11
Never Wander the Dark Alone
“<
Kyle didn’t pause in finishing off his second beer. When the glass was empty, he set it on the bar counter and waved at the bartender for another, flashing two fingers to cover Alexei’s next round as well.
“<>” Kyle said, sounding annoyed.
Alexei stared at his brother. “<
Kyle gave him a look that plainly stated he thought Alexei was dumb as shit. “<
Alexei rested his elbows on the bar counter and smirked. “<
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Alexei’s smirk faded a bit, but he refused to feel sad about why Kyle had to change his bet. Things between Alexei and Sean had been a lot better since their emotional breakthrough in February. Some days, Alexei forgot Boston even happened.
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Kyle lashed out cat-quick and smacked his fist against Alexei’s shoulder. “<
Alexei winced. “<
Kyle nodded his thanks at the bartender who set new glasses down in front of them and took away their empties. Alcohol was expensive, but since Kyle was paying using Jamie’s account, Alexei didn’t mind having a third or fourth round, though if their hamburgers didn’t arrive soon, he’d start making a scene. He was starving.
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Alexei refused to acknowledge his brother’s statement. “<
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Kyle tipped his pint glass in Alexei’s direction. “<
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Kyle laughed at him before moving his tablet out of the way as their lunch finally arrived. Both of them had opted for a double-patty hamburger with cheese, bacon, onion rings, and the house special sauce. The hamburgers came with French fries, but they’d ordered two extra baskets of the side dish, along with a plate of hot wings. The meal would hopefully tide them over until dinner. Metahumans had fast metabolisms and eating food like this was far more enjoyable than snacking on high-calorie nutrient bars.
Alexei picked up his hamburger and took a large bite, making a happy sound as he chewed. “<
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Alexei kicked him in the leg. “<
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Kyle shrugged. “<
Alexei paused mid-bite, staring at Kyle. “<
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Alexei didn’t press the issue, knowing that Kyle didn’t like to talk about his engagement outside of the home he shared with Jamie out of fear of somehow being found out. “<>”
“<>”
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Kyle arched an eyebrow before ordering his tablet to, “<
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Maria Dvorkin, Alexei’s mom and Kyle’s adopted mom, was the quintessential meddling Russian mother when it came to her children’s love lives. Alexei groaned and buried his face in one hand at the minutes-long rant his mother had left on Kyle’s account complaining about how Alexei hadn’t yet asked Sean to marry him and could Kyle please talk some sense into his brother?
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Kyle proceeded to pull up a file that had over two dozen links to various wedding ring designs that weren’t what Alexei would’ve chosen at all for Sean. None of them were gold, or had enough diamonds or colored gemstones. They were all so plain.
“<>” he began.
Kyle stabbed a ketchup-covered fry in his direction. “<
Alexei sighed and took another bite of his hamburger. “<
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“<>”
Kyle shoved a couple more fries into his mouth as he flipped through the holopics projected into the air above his tablet. He finally settled on a plain platinum band, grooved and polished on the edges but smooth up top with a satin finish, and a round diamond set in the center of the ring.
He used his fingers to enlarge the three-dimensional holopic and spin it around so Alexei could see the detail better. “<
Alexei bit into his hamburger and studied the ring. It was nice, with clean lines and an elegance to the design he thought Sean would appreciate. While it wasn’t a piece of jewelry Alexei would ever wear, he had to admit, Kyle was right. This was more Sean than any of the ones Alexei had previously looked at.
“<>” Alexei said. “<
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Alexei rolled his eyes but did as Kyle ordered. It took several minutes to fill out the required form, taking his time to pick out the details—platinum band, highest clarity and cut of diamond he could comfortably afford, ring size—before paying for it. The price made him internally wince, but it was worth it.
Sean would always be worth it.
With the ring bought and delivery set, Alexei focused on finishing his lunch before it got too cold. On one of the televisions set up behind the bar, the news stream was recapping the state arrival ceremony welcoming Prince Samuel, Earl of Wessex, and his wife, Georgia, the Countess of Wessex, and Prince Liam, as representatives of the crown and head of state, to the White House that morning.
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Kyle snorted. “<
Alexei reached for his beer. “<
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Alexei made a face. “<
Kyle shrugged. “<
If it were any other man who held his brother’s heart, Alexei might find the need to give them a friendly reminder not to be a dick. But this was Jamie, and Alexei would always trust Jamie with his family’s safety.
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Alexei picked up a hot wing and dunked it in the blue cheese dressing. “<
Kyle grinned. “<
Alexei barked out a laugh, shaking his head. He’d be more shocked if the team hadn’t bet on his love life. “<
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They hung around the bar for a little while longer, nursing the last dregs of their beer. They were arguing about staying or going when loud cheering from the back of the bar where the pool table and dartboards were set up interrupted their conversation.
Alexei looked over Kyle’s shoulder at the group of men that had taken over the dartboards. He pegged them as preppy tech workers, the kind he’d grown up seeing in Boston who never remembered their manners when in public.
Kyle turned to take in the scene with a single glance before grinning sharply at Alexei. “<
Alexei smirked, waving the bartender over again for one last round of drinks. “<
He couldn’t remember the last time they’d suckered someone out of their money, but Alexei figured now was as good a time as any to fix that.
Sean ran a hand through his damp hair as he mentally took stock of the food in the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door right as a soft chime sounded through the apartment. Sean looked over his shoulder as the front door slid open and Alexei arrived home.
“Hey,” Sean called out. “How was your day with Kyle?”
Alexei activated the security protocols on the control panel before heading to the kitchen. “Was good. Nice to see Kilyusha and spend time with.”
Sean pulled out the air-sealed package containing two marinated steaks from the refrigerator and set it on the counter. “What did you guys end up doing?”
“Lunch. Drinks. Shark darts.”
Sean paused in pulling out the makings for a salad and looked at where Alexei lounged against the kitchen island, very obviously eyeing his ass. “Shark darts?”
Alexei waved his hand, the smirk on his face giving him a rakish air. “Shark darts. Is when pretend can’t hit target and have assholes think they better than you. Then kill at game.”
Sean laughed at the absurd idea of anyone being a better shot than Kyle, drinks or no drinks. Alexei was a close second, but if Kyle was in the mix, everyone else was taking second place. “Did you guys get kicked out of the bar? Start any fights?”
“No,” Alexei said smugly. “Win money though.”
“I bet you did,” Sean drawled. He straightened up with the food in his arms and moved to set it on the kitchen counter. “I’m making steaks for dinner. You hungry now or want to wait?”
Warm hands fit over his hips, pulling him back against Alexei’s body. Hot lips touched the side of his neck, sucking lightly on the skin there. He drew in a sharp breath, hands curling into fists against the counter.
“Eat whenever,” Alexei told him, nibbling at his throat.
Sean rolled his eyes. “That’s not helpful.”
“Make food, I eat it.”
“How about you help? Go set the table while I get things started.”
Alexei grumbled in Russian before reluctantly letting go of him. “Fine, fine. Will set table. Could just eat from pan.”
“You do, and I’ll tell your mother.”
Alexei raised his hands in mock surrender. “No, is good. You cook. We eat at table.”
Sean fought not to smile, but it was impossible when Alexei was like this—handsy and happy. Sean turned his attention back to the food spread out on the counter, realized he was missing the potatoes and other root vegetables, and started digging through the pantry for them.
Sean got to work chopping carrots, potatoes, shallots, squash, and brussels sprouts. The steaks wouldn’t take long on the grill pan he’d pulled out earlier, but he still needed to take them out of their packaging. He seasoned the vegetables in the pan before grabbing the bottle of cooking oil and drizzling it over the entire dish. Mixing it all together, he set the pan aside and went to preheat the oven.
Need to get the ring, he thought.
Barring a national emergency—which was a distinct possibility, considering their jobs—nothing was getting in the way of Sean proposing tonight. It’s why he’d opted to prepare dinner rather than make a reservation at their favorite steakhouse. He wasn’t risking dinner and his proposal getting ruined how breakfast had last week.
“Can you open a bottle of wine?” Sean asked on his way out of the kitchen. “I need to grab something.”
Alexei didn’t look up from where he was meticulously setting the rectangular table near the floor-to-ceiling plas-glass window wall. It offered up a nice view of more than just an adjacent building, but also some of the city skyline. No one could see in thanks to the integrated building security, but anyone in the apartment could see out.
“Da. Will open red one,” Alexei said.
Sean walked down the hallway to their bedroom, making sure to leave the door open since they rarely shut it while home. He entered their walk-in closet and zeroed in on the section holding his suit jackets. Their casual clothing was intermixed in the dresser in the bedroom, which meant he hadn’t been able to hide the ring box out there. Alexei left his side of the closet alone though, and the ring box was exactly where Sean had left it, tucked away inside the pocket of a plain black suit jacket.
He pulled it out and held it in his hand, feeling his heart beat a little quicker. It felt heavier than it should have, but the possibilities he held, wrapped up inside a thin band of gold and diamonds, were extraordinary. Sean never thought he’d get this—that he deserved a future like this—after living a lie for so many years. Deep cover was impossible to form and keep a relationship in, and Sean had honestly thought he’d be alone until he retired.
Then Belfast had happened, and his undercover work shifted into the MDF’s purview. Falling into Alexei’s orbit still felt like winning the lottery some days, a luck of the draw that Sean honestly thought he’d already won when he didn’t die from the Splice bomb in Belfast.
All that was left for him to do was ask a single question.
Sean tucked the ring box into his front pocket and headed back to the kitchen, where he put the vegetables into the oven and set the timer. Alexei had chosen a bottle of wine and poured out two glasses. He offered one to Sean on his way by, and he took it, taking a deep swallow.
“Good choice?” Alexei asked.
“Yes.”
The wine selection had been curated by Jamie when Sean had asked for suggestions. There wasn’t a bad bottle in the entire temperature-controlled case.
He set his glass on the kitchen island to free up his hands. He peeled open the plastic-wrapped steaks, setting them near the stove. The vegetables would take about twenty minutes while the steaks would take a couple minutes each, if that. Alexei liked his steak rare, and his was always the last to be cooked
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“Watch game with dinner?” Alexei asked, already turning on the television.
“If you want.”
“Not sound happy. Can turn off if want.”
“My team is losing,” Sean grumbled as he started making the salad.
Alexei laughed. “Pick better bracket.”
“Like you’re doing any better.”
“Better than you,” was Alexei’s smug answer.
Sean gave up on the salad in favor of going over to Alexei and kissing the smirk off his mouth. The rich flavor of the wine was on both their tongues, and Sean kissed him with a single-minded determination that had Alexei rocking back a step.
“Spill wine if not careful,” Alexei murmured against his lips.
“I don’t care about the wine.”
Alexei arched an eyebrow and leaned a little to the side so he could set his glass on the dining room table. “Not make mess before dinner.”
Sean hooked the fingers of his right hand into Alexei’s front pocket, keeping him from moving too far away. “Hey. Lyosha.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you happy?”
Alexei went still, his gray eyes never leaving Sean’s face. “Where this come from, hmm, Senya?”
“I just…need to know. If you’re happy. With us. With me.”
Alexie framed his face with both hands, kissing him slow and deep, as if he were drinking the taste of wine from Sean’s lips.
“Always happy with you, Senya,” Alexei said roughly when they parted.
“Marry me?”
The words tumbled from Sean’s mouth before he could stop himself, but they weren’t ones he wanted to take back. Alexei went still, his hands unmoving on Sean’s face as he stared at him in shocked silence.
Then he threw back his head and laughed.
That wasn’t what Sean was expecting.
“You think it’s a joke?” Sean asked flatly, feeling heat rush into his cheeks that wasn’t from Alexei’s touch.
“Nyet. Nyet!” Alexei got out, hands settling onto Sean’s shoulders as he leaned in to kiss him quick and hard. “Tell Kilyusha at lunch want to marry you. Buy you ring during lunch, Senichka.”
In the Requiem (Metahuman Files Book 5) Page 17