To Love a Gangster

To Be in the Dark

Quiet sizzles floated into your senses as you stirred in your sleep. Late morning sun rays kissed your closed eyelids as they took their time to flutter open. The smell of food entering your nostrils was enough to make you rise up from your sleeping form, up and fully conscious.

This wasn't a dream, you actually managed to escape the grasp of Frederick and were now living a new life in his enemy's place. How surreal it was to think all of this had happened in just one night.

Though enemy or not, the Chinese gang boss saved you from your misery. You could not deny it anymore, you were glad that you left Arthur and were now adjusting to a new way of living.

You let out a soft yawn and rose from the covers, taking no effort to make yourself look decent as you made your way out of your room and into the kitchen. To your surprise, you were greeted by an entire buffet of food of all kinds all lined up along the countertop and a bumbling Shorter whisking away at a mixture while facing the stove.

He quietly hummed along to a rap song that  played over a small sound system in the kitchen, looking like he was having a blast all by himself. It took almost no time for him to notice your presence as he turned around with the bowl and whisk in his hand, giving you a broad smile that could light up a whole room by itself.

"Morning, sunshine," he boomed with enthusiasm. You smiled genuinely in return with a light chuckle. "Do you greet everyone like this in the morning," you asked with your voice touched by sarcasm.
"Well," he said with a grin. "I try to at least. Breakfast is ready, come take whatever you like."

You took a plate from the table, but you were not able to keep your eyes off all the food that stared back at you in welcome. "You made all this," you asked in awe. He nodded in reply.

"Yep," he cheered. "And pancakes will be done shortly. Here, take anything you would like in the mean time, I'll join you at the table in a minute."

The amount of food lined up along the table was almost overwhelming with all the variety of choices. The stack of waffles, eggs, sizzling bacon and sausage along with a sea of cereal choices had you mesmerized at looking at all the eye-candy so much that you didn't even know where to even start. It almost felt wrong to even pick up a scrap of eggs from the bowl since no one has ever pampered you like this. Well, not in a long time at least.

You filled your plate as much as it could hold with still plenty amount of food to feed a village left and made your way to the table, being generous as to wait for Shorter to return before chowing down on the feast he had been so kind to offer you.

A hand came no later into your peripherals as it flopped down several pancakes on your plate.  "There you go," Shorter said sitting down next to you at the table and pouring syrup onto his. "I made this all myself," he boasted confidently.

You took a bite of his pancakes hesitantly, still adjusting to this new way of being pampered like this, but you then went to town on the food as soon as the first taste of bliss ran through your pallet. "My god," you exclaimed stuffing down another bite of his master cooking. "This is amazing."

Shorter chuckled lightly. "I'm glad you love it," he said while proudly lifting his chin. "It's all for you." You smiled as you continued on eating as if you hadn't had food for days on end until your stomach reached its breaking limit and couldn't take any more in. 

"I seriously cannot thank you enough," you said with your mouth stuffed full as you forced down your last bite.

"It's my pleasure," Shorter replied happily. "I'm just glad that I actually have someone to sit at the table with for the first time." You smiled in reply. "I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and ate with someone either," you said. "It was never Frederick's thing." Shorter nodded. "Yeah, I normally just couch it since no one typically keeps me company during meals. I'm glad you came to join me," he concluded with a wink behind his sunglasses.