Right Here Where You Left Me (KimPete)

Chapter 18

It felt like a bucket of cold water was poured all over him. Pete stood there stiffly, staring at Kim with utter disbelief at what he had just heard.

"Technically, we're still together, are we not?" The younger man continued speaking, but Pete couldn't let the words sink in. His brain refused to process what the other man had said. He tried to get himself to speak, to scream at him, and tell Kim how wrong he was, but his mouth refused to obey him. Because technically, Kim was right. Although the younger man had left without saying a word, they didn't officially break up.
Dread pools in Pete's stomach when he is confronted with the realization.

"Pete?" He distantly hears a voice calling his name, but he is too busy spiraling to respond.

No.

That can't be.

He had sworn to himself never to become like Kim. To never cheat and leave the person he loves for someone else. But today's realization made him doubt himself yet again. Was he any different? He did get into a relationship with someone while still being with Kim. Technically. And his mind refuses to accept that.

"Pete!" The voice grew louder, and it was too late when he realized it was Vegas who was calling him. It made him stand straighter as he spared a nervous glance over Kim, who was still across him in the gazebo.

"Pete, there you are! What are you-" Vegas halted when he saw Kim.

"Kim," He regards his younger cousin in a neutral voice. "I didn't know you were here. Tankhun says you're too busy with something to visit the family."

"I can always make time for important things, cousin. Tankhun is not wrong, though. I am indeed busy with something these days." Kim replies with a smirk, and Pete stiffens from where he stands. The younger man was playing with his words, and Pete was so scared that Vegas might get a hint. But his fiance only responded with a noncommittal hum. He feels some tension left his body at that.

But then he felt like his heart might beat right out of his chest when Vegas' gaze landed back on him.

"What are you doing here, love?"

"I-uh-I'm just getting some fresh air." He responded nervously. Vegas tilted his head as he shared a look with Pete.

'I know that's not true, and we're gonna talk about that at home' was the silent message between them. Kim saw the exchanged look and could not help but feel the jealousy burning in his guts. But there isn't anything he can really do right now but stare.

"Are you ready to do some peopling again?" Vegas playfully asks. "Coz Tankhun is going cray-cray right now, and we all know only you can stop him from scaring all of the guests."

Pete can't help but chuckle at that. He was momentarily forgetting his dilemma. Vegas is excellent at keeping him grounded. So he nodded and took Vegas' hand when the man approached him, leaving Kim behind without glancing at him.

______________

Vegas had always been so keen on everything. There was nothing that slipped from his watchful, scrutinizing gaze. Honed by many years of experience, it helped him navigate his mafia career and saved his life more than he can remember. So when he saw Pete at the gazebo that day, Kim's unusual demeanor didn't sit right with him. What Vegas didn't understand was the jealousy in his younger cousin's eyes directed at him. or Pete? What was Kim's deal? Suddenly, a feeling of uneasiness swept over him. But he can't exactly pinpoint where this is coming from. Maybe he was just paranoid, he thinks as he shrugs it off.

"Ready for bed?" He asks Pete as the other man emerges from the bathroom, his left hand holding a towel to dry his hair. Vegas can't help but smile fondly at his fiance.

"Yeah. I'm so tired, I'd probably fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed," Pete groaned, and Vegas chuckled at that.

"Come here. I'll give you a massage so you can sleep faster," he says while making grabby hands at Pete. It was the man's turn to laugh at him.

"Don't even start with that. We both know it doesn't end with just a massage." Pete counters while shaking his head. Vegas couldn't help but pout, and he was so cute that Pete couldn't help but kiss him. As an opportunist, Vegas tried to deepen the kiss and drag them both to bed, making Pete giggle.

"Vegas!" He squeaks when the other man begins sneaking his hand under his shirt.

"What? Now, I can't kiss you goodnight?"

"Your hands are clearly planning for something else."

"Another kind of massage," Vegas said while wiggling his eyebrows. It earned another laugh from Pete. He grabbed the man's face and kissed him again; he didn't mind if Vegas' hands were on his lower back this time.

God, how he loves this man so much.

For a moment, he forgot about what Kim had said.