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"We're going on a vacation!" 

That's how Damien burst in startling both Luca and Mochi from a little snooze they were in on the sofa. 

Damien barely apologized before he started moving around like a hurricane, packing what they would need. 

Luca knew better than to stop him. 

He could work from anywhere as long as he had internet, so that wasn't a worry. 

He had no issues with these sudden plans other that it meant that there was an issue of some kind on Damien's end.

Luca knew how this worked by now.

Damien didn't do vacations—not unless something was stressing him out so badly that his usual outlets weren't cutting it.

Or, worse... something was stressing Luca out, and Damien had decided to be a menace about it.

Luca squinted. "...What did I do?"

Damien barely paused as he threw another set of clothes into the suitcase. "What?"

Luca crossed his arms. "You only do this when you think I need a break."

Damien stilled.

It was so brief, so subtle, that most people wouldn't have even noticed. But Luca wasn't most people.

Then Damien went back to packing like nothing happened. "I just wanted to go somewhere with my sweetheart. That a crime?"

Luca stared. Deadpan.

Mochi let out a soft mew beside him, stretching before curling up again. Betrayal.

Luca sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Damien."

Damien didn't stop. "We leave in an hour."

Luca threw his head back in defeat. There was no stopping this hurricane now.

Luca blinked. Once. Twice.

Then, slowly, a smirk curled at the edge of his lips. "Wait... is this because of her?"

Damien froze mid-fold.

Luca gasped, eyes wide with delight. "It is, isn't it?! Your sister's coming!"

Damien scowled. "No."

Luca wiggled his eyebrows. "Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No—"

Mochi, rudely woken up from his snooze, chirped in disapproval before rolling over to sleep again.

Luca leaned forward, chin resting on his palm, grinning ear to ear. "What, big bad Damien afraid of his big sis?"

Damien threw a folded hoodie at him.

Luca dodged, laughing. "I can't believe this. You're really trying to flee the city because your sister is visiting?!"

"She's a menace." Damien's voice was flat, but the way his shoulders tensed gave him away. "I refuse to deal with it."

Luca tilted his head. "Define 'menace'?"

"She doesn't leave me alone, that's what." Damien grumbled, stuffing more clothes into the suitcase with unnecessary force. "The last time she was here, she went around interviewing my men about my dating life."

Luca snorted. "Sounds like a concerned sister to me."

"She's worse than Alina."

Luca's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Damien zipped up the suitcase aggressively. "So we're leaving."

Luca cackled. "You can't avoid her forever, babe."

"I can and I will." Damien picked up the suitcase and started heading for the door. "Get Mochi. We're leaving in an hour."

Luca laughed harder, following after him.

This was going to be fun.

Luca had so many questions.

Like—how did Damien decide on Switzerland of all places? Was there a mafia safe house there? Did he just throw a dart at a world map? Or was this some deep, hidden dream of his?

He needed answers.

But first—

"Why. Is it. So. Damn. Cold?!" Luca shivered violently, hugging himself as they stepped out of the airport and into the crisp Swiss air. "You didn't tell me we were going to a freaking winter wonderland!"

Damien, standing there all warm and smug in his thick, perfectly tailored coat, simply held out a scarf. "I did pack extra layers for you."

Luca snatched the scarf and wrapped it around himself. "That's not the point! You kidnapped me from the comfort of our warm, sunny home and dropped me in the middle of the Alps without a warning!"

Damien arched an eyebrow. "You had a 14-hour flight to figure it out."

Luca kicked at the snow in frustration.

Mochi, tucked snugly inside a special pet carrier, chirped in complaint. The little guy was swaddled in layers upon layers of mini blankets like a tiny prince.

Luca glared at Damien. "Mochi is more prepared for this than I am."

Damien smirked. "Mochi didn't spend the flight napping instead of listening to my perfectly reasonable explanations."

Luca groaned dramatically. "Unbelievable."

Damien chuckled, then suddenly tugged Luca close, wrapping his own coat around him.

Luca froze, face pressed against Damien's very warm chest.

"...Better?" Damien asked, voice low and smug.

Luca mumbled something that sounded like a yes.

Damien grinned.

Yeah. This trip was already worth it.

Luca might have mumbled a yes, but he was still holding a grudge.

Even as Damien bundled him up in more layers than seemed humanly necessary.

Even as they climbed into a luxury car that had been pre-arranged (because, of course, Damien had connections everywhere).

Even as they drove past breathtaking snowy mountains and quaint villages that looked straight out of a storybook.

Luca's arms were firmly crossed as he sat in the passenger seat, pouting like Mochi when the little fluffball didn't get a treat on time.

"So which sister is visiting.?"

Luca blinked.

Damien kept looking straight ahead. "Mireille."

Luca frowned. "Wait, you never talk about her."

"Exactly."

Silence.

Luca's jaw dropped. "You really ran away—to an entirely different country—just to avoid a family visit?!"

Damien didn't even blink. "Yes."

Luca gawked at him. "And you dragged me along?!"

"Of course." Damien glanced at him. "Wouldn't be much of a vacation without my sweetheart, would it?"

Luca buried his face in his hands.

This man.

This actual menace to society.

Mochi let out a tiny squeak from his cozy little carrier, almost as if he too was judging Damien's life choices.

Luca sighed.

"...Fine. Whatever. We're already here." He huffed. "But you owe me."

Damien smirked. "I'll make it up to you."

Luca shot him a suspicious look. "With what?"

Damien took one hand off the wheel and gently booped Luca's nose. "Swiss chocolate, obviously."

Luca grumbled, but Damien could tell—he was already starting to melt.

The moment they arrived at their ridiculously extravagant chalet, Luca knew he'd lost.

The place was straight out of a dream—nestled between the snow-covered Alps, warm golden lights glowing from the windows, and a stunning view of the mountains that looked too perfect to be real.

It even had a private hot spring.

Luca's inner romantic was screaming, but his grudge-holding side refused to let him admit that.

Instead, he dropped his bags, turned to Damien, and pointed an accusing finger.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you for using me as a human shield against your sister."

Damien only chuckled, pulling off his gloves with slow, precise movements. Smug. So very smug.

"Of course not, sweetheart." He leaned down, his voice dropping into that silky tone that always made Luca's stomach flip. "I'd never dream of bribing you."

Luca squinted. "...You're definitely bribing me."

"Not at all." Damien took Luca's coat, brushing his fingers against his shoulders as he pulled it off. "Just making sure you're comfortable while we're here."

Luca folded his arms. "You could've just told me about your sister. I would've helped."

Damien scoffed, walking toward the fireplace to start a fire. "Luca, love of my life, you would've dragged me straight to her."

"...I mean, yeah, obviously."

"And that's why I didn't tell you."

Luca groaned and flopped onto the nearest couch. Mochi, freed from his carrier, immediately claimed his lap, curling into a little fluffy ball of judgment.

"So, what's the deal with her, anyway?" Luca asked, scratching behind Mochi's ears. "You literally never talk about her."

Damien threw some wood into the fire, watching the flames rise before he spoke.

"She's... difficult."

Luca snorted. "That's rich coming from you."

Damien smirked but didn't deny it. He walked over and plopped down beside Luca, pulling him close like it was the most natural thing in the world. Luca grumbled but didn't resist, especially when Damien started rubbing gentle circles on his back.

"Mireille and I don't see eye to eye," Damien admitted. "She was supposed to take over the family business. Then I got thrown into it instead. She resents me for it."

Luca frowned. "That's... not really fair. It's not like you wanted this life either."

Damien hummed, tilting his head back. "Fairness doesn't mean much in our world, sweetheart."

Luca sighed. He hated when Damien got into this cold, distant mood, like he'd already accepted that things would always be messy and complicated.

So he did the only thing that made sense.

He smushed Damien's face between his hands.

Damien blinked, his lips pursed awkwardly from the pressure. "Luca."

Luca squeezed harder. "You're being mopey. Stop that."

"I am not mopey."

"You so are." Luca tilted his head. "Should I start calling you Mopey Mafia Man?"

Damien gave him a flat look. "I will throw you into the snow."

Luca grinned. "You wouldn't dare."

A beat of silence.

Then Damien grinned back.

A second later, Luca found himself scooped up and flung over Damien's shoulder like a sack of rice.

"WAIT—DAMIE—NO—"

Too late.

The front door flew open, cold air rushed in, and then—

SPLAT.

Luca landed right in the soft, powdery snow outside.

Damien stood over him, looking way too pleased with himself.

Luca gasped, utterly betrayed. "YOU—"

He grabbed a handful of snow and launched it at Damien's face.

It missed.

Damien sighed dramatically. "Oh, love. You really need to work on your aim—"

Another snowball hit him right in the chest.

Damien froze.

Luca grinned.

"...You little menace."

And just like that, war broke out.

Snowballs were thrown, Luca got tackled into the snow (twice), and at some point, Damien tripped over Mochi, who had decided to join the chaos.

By the time they stumbled back inside—soaked, shivering, and breathless with laughter—Luca had completely forgotten his grudge.

Damien, the smug bastard, knew it too.

He pulled Luca into his arms, pressing a kiss against his temple. "See? A little vacation isn't so bad, now is it?"

Luca huffed, pressing his cold nose against Damien's neck just to make him shiver.

"...You're still bribing me."

"Absolutely."

And damn it—Luca was definitely falling for it.

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