Wolfgang isn't in bed when she wakes up.
Kala blinks, disoriented by the darkness of her room. There was still sunlight when they drifted to sleep. Now, the room is lit mostly by the filtered streetlight, casting stark shadows that highlight the dips and valleys of the empty space beside her.
Kala inhales deeply, drags herself up by her elbows to stare at the empty pillow. She had not expected that Wolfgang would be gone so soon. He had said they would have the rest of the night. Perhaps he simply changed his mind.
She bites her lip, rolls back to stare at the ceiling. She doesn't regret her decision - far from it - but she can't help the disappointment, sharper than she'd anticipated.
She stretches, elongates her body, focuses on the langor that seems to settle deep in her bones.
The sex, she thinks, was amazing.
Kala breathes out, unashamed by the admission. She didn't think it was possible to feel what she felt: to be so engrossed in the moment that nothing mattered except for Wolfgang and what he did. Or what she did. She flushes a little, catches her lower lip.
She feels relaxed. Slightly sore. Kala gives a slight huff, catching faint marks on her breasts, one on her belly. She frowns, looks closer at another mark on her inner thigh. She quirks an eyebrow, surprised, but her thoughts inevitably drift to how she received the light bruises. She breathes out, throws a hand over her eyes, still in disbelief.
She slept with Wolfgang Bogdanow.
There is a world of significance in that one fact: more than just the simple act of having sex, more than anything she can unpack or cares to think about at this moment. Maybe later, tomorrow, she can pretend to be indifferent: When they go to the zoo, she won't ask why he left so soon. Instead, she'll tell Wolfgang she had a good time, that it was fun, she thinks.
She swallows a little. It was fun.
Kala drags the sheet around her body. She sits up, wonders vaguely what time it is. From the sounds outside, it doesn't seem very late, and she hasn't eaten yet. She tucks the sheet loosely around her, ignores the clothes still on the floor, and shuffles lazily out of her bedroom.
She pauses at the threshold to her living space, illuminated by the street-lights outside, curtains still open from the afternoon. She catches her bottom lip, brows drawn in a frown of irritation. Even in shadow, her living space is visible to the apartments across the street. The moment she leaves the hallway, she expects someone can see her as easily as she can see them, even at this moment, going about their business.
Kala glances down to assess how effectively her bedsheet covers her body before she scoffs at her modesty: She's not naked, and even if she were, this is Berlin. They don't seem to care much about nudity.
She hugs the bedsheet a little tighter under her arms, shores up the courage to step out of her hallway when she hears the click of her door unlocking. Kala stops, eyes wide, as Wolfgang lets himself in, hair slightly mussed, face flushed as the door shuts quietly behind him.
He comes to an abrupt halt when he sees her, partially obscured by shadows. His eyes rake over her disheveled appearance appreciatively. "Hallo."
Kala stares back. "Hallo," she answers faintly. She breathes out, unsure of her mixed reaction to his return. But she grows red at the way he looks at her with undisguised lust, even as she knows how much she wants him, too.
She blinks back the images in her head, notices for the first time that he carries two bags in his hand. Even in the dimness, the larger one is recognizable from the döner shop nearby, its faint aroma wafts slowly into the room. Her brows arch. "You brought food?" she asks.
His eyes widen a little, as if reminded. "Yeah." He walks to her dining table, sets the larger bag down. "Since I was out anyway, I thought I'd bring us back food." He holds up her key: "Sorry I had to go in your purse for this," he adds, laying it beside the bag.
Kala shrugs, nods her belated consent. "Of course," she says. She runs a hand over her hair, twists it to the side. She gives a small smile. "So you were hungry?"
Wolfgang returns the smile. He abandons the food and walks to her. He reaches for her waist, draws her to him. "Right now I'd rather eat something else."
Kala's cheeks flame. "Oh?" She marvels at how easily the words trip from his lips, how casual this must be for him. She rests her arms on his waist. "I thought you left for the night," she says, as if it had not bothered her, as if his return doesn't please her more than she cares to admit.
Wolfgang's hand slides over the curve of her ass, he moves with her as he edges them closer together. He watches her lips part on an unsteady breath.
"Fuck no," he murmurs softly. He shifts so she can feel how interested he is in staying, smirks when she releases an inadvertent moan. He presses the hand with the smaller bag close to her hip, as if to show her: "I only had the one gummi, Süße. I left to get more. Are you tired of me already?"
It takes her a moment to realize that he's not talking about candy. Kala's eyes flash. Her hands steal inside Wolfgang's shirt, press against his skin. He gives a sharp exhale at the contact. "Fuck no," she repeats, mouth quirking into a small smirk of her own.
Wolfgang smiles back right before he kisses her, hot, all-consuming. She sinks into it, back pressed against the wall, fingers splayed around his waist. She tilts her hips to rock against him, her hands urging him closer still.
Kala lifts her head and catches Wolfgang's lip, tugging as she pushes him away. She twists around, reverses their positions. Wolfgang stares down at her in surprise, his back against the wall. She smiles, eyes drop to the tilt of his mouth, the rough column of his throat. She stretches to nuzzle at his neck, press the length of her body against him.
"Thank you for bringing back food," she tells him politely, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "But right now, all I want is you."
She lets him drop her bedsheet to the floor, before he lifts her, carries her back to bed.
…
"You aren't coming to the club tonight, either?"
Felix sounds confused. He had expected Wolfgang to show up at the club after a suitable time, marking the end of his first "date" with Kala, although when Wolfgang didn't appear, he wasn't overly concerned. But Sunday nights at Dämonen are a tradition: a rowdier crowd that shows up to party well into Monday.
Wolfgang can almost see his friend's baffled expression. "Ja," he mutters into his cellphone. "Do you need me?"
Felix pauses only a heartbeat: "No! I'm good. It's just…," he trails off, uncertain.
Wolfgang takes a drag of his cigarette. "If you're good, I'll just catch up with you tomorrow," he says.
"Wait!" Wolfgang frowns a little, blowing a plume of smoke away from his cellphone. There is a short silence as Felix seems to weigh his next words. "You were with Kala last night, weren't you?" Felix's voice is slightly accusatory. He doesn't wait for Wolfgang to answer: "Normally I wouldn't give a shit. I mean, it's none of my business even though I gave you grief for not banging her before. But, you know, should you? I mean, now? What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Wolfgang flicks the ashes from his cigarette while Felix talks. "Yeah, it's none of your business," he agrees. "I'll talk to you later." He hangs up before Felix can get another word in and pockets his cell phone into his jacket.
He doesn't need Felix to tell him this isn't a good idea; he knows he's probably complicating things, even if Kala is ok with the casual sex.
Wolfgang takes another drag of his cigarette. Kala had made it a point to assure him this morning that she wasn't confusing their hook-up with their fake relationship. He felt relieved of guilt when he left to go home and clean up for their next date at the zoo.
But the sex had been unbelievable. He found himself thinking about it, wanting that - wanting her - again, today, tonight.
Wolfgang shifts his footing. He stands outside of a coffee shop waiting for Kala, who is still in line. He told her he would stay outside for a quick smoke, check in with Felix since it was already late afternoon and date number 2 was already done.
Or so he told her.
He looks around carefully, eyes scanning people as they walk by.
He thought he saw one of Lila's men at the zoo.
It happened so fast Wolfgang couldn't be sure, but it was enough to remind him that Felix's worries about Lila are more often on point than not.
Wolfgang tenses as he watches a small group cross the street, relaxes again when he doesn't see the man from the zoo.
He glances back inside the coffee shop: Kala still stands in line, although she appears to be next. She catches him watching her and smiles, gives a helpless shrug. He shakes his head, but softens the action with a faint smile back.
He turns away, resumes scanning the people that walk by.
The date at the zoo, where he hasn't been in at least a dozen years, had not gone as he had expected.
Wolfgang takes another drag of his cigarette, thoughts drifting to the past two hours.
He had wandered about with Kala like yesterday at the mall - holding hands, acting ridiculously soft. He talked about the changes made since he was last there; she talked about the zoos in Mumbai. They went first to the elephants, where Kala shared their cultural importance, and told him how the elephant-headed god, Ganesha, is her favorite. Wolfgang had been fascinated by her spirituality in light of her career, topics they'd never discussed before. Kala had looked at him thoughtfully, explained that for her, science is just another language to talk about the same miracles as faith, and he'd been struck by how simple and profound her answer was. She had merely smiled back, serene and sure.
They'd made their way to the tigers, where he found himself talking about his mother: how she both hated and loved seeing them, mesmerized by their power and their captivity. He had been too young to understand all she said, but he gets it now, and even though he doesn't tell Kala everything, in a sense, she gets it too. Kala had listened to him talk, asking little questions that, together, revealed more than he realized. And when he'd finished, she'd merely squeezed his hand, her eyes bright. He'd been embarrassed, flustered.
Wolfgang crushes his cigarette underfoot, lets out a breath. He's not sure how she did it, getting him to say more than he intends. There is a quiet certainty about her; as if she holds the answers to questions he didn't know he had.
His cell phone buzzes in his jacket. Wolfgang grunts, annoyed as he reaches for the phone. He swipes at the screen to read the message that isn't from Felix, and he glowers, face flushing: Behind you.
He turns, startled.
Lila smirks at him, eyes unwavering as she approaches from the direction of a nearby park. She is alone, dressed conservatively in an oversized sweater, black leather pants, and stiletto boots. She holds two cups of coffee, one that she offers to Wolfgang when she reaches him.
"It's black, just like your heart," she says dryly, taking a sip of the other cup she holds.
Wolfgang mutters an oath under his breath. He takes the cup, moves Lila away by her elbow after a quick glance at the shop to see Kala at the counter, placing her order.
"The fuck do you think you're doing here?" he asks bluntly. He throws the coffee into the garbage bin by the shop.
Lila frowns at the gesture, mildly offended. "I should ask you the same question, Baby," she says. She regards him with a brittle stare as she nestles her coffee between her elegant hands. She tilts her head in the direction of the shop, eyes narrowed. "Why is Wolfgang Bogdanow, rightful King of Berlin, visiting the zoo, going to coffee shops, like a... a zoticone?"
Wolfgang's jaw ticks. "I'm not King of anything," he says quietly. "You need to stop saying that."
She rolls her eyes, dismissive. "How long are you going to play at that, Wolfgang?" She moves closer, rests her free hand on his chest. "You weren't made to sit around like a common citizen," she says. "You were meant for greater things. The longer I'm with Fuchs the more I know it. And so I ask you again, why are you with some woman who doesn't know who you really are? Does she make you feel like you're someone you're not?" She moves her hand lower, seemingly uncaring that they stand on a public corner in the middle of the afternoon.
He grabs her hand before she reaches any lower than his waist. He remembers he is the Wolfgang in love with Kala, desperate to keep a relationship of three months. He remembers he promised Felix he was done with Lila, that he would do everything he can to keep her and her ambition for him away: It had almost cost Felix his life.
"I don't give a shit about any of the kingdoms," he says, his tone dangerously calm. "I made a deal with Dogan, and I've got no reason to back out now."
Lila's eyes narrow. She slips her hand from Wolfgang's, presses a finger against his abs. "Six months ago when you were fucking me you said you'd help."
"I said I'd help you get away from Fuchs, if that's what you want." Wolfgang's expression softens slightly. He had run into her in Amsterdam, where she had apparently been sent by Fuchs to repair relations with an ally. She had been livid, upset; telling Wolfgang that her role was reduced to whoring. And for the thousandth time she begged him to take over, step in his grandfather's shoes and take back Berlin: then she could go to him without fear of Fuchs coming after her.
He knew part of her damsel-in-distress speech was complete bullshit. He heard enough times that Lila Facchini has unfettered control over Fuchs' business; that she is the brains behind some of Fuchs' more ambitious and brazen operations. But Wolfgang also knew that Lila wanted Berlin more than she wanted Munich. And she wanted Berlin with Wolfgang.
She stares up at him now with eyes that flash defiance. "What I want is for you to take what's yours, Wolfgang," she says. Lila leans into him and kisses him roughly, quickly, pulling away before he does so. "I'll meet your girlfriend some other time," she adds, her lip curling mockingly as she turns and walks away.
Wolfgang frowns. He turns his head to see Kala coming out of the coffee shop, her expression carefully neutral.
And when he looks back, Lila is already turning around a corner, disappearing into the crowd.
Welp, September kicked my ass and now October isn't treating me any better, but thank you so much for sticking with this story and sending encouraging words. It's really been much appreciated 💕
In addition to the amazing Halcyon_Red, I want to thank thank_god_for_gravity for checking my Google translate word-of-the-day: a zoticone is a bumpkin. 😝 Grazie, Cuz!
This chapter is edited from the one on AO3.
As always, reviews are much appreciated!