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He doesn’t get back to Sinostra till almost 4:00. In the morning. The casino may be open late, but even they close by 1:00. And thank God they do, because it means no one’s around to see him like this.
His hair is a mess, his tie isn’t straight, he’s sure his blazer is wrinkled, all his golden embellishments feel poorly adjusted, he doesn’t even have his gloves on. He huffs, stalking down the hall and towards his room. Not the VIP room, where he might have to deal with people, but his bedroom. He could do with some beauty sleep. Or even just some rest.
As soon as he descends the last little set of stairs between him and the hall of his room, another door opens. He pauses, watching.
“Eh? Lulu, that you?” Just his luck, his captain’s awake. And probably nosy, if he’s opening the door like that.
“Yes, now fuck off,” he snips. He turns to keep walking, but Taiga’s standing in his way now, the FAG. Hands on his hips, he looks Romeo up and down, assessing the situation.
“Damn, no need to be mean!” he laughs. “Shouldn’t you be in a better mood? Mad you couldn’t stay the night after warming teacher’s bed?”
It’s a low blow from Taiga and he knows it. Romeo fights back a scowl. He shouldn’t respond with aggression, even if Taiga deserves to get some sense knocked into him. It’ll just hold him up longer. “I work to benefit our house, unlike some members,” he remarks, jabbing a finger at Taiga’s chest. “You should be grateful,” he continues. “I’m the only reason we can even operate at this level! You know our probation would be worse otherwise, we might even have to shut down the Casino and where would we be then?”
Taiga looks at Romeo’s finger, something akin to confusion flickering over his features, before glancing back up to his face. “Geez, I’m just teasing! It’s chill” he grins, reaching to comfortingly pat Romeo’s shoulder.
It does not comfort him. Immediately he slaps Taiga’s hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me!” he screeches, making no attempt to regulate his volume. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, BTH, not to lay your hands on me without my explicit permission! Or did you forget? ” he snarls, advancing towards Taiga like a taloned bird in a territory dispute.
Taiga, in turn, raises his hands in a placating motion. “Damn, Lulu, didn’t mean to piss you off like that. The hell happened while you were out?”
The gesture works as intended this time. Romeo stills, crossing his arms. He certainly isn’t relaxed, but at least he’s not on the verge of mauling his captain. Without looking at Taiga, he responds, “Nothing happened. A meeting that ran long, that’s all.”
“That’s the most blatant bullshit I’ve ever seen you come up with,” Taiga scowls. If it happened this late then it’s no wonder Romeo’s being cagey. Still, such an obvious lie is pointless, especially when Taiga’s acting like he already knows. “Come on, just tell me. Or at least figure out a better excuse,” he adds. Like it’s some kind of olive branch.
Romeo shifts to lean on one leg, setting a hand on his hip as he does so. He spends a couple moments dwelling on what to do next, before coming to a realization: “Why on Earth would I need to explain myself to you?! Especially since I’m practically running the house,” he snarks, moving to keep walking down the hall.
Taiga’s face twists in annoyance as he shifts to block Romeo’s departure. “You’re not gonna just ignore me, asshole. Come on,” he presses, herding Romeo towards the open door of his room. “Go in, you’re not leaving like this.” He locks the door once they’re both inside, keeping out any intruders.
“Ugh, you’re insane. I don’t know what I expected.” He crosses the room, closing the curtain to obscure Taiga’s dungeon. Frankly, he doesn’t want to be stuck looking at a torture chair all night. “If you’re so determined to keep me here, then the bed is mine.”
“What?” Taiga asks, sounding legitimately baffled. As if the idea is so absurd. “You’re not gonna kick me out of my own bed, Lulu.” That frustration is back in his voice.
Good , Romeo thinks. At least like this, the venom between them is a back-and-forth. “Locking me in your room and making me sleep on the floor?! Have you no respect?!”
“Are you stupid? It’s a king bed.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Like it speaks for itself, no further explanation necessary. “We’ll fit fine.”
“Oh, you want me to sleep with you now?” The euphemistic accusation is only half-intentional. Romeo is… at least mostly sure that isn’t what Taiga’s up to. Still, better to be sure. Gather information.
Taiga, to his credit, looks baffled rather than disgusted; Romeo’s appearance is cultivated to be desirable, and he doesn’t have the energy to adequately respond if Taiga fails to see that.
“The hell are you talking about? If you’re gonna be dense on purpose then fine, deal with this shit on your own.” He’s bluffing, probably. Unless he finally got fed up with Romeo’s shit.
He decides not to take the risk. He’s tired anyways, and Taiga’s door is locked. “Fine,” he relents, letting his exhaustion show. “But keep your back to me, got it?”
“Ha! Finally,” Taiga scoffs. “Sure, just get your ass to bed.” By the time he finishes his sentence he’s already flopped onto the bed, shifting onto his side to face the curtain. While he pulls the covers over his lower body, Romeo busies himself with getting ready for bed. At least as ready as he can, given the circumstance.
He slips off his shoes first, setting them neatly against the wall. Next is his blazer, which he folds as tidily as possible. It’s already wrinkled, but he doesn’t want it getting any worse. He places it on the armchair in the corner. His tie and golden accessories follow, laid neatly on the dresser beside the door. His vest comes off as well, folded with the blazer. Finally he removes his collared shirt, leaving just an undershirt to cover his torso.
His outfit isn’t suited for bed. He’s still in slacks, after all. But there’s no way in hell he’s going to borrow pajamas for the night from Taiga, so this will have to do. He sighs, resigned, and slips under the covers of Taiga’s bed.
He can faintly hear Taiga behind him, breath soft and steady. Already half-asleep, he’d guess. Romeo tries to do the same, mimicking him, with little success. In a moment of weakness he shifts closer to Taiga, like some pathetic toddler crawling into its parents bed after a nightmare.
He slowly relaxes against Taiga, focusing on the body heat seeping into his back. He’s at least able to breathe steady now. Romeo hopes Taiga is too asleep to notice the shudders that wrack his body. When he hears Taiga let out a quiet snore, he rolls over, wraps an arm around him, and tries not to cry as he falls asleep.