Chapter 28

His workday finally nears its end. Just one more hour.

Alex feels restless. Daniel acted strange this morning. Instead of teasing him and hanging all over him he felt distant and distracted. Alex feels that something was wrong but at the same time doesn't dare to probe further, afraid that this happy dream will come to a premature end.

On top of that, Peter is missing from the day-care-centre. Ms. Helen told him, that he would be on vacation for a few weeks. Why did Daniel not mention this?

The whole day he was distracted, making little mistakes. He tried to concentrate but failed every now and then. It was nothing major, but Alex is glad that tomorrow is the weekend and he can pull himself back together.

He also wants to spend time with Daniel. He keeps checking his phone to see whether there are text messages, only to look back up, disappointed. But he chastises himself, he can not always wait for Daniel to make the first step. He promises to himself that once work is finished he will call Daniel.

His thoughts are interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He looks around. His supervisor is nowhere to be seen, so he secretly picks up the call. He is surprised to hear Daniel's voice "Alex." At being addressed like this, Alex feels a wave of relieve washing through him. Only then does he understand that he dreaded Daniel forcibly creating a distance between them, pushing him away again.

"Daniel." He pauses and tries to get his emotions in check. Then adds: "What's up? I am still at work."

"Yes, I know. I just wanted to ask whether you could come by the office after work. I will have someone pick you up."

Alex' eyebrow shoots up questioningly. The office? Mafia business?

"I can come, but first I have to check on Zero, preferably taking him along. Can you pick me up from home?"

"No problem, then take Zero along. Afterwards we can walk him together." At this, Alex perks up. Daniel makes an arrangement for a date with him? That means, that everything will work out, does it not?

"Okay, then see you later." He manages to keep his emotions out of his voice, but inside he feels all the tenseness and worries circling around this small sliver of hope Daniel threw at him.

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One hour later, Alex hurries home, anticipation washing through his body.

Rushing through the door, he directly exclaims, "Zero, we are going out." The dog rushes to meet him, at once equally frantic. Alex' excitement seems to have rubbed off on him. Alex quickly bends down to rub his fur, then hurries to get the leash.

"Come on, we are going to get picked up."

Once outside, Alex immediately spots the dark car with tinted windows. He walks straight towards it. Steven gets out and greets him "Teacher Alex. Good evening."

"Good evening, Steven. Thanks for picking us up." Steven blinks when Alex flashes him a smile that shows all the happiness and anticipation he is feeling right now.

Steven shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "No problem. The boss is waiting. Please, get in."

They drive in silence. Steven really isn't much of a talker. But Alex was contend with that, fidgeting on his seat, immersed in his own thoughts.

Ten minutes later, they arrive in front of an office building. They both get out and Steven leads them towards an office door. Alex, Zero by his side, looks around. The office is nothing fancy, but well kept. The walls are a bit cold and lifeless. Alex chuckles to himself. 'This shows clearly the lack of a female presence. At his home, Daniel's sister made sure to liven the place up and make it more homely.'

Finally, they arrive at a door. Steven knocks. "Boss, I bring teacher Alex."

"Come in." Alex heart skips a beat when he recognizes Daniel's voice.

The door opens. Alex starts walking in, but soon stops in his track.

There are four people in the room instead of just Daniel. Daniel sits behind a desk, slightly behind him stands the man in a suit he recognizes as Carlo.

His gaze shifts towards the two strangers.

He blinks, double checks what he sees. One of them is not entirely a stranger. It is the man who attacked them last week. Beside him stands an Asian man with an eyepatch, Alex has never seen before.

Alex gets out of his surprise when he hears a low growl coming from Zero. The dog, too, recognized the attacker. Before Alex can react, he sees with a hint of glee how the previous attacker flinches at the sound and the sight of the huge dog that already bit him once. The man subconsciously rubs his wrist, presumably where the wound is located.

"Zero, quiet. Lay down." The dog immediately follows the commands but still keeps his intent gaze on the trembling man.

"Daniel?" Alex lets the name hang in between them. It should be enough of a question.

"Alex, welcome." Alex is surprised to see Daniel visibly relaxed and happy. In front of his attacker and enemy? What is the meaning of this?

But before Alex has a chance to voice his question, the Asian guy starts to talk. "Mr. Johnson, I am deeply sorry for involving you in our long buried fight. My friend went overboard after he learned that I lost my eyesight due to a fight from two years ago. It might be understandable but is still not enough of an excuse. Both sides suffered terrible losses that day." He nudges the other man beside him. The previous attacker speaks, sounding honestly apologetic. "Teacher Johnson, I am sorry. I was wrong to involve you. Please forgive me."

Alex raises a questioning eyebrow at Daniel, waiting for a cue. Daniel speaks "Alex, they want to finally settle the matter and promise to not harm us in the future. We even think about collaborating, to improve the relations between our groups." Daniel looks Alex deep in the eyes. Alex seems to catch the deeper meaning behind his words. 'With this, you are safe.'

So that was the problem this morning all along. Daniel still had doubts about involving him. Well, they did rush things a bit yesterday. Alex blushes a little. Well, he rushed it....

Unaware to the special tension between Alex and Daniel, the guy, who seems to be Shao Shen continues "Nevertheless, we still want to offer you compensation. It was wrong to involve a civilian."

Alex quickly dismisses the issues, just wanting to leave it behind him. "Thank you for offering. It is appreciated. But that day your companion suffered more than me." With a hint of a sadistic smile he adds "But maybe you could acquire a good piece of meat for my dog since he prevented this issue from being even more complicated." He fights a smile as he sees the attacker visibly flinch, but then lower his head. "If that is what you wish for. I will provide it personally. Will it be okay to deliver it here?"

Daniel chips back in, failing to hide his smile at his lover's cruel joke. "That will work just fine. It is much appreciated." Turning his face serious once again he adds "With this, the issue is resolved and we can focus on establishing good work relations." He and Shao Shen shake hands.

"Then we will excuse us for today. We should have dinner next week. You have my contact details."

"Yes, Carlo will make the arrangements."

They nod their heads respectfully before leaving. As the door closes behind them, Alex feels a tenseness leave his body he didn't know he held. Daniel immediately rushes over "I am sorry for surprising you. But it felt wrong to not involve you. With this they will know not to mess with you and that it would even be profitable for them to look out for you if you are ever in trouble on their turf." He reaches his hand out, gently stroking over Alex' arm.

Alex just nods. This exhausted him on a whole new level.

Daniel, wanting to give them some privacy, adds "Come, let's go out to get some air and give Zero the walk he deserves."

He guides Alex, leaving his hand in the small of his back. He craves the skin contact. Over his shoulder he adds "Carlo, Steven, that will be all for today. I will be going home after this." The smile, with which he tells this, clearly shows them, that he does not intend to go home alone.