RARELY AM I HEARD OUT WHEN I SAY BALLROOM SECONDO - Blog Posts

The Dance

Pairing: Papa Emeritus II/Female reader

Warnings/Content: No warnings; 1k+ words.

Additional Tags: Fluff Comfort, Dancing, Slow Dancing, Oneshot

Please see end of work under the cut for italian translations!

Read on AO3!

Through the hallways of the ministry, your nervous footsteps echoed. Bouncing with anxious energy; dancing through the air with excitement. As you approached the chapel, your mouth became dry, and your breathing could barely keep up with the fluttery beats of your heart.

Papa Emeritus Secondo waited for you in the safe darkness of the ministry's chapel.

Through the hallways of the ministry, your nervous footsteps echoed. Bouncing with anxious energy; dancing through the air with excitement. As you approached the chapel, your mouth became dry, and your breathing could barely keep up with the fluttery beats of your heart. And you got closer…

closer…

You closed the door of the chapel behind you, and were welcomed by the sound of classical music and the comforting glow of candlelights. Next to the pulpit, his imposing figure stood proud, lighting up the final candles with the utmost care before he softly blew on the matchstick he held between his fingers. 

“You are late, carissima”, says he with a stern voice turning around with elegant confidence; his eye contact leaving you frozen in place for a moment. Taking your breath away for an instant. 

“I’m sorry Papa. I truly tried to be here on time. I really did, but…”

Secondo shakes his head, lifting his gloved hand to stop you from talking further. 

“It’s important to be here on time, per favore, carissima… ne abbiamo parlato”, Secondo reprimands you, emphasizing with his hands, palms put together. As you bow with regret and several apologies leaving your lips, he looks at you with a mischievous smile. Punctuality was important for him, but seeing you become somewhat flustered at his little comment made the slight inconvenience worth it. He could tease you like this, and you didn’t even know it. He knew you would never be punctual, no matter how many times he told you. Piccola ribelle.

“Prova un po’ meglio la prossima volta, si?” Said the Papa, slowly approaching you. His mismatched gaze never leaves your face for a second; secretly taking in your features that have delighted him for quite a while now.

“I will, I promise.”

The Papa silently acknowledges your words with a nod, this time disguising his mischievous enjoyment a little better. He put his arms up, waiting for you to follow him. “You practiced, I assume? You know that the ritual is very close, mia carissima” His voice is now soft, almost intimate. You cleared your throat in an attempt to bring your focus back to the current moment. 

“I have, Papa. As you instructed”, you replied, gently placing your hand on his grasp while the second emeritus took this as an invitation to hold your lower back. “Brava, bellissima.” Secondo closed the distance between you two, and he was now close, so close to your ear. To your neck. “Sei pronta?” He whispered. And oh! How you shivered, his voice sending electricity down your spine with each one of his exhales. You nodded as you felt yourself grow feverish. Calm down, calm down.

“Remember, cara. 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3…” Said the Papa as he started to lead. The smell of his cologne overloading your senses. The feeling of his warmth putting you in a trance.

The music, that now bounced off the walls of the chapel, felt nice and tingly against your ears; reverberating through your arms, and rippling through your legs with every dance step. “Let the music guide you…” Secondo continued, moving your body with the same ease an orchestra conductor would lead his ensemble. Both of your figures followed the climactic notes, dancing through the dark chapel as if you were a flowing river. 

“Perfetta, perfetta… you are fantastic, cara!” Smiled Secondo at your development “I told you that practice makes perfect, did I not?” You felt your chest beam with pride at the Papa’s compliments. You were well acquainted with his stern demeanor and his high standards. A type of perfectionism that was extended in every direction, including himself. Getting a compliment from him was, in fact, no easy task… but this…this was deeply special to you. “Thank you, Papa. Truly.” The song was coming to an end, and Secondo started to slow down his pace, while you followed suit. He now looked into your eyes as he continued the final part of this dance. You repressed a gasp at the sudden eye contact, struggling to maintain his gaze; your eyes looking everywhere else but him.

“No, no… continua a guardarmi, cara” “But…”

“Do as I say, carissima. It will be done at the ritual, might as well practice now, don’t you think?” Oh, for sweet Sathanas… your blood was pumping strongly through your veins, as you could barely look into his eyes. You swallowed, trying to remove the strong lump forming in your throat, in futile hopes that the nervousness pooling at the pit of your stomach would dissolve magically. You were wrong, to your dismay.

Secondo smirked somewhat amused.

“I can feel you shivering, cara” He whispered “Is the presence of your Papa making you nervous?” “Not at all” Your voice slightly trembled “Perhaps nervous at messing up.” “So you say” He chuckled, taking note of the crimson color that now came alive on your cheeks, your lips, your fingertips…

He wondered how sweet your lips would taste against his. How warm you would feel against his embrace, how your body would react to his touch. “You have nothing to worry about” He added, bringing himself out of that momentaneous distraction “You have become quite the skilled dancer, and something tells me you might end up teaching me in the future. Teaching this old man his own tricks” “Maybe so” you replied playfully, making the Papa raise an eyebrow with curiosity. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Tu, piccola piantagrane” He smirked.

As the music came to a lull, Secondo stayed in place holding you while looking into your eyes. The beating of your heart syncing with his. You felt as if you could not break away from the strong spell of his gaze, even if you wanted to.

“Ti rigranzio per questo ballo…” He brought the back of your hand to his lips, as he placed a kiss with fervent eyes. “The honor is mine, Papa” You said softly, wishing his lips were against yours. Yearning for something more than just this tonight.

After a moment, the second Papa breaks the silence with a proposition. “What do you say, shall we have another dance?” Said Secondo, as he brought his hands up once more “Remember what I said about practicing, si?” “Yes, yes” You rolled your eyes in playful exasperation. “But just one more, hm?”

“No rush, cara. The night is still very young…” Translations: "Carissima/Cara": Dearest/Dear "Per favore, carissima… ne abbiamo parlato": Please dearest… we talked about this "Piccola ribelle": Little rebel “Prova un po’ meglio la prossima volta, si?”: Try a little better next time, yes? "Brava, bellissima.": Good job, beautiful “Sei pronta?”: Are you ready? "Perfetta": Perfect "Continua a guardarmi, cara": Keep looking at me, dear “Tu, piccola piantagrane”: You little troublemaker "Ti rigranzio per questo ballo": I thank you for this dance