Chapter 587: +Chapter 587+
They got to the parked car in no time, the rain dispersing the crowd that had gathered around the ruins of the club that had been blown up.
Angelo got into the car and pushed his hair out of his face, the wetness of the rain making black strands stick to his flushed face. Despite this, he made no move to put his hair up, the warmth of the car quickly chasing the heat away.
The rain hadn’t let up by the time Nikolai pulled into the parking lot of a supermarket on Davian’s turf, windshield wipers going off constantly.
"Sit tight," Nikolai spoke, "I’ll get what we need."
Angelo didn’t want to get his hair wet again - the rain had also increased in intensity since they left downtown - but he was also a little worried that Nikolai wouldn’t remember what to get.
He did as he was told, watching through the streams of water running down his side window as Nikolai dashed through the rain.
Angelo’s smile made his cheeks hurt, he patted them absently. There was certainly already dinner waiting for them at the mansion, because even though Nikolai had called to say they would be sorting out their own dinner, he knew that Davian would certainly pack up portions for them.
All that and yet, Nikolai wanted to eat instant noodles.
As he stared through the blurry window, his gaze grew distant, his thoughts drifting back to the amusement park. The second and last ride they got to go on replayed over and over - it really was a pleasant date.
And running from explosives really pulled it all together... Angelo had to pat his cheek again, his smile uncontrollable.
He refocused on the supermarket at the perfect time, Nikolai’s familiar figure stepping out of the sliding glass doors, the lights behind him outlining his physique.
The Mafia King paused underneath the eaves of the supermarket for a few short moments, stopping to stare at the darkened interior of the car he had left parked, knowing that right behind that blacked-out window was Angelo with his face up to the glass, waiting patiently.
Angelo frowned slightly when Nikolai got back into the car, the Alpha leaning to put the shopping bags in the backseat, water dripping down his face. Before he could stop himself, he reached out to wipe his face with a sleeve, freezing as he did.
Nikolai didn’t seem to notice this hiccup, he simply closed his eyes and waited patiently.
Angelo’s shirt wasn’t exactly absorbent, but it wasn’t completely useless, Nikolai casually moving back when he pulled away. He fiddled with his now damp sleeves, sinking into the seats.
Davian’s men were quick with umbrellas when they got to the mansion, so they got in without much of an incident.
Angelo just went right to his room, it was going to be a long, cold, and rainy night. He wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and change into a cozy sweater.
Tonight, he wouldn’t even mind spicy noodles, the weather was just right for it after all.
After he showered and changed, he stepped out of his room to find the hallway empty. Just as he didn’t think to leave without Nikolai, he knew that the Mafia King was certainly still in his room.
Angelo didn’t want to intrude while he was changing, so he waited right by his door, his dried hair in a braid. He didn’t have to wait long because Nikolai stepped out of his room shortly after, not looking the least bit surprised to see him.
They both made their way to the kitchen, the windows were closed and the curtains drawn, the sound of the rain muted in the bright kitchen which exuded warmth.
Angelo got right to work, the shopping bags were already on a counter, no doubt Nikolai himself brought them to the kitchen.
He hadn’t yet seen the contents of the bags, so he busied himself with going through them. Just like their first late-night shopping trip, Nikolai bought entirely too many noodles.
He didn’t mind it much, hopefully, they could get to eat noodles for dinner more than once this time.
Angelo separated the packs he planned to cook, wondering where to store the rest. There were several cabinets in the kitchen, it was a little overwhelming. Maybe he would just leave them in the shopping bag and ask Davian for the best place to keep them...
He noticed Nikolai standing right next to him then, the Alpha immediately catching his attention, distracting him from his mild crisis about noodle storage. Nikolai was standing right next to him, holding an apron and offering it to him.
Angelo glanced down at the floral-patterned apron; in the few days he had spent in the mansion, he had seen Mafia King Davian wear the aprons more than anyone else. The Mafia King’s taste in aprons was certainly something.
He took the pastel green apron covered in daisies and put it on. He was just cooking some instant noodles, an apron was really overkill.
But Nikolai’s gaze was a little too focused as he watched him deftly do up the ties behind the small of his back, it made the temperature in the kitchen dial up a couple of notches.
Angelo glanced down at the apron, his expression softening. The expected feeling of imposter syndrome didn’t hit him, maybe seeing the hulking Mafia King Davian constantly wear the aprons had something to do with that.
And maybe the liquid darkness in Nikolai’s eyes had everything to do with that.
Angelo walked around to search for the items he needed for cooking, easily finding everything he needed and so much more. Davian certainly kept the kitchen fully stocked.
This wasn’t Nikolai’s apartment, so Angelo didn’t give the Mafia King any tasks, but that didn’t stop Nikolai from trailing after him, dark eyes patient as he watched him get started on cooking.
Nikolai found himself thinking about his mom for the first time in decades. "Did your mom teach you to cook?" He asked quietly, studying Angelo intently to see if he was overstepping.
Angelo glanced over at him with mild surprise on his face, a hint of fondness in those pale eyes, and not a single trace of anger. "I could fit in a cupboard when she died," He said casually, putting a pan on the stove.
"And Silvia is no good at cooking," He seamlessly tagged on, busying himself with chopping veggies, his motions fluid.
Making instant noodles wasn’t exactly cooking, so he never learned to.
Nikolai lingered on the fringes, he wanted to help out, but Angelo was certainly better at chopping vegetables than he would be. He had no interest in learning to cook, and he didn’t want Angelo to either, satisfied with noodles.
"You’ve never spoken about your mom." Angelo mentioned carefully, looking up from the chopping board.
Nikolai shrugged, "There’s not much to say, she was just another person in the house." His dark blue gaze grew distant as he spoke.
Reminded of the last words his mom had spoken to him. Monster. Just like his dad.
His mom scurried about like a mouse, probably figuring out that if she made herself small enough, she would be spared Ivan’s whims. He didn’t know her name, and although he should remember her face, all he could see when he tried to picture her was a dark shadow blotting her features out.
He had no need to remember her, so he didn’t try very hard. He preferred to stay in the present, watching Angelo cook for him in an apron, with complete focus on that delicate face.
Angelo frowned, his childhood had been horrible, but his mom did her best to shield him from the worst of Luis Caddel’s depravity. He couldn’t picture a mother just standing by doing nothing.
"Is she dead?" He asked, sautéing the vegetables.
The distant look in Nikolai’s eyes remained, "I don’t know. She saw me when I killed Ivan and then ran off."
He hadn’t made even a single effort to search for her, she was just a stranger to him. She also hadn’t joined in the torture meted out to him. He honestly didn’t know how she got tangled up with Ivan, and he didn’t care.
"Could you help me open the packs of noodles?" Angelo asked, changing the conversation. "There should be a pair of scissors somewhere in this kitchen." He tagged on, tucking loose strands of hair behind his ear.
The murkiness in Nikolai’s eyes cleared up, dark blue eyes deep pools as he immediately wandered off to do as he was told.
Angelo turned off the stove, the sound of sizzling vegetables in the background as he watched Nikolai easily look into a cabinet he had to get onto his tiptoes to check.
Looking at the Alpha’s back made his heart swell with emotion. The cracks that ran down their psyche were rather similar; there was no fixing them, but they did get shallower and shallower as the days went by.