Chapter 235: Friends Don’t Look At Friends That Way

[FROLO]

The private elevator at the Moskowsky Building dinged at the same time as the door to the stairwell did. Maybe it was a coincidence, but judging by the way they were looking at each other, it wasn’t.

"Oh..." Sergei breathed like he didn’t already know it was Katya in the elevator at eleven o’clock in the evening after a long court day. Like he hadn’t seen the cameras himself.

And worse, like he hadn’t sniffed that citrus like a hungry man while he waited for the elevator to stop on its own on the seventieth floor.

"I... I, uh... I came for some documents," Katya lied through his teeth as a shirtless Sergei stared back at him, his hair tousled and his shorts hanging low on his V-line.

"Okay... I’ll just... I’ll go back. I thought it was an intruder on the floor and came to check," Sergei said, his lie matching Katya’s before Katya snorted hard.

"You have the most highly trained security in the city."

"I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to say," Sergei said sheepishly, and Katya stared quietly.

"I’ll grab a shirt and be back... You won’t be gone by then, right?" the alpha asked, and Katya had to remind him that this was his boss half-naked in front of him. Well, to be fair, he didn’t exactly process anything over the past five seconds.

"I’ll be in my office... Th... The documents," Katya said like suddenly the Moskowsky documents were what he needed to deal with on a day that was the most hectic for him.

Sergei just nodded before he climbed the stairs, three steps at a time like a man who was racing against his destiny. Once he was out of sight, Katya hunched over, catching a breath that he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Romanov?" he mumbled to himself as he scurried to his office.

When he got there, it was locked. Of course, it was locked. And even worse, Rahim had the keys.

Katya’s spare key was back at Alek’s house. Which meant that he had rushed across the city with a lie that was about to bite him in the ass.

Oh, but Katya needed to think.

Maybe he could run back home and pretend today didn’t happen, but with Sergei, he would probably come off as a weird coward in the middle of the night.

"Think, Romanov, think," he grumbled lowly as he tried to think of anyone who could have spare keys.

"Volkov," he beamed.

He didn’t think twice, just rushed into the only office whose door was open and started checking the drawers. Volkov and Rahim had spare keys for all the offices on this floor.

Frankly, it was his best bet right now.

"Solnyshka?"

The omega froze, his hands in Volkov’s drawer pausing like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sergei was now clothed, thankfully.

Not that the grey sweatpants and white tank top did anything to keep Katya focused on his current predicament.

"It’s not what you think," he blurted out, and Sergei raised a brow at him.

"I swear it’s not what it looks like," he added, tripping over his words.

"I... Svet has my bag, and I forgot my key in there. I was just trying to find a spare key in Volkov’s drawer... gods, that doesn’t even sound believable," Katya groaned the last bit to himself.

Then he stepped back from the desk and showed his hands like he really needed Sergei not to distrust him right now. It was interesting, though, because Sergei just stood there amusedly.

"So you came for documents in your office... and forgot the keys in a bag... that your friend carried home... while you headed here to retrieve said documents?" Sergei voiced, walking in, only for the office door to close right behind him.

Katya was trapped.

Trapped with a man who looked like the gods had taken actual time to create him.

’Glad to see we’re on the same page. I was wondering how long you’d be blind,’ Katya’s subconscious taunted, making Katya groan.

He had been doing well without the voice in his head, and instead of that voice coming up with a solution, he was stuck listening to what-ifs and shit that wouldn’t ever make as much sense for them. What the fuck was he supposed to do then?

"Solnyshka..."

’Maybe try the truth? He looks so fine though... Why’d you let him go grab a shirt earlier?’ his subconscious taunted.

"I wasn’t snooping," Katya said instead.

’Right... You were just running away from the master of fine b—’

"I came to check on you after court, and I didn’t know what excuse to use without being a creep," Katya said in one breath as if that was supposed to make his subconscious shut the fuck up.

’A truthful Romanov. Alright, I’ll be out of your hair... For now.’

Meanwhile, Sergei stood there stiff like the omega had made a love confession to him.

He’d never calculated the probability that Katya, who had suffered through the courts for over fifteen hours, would choose to come check on him instead of going home first.

For a moment, no one spoke.

And Katya, noticing how awkward the room had gotten, decided to speak again.

"I’m sorry I interrupted your evening," he sighed as he took a seat on the couch.

"You... Me..." Sergei stuttered.

Katya stared like he had finally managed to break the mightiest man in Frolo.

And it wasn’t even helping his case right now.

"I should go," the omega got up, only for Sergei to stop him.

"Don’t... I mean, if you want to go, at least let me drive you home," Sergei said, like his heart wasn’t hammering inside his chest threatening to break free.

Gods, he was doomed so badly.

"I know it’s weird. But you’re my friend, and I wanted to check up on you," Katya added, and this time...

Even he didn’t believe his own words.

Friends called.

Friends talked over the phone after a long day, especially on long nights like these.

Katya had been in that room the whole day, and the first thing on his mind was to check on the man who had walked in for a whole ten minutes and left?

"Thank you. I didn’t mean to terrify the court or ruin the sentencing. I know how that looked, and I didn’t think. I just wanted to make sure you finally got justice, before—" Sergei rambled, stopping himself just in time.

But by this point, Katya knew what was coming after that sentence. Even if he didn’t have to spell it out.

Maybe the entire city already knew it, too, right?

"Looks like we both didn’t do much thinking today," Katya laughed nervously, and Sergei joined in before they went back to sit on the couch, the space between them ridiculously wide like they were avoiding each other.

Were they?

Or was this friendly distance?

"Do you want to do anything to them? Even Milan?" Sergei asked, his tone serious like he was considering the only opinion that mattered and was ready to prioritize it.

"No. But whatever comes their way, they deserve it all," Katya said before the conversation descended into their usual talks without any awkwardness.

And when Sergei dropped off Katya at Alek’s house an hour later, the senator just nodded in understanding, thanking the alpha for bringing Katya home.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

For doing something when no one was.

"Goodnight, Senator."

"Sleep well, Vladimir."

"Good evening, Mr. Moskowsky."

Tomorrow would take care of itself, right?