Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In practice, Viktor and Mordecai were Atlas' hitmen.

In the contract, they were the mechanic and the bodyguard.

In reality they were the "odd jobs man"

That meant that no matter if they were on vacation or just done with their duties of the day, Atlas could just call them out of nowhere and ask for their help. It could be annoying depending on what day he called, but he always paid for the extra work so there was little reason to complain.

Plus, it's not like neither Viktor or Mordecai had plans and social lives outside the speakeasy

There was a particular job that always came off to Mordecai as inappropriate for Atlas to assign them, and that was babysitting his goddaughter: Ivy Pepper.

This will only happen whenever Atlas threw a party where the girl's father and mother would attend in a range of seven days after Viktor and he took a job that ended with a bit of violence. In this case he didn't trust the girl's usual babysitters to be able to fend off any rival's attack, so who better than his most trusted killers to take care of the problem?

Mordecai suspected that the idea had first come to mind after Atlas noticed Miss. Pepper's fascination over Viktor and the other man's endearment over the child. He also once heard Atlas say that Viktor once was a father (Or more like he had a daughter he hadn't seen in years) so no wonder he had been sacrificed to take care of her.

But why Mordecai? He was terrible with adults, let alone children.

To be fair he didn't get assigned this job as much as Viktor did, only when the bloodshed had been particularly violent for the other side did Atlas think it was a good idea to send both the jew and the slovak. Plus, unlike Viktor, he was never asked to look after Ivy alone, so it seemed Atlas had a bit of consideration for Mordecai's sanity. Or maybe it was for his goddaughter's wellbeing.

But at least being there with his coworker and the child was better than being stuck to Atlas' side for a full night surrounded by chatty sponsors, loud music and an intoxicating smell of alcohol. So he wasn't stupid enough to turn down the offer whenever it was given to him.

The first one or two nights he was asked to join them had been just like one would expect: Mordecai hyper aware of his surroundings and Viktor being infuriatingly calm and just focusing on entertaining the child instead of trying to protect it (Which for Mordecai opinion consisted on locking the kid in a room after a quick dinner and waiting for any possible attackers with a gun ready).

After the third visit he realized Viktor and Ivy had developed some sort of routine; Ivy would draw, listen and dance to the radio or tell Viktor what she's been doing lately, have a nice dinner that had been previously prepared for them and then it was off to bed. If she behaves, she'll get a chocolate from Miss. Bapka special stash.

Those chocolates were sent to her by an old acquaintance of her back in Russia, she received a box every month with her favorite flavors plus some new for her to taste. With time, Viktor's favorite flavors were being sent instead of hers since she no longer had a sweet tooth. It was one of the only things he had that reminded him of his home country, a fact that was as bittersweet as the chocolates themselves; most of them were dark chocolate.

Mordecai had the opportunity to taste those soviet treats the few times he went to Viktor's place and was offered one out of courtesy, they were delicious and he will unconsciously look forward to them whenever he had to crash at Viktor's for a minute or two, regardless if the blood was his or from a much less fortunate soul. One time, out of Miss. Babpka's insistence, he stayed for tea to accompany the chocolate… he ate two chocolates that day.

He will never admit it, liking the chocolates Viktor offered him and the little chat the two of them had about the traditional ways to prepare sweets, he never said it out loud and made sure to not show Viktor any sign of the little joy that moment had brought to him.

So when asked Ivy told him that she hadn't chosen the dark chocolate with some sort of fudge- like center because Viktor said "she wasn't allowed to eat that one because it was Mordecai's favorite so she will have to choose another one regardless if it was her favorite too" Mordecai thought he must have misheard the child.

"I'm sorry, what?" Mordecai asked, doing his best attempt to hide the surprise in his tone "Why can't you eat the chocolate you wanted?"

Ivy and him were alone in the living room of the house the Peppers were staying for their visit, Viktor was in the kitchen arranging a plate with the treats for Mordecai and him to enjoy separately from the one chocolate Ivy will be permitted that night. He was also preparing a cup of tea for Mordecai, a glass of warm milk for the kid and a shot of espresso for himself while he was at it.

"He said those were the ones you enjoyed the most and if you didn't get to eat them you'll be cranky for the rest of the night" Ivy began talking with all the honesty a child could speak with "He said that I wouldn't like all your complaining" She explained.

No wonder Viktor liked this child, she talked the same way as him… only with better english.

"How sweet of him… but I wouldn't complain about a thing so insignificant as a chocolate" He defended himself.

"Well he said 'bitching' not 'complaining', I was just being nice"

"..." The audacity of that man, of that dead man. He inhaled, he wouldn't lose his composure for this "Thanks Ivy"

A moment later, Viktor entered the room with a glass of milk and a tiny plate with a single chocolate. He put them both in the coffee table next to Ivy's drawing materials and turned the radio up a few levels as it played some relaxing jazz music. The girl took the hint and sat down, slowly drifting into her own world.

Viktor returned to the kitchen and came back with his and Mordecai's drinks, setting them on the table to then grab the chocolate box and a chess set.

"Vanna play? She'll take time to calm dovn enough to sleep" He asked as he pointed to the little girl taking a sip of her milk.

"Okay"

As Mordecai started arranging the pieces on the chess board Viktor took a sip of his coffee and opened the box.

It took half a second for Mordecai to realize the dark chocolates with fudge in the center were separated from the rest of the sweets in Mordecai's direction.

Now, Mordecai wasn't the best at getting social cues or had an idea of what to say in certain situations that didn't have an etiquette book he could read to have as some sort of reference, but he believed even a normal person wouldn't know what to do. No, this was too personal, especially considering the solvak's personality. He had to say something but couldn't find the correct way to say 'thank you' (mostly because he didn't know what he was grateful for, the chocolate? The special attention? The fact Viktor had denied his boss goddaughter's her favorite treat in order to not listen to Mordecai 'bitching'?) So he decided it would be best to let Viktor know he noticed.

"How did you know I liked these ones? I don't remember commenting about it" He took a sip of his tea and moved his white peace first trying hard to seem less interested in the answer than he actually was.

"Vhen ya' staid you ate two of tha three I had, vhen I ate the last one ya' stopped eating" He answered "Ya' more easy to figure out than ya' think Mordecai" Viktor added unnecessarily, because of course he would.

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly, Viktor?"

"Vhatever ya' vant, now focus"

"No, I would appreciate a more solid answer"

"Check mate"

"What?"

"Check mate"

Mordecai looked down at the board to be met with a Fool's Mate at his expense.

"WHAT!?"

That triggered Viktor's laughter. A series of long and loud "HA's" that came deep from the chest and escaped with the intensity one would expect from a man his size. He put one of his hands on his forehead and used the other to slap his knee, action that only led to a little hiss. Viktor only took a few seconds to continue laughing.

Mordecai just watched, he watched as Viktor roared in laughter in front of him. Has this been his plan all along? To distract Mordecai by confusing him with kind actions and mocking comments? It had to be.

But as insulting as it was, Mordecai was silent. He didn't know when but at some point he stopped thinking and just watched Viktor almost fall into the ground due to how violently he was shaking. He had never seen Viktor laugh, he had seen him chuckle but never laugh.

Ivy had stopped drawing a while ago and joined Heller in admiring the big slovak, showing more emotion than he ever did in his entire life. Viktor looked warm and happy for once in his life, the light that came from the fireplace making the entire situation feel strangely domestic.

When the laughing ceased, Mordecai had already regained his composure. Ivy, who had started giggling soon after she realized what had happened, was suddenly interrupted by a long yawn that caught Viktor's attention.

"I think it's time for bed" Viktor rose from his seat "Ya' prepare another game, I'll get her to sleep" He grabbed the little girl, too tired to protest, and with only little noises to indicate the pain it brought to his knees, Viktor went up the stairs and inside the girl's bedroom.

Mordecai, alone with his thoughts in the now quiet room, didn't move an inch.

Well… he didn't move an inch for about two seconds and then got up, brought all the empty plates, mugs and glasses to the kitchen to clean, did exactly that and then returned to the living room and started to prepare the game for another round.

And through all the process of cleaning Mordecai made sure to only think about that; cleaning. He was focusing on the dishes and chess pieces, when he grabbed the chocolate box he did not stare at it for more time than it was necessary and he did not have the urge to eat the three dark chocolates (with some sort of goddamn fudge in the center) that had been separated and he specially ignored the feeling that imagining his coworker selecting what chocolates belonged to him brought to his body.

He wasn't anxious, he was just putting chess pieces on their respective places for the third time in a row because there was always going to be something wrong that would trigger him into starting from scratch.

Upon finishing and realizing he was about to re-do it again he decided to find something else to distract himself with. He looked at the chocolate box with the corner of his eyes and, as he found himself with nothing better to do, opened it up and ate one of the dark chocolates that belonged to him.

It was as good as he remembered.

His furr became fuzzy as a shiver went through his spine and he soon felt his limbs relax, all this thanks to a chocolate? He supposed there must have been some sort of booze in the mix.

He lay there for a few minutes, just savoring the pleasant taste in his mind and the warm feeling it brought to his body, when he realized Viktor was taking too long to get the girl to sleep. It never was an easy task getting the girl to stay quiet in bed according to Atlas, but she had seemed pretty tired to fight her way off Viktor's grasp.

So of course he grabbed the gun, that was the only part of this job he was good at.

He made his way silently up the stairs, glad any of the floorboards did not crack as he put his weight on them, and slowly approached the door to the room Viktor and Ivy should be in. He didn't hear any sounds he should be alarmed of but just in case he stayed, his back facing the wall, for a second or two before turning and pointing his gun to whoever was in there.

And then… he just stood on the doorway.

Ivy was sleeping soundly on Viktor's chest, their breathing synchronized, rising up and down along the comfy fur she was sleeping on. Viktor was completely passed out and Mordecai noticed that a kid's story book was lying on the floor next to the chair the slovak was sitting on.

The gun was slowly left forgotten in a little table next to the door where some books sat (probably from where Viktor had found the one he read to Ivy) and walked directly to the sleepy duo. If anyone were to walk into the room at that moment, they would have found Atlas' shadow looking dead silent to what seemed to be a bear disguising himself as a man cradling a small girl in his arms as they both slept soundly.

A weird sight to behold, one Ivy's parents wouldn't get to see since they always arrived the next morning after the party a little before lunch.

Which meant that Mordecai didn't have a reason to separate the two of them by getting the child to her actual bed and the man away from her. So he didn't. He just picked up the book and left it in what he assumed was its rightful place, then marched out the door before letting himself find a reason to stay in that room a little longer.

He didn't have time for this, for any of the things that happened that night. He stormed his way down the stairs and looked at the clock. Great. He spent 20 minutes of his night looking at how a kid and a man that weren't his slept. Wait.

A kid that wasn't his? A MAN that wasn't his!?

It was past 12, he needed to sleep and it was showing.

He lay defeated in the couch with his tied undone and eyes locked at the chocolate box that sat oh so teasingly in front of him. He felt intoxicated, as if he was hungover without drinking alcohol.

He was tired, confused and a mess. It was embarrassing for god's sake and he was grateful no one was awake to see him like that.

He looked at the box one more time.

—

Viktor arrived at his house around 3 PM the next day.

Ivy's parents had arrived around 11 AM like they always did. For the time they arrived, the three of them already had breakfast and cleaned everything that seemed out of place.

After getting paid Mordecai and Viktor parted ways and Viktor decided to treat himself to buy an appropriate lunch. As much as he appreciated Miss. Bapka's cooking, there were times he needed to eat something more…. edible.

He hung his coat and walked across the small living room of the apartment to a big armoire full of boxes of letters and pictures of his daughter and his family. Looking at it always made him feel a little depressed. So, in order to better ignore the recurring depression, he opened the chocolate box.

Viktor immediately noticed how the dark chocolates he had separated for Mordecai were gone, the three of them. He wore a cocky grin as he catched a random chocolate from the same box with his mouth.

"He is easier to figure out than he thinks" Viktor thought to himself and chuckled as he put the box and its contents aaway. It didn't bother him though, he had all the time in the world to wait for the other man to put two and two together, so for now all he could do was drop hints. Who knows? Maybe if he times it correctly and go a little more violent on their next job they will be asked to take care of the little rascal again.

That day, the dark chocolates tasted part sweet.

Chapter Text

Mordecai was about to lose it, he was really close to either shout or shoot someone. There were three reasons for why he was in this state:

First of all, he was in desperate need of a bath. He was covered head to toe in someone else's blood, multiple 'someone else's' in fact, and he could feel the blood drying on his fur and clothing, he did not feel like throwing out an entire suit that night.

Speaking of blood, reason number two were the events of that night. The job was supposed to be an easy kill, getting rid of a small growing business to remind everyone “who was in charge” as Atlas often put it. Mordecai had read the information they had on the target, he paid attention to what the rumors said and they spoke of the other group as a sloppy, amateur and foolish establishment. If it wasn't them then it was going to be the cops who would find them first, and neither the Lackadaisy or the Marigold would appreciate the unwanted attention.

Mordecai knew the night would go badly the moment he saw Viktor waiting for him inside of the truck. A shiver went down his spine the moment Viktor murmured a small "Hello" before starting the vehicle to which Mordecai only nodded in acknowledgement. Then, as they waited in the Defiance General store, playing chess as they always did, Mordecai was too focused on trying to discover what the feeling of uneasiness came from to pay his full attention to the chessboard.

Though this time he wouldn't let it get to him, this time he won 3 out of the 5 games they played.

But when they got to the actual job things slowly started to get weird: A glance or two that were definitely out of place every time Viktor carried a body and threw it into the river like if it were nothing, a weird sense of guilt every time he walked past one of the thousand crosses that decorated the property and an unfortunate distraction in the way home as Mordecai was too busy watching Viktor drive back to the Speakeasy to notice the truck that was coming after them until it crashed.

Luckily the only thing that broke was Mordecai's pride, no major damage to the vehicle. There were three men on the opposing side, one was gone quick and easy thanks to Mordrcai; and the other two…

Oh god, the other two.

Viktor could be a brute when working, but that night the man was an animal. He knocked down the two of them in one go, then hit the smaller one over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again with a pipe he always stored in the truck.

Then he went for the one that remained but almost tripped with the guy's corpse, so he grabbed it and threw it out of the way. Out of the way towards Mordecai. The blood that came from that man once he hit the ground in front of Mordecai may have been the main reason why his suit was in the state it was now.

The big guy took a bit of struggling to get down, a few hits in the face from Viktor and a knife to the neck from Mordecai to finish him off, luckily this time all the blood attacked Viktor's clothing and not his.

The fish ate well that night.

Which led them to the third and final cause for his distress: He was now going to Viktor's place to clean themselves before crashing into The Little Daisy to tell their employer all the details of the state of the vermin..

They were bloody, bruised, tired and in desperate need of cleaning before some bystander saw they state they were in and forced them to give that unfortunate soul the same treatment the other three had received, only quicker and painless.

"I get out first, open ze door for ya' to enter fast. Ya' bath at mine and I bath at Bapka's" The indications Viktor spat were clear and straight to the point with no room for questioning. They parked in front of Viktor's apartment and did just as planned.

Once inside the safety of the house did they took the time to take in how the other looked: Mordecai was in a far worse state than Viktor when it came to terms of cleanness, it would take him an entire hour to make sure his fur was blood free… his suit would take an entire night to clean by hand in order to confirm if it could actually be saved.

It wasn’t the first time it happened, being drenched in blood while stuck in the other´s house. It was very rare for it to occur but once was enough to assure Mordecai they needed to be prepared if something like that ever happened again, so they had left one spear outfit at each other’s respective houses. Something quick they wouldn’t exactly miss or mind being seen wearing it by their coworker. It’d be fair to make clear that the last statement only referred to Mordecai, Viktor wasn’t particularly attached to any of his clothes and never cared for others' judgment on his fashion choices much to Mordecai´s dismay.

“Well, we must get started now if we don’t want this to last the entirety of the night… where are my clothes exactly?” Mordecai raised an eyebrow, part of him only thinking of the sweet feeling of warm water through his fur and the other part praying Viktor hadn’t left his suit all crumpled up in the back of his closet, he did not feel like arguing.

“Give me a sec”. With that said, Viktor disappeared into his own bedroom and soon returned with a box with what Mordecai presumed was his change of clothes “Take yaur time, ya’ look terrible. I’ll call Atlas, tell him everything is okay so ya’ don’t vorry” Mordecai nodded in agreement and headed off to the bathroom to finally wash himself expecting his partner to do the same in that poor old lady’s apartment. They will waste more time cleaning after themselves when they finish, although when he thought of “we” he truly meant only himself since Viktor´s cleaning abilities were sloppy at best.

He removed his clothes and left them neatly folded in a (bloody) pile on top of the floor, the box of extra clothing sitting on the toilet. He decided to shower first to get rid of most of the viscera and then a proper bath to scrub off the excess. He thanked Atlas for paying for all the bills of his employees as Viktor didn’t look like the type of person who takes warm showers. He scoffed at the picture of Viktor arguing that “Vhy vould I pay for warm water I don’t use!?” if Mordecai ever confronted him with that statement, or any statement that went around the slovak´s hygiene. He did it less often than before ever since Viktor accused him of acting like a housewife, which he definitely wasn’t doing.

He returned to the cleaning as he sat in the now filled bathtub and decided not to use the sponge that was covered with orange fur, disgusting. He will buy him a couple of sponges and a shaving blade as a little passive aggressive favor another day. He took a while to finish cleaning and drying himself with the towel but changed quickly, Mordecai left the room and went to find wherever these people did their laundry.

Viktor hung up the phone when he finished talking with Atlas, after informing him about the events of the evening they were given the rest of the night off. Shortly after, Mrs. Bapka entered the living room carrying some tea and coffee and a little plate full of her special chocolates.

"Ez mire való?" He asked as he helped her set everything up on the table.

"Ez neked és a kis barátodnak szól, most it marad? Bapka said, accepting the help with a lovely smile "Nagyon kedves, jő neked. Többet kell mosolyognod" She added.

Viktor only grunted in response, maybe he was being too obvious? It didn't bother him if it could only affect Mordecai, the man wouldn't believe it even if he said it out loud, but Viktor knew that if he showed his infatuation with the other man in public then everything could go downhill. Luckily, He was too old and sweet to be judgy, he would not take that chance with anyone else.

Staring at the table Viktor couldn’t help but have second thoughts, it was too much in his opinion and he didn't want to scare Mordecai or make him feel uncomfortable. This wasn't his first time courting, he learned the lesson that when one wanted to properly love someone the first thing one had to do was make the extra steps feel like normal steps.

Mordecai made his presence clear in the room, he probably had been there for a much longer time.

"Thanks for the shower, Viktor, have you given Atlas the details about the evening?" He asked, the firm eye contact he so clearly forced himself to maintain in every situation made Viktor shiver a bit for only a second.

"Ya'"

"Then I suppose we can wrap this night, I've left my suit in the laundry room drying. If it doesn't bother you, I'll come pick it up tomorrow." Upon receiving no answer, Mordecai decided any futile attempt at small talk would be awkward "Alright, I'll leave then-

"Nem! Maradj teára!" Said the minuscule old lady as she came running, at an impressive 1 kilometer per hour, to the room and started shoving a poor baffled Mordecai away from the front door "Gyors! Mielőtt kihűl!" She robbed the man off his coat and tossed it clumsily to a couch nearby.

"Wha- what? I-" Mordecai looked puzzled at Viktor who, upon trying to figure out whether the scene that was playing out in front of him was real or not, forgot he had to translate.

"She uh-" Viktor quickly came back to reality " She vants ya' to stay for tea" he pointed at the table where two tea cups and one coffee mug rested besides a plate full of Bapka's beloved chocolates.

"Well, tell her I can't!" He almost tripped when she gave an unexpected powerful push "I have things to do! And it's too late for tea anyways-"

"Like vhat? Sit alone in lonely house? I tell her" Viktor replied, immediately switching to hungarian and started talking to Bapka, who upon hearing Mordecai's thrilling plans for the rest of the evening just started to shove faster. "See? She understands how pathetic ya' are"

"You really think I'm going to pathetically walk around an empty house!?"

"Nah, ficus going to be there"

It only took Mordecai that comment and one last shove to finally give up "FINE!" He finally agreed and sat down and waited for the two to get to their seats "Now show me Viktor what a great host you are!" Mordecai continued sarcastically.

Viktor gestured at Bapka as he took a sip of his coffee "She's hosting, but I" Viktor wasn't fully content with the direct approach his neighbor decided to take but the idea of Mordecai eating alone was too… familiar to him. This time, he convinced himself, it was okay to push a little bit harder.

Bapka carried the entire conversation with the help of Viktor who would serve as a translator for her and Mordecai the few times the other replied; and as lovely as her presence was, old people couldn't stay up that long. Mordecai tasted one of the chocolates after that as a way to have an excuse to wrap up the evening, a part of him telling him that the old lady was the one who wanted him there and not Viktor, the other saying that he would say something wrong and ruin the night. It's not like Mordecai cared if Viktor wanted him to spend more time at his house, it's not like Mordecai wanted to know.

But when he tried the chocolate he felt as if the treat ordered him to stay seated and admire its flavor, to give it the time it needed to melt properly on his tongue and let the small hint of strong alcohol flood his taste buds. It was an entire experience that lasted a second and, as far as he knew, went unnoticed by the other cat.

"Do you know the recipes?"

"Vhat?"

"The recipes. For the chocolates. Where do you get this from anyways?" Mordecai clarified as he moved his tongue around his mouth letting the flavor linger there a bit longer. Was he feeling a bit loose? Maybe it was the booze in the mixture.

Viktor wasn't expecting all that question at all, he was expecting Mordecai to run off the moment that woman left the room, to flee the social situation where he hadn't intended on participating like he always did. This? Participation? This was too much for Viktor, he was unprepared, he didn't have a script that he could follow in order to make sure he wouldn't fuck it up.

But this side of Mordecai was exclusive, a side he knew was less likely to repeat if he just didn't let it happen. So he did.

Mordecai never liked hearing people rant, going on and on about a specific topic without caring if the other party was genuinely interested always came across as rude to him. They could be talking fast or slowly, quietly or loud, with soft words or hard statements, it didn't matter. But when Viktor started talking about traditional recipes and his memories with those sweets, Mordecai became all ears.

Viktor, unlike others, was far from what one would consider an "open book", he wasn't even a book. He was a story, a story one could only know about due to the little summary that was plastered all over the metal box that kept it locked up and safe, a set of pages one would never be able to read. You only got to know what he wanted you to know, and even if he decided you were worthy enough to read a paragraph or two, you had to read in between every line to understand the meaning. He wasn't someone who would let himself be read, you had to look for it without being so loud because he would knock you out if he ever found you prying.

And Mordecai, for what concerned him, was all in on the challenge.

He put another chocolate in his mouth, the same one only this time the experience doubled thanks to the lingering presence of the previous one still stuck to his mouth.

Viktor would talk about the ways some fudges were prepared and then add as a side comment how those were his father's favorite, his mother's best recipe or how his siblings and he could finish ten boxes in one hour and had done so multiple times. Those stories hidden underneath tons of broken English and a rough voice with a thick accent as the bear of a man talked about the cocoa prices in the Austro-Hungarian empire back in the day.

Viktor ate the third and last chocolate of the type Mordecai had tried and then talked about the implementation of certain alcoholic beverages in certain mixtures in order to intensify the flavor, Mordecai didn't eat for the rest of the night.

Viktor noticed.

—

Mordecai Heller felt a shiver run through his body without knowing Viktor Vasko felt a weird tingle at the same time.

They both saw it as a sign to stop their daydreaming and return to what they were previously doing.

Two men who were very different people from very different backgrounds and natures left their respective houses; One with a weird mixture of confusion, denial and a small hint of thrill, the other with a small smirk that went unnoticed even by himself. Still, they had one more thing to add to the small list of things they had in common.

They both had to babysit a very special girl that night, but that's where the similarities end.

After all, one of them was bringing a box full of chocolates.