Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
As the 'Ding' noise resounded in the cabin, Demian's muscles tensed up, his body automatically changing his stance from relaxed to combat-ready, his senses boosted by the adrenaline shooting in his nervous system. While the doors were opening, his gaze swiftly roamed the entire room, finding no one there.
The entire corridor was empty but for the two digitally locked doors, one on the side and leading to the stairways, while the other led to their penthouse. Sighing in relief, the tension in his muscles evaporated with the adrenaline, leaving his body in a slight, but fortunately temporary weaker state.
Nonetheless, Demian could not care less about it as his only thought at present was. 'We're safe.' The feel of a small and delicate hand suddenly holding his own pulled him out of his brief distracted state of mind, while a soft voice filled with concern made him focus on her words. “What's wrong, Dem?” Gripping back Sera's hand, a content smile appeared on his face. “Nothing, Sis. Let's go home.”
Turning to the other side, he noticed his beautiful Aunt staring at him in a slight daze. Cocking his eyebrow in confusion, he asked. “Aunty? You alright?” “Uh? Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about our current situation. Anyway, we should get inside quickly. Let's not tempt fate, if you don't mind.”
She replied slightly flustered, clearly not wanting to go into details, which surprised her nephew, the latter not expecting that kind of reaction from her with his clearly innocuous question. 'She's probably still uneasy about those guys and doesn't want to make us even more worried.' Shaking his head inwardly to refocus his mind on the current situation, he nodded and said. “Sure.”
As they were talking, their group started walking toward the penthouse's door, before he entered the code, unlocking the door in front of them. Letting the girls in first, he closed the entrance behind him, locking itself automatically. Looking at the two women, he declared. “You can wait for me on the sofa while I go get Bryn's gun. By the way, I think we should all sleep in the living room tonight. Just in case...”
Despite not finishing his thoughts, he could spot the understanding in their eyes. 'In case they break into the apartment, we won't be separated... I don't know if it's the best course of action, but it's the one that makes the most sense to me...' He briefly thought before the girls responded. “I don't mind. The sofa is big enough.” “Sure, Dem.”
Smiling at them, he replied. “Ok, then.” Then went to retrieve the weapon in Bryn's bedroom. As soon as he arrived in the said room, he went to the safe hidden in the wardrobe. After punching the code in, the strongbox became wide open, leaving its content visible to the brown-haired young man.
“A few documents, some money, a gun, and two magazines... Why does it feel so predictable? Whatever, I guess...” He chuckled, before grabbing the gun and the two magazines, closing the hatch right after. Observing the handgun and the magazines in his hand for a few seconds, a smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. “A Glock 19 and two double-stack magazines. Both full. Nice!” He muttered.
'I was never a big fan of guns in my previous life, but I gotta say, I'm glad that Michael insisted on teaching me the basics. At least I know how to operate a Glock.' Pondering for a second as he checked the chamber in case it was loaded, he inwardly added. 'I don't think I should load it now, though. It's a bit too risky. Especially since I'll keep it close to me... Alright, I'll just load it when I need it. It's safer that way.'
Having made his decision, Demian took the three items in his hands with him as he walked back to the living room, his mind focusing on trying to remember everything he learned in the past about firearms and how to use them. His musings were however interrupted by his Aunt's question. “You found everything, then?”
Directing his attention to her, he answered with a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I've got everything. By the way, do you know how to use it?” Shaking her head, she replied with a wry smile. “Nothing more than what I've seen in movies. Which is honestly just pointing at your target and pushing the trigger.”
Chuckling at her answer, he replied. “Then I better be the one who uses it. I have some basic knowledge about how to use firearms, well... Less basic than yours.” Nodding her head at his proposition, she asked with some curiosity. “Sure. I'm not very comfortable with guns in any case.” Pausing for a second, she added. “By the way, you said you had some knowledge about firearms?”
Noticing the doubts in her voice, he almost told her the truth. He, however, felt reticent. Or more precisely afraid. Afraid to be shunned by his new family. Yes, he was Demian Mikhailov. But he also had the memories of Damian Knight. A 30-year-old man, completely unknown to them. Who was he, really? The 18-year-old Molkovian boy or the 30-year-old American man?
He needed time to figure it out and thus he decided to wait before sharing the truth with his loved ones. To be fair, it wouldn't really change much for them... It would help them understand his personality and physical change better. Though he could see that they knew something was afoot. After all, no one changed that much in so little time. At least to his limited knowledge.
Focusing back on his Aunt, he noted the worry in her eyes, linking it to what he was just thinking about. 'Maybe a compromise?' He thought hesitantly before breaking the awkward silence that went on for a few moments. “I...” Despite not saying anything, he could almost see the plea in her gaze. She wanted... Scratch that. Needed the truth to get rid of her growing concern for him.
'Fine, I'll compromise then!' He decided. Staring into Adeliya's eyes, he told her in a resolute voice. “Aunty... And Sis. I've... changed recently. Since I got that concussion actually. And I'm sure you noticed.” Pausing to steady his nerves, he resumed after a brief moment. “Something extraordinary happened to me and... I need time to figure out everything.”
Seeing the mature redhead about to speak, he cut her off by lifting his hand and said. “It's not a bad thing, so you don't have to worry. None of you needs to. To be honest this is the reason why I got so strong in so little time.” Simultaneously nodding their heads to his explanation, Adeliya nonetheless asked.
“The three of us guessed as much and we have our theory about the reason behind your physical changes. But it's the changes in your personality that concern us. You seem... different. More mature and with knowledge you shouldn't have. As if you're someone else while still being you. It's confusing... And concerning...”
Smiling wryly at her quick-wittedness, he did not know how to answer her, since that was the exact thing that bothered him. The one thing he was not ready to share yet. As he was pondering on what to say, a hand fell lightly on his own before grasping it tightly, its owner being the other redhead in the room.
“Dem, you don't have to answer if you're not ready. Everyone has things they're not comfortable sharing with others. As long as it doesn't put us at risk, it's fine.” Squeezing her hand to show his thanks, he replied. “No, it doesn't.” Turning her face toward her mother's direction, she said. “See, Mom? I'm sure he'll tell us in the future. As long as it doesn't impact the four of us, then it's fine to keep secrets.”
Despite not having received any detailed explanation, Adeliya looked visibly relieved, with the slight frown marring her face even disappearing. The result was her teasing her daughter. “Always defending your cousin, I see...” Her intonation and facial expression seemed to imply something... Forbidden.
Despite Seraphine's usual boldness, a light red hue started appearing on both of her cheeks, while she tried to justify herself with a bit of a stutter. “I-I'm defending Dem because-because he was in the right an-and...” Seeing the ordinarily confident petite woman trying to find bogus reasons for her obviously 'interested' conduct, made the other two chuckle.
Hearing their laughter, drew out an adorable pout on the young woman's delicate face while saying. “You are too mean. I'm not talking to you anymore.” Feeling his heart beat faster at the charming sight, Demian unconsciously moved his right arm behind her, his hand embracing her waist and pulling her body gently to help her settle against his own.
Only after the deed was done did he realize what just happened. Noticing both the surprised gaze of his Aunt and the stiffness of his cousin's body, probably due to his unexpected action, he tried to retract his hand and apologized, but before he could move it completely away from her waist, Sera's own hand instinctively caught it and put it back where it was previously.
“Don't move it!” She ordered him while her body lost her previous 'rigidity' and became really soft against his, prompting a feeling of comfortable enjoyment to surface inside him. When he focused on that feeling, he noticed that it was not about lust but more about completeness. A sentiment of the two's position being as it should be, something natural.
He did observe the conflicted feeling showing up on his Aunt's face at that moment, however, he could not force himself to care about what she was thinking. He simply wanted to enjoy the sensation of Seraphine's soft body resting against the side of his muscular torso. 'Why does it feel so right and so wrong at the same time?' He thought while sighing inwardly.
Looking a bit awkward, Adeliya then proposed. “Why don't we watch TV while we wait for Bryn's match to start?” As Seraphine seemed to be in her own world and thus unresponsive, Demian was the only one to respond. “Sure! Let's do that.” Sighing in relief, she grabbed the remote and switched the TV on.
[“Hello and welcome to MNN News, this is Angelika Tarasovna with the latest headlines...”]