[NIKITA] 

"It was hard sitting there and not bashing one of their faces in. I swear I exercised more self-control that day than I have ever done my entire life," Carrie said as they laughed over. She was currently with the boss at the Pavlenko residence.

They were supposed to meet earlier in the week, but the circumstances just wouldn't let them. However, here they were, the trio and Andrew, who had tagged align because he was Qiao Xi's driver.

There was a lot of work to be done, but seeing the friends happy, made him happy too. He had thought that there was a chance that Qiao didn't always have that permanent frown or smirk on his face.

It was part of the life they had chosen anyway.

At the moment, Carrie was recounting how 'horrible' her day had been.

Then again, it wasn't like she could say it was horrible when all she had to do was sit through a bunch of annoying humans who thought they were the price when at the end of the day, they would always be just replaceable employees of Pavlenko.

"I know, right. Especially the bastard with a mustache that made him look like he was living in the seventies", Qiao said with a scowl on his face.

It was almost like thinking that the man with a mustache had traumatized him.

The commander had been to battlefields and back more than once. The man who was always called by his superiors to help with the chaos in Russia, this man was scared of a man with a mustache, oh the irony.

"What was it he said again when the meeting was over?" Carrie asked as she tried to remember whatever the man had said.

It had to have stuck with them, either because of the tone he used or what had come out of his mouth. Whatever It was, it had to be terrible on all accounts for the two soldiers to be sitting here wanting out to Nikita.

"You won't last long in the corporate world, soldier; go back to the forests."

"You won't last long in the corporate world, soldier, go back to the forests," the two soldiers sneered before they all burst into laughter.

Nikita couldn't help but facepalm. His friends were wild, but they made him happy, and that is all that mattered to him and them. Besides, Nikita knew that his friends would always have the solution no matter what happened.

They were well trained to think appropriately. Here and now, this is what Nikita needed. The happiness around him. He needed the love his friends were showing him. Notably, since they had arrived, none of them had commented on the state of things.

However, maybe there are other reasons his friends didn't trigger anything. Perhaps because they didn't want to ruin the moment, or maybe because they were determined to make the doctor understand that he was also cut out for happiness.

A happy Nikita was more handsome.

"Hey Natalya, this huge man will be taking over the kitchen today; you can rest," Carrie said, making Qiao laugh even more complex. They had all been deemed hopeless and to a fate worse than staying out in the icy German mountains. This is what the hell looked like.

Nikita?

In the kitchen?

They Were about to subscribe to the absolute chaos of the Pavlenko household. Natalya tried to hold back a laugh, but it was just not possible, not with the shock on Nikita's face and definitely not with the laughter of Qiao that boomed around the house like thunder.

Andrew didn't know what to do, but he was smart enough to know that by everyone else's reaction, Nikita in the kitchen was a terrible idea.

"I'm sorry, what? Which man? Surely you do not mean the young master, no?" Natalya said as she laughed out again. Maybe Carrie ad mistaken Natalya for Nikita, right? However, commander Tabakov meant everything she had said.

"Don't worry, if he burns don the estate, we can always make him do the renovations. We'll be here to make him, don't worry," Carrie said reassuringly, making Nikita pout. This was his hell, and only this one was the kind that had his friends around; she didn't feel alone.

"Oh, here we go," Qiao said just at the same time Nikita began ranting.

"I'm a doctor, no, I am a surgeon Carrie. My beautiful long hands are supposed to be steady and not burnt in the kitchen. Imagine me showing up to the operating room with bandages in my hands. No one will trust me.

"Surely you guys must understand this, no?" Nikita said in the hope that the commander would let him be.

However, Carrie seemed to have expected this because even she was ready with her answer. One that wouldn't let the doctor know any peace.

If he wanted to be the great doctor who avoided the kitchen, well, the least I could do was explain to the commander what the fuċk he had been doing.

"Tell me more, oh great doctor and kingpin of the underworld. Make me understand something, Niki, the last time you were at the fighting den, and you broke three of your right fingers, no? And you still showed up to surgery the following day like you didn't mess, right?

Now drag your ȧss over there and cook, my friend," Carrie said with a tone that mocked the doctor. Everyone was trying to hold their laughter in because even at this moment, the two soldiers had not clocked out for their uniforms.

It was almost like they had been hardwired with that. It seemed like Nikita was being scolded by Yelena again. 

Andrew snorted so loud he got the attention of Miss Grumpy herself. Great.

"You think it's funny, huh? Y'all on duty with him. Natalya and I are going to have some ladies' time. The driver is not exempted," Carrie said with a tone of finality as she pushed the three men out the door and into the kitchen.

Well, they were lucky because Qiao knew one or two things about cooking. But even then, his cooking was terrible. 

Maybe they would survive, maybe they wouldn't have to fight their stomachs for food, but that was way too many maybes.

Their fate was tied to a doctor who didn't know shit other than coffee. the chief warrior was lazy as fuċk and the man who they had out all their hopes on, was a clean freak who would rather have a clean kitchen than cook.

this was the definition of a disastrous tripplet.