I knew at some point I would have to head to Italy but I didn't expect it to be this early on. Especially without giving my team a good warning about this.

The plane ride was quick, only around two hours. However, those two hours were in complete silence.

Niccolo, Pietro, and I were on the plane along with Gia and Stefan. The rest of the people that came, which was a lot, came on other plane. I guess this was only for the people in his inner circle.

Since the decision to go to Italy was made late at night, everyone was dead asleep. Well, everyone but Niccolo and I.

He was on his computer the whole two hours doing whatever a mafia boss and businessman does.

I need to get my hands on that laptop. All I would have to do is attach a chip somehow and with Aaliyah's help, we can get all the information off of it for the boss.

Besides the point, while he was doing that I was watching Criminal Minds on the huge TV. C'mon, if I'm going to be on a jet I have to watch Criminal Minds and feel like Emily Prentiss.

I could tell he was getting interested but he of course wanted to act nonchalant and mysterious. It's Criminal Minds, we all get interested.

Currently, we are in the car. Niccolo driving, me in the passenger seat and Pietro in the back because he wanted to lie down and sleep as if he didn't get enough of that on the plane. To be fair, it is two in the morning.

Pietro lets out the loudest snore ever and I flinch. "I didn't know we had a pig in the car," I chuckle and I notice a small smile about to appear on his lips but he quickly hides it.

"He's always like this," he replies. He replied? I did not expect that. Usually he just ignores me.

"Gosh, I would not be able to deal with that," I huff, crossing my arms as he snores even more.

"That's why he's never in the same room with me during missions like this," he says as he parks the car.

As I open the door, my eyes scan the building up and down which just looks like a normal hotel. Okay not normal, pretty fancy.

"Please tell me he's not with me," I joke with a slight smile on my face which quickly disappears when I hear his next words.

"No. You're with me."

I let out a scoff. "Seriously?" Please tell me you're joking.

"I got to keep an eye on you," he shrugs. "I thought we established that I'm not your little mole," I roll my eyes. Nope, I am.

I turn my head to see Pietro sleepily getting out the car. I'd rather stay with him than Niccolo. The longer I'm with him, the bigger the chance of him seeing through my facade.

"Mr. Alvera," the doorman greets as he opens the glass doors. Niccolo nods his head and walks through with me following shortly behind.

The entrance is grand. This is the place we are staying at? Marble floors, paintings, chandeliers, and two butlers waiting for us.

"Right this way sir," one of them says and guide us towards the elevator. Don't tell me he owns this place.

Him and I enter the elevator while the rest of the guards wait downstairs to unload everything.

The silence at this point is unbearable but at least the employee is here to keep it less awkward.

"Right," he clasps his hands together as the elevator doors open, "this is your floor sir, along with many of your guards but some will be on the floor below this and above this."

Niccolo just nods his head and follows him out. It seems like he doesn't really like social interactions. Any interactions with anyone for that matter.

He hands Niccolo the key card with shaky hands. "Due to the late notice, there was a shortage of rooms with two beds. I'm sure you won't mind sharing a bed with your wife," he says nervously, obviously scared of Niccolo's reaction.

Excuse me? I am not that man's wife, thank you very much.

I open my mouth to tell the poor lad that I'm not Niccolo's wife but he cuts me off. "That will be... fine," he replies, clearing his throat. "You may leave."

The guy doesn't hesitate to quickly walk away leaving me speechless with Niccolo's reply.

"Fine?" I huff, crossing my arms as he opens the door. Definitely not fine.

"Sleep on the couch then," he shrugs, holding the door open for me. I roll my eyes at him, walking into the room.

It's definitely pretty to say the least. To my left there's the bathroom with a huge glass shower and two sinks. Walking down the hall, I finally see the living room that has a couch and chair beside each other facing the large TV. Behind it there's a mini kitchen area with a small island, black marble countertops. My eyes then fall on the balcony that have fairy lights all around the railing. Woah.

"You gonna give me a good review?" I hear him chuckle and I turn around to see him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed watching me.

"Of course you own this shit hole," I joke with a fake smile and he lets out a scoff. Sorry I guess?

He walks into the bedroom and I follow behind him. Just like the guy said, one bed. Great.

"Listen," he starts, "I was just joking. I'll take the couch, I don't mind." Oh. I was not expecting that.

"No," I mumble, mentally slapping myself at my response. "It's okay." Not really. I'm not trying to share a bed with my target.

He throws his duffle bag onto the small couch facing the bed. Oh yeah, he has to be with me at all times. My stupid ass really thought he'd at least go to the living room.

I let out a sigh as I drop my small suitcase onto the bed. "I call bathroom first," I quickly say.

"Really, Azaría?" he raises his brows at me in disbelief, his lips almost making a smile. "Yep," I reply and he shakes his head with a chuckle.

As I grab my PJs out of the bag, I see him grabbing guns and ammunition out of his. He's never not on the job.

I head to the bathroom and make sure to lock the door. The shower door is made out of glass and I'm not taking any chances.

Somehow my wavy hair actually looks pretty. I decide that I'm not washing it today so I put it in a bun.

I turn the shower on and step in, grabbing the shower head and putting towards my body so I can get used to the cold water. Don't get me wrong, I love hot showers but I'm in the mood for a quick, cold night shower.

Letting my mind wonder, the first thing that I think about is Niccolo. The fact that he has a sister specifically. Fuck.

I didn't know this. Not just me, the whole MI6 didn't know about this, not even boss.

This is the type of thing I have to tell Mr. Arthur. Not have to, I need to. This is a big thing and we'd be able to find out a lot more on Niccolo by studying his sister's life.

But that's the thing, she's just a kid. Bringing her into all of this... I just don't know. Agents will be watching the every second of her life and if she's the only way of getting us to Niccolo, I don't want to think about what boss would do.

To him, everything is collateral damage if that means finally getting ahold of Niccolo.

After washing my body a few times, I finally decide to step out. I wrap a towel around my body and sit on the closed toilet seat to rub lotion on my legs. I'm really missing my vanilla scented body scrub and lotion right now.

Once I'm done, I get into my black laced underwear and bra. Wearing a matching lace set makes me feel good, even though no one is gonna see it's like for me.

I then put on black sweatshorts and a black tank top. Shorts and a tank top is my fav PJ combo and forever will be.

I quickly brush my teeth and wash my face. I decide to keep my hair in the bun since I don't want it getting tangled in my sleep which happens every time I sleep with it down.

Finally, I step out the bathroom and stop in my tracks. There he is, typing something on his phone with no shirt on. He's only wearing grey sweatpants that are hanging lowly on his hips, revealing the waistband of his boxers.

Holy defined abs.

He looks up at me through his long lashes and I clear my throat, quickly averting my eyes. I'm seriously mentally slapping myself right now.

I hop into the bed, getting comfy under the covers. I can't help but feel bad as I watch lay on the couch with just one pillow and a lousy blanket.

"Niccolo," I call out and he ignores me. Really? "Col, c'mon," I huff. Calling him by the nickname he has told me to stop using catches his attention right away.

"Yeah?" he questions, putting his hands on the back of his head. Even though he isn't flexing, his biceps pop along with his veins.

"The offer is still there," I tell him, referring to him sleeping on the bed. I can't help it. I feel bad. Ugh.

"Are you that desperate for me to sleep with you, Azaría?" he responds dryly.

My shoulders drop at his words. "Really?" I scoff, fed up with his bullshit. "Sorry for trying to be nice, Niccolo. Maybe you should try it every once in a while, the dickhead act is getting tiring."

He stays silent at my response and so do I. I wasn't planning on saying all that, it just slipped.

I pull the covers up and stare at the ceiling. Falling asleep was always hard for me. I don't know if the actual act of sleeping was hard or if it's because I can never stop thinking. Late nights like these is the perfect time for my thoughts to keep going.

Well that's one reason I can't sleep but another is that I know once I close my eyes, I'll go back to the day of the fire.

What hurts me most is that I can't remember that day well. Everything is a blur.

When I was in MI6, we had to have regular check ups with a psychiatrist. She told me it was my brain blocking the memory out due to the trauma and that she could help me retrieve it.

I told her I'd think about it because honestly, I don't know what's worse: my parent's death being a blur or remembering every detail that happened that night.

Fuck, ugh. Once I start thinking, I literally can't stop like what I'm doing right now.

When I can't sleep, I go for a late night swim. Sadly, I can't do that right now. There's a balcony calling my name though.

I get out of bed and I turn to look at Niccolo. He's turned onto his side, his back facing me but I can see that his eyes are closed.

I head to the kitchen and pour myself a cold glass of water and head to the balcony. The wind is perfect, a light breeze that contrasts well with the warm air.

I look up at the sky. Tonight is one of those nights where you can see the stars clearly. It's so beautiful. It's a half moon tonight also. Those are my favourite.

I sit down on the chair and rest my head back so I can stare at the sky. When I was little, my parents used to always take me camping. Pointing out the stars and constellations was something my dad loved. My mum always got confused and couldn't figure out the shapes.

I was just like her but after they died, I finally decided to learn them just like my dad. It helped me feel more connected to him in a way. After a little while, I feel my eyes closing. This somehow always works. Before I drift away, I get up and head towards the bedroom.

My eyes fall on Niccolo who keeps turning, seeming uncomfortable. I kneel beside him and once I do, I hear him whispering something. Is he having a bad dream?

I poke his shoulder. Poking him won't wake him up, stupid. Oh. Right.

I grab his shoulders and give him a light shake. "Niccolo, wake up," I mutter.

That still doesn't work so I do it again but shake harder this time. "Nic-" I get cut off when my back hits the floor with one hand beside my head caging me and the other holding a gun to my waist.

He's out of breath and doesn't even realise what he's doing. Hesitantly, I put one hand on his shoulder. "It's just me," I say in a whisper, trying to get him out of his trance.

His brows furrow and he squints his eyes, it takes him a second but once I see the realisation in his eyes I pull my hand back.

"Merda," he swears under his breath, throwing the gun onto the couch.

Yeah, what the fuck just happened?

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. My eyes meet his and that's when I realise that he's still on top on me. Oh.

"It was just a bad dream," I tell him, trying to calm him down. He quickly gets off of me and sits on the couch with his head in his hands.

"I know," he huffs. "I didn't need your help."

For sure.

Holding back the countless insults I want to yell at him, I get up. "Wow," I mutter under my breath and he looks up at me.

"If you have something to say then say it," he spits, leaning back on the couch as he manspreads his legs.

"Why do you act like that, Niccolo?" I ask, having dealt enough with his bullshit.

He averts his gaze to his hands, ignoring my question. "Seriously?" I add.

"Gosh," I scoff, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You tell me to watch my attitude then when I try to be nice this is how you act? No one can win with you."

I know he's supposed to be this scary mafia boss but does that really mean he has to be a dick all the time? All I did was try help him. Now I know that was a mistake that I shouldn't make again.

I just need to focus on the fact that he's my target. All I need to do is get information on him, not be his friend.

"Listen," he starts and I roll my eyes. "I don't want to hear it," I mumble, getting into the bed. If he doesn't want me trying to help him then I'll stop.

That's for the best anyway. I'm gonna have to turn him in at some point.

"Azaría," he calls out, "I wasn't trying to be a dick. It was just the stupid dream, you know? And I didn't expect you to help and when you did, I guess I just didn't know how to... respond to that."

"Woah," I deadpan. "Am I speaking to Niccolo? Or did some nice ghost possess him?"

He rolls his eyes jokingly, "C'mon, Ria. Are we good?"

"Ria?" I question and he looks at me with a slight smile. "If you're not gonna stop calling me Col, then I have to come up with something, no?" he raises his brows at me teasingly.

"And you call me childish," I jokingly reply. I didn't expect this. Niccolo messing around and him giving me a nickname is crazy to say the least.

It doesn't matter though because he's gonna go back to being a dick tomorrow per usual.

"Is the offer still up?" he questions. I was not expecting that either.

"Oh, who wants to sleep with who now?" I repeat his words and just as he was about to talk I interrupt him.

"Ouch," he winces as he gets up. "I admit, I deserve it though."

"Good," I grumble, crossing my arms. Skeptically, I watch as he gets into the other side of the bed. He gets the two extra pillows and puts it between us. "Perfect," I grin at his work.

He lets out a low chuckle and lays on his side, facing away from me. "Night, Azaría."

"Night, Niccolo," I mutter, pulling the covers up as I close my eyes.



guys i had to do the one bed trope i mean c'mon🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

how was itttt🙈🙈vote cuties

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