Family Comes Last.

Chapter 14: He made her happy.

Vittorio had always confided in Lilith, about everything, after 3 years of being together, he still remembered the first time he did it.

He looked at the beautiful Italian girl, with brown hair and green eyes, laying, with her head on his chest, her eyes closed, content.

This was the same position they were laying in when he told her about Victorio.

~Flashback~

"I'm so sorry about what I said" He whispered apologising for something he said a few hours ago. "I was hurting and I hurt others when I hurt"

"It's not a good fucking trait" She muttered and then sighed softly.

"I know" He sighed as well "I know, it's just it's so much"

"Talk to me" She turned "Tell me, you tell me everything but what made you this way, the scars"

Her eyes looked like she was going to tear up "What happened to you?"

"You won't be able to handle it"

"You don't know that" She begged and looked deeper into his eyes a perfect storm of misty ocean and clear sapphire. "And if I can't, I still will for your sake"

He couldn't help the pained chuckle that left his mouth and he looked into her slightly concerned forest green eyes with his own sad blue ones.

He wanted to tell her, he really did, he was just...afraid.

"You'll tell me as soon as it makes you uncomfortable or troubles you" He took her hands in his and she nodded "Promise?"

"Promise"

And he kissed her, sweetly, not lustfully but gratefully...lovingly.

She returned it before they pulled away.

Short and sweet.

He kissed her cheek, beneath her ear before sighing as he leaned back, his arm wrapped around her.

"We were a normal family" He chuckled after the word normal "As a multi-billionaire family could be, loving parents, protective older brothers, little sisters, a pet goldfish which Vesper took care of more than herself"

Lilith raised her eyes and he nodded, ignoring the pain in his heart and replacing it with a soft laugh.

"Vesper would cry and sob if anyone got hurt especially animals, Father once tortured a man till he died because he kicked a dog in front of Vesper and she cried a lot." He continued on Vesper "I had to pretend to chase the monsters gently and politely without hurting their feelings."

"And Eve, she loved gardens and flowers...soccer too"

"Katherine?" She asked gently knowing she affected him most, emotionally, almost just as much as Eve.

"Katherine loved playing the piano...with me especially, we used to play for everyone and they'd dance, Dad with Vesper, Eve with Victorio, my twin" He reminded her as though she forgot "And Mum would sing along."

He took a breath before continuing successfully not crying yet.

"Katherine was always Victorio's, I mean like you know Daddy's girl or Mommy's girl? she was Victorio's girl. Eve was mine, maybe in a way still is. Vesper was a daddy's girl and before the twin's were born Mum was so sure they'd be momma's girls" He said softly before continuing "And we were playing around that night, Victorio had just gone to call Andrea"

"Saint Laurent?"

"Yes, they were best friends since we were four, him and her, me and Gusto" He sucked in another breath, a deeper one, hiding a shudder at the memory. "We were pretty shielded from the underground business and a shot rang out through the house, and another one, and another one, I grabbed Eve and Vesper and ran to the safe rooms, and just like that my other halfway dead. he was gone forever" Vittorio's eyes burned as he closed them. "He was supposed to be, you know, here for all of it. He was supposed to be beside me when the twins were born, so we could take one each and nickname them after ourselves" Vittorio chuckled with a small sniffle and she tightened her arms around him "He was supposed to be here when Katherine got a crush to scare him off, and you know beat up Eve's boyfriend, or catch Vesper sneaking back in from a party or drive the twins to their colleges, fuck, he was supposed to go to college with m-me"

He wiped a tear before it could roll-off.

"The point is he wasn't supposed to die. Our...My parents were in just much as shock and blamed themselves for not fucking teaching us how to fight professionally or made us keep guns with us, I agree with that" He shook his head "We should've been taught but there is a huge difference in torturing their children into being...this....monsters"

She shook her head but he pressed his finger against her lips.

"Don't lie, this is what we are, broken fucking monsters and if you stop me from saying that, I'll forget it, forget to tell you everything, forget my own capabilities because I'll believe you" He looked into her eyes "We were told to be shoot at men, women, children targets till our fingers were bruised and swollen, to fight till we passed out to learn language after language. See Victorio died that day with him, so did our family"

Andrea had looked like she wanted to say something, but held back, opting to hug him close instead.

He didn't question it, because he didn't know if he could answer so he just enjoyed the warmth he got from this closeness.

~flashback over~

"Baby?"

Lilith hummed in response.

"Andrea's the new CEO of Saint Laurent enterprises"

"So?" Lilith asked her voice heavy with sleep.

"So we'll have meetings and such exchanges, more than ever"

Lilith squeezed him.

"It's okay" She murmured, opening one eye to look up at him" I trust you"

He kissed her forehead, as soon as she lay her head back.

"I love you"

She kissed his chest.

"I love you too."

~o~O~o~

"N-no" Serafina choked out laughing as Cole hid his own face in the crook of his shoulder, which was shaking with laughter.

Looking at him, as they both laughed under the stars, sitting against gravestones, in the middle of nowhere...she was happy. Happier than she'd been for years.

And as she looked at him she realised why.

He was her friend, something she didn't have since she was 12. He was her friend and he made her forget all about the bad things without drugs or drinks. He was her friend and He was her friend, her sunshine on a dark dreary day. He was her friend.

She thought it was a natural process, that it'd happen and she wouldn't realise it, but it was nothing like that because when she realised that, she felt like a super-power had been bestowed upon her shoulders. She for some minutes felt like maybe she did want to live, soberly, properly, happy live life. Just because...

He was her friend and he made her happy.