Six Crimson Seeds (A VegasPete Persephone AU)

Chapter 8: A Favor

    Three days later Macau stormed into the gym in Olympus, looking furious. He glared at Kinn, who was lifting weights, before finding Pete stretching on the mat.
    "Pete, can you do me a favor?"
    Pete jumped to his feet, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "Of course, Macau. What can I do?"
    Macau glanced back at Kinn, saying loud enough for him to hear, "I need you to come with me to Elysium." Turning to Kinn, he said, "He can go with me there, right?"
    Kinn looked at Macau with wide eyes, his mouth working but no sound coming out.
    "I can go, right? I'll come back," Pete said quickly, already moving to follow Macau.
    Kinn sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead before resting his hands on his hips.
    "I'll try to cover for you. But hurry back."
    Pete nodded seriously, hurrying after Macau who was already leaving the room. Part of him felt a little guilty for using Kinn's interest and trust in him, but another part of him didn't care. Macau needed something. At Elysium. Which meant Vegas needed something. Besides, Pete hadn't lied. He would return.
    Pete kept his head up as if he were doing something he did every day as he left the premises with Macau, sliding into the back of a black car with the younger boy.
    After riding in silence for several minutes, Pete felt unable to ask about the situation. When they slowed to a stop in front of the sprawling, dark mansion down a long, private drive, Macau gave Pete a tense look. He looked absolutely desperate.
    Macau got out of the car quickly, with Pete glancing around as he followed him not inside, but around the side of the mansion. He was amazed at how the place differed from Olympus. Macau opened a gate, sliding passed a guard in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses as he ushered Pete into a large, overgrown garden. They passed a small pool with clear, shimmering water, and eventually came to a series of balconies. Macau glanced around before pulling Pete closer, pointing to a particular third-level balcony. 
    "That's Vegas's room," he said quietly. "Do you think you could get up there without being seen?"
    Pete stepped back, glancing around. He hadn't seen another guard since the one at the gate, so he had no idea where they could even be hiding.
    "Macau," Pete said carefully, "I need to know what's going on."
    Macau sighed, rubbing his head roughly before squatting down on the ground. After a moment, Pete joined him, wrapping his arms around his knees while he waited for Macau to start talking.
    "Pete, I'm sorry for bringing you here. But I didn't know who else to ask. Vegas has been trapped in his room for days, but he won't eat. I know he likes you, Pete, so maybe you can talk some sense into him."
    Pete nodded slowly, surveying the balcony again.
    "Can you keep a lookout for me?" Pete asked, standing up. "I'm not sure if this will work, but I can try."
    Macau closed his eyes, the relief evident as his features relaxed. "Thank you, Pete. I haven't seen him like this for a while. Not this bad."
    Pete placed his hand on Macau's shoulder, squeezing lightly. He had never been asked for a favor from the boy before, and he knew how important Vegas was to Macau, so he didn't hesitate to try whatever he could. Besides, Pete was worried about Vegas, himself.
    Pete approached the wall below Vegas's balcony and crouched low so as not to be spotted easily. He closed his eyes, steadying his breathing as he focused his energy. He thought about Vegas, about wanting to see him, to see that he was okay, and he felt the familiar tug. Thick vines ejected from the soil, winding around and together as they climbed up the wall. Pete opened his eyes, watching their progress, letting up only when they wrapped firmly around the balcony railing of the third floor. Pete smiled, glancing back at Macau, whose jaw had dropped.
    Checking once more that the coast was clear, Pete began to climb, testing his weight carefully at first before moving as quickly as he dared. The hardest part was navigating where the vines had extended to reach out to the balcony, but he managed it without falling. All of the training he had been putting in at the gym had definitely paid off. Carefully, Pete threw his leg over the railing. At the last second, his foot caught in the vine and he fell, rolling onto the balcony with a loud thud as the wind was knocked out of him. He lay there a moment, groaning and catching his breath as the French doors flew open.
    "Pete?" Vegas gasped, his voice pitched with surprise and confusion. "What? How did you get here?"
    Pete smiled, rolling over to get on his feet as Vegas ushered him inside quickly. Pete paused as Vegas closed the glass door behind him, shutting the heavy curtain and plunging the room into almost complete darkness again.
    "Were you sleeping?" Pete asked lightly.
    "Sort of," Vegas said, moving to turn on his bedside lamp. "Sorry."
    "You like the dark," Pete said simply. Now that he had light, Pete began to walk around the room, looking at the art on the walls. They were brighter than he expected. They were all landscapes; beaches and dense forests took up the majority of the space. Vegas followed Pete, keeping his distance as Pete moved to inspect Vegas's neatly crowded bookshelf.
    "I remember you had a book the first night we met, too," Pete said, glancing back at Vegas.
    Vegas shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to correct Pete. "I like to read." Pete smiled and Vegas felt himself relaxing further. He had been tense when he first heard the sound outside his balcony, then excited and bewildered upon seeing it was Pete. He was settling into the calmness that Pete lulled him into without even trying. It was nice.
    Finally, Pete sat down carefully on the bed, leaning back with his hands splayed behind his hips. Vegas sat beside him, leaving enough room for another person between them. This was not lost on Pete, who inched closer. In response, Vegas moved again, forcing Pete to chase him again.
    "Why do you do that?" Pete asked.
    "Do what?"
    "You act like you're afraid to touch me or get too close to me. I'm not going to bite."
    Vegas tensed but did not back away from Pete this time. Licking his dry lips, he explained, "Usually, most people don't want to be close to me."
    "Why? Do you bite?" 
    Vegas's eyes widened at the absurd question, a laugh bubbling out of him as Pete smiled.
    "Much better," Pete said, laying on his back across the bed.
    "Are you really here?" Vegas asked, watching Pete as he pulled a face.
    "Macau said you haven't been eating," Pete said suddenly, remembering why he had come.
    Vegas sighed, dropping to lie next to Pete. It was easier to talk to Pete when they both kept their eyes on the ceiling.
    "You two must be close if he asked you for backup."
    "I think so. He talks about you a lot, so it feels like I already know you."
    Vegas smiled sadly. He hated worrying Macau so much. He was just trying to sort through his emotions. Coming back had been a relief. But then he kissed Pete in front of everyone, which Pete seemed to want to forget happened. Then he had been forced to be alone again, which was never good. It was like he was still trapped like he had been for the last six months.
    "Sorry," Vegas said.
    The bed moved slightly as Pete shrugged. "You needed help."
    Vegas looked at him, eyes wide once more in wonder. He wanted so badly to tell Pete that he was the young boy who had played with him all those years ago, but the words wouldn't come.
    Just then, a light knock at the door startled them both into sitting up. Vegas pointed toward a door and Pete hurried to shut himself in the bathroom while Vegas went to answer his bedroom door.
    "Is he alive?" Macau whispered through the crack in the door.
    Vegas sighed with relief. At least it was just his brother. "He's fine. You shouldn't have brought him here, Macau. It's too dangerous."
    "Starving yourself is what's too dangerous, Vegas," Macau retorted. "Tell Pete I will get him at dawn. It's too risky now. Pa is home and there are too many guards outside."
    "What?" Vegas whispered loudly. "He can't stay here all night! Are you crazy?"
    "A little," Macau answered honestly. Leaning close he whispered, "Use the opportunity to get closer to Pete, dummy. I know you like him." Vegas began to blush as, louder, Macau said, "Take this, and you better eat it this time." With that, he shoved two plates of food at his older brother before shutting the door again.
    Vegas stood there for a moment, unsure of what he should do. He set the plates on his desk before moving to lock his door again. After shaking his head at his brother's scheming, Vegas knocked on the bathroom door.
    "It's just me," he said.
    After a moment, Pete flung the door open. "Was that Macau?"
    "Yeah, but..."
    Pete watched Vegas carefully, his frown deepening the longer Vegas hesitated to continue.
    "He said he would come back for you at dawn. It's not safe to sneak you out now."
    "Why am I sneaking, anyway?" Pete asked. "Doesn't Kim come here all the time?"
    "Yeah, but you should avoid my Pa at all costs. It'll be better if you aren't on his radar."
    Pete nodded slowly, not asking Vegas to elaborate. He could understand fathers who should be avoided.
     "Well, if there's no other way, I guess I'll just have to stay here." Pete winced, hiding it behind another smile as he thought about the trouble he would likely be in for sneaking out. He would just have to deal with the consequences, he thought. Vegas was more important.
    Vegas's pale face blushed again, thinking about Pete staying in his room. With him. All night. He had slept in a room Pete was in before. But this was different. There was only one bed here, and staying overnight together just felt different from napping alone while exhausted.
    To distract himself, he told Pete that Macau had brought them dinner. Pete smiled, moving to grab a plate from his host. Glancing around his large room, Vegas said, "We can sit on the bed if we're careful."
    He hated eating in his bed, but he would rather be as close to Pete as possible since he only had a few hours with him. It would be the most time he had consecutively spent with Pete in far too long, and Vegas felt his stomach twirl with nervous excitement and worry that Pete would find him boring now that his novelty was surely wearing off.
    Pete moved carefully to sit on the bed, leaning against the headboard as he cradled his plate in his lap. Vegas joined him, saying, "I'm sorry I don't have a television."
    "That's okay," Pete said quickly. "Khun watches a lot of shows, so it's nice to have a break."
    "How are you doing over there?"
    "How about this? If you finish your whole plate, I'll answer all your questions."
    Vegas nodded slowly. "I can agree to those terms."
    Pete smiled broadly, tucking into his food only after Vegas took his first bite. For some reason, Vegas felt like the food tasted better than usual. After setting their empty plates out into the hallway for the staff to collect, Vegas locked his door again.
    He turned to find Pete standing by the bathroom door.
    "Do you mind if I have a shower? Macau sort of snatched me from the gym, and then I'm sure I only got dirtier climbing up here."
    "Of course," Vegas said. "There are towels in the bathroom, but let me find you something to sleep in."
    "Thanks," Pete said.
    Once Pete was done, Vegas showered quickly, finding a spare toothbrush for Pete to use.
    When they were ready for bed, Pete grabbed a pillow and said, "I'll take the floor."
    "Why?" Vegas blurted, feeling panicked. "The bed is huge."
    Pete bit his lower lip, arguing with himself.
    "If you aren't comfortable sharing a bed, then I'll sleep on the floor," Vegas said finally.
    "No, it's fine. I'm fine. I've just never shared a bed with anyone before."
    Vegas hid his smile. He couldn't help but feel special when Pete said things like that.
    "I've shared with Macau loads of times. It's not a big deal," Vegas said aloud, despite telling himself that Pete was very much a different case from his brother, making it a very big deal, indeed.
    Pete nodded calmly, put at ease by Vegas's words.
    Safely tucked in, Pete began to answer Vegas's unending questions. Their voices gradually lowered as drowsiness inevitably kicked in, both boys inching closer to each other until they were face to face with their hands a flinch away from touching. Vegas watched as Pete yawned again, his eyes struggling to stay open. Vegas wanted nothing more than to talk with Pete all night, but he didn't want to keep Pete awake. Besides, his own fatigue was catching up with him.
    Pete finally fell asleep and Vegas watched him for a few minutes before his eyes closed as well. That night, he slept peacefully until he was awoken by a steady, urgent knocking on his door. Vegas jumped out of bed as Pete rolled over, fighting to stay in whatever dream he was having.
    After letting Macau in, Vegas gently shook awake Pete, who sat up groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Vegas found him terribly cute.
    Macau wasted no time whisking Pete away and Vegas was left alone once more. All he could do was hope Pete wasn't caught and pray his remaining days in confinement would pass quickly.
    His prayers were answered when, somehow, Macau convinced their father to let Vegas out a day early. Vegas immediately went to Olympus.
    Without hesitation, Vegas went up to Khun's room, his intuition proving correct when Pete answered the door and smiled at him. Something in Vegas itched to lean forward and pull Pete in for a hug but he stamped the urge down, settling for smiling in return.
    Khun narrowed his eyes with suspicion when Vegas asked if he could join them for their show, but he allowed it when Pete nodded emphatically.
    After that, Vegas would come over several times a week, which Tay told Pete was more often than usual. On top of that, Khun kept making comments that Vegas was staying for hours longer than was usual for him. Macau had warned Pete that Vegas was antisocial, but that wasn't obvious to Pete.
    One day, while Pete was working on his homework at his desk with Macau and Vegas sprawled on the two beds working on their own assignments, Kim walked in.
    "Wow, you two are here more than I am now," Kim said.
    Macau rolled his eyes. "Well this is the best place to get homework done, apparently," he said, staring knowingly at Vegas, who kept reading his book as he ignored his little brother. "Did your show sell out, by the way?"
    Pete's head snapped up. "Show? What show?"
    "WIK's show," Macau said.
    "Who's WIK?"
    Kim's eyes widened. "Me, Pete. How did you not know this?"
    Pete looked over at Vegas for help, but Vegas only stared at him blankly.
    Macau sat up, rescuing Pete from further confusion. "WIK is Kim's stage name. He's a musician. Basically, he's Hannah Montana."
    Pete nodded, then paused, asking, "Who's Hannah Montana?"
    With a frustrated groan, Kim left the room and Macau turned his attention back to his homework. Vegas smiled into his book as Pete turned to him, asking the question again.