Kirian was in a place he knew all too well. The air was musty and specks of dust floated by, but he felt relatively safe in the dark space. A mouse ran over his feet, and he grabbed it quickly. Not even thinking as his hand shot out. His stomach was aching for a proper meal, but he couldn’t risk leaving just yet.

The mouse squirmed in his grimy hands, squeaking loudly. Cute, beady little eyes looked up at him pleadingly, and he shut his eyes tightly. He had to eat, it had been well over a week, and his dreams were filled with buffets and grand feasts.

He brought the mouse to his mouth, the squeaking louder in his ears. He made the mistake of opening his eyes. Just a peek, but it was enough.

Kirian sighed and let the mouse go. It escaped as fast as its little legs would allow, and soon he was alone again.

Suddenly, a loud bang shook the wall from the other side. Kirian began shaking.

“I know you’re in the ya brat!” A raspy voice taunted.

Kirian dared not move an inch.

“Come out kid, we won’t hurt ya too bad. Kirian, right?” The voice continued, “Kirian. Kirian!”

“Get up Kirian,” came a familiar, smooth voice and Kirian awoke with a start.

He was being shaken. He opened his eyes and saw deep brown eyes looking down at him with worry. He sat up fast, scooting away from the hand that had been jostling his shoulder.

“Sebastian, “ Kirian stated.

“That must have been some bad dream, “ Sebastian joked.

Kirian looked at the ground and asked, “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“It’s 5 am in the morning, someone destroyed the button to this floor and it took a while to fix,” Sebastian said.

“Why are you here?” Kirian asked, already exhausted. He didn’t want to be talking to Sebastian right now.

“I was informed that you didn’t eat yesterday. I can’t have a starved assassin on my hands so I thought I’d invite you to breakfast, “ Sebastian stated in a more formal tone.

“I’m not hungry, “ Kirian said. Just then, his stomach growled angrily.

“I’d like to eat alone, “ Kirian amended.

“Unfortunately for you, this is work. We need to discus your next mission and I don’t have time for a meeting later today,” Sebastian replied. His tone left no room for discussion. He stood and held his hand out to the assassin, who ignored it and got up by himself.

Sebastian grabbed a file from where he had placed it on the desk and led the way out to the lounge. On the table, there was a classic breakfast spread.

Now that Kirian was taking in the room properly, he could admit that it was quite nice. The big, wide windows exposed the still-dark sky. The walls and cabinets were painted the same shade of god awful white, but the table was a dark wood and the couches were a soft, sage green. There was no television, of course, but there was a humble bookcase with what appeared to be a wide array of books, though Kirian couldn’t make out the titles from where he sat.

Sebastian handed Kirian a plate before grabbing one for himself and piling handboiled eggs and a bran muffin onto it. Kirian found that he was actually quite hungry and served himself a healthy serving of scrambled eggs and a bagel. The smell was heavenly.

They sat across from each other in silence, eating and watching the first rays of sunlight break through. 

Kirian wondered if Sebastian always woke up this early. Their missions were always so late at night. When did Sebastian sleep?

“I’ve always loved sunrises, “ Sebastian said suddenly, derailing the other man’s train of thought.

“I never got to see them much, “ Kirian replied bluntly.

More silence.

Finally, Sebastian faced Kirian and slumped his shoulders. He looked tired.

“Can you explain to me… why you keep destroying my property?” He asked.

Kirian scoffed, still facing the window. “You must be an idiot. How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like being locked up?”

“Right, and I’ve told you why I can’t allow a hotheaded murderer to roam my building. That still doesn’t tell me why you keep breaking things. Do you think it will change my mind? It’s not expensive to fix and if anything it make me more likely to keep you away from anything else you might destroy.” Sebastian said. His face gave nothing away about how he might be feeling.

“And yet you gave me more space, “ Kirian said, finally looking at Sebastian.

The pinkish-orange light made his tanned skin glow. The sun seemed to favor Sebastian, for anytime it touched his skin, he looked angelic, almost otherworldly.

Sebastian looked away in contemplation before replying, “I thought you might be claustrophobic.”

“Oh,” Kirian said, shocked at the thoughtfulness of the stern businessman, “No, I don’t think I have that. Small spaces can be safe as long as I choose to be there and big spaces can feel… bad… if I’m there against my will.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened at his candor. They both returned to their breakfast. Kirian felt eyes on him as he spread cream cheese on his bagel, but didn’t look up.

He was a little mad at himself for having been so open with someone who was practically a stranger. This was all starting to feel too complicated. He had lost his control over his side of their dynamic and it made his chest feel tight. He had to muster the bravado to be his usual quippy self.

It would not come. So Kirian remained silent, eating his bagel as fast as he could so he could leave as soon as possible.

“Uh, you got a little…” Sebastian started and Kirian looked up to find the other man looking at him. His left hand floated awkwardly in front of him. He looked conflicted.

Kirian did nothing, still too drained to decipher what the other man meant.

Sebastian scooted up in his seat, hand coming closer to Kirian. “Right… um, right there…” He tried again. Kirian tilted his head, watching the hand coming closer and closer, the gold band flashing. Sebastian was looking intently at his face.

“I’ll get it, “ Sebastian said in a lower voice, seemingly made up about his decision. He stood up and grazed his thumb on the corner of Kirian’s lip.

Kirian shot back in his seat as if burned. He wiped the spot with the back of his hand roughly. His eyes darkening and his heartbeat haphazard. He scrambled for words but only found a meager “Don’t”.

Sebastian sat back down smoothly, wiping his thumb on a napkin. “You had some cream cheese on your face, “ He offered.

Kirian sighed. Today was already too much. “Just, tell me... next time. I’m a killer, you know.”

“Were you going to choke the cream cheese to death?” Sebastian joked.

Kirian didn’t laugh. “That’s not what I meant,” he mumbled. He sensed that the other man was still staring at him but didn’t look up as he put the rest of the bagel down. All of a sudden, he felt nauseous.

Tobias’ voice cut through the thick air between them. “You need to get to your next meeting, Boss”

When had he even arrived?

Kirian heard Sebastian stand after another beat of silence. The heat of his gaze never lifting.

“Read the file, we’ll talk about it later, “ said Sebastian in a curt tone. And just like that, he was gone.

Kirian tried to sneak a look at his retreating figure but found Tobias’s disapproving face instead. He look away quickly and waited for the room to be empty before resting his head in his hands.

He sat very still.