– Damien’s POV

Damien sat on the couch, rubbing his temples as he listened to Luca fuss over which flowers to bring for Valarie.

"She’s recovering, not going on a date," Damien muttered, watching his soft-hearted lover carefully arrange a bouquet.

Luca shot him a glare. "She’s my sister. And it’s polite to bring flowers when visiting someone sick."

Damien groaned. "She’s not sick. She’s injured. There’s a difference."

But Luca wasn’t listening. He was already picking out another bouquet—one for Sebastian.

Damien’s eye twitched. "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."

Luca turned to him with an innocent smile. "What? He saved Valarie, didn’t he?"

Damien scowled. "That doesn’t mean we bring him flowers."

"Why not?" Luca blinked. "It’s a nice gesture."

"It’s a fucking absurd gesture."

Ava, who had been watching from the side, suddenly jumped in. "I wanna go too!"

Damien groaned. "No."

"But why?" Ava pouted, climbing onto Luca’s lap dramatically. "I wanna see Auntie Val!"

Luca kissed her forehead. "Of course you can come, sweetheart."

Damien shot him a look. "Luca—"

Luca turned his wide, pleading eyes on him. "Please, Damien? She loves Ava. And it’ll cheer her up."

Damien sighed, rubbing his face. This man was going to be the death of him.

"Fine," he muttered.

Ava cheered, clapping her hands. "Yay! And we’re bringing flowers for Papa's friend too, right?"

Damien shot up from his seat. "Like hell we are!"

Luca merely hummed, holding up the second bouquet.

Damien groaned again. This was going to be a long fucking day.

***** – Sebastian’s POV

Sebastian sat in his grand estate, lost in thought. His goddess—his Valarie—was upstairs, resting. He had spent the entire night watching over her, resisting the temptation to claim what was already his.

Then the door opened, and his men hesitated before allowing the guests inside.

Interesting.

Sebastian leaned back, watching as Damien Volkov walked in first, looking as irritated as ever. Behind him was Luca, holding—flowers?

Sebastian arched a brow.

"You actually came, again" he mused, his voice carrying amusement.

Damien scoffed. "Luca insisted."

Luca stepped forward, his soft brown eyes warm. "I wanted to thank you, Sebastian Vasillev." He held out the bouquet with both hands. "For saving my sister."

Sebastian stared at him, slightly taken aback. Flowers? For him?

His cold, ruthless reputation had never warranted gifts before. He looked down at the bouquet, then at Luca’s earnest face.

Slowly, he accepted.

"Well, this is a first," Sebastian murmured, inspecting the flowers. "No one’s ever given me something so… delicate."

Damien rolled his eyes. "You don’t deserve it."

Sebastian smirked. "And yet, here I am, holding it."

A small giggle rang out, and Sebastian finally noticed the little girl hiding behind Luca’s leg. His sharp grey eyes softened slightly.

Ava Volkov.

She had Damien’s features, but none of his cruelty.

Sebastian tilted his head, crouching slightly to her level. "And who’s this?"

Ava peered up at him, hesitant. "I’m Ava."

Sebastian studied her for a moment, then smirked. "You’re a good child."

Ava beamed.

Then Sebastian turned his gaze to Damien, eyes glinting with mischief. "Unlike your father."

Damien’s jaw clenched. "Sebastian—"

Sebastian cut him off with a teasing grin. "Volkov, I never expected you to raise such a polite child. Must be luca’s influence."

Damien scowled while Luca laughed softly.

Ava, completely oblivious to the tension, smiled. "Uncle Sebastian, do you have cookies?"

Sebastian chuckled. "For you? Perhaps." He shot Damien a smug look. "But your father? Not a chance."

Damien groaned, rubbing his temples. "I swear to God, I hate you."

Sebastian simply smirked, enjoying himself far too much.

***** Luca's Pov:-

Luca shifted slightly in his seat, glancing at the grand staircase that led to the upper floors of Sebastian’s estate. His fingers idly played with the edge of his sleeve before he spoke.

"How is Valarie?" he asked, his voice gentle yet concerned.

Sebastian, who was still holding the bouquet Luca had given him, leaned back in his chair and studied him. "She’s fine," he said smoothly. "Stubborn as ever, of course. You Ivanovs seem to have a talent for getting yourselves into life-threatening situations."

Damien shot Sebastian a glare but said nothing. He agrees ofcourse.

Luca, unfazed, smiled slightly. "That sounds like Valarie."

At that moment, Valarie herself stepped into the room, her expression unreadable. She had clearly been resting—her hair slightly tousled, her movements slower than usual—but her sharp gaze immediately locked onto the bouquet in Sebastian’s hands.

She frowned. "What… is that?"

Sebastian, for once, hesitated.

Luca answered for him, his tone cheerful. "It’s from me. I brought it for Sebastian to thank him for saving you."

Valarie blinked. "You… brought him flowers?"

Sebastian, who had been completely unbothered by everything until now, cleared his throat and looked away as if the bouquet had suddenly become incredibly interesting.

Damien scoffed. "I told him it wasn’t necessary."

Luca ignored him. "When you was shot, Valarie brought you flowers," he explained, smiling at his sister. "So I thought, since Sebastian saved her, I should do the same. Consider it a Ivanov family tradition."

There was a beat of silence.

Valarie and Sebastian both looked embarrassed.

Valarie opened her mouth, then closed it. She stammered. "That’s… not… the same thing—"

Luca teases her , "how so sister?! Didn't you bring Damien flowers when he protected us ? I'm doing the same.."

Sebastian, for the first time in his life, looked slightly flustered. "I don’t need—flowers—"

Luca tilted his head innocently. "But I thought you liked them? You even accepted them so graciously earlier."

Sebastian clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes. "You’re more cunning than you look, little ivanov."

Luca smiled sweetly. "I learn from the best."

Damien snorted. "He’s talking about me, not you."

Sebastian smirked. "Keep telling yourself that, Volkov."

Luca, watching the two men bicker, clapped his hands together. "So, should we leave you two alone to argue, or…?"

Sebastian and Damien both stiffened.

Sebastian shot Luca a deadly glare. "Watch yourself, flower boy."

Luca just grinned.

******* – Luca’s POV

Luca watched as Ava, with wide, sparkling eyes, stared up at the grand chandeliers and high ceilings of Sebastian’s estate.

"Papa," she whined, tugging on Damien’s sleeve. "I wanna see the whole place! It’s sooo big!"

Sebastian, ever the opportunist, smirked. "Then let’s take a tour, little one." Before Damien could even think to object, Sebastian smoothly lifted Ava into his arms. She giggled, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck.

Luca barely contained a laugh when Damien’s expression darkened into pure murder.

"You touch my daughter again, and I swear I’ll—"

Sebastian, completely ignoring him, turned to Ava with a soft grin. "What do you want to see first, princess?"

Ava clapped her hands excitedly. "Everywhere!"

Sebastian nodded, carrying her away effortlessly as if he hadn’t just enraged the Volkov Devil himself. Damien, of course, stormed after them, muttering threats under his breath.

Now alone with Valarie, Luca turned to her with a teasing smile. "Sooo…"

She tensed immediately. "What?"

He leaned in, grinning. "How’s your host treating you, dear sister?"

Valarie scoffed, crossing her arms. "Like an arrogant, insufferable, pain-in-the-ass criminal—"

Luca raised a brow. "…But?"

She glared. "There is no but."

Luca hummed, tilting his head. "Riiight. That’s why you’re blushing."

Valarie froze. "I am not blushing!"

"You so are."

"I am not!"

"You totally are."

"Shut up, Luca!"

Luca chuckled, watching as his sister turned away, definitely flustered. "So… Sebastian hasn’t been treating you too badly, then?"

Valarie clicked her tongue, mumbling something under her breath.

Luca smirked. "What was that?"

She huffed. "He’s been… fine."

"Just fine?"

Valarie glared at him again, but there was something softer in her expression. Almost hesitant.

Luca softened, nudging her shoulder. "He cares about you, you know."

Valarie rolled her eyes. "He cares about pissing me off. Fucking insufferable mafia prince.."

Luca laughed. "Maybe… but I think it’s more than that."

Valarie didn’t respond.

Luca simply smiled. He could see it—the tiny cracks in her walls, the way her sharp insults had lost their edge when it came to Sebastian Vasillev.

And that was interesting.

*****

Luca leaned against the balcony railing of Sebastian’s estate, the cool evening breeze rustling his hair. Valarie stood beside him, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the darkening sky. They had spent the last hour teasing and arguing about a certain mafia king, but now the air was calmer, more thoughtful.

"You know," Luca started, voice casual but laced with meaning, "Damien and Sebastian weren’t always enemies."

Valarie scoffed. "Yeah? And I wasn’t always cursed to be surrounded by overbearing men."

Luca chuckled but didn’t let it go. "They were friends once. Brothers, really."

Valarie’s brows twitched, but she didn’t say anything.

Luca continued. "They trained together, grew up together in this world of blood and power. Damien doesn’t talk about it, but I know losing Sebastian—that bond—left a scar."

She shifted, arms tightening around herself. "And why the hell are you telling me this?"

Luca smirked. "Because I think we can fix it."

Valarie shot him a look. "Fix what? A lifetime of rivalry? The bad blood between them?"

"Why not?" Luca turned to her fully, eyes gleaming with mischief and something deeper—hope. "They may act like ruthless, cold-hearted kings, but I’ve seen the cracks. Damien still calls him ‘bastard’ with more history than hatred. And Sebastian? If he really wanted Damien dead, he would’ve tried long ago. But he hasn’t."

Valarie stared at him, processing.

Luca grinned. "Besides… you and I have a talent for breaking down walls and bring peace. We're ivanovs duh .. the lawyer and a cop duo"

She rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it.

Luca leaned closer. "Think about it. Two feared mafia bosses, human again. Wouldn’t that be something?"

Valarie exhaled, tilting her head, considering. "You’re insane."

"Absolutely."

She looked away, then—after a long moment—sighed. "Fine. But if it backfires and they try to kill each other, you take the blame."

Luca beamed. "Deal."

And just like that, a plan was set.