Archive of Our Own

when daniela avanzini was 7 years old, she got it into her head that she wanted a puppy. a little soft one, with floppy ears and a head that tilts and she’d be able to train it to be so perfect and well-behaved. it’d keep her company when her parents were gone and she was left alone with another nanny and a bodyguard, it’d protect her from the dark when she’d get scared at night, and it’d never ever leave her side. this was the vision.

so she prayed. she prayed and prayed, and promised god she’d be the best girl ever.  

finally, her mom gave in to all her begging, and got her a little scruffy brown puppy. dani thanked god over and over for listening to her. she named him lobo, and he licked her face the first time she ever held him.

unfortunately, the puppy barked all night long, and the next day it was gone. she sobbed, beating her tiny fists into her dad’s back to beg him to bring it back, to tell her where it went. but her dad said nothing. 

(“daniela,” he’d finally grit, after the third hour of his only child sobbing at his feet. “get over it. es un pinche chucho. te pasas.”)

it’s not that she’s entitled, dani would argue, she’s just used to getting what she wants. she’s also used to it not being exact or perfect. compromise was a constant for her. 

the one thing that never felt like a compromise was megan skiendiel.

dani asks, and megan doesn’t have any other questions. dani asks, and megan does, and she does well, knowing exactly what is needed. 

megan always gets the right color, the right flavor, the exact precision of someone who understands that details matter. and to dani, that makes her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. 

for example, dani is not much of a morning person, especially when she had one too many tequila sunrises the night before, and is nursing a gentle headache that she’d much rather be sleeping off, naked in the luxurious silk sheets of a bed far too big for the average person’s needs.

but there megan is, up since the crack of dawn, silent as a mouse as she fidgets with a few things on the ottoman in front of the bed. dani’s heart warms as she realizes what megan is doing. she has an outfit picked out for her, down to the earrings and matching necklace, next to  a small glass of water that never runs empty.

dani tries to shut her eyes fast enough to pretend she’s still asleep and get the princess treatment. but megan is too perceptive, too good at knowing her. sometimes she wonders if megan can tell that she’s awake just by her heartbeat alone or something. 

within moments, daniela feels a soft breath brushing against her nose. she cracks an eye and sees it— megan, forever gentle, kneeling beside the bed to be face to face with her, their noses nearly touching. her eyes soften the moment dani’s meet them, those beautiful dark round eyes.

alive. bright, warm, seeking. dani has never seen something so angelic than the shine in megan’s eyes. her voice is gentle, quiet as if she’s trying not to disturb her despite knowing she’s already awake.

“your dad is expecting you at 9.”

daniela groans. not what she wants to hear first thing in the morning from the love of her life. no hi baby, how did you sleep? any nightmares? i’ll kill everyone in your dreams. 

“10 more minutes,” she mumbles, shoving the pillow over her head.

megan laughs. as gently as she can manage, she pries the pillow off of her head.

“it’ll be 9 in 10 more minutes.”

“ugh.” daniela rolls her eyes, trying to turn over.

“ugh you,” megan teases back softly. a gentle kiss against daniela’s bare shoulder sweetens the deal. “i’ll make you a coffee. c’mon.”

“2 more minutes,” dani tries to negotiate, “but you have to cuddle me.”

megan grunts in response. 

“2 or 10, you do the math,” daniela presses, but she knows the battle is lost when she cracks an eye open and spots her beautiful girl grinning down at her. 

“no more minutes, but i’ll give you a kiss.”

“ugh.” daniela repeats, burying her face into the pillow. “you hate me.”

“yes.” megan deadpans. “with a passion. you’re a brat.”

daniela can barely grumble back a response before megan is pressing a gentle kiss into her temple. 

“come on. get ready. busy day.”

it’d be easy to complain, but dani’s unfortunately also very easily convinced by this girl in particular. the girl who always is waiting for her just out the door, always at her beck and call, always watching. solely dedicated to dani and dani alone. 

that itself is enough reason to suck it up. maybe she doesn’t have as much to complain about as she thinks. 

dani could probably sit through a million of her dad’s stupid meetings as long as she had megan escorting her to each of them, as she has in the two years since they first met. 

“she’s on time,” sophia notes, arching her eyebrow as she welcomes dani into the room. “wow.”

(when dani first met sophia, like really met her instead of just ignoring her like she realized she had done when the girl first started working for her family, it was a shit storm. daniela will admit it— the sophia that megan had talked so highly about was beautiful, capable, sarcastic, and worst of all, her father’s new favorite capo. if she wasn’t worried that her dad would fuck her, the thought of megan fucking her ran nonstop through her head. dani almost let her jealousy get the best of her and get sophia fired. 

but then, on a random evening when she was drunk out of her mind and megan was carrying her home from a local club, megan slips. megan, coordinated, precise, never a single step out of place, lets her sneaker slip against something and they both went crashing down.

of course, also being thoughtful, caring, and protective, megan tried to turn to shield dani’s body from the asphalt. she lodged a piece of glass into her arm, and dani sobbed the whole time trying to stop the bleeding. when they got in the car, megan, face stony and calm, asked for her to call one person as they drive back to the avanzini residence.

sophia comes upstairs to meet megan in dani’s bathroom. dani watches the entire time.

“clumsy,” sophia had mumbled, hand-stitching the flap of skin back together. megan grimaces with every careful tug of the needle through her flesh.

“clumsy?” dani balked. no way. not her megan. she had to stop herself from reaching out each suture.

sophia had simply huffed. 

“always has been.” 

“how did you know how to do that?” dani asked, watching as the older girl finished the job with expert precision.

“i got into med school very early. before your dad got me.”

dani starts to picture it. sophia with a life before the avanzini family. she wonders if she’ll tell her anything about what that was like for megan, if she’ll share any more unexpected curiosities about who she was before dani met her. 

and then, with the tiniest smirk on her lips, sophia adds: 

“that’s her hoodie.”

dani feels megan twitch. sophia’s eyes are too knowing. busted.

“i was cold,” dani had argued weakly.

sophia grins. 

“oh, i bet.”)

whatever. megan trusts sophia, and sophia has been nice to them. no reason to feel otherwise about her. 

megan nods, trying to make herself smaller, as they shuffle dani through the doorway.

“as promised, sir.”

“good work as always, skelly.” the don waves his hand. he doesn’t bother to look up from the sheets on his desk. “i should have put you on her case sooner.”

megan’s eyes dart quickly over to dani, their gazes meeting. dani swears she sees a twinkle. but they’re interrupted by her dad’s voice. 

“your plans for the weekend, mi amor?”

he’s just a weird little pathetic man, dani thinks to herself. she doesn’t know how nobody else sees through it, why they’re all so afraid of him.

“i wanted to go see a show in new york,” she says, plopping into the chair at his desk. “then go to costa rica.”

“stay here for the weekend.” his voice is firm, his eyes coming up to meet her. “i’m telling, daniela, not asking. but i’ll make it up to you.”

dani immediately feels her face twist. she had already packed her bag. “uh, no. no way.”

“you have business here. a meeting on saturday,” he grumbles back, his grip on his pen tightening. “then do whatever.”

“i’m leaving.”

“i’m grounding the planes. your phone stays in this zip code or i send tio paco for you. then you’re under house arrest, and you’ll be stuck with skelly giving you your three square.” he huffs. “got it?”

daniela knows better than to argue. instead, she lets megan follow her out of the room and sophia close the door on the don’s office. she’s about to scream, for dramatic effect, but megan’s bumping her gently on her shoulder with her own.

sure, dani won’t get to see her favorite dance troupe in new york nor kiss the love of her life on a costa rican beach this weekend, but she has megan. gentle, devoted megan. 

she thinks back to what her dad had said and laughs.

“my three square…” daniela purrs into the taller girl’s ear.

“don’t be nasty,” megan groans, and the older girl bursts into laugher. “don’t make me think about your dad implying that. he’s got no clue.”

the words linger with daniela longer than she had anticipated. the stolen kisses with megan in empty hallways out of camera-shot, the connected rooms that only ever saw one bed being used, the way that megan has now become an implied extension of daniela. her father offering megan a promotion, as one of his most focused members, but the girl turning it down in favor of remaining guarding his daughter. the looks of surprise that each person in the room gave each other, none the wiser to the truth. 

“i want to tell him,” dani lets her voice drop. megan wrinkles her nose in response, the two of them reaching the courtyard of the avanzini property. dani will never understand how this girl can not look like she’s frying in the southern sun in those stupid hoodies. 

“it’s your choice, i guess.” her answer is simple, a shrug adding movement to her dark hair. “what’s your plan this weekend now?”

“the club?” dani’s eyes light up.

megan meets her with a smile. “guessed that much.”

“with you?” dani asks, hopeful.

“i’ll see if my schedule is free,” the bodyguard teases back. “let’s go get breakfast.”

dani’s favorite activity is being in the car with megan. if it’s within the country, she’ll always ask for megan to drive them, and the bodyguard has always obliged. after all, the road trip is how dani first started falling in love, with a quiet, awkward, insanely focused bodyguard with dark round eyes. 

her second favorite activity, however? dancing. no question about it. 

and after the hostage situation from all those years back, dani’s dad has been extra easy to convince, which means when dani wanted a latin club, he built her one from the ground up just a few blocks down the street from their home. complete with her own drink, named after her. it’s a cheesy touch, whatever, but she likes walking in and listening to the music immediately change to her preferred playlist, knowing the guards all know her name, but most of all, knowing that they all know megan, and nobody dares say a peep about how close dani wants her bodyguard. 

her excuse? trauma and flashbacks to how scary that kidnapping was, and megan being the only person she feels safe with. the sob story is enough to get everyone on the don’s payroll to turn a blind eye when dani clings to the taller girl on the dance floor, or drapes herself off of the girl’s shoulders, or especially when they slip together into the club’s private VIP room. 

tonight, dani’s enjoying the thud of the salsa beats through her chest from the superpowered speakers. she reaches a single hand up from the crowd, like she’s waiting to be called on by a teacher. lights dance on her manicured nails, reflecting off the glitter on her skin.

and just like she does every time, megan appears, nearly out of thin air, for dani to drape her hand over her shoulder and pull her close. she fucking loves it. this dream of a woman, at her every whim without making her wait, like she can read her mind. 

her fingers trace along the back of megan’s neck lazily, her favorite spot for her hands to rest. the contrast of the soft skin, the baby hairs, and the dips of the super-smooth scarred skin, a contrast that megan doesn’t flinch at any more. dani caresses them as gently as she did the first time she was ever brave enough to touch them— a reminder to her girl that they mean nothing to her. dani doesn’t care where megan’s been. she simply cares that she’s here now, with her.

her eyes are too distant, focused elsewhere as dani tries to pull her closer. something’s off. 

“you okay?” dani whispers, blinking in concern.

megan says nothing, her eyes still scanning.

“hey, skelly,” she hums, trying to get her attention.

nothing. megan’s head is elsewhere. dani tries again, pulling her even closer, her elbow wrapping against megan’s neck to hitch herself against the girl’s front.

“skellyyyy,” she tries once more.

megan’s hand takes to the small of dani’s back, an improvement for sure, but it’s not enough. her eyes are still hunting for something around them. dani is getting fed up.

as firmly as she can, without saying it loud enough for anyone else to hear, she finally calls the girl home.

“megan.”

within seconds, the bodyguard lurches forward. she spins them around to push daniela quickly behind her, unhooking their bodies, leaping at a blinding speed ahead of them. dani can barely blink before she hears it— the low rumbling from the taller girl.

“drop it.”

daniela looks up to see megan restraining a man in a chokehold, his face increasingly reddening as she applies more and more pressure from behind, her arm hooked around his throat. he’s taller than her, but the force she has around his neck evens the playing field without question. he’s scrambling against her arm, smacking at it in an attempt to get her to tap out.

but megan doesn’t budge. if anything, she squeezes even harder, and dani can hear the man make a faint gurgling sound as the red in his face begins to go purple.

“last warning,” the bodyguard says simply. hauntingly calm. “drop it.”

the clink of a metal knife against the floor. megan kicks it away and releases her grip. 

“no weapons onsite,” she says simply, shoving the man down to the ground. 

“do you know who you just fucked with?” manon huffs, cracking her knuckles dramatically as she makes her way forward to get the man out. 

“i don’t think the don is gonna like this one,” lara laughs, scooping the knife up and examining the make. “it’s giving… hm. chen dynasty syndicate engravings. soph needs to start keeping an eye on locals.”

dani smiles. since her kidnapping, her dad had taken a liking to increasing her security. megan was a given, after having proved herself with that entire ordeal, and dani had put each new member of their team through the fire to see if they’d be able to tolerate her. manon, new to the avanzini cartel, was a street fighter they had swooped up after a few of her dad’s guys had watched her in an underground ring. lara, who dani had remembered meeting vaguely throughout her childhood, was the daughter of her dad’s favorite weapons importer. manon worked for their team, but lara hung around more to learn about how the east coast dealings worked before moving up in her own cartel. either way, the two made for quite the pair to have around. 

(and they gave megan quite the headache. it was insanely cute to see her puppy dog so stressed out to have to reel these two in as part of dani’s protection detail.)

“my brave head of security. thanks for keeping me safe,” dani hums playfully, wrapping her arms around megan’s neck to reward her with a hug. she has to stop herself from pressing a kiss into her chin, no matter how badly she wants to. “dance with me.”

megan’s eyes soften, as if she’s calming herself down. she blinks a few times down at dani.

“can’t dance. i’m working. clearly security is lacking tonight.” her brows furrow together in frustration, looking over as lara is already interrogating the door security, to get to the root of how this happened.

“manon, we’re going to the VIP room,” dani informs the older girl, waving her hand. manon, back from whatever it was that she did to the man, simply nods in response, stepping aside as dani drags her bodyguard forward and out of the crowd.

(she forgets that she’s used to violence around her. the people around them are still buzzing in horror at the takedown they’ve witnessed.)

the VIP room is dani’s favorite. she likes being in the midst of all those bodies, but when she wants a second alone with her bodyguard, nobody bats an eye when they slip into the lounge and dani locks the door behind them. the music is just as loud, but now it’s just them, surrounded by mirrors on every side and a velvet couch in case her feet get tired. 

megan knows exactly what to do once they’re alone. her hands easily find their spots on dani’s waist, the pads of her calloused fingers somehow still soft against the skin exposed by the cutouts of dani’s sparkly dress. their bodies pull closer together, dani’s arms wrapping around the bodyguard’s neck, her cheek resting against the taller girl’s shoulder.

a wave of peace overtakes her as they sway together. she has no question in her mind that she’s the luckiest girl in the world.

“worst dance partner?” megan asks quietly. some of their most ridiculous small talk has been made yelling in each other’s ears at packed clubs. for some reason, dancing together feels like the easiest time for the two of them to talk, and dani has all the time in the world to dance her heart away every single night.

“zach castro,” dani finally says, after a moment of contemplation. they sway together, dani mumbling into the taller girl’s shoulder as she lets the comfort of the embrace soothe her still-buzzing body. “he tried to finger me during the homecoming dance and then got mad when i pushed him off of me.”

dani knows megan well enough to tell when she holds herself back. she can feel how the taller girl stops herself from tensing, forever calm, but dani’s gotten good at picking up on the micro-expressions that megan still hasn’t caught herself in.

“does he still live here?” she asks quietly, resting her cheek on top of dani’s head. dani can feel it— the clench of her jaw, over and over. the clearest sign that she’s extremely displeased. 

dani reaches up to try and stroke megan’s cheek in an attempt to soothe her. her poor, protective girl.

“unfortunately,” she grimaces. “i’m pretty sure i saw on insta that he got a divorce a few months ago.”

megan pauses, contemplatively. “i’m sorry.”

“it’s whatever,” dani shrugs. no use crying over spilled milk when her life is picture perfect now. she nuzzles even further into megan’s shoulder, letting her eyes close peacefully. “i’m getting sleepy.”

“manon will take you home,” the bodyguard hums against her scalp. “i have an errand.”

“oh, conveniently when i’m drunk and fucking horny,” dani huffs. “come home with me. c’mon.”

“thought you were getting sleepy?” megan laughs back playfully. she presses a soft kiss onto dani’s forehead. “i won’t be gone long. promise.”

as much as dani would like for megan to be glued to her 24/7, there are the rare hours where she has to go check in with sophia, or do some sort of training, and one of the other guards takes over for a brief moment. dani wants to protest, but between the adrenaline crash from yet another failed attempt on her life and the hazy fog of all the drinks she’s had that night, she decides to spare megan from another argument and complies with a grumble. the two leave the VIP room and megan presses a finger to her ear, speaking something quickly into her earpiece. manon and another guard appear in seconds, beckoning dani to a new car. 

dani wants to protest that megan didn’t give her a goodnight kiss, but they’re already out in front of other people, and the chance is lost anyways. megan gives her a quick once over and nods at manon, disappearing out the door ahead to guide them to the car before disappearing into the parking lot.

manon is nice enough, dani thinks. she’s not serious enough to be a bodyguard on her own, not focused or intense like her megan is. the guy with them is too quiet, his eyes nervous as he scans every corner. doesn’t radiate the silent, sharp capability that megan does. dani sighs as she falls back onto her bed as the two wait outside. nobody will ever compare to her favorite. no one will ever beat her megan.

that’s why when another hour passes and dani is done scrubbing off her makeup, she picks up her phone and dials irritatedly. she hasn’t slept alone a single time in the past two years, and has absolutely zero intention of starting tonight.

“where are you?” she huffs as soon as the ringer clicks off.

“i’m coming up the stairs right now,” megan answers back softly, reassuringly. dani can faintly hear footsteps in the distance of the hallway.

“woah,” she can hear manon say through the phone, before the line goes dead.

dani is about to call out before the door cracks open, a quiet creak and then a shut immediately after. she lets out a quiet gasp at the sight she’s met with.

megan, her head high, holds up a wedding ring, covered in blood. 

“zach castro.” she says simply. she isn’t smiling, nor does she look nervous— it’s some inexplicable third thing, like she’s some sort of haunted being. she digs through her pocket and offers up a disposable vape in her other hand, still in its wrapper. “and i picked you up another pen. i saw you were running low.”

all dani can focus on in the dim lighting of her room is the sticky wet redness clinging to the girl’s body. she feels her breathing hitch.

“yours or his?”

megan says nothing. dani feels a chill run down her spine. 

“you got me a pen looking like that?” she asks instead. she knows her dad’s influence over police departments up and down the coast means they have little to worry about, and that megan was trained by some of the best as to how to not get caught or leave a single trace behind. they know how to clean up after themselves.

“obviously i did the pen first, dani,” megan rolls her eyes.

and yet seeing megan like this always triggers something in dani. she can’t help it.

the heiress leaps forward, tackling the bodyguard, sending her backwards onto the bed, caging her in on either side with her arms. she captures her lips feverishly, pushing forward to kiss with all teeth and tongue.

“i’m so obsessed with you,” she growls.

“no more kisses,” megan tries to push her backwards, but dani can feel the smile against her lips. megan gives in and kisses her back once, twice, before she tries to slide out from under her, likely to not get the sheets any dirtier. “i should shower.”

“you’re lucky i didn’t fuck you in the middle of the hallway,” dani grumbles back, trying her best to keep the girl anchored above her by wrapping her legs around her hips. “come here.”

megan’s weight drops with a thud, her face twisting in displeasure.

“daniela avanzini.”

“you’re so fuckin’ romantic,” dani purrs, snatching the jewlery out of megan’s hand and admiring the trophy megan brought her back. zach’s ring is ugly and too simple for her taste, but it’s a trinket she’ll happily hold onto because her favorite girl brought it and dropped it at her feet. she grins back up at the girl on top of her. “you have 30 seconds before all my clothes are off.”

“you’re insane,” megan laughs against her teeth. “they’re still outside the door.”

“then either you stay quiet, or i make you,” dani hisses back, reaching eagerly at the hem of megan’s belt, her heart pounding as the bodyguard doesn’t stop her from undoing her buckle.

to her surprise, megan’s sticky fingers reach back out to her, gently trailing under her loose sleep shirt. her eyes blink up eagerly.

“you liked your surprise?” she asks, her voice soft. 

“i loved it. so romantic,” dani mumbles against her neck, experimenting with small kisses to see what megan will allow. but considering the bodyguard is moving gently against her skin to pull dani’s shirt over her head, the heiress senses she’s about to get exactly what she wants.

“you’re a little crazy,” megan laughs, tossing dani’s shirt somewhere along the floor. dani moves eagerly to get megan in a similar state of undress.

“did you have fun?” the older girl asks, taking in the stains up to her guard dog’s elbows, the splatter against her clothes as they’re now lost on the floor.

megan wrinkles her nose, like she’s been caught. 

“i liked knowing how excited you’d get.”

dani feels a shiver go down her spine. what more could she ask for in this life? the world’s most perfect girl, eager to do whatever just to get a single nod of approval from her. it’s hot. anyone with half a brain would think it’s hot. so dani, a simple girl with simple needs, grabs her bodyguard’s hands and leads them across her own naked body to show her exactly how excited her consideration makes her. 

(it’s half reward, half being even more spoiled. dani’s always been a spoiled girl, but it’s painfully obvious, now more than ever.)

she wonders if megan has ever been this close to anyone before. ever loved someone this unconditionally. ever seen every step forward of a future together and felt nothing but pure joy. ever broken her rules before for someone, the way she’s let herself with dani.

dani, who is now curled up next to her, tracing gentle circles into her back with delicate fingertips as megan lays on her stomach, chest rising and falling. 

“close your eyes.”

megan hesitates, but finally allows herself to blink, slower and slower. 

ever so gently, dani reaches over to trace her lips against the girl’s strong shoulders. the taut skin of scar tissue kisses her back. 

“you’re safe,” dani hums against her, feeling the muscle twitch in response. “go to sleep.”

and always one eager to do as she’s told, her good girl shoots one last hesitant glance in her direction before she lets her eyes flutter shut. 

dani softens as she sees megan’s breaths even out. what a gift to see her trust enough to fall asleep first.

“you’re safe.” she presses a kiss into her shoulder, then another, then another, scooping her up into a hug as she herself lets her tired body drift off. she feels the tension slowly melt away from megan’s body and presses one last kiss into the back of her neck. her beautiful girl, finally peaceful. “just rest, baby. i’ve got you.”

most days tend to look like each other, and dani doesn’t mind. she does whatever she wants, whenever, with her loyal bodyguard looming steps behind her like a shadow. she’ll check in with her dad every once in a while, meet with some randoms who want to see how big dani’s gotten, who want to ask her more about the russian cartel that had tried to get to her years ago. dani smiles, plays the role of pleasant daughter, and escapes out of these small talks as often as they happen. 

like today, her dad’s saturday meeting that he had impressed upon her was extremely important that she make it to. whatever. she’ll small talk for a few minutes, and then megan will probably take her to go get breakfast. then shopping, maybe she’ll go get some new nails, lunch, and a nap until it’s time to go dancing. what a beautiful, easy life she gets the pleasure of living, alongside the most perfect person a girl could invent in her head.

manon and lara are off to the side, wrestling playfully as megan approaches. she eyes the two hesitantly before reaching for the door to the don’s office to hold it open for dani.

one of her dad’s advisors comes out to meet them. an odd change, considering usually dani can just barge right in as she chooses.

“just you,” he says quietly, nodding at the avanzini heiress.

but dani isn’t used to being told no, so she won’t.

“she stays,” daniela hisses, shoving past the man to enter her dad’s office. 

“daniela,” the don warns, his eyes harsh as they flicker up. “skelly can wait outside.”

“it’s okay,” megan nods reassuringly. she bows her head, as if to show she’s no threat. “i’m right outside, miss avanzini.”

dani wants to argue for megan to stay, but she irritatedly remembers that megan works for her father too, not just her. loyal and painfully obedient. that’s why her dad likes her so much.

she grumbles something as the doors close and drops into the chair in front of her father’s desk. a shuffling noise from the back of the room tells her they’re not alone.

“daniela.” the don holds his hand up, motioning to a young man who emerges, an older man sitting in a chair behind him. “this is matteo.”

dani has never really paid much attention to the guys who work for her dad. most of them end up rotating in a few short weeks, considering his short temper and supposed ruthlessness within his own cartel. not that dani particularly cares— she likes the girls assigned to her, and the few men she has to interact with are harmless enough once megan bares her teeth.

ugh. her megan. dani hates spending even a second apart.

“hi,” she grits, wanting this to be done and over with as soon as she can manage before immediately pivoting back to her dad. “anyways, costa rica—”

but her dad isn’t done. his incessant talking continues. 

“mi amor, matteo’s with the deluca cartel.”

“okay.” dani blinks, irritated to have been interrupted. the cartel isn’t familiar to her. that type of boring mafia-politics shit is more up sophia’s alley. “i don’t care, papi. i have—” 

but he doesn’t let up. dani has half a mind to scream at him, but he beats her to it, his face reddening in frustration.

“you need to stop,” he grits. “listen to me.”

“you have a minute before i leave,” dani snaps back instantly. “you have until i hit sixty. one, two…”

she almost forgets that there’s some random dude watching her fight with her dad. not that she particularly cares, but her dad seems to, because he quickly rubs his face in an attempt to ground himself.

“i gave you years, and you didn’t pick,” he starts, his eyes growing solemn. they flicker quickly over to the two men behind them, then drop to the desk. his knuckles tense into fists. “i need this from you, daniela.”

dani narrows her gaze into a squint. she doesn’t know where he’s going with this, but she doesn’t like it one bit. he never gets this weird, speaking in riddles to her like she can’t know the whole truth.  

“i don’t owe you shit.”

a quiet scoff from behind her. dani doesn’t mind an audience, but she hopes her dad knows that just because his friends are here doesn’t mean she’ll spare him from the entirety of her thoughts. 

he rubs at his temples, his face tensing.

“mi princesa, i’ve kept you clothed, fed, housed. i’ve given you everything you could ever want…” 

“no you haven’t,” she instantly jumps in. she glares at him. they both know that’s a damn lie. “you’ve ruined my life in so many ways possible. you never even gave me a chance to be happy or fucking normal.”

a pause. someone clears their throat from behind them. dani blinks up at her dad, and his face goes cold. she hates it. he’s soft, underneath it all. spineless, unfocused. people think he’s some god but in reality, he’s not even half a man. 

“i’m not asking, daniela.” his voice is sharp, but dani knows him. he’s hesitant. dani knows what he wants, what he’s implying, and what she’s denying him. 

“not happening.” she instantly pushes back. she stands up, the two men behind her stare at her like idiots. she takes in the younger of the two: wavy dark hair, too shiny with gel, an arrogance about him that crawls beneath her skin. she bets his hands are soft and grimaces as he tries to smile at her. oh, absolutely not. 

“and he’s fucking weird, and ugly as hell,” she adds, shoving the chair backwards at him in an attempt to get him the fuck out of her face. she watches and has to swallow a laugh as his face instantly falls. 

“dani-” her dad tries, but daniela’s patience is worn thin. 

“sixty,” she finally says, her imaginary countdown officially done. “don’t fucking talk to me.”

her stomach twists as she hears their voices all call out behind her, but she’s not listening. she bursts out of the door, slamming it angrily behind her to keep them from following her. three sets of eyes snap up to meet her, but she’s fixed on just one. 

“are you okay?” megan’s voice instantly sends a wave of comfort through daniela’s body. she’s eager to be alone and curl up into her bodyguard’s warm embrace. 

“the car,” she mumbles, grabbing megan by the sleeve and plowing forward, rushing towards the garage before anyone else can stop her. “please.”

her megan. her perfectly-in-tune megan, who knows exactly how to soothe her, blinks back in surprise, easily keeping up as she looks ahead for the keyhub. 

“oh, she’s asking politely. i’m screwed.”

dani snorts. “shut up.”

manon and lara long forgotten behind them, the two shuffle into the cadillac and megan makes quick work of the ignition as it roars to life.

“something is happening,” dani finally breathes, her chest tightening as they make mindless loops through the city. “but i don’t want it to.”

megan doesn’t ask any questions. dani can’t tell if she knows why or if she’s just being kind. the bodyguard holds her hand gently, delicately, her thumb brushing over the peaks of dani’s knuckles. 

“give me a name,” she says simply. 

dani feels her eyes sting. her sweet girl, still eager to please. 

“carlos santillo.”

megan stiffens. 

“tell me what he did to you.”

“we dated for like a week. i never touched him and he got so so angry about it.” dani’s eyes stayed fixed on the road in front of them, megan easily navigating through the turns and curves. “he tried to lay a hand on me, so i bit him, and he slapped me.”

“you didn’t tell your dad?” megan blinks over at her. 

“i wasn’t supposed to be dating.”

there’s a brief silence. dani knows what it means. megan is calculating. 

“an hour, tops. just gotta ask soph to dig up some details.”

sophia. dani’s brain snaps back to the reality of their situation. she knows the older girl is probably getting filled in, if not already in on it. 

megan, so good, who doesn’t ask any questions dani doesn’t want her asking. this will have to be on dani to tell her. 

“you know i love you more than anything, right?” she finally starts, unbuckling herself to turn and face the bodyguard as she stays focused on the wheel. she reaches up to scoop megan’s cheek in her palm. “you know you’re mine, right?”

“dani,” megan says simply, almost a warning, sensing something off. 

but dani needs to hear it. she needs to hear it, out loud, that megan knows how real this is to her. 

“promise me that you know?” she presses. 

those big dark eyes blink back at her. it nearly kills her. 

“what is it?”

and before dani can figure out what to say, a buzzing rips through the speakers. megan never lets a work call ring more than once. 

“hi soph,” she says quickly, bringing the phone up to her ear as she always does, eyes fixed on dani, who feels her own eyes start to well up with hot tears. 

dani feels her mouth open and shut, trying to will the words out. 

but megan’s eyes only darken, her brows furrowing as the conversation goes on. dani feels her stomach twist. she’s too late. 

“oh,” she hums, digesting whatever sophia is telling her. “okay.”

“megan-” dani tries again, only for megan to grimace at her. the tension across her forehead is enough to make dani sick to her stomach.

“thank you, soph. see you.”

megan’s big brown puppy eyes blinking back at her. 

watery. teary. 

“i don’t want to do it.” hot tears instantly spring from dani’s eyes, raining down her cheeks, hoping it’s enough. she can’t face the reality of what this is. “i’m gonna fight every step.”

“you have a week. they want it going fast.” megan blinks back. her eyes look empty, like she can’t believe what she’s heard. “their deals are moving quicker than expected. italy means the northeast. it’s the last big region he hasn’t cracked.”

dani throws herself forward onto megan, burying her face into the guard’s chest as she chokes out sobs. 

“i tried to fight him and i’m gonna keep fighting.”

“that’s not your job,” megan says simply. she doesn’t hug back. she doesn’t so much as move, eyes fixed on the road, even as daniela cries into her shoulder. 

the heiress feels the reality slipping through her fingertips. her grip curls even tighter into megan’s sleeve, begging for her to look her direction. 

“promise me you know that i love you?” she pleads.

“i know,” megan says back softly.

dani shakes her head. it isn’t enough. she thuds a fist against megan’s chest, half-angry, half-desperate.

“no, you stupid robot,” she sobs, her lip trembling. “say it so i can hear it.”

“you love me,” megan finally complies. they both soften in an instant, dani melting into megan’s arm as they both turn to gaze at the road, running along ahead of them. the bodyguard lets out a quiet sigh, leaning her cheek into the top of daniela’s head. “i know you do.”

“and only you.” dani pushes back forcefully. her whole body feels heavy. she can’t say it out loud, she can’t let anything but megan be her reality. “tell me we’ll figure it out.”

there’s a silence between them that deafens the brunette. her fate feels sealed.

“go to sleep,” megan finally breathes, pressing a kiss into the top of dani’s head. “i’ll keep driving.”

dani can’t figure out anything else to say. the tears return with a vengeance and she leans over the center console to cling to megan’s arm, letting the lull of the radio and the gentle rhythm of megan’s breathing comfort her into a nap. she hopes when she’s awake, it’ll be nothing more than a bad dream. 

if there’s one thing daniela avanzini can admit she might be, it’s a tiny bit delusional. and if there’s another thing she definitely is, it’s stubborn.

and when those two qualities meet, it results in her ditching every single planning event her dad’s secretary tries to set up for her, instead choosing to spend her nights at her club, getting as drunk as she possibly can and pretending she isn’t about to get married off against her will to some idiot she doesn’t know. 

she doesn’t want to know him. her dad has tried to invite him to breakfast, to pair them up for lunch, but each time sophia sends dani a new itinerary, daniela conveniently has a headache or a nail appointment at that exact time. 

(she doesn’t ignore the way megan’s eyes have been glued to her phone for the past day since the announcement has been made, scrolling through redacted files she’s certain sophia has snuck her way.)

her heart aches. her vision for the future, a future where her perfect girl spends lazy days and pulsing nights by her side, now at risk. dani can’t think about it. she can’t let herself picture anything else. 

so when she’s four drinks into the night and tired of dancing alone, she does a quick scan to assess where her bodyguard is hiding out, keeping watch from. usually, megan likes the high ground of the second story, or the pillars by the bar. dani doesn’t mind it— she loves putting on a show, knowing megan’s eyes are always on her, knowing she’ll never go more than a few moments alone the moment she flags her down, knowing megan spends hours just watching her, ready to swoop in whenever dani pleases. 

but this time, when her eyes land on the dark-haired girl at the bar, she feels the back of her neck light up hot when she realizes there’s another figure in their way. her straight line to the love of her life is being blocked by some horrifically chopped bitch who doesn’t realize dani can have her car burnt to the ground before she’s even left the building.

she storms right up to the two of them having what she’s sure is a mindlessly boring conversation, and based on how megan’s eyes scream out awkwardly over the girl’s shoulder, dani should have put an end to it sooner.

“... private security?” 

dani only catches the tail end of what this chick is saying, but when the girl reaches out to brush something off of megan’s arm, daniela is quick to step directly in the way, seething with rage.

“you have 10 seconds to get lost,” she barks, creating a wall between the stranger and her megan.

“oh, i’m sorry,” the girl blinks. “we were talking.”

“not any more,” daniela seethes, immediately pivoting to look up at the taller girl behind her. “i’m done dancing.”

not a second passes by before megan is instantly moving to swing her hand under herself and reach for her barstool. she takes to her feet and presents her own seat to dani, motioning to it without a word.

daniela feels her spine tingle. god, she’s so fucking obsessed with this woman. maybe it’s a bit of a power trip, but this stranger needs to get a clue.

“no,” daniela shakes her head. she turns, locking eyes with the stranger, who’s watching in disbelief. dani narrows her eyes wickedly and glances down at the girl’s seat. “i’m sitting there.”

megan, her perfect, angel megan, complies without hesitation, knowing exactly what dani wants. the bodyguard shifts to gently reach for the stranger’s arm, steadying her, and without hesitation, reaches to grab the barstool with the heel of her shoe. the stranger gasps and stumbles to lean up against the bar as megan snatches the stool out from under her, presenting it to dani without a word.

the stranger stares in between the two of them in pure shock, and daniela simply glares back, comfortably sitting down. in an instant, megan is presenting her with a freshly made drink, hovering over her shoulder as dani brings the straw to her lips. 

“you’re done talking,” the heiress says slowly, taking a sip from the drink, “or i can show you what this one is really capable of.”

the girl blinks back at them hesitantly, her chest rising and falling. 

daniela can feel herself going too far, getting drunk off the fear in the stranger’s eye. she knows megan wants to stop her, but that’s the thing about her puppy. they get into this debate, of self restraint. when is it too far, blah blah blah, but when she’s on duty, megan doesn’t move a muscle until daniela says so, she won’t speak until daniela says so, and she especially won’t stop until daniela says so.

the stranger glances in between them one final time, something like disgust taking over her face. she scrambles to grab her bag and hurries past them, mumbling under her breath a strained “have a good night.”

as soon as they’re alone, daniela turns around to beam up at her bodyguard, still hovering behind her.

“hi my love,” she greets simply.

megan simply laughs and shakes her head. the way her eyes light up makes dani’s heart thud.

“avanzini, you have got to work on this whole jealousy thing. the chair thing was borderline psychotic.”

“walk me out, then carry me,” dani diverts, finishing off the drink with one last sip. “we’re going home.”

megan says nothing and reaches a hand out to daniela. dani takes it in her own and smiles in self-satisfaction. the moment they slip out the back entrance into the private parking lot, the bodyguard is scooping her up onto her back, a playful piggyback ride as dani kicks her shoes off and hands them to the taller girl.

megan takes them to the car, mumbling small talk and giggling at stupid tangents dani does on. they don’t talk about the weight of a looming countdown over their heads. daniela can hear the music from the club fading out behind them.

“i was too picky,” dani says out of nowhere. “i grew up listening to my parent’s music. latin love songs and whatever.”

she buries her face deeper into megan’s shoulderblade, feeling the muscles shifting as the girl carries her gingerly back to their car.

“they’re so, so intense. like passion overwhelming them,” she goes on. “i told myself i wanted something that felt like those songs.”

“yeah?” megan hums back softly. dani loves how intently she listens.

“it was your self restraint that absolutely ruined me. so perfectly in control, stopping yourself from everything,” daniela nods. she can remember it so clearly. everything in the bodyguard, straining against herself, watching, contemplating. “so much beneath your skin ready to burst, but you’ve always been able to stop yourself.”

megan’s grip around dani’s legs loosens. daniela realizes she’s using her thumb to stroke the skin of her thigh, a reassurance. she’s listening, taking it in.

“you’re so careful,” dani hums, pressing a kiss softly into her neck. “i trust you with everything i have.”

“you trust me?” megan asks, as if in disbelief, as if they haven’t spent every waking hour together for the last two years.

“with everything,” dani nods. “i think you were made just for me.”

there’s a beat of silence as they get to the car, megan making quick work of getting the door open and dani assuming her rightful place on her throne of the passenger seat. dani loves car rides like this, knowing this is how she fell in love with the bodyguard in the first place. hours of small talk, of silence, of debates about everything the world has to offer. just the road and their thoughts.

“do you believe in god?” dani blurts. her eyes lock in on the wooden prayer beads dangling down in front of their eyes, hanging off the rear view mirror, rocking with every smooth turn they take on the streets.

“not when we met,” megan finally confesses. “but i did after.”

“really?” dani blinks. she’s not sure how she hasn’t asked this sooner.

megan nods.

“i used to think i was cursed. like maybe i wasn’t just a bad person, or god didn’t exist. like god did exist, but he didn’t want me, ‘cause i came out like a demon or something. like god made me, but he didn’t think i deserved to feel good, so he wouldn’t let me. i didn’t deserve to feel good.”

the confession sends a pang into her chest. dani feels her eyes well up. 

“i got used to not feeling good,” megan breathes, her big brown eyes aching with something haunted. “the only thing i could do right was hurt people, and i knew it was wrong.”

“but it feels good to love you,” megan adds, quietly. her hand comes off the steering wheel to reach for dani’s, taking it in her own. “always has.”

“you are so perfect,” dani breathes, half angry they hadn’t met sooner, half sick at the idea they only have the rest of this lifetime together. 

“god is real because you’re real,” megan affirms. “my first real, good thing. and i love you.”

“i think god is real, but he’s a piece of shit,” daniela muses, pressing a kiss into megan’s knuckles as the bodyguard focuses on the road. “and he likes to do things to entertain himself, so you just have to stop relying on him at a certain point and pick your own life. i think he keeps himself busy by making angels, making them custom for people who are his favorites.”

megan laughs, and daniela smiles in return. 

“i always knew he was real, but you made it true. you’ve never been bad a day in your life. you’re my own angel,” dani hums. “sent here from heaven, just for me.”

“just for you.” megan’s voice softens as they park in the garage of the avanzini complex, dani surprised at how much time had passed to the point she didn’t notice getting home. 

megan kills the engine and leans forward, pressing their foreheads together in a tender beat. then, finally, whether brave or anxious, she pops their bubble. 

“baby, what’re we gonna do?”

“don’t worry about that. just stay by my side, okay?” dani breathes, keeping their faces pressed together. “it’ll all work out. do you trust me?”

“not even a little bit,” megan laughs, wrinkling her nose. “you’ve got issues.”

“megan,” daniela warns.

and then her bodyguard, with all the tenderness in the world, scoops dani’s face into her own calloused hands, their noses bumping softly as she meets her lips with her own. daniela completely melts, reaching up to hold megan’s hands in her own, shutting her eyes in anguish. she prays to this stupid little god with a stupid sense of humor to give her a million more moments like these.

“of course,” megan mumbles against her lips, stealing one last kiss before shutting her eyes, like she’s memorizing the moment. “of course i trust you.”

daniela breathes out, trying to steady herself. that makes one of them.

the next day, daniela isn’t able to give sophia the run around, because her dad has specifically taken the afternoon off to make sure dani is trapped in the house and not allowed to escape out to the club that evening. she screams and cries and tries to throw a plant through the window to threaten to jump out, but unfortunately, the don isn’t budging despite daniela’s worst behavior.

“one hour, or i shut your club down for the rest of the week,” the man grits, trying to plead with her. “it’s one hour, mi amor. you don’t have to even say anything to him.”

the prospect of having nowhere to spend her nights sounds like absolute hell on earth, so dani, against her will, complies and agrees to have an afternoon coffee with this weirdo.

he’s tall, with sharp almost rat-like features and slicked back dark hair, in an all-linen outfit sitting in daniela’s favorite porch chair as the housekeeper prepares him a cafecito. she simply stares at him in disgust as sophia tries to debrief her on something, but it’s going in one ear and out the other. she knows megan is listening, there to connect the dots for her, but all dani can think about is how this guy is so obviously used to getting what he wants, he’s probably never dealt with a “no” in his entire life. 

she knows the type, a little too well, admittedly, but nothing about him sits well with her. 

megan says nothing as she and manon lead forward into the courtyard, standing at position as daniela approaches the table and moves to sit across from matteo. noticing her, he beams and stands up, reaching out a hand. daniela, eager to report back to her dad that she’s been not just tolerable, but a model citizen, reaches out to shake his hand, and is shocked when instead of a handshake, he yanks her forward and wraps his arms around her back, pressing a kiss into her cheek.

behind her, she hears a sharp noise, like something losing air. daniela feels her stomach twist.

“dani, you look amazing, bella,” he chirps into her ear, but all daniela can focus on is the grating stubble of his chin against her skin and the overwhelming odor of his aftershave. worst of all, her skin is recoiling at his touch, hands that are much too soft and too weak, fingers that absolutely don’t belong on her body. she feels herself nearly light on fire with rage.

“your hands stay in your pockets, or i’ll kill you,” dani hisses, shoving him away from her with all her might. the housekeeper gasps quietly, but quickly averts her eyes, pouring daniela her own coffee and trying her best to move out of the middle of their standoff.

matteo snarls in irritation, brushing his shirt smooth from wrinkles. 

“not a very warm welcome, daniela,” he huffs.

“i’m a lady,” daniela bites back instantly. “treat me as such.”

she knows the irony, feeling the eyes behind her as the interaction unfolds. if they were alone, megan would remind her of just how un-ladylike dani can be. 

“where i’m from, the women don’t talk back like this,” matteo tells her simply, narrowing his eyes. he reaches out once more, extending his hand. “we’re supposed to get married and you won’t even let me touch you. just a stupid kiss, daniela.”

she hates the way her name sounds out of his mouth. she slaps his hand away almost as fast as he can extend it. 

“no,” she snaps.

but he’s insistent, his grip quickly coming up to quickly take her by the arm. daniela gasps at the sheer force of his grab, her skin nearly bruising beneath his grip.

“one won’t fucking kill you—”

but as soon as the gasp leaves her lips, megan is leaping forward, gripping him by the elbow, yanking him into a submission. 

“i will,” megan says low, coldly, her eyes wide, her face mere inches from his. manon shuffles forward to close in behind her, but megan clearly has it handled. “you try to touch her again, and i’ll kill you.”

the mafioso huffs in indignation, trying to yank himself free from megan’s grip. 

“get your hands off me!” 

but megan isn’t letting up. she doesn’t so much as blink, daniela watching in shock at the speed at which she was able to react. the bodyguard tightens her grasp, and matteo yelps and folds at the knees to try and relieve the pain in his arm.

“do you understand?” the taller girl drops her voice, releasing his arm and watching as he collapses to the ground.

“that’s my wife,” he snarls, rubbing at his elbow pathetically as he scoots backwards. “property, in english.”

“it doesn’t matter,” megan stands her ground, her jaw tense. “i protect her from everything. including you.”

matteo scoops himself up off the ground, pointing an accusing finger in the direction of the two bodyguards, his lip curling angrily.

“wait until the don hears about this.”

“you want to tell him about how you put your hands on me?” daniela scoffs in disbelief, her own arm still burning from his grip on her from earlier.

“as soon as those papers are signed, you’re off her case,” he hisses, ignoring daniela in favor of menacing the taller girl. “i’ll get my own guys to protect her.”

“no chance,” dani snaps.

but then, either with divine timing or having watched the interaction unfold, sophia is cutting in, her voice firm and even.

“that’s enough for today,” she interrupts, emerging from seemingly nowhere, tapping manon on the shoulder and motioning towards megan. the two nod at each other, escorting daniela back towards the main house. she then nods at matteo. “mr. deluca, i’ll call your driver.”

“your city is shit,” he hisses, collecting himself. he swipes at the coffee cup the housekeeper had served, everyone watching as the little glass shatters upon hitting the floor.. “and your coffee is too sweet. stupid fucking americans.”

megan and sophia exchange a quick glance as manon escorts matteo out of the courtyard and towards the front of the house. dani is racing into the house and up towards her room, trying to fight back the angry tears welling in her eyes.

“i won’t do this,” she snaps as soon as the door slams behind her and megan is leaning against her bedpost. “no fucking way.”

“i don’t know if you have a choice,” the bodyguard sighs. 

“he wants a wife. like a real stupid little housewife,” daniela scoffs, pacing back and forth in the room. she nearly screams. “he’d cage me up.”

“i know,” megan whispers solemnly.

“he’d hide me. i’d never make my own decision again,” daniela rambles on. “i’d be stuck with someone who isn’t you.”

“i know, my love,” megan hums softly.

“it’s so stupid.” daniela shakes her head, racing towards the taller girl to wrap her up in a hug, not wanting to waste a single second apart. “i can be so fucking angry and then you say one simple thing and i’m at peace.”

“i’m here,” megan reassures her, wrapping her own strong arms around the girl’s torso. “for you, dani.”

the air fills with cicadas and crickets chirping over each other, a buzzing harmony that reminds dani of the summer when they had first met. the soundtrack of their road trip, the beautiful song of falling in love with the soft-spoken bodyguard.

“we could get married,” daniela blurts, her cheek resting against megan’s chest for a moment before she pulls away to look up at the girl. the idea is crazy, she knows it, but it’s not so far fetched. “you and me. we could do it.”

“dani…” megan says warningly, her eyes weary.

“why not? you’d tell me no?”

“it’s not about that,” megan shakes her head.

“he can’t get anything out of me if i’m already married,” daniela realizes, her heart pounding as she tries to formulate this half-concocted plan even further. “it could work.”

“so then where does that leave us?” megan questions.

“in love and terribly angry,” daniela blurts.

“and you, belonging to someone else,” megan adds in quickly. the thought has clearly been gnawing away at her.

“never. i belong to you, and you belong to me,” daniela presses. “you are mine, but you need to claim me back.”

shockingly, megan doesn’t fight her this time. she simply lets out a quiet breath, almost defeated.

“i’m yours.”

“mine,” daniela affirms, wrapping her arms around the girl’s neck.

“every square inch,” megan sighs. “all yours.”

daniela manages a smile against her skin. 

“mine.”

“hey, hey,” megan catches her attention, realizing she’s forgotten something. “hold on.”

“what?”

the younger girl fishes around in her pockets, and in a shocking move, produces a ring. 

“carlos santillo,” she says softly. her big dark eyes blink up at daniela.

dani realizes the implication, her eyes widening as she grabs for the ring. 

“i didn’t know you followed through on that, baby,” she says in disbelief, turning the ring over in her hands.

megan presses a kiss against her temple. 

“i can’t say no to you.”

“you just did,” daniela calls her out. “when i said we should get married.”

“that’s different,” megan frowns. “that’s your whole life.”

daniela shakes her head, reaching for megan by the collar. she smooths it out, praying for something from above to save them. if there is a god, for him to make himself known, and not rip her away from the only thing that’s ever brought her a shred of joy in this stupid lifetime.

“i want you to be my whole life,” the brunette presses.

“let’s just worry about tonight for now,” megan mumbles.

the days tick closer, and daniela feels the pit in her stomach grow even deeper. she’s debated it, just running away, but she knows the money will run out and she doesn’t exactly have any skills that’d give her a job that could turn megan into a housewife. and if megan stops working for their family, dani wants it to be for retirement, not to simply be a slave to anyone else.

she thinks about megan, her sweet, anxious girl, looming over, watching every movement every waking second. asking permission to fall asleep and always worried she’s stepped too far out of daniela’s grace, as if daniela could ever think poorly of a single thing the girl does. she’s never seen such a perfect human being, so afraid to take up space and yet so unbelievably deserving of everything daniela wants to give her.

she decides it then. when they get this stupid wedding bullshit figured out, daniela is stealing like, a billion dollars from her parents and going on the run with megan so she never has to work again a day in her life. they’ll escape to somewhere quiet, live on the beach, leave this stupid life behind. 

she’ll give megan a home, a real one where she can rest her head without staying awake through the night. daniela decides it then— when all this is over, she’ll take care of megan. not the other way around. 

daniela is barely finishing her breakfast, another cup of orange juice slipped easily into her hand by her waiting bodyguard when the familiar brunette is barging into the kitchen, shoving a set of keys into megan’s hand.

“you have a dress fitting,” sophia says firmly in daniela’s direction, before shooting her a warning glance. “and he’s coming.”

they don’t say his name. they don’t have to.

sophia leaves just as quickly as she comes in, and megan’s big round eyes are looking back up at the heiress.

“i’ll fucking bite him,” daniela says simply.

“no. i don’t want him near you,” megan shakes her head. she grimaces. “just go with it”

“if he tries to fucking touch me again—“ daniela starts.

“don’t mention it. please.” megan winces. “i’ll be there.”

dani lets out a sharp exhale and presses a kiss into megan’s temple when she’s certain the coast is clear. they nod at each other in affirmation and step out the door to try and play the roles they’re given. it’s just until she figures out a plan, daniela reminds herself. it’s not forever.

“daniela,” matteo greets, beaming widely with his beady little eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. he’s about to reach out to kiss her cheek and dani’s about to slap him away, but his face seems to fall as he sees the figure floating behind dani. “and your guard dog.”

dani feels the slightest sense of comfort fill her as megan looms behind her, silent. 

“she’ll drive us,” dani informs him, eyeing his own guards hesitantly. he’s about to protest, but megan doesn’t even give him the chance. she’s immediately reaching over to open the door for daniela, and dani forgets that she’s not supposed to be riding in the passenger’s seat all the time. in the real world, she sits in the back of the car and the driver never says a word to her, simply dipping around the city and ending up wherever she wants to be.

“fine,” matteo relents, eyeing her suspiciously as he slips into the open seat as megan opens the door for him as well. “perhaps you’ll make yourself actually fucking useful.”

daniela’s stomach lurches. matteo, hurling abuse at her beautiful girl, and her beautiful girl simply takes it. 

megan says nothing as she climbs into the driver’s seat. daniela feels a silent scream trapped within her own chest.

matteo’s energy is radiatingly foul, like a stench in the air of equal parts frustration and distaste. his hands rest on his thighs, twitching as if he’s itching to reach out, but his eyes keep darting to the rear-view mirror. 

a dark gaze stays locked on him despite sharing her focus on the road. daniela exhales in gratitude that he has at least some decency to not try anything as long as he’s being watched.

the drive starts, and matteo starts rambling about something dani doesn’t care enough about to pay full attention to. she catches pieces, some shit about how rich his dad is or how his family is still back in italy, but she truly isn’t listening. it isn’t until he sucks on his teeth and clicks loudly does he catch her attention.

“i hate this stupid music,” he groans, waving his hand in the bodyguard’s direction. “change it.”

dani hadn’t thought anything of it. it’s her usual playlist, a variety of salsa music that she hums along to during drives.

“she only changes it if i ask,” dani huffs, gritting her teeth. “keep it.”

but then she pauses, and she listens to the song. it’s one she didn’t show megan. 

since their road trip, daniela has almost always been the one to take control of the aux, and never once has her bodyguard complained. she listens intently, letting dani explain her music over and over, translating for the girl, nodding along. and inevitably, when they go off to dance every night, dani finds megan humming along to the classics, as if she’s studied them.

the song catches her off guard. it’s by one of her favorite groups, but the song is one she hasn’t played nearly frequently enough. 

anhelo. longing. 

daniela feels the tears well up in her eyes. she thinks to every time she’s told megan another line in a love song that has moved her, each time she’s explained just how much she loves music and how much joy dancing brings her to get to bring these songs to life with her own movements.

“i love this song,” she blurts out, to no one in particular.

but she knows megan is listening. the bodyguard turns the volume up just the slightest bit, and daniela feels herself ache as she takes in each word. 

“all your music sounds the same,” matteo rolls his eyes, slumping back against the seat. 

dani catches megan’s gaze in the rearview mirror. her eyes say everything she can’t out loud.

daniela makes it until the night before the supposed doomsday without spending more than a few minutes alone with the creep, not from lack of his trying. part of her greatest frustration is how absolutely fucking insistent he is, in every sense, in every way. they fly separately to las vegas for what’s supposed to be their destination wedding, and her deadline only comes closer and closer.

daniela wonders if she might be able to reason with him, but she realizes there’s no chance. with tensions rising in the cartel world, every step closer to unifying their families signals a new passageway that dani can see for her dad. a new alliance that brings him one step closer to an unshakeable empire.

unfortunately, dani wants nothing to do with it. that isn’t her fault.

she’s enjoying a dip in the pool of her private suite in a hotel she won’t bother to learn the name of, her bodyguard standing at the edge watching carefully, when a third figure invades the sanctuary of their privacy. dani immediately feels her patience wear thin. 

“come join mr. deluca for dinner.” it’s one of his guards, an older guy with a thick accent and silvery hair.

“no,” daniela tells him curtly. she doesn’t have to think twice, but at the very least, she’ll be polite. “thank you.”

the man grimaces. 

“he didn’t offer it as a suggestion,” he says simply. he reaches over towards the pile of dani’s clothes, fishing around for a towel.

dani watches as megan instantly tenses at the intrusion. something about the flex in megan’s jaw makes dani’s own body start to twitch.

“i wouldn’t do that if i were you,” daniela warns, watching as he continues to mess around with her clothes in an attempt to ger her out of the pool any faster. megan’s eyes are only getting darker by the second. daniela feels her throat going dry. “she won’t like it.”

“miss avanzini,” the guard huffs. “don’t make this any harder. you’ve already been a pain to track down.”

“ten seconds,” dani cuts him off. “you have ten seconds to be out of my face before she breaks your jaw.”

he bristles, staring down at her from his spot next to the pool as daniela simply continues to float around. “is that a threat?”

“seven, six…” dani continues to count.

“miss avanzini,” he presses, his exasperation palpable. “it’s just dinner.”

dani shakes her head. “three, two…”

and then, in a move that seals his own fate, he swoops down to try and grab daniela by the arm, in an attempt to yank her upwards and out of the pool.

“don’t be fucking difficult,” he hisses, but dani knows it’s already too late.

the sentiment brings her an odd sense of comfort. she knows what to anticipate next.

“one.”

like a flash out of the shadows, her perfect girl appears out of nowhere, slamming his head forward violently into the tile of the pool. dani hears a scream as she sees the water instantly stain red, and part of her wonders if teeth float or if they sink. but she doesn’t get a chance to think too much harder, because megan, without a single shift in expression, grips him by the back of the neck and smashes forward once more, the crunch of his nose against the tile shattering in their ears. once she’s sufficiently pleased that she's beat him into submission, she dunks his head into the water for good measure, the man sputtering for breath before megan drops him on his back and steps away quickly, reaching a hand out to dani to help her out of the pool.

“there’s no way i’m going to stay on your case after this,” megan whispers, shaking her head. dani dries off as calmly as she can manage, ignoring that she can’t tell if the now mutilated guard is even breathing or not. “they operate too differently.”

“don’t think about that,” dani insists.

“then what else?” megan questions. “what else do we think about? i just almost killed one of your fiance’s guys with my bare hands. we have to start facing facts. we’re running out of time, daniela.”

“i’m cold,” dani says simply, the towel not being enough to cover her damp body. 

in an instant, megan peels off her own hoodie to offer it to the heiress. dani takes it happily, the familiar smell enough to soothe her, the warmth enough to offer some sense of peace as she tries desperately to ignore the reality of what’s occurring.

megan isn’t scared to be bare in front of her any more. that’s one of the things daniela feels most proud of, in this lifetime. the guard who once flinched when she even looked in her direction, now baring her roadmapped skin without hesitation. feeling safe enough to do so, feeling like she doesn’t have to hide from dani’s curious eyes. 

she looks beautiful, dani thinks. the glow of the blue lights from the pool, now tinting red as the man, dead or alive, dangles off the edge and bleeds readily into the side. megan has always talked about how much she hates the scars on her body, but dani finds them beautiful. shiny, raised, perfectly pink. proof of her resilience.

dani steps forward, unafraid as she’s always been, her fingertips brushing against a raised ridge along megan’s hip. she knows the girl wants answers, but she doesn’t have any for her. what she can offer, however, is the unconditional devotion that comes from a girl who receives what the world calls a monster and calls her an angel.

“what’s this one?” daniela asks softly.

megan blinks, as if she’s caught off guard.

“car crash. we drove an armored truck off a bridge to mow a guy down.”

“i saw that one in the news. they said it was a break malfunction.”

megan smiles knowingly. dani continues.

“this one?” a jagged ridge along the back of her arm, just above her tricep.

“knife fight when i got a little too ambitious. my handler didn’t want me using a gun. we were gonna dump his body anyways, so it didn’t matter how i did it.” megan lets out a quiet breath. “didn’t realize the guy knew how to fight back.”

dani’s breath softens. some are familiar, with stories she knows, like the glass table. some are too fresh, like the scars along her fingertips from when they had been caught by the russians. 

and some are somewhere in between, familiar to her touch but with a story unknown. she brushes softly against a small circular mark on her shoulder, just along the strap of her sports bra. her brows furrow as she realizes she’s touched and kissed this one a million times, but never asked a question more.

“this one?”

"i got shot on one of my first training jobs.” megan says it without pause. “they killed the team i was with.”

daniela’s heart aches. she pictures a puppy left alone, wounded and scared, surrounded by the slaughter of her pack. 

“how old were you?” she whispers.

megan’s face tenses. “too young.”

“i wish i could have spared you from all this,” dani breathes, reaching up to brush her hand against the girl’s cheek. megan shakes her head, but nuzzled deeper into dani’s touch, welcoming it.

“i don’t,” she reassures her softly. “it’s the only thing i’m good at.”

“not true,” dani wrinkles her nose.

“it led me to you.”

“yes it did,” the heiress smiles. “i’ll find a way to get back to you.”

megan shrugs. “i’ll be okay.”

“i won’t,” dani scoffs. “i need you.”

there’s a pause, like megan is contemplating what comes next. but nothing comes next. she simply picks something to soften the blow.

“just be good, okay?”

“shut up.” daniela grimaces, her face tensing. “don’t talk like that.”

“be a good girl, daniela,” megan insists. “i know how you can get.”

dani pushes her away, growing increasingly angry with the direction of this talk.

“don’t fucking say that,” she snaps, as if it isn’t her own perfect girl who’s saying these things about herself. “shut up.”

“i’ve never been one of the good ones. i’m really, really bad, i know that,” megan goes on. “but you gave me a tiny piece of heaven. i felt like the luckiest girl in the world with you.”

“stop talking to me like you’re never gonna see me again,” dani growls.

megan drops her head defeatedly, like she’s struck a nerve. 

“okay. i’m sorry, my love.”

“can’t tell me no,” dani laughs, but there’s a painful tint to the moment despite the pivot away from the heaviness.

“i’d be crazy to try,” megan smiles back. she pauses, and dani nearly yells at her, because she knows that face. that’s the face the girl makes when she’s guilty, when she’s feeling like she shouldn’t do something, when she feels like she doesn’t deserve what she’s allowing herself to enjoy. before dani can stop her, megan finally says it out loud.

“you get married tomorrow.”

it sends an ache through daniela’s entire body. she gets married, and not to the world’s most perfect girl.

“are you angry?” she asks, almost out of nowhere. 

and to her surprise, the bodyguard responds with lightning fast speed.

“yes,” megan blurts.

“why?” dani blinks, curious and intoxicated by the pure desire to know everything she can possibly ask.

and then megan laughs, something haunting, something aching.

“because you know i can’t say no to you. why would i ever say no? even if it would kill me, i’d never tell you no.”

“i want you to be angry,” daniela instantly says. “i want you to be angry the way i’m angry.”

she realizes it. the self-restraint, always masking whatever is going on inside that girl’s head. dani has never known what runs through megan’s head without question, without having to pry it out of her, without having to beg.

and then, in a flash, megan grips the end of a side table and sends it flying into the wall. daniela blinks back her shock, trying not to flinch. 

“i’m angry,” megan bellows, her jaw tense and her chest heaving. “i am fucking angry, daniela.”

dani feels her chest tighten. she looks down: the man’s limp body, the shattered table, glass now surrounding them. and yet, none of it scares her. 

“how much do you love me?”

megan lets out something like a roar, her entire body tensing as she seeks out anything else to get her hands on. she takes a chair and smashes it into the tile of the hot tub, cracking the moldings. she takes a broken table leg and sends it flying into the window, watching as the glass cracks and then shatters when megan sends a bottle straight through it. daniela watches as megan, with no pause nor hesitation, destroys the entire private pool area of daniela’s hotel suite, leaving it in disarray surrounding them. dani watches, in equal parts shock and awe, megan’s face tense and angry the entire time. 

and then— tears in her eyes. welling at the corners. 

a creature in pain. daniela’s heart shatters.

“there’s no limit,” megan finally chokes out. her hands are raw and red from everything she’s grabbed, swung, smashed, and destroyed, but she takes a careful step towards daniela and scoops her face into those dangerous hands with nothing but the most tender care in the entire world. she grimaces, pressing their foreheads together. “that’s what scares me.”

“how much do you love me?” daniela blinks back. her heart is pounding, but not out of fear. this isn’t something she’s ever seen from the mild-mannered bodyguard. 

“i’d do anything for you,” megan sighs, her eyes clamping shut as she keeps dani’s face close.

daniela has one last idea. she presses a soft kiss into megan’s temple before bringing her lips into the crest of her ear.

“matteo deluca.”

“what?” megan’s face twists.

“all you need is a name.” daniela softens, her voice hopeful. this could work. maybe it truly, really could.

but megan doesn’t bite. she smiles sadly, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl’s shoulders, a quiet exhale leaving her.

“not this time, dani.” 

and so daniela, angry, out of solutions, and terribly in love, breaks down into tears, being held by the creature she’s loved more than anything in this lifetime.

there’s a dead pit in her stomach as she autopilots through the motions of the morning. manon has taken over protection duties as the coordinator insists that everyone in daniela’s party be dressed up, including the bodyguards who spend far too much time in those stupid hoodies. megan stands watch dutifully as dani lulls her way through her hair and makeup, but by the time her dress comes on, megan has been switched out to go get dressed.

daniela feels like it’s a bad dream still that she’ll wake up from, but staring at herself in a white dress that she didn’t pick feels like it’s making it all too real. who even are these people, showing up to her sham of a wedding? she has no bridesmaids, no vows written, nothing like what she dreamed this day would look like when she was a little girl. does her family really care so little about her that they’d so easily ruin what’s supposed to be the best day of her life?

dani looks over at lara, who’s been forced to give up all her weapons and instead is now playing with a flimsy butterfly knife. dani notices their holsters notably empty.

“no guns?” she asks curiously.

“we checked them at the door,” lara tells her, shaking her head in clear irritation. “why would you need them, i guess? it’s a wedding. even though i personally hate feeling naked at any event, big or small.”

daniela blinks back her surprise. is her dad turning a new leaf? is this event truly intended to be peaceful, even if it’s being held against her will? 

“is that rule for everyone?” dani asks, hoping they’ll sense the implication

“yes,” manon reassures her. “italian cartel too.”

there’s a quiet knock at the door, and daniela knows it by heart. a part of her wants to keep megan out, to beg her to look away and stay outside, but before she can protest, the bodyguard is pushing past the doors, holding what she assumes is supposed to be dani’s bouquet in her hands.

dani lets out a quiet gasp. her perfect girl, in a pinstriped suit and a crisp white shirt, looking every bit the role she plays. this is what dani had first imagined for herself, when she was told she’d have a bodyguard, and she can’t help but laugh at the thought.

megan catches sight of her after finally pushing past the doors, and it feels like the earth collides with the sun.

“you look perfect.” megan blinks, her entire body heaving with a soft exhale. “holy shit.”

“bodyguard in her suit,” dani laughs, hoping the joke breaks the tension, feeling shy the longer megan takes her in in the white dress. “only took you two years to wear something other than those stupid hoodies.”

megan smiles in preparation to say something back, but lara’s clearing her throat before she can, and in an instant, they all turn to spot the near stranger approaching, pushing past the doors. dani feels the bile rise in her throat at the mere sight of him.

“isn’t this shit bad luck or something? seeing her before the wedding?” manon questions, but matteo simply snaps his fingers and motions for them to scram. lara complies, with manon following closely behind, but megan stays steadfast, leaning up against the wall in silent observation as she defiantly remains put.

“you’re stupider than you look if you think this is happening today,” dani snaps, yanking the flowers away from megan and attempting to rip some of the petals off.

but matteo doesn’t hesitate. he doesn’t pull a single punch, clearly done with the niceties. 

“daniela.” his voice is ruthless, cold like she’d expect from a mafioso. “if you do anything, i’ll have her killed on the spot. these people here, watching us, they know blood, they won’t even flinch. i don’t know what she is to you, and frankly, i don’t care. she’s worth nothing to me, but know she’ll be quickly made an example of.”

daniela stumbles backwards in shock. megan says nothing, blinking back hesitantly. 

“i’m not going through with this,” dani finally blurts.

“you are. you have no option.” matteo grins wickedly. “i’ll be nice to you. you’ll know your place.”

dani feels her blood boiling. behind them, a rustling begins, the giant ancient church starting to roar to life with the priest’s opening remarks. who asked her about getting married in a church? was this his doing? nobody even bothered to ask her.

“go to hell, matteo,” she grits, but he’s not done. he leans in menacingly, and dani can see megan twitch at the approach, stopping herself from springing forward into action.

“it’s a good deal, daniela. and after you give me a few sons, i’ll even let you go run around in your free time.”

dani’s face twitches. she has to stop herself from biting his ear off or something.

“go to fucking hell.”

“in minutes, you’re my legal property,” he hisses, not backing down. “’d start watching your tone if i were you.”

and before dani can say anything, the wedding planner bursts in hurriedly, eyes wide in panic. 

“mr. groom, you need to come out now. bride walks in 30 seconds. i better see you guys hustling.”

she yanks matteo out of the room, and daniela wants to throw up. 30 seconds left to say whatever she needs to to megan to try and get out of this.

but when she turns around, megan is gone. dani wants to cry. her perfect girl, following behind matteo like a kicked puppy, lining up in front of the altar with the other personal guards. dani doesn’t get a chance to hear one final i love you.

she sucks in a deep breath and takes one last look at herself in the mirror. if this wasn’t the worst day of her life, she might even think she makes a beautiful bride. her chest aches. she wants her mom. she wants her dad to not be a dick. and worst of all, she wants megan.

she feels absolutely sick as she makes her way down the aisle. the whole thing feels like a blur. the creak of wooden pews, the hum of the organ behind them, the mumble of a priest whose words daniela can’t even tell the difference between.

he doesn’t deserve to stand next to her, like this, dani thinks. this rat of a man who has done nothing to deserve her besides be lucky enough to be born into the same life that dani was unlucky enough to have been born into as well.

she’s pretty sure she’s dissociating, because when she finally comes to, trying to figure out her best possible plan to somehow get out of this at the final moment, she and matteo are now facing each other. dani realizes she has prayer beads in her hand, a rosary, saving her from having to hold his hands as he reaches out to her. she simply holds the beads, facing him, trying to avoid his gaze at all costs possible. 

and then, the priest says the line that sends an ache down daniela’s spine.

“if anyone objects to this union, speak now.”

she whispers a silent plea to herself. any other time, she’d be raising hell without hesitation, but the threat from earlier rings loud and clear in her head. she can’t risk anything happening to megan, especially not knowing what the next hour is going to look like.

but before she can muster up the courage to say anything, or decide what to say that won’t end in chaos, she feels something far too familiar sweeping over her.

comfort. she’s being watched. 

she snaps her head up to meet megan’s gaze, and god, those eyes. so tired, so worried, like they’ve never known peace. and then, she sees it. megan’s lips move in a quiet mumble. 

“god forgive me.”

dani opens her mouth to scream for her to step down as soon as she realizes what’s about to happen, but she’s too late. her perfect girl has chosen to martyr herself, knowing the risks.

“this man is going to hurt her.” 

daniela has never in her life heard megan’s voice this loud. it’s still timid, still hesitant, but there’s a ripple of gasps and grunts of disbelief as megan steps forward, addressing the don himself directly as if he isn’t one of the most feared men in the entire continent. daniela looks up to see matteo’s face instantly fall at the interruption, the priest simply staring at them in pure shock.

but still, megan presses on, steadfast in her mission.

“don avanzini, i’ve respected you the whole time we’ve worked together. this man is a danger to your daughter. i don’t say this lightly. he’s tried to hurt her before, and he’ll try now, once our team is moved away from protecting her,” she presses on, her voice firm yet airy, her gaze bearing straight through him.

“skelly,” the man addresses her directly, glancing around at both his own loved ones and the visibly displeased deluca family in the pews across from them. “know your place.”

meanwhile, dani looks up to see matteo’s nostrils flare at the interruption. 

“i’ll fucking kill you.”

“skelly,” the don warns once more, but it sounds almost like a plea. daniela blinks back her shock.

is there any world in which her dad knew? was he less clueless than daniela would have given him credit for? was it simply megan’s work ethic that was enough, her heroism of rescuing his daughter and keeping her safe at all costs? 

the question makes dani sick to her stomach. is there a world where her father knew how deeply in love with her bodyguard his daughter is, and chose to marry her off anyways?

“i’ll get you a new fucking guard daniela,” matteo says quickly, before snapping a finger in megan’s direction. dani nearly forgets where she is, realizing there’s a man moving in megan’s direction. “and you. i fucking warned you.”

dani knows the man is no match for the bodyguard. megan is faster, smarter, and more clever than any rival anyone could put in her way. but she watches in absolute shock as the girl simply shoots one final glance in dani’s direction and drops her head, letting herself be swooped up into his rough grasp as he pins her arms over her head with one arm and reaches into his pocket with another. daniela gasps. 

megan, willingly offering herself up, then comes face to face with a giant silver hunting knife to her neck. 

daniela lets out a scream as she realizes the no-guns policy didn’t leave them completely defenseless. what was she expecting? something peaceful for once in her life? there was never any chance of things not ending in carnage, but her worst fear was it ending with megan on the receiving end of it all.

daniela feels a hot burst of tears as the crowd gasps, watching it unfold in real time. megan, defeated in every sense of her spirit, simply grimaces as the deluca guard angles the knife up away from her neck and against her cheek. dani feels a sob rip through her as the man takes the knife into her cheek and in one horrific motion, pulls it taut against the corner of her mouth. megan lets out a feeble whimper, like a kicked puppy, and it only spurs him on to yank in one fell swoop, for everyone to see. 

daniela sobs as she watches the knife cleanly slice through the corner of the girl’s mouth into her cheek, angling it upwards and slicing through the flesh with ease. megan tries her best to stifle her groan, but the fresh pour of blood now from the gaping wound elicits another whimper from her. daniela can’t even begin to fathom the pain she’s in as the guard makes his point by smearing the knife in the now dripping blood and pressing it once more to her neck.

“you’ve ruined enough,” matteo spits in the girl’s direction, waving one final time towards his guard. “put her down.”

“no!” daniela screams.

“and you’re gonna watch,” he growls, grabbing daniela by the shoulders and shoving her forward just mere inches away from megan and the guard. “so you don’t get any more big ideas.”

“paolo,” don avanzini warns, looking over at the other mafia head from their places in the pews. it’s clear he was prepared for this to go south, but it seems even he is reaching his limit. “collect your son. that’s my daughter, paolo.” 

his daughter. dainiela avanzini, the unwilling mafia heiress. headstrong, delusional, and painfully impulsive.

daniela can’t help it. she won’t ever be told to sit still.

she uses the distraction of her father’s booming voice and leaps forward, doing her best to disarm the guard, hoping her muscle memory from all those training sessions with megan will kick in. clearly shocked to have been rushed by one of the very people he was told to protect, he quickly drops the knife, a sharp breath escaping megan’s body in relief as it hits the floor.

and then, with a gasp from nearly everyone in the church, and with god as her witness, daniela points the tip of the knife backwards towards herself, the blade tearing into the white of her dress. she can feel the cold metal poking into her skin, the red from megan’s blood staining her dress. if the metal is cutting into her, she can’t tell where her own blood starts and megan’s ends.

“she came with me. she leaves with me,” dani sobs, watching as everyone stares at her in complete shock. the guard tries to move closer to grab the knife, but dani simply pushes it further into her dress, and the guard throws his hands up innocently to show he isn’t trying to push her bluff. “we leave together, or neither of us leave at all.”

“daniela…” the don tries to start, the church painfully quiet as the half family, half strangers watch in disbelief. but daniela won’t stop. she has an audience, and she demands to be heard.

“i’m so fucking serious, papi. you’ve never listened to me, ever,” she cries, watching as megan clutches her cheek in an attempt to not bleed out all over the church floor. “i’m not fucking doing this. i don’t care. you’ve ruined everything that’s even brought me the tiniest bit of happiness, and you never gave me a choice. it’s my life, and it’s my choice.”

“avanzini,” don deluca growls from his seat, taking to his feet as he stares at his son on the altar. “i’m getting tired, avanzini. my deal is escaping you. fix it.”

“skelly.” the don warns, pivoting towards megan, realizing he won’t get through to his own daughter. “your loyalties are to this family. do what’s right.”

the guard drops megan, and the silence of the church is deafening. all that can be heard are dani’s panicked cries and the dragging footsteps of the bodyguard as she looks to the don, then nods, and looks back at dani.

and as gently as she can, megan reaches out to take the knife out from dani’s grasp. dani can see the loose flesh of megan’s cheek as she comes towards her. daniela’s hands are trembling, and she chokes out sobs. she relents, letting megan take the knife out of her hand, the bodyguard obedient as she’s always been. 

daniela looks up, and don avanzini’s eyes are hard and unreadable. they’re fixed on megan. they stare at each other for what feels like a horrifyingly long amount of time.

and then, he simply nods, pulling out a gun from his waistband, taking aim. 

aiming at don deluca.

there’s screams as a shot rings out, and megan quickly moves to push dani out of the way and spins around, leaping forward to plunge the knife quickly into matteo deluca’s stomach.

“spoiled piece of shit,” she growls under her breath, she twists, heaving upwards, as if she’s trying to gut him. 

“megan,” dani gasps, witnessing it a mere few feet away. it’s the first time she’s ever said her name out loud in front of anyone, but the shock is enough to warrant why.

“don’t look, baby,” megan grunts, straining. matteo can barely manage a gurgling gasp as megan continues to saw up, up, up, the blood spilling forward onto the bodyguard, soaking her entire front. dani swears she sees him lift onto his toes from megan’s sheer strength. daniela’s skin tingles at the pure animalistic hatred that seethes through the younger girl as she hacks into him, her face mere inches from his.

time, which froze for the split second, goes back to normal as shots begin to ring out over daniela’s head, deafening her. 

“papi?” she cries out, realizing half her loved ones are in the pews. “mami?”

“skelly, get them out of here!” the don yells, waving wildly as other of his guards behind him materialize more guns against the deluca cartel. daniela realizes both the don and his son are slumped forward on the ground, drowning in their own puddles of blood. “take them, skelly. go. go!”

the bodyguard doesn’t hesitate, yanking daniela down with her as they escape the gunfire and move towards an exit, stopping first at the first row of pews.

“señora avanzini,” megan dips her head in reverence, sliding up in front of them. she yanks the now dirtied blazer off of herself and tosses it over dani’s bare shoulders, nodding between the two of them. “i’m sorry about all of this.”

but her mother’s eyes are fixed on dani, in pure disbelief, as the bodyguard quickly escorts the two of them out of the building and into the parking lot, where their own security detail awaits them.

“what have you done, daniela?” she asks in shock, letting herself be ushered into the car.

dani looks at megan. covered in blood, shaken, her beautiful sweet face mutilated, but alive. 

“i did what i had to,” she says simply as her mom’s car bolts off. nothing more, nothing less.

manon meets them quickly to escort other avanzini members out, and daniela finally grabs megan by the hand as they make their way to their own car, escaping the shootout eagerly. daniela’s heart is pounding as they take to the streets, realizing what’s just unfolded in front of them.

“you brat,” daniela gasps, replaying the sequence of it all in her head. “what was your plan, exactly?”

megan grimaces. dani can’t tell if it’s her cheek or the question.

“i didn’t want to know anything besides you. there was no point.” 

dani understands the implication, even if the idea kills her.

“megan.”

“if the last thing i did was protect you, put him on the radar for your dad, it would have been a life well lived,” megan goes on, as if she’s defending herself for what was essentially a confirmed suicide mission.

dani realizes she hasn’t stopped crying this whole time. she wipes at her face desperately.

“shut up.” 

“would’ve been happy dying at your feet,” megan goes on, her eyes dropping to the road, avoiding her gaze. “can’t imagine existing without you. i’d rather have been put down the moment you weren’t mine any more.” 

dani’s about to reprimand her, until she realizes they’re alive, they’re out, and the deluca cartel is down two heads.

“wait.” daniela fishes through her pockets for something she thought to grab in the escalation of it all. she pulls out a little velvety box, pressing it into megan’s free hand. “this is yours.”

“no way,” the girl says immediately, realizing the implication. “no fucking chance. i don’t deserve this.”

“megan, i only want you,” dani reassures her, reaching forward to squeeze her hand. she knows the adrenaline is still pulsing through her, but she’s never been more certain of anything in her life. “you, forever and ever and ever. do it now, now or never.”

megan wrinkles her nose at the implication.

“baby, i’m not gonna marry you covered in your ex-fiance’s blood.”

“that’s how i’m most attracted to you,” dani grins back. “it was so hot watching you do that to him.”

megan laughs, but a faint grimace tells dani she’s still in quite some pain. 

“you’re insane.”

“you’re an angel,” dani pushes back instantly.

before megan can argue, a buzz distracts her. obedient as always, she brings it to her ear within the first ring.

“soph.”

she immediately puts it on speaker, realizing this likely involves the two of them.

“your girl just made don avanzini the most hated man in the western hemisphere,” sophia laughs.

daniela leaps forward in her seat towards the phone. 

“he’s alive?”

“he’ll have a lot of cleaning up to do,” sophia chuckles. “but if the italians are scrambled, we can move further up the east coast. i guess it’s a blessing in disguise. forgot how ruthless your pops was. he didn’t leave anyone behind.”

megan’s eyes shine with gratitude. 

“thank you, soph.”

“skelly, there’s bandages in the first aid kit. apply pressure to your cheek until i can get you.” a quick pause, something playful palpable in her silence. “can’t lose the princess’s favorite guard.”

“come with me,” dani blurts. “just drive.”

“your family,” megan tries to press.

“they’re okay, you heard sophia,” dani shakes her head. “i’m not wasting another second.”

within moments, they’re in front of a quick-fix wedding chapel. dani won’t let such a pretty white dress go to waste.

after they’ve signed up and checked in, the officiant comes to talk to them, but quickly looks at the state of the both of them with more than understandable concern.

“are you guys—”

“we’re actors,” dani says quickly. sure, they’re both soaked in blood, and megan has a fucking bright red bandage covering up one of the nastiest wounds she’s ever seen, but she figures it’s vegas, and the officiant has probably seen crazier if he isn’t already calling the police on them. dani grabs megan’s arm eagerly, grateful to touch her and know she’s still real. “how fast can we do this?”

“elvis or showgirl?” the man blinks, buying the excuse.

“normal is fine,” megan laughs. 

the officiant nods, and before dani knows it, she and her perfect girl are being led to a tiny chapel room, where a random woman is half-asleep in a chair to serve as their sole witness. it’s messy, and it’s insane, but it feels absolutely perfect to be doing this with megan.

“i didn’t write anything,” the bodyguard panics as the officiant begins their impromptu ceremony. “i didn’t even know i’d be alive tonight.”

but daniela doesn’t care. it’s perfect. anything with megan would be.

so the man goes on, his generic ramble going in one ear and out the other, and finally motions to them to get a chance to share some words. daniela speaks from the heart, holding those calloused, scarred hands in her own like they’re the most perfect things she’s ever known.

"my megan. you got a brat with an attitude problem and you still gave her a chance to be known. you saw through me when everyone else saw only what they wanted me to be. you protected me, you pushed me, and you chose me. and i choose you back. te amo, para siempre."

megan blinks back at her, her thumbs rubbing over the backs of dani’s knuckles tenderly. her speech is succinct and to the point, but to dani, it means the absolute world.

“you gave my heart a home, for the first time in my life. i’m going to spend forever thanking you for that.”

the officiant smiles softly between them, gesturing to daniela. 

“do you promise to love each other, to cherish and protect each other, for as long as you both shall live?”

the bodyguard nods, her eyes bleary. dani simply smiles back. 

“you’re an angel.” megan mumbles

dani can’t even focus on what the officiant is saying. all she can see are those beautiful brown eyes staring back at her. she feels the hot tears streaming down her face. for the first time in what feels like far too long, they’re happy tears. dani’s smile widens. 

“and you’re mine.”