Love Bites & Bullet Holes

Whack-A-Mole

The light shuffle of papers was the only sound in the now silent office. But the atmosphere was far from peaceful. Tension choked the air in the room and threatened to do the same to the two men inside. A sigh left Gavriil's lips and he finally looked up from the files on his desk, tossing a irritated look Ivan's way. The younger male had stayed behind after he dismissed both him and Nikita, and he knew exactly why.

"Why are you here?" Gavriil asked, returning his gaze to his work.

"Why is Nikita here?" Ivan shot back, anger evident in his words.

Gavriil's pen paused mid signature at the tone in Ivan's voice, but he forced himself to ignore it. He knew after everything that took place at the meeting, it was going to take a while for Ivan to find his calm. "Drop it." He demanded softly, not sparing the blond another look. He finished signing the paper under his pen and shifted it to the side, grabbing another and reading through the details. The moment he pressed the pen down once more, his desk shook from the sudden force of Ivan's hands slamming down on it. Gavriil's eyes narrowed as he looked at the ruined document, and he finally lifted his piercing ice blue gaze back up to Ivan's grey storms.

"Damn it Gav! Answer me! Why did you bring him here? I could have fixed this on my own!" The older male took a deep breath and flung the pen aside, leaning back and giving Ivan a hard stare. "Because you fucked up. You got cocky, and you made a decision that wasn't yours to make. Now this mess is beyond your ability to clean up alone." Coming to a stand, Gavriil moved around the desk to stand directly in front of Ivan. "So stop your fucking whining. You wanna prove to me that you know what you're doing? That you belong in this position? Then stop throwing a fucking fit, get out of my office, and go do your job!" he barked.

He didn't have time for this. To hand hold Ivan through his duties and justify his orders. The younger male was lucky he'd even explained as much as he just did. Anyone else behaving the way Ivan was and demanding answers, would be swiftly moved to a new place of residence. A pine box. Ivan stiffened and he didn't have to ask if the other male wasn't biting his tongue hard to keep back the retort that was probably burning in his mouth. It took almost a full minute before Ivan visibly forced his anger down and took a deep breath. "Da Pakhan. Ponimat' (Yes Boss. Understood.)" he snapped out as calmly as he could, before turning and storming out of the office, the door slamming shut behind him.

* * *

"You know...If you grind your teeth that hard, you'll wear them right out." Ivan tensed at the familiar voice and kept walking. Determined to ignore the male, and by doing so retain what was remaining of his sanity. "Have you gotten taller? Mmm...Muscles look good on you Ivy. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore that more feminine figure you had when you were-" Ivan spun around and slammed a fist into his aggressor's stomach. Or at least he tried to, but Nikita anticipated the attack and moved his hand just in time to block it. Turning what would have been a hard blow into a firm press. Nikita grinned at Ivan's enraged expression and closed his hand around the fist pressing into his palm, trapping the younger males hand. "So forceful Ivy. If you wanted to get physical you only had to ask."

Ivan scoffed in disgust and yanked his hand out of Nikita's grip, shooting the older male a glare before continuing his walk down the mansion hall. "I don't have time for your shit today Nikita. So if we're gonna work together, shut up, keep up and stay the hell outta my way." He'd love to use this opportunity to take out his anger on Nikita, and give the bastard a well deserved beating, but more than that, he was determined to prove Gavriil wrong. There was no way in hell he was gonna let a lapse in judgment unravel years of hard work that earned him his position by the Pakhan's side. He wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction. Especially Vitaly. Ivan's fist clenched at the thought, his strides growing faster and harsher as his boots pounded the carpeted hall.