The mansion rose like something carved from old legend—stone walls, dark wood, flickering lanterns lining the way.
Danny held his duffle bag close, palms sweating.
Guards watched him as he passed.Cold stares.Judgment.Curiosity sharpened into whispers.
"That's him?""The boy?""Why would the boss choose… this?"
Danny's face burned.
Verdric didn't slow.But suddenly, he paused just long enough to murmur:
"Don't listen to them."
Danny swallowed a shaky breath."Okay."
Inside, the mansion was breathtaking—wide halls, glowing lanterns, art pieces Danny couldn't name. He felt like dirt on silk.
Verdric finally opened a large double door.
"This will be our room."
Danny froze."Our…?"
Verdric looked at him like the question confused him.
"You are my partner. You stay with me."
Danny's heart thudded painfully.
He tried to protest.He didn't want to be a burden.
Verdric stepped closer and took the duffle gently from his grip.
"I will have clothes brought for you," Verdric said. "And anything else you need."
Danny shook his head. "I don't need anything—"
"You do." Verdric's voice softened. "Let me."
Danny nodded, unable to speak.
For the first time in years, someone was giving him something without expecting payment.
He didn't know where to put the feeling.
Verdric walked a few steps ahead, Danny trailing close behind like a shadow afraid to be noticed.
He didn't like how small the boy looked among his men.
He didn't like the whispers.
He didn't like how Danny's shoulders curled inward, as if trying to hide himself.
Verdric stopped at a door marked with the Van Deric crest.
"This is the war room. Do not enter without me."
Danny nodded quickly.
Verdric's voice dropped.
"I say this for your safety."
Danny's eyes widened slightly—surprised by the concern.
They walked to the lounge, where two officers sat eating noodles. They sprang up instantly.
"Boss!"
Verdric gestured toward Danny.
"This is Danny. He will be staying here."
The men stared.Hard.
Verdric didn't flinch.
"He is my partner."
Danny nearly dropped his bag.
The officers bowed, startled into silence.
When Verdric led Danny out, Danny whispered:
"Did you mean that? What you said?"
Verdric stopped walking.
"I don't speak carelessly."
Danny looked away shyly. "I've never been anyone's… partner."
Verdric stepped closer.
"You are mine now."
He said it simply.Like a fact of nature.Like something he already accepted.
Danny's breath caught.
Verdric didn't show it, but something tightened in his chest.
He had chosen Danny.And he was already starting to feel the weight of that choice.
Dinner was silent except for the clatter of dishes.
Danny tried to stay invisible, but it felt impossible with so many eyes watching him. He dropped his chopsticks once; Verdric calmly picked them up and placed them back into his hand without a word.
Danny felt his face burn.
No one had ever cared enough to soften embarrassment like that.
That night in the bedroom, Danny stood awkwardly near the bed.
"We're… sleeping here?" he asked softly.
Verdric didn't even look up from unbuttoning his cuffs.
"Yes."
Danny swallowed. "I've never… shared a bed before."
Verdric approached him, steps slow.
"I won't touch you without your consent."
Danny nodded, but his heartbeat didn't slow.
He climbed into the bed.
The mattress sank slightly beneath Verdric's weight on the other side.
The air thickened with unspoken tension.
Danny whispered into the dark:
"…why me?"
Verdric didn't answer.
But after a long moment, Danny heard it—quiet, ragged around the edges:
"You don't look at me like everyone else."
Danny closed his eyes.
The room felt different after that.
Warmer.
Lonelier.
Something like the beginning of a fall neither of them understood yet.
--
Danny's dream gripped him too tight—Leo slipping away, the hospital machines falling silent, Danny screaming without sound—
He jerked awake with a choked sob.
The room blurred.
His chest hurt.
His hands shook.
A gentle hand closed around his wrist.
"Danny."
Verdric's voice was deeper in the dark, quiet but commanding enough to anchor him.
Danny tried to wipe his tears. "Sorry. I'm—sorry, I didn't want to wake—"
Verdric didn't let him finish.
He pulled Danny toward him, steady and sure, until Danny collapsed into the warmth of his chest.
"Breathe," Verdric murmured.
Danny clutched his shirt, trembling. Verdric's arms wrapped around him—careful, strong, protective.
"You're safe," Verdric whispered into his hair.
Danny had no idea those words could hurt in such a gentle way.
They stayed like that.
Danny trembling.
Verdric holding him.
Verdric brushed a thumb across Danny's cheek, wiping the last tear. Danny shivered at the touch, not from fear.
Verdric didn't kiss him.
But he didn't have to.
Every breath they shared felt like a confession neither could voice.
Danny fell asleep against him.
And Verdric, for the first time in years, let himself drift with someone in his arms.
--
Morning slipped quietly through the curtains, a thin band of gold stretching across the dark sheets. Verdric was already awake. He didn't remember falling asleep, only the faint warmth still lingering on his arm where Danny had curled into him hours earlier.
Verdric didn't allow himself to think about that.
He stepped out of bed and crossed the room, dressing with practiced efficiency. He could feel Danny's gaze on his back before he even heard the rustle of blankets.
"Good… morning," Danny murmured, voice soft with sleep.
Verdric paused.
No one had wished him good morning in years.
Not sincerely.
He turned.
Danny sat up slowly, hair tousled, the blanket pooled around his waist. His eyes were still heavy, lashes sticking together from the tears he'd cried during the night.
Something warm flickered in Verdric's chest before he smothered it.
"You slept," Verdric said.
Danny blinked. "You… sound surprised."
"I am."
Danny let out a breathy laugh.
A small one.
But real.
Verdric felt the twitch at the corner of his mouth before he could stop it.
It was tiny. Barely there.
But Danny saw it.
His eyes widened. "Did you—just now—did you smile?"
Verdric instantly turned away.
"No."
"You did."
Danny's voice brightened, just a little, like the sun pushing through clouds. "I saw it."
"It was not a smile."
"It was definitely a smile."
Verdric adjusted his watch with unnecessary focus.
He could feel Danny still staring.
He didn't like it.
Or maybe he liked it more than he should.
He cleared his throat.
"Get dressed. Breakfast will be ready."
Danny hummed softly, and Verdric could hear the smile in his voice even without turning around.
He hated how warm that made him feel.
Breakfast felt strangely… quiet.
Not tense.
Not heavy.
Just quiet.
Danny sat beside him as instructed. He was still shy, still too careful, but his shoulders were a little less tense than last night.
Verdric noticed.
He noticed everything about him.
When Danny picked up his chopsticks, he held them properly this time.
When Danny reached for the miso soup, Verdric saw how his fingers trembled from nerves.
When Danny thanked the maid for refilling his tea, she nearly tripped from shock.
And Danny blushed.
Like he thought he'd done something wrong.
Verdric set his tea down.
"You don't have to thank them for every small thing."
Danny blinked. "Why not?"
"They work for me."
Danny frowned. "Then they work for… us."
Verdric almost choked.
Us.
He hadn't heard that word in a very, very long time.
The lieutenant who stood guard behind them raised an eyebrow, watching Verdric's reaction like it might become a scandal.
Verdric shot him a glare.
He looked away immediately.
Danny stirred his tea nervously.
"I just meant… it's polite."
Verdric studied him.
"Polite," he repeated.
Danny nodded quickly.
Verdric leaned back slightly, one arm resting on the table, his gaze never leaving Danny.
"You confuse them."
Danny froze. "I do?"
"You confuse me."
Danny flushed, nearly knocking over his spoon.
Verdric didn't elaborate. He didn't need to. He lifted his tea cup to his lips, hiding the faint curl threatening the corner of his mouth.
It wasn't a smile.
Of course not.
But Danny kept staring at him like Verdric had hung the stars in the ceiling.
It was… unsettling.
And strangely addictive.
After breakfast, Verdric walked him through more of the mansion. Danny tried to keep a respectful distance, but when Verdric slowed his steps, Danny unconsciously matched the pace.
As if he'd already learned to follow Verdric's rhythm.
Verdric didn't say anything.
He didn't want to.
Because the thought felt too intimate.
They passed through the garden hallway—floor-to-ceiling windows casting shifting patterns of sunlight over the polished floor. Verdric stopped near the koi pond where cherry blossoms drifted on the water's surface.
Danny stared with childlike awe.
"I've never seen anything like this…"
Verdric watched him instead of the pond.
Danny reached toward the glass, fingers hovering just above it.
The light caught on his skin, softening him even more, making him look impossibly fragile.
"You can walk outside if you want," Verdric said.
Danny blinked. "Really?"
"Yes."
Danny hesitated. "Won't people… stare?"
"They will."
Verdric's voice dropped lower.
"If anyone makes you uncomfortable, tell me."
Danny looked at him then.
Really looked.
And something in that gaze felt warm enough to thaw winter.
"You don't have to protect me from everything," Danny whispered.
Verdric stepped closer.
His shadow brushed over Danny's shoulder.
"I disagree."
Danny's breath caught.
He looked up, meeting Verdric eye to eye.
For a moment, the world dipped into a quiet, dangerous stillness.
A spark.
A pull.
A soft tension blooming between them.
Danny whispered, "You don't have to do this."
Verdric answered without hesitation.
"I know."
Their eyes held—
slow, steady, charged.
And then Danny looked away first, cheeks red.
Verdric didn't smile.
But something in his chest ached to.