Chapter Text
”Okay, Aleksi-“
“That’s not my name.”
“What do you mean, that‘s not your name?”
“What do you think I mean by that? I mean that I’m not called Aleksi.”
Niko let out a long and tired groan. How? How had they gotten it so wrong? Maybe his ex had been right. Once a loser, always a loser. He couldn’t even do evil right. Okay, fuck it, get your shit together, no need to wallow in your pain. He regarded the blonde on the ground with a glare, though he was unsure how well it translated through his balaclava, and went back up the stairs.
Damage control. That was the most important thing right now.
16 hours earlier
The first rays of the afternoon sun had tickled Aleksi’s nose. Thankfully he had fallen asleep in the west-facing bedroom last night, or rather this morning. Not that he had been able to tell anyways, since every room in this place kind of looked the same when you were drunk enough. While slowly trotting towards his walk-in closet, he wondered why on earth someone had turned two of the east-facing rooms into bedrooms in the first place. Who would want to be awoken any time before lunch if they could help it?
Of course he was peripherally aware of the fact that some people couldn’t help it, but thank fuck he wasn’t one of them. Or more specifically thank his filthy rich father and his respectable collection of clubs and real estate, which he had inherited from his father before him. One day Aleksi would follow in line, handling the family business. But those dreadful times were still very far away in his mind.
Until he turned 25, he had been given the freedom to do and be whatever he wanted. And what he wanted to do was to meet people, get drunk and sleep until noon and what he wanted to be was nothing more than a sore in his father’s eye and the hottest talk of the town. A slightly belated revenge for being shipped off to boarding school when he was younger.
Having spent more time picking out tonight’s outfit than he would have liked to admit, he got into the shower, letting the first burst of cold water clear his cloudy mind. Last night had been a mess. At least the parts that he could still remember had been. He’d sworn to himself not to drink so much that he would forget everything again, but he was rarely ever true to his words these days.
If he really wanted to know about all of last night's escapades in painful detail, he could just ask one of the employees at the club, maybe that pretty one with the blonde curls. Or he could just read one of the hundreds of blogs which had sprung up in recent years, run by people with seemingly nothing better to do than to recount whatever the rich kids in town were getting up to on their nights out.
On the other hand, admittedly, he didn’t really mind the attention. Even if he received it from people he couldn’t care less about and even if it was only coming his way because he’d shared a drink with some wannabe TV star or made out with someone he shouldn’t have made out with. At least they were talking about him. If they weren't, how could he even be sure that he was still alive, that he actually existed?
He finished up his morning- or rather afternoon routine by getting himself a freshly made bottled smoothie from the kitchen downstairs. Afterwards he sauntered into the music room, where the sight of two huge speakers welcomed him like old friends at an airport. Perhaps they were one of the closest things he had to friends, always there when he needed them, supplying him with the thing that he’d found to be more addictive than any pills and booze he had ever consumed. Music was the only thing he had ever let himself rely upon, everything else in his life was temporary and he liked to keep it that way: the faces, the clothes, the clubs. But the one thing he’d held close since his youth, the only constant in the ever changing sea he was drifting through, was music. The sweet comforting sounds of his favourite artists blasting at nearly full volume through his new state of the art surround sound speaker system.
He’d spent months planning this room a couple of years ago, but it was long due an overhaul, especially since he’d seen a video about a new kind of sound enhancing wallpaper a couple of weeks ago. For now it could still wait, but he’d have to ask his father about it soon. A shudder ran up his spine at the thought of how that conversation would probably go.
Aleksi decided to drown out this particularly unnerving thought by putting on one of his older records. He let himself sink into the big comfortable chair in the middle of the room, which had been placed in just the right spot to give him the perfect listening experience, as his personal interior designer had put it. Though Aleksi had been a bit doubtful back then, now, sitting here in this vast sea of sound, he couldn’t deny that the guy had definitely known what he had been talking about. Too bad that his dad had fired him directly after the room had been finished.
Sometimes the house seemed like one of those old castles, at least in respect to the amount of designers and architects it had gone through. Aleksi was sure that no one besides two or three people, including his father, actually knew all of the corners of the house. If he thought about it for too long at night, it became kind of unnerving, not knowing for sure what kind of place he was inhabiting. All alone. Or perhaps he wasn’t on his own after all. Who knew? Thankfully the times he’d spend awake at night, lying alone in one of the many bedrooms pondering these very questions, had long passed. Now he could numb his brain in one of the city’s clubs and not think about anything until the next afternoon.
The album ended sooner than he would have liked. As he got up to change the record, he could hear the shrill sound of the doorbell in the foyer. For a second he debated just letting it ring and pretending like he hadn’t heard it, but if the person standing at the door was who he thought they were, it would probably only make the problem worse.
Lo and behold his suspicions were proven right as he opened the front door and was greeted by a smile, which was way too big and bright for someone who’d had about as much sleep as Aleksi. Or probably less, since Robin was one of the guys who had brought Aleksi home last night, and who knew what they had gotten up to afterwards.
“Oh thank god, I thought you were still passed out. I was about to try some DIY breaking and entering.”
“Feared you might.”
It had actually happened once before. Thankfully for Robin, and due to an act of belated teenage rebellion, the security system had been deactivated. Otherwise Aleksi might have had to endure an elongated lecture by his father for, accidentally or purposefully, leaving the terrace door open the night before.
There were many things about that evening he hoped to never experience again, like having a double shot of vodka thrown almost directly into his eyes. But waking up to Robin’s concerned and slightly out of breath figure hovering next to his bed was definitely his top pick.
“Cheer up, Ale. You look like I’m here to reap your soul or something.”
How I wish you were. For some reason he didn’t feel like going out tonight. Maybe he should just stay at home, he could get drunk here as well if he felt like it. Though he’d probably miss having company and getting to mess with people. Those two things always ensured the kind of diversion that he wasn’t guaranteed to find on his own. Besides Robin was already here and there was no way to get rid of him now. Perhaps he could just leave early, although he would have to find a way to make it look like he had an actual reason to leave rather than just not feeling it today.
Last time he’d felt like this, he had spent the entire night sitting in a corner somewhere, listening to Robin’s endless stories. For some reason the blonde had been willing to indulge him, although Aleksi had been able to tell that he would have rather chatted up the pretty brunette at the bar. Someone might have called it friendship, whatever they had, Aleksi thought of it more as a kind of partnership which had been born out of sheer convenience. Robin would keep Aleksi company and make sure he got home safely after a particularly rough night, and leave him alone at the club when he was told to do so. In exchange Aleksi got him into all of the exclusive clubs, while supplying him with all of the pleasures Aleksi’s allowance could get them. There was no doubt in the older one’s mind that Robin would leave the moment Aleksi stopped throwing his father’s money at him.
“But seriously, you should probably go and get ready.”
“I am ready.”
If Robin had looked any more surprised, Aleksi might’ve punched him. While the younger guy blinked back at him, smile frozen in place and probably debating whether or not criticizing Aleksi’s outfit was worth possibly missing out on an all-expenses-paid-for night out on the town, Aleksi decided that he would not waste another second thinking about the other’s comment and grabbed his sunglasses and car keys laying by the door.
“Let’s get it over with.”
Robin looked like he was about to point out the clear lack of enthusiasm in Aleksi’s voice, but seemed to think better of it and quietly trotted behind the older one. It was only after they had already walked a couple of meters down the mansion’s driveway that Aleksi realized he had absolutely no idea where the others had parked his car the previous night. Thankfully the blonde behind him seemed to have read his mind and lightly placed his hand on the small of Aleksi’s back to guide him to the bigger garage on the southern side of the building.
The second Aleksi caught sight of the car, he quickened his pace, feeling the other’s hand finally disappear from his back. It wasn’t that he disliked physical contact, more so did he not want to give Robin the opportunity to think that they would ever be anything more than distant acquaintances.
They had left the driveway a couple of minutes ago. Aleksi had turned on the radio as soon as he had gotten into the car, since he knew that Robin would see even the smallest smidge of silence as an opportunity to start going on and on about his day, something Aleksi really wasn’t in the mood for at the moment.
Quite obviously, however, he was not being given a choice, so as soon as the current song was fading out, Robin started:
“How much of last night do you actually remember?”
“Anything significant happen after that blonde… actor or what was he, fell off the table?”
“That is the last thing you remember? Holy shit Ale, I knew it was bad but-“
The man next to him quickly quieted down when Aleksi shot him a small glare. All Aleksi was doing at the moment was humour him, both of them were aware of the fact that he could very well just stop the car right then and there and throw the other out. And while he had of course considered the option, he also had to admit that losing Robin’s company permanently would also make his nights a lot more boring. If there was one thing in the world that Aleksi hated more than people disturbing his well-deserved peace and quiet, it was boredom. There was nothing that drained him as much as a night of ennui, being dragged through the greyish sludge of normalcy. He’d had enough of that in his past and he did not wish to repeat it any time soon.
“Really dude, you should maybe think about laying off the Cuba Libres tonight.”
As a response Aleksi only let out a huff, as if Robin had any authority to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do with his life. No one, besides Aleksi himself, held that kind of power.
“So what did happen last night? If you’re so pressed about it.”
“Short version or long one.”
For the sake of Robin’s ego, Aleksi decided to at least pretend like he had to think about his decision before answering:
“I think I’ll settle for the short version today.”
“Your loss.”
Before Aleksi could be sure if the small ‘as always’ had only been in his head or if Robin had actually become snappier recently, the blonde took a deep breath in preparation for his oncoming speech:
“After the blonde guy fell off the table, I went over there to see if he was okay-“
“Of course you did.”
Aleksi pretended like he didn’t see the quick, annoyed look that Robin shot him from the passenger seat. To his defence, he had assumed that Robin wouldn’t hear his snide comment. It would never be his intention to hurt the other, yet he also couldn’t help himself. Robin was just too obvious, too easy to read. Of course, naturally, like a bee drawn to yarrow, Robin had to help some random guy he had barely talked to before. If you had asked Aleksi, though people rarely ever did, he would have blamed it all on a mix of pity and Robin’s stupidly big heart.
“Well anyway, when we got back to the table Eetu- you remember Eetu, don’t you? Tall, brunette, looks like a gust of wind could knock him over any moment? Yeah, he accidentally dropped a bottle of, I think it was like 50 year old scotch. And it went literally everywhere, including the dress of one of Vera’s model friends, from uh… Sweden I think she was? Man you should have seen her face, just-“
The blonde opened his eyes and mouth widely, reminding Aleksi of the face an ancient warrior might have made when riding into battle. He looked so ridiculous that Aleksi couldn’t do anything besides laugh. Happy about the reaction he had elicited, Robin continued:
“And then her boyfriend stepped in and- well you can imagine what happened. Poor Eetu. Wouldn’t expect you to remember it though, you were kind of… preoccupied.”
“Could you be any less specific?”
“Easily.”
Sometimes Aleksi had the feeling that Robin was just trying his best to drive him insane on a daily basis. Yet, looking over at the passenger seat, a wave of misplaced affection lapped at the hardened edges of his heart and in seeing Robin’s smile he realized that he couldn’t be angry at the other for too long.
“Let’s just say that you and Olli got along quite well.”
“Olli?”
Instead of a response, Aleksi’s question was only met with stunned silence and there was something in the way that Robin had cocked one of his eyebrows and the way his mouth was hanging open that almost made Aleksi crash into a lamp post.
“Seriously, Ale?”
“What!? Who the fuck is Olli?”
“Olli Matela? The TV actor? You were all over that guy last night and you’re telling me that you don’t even remember his name? Wow, Aleksi, just… wow.”
Of course. Of fucking course he had been stupid enough to let himself get carried away again. Admittedly he’d had at least hoped that it would have been with the pretty blonde waiter, instead of some wannabe TV starlet, but much to his chagrin he couldn’t change the things that he’d done the night before. As always.
“How bad was it?”
He asked the dreaded question with the same swiftness one might employ when ripping off a band aid.
“Well…”
Robin drew out the word, fully aware of the fact that Aleksi was close to jumping out of his seat at any moment for making him wait. Some people might have called Aleksi a tease, but he believed that the guy next to him was far worse.
“You mostly just talked, so don’t worry your pretty head about it. Actually, I never knew that you could talk so much about music, you two really got along.”
Letting out a deep breath, he hadn’t realized he had been holding, Aleksi turned to look at Robin one more time. The closer they were getting to the club, the more anxious Aleksi grew that he’d accidentally done something worse than just flirt with an actor last night.
“Anything else that happened?”
“Nothing much, really. Besides the bar fight later. But you were only indirectly involved with that. Oh, and Mika tried to swing from the disco ball above the dance floor.”
“A bar fight?”
“That’s the thing you’re the most interested in?”
Aleksi only shrugged his shoulders.
Frankly it wasn’t the most extraordinary thing that could have happened to him on a night out, these kinds of incidents had become quite frequent, but if he’d drunkenly gotten himself into trouble, he at least wanted to be prepared for any consequences prior to entering the club.
“It’s really not that spectacular, but… you went to get some more drinks for you and Olli and pushed past some guy who wanted to order before you. He got really pissed, probably didn’t know who you were and pushed you back. You- I mean you were being pretty reasonable- you just insulted him back and then he tried to punch you I think, but you managed to dodge it, which- props to you I guess, to still manage to do that in the state you were in. Anyways, Olli got pissed off because he was like weirdly protective of you all night- I don’t know it was kind of sweet- and so he punched the guy in your stead and then the guy’s friends saw what was going on and-“
“Short version, Robin.”
“Right. It turned into a bit of a mess but we managed to get away alright. And Mika helped to get Olli out of there, so you don’t have to worry about your pretty boy having gotten hurt.”
As it turned out, being pissed at Robin for the nickname he’d bestowed upon Olli and trying to parallel park in the inner city at the same time, was a bit of a challenge. So by the time Aleksi had finally managed to safely bring his car to a standstill, without hitting the Mercedes in front or the Volvo behind him, most of his anger had dissipated.
Getting out of the car, he put his sunglasses on. Not that they were of any actual use right now, the sun had set some time ago after all, but they helped erase all of those faces in front of the club that he couldn’t have cared less about, and they also added to his new look.
In the past few years it had gotten easier to ignore the insults and strange looks he got when he would walk straight to the front of the queue and be immediately let into the club without a problem, with Robin trailing behind like the loyal puppy he was.
The moment he entered the club, his senses were completely overwhelmed by all of the different sounds and lights around him. A pleasant buzz appeared in his brain, as he let the club's wild busyness welcome him like the forceful waves of a stormy sea.
Within the chaotic ocean around them, Robin was like a lighthouse, calmly guiding Aleksi to their usual table near the back of the establishment. While following the taller man, Aleksi couldn’t help but be on the lookout for a mop of blonde curls, which had become all too familiar to him. When he finally managed to capture the attention of happily sparkling ocean blues, he couldn’t help but feel a ball of excitement in his stomach.
On a customer service level, it probably wasn’t ideal that the blonde only ever seemed to hover in the vicinity of Aleksi’s table, but Aleksi couldn’t bring himself to mind the other’s presence. As they sat down next to the other guys, Mika still looking a bit rattled after last night’s altercation, Aleksi was met with a grin that could have rivaled Robin’s:
“Finally, I thought that you wouldn’t come after what happened last night.”
“Well, I’m here now. Wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing my favourite waiter.”
“Charmer.”
The blonde whispered and playfully rolled his eyes. Their banter was one of the few things Aleksi would miss when he would eventually have to look for a new club next month. They’d been coming to the “Crow” for decidedly too long.
“So, the usual? One Cuba Libre and two margaritas?”
Ignoring Robin’s judgemental side-eye, Aleksi nodded his head yes and the blonde disappeared back into the ocean of people.
“What was that thing about trying to lay off the Cuba Libres?”
Before Aleksi had the chance to snap back at Robin, he felt a light tap on his right shoulder, making him turn around to see who had the gall to intrude upon his current golden circle. To his surprise he was met with a strangely familiar sight. Strange only in the way that seeing this person’s face felt like reliving a memory from a past life, as fickle as watching an old friend’s blurry figure rush by like a phantom from the window of a train.
“Olli?”
“Hey, it’s so good to see you!”
“Yeah, it’s good to see you too.”
At least he didn’t particularly mind seeing the blonde. Last night was still a blur but he could see what his drunk self had been on about, at least he could understand the nickname that Robin had given Olli earlier in the car.
While Aleksi had been curiously eyeing him, the blonde had continued to awkwardly stand next to the couch Aleksi and his golden circle were sitting on. Unwilling to let this odd energy dampen his mood for any longer than it already had, Aleksi smiled up at Olli and said:
“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Oh yeah, sure. Thanks.”
“Anything you're in the mood for?”
“Whatever you’re having.”
Of course.
Giving Olli’s knee a little squeeze, and Robin’s ribs a jab with his elbow so he would pay attention to their new guest, Aleksi got up to head to the club’s bar, reluctant to wait until their waiter returned.
As always the bar was surrounded by a swarm of people trying to get the barkeeper’s attention. While Aleksi was debating what the best possible way would be to get past the bachelorette party and the hockey player in front of him, he suddenly had a better idea, involving his favourite blonde.
"Just couldn’t wait to see me again, could you?”
The waiter smiled, after Aleksi had caught his arm, being careful not to disturb the perfectly balanced tray in the other’s hands.
“You know that I can’t keep away from you for too long.”
Aleksi trailed off, letting his hand rest on the other’s upper arm for a bit longer, just long enough to make some kind of point. Being around the waiter was easy, easier than being around most people anyways. Perhaps because he was so receptive towards anything and everything that Aleksi said to him. On the other hand one could have argued that this was just kind of part of his job: to pretend to get along with the customers so they would stay longer and buy a few more drinks. Drinks, right.
“Actually, I wanted to get another Cuba Libre.”
“Oh? Going all out tonight, huh?”
“It’s not for me, it’s for a… friend.”
“Ah, sure.”
If he’d liked the blonde any less, he would have probably been ticked off by the look on the other’s face, insinuating all kinds of far-fetched assumptions. Instead he just half-heartedly rolled his eyes and got back to the matter at hand.
“Would you mind?”
As a response the waiter lightly snorted and headed back towards the bar.
“Anything for you… Mr. Kaunisvesi.”
Before Aleksi could protest and, as he’d done many times before, insist on the waiter using his first name, the other was already out of reach. Not that his insistence would’ve changed much of anything. The blonde had already told him that this was company policy, which Aleksi knew was bullshit since the other waiters always called him by his first name. Quite a while ago he had come to the conclusion that this was probably just another way for the waiter to tease him, thus fighting it would probably only make things worse.
Considering the luck he’d had when he had tried to get the drink on his own a few minutes prior, he was now grateful to have the waiter on his side. In a matter of minutes they were already on their way back to the coveted table, Aleksi having graciously offered to carry his own and Olli’s extra Cuba Libre.
Robin had apparently not only taken Aleksi’s elbow jab to the rib but also to heart and was currently trying, desperately trying, to get Olli to come out of his shell and somehow integrate him into the group’s dynamic.
Having once also had the pleasure of getting to experience Robin’s sheer endless stream of get-to-know-the-new-guy-at-the-office-party type questions, Aleksi took it upon himself to walk up to the lost looking blonde and free him from this social chokehold:
“Got you something.”
As the blonde gratefully smiled up at him, Aleksi could feel something shift inside of him, the way a rock would be moved by the sea’s current at the bottom of the ocean. Inevitably traveling towards the shore, a destiny it couldn’t outrun.
Instead of thinking too much about his new disposition, Aleksi let himself fall down onto the soft leather of the couch, haphazardly clinking his glass with Olli’s and taking his first sip of the evening.
Even with a reduced blood alcohol level, compared to last night, Aleksi quickly realized that Olli was pretty fun to talk to. Even the little pauses Olli made trying to find the right words to fit into his sentences made him all the more endearing in Aleksi’s eyes.
By the time Aleksi had ordered their third round of Cuba Libres, the shy boy from the start of the night seemed to have faded into the background, leaving behind someone who actually seemed like the type of guy to get involved in a bar fight.
“I’m telling you:”
Olli giggled, though Aleksi was pretty sure that he was currently trying to make a very serious point.
“If, and I mean if, they had actually given me that role, the show wouldn’t have gotten cancelled after just one season.”
“I’m sure.”
Aleksi said, taking another sip of his drink, watching Olli down the rest of his own in one big gulp. That probably wasn’t healthy but Aleksi was too entertained to stop him.
“Look at me, okay.”
The blonde leaned back a bit and opened his arms as though he was trying to re-enact the crucifixion. While Aleksi did as he was told, he had a hard time figuring out what he should have been looking at. The half open black shirt? The almost fuchsia blush on the other’s cheeks? His glassy blue eyes? The glass that looked like it was about to slip from his light grasp? Before he could come to a satisfying conclusion, Olli continued:
“Don’t I look like a chief surgeon? Like someone who just demands respect when he walks into a room? Like a guy who drinks a glass of whiskey after work and who would totally not botch your surgery?”
For a second Aleksi thought he was about to choke on his drink and Olli might have to try his hand at some actual first aid, but thankfully he caught himself pretty quickly. After a small coughing fit he lied:
“Yeah, totally.”
Olli’s eyes went impossibly big and he made a hand gesture that was probably supposed to mean as I’ve been saying, his blonde curls happily bopping along.
“Right?! But apparently I’m too much of the ‘son in law’-type, to play that kind of character.”
Though Aleksi had to agree, he still felt like he had to say something to protect Olli’s poor self-esteem. Those actor egos were always so fragile, at least the ones he’d seen before.
“Whoever said that to you is full of shit.”
“Thank you! It was the casting director and my agent, those pricks. Actually, he’s now my former agent so-“
“Oh, we should celebrate that.”
“Yeah, we should.”
While Aleksi was already looking for the waiter, ready to order another round of drinks, the blonde next to him had another idea. He grabbed his arm, leaned a touch too closely into Aleksi’s personal space and purred:
“Wanna go back to my place?”
The smell of alcohol hit him and Aleksi subconsciously moved back a bit, letting out a disbelieving laugh:
“You’re drunk, man.”
“So, I need someone to make sure I get home safely. Besides, I’ve got a bottle of fifty year old Merlot back home that I’ve been dying to share with someone...”
While he had to admit that he was impressed that Olli still had some of his wits about him, Aleksi couldn’t bring himself to do anything besides stare back at the other. On one hand, it did sound tempting and Olli also did in fact look like he was in need of someone who would make sure that he got home safely. On the other hand, Aleksi was unsure exactly how inebriated Olli was at the moment and he didn’t want to be the type of asshole who would use somebody else’s vulnerable state to his advantage.
“Alright, let’s get you home.”
Aleksi got up and held out his hand so Olli had something to steady himself on. Once the blonde had finally made it off the couch, Aleksi lazily slung his arm around the other’s waist and guided him towards the exit. Though he did make an effort to wave Robin goodbye the taller blonde seemed to be too enthralled by the pretty brunette sitting next to him to even notice that the couch was now half vacant.
“But no more alcohol tonight, alright? I don’t want to be responsible for the death of our great rising TV star.”
The previous puppy-like, dopey grin on Olli’s face quickly faded into a discontented frown, obviously annoyed about being denied his ambrosia.
“So no Merlot?”
“No Merlot but I wouldn’t say no to a coffee.”
In an instant the dopey smile returned and Aleksi couldn’t help but note how stupidly adorable it made the blonde look.
Outside, the cool air hit them, making Aleksi sober up a bit. A few stray cars were rushing by, but it was nothing compared to the rush hours Aleksi had once known. In fact, it had been a while since he had last experienced the feeling of the city during the day, though he couldn’t say that he particularly missed it. What was there to miss anyway? The crowds? The traffic jams? Perhaps those boring little cafés his mom had always dragged him to.
“I’m actually one of the greatest baristas in all of town. In case you didn’t know.”
“Are you now? Well, lucky me.”
“Very lucky you.”
Olli said and the expression on his face was probably supposed to resemble a wink, but it took him a bit too long and he wasn’t really able to close less than two eyes at a time. To hold back his grin, Aleksi bit his lip, entertained by the ease with which Olli now seemed to act. So maybe the other was right, he had been rather lucky tonight.
The blonde had slung one of his arms around Aleksi’s shoulders, pulling him a lot closer than strictly necessary if he was really just trying to steady himself. But Aleksi didn’t mind. Thinking about it, there was nothing about the other guy that he particularly minded. It felt odd and this feeling would probably fade come his hangover tomorrow afternoon, but for now he could enjoy the woozy happiness swishing around in his stomach, making him all bright and bubbly.
“Should I call us a taxi?”
“Nah, my place is just down the street. Like a ten… fifteen… twenty minute walk?”
If you asked Aleksi, there was a big difference between ten and twenty minutes, especially if you were walking down a city street at night with a piss drunk guy holding onto you for dear life. Or perhaps Olli was just going over the multiples of five to keep himself awake. What did Aleksi know?
As they continued walking, Aleksi could feel a shiver run up his spine. Perhaps a thin button-down had been a pretty bold choice for early May. He could feel Olli’s drunken gaze on him but tried his best to pretend like wasn’t currently freezing his ass off.
But as had been the case so many times before, his best apparently didn’t cut it:
“Are you okay?”
“Better than okay.”
He tried to press his lips together in a way that resembled a smile but he could tell by the look on Olli’s face that he was failing miserably.
Quite abruptly the blonde stopped walking and released the grip he’d had around Aleksi’s shoulder. Quickly he shrugged off his jacket and held it out, with a determined look in his eyes that would accept no refusal.
Normally Aleksi wouldn’t have accepted it, but the night wasn’t getting any warmer and he still had no idea how far away from Olli’s place they actually were. So he gratefully freed the jacket from Olli’s grasp and put it on, the other’s cologne gently filling his head.
The apparent happiness which spread over Olli’s face, was enough to make Aleksi’s stomach do a small flip. Trying to ignore the nervousness fluttering in his chest and the blush creeping up his neck, Aleksi felt a gentle arm sneak around his shoulder and he let himself settle into the embrace once more as they continued their journey.
After a few minutes of quiet co-existence, Olli suddenly piped up, almost like he’d been struck with an earth-shattering thought:
“You’re not the only one who’s lucky, y’know?”
“Really, how come?”
Aleksi asked him with a bemused smile. There was always some kind of wisdom to be found at the bottom of a glass after all, and Olli had seen the bottom of quite a few glasses tonight.
“Because I was lucky enough to get a second chance to… what I mean is: if you’d told me at the start of the night that I’d be the one taking you home, I totally wouldn’t have believed you.”
Likewise, Aleksi wanted to say but thought better of it as he caught sight of the reverent look in Olli’s eyes. If he’d been more of a spiritual man, he would have said that something about all of this felt predestined, although he couldn’t really put his finger on it.
“And I’m glad that you are. The one I’m with I mean.”
Olli beamed at that and slid his hand down to Aleksi’s waist to pull him in even closer, if that was still possible. Their noses were almost touching when he said:
“Me too.”
The social boundaries of the club were far behind them now, the street was almost completely empty, besides one or two parked cars by the side of the road. A strange air of privacy surrounding them in the middle of a metropolis. So, when Olli leaned forward to gently press his lips against Aleksi’s, the latter did nothing to stop him. Instead he lightly tangled his fingers in the other’s locks, letting himself get lost in the moment. The blonde was a pretty good kisser, Aleksi had to admit. Maybe this didn’t have to end tonight.
He was about to go back in for another kiss, when he suddenly heard the screeching tires of a van stopping right next to them.
The moment the van’s door slid open, Aleksi felt as though he had been doused with ice-cold water. His hands started trembling and the petrifying feeling of impending doom was quickly spreading through his veins.
Petrified he watched as two tall figures jumped out of the van, both clad in black on black, balaclavas covering their faces. They were quite a bit taller than Aleksi, their shadows stretching like long, inky tentacles down the sidewalk. Not that he could have paid any attention to that at the moment as he was currently transfixed by the guns quietly shining in the strangers’ hands.
The tentacles were now quickly slithering towards them. In a fit of booze-fuelled bravery, Aleksi wanted to step in front of Olli, drag him away or somehow try to diffuse the situation, but he was stuck in place, eyes blown wide in shock. He had never been a hero after all. Just a kid.
“What the-“
Before Olli could get another word out the taller one of the two figures forced a gloved hand over his mouth, his unoccupied arm wrapping around Olli’s waist and lifting him up with the ease of someone carrying a small cat. Much like a cat, Olli was trying to escape the other’s grip, thrashing and struggling but to no avail. Instead he was mercilessly dragged towards the gaping abyss at the side of the van that the two shadows had previously escaped from.
Watching it all unfold, Aleksi wanted to run after Olli. But before he had a chance to break free from his frozen state, he felt a strong hand gripping his upper arm. Immediately his instincts told him to get away, to try to twist free of the other’s clasp but just like Olli he was a mere mortal trying to fight destiny itself.
The figure pulled him closer, pressing the barrel of a gun against his ribs. Just as Aleksi thought he was about to pass out, he could feel the sensation of hot breath against the shell of his ear, making the hairs on his neck stand up.
“If anyone asks: you didn’t see shit.”
Without his own input he could feel his head frantically nod yes to the stranger’s request. If this was what it took for him to survive right now then so be it.
“Good kid.”
All of the sudden the gun disappeared and the grip on his arm softened. Feeling relief wash over him, Aleksi let out a sigh.
“What the fuck is taking you so long? Just get it over with!”
Someone, the driver, had called out from the van. Aleksi could hear the man behind him let out an annoyed groan and a whisper closely resembling the word prick. He barely suppressed a hysterical laugh. What the ever-loving fuck was going on?
Instead of further pondering his situation, Aleksi seized this moment of distraction, ripping himself away from the perpetrators grip and forcing his legs to work again. It had been a while since he’d gone jogging but tonight he would jog alright.
There were no footsteps following him. He quickly looked back, the stranger was still standing there, with seemingly no intention to start running after him.
But just as he thought he had managed to achieve the impossible, he felt his arm being gripped again, more forcefully than before. A cold hard object hit the back of his head.
He fell to the ground almost instantaneously and suddenly the world around him was covered by a thick black curtain.
“What the hell was that?”
“Let’s just go.”
The voices around him started to fade as he heard the engine rev up.
Silence.
End Part 1