Fighting Over Breakfast

Fighting Over Breakfast
The first thing that roused Diamond wasn’t sunlight or the usual intrusive thoughts clawing at the edges of her mind. It was… a smell.

Not just any smell.

Something warm, sweet, and inviting. Something so alien to the sterile quiet she’d lived in the last two days that her brain needed a full minute to process it.

Her eyelids fluttered open. The room was dim, shadows still stretching across the corners. She arched her back in a languid stretch, every muscle uncoiling after two days of restless, haunted wakefulness. For the first time since Adriano had been wheeled into that hospital bed, she felt… lighter. Not happy. But a little less suffocated.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and yawned hard enough for her jaw to pop.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and padded barefoot to the door. The aroma only intensified with each step she took.

“Pancakes?” she thought to herself. “Definitely pancakes. And something savory. Eggs? Butter? Is that cinnamon?”

She rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead.

Gabriele stood at the stove, hair sticking up in a hundred different directions, dressed in a faded blue t-shirt and grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips. He was flipping something on the pan, humming under his breath.

Then there was Alessandro.

His black hair was tied into a lazy bun, the rest of him completely shirtless. Skin tanned, muscles flexing in lazy, natural movements as he leaned over the counter slicing fruit. His tattoos trailed over his arms, chest, and crept up his neck. And then there were the short shorts. Very short. The kind that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, and judging by the blatant outline of his cock, he definitely wasn’t wearing underwear.

Diamond’s eyes snapped up so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. 

“Do not look. Do not—oh god, stop looking!” She thought to herself.

Both brothers looked up at her at the same time.

“Morning,” Gabriele said, grinning as if it were just any other day.

“Buongiorno, bella,” Alessandro added with a lazy smile, already moving toward her.

Before she could even mumble a reply, they were both guiding her in, Alessandro with a hand lightly at her back, Gabriele pulling out a chair.

“Sit,” Gabriele ordered, almost like she might bolt otherwise. “We’re almost done. I know you’re starving, but give me two minutes.”

Her eyes flicked to the pan. “Oh my god—are those blueberry pancakes?”

“Mhmm,” he said, flipping one onto a plate with a little flourish.

“I love blueberry pancakes.”

Alessandro’s eyes flicked from Gabriele’s masterpiece to Diamond’s smile like he’d just been personally challenged to a duel. He immediately slapped toasted bread and scrambled eggs on a plate, slid it in front of her, and strode to the fridge like a man on a mission.

“Eat this while the pancakes are still cooking,” he said, plunking down a chilled glass of orange juice next to her.

And that was all it took for the kitchen to become a silent, passive-aggressive battlefield. It turned into an unspoken competition, the two of them moving around her like rival chefs in a cooking show.

Gabriele drizzled syrup over a pancake like it was an art piece. Alessandro countered by topping her eggs with freshly cracked pepper and a flourish of herbs. Then Gabriele upped the stakes with whipped cream. Alessandro retaliated with strawberries.

By the time she had a fork in her hand, she was surrounded by a buffet—pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, fruit, some kind of herbed potatoes, and a smoothie she didn’t even remember anyone blending.

“Try this,” Alessandro said, nudging his dish toward her.

“No, try this,” Gabriele said, sliding over a forkful of pancake.

“Which one’s better?” Alessandro asked.

She chewed slowly, glancing between them. “They’re both—”

“Don’t lie,” Gabriele cut in.

“I’m not lying, they’re—”

“Just say mine’s better,” Alessandro insisted.

Diamond put the fork down and held up both hands. “Okay, enough. You’re literally breathing down my neck.”

They stepped back reluctantly as if she’d just drawn an invisible line on the floor.

“You guys,” she said, “seriously, what’s all this about? If it’s about last night, I assure you I’m completely fine.”

“No,” Alessandro said instantly.

“It’s not about last night,” Gabriele added.

Her brows pinched slightly. “Then what is it?”

The glance they exchanged told her more than any words could. Gabriele scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. “Uh… we’ve been meaning to talk to you about…”

“About what?” she pressed, even though she already knew exactly where this was going.

Alessandro didn’t hesitate. He spoke up, his tone, low and serious. “Diamond, we need to talk about what happened between us.” 

She sat back, her gaze flicking between them. “Okay. What do you have to say?”

Gabriele took a breath. “You’re Adriano’s girlfriend, and no matter how strained or heated things get between us and him, he’s still our brother. We love him. But… we slept with you. And that puts all four of us in a really tough spot.”

“Adriano’s not gonna be happy if he finds out,” Alessandro added. “He’s gonna feel betrayed. By all of us.”

“So,” she said evenly, “what exactly do you want? Are you going to tell him?” she asked.

Both brothers shook their heads instantly.

“No,” Gabriele said. “Adri will be out for blood if he ever finds out… things could get really ugly pretty fast, but he’s never gonna know unless that’s what you want.”

Diamond was quiet for a beat, then gestured at the over-the-top spread on the table. “So this is what all this is about, huh?”

They both jumped in to deny it, almost tripping over each other’s words.

“What? No.” Gabriele frowned, shaking his head.

“We just wanted to cheer you up,” Alessandro said.

“Lighten the mood,” Gabriele added quickly. “That’s all.”

“We just didn’t want you brooding,” Alessandro leaned forward, his voice dropping low. “But the truth is—” He leaned forward, voice dropping. “La Rosa Nera is coming after us. If Adriano finds out, he won’t just go ballistic, he’ll drag you into something you can’t walk away from. You need someone to protect you. And I can do that.”

Gabriele snorted. “Oh, please. You’re not concerned about her safety. You’re just obsessed with her because she’s new to you. In two months, you’ll be chasing the next hot fuck.”

“Shut the fuck up, Gabe,” Alessandro snapped. “You don’t know how I feel about her.”

“Oh, I do,” Gabriele said, smirking at Diamond. “Alessandro can’t even count his body count on his fingers and toes combined. Never lasted longer than two months with anyone.”

Alessandro crossed his arms. “Well Gabe sleeps with men.”

“…What the hell?” Gabriele snapped. His voice rose. “Are you seriously coming at me like that? Do you hear yourself? You sound homophobic as fuck right now.”

“Me? Homophobic?” Alessandro’s eyes widened in mock outrage. “Your liking dick has never made me see you any less.”

“See?!” Gabriele pointed at him. “There! There it is again!” Gabriele threw his hands up. “You can’t even help yourself, can you?”

And just like that, the kitchen devolved into a full-blown sibling roast session.

"You’ve got more moods than Grindr has profiles. And they’re all equally exhausting.” Alessandro spat.

Diamond audibly gasped.

"Sandro,” Gabriele said with a mocking laugh, “Your longest relationship was with your fucking gym mirror.”

"You talk a big game Gabe, but your love life is like your cooking. Half baked and under seasoned.”

"If narcissism were a sport,” Gabriele countered, “you’d have more gold medals than Michael Phelps.”

“Would you two just—” Diamond tried to speak but was cut off by the brothers going back and forth, their voices climbing higher with each jab until she slammed her hands on the table.

“Enough!”

Both of them froze.

She pushed back from the table, standing. “I don’t care if Gabriele is bisexual. And Alessandro, I’m not running into your arms either,” Her voice trembled with anger now. “Do I have to remind you that your brother is literally in a hospital bed fighting for his fucking life? And here you are, fighting over me like I’m… like I’m some goddamn prize in a pissing contest!”

Both of them were completely silent now.

She swallowed hard. “I regret what happened between us.”

Gabriele reached for her. “Diamond—”

She flinched back. “Don’t. Fucking. Touch me.”

With that, she turned around and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the brothers with nothing but silence and the sizzling of pancakes burning on the stove.