登入10 Years Later(After Nora's Kindergarten graduation) Nora is now 15 Dylan is 10 It was that time of the year again, when the city softened under lights, when cold air carried the smell of pine and sugar. Inside the house, the season had already claimed every corner. Gold ribbon, warm lamps, a tree bright enough to make the windows glow against the evening. They were preparing for a tradition that had held steady for twelve years now, ever since they all came together one in a while, they decided to make it a routine. Three years after Nora came into their lives, the gatherings had begun only a few times. And what started as cautious dinners slowly became a ritual. Dex, Elian, Nora, then Mark and James, later Dylan, and eventually the newest member of the family, Jayden. “When are they getting here?” Nora asked, hovering near the front table in fuzzy socks, already dressed for the evening gathering. Dex glanced up from adjusting a stack of plates. “Soon.” As if the universe ha
5 years later- Nora's Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony“Don’t you think we might be doing too much?” Dex muttered as the car rolled to a stop outside the school gates. Beyond the entrance, pastel balloons drifted against the celebration hall’s glass front, and clusters of parents moved in their own private separations, full of pride and camera flashes.Dex sat still for a second longer, eyes scanning the building like it was a venue that might grow teeth.“We look like we came to buy the school, not attend a graduation.” he lamented. Elian unbuckled his seatbelt with unbothered elegance. “Everything is fine. I’m sure half these kids have parents as rich as we are. It doesn’t look like a big deal here.” He glanced sideways, mouth curving. “It’s our daughter’s graduation. Stop looking so damn constipated and wary of every little thing. You know Nora is going to notice if you walk in like you’re expecting an ambush.”Dex sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, and deliberately softened
Elian’s fingers tightened on the page. “Fuck.” He lowered the letter and looked properly at the child. She was tiny, around six months, barely able to sit up on her own. The loose clothing on her body was faded and thin from too much washing, clearly one of the few things she owned. Her face was blotchy from crying, lashes wet, breath hitching in small broken waves. Underfed. Alive in the middle of a room that nowhere promised her a future. Elian looked at her, and he felt something unexpected spark in his chest. A strange, sharp longing he had no idea what it could be. He didn't even know when he began reaching out, slowly. And to his surprise, the baby reached back, small arms stretching toward him with absolute trust she had no reason to give. Elian lifted her into his arms and stood. She barely weighed anything. The lightness of her was unsettling. His eyes flicked to the malnourished body on the floor, and any question about whether the child had been properly fed answer
Several months had passed since the start of the Russo-Virelli Era, and the near-fracture of everything Elian and Dex had forced into existence. In that time, the impossible had become routine. The Russo side and the Virelli side learned how to occupy the same structure without constantly reaching for each other’s throats. It did not happen easily of course. Old loyalties died hard, men who had grown up hating the opposite name had to take orders under a joint rule, share routes, split revenue, and answer to two dons who refused to rank one bloodline above the other. Then there were meetings that nearly turned into brawls, sector captains who tested the new chain of command and learned, publicly, what the cost of nostalgia was. There were nights of cold cooperation that slowly hardened into something more stable than either side expected. Not everyone adapted of course. That was impossible. Some went rogue, and while some some just turned the other side, some tried to carve pri
Mark stood outside James’s door longer than he meant to, shifting from one foot to the other. The hallway was quiet, too quiet for how hard his pulse was working. After pondering all night. He now had a plan to get his boyfriend to forgive him. He had done this kind of thing before. All he had to do was just show up, look sincere, give him the best puppy eyes, and most times it worked. Though tonight he was not so sure. James had walked away from him twice already, something that had never happened before. Finally, after summing up all his courage in one breath, he knocked. A few seconds later the door opened, revealing the face of his boyfriend that he'd missed so damn much. James took one look at him and rolled his eyes. The reaction hurt much more than Mark expected. He bit his lip to cover it, but the truth felt ugly in his heart. James had never looked unhappy to see him before. At least not like this. If his boyfriend was regarding him with this much irritation, then he
Dex stepped out of the elevator and checked both directions before starting down the hallway, phone pressed to his ear. “What room number was it again?” Mark’s voice came through, low and careful. “107.” “Noted.” he replied and hung up. He kept walking until reached the room with the brass numbers on the door matching the exact number he had in mind. He stopped in front of room 107, stared at it for half a second, took a deep sigh, realizing how stupid this was, how stupid he was. He stood there for several more seconds then pressed the doorbell and waited. A few seconds passed, then Elian’s voice came from the other side, “Who is it?” Dex cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound like it wasn't him. “Room service.” There was silence at first. Then the lock turned. The door opened to Elian in a bathrobe, hair still wet from the shower, eyes carrying zero surprise and even less welcome. The look he gave Dex was dry enough to make Dex realize that Elian knew it was h
“You both look…well rested.” Jacob, Elian's grandfather, said finally after eating in silence for the past ten minutes.Jacob, Derek, Dex and Elian sat at the table for brunch. Surprisingly, the both of them had come down at the same time for their late breakfast when it was announced that Elian's
Elian stormed into the wildly decorated bedroom, already peeling off every layer of clothing on him. He threw the million dollar suit on him to the floor and turned to glare at his rival, aka his husband, who just walked past him, pretending as if he wasn't even standing there.Anger boiled in him
Dex slammed Elian against the glass wall of the bathroom, getting out a low groan from him. In a swift move, he turned on the shower and the water came down on them like a storm. The water was a deafening roar against the glass wall that did nothing to cool the fever burning between them. Elian’
“I expected you to be occupied with each other.” Jacob said coldly, looking at their disheveled state. “But I did not expect you to be so occupied that you would allow three million dollars worth of high grade weaponry to be stolen at the warehouse, by a street gang.”Elian's breath hitched as he r







