Author's note: I do not own Trinity Blood or its characters. This is set five years after the end of the anime.
In Which the Best Man Considers Running Away
Virgil Walsh missed the days when his life was simple. Despite all the uncertainty at the time, he at least had known just what was expected of him. Not that there was anything wrong with Queen Esther or the way she was running things, but her wedding was driving him crazy. Somehow, he had been made the best man and put in charge of the groomsmen. He barely knew the groomsmen from Albion let alone the rest of them. It was too much responsibility. He'd never even been a groomsman before.
It also didn't help that he was rather intimidated by the idea of throwing a bachelor party. Virgil had always been the responsible one. The only times he been to a bar was typically to drag Vanessa home before she caused trouble. Oh, he drank the occasional glass of wine with dinner, but he didn't know anything about drinking and debauchery which as far as he knew were the standards for a traditional bachelor party.
The other problem he had was he didn't really know the groom. Virgil had met the Earl of Memphis before, but it wasn't like they were close. The best man was supposed to be the groom's closest friend. Virgil didn't even know how to approach the Methuselah from the Empire. Ion Fortuna seemed liked a nice young man, but it was hard to reconcile the stories he'd heard with the soft spoken Imperial noble. Hadn't he gone with Abel Nightroad to hunt down Cain? There were stories of the two hunters and their pursuit of Cain. They were rather contradictory at times actually. Half of them portrayed the duo as a pair as clueless stumbling from one incident to another. The rest painted them as hardened, ruthless men. Virgil would guess that the truth lay in the middle somewhere, but reputations were hard to forget.
None of that was helping the situation any. Virgil was simply overwhelmed with his responsibilities, and he was at a loss for what to do. The Duchess of Moldova had not been very receptive of the idea of switching one of the other groomsmen to being the best man. So he was stuck with this. The only way he could see to solve the problem was to disappear until after the wedding. It wasn't a very good plan he would admit, but it was the only thing that he could think of.
And that was why he was sneaking out of Castle Sforza at two in the morning. With any luck he could get a flight back to Albion and hide out until after the wedding. Virgil made it as far as the front hall. Then he found himself being ushered into the kitchen by Father Nightroad and being offered a cup of tea. Virgil blinked when he realized that Father Nightroad was dressed in a nightshirt and that they weren't alone in the kitchen. He blinked again when he found that the blond in the nightgown fixing the tea was Cardinal Sforza.
"We were already up," Father Nightroad cheerfully informed him, "so it's really no bother."
A cup of tea was set in front of him.
"Cream? Sugar?" Cardinal Sforza asked.
"Two sugars, no cream thanks," he stuttered.
The cardinal doctored his tea before she took a seat next to Father Nightroad.
"May I ask where you were going this early in the morning, Mr. Walsh?" Her voice was gentle.
Virgil felt like a naughty child. "I was…I was running away. I don't want to be the best man."
"Why not?" Father Nightroad was stirring an eighth spoon of sugar into his tea.
"I don't know the groom, I barely know the other groomsmen, and I don't know how to throw a bachelor party."
The two Vatican members smiled at each other, and Virgil found himself wondering if there was something between those two. The cardinal gave him a smile.
"You don't have to personally arrange the bachelor party," she offered. "You can delegate that task to some of the other groomsmen. Fathers Wordsworth and de Asturias would be a good choice. As for not knowing the groom, that is easily solved. You two will have plenty of time to get to know one another before the wedding."
"Ion's even more nervous about all this than you are." Father Nightroad seemed amused. "Start with that as common ground. You'll do fine."
Virgil wasn't sure if it was the tea or simply the cozy presence of the two Vatican officials, but he found himself relaxing and being coaxed back to bed. As he took his leave of the pair, Cardinal Sforza smiled at him again a rather fierce one.
"One last thing, Mr. Walsh. If you even think of think of disappearing on us again, be aware that I am perfectly willing to have my people hunt you down and drag you back for the wedding. It would not be a good experience for you, and the paperwork will make me testy." Her smile was now gentle. "Good night."