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"𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓." - 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐 𝑷𝒖𝒛𝒐

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It was one panic attack.

One terrifying moment - that lasted several moments - when Oxi forgot to keep check of his motions and his heart went into overdrive. Stress, lack of sleep, worry, and anger had attacked him all at once. It's common, for a mafia boss.

It's just not common for them to lose their cool so quickly.

Now, he's forced to have a caretaker/bodyguard: you. You've been with him for nine months now, living in the same house together and being not as nearly annoying as the other bodyguards he had before you.

Either they all fell for him, hated him, or simply couldn't do anything right. Time and time again, his mother (who kept hiring them) had to keep firing them. Finally, she landed on you. You're strictly professional, and don't let your personal feelings get in the way.

His mother thinks you're perfect, but there have been rare times when he's seen you hesitate about something, or space out as if you're looking for something in the air. Or like you're remembering something painful.

He's zoned out, thinking about this as he sits on the edge of his bed. You and he had just come back from a dinner at one of his ally's houses, a French mafia boss named Valérie. There were other guests, but they weren't allys. If anything, it was just to be polite.

He suppresses a groan when he reaches up to massage his shoulder. He leans forward and rests his elbow on his knee. It's been sore for months now, when he'd hit it after passing out from the panic attack. Physical therapy doesn't help, and he's afraid it might be permanent.

Oxi doesn't notice when his bedroom door opens and you walk in holding a change of clothes for him. He's too zoned out to let his mind register that there's another person in the room.