Terzo sighed looking at y/n. He wants nothing more than to stay with her, hold her. He closes his eyes and pictures his father's office. He opens his eyes and snaps his fingers, changing into his Papa robes and makeup before entering, "Nice of you to join us, Emeritus." Satan says with a sly smile, Terzo takes his seat across from Satan on the opposite head of the table, "Likewise Satan, everyone." Terzo nods to the five other people surrounding the table. Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Lucifer. Terzo sits and Satan stands, "As you know we are here to discuss the funeral of Elizabeth." Every man bowed his head and paused for a moment of silence in her honor, "Her duties for this congregation naturally fall to the next of kin, however the child will also become the Prime Mover of the Church of Emeritus as well." Terzo glares at Satan, knowing what he is going to ask, he speaks up, "She will be fine." The men turn to look at Terzo, he stands, Satan sits, "Y/n is going to be my wife yes, and she will be Prime Mover of this Church, however, she can handle the other responsibilities too." Terzo sits, feeling that his defense of her was satisfactory. Asmodeus stands next, "Emeritus we have no doubt that she will be one of the best we've seen." Terzo smiles at his compliment, "But the poor girl just lost her mother, whom she doesn't fully understand was a member of this table." he gestures to the empty chair. Terzo's stomach tightens, "Have you explained to her yet what power she truly holds?" Asmodeous sits after the question is posed.

Terzo stands again, "I have yet to fully explain the magnitude of Y/n's position because of the previous situation which we decided was best." It's true, sending Elizabeth and Y/n away was the only way to ensure their safety, "However, her powers are developing rapidly and she is quickly recounting her lessons from childhood." He sits, Beelzebub stands, "Emeritus, we understand the situation, but how quickly can she ascend to the throne? Once Elizabeth's funeral ends she will be expected to take her seat." He sits.

Terzo rises, "The funeral is August eighth. We have less than three days by now. I can tell her, but I know my brother has taken charge over funeral preparations. I would like to give her one week after the funeral until she is crowned." He sits, not willing to argue further on that point. Silence falls over the table, but Lucifer stands, "If Elizabeth gets rejected, do we follow the ancient protocol or not?" The group looks at Satan for an answer, Terzo's stomach drops, his eyes pleading with his counterpart, "We will not follow traditional protocol, on behalf that she is fated to be Prime Mover, we will replace Elizabeth's chair by vote, no murdering the bloodline." Terzo let out the breath he held, grateful that the views on tradition have modernized.

Satan remains standing, "So to summarize, August eighth we attend Elizabeth's funeral and carry out her rights, August fifteenth we crown Y/n, and if all goes to plan Terzo and Y/n marry after her inauguration on the same day." The group nods in agreement, Terzo just stares forward, hating the pain he must put her through. The meeting ends and every clergy member disappears, leaving Terzo alone.

He takes a deep breath and leaves the room. He would just teleport, but Terzo needed a minute to clear his mind. Walking through the halls at night in silence was therapy for him. The understanding that many Emeritus walked these halls feeling the same way he does right now is comforting. He stands outside their room, and walks in.

She still lies just as he left her. He closes the door behind him and watches her for a second, just taking in that she's back and finally his. He snaps his fingers and changes back into the matching pajama pants, but shirtless. He crawls into bed next to her, slipping under the covers quietly. Y/n stirs and rolls closer to him, he wraps his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to lay on his chest. Her right leg drapes over his waist, he smiles and kisses her forehead, "Good night mi amor" He whispers into her hair, she only grumbles something incoherent and cuddles into him. He smiles, still not believing that she is his, and drifts off to sleep.

The next morning, Y/n wakes up first. She sits up and yawns, stretching her arms. She hasn't slept that long in a while. She looks over to Terzo, he's sound asleep. She smiles at how peaceful he looks. She slowly gets out of bed, careful not to wake him. She tip-toes over to the bathroom, desperate for a shower. She has to help Primo with funeral preparations and figure out wedding preparations with Sister Imperator. She shuts the bathroom door and turns on the light. She looks at herself in the mirror and gasps. She looks like hell, her hair is tangled, eyes sunken, and she clearly lost weight, but it wasn't a good thing. She turns her back to the mirror, trying not to focus on her appearance, and starts a nice, hot everything shower.

The water hits her skin and she lets out a small moan at the calming sensation. She wets her hair and grabs the shampoo, massaging it into her scalp, letting out whimpers and moans at the pleasant feelings. She turns her back to the water, letting the water rinse out of her hair. She then picks up the conditioner and rakes it through all of the knots and tangles, making sure her hair felt like silk. She rinsed her hands off and picked up shaving cream. She starts with her legs, slowly shaving each section with deep focus, she needed this self care. She shaves her underarms and sets down the razor, just letting the water run down her body. She picks up the washcloth and soap, lathering the substance into the cloth. She rubs it all over each part of her body, not missing anything. She rinses the conditioner out of her hair and turns the water off with a sigh. She stands there for a few seconds. She knows that once she steps out she has to face the truth. She does step out and dries off with a towel.

She looks at herself in the mirror. She looks better now, less like a husk of herself. She thinks of a simple, yet stylish outfit and snaps her fingers. Her hair is completely dried, she's wearing a pair of baggy jeans with a grommet belt accentuating her waist. She laughs looking at the shirt her magic decided to conjure, its the record store's logo. She does miss that place, even if she was literally working with the devil. Her necklaces, rings, and earrings were on and matched. Y/n laughs softly, she can get used to this magic. She brushes her teeth and does one last look over before turning the lights off, and leaving the bathroom.

"Morning mi cara" A deep, tired voice says, "Morning, Terzo" She responds, quickly walking over to the bed. He sits up, back against the headboard, arms reaching for her like a child. She laughs, but straddles his hips and wraps her arms around his waist. His hands rested on her back, "Did you sleep well?" He whispers, she only nods into the crook of his neck. He sighs and says, "Y/n. We have to talk." She pulls back and looks at him, "What is it now?" She groans, he only frowns, "Let me get dressed, we can talk over breakfast." She gets off of him and sits on the bed. He stands and moves to his vanity to paint his face, "Why don't you just use your magic?" She asks, "Because sometimes, I like to look at myself in the mirror." He smirks. She rolls her eyes, "Cocky bastard." He laughs, "Confidence, my love, confidence is what I have." He finishes his paint and gets dressed, "Off we go." He smiles, offering Y/n his hand. She gets out of bed and takes it, "OH SHIT I FORGOT SHOES!" She laughs looking down at her cat socks. Terzo laughs. She snaps her fingers and she now has her Docs on.

Terzo teleports them to the tree. A spread of muffins, croissants, coffee, and other sweets sits over the table. He pulls Y/n chair out before sitting on his own, "I will not eat until you tell me what's happening, the whole truth too Terzo." She crosses her arms and sits back in her chair. He sighs, "You know how there is a committee for the churches?" She scoffs, "Duh, it's Emeritus, Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Satanas, and Lucifer." Her face is stone, unreadable, she was tired of him protecting her, "Well, there was another, your mother." Y/n brows knit together, "So," Terzo continues, "You would oversee these grounds in your mother's place, as it is tradition." Y/n leaned forward, "That's if my mother gets accepted into Hell with the High Ones, and if that doesn't happens I get killed." He leans forward, "Well, no. You are the fated Mama Emeritus, so we decided to let you live." She laughs, "Wow. I'm so glad a council of men let me live." Terzo laughs too, she's too stubborn to listen to the council, she wouldn't die under their rule either, "Listen to me, Y/n. Your mother left behind ruling over this congregation, but without the title of Mama. We have to be married before you can take that position, but it is crucial you do it quickly. We're getting married on August fifteenth."

Terzo looks down at the last part, not wanting to see her reaction. Y/n's face turns into a scowl, "A week? Terzo, only a week?" She stands, steam coming out of her ears, "That's the most I could give you, they wanted us to marry after her funeral!" Terzo rebuttals, raising his tone to match hers, "I don't give a fuck Terzo. You don't understand what I'm going through right now." She moves to leave, he grabs her arm, she tries to pull away but his grip is too strong, "I don't know you're right, but Satan, Y/n there are things we have to do." Y/n's eyes turn to slits, her voice deepens like a growl, "I do not need your opinion. I do not care what this damn church wants me to do. Everyone can rot."

She closes her eyes and teleports back to their room, desperate to calm down. She can feel her anger flowing through her veins, her heart pounding in her ribs. It was painful. She didn't care, she feels used. Yes maybe it seems slightly over dramatic, but her grief is real. She starts using her powers and slamming chairs, tables, flooring, pictures, and drawers across the room, desperately trying to minimize her anger. After destroying the whole room, Y/n dusts off her shirt and walks out of the room.

She walks in the halls with haste, not wanting to talk to anyone. She rounds the corner to Primo's office and enters, not caring to knock. He looks up confused, shoving the papers he was working on in a drawer, "Y/n, what can I do for you?" She sits in front of him, "How are funeral preparations going?" He takes off his readers, "They're all done, the only thing is that I have to walk you through the procedures." He digs in the drawer, pulling out a large book, "Since you are the next of kin, your father" She could hear the jealousy in his voice, "will remove your mother's crown, then crown you with it. You will then light the pyre with your powers. Have you learned the pyrotechnical side of them yet?" Y/n shakes her head no, "Well, work on that. Also, if you want, Terzo can stand at your side, he will be a few inches behind you for decorum." Y/n contemplates her decision, right now was not the time to decide this as she was angry, but she takes the responsible route, "I would like Terzo to be with me." Primo nods, "You have to wear a plain white dress, it's another traditional rule that I bet the clergy would like." She nods, "Thank you Primo." He only nods, "If you need anything, never hesitate to come here for help." Y/n stands and leaves.

The halls feel colder than usual, she summons a cardigan to hold around herself. She quickens her pace to her room, fear filling her heart. She can't help but shake the feeling of being impending doom. She stops and looks around, no one's there. She sprints to the room and opens the door slamming it behind her. She pants trying to regain composure, "Y/n. What did you do?" Terzo grimaces. She turns around and finds him standing, one hand on his hip, the other stressfully running through his hair. Y/n looks around the room and gasps at the aftermath of her rage, "Is that how you feel about getting married?" He asks, anger causing a low growl to escape his throat. Y/n crumbles back towards the door in fear, she has never seen Terzo be angry, "Are you really that fucking upset." He spits out, now turning to face her. His eye glows white, with a tint of red, his jaw is set tight. He moves his hands into fists, "I swear to Satan Y/n. Destroying our room isn't helping either of us get through this shit." He takes a step towards her, she takes one step back. He starts to grip onto his hair, "I try so fucking hard to be good to you, and this is how you treat me?" He towers over Y/n, her back against the door, sinking into herself, "You're lucky I even gave you anytime to marry me. They want my head because I defended you."

His hands are placed on the door beside her head, she only looks up at him in fear, "I-" he sighs deeply, his shoulders relaxing, a look of exhaustion on his face, "I'm sorry, Y/n I-." He starts to break down, "I've been trying so hard to make you happy but it just isn't working." He falls to his knees in front of her. He wraps his arms around her legs, his head pressed against her lower stomach, "I'm trying so, so hard to help you and you only push me away. Why? What did I do?" He sobs into her shirt. Her hands tangle in his hair, she squats down in front of him, "You did nothing wrong. You are the only reason I don't walk out of this building. If my damn heart didn't love you so much I wouldn't be here. I just don't know how to cope with my emotions and now with these powers it's overwhelming. I'm still getting more and more new vision everyday, and I miss my mother. I know we didn't have the best relationship but I feel like she could help me right now more than ever." His hands fold in his lap, tears falling slowly. Y/n takes her hands on his cheeks and makes her look at him, "I've wanted to marry you since we were children, but not in my current state. I want to be happy when I walk down the aisle." She giggles through her tears, "I want to have one of those viral reaction videos when I walk down the aisle." He smiles softly through the tears, "I want to have your children. I want to raise hundreds of ghouls and ghoulettes with you." His hands move to rest on hers, still holding his face, "I want to be Mama Emeritus the Third. I don't want to be Y/n, Ruler of the Emeritus Realm, but I would sacrifice myself for you. I would do anything for you." The tears flowed out of her eyes, finally able to let out all of this stress, "I haven't loved anyone since I've left, I always knew you were in these woods. Terzo, don't ever, ever blame yourself for me, I just need to handle things in my own way. I'm so sorry that I destroyed the room." She starts crying harder, he pulls her into his chest, both now sitting on the floor, "Thank you, Y/n, thank you so much for finally telling me." He says through sobs.

They sit there and hold each other in the middle of their wrecked room, just taking in each other's emotions. Both desperately wanted to fix the other, but their own grieving could not be hidden any longer. More and more tears flow, neither letting up on their outpours of emotion. Terzo feels Y/n body start to fall asleep in his arms. He starts to gently rock her back and forth as her whimpers fade away. Normally, Terzo would tuck her into bed and let her sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He just needed to hold her, to know that she was in his arms, to know that she truthfully loved him for who he was, flaws and all. Terzo calms himself down, now feeling the exhaustion taking over him he checks the, now shattered, grandfather clock, 5:24 he sighs. It's way too early to go to bed, but he didn't care. He stood and carried her birthday style. The bed wasn't destroyed. He places her down and tucks the blankets around her body. He stands up and starts to return the room back into its pre-destruction phase.

Hours pass, but soon the room looks normal, a few scratches on the wall and dents in the floor still remain, but broken furniture has been replaced and shattered glass has been swept. He sits on the edge of the bed next to Y/n's still sleeping self. He watches her with love and adoration, the urge to protect her surges through his veins in spite of the truth. His hand gently rests on the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheek, she leans into his touch. He smiles more, he can't believe how perfect and beautiful she is. All of the anger and hurt has been washed away by her presence, he couldn't believe it. A knock at the door startles Terzo out of his trance, she doesn't move.

He slowly gets up and snaps his fingers to fix his makeup. He opens the door, only a sliver, "Can I help you?" He asks the ghoul standing there. He wore a red suit and plague mask, he was one of Sister's personal ghouls, "I was requested to bring Y/n to the cathedral, sir." The ghoul says monotone. Terzo cocks an eyebrow, "Can I take her there later myself?" The ghoul stands stoic, "You can, however Sister Imperator may not like it." Terzo chuckles, "Thank you ghoul, but Sister doesn't scare me anymore." The ghoul bows and walks off.

Terzo shuts the door and sits back next to Y/n, terrified of leaving her side for too long. He resumes caressing her cheek. Terzo checks the time, 6:30 he sighs, knowing that she will not be happy about being woken up. He gently says, "Y/n, Y/n, mi cara it's time to get up, Sister needs us." Her eyes snap open, "Why?" She sits up quickly against the headboard, the stress rebuilding. Tero quickly holds her hands, "In the cathedral, not her office, I think it may just be a look over for the funeral preparations. I am going with you." Y/n sighs, "Terzo, you don't have to-" "No." He cuts her off, "You do not have to do this alone." She smiles, helps her stand and they walk to the cathedral in silence, anxiously pondering what sort of events await them.