𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥.
A one-time theft, an old mystery most of the world has forgotten, and a long-lost diamond.
One was her night and the other was her dawn.
Si...
Jaemin sat down next to me, leaning his back against the dark wooden planks that made up the bench. For a moment, none of us said a word, just sitting in comfortable silence as both of us looked out over the river. I admired the buildings on the other side of the bank, their beautiful facades glowing colours of orange, yellow, peach, and white as the numerous lamps along the waterside lit them up, standing in longs rows that glowed like little suns. The Ponte Vecchio could be seen in the distance, the segmental bridge arching over the Arno River. The setting sun coloured the sky in hues of purple and punk which were reflected in the surface of the water. I looked over at Jaemin, admiring his features for a moment before locking eyes with him as he turned his head towards me as well. His blue hair stood out against the darkening sky, lit by the streetlamp above us.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked me, closing the distance between us as he moved closer to the spot on the bench where I was sitting. "Right now, just you," I admitted, giving him a small smile before turning back towards the river. "I would like to take back what I said in the plane," Jaemin said, "about not trusting you." Although his voice was calm and smooth, not a hint of anger anywhere to be found, I kept staring at the uneven surface of the water as it splashed against the surface of the stone wall, afraid of what he might say afterwards. "I also want to say sorry," he began, letting whatever I might have expected him to say hang emptily in the air between us like a ghost of what might have been. "For what?" I asked.
"For the way, I acted towards you. I don't think we need to talk about it, though, since you already know exactly what I mean. But today completely changed the way I feel about you," Jaemin said. I blushed a little, feeling stupid as colour rushed to my cheeks, knowing that he meant nothing by those words. "I didn't do anything, though. Except for dragging you on a sightseeing tour and forcing Chenle and Jeno to buy me food," I mumbled, looking down at my shoes that I had discarded on the ground nearby. The heels had made my feet hurt after a long day of adventures.
"What you did meant a lot to the others, though," Jaemin said, turning towards me once again. I glanced at him as he continued, "You took their minds off the heist for a couple of hours. They had a great time, y/n, you should've seen their smiles," he said with a look of warmth and happiness in his eyes, "They had the opportunity to act normal, to feel like boys again, discovering the world for the first time." I looked at Jaemin, really looked at him, "Do you really mean that?" I asked, feeling like crying as I tried to process his words. "I do. I was also really happy today," he said, "It's been a long time since I've felt so free, not needing to worry about anything." "Me too," I agreed. And so, as the sun went down over Florence, the city's beautiful skyline disappearing in the darkness, the two of us sat and talked about anything and everything in the beautiful Italian night, My heart swelled at the feeling of finally being accepted by the man that was sitting next to me, the last member of Trinity Six, making me feel almost lightheaded with giddiness.
It was dark when we made it back to the St. Regis, and the hotel lobby was devoid of any sign of life other than the lamps that had been left on, lighting up the beautiful entrance of the hotel. Jaemin stopped right in front of my door before I walked over and unlocked it with my room key, the golden tassel dangling loosely from the end. I didn't go in, not yet, waiting for a couple of seconds as it seemed like both of us wanted to say something more. Nothing happened, though, and after a minute or so, Jaemin gave me a little smile followed by a "Goodnight, y/n," before he made his way towards his own room.
I couldn't fall asleep. My room felt hot and stuffy, and even though I had turned on the air condition, I still found myself tossing and turning underneath the covers for a long time until sleep finally overtook me.
I was back in the dark room that I had so desperately tried to forget, my hands bound behind my back with rope that dug uncomfortably into the skin on my wrists. The single light that hung from the ceiling glowed eerily above me, casting its glow into a perfect circle on the floor. I was in the middle, surrounded by a group of men, faceless, towering above me. "Where is the USB, y/n?" The question seemed to come from everywhere around me, resonating throughout the room as other voices joined as well. "We have been playing nice." "The only reason you're still alive is because we need that little device back." "Wrong fucking answer." "Where is the goddamn USB, y/n?" I felt my breath quicken, my heartbeat picking up as I struggled against the ropes, shaking my head as I tried to get the voices out of my head. The men in front of me still loomed above me, faceless, but I knew who they were, and I couldn't help but let out a scream as Suho's voice drowned out all of the others', "Now, miss y/n, no more games," before a single gunshot silenced all of the noise, rendering everything black.
I awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed as I took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm my racing heartbeat, the nightmare still fresh in my memory. I could feel their hands all over my body, their punches, their kicks making me hurt both physically and mentally. I scrambled backwards, leaning my back against the headboard of the big canopy bed as I shook my head, trying to get the images of EXO out of my head. I wanted to cry, yet I also wanted to be strong, to forget everything that had happened and move on with my life. But I couldn't. I was here in Florence, continuing to live in this dangerous world of criminals, gangs, and mafias, and I was the only one to blame. I wrapped my arms around my body, my fingers grazing over the scar on my upper arm in the process. The scar that was now, and would forever be, a reminder of my desperation and stupidity. A reminder of the night where I almost died in the hands of a mafia. The skin had taken on a lighter colour where the bullet had cut it open, though it wasn't rough to the touch, or uneven. Chenle was a good shot, even though he had missed. I let out a little laugh.
My room was too dark and claustrophobic for me to calm down in, though, so instead, I made my way towards the door, opening it carefully and peeking my head out into the empty corridor outside. The shadows that crept up the walls and stretched across the floor made the hotel seem completely different, much less welcoming than it had seemed in the daylight sun. I tip-toed across the hallway, taking a moment to look a the different doors to the others' rooms before finally making a decision and turning one of the handles, the door opening up to yet another dark room.
The Presidential Suite was nothing like I had imagined; it was so much more. The door opened up to a small hallway that led into a spacious and beautiful living room, two couched seated in the middle along with several plush lounge chairs. To the right, the room opened up into a dining room with a big mahogany table and eight sleek white chairs along the edges. A door on one of the walls led out to a rooftop balcony from where the entire city skyline of Florence could be seen, the buildings brightly lit by golden lights throughout the streets. After a couple of minutes of scurrying around the big hotel room. as well as several bathroom run-ins later, I finally found the bedroom where two sleeping figures lay splayed across the covers of a big king-sized bed.
I carefully poked the shoulder of the person lying closest to me, the man slowly waking up as he rubbed his eyes for a moment before widening them as he looked at me with worry plastered across his face. "y/n?" Jeno asked, his voice deep and rough with sleep, "What's wrong?" He made a move to get up from the bed, pushing himself up to lean on his elbows, but I put my hands on his shoulders instead, the heat of bare skin against my fingertips as I indicated for him to stay under the covers. I felt incredibly embarrassed by the situation, staying quiet for a moment. "Bad dreams?" Jeno asked, putting a reassuring hand over my own that was still resting on his shoulder. I nodded, "Can I sleep here, please?" I asked him, whispering as to not wake up Jaemin on the other side of the big bed. Jeno gave me a warm smile before making space for me in the middle of the bed, lifting the covers for me to get in, patting the space beside him.
The covers were warm and heavy, and as I tucked myself in, I felt small and protected as I curled up between Jeno and Jaemin. I finally fell asleep a smile on my face, as the exhaustion of several hours of travel and a long and exciting day in the city finally caught up to me. I felt safe. I felt happy.
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A/N: If you enjoyed the story so far, please leave a vote on the little star in the corner. It would mean the world to me :)
