From Frost to Flame

Part 49- Let the Game Begin

The city outside Vegas's window was glowing—cars humming past in a slow blur, traffic lights blinking in their quiet rhythm. But inside the apartment, the air was still. Too still.

Vegas had thrown his keys on the console without looking, walked straight into the living room, and sat down on the edge of the couch like something was buzzing under his skin.

He didn't even change clothes. Just sat there, mind racing, jaw tense.

That smile.
The laugh.
The way Mr. Day leaned in was like it was nothing.
The way Pete didn't pull back.

He tilted his head back against the cushion and shut his eyes.

"You two seem closer."
God. Why did he even say that?

It was pathetic. He wasn't supposed to care. He didn't care.

Except he did.

He ran a hand over his face and muttered, "Stupid."

Right on cue, the door opened, and Kinn strolled in, having let himself in with the spare key like always.

"Well," Kinn said, tossing his jacket on the armrest, "if it isn't the brooding prince of unspoken feelings."

Vegas didn't look at him. "Go away."

"Aw. That's cute. But no." Kinn plopped down on the armrest beside him, grinning. "You've been pacing all week like a wolf that lost its rabbit. And today? You practically burst a vein when Mr. Day offered Pete a coffee. You gonna tell me I'm wrong?"

Vegas glared. "It was a meeting."

"Yeah. And I'm a nun," Kinn replied. "Come on, just admit it. You're jealous."

"I'm not," Vegas snapped.

"You are. And you're the worst kind—denial, brooding, clenching your jaw like it's gonna solve things."

Vegas stood up abruptly, pacing to the window.

Kinn followed him with his eyes, then leaned back. "You should've seen your face in the café. I thought you were gonna throw the espresso at Mr. Day."

"I didn't do anything."

"Exactly!" Kinn threw his hands up. "You didn't say anything. You didn't tell Pete he looked good. You didn't ask him to have coffee with you. But you get mad when someone else does."

Vegas pressed his hand against the glass window, fingers twitching.

After a long pause, he said quietly, "He looked happy."

Kinn's smile dropped a little. "Yeah. He did."

Vegas's voice was lower now. Tighter. "He looked... comfortable with him. Like... he trusted him."

Kinn stood and crossed the room, standing beside him.

He stayed quiet for a moment, like he was gathering his thoughts. Then, finally said,
"Vegas, what happened in the past—you can't change it. But it doesn't mean you don't get to feel anything anymore. Pete is different. Try to give it a chance."

Vegas didn't respond right away, but he listened.

Then Kinn looked at him, serious for a moment.

"If you won't feel anything for Pete... then you better get used to watching someone else make him smile."

Vegas's throat tightened.

He didn't answer.

And Kinn didn't push.

Instead, he patted Vegas on the back. "Or... you can do what you do best—steal the game. Subtly. Quietly. Like a real mafia heir."

Vegas's lips twitched, almost a smirk. Almost.

Kinn grinned.
"Now that's the Vegas I know. Go claim your soft boy."

After Kinn left, Vegas sat on the edge of his bed for a long time, unmoving. He tried to sleep, but rest wouldn't come; sleep had long abandoned his eyes.

The balcony light cast a soft yellow glow over the concrete, barely cutting through the night's hush. Down below, the city kept moving—car lights flickering, distant laughter rising from the street, but none of it reached him.

Vegas stood barefoot, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers. In his other hand, a half-full glass of red wine dangled loosely. The smoke curled in slow, tired spirals as he stared into the dark skyline.

Kinn's voice wouldn't leave his head.

"Then you better get used to watching someone else make him smile."

He brought the glass to his lips, took a slow sip, and exhaled through his nose. It wasn't just the wine warming his chest now. It was that sentence. That damn sentence.

Watching someone else make Pete smile.

The words hurt more than he expected. They shouldn't have. But they did.

Because it wasn't just anyone. It was Mr. Day.

Mr. Day—sharp, respectable, calm. The kind of man who didn't flinch when Pete laughed nervously. The kind of man who got to see Pete's real smile. Not the polite one. Not the professional one. The one that made Vegas's chest twist.

He tapped ash off the cigarette, watching it fall like faint sparks into the night.

Why does it bother me?

That question had circled him for days. But tonight, it landed harder. Slower. Honest.

Because I care.

He hated admitting it, even in his own head. But there it was.

He cared how Pete looked when he smiled.
He cared who got to make him laugh.
He cared if Pete thought about someone else when he went home at night.

He blew smoke into the open air, letting silence settle.

But what does Pete think of me?
That was the part he didn't know.

Did Pete feel anything? Or was Vegas just another face in a long hallway? A passing boss, someone cold and distant who only stared when no one looked?

He hated how unsure he felt. Vegas never doubted. But with Pete?

He's not like anyone else.
Too sincere. Too thoughtful. Too kind.

Vegas had spent so long building walls, pushing people away before they ever got close enough to bruise him. But Pete hadn't pushed. He just... stayed. Quiet, steady. And somehow, he was already inside the walls before Vegas even realized it.

He took one last drag of the cigarette, letting it burn to the end, then crushed it in the tray beside the wine glass.

His eyes stayed on the skyline, voice a murmur meant only for the night.

"I need to know what he feels. Before I lose the chance."

And for the first time in a long while, Vegas didn't feel in control.

He just felt...
Human.

At the same time, while they were busy planning to make him jealous, Vegas sat with the truth he could no longer ignore....

Hey my reading buddies
I didn't get to edit this chapter..
If there are any mistakes, I am really sorry for that..
Tell me how is this chapter?
I would love to know your thoughts...

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