He didn't know why, but his eyes kept wandering in your direction.

A few hours had passed, Jinx had returned with the things you asked her for and then disappeared into her cave.
Silco had returned to his paperwork, but his mind wouldn't focus.

Instead, there was this feeling on his skin, this warmth spreading through his body. He hated this feeling because he couldn't tell exactly what it was. But at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to let himself fall into this warmth. It felt like he could close his eyes and forget everything.

Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his eye shut and leaned back in the chair, his head so far back that his face was facing the ceiling.

The beat of his heart echoed in his ears.

Suddenly everything felt so light, so calm. The thoughts in his head fell silent.

"Darling...", it suddenly slipped from his lips.

All at once, his eyes were wide open.

His gaze jumped over to you, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was nervous.

But when you remained unblinded, a relieved sigh left his lips.

He relaxed again. It was at that moment that he first realized how ridiculous he was acting.

Why the hell was he so worried that you might hear him?

In the end, it would be nothing more than a word, slipped out in a moment of carelessness. He could just claim that it was accidental or that his mind had been reveling in the past.

At the same time, he had to growl in annoyance. He didn't have to justify himself for anything and yet his mind was desperately searching for a way out in case you called him on it.

Dissatisfied with his own condition, his fingers began to tap the table.

The desire to smoke a cigar rose in him. His hand was already reaching out for the box, when he suddenly stopped.

His gaze returned to you. He thought about it briefly.

With a heavy breath, he rose briskly from his chair, trimmed himself a cigar and was about to leave the room. But he stopped in the open doorway.

"I'll be right back.", he said over his shoulder.

Listening only with half an ear, you nodded and indicated with a gesture that he was not needed at the moment.

He didn't know why, but he would have preferred it if you had at least looked at him vaguely. Just talking to your back seemed unsatisfactory to him.

But he didn't want to complain either and disappeared.

As his footsteps moved away, you raised your head and frowned. It was strange that he suddenly disappeared, but on the other hand you didn't have to feel like you were being watched.

Unfortunately, this freedom did not last for long. A few moments later, footsteps sounded again, heavy and more unclean this time.

Alarmed you listened, your eyes were alertly directed to the door.

A shadow fell into the room.

Your hands instinctively reached for one of the scalpels you always kept hidden in your pockets. Your shoulders tensed.

The floor creaked. Someone heavy entered the room.

"Sevika?", you let go of the scalpel again. "What are you doing here?"

With an amused grin, the tall woman nodded her greeting to you and dropped onto the couch that stood in the room.

"Silco sent me.", she said, lighting a cigarette. "I guess he wants to keep his pet safe."

She blew a cloud of smoke into the room. At the sight of the gray plume, you had to curl your mouth in disgust.

"Funny.", you thought aloud, trying to ignore the smell of smoke that was spreading.

Shrugging, she glanced over her shoulder to see what you were doing.

"Not really. He needs you and can't risk you getting in trouble. Lots of people want your head, now that you work for Silco even more."

"If that's the case, why aren't you always here? Don't you have to protect him, too?"

Amused, she laughed. It was a deep laugh, vibrant and full of power. It suited her.

You couldn't have thought about another laugh for her.

"Silco doesn't need to be guarded. He may look harmless and prefers to let others do the dirty work, but when he wants to, he fears nothing."

You had to smile at the thought.

"In my opinion, his tongue is more dangerous than his possible actions. He talks for what he believes in and poisons those who disagree. And at the same time he is wise enough to know that even cockroaches can be of use."

"Oh yes.", she took another deep breath from her cigarette. "But he has killed before."

"Who hasn't?"

"Huh? It sounds like you don't except yourself. And I thought you were an angel."

"Angels are merciful. And as much as people want to deny it, death is sometimes more merciful than life."

"Bitter words."

"Truths always taste worse than the lies."

She didn't answer anything to that. But the look on her face was obvious. She knew all too well how true those words were. And she wished not to talk about it.

"Anyway...", leaning back, she took the last few breaths of her cigarette. "How's the work going?"

"Not good."

"How so?"

"I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you."

"You're not, but who cares? Silco likes his privacy and I like a good little shit talk. So, let me in on your relationship issues."

Frowning, you threw a disgusted glance over your shoulder.

"What the fuck?", you hissed. "Why would you say that?"

Visibly amused by your reaction, Sevika grinned.

"Oh please, I heard the two of you yesterday.", she winked at you. "He was gasping and breathing heavily."

You frowned, confused. But as you realised what she meant, you had to bite your lips. It was obvious that she was thinking about something entirely different, but telling her it had been him suffering could have angered him.

"That's- that's not...", you tried to explain, but she cut you off with a raised hand.

"Don't worry, I don't judge. But... I wouldn't have fucked him."

"What... what am I supposed to answer to that?"