Chapter Text
august 2008 ~
A hot mug of coffee is set on the counter next to the cooling cup of too-sweet tea.
It's routine at this point, always the first thing to start their weekend.
Two plates of sandwiches follow on the marble counter. Lucien doesn't make any attempt to use the stove beyond toasting the bread. She gave him food poisoning the last time she did.
One glance at the clock. 8 AM. It must've been an exhausting night for him if he's still sleeping at this hour; She's not even sure what time he came home considering she went to bed at 10 PM.
...
As the saying goes, speak and he shall appear. Niko looked... well, the groggiest she's ever seen him. Lucien has to stifle a laugh, biting down on her tongue when he stumbled on Rocco's toy. Devilish little thing. Considering the kitten's toy was just lying around in the living area, he must be hiding somewhere within the house, snoozing peacefully.
"Rough job?" This time around, she was pulling the chair out for him rather than the opposite way around. The older man looked quite dead on his feet if she was going to be honest with herself - ready to go back to sleep the moment he sat down on the chair and let his eyes close shut. Perhaps one of the reasons why he loved coffee.
"Mm... yeah." He didn't bat an eye as Lucien took their mugs from the marnle counter, the sound of clinking ceramic sounding as mundane to him as the tick of a clock, rather than a gunshot in the loud silence which it was for Lucien. The girl sighed to herself, placing them down on the table, before following up with the sandwiches. Perhaps she could try her hand at pancakes tomorrow? They were easy anyways...
...
There was something odd about him this morning that made it hard for Lucien to take her eyes off of him. It definitely wasn't his rugged charm, or handsomeness, not even the new bandages on various parts of his body that she had long learned to stop glancing at ages ago (unless it was a big one), no it was....
....
....How cute he looked?
If she called him cute right now, she's sure Niko would sober up the instant the word even left her mouth and he'd look at her like she had grown another head. She could already anticipate his reaction somehow, something along the lines of;
"Lucien... me? Cute..? Don't joke around..."
Cute wasn't really a word you would choose when describing the gruff and (sometimes) grumpy Serbian. That word was for people like Miss Kate or Miss Mallorie... and pets like Rocco. Not men like him, like Niko who constantly shed blood with his hands just to make a living.
The same hands that would gently hold her head as he trimmed down her hair again, the same hands that would warm hers up when she complained that they were cold during a walk...
...
Either way, it didn't stop Lucien from hiding her smile behind her mug. Didn't stop her from entertaining the idea that Niko was, albeit unconventionally, cute.
Perhaps it was the shared vulnerability that made him appear endearing to her? He always had his guard up after all, even in casual settings. It was a challenge and a slow game tk get him to relax unless you got him drunk enough with a few hard drinks.
That was a little sad to think about.
Maybe she could persuade him to indulge her and stay home today, spend time together, make Rocco sleep on his lap...
That sounded like a good plan, right? Lucien'll put on her best puppy eyes to get him to stay and orchestrate Rocco to meow so sadly at Niko like he had forgotten to feed the poor, clearly spoiled, fat kitten.
Then... he could lounge around the house. Read books with her, maybe, or watch a movie. And garden what little pot plants they had sitting on the windowsill. All while enjoying a peaceful day off his hectic and unpredictable job without any alcohol.
Yes, that sounded like a good plan for sure.