Third POV limited
"Always laughing." He muttered to himself, low enough that only he could hear it, jaw tight as he watched Aurora lean against Theo, already deep in another conversation about some sauce she wanted to try recreating.
At this point he was thoroughly regretting ever agreeing to let Theo stay, if only he’d known the man was Aurora’s cooking mentor. He barely registered Dr. Quinn, who was going on about some medicine he thought might help Marchetti, his ears too busy catching every word out of Theo and Aurora’s mouths, like missing even one of them meant slipping straight back into a coma.
"You’d reduce it slower than that, trust me." Theo said, gesturing with his hand like he was stirring an invisible pot. "Low heat and patience work together. The moment you rush it, you’ve ruined the whole thing, and you’ll have to start over."
"That’s exactly what I keep telling myself, and I still rush it every single time. Starting over feels like climbing an edgy mountain, because I hate slicing onions." Aurora laughed, genuinely bright in a way Saint hadn’t seen since he’d brought her into the mansion.
Saint glanced sideways at her, at how comfortable she seemed, how at ease in his own house while surrounded by his guards, just from being near a friend. He hated himself for how irritated it made him, how much of his focus it was pulling toward something that had no business mattering to him.
"No cook hates their own ingredients except Aurora. But you know, patience is one ingredient nobody wants to buy." Theo joked, and the two of them burst into laughter hard enough to make Saint want to slam his fist against the table, his face curling into irritation as he turned back toward Dr. Quinn, who had stood to head to the guest room for the night.
"Goodnight, brother." Dr. Quinn said, and Saint only nodded in response.
"Aurora." Saint’s voice cut through their conversation sharper than necessary, pulling her attention back toward him. "Bring me another blanket."
"You already have two," she pointed out.
"One’s soaked, and neither is warm enough."
She sighed but got up anyway. When she returned, Saint had found something else to complain about. "The soup’s already cold." He pushed it away from himself slightly, as if to dispose of it.
"It’s soup, Saint, and if I remember correctly, it’s been sitting there untouched since Nina brought it in. It’s not supposed to be reheated three times because you keep interrupting to complain about every little thing."
Theo pressed his lips together, clearly fighting back a smile, saying nothing, though his eyes flicked knowingly between the two of them.
Aurora settled back in beside Theo, only for Saint to call her name again minutes later, this time for no particular reason at all, just to pull her attention away from Theo and back to him.
The front door burst open before anyone could answer it, Alyssa’s small voice carrying through the house before she’d even fully stepped inside.
"Uncle!" She dropped her school bag the second she spotted him on the couch, sprinting across the room and climbing carefully into his lap, mindful of the bandage on his shoulder.
"Careful," he murmured, though his expression had already softened completely, all his earlier irritation gone the moment she was in his arms.
"I was so scared. Nina said you almost died." Alyssa’s voice wobbled, and Saint pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"I’m here now."
She nodded, wiping her face quickly before launching into an entirely different subject.
"We have our school excursion in three days! We’re going to the botanical gardens, and I need a matching outfit, and Miss Meridian said we can bring snacks, and I want Aurora to help me pick what to bring." She jumped off Saint’s lap, opened her bag, and pulled out a card. "It’s only a five-hour excursion, though."
"I’d love to help," Aurora said, and Alyssa’s whole face lit up.
Theo watched the exchange with quiet interest, something thoughtful behind his eyes as he took in the little family forming in front of him, none of them quite naming it as that yet.
By the time the storm had settled enough for the roads to clear, Theo gathered his things, his basket of herbs tucked under one arm.
"I’ll come by again sometime," he said to Aurora, smiling easily.
"I’d like that," she said, and Theo grinned wider.
"Don’t need to," Saint cut in flatly from the couch.
Theo laughed it off. "Careful, or I’ll actually take offense." He turned back to Aurora. "See you soon, Baby Smoky."
Aurora laughed at the nickname, shaking her head as she walked him to the door. Behind her, Saint’s expression darkened, jaw tightening as he watched them go, though he said nothing further.
The next morning, Saint woke feeling more like himself than he had any right to. He rolled his shoulder, testing it, the wound still there but smaller now, the skin knitting itself back together far faster than it should have.
"That’s not normal," Quinn said, inspecting it with barely concealed astonishment. "Even for you."
"Hybrid healing," Saint said simply, already reaching for a clean shirt.
Aurora, passing by the door, paused at the sight of him moving like nothing had happened the day before, like he hadn’t torn through a window and run into a storm as something barely human.
Milo’s call came just after breakfast, his voice clipped and urgent the second Saint picked up.
"We got contact. Whoever breached the warehouse wants a meeting."
"What do they want?"
"Money. Compensation. I don’t know yet, not until you get there. They’re threatening to hand over what they found to the authorities if you don’t show." Milo paused. "There’s a condition. You come with your wife."
Saint’s jaw tightened.
"No."
"Saint, if they really have something from inside that warehouse—"
"I know what’s in that warehouse." He exhaled sharply, weighing it. A leak like that could unravel more than just one operation.
"Fine."
"Who are you bringing, or do you want me to arrange someone?"
Saint’s eyes drifted across the room, landing on Aurora.
"Aurora."
"Going somewhere?" Aurora asked, arms crossed, watching him pull on his jacket.
"You’re coming with me."
"Why me?"
Saint didn’t offer more than that.
"Because they asked for my wife."
Aurora stared at him, bewildered, the weight of the sentence settling slowly. Whatever this was, it wasn’t an outing. And she had no idea what she was about to walk into.