26

A week later, the morning sunlight filters through the bedroom windows.

Golden, soft, and warm against the sheets.

Nani sits on the edge of the bed, legs weak but willing. His body is healthier now, movements slow but steady, and the fire in his eyes has returned.

Confident and alive.

"Are you sure about this?" Sky asks gently, standing just a step away, arms ready to catch him.

"I've been lying in bed too long," Nani says, his voice hoarse but steady. "I want to feel the sun on my skin again."

Sky offers his hand, and Nani takes it.

Step by step, they walk. To the elevator, down the hallway, out the door, and onto the back garden terrace.

The air smells of rain-soaked earth and jasmine.

Nani inhales deeply. "God, I missed this."

Sky pulls a chair over and helps him sit, crouching in front of him with his hands resting lightly on Nani's knees.

"You're doing better than I expected," Sky says with a small smile.

"Was that a compliment?" Nani arches an eyebrow.

Sky rolls his eyes. "Don't get used to it."

A soft silence settles between them. Nani tilts his head toward the sky, the breeze rustling through his hair.

"Sometimes I think about how close I was to not making it," he murmurs. "And then I look at you and I feel like I was given another chance."

"You were," Sky says simply. "And I'm not wasting it. Not a second."

Nani looks down at him, heart full, chest aching in the best way. "You stayed."

"Of course I did," Sky replies, brushing his thumb gently along Nani's wrist. "Where else would I be?"

Nani threads his fingers through Sky's. "Then stay forever."

Sky leans up and presses a kiss to his forehead. "As long as forever includes you."

Nani smiles and slowly stands again, beginning to walk around the garden with Sky trailing behind, eyes never leaving him.

"Does your head still hurt?" Sky asks.

Nani shakes his head. "The pain's dulled. It still lingers but I'm managing."

He stops by the small pond where koi fish drift lazily beneath the surface.

Sky moves beside him, guiding gently, watching as Nani reaches for the container of fish food and begins sprinkling it over the water.

"Your last CT scan looked good," Sky says. "Doctor said you can have the bandages off in a few more days."

He wraps an arm around Nani's waist, letting him lean in as the koi gather beneath them.

Nani rests into Sky's hold, the warmth between them seeping through the thin layers of clothes.

The pond's soft ripples echo the pace of their breathing.

"I forgot how peaceful this place is," Nani murmurs, eyes fixed on the water. "Everything's been chaos for so long, I didn't think I'd ever get to stand here again."

Sky listens in silence, his fingers gently brushing against Nani's back.

"I know this world can take everything in the blink of an eye," Nani continues. "But sometimes, it gives you a second chance too."

He exhales slowly.

"And mine came in the form of you."

Sky's chest tightens. "What if we never met that night?" he asks quietly.

Nani frowns. "I don't want to imagine that," he says firmly.

Sky smiles, heart full.

He tightens his arm around Nani's waist, pulling him closer. "I'm glad we did," he whispers against Nani's ear.

Nani rests his head on Sky's shoulder, feeling the steady beat of his heart. "Me too."

Then Sky chuckles. "Don't you think we've gotten a little too mellow these days?"

Nani shoots him a sharp glare. "You really know how to ruin a moment."

He shoves Sky lightly and turns to return the fish food before walking back toward the villa.

"Oh, come on, Nani! Are you seriously sulking now?" Sky calls out, jogging after him.

Nani throws another glare over his shoulder. "Sleep in your own room tonight."

He stomps dramatically into the villa.

Sky laughs and chases after him, half-laughing, half-pleading.

He catches up just as Nani reaches the elevator. "Come on, you're not really kicking me out, are you?"

"I am," Nani says flatly, not even turning around. "You killed the mood."

Sky sighs. "You were getting all poetic. I was trying to balance it out. You know I can't handle too much softness, I'll start crying."

Nani pauses. Slowly, he turns to face him, arms folded, brows raised. "Cry? Since when do you cry?"

Sky steps closer, lowering his voice. "Since I almost lost you."

That silences Nani.

His smirk fades. His shoulders drop slightly as he exhales.

"Fine. You can sleep in the same room."

Sky grins. "Oh? Just the same room? Not the same bed?"

Nani rolls his eyes and presses the elevator button. "Push your luck again and you'll be on the floor."

But Sky follows him in anyway, smiling like he's just won the lottery. "Worth it."

At the bedroom door, Nani pauses and glances at him from the corner of his eye. "I'm still healing. You better behave."

"Yes, bibi. I'll behave," Sky says with a teasing tone.

Nani smiles. Small, barely there but it's real.

And together, they step inside.

***

Nani stands in front of the glass window of his office, a cigarette in one hand and a half-empty glass of whiskey in the other.

"I seriously need to confiscate this thing," Sky says as he enters the room, snatching the cigarette from Nani's lips.

The mafia is fully recovered now.

He's back to himself.

Tailored suit hugging his frame, bracelets wrapped around his slender wrist, and a necklace resting against his exposed chest.

No more headaches. No more sluggish steps. Just Nani in all his sharp, dangerous glory.

"I'm stressed," Nani mutters, sighing as he downs the rest of his whiskey. "Who the hell conducts a transaction at a bar and ends up crashing it so badly the whole place needs renovations?"

Sky leans against the wall behind him, arms crossed, still dressed in his sleek gray suit and white shirt. His gaze sweeps over Nani's fiery red outfit.

"Done being dramatic yet?" he asks, arching a brow.

Nani turns slowly, eyes narrowing as he sets the empty glass down on the desk. "Dramatic? It's called emotional processing."

Sky snorts. "You throw a punch every time someone breathes wrong. If that's your idea of emotional processing, a gang's probably going to start a battle."

Nani smirks, walking over until there's barely a breath of space between them. "Oh, please. You like it when I get worked up."

Sky leans closer, towering over him with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"You have no idea," he murmurs, his index finger tracing a slow line down Nani's exposed chest before gripping his waist and pulling him in.

Nani looks up at him, amber eyes blazing with fire.

"You didn't even care to help me when those fuckers pushed me away," Nani snaps.

Sky merely listens, shrugging with mock innocence before leaning in, his voice a dangerous whisper against Nani's ear.

"I broke their arms the moment you stormed out so dramatically," he confesses, and Nani's breath hitches as Sky tugs his earlobe gently between his teeth.

"Who told you to let them touch you?" Sky growls, voice low and threatening.

Nani flinches as those teeth bite down harder, just enough to sting.

He's about to push the bodyguard away when Sky suddenly manhandles him with ease, bending him over the table, his back pressed to Sky's chest.

"You did it to get my attention, didn't you?" Sky asks darkly, tightening his grip around Nani's wrists behind his back.

Nani struggles against the grip, wrists pinned tightly, the edge of the table pressing into his stomach.

His breath comes in shallow bursts, but it isn't from fear.

It's the burn, the anticipation coursing through every nerve ending.

"Fuck, Sky, let go of me! You're insane," he spits, voice tight.

Sky chuckles behind him, his body flush against Nani's back, the heat of him seeping through the fabric of their clothes.

"You didn't answer me," he says, dragging his lips along the curve of Nani's neck. "Did you want my attention?"

Nani clenches his jaw, refusing to speak. But the tremble in his legs gives him away.

Sky's hand moves from his wrists to the small of his back, pressing him down just enough to assert control.

"You act tough," he whispers, "but your body tells me everything."

His other hand slides around to Nani's front, fingers grazing over sensitive skin, teasing and determined. "You knew exactly what would happen when you let them get too close."

"I didn't," Nani hisses, but the words sound weak, even to his own ears.

Sky laughs softly, cruelly. "Liar."

With one swift motion, he yanks Nani's pants down to his thighs, exposing his bare skin to the cold air and Sky's burning gaze.

Nani gasps, hips bucking slightly, but Sky holds him firm.

"You wanted to be punished," Sky says, voice darker now. "So I'm going to give you exactly what you asked for."

He leans down, lips brushing against Nani's ear again. "And when I'm done, you'll be begging for more."

Nani's breath hitches, his resolve hanging by a thread.

The dangerous warmth of Sky's voice, the weight of his body, the possessive touch.

It all collides inside him, leaving him raw and craving more.

Sky's hand slides between his thighs, fingers wrapping around his already hard cock. He strokes him slowly, drawing soft whimpers from Nani's throat.

"You're already dripping for me," Sky growls. "So don't pretend this isn't what you want."

Nani bites his lip, desperate to silence the moan rising in his throat.

He grits his teeth, the cold surface of the table pressing him against the molten heat of Sky's body.

Every part of him burns from where Sky's hand grips his wrist, to the hard press of his cock dragging slowly between his asscheeks.

"Still not begging?" Sky asks, voice a rasp, a threat wrapped in silk.

Nani swallows hard, biting back a sound that might be a moan.

His pride is bruised, but he doesn't care because he's breaking in front of his own boyfriend.

Nani's body lights up like a fuse, and Sky drives him past the edge without even trying.

He doesn't see what Sky reaches for, but he feels it. Cool slickness teasing his entrance, followed by the pressure of a finger sliding in slowly.

It stretches him, opens him, forces him to breathe through the tightness. Sky doesn't rush.

He knows what he's doing. Every twist of his wrist, every pause and curl of his fingers, is deliberate.

"Look at you," Sky murmurs, pressing a kiss to the nape of Nani's neck. "Trying so hard not to break."

A second finger pushes in beside the first, and Nani lets out a low, involuntary groan. His hips twitch, torn between pushing back and pulling away.

Sky chuckles darkly. "There it is."

He fucks him slowly with his fingers, brushing against that one spot that makes Nani's knees buckle.

Nani curses under his breath, forehead pressed to the table, trying to hold on to the last threads of control.

"You feel that?" Sky asks, his breath hot against his ear. "That's mine."

Then the fingers are gone, and a moment later, Sky's cock replaces them.

Thicker. Hotter. Stretching him wider as he pushes in, inch by aching inch.

Nani gasps, fingers clawing at the edge of the table, the stretch bordering on pain but bleeding into something addictive.

Sky doesn't stop until he's fully inside, hips flush against Nani's ass, breath ragged.

"Fuck," he growls, holding himself there for a beat, savoring the moment. "You take me so damn well."

He pulls out halfway then slams back in.

Nani cries out, his voice caught between a moan and a sob.

Sky grips his hips and sets a pace. Deep, punishing thrusts that make the table creak beneath them.

Skin slaps against skin, sweat dripping down both their spines.

The only sounds in the room are their breathing, their bodies, and the occasional desperate gasp from Nani when Sky hits just the right spot.

"Say it," Sky growls. "Say you're mine."

Nani's pride wavers, crumbles under the weight of sensation. "Y–Yours," he gasps.

Sky grins against his shoulder, speeding up. "Louder."

"I'm yours," Nani moans, his voice wrecked.

Sky reaches around, stroking him in time with every thrust, and it isn't long before Nani's body starts to shake. He's too close and Sky knows it.

"Come for me," he whispers, biting his shoulder just enough to leave a mark. "Now."

Nani lets go with a cry, spilling hard into Sky's hand, his whole body burning with release.

Sky doesn't stop thrusting through it until he finally groans, buries himself deep, and comes with a shudder that rattles his chest.

They collapse together, breathless, bodies slick and tangled.

For a moment, there's silence. Broken only by the sound of their hearts, still racing.

Then, quietly, Sky presses a kiss to the back of Nani's neck.

"It's so easy to make you give in," Nani says, turning slightly to face his boyfriend with a smug smile tugging at his lips.

Sky grabs him and flips him around in one swift motion, pinning him with a sharp stare and a single raised eyebrow.

"So that was your plan?" Sky says, his voice low. "To make me jealous?"

He pushes Nani's legs apart, spreading him open, exposing him completely.

Nani opens his mouth to protest, but the words never come.

Sky shoves him down onto the table, keeping him there with a firm hand while stroking himself back to full hardness.

"If that's what you wanted," Sky growls, lining himself up, "then I'll make sure you cum all night right here on this table so you remember exactly who you belong to."

He thrusts forward, his cock pushing past Nani's rim in one slow, raw stroke.

Thick and deep.

Nani cries out, back arching, the overwhelming stretch and pressure pushing him over the edge of reason.

Sky doesn't wait.

His thrusts are relentless, each one deeper than the last. Nani writhes beneath him, moaning Sky's name between broken gasps.

"P–Please, Sky, too much," Nani begs, his voice trembling.

But Sky doesn't stop.

He leans down, breath hot against Nani's ear. "You wanted this. Now take it."