I slipped out of the bed around six am, and Vito didn’t move a single inch. I even stood there and waited to see if he would wake up. Taking my pills, I changed into a different sweater and sweatpants. The events from last night felt like a cheese grater on my balls. Vito definitely got under my skin. 

I paced back and forth for a few minutes before the clock flicked over to Six thirty am. 

At this time, Alessio would head to the medical wing to do paperwork and organizing, and I could ambush him. It was the perfect time to bring up the issue. Leaving Vito’s wing, I skipped shoes and walked down the hall. My feet hardly made any sound on the floor as I walked past Matteo and Caio’s wing. Part of me debated just returning to Vito’s, but the reminder of his words made me frown again. 

Standing in the foyer, I looked out the window, and it looked wet and rainy. 

“Are you looking for Alessio?”

I turned and looked at Lev. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and a coat on. He was probably going to take that to Alessio in the medical wing. 

“Yeah. I have a side effect with my meds.” Without saying another word about what the issue was, Lev seemed to understand, and nodded. 

“Tag along. I have an umbrella.” He said, a soft smile on his features. 

I followed him outside in the rain, under the umbrella he took out of his pocket. We walked in silence, just enjoying the sound of the rain on the umbrella material. Inside, he closed the umbrella after setting down Alessio’s coffee.

“Where the hell are your shoes, Ilya? Surely Vito didn’t let you out of the wing like that,” Lev said, frowning as he picked up the coffee again. 

“Vito is still sleeping.” I muttered. 

“You have to remember to put shoes on. You’re going to get something in the bottom of your feet, and then you won’t be happy.”

I nodded. He opened the second set of doors, which I actually had never seen closed before. He let me in and closed them behind me. Arguing filled the space, and Lev looked sympathetic. 

“Who is—-”

“Alexi goddamn it, just hold the fuck still and I won’t break your arm by accident!” Alessio yelled, frustration in voice. 

“Has he been here all night?” I asked. 

“No, only since four am. Alexi came in with a dislocated shoulder. He won’t let Alessio pop it back in.”

I followed Lev to the back of the medical section, and Alessio had his glasses on. He was getting ready to put the shoulder back into place, and I watched Alexi move again. The man behind Alexi signed. He looked frustrated, too. 

“I’ve brought your coffee.” Lev said, and Alexi looked up at him and spoke. 

“Oh look, one Russian turned into two.”

That got Alessio’s attention. He looked at Lev and then at me. 

“Ilya, what can I help you with?”

“Help your cousin first.” I said, mildly excited to see this all go down. I knew how to pop a shoulder back in pretty quickly, but I wanted to see how Alessio would put it back. 

“Alright.”

I looked away from the scene in front of me for only a few minutes, but the sound of a yelp made me look away from the wall where all kinds of print outs were. Alessio had popped his shoulder back in and he was not happy about it. He helped him up from a lying position and they argued again. 

He wrapped the situation with Alexi up quickly, and as he redressed, I spotted the scars all over his arms, even from the distance I was at. He looked at me and his eyes were hard and cold. But then they softened. I looked away. I knew what it was like not to want people to stare at your scars. The man behind Alexi was thanking Alessio. Alessio put Alexi’s arm in a sling after he was fully dressed in a long sleeve shirt.. 

“Just keep it up for a few days. Creed, if he complains it’s moving or uncomfortable, use this tape and it will help, otherwise use some of the pain medication you have at home to relieve the pain.”

They left a few minutes later, but I didn’t miss the part where Alexi scanned me from top to bottom. I heard a few stories about him from Alessio. Next to me, Alexi was Dr Martin’s largest patient. Based on his scars, something had happened to him, too. But I would not ask. It wasn’t none of my business and I planned to keep it that way. 

“Let me clean this up, and wash my hands, and we can head to the office.” Alessio said. 

“Ok.”

Lev and I made our way to the office. He set Alessio’s coffee down and spoke. 

“The side effect is ED, isn’t it?”

“What would give you that idea, Lev?” I asked. Wondering how the fuck it was that he knew. 

“Eh, call it a good guess. The medication you’re on causes sexual problems, and with how you and Vito have been lately. I figured there was more going on behind the scenes than you let on.”

“We have never had sex, or touched sexually.” I said, realising that was a lie. Last night, Vito touched my cock. 

“Really, hmm.”

“Last night. It was the first time.”

“ED can happen for several reasons, and it’s not the end of the world. You can still get pleasure, and orgasm and ejaculate—--”

“Hmm. I seem to have come—- nope, bad word choice.” Alessio said, coming into the room and relaxing back into his chair. “What’s up, Ilya?”

I flicked my eyes to Lev and pulled my hand through my hair. “You need to fix some side effects of the medications I’m on.”

“Is that so? Did the increase cause you discomfort or tiredness—--”

Groaning, I finally just said it. “The medication is causing me to have issues getting and keeping an erection.”

“Dropping your medication dosage could have side effects and downsides. Beyond just the loss of your sexual needs, Ilya.”

Frustrated, I raised my voice at Alessio. “Goddamn it, Alessio. It wasn’t you last night that Vito insulted because I was fucking soft when he stroked my cock!”

Alessio choked on the coffee in mouth, and Lev rubbed his back. By the time he caught his breath, some of my frustration faded again. 

“You…Vito…Seriously?”

I frowned, and he cleared his throat. “I can prescribe some other medication to help with erections and sexual wellness. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to drop your medication lower than your previous dosage.”

I nodded, and Alessio was looking at me like I had two heads. 

“Vito and I have never had sex or anything. Last night was the first time he had ever touched me sexually, and it was brought on by jealousy.”

“Nikki?” Alessio asked, and I raised an eyebrow at him. 

“You do not know.” I muttered. 

“He wanted to fuck you, didn’t he?” Lev said, without a second thought. 

“Nikki wouldn’t…. No, he would.” Alessio said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What brought on the jealousy then?”

“I called Nikki after Vito refused to touch me, and Nikki said he would make time for me, and Vito didn’t like it.” I said, truthfully. 

“Vito is protective of you, that is for sure, but I didn’t think it was because he was like this with you.” Alessio said. Almost amused by the information he learned. 

“About the other pills—--”

“You know, you can have sex and get off without having an erection. You just need other stimulation. If you were to stimulate your prostate, you would—--”

“Nope, shush. It is way too early for this shit.” I muttered, standing up. I did not want to sit here and have a conversation about anal sex, or anal play. I came to bitch about my limp cock. That was it.

“Ilya, just try it. You might get some relief from it,” Alessio said, before he opened his laptop and started typing some stuff inside. “I’ll order you some medication to help with the lack of erection, but I can’t promise it will help.”

I nodded again, and Alessio’s phone vibrated on the desk. Vito’s name flashed up on the screen and he spoke. “Does he not know your whereabouts, Ilya?”

“No. He was sleeping when I left.” 

“Right.” Alessio muttered before he picked up the phone. “Hi, I have something you might be looking for.”

I could hear Vito’s voice, but that was all. 

“Yeah, I’ll hang onto him. See you shortly.” Alessio hung up the phone and sighed. “I get why Caio calls him your owner.”

The memory of Vito telling me to kneel was front and centre in my mind. 

“There are far worse people.” I muttered. 

“While we are on the subject. The other day, when I asked him to remove his hand from your hair, I don’t like when he gets like that with you. Say something, you don’t have to take that.”

Lev crossed his arms with a sigh. “Alessio, Ilya likes it when Vito is rough with him. Really think about it.”

“How do you know that? I might not like it.”

Lev chuckled. “You are the poster child for S and M, Ilya. You don’t know how to respond to gentle touch. You like it when it hurts.”

“Most times—-Hm.” I said, really thinking about his words. I liked Vito’s hands on me, even when they were rough. I got hard last time when he touched me roughly. My body responded when Vito got aggressive with me, and really, only then. Lev was right. It felt good when Vito hurt me, and only him. 

“I’m so fucked up.” I muttered. 

Looking up, Vito walked into the office, and he was still only in the same sweatpants he was in when he came back to his room last night after everything. His lean body was on display, and Alessio kicked me under the desk as I gave his body a long scan with my eyes, publicly. 

“Come along Ilya, we have plans today.” Vito said, and I could pick up on the anger under his tone. 

“Thank you for letting me express my issues, and for trying to come up with a suitable solution with me.” I said. 

“I’ll let you know if there’s anything else, in terms of what even discussed and remember what I told you about getting a little more relief from your stress.”

As we left the medical building, Vito bitched at me about my lack of shoes, and about sneaking out. His hand rested on my lower back the entire time.