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When the other boys around him have hit their growth spurt, Victor had to find that it never happened for him. He just stopped growing when he was fourteen, never getting past his 5’6”. In itself it didn’t really bother him at all. So what? Then he was a bit shorter than the average guy, it didn’t fucking matter anyway.
Still, when his career path had changed as drastically as it had and he became a serial killer – slash assassin – it became a little frustrating to notice everyone around him just towering over him, thinking they were superior to him because of it.
Sometimes it would even make freeing someone more difficult than it needed to be, when he couldn’t quite reach their neck all too easily, having to resort to stabbing them first, or sweeping their feet from under them to make them kneel, fall, or bend over, only so he could slash their pretty necks to help them fly away.
When he met Roman, he hated to admit it, but he was relieved to find that the other man was only about half a head taller than him. Sure, he still had to look up sometimes when talking to him, but at least it didn’t feel as demeaning as with the other guys who were all six-feet-something.
And yet, sometimes Sionis was being a teasing fucking asshole when he was in the right mood. Not only that, but for some stupid reason most things in their apartment were placed so much higher than was necessary. It may have been only half a head, but fuck, it felt like a lot more sometimes.
Like that time Roman told him to bring him a coffee and he had asked for this really specific mug, which Victor was now wondering if that hadn’t been intentional. Zsasz had opened the cupboard and looked for the coffee mug, only to catch a slight glimpse of it on the highest shelf inside of the cupboard. From where he stood, he could barely see any of it at all; he even had to take a few steps back just to make sure it really was that exact cup he was looking for.
Then he got on his tip toes reaching for the mug. No such luck, he couldn’t even reach the shelf at all. He frowned and considered his options for a second. Roman would absolutely hate it and probably punish him for it, but unless he wanted to actively humiliate himself by asking his boss to reach for it, he was forced to disobey him.
So he grabbed one of the chairs from the dinner table and stepped on it.
It elevated him enough, so that he could finally peek into the shelf, but the mug itself still wasn’t as much in reach. He stretched his arm out, realising that he still wasn’t able to get his hands on it all too easily.
So he leaned forward.
Big mistake.
Promptly, he lost his balance and fell off the chair, which had tipped over.
He should have probably placed it differently.
Victor had landed with his upper body against the counter top and his lower half sprawled on the floor.
Great.
Roman must have gotten curious upon hearing the crash, since he came into the kitchen – only to fucking laugh at Zsasz, who had remained in his awkward position. His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment. At least it shook him out of his shock he’s been trapped in and he finally got up from the floor, glaring at his partner.
If it wasn’t at his expense, Victor might have actually been happy to hear Roman laugh so genuinely, almost hysterically even.
“Oh, fuck!” Sionis exclaimed in-between laughs, wiping away tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes. “You’re fucking hilarious, little Vicky,” he snickered, a devious grin on his face.
Zsasz would have loved to peel it off of his pretty face, but he wouldn’t dare. Not yet, at least.
“That was low,” Victor retorted his ears and cheeks were burning with the redness that must have spread there. No one but Roman fucking Sionis could make him feel ashamed.
“So are you.” Roman had stopped laughing by then, but his smirk remained.
“I fucking hate you with every inch of my body right now, you know that?”
Roman pursed his lips, “That’s not a lot of inches, baby.” Victor could hear the amusement in his partner’s words.
“Oh, fuck off. You’re only half a head taller, so I don’t know what you’re on about anyway…” Zsasz was pouting now. He couldn’t help it.
Humming pensively, Roman stepped forward, reached up – having to get on his tip toes as well – and got the mug out of the cupboard, grinning triumphantly down at Victor, who just rolled his eyes in response. What a show-off.
“It may only be half a head, but I didn’t have to use a chair to get up there. And fail miserably doing so, either.”
Almost petulantly, Zsasz crossed his arms and looked at his boss, his partner. Unfortunately, with how close they were standing now, only a couple of inches between them, he did have to look up a little bit. It annoyed him more than ever, now. Roman’s really been in a mood that day, making joke after joke, as if he was actively trying to rile Victor up, which wasn’t easy anyway. In contrast to Sionis, he actually had a far better grip on his emotions, not experiencing them a lot as it was.
“Whatever, but if you make another joke about my size, I might actually fucking kill you, boss,” Victor muttered.
“Oh, Mr. Zsasz,” Roman started in this sultry, seductive tone of his that had pleasant shivers run down Victor’s spine, “don’t get short with me, ‘kay?”
“You-,” Victor forced himself to inhale deeply – he didn’t actually stand behind his threat, not with Roman at least, “are really fucking lucky I like you so much.”
Roman grinned and patted Zsasz on the head. His smile softened, and so did his voice, “I know, baby. I am truly lucky.” Then he leaned down a bit, tilting Victor’s head up by his chin with the hand that’s just been on his head, and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
In all honesty, Victor despised how much of an effect Roman had on him, especially when he was trying to actually be mad at his partner. But the kiss made him soften up, too. So he uncrossed his arms and pulled Roman closer by the waist to reciprocate it passionately.
“You know I really was just joking, right?” Roman murmured against Zsasz’s lips after a couple of minutes.
“Yeah, I know. It’s alright, Roman.”
“’Kay,” he whispered and kissed him again, more enthusiastically, but not any less soft, probably trying to make up for the embarrassment he’s caused Victor – the coffee completely forgotten for now.
It was nice.