And thus, the two-day bachelor party was planned as such – on the first day of the party, they would spend it in the penthouse. The staff of the hotel would serve them drinks and fine food while they spent the day “bonding” over classic group activities. Such as setting up a billiards or dart tournament. Or gambling their pants off playing poker. Because it wouldn’t be a proper bachelor party if it didn’t result in the creation of blackmail material!
Thus, if getting drunk and losing their pants while gambling didn’t provide them with enough black history to laugh about in the future, there were also backup plans such as playing ‘spin the bottle’, or singing karaoke on the fancy new karaoke equipment they brought in.
In any case, during this party, they would give Swiftrain a couple of opportunities to strike, and if he still didn’t bite, then there was still the continuation of the party tomorrow. The activities of which included skiing and relaxing in the spa.
Though, to be honest, Noah was not at all worried about Swiftrain not biting. After getting into three terrorist attacks, everyone expected Levi and Noah to pay extra attention to their safety in the near future. Knowing this, Swiftrain, too, would expect the future hits to be hard to pull off. Which was why it would be all the harder to resist an opportunity when it revealed itself.
As long as they avoided raising his alarm bells, he would certainly take the shot.
***
Levi strolled around the suite with a spring in his step, monitoring the staff who were finishing up the party preparations. Everything had been going smoothly so far.
Well, nearly everything.
Levi, with his eyebrows furrowed, stopped to stare towards the opposite rooftop through the floor to ceiling window in the dining room. The majority of the glass windows and doors in the condo were one-sided, so while Levi could clearly see the state on the other side, no outside observer could peer in.
“Something is not right,” Levi’s frown deepened. “The entire place is swarming with reporters. The location of the bachelor party must have been leaked to the media.”
Noah sat crumpled in a nearby bean bag chair. Hearing Levi’s pleasant deep voice, his toes curled up, and his cheeks reddened. He cutely fidgeted his bottom left and right, peeking in Levi’s direction from the corner of his eyes.
Noah’s gaze inadvertently caught the state of the west rooftop, and he couldn’t help but yelp, “Eh? So crowded!” The incredulity within his voice lasted only for a moment before turning into satisfaction, “That’s great! With so many people, Swiftrain would feel safe. He’ll definitely take the shot. In fact, it might have been the terrorists who leaked our location in the first place. The more people there are, the easier it is for Swiftrain to hide within the crowd and slip away unnoticed.”
Hearing his darling’s lovely voice, Levi’s frown visibly eased, “But with so many people, there are also too many dead angles. We might not be able to catch the shot.”
Fynn and Levi’s people had set up hidden cameras everywhere in order to catch all movements on the rooftop. Actually, it wasn’t just the rooftop – there were hidden cameras all over the resort so that Fynn could get a clear shot of all arrivals. Since yesterday, Fynn and his team had been screening the footage for Swiftrain candidates. They had been identifying the visitors via facial recognition and tracking their movements to narrow down the suspects. However, with so many people arriving by the minute, Levi was afraid they lacked the manpower to stay in control of the situation.
Noah understood Levi’s worries but didn’t share them. He had his omnidirectional recording device known as Blackie. He had already given this cheat of an AI clear directions to record the movements of everyone in his large monitoring radius. No matter how many dead angles Swiftrain exploited, he would never be able to hide from Blackie’s scanner-like vision that wasn’t even blocked by walls.
In fact, Swiftrain didn’t even need to strike, just showing up was enough for Blackie to deduce his identity. Blackie was also collecting the serial numbers of everyone’s communicators and monitoring incoming and outgoing communications. Though the encryption technology of this world was considered advanced when compared to Noah’s homeworld, in the eyes of a supercomputer made by the most advanced technology in the multiverse, it might as well be nonexistent.
“Trust me, we’ll definitely catch him this time,” Noah reassured, his large doe-like eyes gleaming with confidence.
Levi glanced back at his adorable baby, and the remnants of his frown completely dissipated. How could he muster up any unpleasant thoughts when in the presence of his precious darling? Ah, today, it was as if his entire soul was infused with the warmth of spring! All negative thoughts were blocked from outside by his love shield!
Blackie, (¬_¬;) ‘Oh, yeah. Your so-called “love shield” is super effective. 👍 Blocking all kinds of things outside. Negativity. Decency. Common sense…–No, wait, my bad. Can’t block what was never there in the first place. ╮(╯∀╰)╭’
In Levi’s defense, it wasn’t entirely his fault. His precious darling was too distracting! Ever since the events of this morning, Noah was hyper-aware of Levi’s presence. He was acting like a mouse seeing a cat!
Every once in a while, Noah would get distracted, his vigilance relaxing, but then, as soon as Levi approached within two meters distance, Noah would remember certain events and jump up as if he had his tail stepped on. He would then, of course, realize he was overreacting and try to pretend like nothing was wrong. He’d put on a poker face, but this pretend-calm made him look all the more eye-catching because, no matter how he controlled his facial expression, he couldn’t control the pink hue of his face!
And as if it all wasn’t funny enough, all his mental faculties seemed to have been directed into controlling his facial expression, which left the remainder of his body unsupervised. Thus, he was all cutely fidgety, not knowing where to place his limbs. He also avoided meeting Levi’s eyes, and when spoken to, his words would occasionally come out in a stutter.
In short, he was so fucking adorable Levi felt his insides had been so stuffed with sugar that even his blood had turned into caramel. Consequently, Levi’s mouth had been stuck in a perpetual smile for hours now.
He was even magnanimous enough to not pay Trey’s accusing glares any heed. If he had attention to spare, he was better off using it to watch his baby acting shy.
Alas, the more he watched, the more he wanted to tease his cute little kitten. The more he restrained himself, the less he could suppress his wicked desires.
Levi hid the crafty glimmer from leaking out of his eyes, acting like he intended to exit the room. However, midway, he abruptly changed directions towards his baby, blocking the other’s escape route in one swell move.
Levi closed in on his slouching baby like a big bad wolf cornering its prey. And as expected, the prey acted exactly as one – Noah’s eyes widened like a startled deer, and he shrunk into himself as if he hoped the bean bag would swallow him whole. His eyes instinctively darted left and right, and then, realizing how silly he was behaving, he lowered them to admire the carpet.
Levi crouched to Noah’s eye level to appreciate the delectable image of his bashful baby for a moment.
“Mn? Why so nervous?” Levi’s chest rumbled with a laugh, “I’m not going to eat you for lunch!” Then his eyes flashed a devious glint, and his voice lowered, “No guarantees for dinner though.”
Noah’s fidgeting form abruptly stiffened, blood rushed into his head, and he couldn’t help but indignantly glare at Levi, looking like a kitten with his fur puffed up. Unfortunately, the warning admonishment within his wide watery eyes, coupled with his flushed cheeks, turned into allure in the eyes of a certain wolf. The already nonexistent threat was further diminished by the fact that he couldn’t hold Levi’s gaze for long. Ah, how could the little baby Noah compare with this shameless tease? Especially when the mentioned tease looked especially radiant today with even his eyes smiling? Baby Noah couldn’t even look at him straight without feeling like his little heart would jump out of his chest! Levi chuckled again and adoringly ruffled his kitten’s raised fur. The indignant kitten huffed and puffed but made no moves to avoid his hand. “When…” the kitten Noah grumbled under his breath. “When is what?” wolf Levi hummed, “Dinner? Up to you. My stomac
And thus they played pool for long five… five… Five minutes… Why? “Astar! Levi!” A tomato red and very livid Noah, who was currently leaning over the pool table, ground his teeth. His grip on the cue stick was so tight his fingers turned white. Astar Levi, with his lips pressed tightly together, stood stiffly behind him with his arms rigidly enveloping the other. He said not a word, and his expression was grave, however, if one looked closely, one could see grievances spilling out of his eyes. So, one might be thinking, ‘Oh, so that’s what happened! This dawg Astar Levi shamelessly attempted to eat some tofu in broad daylight!’ Shameless dawg Astar Levi pleads not guilty! QAQ ‘I’ve been wrongfully accused!!’ He really didn’t, ah! He was very honestly trying to teach his baby how to play pool! And of course, when teaching someone how to do something, a hands-on approach was always the best… Ok, sure, the reason
And thus, Astar Levi went to handle his swelling, disappointed he wouldn’t be receiving his darling’s assistance, but comforted with the fact that soon enough, this little cabbage would be fully his, and then he would be able to eat it up in all sorts of ways for the rest of eternity. Meanwhile, Noah remained there in the hallway, encouraging himself to man up. Though embarrassing, he ought to go back to the party. If he didn’t return back soon, others might think the two of them were doing inappropriate things together! But ah! Going back wasn’t that easy! Right now, he was again feeling like his life was too embarrassing to continue living! For such a thing to happen in front of so many people! Noah covered his burning face with his hands. ‘They saw nothing. They saw nothing.’ He tried to brainwash himself. ‘Just pretend nothing happened! You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about! It’s not like it was you that got an erection!’ “W
What was with this strange feeling in his chest? Why did it matter to him whether Levi watched it or not? The man had already broken up with his sister, so what’s wrong with watching a strip show? Why did the idea of the other enjoying the sight ruffle his feathers? Noah exhaled a breath and admonished himself. It was perfectly fine to have conservative values, but it was not fine to push his own values onto others! Levi treated him like a younger brother, so he didn’t wish him to see anything R-18, but Noah had no such excuse to write off his own feelings! (Blackie, ‘Oh? So you too know the younger brother treatment is an excuse?’ (¬‿¬)) Could it be that deep down, he already had some thoughts and feelings towards Levi that he shouldn’t have?! 😱 … While the two were off in their own pink world of two, the strippers dancing around Astar Levi exchanged a glance. ‘What… what’s happening?’ Did th
When the eldest Cordia sibling heard that her soon-to-be husband was a slag who dared cheat on her with someone else, blood rushed to her head, and without further thought, she took the first maglev train to the Astars’ mountain resort. She had been in such a hurry that she didn’t even remember to switch to more appropriate wear, coming to a snow-covered mountain in high heels! Throughout the entire train ride, she kept calling her fiancé, but not a single call went through! That son-of-a-bitch must have added her number to his blacklist!! ‘Heh heh heh. Astar Levi, you sure have guts!’ (ꐦ ◠‿◠) ‘Just you wait! I’ll rip those guts out and then regenerate them. Over and over and over!’ ‘You’ll rue the day you decided to backstab this mommy!’ ‘And the little bitch that dared seduce a man with a fiancé! Heh heh. Just wait until this mommy gets her hands on you!’ Only upon exiting the train did thi
The ex-groom and bride stared each other down. And judging by the equally fierce sparks shooting out of their eyes, if one didn't know their identities beforehand, it would be impossible to tell which was the Healer and which was the Enforcer. "Maery," Levi squeezed between his gritted teeth. Hearing that word, Noah visibly flinched. And Levi, who had always paid attention to his baby first and everyone and everything else second, instantly shut up and tried to retract his intimidating aura. Tried being the keyword. Maery, too, didn't wish to upset her baby brother, so she forced a smile. Unfortunately, that smile looked scarier than her frown. But fortunately for the both of them, Noah's reaction to the word had nothing to do with the tone or facial expression it was spoken in! No, no, no! There was a very different reason as to why he had always avoided referring to his newly obtained sister by her name! And that was because…
Maery took her sweet time finding herself an unopened beverage with the highest alcohol content she could find, while Levi sat at the dining table in silence with a grave look on his face, displaying a strange mix of impatience and forbearance. He was impatient to get this over with asap so that his baby wouldn’t need to wait long, but, on the other hand, he was aware of the importance of this conversation, and rushing it would do no good. He was the one in the wrong first; thus, he had to remain level headed and tolerant with Maery, no matter how long it took and how she chose to respond to the truth. Now he could no longer go with his original plan to seduce his baby during this bachelor party and then come out to their families together, changing the marriage arrangement. Thus, the success or failure of his happy matter with his baby largely depended on the result of his talks with Maery. If Maery insisted on holding on to this marriage or setting
Levi was abruptly shaken out of his melancholic mood, and his mind couldn’t help but stall. It took him several seconds to fully process the other’s words. Then his nostrils flared, “For the last time, I am not talking any medicine!” “Ah, then there is your problem.” The look Maery shot Levi’s way at that moment couldn’t be properly expressed in words. It was a look that a kindergarten teacher might direct towards a retarded kid that just got his head stuck inside a toilet seat. It was the look that said, “I’m not even gonna ask how or why – I’m sure any explanation you can come up with will be stupid. Let’s just call 101 and get this over with.” Maery smiled encouragingly and coaxed, “Now that we know the source of the problem, how about I introduce you to a friend of mine from Med school that can help you get a prescription?” Levi’s face fell, and a vein couldn’t help but pop up on his forehead from how hard he was trying to restrain his temper. “I am not c