The snow is too cruel.

The snow was falling again...

Kai Sati pulled his scarf tighter around his face, the sharp Moscow wind biting at his skin. He hated the cold as it sank into his bones in a way Tokyo’s winters never had. But hate or not, here he was.

The small apartment he was renting sat on the edge of a gray, crumbling street. He’d arrived three weeks ago with one suitcase and a head full of reasons he didn’t want to think about. His Russian was rough, his bank account thin, and every night he wondered if coming here had been a mistake.

But mistakes were safer than the mess he left behind. A huge mess...too bloody.

He exhaled, watching his breath curl in the freezing air, and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. He just needed groceries. Maybe some ramen if he was lucky. He ducked his head, slipping past two men smoking outside a dark, unmarked building.

“Japanese?” one of them muttered, eyeing him. Kai kept walking, heart thumping. He’d learned quickly that standing out here was a risk. Either you get shot or your the one doing the shooting.

He made it two more blocks before the trouble found him.

A black car sleek and expensive, out of place on this crumbling street it pulled up beside him. The window slid down slowly like it was taunting him.

“Get in, Little fox."

Kai stopped.

The voice was smooth but hard, like glass pressed against skin. A man leaned out slightly pale, sharp-featured, eyes the pale blue of skies. His hair was black, neatly styled and combed back , and his lips curved into a faint, unreadable smile.

Kai’s chest tightened. No.... Walk away.

But his feet didn’t move!.

The man’s gaze slid over him slowly, like he was reading a page in a book he already owned. “I won’t ask twice.”

Kai swallowed hard. His instincts screamed, but he found himself stepping forward anyway, drawn in by something he didn’t understand.

When the car door opened, the warm leather-scented air hit his face, and for a moment, all he could hear was his own heartbeat. And the smell of rich cigars...ew...

Inside, Alexander Volko waited. his sharp cold blue eyes scanning Kai.

The man Kai had only heard whispers about...the one they called the poison od Moscow..

Their eyes met for the first time, and something sharp, almost electric, passed between them.

Kai didn’t know it yet, but his life had just changed.

and there was no going back....

Kai sat stiffly in the leather seat, eyes darting to the tinted window. Outside, snow fell in heavy flakes, blurring the world he knew or at least he thought he knew... Inside the car, everything was too quiet the kind of quiet that presses on your chest in a terrible uncomfortable way like some pressure you can never stop.

Across from him, Alexander Volko lounged casually, one arm stretched along the backrest, his long fingers tapping lightly on the leather. His pale eyes studied Kai with calm, sharp interest, like a man examining something strange he’d just found on the street. Alright so what if he did!?

Kai tried to steady his breath.

“I… I think you have the wrong person,” Kai forced out, voice shaking slightly. “I don’t know who you are.”

Alexander gave a small smile. “No, you don’t. But no i don't have the wrong person. Not necessarily, little fox."

His Russian was smooth, and low Kai had to focus to catch the words, his brain still scrambling through the language. But the weight in Alexander’s voice didn’t need translation. Okay maybe a bit.

“Then why?” Kai asked quietly, feeling his pulse thudding in his throat. “Why pick me up? I'm nobody to you."

Alexander tilted his head, amused. “I watch the street, little fox. You’ve been walking by my building all week. Quiet, head down, looking like you don’t want anyone to see you.” His eyes glinted. “That always catches attention here. The building is owned by my goons. Well a quarter of my goons.”

Kai’s heart stumbled. He thought he’d been careful, invisible. But in this part of Moscow, people didn’t go unnoticed at least, not by men like this. Especially since Kai had orange hair and stuck out like a thumb.

“I just live nearby,” Kai said quickly. “I’m no one. No one special..."

Alexander leaned forward slightly, the air between them tightening. “That’s what everyone says, right before they become someone. That's what i used to say when i was a child. I would look in the mirror and say it over and over again."

Kai flinched, shrinking back against the seat. He should leave maybe open the door, step out, disappear again... But his body wouldn’t move.

“You’re Japanese, aren’t you?” Alexander asked, his voice almost thoughtful now. “What are you doing here, all alone in the cold?”

Kai clenched his hands in his lap. “That’s none of your business.”

Alexander chuckled softly, not offended. “Maybe not.” he said his voice rough. He sat back again, watching Kai through half-lidded eyes. “But I’m curious, little fox. And when I’m curious… I usually get answers. Nice orange hair...your quite unusual.”

Kai’s stomach twisted. He felt a knot forming already!

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The snow kept falling outside, soft and silent. Inside, the air felt heavy, as if the car itself was holding its breath.

Finally, Alexander smiled faintly and tapped the window. The driver pulled the car smoothly back into motion.

“Relax,” Alexander murmured, eyes still on Kai. “I’m not going to hurt you. Yet. Of course we wouldn't want my car to get bloody. Not that it matters."

Kai’s heart hammered so hard it made his fingers tremble. He didn’t know where this road was going but there was a part of him knew he was already too far in to turn back.

(Hiiii guys it's me the author! Now i do have a story similar to this one on wattpad so I'm not copying anybody it's just that i don't really like wattpad anymore! Anywayd I'll always try to update this story whenever i can! Maybe three or four times a week. Now i would like to say that this IS A BL story. So if you don't like this kind of thing you can stop reading.)

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