And I Will Consume You

44

"How's Pete?"

Vegas' fake smile fell to a grimace in a split second, his eyes darkening more by the moment and his jaw tightening as to restrain himself from saying or doing anything uncalled for. At least for now. Seeing this, the man sat across form him only became increasingly more smug, satisfied with just how deep he'd hit a nerve. "He's a good pet, no? Obedient I assume" Vegas was so much more than furious now. There was no one word capable of describing the rage he felt hearing Shinoda speak his lovers name so casually. How dare he. How dare he dirty Pete's name with his tongue. Vegas' patience was really starting to wear thin. "Pretty too... I'd love to have a taste"

Trying to keep what last scrap of control he had in his body, Vegas made a mental note to reach for his gun if even a single comment about Pete came out of that mans mouth. His name had no place being there, and Shinoda had no right to use it so casually. "Yes, He is pretty, isn't he? But unfortunately I don't like to share" Vegas hummed simply, once again regaining his composure - or at least looking as if he had - before continuing. "And I don't think his well-being takes part in this conversation. I respect you and what youve accomplished, Ojisan, but not enough to let you speak vulgarly with me." The older man's pleasure seemd to fade noticing how Vegas had caught himself, growling under his breath before looking down at the dossier. "You're father spent years building connections with us. What makes you think you're in a position to accuse us of anything?" Vegas chuckled simply, shaking his head. "Oh no, you're deeply mistaken, Ojisan. My father had no intention on keeping good mutuality where they didn't excist in the first place. He wanted your land, your buisnesses, your reign. He would take taken it from you sooner or later too." 

Shinoda stood up abruptly with a huff and scrowl, buttoning up his suit jacket. "You're far more naive than I expected of you, boy. I don't think you quite understand what we're capable of. You wouldn't want your precious pet to get hurt, would you-?" Those were the last words that had escaped the older mans mouth before Vegas left a bullet in his head, being pulled aside by a swarm of bodyguards as the single gunshot turned into an avalanche of bullets rushing over their heads. All of Vegas' men - or at least those who hadn't been hit and were bleeding out on the floor - were shooting too, alongside their boss and willing to risk their lives to protect him. The heir of the minor family, the son of Kun Theerapanyakul. 

Pete, on the other hand, was sat anxiously on the patio sofa, tapping his feet and chewing on his lip while Venice ran back and froth in the backyard making airplane noises and arms spread out long at either side, pretending he was a fighter jet and running face first into janky stacks of soldier figurines making up towers and cities. He'd fed Venice a light snack to hold him over while they waited for Vegas to return so they could have dinner together, but with every moment that passed, Pete was less sure that he would actually come back. What would he do if he didnt? He could hardly take over the minor family himself, and he'd have to take care of Venice alone... He'd probably be forced to go back and work with the major family who would branch out and maybe send Kim to be the leader, if not Porsche. Not to mention, Pete would be left all alone again. He'd been so terribly miserable that first time when Vegas had kicked him out, he couldn't imagine the pain he'd be put through if, just as things were starting to go his way, it was all taken away from him again. Eventually, once Venice had tired himself out enough, covered in mud and small bruises from the plastic limbs jotting out of the bodies of the figurines he'd played with.  "Pappa, why are you sad?" Venice asked, wiping a streak of dirt across his cheek in a failed attempt to get rid of it. Pete jolted up, not having expected to be pulled out of his thoughts by Venice- slapping a fake grin on his face within a split second. "I'm not sad, what makes you think that?"

Venice shook his head stubbornly, letting Pete use his thumb to clean the boys face gently. "Mamma said the same thing all the time, but she was sad. She cried a lot, but whenever I went to her, she stopped and say the same thing." Venice insisted, his eyes firm and unapolegetic which only made it all hurt more. He was so innocent one second, and the next he spoke like an adult. The poor kid had clearly been through way too much in his life already. Pete pressed his lips shut tightly, sighing when he finally did let go. "I'm worried about Vegas, that's all. I can't help but feel like something bad happened"

Talking about your feelings was probably not very helpful if it was with a first grader, but it wasn't like Pete had other options right now, and either way, it was for the best he got it off of his chest before anything else piled on top. "Hia said everything will be fine though, so it will be. You told me yourself, remember? Daddy beats up the bad guys. If something bad happens, he'll beat them up" Pete chuckled softly, not able to stifle his laughter. Maybe talking to a kid about your feelings isn't so bad. Children see the world a lot more simply than adults tend to do, so maybe there was some form of wisdom behing those innocent eyes after all. It was only fair to give them credit where it was due. "You're right. He told me to trust him. He'll come home" Pete nodded with a smile, ruffling the boys hair gently before wiping another streak of dirt from Venice's brow. "You need a bath, mister. Look at you" 

"Pete?!" Vegas' voice called out from inside, and across the house, he'd burst in through the front door. "Pete?!" He called out again, this time getting the man to stand up from his place on the porch and rush inside frantically. Vegas looked like shit, he was bleeding, bruised, and filthy with cement dust and gunpowder. Seeing the state his lover was in, Pete froze almost immidiately, swallowing hard. He could smell the blood from across the room and it was suffocating. "Vegas? What happened?" Pete asked, utterly mortified by the sight, though the other couldn't seem to care less about how he was doing himself, rather focused on Pete. "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you? Where's Venice?" Hearing his name, Venice came rushing to Petes side, though his eyes were quickly covered by his papa's hands as to shield him from the sight of blood staining his daddy's shirt. 

"Venice... Go play in your room for a while, okay? Pappa needs to take care of Hia. Daddy got in trouble again."