Chapter — Chaos

Luca sat on the edge of the bathtub, steam curling around him as the warm water filled the tub. His fever made his limbs feel heavy, but the thought of getting clean was almost comforting.

Damien had insisted on running the bath himself, making sure it was the perfect temperature, adding in lavender-scented bath salts (because Luca needed to relax, obviously).

And then—because Damien couldn’t leave him alone for more than a few minutes—he forced Ava to babysit Luca while he made soup.

Except…

Damien had never cooked a damn thing in his life. Except basics ofcourse.

And Ava? She was eight years old.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

—

Kitchen, Ten Minutes Later.

“NO, AVA! You don’t put sugar in soup!”

“But it’ll taste better, Papa! Luca likes sweet things!”

Damien’s eye twitched. “That’s not how it works.”

Ava huffed, crossing her arms. “Then you do it, Mister Knows Everything.”

Damien glared at the pot of boiling broth, his hand gripping a wooden spoon like it was a weapon.

He had killed men. He had run an empire. But this? This was his greatest enemy.

“What the hell goes in soup?” he muttered.

Ava gasped. “You don’t know?!”

Damien scowled. “Of course I do.” He grabbed a bottle of soy sauce, dumping half of it in.

Ava’s eyes widened. “That’s too much!”

Damien frowned. “It’s fine.”

Then, in an attempt to one-up Ava, he grabbed chili flakes and poured a generous amount in.

Ava screamed. “Luca doesn’t eat spicy food!”

Damien froze.

Ava glared.

Then—

BOOM!

The lid on the pot exploded off, soup bursting over the stove in a disastrous mess.

They stared at it.

Silence.

Then—

Ava deadpanned. “We’re dead.”

Damien rubbed his temples. “Don’t panic.”

“Luca’s gonna panic!”

“No, he won’t.”

“He always does!”

Damien sighed. “We’ll fix it before he—”

“What. The. Hell. Happened?!”

They both whipped around.

Luca stood at the kitchen entrance, wrapped in a towel, his jaw dropping at the absolute disaster before him.

Soup everywhere.

Black smoke from the stove.

And Ava and Damien looking guilty as hell.

Ava pointed at Damien. “His fault.”

Damien scoffed. “I was teaching you.”

Ava glared. “Teaching me how to burn down the house Papa?!”

Luca groaned, rubbing his temples. “I left you two alone for ten minutes.”

Ava pouted. “I tried, Lucaaa!”

Damien folded his arms. “We’re figuring it out.”

Luca blinked at him, then gestured at the crime scene that used to be their kitchen. “THIS… is you figuring it out?!”

Damien smirked. “Don’t worry, angel.” He strolled toward him, reaching out to cup Luca’s warm, feverish cheek. “You try it , baby ..it's perfect...”

Luca’s stomach dropped.

Ava gasped. “Luca, run!”

And just like that, Luca whirled around and bolted—

But Damien caught him in seconds, easily lifting him back up.

“No escape, angel,” he purred. “You’re eating the soup , you're hungry .”

Ava shuddered. “Luca, I’ll pray for you.”

Luca whimpered.

This was his worst nightmare.

— — Luca’s Worst Nightmare

Luca sat at the dining table, staring at the steaming bowl of soup like it was his execution.

It looked questionable.

Scratch that—it looked radioactive.

Dark, muddy brown broth with a layer of oil floating on top. Chunks of vegetables that were half-burnt, half-raw. And the smell? It was a sin against humanity.

He turned to Damien, horrified. “I’m not eating this.”

Damien leaned back in his chair, arms folded, smirking like the devil himself. “Oh, okay..”

Ava whispered dramatically, “It’s made with love, angel. Our love.”

Luca believed her.

His gaze darted to Damien. “You love me, right?”

Damien’s expression darkened with something possessive. “Obsessively.”

“Then don’t make me eat this.”

Damien chuckled, reaching out to tuck a damp strand of hair behind Luca’s ear.

Ava gagged. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.”

Luca turned to her. “The soup or his words?”

“Both.”

Damien shot her a look. “Traitor.”

Ava stuck her tongue out at him.

Luca sighed, defeated. He turned back to the soup. “I can’t do this.”

Damien grabbed the spoon and stirred the liquid ominously. “You can.”

Luca shook his head. “I won’t.”

Damien’s smirk widened. “Angel, if you don’t eat it willingly…” He leaned in, voice low, dangerously soft, “…I’ll feed it to you. You're sick you need to eat , it's not that bad.”

Luca froze. He tried to run.

But Damien was faster, grabbing him before he could escape.

“No running,” Damien murmured, pulling Luca onto his lap. He dipped the spoon into the soup, scooped up a mystery chunk, and held it to Luca’s lips. “Open.”

Luca shook his head violently.

Ava was on the floor laughing.

Damien sighed dramatically, then—before Luca could protest—he pinched Luca’s nose, forcing him to open his mouth.

Luca barely had time to scream before the spoon was shoved between his lips.

The taste hit him instantly.

His soul left his body.

It was—

Salt.

Pure salt.

Fire. Burning spice. An unholy amount of soy sauce. And… was that sugar?!

His entire existence flashed before his eyes.

He gagged.

Ava shrieked with laughter. “OH MY GOD—”

Luca whimpered, his hands shoving at Damien’s chest. “W-Water—!”

Damien—that sadistic bastard—laughed while handing him a glass.

Luca chugged it.

It was vodka.

He choked.

Ava collapsed on the floor, laughing so hard she was crying. “HE’S TRYING TO KILL YOU, LUCA!”

Luca slammed the glass down and glared at Damien with betrayal.

Damien just smirked, his grip tightening around Luca’s waist. “You survived.”

“I’m going to die.”

Damien kissed his temple, mockingly sweet. “Then die in my arms, angel.”

Luca swung the spoon at his face.

Damien caught his wrist easily, laughing. “You love me.”

“I hate you.”

Ava snorted. “No, you don’t.”

Luca groaned and buried his face in his hands. “This is my nightmare.”

Damien just purred in his ear, “No, angel. I’m your nightmare. It's just a punishment for yesterday's teasing .”

Luca shuddered.

Ava groaned. “Stop being gross!”

Damien chuckled darkly and kissed Luca’s cheek, his voice mocking. “You ate it, though.”

Luca felt defeated.

Damien had won.

Again.

— The Mafia Watches Disney

After barely surviving the soup disaster, Luca sat on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket, pouting like an angry kitten.

Ava plopped down next to him, grinning. “Alright, now for the next torture—medicine.”

Luca groaned. “No.”

Damien, sitting on the other side of Luca, immediately grabbed his chin and tilted his head back. “Yes.”

Luca whimpered.

Ava shook the bottle dramatically. “You know the rules, Luca. Medicine first, then you get cuddles.”

Luca glared. “You’re both evil.” he's definitely not in his right mind because of fever.

Ava twisted the cap off, pouring a spoonful of the disgusting pink liquid. “Here comes the airplane—”

Luca turned his head away.

Damien’s grip tightened. “Open.”

“No.”

Damien sighed, then smirked darkly. “, Luca, we can do this nicely, or I can pin you down and make you take it.”

Luca’s face burned. “I hate you.”

Damien purred, “You wish you did.”

Ava fake gagged. “Can you two not be disgusting for five seconds?”

Luca grumbled but opened his mouth, letting Ava shove the spoon in.

The taste hit him instantly.

Death.

He coughed, making a horrified face. “Oh my God—”

Ava clapped. “Good boy!”

Damien chuckled as he wiped Luca’s lips with his thumb. “That wasn’t so bad, was it, angel?”

Luca glared. “I hope your mafia empire burns.”

Damien grinned. “And yet you still love me.”

Luca ignored him and curled up against Damien’s chest, his fever making him exhausted. Ava grabbed the remote and pressed play on The Lion King.

Damien immediately groaned.

“Are you serious?” He leaned back against the couch, looking like he wanted to die. “I’m a mafia boss, not a goddamn Disney fan.”

Luca yawned, snuggling into him. “Shut up. It’s a classic.”

Ava smirked. “Yeah, shut up, Mr. Mafia Man.”

Damien groaned again but didn’t push Luca away. Instead, he pulled him closer, his arms tight around him. “This is humiliating.”

Ava grinned. “Just wait until we make you watch Frozen.”

Damien deadpanned. “Over my dead body.”

Luca, already half-asleep, murmured, “I love you.”

Damien froze.

Ava’s eyes widened.

Luca was already out, breathing softly against his chest.

Damien exhaled, brushing his fingers through Luca’s dark curls, his voice softer, obsessive.

“You’re mine,” he whispered. “And I’ll kill anyone who tries to take you.”

Ava watched him, then whispered, “You’re so obsessed with him.”

Damien didn’t even deny it. He softly kisses Ava's head too and murmurs, " I love you too princess."

Then he tightened his grip on Luca and watched the movie with Ava, his lethal heart full of nothing but love and murder.

—