Six Crimson Seeds (A VegasPete Persephone AU)

Chapter 9: The Concert

A/N: Suicide is mentioned very briefly. 

    Laughter and screams echoed off the walls while the boys played in the pool. Chan had left them to swim laps, which had quickly turned into a competition, which had then quickly devolved into violent splashing. Khun, Pete, and Arm faced off against Tay and Kinn while Macau and Kim sabotaged both sides and Vegas watched from his pool chair with a book in his hand.

Pete had noticed over the weeks that Kinn had begun to retract from his presence more and more. He wasn't certain if it was because Kinn's feelings had changed, or if he had just made assumptions about Vegas's kiss and the fact that Vegas was generally orbiting around Pete. Pete thought it might be the former, as Kinn had flirted several weeks back with a marked kid from another family, much to Khun and Tay's dismay. The kid had turned out to be nothing but trouble, Pete quickly assessed, and Kinn had dumped him, much to everyone's joy.

"Stop! Everyone stop!" Khun yelled suddenly, throwing his hands into the air while everyone paused. Macau surfaced from where he had been trying to tug at Pete's ankles while Tay clung onto Arm's back from where he had been trying to submerge him.

Vegas glanced nervously at Pete and Macau, assessing they were fine before turning to wait for his cousin to speak again.

"My reality dating show is ending today and I need to see who walks down the aisle and who cries into their wine."

Tay rolled his eyes as he slid away from Arm. Glancing around with a smirk, he said, "Pete can't go. He has to train with me."

"I do?" Pete asked, pointing to himself and wondering if he had gotten his days of the week mixed up again.

Vegas glanced at Pete while Tay gave him a pointed stare. "Yes, Pete," he said through gritted teeth. "Remember? You promised me."

Macau looked at Tay before glancing at his brother. "Yeah, Pete. Remember? You said something just last week about it."

"I did?" Pete said again, his voice raised with surprise.

"Whatever, Pete. I'll fill you in on the tea later," Khun said, moving quickly toward the ladder to get out of the pool with Arm right behind him.

"Kim, you and I need to meet with Pa," Kinn said, also making his way to the ladder.

Tay swam over to Pete slowly, waiting for the others to leave before he leaned over and whispered, "I'm rescuing you, dummy."

"From Khun?" Pete asked as Macau lifted himself onto the side of the pool where his brother was sitting.

"Pete, I think you need an intervention," Tay said. "I'm trying to get you some time alone with Vegas. It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you two are into each other."

"But," Pete countered earnestly, "Vegas and I are alone all the time."

Thinking quickly, Pete tried to remember if he had missed something that Tay had clearly noticed. He wondered if it was the time they were in the garden and Vegas handed him a rose. Or perhaps it was the time Vegas had used his thumb to wipe ice cream off the corner of Pete's mouth when they were all messily eating in Khun's room. Or perhaps it was the dozens of times that Vegas had held his gaze a little too long and someone had to cough to break the spell as Pete's face flushed. Or all the moments that Pete spent remembering the feel of Vegas's lips softly pressed against his own. No, that definitely couldn't be it.

"Yes, and nothing happens, which is why Macau and I are staging an intervention."

Pete glanced over to see Macau whispering in Vegas's ear while Vegas furrowed his brow. Vegas's eyes met Pete's and as he held his gaze Pete felt his cheeks start to burn. Pete had far from forgotten the kiss they had shared, but over the last several weeks, Vegas hadn't tried anything like it again. It made Pete really believe that it had all been a trick. Pete blamed Time for it happening, but he had no regrets about it. Rather, as they had gotten closer, Pete's attention had been drawn more and more to Vegas's full mouth. Physically, the appeal was easily apparent. Vegas looked much healthier than he had at the Spring Equinox, with color returning to his skin. His high cheekbones looked defined but less sharp as his face filled out and Pete would have to be blind to not see his attractiveness. More than that, though, was the way Pete felt warm whenever Vegas was around. He and Vegas shifted like chess pieces around each other, but there was a care and gentleness in the way Vegas treated him that was different from the others.