Hell~o kids! Thank you so much for all the reactions for the last chapter. I was truly afraid i got Squalo OOC (and maybe he is finally) but i thought i needed to write him that way to make the story evolve.
So... i don't have many things to say, this time... That must be bc i spend all my days shut in my room. It's soooo weird, now i think about it. I'm not studying anymore, i still dont have a job, and all i do is writing, writing, writing...
But who cares? Enjoy ^o^ !
Squalo kissed him. At first slow and feathery, the kiss gradually grew hungry and intense. How soft and warm were the silverette's lips… Even in his drunken incoherency, Dino couldn't help but sipping and suckling and capturing them between his teeth till they were fully swollen. However the young Cavallone definitely was too drunk to keep on. Although being seated, he quickly lost balance and collapsed on the ground, bringing in his fall the other male who fell on top of him. Which, all things considered, didn't trouble them beyond measure.
The silver haired man's spine bent into a luscious arc as Dino licked behind his auricle, the latter's tongue making a backward and forward motion that elicited faint moans and pants from the man lying on him. It was almost nothing, yet it had been enough to make the Cavallone heir's blood boil with yearning. He pulled gently at Squalo's waist, making him go lower, his thighs rubbing against the silverette's. The shudder that went through his limbs didn't go unnoticed by the blond.
"Squalo…" He whispered, and as he did, braced himself on his elbows. Glossy locks fell on his cheeks, caressing them. Dino loved how they felt on his skin, just like sheer silk. Finally giving way to his urges, Dino pushed the silverette down and pulled at his t-shirt, just enough to reveal the rosy flesh of his abdomen. Dino's mouth devoured the tasty skin, slid his fingers from Squalo's neck to his flank, his consciousness slowly but surely sinking in the delightful promises the silverette's body were suggesting to his blurry eyes. But when his lips began wandering too near the latter's waistband, Squalo suddenly woke up from the haziness in which the wine had plunged him.
"Voi… Dino, stop it!" He pushed the blond's head away. Dino looked quite dumbfounded: he had no idea if his surprise came whether from the fact Squalo actually stopped him, or from the fact he did it only now. "I… I'm tired. And I have to go to sleep. I still have work to do, tomorrow."
"I got it…" Dino backed up. He reverently pulled the long haired man's t-shirt down, as though what he had been about to do few seconds earlier was the worst heresy possible. He had a very bad feeling about this. After all, he didn't know what had happened to Squalo after he left with Xanxus. Maybe the silverette was sad or angry about something, and he just took advantage of his friend's state, just because he had drunk a little too much… Alas, the biggest treachery of the awakening passion is to counterfeit the duty. There may be a whole life spoiled, who cares! You need because you need. "I'm sorry, I went too far. I shouldn't have done this…"
"You're annoying. Stop worrying for every little shit."
"Really?…So, good night? I… Um, I can call you tomorrow?"
The silverette sit up and rubbed his eyes. It was tiresome to always have the blond asking his permission for the smallest thing. "Yeah… See you tomorrow."
Dino left the apartment, then the building. It still was raining, but now with more persistence than before. However, as the Cavallone heir switched the ignition of his car on, a thought couldn't exit his mind and instead just left a wide and naïve smile on his lips.
"He just said 'See you tomorrow'?" Dino said, overjoyed.
That night, and contrary to Squalo who kept on reviewing again and again scenes with the raven and his childhood friend, Dino slept very well. Things started to get clouded only the next morning, and it wasn't because of hangover – fortunately for him, the Cavallone heir had always had a fair tolerance to alcohol (yet way lower than the raven).
Had it ever happened to you, to have an idea you find really awesome before you go to sleep, but when you wake up in the morning you suddenly fathom how stupid and unrealistic the same idea can be? Because that was what was troubling the blond: how could he seriously face Squalo as though nothing ever happened, the day right after they almost had sex together? It was beyond the Cavallone heir's strength. There was humiliation, but also mere shyness. The good old friendship status quo was bust, so what were they supposed to be now? And in spite of everything, Squalo allowed him to stay by his side, knowing full well Dino's feelings for him, did that just mean…
"Does that mean he approves them? That maybe he too… Ga-aah!" The young Cavallone almost choked to death with his toast.
Just like a real little master, it was already 10 in the morning when he woke up. After a quick shower, he took his breakfast in his gown in the huge, modern kitchen of his holiday home. That house had been his pied-à-terre for all the duration of his last shooting which had ended… One month ago. Yet, as everyone had noticed, he still hadn't left yet. His agent just had to make up for it.
On TV, they were breaking a typhoon on the news. How boring. Dino could clearly see it was raining in torrents, he didn't need someone to tell him that. Everything that morning was boring: as always, he was having breakfast all alone in that desert house. And as always, all he could bring himself to prepare without setting the kitchen on fire was buttered toasts, a carton of orange juice and Kelloggs corn flakes. Seeing what he called a breakfast and comparing it to the wonder of gastronomy he knew the silverette was capable of, he felt even more depressed. Finally, choking his tears back, Dino took another bite of the deadly toast.
What was he going to do, then? Wait for Squalo in that bistro again? Anyway, with that shower, they were probably closed. "I should call him first…" He decided and dialed the silverette's number on his phone.
It was ringing, ringing,… At long last, Dino almost rang off when someone finally picked the phone up.
"Um, Squalo?" He said in the receiver. "It's me. Are we still having lunch at La Garde? With that rain I think it's a little… Or if you want, I can bring you to a sushi bar. I know a good one not far from-"
"Cavallone." A deep and raucous voice Dino immediately recognized as being Xanxus' demanded.
At that moment, Dino's words got stuck in his throat. Horrified, he just remained like a wax statue on his chair, pale and agape.
…
People in companies like holding meetings. It's always the best moment to show your PowerPoint skills and to look more intelligent than usual. Plus, there are snacks for those who are forced to attend it, and if they look well, they can find a blind spot where they can take a nap while some guy is explaining why teamwork is so primordial… To make it short, it's a win-win covenant.
VR Co. isn't departing from the rule. It seemed to Xanxus that the only times he saw his employees' faces, it was always at stupid meetings whose themes he couldn't help but forget the second he put a step out of the boardroom. Same goes for the faces of said employees.
"Hello, Xanxus!" Byakuran friendly waved a hand at him as the Board left the room one member after the other. Xanxus ignored him royally and continued scrolling on his phone while walking to his office. "Don't be so cold! Aren't we brothers-in-law now? My stepfather told me about yesterday's dinner with the entire family. Bianchi is a lovely woman, isn't she?"
"Dunno." The raven kicked the door of his office open. The white haired man just gave a quick smile at Hana then followed the tanned man inside.
"But Hayato is quite perplexed about all this. Oh, Hayato is my stepbrother. A real sweetheart. You know, the young one…"
"Dunno."
Xanxus hadn't thrown the nosy white haired man out yet, but that sudden humanity wasn't a result of a 'long and laborious work on himself'. He was simply too engrossed by a throughout inspection of Squalo's phone. So far, he hadn't found anything compromising yet. To be more precise, there was almost nothing to see: no contact, no Internet history, no memo; just nothing. It was nearly as though the stupid trash had absolutely no life at all apart from the college and stupid housework. But when the raven's beliefs started to be confirmed by the singular lack of life in the smartphone, unexpectedly, he found something – honestly, something he didn't want to find in the first place: a photo of him asleep, most likely in the silverette's bed.
He stared idiotically at the screen, in his inner self anger little by little taking precedence over embarrassment. When did that shitty scum take that stupid photo? If he had been aware of the existence of that shit, he surely would have killed the dumb trash. Anyway, Xanxus had to kill him for that! It was only a matter of time. Besides, what should he do with it? Delete it? Of course, yes, he had to. Every single cell of his brain that hadn't been destroyed by booze yet was telling him to delete-delete-delete the damn proof of a moment of vulnerability, but in the same time… In the same time, he couldn't bring himself to do so.
"Love affairs really aren't easy, are they?" Byakuran, who was now sitting in front of Xanxus at the latter's desk, asked, out of the blue. "If I were you, I'd check the logs instead."
"Shut your mouth." Xanxus grunted but then opened the phone call list. Nervous twitch at the corner of his lips: a number, always the same one, kept on coming back over and over again, in intervals more or less spaced, every call lasting at least four minutes. "What the fuck…"
"Did you find something useful?" Byakuran asked, obvious sarcasm shining on his features. "You know, there's a green button, right there. If you want to make a phone call..."
"Scum. I fucking know how to make a goddamn call. A lousy rat like you-"
Brrp. Brrp.
For the second time, the raven stared with an empty air at the screen of Squalo's phone. That hellish number was glowing in a blue light, as if it was mocking him. He picked up. Immediately, a charming and annoying voice flooded in his ear, provoking a grimace of irritation on the tanned face.
"Cavallone." He hissed. "Stop that motherfucking chattering of yours."
"…Xanxus? … Is Squalo with you? I just wanted to confirm something from him…"
Xanxus flopped in his armchair and took a deep breath. Legs crossed and forehead resting on his folded arm, he said with a tone cooler than usual. "Shithead. I don't fucking know what you two did and I don't give a fuck about what you're up to do now. But forget it. Don't ever come close to the other trash again. I swear I'll fucking tear your shitty eyes out of your damn head ("How cruel!" Byakuran puffed) and make you eat them if I ever see you-"
"Xanxus!" Dino suddenly shouted with an intensity that surprised himself. "Can you stop that? How you treat Squalo. It's just so unfair, so mean… You're perfectly aware of what Squalo's feelings for you are. You're only using them to get what you want! You know, I… I love him. Yeah, you may hate it, but I won't let a hopeless asshole like you treat him as if he was some lousy whore you've found at the corner of the street!"
"You jerk…"
Beep.
Wherever some great love is hidden one should always expect a great ire. This is what Xanxus was undergoing at the moment. He was fuming – fuming, smoking, about to burst. So instead he burst Squalo's phone by throwing it against the wall. Who did the Cavallone think he was? A clueless idiot? That little shit was already dead meat. Even if he had to rape the stupid silver haired scum a second time, he would make the blockhead Cavallone understand who his true owner was.
Fuck. Even though he tried to put some distance between them, the silverette sure had his way to mess up with Xanxus' temper. That was why he couldn't let that hellish trash stay around him. Around the silverette, Xanxus would only end up losing his cool and, just like a wild horse blinded with blinkers wouldn't even notice his fiery legs carrying him to a precipice.
In Squalo, he saw his downfall, and yet Xanxus simply couldn't kick him out of his life.
"Prick. Get out." Xanxus barked at Byakuran, still glued at his spot. He then got up, his aura a frightening halo glowing threateningly around his head.
The white haired man backed away from the other man towards the double doors to the hallway. "Aye, aye! You know where you can find me if you want marshmallows. Ah. Ieyasu." He paused when the older man came in Xanxus' office. "The boss is very happy, right now. You can ask him whatever you want."
"Get the fuck out!"
"Yo, Xanxus…" Ieyasu inquired. Alerted by the raven's sudden fit or temper, he tried to hold him back. "Where are you going?"
"Get out of my way. That motherfucker who is fancying himself a bloody Romeo is gonna bleed his addle-brained from his eyes."
In normal times, Ieyasu would have ignored him. He would have just let the raven go and only tell him not forget doing his homework. But that day, the older man was angry: the day before, his son called him a useless father, a burglar broke into his house and stole his brand new Nissan, and that morning when he started the dated Ford, the gauge showed a very majestic and stylish 0. No need to say it had been a real pain to try to catch a taxi with that lousy weather. So you should figure out how weary Sawada Ieyasu was when he crossed the door of his boss' office, only to see said man raging because of some childish fight… That was the last straw.
"And that fucking bitch fooling around with any-…!"
That silent exclamation, it had resulted from the thunder-like blow the older man dealt in the raven's stomach. The latter fell on the carpeted ground. "You damn…" He hissed while glaring nastily at Ieyasu.
"Now, you get over with that, you spoiled brat!" Ieyasu yelled angrily at the flabbergasted raven. Actually, it was the first time in his life someone was openly rising up against him. And the older man really looked exasperated. Xanxus didn't truly know how to react at that sort of situation. He was angry beyond words, that was true, but he had also that sort of stupor you're stricken with when an electric current brusquely run through your body. "I'm fed up, so goddamn fed up with your whims! Everyone here is! I'm tired of giving you everything you want on a silver plate and yet see you spoil everything, every time. I can't believe I gave up my family to take care of you. How many birthday parties have I missed since I started working for you, my wedding anniversaries, my son's graduation… If it hadn't been for your father (che riposi in pace), I'd have let you manage everything alone, dammit! But you know what? There is finally someone, not one of your whores and silly young girls, who sincerely cares about you, a wonderful person who can put up with your oversize ego, and you call him a fucking bitch? You complete moron!"
"Don't fucking call me a moron, you old fart."
"I call you a moron because you are one." Ieyasu crouched before the tanned man. A sigh of fatigue. "Xanxus. I'm happy you thought about getting married. I know I didn't give you the best example of married life. Now, one must face facts: I'll die alone, and so will you if you keep on like this. Your father wouldn't want that. That's why I'll give you a hand – yeah, even if you're a hopeless moron. Your boyfriend ("I don't have a damn boyfriend") is what you call an incurable lover, that is, the desperate type. (Don't mock me, I tell ya, I'm helping ya! Stupid brat). There are a lot of people like him who can love a love without hope, only devotion. They improve themselves every day in order to be worthy of whom they're in love with, they can make thousands of secret sacrifices, adore them from afar, give their blood drop by drop, immolate their self-respect, have no egotism or wrath with them, they can hide their jealousy, give the loved ones anything they may wish, albeit to their own detriment, like what they like and-"
"Make it short, old man. That's boring."
Ieyasu cast a bushed and dejected look on the man he had tried to raise like his son (in the same time forgetting about his own son) before heaving a sigh, deeper and longer than the previous one. "At least, have you ever done something nice for him?" No answer would have been more eloquent than the total emptiness in the raven's eyes. "Xanxus… At any rate, what were you going to do? You're not stupid enough for actually killing someone in broad daylight, are you? Ah! ah! If I let you continue like this, I won't be surprised to see you spying upon Squalo some day…"
"…"
Ieyasu paused. "You're not planning to do that, are you…"
"…"
"For God's sake… Come on. You saw Squalo yesterday, right? Don't play dumb. My job is to know this kind of thing. What did he tell you?"
Xanxus frowned, but still replied. "He said he wanted to stop."
"Why?"
"Because I'm getting married."
"And what did you say?"
"I told him to put up with it."
Ieyasu hushed a curse. "Now, you're gonna do this: stay here, sit down calmly, and think about all the nonsense you've said your whole lifetime."
TBC
Che riposi in pace: rest in peace
