Finn

“Boss, that is Finn.” Xavier replied to him, unfazed.

Levi’s eyes narrowed as he crouched beside the sleeping child. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me he was a goddamn kid?”

“I thought it’d be better if you saw for yourself” Xavier defended, maintaining his cool composure.

“A picture would have sufficed.” Levi snapped, crouching to look closely at the sleeping child.

“And why,” Levi continued, sneering, “does the baker give so much of a damn about this scrawny mutt?”

“That would be because he's his son, Boss.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he let out a low whistle, “Well, I'd be damned. The baker keeps surprising me, so Finn is your son eh!” Levi muttered more to himself as he continued staring intently at the sleeping boy.

He tilted his head slightly, still observing the child. “Doesn’t look a damn thing like Axel. Is he adopted?”

Xavier shifted his gaze away to the side, clearing his throat. It was hard to ignore the striking resemblance between the boy and the man crouched beside him. Finn could’ve been Levi’s miniature clone—same messy blonde hair, and facial structure. He could have passed for Lily's twin. But Xavier didn't want to be the one to point it out.

“He’s been living with one of Axel’s distant relatives. An aunt—somewhere on the outskirts of the country. Took us a while to track him down.”

“That's not what I asked Xavier.” Levi snapped, losing a good amount of his patience, “If he isn’t adopted, he must look like his mother, I don't see an ounce of resemblance to Axel.”

Xavier muttered under his breath, “If he looks like his mother, then she must be closely related to you.”

Levi’s head snapped toward him. “What did you say?”

“Nothing, Boss.”

Levi gave him a long, suspicious look, but let it slide. He straightened up and brushed off an invisible dust from his sleeve. “Bring him upstairs. Kid’ll lose his mind waking up in a damn basement.”

“Yes, Boss.” Xavier replied, swiftly but carefully scooping up the sleeping boy into his arms.

He followed Levi upstairs to the sunlight filtered living room. Levi pointed to the couch, and Xavier laid the boy down, pulling a blanket over him.

“So what are you gonna do now boss?” Xavier asked, watching Levi who studied the boy in deep thought.

Levi's eyebrows twiched in irritation, “We'll return him obviously, we're gangsters not kidnappers.”

“So why do you still have him here?” Xavier asked, raising a brow in confusion.

Levi gave an annoyed sigh and then explained to Xavier, “Children tend to spill secrets, I want to get enough information from him, about the baker.”

Xavier chuckled softly. “He’s the first guy I’ve seen you work this hard just to sleep with.”

Levi shot him a cold glare. “I didn’t ask for commentary on my sex life, Xavier.”

“Of course not, Boss.”

Levi turned back to Finn, studying him in silence. “How long will it take this kid to wake up anyway?”

“No clue. Oh—look, he’s waking up.”

Finn stirred under the blanket, his tiny hands rubbing his sleepy eyes as he woke. He blinked up at the unfamiliar room, confused.

“Auntie May?” he mumbled, his voice squeaky with sleep.

When he registered the two strangers hovering near him, his lip trembled, then his eyes welled up. “You’re not Auntie May!” he cried, suddenly bursting into sobs. “Where’s my Auntie May?!”

“She's coming. She's coming.” Levi tried to sush him but Finn’s wailing had only just started when small footsteps padded into the room.

“Daddy, who’s this?” a soft voice asked.

Levi turned to see his daughter, Lily, standing in the hallway in her pajamas, holding her stuffed bunny. Her hair was a sleepy mess, and she rubbed her eyes as she looked at the boy on the couch.

Levi straightened quickly. “Uh… a new friend for you,” he said, forcing a smile.

Finn sniffled, still sitting upright and wide-eyed. Lily walked closer out of curiosity.

“Hiii!” she chirped brightly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Finn,” he replied, still clutching the edge of the blanket. “And I was brought here against my will.”

Levi froze in shock while Xavier turned his head slowly, biting back a laugh.

Lily blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means they kidnapped me,” Finn said with complete seriousness.

Lily’s mouth dropped open. “Daddy!” she gasped, “You said you wouldn't kidnap anybody again.”

Levi sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Look, no one kidnapped anyone, alright?”

“He just said you did,” Lily pointed out.

“His words are just… oddly advanced,” Levi muttered, shooting Xavier a glare. “What the hell is the baker teaching him?”

“I read chapter books,” Finn added proudly. “And Auntie May lets me watch documentaries.”

Lily sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. “Wow. You talk like my teacher.”

“Thanks,” Finn said with a small smile, finally relaxing a bit at the presence of another child in the room.

Levi rubbed his temples. “Xavier, remind me why I’m doing this again?”

“You wanted to find out what secrets the baker’s hiding,” Xavier said, struggling to conceal his grin. “And apparently, he’s hiding a mini genius.”

—

The bell above the bakery door jingled sharply as Axel flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed.” It was still early—sunlight spilled across the floor, but the shop was now empty, and his hands were shaking way too much to frost another pastry.

He locked the door behind him and pulled out his ringing phone from his pocket, pressing it back to his ear.

“I’m closing up now,” he said quickly, the tension in his voice rising. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“I—I went to check on him after lunch, and his bed was empty,” May cried on the other end, her voice sounding frantic, it cracked. “The door was unlocked, Axel. I swear I locked it! I don’t know how long he’s been gone. I thought maybe he was just hiding, but I’ve looked everywhere—he’s just not here!”

Axel rubbed a hand over his face, heart pounding. “Okay. Okay, just… calm down, May. I think I know where he is.”

“What do you mean you know? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I wasn’t sure until just now,” he muttered, already heading toward the back of the bakery, grabbing his jacket from the hook near the door.

There was a long pause on the line, “Just tell me you are going to get him” May asked him with worry in her voice.

Axel got on his scooter, “Sure will Auntie May, don't worry yourself too much and take your blood pressure medicine.”

“Axel—”

“I got this,” he said firmly, and ended the call.

Without another word, he put on his helmet, revved the engine and sped off down the alley, his mind already racing ahead to the place he was certain Finn had been taken— Levi's Mansion.