Ilay was in a bad mood.
Well, maybe saying he was in a bad mood was an overstatement. But his mood was peculiar for the past few days and Taeui still couldn't figure out why.
It all started when Ilay took him to Greece while he was there to complete a job. It was paradise. He had the villa all for himself, with a beach and a local market within walking distance.
"Just stay put and enjoy, I'll be back in a week."
That's what Ilay told him the second they got to the villa. And just like he said seven days later he walked in, gloved hands darker than their original dark blue. Blood tainted his dark clothes and parts of his skin. Taeui's eyebrows quirked up and his body tensed ever so slightly. Seeing Ilay's calm but somewhat annoyed expression, and knowing that this man would act like nothing even if he was badly hurt, there was a small part of him that worried he was hurt. Logically, he shouldn't worry but it was easier said than done. Taeui questioned the man who was now throwing away his gloves, with his eyes. Before Ilay could answer, three men walked into the room along with him. Ilay acknowledged his worry with a small nod but despite it, he didn't utter a word.
It wasn't the first time Taeui met the men that accompanied Ilay but he preferred not associating with them, and seeing Ilay's expression, both shared the same feelings. Alain, Angel and Alexei were Ilay's coworkers back when they worked at the Task Force, and now sometimes they still worked together. They greeted Taeui happily and quickly made themselves at home, grabbing beers and sitting down next to Taeui who was relaxing by the pool while reading a book. Taeui looked back at Ilay again to properly greet him, however he was more annoyed than before and just turned back and walked away.
Shortly after, Ilay returned freshly showered and sat next to Taeui, a spot the others left for him. Before he sat down he handed Taeui a cold beer and once he took it, Ilay softly ruffled his hair without a word. Seeing Taeui's droopy smile looking at the fresh beer that he was too lazy to get before, brought a hint of a smile to Ilay's lips. The trio watched the exchange in silence with teasing grins, but despite the teasing atmosphere, Taeui no longer got embarrassed about it. They have been together for long enough for him to get used to it.
As the conversation extended the empty bottles kept increasing, and Taeui's attention to the conversation kept diminishing. What brought it back was Alain's ever-planted smile creeping up on him as he waited for a reply to a question Taeui hadn't heard.
"What?" he asked, noticing everyone's attention on him.
"No need to act shy now," said Alain. "We just want to know how much you've tamed Rick."
Taeui choked on air, flabbergasted at the absurdity he heard. Tamed? True, he was living with a beast that showed some threats of humanity towards him. But still, this was a beast that could not be tamed no matter how much time passed. Even remotely. Taeui looked at Ilay and his nonchalance made Taeui question if he heard properly.
"How drunk are you to suggest he could be tamed?"
"Oh come on, you hear it every day. Those romantic soap operas where the untouchable and vicious men become suckers for their lovers" said Alexei. "Even us from the former Task Force have experienced this to some extent. But none of us can imagine Rick being like that. Not completely at least."
"This is Ilay we are talking about," reinforced Taeui.
"He clearly has a soft spot for you. Everyone can see that," continued Alain. "What I want to know is how much."
"How much what?"
"How much does he really dotes on you? What about gestures of love? And how does he declare his love for you?"
"He dotes on me? Gestures of love?" said Taeui, his eyes round, a small fold forming between his brows. After a long sigh, he concluded, "Please remind yourself, that this is Ilay we are talking about."
In truth, if he thought about it, in a roundabout way, Taeui knew he had privileges with Ilay that most people didn't. Indeed, if he asked Ilay for anything he would get it, but Taeui wasn't someone who needed much to begin with. And, truth be told, Ilay only showed his more humane expressions to him. But that didn't necessarily mean he doted on Taeui, right? Except he did and Taeui couldn't say otherwise. Gestures of love may be going a bit too far unless you counted sex since that was Ilay's go-to way to express himself. For better or for worse.
"Are you saying you don't feel cared for?" Ilay had a playful smile on his lips.
"That's not what I said."
Ilay looked at him as if saying go on and Taeui after a moment explained. "What I mean is that neither of us is exactly affectionate…. except… you know."
"But what I'm asking is, besides those heated moments of yours, how does Rick show you he cares?" Alain insisted again.
"What we want to know is how did he tell you he loved you? I cannot imagine it for the life of me something like that coming out of his mouth unless followed by something cruel," said Angel slightly annoyed they were going the roundabout way. "Like did he grab a rose and say 'I love you. Live the rest of your life with me because if you don't I will crush you' and then proceed to crush said rose in his hand before handing you the dead flower. And then ending with 'Anything you want is yours, now spread your legs for me.'"
The trio cackled at the absurdity of Angel's musings and Taeui couldn't close his mouth from the shock of what was said. In all honesty, Ilay had sort of said some of that to him before which made him slightly angry about it, but he kept quiet, there was no need to get angry at something like that. Ilay continued to smile but Taeui could tell his mood fell just a smidge and he wondered if the trio noticed it too. If they did, they didn't seem to care since they continued their musings.
"I bet that after dragging him all the way to Berlin he was like 'Run away again and I'll kill you. You are mine. Your life is mine. If you die, I die too.' That's why he drafted that contract with Alain." This time it was Alexei who mimicked Ilay.
Once again the trio laughed at their expenses. Taeui feeling the warm atmosphere waning and the smile Ilay had turning a bit colder again decided to interrupt. "You are not exactly wrong in what you said but it is not like that."
"What is it like then? That's what we want to know," pressed Alain. "How did he express himself to you? We both know there is no way in hell he got flustered and stammered before looking deeply into your eyes and saying it. But I can only imagine him saying it as a joke or with the most annoyed or nonchalant expression ever. So, how did he do it?"