Trey gave him a thoughtful look and nodded. “I don’t have a permanent phone, I dispose of them every month.”

“I can give you my number, not that you didn’t already know how to get it. You can call me or text me with your new number every time you do.”

“You’re okay with that? Isn’t that too tedious?”

“Nope, isn’t it the little things that matter?” he jabbed, “You know, like those fucking postcards or holiday gifts.”

Trey got his jab and rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, I seriously thought you weren’t serious about me. With what I do, not many would be unless they were crazy.”

“Consider me crazy.”

“I know, I heard about your rampage across the planet. Why do you think I came running back as soon as I was able? I swear you must have set a new record for tantrum damage control.”

“Does that mean you actually cared?” Blaine scoffed.

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t have killed your whore, I would have just killed you.” Blaine glared at him, still unhappy that he wasn’t receiving the attention that he actually wanted. “Is my little dove pouting right now? It’s kind of cute.”

“I’m going to bend you over my bed and fuck you, just you wait,” Blaine threatened.

Trey took in a steady breath and rubbed his cheek gently. “Go wash up my little dove, I’ll take care of this.” Blaine rolled his eyes and headed for the shower. Trey watched his ass shake as he stormed off. He smirked, happy that he had claimed Blaine as his own.

He originally hadn’t thought he was serious about the offer, not realizing his ignorance was going to cross continents. When he caught wind of his tantrum, many of his clients complained, expressing interest in offing him but knowing they couldn’t. Blaine Taranis was practically untouchable, except to him. That wasn’t something he was ever going to forget.

He looked at the dead body and glared, not liking this arrangement. He knew Blaine visited or had been frequent with male sex workers, but when his eyes landed on him fucking one, he wanted to punish him. To his surprise, he didn’t, realizing his error as soon as Blaine retorted back a response.

His partner was defiantly crazy, most people not being able to do anything much less mock and criticize him for his lack of communication while in a situation like he was in. He liked it.

Trey grabbed Blaine’s phone, dialing Leonard. Leonard came to the penthouse immediately, arriving to see Trey awaiting him. Trey pointed at the body, while adding his number to Blaine’s phone.

“Body removal please.”

Leonard wrapped the body up in the sheets and blankets, luckily the blood hadn’t seeped into the mattress. He tied it up and threw into the hallway, having two other men take it downstairs while he waited for his boss to come out of the shower. He wasn’t about to leave with an assassin in his boss’s bedroom without his permission.

“Did you really think I was going to kill him?” Trey asked Leonard.

“No.”

Trey paused as he looked over some messages in his phone, and stared at Leonard. “Is that so?”

“It was clear with the boss’s behavior that something was going on, he wouldn’t be lenient with someone he didn’t care for. I assumed you had good judgment since you came back after receiving my message.”

It was then Trey realized Leonard was the one who had sent word to him, even across the boonies in a whole other continent, to bring him back to his boss. “Quite loyal aren’t you?”

“Of course, without question, but I would also like to not be cleaning up bodies 24/7/365.” Trey got the hint, having a new respect for the man as Blaine returned from the shower with a robe.

“Fucking happy now?” he asked, snippy still. That was Leonard’s cue to leave, so he did after he made sure the new sheets and blankets were made up on the bed.

Blaine sat on the edge of his bed, a headache beginning to form as tiredness swept through him. He lost his appetite for sex, wanting to drown in alcohol and sleep. Trey unbuttoned his shirt, walking over to him as he stripped.

Trey found him cute, taking in his body, stripping, and standing firmly in front of him. “I’m sorry, little dove.” The apology defused his anger, making Blaine look at him with lustful eyes. “Perhaps we should establish some of those ground rules right now?”

“Fine. There better not be a next time.” He couldn’t help but smile at his cuteness, kissing his cheeks with affection. “Yes dove, no next time. And you as well?”

“Yes, no more extra partners my minx. That means you better keep me satisfied.”

“I will bear that in mind dove.”

***

In the weeks that followed, Trey kept his word. He visited Blaine on a regular basis and always answered when he called after having an annoying day at work. In return, Blaine kept his end of the deal and kept Trey as his only sex partner.

Blaine tried to remain platonic, but was beginning to feel a change that was stirring something deep inside him. It was unnerving and making him nervous. He had never felt this way towards someone outside of his family before, which was new.

While he found himself drawn in by Trey, he also realized he was easily swept up into him. This wasn’t something Blaine wanted, trying to avoid going too fast too soon. He had a lot of dead skeletons in his closet and not all of them were completely decayed. The last thing he needed was scaring his new muse off.

He wanted to have an official date, something he could say was a starting point to something more meaningful. Even as he sat at the dining table, waiting for Trey to show, he found himself jittering. He wasn’t used to waiting, nor was he used to feeling such anticipation when it came to waiting for someone.

“It seems I am early, may I join you?”

The older gentlemen’s voice surprised him, temporarily caught off guard as Blaine snapped his whole attention to him.

“I’m having dinner with a friend, perhaps another time.”

He nodded his head gently and sat anyway, provoking Blaine’s agitated state. Still, Blaine remained calm and looked over the older man who seemed unusually settled.

“Is there something I can do for you?” he asked politely. The elderly man smirked, knowing he was wearing a mask over his words.

“I came to see what has my son so preoccupied of late.” Blaine briefly hesitated and then nodded to acknowledge his presence.

“I see, well, that would probably be me. As far as I know it hasn’t interfered with his work, has it?” he asked carefully.

The old man smirked slightly, sizing him up in a glance. If he was truly Trey’s father, he needed to establish some ground rules for conversation. Since Trey was an assassin, he had to assume his father was to. Blaine knew him for a different reason though, one that followed him since his birth.

“No, in fact he’s been rather impeccable lately. Always finishes early to rush off somewhere. Imagine my surprise when I found out he’s been frequenting your apartment building.”

“If you want me to say that I’m not sleeping with your son, the answer is that I am.”

“And what are your intentions?”

“Right now? Platonic.”

The old man studied him and then motioned for the waiter to bring some wine and ordered some food. He watched as the old man ordered for Trey, knowing his tastes. The action made him pay attention, but also irritated him greatly. He hated knowing that someone else knew Trey better than him, even if they had only been dating for a bit.

While it was true they didn’t see each other as often as he liked, he had still acted as if they were together every day. He still didn’t understand what he wanted from Trey, just that having him around brought him a relief he hadn’t had before.

“Do you intend to remain Platonic, or to further your relationship?”

“I don’t know, I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“Consider you at the bridge then.”

Blaine didn’t like being ordered around, in fact he hated it with a passion thanks to his father. The fact that the old man was pushing his buttons before dinner, made him want to lash out.

“My informant said that you threw a hissy fit when he didn’t show you attention, am I to believe that is how you will act in the future when you don’t get your way? Like a child throwing a tantrum?”

What right did he have to judge him? He knew nothing about Blaine, and Blaine knew nothing about this elderly man. What he did know is that this old man had been his shadow for a long time. He also knew Trey could make his own choices and didn’t need his permission. Then again, he had no idea how his family dynamic worked. Dancing into his palms wouldn’t be the best option, so he had to play it smart.

“Consider it a failing of my upbringing. We have established ground rules to avoid such cases again.”

“Is that so?” he quirked a brow. “It’s funny you mentioned your upbringing, I can’t seem to find much of anything on you now, even though we go way back.”

“Some people value their hazard pay. What can I say when they die of suicide?”

The notion was clear to him, Blaine’s threats were real and always put into action. Enough so, that it prevented others from betraying him often behind his back.

“A man as powerful as you interested in my son could make things difficult for him.”

Blaine accepted a glass from Leonard, who had tasted the wine for him. Trey’s father observed the interaction and continued to sip on his wine and snack on the bread that lay on the table.

“You seem to also have many enemies, especially since you have someone like Leonard tasting your wine for you.” So the old man knew about his favorite man, did he?

“Mr. Taranis has proven his worth as my employer. I have pledged my loyalty to him many times over and would do so again, Godfather,” Leonard spoke up.

Something hardly anyone knew about Leonard, was that he came from a long line of British Special Agents. He was impeccable as a spy, fantastic body guard, and one of the most amazing assistants he’d ever had. Having him taste for poison was just one of many long lists of tasks he had him do.

Still, he always treated the man fairly and compensated him appropriately. In the event that Leonard betrayed him, he had to admit that he probably wouldn’t mind because he knew he would have deserved it.

“What did this man do, to earn such a valuable asset’s loyalty?” Leonard looked to him for permission to speak and he nodded. The Godfather found the interaction amusing.“I was kidnapped, bought, and sold into slavery. Mr. Taranis’s father procured me for him close to his death. Mr. Taranis then proceeded to free me, and offered his services. I found his company more pleasant than returning to my roots, so to say.”

Of course there was a lot more to it, like how he had saved his life countless times for trying to kill his father. While the act was considered forgivable for his children, he didn’t take it that way with the servants. Blaine put up with Leonard’s impatience and anger, taking the blame every time until Leonard had enough and let him handle it himself.

“And what of succession? If you both continue down this path, how will you have children to inherit?” That was a jump for Blaine, but not something he hadn’t thought of. He had to in his position, if he didn’t it would be irresponsible.

“We can always use a surrogate or have a lab make us a child using our DNA. Such things are possible now.”

“Interesting that you mention that as well considering your history with labs, you aren’t interested in doing so yourself?” He hated the idea of intercourse for reproductive reasons, it made him shiver in disgust.

“If we ever have children as such, it will be through Trey.” The Godfather quirked his brow as he loosely used his name and turned his gaze to the food that was set down onto the table.

“What of your own empire? Not having an heir of your own blood can affect it greatly.”

“I’m not concerned about that.” The old man hesitated at his easiness at expressing such a thing.

“Then what exactly would you plan on doing?”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t concern you, since you aren’t a part of my affairs,” he jabbed, making it known he wouldn’t condone prying.

“Well, it would if you left it to Trey’s biological child and they didn’t share yours. After all, that’s a way to contest their position.”

Blaine gave the old man a considerate thought and shrugged his shoulders. “If I name an heir, the rest will respect that.”

“Are you sure? Perhaps one of your siblings would try to take over or are you planning on appointing one of them?” This old man sure was nosy.

“None of them are suited to be in charge and they know that. I will not discuss succession issues anymore.”

“Of course not, after all, you two aren’t official yet anyway.” The jab made his grip tighten around the glass he was holding. The old man sure knew how to piss him off.

Thankfully, as if answering the possibility of warfare breaking out, Trey arrived. He looked like he had somehow managed to crawl out of bed and partly comb his hair to get here. Blaine noticed a small spot of blood on his cuff and wondered if he had just come from a job.“Godfather, why am I not surprised to find you here?” he asked, taking his seat. He started to dig into his meal and gulped down some wine.

“How was your detour?” his Godfather asked casually.

“Beautiful, thanks for the delay, great stress reliever.”

“Glad to hear it, I was just speaking with your friend here about future prospects.” Trey suddenly choked on his food a bit and forcibly swallowed, his eyes darting to Blaine.

“Godfather, perhaps we can discuss this some other time. I don’t think it’s necessary to ponder on such things yet.” Blaine twitched at the sound of the word yet. So Trey planned on exploring this with him as well?

“Yes, I was just telling him you both aren’t official yet, so there is no need to worry about it.” Trey could clearly see Blaine’s burning desire to reach his knife over and stab his Godfather in the hand.

“That is a matter we will discuss on our own time. I think we should part ways for tonight,” Trey warned. The old man studied Trey for a moment, then nodded and stood tall.

“Very well, let me know the next time I need to give you a detour.”

Trey stood respectfully as the old man took his leave, Blaine remaining seated. His mood had turned sour, no longer enjoying the date he had planned out. This wasn’t how he wanted to spend his first actual date. He swore to himself in his head at how everything seemed to be so difficult to do. Trey studied his stern and neutral face as they both ate in silence, not sure what to say.