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can-of-pringles · 2 months

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When I'm Alone with You - Chapter 16

Rating: Gen

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3k

Summary: Silas finally introduces Copia to Hanna.

Also Read on AO3

Hanna looked around the vast ministry building as she walked beside Silas.

“I know you said before that this place was big, but that was an understatement. This place is huge.” Hanna’s voice echoed slightly.

She looked up at the tall ceilings, eyes widening as she admired the beautiful artwork of the stained glass windows.

Silas chuckled shortly. “Yeah, you’ll get used to it. Thanks for coming to visit, by the way.”

Hanna smiled as she looked at him. “Of course, you just moved in. Think of it like… a housewarming party. Plus, you’ll finally introduce me to your work best friend.”

“It’s starting to sound like that’s the only reason you wanted to visit.” He joked.

“I have to see who I’m competing with for the title of your best friend.” She joked back, playfully nudging him with her elbow.

“You know that’s not going to happen.” Silas lightly scoffed.

“Oh, I’m aware.” She thought.

“Where is he, anyway?” Hanna’s brows knitted in confusion.

“He had a bit of work left to finish and then we can go out for lunch together. It’ll be good for y’all to meet finally.” Silas explained.

“Y’all.” Hanna teased, slightly putting on a fake southern accent. “You know you haven’t lived in Texas since you were a teenager, right?”

“Well, it’s not something that just… goes away?” Silas shrugged. “Är detta bättre?” (is this better?)

“Mycket bättre.” She teased. (much better)

“Texas mat är bättre.” He added. (Texas food is better)

Hanna faked a dramatic gasp while Silas laughed to himself. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Anyway… while we are waiting, do you want a tour?” He asked.

“Your room, right? Because I’m not sure we have the time for all of this, no offense, but this place seems like a maze.” She winced.

“Yeah, it’s a maze at first. You learn the map in your head, eventually. I meant my room,” Silas replied.

“Okay, good.”

“It’s this way.” He gestured to one of the winding hallways. “And then you take a turn here.”

She followed him, and they caught up on stuff in both of their lives. Now that Silas wasn’t living as close to Hanna, it was different. It wasn’t a drastic change, but it still altered some of their usual daily routines. They were grateful to still have the option of texting and calling.

Hanna couldn’t help but notice someone else walking down the same hallway, going the opposite way. She appeared to be a nun of sorts, keeping her hands folded in front of her. The woman reached up to move the brown bangs out of her eyes.

“You okay?” Silas asked. He furrowed his brows when her steps faltered.

“What? Oh, um, yeah.” She fidgeted with her hands. “Um… who is that?” She whispered, glancing at the woman walking away.

Silas followed her gaze. “Oh, her? She’s one of the Sisters of Sin. They’re basically the nuns here.”

“Oh, okay…” She murmured.

“Here it is.” He smiled, opening his door.

She followed him in, looking around to see if anything had changed. “Oh, it’s like your old place.”

“That’s good… right?” Silas asked.

“Yeah, I was worried it would be completely different.”

“Hanna, I work as a janitor in an unholy church. Do you think I could afford to buy all new furniture and decorations?” He spoke in a deadpan tone.

She struggled to keep her expression neutral before losing it to a snicker, quietly chuckling. “No… but I thought you said the pay was fairly good.”

“Just because the pay is good does not mean I am by any means rich,”

“Yeah… I feel that.” She sighed.

“There’s no need to replace it all anyway. That wouldn’t be practical and I like the familiarity.” He added.

Hanna noticed a certain food and water bowl on the tile floor near the kitchen/dining area. “Speaking of familiar…” A smile crept onto her face. “Blizzard!”

The grey and white dog came trotting into the room at the sound of his name. He wagged his tail nonstop when he saw her.

“Blizzard! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” She crouched down and began to pet him, talking sweetly about how much she’d missed him.

Silas smiled at the sight. “I’d just taken him out for a walk before you came. He was sleeping on my bed afterward, well, until you woke him up.”

Hanna looked up at him, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry…”

“No, no, it’s fine. He’s been missing you.”

She looked back down at Blizzard, cooing at him. “Aw, did you miss me? Sweet boy.”

Once Blizzard had (surprisingly) enough pets, he hopped up on Silas’ couch and curled up in the corner, silently watching the two humans.

“It’s been odd not seeing him every day for sure.” She lightly frowned, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

Silas did the same, sitting down on the couch. He reached over to pet Blizzard before leaving him be. The dog was already falling asleep again.

He gave her a sympathetic look. “Yeah… but now you have way more time to focus on getting your own business started.”

“That’s true. Speaking of that, I’ve already started the process of finding an actual location!” She grinned.

“That’s great! I thought you were going to do it out of your apartment, though?” He asked.

“Well… I’m not completely saying no to that idea. I want to keep my options open.” Hanna shrugged.

“Hm, that makes sense. I really hope it’ll work out,”

“Yeah, me too.” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, how’s he been settling in?” She pointed to a sleeping Blizzard.

“Oh, he’s been doing pretty well. I was a little worried before the move, but he’s still eating normally. I think he really likes it here. The Ministry grounds are big, so he’s been having fun exploring when I take him out on walks.” Silas explained.

“That’s good to hear,” she said.

Silas looked up, hearing a knock at the door. “Oh, that’s probably Copia.”

Blizzard opened his eyes, raising his ears, but decided to stay on the couch. He let out a big sigh, already used to hearing lots of knocks recently.

“Finally, I’m starving!” Hanna exaggerated, faking a dramatic sigh and causing Silas to chuckle.

He opened the door and was met with the familiar Cardinal, smiling. Silas felt something warm bloom in his chest but decided to ignore it. “Hey, come in,”

“I just had to finish up some paperwork and send it to a higher-up… but I’m finished with work for now,” Copia explained, walking into his room.

Hanna stood up from her seat.

“Copia, this is Hanna. Hanna, this is Copia,” Silas introduced them.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hanna.” He held out his hand, and she shook it.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, too. Silas has told me a lot about you.” She smiled.

“Really?” Copia raised a brow.

Silas could feel his face heat up and he glanced away, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shrugging. “I wouldn’t say a lot…”

Hanna refrained from rolling her eyes. “You know what I mean…”

“Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “Is everyone ready for lunch?”

“Oh, yes. What were you thinking?” Copia asked.

“There’s this cafe place that opened nearby recently. I looked at the menu and thought it sounded good. Sandwiches, soups, things like that. If that’s alright with you guys?”

“I’ve been wanting to check out that place. Heard good things,” Hanna commented.

“Sounds good to me,” Copia agreed.

“Alright, great. So… how do we want to do this? Drive there separately? Or a car-pool situation…?” Silas asked.

“We could take one of the Ministry’s cars,” he suggested.

“Please don’t be like a church van situation…” Hanna thought, hoping her apprehension didn’t show on her face.

“Is that allowed?” Silas frowned slightly.

“Seeing as I’m in charge currently, mostly, I don’t see why not.” Copia shrugged.

“Oh, okay, cool. Let me get Blizzard in his house and then we can go.” He opened a box of dog treats that was on the counter and got a biscuit out.

“I thought Blizzard could free roam while you’re out?” Hanna pointed out.

“It’s a temporary situation until he gets more used to the new place. I don’t want anything happening to him or my room while I’m gone.” Silas explained, calling Blizzard over with the treat.

Copia smiled and waved at the dog while Silas led him to his crate. Blizzard listened and went inside, curling up on his pillow and blanket; chewing on the treat Silas gave him.

Silas went to wash his hands and dry them before grabbing his phone, keys, and wallet. “Alright, we can go now.”

---

“Do we want to take the new one?” Copia smiled and held up the keys. “It’s… um, a replacement for the one that Sister crashed…” He kicked loose gravel.

“Oh, hey, it’s an actual car… it’s nice.” Hanna raised her brows. “Wait, crashed?”

“What were you expecting? As for that, it’s a long story…” Silas’ lips pressed into a thin line.

She opened her mouth to speak before closing it, shaking her head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. I’ll sit in the back, you can sit up in the front with Copia.”

“You sure you’re alright sitting in the back by yourself?” He asked.

“Yeah, no worries.” She smiled.

Copia unlocked the car, and they got in. After the Cardinal made sure everyone had clipped in their seatbelts, he started the car and they began to head out. As expected, Silas sat up in the front next to Copia, giving him directions from his phone to the restaurant. Hanna kept her gaze focused on the window for the most part, chiming into conversations with them.

She smiled to herself when she noticed how carefree Silas was acting around Copia; occasionally chuckling at his jokes. She could sense it wasn’t just a polite act, it looked genuine; natural.

Once they arrived, Copia put the car in park and they stepped out, squinting from the bright sky. Silas held the door open for both of them and they walked inside, immediately being hit with the scent of coffee brewing and delicious food cooking. Silas pointed to a table near a corner and they each sat down.

“I was worried it might be full, but it looks like it’s just us and a couple of other people,” Silas said, quietly sighing in relief.

“It’s a nice break from the usual packed lunch room of the Ministry.” Copia smiled.

“At least you’re not covered in dog fur and stuff on your lunch breaks.” Hanna half-joked.

“Pretty sure Blizzard fills that fur quota for me.” He chuckled.

“Even I end up getting his fur on my clothes when I visit!” Copia pointed out. “I don’t really mind that much… he’s a very sweet dog.”

“Two words: lint-roller,” Hanna said. “Anyway, after we’re finished deciding what we want, I can go up and order it all for us, if you two would like.”

“Oh, really? Thanks.” Silas smiled.

“'Course, I know it can be difficult to go up and order,”

They pointed out what they wanted while Hanna wrote it down on the notes app on her phone. Easier than just remembering it all. Silas gave her a grateful look before she got out of her chair and left to order.

“It’s nice that Hanna offered to order for us,” Copia said.

“Yeah, it’s not that I can’t, it’s just… I don’t know.” He sighed.

“I get it. Though at least you’d probably fit in better. When you’re an Italian Cardinal here, you tend to… eh, stick out.”

“Maybe if you learned more Swedish.” Silas lightly teased.

“I know, I’m working on it.” He chuckled.

They both looked up as Hanna returned to their table.

“And now we wait,” she said, sitting back down.

“So, Hanna, Silas mentioned you work as a dog groomer…?” Copia asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Yes, I work at that one place you know, that’s downtown? Actually, I don’t know how you'd know, but anyway, I want to open my own place, eventually.” She explained.

“Oh, interesting. Did you always want to work in that business?”

“Well, I’ve always loved animals and dogs specifically, so I knew I wanted to work a job involving that, but I didn’t always know what kind of job,” she answered.

“When we were kids, she thought she wanted to be a vet, but then realized she couldn’t take the emotional toll,” Silas added.

“You wouldn’t be able to either.” She gave Silas a look.

“Oh, that would be tough… I already get anxious taking my rats to their check-ups.” He fidgeted with his hands.

“Oh, that’s right! Silas told me you had pet rats.” Her eyes lit up.

“Yes, I have three little sweethearts named Alessa, Bella, and Clara.” Copia beamed, talking about them as if they were his children.

Silas pulled out his phone and found a picture of them he had taken, showing it to her. Copia pointed out each one in the picture.

“They’re adorable. I honestly don’t have much experience with pet rats…” Hanna chuckled sheepishly.

“I get that they’re not for everyone. They take a lot of work, but it’s worth it.” Copia sighed.

“They love to give him a heart attack by jumping off high things. They think they’re little cats I guess.” Silas joked.

“It’s not funny, it’s scary!” Copia exclaimed before ultimately losing his serious expression. “Okay… I guess it’s a little funny…”

Hanna turned her head when she heard her name being called. “Oh, looks like our order is ready.” She left the table to get it.

“So… overall thoughts?” Silas asked in a hushed tone.

“I wish we could’ve done this sooner. Hanna is great. I can see why you two have been friends for so long.” Copia matched his tone and smiled.

Hanna came back with the tray of food and set it down in the middle of the table.

“Thanks for getting it, Hanna.” Copia gave her a polite nod.

“You’re lucky I came back and didn’t just decide to eat it all myself.” She kidded and sat down again.

Everyone took their plate and drink and began to eat, occasionally talking.

“So, you've known each other since you were kids, right?” Copia asked.

“Yep, practically grew up together like siblings, except for the long distances when we were apart, but that hasn’t been a problem in a long time,” Hanna explained.

“We met in a library and bonded over the Moomins. We used to joke that we were like Little My and Snufkin,” Silas added. “Uh… remind me to explain Moomins to you later.”

“Got it.” He smiled. “I understand the whole feeling like siblings bond. I had that with my brother figures growing up…” He glanced away for a second.

“Oh, nice,” she said. “What was it like growing up in a… ministry environment?”

“Um… well, it was interesting. I lived in the Ministry location in Italy for most of my life, then was placed here. Spent a lot of time reading in the library or exploring the building. There was always something to find.”

“Wow… I definitely can’t imagine living somewhere that big. I would’ve run around constantly.” Her eyes widened.

“Hanna, you did that anyway.” Silas pointed out.

“True. It used to drive my parents crazy.” She had a sheepish grin.

“Sometimes the Sisters would get onto my brothers and I about running around…” Copia fought the urge to chuckle. His smile slipped for a moment when he thought about them.

“Hey, you okay?” Silas asked, mild concern showing on his face.

Copia snapped out of it. “Yes, I’m just a bit tired, is all. Don’t worry.” He gave him a reassuring smile.

“I am too.” Hanna sighed. “There was this one dog at work, big fluffy guy, high energy. It was hard keeping him in the bath... but he looked very cute after he’d been cleaned and gotten his fur trimmed.” She had a small smile on her face.

“Wow… and here I thought that doing paperwork was hard.” Copia slightly joked.

“Oh, no, it is hard. Reading all of that stuff gets so confusing.” Her face scrunched up.

“You tend to get used to it.” He shrugged.

“Which is heavier? The stacks of papers you have to carry, or the dogs that Hanna wrangles into baths and up onto the grooming tables?” Silas asked rhetorically.

“To be fair, the papers can’t bite me.”

Hanna laughed, causing them to chuckle as well.

---

After their meal, they returned to the Ministry. Hanna said her goodbyes to them, hugging Silas and shaking Copia’s hand again. She didn’t forget to say goodbye to Blizzard as well, petting him briefly before leaving.

Copia had a little bit of time left before he had to start on his work again and decided to spend it sitting on Silas’ couch; talking with him while occasionally petting Blizzard, who lay curled up next to him.

“I thought that went well.” He had a small smile on his face. “Perhaps we could do it again soon.”

“Oh, of course. I’m so glad you and Hanna get along. Now I don’t have to worry about if my two best friends wouldn't like each other.” Silas sighed in relief.

“Was it a serious worry?” He tilted his head, lightly frowning.

“Not really. Hanna gets along with lots of people. It’s just one of those nerve things, you know.” He rested his face in the palm of his hand.

“Yeah, I understand. Again, thanks for inviting me to lunch with you two. Maybe at some point, I could even bring along some of the ghouls.” Copia thought aloud.

“Do they… need to eat?” He raised a brow.

“No, but they like the taste. Anyway, I’m sure they’d appreciate the gesture.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Silas nodded.

“I should probably get back to work… I enjoyed lunch.” Copia smiled.

Silas could’ve sworn he felt fluttery inside, or at the very least, his heartbeat quickened. “Yeah… I did too.” He smiled back.

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