A/N: Hello, my babies! How are we? Well, I hope? Look, I'm not pulling April Fools Day bullshit. Promise. Passing hard on that one. Also, to all my neurodivergent babies, I love you. You are wonderful. And for anyone making you their targets for today, fuck them. Fuck them long and hard in the ass. If you want somewhere safe to come and decompress, you can come here. Because this week's chapter is going to be an absolute delight of pettiness in the best way. *chu*
Here. You want to get into this week's chapter? Well, when you're done, if you want, I switched my update day for the Good Old Days to Thursdays, too, for the sake of streamlining my content. It only makes sense. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go. I got a week to write. Love you x
I know Daddy said he wanted to take all of us out tonight, but I thought we'd at least go somewhere in network. Regardless, I wasn't going to say no to carbs. And if I remember correctly, that's all Italian food was. Carbs upon carbs upon carbs and a bitch needed that internal hug. Something about eating until I couldn't move sounded like a good idea. It's weird, though. Even on our own, I don't think Daddy and I have ever been here. It seemed pretty upscale, though.
Dammit, Ritsu was right. Either I wanted our hole in the wall ramen shop or I wanted something ritzy. I hate when he's right. I hate when Mama's side of the family comes out in me. Don't get me wrong. I was raised on the streets, but I went to bed in the penthouse every night. Maybe I wasn't the only one with the champagne tastes here. Why the hell would Daddy bring us here? And call it a nostalgia trip? Oh, well. Probably nothing.
A young girl stood at the podium, waiting to greet us. Ok. She seemed sweet. So far, so good, "Hello! Can I help you?"
"There's…" Daddy did a quick headcount, "Eleven of us."
"I'm sorry, sir," she winced, "We don't have many tables available. Especially our big ones."
"What about the private rooms?" he asked, "Are any of them open? They can definitely seat eleven."
"Those are in the back," the girl checked her chart, "And only a couple are available, but I'd have to get my manager. Is that alright?"
"That's fine," Daddy allowed, "We can wait."
"Um, Daddy…" I kept my voice down, "I'm fucking starving."
"I know, baby," he put an arm around me, "I know. But she's doing her best. Give her a minute. Hey, Ritsu?"
"What?" Ritsu snapped out of wherever the hell his head was.
"You know that little trick I told you?" Daddy asked, "Back when we were still in Spain?"
"Oh!" Ritsu squeaked, digging into his pocket. Sure enough, he had a granola bar in his pocket. Apple cinnamon, too. Hell yeah. He passed it off to me, "Here, Rei."
"What's this for?" I wondered.
"You said you were hungry." I love him.
"Bless you," I started peeling back the wrapper. This had Daddy written all over it, but I didn't care. I felt like I hadn't eaten all day (not true, but still). Yet, this place still had a weird vibe to it, "Hey, Daddy, is this place ours?"
"What do you mean?" Daddy asked.
"Is this place in our network?" I reiterated, "Is it new?"
"Are you kidding?" Daddy laughed, "The owner wouldn't allow it. The owner would rather be lit on fire than give up this place to us. I just hope the manager hasn't changed. Especially the night manager. I hope to all things holy that the night manager hasn't changed in the last twenty years. I don't see why it would, but goddamn, I hope the night manager hasn't changed."
"Can I help you, si…" I'm guessing that was the manager. And going by the big ass, shit eating grin on Daddy's face, he hasn't changed, "Oh, God…"
"Gracias a Dios. Va a ser una buena noche." Oh, Daddy's in a good mood, "Can we get a private room please?"
"No," the manager turned him down, "Get out of here, Frankie."
"Really?" Daddy gasped, his voice thick with condescension, "You're turning down a customer? Where's that the customer is always right spirit?"
"I'm not turning a customer down," he growled, "I'm turning you down, Frankie. Get out."
"I thought that was policy, though…" I can't tell if Daddy's being a dick for the sake of being a dick or if there's reasoning behind it. Usually, when Daddy was a dick to people, he had a reason.
"I also reserve the right to kick your ass out of here," the manager seethed, "Leave."
"You do know what I got now, right?" Daddy threw his weight around, "What kind of power I hold in this town?"
"You don't hold that power," his voice quivered a bit, "You didn't earn that power. You didn't deserve that power. You were given that power. You inherited that power. You're no different than those you despise so much, Frankie. You're still the same little punk with the moronic brothers that came in here begging me for a job all those years ago."
"Daddy!" I squeaked.
"Um, Frankie…?" Ritsu started to worry, too, "Are you feeling ok?"
"I feel fine," Daddy brushed him off, "Because it's pissants like this that are so wrapped up in their own sad, pathetic bullshit that when they see someone claw their way to the top, they still feel the need to shit on us. But what they don't realize is who is currently above them. Not to mention, I bet I can name a couple health code violations they never took care of in the back."
"What health code violations?" the manager scoffed, "We've always held this place to the highest of standards."
"Hold on," Daddy glanced over his shoulder at the hostess from the podium, "Excuse me, sweetheart. I'm sorry to drag you into this, but can I ask you a question?"
"You don't have to answer him."
"Ok…" she agreed.
"Can you go get someone from the kitchen staff please?" Daddy asked.
"Um…" This poor girl didn't know what to do. And I felt for her.
"That's fine," Daddy stopped her, "Never mind. Just answer me this one question, if you can."
"Yes, sir," she relaxed a bit, "How may I help you?"
"The drain in the kitchen," Daddy smirked, "Do the guys in the kitchen still piss in the drain or has that stopped these days?"
"Alright! Alright!" the manager cut him off, "Fine!"
"Fine, what?" Ok…That sounded more like Daddy. Thank God. He was starting to scare me.
The manager gritted his teeth while sweat ran down his forehead, "Would you like a private room, sir?"
"That would be wonderful," Daddy beamed, "Thank you."
"If you would please follow me…" he growled, shaking from the sheer rage building inside him. And we started walking back to our private room.
"Hey, Rei…" Daddy kept his voice down, nudging my side.
"What?" I wondered.
The grin on his face only got bigger, "Quieres ver algo realment divertido?"
Ok…Daddy didn't speak Spanish to me often. This had to be important. Although, I didn't know what would be tickling him like this, "Que, Papi?"
"Cuando todavía trabajaba aquí," he began, "Tus tíos y yo nos hablábamos en Español todo el tiempo. Lo cabreó tanto. Incluso si miras decerca ahora, puedes ver vena en su frente. Por eso trabajé para el Viejo. Entonces nadia me hablaría nunca com lo hizo este pendejo."
That made more sense. I always knew Daddy met the Old Man when he was working somewhere in town, but I never thought it'd be here. And I could smell it on this guy. Of course, it's going to piss him off when Daddy's speaking Spanish. How else can he tell when Daddy talked shit on him? But given that I was also my father's daughter in spades, I couldn't help but add to the rich tapestry the family had in this place, "Eso es comprensible."
"Es mi chica." And if that didn't make Daddy's eyes light up. He was so proud. When we got to our table, we all sat down, some still a bit lost, but that was normal. Especially with some members of the host club. I wasn't going to name names, but he knew exactly who he was and somehow, he could still lead the rest of us.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" I could hear it in this asshole's voice. He wanted to be here as much as he wanted a colonoscopy. And Daddy was practically giving him one. He stood and seethed over Daddy's shoulder.
"Rioja, por favor," Daddy ordered.
"We don't have Rioja…"
"Fine…" Daddy let it go. He shouldn't be drinking on his painkillers anyway, "Seventeen year Hibiki then. Bottle."
"We don't have that either…"
"Then, why did we bother coming here?" Daddy rolled his eyes.
"Por qué nos molestamos, papi?" I laid my head on his shoulder.
"No lo sé, princesa," he put an arm around me, no doubt filled to the brim with pride.
And it was enough for the manager to start storming off. I love it. We love to see petty bullshit lived out. Although, it had my best friend scratching her head. And two other friends with the same face, too, "Hey, Kasanoda."
"What?" Ritsu jumped a bit, not expecting to hear his name.
"You speak Spanish, too, right?" Hikaru and Kaoru wondered.
"Not nearly that much," Ritsu assured them, effectively shutting them up. But it was enough to get Daddy and me giggling.
"You guys are adorable," I gushed, sliding down into my seat.
"You two are awful," Veronica laughed with us, shaking her head.
"You share blood with me," I pointed out, "Go to bed tonight with that in mind."
"I never said I was ashamed of that fact, Reila," she promised, shooting a glare over my shoulder, "Although…I would've hoped your mother would've rubbed off on you a little more."
"Don't look at me like that, Veronica," Daddy got defensive, "You know as well as I do. The owner, the night manager? Both of them are fucking pricks. If any of you want to be just…downright awful…I sure as fuck won't stop you. In fact, I insist upon it."
"If you don't mind me asking," Kyoya stepped in. I think it was more or less general intrigue than judgment. It's nice to see Kyoya with some character development, "Why?"
"Because," Daddy explained, "They were awful to us for years. If it weren't for them, though, I wouldn't have hooked up with my mentor and became who I am today, so I can't fault them too much. Doesn't make them any less of assholes, but still. It's weird. The last time I was in here was with the Old Man. Vanessa knew better than to ask to come here and Rei, I don't think you've ever even known this place existed."
"Nope," I shook my head. That was one of those things I liked about living here. We never had to go to the same place twice, "Why would the Old Man take you in here? Did he not know you had a history with the place?"
"Quite the contrary," Daddy went on, "It was more like coming back to where I came from. Only when we came back here, I had a little more power under my belt and the Old Man was just about ready to step down. It sucks that he didn't get the retirement he was looking for."
"What do you mean?"
"He died about a week later," he sighed out, "Unfortunate, really. And he adored you, Rei. I never expected to see much domestic softness out of the Old Man. I knew that from day one. More of a firm hand than a gentle touch, if you know what I mean. But seeing him with you…Fuck, it gets to me. Even thinking about it is making me a little chokey. He was one of the first people you opened your eyes for. After Mama and me anyway. The Old Man came to visit Mama in the hospital the day you were born. Oh, did that piss Victoria off."
"Really?" I always got a delightful feeling in my heart whenever Daddy talked about Victoria and all the times he's made her skin crawl. In this case, it was the Old Man.
"She was hanging around all day waiting," Daddy remembered, "The Old Man came. He was there for ten minutes, took you out of your bed, and pop went your little eyes. He said those were Mama's eyes."
"My Mama's eyes?"
"No," he giggled, "My mama's eyes. Yes, yours. Who else? For a while, I didn't see it, but you smiled. Just once. That's all it took. And that was definitely your mother."
"Well," I shrugged, "If I had to get something from Abuelita."
"And shortly after that," Daddy remembered, "I went out with the Old Man for one last round of collections and we came here afterward. It was nice coming back here. I mean, scared the shit out of me when we did, but he figured it'd be the last test. If I could come in here and conduct myself the way I should, I was ready to take over. It was the best/worst dinner we've ever had together."
"Why's that?" Ritsu asked.
"Because these assholes treated my brothers and me like we were common criminals!"
"Excuse me for asking, Mr. Mendoza," Kyoya stepped in, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you one of the biggest mafia bosses in this town?"
"One of?" Daddy smirked, "Like I said, they treated us like we were common criminals. We are far from common criminals."
"Goddamn," Veronica giggled, "I missed being home. I forgot what kind of drama queens I was leaving behind."
"Home missed you, too, Veronica," Daddy smiled a bit. I think Daddy missed Veronica more than home did. And I couldn't blame him.
"So!" she chirped, "What did I miss? Rei already told me about Victoria."
"Ugh…" Daddy's smile went away, "Don't even get me started on that. We were having such a nice night. Why ruin it with Victoria?"
"Who's Victoria?" Honey…Oh, sweet, innocent Honey…It's not his fault. He doesn't know.
"The bitch that popped me and my sisters out," Veronica grumbled.
"The bitch that can get Sparta kicked into a hole tomorrow and I wouldn't feel a thing," Daddy agreed.
"The bitch that if I had her, Satan, and Mussolini in the same room and a gun with two bullets in it, I'd empty the gun in her skull," I thirded the motion.
"You've met Tamaki's grandmother, right, Honey-senpai?" Kyoya asked.
"Yeah…" I've never seen Honey get so bitter before.
"Same level." Kyoya would know. Wait…Kyoya's met Victoria before, too. I keep forgetting that. Granted, he didn't get to see her the same way we did, but he knew. Of course he knew. Kyoya knows everything.
"I want her to meet the same fate Kasa-chan did in the warehouse," Honey jumped in. Hard to believe he had that in him.
"Ouch…" I winced, "A little harsh, Honey. Besides, do you really think I'd be ok with Victoria's blood on my bat?"
"No…" Honey thought it over, "Sorry, Rei-chan."
"The sentiment was right," I agreed, "But I wouldn't want to sully my blackwood with her blood. It's bad enough she knows what Ritsu tastes like."
"Love you, too, baby," Ritsu rolled his eyes.
"You know," Daddy thought back, "The first time I ever met Victoria was right here."
"Really?" I wondered.
"Really?" Veronica perked up, "I mean, I know she used to come here with Dad a lot, but you were working when she came in here?"
"She was the WORST," Daddy groaned, "She tried telling me she could taste a couple years difference on a bottle of Shiraz. I knew at that moment, I'd fucking hate the bitch. She was the one that made me quit and start working for the Old Man, though, so I can't fault her for that. Oh, the memories…"
I missed this. Nobody was mad at anybody. We all could understand a mutual hatred for Victoria. Everything was great. It was simply a family dinner like every other one we've had before. Only better. And much like every other family dinner we had, I'd overeat and beg for Ritsu to carry me out, but there was no way in hell he would. Because he was an asshole. An asshole that still loved me enough to let me live with the consequence of my actions. It almost made me grateful Abuelita wasn't in town. We'd all be miserable.
"So," Daddy asked as we all started filing out, "Are we going home yet, Rei?"
"I think so," I nodded, noticing Honey asleep on Mori's shoulders, "A good sign of the end of the night? Honey's passed out."
"Honey's the little one, right?" he assumed.
"Yeah," I giggled, "Honey's the little one. He can hold his own in a fight, though. Damn…"
"Really?"
"It's true, Frankie," Ritsu promised, "I saw it with my own two eyes. To see Haninozuka-senpai and Rei go toe to toe is…Definitely something."
"Well then," Tamaki decided, "We all reconvene in the morning?"
"I swear to Christ, Tamaki," I grumbled, sliding into the back of the town car, "If I see your face tomorrow any time before noon, I will make you wish you never came to New York in the first place."
"Yes, ma'am."
"That's my girl," Daddy awed. I make him so proud. I can tell.
"Haruhi," I requested, "Please reinforce that."
"I will," she promised, giving it a second to process, "Wait a second. Why do I have to reinforce that?"
"It's not like you and Tamaki aren't sharing a hotel room," I knew better than that, "If anyone's going to be able to stop him so early in the morning, it's you."
"Or me," Kyoya shrugged, "But that's just my thought."
"I'm guessing you're next door, Kyoya."
"You know me so well, Reila."
That's because I know what's in the black book. Of course I know you, "Well, good night, guys!"
"Good night, Rei-chan…" Honey grumbled sleepily from Mori's shoulders.
"Good night, Honey," I melted inside. What can I say? Honey gets to me.
"And you, young lady," Daddy threw his arms around Veronica, holding her tight. Is that what it looks like when he leaves me at the airport? Because I got a feeling that's what it looks like when he leaves me at the airport, "Don't you ever be a fucking stranger again."
"I won't," Veronica promised, a little guilt in her voice.
"I mean it, Veronica," Daddy snapped, his finger in her chest.
"I won't!" Veronica squeaked, "Promise!"
"Good," he kissed her forehead, "Go on. Go home."
"I already am…" And just like that, Veronica poured herself into a cab and headed home. Wherever that may be.
"As for you two," Daddy got in next to me, holding his side.
"You ok, Daddy?" I got a little nervous.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he pulled himself together, "Stitches itch like a mother fucker. Don't ever get them, Rei."
"Because the ones in my face weren't enough," I teased him.
"You were thirteen and could handle it better," Daddy scoffed, scratching at his bullet wound, "Clara bitches at me about scratching at mine, but what am I going to do? Be miserable? She told me she was getting me a cone."
"Like…" I wondered, "A dog cone?"
"Yeah," he chuckled to himself, "Isn't she sweet?"
"Careful, Daddy," I poked a little more, "You sound like you like this woman."
"She's alright."
That was big, coming from Daddy. He really did have soft spot for Clara. It's sweet to hear him talk about her. It's not the same as when he talked about Mama, but the same level of gentleness. If that makes any sense. I liked it. And I'm sure he liked it, too. Regardless, I laid my head on Ritsu's arm and basked in the glow of the city lights. We've had a long night of fucking with asshole restaurant staff that had it coming and I wanted to go to bed. Maybe a quick nap and I could really show Ritsu New York. I didn't get to show him much of it the last time we were here. Mostly because Daddy would want to keep a close eye on us, but as shitty as this is going to sound, his pain meds knock him on his ass. He'll be sleeping in the next hour or so. Just long enough for Rei to catch a second wind.
But when we got home, there was a stillness in our penthouse. A cold stillness. Things were quiet…Too quiet. Daddy held me back, quietly closing our door, shooting quick glances to Ritsu. I knew those looks. Someone might have made the dumbass mistake of breaking into our penthouse. Stay back in case shit goes down. Don't move until I say it's alright. Daddy and I had our mental telepathy on lock and Ritsu was starting to learn what our looks meant. It's kind of endearing. And I kind of loved it. Still, the thought of someone possibly breaking in made my skin crawl. Especially since it very well could've been the prick that shot Daddy trying to get another one in and finish the job he started.
"Reila, ve a tu cuarto…" A voice broke the silence. Ok. No one we had to be worried about. Although, a voice we weren't quite expecting.
"Abuelita?" I squeaked.
"Mierda…" Daddy mumbled to himself, his face losing all its color.
"Ve a tu cuarto…" Abuelita demanded.
"I mean," I stepped in, having a feeling what this could be about. Going by the tone of her voice, Abuelita was pissed. And not average pissed. Quiet pissed. Seething pissed. Scary pissed, "We can just…"
"Reila…" she growled, "Ve a tu cuarto ahora."
"Si, Abuelita." Yep. She's pissed. And I have a feeling Daddy was about to be on the receiving end of her rage. I tightly gripped Ritsu's hand, "Vamanos."
"Ok," Ritsu knew better than to ask questions when it came to Abuelita. Especially when she's not happy. And right now, she was definitely not happy. When we got to my room, I made sure to close the door behind me, "Um…Rei…? What just happened?"
"We stay right here," I pulled him into my bed, "We stay right here until everything is safe again."
"What do you mean?" he worried, "What's about to happen?"
"Abuelita's pissed," I filled him in, "We don't get in her way when she's pissed. We stay right here until it's safe again."
"Ok…" Ritsu wrapped his arms around me, "I'm sure it'll be fine. How bad can it get?"
"YOU WERE SHOT, FRANCISCO?!"
"Buckle the fuck up," I warned, "It's about to get bad."