" The Boss .. " - A Shark Tale Story ( Mr Sykes x Don Lino )

Sykes is Gone

Don Lino sat in his dimly lit quarters, the oppressive weight of silence pressing down on him. The rhythmic sound of water currents outside his window was usually soothing, but tonight, it only magnified the emptiness inside him. Sykes was gone, and with him, any semblance of peace.

He stared blankly at the door Sykes had stormed through, replaying the argument over and over in his mind. He had let his fear, his pride, and his confusion get the better of him. Lino, the great mafia boss, feared nothing—except for this. He was terrified of what it meant to be in love with Sykes, to admit that he wasn't the person he thought he was.

"I'm not gay," he had told Sykes. But the truth was sitting heavily in his chest, tearing him apart.

But I love him.

He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to shake the turmoil raging inside him. Sykes was different. He wasn't Elena. He wasn't like anyone Lino had ever let into his life. He had seen things in Lino that no one else did. He made him laugh, challenged him, kept him grounded when the world spun out of control.

And now, Sykes was gone. And it was all Lino's fault.

Meanwhile, Sykes stormed through the streets of the reef, his mind spinning with anger and pain. He had always known this was going to be complicated—falling for someone like Lino wasn't supposed to be easy. But this... this was more than he could handle. Lino had dismissed him, denied everything they had shared, and left Sykes standing there with his heart exposed and bleeding.

I'm not gay.

The words echoed in his head, each repetition cutting deeper. How could Lino say that after everything? How could he deny what was so obvious between them? It wasn't just the sex, it wasn't just the tension—they connected. And now, Sykes felt like a fool for thinking Lino would ever truly accept that.

He had always felt like he was competing with Elena's ghost. Lino had spoken of her often, always with such reverence and love. It made Sykes feel like he was just some pale replacement, a second choice. He wasn't stupid—he knew Lino had loved her deeply. But he also knew that what they had was real. It was different, sure, but it was still real.

But now, Sykes didn't know what to believe. He was angry—angry at Lino for treating him like nothing in public, angry at himself for wanting more, angry at how vulnerable he felt. And yet, beneath all that anger, there was something else. Something he didn't want to admit: he was jealous. Jealous of a woman who wasn't even alive anymore. Jealous of the way Lino still spoke about her, still held her up on a pedestal.

But what scared him most was the realization that he was in too deep. He loved Lino, and he didn't know how to walk away from that.

Back in Lino's quarters, the Don sat at his desk, head in his hands, fighting a battle he didn't know how to win. The room felt colder without Sykes. Everything felt colder. He reached for the bottle of rum on the corner of his desk, pouring himself a drink. The burn of the alcohol was familiar, but it didn't numb the pain like it used to.

What am I doing? Lino thought to himself. How did I let it get this far?