He was sitting on a bench under a grapevine... an actual grapevine minds you... a book in hand watching the sun rise above the horizon...
Who could have thought he would get to be that peaceful...
He was still worn from the previous night's activities, his body screaming at him to just sleep some more...but he forced himself to get out of bed just before dawn... he wanted to see the sun lighting up the sky.... every movement from the second his feet hit the floor reminded him of what transpired but he never felt more alive... never felt more present... he belonged... to someone and someone belonged to him in return...
The book in his hand was long forgotten and the cup of warm honey tea by his side was starting to cool off...
his mind drifted to a time before now... to a time he was cruel for no reason... and to a time his cruelty was met with enough kindness that it cracked his stone heart
It all felt like yesterday...
He cannot recall much of his childhood... it's all soft glimpses of their mother and their father's gravel voice...
But he remembered his brother quite clearly... remember his rise into power and the aftermath of it...
He remembered when they were on a trip to Thailand and Ivan's wallet got snatched by a boy barely older than himself... while Ivan was among his bodyguards...
He also remembered how impressed his brother was with the boy... and then he decided to take him under his wing... properly teaching him the craft...
Because Danil was way too young... and his brother was adamant about protecting him from that kind of life for as long as possible...
Danil breathed deeper... Those years were the most frustrating...
He was in boarding school, year after year passing under the pretense that his brother is protecting him by keeping him away... guarding his soft heart against the cruel world... while his brother was expanding the business... and he was lonely... no family, no friends...
People feared his brother's name... and people who didn't were wary of his looks... Because Danil was beautiful... word got out that he had enough paramours and he was a playboy... who used his money and look to get anyone he wanted... tales were told about who he slept with idols and stars using his brother's money in 5-star hotel rooms.
None of it was true... he was as lonely as they come...
He devoted his time to reading and to his violin... his constant companion since he knew how to read and how to hold an instrument in his hand
Till school was about over... Till it was time to go home and stay home this time...
he was no older than 18... barely a man... barely anything at all...
Going back home was as easy as breathing... despite his brother being busy all the time... he devoted time to be spent with him... his soft-spoken brother... who may be a firm mafia overlord to everyone... but traded with so much care around him...
Those dinners - his designated time with Ivan - were usually joined by Kamol - the street rat ... who has grown into a fine sharp man... and who was his brother's right hand in every aspect of the business ...
He was surprised when he talked to his brother in Russian... trying to discreet his words from the intruder...Only for Kamol to look him dead in the eye and tell him, he speaks the language fluently... so if he was so bothered by his presence all he had to do was to ask him away...
Ivan's eyes traveled between them in anticipation...
Danil excused himself from the meal and cried himself to sleep that night...The last shred of his brother just got stolen... by a street thief nonetheless...
Over time... he grew accustomed to Kamol's presence at his brother's side... but didn't grow comfortable with it...
He heard rumors about the man... heard what his tendencies were... he doesn't like women... and his bed warmers... seem to be always in worse shape after the nights they spent with him...
It reminded him of a story he once heard about soul-sucking monsters... and solidified his view of the man as a nauseating presence in their life
But he was curious nonetheless... What had transpired in the years he was in school to result in Kamol being his brother's most trusted man... how did he make it among all of the others who were older, better, and had been working with their family for years.
he felt himself drifting away from his brother the more his brother seemed to be unable to make up time for him... even though dinners when Danil shoved food down his throat and tolerated the street rat's presence...
He started going out to avoid his brother... clubs... Bars... lounges... drink the night away and drown his loneliness...
His books and violin were long forgotten in his room... they no longer offered any comfort to him... they reminded him of how lonely he was...
His brother was busy expanding their business overseas... no time for babysitting his little brother... always accompanied by a street rat barely older than said brother, while he is rotting away in the house... in a city that was closing on him all the time no matter how wide it was...
Their ties stretched to their limits... but not breaking... never breaking... but horribly strained and tense...
He was acting out on purpose... using his brother's name as a shield... something his brother frowned upon repeatedly... But he never made a move to stop him...
He was not keen on sleeping around... but seeing other people happy together while loneliness stung him repeatedly invited the notion... in the hopes that it would soothe a bit... he started sleeping with men and women alike.. seeking any relief - even if momentarily
Except it didn't... none of it made it slightly even better... lack of proper experience didn't help him much as well... his loneliness crushed him worse after those nights... because all the encounters lacked warmth... lacked something... it made him feel emptier...
He soon figured out that something was wrong... with him... with the people he hooked up with... he didn't know... but something was not working for him...
His skin was crawling all the time... no amount of drinking was getting him to that sweet oblivion anymore...
Till one night after a hangout when he felt a brikle in his neck and everything faded to black...
YOU ARE READING
The Ties that doesn't bind...
ФанфикDanil had his reasons... He had his reasons to prevent Kamol from retiring... He had his reasons to want Kim gone from their life and above all else... he had his reasons to fight... Pre & Post Series
