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Despite what happened, Tom didn't have nightmares.

Tom looked around as he walked with Max beside him. It was almost 22 in the night, yet he didn't feel sleepy and decided to take a night walk. The neighbourhood was starting to sleep, with shops and houses closing, winding down for the night. It was quiet with only occasional people outside, either people doing night watch or youngsters just hanging out till late. The ground was still covered in snow, though thankfully it stopped snowing a few hours ago.

He gave a sigh and put his hands into his jacket pocket. The air was getting warmer, and he was glad about it.

“Wow, that 8-12 is still open this late." Max remarked.

Tom looked to where the dog was pointing. “Oh, that 8-12 is now 24 hours."

“Huh, that's nice then. We can go out for snacks even at midnight."

“I reckon."

They went quiet again and walked away.

This reminded him of the accident two years ago. Back then, when he was in recovery, Max helped him too. They spent a lot of time together. Max would help clean the house, cook him food, and even let him use his thigh as a pillow as he napped on the sofa. That always made him smile, even more so because they weren't boyfriends back then. Even though there were also Octo, Kevin, Andy, and Lucas sometimes, it didn't stop him from thinking that they were boyfriends.

Now, there was only Max, and he was really thankful for it, especially with the thoughts in his mind.

Tom gave a sigh. Max was still very worried, and lately, he could tell that the dog was also getting rather frustrated. He understood why; he really wanted to tell the dog what exactly happened, but as Octo said, this wasn't something he could just tell someone. There would be so many things to explain, so many important and sensitive things that might slip out.

Though… he really wanted to do it and not care about what the effects would be. If anything, that would be an easy revenge… too easy, in fact, because it would also take him along. His hands were not clean, he knew that well, but was he at fault when the water he was forced to dip his hands into was mixed with blood?

The more he thought about it, the more he thought that Octo's hands were neither as clean.

Speaking of Octo, he was already fully discharged and back in Barrowisle. Tom visited them a few days ago, and they reassured each other that they were going to be fine. Max was also worried for the panther, telling him that he shouldn't really be out this soon and looking after him when he visited.

Honestly, he didn't know what to feel about Octo betraying him. It felt like nothing and everything at once. On one hand, he felt like it was nothing. This was not his first time being betrayed and he knew it definitely wouldn't be the last. That also contributed to why he was so self-reliant; trust was something dangerous and he learnt to be very careful about it.

On the other hand… it actually hurt. God above, it actually fucking hurt. Octo was one of the few whom he trusted. He even considered him to be his brother. Seeing the panther literally trying to kill him was something he wouldn't even consider even in the worst-case scenario. He was deeply hurt, and as a result, he felt wary and suspicious of the panther now.

According to what he explained, Tom realised just how much power the panther actually had. That was scary, and he knew it was easy to slip away. He had known Octo for five years, but who knew, maybe what the panther showed to everyone was not how he actually was. He literally had the power to have the police wrongfully arrest someone, and that was a dire thing, since from what he could tell, the police force in Barrowisle—heck, in entire South Iceland even, was strict and much less corrupt than other countries.

Yet, the panther had been utterly, almost painfully honest about his apology. He had pretty much already given the key to his life. Like how he promised, Octo handled all financial matters during his recovery, even as far as giving them quite a hefty sum of money for food and supplies. Tom and Max both turned that down, even Max seemed offended, especially because he had no context for that, but Tom was willing to take that gesture because that showed that Octo was true to his word. To spare both Octo's and Max's feelings, though, he received the money into his personal account, though he put it in a separate pocket to avoid using it for now.

Hopefully, he wouldn't need to use it.

“Tom?"

His ear turned to Max. “Hm?"

“How're you feeling?"

With Max distracting him, he gave a sigh and hugged himself. The doctor said he needed two more weeks before he would be fully discharged. Honestly, he already felt fine enough, but he didn't mind more time to rest. His body still felt sore from time to time, but it was nothing concerning.

Now, though, he was glad that everything was over. He hoped that everything was over. He hoped that there was no longer a mafia group to bother him. He hoped he could recover in peace from everything that happened.

He hoped that he could finally just live.

And he was willing to take that hope from Octo, the successor of the mafia group who damaged him in the first place.

That was very risky, but he had been dancing with Death for so long anyway. Another dance wouldn't hurt.

Because if he failed to impress, he wouldn't need to worry about life again.

“I'm fine." He answered the dog, looking up at him with a smile. “I'm fine."

Max smiled back at him and put his arm around his shoulders.

There was still that doubt and anger in the dog's face, Tom noticed as he looked up at the dog. It had been there since the day he recovered, though nowadays it was less intense. Now, he could feel the disappointment from the dog. Honestly, he felt guilty for not telling Max. It felt like he did not trust the dog. However, he knew it must be done. The less people knew, the better it would be for everyone's safety.

Tom let out another sigh and turned back to the street. For him, he trusted the panther. He could hope, and Octo was his only hope. Maybe that was why he chose to trust the panther; his mind simply went to survival mode and chose the most pragmatic option. Max had offered hope through everything that happened to him five seasons ago, so he decided to cling to that hope. Now, Octo offered hope to end everything that happened and would happen to him, so he decided to cling to it.

He would say he was lucky, but he knew he was far from it. If anything, it felt like about time.

For now, though, he leant into the dog's touch, and Max held him closer. They gave each other warmth in the cold, and Tom was glad he could give the dog some reassurance.

Max's phone beeped, and he took it out to read the notification. The dog then gave a frustrated sigh and put it back into his pocket. “Fuuuck, I hate it when work notifications come late."

Tom chuckled. “Late delivery?"

“It's always late delivery." The dog groaned. “Let's go back home."

He gave another chuckle. “Yeah, let's go home."

Max mrf'ed and petted his head, then he let him go and crouched down. “Uppies?"

That made Tom chuckle and look away. “Max, no."

“Come on, uppies?" The dog looked back at him, face so innocent he wondered why the dog stayed.

“…alright."

As they walked home, he buried himself in Max's short fluff. It was indeed getting late, and he was glad that no one saw them like this. The dog asked him what to cook tomorrow, and he answered chicken. Max really knew how to get his mind off whatever he was thinking.

Tom was glad of that, and he was thankful.

---

Surprisingly, his father sent Róðgar to help him with the restaurant preparation.

Octo led the fox to the building where the restaurant was going to stand. Since they had already been eyeing this building ever since he recommended that they open a branch here in Barrowisle, they decided to buy it instead. It had already been sitting unused for so long, and when Octo was processing the permissions and other legal stuff, he understood the reason.

It was expensive and complicated as fuck, though being near the city centre with lots of traffic, it had a reason. Køpbryj Street was a well-known street. Just a few hundred metres was a bus and tram stop, and a kilometre away was a metro station as well as Wolvessye Avenue. This building was well-connected, and the façade was beautiful, too.

It was also dirty when he first saw it, though. Even though the previous owner cleaned it before their visit, it still looked like an abandoned house. Thankfully, he already had it cleaned last week and bought some basic furniture like a desk and some counters for the office part.

Pacal was already inside as indicated by the unchained doors, so Octo unlocked the front door and they went inside. The main room was still empty, and honestly looked rather eerie in darkness from the lack of lamps, so he couldn't help but jerk in surprise when Róðgar said, “This building still looks like it's been sitting unused since before we switched to Euro."

Octo recomposed himself and looked around. “We did that in 2000 right? Or when was it again?"

“2003, actually. I remember there were protests about national unity and stuff." The fox grunted fondly. “Which isn't exactly wrong, I suppose."

“Eh, why is that so?"

“Our old currency, silver, was one of the oldest currencies in the world, so some people were reluctant to switch."

“Ah, I see." They walked into the office room. Pacal was already there, waiting for them. “Oh, wait, so that's why we use 'silver' as slang for euro?"

“Yeah, exactly."

“Interesting." Octo nodded, then turned to Pacal as he sat down. “Pacal." He greeted the jaguar as acknowledgement.

“Signore." The jaguar greeted him back.

“Well, let's get to the business."

Octo opened the locker and took a file from their last meeting a few days ago. They already had a name and a rough plan for the restaurant and they already made a list of the possible employees. That took them over 3 hours to compile, mainly because none of them personally knew the members of the operation in Barrowisle. In the end, they decided to just create a list and announce them later. If anyone had any objection about their position, then more adjustments would be needed.

Pacal ended up as the waiter manager for the restaurant, mainly because he used to work in a restaurant when he was still a starter in the operation. Octo also offered Róðgar to join, but the fox had to refuse because he was transferred to become the head of the operation in Ausalt-on-Haye. Unfortunate, he thought, but understandable.

“Do we already have a list of possible suppliers, though?" Pacal asked him, tone relaxed.

“You already have some suggestions, I hope." He replied to the jaguar rather offhandedly, still typing on his phone.

That made the jaguar flinch. “Uh, I'm sorry, but no, sir."

Hearing that, Octo put his phone down and furrowed his brow in apology. He might need more time to get used to being thought of as… someone whose words were law. In the context of the operation, he could manage, mainly since the things he said were serious. In more ordinary contexts though… “No, no, it's okay. I was meaning to say that no, we don't have one yet. Do you have a recommendation?"

The jaguar's ears went down in embarrassment. “Uh, no, sir."

The way Pacal seemed to shrink into the seat just from his words made him think of things more… inappropriate… than the situation allowed him…

Octo nodded and smiled to ease the jaguar. “It's fine, we'll figure that out later." He said before going back to his notes. He really could just say a command to… ah… bend over, and they would unquestioningly obey, wow.

He wondered if Róðgar would—

“I know some establishments for our supplies in Barrowisle who have some connections with our family, mainly thanks to Ludwig, but I'm sure they would still like to cooperate. Should I contact them? I will need to use your father's name, though." Róðgar offered.

Hearing that, Octo gently shook his head, both to clear his thoughts away as well as to deny the offer. “That doesn't sound good enough. As fortunate as that is, I would very much prefer this restaurant to have no connection to our family." He leant back on his seat. “Well, the operation part of our family."

“Well, in that case, I passed several bakeries and slaughterhouses on my way here, though. Maybe we could get in touch with them?" Róðgar offered again.

He nodded at that. His father was correct in sending Róðgar; the fox had been very helpful even since the beginning. “Sure, please update me if you need anything or have more information." He looked back down at the file and took a deep sigh. “So… what else do we have? Name and concept, check. Layout, check. Furniture list, check. Employee list, check. Supplies, not yet." He wrote that down. “Anyone have anything?"

“Seems good to me." Pacal answered.

Róðgar, however, added, “I think we need to contact the interior designer as soon as we can to finalise the layout, since when it's done, we can get it started right away whilst still leaving us more time for the organisational stuff."

“Right, right." He nodded and took his phone. It was half to 14 in the afternoon and today was Saturday, so he just sent a message asking to meet the interior designer that they'd been consulting with. “I don't think she'd answer, but yeah I'll get that sorted out as soon as possible."

“Very well."

“Oh yeah, before it's sent, do you have any more things to add about the layout and concept?"

Both Pacal and Róðgar studied the rough sketch again. Octo gave them some time, knowing that his sketching ability might need some effort to discern.

“I… I'd still recommend that we shrink the kitchen size and put it on a corner instead so we have space for a bar."

“It's a restaurant, Pacal, and Signore Octo has explained that."

That made the panther chuckle inside. They were debating that again, and it honestly looks rather cute. He leant forward on the desk and looked at his file, pretending to be paying attention.

“I mean, yes, but it would still bring more customers in as well as giving them more choices when it comes to drinks." pointed the jaguar. “Especially since it's located in the city centre."

“As I explained before, while I do agree on the second part, I don't think the first part is suitable for the kind of establishment we're building." remarked the fox. “It clashes with the concept."

Pacal looked like he wanted to add something but remained silent.

“Besides, there are already many bars around here, so I don't think opening one more would bring that many potential customers." Róðgar added rather sternly, then turned back to Octo. “I don't have anything else to add, Signore."

Octo nodded, amusement on his face. Róðgar kept quiet at that, while Pacal looked rather defeated. Even though they worked well enough together, they had disagreements, and poor Pacal seemed to keep being defeated by Róðgar. Octo didn't pick sides, of course, but yeah, he had to admit, the fox brought many more good points up compared to Pacal. He was sure it was from the fox's experience.

“Very well, then. Give me the docs." He said, trying to cover his amusement. He collected the documents and tidied them up. “Anything more to add before I adjourn this meeting?"

“That is all, sir." answered Róðgar, whereas Pacal took a deep breath before saying, “No, sir."

Octo nodded and put the documents back into the file. “Then this meeting is adjourned." He looked up at the clock and chuckled. “Wow, it only took like half an hour. Thank God we seem to be quite far in the planning phase already."

“I'd say we have nothing more we can do just the three of us." Róðgar leant forward on the desk and nodded. “On to the next steps, that is."

“Yeah." The panther put the file back into the locker. “Well, what do you want to eat? That is if you want to stay around, though. We don't have anything more to discuss so it's okay if you want to leave."

Pacal looked up at the clock, then turned to him. “I'll have to leave then, sir."

Octo nodded. “Sure. Thanks for today, Pacal. I'll contact you if we have another meeting."

“Alright." The jaguar stood up, nodding at him and Róðgar. “Signore Octo, Signore Róðgar. Excuse me." He said before turning around and leaving the room.

With only Róðgar here to accompany him, Octo leant back on his seat and opened Over Food. “Well, Róðgar, I'm hungry myself, so what do you want to have?" He said rather carefreely, giving his phone to the fox. This wasn't the first time he bought them food during or after meetings; they did this just last week. Thankfully both were good company.

The fox took the phone and browsed the restaurant list. “What do ye want, Octo?"

“I'll just have what you have." The panther shrugged. One thing about Róðgar that he really appreciated was that he was very quick to learn and adapt—or very obedient, depending on which way he saw it—and he only needed to tell the fox once to call him Octo when they were alone. The fox always stuck to that afterwards as if that were a rule.

“Very well, then." Róðgar nodded before giving him the phone back shortly.

Octo glanced at what he ordered, then tapped on the Order button.

A comfortable silence then fell, interrupted by the occasional faint sound of buses honking from outside. Róðgar pulled his phone out in the meantime, and Octo took the opportunity to study the fox. He must admit, Róðgar looked handsome despite the visible age, and the red fur reminded him of Kevin. Róðgar's fur was darker, though, a rather common colour for foxes. The fox was also shorter than him, seemingly around 180 cm, but that didn't make him look less masculine.

And he also looked rather hot.

Octo took a deep sigh and leant back on his seat, closing his eyes. There were so many things happening recently, and his mind had been too occupied. The past few meetings with Róðgar and Pacal had proved to be some of the few free times he had. Now with him almost fully healed, he had been going back and forth between Barrowisle and Ausalt-on-Haye mainly for his father to be able to show him off.

His father was doing it purely for reputation's sake, he knew that. Giuseppe had expressed many times that he'd rather have Octo resting instead of having to meet the friends of the family. Thankfully, thanks to his persona, people didn't expect him to fully engage in the meetings, so Octo could peacefully stay in the shadows.

He looked up at Róðgar; maybe that was the reason his father sent Róðgar. Giuseppe must trust the fox so much to send him instead of anyone else. He was glad of it since the fox had demonstrated that he really was capable and trustworthy.

“Ah, right, I just remembered. Do we have any plans for the social media pages? I would recommend that someone young do it because I must admit, I'm rusty when it comes to technology." Róðgar gave a chuckle.

Octo chuckled along. The fox was also very pleasant to work with. He seemed to be used to working with someone with higher ranks than him. “I'll take care of that later. Let's just focus on planning the venue first." He leant forward. “Speaking of that, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

“I'm 49 years old." answered the fox without any hesitation.

Surprised, the panther furrowed his brows. “Wow. No offense, but you look younger than that." That made the fox chuckle. “And you also still look so fit." He added after a few moments.

“Thank you." Róðgar nodded in appreciation. “And no offence taken."

He continued, “I take it you already have a family, then?"

“I have, yeah. Well, I guess I had, but still."

“Had?"

Róðgar mrf'ed an affirmation. “I and my wife divorced shortly after I went back home after outland besending—sorry, foreign deployment. I didn't want to have any relationship after that and focused on providing for my children." The fox answered rather carefreely. “It's been a long time ago."

Not knowing what to say, Octo just nodded politely. “Ah. I'm sorry to hear that."

“Thank you."

“How are your children?"

“They're well, and I'm thankful." The fox leant back on his seat, a fond smile on his face. “The older one is going to university right now, and the little one is finishing middle school."

“Good, good." Octo answered.

They went into a comfortable silence. Octo's phone beeped, and a notification appeared that the food was on its way. After a few minutes, Róðgar spoke up again. “Octo, if I may speak freely?"

“Yes?" He put his phone down, giving full attention.

“I… I've known your father for a long time, even before I joined the military." The fox started. “My last deployment was a… well, not a disaster by itself, but for me, it was. I had so many things to take care of, and even when I was finally sent home and retired, I had problems which led to divorce. After that, I was at a low point, and with child care for two children, I couldn't do much. I asked your father for help, and he agreed in exchange for a position in your family business. Of course, I had to start from the bottom."

Octo listened to that intently.

“So, that's why I'm here. I'm loyal to our family even if… even if I don't approve of what they do with Cosa Nostra. Your father took me in, and I want to pay it back." He said that very carefully, and the panther understood why. “I want to say that I appreciate you very much for doing this, trying to steer the family business away from Cosa Nostra. I know the reasoning of you doing this as your father had explained to me."

Octo nodded at that. He already had some opinions, but he didn't want to say anything before the fox finished.

Róðgar then smiled gently, almost purely. “I am looking forward to working with you, if you and your father would let me."

The smile was… too honest. He could read that the fox was very relieved that he did this, and that made him wonder. How many people were dissatisfied with what they must do for the family? He had only been involving himself with the operation for maybe a year or so, he couldn't imagine how much someone like Róðgar had been through. His thoughts went to Pacal and Richard, and he also wondered how much had they been through to so willingly follow him.

That was when he realised that he was becoming a beacon of hope for some in the operation, a light in the dark tunnel.

Octo gulped. That was a heavy responsibility, but instead of feeling burdened, he felt strengthened to bear that responsibility. “Thank you very much, Róðgar." He gave an honest smile to the fox more than twice his age in front of him. “I will make sure this goes smoothly. After all, starting something is harder than running it, right? I will try to talk to my father about your interest, but please, don't put too much hope. I know how much he trusts you, and I wouldn't want to come between that."

The more pessimistic side of him said that in other words, his father might see Róðgar as a very useful tool and he couldn't just take him away.

“Nonetheless, you've been very helpful, and I really could use your expertise here." He finished.

“Thank you very much, Octo." Róðgar nodded with a smile. “ And I understand."

They wanted to talk more about it, but Octo's phone began ringing. He took it and answered the call. The Over driver was already in front of the building.

“Let me take that." The fox said as he stood up, walking out of the small office.

Ending the call, the panther took a deep breath and leant back on his seat. What Róðgar just told him gave him a new perspective. Staring at the ceilings, he let his tail wave freely as the weight of this situation was dawning on him. Róðgar's offer made him realise just how much influence he was making, and by extension, how he made himself a target.

He didn't expect to have this much influence, honestly, and after only two months, he already attracted even those with the highest positions in the family operation.

Taking another deep sigh, he closed his eyes. That was something he should think about. For now, food first, then his restaurant.