The creamy crumbly dessert tasted salty on the first bite, a strawberry falling off the top into the plastic container. It was stained in white cream, and it prompted him to pick it up and pop it between his lips.
Angelo didn’t often eat for enjoyment, he didn’t think he had ever had a shortcake. It was a really messy pastry, cream staining his hands and lips.
As he bit into another juicy strawberry, he wondered if he should have cut it into slices before digging in. It wasn’t very big but there were like three tiers with strawberries and cream in between.
Silvia stepped out when he was almost done with the shortcake, she wore a thick robe over her clothes, her hair in a black towel, her familiar features looked softer.
She smiled as she took him in, pulling out a box of napkin from a nearby shelf as she approached him. "You look like you’re having a good time." She noted, reaching out to wipe the cream on his jaw.
Angelo instinctively held out his hands, maybe it was because his belly was full of cake and strawberries but his first thought wasn’t to turn down her help.
Silvia’s black eyes sparkled as she cleaned the cream and strawberry juice from his fingers. "Want me to get you more tomorrow?"
Angelo turned his had to the side as Silvia wiped his cheek. "I want something new."
Silvia nodded, making mental notes to ask the bakery to properly cut up the cake... but she rather liked Angelo silently asking for her help.
"What do you want to eat for dinner?" Silvia asked after trashing the napkins, she picked up the remote to turn on the television as she returned to join him on the couch.
"Maybe we could cook..." Angelo blurted out, pausing when he did. His only culinary skill was making noodles and maybe coffee, he wasn’t very hopeful that Silvia could cook much.
Silvia had a look of consternation on our face, "We’d burn the house down."
Angelo didn’t even counter that. His mom could cook, and maybe he had gotten a little sentimental over the pastries Silvia got him. But Silvia wasn’t his mom...
Angelo laid down on the couch and propped his head on Silvia’s legs, watching her scroll through stations. "I’m fine with anything."
Silvia expected that, handing the TV remote to Angelo so she could pick up her phone. It would be sundown soon and neither her nor Angelo had eaten lunch. She could also get some snacks for when they got hungry later at night.
"What do you like to watch?" Angelo found himself asking Silvia. He knew that Silvia was an Omega hiding her secondary gender, and he seen her easily kill men but he didn’t know this basic detail.
"Romantic dramas..." Silvia replied shortly before going back to speaking to the employee taking her order.
Angelo kept scrolling through stations but this time with purpose, the few times he watched shows with Nikolai, it was all cartoons. He was curious about Silvia’s interests.
Even though she had told him that, Silvia had to be the one to take the remote from him because Angelo had no idea what a romantic drama was supposed to look like.
The show seemed to be set in a company and after almost an hour of watching, Angelo still couldn’t figure out what was going on, only that a lot of women and Omegas were getting slapped, and there was a lot of baseless accusations.
It was mindless entertainment, and Angelo knew he was only watching it because Silvia liked it but he was content. He sat up when their food arrived, another episode of the romantic drama starting up as he helped lay out dinner.
He ended up staying up late with Silvia. He was usually quick to fall asleep with Nikolai but this time, he wasn’t even a little bit sleepy, Silvia dozing off first.
Angelo gently roused her, "You should go to bed."
Silvia got up with a covered yawn, making her way across the living room. "You can stay up as late as you like," She murmured before stepping through the doorway.
Angelo waited a beat before turning the television off and heading to his room, he wasn’t sleepy but Silvia had been the reason he had remained outside in the living room.
He got comfortable on the bed, his thoughts drifting to what Nikolai would be doing right then. It was barely midnight so the Mafia King might potentially be at his casino.
Angelo didn’t mind coming to pay Silvia a visit, he enjoyed it even, what had him in knots was the strange undertones the entire situation had. And although he told himself that if Nikolai wanted to get rid of him, the Mafia King wouldn’t use such an indirect method, the lingering worry that he would not be able to return to Nikolai’s side settled slowly over him in layers.
Another dawn brightened the room while Angelo watched the roof. Silvia came by in a few hours with a smile that was equal parts happy and anxious. It was almost like she could tell that he hadn’t been sleeping properly since he came over for a visit.
Angelo wanted to ask about Nikolai but if the Mafia King wanted to speak to him, there was nothing stopping him.
This time, Silvia didn’t ask him if he wanted to come down to the company, leaving after saying hello.
He sat up to take a shower after she left, washing his hair because he had so much time on his hands and nothing better to do. The room Silvia gave to him was devoid of mirrors and for the first time, Angelo wished there was one in his room, even a little handheld one would do.
Because right then, he really wanted to see what Nikolai saw when he had his hair down.
Angelo spent the day in bed again but he didn’t braid his freshly washed hair, his eyes dim as he stared at the ceiling.