Chapter Text
“Yo, I’m surprised you keep coming back here Sol.” Pete said quietly
Why d’ya call me Sol?” Sonny asked as he took a seat next to him
“Because you’re a bright kid like the sun Sonny De la Vega and you’re gonna outshine everyone someday.”
“M’not a kid.”
“Bright young man.” Pete corrected
“Damn straight.”
*
Pete was an absolute asshole. Sonny didn’t know why he’d ever even tried to trust the older guy in the first place but he was angry now that he had ever considered it. Pete aside, Sonny had always let Usnavi’s opinions of a person guide his own. He even flirted with Vanessa because Usnavi would have if he didn’t lack Sonny’s confidence, he imitated his cousin’s behaviour in a more extraverted manner. That was until Pete had showed up at the bodega a year ago with his mouth covered in paint that Sonny instantly knew had been sprayed on by someone else.
Sonny had stared in shock as Pete opened his mouth to speak but instead coughed and Sonny could see the green paint mix with blood and turned a horrible brown colour as it dripped down his lips onto the floor. Sonny screamed for Usnavi who ran down and called an ambulance. They saved Pete’s life that night and in return he’d not sprayed their walls or grates. Sonny wanted more than anything to know what had happened for Pete to end up like that but Pete’s only response was ‘Picked a fight with the wrong guy.’ Usnavi’s response had been keep Sonny away from Pete, keep him away from whatever danger Pete brought with him. Sonny was mad about that, he didn’t need protecting, Pete needed saving.
Sonny wondered how he could ever think that a guy like Graffiti Pete would want to be saved. He was happy being a dangerous, dumbass delinquent. Usnavi had caught him that morning spraying the bodega grate with a dull bottle green scrawl, not even a decent piece of art. Sonny had rocked up to find his cousin scrubbing hard at the grate to get the paint off before it dried. Before Usnavi could see him arrive, he ran off to confront the vandal himself finding him sifting through his stash of cans out near the school.
“You fucked with Usnavi’s bodega!” Sonny had snapped “Remember him? The guy who saved your fucking life? Don’t you have any respect?”
“The idiot got to me before I could finish… Waste of fucking paint.” Pete shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
“You’re not sorry?”
“Why should I be? I did nothing wrong Sol.” Pete snapped, lifting his backpack over his shoulders and sliding past Sonny with ease. In a swift movement Pete spun the two and shoved Sonny against a wall, looking down on him angrily. Sonny felt his heart pounding and ignored the fact that he knew it wasn’t entirely fear.
“Don’t fucking touch me.” Pete glared
“Don’t be an asshole!” Sonny snapped back, Pete's response was to pull him away from the wall only to be shoved back up against it more harshly. It didn’t hurt. Pete had never physically hurt Sonny.
“I don’t need a lecture from the barrio child who actually believes he can make a difference!” Pete growled knowing it would hurt Sonny to be called a child. He could see in Sonny’s expression alone that he’d just shattered his confidence.
“Pete you’re-“
“Graffiti Pete.” The taller corrected “All I am to you is a delinquent. You might as well use the title everyone else does or do you think you’re special enough to stand out Sonny?”
“Y-you could have been so much better if you learnt to respect the people who look after you!” Sonny snapped, his voice shaking “Usnavi and I were actually stupid enough to care…” He whispered and Pete’s grip on the De la Vega boy’s shoulders loosened a little.
“You’ve got no fucking idea.” Pete grumbled and dropped his hold altogether, readjusting his bag. He was gone before Sonny could say another word and by the time Sonny got back to the bodega he was more than just a little bit shaken. Usnavi was finishing up a conversation with Dani and Carla. He stepped in as they left and fixed a fake smile to his face.
“Sonny, you’re late” Usnavi grumbled,
“Chillax, you know you love me” he replied to his cousin smoothly as he sauntered past him and made his way to the radio, flicking it on for distraction and singing along as a familiar tune played;
ev'ry average man you know
Much prefers his lovey-dovey to court
When the temperature is low
But when the thermometer goes way up
And the weather is sizzling hot
Mister, pants for romance is not.
Sonny was glad when Benny came into the store because it meant Usnavi would have a chat and if he was busy, he wouldn’t notice Sonny’s silence. Benny pestered Usnavi about Vanessa until she walked into the store and had Usnavi tongue tied. Vanessa eventually left and Sonny kept trying to distract himself but he couldn’t get his mind off Pete.
He was lost in thought when Vanessa returned later on in the afternoon, mind focused on ‘barrio child who thinks he can make a difference.’ He made Vanessa’s coffee and let Usnavi act like he was capable enough to do it himself when she was around (Sonny almost always made Vanessa’s coffee after an incident the month prior in which Usnavi had stared at her instead of focusing on making the drink and ended up with the boiling coffee over his hand instead of in the carry cup. Now Usnavi only made her drinks when he was expecting her to show up so that he could pre-make them). Sonny zoned out for a while until he heard Usnavi say
“That’s what all the ladies say. I remind them of their grandma.” And Sonny realised Usnavi needed a miracle to redeem that. At least he could make a difference here and save his cousin from his awkwardness. He started dancing around Vanessa, singing her name to distract her from Usnavi and in his focus to save his cousin he finally forgot about the Pete incident.