“Yanyan!” Sam called enthusiastically and Aian smiled at the warm greeting.
“Hey, guys, how’s it going?”
“Good. It's nice to be able to have this catch up as normal and not worry about your safety when you can't show up,” Brent glanced over at the two guards grabbing takeaway coffees and moving to sit at one of the outside tables. “I'm guessing they are from the team you mentioned over email?”
“Yeah,” Aian said then sighed. “I can't go anywhere without them. They generally stay outside if I'm going into a house or a small shop but if I go to the mall or supermarket, they come with me and it really feels like I'm being babysat.”
“At least you're safe.”
Aian pulled a face at his friend but only received a serious look in return.
“I'm serious, Yanyan. Your job alone is enough to have scary people after you. We were pretty worried when you said you nearly got beaten up after you got that politician arrested. Fenell
Aianunlocked the penthouse door and let himself in. It was a little odd walking in as though it was his house. He had done so when he stayed with Kalvinfor a week but then he had been invited and Kalvinhimself would always be home in the evening to spend time with him. He hadn't even told Kalvinthat he was coming to stay, although he assumed that he had already found out from his guards. Flicking on the lights and slipping off his shoes, he made his way further into the apartment. Aiancouldn't quite get rid of the weird feeling as he settled himself on the couch with his takeaway dinner. It was kind of nice, he decided after settling on a movie to watch while he ate. Much like when he stayed before, it was a surprisingly homey feeling. Familiar. It screamed Kalvin, all sleek modern furniture and tasteful décor. Though it really needed more clutter and photos on the walls. Maybe he should take a few
While Aianhad every intention of tracking Blakedown and interrogating him the next day, with how busy he was,it wasn't until a week later that he could finally get the man alone. He should have realizedthat if Kalvinwas too busy to even have a lunch date with the photographer, his secretary would be just as busy. In the end, Aianhad messaged the man to schedule an appointment time to talk with him and asked him to not tell Kalvin. He seemed suspicious, but surprisingly agreed without fuss. Which was how Aianfound himself sitting in the secretary’s office waiting for his meeting to finish. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long before Blakewalked into the room, gently closing the door behind him. He nodded in greeting before talking a seat at his desk and placing some folders off to the side. There was a moment of silence as they observed each other. It was Blakewho broke it as he ran his fingers on
Aianleft the Ecliprisesoffice building in a daze. He couldn’t wrap his head around the magnitude of the information he had just learned. It was late morning and Aianhad a friend’s birthday party to go to that evening so he wouldn’t see Kalvinuntil late tonight or tomorrow at the earliest. Although he probably needed the entire afternoon to get his head around it all. It was like something you would see on the news or read in the paper. Something you knew could happen but never in a million years think it would happen to someone close to you. He walked out into the city streets aimlessly. He needed to think, and he always found it easier to think while moving. The motion seemed to help him process things. He couldn’t imagine the pain Kalvinmust have felt. His youngest cousin, a well loved little girl, had been murdered right in front of him and he blamed himself. He remembered what Blakehad said just
Aianended up having an afternoon nap after he made himself lunch and felt very refreshed and ready for the party tonight. It was Shane’s birthday and the happy go lucky blonde man wanted to go out clubbing. The last time they met up,everyone agreed to go before Brentpointed out that a club is probably a security nightmare and Aianshould check in with Kalvinbefore agreeing. What had followed was an argument over whether Aiancould look after himself and make his own decisions and how that wasn’t what Brentmeant. “I’m not about to risk one of my friends because they feel like they are bulletproof. You admitted that politician had a hit out on you only a few weeks ago! Worst case scenario,we go back to Auntie’s place like we did for New Year's,”Brent had argued.
Nevileaned back in his chair with a huff of annoyance. He hadn’t really been holding his breath that this particular plan would work but it would have been such a perfect thing if it did. The little tramp had tighter security than he planned for and even then, they were far more vigilant than expected. He was used to tight security that had cracks to sneak through. This team only had the barest of discernible cracks. He watched the security feed from Dynamighton his laptop and listened to the chatter over their radio. Nothing came up about the woman over the club’s radio. It must all be going through Ecliprises’s channels directly. He clicked his tongue in irritation. It had been such a good plan too. Get the little hussy while he was all defenceless with the alcohol, slip him a little liquid ecstasy and watch as he did the one thing Kalvinhatedthemost. Betray him. Not only that,but&n
Aianwas rather drunk. In fact, nearly the entire group was drunk. Brentsighed and looked over the table with fond amusement. A few were still off dancing while Samand Shanechatted up a pair of girls. Another conversation was taking place on the other side of their booth and he was, of course, stuck being sober with a drunk Aian, who had devolved into talking only about his twin flameand a few slips of the tongue that provided Brentwith far more information than he ever wanted to know. He really, really didn’t want to know that his cute, adorable cinnamon roll of a friend was learning how to deep throat successfully. Nope, he didn’t need that mental image. Hopefully he didn’t get any more information about Kalvin’s dick before actually meetingthe man. Even better if he got no more R rated oversharing from his drunk friend at all. Thankfully,Aiannow sat with his head pressed aga
Aianfinally decided it was time to drag himself out of bed. He had woken up a few hours ago to find himself in Kalvin’s bed with a water bottle and painkillers on the bedside table. He had gratefully downed them before curling back up to sleep off his hangover. Thankfully it wasn’t so bad, especially since he barely remembered the later part of last night. He must have been pretty drunk but someone probably forced water on him. He was incredibly thankful now. He was a little sore below the waist as well so Kalvinmust have gotten his hands on him at some point last night. Presumably that was how he ended up in his bed. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was just before lunch and there was an unread message from Brent. He opened it curiously, noting that it was sent last night. Brent : Hey, man, I know you won’t get this until tomorrow but I thought you mi
Kalvinslowly came to. He felt groggy and far too tired. There was also a strange emptiness in his chest, a weird hollow feeling. He struggled to regain his bearings and was startled when he felt something shift against him. He opened his eyes and blinked at the black strands obscuring his view. Kalvinmoved his head back a little and realizedthat he had been sleeping with his face buried in his twin flame's nape. Aianlay with his back pressed against Kalvin’s chestwhileplaying a game on his phone. Kalvinsqueezed the arms wrapped around his twin flame's waist and burrowed his face back into the crook at the back of his neck. It was warm and comforting. And he was just so TIRED. He had no ideathattalking about something could be so damn draining. It felt like he had run a marathon. Like he had been the one chasing Aianacross rooftops and not
Kalvin’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and Aian felt his face burn in embarrassment almost at once. “Or not. I mean, if you don’t want to.” “Oh no, since you offered such an intriguing solution, I would love to take you up on the offer,” the older man’s face settled into a very familiar smirk. “But who’s the pervert now, hmm, angel?” Aiangroaned and covered his face with his good arm. His face was still getting redderthat he could feel the burning heat intensifying. “It’s your fault. You made me like this.” Kalvinlaughed at that. “Oh no, I merely brought out your inner desires. But I don’t see why you are getting so embarrassed over this. This is no worse than anything else we have done and YOU were the one to suggest it. I’m not about to laugh at you for your fantasies. I honestly doubt there is anything you would suggest that I wouldn’t do. We are quite matched in that regard.” Aianremoved his arm and stared at Kal
Aianwas ecstatic to be back at the penthouse. Kalvinwould still be around a lot, choosing to spend more time working from home for a few weeks and his security team would be around more to help out physically as well. He was still stuck being wheelchaired around for the next few weeks but at least he wasn’t stuck in a hospital bed. Kalvinwas wheeling him past one of the the spare room when he noticed something familiar through the door from the corner of his eye. “Wait. Hold up, what’s in that room now?” Kalvinstopped in place but didn’t respond. Aiancraned his head around to stare up at his twin flameonly to be met with a blank face. Highly suspicious. “Kal, what’s in that room?” Still no answer. “Wheel me back.” The man seemed to weigh up his options before reluctantly pulling him back so they were beside the door after he asked a second time. Aian 
Having been in the hospital for a full seven days, Aianwas itching to leave. Kalvinhad wheeled him outside a few times so he could bask in the fresh air and sunshine but honestly,Aianwanted to go home. It didn’t help that Chadhad been released into Otto’s care yesterday morning, leaving only the three of them in the ward together. Aianwas rightthat sharing the room was so much better than being by himself, though. They had a constant stream of visitors from the security team, both to visit them and to guard the room. He had also met some of Caleb’s and Shawn’s family members, all of whom were surprised to find out who Aianwas. Now he was caught up on all the movies and shows he wanted to watch and had even learneda few new card games as well. But he wassoready to go home. Kalvinsat on a chair beside his bed,reading through a few work documents that Blake 
“Hello, Nettie.” “Is that how you greet an old friend, hmm?” she sat down on the chair beside her basket. “Honestly, you haven’t been over to visit for a drink and a chat in ages. I was giving you time to settle down with your little twin flamehaving all your attention but I swear, if he wasn’t your twin flame, he would be your midlife crisis.” “I’m not that old,” Kalvinhuffed out and Aianlooked torn between finding it funny and embarrassing. “If I didn’t know any better, I would dispute that. But it’s not about age, it’s about life experience. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Hell, I would be behind this relationship all the way,twin flamestatus or not,if it means youget toactually relax and we get to see that you’re a human with feelings. Honestly, I could do with a cute little midlife crisis myself.” She gave a selfdepreciating laugh. “I swear I may as well be married to my restaurant! But you n
Calebstretched. Or at least tried to. He winced as the dull ache sharpened through his body as he moved. His right hand and wrist were encased in a cast and his shoulder was braced as well as possible to stop him from tearing open the bullet wound. The rest of his body ached as though he had been hit by a car, although the force of him hitting the ground wasn’t too far off being the same. He had to admit he was grateful for the Ecliprises-sponsored hospital treatment. Private ward and a room shared just with him and the other two injured guards. On top of that, he had a bed that was actually comfortable and a regular food that was decent. He also had a constant stream of visitors to keep him occupied, his mother with different siblings accompanying her each time and all the security team members had dropped in to say hello and keep them all company. He was surprised when a nurse came in and set up the unmade fourth bed afte
It had been a few days of bleary waking hours and constant naps but Aianwas finally perking up. Unfortunately,with his wakefulness came boredom. He was stuck mostly unable to move and often alone. He thought maybe he could play games on his handheld gaming device but thatalsorequired his left hand. As did trying to hold and navigate on his phone. He had been left with some books but holding them up while trying to turn the pages was awkward and reading on his phone wasn’t much better. He had his headphones on and listened to music but the energetic beat just reinforced how much he wanted to move. And how much he can’t. The worst part was that he could feel The Tug. He had never felt it before but he knew that’s what it was. It was faint, a slight tugging for him to get up and move in a certain direction. He checked on the map on his phone earlier and realizedthat it pointed to Ecliprises. H
Kalvinthanked Blakeas the man handed over a takeaway cup of coffee. He wasn’t sure how many hours he had been sitting in the hospital waiting room but a glance outside the windows showed a faint grey tint to the sky. Morning was on its way. He watched as his secretary handed out cups to the other occupants of the waiting room. Dalesat on his right and Glyniss, Aian’s mom, face pale and drawn, was on his left. A few chairs down sat Caleb’s mother and one of his younger sisters, beside them sat Shawn’s father. Chad’s emergency contact had turned out to be a friend that advised they would pass on a message to his family but had told Blakethat they most likely wouldn’t come, even if he died. Kalvinwasn’t one to pry into the private lives of his subordinates but he found something sad in such a capable and loyal young man being so estranged from his family. Some of themembers of Team Creeshiaalso sat around the roo
Agony pulled him back into awareness and Aiangroggily raised his head to look around. Neviseemed content to let him regain his bearings as he crouched in front of him with a knifeglinting in the light of the room. His eyes zeroed in on the gleaming blade and the insane man chuckled at his reaction. “I told youthat you owe me some fun for making me wait. I’m glad that you are able to stay awake for this. Its far more entertaining this way.” Nevi brought up the knife and set it against Aian’s freckled cheek. He flinched at the feeling of the cold blade digging into his skin but otherwise didn’t move. Closing his eyes, Aianbit the inside of his lip as the blade was pushed in further and dragged across his skin, slicing it open. It wasn’t a deep cut, but enough that he could feel the warm wetness of his own blood oozing out and trailing down his face. The knife was pulled away from his cheek an
The rest of the trip to wherever they were going was quiet. Neviseemed lost in his own thoughts so Aianused the time to gauge his injuries. His right arm was handcuffed to the seatbelt and other than some tenderness, it appeared to be okay. His left arm wasn’t so fortunate, though. It was clearly broken, part of his arm hanging limp at an unnatural angle. The break was in his forearm, a bit before his elbow. He must have landed on that arm during his fall. It hurt like hell. The pain radiated out from the break and seemed to crawl up his arm. Every bump in the road speared new pain through him in an agonizingjolt that had his eyes watering and he bit his lip to stop from crying outloud. Not the time to be a wuss about things now. Aianwas dizzy and could barely feel the rest of his body. He wondered if he had hit his head during the fall too. He must have, surely. Especially considering he blacked out