Again, Mr. Black? (M×M) (l***q+)

7.

Fear is an emotion that takes the least amount of time to penetrate into one's life and takes the longest time to leave. Just like a toxic relationship. No matter how independent I try to be, I am not brave enough to stand against Hades Black. A criminal. The very criminal who is on the WANTED list of the government. Yet nobody knew how Hades Black looked.

For them, Hades Black is a man with a hooded face. And I can't even run around the streets, screaming about how my roommate is a criminal, an assassin. Because they won't be able to catch him before he would reach out for me. And then, no-one would ever know what happened to the boy named Lazrus Russell.

When I was done bathing, I decided to stay in my room. Who knows how angry he is right now? I can justify my tone and attitude towards him. He took me by surprise. He told me so easily that he stalks me like there's no tomorrow and then expects me not to react to it. I was scared, scared that he knew literally everything about me when I only knew his damn name and profession.

I was busy making a report on the major problem of the recession he told me to do. I quietly took out my sheets and sat down on the floor and removed my laptop and pen before searching for my topic on the search engine. Some minutes passed by and I noted down the important and interesting things I could find on the internet for the same.

My stomach was growling for food. After all, I had eaten somewhere around one in the noon and now it was past ten. Of course, I was hungry, if not starving. Ignoring the rumble in my stomach, I continued searching and writing my assignment, ocassionally munching on a few chocolate bars Sammy had put in my bag. Oh, how grateful I was to her for putting those bars in my bag. Otherwise I would have slept hungry that night.

I had written quite a number of pages when there was a knock on my door, making my heart drop in the anxiety of the man standing on the other side of the door. I licked my lips, grabbing the pillow, the only thing I had in my room, for my protection. I didn't want to open the door. Honestly. But then again, how can a pillow save me from a man who is a professional killer? I have no benefit of being taller than him.

"Lazarus, I am..... I am not going to hurt you. Open the door." His voice was soft. Again. But the fear in me warned me of the demons inside him; the demons who are great at pretending to be calm before hunting their prey.

"It didn't feel like you wouldn't hurt me when you gripped the collar of my hoodie and looked ready to beat the life out of me. You were fuming with anger. I don't trust you, Mr. Black." I said after a minute of gaining courage from every ounce of my body.

I was hungry already, and then talking like I wasn't afraid of him drained me out of my energy. He didn't speak anything for quite some time. I expected him to leave me. Especially when he didn't answer me for another minute or two. When I expected him to have left me alone in my room, I heard him again. This man was stubborn.

"Your tone was disrespectful, Lazarus. And I am not used to people openly disrespecting me. That's what caused my anger back then." He tried to justify his anger towards me and a humorless chuckle escaped my mouth.

"And you stalking me like there's no bloody tomorrow wasn't disrespectful, Mr. Black? You invading my personal space and personal life was totally fine? And how can you really expect me to be okay with you knowing everything about me, intentionally, if I dare to add it." I said, seething in anger. And I heard him sighing.

"I am not justifying my action of stalking you, Lazarus. But I have my reason. I can't just live in somebody's house without knowing about them. It's for my own safety. I have thousands of enemies. And how would I stay safe if I did not get the information out of my roommate? It's like a reflex, Lazarus. I mean no harm to you by collecting your information. I am an assassin, not an obsessed psychopath."

How, ironic.

"If you have your reasons for keeping tabs on me, Sir, how can you not not understand my reasons for reacting the way I did? I am not at ease knowing my roommate kills for his living. And then your threats only make it difficult to even breathe easily around you." I finally said it out. And I heard him pacing outside my room.

"I get it now, Lazarus. Don't sleep hungry on my account. Please open the door and have something to eat. I won't hurt you. You have my word, Lazarus. I'll try to control my temper around you. Unlock your door now. The food is getting cold." He said, and just on cue, my stomach grumbled for food.

Weighing my pros and consequences, I unlocked my door, revealing, fresh and handsome as ever, Hades Black, standing with a small frown on his face, which soon turned into an amused smile when he saw the pillow in my hand. To fight him if necessary.

"Lazarus, I hope you were not going to fight me with this pillow. If yes, we really need to go and buy you some really strong bats and hockey sticks for your room. Because a pillow can barely hurt me or anyone." He said with a small chuckle and my cheeks flushed red as he snatched the pillow from my hand and threw it inside the room, on my bed.

"Shut up!"

....

"You said, the food is getting cold. But there's no food here." I said, looking at the man in front of me. He smiled at me, getting vegetables on the kitchen slab before he started to dice them. My eyes zeroed on how he was cutting the vegetables, with such perfection that I was left in awe. This man wasn't lying about being a chef. His speed said enough.

"I was lying. You can get your laptop down. Make your report and I'll cook dinner. I like having company while cooking." He said and I pressed my lips, not knowing how to react to his last statement.

Something in his tone told me that he rarely had company in his life. He rarely had people in his life. Something told me that he wanted to talk. A lot, maybe. But he has no-one to listen to him. And this mere thought gave me a flashback of my life. I was once in a situation where I rarely ever talked with people. I had no-one around me. Not until I got the job in the diner and Sammy and I became friends.

"Is there a problem, Lazarus? You.... zoned out." He said, and I blinked back into reality, shaking my head. I stood on my steps to get the laptop and papers from my room before sitting down on the chair to resume my work.

When I was dressed in an undershirt and a pair of loose joggers, he was also dressed in a round-neck t-shirt and dark sweatpants, he managed to look more elegant and handsome than me. Or maybe he was built in a way that made any piece of fabric look so damn good on him. Lucky man.

"What are you cooking?" I asked him after a minute of staring at him, gawking at him. He chuckled at my wide eyes and motioned towards the pot.

"Have you ever tried ghiveci?" He asked me and I pressed my lips, slowly shaking my head.

"I have heard of ghiveci. Like many customers do ask for it, but our diner doesn't have it. So, no, I never tried ghiveci." I said, simultaneously typing on my laptop and he nodded his head.

"I won't say it's one of the best things you'll be tasting. But it tastes pretty decent. Especially for a normal meal. And I was thinking of making an Israeli salad. Do you want to eat something else too?" He asked me and I was quick to shake my head. I haven't appointed him as my personal chef. He was cooking for me out of his own interest and I was very thankful to him.

I was scared as well. But I was grateful, indeed.

"You're cooking dinner even though you don't have to, it's more than enough for me." I said and he smiled back at me. I quickly looked away from him. His smile was a dangerous thing to witness.

"Oh and Lazarus," he called me, and I looked up from my papers, raising my eyebrows to silently ask him to continue whatever he wanted to ask or tell me.

"I wasn't at your college to trouble you. I don't know if you noticed, but I ignored you in class." Yeah, I did notice and it troubled me. Even when it shouldn't have. "Because my intention in coming to your class was not you. It was somebody else. Somebody is under my radar. Someone who is trying to stand against me. I had to keep tabs on them. That was the reason I was in your class. And about sitting at your desk, that was to irk you."

He said with a chuckle and I narrowed my eyes at his last statement and he smirked lightly at me, making me roll my eyes at him. Bastard.

"And if I ever came to your college to stalk you, Lazarus, it would be if you were mine, which you are not yet."

His words made me choke on my own spit. His "yet" made me feel a lot more butterflies in my belly than I had ever felt in my entire life. And there was only one thing running inside my mind.

That I am not gay.