Archive of Our Own ^beta

We are perfect just the way we are

When Pete stepped foot into Vegas' home for the first time, he felt stupid. He knew that the man must be loaded, but that - a luxury penthouse apartment in one of the highest skyscrapers in the city - indicated a whole other tier of wealth. Paying the debts he had with Tankhun had been a huge giveaway, but Pete hadn’t expected this.

The apartment was big. Well, everything seemed big to Pete in comparison to the small wrecked-down flat he had shared with Porsche for the last year. Everything screamed new and wealth, but it also seemed a bit cold and lonely. Pete stepped out of the elevator before Vegas and made a few steps inside, his eyes wandering around, taking everything in. The whole flat seemed to be open spaced and Pete was able to see the living room, with floor-to-ceiling windows that gave way to a perfect view over the city. The sprawling couch took centrepiece in the room, but it seemed almost abandoned with no pillows or blankets lying around in disarray. There were no family pictures or keepsakes in his closer proximity. Maybe Vegas kept them in a more private place.

"Don't be shy," Vegas teased, still holding Pete's bag with his meagre belongings. "You can go and explore. This is your home now too."

This all still felt like a dream to Pete. A few days ago he had been a whore, there was no denying that. Now his purpose was to be Vegas’ plaything and take care of the other man. Pete didn’t mind that, it was much better than sleeping with random strangers. Even with how he had been very guarded and safe, being one of Tankhun’s favourites.

“Where can I put my shoes?” Pete asked as he turned back to Vegas.

Pete took a moment to appreciate his appearance, because Vegas looked insanely hot today, with the tight black jeans and slightly oversized black shirt he was wearing. Combined with the black boots and a leather jacket, Vegas looked a bit like the expensive son of a mob boss. Pete wanted to be close to him all the time and he was free to do so now.

Encouraged by his new freedom and the streak of possessiveness that lived deep inside him, he stepped closer to Vegas and wrapped his arms around his neck. Vegas smiled at him, his free hand settling on Pete’s waist, pulling him closer. The dark-framed glasses suited him well and because he didn’t have to work today, he was also wearing the ring in his nose as he had taken off the day to pick Pete up and bring him home. It gave Vegas that sexy nerdy look and Pete was so here for it. Maybe Vegas could leave the glasses on when they had sex later.

“You look so damn hot today,” Pete mumbled against Vegas’ lips, letting the tip of his tongue slide over Vegas’ bottom lip.

“Hmm,” Vegas hummed. “You don’t look so bad yourself. But I’d like it even more if you’d wear fewer clothes.”

Pete was wearing ripped jeans with a simple pullover and his sneakers. Nothing as fancy as Vegas clothes, but he felt comfortable in them. At Vegas' words, Pete chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips.

“I can definitely get rid of them,” he answered and trailed his finger over Vegas’ neck. “But maybe you could give me the grand tour before you chain me to your bed for the rest of the day?”

“That can be arranged. I’ll show you where you can put your shoes and jackets,” Vegas said before he kissed Pete again.

He let go after he gave an affectionate squeeze to Pete’s ass. Pete swatted Vegas’ chest, both of them laughing. After Vegas had asked Tankhun last week how much it would cost him to make Pete his whore Pete had come to like it. Usually, Pete despised being called a whore by other clients, but Vegas calling him his whore had made something primal flare in his stomach. It made Pete feel desired and wanted and made him realise that Vegas wasn’t just any client. He was special.

They both put their things away in a small walk-in closet in the hallway, hidden behind an invisible door. Pete was amazed once again because that was a really smart solution and it kept the hallway clean.

Vegas took his hand and led him into the living room, which was huge. It had a big couch in the middle of it, on the wall opposite hung a big screen, one of the newest models. The gaming consoles were the top models as well and Pete wondered at it because he had never thought of Vegas as much of a gamer. But they still had a lot to learn about each other, so surprises were inevitable. The lower floor held a dining area as well, fitting in one of the corners by the windows. An open door led into the state-of-the-art kitchen. Smooth counters, white shimmering fronts and a lot of steel. Somehow it suited Vegas.

They were just walking toward the stairs leading to the gallery and the upper floor of the apartment when the doors of the escalators opened and a young man walked out. He threw his backpack in one of the corners by the door before toeing off his shoes. Pete could hear the music blasting from his headphones all the way to where they were standing. The boy was startled when he turned and saw them, clutching his chest, eyes wide. Pete couldn’t keep himself from chuckling slightly.

“Jesus, Hia!” he yelled. “I thought you wouldn’t be home until late.”

Hia? It was most likely one of the many things Vegas hadn’t told Pete about. During their nightly meetings, sure, they had talked. But it had been easy topics like Vegas’ day at work, the weather, or Vegas whispering filthy things in Pete’s ear. Things he wanted to do to him, things he would love to see Pete wearing. It was one of Vegas' many talents to get Pete horny with only a few naughty whispers. But a little brother had never been mentioned.

“No, I took the day off to help Pete move,” Vegas answered nonchalantly, while his brother took off his headphones and looked at Pete with curiosity in his eyes. “And how often do I have to tell you to put your stuff away? It’s not that hard, Macau.”

The young man rolled his eyes and with an annoyed sigh, he picked up his backpack and slung it back over his shoulder.

“You didn’t mention that you’d help someone move. Who’s your friend?” Macau asked.

Pete looked at Vegas with wide eyes. Hadn’t Vegas told his brother that he would move in with them? Pete didn’t want to intrude.

“This is Pete,” Vegas answered calmly and placed an arm around Pete’s middle. “I told you that he’d move in with us a few days ago over breakfast.”

Pete let out the breath he had been holding. So the brothers had talked about it.

“Honestly, Hia. You can’t mention something like that over breakfast! I’m barely a functioning human at that time of the day.”

“Maybe you should sleep more and spend less time gaming?” Vegas retorted.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Macau waved his brother off before turning his attention to Pete. “So, you are my brother’s… friend?”

Pete put on his biggest smile as he extended his hand. “I’m Pete Phongsakorn Saengtham. It’s nice to meet you.”

Macau took his hand. “Macau Theerapanyakun, the pleasure is all mine. So you are friends with my brother or?”

Pete didn’t know how to answer that. Were they friends? At least Pete hoped they were something like that and Vegas must like him, otherwise, he wouldn’t be here. But he couldn’t tell Macau that he was his brother's whore, his plaything, that he was here to cater to Vegas' needs.

“Pete is my partner.”

Vegas' voice was nonchalant and as confident as ever, as if the words weren’t sending warm sparks across Pete’s body.

“Your… partner?” Macau asked, his voice rising at the end. “How? When? Where did you meet? Why did you never tell me you had a boyfriend? What the fuck, Hia?”

Macau’s reaction was kinda cute and it made Pete chuckle quietly, which he hid behind his hand. Vegas pulled him a bit closer.

“We met at Pete’s work,” Vegas told his brother. “We’ve seen each other a few times since our first meeting and well… last week I paid Pete’s debts at his workplace so he was free to go.”

Pete could see the exact moment the gears in Macau’s brain stopped for a second before they started to work overtime. He squinted his eyes and opened his mouth just to close it immediately. Macau seemed to think hard about something before he raised a finger and pointed it at Vegas.

“You… paid his debts? After meeting him a few times? What was he? A slave? One of the whores you were visiting every week?” Macau laughed nervously at the last statement, but when Vegas didn’t object his eyes grew wide. “Are you fucking shitting me? Hia! You bought yourself a whore?!”

Pete stiffened at Macau's words. It stung that Macau seemed to judge him for what he used to do to earn his living.

Vegas seemed to sense Pete’s discomfort and turned his head, placing a tender kiss against his temple. The hand on his side squeezed slightly and Pete turned into Vegas' embrace, hiding his face against his shoulder.

“You wanna go to our room and freshen up before dinner?” Vegas asked him quietly, ignoring his brother for the moment.

Pete nodded timidly and Vegas pressed another kiss against his forehead.

“We will talk when I’m back,” he told Macau in a stern voice before turning them around and walking with Pete up the stairs and to a door at the far end of the gallery. “I’m sorry about Macau. He shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s okay,” Pete murmured. “He’s not wrong.”

“Pete,” Vegas sighed.

Vegas opened the door to his bedroom and led Pete inside. Pete shook his head with a fond smile because, like everything else in the flat, the master bedroom was gigantic. Pete was certain that Porsche’s and his shitty flat would fit in here.

“You can have your own bedroom if you want,” Vegas suggested after Pete stayed silent. With a sigh, Vegas led Pete to the big four-poster bed and sat down holding Pete’s hands in his, all while Pete stood between his legs, looking down at Vegas. “Listen, Pete. I know we haven’t talked a lot about this before. Hell, I don’t even know if you were okay with me paying your debts with Tankhun and if you even want to live with me. I’m sorry that I did this all wrong and that I never really asked what you wanted.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t okay with what you did, Vegas,” Pete answered him with a smile.

“Okay,” Vegas gave him a wobbly smile in return. “But when there’s anything you don’t like or if I do something that makes you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me. I want this to become your home too, okay? I want us to work out, Pete. I know we started this very unconventionally, but I do like you. And I’ll have a serious talk with Macau about his behaviour earlier. It wasn’t okay of him to say that even if he wasn’t wrong. I meant what I said earlier. You are my partner now, Pete. And if he treats you improperly, I’ll put him into his place.”

“Okay,” Pete said with a smile. He felt warmth spread through his chest. Even when Vegas' words had been a bit bumpy, he had tried and that was worth a lot in Pete’s opinion. Words weren’t always easy, he knew that. “And here I thought I’d be the only one you’d put into place,” he couldn’t stop himself from teasing.

Vegas laughed loudly when he pulled Pete into his lap and gave him a firm kiss. “I can assure you that putting Macau into place is definitely not the same as what I do with you.” Pete chuckled. “You go and take a shower now, snoop around the room a bit and I go and talk to my brother before I order in. Curry good with you, pup?”

Pete cupped Vegas' cheeks. “Curry sounds perfect to me,” he said before kissing Vegas slowly and deeply.

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Time flew by since Pete moved in with the Theerapanyakun brothers. His life had changed drastically since the day he left Drama and on some days Pete still tried to wrap his head around how lucky he was. Asking to spend the night with Vegas all those months ago had been the best decision of his life. Pete never wanted to miss him again.

They had learned a lot about each other since his move. Pete knew that Vegas had a master's degree in mechanical engineering and that he was working as a freelancer with companies specialising in clean energy and process engineering. Next to it, he occasionally helped his cousin with the family hotel business. Vegas liked cats and couldn’t stand spicy food, which was a bummer because Pete loved it.

Pete also learned that it was just Vegas and Macau. Their mother had died when they had been very young children. Their father had been absent most of their lives and Vegas had taken care of Macau as best as he could. Only a few months ago they had lost him too in a car accident that also involved their uncle. Pete had listened to Vegas as he had told him about it, fingers carding through his lover's hair.

“It’s not that I don’t miss him,” Vegas had said. “I do. Deep down. But he was absent for most of our adult life. It doesn’t make much difference to me.”

Pete hoped that was true. He had hugged Vegas closer and pressed a kiss on top of his head.

Vegas also wanted to know about Pete, so he told him bits and pieces about his life. How he had grown up with his grandma before moving to the big city to study graphic design. To support himself and pay his tuition fees, he started working as a bouncer in a club, where he met Tankhun and later on, Porsche. But the job as a bouncer didn’t pay enough so Pete had to find something else and one day Tankhun offered him a job at his club. He would pay all of Pete’s fees, all he had to do was to look pretty and attract new customers.

“He never expected me to sleep with customers. I think that maybe he liked me or found me attractive. I honestly never asked why Tankhun chose me out of all people,” Pete confessed. “I started to pick my own clients. You know the clientele that comes to Drama and I could see how the other boys liked serving them.”

“You seemed to enjoy serving me,” Vegas mumbled with a smirk, pressing a kiss in the middle of his chest before he turned his head to bite into the meaty part of Pete’s pectoral.

“God,” Pete moaned. Pete lifted his hands and pushed them through Vegas’ hair, pulling him up so he was able to look into his face. “I never stopped enjoying it. I really like being with you.”

Vegas smiled at him, warm and tender and Pete pulled him in for a kiss.

After their first disastrous meeting, it had taken Macau some time to realise that Pete was with them of his own free will. That he wasn't like the slave Macau thought, just because Vegas had paid for him. Macau had approached Pete carefully the next day and apologised for his behaviour and wanted to know if he was okay and that Vegas didn't hold him hostage. Pete had smiled at the younger man.

"I'm here because I want to be," Pete told Macau honestly. When he still looked doubtful, Pete added. "I promise. Vegas has nothing on me that makes me stay here. I'm here because I really like your brother. I know this must seem strange to an outsider, but we really care for each other."

Macau stayed wary and watched them closely whenever they were together. Pete tried to include him as much as he could. After all, it was he who was intruding on the tight bond between Macau and Vegas.

While Vegas was at work, Pete stayed home. It still felt surreal that this penthouse was his home now, but he tried his best to spend the time he suddenly had at hand well. During the years he stayed with Tankhun, he would do his laundry, chat with Porsche, Arm and Pol, or Tankhun or simply sleep, so he could be his energetic self during the nightly opening hours of Drama.

Obviously, the brothers had maids for the daily chores, so Pete spent the first few days reading and exploring the flat. But there was only so much to do for him until boredom started setting in. He didn’t want to bother Vegas about it. To Pete’s surprise, it was Macau who picked up on his mood.

“P’Pete,” Macau greeted him, as he fell onto the couch next to him. “You look… listless?”

Pete chuckled. That was one way to phrase it. “To be honest, I am,” Pete answered sheepishly. “There’s not much I can do and I don’t want to bother Vegas while he’s at work. And you probably have more important things to do than talking to me.”

Macau sighed. “You’re not bothering me, Pete. Hia’s always working so hard. Ever since Pa passed away and Uncle fell into a coma, he took on more workload for the family business to help out our cousin. Before you moved in, I sometimes didn’t see him for days. I don’t know how much he has told you about our life, but it has been only the two of us most of the time.”

“We talked about that,” Pete answered. “I’m sorry to hear that he’s not been home often.”

“He is now. I think because of you he has a reason to come home every night. Well… I suppose he came to you too, those nights when he didn’t come home before.” They both laughed awkwardly. “I like having dinner with you and Hia,” Macau mumbled and Pete turned his head to meet his eyes. “It’s like you are an angel, Pete.”

Pete blushed slightly at the compliment and cleared his throat. “I … I’m not doing anything.”

Macau’s expression softened as he looked at Pete. “Oh, but you do,” he said. “Anyway, how can I help you to get rid of your boredom, hm? Anything specific you wanna do?”

“I don’t know,” Pete sighed.

“How about we go out and do groceries,” Macau suggested. “You’ve been holed up in here since you arrived. We could get the things we need for dinner tonight.”

Pete thought about it for a moment. It was a good idea, actually. Macau was right, he hadn’t left the penthouse since his arrival. Not that he wasn’t allowed to leave, far from it. Vegas had given him the keys to the flat the morning after he moved in. They had gone downstairs together to register him as a resident with the front desk and to make sure he had the same access rights as Vegas and Macau. Still, Pete hadn’t thought about going out on his own. It hadn’t felt right somehow and Pete hadn’t felt the urge to leave his new home yet. The penthouse was huge and there had been enough things to discover for him that he hadn’t gone crazy.

But maybe Macau was right and some change in scenery would do him good.

“We should talk about what you’d like to have for dinner first,” Pete suggested and Macau grinned at him.

“We can do that on the way.” Macau got up from his seat, pulling Pete up after himself. “Come on, Phi. We are going to make Hia’s favourite tonight.”

Pete laughed a little before he followed Macau to the elevator. He got his jacket out of the hallway wardrobe as well as a tote bag for their groceries. They both got dressed and before they left, Pete checked if he got the keys and wallet. After they’d entered the elevator, Macau pressed the button for the garage and Pete turned his head towards the younger man.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking us to the mall, P’Pete,” Macau explained and held up his finger when Pete wanted to say something. “I know we could have walked to the grocery store around the corner, but I’d love to go shopping with you. We could get to know each other better this way?”

Pete’s heart melted a bit at Macau’s last words. It would be a lovely opportunity to get to know his partner’s brother better. And it had been quite some time since Pete had gone shopping.

“Okay,” he agreed with a smile. “Let’s do that.”

Macau led Pete to a black Maserati parked in one of the parking lots. All he could do was roll his eyes. Of course, Macau was as rich as Vegas, they were brothers, but he hadn’t thought that the younger man would drive such an expensive car. Macau grinned at him over the roof of the car before he got in and got comfortable behind the wheel. Pete followed him only a moment later and they took off.

Their drive was unspectacular. They were talking about how Macau’s studies were going and what university he’d like to attend after he graduated from school. Macau looked surprised when Pete told him that he had a degree in Broadcasting. Macau looked very thoughtful for a moment and Pete turned his head.

“What is it?” he asked and Macau shook his head, eyes still on the road.

“I don’t want to be rude,” he answered.

“Ah,” Pete said with a smile. “You want to know why I’ve worked as a prostitute rather than working in the field I studied?”

Macau made some nonsensical noises but nodded in the end, his cheeks tinted pink.

“I needed a job that supported me during my time at university. Of my family, I only have my grandmother left and she always wanted the best for me. She really did her best to grant me my wishes and helped me a lot. She’s a good woman and I hope that maybe one day you and Vegas can meet her.” Pete smiled. “But we’ve never been wealthy and studying in a big city like Bangkok is expensive. The day she told me that she had to touch her savings I went out and started to look for a job. I started as a bouncer at Drama. I might not look it, but I did boxing as a kid and teen. One day Master Tankhun asked me if I’d like to become one of his boys. He would pay for my tuition and I’d get a small allowance. I saw no harm in that and being with Master Tankhun… was the most comfortable life I could have asked for. I can’t remember when I slept with my first client, but I didn’t see a problem with that either. The people at Drama, Master Tankhun, Arm, Pol, Porsche, Big… they became my family and I’m very grateful to have them in my life.”

“But then you met Hia,” Macau said softly and Pete nodded.

“Then I met your brother, yes. And my family got a tiny bit bigger than before.”

Macau cast a surprised glance at Pete, who smiled at him fondly.

“Ai Pete,” Macau whined and Pete started to laugh. “You can’t say something cheesy like that.”

“Why not,” he chuckled. “It feels like that to me. You and Vegas are part of my family now too.”

Macau whined again in the back of his throat when they entered the parking lot. “You are unbelievable,” Macau murmured. Pete couldn’t help but smile. Vegas had a cute brother.

They searched for a good spot to park before going inside. They cruised through the stores, looking at some clothes and shoes. Macau was looking for a new game and Pete wanted to get some of those sheet masks he had seen in an Instagram ad. They kept the grocery store as their last stop and Pete followed Macau through the entrance.

“So,” he asked. “What are we going to cook tonight?”

“I thought about doing one of Hia’s favourites, which is Mexican food. We haven’t had it in a very long time. And never self-made, only take-away from Hia’s favourite place.”

“You think he’ll like it?”

“Trust me, Phi. He’ll love it!”

Macau placed his arm over Pete’s shoulder and walked them confidently toward the vegetables and fruits section. From somewhere deep inside his pocket, Macau drew a piece of paper where he had scribbled down the things they’d need.

“You planned this, huh?” Pete asked amused.

“Yeah, well,” Macau answered sheepishly. “It’s not often that I can treat my brother and I’d never try to cook because I suck at it. But with your help, I’m sure we can pull it off. It can’t be that difficult, right?”

Pete laughed. “I’ve never tried that before, but together we can make it. And we can still order in if we fuck it up, right?”

“Sure we can,” Macau said with a wink.

They worked their way through Macau’s shopping list. They got tomatoes, garlic, lemons, avocados and fresh chilli to make Guacamole from scratch, taco shells and tortilla wraps, different meat and other vegetables to prepare them, cheese, corn, beans and the ingredients for a rich chocolate cake that would be spiced up with a hint of cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

“Hia also loves American food, like burgers and pizza,” Macau told him on the way to the cashier. “He also has a soft spot for strawberry smoothies, but you don’t have that from me.”

Pete grinned. “I won’t tell him, I promise.”

He had learned a lot about Vegas in the last few hours. For example, he preferred Western food over Thai because he couldn’t handle the spice and yet he never complained when Pete wanted spicy curry. He liked his drinks without additional sugar, except for his strawberry smoothies. He also liked to use his hands and do crafty things, like sharpening all the knives in the kitchen on Saturday mornings. He also liked to take care of plants. Every single one of them in the flat had been bought and raised by Vegas. Pete was amazed by his boyfriend’s many talents.

“He also likes animals. Cats are his favourite, but Hia always said that we shouldn’t get a pet as long as we can’t take care of it properly. Guess that has changed now.”

Pete choked on his own spit and tried to cover it up with coughing. Why did Macau have to say it like that? Macau gave him a weird side glance.

“You good, P’Pete?”

Pete nodded and waved him off. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” Macau looked at him like he didn’t quite believe him.

Macau paid for the groceries while Pete packed them up. It was late afternoon by the time they got back to the car and Vegas had said that he wouldn’t be home before 8 pm. It gave them enough time to prepare the dishes Macau had planned, including the cake.

Pete took the lead in the kitchen. He wasn’t the best cook, but the recipes were simple enough and as long as they followed the instructions they should be fine. Macau started cutting the vegetables while Pete got the cake ready.

They were a good team and together they finished everything shortly before Vegas returned home. When Vegas sent Pete a message that he was on his way home he started to set the table, while Macau cut the cake in even squares and brought it over.

Macau and Pete changed out of their cooking-stained t-shirts and into something more presentable. Pete was walking down the stairs from the upper floor when he heard the doors of the elevator opening. Pete walked up to Macau who had just placed the last plate on the table. Vegas walked around the corner, loosening the knot of his tie, a deep furrow between his brows when he stopped walking and took a deep breath.

“What,” Vegas said, looking a bit dumbfounded at the table loaded with food.

Pete walked over to Vegas and took off his tie, placing it on the back of the couch. “Welcome home, babe.” He leaned in for a kiss. Macau approached them too and Pete pulled back from the kiss, showing a big smile when he wrapped his arm around Macau’s middle. “Macau and I cooked for you.”

Vegas blinked at them, eyes wandering from the table to Pete and Macau. “What did you do?” He asked.

“Hia,” Macau whined. “We didn’t do anything. P’Pete was bored and so we decided to go to the mall, do a bit of shopping and cook for you.”

Vegas' attention went from Macau to Pete. “You were bored? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Macau snorted, unimpressed. “That’s what caught your attention?”

Pete reached out and intertwined his fingers with Vegas’. “I didn’t want to disturb you. I knew how important the meeting today was for you. And it’s not like I didn’t have fun with Macau. It gave us some time to get to know each other better.”

“Did it now,” Vegas asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Macau answered. “Why? Jealous, Hia?”

“You wish,” Vegas all but growled teasingly.

Pete rolled his eyes at their behaviour. “If you’d rather squabble like two teenagers, suit yourself. But I’ll go and have dinner now before it gets cold.”

Pete let go of Vegas and turned out of Macau’s side hug, walking over to the table to take his seat. Vegas followed him closely with a “Hey!” while Macau mumbled, “I am a teenager.”

Vegas stopped when he reached the table, one hand placed on the back of his chair, taking in the feast in front of him. Macau had a pleased expression on his face when he sat down next to Pete.

“You,” Vegas started before he pulled out his stool and sat down. “You made all this?” Vegas looked from Pete to Macau.

“Macau thought it would be nice. And he decided on Mexican because it’s one of your favourites. I only helped with the grocery shopping and the cooking. It was all his idea.”

“Macau,” Vegas sighed and reached over to ruffle his brother's hair. “Thank you. Really. This is amazing, truly.”

Macau blushed slightly but still looked very pleased with himself. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without P’Pete.”

Vegas' attention wandered from Macau to Pete. “Thank you, babe.”

Vegas really seemed touched and it made Pete’s heart flutter in his chest for several reasons.

“You are welcome,” Pete answered with a warm smile. “Now let’s dig in before it goes completely cold.”

The following weeks passed in a blur, with Vegas being even busier with his work and the hotels and Macau being stressed about school because midterms were approaching fast. Pete did his best to provide both of them with food and do everything that needed to be done at home.

A few days ago, Macau had approached him to ask for his help with one of his assignments. He needed someone to proofread it and check for any spelling or grammar errors and Pete had agreed readily. It had been part of his job once to check for those things.

They had gotten comfortable in the living room. Pete only glanced up when he heard the footsteps of Vegas echoing through the living room. Macau was still brooding over his maths exercises, his earbuds in and listening to his favourite music, while he tried to complete his homework. Pete had helped him as best he could, but maths had never been his strength. Still, he stayed with Macau to keep him company and started proofreading Macau’s art essay. When fingers brushed through his hair, Pete looked up and smiled at his boyfriend. Vegas leaned down and placed a kiss against his forehead.

“Welcome home. How was work?”

“Ah, you know how Kinn can be,” Vegas sighed and Pete smiled at him. “We are done with most of the statistics, but we still need to talk about some new investments for the new hotel.”

“It sounds tiring,” Pete agreed.

Vegas hummed before his eyes moved to Macau, who still hadn’t acknowledged Vegas' arrival.

“How has it been going for the both of you today?” Vegas asked, fingers brushing through Pete’s hair, occasionally tickling over the shell of his ear.

Pete glanced over at Macau, who was ruffling his hair in frustration now. “I’d say it went okay. He’s really struggling with maths.” Pete lifted his head and looked at Vegas. “Maybe you could help him?”

Vegas made a sound of agreement. “I could,” he said. “But where would be the fun in that? He’ll figure it out at some point.”

Pete clicked his tongue. “You are a cruel man, Mr Vegas.”

Vegas smiled down at him. “You love it.”

“I do,” Pete smiled.

“I’ll leave you be and get on with your hard work. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

“Okay.”

Vegas pressed another kiss to Pete’s head before he rounded the couch and walked past Macau, sliding his fingers through his brother's hair. Macau looked up from his homework, removing one of his earbuds.

“Hia,” Macau greeted him and Vegas leaned down, glancing at the maths sheet Macau had been working on, pointing his finger at something.

“You might want to recalculate this,” was all Vegas said before he moved on to the kitchen.

Macau stared after him, then at Pete, then back at the sheet. “How is he doing that?”

Pete shrugged. “I have no idea. But it’s his field of expertise, so I suppose you should trust him.”

“I hate maths so much, P’Pete,” Macau groaned in frustration and let his head fall to the table.

“I know.” Pete’s voice was filled with sympathy. “Try to finish up before dinner is ready.” He lifted the essay in his hands. “After that, we will talk about this.”

The groan that followed Pete’s words made him chuckle.

Slowly, living with the Theerapanyakun brothers started to feel normal to Pete. They had adapted to each other. Macau had turned not only into his boyfriend's brother but also into a friend and confidant. Pete really liked the younger man and enjoyed their time together. He also liked to take care of him and, yes, maybe he liked to spoil Macau a little bit.

Vegas entered the kitchen when Pete was placing the last of Macau’s lunch into the box he had bought for him. The younger man was going on a field trip with school and Pete wanted him to have proper lunch, not just some fast food and unhealthy snacks. Pete had spent the last hour making Macau’s favourite Kimbap and some sandwiches. He was feeling very proud of himself.

Vegas chuckled when he looked over his shoulder, trying to steal one of the sandwiches, which Pete had cut into perfect triangles. Pete swatted at Vegas’ hand and gave him a stern look.

“Those are for Macau,” he said. “I’ll make you breakfast in a bit.”

Vegas pouted at Pete. It wasn’t normal for Pete to be like that. Usually, he loved to share the food he prepared with Vegas.

“Why are you making a lunch box anyway? He isn’t a child anymore. He can buy his own food on the trip.”

“I know that,” Pete answered as he placed some Mango slices in the box before he closed it. “But I want him to get something healthy at least once during the trip.”

Vegas made a weird sound but didn’t say more.

“Is Macau up? He has to leave in a few minutes,” Pete asked when he moved the lunch box aside to get started on his and Vegas’ breakfast.

“Last I checked he was up and running, packing some last-minute things,” Vegas answered as he trailed off towards the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Pete hummed in the back of his throat and turned on the stove to get the rice for Joke started. He took the pork from last night out of the fridge and sliced it up, as well as two eggs. It was Pete’s go-to for breakfast because it was hot and usually kept him sated until he would have lunch. He turned down the stove to let the rice simmer when Macau ran down the stairs, suitcase in hand and his backpack on.

“Bye! See you on Sunday,” Macau yelled when he passed the kitchen.

“Wai… What?”

Pete was startled by the rushed goodbye. He grabbed the box with Macau’s lunch and hurried after him. He could hear Vegas laughing behind him, but Pete didn’t pay him any mind.

“Macau, wait!”

The young man had already reached the elevator and turned around at Pete’s exclamation and smiled.

“Hey, P’Pete. I need to hurry or I’ll miss the bus.”

“Just… I made you lunch,” Pete said, a faint blush starting to spread on his cheeks.

Macau looked at the box in his outstretched hands before he looked up at Pete with a big smile. He placed his suitcase down and walked a few steps back to Pete, taking the box from his hands.

“Thank you so much, P’Pete.” Macau’s eyes lit up, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s been really long since someone packed me a lunch box.”

Macau wrapped his free arm around Pete and hugged him tightly. He even pressed his lips against Pete’s temple with a soft, ‘Thank you’. Pete didn’t even have the chance to hug him back before Macau took a step back and left in a flurry. Pete watched the elevator doors close, waving at Macau.

“Bye, Hia. Bye, P’Pete!” Macau waved back.

Pete hadn’t realised that Vegas was next to him, also waving. When Pete turned his head, Vegas was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” Pete asked.

“He hugged you.”

“He did,” Pete agreed.

“He hasn’t hugged me goodbye since it became uncool when he was ten or something.”

Pete smiled at that and shrugged. “You hug me all the time when I make you food. I think it’s cute.”

“Cute my ass,” Vegas grumbled. “He stopped being cute ages ago.”

Pete looked at him, offended. “I can see why he stopped giving you hugs. You are a meanie, Vegas.”

“Only to the people I love,” Vegas smirked.

Pete gave him an unimpressed glare before he turned around and walked back towards the kitchen to get breakfast ready. He was close to the kitchen when Vegas finally caught up and hastened after him with an “I’M NOT A MEANIE!”

It was a few hours later when Pete received a text message from Macau, that said

>>Thank you, P’Pete, for the lunch package. The Kimbap wes amazing. You are the best, Phi.<<

A warm feeling settled in Pete’s stomach at the praise from Macau. He was just glad when he could make the younger man happy.

“He looked so good in that suit, Vegas,” Pete sighed when they sat on the couch one evening a few weeks later.

After he had returned from the school trip, Macau had asked Pete if he’d go shopping with him, because he needed some nice clothes for a school dance that was coming up in a few weeks.

They had gone to the mall and been through a few normal clothing stores together. Macau didn’t like to show off that he was rich so he usually tried to avoid shopping with the big brands and it had taken some time before Pete had been able to persuade Macau to go to one. Pete had liked the suits they had on display and he could really see the younger man in one of them. He would look very handsome dressed up with a button-down and his hair styled.

Macau had been shy and insecure in the beginning. The consultant, an elderly lady, had been god-send because she had sensed Macau’s uneasiness and made the visit as pleasant as she could. She had asked Macau what he wanted, how he envisioned the suit he wanted and if he wanted to impress someone with it.

‘You are a young and very handsome man,’ she had said with a tiny wink. ‘I’m sure there is a special someone that would love to go out with you, no?’

The way Macau had turned red like a tomato had said it all. Pete had taken a seat in one of the stools provided and had the lady work her magic on Macau. While they had been in one of the dressing rooms, Pete had browsed the store and found a pigeon blue three-piece suit. It would go really well with Macau’s golden skin and his dark eyes and hair. He snuck the suit onto the rack for Macau to try on.

Pete had been spot on. Macau looked stunning when he came out of the dressing room. The white button-down suited it and Pete could see him breaking hearts left and right when he showed up to the party wearing that.

“His skin glowed and looked even more beautiful than usual,” Pete gushed, head resting in Vegas’ lap, who looked down at him with unhidden amusement.

“One might think you like my brother better than me,” Vegas mused, fingers stroking through Pete’s hair.

Pete turned around before he crawled into Vegas’ lap, wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

“There’s no one I’ll ever like more than I like you, Vegas,” Pete said confidently, the tips of his fingers brushing over the soft skin of his boyfriend's nape.

“Hmm,” Vegas hummed, burying his face in the side of Pete’s neck, teeth scraping over one of the bruises he left there a few nights ago. “I’m glad to hear that, puppy.”

A soft cough made Pete turn his head and when he saw Macau standing by the stairs, a smile spread over Pete’s face.

“Macau, I just told Vegas what a handsome brother he has,” Pete told him happily.

“Mn, I heard that, P’Pete.” His voice sounded off and the expression on his face turned stiff. But it was gone a second later and he smiled at them. “Can I join you for movie night, or would you like some… privacy?”

“Of course you can join us,” Vegas answered. “We don’t mind the company, right, puppy?”

Pete shook his head and beckoned Macau over. “You’re more than welcome to join us, Macau,” he said with a smile.

“Okay,” Macau said.

He walked over to them and sat down at the other end of the couch. Pete saw him casting a glance in their direction. He wasn’t able to decipher the expression on the younger man’s face, because Vegas pulled him close against his side, fingers digging into the meat of his thigh. Pete thought he had seen something akin to hurt in Macau’s eyes, which confused him.

Pete had been watching Macau the whole week. He was really gloomy, barely eating and had been avoiding both Vegas and him for a few days now. Pete had talked to Vegas about the change in behaviour, but none of them knew what to do. If Macau wanted to talk to them, it was up to him and Vegas voiced that it wasn’t their place to pry. Pete had agreed before snuggling up against Vegas' side.

The next day, Pete was sitting on the couch watching a movie alone because Vegas had to attend some business meeting with Kinn. He got slightly startled by Macau suddenly sitting down next to him. Pete studied him for a moment. He still looked gloomy and there were dark circles beneath his eyes. Pete’s heart clenched a little, realising that Macau hadn’t been sleeping properly. Aside from sitting next to him, Macau ignored Pete.

“Popcorn?” Pete asked and held out the bowl to Macau.

Macau looked at it for a moment, then glanced up at Pete before turning back to the movie. A small frown appeared on Pete's face, but he shrugged it off. Macau would tell him when he was ready. Maybe he just wanted company after spending so much time alone and Pete was fine with that too. He pulled the bowl back and placed it between his folded legs.

They sat in silence for a long time while the plot of the movie unfolded. Pete was so engrossed in it that he jumped out of his skin when something brushed against his hand in the popcorn bowl. He turned his head, eyes wide and was met with a similar startled expression from Macau who had reached out for popcorn too.

"S… sorry," the young man mumbled. He pulled back his hand immediately.

Pete shook his head and placed the bowl between them. "It's okay," he answered. "The movie was just so exciting I forgot I wasn't alone."

Macau nodded before he pulled his legs towards his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Pete really wished he would talk to him. They'd had so much fun the last few weeks, they had been able to get to know each other and Pete had thought that Macau enjoyed his company too.

"Phi?"

Macau's timid voice pulled Pete from his own thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I… There's something I need help with. And I don’t think I can tell Vegas about it."

Pete sat up straight, a small 'oh' left his lips. He gave Macau his full attention.

"I promise I'll keep your secret." Macau gave him a wavering smile. Pete shuffled closer to Macau and reached out to place his hand on his arm. "What is troubling you, Macau?"

Macau had followed Pete's movements with his eyes. They stayed a moment on Pete's wrists, where some marks from his last night's activities with Vegas were visible before they moved on to the hand that was touching Macau's arm. The boy let out a deep sigh and hid his face against his knees.

"There's someone I really like," he mumbled over the sound from the TV.

“Oh,” Pete said in astonishment. That was big news. Never had he suspected that Macau would trust him with something important as his feelings for someone else. “Do they know you like them?”

Macau let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t think they do and even if they would, they have someone else already. It would be a lost cause anyway.”

Pete let his thumb soothe over Macau’s warm skin. “You’d be surprised how some people react to confessions.”

“Did you ever have a crush, P’Pete?”

Pete chuckled. “I think I’ve had more crushes than I can count. Your brother isn’t the first man I slept with, not by far. But he’s the first one I ever had proper feelings for. There were many handsome men when I worked at Drama, even before. I saw a lot of them more than once. Even when you promise yourself you won’t develop feelings, sometimes it just happens. You start to think that you are special, that they see more in you than just a whore.” Pete sighed. “But as you can imagine it never happened. Until your brother came along.”

Macau had listened to him carefully. “But you never told one of these men how you felt for them, right?”

Pete shook his head, a wistful smile on his face. “No. I always knew that it was just a dream, nothing serious and that I would fool myself to believe that there could be more.”

“You didn’t tell Hia?”

Pete hummed. “I didn’t. It was Vegas who took initiative and asked Tankhun to pay the debt I had with him. We had never talked about it before and I was dumbfounded. But I’m very glad he did what he did.” Pete wrapped his arms around Macau and pulled him into a hug. “Do you think if you confessed to your crush they’d accept you and your feelings?”

Macau leaned into Pete’s body. “I don’t think they would. It’s complicated enough and I think I’m not brave enough to face the rejection.”

Pete let out a sigh. “Yeah, I get that. Feelings are hard sometimes.”

“No shit,” Macau deadpanned and Pete pinched him slightly in his side, which made Macau laugh lightly.

“You will tell your crush how you feel when you are ready,” Pete mused. “Good things need time sometimes.”

“I guess you’re right, Phi.”

Macau relaxed further into his hug and Pete felt some relief that he had been able to help him at least a little bit. They fell into a companionable silence for some time, their attention back on the movie. Pete held Macau tight and moved one of his hands into the younger man’s hair, running his fingers in tender strokes through the thick strands very similar to his brother’s and the realisation made Pete smile. Despite the many differences they had, they had more in common than they thought. Pete had started to see them after living with them for a few days and it always made him smile. They were both super grumpy in the morning until they had their first cup of coffee. Both of them were sticklers for details, which Pete adored, and they were true sweethearts when you gave them a chance and took the time to look behind the hard shell they had built to protect themselves.

When the credits started to roll, Pete stretched one of his legs and rolled his shoulders. Macau took it as a sign to pull away from Pete, but he hauled him back in.

“Stay,” Pete said. He felt like Macau could use some comfort. “Do you want to watch another movie?”

Macau shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Why not?”

With a smile, Pete grabbed the remote and started to search for another movie they could watch together.

══════⊹⊱❖⊰⊹══════

Pete woke up, body feeling just that kind of delightfully sore that he loved so much after last night, the collar Vegas had gifted him yesterday still snuggly around his throat. It was a simple band, maybe two fingers in width in a rich blue colour. The padding on the inside was so soft against Pete’s skin that it still felt good, even after wearing it for several hours. What he loved most about it, aside from the colour, was the tiny heart in rose gold in the middle and the ring beneath it. Vegas really knew how to please him.

Pete rolled over and moved closer to Vegas, who was still snoring softly. Pete let his fingers trail tenderly over Vegas’ face, tracing the sharp edges of his cheekbones, the slope of his nose, the strong line of his jaw. Pete loved those moments, those soft mornings that he once thought he could never have. Sometimes it still felt surreal to him that they were part of his reality now. Pete leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against Vegas’ lips. The other hummed softly, blinking his eyes open as his lips curled into a small smile. A warm hand settled over Pete’s hip.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Vegas mumbled against Pete’s lips. “How did you sleep?”

“I slept very well. Like a baby,” Pete answered quietly.

Vegas' eyes roamed over Pete’s face before he let them drop to Pete’s throat. He let his hand on Pete’s hip move up over his side, the featherlight touch making goosebumps rise all over Pete’s skin until it stopped at the collar.

“You’re still wearing it,” Vegas said, eyes following the movement of his fingers. “You really like it, hm, puppy?”

“I do,” Pete answered airly, eyes closing at the tender ministrations of Vegas.

He always made Pete feel so good and always took such good care of him. Pete raised his hand, cradling Vegas’ cheek in the palm of his hand and pulled him into a languid kiss. Vegas hummed into it and rolled Pete onto his back, settling between his legs. His hands moved over Pete’s chest, down his sides and back up. Pete arched into the soft caress and a soft moan fell from his lips when Vegas moved from his lips to his jaw, trailing kisses along it.

“Can I?” Vegas asked, rocking his hard cock against Pete’s thigh.

“Yeah,” Pete breathed, interlacing his fingers on the back of Vegas' neck as he slowly pushed inside Pete.

He was still loose enough from last night, and the burn made heat pool in Pete’s stomach. It always felt amazing when Vegas spread him open on his cock.

They took it easy, Vegas rocking into him with slow motions while they shared open-mouthed kisses and small smiles. Pete loved their sex life, it was all he had ever wished for, but he also cherished those intimate moments, the softness of the moment. The way the light of the rising sun bathed them in warmth and took away the sharp edges from the night. Pete loved how young it made Vegas look, how it seemed to erase every bit of worry from his boyfriend's mind.

“Beautiful,” Pete breathed when he wrapped his hands around Vegas’ cheeks and kissed him oh so softly. “I love you,” he whispered against Vegas’ lips.

“I love you, too,” Vegas answered just as quietly. “You are mine.”

“Forever,” Pete answered airily.

They reached their climaxes nearly at the same time. It was unhurried, coursing through Pete’s body in warm, bright waves that made him feel like floating. He basked in the feeling, in the way Vegas stayed inside him for a long time and being able to hold him tightly against his chest.

But they couldn’t stay in bed forever. Vegas had another meeting with a client and would be away all day. Pete followed Vegas into the bathroom, getting ready together. Vegas dressed neatly in black slacks and one of his flowing silk shirts, while Pete chose one of his soft and worn-out T-shirts and sweatpants.

When Vegas stepped up behind him to remove the collar, Pete stopped him with a shake of his head. Vegas raised an eyebrow in question and Pete let his fingers trail over the soft leather.

“I really like it. Can I wear it today?”

Vegas wrapped his arms around Pete’s middle and placed a kiss on Pete’s neck, right above the collar.

“If you want to,” Vegas answered.

Pete nodded and after another kiss behind his ear, Vegas let go and they went downstairs together. It was still early, barely past 8am and the apartment was quiet. Pete started breakfast while Vegas took care of the coffee and got the newspaper from the entry hall.

It didn’t take long for a sleepy Macau to join them, probably drawn by the smell of fried eggs and noodles. He had recovered from his slump two weeks ago and Pete was glad to see him back to being his old self.

“‘Morning,” Macau mumbled and sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Good morning,” Pete answered and Vegas placed a cup of coffee in front of him in lieu of a greeting. “Did you sleep well?”

Macau hummed and wrapped his hands around the warm cup. Pete smiled at him and portioned the noodles into bowls before he picked them up and sat one in front of each brother. He sat down with his own next to Vegas and pulled his coffee closer to him. Pete started to eat, his eyes on the newspaper lying between him and Vegas.

The sharp intake of air from Macau a few minutes later made him look up. Macau’s eyes were glued to Pete’s throat, his lips forming a perfect ‘o’. Pete lifted his hand, touching his neck, unsure what made Macau react like that.

“Is… isn’t that the collar I helped you choose, Hia?” Macau asked Vegas.

Vegas looked up from the newspaper as well, eyes falling on Pete for a moment before he turned to Macau with a hum.

“It is. We made a good choice.” Vegas lifted his hand and smoothed it over Pete’s hair. “It looks perfect on my puppy and he really likes it.”

“It really suits you, Phi,” Macau agreed with the softest smile on his lips. “It makes your eyes shine.”

Pete’s fingers resting against the leather twitched and Pete felt a blush spreading over his cheeks with lightning speed. The warmth that spread through his body made Pete feel very good. It was the nicest feeling to be seen and to be praised by Macau.

“Thank you,” Pete answered quietly, his eyes downcast on the table.

Pete removed his fingers slowly from the collar to pick up his fork and continue eating his breakfast. The silence that settled over the table afterwards was a bit strange and Pete could feel Vegas’ eyes on him.

It wasn’t the first time that Macau had complimented him. Pete wasn’t sure what it was about today that made it different from all the other times, but it felt special and meaningful to him. Maybe it was the fact that he had helped Vegas to pick the collar? It was one thing to know that Vegas had taken the time to sit down and search for the perfect gift for him. But knowing that Macau had helped? Pete couldn’t stop wondering when the brothers had found time to sit down together. Had Macau been part of the process from the beginning, or had he joined Vegas later? Had Vegas deliberately asked Macau for his opinion? Or had the younger just walked past Vegas and said something like ‘That one would look good on P’Pete’?

After breakfast, Vegas left the flat with a kiss on the top of Pete’s head and a ‘be a good boy,’ which made Pete blush once more. Macau also left to go to the gym and meet with some friends later, so Pete had the whole flat to himself. He went through his tasks easily, humming along to one of the newest pop songs while he was doing the dishes. He felt like he was walking on clouds for some reason and Pete didn’t mind it one bit.

But despite his happiness, Pete wasn’t able to shake off all the questions that had been running through his head ever since breakfast. His mind was reeling ever since Macau had complimented his collar that morning. The soft “It suits you, Phi. It makes your eyes shine,” combined with the shy warm smile Macau had given him, Pete hadn’t felt that flustered in a very long time. What made it even worse was the fact that Pete had liked it. There had been that warm and fuzzy feeling in his stomach after Macau had spoken the words.

Until then he had been able to ignore the feelings for Macau that had started to grow. The little crush had steadily built up over the last weeks and suddenly Pete didn’t know what to do. Sure, he’d had crushes before. He had fancied a lot of people in his life, but he had never felt this way for two people at the same time. The realisation that he liked Macau more than he probably should hit him like a freight train. Pete sat down heavily on one of the chairs.

He loved Vegas dearly. The man was the love of his life and no one would ever be able to change those feelings. Vegas made him feel free, he gave him the chance to be himself, Vegas supported and understood Pete like no one else.

But Macau… The sweet precious baby brother of Vegas, who had been so weary of Pete in the beginning, who had pointed out the most obvious things to them, who hadn’t sugar-coated how he felt about their relationship. Kind-hearted and cheeky Macau, who slowly had wormed his way into Pete’s heart by accepting him into his family and making space for him in his home.

Now Macau had turned his world upside down with a simple compliment. How was he supposed to look at Vegas and stay calm? How would he react to Pete’s betrayal? But did he have to tell Vegas at all? Pete had a simple tiny crush on Macau and it wasn’t like they had done anything forbidden or controversial. But why did it feel like it then? How was Pete supposed to act around Vegas with what he now knew? How was he supposed to act like his normal self with the realisation that he had a full-blown crush on Macau? His partner’s brother?

Vegas would never forgive him. Would throw him out and then Pete would have to go back to Tankhun and beg for forgiveness so he could work at Drama again.

This was a nightmare!

Pete pressed his face into his pillow and let out a loud whine. A warm hand settled on the back of his neck only a few seconds later and a kiss was pressed against his cheek.

“What are you thinking about so hard, pup? I could practically hear you sigh and whine all the way from the elevator.”

Pete leaned into the touch and closed his eyes for a second. “It’s nothing,” he tried to reassure Vegas. Pete turned his head and looked up at him. “How was the meeting with Kinn? Have you eaten?”

Vegas leaned in and kissed Pete deeply, making Pete feel dizzy. “The meeting was okay. We were able to settle a few things. But I’ll have to travel to one of our resorts in the south next week to make sure that everything runs smoothly with the renovation. So you’ll be alone with Macau for two days.”

“What?”

Pete’s voice was higher than usual and he felt the blush spreading over his cheeks. He’d be alone with Macau for two days? Two whole days? How was he supposed to survive that?

“Can’t I come with you?” Pete asked, giving Vegas his best puppy eyes.

Vegas raised an eyebrow at his question. "You'd be so bored, pup. It's a business call and you wouldn't even see me much. Wouldn't it be better to stay here and spend time with Macau? I thought you two were getting along?"

“We are,” Pete answered, and it wasn’t a lie but considering recent events he didn’t feel like staying alone with Macau. “But I’d miss you a lot. And I’ve barely seen you this week.”

Vegas squinted at Pete, eyes observing. “No,” he said, the hand at the side of Pete’s neck tightening. “No, there’s more. What are you not telling me?”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Pete tried to reassure him, but he could see that Vegas didn’t believe him.

“Pete.” Vegas’ voice had dropped to a low rumble and it made goosebumps rise on Pete’s arms and send liquid fire through his veins. Whenever Vegas' voice dropped that low it meant danger and punishment because Pete had misbehaved. “Last chance.”

Pete shuddered. “It’s nothing,” he breathed shallowly.

Vegas took a deep breath before he turned Pete onto his back and settled over his hips. Vegas' eyes were filled with lust and something darker, something suspicious that promised Pete that he wouldn’t be able to walk straight for days.

“Is that you treat your master, pet?” Pete gasped at that. Vegas never called him just ‘pet’ and if he did… Pete shuddered in anticipation. “You are a being a bad boy. Lying so blatantly to me. I’m very disappointed in you.”

Vegas wrapped his fingers around Pete’s chin and lifted his head so they were looking into each other's eyes. Pete saw the familiar desire burning in Vegas' eyes, the raw want of devouring Pete whole, the need to make him remember to whom he belonged. “I’ll give you one more chance to tell me what’s wrong. So?”

Pete shook his head. He couldn’t tell Vegas… he simply couldn’t.

Vegas clicked his tongue and let go before getting up and out of bed. “Undress,” he told Pete with a calm voice, but it seemed harsher than usual. “I expect you know what to do?”

“Yes, Mr Vegas,” Pete answered as he pushed himself up and got out of bed, where he started to undress.

Pete folded his clothes neatly and placed them on the chair close to the bed before he lowered himself down onto his knees, hands folded in his lap. While he had undressed, Vegas had gone to their wardrobe, opening the doors and studying its contents. There was a tenseness around his shoulders that wasn’t there normally. Pete held his head lowered, not daring to look up when he heard Vegas taking some of the toys out. Vegas hummed and took his sweet time. The longer it took the more nervous Pete became.

He was filled with anxiety that had built up ever since that morning, all the nervousness coursing through his veins and Vegas taking so long only increased everything Pete was feeling tenfold.

When Vegas had made his choices, he walked back to the bed.

“Puppy, get on the bed for me.” Vegas' voice pulled Pete out of his thoughts.

Pete got up on shaky legs and climbed onto the mattress, settling in the middle of it still kneeling. Vegas stood at the edge of the bed.

“Lie down for me, Pete. On your front.”

Vegas sounded so calm and collected as he worded his request and Pete loved nothing more than to submit to him, making Vegas happy and being his good boy. But he had disappointed him today, he was keeping secrets from him and Pete couldn’t enjoy it like he normally would, he wasn’t able to relax and fall into his role, something that usually was as easy as breathing for him. He followed Vegas’ request and lay on his stomach. Vegas let his hand slide over Pete’s back, the contact made Pete shiver slightly.

“I know that there’s something bothering you, Pete,” Vegas said, his fingers trailing over the sensitive skin of Pete’s lower back. “I truly wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”

Pete shut his eyes, shaking his head. “I can’t,” he whispered.

Vegas hummed at his answer. He sounded detached as if Pete’s answer didn’t irk him. Like he wasn’t curious about what Pete was keeping from him. But Pete knew that wasn’t entirely true. Vegas moved his hands up, over Pete’s back and shoulders, up his arms which he pulled forward. Vegas’ hands felt steady and warm like they always did, his fingers pressing into his skin from time to time. Slowly Vegas lowered himself down, the fabric of his shirt tickling Pete and making him shiver. Pete arched into it, he wanted to feel more of Vegas, how his body pressed him into the mattress.

“I’ll restrain you with handcuffs and I want you to keep as still as possible. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mr Vegas,” Pete whispered.

“Good,” Vegas praised and a shiver ran down Pete’s spine when he felt the trembling exhale against his cheek.

Vegas cuffed him with practised ease and Pete slowly started to feel better. He started to let go, trusting Vegas enough to let his guard down. Vegas arranged Pete so that he was able to lie down comfortably enough without cutting off the blood flow to his hands. Vegas was still leaning over him and Pete couldn’t resist pushing his hips slightly back against him, causing Vegas’ breath to hitch. A small smirk started to form on Pete’s lips, knowing that Vegas wasn’t unaffected, but his eyes closed immediately when Vegas bit into his ear, drawing a low moan from Pete.

“You know the rules, pup,” Vegas reminded him, hand smoothing back over Pete’s arms as he sat back up. “Remember your safeword?”

“Yes, Mr Vegas,” Pete murmured.

Vegas hummed and pulled Pete’s hips up, placing one of the throw pillows under his stomach so he wasn’t able to squirm on the mattress. When satisfied, he pressed a kiss to Pete’s shoulderblade before settling between his legs, Pete’s thighs resting on Vegas’.

Vegas took his time, letting his fingers dance ever so lightly over Pete’s lower back, his ass, the top of his thighs, down to the back of his knees. Every featherlight touch sent a spark of arousal through Pete’s body, the well-known electrifying sensation running up and down his spine. Pete rested his head on the pillow Vegas had placed underneath his head, his fingers gripping the fabric. This was the kind of torture Pete struggled with because he felt like he didn’t deserve the gentleness right now. Not with hiding his crush on Macau from Vegas. The tender handling of his lover drove him mad way easier than when he inflicted pain on him. Pain and the soreness that came with it, he could deal with and Vegas knew that very well.

“My sweet sweet pet,” Vegas spoke softly, both of his hands now massaging up the back of Pete’s legs, which made Pete groan into the pillow. “Why did you have to disobey today of all days? I had such nice plans for us,” Vegas sighed. “I would have loved to cook us dinner, watch a movie together, and then tie you up really nicely with that new rope I bought. You would have looked amazing wrapped up in sapphire blue.”

Pete felt Vegas move and a moment later a kiss was placed on his tailbone. Vegas nosed along the top of Pete’s ass cheek before he bit him suddenly in the most fleshy part, making Pete gasp in surprise.

Vegas chuckled against it before he started to kiss the point he just had bitten. Pete muffled the moan in the pillow. Vegas’ stubble tickled his skin, but anticipation simmered low in Pete’s stomach because he knew that he would feel sensitive for days from the burn.

Vegas mouthed his way over to the other cheek and gave it the same treatment before he moved his hands down over the back of Pete's thighs and pushed himself up.

"You will take what I give you, right, pet?" Vegas mused.

Pete needed a moment. “Yes, Mr Vegas,” he agreed quietly.

Vegas placed a hand on his neck and squeezed it slightly, pleased with Pete’s response. He removed himself from the bed, most likely to get something he needed. Pete keened at the loss and tried turning around so he could see Vegas.

“Needy, aren’t you,” came Vegas’ voice slightly from his left. “You aren’t allowed to be needy today.”

Pete huffed in irritation, but he didn’t say anything about it. He knew that he was already on very thin ice and didn’t want to provoke him any further. The mattress dipped when Vegas came back to bed, finding his place by Pete’s side. Pete heard some rustling when Vegas placed a few things down.

“I won’t tell you what I’ll do today,” Vegas explained. “But I want you to tell me if there’s something that makes you uncomfortable, okay, pup?”

“Okay,” Pete agreed.

Vegas petted his side. “Good puppy.”

Pete tried to settle his fast-beating heart. Usually, they tended to talk about what they’d do before they started a scene. But today was already deviating from the norm.

Ever since Vegas had mentioned the new rope, it had been at the back of his mind. Sapphire blue was his favourite colour, the same colour as the collar. It warmed Pete’s heart that Vegas was so thoughtful. It would also suit the diamond choker perfectly, which sat safely in one of the jewellery boxes on the sideboard. Pete cherished the first gift he had gotten from Vegas and maybe he should wear it one of these days, Pete thought. Maybe it would distract Vegas enough to forget about his behaviour today.

A little gasp escaped his lips when something cool and liquidy was poured over his back. It warmed fast after it touched his skin and it only took a few seconds before the smell of eucalyptus and rosemary reached Pete’s nose. Vegas’ hands were on him only a moment later and he moved the knuckles of both hands from his lower back up to his shoulders with steady pressure.

Pete moaned into the pillow at the feeling. Vegas moved his hands downwards again, this time his palms open, covering the width of his back. He smoothed them down over his ass cheeks, his fingers dipping idly between them and teasing over his hole. Pete’s breath hitched, but Vegas didn’t pay it any mind.

He moved his hands to Pete’s left leg and started to massage it from the top of his thigh down to his knee, tickling the sensitive skin on the inside, which made Pete squirm a bit. Vegas continued down over the back of his calf to his ankle, altering between strong strokes and featherlight touches. He paid special attention to Pete’s foot, pressing the tips of his thumbs into his sole, making Pete hiss before it turned into a moan. The returning journey led over his right side and Vegas repeated his ministrations in reverse.

By the time he reached Pete’s ass again, Pete was rock-hard and pre-come leaked onto the sheets. His breath was coming in short bursts of air and the warmth from the massage oil had soaked into his skin and made Pete feel all loose and floaty.

Another whiney sound was ripped from Pete’s mouth when Vegas pulled his asscheeks apart and let his thumb rub over his hole a few times. He teased Pete, pressing into the tight ring of muscles, but never breaching it and Pete felt frustration grow within him. He wanted more.

Instead, Vegas moved upwards again and pressed both thumbs upwards next to Pete’s spine, up into his hair. Pete’s hands tightened in the fabric of the pillow, the chain of the handcuffs rattling quietly.

“How are you feeling, puppy,” Vegas asked, his voice raspy. The warm breath against his sweaty cheek made Pete shudder.

“‘m good,” Pete answered after a few seconds and Vegas closed his hands a little further around Pete’s neck.

“Happy to hear it,” Vegas said and pressed a wet kiss against Pete’s cheek.

Pete keened in the back of his throat when Vegas removed himself and his hands from him. He was about to ask what Vegas was doing when cool fingers pressed between his cheeks and Vegas pushed into him with two without any further notice. Pete moaned at the burn of the stretch. This was something he was used to, something he loved and thrived on. Pain mixed with pleasure could send him to another world and Vegas was a master at giving him both. Being relaxed enough from the massage, it wasn’t long until Pete started to move against Vegas’ fingers.

A hard smack against his thigh made him pant and turn his head slightly.

“I told you not to move,” Vegas growled at him. “Why are you disobeying me all the time today? Why are you making this so hard for the both of us?”

Pete really didn’t know, but it was like he was trapped in his mind like he wasn’t able to let go and obey like he normally would. As amazing as the massage had been and as unbelievably good Vegas’ fingers felt inside of him, it had only been enough to shut down his brain and his guilty conscience for so long. His remorse over his feelings for Macau came rushing back. Pete tensed beneath Vegas.

Vegas made a disgruntled noise and withdrew his fingers from Pete, making Pete whine more.

“Turn around, pup,” Vegas commanded.

“But Mr Vegas,” Pete murmured.

Vegas made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat at Pete’s open disrespect of his command. He placed his hands on Pete’s hips and turned him around harshly. A small moan escaped Pete at being manhandled like that. Vegas removed the pillow that had been underneath Pete’s stomach and placed it underneath his knees.

“Place your hands above your head,” Vegas commanded and Pete complied this time without hesitation, his eyes never leaving Vegas.

Vegas' mouth was set and his gaze focused. He was looking toward the side, for something on the bed out of Pete’s view. Vegas made a small triumphant noise when he found it and he turned his attention back to Pete. He dragged his hand up to Pete’s knee and wrapped his fingers around it before he pushed Pete’s leg up, giving himself access to his ass.

“Because you don’t want to play fair,” Vegas mumbled, “I won’t play fair either.”

He lifted the other hand and Pete’s breath hitched when he saw what Vegas was holding. It was one of their vibrating anal plugs. A sleek thing in a pretty dark red colour that made Pete go insane every time they used it. The vibrator could be used normally, but Vegas was also able to connect it to his mobile and access its settings in an app.

The last time they had used it, Pete had been on the verge of tears and ready to throw caution in the wind and get himself seated in Vegas' lap in the middle of a video call meeting.

Vegas let the vibrator fall to the mattress again and leaned forward, pushing Pete’s leg up even further and getting closer to his face. He watched Pete’s face attentively, two of his fingers pushing back inside. Pete’s breathing became faster and he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“You look so sexy, puppy,” Vegas praised and Pete whimpered. “And how well you are taking my fingers. It will be so easy to slip the plug inside, don’t you think? I can’t wait to see how desperate it’ll make you, how much you’ll beg for me to turn it off and to fill you with my cock.” Vegas twisted his fingers until they brushed against Pete’s prostate and he gasped again. “Do you think I’ll make you cry?” He leaned further and kissed Pete delicately. “You’re always the most beautiful when you cry.”

Pete tried to chase his lips when Vegas pulled back but all he got was a smirk and Vegas’ fingers being removed once again. He pouted but his expression turned from bratty to aroused in a split second. Vegas had pushed the plug inside without any preamble and held it in place at the widest point.

Vegas' eyes were on him and Pete tried not to blink so he was able to hold Vegas’ gaze, but when Vegas moved it only a tiny bit he couldn’t stop himself from twitching. It was on the edge of too much, but Pete still wanted more. He always did, when it came to Vegas, and Pete was sure he’d never get enough.

With a smirk and a raised eyebrow, Vegas pushed the plug all the way inside and Pete threw his head back with a loud moan. Vegas didn’t give him a moment to get used to being filled but turned the vibrator to the second lowest setting, enough to remind Pete it was there. When he squirmed it pressed directly on his prostate, but the low hum wasn’t enough to get him off on its own by a long shot.

Vegas seemed satisfied with this and let go of Pete’s leg, lowering it carefully onto the pillow. The movements made the plug shift and it drew low moans and whimpers from Pete. Vegas chuckled and picked the massage oil up again. With dark eyes, he watched Pete as he poured more of the scented oil on him. Pete’s breathing picked up again and his fingers dug into the pillow behind him and his teeth into his lower lip. Vegas leaned forward and placed the bottle on the bedside table. When he moved back, he leaned in and brushed his lips against Pete’s ear and cheek.

“Look at you,” he growled. “My perfect little whore.”

Pete’s eyes grew wide at the last word. Vegas hadn’t used it in a long time and it sent another hot sensation directly through Pete’s body. It was astonishing how it still made him feel, especially since he was Vegas’ whore, and no one else’s.

But today it left a bland aftertaste. Pete didn’t feel like he deserved to be called ‘my whore’ with all the conflicting feelings that were coursing through him. It felt like Vegas dragged the torturous pleasure out of him against his will. It felt bittersweet like rotten syrup coating his nerves, his soul. He didn’t deserve this. Nothing of it because Vegas didn’t know. Vegas surely wouldn’t treat him like this if he did. It felt false. Pete felt false. He felt like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering, dishonest and playing with something forbidden.

Vegas gave the same treatment to Pete’s front as he had given to his back. But he paid more attention to his chest, to his abs. He let his fingers tickle Pete more often than not and it distracted Pete for a while. Until Vegas reached his cock and wrapped a hand around it. The shock of the touch and the warmth of Vegas’ hand made him cry out quietly, arching his back without thinking, chasing the touch.

“Pup,” Vegas warned and Pete laid back down, jostling the plug. Pete groaned. “That’s my boy,” Vegas said, stroking his hand slowly up and down Pete’s cock. “Look at you. No one does sexy like you.”

Pete whimpered. The duality of Vegas’ words and the roughness of his calluses against the sensitive skin of his dick was messing even more with Pete’s mind. He tried to keep as still as he could, but the first signs of his approaching orgasm made his muscles clench involuntarily, heightening all his senses. His breath started to come in shorter bursts, small whines made their way from his lips. Pete could feel the pleasure, gathering, inevitable, deep in his gut. He chanted Vegas’ name like it was his only solace.

Pete was about to trip over the edge, his whines becoming louder and higher.

Then it stopped. Vegas wasn’t touching him anywhere. The cry Pete let out resonated against his own eardrums. Vegas chuckled.

“Oh,” he cooed. “Does my little pet not like it?”

Pete knew how he looked when Vegas wrecked him, so his answering glare was most likely to no avail. He could feel how flushed his face was, his fringe sticking to his forehead. He felt completely overwhelmed by what Vegas was doing. He timidly shook his head, not sure what kind of response was expected of him.

“I see how it is,” Vegas answered before he closed his hand around Pete’s cock again. “Let’s see how much you can really take.”

Another sob was ripped from Pete’s throat when Vegas brought him close to climax, just to stop again. Pete didn’t know how many times Vegas had done that by now, he had lost count after the third time. All he knew was that he suddenly reached his limit.

Edging was one thing, it would be bad enough after more than four times with how sensitive his body became and when every touch started to feel like a firebrand. But what made it worse was that at some point Vegas had started praising him. Telling Pete how good he was, how incredible he felt every time Vegas held him in his arms, how he listened to him so well and how much he wanted to show him to the world like this–wrecked, crying and still wanting more, so everyone would know that Pete belonged to him. Vegas’ voice had almost been shaking with it.

Pete wanted to choke on the irony. Vegas wanted to tell the world that Pete was his when he had actually started developing feelings for someone else? Vegas’ own brother on top of that?

“Tell me who you belong to,” Vegas ordered with a tender voice. Pete couldn’t take it anymore.

He didn’t deserve any of Vegas’ praises, not one of the compliments he had been given. He needed it to stop. He needed Vegas to stop.

“P… peanut,” Pete cried and everything stopped.

Pete hadn’t used their safeword ever before and yet Vegas removed his hands as fast as he could without hurting Pete. He was a sobbing and shivering mess by now and not in the usual good way. All Pete wanted was to be held, to be cuddled and he needed someone to tell him that everything would be alright. That he hadn’t messed up the relationship with the person he needed and loved the most in the world.

Vegas loosened the handcuffs and helped Pete to turn around onto his side before Vegas removed the plug as carefully and fast as he could. Pete curled into himself immediately, pressing his hands to his face, sobs wrecking his body. Vegas was sitting next to him, trying to soothe him with his hands roaming over his body and mumbling soft nonsense.

“Pete,” Vegas mumbled, pressing a kiss against his temple. “Baby, what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this. You’re scaring me.”

“Y… hate … me,” Pete sobbed, trying to get away from Vegas.

He didn’t know why he was reacting like this, but all he felt was anxiety and the pure horrific certainty that Vegas would leave him the second he knew about his crush.

“How could I hate you, Pete? Please talk to me,” Vegas pleaded again.

Pete shook his head again and Vegas sighed, pushing his hands under Pete’s arms and lifting him into his lap. He settled against the headboard of the bed, arranging Pete to his liking and hugging him tightly. One of his hands was resting against the back of Pete’s head, fingers pushing him gently into the crook of Vegas' neck as if he knew that Pete needed the solace. The other hand was resting against his side, holding him carefully against Vegas’ chest. Pete’s fingers were clenched in the fabric of Vegas' shirt, holding onto it like it was the last connection between them.

They sat in silence for a very long time. Pete now quietly cried into Vegas’ neck and Vegas murmured encouragements and soft declarations of love. Pete felt himself calm down slowly and he nuzzled his nose against the warm skin of Vegas’ neck, breathing in his scent and feeling himself relax even further.

“You wanna tell me what happened there?” Vegas asked him again carefully.

Pete took a deep breath and sniffled, resting his chin against Vegas' clavicle. “‘m scared that you’ll hate me.”

Vegas placed his fingers under Pete’s chin and lifted his face so they could look at each other.

“Babe, listen. I promise you there’s most likely nothing you could tell me that would make me hate you. Okay?”

Oh, how Pete wished that he could believe Vegas’ words so easily. That his words were true and that Pete didn’t need to be worried about anything. The fact that Vegas hadn’t pushed him away yet was a good start. Pete felt safe in Vegas' arms. He felt protected and at home. Still, he wasn’t sure if their relationship could take this kind of confession.

Pete studied Vegas’ face intently. His eyes were calm but there was a furrow between his brows, worry written all over his face. Pete didn’t like that he was the reason for it and felt another wave of guilt start to rise. His breathing grew frantic again, small tremors were running through his body and Pete felt raw and exposed like never before–like his soul was laid bare before the most important person in his life.

Vegas seemed to sense his predicament and pulled him even closer. He bent his head down and rested his forehead against Pete’s temple, their noses touching lightly.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Vegas promised in a low voice. “If it causes you so much pain and trouble I’d rather not talk about it with you today. We can do it any other time, just… don’t keep it from me. Please.”

The last word was barely above a whisper and Pete lifted his eyes so he could see Vegas’. Pete took a moment to listen closely to his heart and felt his love for Vegas beating through his veins before he nodded tentatively.

“Okay,” he agreed with a small voice. “I will tell you.”

Vegas smiled at him before he leaned further down and pressed a tender kiss against Pete’s lips, his thumb wiping away the drying tears on his cheek. Pete took another shuddering breath and leaned his head back against Vegas’ shoulder.

“I…” he started and took another shuddering breath. “I have a crush on Macau.”

Pete spoke the words so fast like he was ripping off a band-aid to make it hurt less. Vegas' arm around his middle tightened for a moment and he drew in a sharp breath, but that was all the reaction Pete got.

Gingerly, Pete lifted his head so he was able to see Vegas’ expression. Vegas looked back down at him, studying his face carefully. There was no expression that gave away what Vegas was thinking. So far he wasn’t yelling, but Pete knew it might only take him a moment to realise and understand Pete’s words.

Pete bunched the fabric of Vegas’ shirt between his fingers. Vegas hadn’t pushed him away yet.

“You know that I still love you, right?” Pete asked, desperation filling his voice. “I’ve never felt what I feel for you for anyone before and this will never change, Vegas. You have to believe me. I really don’t want to lose you.” Pete pressed his face into the crook of Vegas’ neck. “I know that I shouldn’t have those feelings for Macau. He’s your brother. And I already love you so much, which makes me feel awful… but… but I can’t change how I feel. I tried to ignore it for some time now. I don’t know when it happened or why I’m like this. All I know is that it’s not okay and that you’ll hate me for it. I’m sorry.”

Pete felt the tears welling up again and his breathing getting erratic and shallow. He knew he was on the verge of a panic attack and Vegas not saying anything wasn’t making it any better. Pete tried to get away from Vegas, to get up and get dressed, pack his stuff and leave.

But Vegas pulled him back against his chest the second he started to move. Pete felt his chest move as Vegas took a deep breath.

“I don’t hate you, Pete,” was the first thing Vegas said, and he sounded as serious as when he had offered to buy Pete's freedom. “Jesus…” he chuckled. “I really thought you would leave me or something.”

“I’d never leave you,” Pete sniffled.

“That’s good to know,” Vegas murmured against his forehead. “So… you’re having a crush on my baby brother, hm?”

Pete sighed deeply. “Yeah.”

“Would you explain to me why you feel so bad about it?” Vegas asked.

Pete pulled away from his little hiding spot in Vegas' neck and looked at him with a baffled expression. Had Vegas lost his mind?

“Wh… I feel bad because it feels like I’m betraying you! Like I’m cheating with your brother and because it’s not normal! I should have those feelings only for you and not someone else as well!”

“I also love my brother, maybe not in the same way, but what’s not to love? It’s not like you liking my brother, too, makes you any less mine, now does it?”

“I don’t understand,” Pete murmured. His hands were flexing on Vegas’ skin, unwilling to let go for a second.

Vegas sat up a little, bringing them eye to eye. He removed the hand from Pete’s face to take one of his hands instead.

“Let me try to explain it to you, okay?”

Pete nodded and Vegas placed a kiss on the corner of Pete’s mouth. “You love your grandma’s curry more than anything else, right?”

Pete furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Y… yeah?”

“Do you love my cooking too?” Pete nodded slowly. “Does that make you love your grandma’s curry less?” Pete shook his head. “No, it doesn’t. With love it is similar. Love isn’t limited and it knows no boundaries. Like,” Vegas took a deep breath, “I both loved and hated my father in equal measure. Sometimes I felt like I was drowning in it, but I learned one emotion doesn’t cancel the other out. It is okay to feel how you feel, Pete. No one can feel it the way you do because it’s unique to you. That also means that no one can tell you that how you feel is wrong–and if you have a crush on Macau that’s okay as well. Doesn’t have to mean you love me any less.”

Pete tried to process what Vegas had told him, his fingers twitching in Vegas' hold. “Aren’t you worried he could take me away from you?”

Vegas shook his head. “I’m not worried because I can’t imagine a world in which Macau would want to hurt me like that. And I’m very secure in my feelings for you and I know you really care for me as well. Otherwise, we wouldn’t sit here talking about it. You are mine as you ever were, even if you wanted to pursue something with my brother. As long as your feelings for me don’t change, that won’t change either.” Vegas lifted Pete’s hand and pressed a kiss against his palm. “Does Macau even know that you have a crush on him?”

Pete had started to play with the fabric of Vegas’ pants and shook his head again. “I don’t think he knows. And I’m not even sure if I want to tell him, let alone anything else.”

“That’s very valid.” Vegas kissed his palm again. “Does everything I told you make sense to you? Do you have any more questions?”

Pete shook his head and looked up at Vegas with a small smile. “No. No, I think for now I need to process what you told me.”

“We are good?”

Pete’s smile grew a bit wider. “Yeah… yeah, we are.” Pete closed his eyes with a loud sigh. “I was just so worried that you’d hate me and send me away. Knowing that you aren’t even angry with me…”

Pete wasn’t able to finish the sentence or hold back the tears that had started to gather in his eyes. He was so relieved that Vegas didn’t hate him or was angry with him. The realisation of his crush on Macau had been weighing so much on him the whole day and Vegas’ understanding was such a relief.

Vegas placed his hands on Pete’s cheeks, thumbs removing the tears from his face.

“Why are you crying, babe?” Vegas asked, voice layered with new concern and Pete let out a watery chuckle.

“I…” Pete took a shuddery breath. “I’m just happy. I had envisioned the worst outcome and… you… you just didn’t react the way I had thought.” Pete looked up at Vegas with watery eyes. “I love you, Vegas,” he said before he broke out of Vegas’ hold to hide his face against his partner's shoulder.

Vegas embraced Pete and placed a kiss against his hair. “I love you, too, Pete.”

They stayed like this for some time. Pete simply trying to calm down himself from the onslaught of emotions he went through and Vegas holding him close, hands smoothing over his back. Pete pressed a kiss against Vegas' shoulder before he lifted his head from his hiding spot. Vegas leaned in and kissed Pete deeply, his hand finding its way back into Pete’s hair and fisting it. Pete broke the kiss with a small gasp as the delicious spark of pain ran down his spine. He lifted his hand and placed it on the side of Vegas' neck.

"Please, Vegas," Pete whispered. "Show me to whom I belong."

Vegas started to smile, showing his teeth and Pete knew he would be covered in bite marks, hickeys and bruises come tomorrow morning. He needed it. With a swift move, Vegas brought Pete beneath him, ravishing his mouth once more. Pete lifted his arms and placed them above his head, body arching into Vegas'.

"Undress," Pete demanded. "Get rid of those clothes."

Vegas chuckled before he kissed Pete again harshly. When he pulled back he tugged Pete's bottom lip between his teeth, drawing another moan from Pete. The look in Vegas' eyes was intense and Pete felt himself shudder. He wanted him so badly.

Pete's breath hitched when Vegas followed his request and started to undress. His shirt was the first thing to go and Pete's fingers itched to touch. He wanted to feel the warm and smooth skin beneath his palms. Vegas smirked, knowing exactly what was going on in Pete's mind and he took one of his hands and lifted it to his pec.

"Touch me all you want, pup," he said. "I want your marks on me too."

Pete groaned. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to be greedy and ask for what he longed for. But at this point in their relationship, Vegas was able to read him like an open book. With Vegas' permission, Pete touched him, digging his fingers into the muscles of Vegas' chest. Vegas hissed slightly, bending forward to kiss Pete open-mouthed. He deepened the kiss, making it filthy but oh-so-good. Pete's toes curled from the electrifying feeling that spread through his body.

Vegas got rid of the rest of his clothes and when he covered Pete's body with his own, Pete groaned loudly at the feeling. He loved to be covered by Vegas. The warmth radiating from him and the way his weight pressed him deeper into the mattress gave him a feeling of safety.

Vegas kissed every bit of Pete's skin that he was able to reach. He sucked hickeys and bruises into his skin so that everyone would know that Pete was his.

"Vegas," Pete whined, his body on fire and needing more. Pete pushed his fingers into Vegas' hair and pulled his face away from his shoulder. "Vegas… please. Please fuck me."

Vegas’ eyes were dark and his pupils wide. Pete moaned slightly at the look of his kiss-swollen lips, his ruffled hair and a faint blush on his cheeks. Pete pulled him back and kissed him hard, which made Vegas moan into the kiss. He placed his hands on Pete’s cheeks, his fingertips pressing harshly into his skin. Pete grinned into the kiss as he raked his fingers through Vegas’ hair.

“Fuck me,” Pete mumbled against Vegas' lips. “Fuck me until I forget my own name, Mr Vegas.”

Vegas let out a growl, licking into Pete’s mouth with fervour once more before he sat up on his heels, leaving Pete breathless. Vegas smoothed a hand down Pete’s chest, over his stomach, down to his thigh.

“You want me to fuck you good, hm, puppy?”

He squeezed Pete’s thigh between his fingers and Pete moaned softly. “Yes, Mr Vegas.”

“Well,” Vegas said, kissing Pete’s knee. “Who am I to deny my precious puppy? Get on your hands and knees.”

Pete followed Vegas' instruction and turned around, lifting himself up on his elbows and knees. Vegas hummed in appreciation at the sight of Pete's back. He had a very intense liking for Pete's ass. But Pete wasn't in the mood for a long rimming session today. He felt on edge already after Vegas edged him for nearly an hour and he needed release sooner rather than later.

Vegas seemed to know because he didn't play around like he normally did, but found his place between Pete's spread legs immediately. He let his hands run over Pete's back, pressing his nails into Pete's skin and scratching down his back. Pete moaned at the delicious feeling. It sent sparks running through his body to his groin and he let himself sink a little deeper, opening his legs even more for Vegas.

"Please," he asked again, head turned and looking at Vegas over his shoulder. "I've been so good for you."

Vegas grinned and pressed himself flat against Pete's back, his arms encircling Pete's chest and pressing a sloppy kiss against his cheek.

"Debatable, puppy," he answered. "But I'm willing to let it slide tonight."

"Kiss me?" Pete asked and Vegas pressed forward to seal their lips in a kiss.

His hand smoothed down over Pete's side and slipped between his asscheeks. Pete moaned when two fingers pressed inside him without much resistance. Vegas was still in a bit of a teasing mood it seemed, because he dragged his fingers slowly in and out, turning Pete into a gasping mess again.

"Condom?" Vegas whispered against Pete's cheek, dragging the tips of his fingers over Pete's prostate.

"No," Pete whined, and for a moment he wasn't sure to what exactly he said no. The pressure on his sweet spot or the condom.

Vegas eased up on him for a bit and Pete took a few deep shallow breaths. He turned his head again, looking at his partner.

“No,” he repeated. “No condom. I want to be marked by you everywhere.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Vegas before he leaned in and kissed Pete’s side. Pete wanted to feel owned, he wanted Vegas to know that he still belonged to him and that he would never leave him.

Vegas withdrew his fingers carefully. He placed his hands on Pete’s side, a sign for him that he should turn around. After Pete had gotten comfortable, Vegas bent over Pete so he could reach the lube that was lying discarded on the mattress. Pete bit his lower lip in anticipation, watching as Vegas opened it and poured some generous amount of it on his fingers. He always looked so good when he was in charge and Pete would never get tired to see him like this. The light flush on his cheeks and his chest, how his head fell back and he closed his eyes when he wrapped his fingers around his hard and leaking cock, spreading the lube over it. Pete couldn’t stop the little needy noises that fell from his mouth because he knew how good Vegas’ fingers felt on his body, how they were able to pull pleasure out of him. Every touch, every caress, every bit of pain they brought, they were always gentle with him in the aftermath.

“Do you need more prep?” Vegas asked.

His question brought Pete back from his thoughts and he shook his head. He was prepared enough and he couldn’t wait to finally be filled by Vegas.

“Fuck me,” Pete said breathlessly. “Please, please, please.”

Vegas took a deep breath and got back between Pete’s spread legs. He placed his hands on Pete’s waist, pressing his hard cock between his cheeks and rolling them a few times. Pete dropped forward, fingers tightening in the sheets.

The head of Vegas' cock caught on his entrance.

“God, please,” he whined.

Pete was sure he was about to implode when Vegas finally, finally pushed in. A soft sob fell from his lips at the intrusion, at the burn that he had craved so badly and the feeling of being one with Vegas.

Vegas slowly sank into Pete until he bottomed out. He gave them a few moments before he started to pull back, agonisingly slow until only the tip of his cock was inside of Pete. Pete’s breathing was shallow, the whines stuck at the back of his throat. He spread his legs further, making more space for Vegas. A warm hand moved up his back, settling on the top of his shoulder. The moan that fell from Pete’s mouth when he was pulled onto Vegas' cock by the hand on his hip was pure filth. Vegas moved forward, covering Pete’s body with his own, the hand on his shoulder moved up his arm, intertwining their fingers. Pete moaned quietly when Vegas wrapped his arm around his chest, pulling them both up a bit.

The slow rolls of Vegas’ hips were pure agony as much as they were blissful. Pete had wanted everything and Vegas was giving it to him so freely. He had been so good to Pete today. He had listened to him, had let him explain his feelings and helped him to understand them. Vegas was everything Pete could wish for. He pulled their joined hands close to his mouth and pressed his lips against Vegas’ thumb.

“I love you,” Pete murmured, lips brushing against Vegas’ finger. “Love you so much, Vegas.” Pete gasped when Vegas bit into the meat of his shoulder. “Yes,” he breathed. “More.”

Vegas moved his hands up Pete’s arms, pulled them above his head and caught his wrists between one hand, holding them tightly. Pete moved into every thrust of Vegas’ hips, arching his back so he could take him even deeper. Vegas covered his neck, his shoulders, every bit of his chest he could reach in bites and hickeys, marking him as promised.

Shudders of pleasure were running through Pete’s body and he wasn’t able to stop the constant noises falling from his lips. When Vegas finally wrapped his free hand around Pete’s neglected cock he couldn’t hold back the scream. Pete had been on edge for most of the evening, he had been teased so much and now Vegas would finally allow him to come. He had been so good, so, so good and all Pete wanted was to fall over the edge.

“You’ve been so good for me, pup,” Vegas crooned into Pete’s ear, nipping at the lobe. “Been so good and talked to me instead of keeping your thoughts and worries to yourself. I love you, babe.” Pete moaned loudly at the confession. “I love you, Pete.”

Vegas' name fell from his lips like a chant. Like a prayer, to worship the person he loved most in this world. Vegas mouthed at Pete’s neck, his breath brushing over Pete’s sweaty skin and making goosebumps rise on Pete’s whole body, making him even more sensitive than he already was.

“‘m close,” Pete moaned. “‘m so close, Vegas. Please… please let me come.”

“Do you think you deserve it, puppy?” Vegas murmured.

“Yes… yes please,” Pete begged. “Vegas, please.”

Vegas' hand tightened around his cock and with every stroke he twisted his wrist, his thrusts getting harder and harder with every move. Pete’s fingers were flexing against the pillow, his moans turning into high-pitched whines.

“Come for me, Pete. Be a good boy for me.”

Vegas' words were everything Pete needed to fall over the edge. His orgasm was ripped from him, making Pete scream hoarsely. Wave after wave of pleasure ran through his body and Pete wasn’t sure where he started and where he was. All he knew was bliss and the warmth of Vegas' body covering his. Pete was certain he could feel Vegas' heartbeat, the way he pressed his hips against Pete when he reached his own climax, his hands holding Pete tightly, his teeth gracing the sensitive spot on the back of his neck.

They collapsed together, Vegas let go of Pete’s wrist and turned them on their sides, pulling Pete closer against his chest without pulling out. Pete cherished the feeling of still being full and he turned his head a little, still floating on his climax high. He placed his hands over Vegas’.

“Kiss?” he asked, voice sounding hoarse and Vegas leaned forward, pressing his lips to the side of Pete’s mouth.

Pete let out a small happy sigh and sunk a bit deeper against the mattress, pulling Vegas with him. They stayed like this for a long time. Just breathing together, basking in the warmth of each other. Pete drifted off at some point, the steady rise and fall of Vegas’ breathing lulling him deeper into sleep.

He was startled awake when Vegas removed himself and turned away to fetch something from the bedside table. His cock slipped out of Pete and it wasn’t the most pleasurable feeling, making Pete whine in the back of his throat.

“V’gas,” Pete mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Sorry,” Vegas answered and pressed a kiss against Pete’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Too late,” Pete murmured and turned around to face Vegas.

Vegas gave him a soft smile and smoothed his fingers through Pete’s hair. “How are you feeling?”

Pete sighed deeply, leaning into the soft touch. “Good,” he answered honestly, his own fingers drawing random patterns on Vegas’ chest.

“I’m glad,” Vegas said before he pressed another kiss to Pete’s temple. “I’ll go and draw us a bath. Follow me when you are ready, okay?”

Pete hummed. “You don’t have to draw a bath. A shower will do.”

“No,” Vegas said sternly. “A shower won’t do. You’ve been so stressed out, Pete. You need proper care. And I need it too.”

Pete looked at him with worried eyes. “I’m sorry about that, Vegas.”

Vegas leaned forward and kissed Pete’s forehead tenderly. “Let’s talk about it again tomorrow, hm? Now we’ll have a bath together. Let me spoil you and then we go to sleep. It’s been an exhausting day for the both of us.”

“Okay,” Pete agreed.

He watched Vegas go after another kiss. Of course, Vegas was right. They had to have a proper talk tomorrow, but it was already late and Pete was bodily and emotionally exhausted. A bath and maybe a midnight snack weren’t the worst idea.

Pete stayed in bed for a few more minutes, listening to the soft noises coming from the ensuite. He stretched languidly before he rolled out of bed and slowly followed Vegas. His body felt sore in the best of ways and Pete knew that the feeling would only get even better come tomorrow morning.

The bathroom was already filled with warm steam when Pete entered. Vegas was pouring some of their favourite lavender bubble soap into the steadily filling tub. He turned his head slightly when he heard Pete come in and smiled at him.

“Come here,” Vegas said and Pete walked up to him.

Vegas raised his hands and slowly opened the collar that Pete had been wearing for the last 24 hours. He carefully removed the leather band from around Pete’s throat, holding it in one hand while he let his other hand trail over the red marks that had been left from it. Pete sighed quietly, his eyes on the collar in Vegas' hand. He really liked it, but Pete wasn’t sure if he’d be able to wear it anytime soon.

Vegas' warm palm against his cheek pulled him back from his thoughts and he looked up at his boyfriend.

“Get in,” he spoke softly and Pete followed his instruction without question.

He hissed when stepping into the hot water, but he also knew that it would take his skin only a few moments to accommodate the temperature. Pete lowered himself slowly, letting out a sigh as he got comfortable. Vegas watched him the whole time. When Pete was lounging in the warm water he stood up and got them some towels, which he placed on the stool next to the tub.

“Where would you like me?” Vegas asked, fingers trailing through Pete’s hair.

“Get in behind me?”

Pete scooted forward, making space so that Vegas could get in. The water was moving around Pete when Vegas entered the tub, lapping against his chest and arms. Vegas pulled him against himself after he had gotten comfortable. Pete sank a bit deeper into the water, his hand following the length of Vegas’ arm and Pete intertwined his fingers with the hand that was resting against his stomach.

They sat in companionable silence, the lavender-scented air wafting around them in steamy clouds and the warmth of the water relaxed Pete’s muscles.

“Let me wash your hair, babe,” Vegas murmured against Pete’s temple. “It’s a bit greasy from the oil.”

Pete nodded and turned his head to peck Vegas’ lips. Vegas removed his hand from Pete’s stomach and reached out for the shower head and turned it on. He controlled the temperature before he brought it up to soak Pete’s hair. He was utterly careful, shielding Pete’s eyes with one hand from the water. When he deemed Pete’s hair wet enough, Vegas grabbed the shampoo from where it sat on the edge of the tub and squeezed some into his palm. He worked it into Pete’s hair, massaging it into his scalp and Pete moaned lowly at how good Vegas’ fingers felt against his scalp. He even paid attention to the sensitive spots behind Pete’s ear.

“Lean your head back, please.”

Vegas tilted Pete’s head backwards, resting it against his shoulder before he washed out the shampoo, being very thorough to make sure he got all off the massage oil. When he was finished, Vegas placed a kiss against Pete’s neck before he rinsed his hair quickly as well.

“Let’s get out, hm?” Vegas suggested and Pete nodded slowly.

The warmth of the water and the little massage had made Pete very tired again. Vegas got up before him and helped Pete up and out of the tub, a steadying hand on his side. Pete was wrapped into one of the fluffy towels and pat dry by Vegas. He always took such good care of Pete and he couldn’t help the sappy smile that appeared on his face when Vegas kneeled down to help him into his pyjama pants. Pete smoothed his fingers through Vegas’ damp hair. Vegas got up and wrapped his arms around Pete, pulling him against his chest. They looked at each other for a long moment before Vegas leaned in and pecked Pete’s lips.

“Would you go down and get some water from the kitchen, while I change the sheets?”

Pete shook his head with a fond smile. Sometimes he couldn’t believe that this was his reality. That Vegas cared so much about him and that he could be the most adorable person in the world. It was amazing to know that he was so loved by his boyfriend.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

Pete went downstairs to the kitchen dressed in pyjama bottoms and hair still damp. He didn’t turn on the lights, as knew the way to the kitchen by heart.

After the bath, he felt relaxed and his heart felt unburdened. The talk with Vegas about his feelings had been necessary and knowing he didn’t hate him was a relief. How Vegas had explained things had opened Pete’s eyes. He had never given thought to the fact that love came in many forms and it had actually made sense. Pete had always had a big heart and loved easily, even though the way he felt for Vegas ran deeper. He had never felt love like this for any of his past lovers and Pete had never thought it would be possible. Vegas was his other half, his soulmate. Nothing could be stronger that that, not even the feelings he had for Macau too.

His bare feet barely made a sound on the tiles and when Pete opened the fridge he winced as he was blinded by its light. Pete rummaged through it, trying to find something edible for Vegas and him that wouldn’t make a mess of the freshly changed sheets. Pete knew that Vegas had only asked for water, but that they could use something to eat as well as they both had skipped dinner and so he pulled out one of the containers with leftovers. It was fried rice with chicken and the peanut sauce Vegas loved so much. Pete would heat it up in the microwave and take the water with him that Vegas had asked for.

With a small smile, he closed the fridge and turned around, letting out a startled yelp. Macau was standing at the door to the kitchen, cast in half darkness and looking at him with big eyes.

Pete knew how he looked. He had just had sex, intense sex, and he knew he looked like it. Vegas had left marks all over his body, the bites, hickeys and scratches must be very visible to Macau in the light of the fridge, Pete’s bare chest on full display. Pete thought he could feel Macau’s eyes trace the marks on his body and he wasn’t able to stop the blush spreading over his cheeks. Self-consciously, he fruitlessly raised his arms, trying to cover his chest.

Macau pushed himself away from the door and walked up to the fridge. Pete stepped aside to let him by. Opening the fridge, bathing them both in the harsh blue-ish light, Macau cast another glance at Pete and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Had fun, I see,” he smirked. “Sometimes I’m really glad I live at the other end of the flat, away from you and Hia, so I don’t have to hear you.”

Pete went through a range of emotions. He felt flustered and embarrassed at Macau’s cheeky words, the heat rushing straight to his cheeks. But there was also calmness washing over him, knowing that he now was allowed to appreciate what he felt for Macau freely and without restraints. There was no guilt weighing him down anymore, no need to stamp it down and lock it up in a box deep in his heart. He watched Macau move things around in the fridge until he found the bottle of soda he wanted and Pete realised that what he was feeling was okay. That he wanted to be close to Macau and could, that he was allowed to enjoy the time they were able to spend alone and that it was alright if his heart started to beat a bit faster when Macau was close to him. That it was okay for Pete to find Macau attractive and that he was allowed to look, because how could he not? Macau was handsome and it would be a shame not to appreciate that, in Pete’s humble opinion.

“Good night, Phi,” Macau said when he closed the fridge with a smile before he started to walk out again.

“Good night, Macau,” Pete yelled after him a few seconds later.

Pete reheated the rice and brought it back with him to the bedroom. As promised, Vegas had changed the sheets and turned on the lamps on their bedside tables. He looked up from the book he was reading, looking all soft and sweet with his hair mussy and the glasses perched up on his nose.

“Oh,” Vegas exclaimed when he smelled the food.

“I thought we could use something more substantial than just water,” Pete explained when he handed the big bowl to Vegas.

Pete climbed into bed next to him, holding two spoons. He scooted closer to Vegas so they could eat comfortably from it. They ate in silence for a few minutes and Pete basked in the warmth that radiated from Vegas’ body and how he held him tightly with one arm slung around his middle.

“I met Macau downstairs,” Pete mumbled around a spoonful of rice.

“Yeah?” Vegas asked. “What did he say?”

“That he’s happy he’s not living next door, so he doesn’t have to hear us when we have sex.”

Vegas nearly choked on his rice, coughing violently and Pete patted his back gently. “Damn,” he wheezed. “That bastard.”

Pete chuckled. “Can you blame him, after he saw me like this?” He gestured at his torso.

Something dark and dangerous flashed through Vegas' eyes, but it was gone in a second before he smirked.

“I actually can’t. You look divine, pup.” Vegas leaned over and kissed Pete gently. “How do you feel about it?” Pete blushed and lowered his eyes, stuffing another spoon full of rice into his mouth, which made Vegas laugh. “Oh, you enjoyed it too,” he teased. “No bad feelings?”

Pete shook his head. “No. I think I liked it. And knowing that everything’s okay between us made me feel better.” He looked up at Vegas. “But for now I don’t want to tell him, nor do I want to pursue anything more with Macau. I’m happy with how things are.”

Vegas kissed Pete’s cheek. “Whatever you want, my love.”

Pete spent the two days Vegas had to go to the south with Macau alone at home and it was not as bad as he had feared it would be. They were friends, they had spent time alone before and all of Pete’s worries had been for nought.

Instead, he was able to cherish the small fluttering feeling in his chest and the warmth in his stomach. It felt normal and the two days allowed Pete to settle into his new reality. That he wasn’t only in love with Vegas, but also had feelings for Macau. It still felt a bit weird and twisted to him as they were brothers, but as Vegas didn’t seem to have a problem with it, why should Pete? It might be unusual, but he felt that they were perfect the way they were.

The next weeks passed in a blur with Macau having tests at school and Vegas still occasionally being gone. Pete used the time and met with his friends to catch up. It was lovely to see all of them again and he felt slightly bad for neglecting them for such a long time, to which Tankhun only replied with a ‘Don’t be silly. You are in love, of course, we aren’t important now.’

Vegas had decided to have a movie night on the evening when Macau was going to the party of his friend. It would be just Pete and him after he had been away for nearly three days. Which had been awful, in Pete's humble opinion because he had missed Vegas a lot. They had the flat to themselves. Macau was out for a party with his friends and wouldn't be home until the early hours of the morning.

It gave them the chance to indulge in undisturbed cuddles and quality time. Vegas had cooked for them and they had eaten on the couch while watching the first movie of the night. The dishes had been done together, with small kisses and warm light touches. Pete had craved to have Vegas back and he would use every second they were alone. It wasn't like Macau was a nuisance and never left them alone, it was just nice when it was just him and Vegas.

Pete had cuddled into Vegas' side for the next movie, both wrapped in a cosy blanket and sharing the warmth of their bodies. The movie wasn't much to Pete's liking. Something post-apocalyptic with a lot of plotholes, so he had started to drift and dozed off while Vegas' fingers played with the hair at the back of his neck.

Vegas chose another movie after that and Pete really tried to pay attention to that one, but he was so tired and the warmth and Vegas' steady heartbeat beneath his ear made him sleepy and he napped again.

Until some loud noises coming from the direction of the elevator woke him up. Pete rubbed his eyes as he sat up a bit more. Vegas turned his head and looked at him with a smile, letting his hand drop from the top of his head to his neck and squeezing it lightly. Pete was about to lean in for a kiss when Macau stumbled into the room. He stopped at the corner, leaning slightly against the wall.

Pete watched him curiously. It was the first time he saw him this drunk. His hair was dishevelled, his cheeks red, and he was missing the suit jacket he had worn when he had left home. The top four buttons of his shirt were opened and his eyes set on Vegas and Pete on the couch.

Macau took a deep breath before he pushed himself off of the wall and started to walk toward them. Vegas sat up a bit straighter, but he was still relaxed next to Pete, so he leaned a bit further into him and placed a kiss on Vegas' neck. Pete felt surprisingly clingy today and he didn’t want to leave Vegas’ side at all. He saw Macau approaching them from the corner of his eye and Pete turned his head in his direction to greet him properly when suddenly two warm hands were placed on his cheeks and a pair of warm and wet lips landed on his.

Pete heard the sharp intake of breath next to him, but he was too surprised and a little dumbfounded to do anything other than accept the kiss. It didn’t last long and Macau pulled back after a few seconds before he dropped gracelessly onto the coffee table, watching them with a big grin on his face.

Pete risked a glance at Vegas, who looked at his brother with big eyes and an expression of surprise and wonder on his face. Pete somehow felt the same. He wasn’t able to figure out what that meant. Why had Macau kissed him? Why now? When Pete turned his attention to Macau, he could see how relaxed he was, the grin on his face unrestrained, showing off his teeth and crinkling the corner of his eyes, his hands folded in his lap and leaning slightly backwards.

“What the fuck?” It was Vegas who finally broke the silence.

“It’s like you said, Phi,” Macau spoke, his speech slightly slurred. “Good things need time.” Macau leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Pete. “I like you, P’Pete. A lot. I think it’s only fair that you know.”

Pete froze, his eyes growing wide and he felt a blush creeping up over his cheeks. He remembered the conversation. It had been only a few weeks ago when Macau had told him about his crush. Pete had always assumed that it was someone from school, and definitely not him.

“What,” he croaked, but Macau just smiled at him adoringly.

“Where’s that coming from so suddenly?” Vegas asked, sounding more curious than anything else.

“It’s your own damn fault, Hia,” Macau sighed.

“How is this my fault now? I didn’t do anything!” Vegas really sounded scandalised at his brother's accusation and Pete really tried hard to stifle his giggles, but he wasn’t very successful.

“It is,” Macau sighed, nodding his head slightly. “You can’t just put him in front of me in all those pretty clothes all the time. That’s just rude, Hia! I mean, have you seen that ass? Of course, you have and you knew he would look very good in those trousers. And…” Macau waved his hands around a bit before he pointed his finger at Vegas. “If you hadn’t dangled him all over the place decked in collars and bruises, thinking I wouldn’t notice, and then make him sit at your feet and let him cook us breakfast and with Pete being like… really sweet and caring and pretty and so damn sexy in general, then this wouldn’t have happened!!” Macau shook his head. “You had it coming, Hia. How am I supposed to stay away from him.” Macau dropped his head. “Hia, you can’t be mad about this, because you’ve been encouraging me and that’s been very rude of you. You must have known that I like P’Pete.”

Vegas looked so torn when Pete glanced at him. Nearly all of the things Macau had said were true. They had stopped being careful about their lifestyle around him very much early on and Vegas had tried to coax a reaction out of Macau ever since Pete had told him about the feelings he had for the younger man. So yeah, Vegas had it coming. And Pete found it endearing. It wasn’t the grand gesture or talk he had envisioned, but it was them. It was real and kinda sweet and Pete would cherish that moment in his heart forever.

“I’m not mad at you, Macau. I could never be,” Vegas answered finally and relief washed over Macau’s face.

“I always feared that you’d hate me,” Macau mumbled. “And when I asked P’Pete what to do… It only confused me more.”

Vegas' hand tapped Pete’s thigh underneath the blanket so Pete turned his attention to his boyfriend. He looked so confused and lost right now and Pete felt sorry for him. But he had given Macau the promise not to tell anyone and Pete would never betray his trust like this.

“I’ll explain it later,” Pete promised, squeezing the hand on his thigh.

Vegas nodded and turned his attention back to his brother. Macau’s eyes were drooping and he yawned deeply. He really looked tired and when Pete cast a glance at the clock by the wall it showed that it already was after 1 am. Maybe they should go to bed. It would do all of them good. Macau would be able to sleep off his drunkenness and Pete would be able to fill in Vegas on what had happened those weeks ago.

“We should go to bed,” Pete told Vegas, who nodded.

They both got up and cleaned up a bit around them, while Macau still sat at the table, watching them with sleepy eyes. When Pete picked up their glasses next to Macau, the younger looked up at him, lower lip protruding and with huge puppy eyes.

“Phi… Phi aren’t you gonna say anything?” he whined. “Please… please don’t hate me…”

Pete’s heart clenched at his last words and he placed his hand beneath Macau’s chin and made him look up into his eyes.

“I adore you, Macau,” he said, and there was the little happy smile Macau had before. “I could never hate you. But maybe we should have that conversation when you’re a tiny bit more sober and had at least a few hours of proper sleep, hm?”

Pete let his hand slide to Macau’s cheek and he bent down, pressing a tiny peck against his forehead. The content sigh falling from Macau’s lips made Pete chuckle and when he stood back up, Vegas stepped next to him.

“I’ll help him upstairs and get him into bed before I come to you,” he said to Pete after he had turned off the TV and the lamp next to the couch.

Pete nodded and placed a kiss on Vegas’ cheek, who was trying to help his brother up. “I’ll wait for you.”

Macau opened his eyes a bit as Pete started to walk away, but he wasn’t able to get far because Macau was up in no time, nearly falling over and grabbing Pete’s arm. Vegas hasted after him, wrapping his arm around Macau’s middle and pulling him into his side.

“Woah, careful there, buddy,” Vegas scolded him slightly.

“Where are you going, P’Pete?” Macau pouted.

Pete looked helplessly at Vegas, who just shrugged his shoulders. “I’m going to bed, Macau. Vegas will help you, okay?”

“Why can’t you help me?”

“I…” Pete started and looked back at Vegas, who looked just as lost as he was. They never had to deal with Macau in this kind of state ever before. “I mean I could if you want to?”

“Yes, please,” Macau said very enthusiastically and let himself fall forward.

Pete rushed towards him and caught him from falling to the floor, while Vegas was still attached to his back, trying to keep him steady. Macau’s face was smashed against Pete’s chest and he let out a happy sigh when his arms tightened around Pete’s middle.

“You’re so warm, P’Pete,” Macau mumbled against his shirt. “I get why Hia always wants to be around you. You are like a marshmallow. Warm and soft and fluffy and so squishy.”

With his last words, he moved his hands and squeezed Pete, who let out a startled laugh because it tickled. Pete’s eyes met Vegas’ over Macau’s head and even Vegas had an amused smile on his face.

“He’s so drunk,” Pete mouthed before another chuckle erupted from his chest when Macau squeezed his sides.

“Let’s get him to bed, hm?” Vegas suggested when he pulled Macau into a somewhat upright position.

“Yeah,” the younger man said, smiling dopey at Pete. “We should get him to bed.”

“Ai Macau,” Vegas yelled. “I was talking about you and your drunken ass, not about my boyfriend.”

Macau turned his head, squinting at his brother. “But… but why would you want me to get into bed with you? That’s not what I want, Hia.”

“Oh my God,” Vegas groaned.

Pete couldn’t keep himself together anymore and started to laugh wholeheartedly at how hilarious all this was. Never would he have thought that there was even a slight chance that his feelings would be requited. And yet here they were – Macau being the most precious being and drunkenly confessing to him. Pete wasn’t able to stop the warm feeling from spreading through his whole body. It all felt so unreal, but at the same time undeniably real.

Pete took one of Macau’s arms and put it over his shoulder, taking some of his weight.

“Let’s go,” Pete suggested, voice still filled with amusement.

Vegas followed his example and put Macau’s other arm over his shoulder and with their united forces they were able to get him up the stairs. For a moment they stood at the top of the stairs, not knowing where to go. But Pete would have felt rather bad if he left Macau alone now. He was really drunk and maybe he would need help during the night in case he had to puke or needed something else. Vegas seemed to share the sentiment, so they made their way to their bedroom.

Macau was a dead weight between them at this point, most likely asleep by now.

Pete and Vegas moved Macau to the bed and laid him down as carefully as possible. They stood next to each other, looking down at the young man.

“So he talked to you about this whole thing?” Vegas asked quietly after a few moments.

Pete turned his head and looked at Vegas, their eyes meeting. “No,” Pete answered. “Well, yes, but it’s not what you might think. Remember when you had that business meeting with Kinn a few weeks ago? The time when Macau had been gloomy and broody for a whole week?”

Vegas nodded.

“Well, I was watching a movie alone and then Macau joined me out of the blue. Remember how worried we had been?”

Vegas nodded again.

“He didn’t say much in the beginning, just sat there, ignoring me. And then he asked me if he could tell me something and of course, I said yes. He told me that he liked someone, that he had a crush, but that this someone already was in a relationship and he didn’t know what to do. I told him that he would confess to his crush when he would be ready and that those good things needed time.” Pete shrugged. “I suppose today was the day and that his crush wasn’t a friend from school as I had assumed.”

Vegas chuckled. “No, it was someone much closer.” He shook his head, looking fondly at Macau on their bed. “We should get him out of his clothes before we settle in as well.”

When Vegas made a step forward to help his brother, Pete reached out and took his hand.

“You know that I love you very much, right?” Pete asked and Vegas looked at him with fond exasperation.

He turned back to Pete and placed his hand on his cheek. “I know, puppy. We talked about this, remember? It’s okay that both of you are in the same boat. I’m happy for you that Macau seems to have feelings for you, too.” Vegas leaned forward and kissed Pete tenderly. “Don’t worry, Pete. We will figure it out together, okay? I won’t leave you alone with this.”

Pete pulled Vegas into a tight hug and buried his face in his shoulder. He felt a bit overwhelmed by everything. As funny as it had been, the following days would most likely bring a lot of changes with them. If Macau remembered what he had said and would act on his feelings.

“I love you, Vegas,” Pete whispered against his neck and Vegas tightened his arms around Pete.

“I love you too, puppy.”

They took care of Macau together, wrangling him out of his clothes and putting one of Vegas’ shirts on him before they moved him to the left side of the bed. Pete got a bucket and placed it next to the bed, just in case, and Vegas went to the kitchen to get his brother some water and an Aspirin for tomorrow morning.

Pete and Vegas got ready for bed together. They stood next to each other while brushing their teeth and changing into something decent for sleeping. Tonight they couldn’t go to bed naked. Vegas put on some pyjama bottoms while Pete dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Pete got into bed first, getting comfortable under his blanket. Vegas followed him only a few moments later after turning off the lights.

Pete turned around and snuggled into Vegas’ side. He felt soft lips brush against his forehead and Vegas murmured, ‘Good night. I love you,’ against his hair. Pete let out a happy sigh before he sunk heavier against Vegas. Pete was really curious about what would happen in the morning and what the following days, weeks and months would bring. It was a relief for him to know that Vegas wasn’t mad and that he would be by his side, no matter what. He somehow always had Pete’s back and that was something he was endlessly grateful for.

The calm heartbeat of his love and the soft snores from Macau lulled Pete to sleep.

Pete was woken by a sharp movement against his back. He was too drowsy to realise what was going on. The arm that had been wrapped tightly around his middle was moving away and he didn’t like that. Also, the warmth from his back was vanishing and Pete liked that even less. There was some rustling and a movement on his other side.

“Macau.” Vegas sighed. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “Pete would be really sad if he woke up and you were gone. Please,” Vegas’ mumbled. “Stay. For him. It really is okay.”

The warmth at his back returned, but the arm didn’t. Pete made an unsatisfied noise in the back of his throat and was pulled a bit closer against what he assumed was Vegas’ chest. Vegas’ lips brushed a kiss against his temple and Pete hummed happily, nosing at Vegas’ collarbone. Pete felt content and happy, surrounded by warmth.

“How are you feeling?” Vegas whispered.

“My head hurts,” Macau answered, his voice rough and quiet behind Pete. “It’s like someone’s playing the drums inside of my skull.”

“Well, you were really drunk last night,” Vegas stated, matter of factly. “There’s a glass of water and a painkiller on the night table. You should take it.”

Macau moved away from Pete’s back again and he carefully blinked his eyes open. His eyelashes brushed against the skin of Vegas’ chest, who moved his head and looked down at Pete. He raised his eyebrows and Pete shook his head minutely. He didn’t want Macau to know that he was awake already. He had listened to Vegas and had considered Pete’s feelings which made Pete feel very warm inside.

With a groan, Macau turned back, the mattress moving underneath them and he moved closer to Pete’s back but without touching him.

“How much do you remember from last night?” Vegas asked, his fingers moving through the short hair of Pete’s neck and he shuddered slightly.

Macau seemed to think about it before he answered. “If you want to ask if I remember kissing P’Pete, yes I do.” His voice was a low murmur in the dark.

Pete’s heart started to beat faster at Macau’s answer. This was good. “I don’t remember much of the conversation, though. You have to believe me that I never wanted to keep this a secret from you, Hia. I won’t interfere with your and P’Pete’s relationship. I’ll stay away from him if that’s what you want. I just…” Macau sighed and it sounded dangerously close to a sob. “I just can’t change my feelings for him. I really wish I could.”

Vegas removed his fingers from Pete’s nape and Pete could only assume that he brushed them through Macau’s hair, or over his face. His heart clenched at the thought that Macau still thought that he couldn’t have all this, him… them. Pete didn’t want anything more than to reassure him, to tell him that it would be okay, that they were okay. But he didn’t want to interfere with Vegas.

“It’s fine, Macau,” Vegas answered softly. “You don’t have to change your feelings or deny them. We will talk about this properly over breakfast, with Pete, and figure things out. Okay? I promise you there’s no need to worry.”

“But,” Macau started and Vegas shushed him.

“Trust me with this, okay, Macau? Just this once.”

Pete’s heart soared with love and happiness. Vegas really took care of them both, being the link between Pete and Macau. Pete pressed his face against Vegas’ chest, his arm tightening where it was slung over Vegas' side. Never would he have thought that he could have all this. That he could have Vegas and Macau. But here he was, sandwiched between them on a Sunday morning and Pete really couldn’t believe his luck.

“Vegas,” Pete whispered breathlessly and Vegas looked down at him. Pete needed him to know how much he loved him. How thankful he was to him and that he would never leave him ever again.

Whatever Vegas saw in Pete’s face made him smile and he leaned down and kissed him. It was a sweet and loving kiss. Chaste, considering their usual circumstances, but it transported both their feelings very well.

Vegas stroked the fingers of his free hand through Pete’s hair, smiling at him.

“Turn around, pup. Let Macau see how happy you are that he’s here.”

Pete’s breath hitched before he turned around hastily, pushing himself up on his elbows and making Vegas laugh loudly behind him at how eager he was. Macau watched him with huge eyes, a look of disbelief on his face as he looked up at Pete, who was grinning down at him.

“Good morning, Macau,” Pete said quietly.

“G-good morning, P’Pete,” Macau answered.

He looked so spooked and scared like he would wake up any second now just to realise that this all had been a dream. Pete couldn’t have that. This was not a dream, this was as real as it could get. So he lowered himself down again, lying on his side, facing Macau.

“Can I hug you?” Pete asked and Macau nodded slowly. Pete raised his upper arm. “Come here,” he said with a smile.

Macau shuffled into his arms, wrapping his arms around Pete before he pulled him against his body. The younger man hid his face against Pete’s chest and Pete chuckled quietly at how adorable Macau was. Vegas started to stroke the side of his neck and Pete moved his head a bit so he could look back at him.

Vegas seemed happy too, his eyes crinkling with a fond smile and Pete’s heart skipped a beat at how beautiful he looked.

This didn’t mean anything yet. They still had to talk about a lot of things, how this could work, but Pete was certain that they would be able to make it work. But that could wait until after breakfast.

They had stayed in bed for a bit longer, enjoying the silence and warmth between them. Pete drifted off once more, snuggled tightly between the brothers. Vegas’ breath brushed over the back of his neck, while he could feel the rise and fall of Macau’s chest.

It was a small peck against his cheek that woke him the next time. Pete blinked his eyes open and stretched languidly.

“Where’s Macau?” He asked Vegas, who was about to get out of bed.

“He left half an hour ago. He wanted to shower and get ready for the day.” Vegas got up from the bed and walked to their bathroom. “I’ll go downstairs when I’m finished and start on breakfast. Wanna join me?”

Pete enjoyed the view of Vegas back. He would have loved to stay in bed longer, but the offer of joining Vegas for a shower was too tempting. So he rolled out of bed as well and hurried after his partner.

Vegas had already turned on the shower and was undressing. Pete stopped in the doorway and watched him for a few seconds before he closed the door behind himself and started to take off his own clothes. Pete pressed himself against Vegas’ back, arms wrapping around the other’s middle as he started to place kisses all over Vegas’ neck.

Vegas hummed, letting his head fall back against Pete’s shoulder. Pete nipped at Vegas’ pulse point, hands roaming over his chest and abdomen. His fingers brushed against the tip of Vegas' hardening cock and Pete couldn’t stop the smile that was appearing on his face.

“Someone’s happy to see me,” he murmured against Vegas’ neck, wrapping his hand around it and stroking it a few times.

Vegas hissed at the touch and he wrapped his hand around Pete’s wrist to stop him.

“Don’t start things when you can’t finish them, Pete,” Vegas warned him.

“Who says I won’t be able to finish, hm?” Pete teased, rolling his hips against Vegas’ ass.

“Pup,” Vegas growled and stepped away from Pete. “Not now. We have more important things to focus on.”

Pete pouted at his partner but still followed him into the shower. The warm water felt good on his skin and he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“Not even a quick handjob?” Pete asked innocently.

Vegas tried to glare at him but failed miserably with his hair all wet and plastered against his forehead. Vegas looked as threatening as a soaked kitten and Pete stepped into his personal space with a smirk. Vegas took in a sharp breath when their chests touched and Pete’s lips were only mere millimetres from his. Pete was looking into Vegas’ eyes, those dark endless orbits Pete would be able to lose himself in.

“I know you want it, too,” Pete murmured against Vegas’ lips, one hand placed on his hip.

Vegas' lips tightened for a moment before he opened them to respond. Pete didn’t let him. He sealed their lips in a searing kiss and backed Vegas into the shower wall. Vegas growled into the kiss when his back hit the cold tiles which made Pete smirk into it. He wrapped his hand around Vegas’ still hard cock when he tugged Vegas’ lower lip between his teeth. Vegas moaned loudly.

“I hate you,” he grunted, hips still rolling into Pete’s fist despite his words earlier.

Pete chuckled with a bright smile before he kissed Vegas again. “No, you don’t.”

“Did you sleep until now?” Macau asked with a raised eyebrow when they walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later.

“Vegas needed a bit longer in the bathroom,” Pete answered with a smirk, rounding the kitchen counter to get started on their breakfast.

“And who’s fault was that?” Vegas asked in return.

Macau turned to his brother with a scandalised expression, opening his mouth before thinking better of it and turning back to Pete. “No… I don’t wanna know,” he said.

Pete chuckled quietly as he pulled out some pans and the ingredients to make them breakfast with bacon and eggs, toast and pancakes. Vegas walked up to him and pressed a kiss against Pete’s cheek.

“I’ll get the coffee started.”

“Thanks, babe,” Pete answered with a smile, starting on the batter for the pancakes.

Macau was sitting by the counter, head resting on his folded arms, watching them with curious eyes. Pete tried to make it not too obvious that his attention was on the younger man, while he and Vegas went through their Sunday morning routine. It came naturally to them by now, spending this day together and in each other's close proximity. Pete loved that this day solely belonged to him and Vegas; that he didn’t have to share his partner with the world. It wasn’t uncommon that Macau had breakfast with them, so it shouldn’t have been special to have him around today. Somehow it was.

“How’s your head?” Vegas asked Macau when he placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

Macau let out a sigh before he picked up the cup and took a sip. “Better,” he answered. “The painkiller earlier helped a lot, and so did the shower.” He placed the cup back down, looking at Vegas from under his lashes. “Thank you for taking care of me last night,” he whispered. “I’m sorry for what I did.”

Vegas sat down on the stool next to Macau, looking at him intently. “Do you regret it?”

“I,” Macau started but stopped again, raking his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know.” Vegas looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Pete’s stomach twinged uncomfortably. Macau groaned and let his head sink back on the counter. “No… okay, no I don’t regret it. I’m sorry for how I did this, but I don’t regret being honest.”

Pete let out the breath he had been holding in a low sigh. “I’m glad you did, too,” he said when he placed the bacon stripes into the pan.

“You are?” Macau asked, voice laced with confusion.

“Well, yes.” Pete looked up from the pan, his eyes meeting Macau’s. “It means that my feelings are not unwelcome.”

Macau gaped at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on land and he turned to Vegas with a baffled expression.

“What?” he croaked.

Vegas placed his hand on Macau’s arm, squeezing it a bit. “Listen, I was serious when I told you earlier that we would talk about all this when Pete was awake. A few weeks ago Pete and I had a similar conversation. Do you remember when you complimented the collar I’d gifted Pete? When you told him that it makes his eyes shine?”

Macau seemed to think about it for a moment before he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I do. It was that blue one.”

Pete felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. It was amazing that Macau still remembered its colour and the fabric of it. He moved his fingers unconsciously to his neck.

“It made Pete realise that he has a crush on you.”

Macau’s head turned around so fast, that Pete was scared he’d hurt himself. “You do?” Macau asked in utter disbelief.

Pete turned down the heat on the pan before he brought his attention back to the brothers. “I do,” Pete confirmed.

After his answer, Macau’s face went through a range of emotions. His disbelief morphed into surprise and went back to doubtful before he looked over at Vegas, who was smiling warmly at him. Macau’s eyes filled with tears, his hands turned into fists and his knuckles were white with how strong he was clenching them.

“This is not funny,” Macau said with a shaky voice. “If you think playing with my feelings like this is okay for your shits and giggles, I can tell you it’s not. How dare you do this to me.”

“Macau,” Pete started, but he didn’t get far because Macau pushed his chair back, got up and all but ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Pete placed the kitchen towel on the counter and wanted to follow him, but Vegas stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

“Don’t,” he said, voice tender.

Pete grabbed Vegas’s hand, holding it tight. “This didn’t go as planned.”

Vegas was still looking at the stairs. “It’s understandable. This really must sound like a joke to him.”

“Do you really think I shouldn’t talk to him?”

Vegas turned back to Pete and intertwined their fingers. “I know you want to, babe. But I think we should give him some time to wrap his head around what we just told him.”

Pete sighed and nodded. “Maybe you are right.”

Vegas lifted Pete’s hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “I know this is hard on you, too. I’ll let him know that we will wait for him until he’s ready to talk to us, okay? Let’s have breakfast, hm?”

Pete closed his eyes briefly. He really felt bad that they’d put Macau into this kind of position. But Vegas was most likely right. All Macau probably needed was time to think. He would come to them when he wanted to talk.

Pete helped Vegas finish up the breakfast and plate the food before they sat down at the table to eat. He barely tasted anything with how worried he was. Did Macau really think that they were messing with him, that Pete just said it to make fun of him? He had thought they had been more than obvious in the last few weeks, with how Vegas showed Pete off at every given opportunity. How he had included his younger brother in some of the online orders he had made. Macau had helped choose one of his most loved sets of lingerie. A dark forest-green panty with a lace choker in the same colour. Pete hadn’t worn them yet. He wanted to save them for a special occasion.

Pete really had thought that after their cuddles this morning everything would go over well. But he had been wrong. Pete pushed his food around the plate.

After a while, Vegas got up with a sigh and brought both their plates to the sink. Pete placed his elbows on the table, fingers interlaced and put them on the back of his head. He wished he could turn back time, that instead of taking Macau with them last night, they had brought him to his own room, placed a bucket next to his bed and left him alone. It would have spared them, him, so much despair. Sure, the morning still would have been awkward, but they might have been able to avoid all this.

When Vegas pushed his fingers through Pete’s hair, he looked up from the table.

“Oh, Pete,” Vegas said softly, the fingers of his free hand brushing away the tears that had started to run down his cheeks. “Let’s go to the couch, hm?”

Pete followed Vegas without question. It was easy to follow his instructions, to keep his mind away from reality. Vegas arranged some pillows to his liking before he sat down and pulled Pete onto the seat next to him, moving him so that Pete’s head was resting on his lap. Then he plucked one of the blankets over Pete, covering him up to his ears.

“Try to rest some more, puppy.”

Vegas rested one hand on Pete’s side, its warmth seeping through the fabric of Pete’s clothes, while Vegas was reading the latest book he had started. It was way too quiet for Pete’s liking even for a Sunday. Pete changed his position so that he was able to hide his face against Vegas’ stomach. Vegas' hand moved up a bit, settling on his ribs.

“I wish we could make last night unhappen,” Pete murmured with a sad voice.

“It wouldn’t change a thing, Pete,” Vegas answered, lowering his book. “Everything would still be the same. You’d have a crush on Macau, he would have a crush on you. At least now he knows and it's up to him what he’ll do with that knowledge.”

Deep down Pete knew that Vegas had a very good point, still didn’t mean that his heart wasn’t aching like hell and that he really wanted to talk to Macau about everything. But putting even more pressure on the young man wouldn’t do him any good. Pete took a shuddering breath and moved his hand up so that he could hold Vegas' hand.

Pete succumbed to restless slumber, startling awake every other minute, hoping everything had just been a bad dream. Vegas’ thumb was stroking over the back of his hand, making his skin tingle under the steady touch. The crackling of the pages when Vegas turned them was as steady as a heartbeat and Pete let himself float for a while, trying to think about nothing.

“Hia?”

The uneasiness in Macau’s voice brought Pete back to reality and he slowly blinked his eyes open. The sight of the younger man made Pete’s heart twinge. In all the months Pete had lived with them, he had never seen Macau as insecure and defeated as he looked now. His eyes were red, his skin was pale, and his hair was a mess.

Pete wanted to hug him so badly.

Vegas lowered and closed his book, resting it against his thigh.

“Hey, Macau.”

Macau’s eyes wandered from Vegas to Pete and back to his brother again. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course,” Vegas answered calmly. “Shall we go to the kitchen?”

Macau nodded before he turned around after one last glance at Pete and walked away. Vegas placed his book on the little table next to the couch and leaned down to press a kiss against Pete’s temple.

Not for the first time Pete was glad that he had Vegas by his side. It was amazing how calm and collected he handled the whole thing, while he and Macau were a mess.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Vegas promised as Pete sat up slowly.

“Take care of him, please?”

“I will,” Vegas promised.

Pete pressed a longing kiss against Vegas' lips. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Vegas brushed his fingers one last time through Pete’s hair before he followed Macau into the kitchen. This was good, right? Macau had come to talk. At least he wanted to talk to Vegas.

Pete wrapped himself in the blanket, his eyes never leaving the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. Pete tried not to listen to the voices wafting into the living room, he wouldn’t be able to discern any words anyway. But it was soothing to hear that the voices stayed on the same level of volume. Pete really hoped that Vegas would be able to explain things to Macau, like he had explained it to him. Sure, it had taken Pete a few days after his confession, but he had slowly come to understand what Vegas had told him.

After a few moments, Pete let himself fall to the side and got his phone out of his pocket, scrolling aimlessly through his social media. There were a few new posts from Porsche, who had been out with his younger brother. Tankhun had posted some new shots of him, Arm and Pol. They really looked good in those all-white outfits and Tankhun looked like the king he was, seated on that throne-like chair with Pol and Arm standing behind him like his knights.

Pete pouted a bit at the picture. He really should visit them soon. He hadn’t seen them in weeks and he missed his old boss and his friends. He had a lot to tell them and they would update him on the newest client gossip. He opened their group chat and started to type when someone cleared their throat behind him. Pete turned his head and looked up to find Vegas standing behind the backrest of the couch.

“Macau wants to know if he could talk to you.”

Pete pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Of course,” Pete assured Vegas.

Vegas moved his hand through Pete’s hair and leaned forward to kiss him sweetly. “I’ll send him. You two talk things out and let me know about your decision. This has little to do with me and we both already talked about it, so you know where I stand. But it’s important that Macau and you sort things out, okay?”

“Of course,” Pete answered.

“Everything will be alright,” Vegas promised before he withdrew himself from Pete and walked back to the kitchen.

Pete stayed seated on the couch. He placed his phone back on the table and rearranged the blanket which had started to slip off his shoulder. His nerves and anxiety had returned with full force. Of course, Vegas was right. They had to talk about their feelings for each other, what it meant for both of them and if things would change because of that.

There was a chance that it was just puppy love for Macau, something innocent and sweet after Pete had given him some attention. And Pete would accept that, he could accept the fact that Macau didn’t return his feelings in the same way. Would he be heartbroken? Sure. Would he be sad about it for a while? Most likely, yes. But he would get over it. He was a grown man, he was able to handle rejection.

But there was also the possibility of Macau reciprocating his feelings. That they were in the same boat, which would also change a lot of things. Pete knew that Vegas was okay with him pursuing Macau. If they wanted the same, if Macau wanted to be in a relationship with Pete, they needed to include Vegas in that conversation.

“P’Pete?”

Pete turned his head toward the voice. Macau was standing by the door, his eyes still red from crying and his hair still messy. He had one arm wrapped around his middle and the hand of the other placed on the upper arm. Pete smiled at Macau, who gave him a wonky one in return.

"Wanna sit?" Pete asked and patted the space next to him.

Macau gave a curt nod. It took him a moment before he moved and sat down an arm's length away from Pete. They sat there in silence. Macau pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. He looked so young to Pete and it reminded him that Macau actually was still a teenager, despite often acting so mature. Pete realised for the first time that Macau must be even more scared by everything that had happened between them in the last twelve hours than Pete was himself.

"Macau," Pete started and the younger man hummed in recognition. "I don't know what you talked about with Vegas, but I'm sure he told you that everything is okay, right?"

"That's what he said, yeah," Macau mumbled into his sweatpants, side-eying Pete.

“It’s true,” Pete tried to reassure him. “And I’m sorry that it never occurred to me, to us, how much this situation might scare you.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Macau deadpanned.

Pete smiled shortly before he turned around so he was able to face Macau better.

“I’m sorry,” Pete said again. “Truth be told I really don’t know how this is supposed to work. I’ve never been good with my feelings and when I realised that I had a crush on you… let’s say it wasn’t my proudest day. I got so worked up because I was scared that everything I felt was wrong, that I was betraying Vegas, that I was betraying you, Macau. You have become such a big part of my life. You made me a part of this family.”

Pete looked down at his folded hand. “It took a toll on Vegas and me that day. I thought I was happy with Vegas and I truly am, and yet I developed a crush on my partner's little brother. That didn’t feel right to me and I was so… so ashamed. After I told Vegas what was bothering me, he explained to me that being polyamorous was a thing. I felt a bit better afterwards, but I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue my feelings for you.” Pete dared to take a glimpse at Macau. “I never thought the crush you told me about could have been on me. The realisation came last night.”

Macau moved himself a bit on the couch, facing Pete more but not fully. “I… I’m scared too. You are my brother’s partner. You are such a sweet, kind and caring person P’Pete. And I felt ridiculous for having a crush on you just because you showed me affection.”

“It’s not ridiculous,” Pete answered.

“Yeah, I know that now,” Macau mumbled. “I’m sorry for kissing you last night. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Pete swayed his head. “Maybe not. But otherwise, we still wouldn’t know about each other's feelings. So I’m glad you did. It was kinda cute.”

Pete could see the redness spreading over Macau’s cheeks and he hid his face against his knees. “It’s embarrassing,” Macau whined. “That’s not how I had envisioned my confession to you.”

Pete chuckled. “And how had you envisioned it then?”

“I don’t know,” Macau groaned. “Not like that, anyway. But it is how it is. Can’t turn back time.”

“No,” Pete agreed. “We can’t do that.” He got a bit more serious again. “How do you want to proceed from here? I want you to be the one to say what you want-.”

Macau looked down in his lap, the blush from his cheeks reaching his ears. “I… Can we take it slow? Even after Hia talked to me I still feel weird and I have to think about what I want. Like really think about it.” Macau looked up through his lashes. “I hope that’s okay with you?”

“I’m okay with whatever decision you make, Macau.”

He meant it. This wasn’t his decision to make. He was a grown-up man and if Macau decided to not pursue a relationship with him he would be a tiny bit heartbroken for sure, but he would be okay.

“Thank you, Phi,” Macau said quietly.

“Of course,” Pete answered and relaxed a bit more on the couch. “So, what’s your plan for today?”

Macau sighed and let himself fall back into the cushions. “I don’t have any. All I wanted to do was sleep and maybe game a bit with my friends.”

“That sounds like a relaxing day,” Pete agreed.

“What about you and Hia?”

“It’s Sunday. Usually, we spend our time together, catching up with some series or… you know… have sex.”

“Hm,” Macau hummed. “I talked with Vegas about it in the kitchen. I don’t mind when you do those things. I’ve seen you after you had sex more than once and I actually caught on to what you two are into like three weeks after you moved in.” Macau lifted his head a bit and looked at Pete. “I like seeing it. You always look so good with the collars and the marks.”

Pete blushed furiously at Macau’s straightforward answer. “I… I…” he stuttered. “Thank you?”

Macau smiled shyly at Pete before he started to get up from the sofa. “I’m heading back to my room,” he said and Pete nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Do you have any wishes for dinner?”

Macau shook his head. “I’m fine with whatever you make, Phi.”

“Alright,” Pete smiled. “See you later?”

“Yeah,” Macau breathed. “Yeah, we will see each other later.”

Pete watched him go before he fell back into the cushions of the couch and let out a deep breath. He felt relieved that they had been able to sort things out and that Macau and he were somewhat on the same page about their feelings. But Pete felt emotionally drained after his previous anxiety.

The sofa dipped behind him and Pete turned his head to look up at Vegas. His partner’s hand landed in his hair and Vegas scratched his scalp tenderly with his nails. Pete made a happy sound in the back of his throat before he shuffled around to get himself comfortable against Vegas’ side.

“You good,” Vegas asked after Pete got settled.

“I think so,” he answered. “I’m just tired and feel exhausted. But I talked things out with Macau and I suppose only time will tell how things will develop between us.” Pete turned his head slightly and pressed it against Vegas’ thigh. “Thank you for talking to him.”

“Of course, Pete.”

Pete lifted his hand and took Vegas’ in his. “I love you so much.” He turned his head again, so he was able to look up at his partner. “You are the best thing that has happened to me in years.”

Vegas bent down and kissed Pete softly. “You are exaggerating, but thank you.”

The next few days felt a bit awkward. Now that their secret was out in the open, Pete and Macau were dancing around each other. They shared shy glances, subtle touches and little praises and sweet words.

Pete realised that Macau was very easily flustered and it was fun to tease him. But when Macau got brave, he gave as good as he got. He complimented Pete’s appearance, how good he looked, or how tasty his cooking was. One morning he gave him a once over from top to bottom with a raised eyebrow, a smirk on his face with a low remark of ‘Rough night, huh?’. Pete had blushed furiously because, yeah, it had been a very good night. Vegas had taken him apart in the best way possible and sometimes he was glad that Macau lived at the other end of the hallway, so he couldn’t hear the shouts and loud moans Vegas coaxed out of him.

The tension between them slowly faded and they all settled into a normal daily rhythm. When Vegas wasn’t around, Macau got bolder, cuddled up to Pete and even hugged him from behind. As promised, Pete gave him the time he needed to come to terms with everything and when Macau placed a gentle kiss on his cheek one night after dinner, Pete’s heart soared in his chest. The tender smile on Vegas' face was also a good sign that everything between them was okay.

But Pete felt restless, he felt the desire to take the next step with Macau burning beneath his skin and he couldn’t wait to show Macau everything he wanted. The perfect opportunity showed itself two weeks after their confessions.

Macau had been away at school all day and Vegas was at a congress with his cousin for the next three days, so Pete had ample time to prepare his little surprise for Macau. Pete had talked about this with Vegas before he left, he wanted to make 100% sure that his boyfriend was okay with him having sex with his baby brother.

Vegas had smirked at him and waggled his eyebrows. “Make sure he enjoys himself.”

Pete would make sure that Macau would enjoy this. Pete had prepared dinner for them, nothing too special, just Macau’s favourite pasta. While the sauce was simmering on the stove he had gotten himself ready. Pete had showered and put on the pair of dark forest-green lace panties that accentuated his butt. He put on the thin lace choker that had come with the panties and chose some black tight-fitting jeans and one of Vegas’ shirts to wear. He also put on some discreet lipgloss. He wanted to be a tease.

After he had taken a selfie to send to Vegas, Pete ventured back into the kitchen. Macau would be here any minute and Pete wasn’t sure if he should cook the pasta now or if he should wait and see how Macau would react to his little dress-up surprise.

When his phone vibrated next to him, Pete picked it up.

>You look like a snack, puppy. Wish I could devour you myself. Macau might be tempted to have dessert before the main course.<

Pete smiled at the message and sent back some heart emojis. Vegas had a good point about him being tonight’s meal. Better safe than sorry, Pete thought and turned off the stove.

When Pete heard the elevator, he placed the spatula in the sink and leaned as casually as possible against the counter, cocking his hip a bit so the shirt slipped off over one hip and exposed the skin beneath.

Macau was looking at his phone when he walked through the living room, his nose most likely following the smell of the food. He didn’t even look up when he walked in, eyes glued on the screen of his phone.

“Hey, P’Pete, I’m home. What’s smelling so go…”

Macau stumbled over his own feet when he looked up for the first time and saw Pete standing by the counter. His eyes became big as saucers and his lips were slightly parted while his eyes roamed over Pete’s body.

“Welcome home, Macau,” Pete spoke, voice coy. “Are you hungry? I prepared your favourite.”

Macau seemed to snap out of his daze when Pete moved himself a bit, the fabric of the shirt falling back over his hip and covering the green lace again. Macau closed the distance between himself and Pete in three strides, caging Pete against the counter.

“Phi,” he breathed, lifting his hand and trailing a fingertip over the lace around his neck. “Phi… is… is that… are you wearing the lingerie I picked out with Hia?”

Pete smiled at Macau and nodded. “It’s the first time I’m wearing it. I wanted to save it for a special occasion.”

Macau’s mouth turned into a perfect ‘o’ before his eyes travelled back down over his chest, his fingers slightly brushing over the hem of Pete’s shirt. His eyes were filled with uncertainty. It seemed like he was waiting for Pete to grant him permission to touch.

Pete lifted his hand and slid his fingers over the lapels of Macau’s uniform blazer before he gripped the very top of it and brought Macau’s face a little closer to his. Their noses were nearly touching and Pete bit his lip when he smiled bashfully at Macau.

“Well,” he said. “Vegas will be away until tomorrow night and I thought we could have a bit of fun together. But if you don’t want to, that’s okay too.” Pete let the tip of his pointer slide over the skin right over the neckline of Macau’s jacket. “We could cuddle and kiss, maybe make out a bit?”

“M…make out?” Macau said, voice much higher than usual.

“Hm, yeah,” Pete hummed, taking one of Macau’s hands and placing it on his side. “We could do even more if you liked.”

“Like what?”

Pete answered, “Whatever you’d like to do.”

“Kissing sounds good to me for now,” Macau whispered before he closed the last bit of distance between them and pressed their lips together.

Pete smiled into the kiss and placed his arm on Macau’s shoulder, his fingers slipping into the dark short strands of his hair. Macau settled his second hand on Pete’s hip and pulled him closer. Pete let Macau lead the kiss, letting the younger man explore. It was a bit sloppy, less refined than when Pete kissed Vegas, but Macau was enthusiastic so Pete let him lead for a few moments before he fisted his fingers in Macau’s hair and pulled him back.

“Easy tiger,” Pete smirked. “I’m not going anywhere.” He moved his other hand up over Macau’s chest and rested it against his neck. “You should start slowly. Let me show you.”

Pete moved Macau’s face gently to one side, making sure that their foreheads wouldn’t bang together. Pete’s eyes were on Macau’s lips, which already looked a bit red and swollen. Pete wondered how beautiful they would look wrapped around his cock. But that was for another day. Pete leaned in and started the kiss simply with slow, gentle, and light pressure. Macau tightened his grip on Pete’s side but Pete tried to keep the kiss light for the moment, varied the pressure, shifting from top to bottom lip. His fingers played with the strands of black hair while his other hand was placed gently on the side of Macau’s neck.

After a few moments, Pete let his tongue slide against Macau’s bottom lip. A small whine escaped Macau and Pete pulled back, resting his forehead against Macau’s. Both of them were breathing hard.

“You good?” Pete asked, his thumb stroking over Macau’s temple.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Can you kiss me again, Phi?”

Pete nodded with a smile before he leaned in again. This time he was a bit more passionate. He let his tongue trail over Macau’s bottom lip. It took a few moments until Pete was met with Macau’s as he relaxed more into the kiss. As before, Pete took it slow and allowed Macau to explore. Pete made a step back so that his back hit the edge of the countertop and pulled Macau with him, trying to bring him even closer. Pete intertwined his hands on the back of Macau’s neck, enjoying the sturdy body against his.

Macau moved his head back after a few more moments, panting hard as he looked into Pete’s eyes.

“God… Pete,” he breathed and leaned in again, placing a small peck against the corner of his mouth, making Pete smile.

Pete’s smile grew when Macau started to kiss along his cheek, up to his eyes, and his temple before he pressed his nose into Pete’s hair.

“I have to tell you something,” Macau whispered.

Despite their amazing kiss, he sounded small and vulnerable, and Pete moved his hands forward, cupping Macau’s cheeks and pulling him away from his hair, so he could look him in the eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Pete asked.

Macau closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he didn’t meet Pete’s and a blush started to creep up his cheeks.

“It’s not like there’s something wrong,” Macau mumbled. “I just… I’ve never done this before, Phi.”

“You never did what before, Macau?” Pete probed gently.

“Sex… I’ve never had sex with anyone. And…” Macau looked up at the ceiling. “And you are always so sexy and having sex with my brother all the time and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Pete’s heart melted at Macau’s words and he pulled him close, placing Macau’s head against his neck so he could hide there for a bit.

“That’s okay,” Pete answered honestly. “I’m glad you told me. It’s like I said, we can do whatever you want. If we only cuddle and kiss, that's okay. If more happens, that’s fine too. We will go at your pace, okay?” When Macau nodded against his shoulder, Pete smiled. “Good,” he praised. “And whenever there’s something you don’t like, you tell me, okay? I want this to be good for you too, Macau. This isn’t just about me or just you. This is about us and what we want. So, talk is key. Understood?”

“Yes, Phi.”

“Good. Now, what would you like to do?”

Macau pulled back and looked at Pete. “I really want to kiss you some more, P’Pete. But I’m also very hungry.” Macau let his hands slide over the front of Pete’s shirt. “Maybe we could have dinner and then make out on the couch? If that’s cool with you?”

Pete smiled at him and gave Macau a gentle peck. “We can do that. Go change while I finish cooking, hm?”

Macau gave a curt nod before he turned around and left the kitchen. Pete watched him go with a small smile on his face. Maybe this wasn’t how he had envisioned the evening going, but he was glad that Macau had told him he hadn’t had sex before. The last thing that Pete wanted was to make the younger uncomfortable or feel pressured into something he wasn’t ready for.

Pete walked back to the oven and started to reheat their dinner. When Macau returned, he wore sweatpants and a sleeveless hoodie. He started to set the table unprompted and it felt like a normal evening. Pete put the pasta on a low temperature before he left quickly to change as well. It didn’t make any sense to stay dressed up when no one would take those clothes off of him. Pete chose a comfortable sweater and a pair of shorts.

When he came back to the kitchen, Macau was already sitting at the table, one leg pulled up on his chair and he was typing something on his phone. Pete tousled his hair as he walked by and Macau made a grumpy noise at the interruption.

It felt good to know that Macau’s feelings towards him never changed during the last weeks after their little confession. Pete walked over and carried the food to the table. Macau put his phone away and they started to eat.

“How was uni?” Pete asked when he loaded Macau’s plate with pasta and sauce.

“Thanks, Phi,” the younger said when he accepted his plate. “Oh, school was okay. It’s always the same lately. Finals start soon and we are going through all the stuff we learned throughout the year. But I think I’m well prepared.”

“That’s good to hear,” Pete replied with a smile. “We want you to do well in your finals, Macau.”

“I will do my best,” Macau promised.

The conversation went light afterwards. It was mostly Macau talking about what was happening at school and how dramatically Kimhan and Porchay were acting. They had been tip-toeing around each other the whole school year and Macau was sick of listening to both of them. He went to a few classes with Chay and they had bonded over one of those shooter games Macau liked to play online. Kim was his cousin and they saw each other on a regular basis at family gatherings.

Vegas had asked Pete to accompany him to the next one, so he could finally introduce him to his family. He had mixed feelings about it because he lived off Vegas’ money. Sure he had made minor designs for the Theerapanyakun hotels, but that really didn’t count. And to call himself a housemaid was also not very fitting, even when he was taking care of Vegas and Macau.

“You seem worried, P’Pete,” Macau stated and Pete hummed. “Is it about the fundraiser next weekend?”

Pete pushed the pasta around his plate. “I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to go with Vegas.”

Macau frowned at him. “Why not? Hia really wants you there. It would mean the world to him. People always pity him when he shows up alone at this kind of event. Kinn always takes his fiance. Vegas never shows his feelings on those nights, but he’s always sad and he hates the stares he gets. Just go with him this once and if you really don’t like it, you can stay home with me the next time and we watch a movie or something.”

Pete hadn’t known that. He always had thought that Vegas might only want to show him off, to have some eye-candy on his arm while he talked to new investors or whatever they did at those gatherings.

He let out a deep sigh. “I’ll think about it.”

Macau gave him a lopsided smile. They both knew that Pete would dress to the nines next weekend and would charm his way into these old men's hearts, and purses. With what Macau had just told him, Pete wouldn’t be able to let Vegas go alone. Because he wasn’t alone anymore. Pete was his partner, he loved Vegas with everything he had, and it was about damn time that he took to this part of their relationship as well.

They did the dishes together, fooling around a bit with the wet towels. Laughter filled the room and Pete couldn’t resist Macau’s happy face any longer. Pete backed Macau gently against the counter, hands resting on his chest and he sealed their lips in a slow and sweet kiss. Macau made a low sound in the back of his throat, but his hands found their way to Pete’s waist and he pulled him in a bit closer. Pete liked how gentle and careful Macau touched him, like he was afraid he would hurt him. Just because he had a more physical relationship with Vegas and them really enjoying their kinks together, it didn’t mean Pete was opposed to being handled like something precious. Being treated gently was amazing as well and maybe it was a more comfortable option for Macau at the moment. He was still very young and he could learn.

When Pete pulled back, Macau whined a little, which made Pete laugh softly in return.

“Maybe we should go and get a little more comfortable, hm?” Pete suggested.

He lowered his hand and intertwined his fingers with Macau’s. He turned off the lights in the kitchen when they left and Pete walked them over to the couch, where he made Macau sit down. Pete snuggled up in his corner of the couch and beckoned Macau over. The younger was a bit hesitant as he wiggled over to Pete, but he simply grabbed Macau’s arms when he was able to reach them and pulled him in for cuddles. Macau lay down carefully, squeezed in the small space between Pete and the back of the couch, his head resting on Pete’s shoulder. He wrapped one arm around Pete’s middle and let out a small sigh when he was comfortable enough.

It wasn’t the first time they ended up cuddling on the couch, but it was the first time since the confession and Pete wasn’t able to deny the fact that it felt different than before. Pete wasn’t able to pinpoint what it was, but to him, it felt more intimate, more exciting and new. The warmth that radiated from Macau’s body made him feel all tingly, the places where his skin was touching Macau’s felt like sparks were dancing across it.

Pete turned a bit to the side so that he was able to face Macau. They watched each other for some time, all small smiles and soft touches. It was like they gravitated towards each other. Macau was careful. Every brush of his fingers, every lingering touch, felt like magic to Pete and it made his body feel aflame with desire.

It was hard for him to hold back and control himself, but he had promised Macau to go at his speed, to take everything at his pace and even though patience wasn’t Pete’s strongest suit, he would at least try. He was a good boy after all.

Pete found himself lying underneath Macau at some point. The younger man’s hands travelled over his sides, teasing and groping everywhere they could reach, while his lips and mouth were exploring Pete’s sensitive skin. He felt like floating, not in the same way he did when Vegas took him apart in every way imaginable, but like he was the most precious thing to Macau. Pete let his palms slide over the broad expanse of Macau’s shoulders and down his back, while they kissed languidly.

“P’Pete,” Macau whispered against his cheek.

Pete hummed in the back of his throat. “What is it, Macau?”

Macau pushed himself up a bit and looked down at him with huge eyes, his irises darkened with arousal, which Pete could feel clearly against his thigh. Macau looked gorgeous in every possible way and Pete wished that he’d be allowed to ruin him for good, that he’d allow him to do all the filthy things he wanted to do. But he had made a promise and he would keep it.

“You… you are so gorgeous,” Macau breathed, rolling his hips unconsciously against Pete’s leg. He cupped Pete’s cheek and looked down at him with adoration. “I wish I could have been brave enough when I came home earlier,” Macau mumbled and Pete’s breath hitched slightly. “The things I want to do to you…”

Pete moaned low. “Tell me,” he demanded. “Tell me what you want to do, Macau, please.”

Macau ground his hip against Pete with more force, making them both moan.

“When I saw you in the kitchen earlier,” Macau started while trailing kisses all over Pete’s neck. “All I wanted to do was back you up against the counter, hoist you up and kiss you silly. I wanted to see you naked, wanted to see how the lingerie would look on you, if it would look as amazing as I had envisioned it.”

Pete mouthed along Macau’s jaw. “You can look,” he whispered. “All you have to do is undress me.”

Pete felt the sharp intake of breath, how Macau stopped everything he was doing before he pushed himself up and looked down at Pete in awe.

“I can?” he asked. Pete nodded.

“I’m still wearing the panties,” he confessed and looked up at Macau.

Pete was sure that he would never get tired of the wonder in his eyes. Macau let his hands drift down his body. Pete arched into the touch. Macau hooked his fingers beneath the waistband of Pete’s shorts and slowly pulled them down. A low ‘holy fuck’ escaped his lips when the black cotton fabric gave way to dark green lace, hugging Pete in all the right places. Macau moved to remove Pete’s shorts before he found his place between his legs again.

He cursed slightly under his breath and Pete enjoyed the attention, bathing in it and soaking it up. Macau’s eyes felt like a caress as they travelled over his skin.

“Do you like what you see?” Pete asked, raking his hands through his already mussed hair.

“Yes,” Macau murmured, his fingers trailing over the delicate fabric. “It looks way better than I thought it would.” He looked up at Pete. “Phi…”

Pete could see the uncertainty in his eyes and lifted his hands to cup Macau’s cheeks to pull him back down into another kiss. Kisses were easy, comfortable for both of them, and Pete realised that he really needed to take it slow. Macau had confessed to him that he was his first for nearly everything and he truly didn’t want to spook him. He could have all the rough sex with Vegas after all.

But it would be a shame to not give Macau some release. Pete arranged the younger man above him and slipped one of his legs between Macau’s. A low groan escaped his lips when Pete pressed up against his hard cock.

“Phi… P’Pete,” he moaned against Pete’s lips and he kissed him delicately.

“Sssh,” Pete shushed him. “It’s fine. Tell me when it’s too much, yeah?”

Macau nodded and Pete let his hands slide down and he slipped them beneath Macau’s sweatpants, grabbing his buttocks and pulling him down. Macau’s arms gave out and he nearly crashed into Pete with his full weight. He moved his arms and wrapped them around Pete’s shoulders, hiding his face against his neck, breath frantic and shallow. Macau moved his hips slowly at first, nearly putting no pressure on his cock at all before he got bolder, the rolls of his hips becoming more daring. Pete whispered soft encouragements in his ear, his hands still on Macau’s ass, only holding him. Pete wasn’t sure how the small grunts and whines coming from Macau could be so sexy but also so cute at the same time. There was no denying that he was just as hard as Macau, and when he moved his hips a bit he moaned at the press of Macau’s thigh against his crotch. But this wasn’t about Pete’s pleasure. He wanted to make it good for Macau, who was mouthing at his neck, teeth gracing over the sensitive skin there.

“Phi,” he groaned and his hot breath against his damp skin made Pete shiver violently.

Pete placed one hand on the back of Macau’s head and turned it slowly so that he was able to look at the younger. Macau’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes glassy and dark, his lips a tiny bit swollen and shimmering with saliva.

“Pete,” he breathed and Pete leaned in to kiss him slowly.

Macau’s movements became more erratic and he was unable to reciprocate the kiss, his lips only slightly pressed against Pete’s while he whined lowly in the back of his throat.

“That’s it,” Pete encouraged, his lips trailing over Macau’s lips and cheek.

Macau fell apart with a silent gasp, shuddering on top of Pete as he reached his climax. Pete thought he looked beautiful, with his eyes closed, mouth open and his hands clutched in the fabric of Pete’s shirt.

They lay in silence for a long time, Macau’s breathing growing slower after a few minutes and Pete stroking his hair with a soft smile on his lips. Macau pulled Pete closer, holding him tight while he hid his face against his neck again.

“You good?” Pete asked, amusement clear in his voice.

“Hm,” Macau hummed, nuzzling his nose against Pete’s neck.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Macau pushed himself up and looked down at Pete. Pete smiled up at him, fingers curling around the drawstring of Macau’s sleeveless hoodie. Macau’s eyes trailed over Pete’s body and he stopped at his crotch.

“You…” he swallowed. “You didn’t come?” Macau asked and his eyes filled with uncertainty.

Pete reached up and cupped his cheek. “It’s okay,” he reassured him. “This wasn’t about me, Macau. I mean, you can help me out, if you want. But if not, that’s also okay.”

Macau looked very young. “I… I’m not sure if I can do it, P’Pete,” he mumbled. “This is all very new to me.”

Pete pulled him down by the drawstrings and arranged them, so they could lie comfortably on the couch and see the tv screen, with Pete’s back resting against Macau’s chest. It would have been nice for him to get off too, but on the other hand, he was glad that Macau didn’t feel pressured into doing something that he wasn’t ready to do. Many teenagers had sex because they felt pressured by their peers and Pete hoped that it would never be the case for Macau.

“There’s so much time for everything. We can explore all the things you want to do whenever you are ready, Macau.” Pete placed a kiss against the inside of Macau’s upper arm.

Macau tightened the arm around Pete’s waist and pressed his nose into his hair. “Thank you, Phi.”

Pete was sure there wasn’t anything he needed to be thanked for, but he couldn’t help the smile spreading over his face.

“You wanna watch that movie you’ve been talking about with Vegas?” Pete asked and Macau nodded.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Pete had spent the night with Macau. They had fallen asleep on the couch while they had watched the animated movie Macau had wanted to see. They had stumbled up the stairs shortly after midnight and when they had to separate Pete simply couldn’t and he had followed Macau to his room.

They didn’t talk about the previous evening, but during the following days Pete realised that Macau got more confident around him. His touches became more casual and he even allowed himself to press a kiss against Pete’s cheek while Vegas was in the room. The first time they both waited with bated breath for Vegas’ reaction, but he didn’t say anything, just gave them a tiny smile.

Pete sat down with Vegas on Wednesday evening.

“I want to go to the fundraiser with you this weekend,” he told his boyfriend, who looked at Pete with big eyes.

“You… you do?”

Pete took Vegas’ hand in his and held it tight.

“Yes,” Pete sighed. “I spoke with Macau about it a few days ago. He told me that you don’t like to go to these events and that you despise how people pity you for showing up alone.”

Vegas’ expression went from surprised to annoyed in the blink of an eye. “I don’t need you to come with me just for their sake.” He drew his hand from Pete’s hold. “I don’t need your pity too.”

Pete bit his lower lip, realising that how he had worded things hadn’t been ideal.

“Vegas.” Pete reached for his hand again. “It’s not because I pity you. But the conversation with Macau made me realise that I never go to a single event with you. I’m your partner, Vegas, and I have to take responsibility for that part in our relationship as well. You’re taking care of me so well. It’s time for me to take care of you and make those boring things more bearable for you.”

“It’s not because you feel sorry for me?”

“No,” Pete breathed. “It was wrong of me to say it like that. I’ll go with you because I want to,” he said before a smirk appeared on his face. “And because I want others to be jealous of you because you have the most handsome partner that night.”

“You think so?” Vegas teased, one of his hands slipping beneath Pete’s shirt.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Pete grinned before he moved to sit in Vegas' lap. “I’ll make all of them jealous.”

Macau helped Pete to get ready for the fundraiser. He had gone shopping with Pete the day prior to find him a suit. It wasn’t a black-tie event, which meant Pete was a bit freer in choosing the colour of his suit and what to wear with it. Macau had a good glimpse at Vegas’ outfit so they would be on the safe side with Pete matching Vegas.

They chose a burgundy red velvet three-piece suit that fitted Pete perfectly. The sales attendant had suggested a black button-down to go with it, but Pete had declined politely. He had a vision of himself for that night and it didn’t include any shirt at all.

While Pete did his makeup, basic foundation, some eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss, Macau styled his hair.

“You already look stunning like this,” Macau complimented him. Pete smiled. “You’ll blow them all away.”

“The only one I want to blow away is Vegas,” Pete smiled.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll blow him alright,” Macau smirked and made Pete splutter.

When Pete went downstairs half an hour later he was met by Vegas at the bottom of the stairs. He could see how Vegas’ breath hitched when he spotted Pete wearing the velvet suit with only the vest underneath, revealing a good part of his chest. He had rounded the outfit off with a diamond brooch on his left lapel, a matching earring in his right ear and the diamond choker Vegas had gifted him all those months ago.

“You look ravishing,” Vegas spoke and held his hand out for Pete to take.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” he teased before he leaned in and kissed Vegas' shoulder.

Vegas was wearing a golden suit with black-red leopard print and a black see-through shirt that was half unbuttoned. He had a silver necklace around his neck and had switched his usual nose ring to a silver hoop. Pete wasn’t able to keep his hands to himself and smoothed the tip of his finger over Vegas’ chest.

“I’d love to take you back to our bedroom and get you out of these clothes,” Pete pouted.

Vegas leaned in to press a kiss on the juncture of Pete’s neck. “I wish we could, pup, but Kinn will skin me alive if I don’t show up tonight.” Vegas bit into Pete’s skin lightly. “I promise you’ll have me all to yourself as soon as we come home later.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Pete breathed.

Vegas lifted his head and kissed Pete lightly. Pete hummed into the kiss, hands wandering up Vegas' back. A cough from up the stairs made them part and if looks could kill, Pete was sure that Macau would have dropped dead there and then.

“You should get going,” Macau said, not disturbed in the slightest by his brother's death glare. “Kinn doesn’t take it lightly when you’re late.”

Vegas let go of Pete and slung his arm around his middle instead. “Kinn will have to accept that I can do whatever the fuck I want,” Vegas said. “See you later.”

Pete took a step out of Vegas’ hold to walk up to Macau and hug him tightly. “Thank you for your help,” he whispered into Macau’s ear.

“It was my pleasure,” he answered. “Take good care of Hia.”

Pete drew back and smiled at Macau. “I promise I will.”

Vegas had been walking to the elevator and when Pete caught up to him, he intertwined their fingers.

“What is the deal between you and Macau?” Vegas asked after the elevator doors had closed behind them. “You’ve been thick as thieves since last weekend.”

Pete looked at the doors opposite of them. “We came to the mutual agreement that you are the most important person in our lives and that we have to take very good care of you.”

Pete could imagine the way Vegas rolled his eyes at that statement but he squeezed Pete’s hand. Vegas and Macau never talked about their feelings. Between Pete and Vegas, it was obvious and it was also very difficult for Pete to hide his love and adoration for Macau. But he had never seen the brothers exchange an open ‘I love you’ with each other. They both masked it with small gestures. The way Vegas would get Macau a new game he really wanted or when Macau cooked one of Vegas’ favourite dishes or took care of a family business matter from time to time to give his older brother a day off.

“That’s what family does,” Vegas grumbled. “Taking care of each other.”

Pete knew that this wasn’t true in their case. Their father had been absent most of their lives and it had been Vegas’ task to take care of Macau after their mother's death. But they had Pete now, they didn’t need to only rely on themselves anymore.

“Mm,” Pete agreed and leaned into Vegas’ side. “And I’m your family now, too.” It was a gentle reminder that he was there for them as well. “You can share some of your burdens with me, okay? Whatever it is, whatever you need, I’ll be there to help you.”

“I know, pup,” Vegas said, leaning his forehead against Pete’s temple.

Pete pecked Vegas’ cheek with a smile. After the elevator doors opened they walked to the car hand in hand.

The drive to the venue - one of their family hotels - was uneventful and quiet. After they arrived, Vegas got out first and gave the key to one of the valets before he opened the door to the passenger seat and helped Pete out.

It was his first time at such an event and Pete let his eyes wander around curiously. He laid his hand on Vegas’ offered arm and followed him inside, taking in the scenery around them. He had never been to one of the Theerapanakun hotels before and it was opulent with white marble and golden decorations. Fresh flowers and potted palm trees were placed all over the entry hall and the room Vegas led them to was decorated in black and white.

Vegas grabbed two flutes of champagne from one of the servers and handed one to Pete.

“Feel free to walk around on your own. I guess it won’t take long for those sharks to see me and want to talk my ear off about one deal or another. Just go when it gets too boring.”

Pete clinked his glass with Vegas’. “I won’t leave your side,” he promised.

First of all, Pete was introduced to Kinn, the head of the family business and Vegas’ older cousin. He was a nice person and Pete had the feeling that they’d get along well. Pete felt welcomed by him and Kinn tried to include him in the conversation as much as he could. He even apologised to Pete for keeping Vegas so busy all the time.

“It’s alright, Khun Kinn,” Pete smiled.

Vegas seemed to be relaxed all evening and Pete kept true to his promise by staying by his side the whole time. Pete smiled at their investors and threw in a little joke from time to time. He knew how to charm rich old men, it had been part of his job while he worked with Tankhun and was like second nature to him. He was also used to the open stares, the unhidden lust in their eyes. Pete was able to ignore it, especially because he had Vegas next to him, who seemed to scare off every unwanted remark from those men.

Vegas had been talking to one of their regular customers for some time now and Pete hadn’t been listening, too focused on the shimmering lights of the city outside the big window.

“Maybe you’d consider sharing him with us one day, Vegas.”

Pete blinked his eyes a few times and turned his head around. Vegas had gone rigid next to him, the fingers wrapped around Pete’s hip holding him like a vice. He was sure he’d have some bruises tomorrow morning. And not of the good kind.

Pete only realised now that Vegas had a new conversation partner. His blood ran cold as he recognised him as a regular at Drama. He seemed to be intoxicated and Pete hoped that he knew that he was overstepping even in his drunken state.

“Pardon me?” Vegas asked, his voice hard as steel.

“My bad,” the man laughed. “I thought you introduced him as your partner?”

“That he is,” Vegas reassured the man and Pete felt anger rise within him.

He knew that there was a slight chance of his past catching up with him one day, but he had hoped that it would be sometime far off in the future. That Vegas had to defend him as his partner didn’t sit right with Pete. The man laughed as if Vegas had made the funniest joke ever.

“It seems money can buy you everything nowadays, even the affection of a cheap whore.”

Pete bristled and with the way Vegas tensed up even more, he knew that Vegas was ready to punch the man, consequences be damned.

“It seems like money can’t buy good manners,” Pete spoke up next to Vegas. “And I might have been working as a whore, but I was never cheap.”

“Oh,” the man sneered. “He’s allowed to speak.”

Vegas took a deep breath. “I want to ask you to kindly address my partner with the respect he deserves. You’re crossing some lines here.”

“He’s getting all the respect he deserves from me,” the man chuckled.

Before Vegas even could react, Pete threw the content of his champagne over the man. He spluttered, offended, but Pete was up in his personal space, grabbed the lapels of his suit and hauled him in close.

“Listen, you little piece of shit,” he growled. “You can address me as whatever you want, you can talk lowly of me, but you’ll pay the respect to my boyfriend he deserves. I might have been a whore, I’m still his whore and he can share me with whomever he wants, but it certainly won’t be you. You are not worthy of me.”

Pete let go of the man so suddenly he stumbled a few steps backwards. Their little scene had gathered some attention and people were staring at them with undiluted interest. Pete straightened his suit before he turned back to Vegas, who was staring at him with big eyes and kissed him softly on the cheek.

“I’ll step out for a bit. I need to clear my head. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Vegas nodded. “And make him leave.”

Vegas nodded, still a bit dumbfounded, and Pete walked out of the hall. He needed some fresh air and preferably a cigarette to calm his nerves. He had stopped smoking years ago because it was disgusting to kiss someone when they tasted like ash. But maybe they’d be able to get him one at the reception.

He walked out of the hotel and a few steps to the side, where he leaned against one of the pillars, raking his fingers through his hair. Pete knew that he had overreacted, that he should have had more control over himself. But it was one thing to treat him like trash and with such open disrespect, but it was a whole different thing when someone did it to Vegas.

His Vegas, who did everything for Pete. Who gave him a comfortable life, who made him feel treasured and valued and like he was the most important thing in his life. Which he probably was, next to Macau.

Pete had no idea what had come over him, he hadn’t felt this kind of anger before. He hadn’t known that he was capable of an outburst like that.

“Pete?”

Vegas’ voice pulled him from his thoughts. He stood a few steps away, unsure if he could approach Pete, or if he should stay away. Pete reached out for him the second he saw him as a huge wave of longing washed over him. Vegas didn’t hesitate a second and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Are you okay, baby?”

Pete wrapped his arms around Vegas’ shoulders and buried his face against his shoulder. “I should ask you that question. I embarrassed you in there.”

Vegas lifted his head and shook his head slightly. “You did no such thing. You have every right to be angry, Pete, and I’m proud of you that you stood up for yourself. And for me.”

“I hope you won’t do business with that piece of trash again,” Pete grumbled.

“I’ll explain to Kinn what happened later, but I wanted to make sure that you’re okay first.”

“I’m fine,” Pete breathed and pulled back, not letting go of Vegas. “I should let Tankhun know as well, so he can put that man on the blacklist.”

Vegas hummed, his hands now resting on Pete’s waist. “Do you wanna stay or rather go home?”

Pete let his arms roam over Vegas' shoulders before he let them rest on his chest. “I’m good with both. Whatever you wanna do, Mr Vegas.”

Vegas’ eyes darkened at the use of that term. He walked Pete back against the wall and pressed their bodies together.

“What I wanna do, is you,” Vegas whispered into Pete’s ear. “But I think that will have to wait until we are back home. Even though I’d love to, I can’t leave Kinn alone like this.” Vegas mouthed at Pete’s throat. “I can arrange a suite for you until I can go home.”

“No,” Pete whined. “I don’t want to be alone. I’ll stay with you.”

Vegas nipped at Pete’s jaw. “Alright, babe.” He kissed Pete passionately before he let go of him and took a step back. “And when we get home, we will talk about that ‘me sharing you with others’ thing, understood?”

Pete still felt a bit breathless, but he nodded. “Yes, Mr Vegas.”

They had talked about Pete’s remark on their way home from the function. Vegas had wanted to know exactly what Pete wanted and how he envisioned him sharing Pete with others.

“I’m already sharing you with Macau,” Vegas had said with a calm voice. “But I don’t think you meant that. At least not solely.”

Pete had to think about it for a few minutes before he realised that Vegas was right. “What I meant was having sex with you and someone else at the same time, like a threesome,” Pete answered, cheeks hot. “I want to have sex with you and Macau,” he spoke in the silence that followed.

Vegas' eyes moved to him for a second, then back to the road. “I don’t mind that. But we have to talk about it with Macau first.”

Pete remembered Macau’s shy confession from a few days before. “He’s not ready yet, Vegas. Maybe we can keep it in mind and try it at some point later,” Pete suggested.

Vegas nodded. “We will,” he promised.

══════⊹⊱❖⊰⊹══════

The following weeks were the busiest for Pete ever since he moved in with Vegas and Macau. Kinn had suggested that he could have a spot in their PR Team and Pete hadn’t been sure at first. It had been years since he had worked in that field, but both Kinn and Vegas had encouraged him to try. After a bit of a bumpy start, Pete really liked his job with the team.

He spent most of the weekends at home, mostly with Vegas, but sometimes it was just him and Macau and they delved deeper into their relationship. Macau was curious and after he overcame his shyness, he wanted to try as many things as he could and Pete was more than happy to indulge him.

One night Pete told him about the threesome idea and Macau was reluctant at first, which Pete understood fully.

“Just think about it,” he told Macau.

It was a few days later that he approached Vegas and Pete about the topic one morning. They talked about it over breakfast and it had gone down surprisingly well. Macau had done some research on the internet and had asked about the things he hadn’t understood. He had been reluctant about the idea of having sex with his brother, but both Pete and Vegas had stopped that thought immediately.

“This is about Pete,” Vegas has explained. “Not about you or me. We will both be there, we will share the same bed, but nothing physical will happen between us.”

Macau had listened attentively to how things would work when Vegas had explained the rules to him. Of course, Vegas would be the one in charge. Never would he allow someone else to take the lead. But it was okay with both Pete and Macau. The younger man had been nervous, voicing his fear about making mistakes and ruining everything for the three of them. Pete’s heart had warmed when Vegas had taken the time to talk with Macau about his worries and why he thought he would ruin anything. It was mostly Macau’s insecurity and nerves because it was his first time with them.

Pete placed a small kiss against his temple, mumbling “I’m very proud of you,” into Macau’s ear. Macau had left for school shortly after and Vegas had to go to work as well for the day, so it had been Pete alone at home. Vegas had told him before he left that he wasn’t allowed to touch himself at all.

It had been only natural for him to be desperate by the time Vegas arrived back home. Pete had so much time to envision how things would go, so he had been waiting for his lover on his knees, naked and with his chocker on. It was the diamond one because it held a very special place in Pete’s heart.

Vegas had been visibly pleased with the sight, if the smirk was anything to go by, and Vegas allowed Pete to kneel by him at the sofa while he worked on some emails for the hotels. Pete leaned his head against Vegas' thigh and occasionally Vegas patted his head or stroked his hair, eliciting soft sighs and hums from Pete. When Vegas shut his laptop he looked down at Pete, caressing his cheek with the back of his fingers.

“How are you feeling, Pete?” Vegas asked him and Pete sighed.

“‘m feeling good, Mr Vegas,” he answered honestly.

He already felt a bit floaty and despite what was about to come later, Pete felt calm and collected. Being able to spend time with Vegas before their session with Macau was important to Pete and he only realised that now.

“I’m glad to hear that, pup. Is there anything you want?”

Pete moved into the warmth of Vegas’ palm and looked up at him through his lashes. “Can I take care of you?”

Vegas gave him a little smile. “You always do, pup. I’m all yours. But nothing too strenuous. You’ll need all your energy for later.”

Pete nodded before he turned his head and pressed a kiss against Vegas’ wrist. He sat up a bit more straight and grabbed the remote from the table. Pete turned the TV on as he moved himself up on the sofa. Vegas was watching him with curiosity and let himself be arranged by Pete until he was leaning comfortably against the armrest. Pete made sure that he was still able to see the screen and that he himself was able to fit next to Vegas' side. He started another episode of the drama they were currently watching and made sure that the volume was at a low level for them before he placed the remote down and made himself comfortable.

Pete placed his head against Vegas’ hips and for a few minutes, they watched the series together. Vegas had his hand in Pete’s hair, but somehow it wasn’t enough for Pete. He wanted more, something he only shared with Vegas. He risked a glance up at his partner and saw that he was very immersed in the plot on the screen. Pete let his fingers trail up over Vegas' leg, fingertips dancing over Vegas’ jeans, the fabric feeling a little bit rough against his skin. Pete kept his eyes on Vegas’ face, watching him, while he followed the line of his belt to the buckle and carefully opened it.

Vegas glanced down at him for a second before his eyes returned to the screen, letting Pete proceed. Pete’s heart started to beat a little faster when he pulled down the zipper. He could feel the warmth coming from beneath the fabric and a small sigh fell from his lips. When he saw that Vegas went commando this morning, Pete frowned at his boyfriend.

“What?” Vegas asked nonchalantly. “I didn’t know what would await me when I came home from the meeting and I didn’t want to waste precious time with underwear.”

Pete shook his head with fond exasperation. As if underwear would waste any time. Taken off at the same time as the trousers it barely took any time at all. But it didn’t matter at the moment and Vegas lifted his hips a bit so Pete was able to shimmy his jeans down his thighs. Pete let out another sigh before he rested his head against Vegas’ hip. Vegas raised the leg next to Pete a bit so that he was able to lie relaxed. Pete moved around, wrapping one arm around Vegas’ thigh, his other hand resting against Vegas’ stomach. When Pete had found a good position he finally placed Vegas’ cock in his mouth. Vegas took a shuddering breath and moved his hand back into Pete’s hair. Pete relaxed even more against Vegas when the other started to push his fingers through Pete’s hair

“You’re so good to me, pup,” Vegas said breathlessly. “So good.”

Pete soaked up the praise like a sponge. It made butterflies swirl around in his stomach and a warm feeling spread through his chest. It had been a long time since they shared this kind of intimacy and with everything that had been happening between Pete and Macau recently, this was still something Pete only shared with Vegas. He loved Macau, but his love for Vegas was different. It seemed to be deeper and stronger, not easily shaken and Pete knew they had a special bond. Pete knew that he could trust Vegas with everything and so far Vegas had never betrayed the faith Pete had in him.

The warmth from Vegas, the smell of his skin and the steady strokes of his fingers lulled Pete into distinct light-headedness. He wasn’t benumbed, he still knew what was going on around him, but he felt very content and safe. Vegas half hard cock was a steady weight in his mouth and Pete sighed contently when Vegas’ fingertips brushed against the tip of his ear. His fingers twitched against Vegas’ stomach and Pete slowly blinked his eyes open again. He didn’t know how much time had passed but it seemed to be getting dark outside. Pete moved his eyes a bit to see how late it was.

But his eyes never reached the clock because someone was standing at the corner of the entryway. Pete’s breath hitched when he recognised Macau. How long had the younger been standing there? How long had he been watching them? Vegas seemed to haven’t noticed his brother's presence yet, but he looked up when he heard quiet footsteps approaching them.

Vegas’ hand stopped and Pete made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat, which led to Vegas moaning quietly.

“Hello,” Macau greeted them both. “I see you started without me, hm?”

“No,” Vegas answered. “Pete wanted to take care of me.”

Macau hummed, his arms placed behind his back, eyeing Pete with curiosity. “Our plan is still on?”

“It is,” Vegas agreed, fingers back at playing with Pete’s hair. “You can take a shower and meet us upstairs when you are ready.”

Macau nodded shortly before he turned around and left towards the stair. He turned back when he reached it, casting one last glance at Pete. Having Macau’s attention on him brought back all the giddiness and anticipation with fervency. Heat spread through Pete’s body as he watched Macau walk up the stairs and when he had disappeared into his room, Pete looked up at Vegas, who was watching him with an open expression.

Vegas let his hand travel down over the side of Pete’s face and placed his middle and index finger underneath his chin. Slowly he lifted Pete’s head, making his cock slip out of Pete’s mouth. Vegas trailed Pete’s bottom lip with his thumb, dipping it between his lips once and Pete couldn’t stop himself from closing his mouth and sucking gently on the fingertip.

“We should get upstairs too,” Vegas suggested in a low voice.

Pete let go of Vegas’ thumb when he pushed himself up and straddled his lover’s waist. Pete leaned forward and kissed Vegas hungrily. Vegas wrapped one hand around Pete’s middle as he sat up without breaking their kiss. He slowed the kiss and turned Pete’s enthusiasm down a notch.

“You still want this?” Vegas asked Pete after he pulled back.

“Yes,” Pete answered breathlessly. “I still want this.”

Vegas nodded and slowly pushed Pete from his lap. “Then we should go to our bedroom.”

Pete was lounging on the bed when Macau finally joined them. Vegas was sitting in one of the chairs by the bedroom window, holding a glass of red in his hand. Pete and he had talked about how they wanted to do this after Macau had voiced his concerns this morning. Vegas thought that it might be better if Pete started things slowly with Macau. They were comfortable with each other, they had sex before and Vegas would be just watching for the time being and would join in at some later point, if at all.

Macau was wearing only sweatpants, no shirt at all and there were still a few damp spots on his skin, some residue droplets running down his chest, making their way between his pectorals and his abs just to vanish in the waistband of his sweats. He looked especially handsome and Pete wanted to devour him whole. Macau looked uncertain and Pete pushed himself up a bit more on his elbows and beckoned the younger man over. Macau cast a last glance at Vegas before he closed the door behind himself and walked over to the bed. Pete scooted back a bit so he was resting snugly against the pillows. He watched Macau closely, how his eyes wandered over Pete’s naked body, how he drank in every little detail and how his eyes stopped at the choker. Pete trailed his fingers over the diamond necklace and bit his lower lip. Macau’s breath hitched a little and Pete smirked.

“Come here, Macau,” Pete said, voice deep and velvety.

Pete spread his legs a bit more to make space for Macau, who got onto the mattress and crawled over to Pete. He moved between Pete’s legs and placed his hands next to Pete’s head, looking down at him with unconcealed lust.

“Hi,” Pete whispered and raised one hand.

He placed it at the back of Macau’s head, fingers tightening in his hair and pulled him down for a kiss. Pete wrapped his legs around Macau’s waist and drew him closer, their kiss already hungry and dirty. Pete had been waiting for this all day, he had felt giddy and so excited. He moaned into the kiss, opening his mouth to let Macau plunder it with his tongue.

Pete lifted his other arm and wrapped it around Macau’s shoulder, who in return moved one of his hands against Pete’s cheek, holding it gently. They had developed a dynamic in the last weeks, had learned how they worked together and what the other liked or not. Macau had been an open book to Pete, so young and easy to read, so easy to please and responsive. And tonight was no exception.

Macau broke the kiss first, moving his lips over Pete’s jaw down to his neck, leaving small bites behind, sucking at a sensitive spot right above the choker. Pete tightened his hand in Macau’s hair and moaned. As it seemed the need to leave their marks on Pete’s skin was something the brothers shared with each other.

Pete moved his head a bit to the left, looking for Vegas who was watching them with open interest. The tip of his pointer was drawing circles on the rim of the glass, one leg laid over the other while he was sitting very relaxed in the chair. Pete felt a fire spreading through his body, knowing that Vegas was there and approving openly of their relationship.

Macau moved further down, leaving a hot trail of kisses over Pete’s body. Pete’s eyes closed when Macau’s tongue dipped into his belly button and he tightened his hold on Macau’s hair. The younger looked up at Pete with dark eyes and pink cheeks and Pete pulled Macau back up into a kiss. Macau hummed into it, the heat radiating from his body made Pete shiver. When they separated, Pete trailed a fingertip over Macau’s wet bottom lip.

“Get undressed, Macau,” Pete told him.

Macau sat up. Pete hummed in the back of his throat at the view. It was always a treat to see Macau like this when Pete was able to admire the younger man’s body like that. Pete knew that he put a lot of work and effort into it, same as his brother. They both went to the gym a few times every week. Macau had picked up boxing two months ago and the effect it had on his physique was undeniable. Pete loved to get his hands on Macau, letting his fingers trail over the sharp contours of his pecs and his abs. He also loved how he was able to make Macau writhe beneath him at those soft touches.

Macau got out of his sweats fast and threw them aside. Pete let his eyes roam over Macau’s body, feeling a hot twist in his stomach when he saw that Macau was already hard. He lifted his hand and without a word, Macau moved forward, pressing his cheek against Pete’s palm, closing his eyes.

“You good?” Pete asked and Macau nodded. Pete pushed himself up and pressed a tender kiss against Macau’s lips. “Lie down for me, yeah? On your back.”

Macau followed Pete’s instructions without question. He made himself at home between the pillows, his eyes only glancing toward the windows for a short second before they were back on Pete, who was now getting settled between Macau’s spread legs.

“You look so good tonight,” Pete praised, his hands moving from Macau’s thighs up to his waist, grabbing it.

Pete put his weight on his hands as he leaned in to seal their lips in a ravenous kiss. Macau melted underneath Pete’s hands, going all soft and needy. He wrapped his arms around Pete’s neck, fingers brushing over the short hair of Pete’s nape and he moved one leg up to rest it against Pete’s hip.

“Phi,” Macau moaned, his breath fanning over Pete’s lips and making him shiver.

“What do you want?” Pete asked before he lowered his head and started to leave kisses behind Macau’s ear. “Tell me, Cau.”

Macau arched his back when Pete suckled at a very sensitive spot. Pete could feel Vegas’ eyes on them. The lingering gaze spread fire over his body and made him feel light-headed. But Pete didn’t have time to pay any mind to Vegas, he wanted to give all his attention to Macau.

“Phi,” Macau moaned again, his fingers tugging at Pete’s hair. “I… I want you to suck me…” He drew a shuddering breath. “And then I want you to fuck me. Please.”

Pete bit his lower lip when he looked up at Macau. The pink from Macau’s cheeks had turned into a deep red and spread all over his face. The dark brown of his eyes was now nearly all black and glassed over with want and need. Macau looked breathtakingly beautiful and Pete wasn’t able to resist kissing his plush full lips once again. Pete rolled his hips against Macau’s, his own hard cock brushing against the younger man’s and both moaned into the kiss. With a light suckle and a bite, Pete broke the kiss.

“I’ll take good care of you, Macau,” Pete promised.

It was no hardship for Pete to make Macau feel good. He was gorgeous and Pete hadn’t been able to get enough of him ever since they became an item. The way Macau responded to every touch of Pete, no matter how soft and light, was a big turn-on for him. Every tiny hitch of breath, every broken moan, every quiet or loud ‘Phi’ was enough to make Pete’s heart soar and set his body even more on fire. Pete moved down, his lips and fingers leaving a blazing imprint on Macau’s skin. When he wrapped his lips around Macau’s hard cock, the younger let out a repressed groan. Pete’s hands were resting on Macau’s hips, holding him down to the mattress so he couldn’t choke him.

“It feels good to have Pete’s mouth on you, right, Macau?”

The roughness of Vegas’ voice and the praise sent a shiver down Pete’s spine. A small whine fell from Macau’s lips, his head turning toward Vegas. Pete wished he could see him, could see how Vegas looked right now, what expression he was wearing and if he was affected by them at all. Pete slowly pulled off, replacing his mouth with his hand, stroking Macau at a lazy pace, pressure enough to tease but to give no release.

“Vegas asked you a question,” Pete murmured, lips brushing over the sensitive skin of Macau’s cock. He let his tongue trail up the length, eyes on Macau’s face. The younger was struggling for words, his hands tightening in the sheets, body writhing underneath Pete. “Answer him,” Pete demanded. “Tell your brother how good it feels to have my mouth on you, Macau.”

“P… Pete,” Macau whined. “I… I can’t.”

“Oh, but you can, Macau,” Pete answered. “Or I’ll leave you here, all alone and go over to Vegas and have my fun with him. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

“No,” Macau whispered. “Please… please don’t go, Pete.”

“Then answer Vegas.”

Macau took a shuddering breath, Pete increasing the pressure he put into his next upstroke. They never tried edging before, but Pete was sure that it would be amazing to see Macau fall apart and on the verge of insanity.

“Yes, Hia,” Macau whined. “It feels good to have P’Pete’s mouth on my cock.”

“Hm.”

The deep hum of appreciation sent another shiver down Pete’s spine. He couldn’t hold back any longer and cast a glance over his shoulder, his eyes immediately catching the telltale bulge of Vegas’ trousers. A small smile appeared on Pete’s face when his eyes met Vegas, who lifted an unimpressed eyebrow as if to say that he should continue with his work. Pete rearranged himself so that he was able to see Vegas as well. He let his thumb slide over the underside of the head of Macau’s cock, eliciting another high-pitched groan. Pete took pity on Macau and took him back into his mouth. He moved his head languidly, enjoying the feeling of fullness, the heaviness on his tongue, the small twitches of Macau’s muscles underneath his hand.

Pete took his sweet time to make Macau feel good. At some point, Pete had located the lube beneath the blanket, squeezing a gracious amount on his fingers. He had warmed it for a few moments before he dipped his hand between Macau’s ass cheeks and probed at his entrance with one finger. The noises coming from Macau had increased in volume and Pete had pushed in. Macau’s hip had arched from the bed, one hand flying from the sheets to his mouth as he tried to suppress his moans. But Pete wouldn’t have any of it. He pulled off of Macau’s cock with a lewd pop and sat back on his heels. Pete moved his arm under Macau’s leg and lifted it up, the back of Macau’s thigh resting against Pete’s chest while he soothed his hand over the outside of Macau’s thigh, all the way up to his side, rubbing soothing circles into his skin.

The way Macau looked could only be described as decadent. His black hair was spread over the pillow, some strands plastered against his sweaty and flushed skin. Macau’s breaths were coming in short erratic bursts, hitching every once in a while. Pete’s eyes lingered on Macau’s lips for a moment longer. They were already plump in their natural state, but now they were bitten raw, wet and red from when Macau had tried to hold back his moans by biting into them.

“You look so good,” Pete praised Macau. A breathy ‘Pete’ was all he got and Pete pressed a kiss to Macau’s knee. “I’ve got you.”

Macau looked up at Pete with big eyes, giving a short nod. Pete wrapped his hand around Macau’s thigh, giving him something to anchor. Slowly he started to prep Macau, making sure that he was relaxed and ready. When he was able to move three fingers in and out without much restraint, Pete started to look for the condom, scolding himself mentally for not putting it on earlier when his hand wasn’t covered in slippery lube.

“Are you looking for this?”

Pete turned his head around startled, coming face to face with Vegas, who was standing next to the bed, holding up a condom between his fingers. He had been so absorbed in bringing Macau pleasure, that he had forgotten about Vegas being there with them.

The bulge in Vegas’ pants had grown more, straining the fabric of his jeans even more than before. The buttons of his shirt were nearly completely open, revealing Vegas’ toned chest, his hair looked like he had been running his fingers through it a few times and his lips were tinted a dark red from the wine he had been drinking. Vegas’ look took Pete’s breath away and he wasn’t able to hold back the small whine and Vegas smirked at him.

“Need a hand?” Vegas asked and Pete nodded.

Vegas climbed gracefully onto the bed, removing his shirt completely in the process before he settled himself behind Pete. He moved in close, his naked chest pressing against Pete’s back and Pete let himself lean into it, revelling in the heat radiating from Vegas. It felt good to have him here with him, the light press of Vegas’ lips against his neck making molten fire run through his veins and Pete let his head loll against Vegas’ shoulder.

“Hia.”

Macau’s broken voice pulled Pete back into the here and now and he lifted his head. The blush on Macau’s cheeks had deepened even further if that was even possible. His eyes were fixed on Vegas, who was probably looking at him over Pete’s shoulder.

“I’ve got you,” Vegas promised and Pete wasn’t sure to whom exactly he was talking.

Pete let out a tiny hiss when Vegas' hand wrapped around his cock and stroked him a few times.

“You’re so hard, pup,” Vegas muttered into Pete’s ear. “All for my little brother. You’ll take care of him, right? Fuck him real good?”

“Yes,” Pete answered nearly inaudibly.

“Hm,” Vegas hummed. “That’s my good boy.”

Vegas’ other arm snaked around Pete’s middle, opening the foil with nimble fingers before he rolled the condom over Pete’s dick. He continued stroking him lazily and Pete’s head rolled back against Vegas’s neck.

“Are you ready, Macau?” Vegas asked. “Did Pete do a good job preparing you?”

Macau moved his hips against Pete’s fingers, groaning low in the back of his throat.

“I’m ready, Hia. Please don’t let Phi tease me any longer.”

“Mn, I won’t.” Vegas turned his head and pressed a wet kiss against Pete’s cheek. “You heard Macau. He doesn’t want to be teased any longer. Give him what you’ve promised him, pup.”

Vegas was right and Pete took a deep breath before he pulled himself up again. He leaned up and skidded forward. Macau lifted one hand and cupped Pete’s cheek. He traced his thumb over Pete’s lips and Pete placed a small peck against the tip.

Pete removed his fingers from Macau before he lined up and slowly started to push in. Macau’s fingers twitched against his cheek and Pete held tighter onto Macau’s thigh. He moved slowly, not wanting to hurt or make Macau feel uncomfortable and when he was fully seated, Pete stopped, giving Macau a moment to adjust.

Pete’s hips stuttered involuntarily forward when Vegas smoothed his hands over his back, drawing a long loud moan from Macau.

“Move,” he whimpered. “Please, Phi. It’s okay.”

Macau lifted his other hand, placed it at Pete’s neck and pulled him down into a filthy kiss. Pete wasn’t able to hold back a moan and started to move his hips. He pulled out, only his tip remained inside Macau and waited for a second before he pushed back inside. They both groaned loudly, their breaths mingling between their lips. Pete felt the well-known rush of desire burning through his body, the heady feeling of being inside Macau. It was something that still amazed him. That he was the first one to have Macau in any way the younger wanted him.

Pete buried his fingers in Macau’s hair, kissing him hungrily while he thrust his hips in smoothly.

“You look so good,” Vegas' voice sounded from behind Pete. “Both of you.”

Pete’s hold on Macau’s hair tightened. It was a heady feeling to be fucking Macau, being inside him, being surrounded by him. His warmth, his smell, his warm skin against Pete’s and the feeling of home, of belonging that came with it. It was one of the best things Pete had ever experienced, only being with Vegas was even more intense.

But having both of them with him now? Pete felt overwhelmed. He felt loved, adored and cared for. He felt wanted and needed.

He felt desirable.

Macau pulled Pete’s head into the crook of his neck, fingers brushing through his hair and placing tiny kisses against his temple and the side of his head.

“Pete… God, P’Pete if you could see the way Hia looks at you right now,” Macau mumbled breathlessly. “His eyes are all on you, burning with lust… like he wants to eat you alive.”

Pete’s next thrust was hard and he aimed his hips to reach Macau’s sweet spot. He could take it when Vegas was doing him dirty, talking praise and telling him everything he wanted to do to him when they were in bed.

But having Macau tell him how Vegas looked at him? That was more than Pete could take.

Macau threw his head back in ecstasy when Pete’s cock brushed against his prostate, fingers digging into Pete’s skin and making him hiss slightly.

“Yes,” Macau rasped. “Right there, right there. Don’t stop.”

Pete didn’t even think about stopping, thrusting his hips with precision, knowing exactly what Macau liked. He turned his head a bit and pressed his lips against Macau’s jaw. The whines that came out of Macau increased in volume and Pete smirked against the scratchy skin. Those sounds were better than listening to his favourite music.

A loud gasp left Pete’s mouth when something cool touched his entrance. It also made his hips stutter, drawing a whine from Macau, his nails digging deeper into the meat of Pete’s shoulder.

“Pete,” Macau whined. “Close… don’t stop!”

The hard slap against his ass made him thrust hard into Macau, a moan falling from both their lips.

“I never said you can stop, pup,” Vegas said, voice sounding calm.

Pete tried to get his last functioning brain cells to work together. He felt overwhelmed by the heat around his cock, the way Macau started to tense up around him, making everything even more intense and then there were Vegas’ fingers, slowly moving in and out, stretching him open. A warm hand was splayed over the small of his back, fingertips teasing him slowly with tapping motions.

Pete was practically trapped between the brothers, Macau now whispering his name like a mantra and Pete knew that he was about to reach his orgasm. And he felt like he wasn’t far behind, not with Vegas’ fingers brushing over his prostate.

“Don’t you dare come, pup,” Vegas whispered against his buttocks, lips brushing over Pete’s already sensitive skin. “You’ll come on my cock, or not at all. Understood?”

Pete whined in the back of his throat. That wasn’t fair at all. He wanted to come with Macau, he had made him feel good, had brought him pleasure and Pete had been such a good boy.

Another slap, harder than the first one, made Pete groan loudly.

“I asked if you understood me, pup?”

“Y… yes, Mr Vegas. I understood.”

Vegas soothed his palm over Pete’s ass, pressing a kiss at the base of his spine. “That’s my good puppy.”

Pete let out another whine. He tried to ignore the overpowering feeling of Vegas’ fingers against his prostate, how the small sparks of pleasure were running up and down his spine and tried to focus on Macau. The younger man’s breath was coming in short bursts, cooling the heated skin of Pete’s neck. His fingers dug deeper into the muscles of Pete’s back.

Pete nearly lost his mind when Macau finally came, tightening around him and the feeling sending waves of lust and pleasure through his body. But what made him really go insane was the pressure of Vegas’ cock slowly pushing inside him. Pete’s fingers were clenching around the pillow underneath Macau’s head, his breath coming in short bursts mixed with low whines and mewls.

The feeling was overpowering, making his mind go blank, devoid of every other thought, only Vegas and Macau.

Vegas leaned forward, his naked chest feeling hot against Pete’s back and with the added weight, he pushed Pete even deeper into Macau, whose moans were turning into high whines and pleas of ‘stop’, ‘too much’, ‘P’Pete’ and ‘love you, love you, love you, please don’t stop’.

Pete didn’t want to cause Macau any pain but when he tried to pull out, nearly pushing Vegas off of him when he moved back, Macau wrapped his arms around him, burying his face against Pete’s shoulder.

“D… don’t,” he murmured breathlessly. “Feels good.”

Pete turned his head a bit and wrapped one arm around Macau's neck, holding him close. “Okay,” he answered, just as out of breath as Macau.

Vegas had removed himself from Pete’s back, his hands wrapped tightly around Pete’s hips to keep him in place. Pete pressed his face against the side of Macau’s neck, muffling his own moans against the hot and sweaty skin.

The heat surrounding him made Pete feel unbelievably good. The way Macau was still wrapped around him, the way Vegas’ hands held him, making him feel safe and sound, the way Macau’s breath ghosted over his skin, making goosebumps rise in its wake, the small sweet sounds falling from his Nong’s lips.

Pete groaned when a warm hand wrapped around his throat and he was slowly pulled back up, Macau’s arms falling back down to the mattress before he lifted them and covered his face with his hands, back arching deliciously beneath him. When Vegas started to mouth along his neck, Pete let out a moan, fingers scrambling to find something to hold onto until they caught hold of Vegas’ arm that now was wrapped around his middle.

“You look so fine, pup,” Vegas murmured into Pete’s ear. “And you’ve been so good to Macau and me. You feel so good around my hard cock, be it your mouth or your tight little hole. Wish it could always be like that.” Vegas tightened the hold around Pete’s middle, pulling him closer. “You ready to come, baby? Because I am. Watching you with Macau was such a turn-on. I always knew that you were the perfect whore for me.” Vegas sucked a mark into the base of Pete’s neck, which made Pete whine. “But now I know that you are a perfect whore for the both of us. Isn’t that right, pup?”

“Yes,” Pete whined.

“Yes, what, pup?”

Pete drew in a deep breath. “Yes, I’m a perfect whore for Macau and you, Mr Vegas.”

Macau groaned loudly when he heard Pete’s words, hips bucking and Pete wanted to come so bad too.

“Please,” he begged, fingers clenching around Vegas’ arm. “Please let me come, Mr Vegas. Haven’t I been a good boy?”

“You’ve been the best, pup,” Vegas praised. “But I think it’s not my decision to make. You should ask Macau if you’re allowed to come.”

“‘cau,” Pete whimpered. “M’cau please… please please please, let me come. Tell Vegas that I’ve been good.”

Macau reached out and placed a hand on Pete’s thigh. “You’ve been so good, Phi,” he mumbled. “Made me feel so good, Hia. Best day of my life,” he slurred blissfully. “Phi can come whenever he wants.”

Vegas pulled Pete against his chest, burying his cock deeper inside. “You heard Macau, pup.”

Pete had and after a few more thrusts of Vegas' hips, he fell over the edge, tumbling down into the blissful feeling of his orgasm. Time seemed to slow down around him, the waves of pleasure and release washing through him in slow tides. One high slowly followed by another one. He relished in that feeling, gave in fully and enjoyed every single second of it. Maybe it was also minutes because Pete wasn’t sure if he knew how time really worked anymore when darkness pulled him under.

When Pete came back to himself he was laid out in the middle of their bed, wrapped up in a warm blanket and snuggled up against Macau’s side, who was stroking his fingers through Pete’s hair. Pete moved his head and looked up at Macau. The younger man was smiling down at him.

“How are you feeling, Phi?”

“‘m good,” Pete mumbled, cuddling even closer against Macau. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine, P’Pete,” Macau slid a bit deeper into the pillows, so he was face to face with Pete. “This was amazing. Thank you for letting me join you and Hia.”

Macau leaned in and kissed Pete slowly and without any haste. Pete smiled at him when they parted again and smoothed the back of his fingers against Macau’s cheek. His heart was filled with so much happiness and warmth.

If someone had asked all those months ago if he could see himself in a relationship with not only Vegas but also Macau he would have laughed straight into their face.

And now he was here, in bed with Macau and waiting for Vegas to return to them as well.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, Macau,” Pete whispered with a smile. “Are you tired?”

Macau hummed. “I’ll just wait until Hia’s back so you won’t be alone.”

Pete frowned at that. “You won’t stay?”

“No,” Macau said, shaking his head. “I have a study date tomorrow afternoon and I think it might be better to sleep in my room tonight. Alone.”

“That makes sense,” Pete mumbled sleepily.

“Sleep some more, Phi,” Macau whispered against his temple. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Pete hummed in the back of his throat before he closed his eyes again and let himself be pulled into the land of dreams again.

The next time Pete woke, it was already dark in the bedroom, the only light coming from Vegas’ bedside lamp. Pete turned around and watched Vegas for a bit. His partner was sitting on the bed, glasses perched up his nose and reading a book.

Pete sneaked a hand over and placed it on Vegas' stomach, who then turned his head and smiled fondly at Pete.

“You’re awake?”

“More or less,” Pete answered truthfully. “I’m still tired.”

“You should sleep. We both actually should,” Vegas told him gently, pulling the glasses off his nose and placing them on the bedside table with the book before he turned off the light and laid down next to Pete. Vegas intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of Pete’s hand.

“Thank you for tonight,” Vegas said.

“Why is everyone thanking me,” Pete laughed quietly. “I barely did anything.”

“You’re doing so much, Pete. You have no idea.”

Vegas pulled at his hand, bringing him close so he could wrap Pete up in his arms. “I love you so much. And I’ll never be able to thank you enough for staying with me and Macau.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Pete answered quietly. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, pup.”

“When did you allow Macau to get his tattoos?”

“He got them after he turned eighteen, Pete. It’s not like he needed my permission to get them done. Why are you asking this all of a sudden? It’s not like you didn’t see them before.”

“I did,” Pete sulked. “I think it’s just rude how sexy they look on him.”

Vegas laughed and pulled Pete in for a sweet lingering kiss.

“It’s just not fair that he looks so sweet and innocent when he’s dressed,” Pete pouted. “And then he takes off his clothes and looks so… so…” Pete made some frustrated motions with his hand. “It drives me crazy when I see him on a daily basis walking around the flat in just his sweatpants and his tattoos on full display.”

Vegas tried his best to hide his laughter but failed spectacularly. He sat up and reached out to take one of Pete’s hands in his again, intertwining their fingers.

“Oh my,” he chuckled. “Is my little pet struggling? Maybe Macau and I should consider working out at home more often, so you could watch us both half naked and sexy and with our tattoos on display, hm?”

Pete took a deep breath through his nose, glaring darkly at Vegas. “This is not funny.”

Vegas laughed again and pulled Pete’s hand to his lips so he could press a kiss against his palm. “You must admit that it is a little, puppy,” he grinned. “It’s just very amusing to me that you seem so irritated by them all of a sudden. You’ve seen them before, so why now?”

Pete huffed in frustration, his lips forming a big pout. “I don’t know, okay?” Pete whined and pulled his hand out of Vegas' hold and crossed his arms over his chest. “I… I’ve seen them before,” Pete agreed. “But since we fell into our relationship, I’m really allowed to look and… they are just so sexy, Vegas,” Pete whispered. “Not to mention his arms.”

Vegas chuckled, reaching out for Pete again and grabbing him by his arm to pull him down into bed with him.

“I’m glad that you feel safe enough to be so open about it now.” Vegas pressed a kiss against Pete’s neck. “Maybe I’ll tell Macau about your little obsession and we should start to wear no shirts when we are at home, so you can oggle us both shamelessly.”

Pete whined in the back of his throat before he tried to wriggle out of Vegas' hold, but his partner was too strong and didn’t let go of him. Instead, he pressed another kiss against Pete’s cheek.

“I think it’s cute,” Vegas confessed, voice filled with laughter.

“I hate you so much!” Pete groaned which made Vegas laugh only harder.

Macau looked very confused when he walked into the kitchen the next morning, wearing sweatpants and one of these muscle shirt abominations that had wide armholes that only showed off his tattoos even more.

Pete breathed deeply through his nose before he turned his attention back to his breakfast and ate another spoon of his porridge angrily, ignoring the brothers as well as he could.

“Why is P’Pete sitting over there?” Macau asked his brother, who was sitting at the table, in a hushed voice.

“He’s mad at us,” Vegas told Macau, mirth obvious in his tone.

“Why?” Macau asked astounded.

“He thinks that we are very rude for showing off our tattoos and muscles by only wearing sweatpants and running around shirtless every once in a while.”

“Are we now,” Macau chuckled.

“Apparently,” Vegas agreed, which made Pete huff. “And when I told him, that we would love to do him a favour and work out at home together from time to time he told me that he hated us both.”

Macau gasped. “He did not,” he exclaimed, the shock in his voice mocking Pete.

Pete placed down his spoon and looked up at the brothers.

Vegas was still sitting by the table, the newspaper in one hand, one leg placed over the other, fingers trailing idly over the rim of his coffee cup. He looked very much at ease and when he saw that Pete was looking at them, he winked at him.

Macau was standing behind Vegas’, one hand on the back of the chair and leaning slightly over Vegas, so he could listen better to what Vegas was telling him. Macau looked happy despite what Vegas just had told him and it made him look his age. He smiled fondly at Pete, knowing fully well that he didn’t mean his words.

And Pete really didn’t. How could he? The last months had been the best and most exciting of his whole life. He had not only found the love of his life, but he also got someone he adored and loved very much as well.

Pete had found a family, he had found a home in Vegas and Macau.

And to see them both looking at him with longing and adoration and so much love made Pete feel warm inside. It had become a regular emotion for Pete to feel cherished and cared for. The way they both worshipped him in bed and outside. It was obvious that they wanted and needed him just as much as he needed them.

“You don’t hate us, right, Phi? You love us,” Macau said.

It was the sincerity, the casualty of how Macau said those words that made Pete relent. He let out a big sigh. It was so easy - too easy - for them to get him where they wanted him.

“I do,” Pete said with a big sigh.

He placed his spoon down and got up from his place, walking over to Vegas and Macau. Pete pushed his fingers into Vegas’ hair, which made him look up and smile sweetly at Pete. He leaned down and kissed his partner sweetly before he turned his attention to Macau, reaching for his hand and holding it tenderly. Macau pulled him closer and placed a tiny kiss against Pete’s cheek.

“I love you both very much,” he said confidently.

The smiles Pete got in return meant everything to him.

They were home.

They were family.

-Fin-

❣

It feels like I’ve been dyed in your colours

The longer I’m with you the stronger I become in every way

A renewed dream after the time I spent lonely,

a dream of you...

❣