ANTECEDENT: CHAPTER 23

"FRIENDS?" Love asked Midnight when he saw Midnight looking at the twins and not entering the water taxi. Love thought Midnight would go over and talk to the twins, but Midnight did the opposite. Casually, he boarded the water taxi and took a seat.

"Hey! What's your name?" Before the water taxi could leave, one of the twins called out to Midnight.

Midnight was sure these twins knew his older brother. If he didn't answer the twin's question, his big brother would surely hear about him from the twins, and he would know know where he was. And at the moment, he didn't want to meet his brother.

He had no option but to answer. "Midnight Velasquez." Then he put his forefinger over his lips. "I'm in hiding."

The twins were quick to understand the request hidden behind Midnight's simple response. "No worries. We're in hiding, too." Said the twin with a tattoo on his face. "I'm Blaze." Then pointed at the guy beside him. "My twin, Blake."

With a nod to the twins, the water taxi departed, leaving the twins behind.

"Want to know who they are?" Love asked Midnight.

Midnight gave Love a surprised look, as if he was not expecting Love to be helpful.

Love clicked his tongue. "Boss, I'm your new tracker. Didn't I tell you that earlier?"

"Oh." That actually did not cross Midnight's mind. He thought Dominick sent Love just to keep him company or something similar. "If you can find who they are for me, that would be great."

Love shrugged and casually took out his phone and started aggressively tapping it as if he was fighting with something on the screen.

Before they arrived at their destination, Love handed his phone to Midnight.

On the screen, Midnight saw three profiles with photos.

Blake Vitale. Blaze Vitale. Luther San Deigo.

Below their names was the information about them—nothing crazy—but there was no mention of his big brother.

"Are they connected to my big brother?"

"Knight Velasquez?" Love had already been oriented by Dominick about Midnight prior to coming back to Venice. "No record. However, someone seemed to be hiding their information. What you just read now is just a public record."

"Can you dig more?"

"Sure. But I need my laptop for that."

"Alright. Later then."

Little did Midnight know; a reunion was being planned by the twins as he and Love walked to his flat after enjoying a burger.

Both sides shared the same concern. A mutual distrust existed: the twins were afraid Midnight would expose them, and Midnight was equally apprehensive about the twins telling his big brother about him. Had the twins not been so thrilled to meet Knight's look alike, they wouldn't have introduced themselves and wouldn't be in this mess.

"Make yourself at home," Love told Midnight as they entered Love's flat.

Midnight nodded and surveyed his surroundings. Surveying the entire flat. It was obvious that the person who lived in this flat was unpretentious. The apartment's furnishings and decor were extremely basic. His gaze was drawn, though, to the balcony and its stunning view of the sea.

"Nice flat." Midnight commented as he looked at the sparkling blue sea.

"Thanks!" Love stepped out of his room, carrying his already open laptop in his left hand and holding a puppy in the right. "Boss, meet my pup. This is Hevn."

Midnight turned to look, and his expression softened seeing the puppy. It reminded him of his little heartless cat, Loki.

Midnight approached Love, gently taking the puppy into his arms. Seeing that, Love presumed that Midnight had experience with pets.

"You have a pet, too?"

Midnight nodded with a small smile. "A cat. His name is Loki. I left it in Dominick's farm."

Love smiled. He's pleased to see his new boss smile genuinely. He noticed that this new boss of his wears a very thick mask. But his boss had noticeably loosened up since before, which was a welcome change.

Love sat on the long sofa and started tapping on his laptop's keyboard.

Midnight silently played with Hevn while Love worked on his laptop until Love inquired.

"By the way, boss, what's your plan for the whole year you're here? I need to know so I can match my schedule with yours."

Midnight recalled his schedule for the entire year and told Love everything except for the confidential ones.

"Seems you have a lot of free time, boss," Love realized. "Where are you staying in Rome? Maybe I can stay there, too."

Midnight was about to ask why would Love move to Rome when he remembered that Love was his tracker, that means this guy would be moving with him wherever he goes. That realization made Midnight stilled.

Parisi was right. He really had to learn how to work with a lot of people from now on. For a lone wolf like him, it was a bit discomforting.

"Boss?"

Midnight blinked. "I'm staying in the Racini's Hotel."

"Then I'll make a reservation there." Love had no problem reserving a room in the Racini's Hotel—one of the luxurious hotels in the world. As long as he's a member of the Orgánosi, staying in the Racini's hotel was free. "Which room are you in? I'll reserve the room next to yours."

This conversation really makes Midnight uncomfortable. He was not used to this, but he still answered Love's question because it was necessary.

"I'll reserve the room now." Said Love and sent an email to Racini's Hotel, together with his code. Then he looked up at his boss and chuckled, as if he was laughing at Midnight. "You can just say no, boss. Uncomfortable is written all over your body."

Midnight was somewhat surprised. He made sure to hide his expression behind his smiling mask, but it seemed Love was sensitive to body language. Although Midnight hated being scrutinized, he approved of Love's insight into his character. To work effectively as a team, they must learn to understand each other's needs and actions.

"It's just I'm used to being alone," Midnight explained. "This would be the first time that someone would be following me. It's uncomfortable."

Love shrugged, appreciating his boss' honesty. "It's cool. I actually booked the room below your floor."

Midnight let out a relieved breath. "Much appreciated."

Love let out a short laugh and focused his attention on his laptop. After a short while, he looked up with a frown. "About those twins..." he drawled. "Even their file in the Orgánosi was hidden."

Midnight frowned. "Can you access it?"

"Yeah, but it'll inform the other line." Love explained. "It seemed they were connected to the Orgánosi somehow, but it's not really the Orgánosi protecting them. It's someone else inside the Orgánosi, I guessed."

Midnight immediately concluded that it must be his brother, since those two knew him. "Let it go." He told Love. "No need to look into them anymore."

"Alright." Love no need to be told twice and got up from the sofa. "I will clean the guestroom. How long are you staying here?"

"Until Parisi called me back to Rome. So, probably a week." Midnight did not reject Love's offer to stay in his flat, even though Midnight had planned to stay at a hotel at first. Since he would be working with Love from now on, he had to know who Love was behind his open personality and genuine humor.

Love nodded and went to ready the guest room for Midnight.

In the living room, Midnight continued playing with Hevn until Love informed him that the guest room was ready.

Midnight put down Hevn on the floor and followed Love to the guest room. After thanking Love and Love left, he put his backpack on the floor, at the side of the bed, and walked toward the balcony overlooking the canals.

Midnight stood silently by the balcony door, watching the boats glide along the canals. For some reason, he found it soothing, and he hadn't realized how long he'd been watching.

A lot was on his mind as he watched the boats, and the people go about their day. When he came back to his senses, he felt a sense of longing to see his big brother.

One of his phones in the bag rang. When he checked, it was his old phone where his father usually contacted him.

Orlando was calling.

Midnight answered like usual. "Yes?"

"Your father is asking for your schedule for the entire year. In your free time, he will give you something to do to make your mind sharper."

"Okay."

Orlando abruptly hung up without a word. Midnight was used to it and before, he wouldn't feel anything. Now, he couldn't help sneering at Orlando's arrogance.

Ironically, Midnight found amusement in the fact that despite his being free from his father's influence, he still needed to feign obedience. This was because he was weak. Given his current strength and lack of support, defeating his father was impossible.

His father had a lot of people behind him, especially the ten families supporting him. He would be executed immediately if he tried and failed. Not to mention he might implicate his big brother.

That was why he had to be careful and plan well.

To be truly free, and to stand beside his brother as himself and not just his big brother's shadow, he had a lot of things to consider and do to make that happen.

However, he was not as obedient as before.

He called Parisi.

"I thought I told you to relax. Why are you calling?"

Midnight went straight to the point. He had a feeling Parisi would like it more than beating around the bush. "If my father asked you for my whole year's schedule, would you give it to him?"

"He already did just a few minutes ago. I said politely said no." Then Parisi added. "Continental bosses' training is always confidential even from the Arkhontes. It's only between the mentor and the trainee."

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

"No need for thanks. It's what I should do."

Midnight bade goodbye to Parisi and then sent his schedule for the year to Orlando. He added a few confidential ones to not make it obvious and kept the test to himself.

Afterwards, he took a nap and slept well up to dinner time. When he came out of his room, he noticed the post-it-note pinned to his door.

'Boss, I went out to buy something for Hevn. Won't be back until tomorrow. Please eat dinner by yourself.'

Midnight frowned. Just what kind of 'something' was Love buying for his dog that it would take until tomorrow?

Shaking his head, he took the post-it-note, throw it into the trash, then decided to leave the apartment to walk around even though the sky was already dark.

He never really enjoyed the places he visited before because he never felt any interest in them. But now it was different. He was curious to see Venice at night.

Taking only his wallet and smart phone, he left Love's apartment and wandered around the canal's sidewalk before crossing the grand canal through Rialto Bridge.

Just after he walk past the bridge, he felt someone following him.

Midnight became alert, but his demeanor did not change. His walking pace remained steady, but he started walking towards populated streets to get away.

However, it seems the one following him did not want to play a hide-and-seek game with him.

A hand tapped Midnight's shoulder and a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Hey! Remember us?"

Midnight calmly turned around and did not show an ounce of surprise when he saw the Vitale twins. "I thought you'll enjoy playing hide-and-seek?"

Blaze smiled dryly. "Ha-ha. Very amusing."

Midnight shrugged, then asked. "Need anything?"

"Yeah." Blake was the one who answered. "Had dinner yet?"

"No."

"Great. Let's go grab dinner."

Before Midnight could accept the invitation, the Vitale twins were already motioning him to follow. And since he had nothing pressing to do anyway, he followed.

He also wanted to know what these twins wanted from him, and he could sound them out if they had told or planned to tell his brother about him or not.

The three found themselves in a quaint but vibrant bar next to the canal.

"I'll go straight to the point," Blaze said to Midnight after they had finished ordering. "We came looking for you because we share the same concern. We're both hiding for a reason and it would be best to be quiet about it, yeah?"

Midnight nodded. "Yes. Agreed."

"Great." Blaze smiled and ended that topic decisively. "I have a feeling we will be good friends."

Meanwhile, Blake was staring at Midnight, as if memorizing his face. Then he turned to Blaze. "Kamukhang-kamukha talaga siya ni Knight. Masyado silang magkamukha para maging magkapatid lang."

"Yeah. I get that a lot. Pero magkapatid lang talaga kami ni Kuya."

Sabay na napatingin ang kambal kay Midnight sa sagot nito.

"Damn." Blake was impressed at how well Midnight spoke Tagalog. "Tinuruan ka ni Knight?"

"Self-taught."

"More impressive." Blaze complimented Midnight. "Magtatagal ka ba rito o bakasyon lang?"

"Bakasyon lang." Sagot ni Midnight habang pasimpleng ino-obserbahan ang magkambal. "Kayo?"

"We're staying here for a while," sagot ni Blake. "If you're here for vacation, come visit us in our boat." Blake told Midnight where they usually dock their boat. "We'll take you sailing around Venice."

"Pag-iisipan ko." Ani Midnight.

Midnight didn't know the reason why he was at ease talking to these twins he just met.

Was it because they knew his big brother but can still identify him as himself?

He wondered.

Their food arrived, and their conversation continued. Just simple topics. No digging deeper into their own background. Just three people sharing a meal while telling simple stories, funny events and unbelievable things they had seen in their travels.

This was Midnight's first time spending his time like this... just talking about anything and nothing at the same time. Nothing to gain and no purpose at all. Just three people having random conversation over a meal.

"Hey, want to come with us tomorrow to get our new yacht?" Blaze asked Midnight, then turned to Blake. "I hope it's already finished. I really don't want to stay with those lovers in one boat."

Blake nodded. "Yeah. I hope so, too." Then he looked at Midnight. "You coming? We'll tour you around."

This was Midnight's second time hearing a 'we'll tour you around' invitation. First was Love and then the twins.

Who would have thought these people would be comfortable enough with him to invite him to tour around? Midnight felt something in his chest. He didn't know why he felt like he just opened something that made him feel relieve... and happy?

Midnight inwardly frowned. Silvanus said that he would now be able to express his thoughts and emotions, but he was still having a hard time.

He took a deep breath and answered the twins. "I'm not sure about tomorrow. Nag-offer din si Love na i-tour ako. He's a local, so I accepted."

Ssabay na napatitig ang kambal kay Midnight.

"Love?" Gagad ni Blaze.

"Yeah. The guy I was with earlier."

"Oh." Ibinalik ni Blake ang atensiyon sa wine na sinisimsim. "No problem."

"Yeah." Blaze smiled. "Enjoy your time with your love."

Right at that moment, Midnight realized why the twins stared at him when he mentioned Love. Hinilot ni Midnight ang sentido. "You got it wrong. He's not my love. It's his name. His name is Love."

Parehong natigilan si Blake at Blaze saka sabay na napa-"Oh".

"Although it's okay, too, if you two are a thing." Blaze quickly added.

Midnight gave Blaze a dry stare, making Blaze chuckled while Blake shook his head and smiled slightly.

The night deepened, the wine kept flowing, and Midnight experienced something unprecedented: he was enjoying a long, nonsense conversation in an ungodly hour with other people, like a normal person.

At that time, Midnight didn't yet understand that the emotion he was feeling at the moment was the emotion one would feel after hitting it off with someone as a friend.

CECELIB | C.C.