as he stooped back down. His actions caused her to abruptly shift backwards and she sent some more of the desk’s clutter clattering to the floor. She closed her eyes and winced as his bare palms stroked around her lower back to gently rub her tummy instead, his nose nestling into the scarlet cups that obscured the rest of her from him.

“You’re so fucking soft, Cipolletta.” he murmured in astonishment, nuzzling the tip of his nose upwards until he grazed the pallid skin of her cleavage. “And so warm... mmmh... I’ve wanted to hold you like this for so fucking long.”

When she replied with a breathy laugh, he growled against her skin and kissed her passionately, his mouth’s actions fierce and desperate, like he was excited that she’d finally become comfortable enough to allow him to feel her so intimately. The graze of his moustache pleasantly stung her as he firmly and hurriedly kissed his way from her chest to her lips, and all the while, his scorching hands slid around her waist to knead into the sweltering skin of her lower back. His arms squeezed around her like he was attempting to physically show his passion for her, and he confidently pressed against her until her back was finally resting against the bureau, the last bit of desk clutter – a stationary pot and precarious pile of reference books – loudly slumping to the floor.

His persistent kisses were forceful and unrelenting when his mouth finally found her lips again, and all she could do was react with just as much force and vigour, which only seemed to arouse him even more. Harsh gasps escaped her when he left her lips for a moment, his hands briefly sliding away from her so that he could reach for her sturdy legs – which were clutching around his sides – and stroke down their shins until he could grasp hold of her black oxfords to pull them off her feet. She frowned once he'd completed his actions, and before she could question him, he tossed her shoes to the floor and swiftly leaned forwards to return to his previous position, his sweltering hands cupping around her jaw as his nose gently nuzzled against hers.

“I want you to feel everything I'm doing to you, Aemelia. I want your whole body to feel it. The goodness you will feel...” he paused to unleash a frustrated growl, resting a bent knee over the desk to support himself as he pushed his bottom half forwards to graze his crotch against hers. His moustache tickled her lips as his mouth hovered over them, a few defiant strands of his slicked chestnut hair falling down to loosely clutch at his perspiring temples when he persisted to gently grind against her.

“... wherever I leave it, it will sink into your skin... your blood. Then it will travel aaall through you, until it will reach your tippy toes. Then that goodness will intensify, and then, you will know the beginning of true pleasure.”

His mismatched stare was intense as he peered down at her closely. He was so hungry and determined to pleasure her that he looked pleasantly deranged to her in that moment, and she couldn’t refrain from snorting out in amusement.

“You're still talking too much, you fuck-wit.” she simply replied, her voice unusually low due to the brazen desire that swam in her conflicting irises. He growled through clenched teeth and impatiently took his hands away from her face to slam them over the desk-space either side of her head. The entire bureau shifted as he hungrily kissed her into its surface, her hands sliding down from his neck so that her glossy black fingernails could pick at the buttons of his shirt, and considering he brushed his crotch against her more firmly, she got the feeling he approved of her actions. They panted into each others mouths as her hands pulled at the material between them and he lifted a hand up to thread his fingers through her long maroon hair, his fingertips grazing the warmth of her scalp as he clutched bunches of it into his palms.

They were completely captured by one another in that moment, desperate to succumb to the lust and affection they felt for one another... but as soon as the familiar, obnoxious ring of the black rotary phone emerged from the left side of the desk, splitting through the echoing music and their heavy, aroused breaths, they shared the irritating feeling of déjà vu. They winced in frustration and groaned into each other’s mouths in annoyance, her hands still frantically clawing at the fabric of his shirt, his hand still kneading into her scalp.

They continued to kiss while the phone persisted to ring and eventually, Aemelia growled in stubborn annoyance and reluctantly snatched a hand away from him to snake her arm through their brushing bodies so that she could reach for the trembling telephone at the opposite end of the desk. Copia briefly backed his head away from her and his eyes flashed open in concern, a deep frown settling over his brow. Their distinctive mismatched gazes met instantly and saddened disappointment filled his eyes when her hand poised over the phone.

“No no! Don't answer, baby... please. I want to do you this time... I mean it. I really, reeeally want to do you.” he whined, his low register giving away that he was completely intoxicated by her in every way possible.

“Keep your moustache on, I was just going to unhook it. It’ll just go through to answerphone now.” she casually explained in a quiet voice, which prompted a relieved chuckle to rumble out of him. She snatched up the phone from its base and dumped it over the vacant desk-space beside them, and when it landed with a loud thud, the startling ring finally stopped. Copia swiftly took that as his cue to continue their intimacy and greedily pressed his mouth into the warm skin of her neck, his hand continuing to thread through her burgundy tresses, his other reaching up to roam the bare skin of her tummy.

She knitted her eyebrows together and closed her eyes, tipping her head back to make sure he had plenty of room to continue his actions, but her eyes soon flashed open again when the high-pitched beep of the voice-mail recorder cut through the room... and she winced deeply, preparing herself for the grating sound of a caller’s voice, which would inevitably interrupt their interaction once again. Copia’s mouth stilled over her neck due to her actions and he backed away from her to peer at her grimacing brace.

“What’s wrong, Aemelia?” he softly asked, gently taking his hand from her hair to gently brush his knuckles against her right cheek. The tape recorder began to whir but it clicked off after a few seconds and her wince suddenly turned into a concerned scowl, her head lowering so that she could stare at him directly.

“The tapes must be full.” she said, mismatched eyes searching his wide, confused irises. “We should be hearing the call right now, even if it’s recording.”

“Ah! No no! Don’t worry about it!” he hurriedly insisted as she leaned towards him to sit up and reach over the ugly accumulation of black wires by the unhooked telephone, when she was successful, she pressed one of the buttons on the tape recorder to see if it was working. “C’maan, baby, leave it alone. It’s just... malfunctioned or some shit. We can check it out later. Let’s just seize this fucking moment while we can... and yes, I mean this literally, heh heh.”

He leaned forwards to kiss her again but she turned her head before he could reach her lips. His mouth landed on the skin by the corner of her mouth and her mouth wavered into a crumpled smile as he pressed wet kisses into her, regardless of where his lips had found themselves. His hands slid their way to the sides of her waist and he continued to kiss her, unaware that her eyes had spotted the distinctive flash of red coming from the answer-machine. She managed to swipe her thumb over the play button and it snapped in place, the crackle of the cassette tape muffled as it played through its hollow speaker.

The first voice was grating and cut through them due to its shrill, panicked tone but the next caller abruptly cut in before any comprehensible message was conveyed. The new voice was calmer and distinctly English, but before the caller could get to the reason they were calling, another new voice cut in again... and this time, Aemelia noticed that the accents were all eerily familiar. The man’s voice was rather quiet but she could just make out a few loud, exaggerated words like chaos, underground, screaming and shouting... and she knew that it was enough – along with the broad London drawl of their accent and the filled cassette tapes – to assume that a major paranormal event was occurring in her hometown at that very moment.

She stilled and glared at the answer-machine, which was still spewing out overwritten voice-mail that hardly helped her figure out what was happening at all. And when Copia presumably recognised that all the callers shared a vaguely similar accent, he noticed that she’d tensed her entire body and gently rubbed the sides of her waist, drawing his face away from hers to nuzzle the tip of her nose in reassurance.

“I really don’t want to go there.” she muttered, closing her eyes like she was secretly hoping that what she was hearing was only some warped dream... but the tape skipped again, and a new, unfamiliar voice proved that it certainly was happening.

“Eh... I don’t know, Aemelia. There are a looot of calls here, and... they all sound very scared, no?” he softly reasoned, wincing when she grazed his nose with the tip of hers to show that she was grateful for his words. “Sadly... I don’t think we’re going to be able to just sit here and talk everyone through their problems. Something serious is going down, you know?”

“They’ve fucked with something.” she whispered, Copia’s grip around her waist suddenly tightening when he realised that she must have been referring to her previous employer. “What else would cause this much havoc in one place? We know they’ve easily managed to do that before.”

“We can’t jump to conclusions, Cipolletta... but... yes, I got that same little inkling.” he murmured, angling his head so that he could press a kiss to the tip of her nose. “We will only know for sure if we head there... and by the sound of it, the sooner we do, the better, no?”

She backed her head away from him to stare at him plainly and winced with concern.

“We can’t. I might be able to, but... you... you’ve got this place to run, a fuckin’ tour to plan out, an album to record... you can’t just drop everything because - ”

“Ah, of course I can.” he simply said, adoration swimming in his eyes as a wily smirk curled across his lips, which were now tainted by black smudges. “This is too much shit to ignore. It is beyond an emergency... it sounds like it’s a fucking outbreak or... hot-spot... and you really think that the Anti-Christ wants to miss that?”

She sighed heavily and he raised his brows, hopeful amusement shining in his eyes. She already knew that he was about to try and persuade her that going was a good idea, and she also already knew that she didn’t have the heart to refuse him.

“Just hear me out a moment, ok? Even if we get there, we might not be able to help with everything. But that’s ok, because if we didn’t go, we’d feel fucking terrible. At least if we go, we’d be able to try and help... if we can’t, at least we’d get a good view of the action and have an excuse to break out the popcorn, heh heh.”

“I don’t really think that’s the way to - ”

“C’maaan, even with all the problems, it could be real fun for us. It would be the perfect excuse for us to spend some quality time together, no? I will make sure to arrange us a good hotel and we can head there as soon as possible.” he assured, pressing a kiss to her mouth, which was parted in confusion.

“There’s no need for a hotel.” she stated, which caused him to glare at her in wonder, her sincere expression no longer showing an ounce of disagreement. “I still have a place in London. It might not be a five-star hotel but... it's something. And at least we'd be able to stay somewhere that’s out of the public eye.”

“Ah, yes... that would probably be for the best. For both of us. So long as you have enough space for me in your... little bed, it will be fine.” he murmured, unable to resist pressing another couple of kisses to her mouth.

“Are you assuming my place is small? Or that I've been alone so long that I haven't needed a double-bed?” she quipped with feigned irritation, her raised brow giving away that she was amused by him. He stilled and his moustache tickled her bottom lip as he reluctantly pulled himself away from her, a potent flood of pink surging to his cheeks.

“I, eh... no. I - ”

“There'll be plenty of room for you on the sofa, don't worry.” she teased with mirth-filled eyes, her hands firmly clenching around his taut thighs. “Now that we know we’re definitely going, how are you going to blag your way out of here? The Clergy are bound to catch on. And by the sounds of it, we could be investigating for more than a week. They’ll be pissed that you’re gone for so long, especially without giving them any notice. They’re already irate about you going missing for a couple of days as it is.”

“Shit!” he hissed, his eyes frantically searching her gaze like he was hoping to find some kind of resolution. ”I don't know, I don't know... but don’t worry, I will come up with something, ok? I could always call up a cardinal, maybe intimidate him into being my excuse, you know? Then again... Nekid could quite easily impersonate me around here while I’m gone, no?”

“Absolutely fucking not.” she snapped, her hands stilling over his thighs as she glared at him in horror.

“Ahhh... nevermind, Cipolletta. You answered too late. My mind reaaally likes this idea now. It will be fool-proof, no?”