Alexei did well getting them to Peter’s. Klondike’s black van was not as streamlined as Vania’s Audi. It was also difficult to drive with the bullet in his arm, Klondike was also beginning to look kind of pale from his place in the back seat. Alexei knew he would be fine, but he wasn’t so sure about Klondike. He was able to call Peter and give him a briefing on the situation, not that Peter needed much context. If it was Navrik or Havania, a baby was being born. If it was a Nikitin, it was a gunshot wound. Even though it was Klondike turning white in the backseat, it was Polina that Alexei kept reassuring.
“It’s okay, everyone is okay.” Which most people would argue that a couple of gunshot wounds were very much not okay. It’s probably what Polina was thinking anyways.
Once at Peter’s, Daisy met them and scooped Klondike straight away, sorting of calling dibs on the situation she preferred to handle. Leaving Alexei for Peter to look after.
Peter was no stranger to being at the beck and call of the Nikitin family, so when Alexei Nikitin called his personal phone urging him to meet him at his and Daisy's clinic, he did so without hesitation. He and Daisy both were well known in the werewolf community, providing healthcare for many if not all of the werewolves in the city, but sometimes it felt like the bulk of their work involved serving as the private practitioners for the Nikitins. That being said, once Peter was sure Daisy was situated with Klondike, he made his way back over to where Alexei was waiting with Polina and gave the younger man a quick once over.
"I hope you didn't pick out any bullets this time?" He asked Alexei, casually.
Much like many of the Nikitin children, Alexei had been born right into Peter's waiting hands, merely a few weeks after the birth of his own daughter. Because of the Nikitin family being so close in general with Peter over the years and because his children were of the same relative age as Ivan and Fauna's, it was of no surprise that the children became close friends. They had joint playdates as tots and eventually that graduated to participating in school sports and events together, all of which Ivan, Fauna, Peter, and Daisy all attended, which was why out of all the Nikitins Peter had tended to over the years, he was most fond of Stasi and Alexei. He often treated them less like standard patients and more like his own children.
He nodded towards another little "triage area" adjacent to where Daisy was working, this space only equipped with the most basic of materials since Peter knew Alexei wouldn't need much.
Which was something Polina didn't know.
She watched, still panic stricken, as Peter seemed to not take the severity of Alexei's wounds to heart.
"W-w-wait, he's been shot. Doesn't-shouldn't-why aren't you-" Polina was floundering for her words as she continued to cling to Alexei.
Peter blinked and looked to Alexei. Didn't she know about Alexei's healing capabilities? Didn't she know he was different? _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
"No, I saved it all for you, Peter." Alexei said with a long exhale through his nose as he sauntered over somewhat casually to the familiar triage bed. He only paused when he heard Polina begin to cry for him, still very much in hysterics and probably frustrated by the nonchalance.
Alexei looked down at her, tongue pressed into his cheek as he contemplated what he wanted to say. She did seem confused by how casual everyone was. He'd never explicitly confessed outright to being in the mafia, and in the same vein, he had never explicitly confessed of his supernatural biology. In his defense, he hadn't thought about either of those things at all. It was often lost on him that some people were just human. It was going to be a little embarrassing to come out to Polina in front of Peter, he was like Alexei's other dad. But clearly Polina needed the clarity, and there was no time to waste given she hadn't known their whole relationship.
"Polina, I'm alright. I told you before, I cannot get hurt. It was not a figure of speech, it was the truth." Alexei began before pulling away from Polina just enough to wrestle his shirt over his head. It should've been assumed that Alexei was heavily tattooed; orthodox churches inked on his back. Daggers, and stars, different symbols that represented his dedication to the family business. Where he was shot in the shoulder was a clean through shot, on a normal human, there would still be wound. But Alexei rubbed his thumb over where the gunshot wound was supposed to be, clearing away the old blood to reveal; nothing. Fresh skin, even the ink from his tattoos were still in tact. There was no scar, no hyperpigmentation. He tapped on the space with his finger, encouraging Polina to touch it for herself.
Polina, nor either of her sisters, had yet to be born when supernatural beings went from stories told to children to make them fear the dark to very real beings who had long lived alongside mortals in their own fringe society. She grew up knowing that there were people out in the world who were "other", but beyond catching a glimpse of the occasional horn or scale in public or groups of folks who only seemed to come out at night, those "others" still felt worlds apart from her. She'd been very sheltered in her youth and didn't interact much with the standard folk let alone those of the supernatural variety.
Or so she thought, until this moment.
She gaped at Alexei's unmarred flesh, eyes flitting to his face before returning to his shoulder. At his urging, she did reach out and gently touched at the skin before jerking her hand back, shocked.
"I...I don't understand how-you're not human?" She sputtered, knowing even before Alexei could confirm that that had to be it, that he was indeed a supernatural of some kind. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Alexei’s brows scrunched, they didn’t furrow as much when he had literally been shot. But more when watching Polina recoil from touching him, which was not really something Polina had done before. Maybe just that first night when they met, but never again since. Most people did shrink away, intimidated by his size or demeanor. But he trusted Polina and invested good faith, that she was surprised now, but she would not waiver in her affections for him (or he hoped at least).
“No, I’m not. My family isn’t human, not even our doctors.” Alexei confirmed, nodding at Peter somewhere behind him. “Klondike is, that’s why he’s worse off than I am.”
There were a million questions running through Polina’s mind in that moment. What exactly was Alexei if not human? Was this his true form or was he just under a glamor? Was he of the supernatural variety that needed human flesh and blood to be satiated? Most importantly though, had he ever intended to tell her?
Why hadn’t he told her?
She wanted to ask that question the most, though she wanted to know everything, however, when she saw the almost betrayed twitch of his brows she knew that her inquiries were not important at the moment. Alexei took precedent.
She reached out to grab at his hand, her fingers instantly becoming sticky with the tacky blood that had sluggishly made its way down from the wound in the bend of his arm. Still, she gave his palm a firm squeeze
“You need to be looked at right now, but after…will you tell me everything?” She asked. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Alexei smiled with his eyes, and squeezed her hand back. He dared to lean down and press his lips atop her head.
“Yes, кролик. I will tell you everything, promise.” He said before pulling away and releasing her hand so that Peter may do what he needed to, though Alexei did not expect it would take long. The long part may just be any scolding he would endure from Peter behind the curtain.
The visit, if you could call it that, with Peter was surprisingly brief. Alexei had made a show of his fast healing ability with the first gunshot wound, but Polina still watched with wonder as the wound Alexei was getting tended seemed to heal just as fast as Peter removed the bits of bullet that had been stuck. It'd taken mere minutes for the skin to stitch itself right and be good as new again though it was warm and pink like freshly scratched flesh. Klondike needed more attention, but it was assured that he was in no danger. Though Polina had been told he was human, his being shot several times and being more or less alright struck Polina as peculiar and made her question his mortality truly. However, she'd ask about that later, at the moment, she had more pressing questions in relation to Alexei's own supernatural status.
After some light scolding from Peter and one final update on Klondike, Alexei and Polina excused themselves for the night. With their car (Vania's car) still at the restaurant valet, Alexei called a family car, something he had never done before. Of course Polina knew his family was wealthy, she'd seen his family home and noticed how he never fussed over money, but still it was humbling to see the fancy car pulling up for them.
It was even more humbling to see the townhouse they pulled up to that wasn't one Polina had ever laid eyes upon.
Alexei had said he would tell Polina everything, but it hardly seemed like a conversation they could have back at her and her mother's apartment with Marina just in the other room. It seemed it was a sentiment that Polina didn't have to voice for Alexei to act on as when the driver arrived he instructed him to take them to a "safehouse" in Tribeca. While they drove, Alexei was on his phone, filling in a handful of people about the incident and calling some others to make arrangements for the car they'd driven in to the restaurant to be picked up and for clean clothes to be delivered to the safehouse. Meanwhile, Polina sat quietly beside Alexei, her hand in his as she watched out of the window, wondering what exactly she was going to learn.
When they pulled up to the townhouse, it was hard not to gawk a bit. Alexei had told her that it was just a little duplex his family owned, but what he hadn't warned her about was that even for a duplex, it was a grand building with tall stone columns framing the two stoops that led into either of the duplex's apartments. Ivy climbed up the front facade of the buildings, but it was clearly manicured and not overgrown. From the looks of it, either apartment appeared to have three levels to it and they each appeared wide enough that even one level would have the same square footage of the modest apartment Polina lived in. It wasn't a castle, but it may as well have been given her own very humble upbringing.
"Is this it?" She asked, still staring up at the front of the building. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
For Alexei, being a werewolf was so inconsequential, that he rarely thought about it in the context of who was and who was not a werewolf. He didn’t have a grandiose explanation, or a detailed history of lycanthropy let alone lycanthropy in their family. But he did feel some frustration in being delayed in telling Polina anything. He had to make several phone calls, one of which was to his aunt whom was furious about her car and her sidekick, Klondike. Alexei got a handful of lengthy lectures from different family members about responsibility, the importance of collecting intel and following through. It all sounded pretty much the same to Alexei, no matter who was pantomiming at him. He also couldn’t believe that no one cared that his date with Polina was ruined, a fact that made him a little resentful. He also had to call Marina’s in home care nurse and make sure she could stay with Marina, and check in general that she was doing okay.
When they arrived at the safe house, Alexei wasn’t sure what it would look like. They had several all over the state, all varying in style and aesthetic, but all were expensive and well maintained. He approached the door and put in the code for the door. He wasn’t sure which level their apartment was, but when the lock let out a satisfied ‘ding,’ he assumed he had it right. Alexei pushed open the door and poked his head in, he wanted to verify that it was empty before ushering for Polina to follow him.
“Yes, this is the place.” Alexei confirmed, observing the open entryway.
The space was unlike his own home that was specially curated by his mother. Fauna’s affinity for interior design was almost matched to her affinity for physical violence. Their own home was sort of midcentury modern, with a fair amount of color. It had moorish influence, with horseshoe archways and arabesque motifs. Polina and Marina’s place was a modest rental but no less a home made just for them. The lace doilies and window planters were all them, Polina accepted the bare minimum from Alexei. But still, Polina and Marina made that apartment their home, it was specially curated by them. The safe house apartment however was not designed with love or personality especially. Everything was white, and beige; the floors a pale maple wood, and the walls were a slate grey. Alexei couldn’t say he was impressed but he had to remind himself that no one actually lived here.
“The clean clothes are supposed to be in the bedroom, I think.” Alexei began.
While Polina had admired the house exterior for its grandeur, she could not say she felt the same about the interior. It lacked the kind of warmth and care a home that was lived in had. There were no wall hangings, not even photos, and the furniture, while impressive, had no wear and tear, no scuffs or minor scratches from use. The house was not a home, which Polina understood was for practicality, but it was still jarring in comparison to all the grandeur of the rest of Alexei’s life.
“Oh…you should wash up first.” Polina said, placing her hands at Alexei’s forearm and looking up at him. “Do…you need help?” _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Peter had cleaned him up for the most part. Alexei's wounds weren't extensive, the blood that surrounded the injuries were minimal and aged sticky and brown. But Alexei would never turn down Polina's touch, he hoped her offering meant she wasn't too cross with him.
"Do you know where the restroom is?" Polina asked, moving to take Alexei's hand instead. Alexei hadn't said it outright, but Polina got the impression that he was not familiar with this place. She wondered just how many homes his family owned and if the place she and her mother resided was just one more. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
When Polina took his hand, Alexei felt much more at ease. He let out a little exhale of relief from his nose as his fingers curled around her palm and he began to lead them further into the apartment. Polina was right to assume Alexei had never been here before, the Nikitin’s had many homes and safe houses all over New York, never mind all the ones that resided outside of the state.
“No, but I’m sure there is at least one here.” Alexei said, which he meant as a joke.
He kept Polina’s hand in his as he wandered down a hall, poking his head in different rooms. He found a room that was used as an office, with a bookshelf that took up the entirety of a wall. There was another room that he supposed was used for entertaining, there was a mini bar and a plush white rug. Finally he found a bedroom that had two shopping bags on the bed. Alexei assumed that was their change of clothes. Attached to the bedroom was an en suite bathroom that had a deep set, corner tub with jets. Beside it was a frameless walk in shower, it housed two waterfall shower heads for optimal water coverage. Alexei observed there were fresh towels and wash clothes on the sink, everything seemed well stocked for whatever they may need.
Polina allowed herself to be led into the house, taking in everything about it, yet noting nothing at all as it seemed to lack a homey quality throughout. Upon reaching the bedroom, she saw the bags situated on the bed and then followed Alexei into the adjoining bathroom. While the rest of the home seemed manicured yet devoid, the bathroom at least had a human touch to it as it seemed fully stocked and catered to their specific needs. There was a little first aid kit set on the counter beside some towels, though Alexei didn’t seem to need it.
Much like the first time Alexei had arrived to her and her mama’s home covered in blood, Polina tugged lightly at Alexei’s hand and gestured for him to sit on the edge of the bathtub.
“Can you take off your shirt?” She asked, already rolling up her blood flecked sleeves. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Alexei felt his heart give a giddy leap when Polina asked him to disrobe, he didn’t feel shy per se. Especially since they’ve been here before. But this time felt a little different somehow, maybe because they’re serious now. He pulled his shirt over his head, messing his hair a bit in doing so. Black filaments of hair falling against his forehead. Once over his head, he rolled the sweater over his arms and discarded it onto the floor before taking a familiar seat on the edge of the bathtub. He was only slightly perturbed, because at Polina’s apartment, the bathroom was small and it forced them in closer proximity. This bathroom was too spacious, but he was still grateful for whatever closeness that could be achieved. He tilted his chin upward and stuck out his neck to give her a better visual. He could feel there was sticky leftover blood, thick on his collarbone. His wounds were fully healed, skin and muscle still intact, tattoo ink still pigmented and fresh looking. Even in the bend of his arm, where one bullet was lodged in the bone. It did not appear that there was a gaping, bleeding wound there earlier. But there were still sloppy streaks of brown blood that Peter didn’t clean completely.
“Can you see alright?” He asked her, still tilting his chin toward her.
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