#severeminx

Otabek liked it; he was good at it.

But that day was definitely not his best.

He sat in one of the extremely uncomfortable, leather armchairs by the fireplace and drank a solid gulp of the amber colored bourbon shining in the diamond glass in his hand. He closed his eyes for a second, focusing on the burning sensation in his throat. The feeling wasn’t pleasant yet he drank habitually. Ever since he came to America, he learned that the taste of alcohol there was as not bland as everything he tasted; cheap, not spicy enough.

He lost his focus only for a second, feeling the well-known gaze; Mila’s eyes were warm on his features, as focused and trained as his. At the same time, she looked at him almost carefully, but he knew what that meant. Focus, Altin. Don’t fuck this up. Today is important.

They were partners for so long that she knew something was wrong with him without having to exchange actual words.

Immediately, he started scanning the room with the calculated gaze: receptive, but not visible; attentive, but not insolent. He was good at it; searching for the required details but not showing any signs of the actual looking, at finding information and using it. At vanishing into thin air just to appear somewhere else without a notice.

Unfortunately, he was guilty of searching for something he shouldn’t be thinking about.

He looked at his contact; her navy blue dress, long, raven hair and golden necklace, pure elegance and perfection. However, her true self was visible mostly in the details, in her forced smiles and clenched fists, in the overprotective brother always at her side.

Sara looked anxious, almost scared, and Otabek didn’t like it at all, it was exactly the opposite of how she should act like. Maybe she heard about the possibility of changing their plans and was scared of how it would affect her. Otabek preferred her feeling safe. She was surrounded by the people she knew so well after all.

He decided to go to her to ease her nerves. He stood up naturally, not in a hurry, looking at her again.

He froze in his tracks.

A young man stood nonchalantly next to Sara and at his sight she smiled lightly, nervously.

He was quite a contrast beside her; easy smile, golden hair gelled backwards, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up. He said something, she laughed back, and Otabek really wished he knew what they’re talking about.

It wasn’t the first time he saw the man. Otabek cast his gaze upon him a few times that night and every time he appeared out of nowhere, exactly at the place Otabek felt he was supposed to be at, just to vanish unexpectedly. It was both frustrating and interesting.

Otabek couldn’t just stand there and look lost, so he moved in the direction of a small balcony at the end of the ballroom.

Mila’s eyes were on him the entire time.

He looked at the golden haired man once again, but to his horror, their gazes met. He saw piercing, cold, beautiful green eyes.

Otabek saw them for the first time a long time ago, in different life but he never forgot.

The eyes of a soldier.

Otabek was a professional, he didn’t let it show that something was wrong. He broke the gaze, smile ghosting on his lips, and continued in his path.

His head was full of memories, all long gone or pushed down deep to the depths of his brain. He didn’t want to remember them, they reminded him about home, his family, his country. They didn’t help with work.

And those eyes reminded him about all those things, about the moment he left his old life to start something new.

He stepped outside and suddenly the only thing he felt was the cold autumn air. It was very welcome. He breathed in and out, focused on looking at the cloud of steam his breathing was creating.

Right then, someone stopped abruptly by the balcony door and moved to stand next to him.

“Who. The fuck. Are you?” he heard the cold, annoyed voice.

He should have known better. He should have known that all the glances were bound to be noticed, especially by someone like him.

Otabek looked, at close then, into those eyes shining with passion. No matter what emotions they were filled with, they were always strong and focused.

He thought about the fact that he was in love with those eyes a long time ago.

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice,” the boy, the man, continued. He has changed so much since the last time they had seen each other that Otabek felt like not breathing. “But I do. And I’m pissed. So please, do enlighten me, who are you?”

Otabek smirked.

“I’m doing, and actually did, a marvelous job if you don’t recognise me, Yuri,” he savored these words and the look of astonishment on the younger man’s face.

He looked at how Yuri’s face paled at the words, how his brain tried to comprehend the words to understand what was going on.

“What? Who?” he hissed.

Otabek wondered, for a moment, if he should play it safe or tell the truth. At the same time, he noticed Mila in the close proximity of the balcony, looking almost bored. He knew she wanted to interrupt their conversation, but waited for a good moment to do so.

“Seven years ago. Sankt Petersburg. Yakov, remember that guy?” Otabek asked, and Yuri’s eyes showed signs of acknowledgment; not recognition of Otabek. “You were the best during the training. I was the oldest.”

Yuri looked at him in disbelief.

“Seeing you here have shocked me, this isn’t exactly the place you would see a familiar face,” Otabek didn’t add nothing about the eyes, or the memories.

“It is better if you don’t see one,” Yuri admitted, his eyes softer now, weary. “Especially in our line of work.”

They stayed silent, not knowing how to ask the question that had to fall.

“Why are you here? Do you know what we’re doing here?” Otabek started, trying to be as vague as he could.

“If you haven’t noticed”, Yuri began, his eyes sharp again. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. And you didn’t expect to see me. I only knew about…”

At the same moment Mila approached them, an easy smile gracing her features.

“That’s a good moment to talk, gentlemen. Otabek,” Yuri looked at the man with huge eyes. “Yuri will be working with us from now on.”