[MAX]
The only thing of mine that I was wearing when we hit New York City were my pants and my shoes. The giant navy rain coat? Dylan's. The overside gray hoodie beneath it? Tessa's. Even the t-shirt beneath the sweatshirt and the socks were Tessa's. Overall, the clothes put me somewhere between grungy and homeless on the fashion spectrum, but I couldn't complain too much.
At least I was armed again.
The boys were both wearing just as many layers as I was, but their clothes actually fit them. Danny had a gray raincoat on over his flannel, and his jeans were tucked into what looked to me like hiking boots. Dylan had on a leather jacket over his own sweatshirt, and his jeans were tucked into military-issue combat boots.
The layers served two purposes for us: we were protected from the cold that had begun to creep into New York City overnight, and we were all armed.
For us, it was actually pretty close to being a normal day. The abnormal thing was that we were actually meeting up with friends, but truth be told, I couldn't say I was too upset by that change.
We were meeting Phoenix and Alexei at an abandoned bar that had found its resting place between two boroughs. It was in a section of town that didn't see many people outside of criminals and stragglers, and even those were fast asleep at this hour of the morning. The sun had yet to start leaking through the skyline by the time we reached the bar, and it was only once Danny had closed and locked the door securely behind us did I see rays of sunshine begin to filter into the dusty air.
The rising sun made Phoenix and Alexei look ethereal as they rose from the table that they had been sitting at. It set off a glow around them and seemed to give them halos, and between that and their individually unique yet brilliant smiles, I came to a temporary stop.
Though then, that may also have been due to the remnants of the concussion I was trying to shake off.
I didn't have much time to process through the rest of the room before Phoenix had enveloped me in a hug. I could feel her smile into my neck, but she only held onto me for a few seconds before she pulled back and let Alexei take her place. I could hear her greeting the twins through Alexei's arms, and when he pulled away we made eye contact.
His eyes were as oceanic as ever, now reflecting the rising sun. There was a sobriety there that caused me to neutralize my expression. My own eyes narrowed as he searched them.
"Ty v poryadke, Velikaya?" he asked lowly, just loud enough for me to catch.
I manufactured a smile. "Da." And it wasn't a complete lie. I was doing exponentially better than I had been a week ago.
Still, Alexei didn't seem to fully buy what I was selling, though I couldn't say I was surprised.
"We having secret conversations in Russian now?" Danny asked when he appeared at my life side with a cheeky grin.
"Not secret," Alexei disagreed. He returned Danny's smile with a tamer one of his own. "It is good to see you, Daniel." The two shook hands and clapped each other's shoulders as Dylan stepped up on my right side. "And you, Volk," Alexei said as he turned to Dylan and engaged in a similar ritual greeting with him. "Neither of you looking any worse for wear, I see."
"No thanks to her," Danny said, elbowing me lightly.
I rolled my eyes and shrugged. The smile that tugged at my lips didn't last for long, and it was my lack of a retort that drew all of their eyes to me in full. I didn't let the silence drag. "We should sit down." I ignored the way that they all exchanged looks, and pretended not to notice the numerous unspoken conversations that happened around me.
