Vitale's End

Dinner

I found Sienna, Armin, and Damien down in the kitchen when I awoke the following day. Thankfully, I hadn't seen Andrea. I was still a bit embarrassed about thanking him for letting me stay. After all, it wasn't like his plans had changed. I was still a pawn in his big game. He was just waiting to use me at the right time.

"Good morning," I grinned, grabbing an apple from the counter. Sienna and Damien groaned with their heads down.

"Must you talk so loud?" Sienna whined. "My head hurts."

"That's a product of drinking whatever it is that you mix together," Armin grinned, placing a stack of pancakes in front of both Damien and Sienna. I offered my thanks when he made a plate for me as well.

"Hey, it's usually a hit amongst the crowd," Sienna grinned lazily, lifting her head to eat the steaming hotcakes.

"Maybe for parties, not for movie night," Armin chuckled, diving into his plate of pancakes.

"He's right," I said, swallowing a bite of my food. It was delicious. If the whole mafia business doesn't work out for Armin, he could totally be a chef. "I'm sure I could have enjoyed it if we weren't watching movies."

Sienna's brows pulled into a harsh line, "Who's side are you on?"

I laughed, returning to my plate as we shared a peaceful breakfast amongst ourselves.

Damien eventually was able to hold a conversation like Sienna after eating one of his pancakes. I guess I was so busy ignoring him last night I hadn't realized how many beers he had drunk. It was at least five. After that, he apparently lost count.

Somehow, in the midst of breakfast, Damien snuck off to run back home, and Armin went back to his house to get ready for the day before going to headquarters. Sienna and I stayed in the kitchen, picking slowly at our pancakes as we talked.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you two in here. Where are Damien and Armin?" Andrea asked, buttoning his left sleeve. I felt myself tense in my chair at his presence.

"They both ran back home to freshen up for the day," Sienna answered.

"They do realize they've left clothes here that they could have changed into?" His brows furrowed as he poured a cup of coffee.

"Armin said he was going to head straight to headquarters and then come back later," Sienna surmised. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shower."

I watched Sienna leave with pleading eyes. I didn't want her to go. That meant I would be alone with him in the kitchen. Instead of staying, Sienna waved me off with a grin.

"Did you sleep well?" Andrea asked, standing on the opposite side of the counter.

"Yes, very well," I grinned tightly, uncomfortable with this entire situation. I hadn't passed the cold barrier with him, so everything felt odd with tension around Andrea.

"I actually wanted to speak with you about something," he said, taking a short sip of his coffee.

"Oh?" I asked, taking my last bite of the pancakes Armin made.

"Yes," he nodded. "I wanted to offer you to work as my assistant while you're here. After all, you did a kick-ass job at it before. And I figured it would give you something to do during the day."

"You want me to work as your assistant from here?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded again.

I felt a small flutter of hope fill me. If he reinstated my position as his assistant, that meant he was going to keep me here for the foreseeable future. "And would I be able to return to the office?"