Moving to Ergastulum was supposed to be temporary. Cheap rent, small apartment, keep your head down and survive. That was the plan. Y/ n never expected a stray black cat to slowly become part of her routine... or for that same cat to catch the attention of two men watching from above.
Especially one quiet mercenary who suddenly finds himself waiting by the window every evening just to see her walk by again.
violence mentions, Gangsta. universe, mentions of poverty/financial struggles, watching behavior, slow burn, awkward Nicolas behavior, stray cat ownership, fluff, and dirty thoughts.
“You’re not coming?” Nicolas signed to Worick.
“Nah.” Worick said while leaning back in his chair. “I gotta stay here and help out Alex.”
Nicolas immediately huffed.
Everyone in the room knew Worick didn’t help with shit.
Worick noticed the look on Nicolas’s face and grinned.
The kind that made Nicolas want to kick him.
You looked between them and laughed.
“I won’t keep him for too long!” You joked.
Worick immediately laughed.
“Take him for as long as you want.”
Nicolas felt his ears get warm.
You opened your mouth, clearly about to say something else.
Probably something equally embarrassing.
Before you could, Nicolas reached forward and gently grabbed your wrist.
You immediately stopped talking.
Nicolas didn’t seem to notice your brief panic.
Because his ears somehow got even redder.
He lightly tugged your wrist toward the door.
Before Worick says something worse.
“Okay okay!” You laughed.
You quickly waved toward Alex.
“Bye Y/n!” Alex called back.
“Don’t break anything!” Worick shouted.
“We’re fixing something!” You shouted back.
“That’s what I’m worried about!”
You heard Alex smack him.
You laughed while Nicolas practically dragged you out of the apartment.
The second the door shut behind you, the hallway became quiet.
Then at the hand still holding your wrist.
Nicolas followed your gaze.
“You know.” You signed while walking beside him. “Your friends tease you a lot.”
Which only made you laugh harder.
You laughed the entire walk home.
Mostly because every time you brought up Worick, Nicolas looked annoyed.
“Your friends tease you a lot.” You signed.
“You get embarrassed easily too.”
Nicolas immediately shot you a look.
You laughed all the way to your apartment.
By the time you reached the building, you were smiling.
“Here we are.” You signed.
A black blur sprinted toward the entrance.
The black cat ran right past you.
The cat immediately wrapped itself around Nicolas’s legs.
Then another cat appeared.
The white cat trotted over and immediately rubbed against his other leg.
The cats practically surrounded him.
“I feed you two every day.”
The black cat stretched against Nicolas’s leg.
The white cat rubbed its face against his shoe.
The cats immediately crowded around him.
The black cat shoved its head into his hand.
The white cat climbed into his lap.
You couldn’t help smiling.
Nicolas scratched behind the white cat’s ears.
The cat looked ready to pass out from happiness.
“You’re a cat magnet.” You signed.
The words left your mouth.
You immediately looked away.
You pointed aggressively at the cats.
You knew he read every word from your lips.
Which somehow made it worse.
There was no saving this.
Nicolas looked at your embarrassed face.
The way you couldn’t even look at him.
The way you kept trying to explain yourself.
But it was definitely a smirk.
Straight toward the kitchen.
The cats followed behind him.
You pointed dramatically.
The black cat looked back at you.
Then continued following Nicolas.
As if agreeing with Nicolas.
You put your hands on your hips.
The cats clearly disagreed.
Nicolas pretended not to find any of this funny but the small smirk from earlier had already given him away.
Nicolas eventually figured out what was wrong.
A pipe underneath the sink had loosened.
Meanwhile you were sitting on the kitchen floor nearby with the two cats.
The black cat was curled beside your leg while the white cat was stretched out between you and Nicolas.
“Sorry it’s so hot in here.”
You pointed toward the ceiling.
He looked around the apartment.
The place felt like an oven.
You got up and walked toward the fridge.
You returned and handed him a cold bottle.
He took it and drank almost half of it immediately.
A few more minutes passed.
Sweat rolled down the side of his neck.
Eventually he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Without much thought, he began unbuttoning his collar shirt.
Nicolas pulled the shirt off and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
Underneath was a black tank top.
Your eyes immediately landed on his arms.
Then the tattoo stretching across his back.
Nicolas could practically feel your eyes burning holes into him.
He looked over his shoulder.
You were staring directly at him.
Not even trying to hide it.
You leaned forward a little.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Most people looked at his scars first.
You were looking at the tattoo.
“The details are amazing.”
The cats immediately shifted with you.
Nicolas went back to tightening the pipe.
“You’re really strong too.”
Nicolas immediately regretted looking at you again.
You were saying it so casually.
Like you were commenting on the weather.
Meanwhile his ears felt warm.
“You have muscles everywhere.”
Nicolas stared at the pipe.
The pipe was very interesting suddenly.
“You probably make carrying groceries really easy.”
A tiny smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
You didn’t even realize you were flirting.
You were completely serious.
The white cat rolled onto its back.
You scratched its stomach.
“Lucky.” You told the cat. “You get to nap all day.”
Nicolas huffed a laugh through his nose.
You immediately looked up.
Nicolas went right back to working.
“I’m counting that as a yes.”
The sink suddenly became the most important thing in the world to him.
Unfortunately for Nicolas, you were still staring.
The white cat remained sprawled across your lap while the black cat had moved closer to Nicolas’s side.
You watched him tighten the pipe.
Watched the muscles in his arm flex.
Watched him reach underneath the sink again.
Your teeth caught your bottom lip absentmindedly.
Mostly about how easily he seemed to know what he was doing.
Meanwhile Nicolas looked over.
Then mimicked your staring.
You immediately understood.
Nicolas raised an eyebrow.
“No!” You repeated. “It’s hot in here!”
Nicolas looked completely unconvinced.
“The heat is making me weird.”
You pointed at him accusingly.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
He looked even less convinced.
You walked over to the window.
A warm breeze drifted inside.
Nicolas glanced toward the open window.
The black cat chose that exact moment to rub against his leg.
Nicolas signed back immediately.
The tiny smirk on his face returned.
The smirk disappeared instantly.
Nicolas went back to working on the sink.
The more time you spent around him, the easier he was becoming to read.
Watching him get flustered was kind of fun.
a few minutes later he finished fixing the sink.
He checked underneath one last time.
Your shoulders dropped dramatically.
You walked over and looked underneath.
The kind that made him look away for a second.
The black cat immediately jumped onto the counter.
Neither of them seemed interested in the repaired sink.
You walked toward your room.
A few moments later you returned holding cash.
Nicolas immediately shook his head.
You held the money out again.
“You spent like an hour here.”
Nicolas immediately narrowed his eyes.
He didn’t trust that smile at all.
“You should really take it.”
You were suddenly very close.
Close enough for him to notice the faint scent of your shampoo.
Close enough for him to notice the lipstick from earlier was mostly gone.
Close enough that he could see every little expression on your face.
You quickly shoved the folded bills into his pants pocket.
Your smile was victorious.
You were still standing way too close.
Your hand had barely left his pocket.
Your face suddenly heated up when you realized exactly how this looked.
You immediately took a step back.
Without a word, he reached into his pocket.
And placed it on your kitchen table.
You pointed at the money.
You groaned dramatically.
“Why are you so stubborn?”
Nicolas immediately signed back.
Nicolas was already reaching for his shirt.
Ready to leave before you found another way to sneak money onto him.
He pulled it back on and buttoned it up.
And suddenly he didn’t trust that smile either.
“Thank you for fixing my sink.”
You were doing that thing again.
That thing where you looked at him like he had just done something amazing.
When all he did was tighten a pipe.
You clasped your hands together.
You were way too sincere.
You gave him a small wave.
Nicolas immediately looked away.
He signed a quick goodbye.
Then headed for the door.
Nicolas stepped into the hallway.
You smiled one last time.
Nicolas gave a dismissive wave.
Nicolas stood in the hallway for a moment.
Like he’d been holding it in for the past hour.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking.
He reached into his pocket.
