Chapter Warning: Implied/Referenced abandonment, swearing

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Rurik stared at his target as they fiddled with the oven, processing the information he had learned in their little cooking session. Lotus wasn't scared of knives in the slightest despite his intel saying so, and they were a damn good actor with how well they were selling their cover story. Combined with the lack of obvious contact with their Family in the two weeks since he arrived, he might have been inclined to believe it was all true if not for the fact that a Family doesn't just let someone leave.

The Death Family in particular had a reputation to uphold and would never leave a deserter alive, so Lotus being here meant they had to be affiliated still... which meant they were a direct source of information and a high-value hostage hiding in plain sight. This little underground bunker was further proof of their connections; it looked simple at first glance, but it had fully functional utilities and a sturdy front door that made an almost inaudible beep whenever his host came home, suggesting it had a coded lock.

A place like this wasn't easily attainable without outside assistance.

Regardless of what assignment had Lotus Death, heir to the Death Family, posing as a normal shopkeep living on the outskirts of some random city, he didn't want to ruin the trust he had managed to gain yet. And so, he decided to play along with a story of his own, "Heh, sounds about as good as my family."

Lotus looked up from chopping the zucchini, seemingly debating for a moment before asking, "... What happened with them?"

Rurik leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "Mom left when I was around three and Dad tossed me out on my tenth birthday; said I was too much trouble."

"Oh...," Lotus wilted a bit, going back to their cutting as they sullenly mumbled, "I'm sorry to hear that; I can't imagine what I would have done if I was on my own that young."

"Nah, parents of a friend took me in; once I turned sixteen, they got me a job in the family business and I started making a name for myself," he brushed off their play at sympathy. The story was mostly true, though a few of the key details had been left out; the parents who took him in had been associated with a crime family, and his tangential affiliation had allowed him to become a freelance hitman once he came of age. As long as a Family could pay his price, he was willing to kill, steal, intimidate, torture, kidnap, or perform any other job asked of him regardless of who the target was or who the client was affiliated with.

It was a risky profession and it got to be a bit troublesome at times, but the pay made it well worth the hassle and his skillset allowed him to deal with anyone who came looking for revenge easily enough.

"... Must have been nice to have that extra support to fall back on..."

Rurik blinked, turning to where Lotus was frowning down at the pepper under their knife as if it had offended them. Oh, they were good; he could almost believe they were feeling bitter toward him. Again, he played along with a shrug, "Wasn't saying it to make you feel bad."

Lotus looked surprised, then grimaced while hunching in on himself, "Sorry, I shouldn't be taking my past grievances out on you."

"It's fine," Rurik waved off the apology, deciding a change of topic was in order, "Anyways, got anything else to do?"

"Ah," that managed to snap Lotus back to the task at hand, "You can start breading the fish while I finish washing and roasting the remaining vegetables."

"Sounds good."

---

Rurik watched as Lotus deftly transferred the fish from the pan onto two plates, bringing one over alongside a fork and setting it down in front of him. He inhaled the rich aroma, "Smells great." Picking up his fork as the hooded skeleton hopped onto the counter and reached for their own plate, he popped a piece of the fish into his mouth with a delighted hum, "Mmm, tastes even better."

"I can't tell if you're complimenting me or complimenting yourself since you helped...," Lotus grumbled.

"You did the actual cooking, so the compliments are all yours," he relayed, grinning when Lotus shrugged deeper into their scarf.

Scooping up some of the vegetables next, he savored the slight crunch of the vegetables and the mix of tang and zest that came from the combination of garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and balsamic vinegar, "Man, I could get used to eating like this."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" came the sarcastic response.

"I would," he answered honestly. Lotus truly had a knack for cooking, and eating a home-cooked dinner made with fresh ingredients every night was nice; it was a shame Rurik would have to go back to paying a pretty penny to get meals like this once the job was finished.

"... You really shouldn't..."

"Hmm?" Rurik was pulled from his woolgathering by the soft words, confused for a moment before recalling the conversation, "Why's that?"

Lotus's mouth quirked in indecision, pushing some of the vegetables around on their plate; for a moment, Rurik thought the question would go unanswered until they spoke up, "... I live out in the middle of nowhere for a reason."

Rurik's sockets narrowed slightly, "You piss someone off?"

"No one other than my jackass of a parent, but he's nothing to worry about."

That emphasis... Lotus was likely thinking of rivals to the Family. Being a Don's kid usually meant gaining enemies through association; enemies like the ones who contracted him to track down, catch, and deliver a certain elusive skeleton.

Maybe he could use their paranoia to his advantage, "If you want, I-"

"Look, just take my word for it that sticking around is a bad idea," Lotus cut him off sharply, their hood dipping so he couldn't see their expression. Rurik opened his mouth to inquire further, only for the smaller to say, "Your bandages probably need to be changed; finish your meal and I'll change them out after."

It seemed Lotus wasn't going to willingly say anything more on the subject... oh well, he knew when not to push his luck. Accepting the forceful end to the conversation with a silent shrug, the pair ate the rest of their meal in silence. For some reason, his food didn't taste quite as good anymore... maybe it cooled off too much.

Lotus finished first, hopping off the counter and submerging the plate and fork alongside the soaking pans in the warm soapy water inside the sink. Quickly scrubbing them down, rinsing off the suds, and setting everything in the nearby drying rack, the monster swiftly repeated the motion with Rurik's dishes once they saw he was done.

"Wait here," Lotus briefly instructed as he tossed the rag back onto the counter, disappearing through the doorway. Rurik heaved a sigh and leaned his arms on the table as he waited; luckily, it was less than a minute before they returned with a red box. Setting it on the table, they opened it and said, "We'll do your ribs first; lift your shirt."

Rurik sat up, waggling his browbones with a mischievous smile, "Kinky, aren't we?"

"You know what I mean," Lotus hissed, their blush earning laughter from Rurik.

Removing his shirt completely, he reveled in Lotus's ire as they huffed in annoyance and began unraveling the bandages wrapped around his ribs; he exhaled slowly as their fingers brushed gently across the back of his ribs, enjoying the contact as they tested for any lingering cracks. "This is farther along than I expected," they mumbled, oblivious to Rurik's thoughts on their feathery touch, "injuries as bad as yours usually take at least a month to heal, and even that's a generous estimate. Hell, I probably don't even need to wrap them again."

Rurik had his wonder pills to thank for that, but that was his little secret. Lotus came around and knelt in front of him to unwrap his tibia, looking thoroughly confused as their fingers lightly grazed across mostly healed bone, "Healing salve never worked this fast before."

"What can I say, I'm good at bouncing back quickly," he commented... then he decided to have a bit of fun, "but I certainly wouldn't mind if you kept touching me like this."

Lotus's eyelight shrank and they yanked their hands back from his tibia as if they had been burned. Abruptly standing up, the embarrassed monster turned away to hide their face in their hood and scarf while grabbing the med kit and blurted out, "It seems like everything's healing fine. With any luck, you won't need more than a week before you can get back to your travels."

"Aww, you make it sound like you don't want me here."

Rurik slung his shirt over his shoulder and rose from the chair to follow Lotus into the living room. He stopped at the bathroom doorway, leaning against the frame with arms crossed as he watched them put the kit away; they glowered at him as they caught sight of him while shutting the cabinet. "I'm sure you have better places to be than some hole in the ground," the smaller skeleton retorted gruffly, moving to brush past him.

"On the contrary," Rurik cooed, reaching out to grasp Lotus's hand as they passed, then lifting it to his mouth for a chaste kiss, "My stay here has been a wonderful contrast to my usual fare; I'll miss it dearly."

Lotus floundered under the bold statement, seemingly conflicted before jerking their hand out of Rurik's grip; he let them as they powerwalked toward their bedroom, "It's getting late and I have to get up early; I'm sure you can get to the couch on your own if you're this energetic."

Amused by their reaction, he prodded a bit more, "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"

"In your dreams," he heard them growl before shutting the door.

As the lock on their door clicked, he let out a mock sigh, "Then dream I must." A thud from the other side indicated they had heard him, leading him to stifle a snort so as not to ruin the moment.

With the source of his fun absent, he circled the back of the couch, flicking the lights off on the way past to settle down for the night; he decided to leave his shirt off since the weather was turning warmer lately... it also gave him a plausible excuse to tease Lotus tomorrow morning. Pulling out his phone from his jacket pocket to browse for a bit before turning in, his cheer died down at the notification of another message from Diz; opening it sobered his thoughts further.

D: No more waiting.

D: If you won't do the job, I'll take matters into my own hands.

Thinking over his words, he typed out his response.

R: No need.

R: I'll have him ready for transport by the end of the week.

Stowing away his phone since he no longer held any interest in looking at it, he laid back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling in the darkness. In a few days, he would be turning Lotus over to the Silvergarde Family; he would put everything that transpired here behind him and go back to a life of country hopping and one-night stands until the next job came along.

Whatever, it wasn't like he even knew the real Lotus; they were putting on an act, just like him.

Glancing over to the top half of Lotus's closed door that could be seen from his position, he forced his sockets shut and mumbled to himself, "It's nothing personal; it's just a job. I can do this."

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Word Count: 1,984