"The Night He Left"

The room was still, lit only by the moonlight pouring through the half-open blinds. Nox stood by the door, fully dressed in black — the kind of black that didn't reflect light. Combat boots laced tight. Double holsters snapped in place. A duffel bag, padded for silence, weighed comfortably on his shoulder. His eyes flicked once to the beds.

Leo slept soundly, tangled in the comforter, face half-buried in the pillow Nox usually occupied. A soft sigh escaped Nox's lips before he walked quietly to the desk. He left the burner phone, a set of forged IDs, his real passport, and a clean stack of Euro bills.

Then he pulled out the tiny red Hello Kitty belly piercing, left it atop a yellow sticky note that simply read: "I'll be back."

He didn't linger. The last thing he needed was Leo waking up. He turned and vanished into the darkness.

—

Leo woke up to silence. The absence was immediate. There was no water running, no smell of fried eggs, no whispered curses at the coffee machine. He reached out — cold sheets.

His eyes locked onto the desk. The note. The piercing.

He didn't say anything. He didn't even blink.

He stood, grabbed the piercing between two fingers, closed it in his palm. Then started his day.

—

Routine.

By 6:00 AM, Leo was in the training yard, barking instructions.

"Thirty rounds. No misses. Or you're out."

He disarmed one of the newer recruits during a hand-to-hand round, shoved him into the dirt. "That form gets you killed. Again."

His voice was colder. Precise.

—

Dominik watched from the villa's open balcony with the ex-boss, sipping his tea, an ice pack strapped to his thigh.

"You know what's wild?" Dominik muttered.

The ex-boss, arms crossed over his blanket-wrapped lap, tilted his head. "Everything about them?"

Dominik nodded. "Exactly. Nox disappears in the dead of night — typical assassin move. Leo wakes up, sees the Hello Kitty piercing and note, and just… continues like nothing happened?"

"He's not even panicking."

"He flicked the damn piercing twice during breakfast."

The ex-boss whistled low. "They've either buried their feelings so deep they're under the Mariana Trench, or they've got some secret telepathy going on."

Dominik leaned forward, voice lowering in a hiss. "He made breakfast. Nox usually cooks. Leo burned the eggs, didn't even care. Then gave an entire strategic rundown to three regional lieutenants like his soul wasn't shredded."

—

Midday.

Leo stood at the long meeting table, flanked by lieutenants. A map of territory boundaries, red-flagged threat zones, and resource pools stretched across the table. He issued orders, rotated assignments, dismissed objections with cold stares.

Dominik limped in late and leaned in the doorway.

"Did you just order two separate alliances to merge patrol routes without checking if they've stopped stabbing each other in alleyways?"

Leo didn't even glance his way. "They'll behave. Or I'll gut them myself."

The room emptied quickly.

Dominik turned to the ex-boss who had wheeled himself in behind him. "He's terrifying."

"He's functioning on pure Nox withdrawal. Give him a week, he'll either build a mafia empire or spontaneously combust."

"Odds are even."

—

Afternoon.

Leo took to the gym. Two hours of close combat drills. When someone asked where Nox was, he said, "Busy."

Dominik, still watching, whispered, "That's the mafia equivalent of 'he went out to get milk.'"

"Except Nox actually left with an arsenal and a duffel of euros," said the ex-boss.

Leo didn't pause. He kept punching.

—

Evening.

Dinner was silent. Leo sat at Nox's usual seat. He didn't touch the cucumber slices. No one dared speak.

Dominik raised an eyebrow as he watched Leo finish his meal, stand, and start washing dishes.

"Okay, this is getting creepy. He cleaned the kitchen. Nox does that. Is he mimicking him now?"

"Or maybe," the ex-boss said calmly, "he just misses him and doesn't know it."

Dominik squinted. "That would imply these emotionally constipated bastards are capable of feelings."

"They're not."

"Right."

—

Nightfall.

Leo was in the garden, lighting a cigarette — Nox's brand.

He didn't smoke, but he inhaled once, let it burn, then set the cigarette in the ashtray like a ritual. He held the Hello Kitty piercing again, flicked it against his knee.

Dominik, peeking from the upstairs window, whispered, "He's going to wear it next."

"I wouldn't even be surprised," the ex-boss murmured.

They both sipped tea.

Outside, Leo tilted his head to the stars, exhaled slowly.

"I'll hold the line," he muttered, then stood and walked back inside — silent as ever.

And Russia? Still waiting.

Nox had just reached Moscow. The Russian weapons researchers were marked, surveillance was tight, and the mafia boss running the operation had a bounty bigger than most governments.

But Nox didn't care about the danger. He needed the money. The funding.

And in the back of his mind…

He kept thinking of the look Leo would make when he handed him the new sniper stock. Or the custom forged grenade ring.

She didn't know why.

But it mattered.

So he worked faster.

The shadows welcomed him.

He vanished into them without hesitation.

Leo, back at the villa, never blinked. But his hands never stopped moving.

One day closer to the return.

And Dominik?

Dominik had already started a group chat called "Emotionally Unaware Idiots We Love" and added the ex-boss.

They were logging everything.

Just in case one of them finally cracked.