And I Will Consume You

32

The silence between the three of them made the already tense air thicken to the point where Pete felt like he couldn't breathe. He knew how angry and sad and confused Vegas was, but he couldn't just let this poor kid go through the same things Vegas did, and he knew Vegas wouldn't let that happen either, no matter how angry he was. Looking up at the other, Pete waited patiently for even the slightest hint of approval. And when he finally got it, he was quick to kneel down Infront of the kid with a bright, kind smile. "Hello Venice. My name's Pete. Come, let's find something for you to do while mom and Vegas talk, okay?" Pete smiled, noticing the boy was hesitant, but with the gentle encouragement of his mother's hand, he followed Pete, Leaving Vegas and his mother alone.

"I hope, for your sake, that God is kind" Vegas growled softly finally having gathered himself, though he was anything but alright. "Was that your lover?" She asked, looking past Vegas into the living room where Pete and Venice were now sat in the floor playing with old toy figurines of superheros. The view was cut off soon after by Vegas blocking the sight with his body. "Whether or not he is, has nothing to do with you. Seventeen years. Seventeen years and you never bothered to let us know you were safe? That you where alive? You left us... You left me with him. You have no idea what I've been through because of you. If it weren't for Pete, I wouldn't be stood here right now, Do you even understand that? You abandoned you children, traumatized them, and for what? To have another that you can't take care of either? You're just like him. You're just as bad as Pa." The woman flinched, but it didn't seem it was at her son's poison words, rather a physical pain she couldn't hide. "Vegas... Can I see Macau?" Vegas almost laughed hearing that, his anger hitting him like a brick wall, only ten times worse than before. He scoffed, shaking his head with a sarcastic grin, growling out one last "Fuck you" before slamming the door shut in her face.

Venice seemed quite happy playing with the figurines for a while, but he eventually set them down and looked up at Pete who sat opposite him, cross legged and holding a figure as well. "Mama said P'Vegas is my brother... Is that true?" He asked, and Pete nodded. The resemblance between the two was uncanny. It was like seeing a kid picture of his boyfriend come to life. "are you my brother too?" Pete laughed, shaking his head. "No, no. Your other brother is called Macau, he is off with his friends right now." Venice nodded, looking down at the toys again, gently picking at the plastic. "Okay so... you are Hia's boyfriend?" He asked instead, and when Pete nodded again, he brought the toy closer to his face to better inspect it in detail. "Mama says she's that she'll be in heaven soon. Does that mean you and Hia will take care of me?" Pete swallowed hard. How could you tell your child that? This reminded him all too much of his grandma when his parents died, though that had been a lot more sudden than this. She'd said the exact same thing. They're in heaven now. "Yes." Pete said simply. God, this was awful. Venice knew exactly that he wouldn't see his mother again, but he seemed so calm about it. He was old enough by now to understand what was happening... So why wasn't he upset? "Does that mean I have two dad's now?"

"I guess so" Vegas had found his way to the living room now too, arms crossed and stood behind Pete who hadn't noticed him approach. "Who is mommy and who is daddy then?" He asked, nearly making Pete choke as he knew exactly where Vegas mind would go hearing that word. "Well... neither of us are girls... Let's do this. Ill be daddy, and Pete can be papa" Something clicked in Pete's mind and he suddenly understood everything. Why Venice was handling this so we'll. He thought it was a game. An innocent game of house. The poor kid had to go and live with a stranger he was told was his older brother, and his older brothers boyfriend, and he thought it was a game. Maybe it was better that way, for his innocent mind to stay naive just ling enough for him to process that his mother was dying. At least he didn't have to watch her bed ridden and weak the way she will be soon enough. Pete was sure it had taken all of her strength not only to gather the courage to knock on their door and ask for such a thing out of the blue, but also to stand and walk and talk as if she wasn't sick at all. Vegas, on the other hand, looked a complete and utter mess. How long had it been now? A month and a half? And now suddenly he and Pete were forced to take care of a five year old kid with little to no parenting skills or knowledge and not even a room ready for him. Sure they had a guest bedroom, but how was a little kid going to entertain himself in that? This also meant that they'd have to hide their toys and pretty much exclusively have sex in the play room lest they risk being walked in on by a preschooler. Pete knew he'd learn to love the little dwarf soon enough, but Vegas? He wasn't quite convinced. Not only did Vegas not seem like the type to like no less want a child in his life, he struggled to be empathetic towards anyone at all. And while Pete was in the process of working that habit out of him, Pete just couldn't see Vegas wanting to deal with a child for more than ten minutes.

Pete's concerns were a hundred percent on the money. Vegas didn't want to deal with a kid at all. He thought of them more like needy littles snot goblins until they were old enough to semi take care of themselves. What was that age? Who knew. Certainly not Vegas. Neither of them would have thought they'd have to deal with raising a kid a month or two into their relationahip. No couple did. The most a couple that fresh was worried about was where they'd be going to eat or if they'd meet one another oarebts. Of course in a situation like this it couldn't be helped, though he did wish he had some time to prepare himself beforehand as he both would have gotten a room ready and spent the last two full days in bed with Pete. That was probably his biggest itch about this whole thing- not his mother, not finding out be had a brother, it was knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep with Pete as frequently as he'd like, nor would he be able to do it just wherever on a whim. Speaking of which, he wouldn't mind at all if Pete were to call him daddy, in fact, he was almost certain it'd give him a boner instantly. Just imagining it made him feel some type of way. Especially now that he was stood beside Pete, who happened to be at eye level with the zipper of his black dress pants.

"How about we go and get you some new toys and some stuff for your room before tomorrow while Vegas is working? You can pick whatever you like, sound good?" Pete smiled, knowing all too well what that look meant and while he was aware Venice was far too young to understand it, he was dreading the inevitable discussion they'd have concerning; a. The room he wouldn't be allowed to go into, and b. Why daddy and papas doors will be locked at night for the foreseeable future.