Chapter Text
Through the time she had spent in the Angelini household, she had gotten to see multiple sides of Gabriel:
Be afraid Davina!
Loads of sides she hadn’t expected to see.
I want my son to be free.
And even she had to admit, that caught her by surprise.
I am… captivated by you.
Of all people. Of course her luck caught her off guard by Gabriel Angelini.
He held me until the doctors arrived… he looks at me differently now.
The more she got to know him, the more she noticed his heavily guarded wall came down when he was around her. He had started showing more emotion around her; more worry or concern; more enjoyment around his son, more genuine moments of content with her.
And now she found herself wide awake thinking about that exact thing at 3am in her hotel room. Davina cursed herself for letting her mind run in spirals with the same little threads of thought for hours on end. As she watched Mikey grow and develop through the little time she had already been there, every now and then, seeing Mikey's reaction to parts of his father's life could only make her wonder; based on his personality and small drips of information he had given her, Gabriel very much had a broken inner child. Little parts of that showed every now and then:
I wasn’t sheltered. But I didn’t see the violence at first… when I was exposed to it all, it was carefully planned… little doses, so I wouldn’t be afraid. My father and uncle were careful to stay in control until I was of age…
So they made you feel invincible…
Until I wasn’t.
Until you weren't... what did they do to you, Gabriel?
She wondered if the start of his childhood was as happy as she remembered her own? She was blissfully unaware of her parents’ involvement in the crime world, she adored them and the time they spent together. Did he have the same? Or was he pushed down a different path? His desire for Mikey to be free… was that to give Mikey a chance that he never had? A childhood he never had?
When they first met, it felt like he was made to do this. He dripped venomous charisma as if he’d had that in his arsenal his whole life. But his eyes changed through the weeks she had known him. They went from a harsh, cold ice blue to a softer, more tender glow - something she hadn’t expected from a man of his station. She wondered if he had suffered from his childhood. Undoubtedly so. But in what capacity? She had heard Mikey argue with Cassiel the night of the fire, that his hair used to be blond… so his hair was either white from genetics or… stress. She couldn’t doubt that she cared for the man, her thoughts proved as much. She had gotten curious, as much as she apparently captivated him, she’d lie if she didn’t return the sentiment.
Davina sighed, accepting that sleep wouldn’t come anytime soon. She quietly turned the key to unlock her door and padded to the kitchen, watching the peaceful city night through grand windows. Peace, in a life like this, how ironic. The city around them unaware of what lay in the middle of it. Unaware of who lay in the middle of it. The water flow was cold under her fingers as she waited for it to turn perfectly cold to drink from, the running water being the only sound in the room.
For a brief second, at least.
A clatter followed by a swift yelp shot up the corridor. At first she thought Mikey, but after a second-take. It sounded suspiciously like the older Angelini.
Shit
She took the untouched glass of water in her hand and rushed down to Gabriel’s room. He had left it open in-case of an infiltration from the mini-him, bearing in mind Mikey had a nightmare but a few nights ago.
Her mind raced with possibilities, an intruder? Was he hurt? Were they too quick? She hadn’t heard a gunshot, a knife? Had someone strangled him? No, surely he'd do more damage... How did they get the access to this high up?! You needed a certain key card to get the penthouse-
She swung the door open.
‘Gabriel?!’