The Underbosses House Cat [M/M]

06 - Six - Ilya Russo's Point Of View.

Laying in my bed, I heard Vito come in well before he reached out to wake me up, the smell of food coming in the room with him. He hesitated at first, before he shook me, and I rolled over and looked at him.

"Oh, you're already awake," he said.

"Yeah." I muttered before stretching out, remembering that I stripped down and slipped into the sheets. I waited a moment to see if Vito was going to leave the bedroom. When he didn't, I didn't even flinch to pull the blankets off. Vito had seen everything to do with my body, as it was. There was nothing he hadn't.

Standing up, I walked to the dresser, pulling out just a long sleeve to cover my torso, and a pair of boxers. I felt Vito's eyes on me as I pulled them on, but he said nothing, so I didn't feel the need to address it.

"What did Alessio say about your ribs?" I asked as I followed him out of the bedroom, towards the kitchen.

"Just to take it easy, and he gave me pain medication."

"Alright."

"He also wants you to come see him first thing tomorrow when you wake up."

"I'll pass." I muttered. I didn't want to be poked at my Alessio just yet.

"How long have you had your memories back, Ilya?"

"I don't have them back. I just have some of them. They come in waves, and I don't want to talk about them, Vito. I've been ignoring them for some time. I intend to keep doing just that."

He sighed, before he got out my night time pills, and I double checked the clock. It was only seven.

"Why are you giving me my pills so early?"

"Why are you questioning me, Ilya?"

"One, because I can. And two, because you never give me my pills this early."

"I'm sore, and tired. I want to go to bed at a decent time." Vito said, as he set the pills on the table, and went to get us both each a serving of the food he had made.

"If you're sore and tired, you don't need to wait on me, Vito. I'll manage without—---"

"My wing, and Alessio and Matteo say very different things about that." He said, flatly.

"That's different!" I snapped. My temper was getting the better of me, and his words were getting under my skin. "You can't compare the two!"

He sighed and shook his head. "Look, I'm not trying to make you mad. I just think you should take a step back and look at the situation objectively. There are similarities between the two, and you should be able to see that, Ilya."

"One night, when I know where you are is wildly different from a week of you missing. Not sure if you're alive or dead, Vito! Keep it up, and I'll——-"

"You'll what Ilya? Bite me? Hit me? You've done it all before." He said, setting the two plates on the table. He sat down, and I watched him. "Hitting you is the last thing I want to do, Vito." I said, standing up.

"Sit down, Ilya." Vito said, and I deliberately walked away from the table. I didn't want to be around Vito right now.

"You should go home Vito, back to your wing."

"Are you fucking serious?" He said, his anger rearing its ugly head.

"Yeah, you're in pain, and I just think I'm going to take my pills and go to bed."

"Eat your dinner and I'm taking you to see Alessio and Dr Martin first thing in the morning."

"Vito, I asked you to leave."