#please I'm not joking someone tell me (make decision for me /hj) if I should post it on AO3 as well

[teddybasmanov]

Russian Roulette

Chapter1 |Chapter 2|Chapter 3: There’s only one bullet here + a tiny bonus.

Pairing: Gavin/Freelancer.

TW: a/b/o dynamics, Mob!AU, mentions of sex (no details), mentions of violence, mentions of death, mental breakdown (kind of).

Notes: about all details of omegaverse placements please refer to this post, author of the original AU - @cottagecorexboy , the song I take lyrics from (and a little bit this one).

Word count: a bit more than 1100 (technically about 770 + 350).

Do not worry: I spin the barrel and this bullet is mine

Everything good has to come to an end, right? It was an amazing half a year. Half a dozen months full of productive fulfilling work, interesting studies, spending time with friends and loved ones (and The Loved One), wonderful sex. All of that has to come to an end because of one order.

It came seemingly out of nowhere: they secured a deal with the Solaires - more a gesture of goodwill than anything - Huxley - who always had a nag for vintage and jewellery - managed to buy on an auction a golden ring with engravings and a pretty big ruby. The trinket apparently held some sentimental value to their leader William and they agreed on giving it to him, delivery included, as a sign of peaceful relationship between two families.

The freelancer's order is to steal the ring and leave, faking their own death. Half a year ago it wouldn't have made them even flinch - orders are meant to be fulfilled not reasoned with. Today they are trying to find all the possible ways to not follow it. They understand that doing it would bring a lot of problems to Gavin's family (as well as break his heart) and they surprisingly don't want that. No matter how much they're trying to persuade themselves that these people were supposed to be their targets not their family and they were supposed to be spying on them and not falling in love - it doesn't work. So, they take a desperate step and reveal their mating status to the Father, saying that it might cause problems with "death faking" part of the plan. The response comes back fast: “Good. You being his (supposed) mate will make your death destabilise him more.”

They have no choice: they can't fulfill their duty, but they can't ignore the order all together either - their family would want to deal with them and that would put their friends in danger.

The freelancer finds themselves awkwardly staring at the door to Gavin's office. They knock, "May I come in, boss?" They hear a humm of approval and slowly swist the door knob, entering his office on badly bending legs. They fold their arms behind their back, "I'm sorry for interrupting your work, but I have something very important to tell you,» they are not meeting his eyes, staring somewhere at the second button of his shirt. He doesn't need to be a demon to feel their borderline panic in the air, but he doesn't interrupt them - he just listens. Listens to how they tell him how they were spying on him and the rest of the family all that time, reporting their every move to the Father, how they never planned for any of this to go so far and how their last order was supposed to destroy their relationships with the Solaires. At the end of their monologue, they drop to their knees on front of him:

“I’d rather have you kill me now, than betray you like this.”

“Stand up.”

“Apha, I…”

“Up.”

They’re sure he’s going to hit them, but they don’t make any attempt to cover their face or even close their eyes - they’re finally meeting his gaze - they’re a traitor no matter what way you look, so they deserve it to hurt. They deserve it to leave marks. He's closing the space between them in two wide steps. His hand does land on them, but it's gentle on the side of their face, pulling them into a kiss.They gasp in surprise. He waits for their body to relax against his, until pulling away just enough to look into their eyes, "I would never hurt you, do you hear me? I would never hurt you and I would never let anyone hurt you. You're a part of my family and you my mate. Always remember that."

Their arms come up against his chest, they can't say anything, just look at him, not believing their ears. And then they do something they don't remember when they did last time - they cry. They cry desperately and uncontrollably, he pulls them closer and pats their hair while they cling to him, sobbing into his chest, their shoulders trembling, their hands twisting the lapels of his jacket.

"You're safe here, pet, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

They stand like that for a while.

Gavin knows there's business to be done, security to be enforced, information to be gathered, but not now. Now he has his mate to hold.

A tiny Caelum bonus:

And the seas were filled to the brim drop by drop,

And stones grew together on grains of sand,

Eternity is probably such a long time.

"Hey," the freelancer can feel their mate's hands landing on their shoulders, "How long have you been sitting here?" 'Here' is the library, and they have been there for more than half of the day for sure.

"Not enough apparently," they shift and look up at him, "Huxley has been telling me about auras, but he doesn't know much, so I decided to research myself."

"And of course, you didn't ask anyone else to explain it to you?"

"Of course, I didn't," they answer half-jokingly, "all of you are already teaching me so much, I didn't want to burden you more."

"Self-sufficient as ever," he sits beside them, "but I am not here to lecture you on the importance of asking for help, I come bearing news," dramatic as usual, "My little brother is coming over next week. He is aware that my business is not entirely legal, but doesn't know many details and I would prefer for it to stay that way."

"You didn't tell me you have a brother."

"He studies art in a uni halfway through the country and unfortunately visits rarely," Gavin sighs, "He's not good enough at rifting to go such big distances."

"Did you tell him you got mated while he was away?" they raise an eyebrow not sure how his brother would react.

"Yeah, Caelum was very happy for me."

"Wait, Caelum?"

"Yes, why?"

"I think I know him… Little horns, talks too fast, Caelum?"

"How do you know him?" now it's Gavin's turn to be surprised.

"I met him by accident just before coming here. He's really easy to talk to. He was persuading me to leave the family. As you can see, I've followed his advice," they chuckle, "we've been exchanging letters ever since."

"Well, then I guess we'll surprise the little guy," he smiles too, "and now you're closing this," Gavin drags the book out of their hands, "and going to bed or I will bring you there."