Viktor yanked me out of the bed, and I panicked, flailing in his arms. His hand was warm on my cheek as he held me tightly, and he looked almost horrified. My brain tried to process everything that was going on. Swallowing, my throat felt hoarse and my mouth dry. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I was trembling. 

“Nikita, are you ok now?” Viktor asked. 

“Why did you wake me?” I asked, my throat aching. 

“You were screaming and thrashing around in your sleep.” he sighed, and set his forehead on mine. “I hated that.”

Groaning, I went limp in his arms. “You should have just left me. I’m tired.”

Viktor set me back on the bed and pulled a hand through his hair. “This is why you wanted to sleep alone?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know it was this bad again.”

“Again, so this happens often?” he asked, and I could feel his eyes boring into me. I was exactly sure how much of the truth to give Viktor, but it only seemed right to tell him.

“Yeah. Though it’s honestly been a while. Probably stress related.”

“Nikita, I won’t tell you how to manage this, but a doctor might be the best idea.”

“I’ll think about it.” I muttered, getting out of Viktor’s bed and stretching. I was fairly rested, except for the part where I was suddenly jerked awake, but it was understandable. Viktor was a little off put by seeing my thrashing and screaming. As a teenager, Lev had forced me to go on medication for them, because they were bothering him and his sister, but after we parted ways, I ignored the need for the pills.

“Viktor?” I said, and looked at him.

“Yes?”

“When I was a teenager, these episodes were treated with an antidepressant, and they went away mostly. If they don’t resolve themselves shortly, then I’ll get something for it.”

“Alright.”

Viktor led me to the lounge room. Lev and Alessio, along with Ilya and Vito, were chatting I could hear their voices. But they all went quiet when Viktor and I came into the room.

“You look like you’re doing well.” Ilya said and crossed his arms over his chest. “Guess being a lying bitch of Viktor’s fairs out well for you,” he hissed, and Vito reprimanded him for his words.

“No, that’s fair. I understand why you would be pissed off about this, but I don’t really care, Ilya. You won’t have to worry about your cousin sticking his nose in Vito’s and your business. So call me what you will, but enjoy it.”

“I don’t fucking get why you had to do that. You could have had your freedom and shit, and instead you leaked information to fucking Viktor and gave him the fucking win,” Ilya hissed, and clearly he wasn’t completely over his loss yet.

“Like I said, doing this settles both sides. You get your future with Vito to plan yourself, and Viktor gets what he wants as well.”

“And, you? What the fuck do you get?” Ilya yelled, clearly getting worked up about it again.

“Ilya, settle.” Vito said, setting his hand on Ilya’s knee.

“Settle? You want me to settle when everyone, Lev included, makes out better than Nikita? Not one of you dared to think about his wants or his needs. You just do whatever you want with him, and he fucking allowed it. Fuck, even I did it.” Ilya hissed. He stewed in the silence for a few more second before he turned his attention to Viktor. “You best do everything in your power to make sure that Nikita is looked after. Since no one else seems to care about what he wants and needs, but if you neglect him on either front, I’ll make you the king of a pile of ashes, Viktor Russo.”

Lev looked uncomfortable, and even Ilya seemed to notice it. More so when he switched to speaking Russian and told Lev they were far from done this conversation.

“Enough.” I sighed. “What’s done is done.”

Lev and Alessio both stood up a few minutes later, and I walked them to the front door. Lev didn’t have many words for me. “I’ll call you,” he muttered. Alessio stayed behind for a few more minutes, waiting until Lev was out of earshot to speak.

“What we said about our son is true. No one knows. We weren’t intending to tell anyone until our surrogate was farther along. I trust you will keep this information to yourself until after we say something, last thing I need is my big mouth family members telling each other before we get the chance too,” he said.

“Of course.”

Alessio pulled me into a hug and spoke while he had his arms around me. “Let me help you with the night terrors. I’ll make sure it stays private. You have my number. Just think about it.”

“Ok. Thank you.” He let me go, and I hollered at him. “Drive safe. Let me know when you make it back.”

Closing the front door, I dropped my shoulders and sighed. I heard someone click their tongue, and I turned around. Ilya was frowning at me. “Tell me the truth Nikita, don’t save face. Is everything really ok here with Viktor?”

“Yes, things are fine here with Viktor.”

“You look exhausted,” he muttered.

“I am. Beyond just physically.” I confessed, knowing that Ilya would understand.

“We are family now. If you need something, you know where I am. Don’t be a stranger. But never do anything like this again, or else,” he bitched. 

“Yeah. I won’t.”

“Viktor and Vito are talking about business. I have no interest in that. What I have an interest in right now is a snack, so that’s where we are going, unless you want to talk business with them.” Ilya chuckled. 

“No thanks, I’ll pass. I need food too.”

Ilya and I went to the kitchen, and he showed me where to find all the good snacks. He dug through the freezer and pulled out chocolate chip waffles. “Do you eat waffles?”

“I eat anything, honestly.” 

“Good. Glad to hear that.” he chuckled, and continued to dig through the freezer, tossing things onto the counter every time he found something he wanted. He found a bag of frozen strawberries and tossed them into the mix. He spent the next few minutes toasting the waffles and tossing them onto two plates. He grabbed the two plates, forks, and a knife, leaving me just the butter and syrup to grab. Grabbing them, I followed him to the dining room. He set the two plates side by side on the table and went back into the kitchen, bringing us both a glass of water. 

“Sit, eat. They aren’t all that good when they are cold.” Ilya said and set a glass of water down in front of me and sat down in his chair. He seemed pretty pleased with himself as he cut up his waffles. 

“Thank you for breakfast.” 

“You looked like you could use it just as much as I could. Once my parents come back, meals are typically at set times, and I’m sure Viktor will explain everything.”

“I’ve met your parents once, I believe. Before their party, I mean.”

“I’m sure it thrilled my mother about Viktor being married. My father maybe. My father is more of the idea that Viktor needs to be humbled a little, so he will probably hope that you will do it, eventually.” Ilya muttered, stuffing waffles into his mouth. 

“If he deserves it, then yes, I will humble him. But I don’t want to needlessly fight with him. I don’t want this marriage to be a war zone.”

“I get that,” he muttered, and paused. “Word of advice. My parents aren’t big on the idea of divorce, so they will keep that from happening any chance they get. Trying to resist them sticking their noses into your relationship with Viktor is going to be nearly impossible.”

“Speaking of marriage. Do you still intend to marry Vito now that your hand is not forced?”

“Of course, there is no one else for me. Viktor not forcing my hand won’t change that. Besides, my parents are pleased with the idea. They won’t push for it openly, but they will make small suggestions that it’s what they want to happen until it does.”

“Oh, Hmm. I guess that’s a little more manageable.” I said, sticking a bite of waffles into my mouth and chewing. Swallowing the bite, I looked at Ilya. “You seem a little more comfortable here than I figured you would be.”

“My parents aren’t here. There is no pressure to appear as normal as I can. My father understands I’m sick and will be forever. My mother doesn’t or ignores that I am ill,” he said, looking behind me, and I turned. Vito and Viktor were both in the doorway. But neither came in. “You can join us. There isn’t anything we are talking about that I don’t want you to hear.” 

“We weren’t sure, and it seemed you two were speaking amongst yourselves.” Vito said, coming into the room. He sat beside Ilya, who offered him a bite of waffles, and he didn’t turn it down.

Viktor sat beside me and laughed. “I see you found my waffles, Ilya.”

“You’ve always kept them in the fridge freezer in the same spot. Even now.” he chuckled and made and finished his waffles. I smiled slightly, taking a bite of my waffle. Viktor looked at me and smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. 

Ilya groaned. “You look at him like a kid with their favourite toy. It’s gross.”

“You look at Vito very much the same, Ilya.” Viktor said, and Vito chuckled this time. “He does, doesn’t he?”

 Ilya rolled his eyes and looked away. Viktor and Vito shared a knowing look, and both chuckled again. I finished my food, ignoring Viktor when he asked for a bite of my waffles. I didn’t want to share with him.