Author's Note: Please please remind me to post, this chapter has been sitting for weeks hahaha. peace and love.
Dante waited until his father's men arrived, wrapping Aunt Judy's body and carrying her to a separate truck. He wanted to assure that she would receive a proper burial, but he wasn't going to have any funeral service until Nate was returned. It was then that Tessa and himself separated; she went storming door to door, threatening the neighbours for information on what had occurred in Nate's apartment, and she wasn't surprised when they attempted to keep their lips sealed.
Their hideout was located on the outskirts of the city.
There was a humongous hill, almost the side of a mountain, within a forest around the city and they had successfully build their hideout inside that hill. That was where all of them resided, including his father, the rest of his brothers and all hundred apart of their team in that region. Inside had its own bar where the members crowded around whenever they hung out amongst themselves. There was also a meeting room with a huge conference table where all of them assembled whenever his father had an announcement. Each of them had their own luxurious room and they had hired a plentiful of women workers to assist them with every single of their needs, even the personal ones.
Dante entrance was greeted by a few underlings of his father who welcomed him, bowing down as he entered the base; all their weapons lowered as he walked past them. In order to reach the bedrooms, he had to walk through the main lobby, which he wasn't too keen on doing since he was certain he would be ambushed by his younger brothers.
And he was.
"Welcome back!"
He felt a violent shove, pushing him to the side and causing him to stumble a few steps before he regained his balance. Reno had always been the most aggressive one, touch being his main form of communication, as if that was the only way he could direct his love. Although his buzz cut black hair and bushy brows may appear intimidating, he had the most radiating love and care for not only his siblings but also friends, especially his best friend Walker.
Wherever Reno went, Walker was always right behind him—the duo was inseparable.
As if Reno's shove hadn't been enough, he felt a sudden arm wrap around his neck and push him downwards, squeezing him into a headlock. "Yeah, glad to see you finally showing up back here."
"Bronsted." Dante's teeth gritted as he struggled for air, attempting to dig his nails through Bronsted's forearm as he hissed, "If you don't let me go in three seconds, I will kill you."
"Geez," Bronsted mumbled, releasing his older brother. He sent a few fingers through his coiled gold strands, fixing them as he added, "You can never joke around, always threatening to kill people."
Bronsted was a bit short, thicker than the rest of his siblings and had blond hair that he wasn't sure how to style so changed it every other day. As for today, he had the bottom half shaved while the rest fell all over his head, not the fanciest look but he admired it, have it done it on his own. As for his eyes, he hadn't inherited his father's golden irises like Reno had, his were a muddy brown that wasn't too enticing, to say the least.
Dante straightened his spine, narrowing his eyes at them before he spat, "I'm in a hurry, stop bothering me."
"You're looking for Ralphy, aren't you?" Dante rolled his eyes when he heard the raspy disembodied voice circulating the air. They had gotten used to such tone, but to any newcomer, they always said the same thing about his voice; devilish. "What did you do to him?"
Molly appeared from the shadow down the hall, stepping towards them with a small smile across his lip.
He was fifteen years old and the youngest brother but was definitely the most sadistic one. Oddly enough, although their bloodlines were identical, he had inherited a peculiar set of traits that none of them had, nor his parents had.
He was the only one amongst the family with long beautiful ginger curls, unusually lengthy eyelashes and green irises that seemed to be able to conduct magic if they truly wanted to. One thing that Dante despised about Molly was that he had a way of deciphering his surroundings to the point that he knew everything about everyone's lives by merely studying patterns in their behaviours. And all his assumptions were always spot on; he had never been wrong.
Hence the moment he mentioned Raphael, the other brothers eyes turned to Dante, raising their eyebrows.
"You did something to Raphael?" Walker asked from behind Reno.
Reno folded his arms. "You probably insulted him again, didn't you?" He didn't even wait for a response from Dante before shrugging his shoulders and exhaling a long sigh. "Raphael's going to leave you soon if you keep up the act."
"Why don't you guys ever mind your own business?"
Bronsted snorted at Dante's sharp tone. "Stop being a sissy, let us in on the drama." He leaned in towards his brother with a cocked eyebrow. "Let me guess—you found out he has a boyfriend."
"I got a good one," Reno chuckled, leaning towards them, "you gave him head and he said he didn't like it so you got mad?"
Walker and Molly both burst out into a series of cackles.
Dante had no time for their immaturities, at least that was what he considered them. He had to find Nate at all cost and wasting time talking to them was helping him in any way. Any other day, he would have fought them for even speaking to him that way, but he had no time.
Instead, he waved his hand dismissively as he stormed away from them. "Leave me the fuck alone."
"Wow." Walker spoke while their eyes followed Dante until he escaped the lobby as he headed for the bedrooms. "He's definitely in a bad mood."
The only place he concluded Raphael would most likely be present was his bedroom. Luckily, he was correct, however he hadn't expected someone else to be there as well. Although it had been years since Raphael and himself had been intimate, the sight in front of him made his heart skip a beat.
Raphael had his blond hair down, falling right below his shoulders. He leaned backwards on the edge of his dresser pushed against the left wall based on the door. He had removed his suit, left with an unbuttoned white dress shirt, revealing the toned features, the slight sweat glistening from the dim light. There was a cigarette on the edge of his lips, and Dante observed as he tilted his head backwards, inhaled a sharp breath and exhaled a cloud of grey smoke towards the roof.
The Adam's apple was always a sight he adored, exposing the flesh of his neck.
In front of him, on her knees and facing him, was one of the workers, attempting to pleasure him with her mouth. Slobber hung at each sides of her lips as she enwrapped them around his sensitive spot, squeezing her cheeks together as she quickened her strokes. For the last ten minutes that she had been doing such, she hadn't received any reaction. No tensing of his legs or even a low moan, not even a sudden exhale as he felt a sudden jitter. Even when she looked upwards, their gazes met a few times but he appeared bothered, cold and annoyed.
Surprisingly, seated on top of the dresser right beside them, with a cigarette laying on the corner of his mouth, was his eldest brother, Lucius. He was wearing a burgundy suit with a black shirt understand, his veiny hands decorated with golden rings and diamond watch on his wrist. The top of his long burgundy hair was pulled into a bun, while a small portion of the sides was braided, falling all the way to the bottom of his chest.
From all his brothers, Lucius was the one Dante feared the most—he had the same ruthlessness than his father. He was always serious and alerted, relished battles, fights and violence, wanting to be at the front lines and witness the horrifying cries of his opponents. Even if it cost him an eye, he was still the first one to reach for his weapon. He had a jaw as sharp as a knife, eyes slanted downward as if he was constantly tired, a straight bridged nose and a long scar across his lip.
As if his personality wasn't intimidating enough, he was tall as well, reaching the height of seven feet, and definitely the most muscular, even noticeable through his tight suit. His somber burgundy eyes didn't even glance towards Dante when he walked in, instead they were glued on the woman pleasing Raphael but he also seemed bored and annoyed.
Raphael had heard Dante enter the room, but he didn't care. Instead, he acted as if he hadn't, his narrowed brows continued to observe the way the woman attempted to fulfill his needs but didn't even come close.
"We found Judy killed in Nate's apartment." Dante explained, stepping inside the bedroom and closing the door behind him. The lady did not halt, continuing her motion. Raphael nor Lucius acknowledged him. It was only after Dante's next statement that she finally sensed the tightening of Raphael's thigh. "Nate wasn't there and I think he might've been kidnapped." He pointed to the door. "We need to go and solve this now, I don't have time to waste."
Raphael still didn't respond, neither did Lucius.
"Ralphy, we have to go."
"Well Dante," his tone was cold and empty, as if he had lost his soul during the time that they hadn't been together. He then shrugged his shoulders and eyed the ceiling. "I'm a little busy."
Dante rolled his eyes, now directing his authority towards the woman. "Sara." She instantly pulled away, wiping her lips with the end of her shirt and eyed him. All these women that his father acquired always seemed ghostly, no expression as if they were robots, almost appearing to be brainwashed, their true mind far in the distance and no longer able to regain. "Get off from him."
"No Sara," Raphael's tone had deepened and with the cigarette hanging at the corner of his mouth, he turned to glare at Dante. Even though his eye stayed connected to Dante's gaze, he spoke to Sara. "Keep going."
"Fine," Dante shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just blow her brains out if she won't listen to me."
Raphael snorted, shaking his head and turning away dismissively. "I'll just get another one."
"Okay, what the hell?" Dante finally stepped closer, seeing the smirk across Raphael's lips and only feeling an anger roam in his stomach. They had always been partners, they always argued but it never changed. He never thought Raphael would resist in this manner. "Why are you being so difficult?"
"I'm not being difficult," he exhaled. "I told you, I quit."
As they argued, Lucius, with his eyes narrowed, reached for the top of her head with his large robust hand. He then slowly pushed her head towards Raphael and said in a deep tone, "Keep going."
Sara swallowed hard; Lucius was much more frightening than anyone else she had encountered. Her lips wrapped around his sensitive spot again, Lucius assisting with the movement of her head as he gently tucked it to the left, to the right, then swayed it forward and heard a sudden sharp inhale from Raphael. His eyes diverted to Raphael's face, studying the way it slightly contorted across his forehead. "Does that feel good?"
"Definitely better," Raphael breathed.
"Sara," Lucius pulled his hand away and folded his arms, "keep doing that."
Dante was growing annoyed with Lucius' presence but he knew better than to even attempt to attack or insult him. His focus remained on Raphael as he hissed, "You can't quit on me. My dad ordered you to stay by my side."
Raphael return his eyes onto Sara. "He approved...ha...already."
"He can't approve without me."
"It looks like...ha...ha...he did—a little faster Sara? Ha...ha...yes," he groaned a small moan, "Ha...yes...that's it—"
"Stop." He reached for Sara by the shoulder and pulled her backwards, detaching her from an annoyed Raphael whose eyes narrowed into a deathly stare. "This is serious Ralphy!"
"And it's none of my business," he laughed.
Lucius, knowing that this moment was interrupted, extended his palm to Sara and pulled her to her feet. Using the hem of his burgundy suit, he wiped her lips and murmured, "You did alright."
"Ralphy," Dante growled, stepping closer to him. Ralphael was taller and much more intimidating, but that didn't stop Dante from broadening his shoulders, the smell of the cigarette overwhelming his nose. "I'm here because I need your help."
"But I don't want to help you anymore," he admitted harshly and coldly, those words meant to stab through Dante's heart.
Dante raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"
"You know why." He began walking away from him, lifting his pants to his waist and throwing his dress-shirt onto the floor. As he began heading for the closet, his narrowed eyes turned to the duo leaving the bedroom and he halted for a moment. "Where are you going?"
Dante glanced towards Lucius who had an arm wrapped around Sara's shoulders, not even glancing towards Raphael as he replied, "Don't worry about it." He waved a dismissive hand and added, "See you later," before both their presence vanished from the bedroom as the door closed behind them.
Dante rolled his eyes and returned his focus to Raphael who walked inside his closet. "And what the fuck are you doing hanging around Lucius like that?"
"For one, Lucius has been hanging around me—"
He pointed towards the dresser where they had both been. "What we're you two doing anyway?"
Raphael's eyes became slanted. "The door was closed for a reason."
"Is that why you've done this all of a sudden?" he leaned forward, widening his arms. "Have you been fucking him?"
He noticed Raphael's jaw tightening as if it was territory he had no business to demand information. "How about you leave me alone?"
But Dante was not one to back down from any topic, especially one he wanted to know the answer to. "Have you, yes or fucking no? It's a simple question that you've always answered before but all of a sudden, you're hiding shit as if it's all private—"
His rambling was halted when Raphael appeared from the closet and threw one of his dress shirts directly at his face. "Dante, shut your mouth." His tone had darkened, almost resembling Dante's father's voice when he used his authority and parental status to get his way with children.
Dante caught the shirt before it touched him and shoved it against the wall, veins snaking across the back of his palms from how much he had tightened his hands into fists. "Why aren't you answering the questi—"
"No, I'm not." He spat, returning his eyes onto his clothes as he exhaled a sharp breath. "The fuck you have to be in my business for?"
"You ditched my side for his?"
Raphael exhaled a long breath, slowly shaking his head as he searched through his clothes. He let his emotions return to an ease, feeling the warmth through his muscles begin to dissipate as he muttered in a quieter tone, "I just said no."
"I don't get it."
"And that's fine, I don't expect you to," Raphael murmured, shrugging his shoulders.
"I say harsh things to you all the time. When did you become so sensitive?"
He saw Ralphael's footsteps stop for a moment. "So sensitive?" he repeated in a growl. Dante saw the way his teeth gritted, and he pointed a finger directly towards Dante's heart, seconds from revealing the anger and hurt he felt from Dante's comments, until he exhaled a sharp relaxing breath. His focus returned to his closet and as he glanced through the clothes, he mumbled, "Leave my bedroom, please."
"So we can't even have a conversation?"
"There's nothing for you to say," he snickered, reaching for the sweater he preferred and shoving his arms through. As he pushed down the hem below his waist, he added, "There's nothing for me to say."
"That's it then? After almost three years now, you're done? You don't want to be appointed to me anymore?"
That was the first time Raphael heard the hurt Dante attempted to conceal. It was hidden, but he had revealed it by a slight quiver in his tone. It did cause Raphael to hesitate, but he was not one to rewind on a decision he had made. "No, I don't."
Dante inhaled a sharp breath, he had never seen Raphael in such coldness. It was as if there were spikes exiting his lips with every of his words, sharply stabbing through Dante's chest. It was as if Dante had never mattered to him. But Dante wanted some form a response, something to invoke that Raphael was still there.
"We we're lovers at one point. You're willing to throw that away as if it never meant anything to—"
"Don't even go there with me." That did elicit the reaction he wanted, since Raphael suddenly seemed fuelled for this conversation. His brows had furrowed instantly, stepping towards Dante with his shoulders broadened. "You have no right to mention that."
"I have every right," he hissed back, stomping a foot forward when he did. "You're the one that broke it off and never told me why."
Raphael shook his head. "We moved past that, we got over it. You can't bring that up just because you want me to come back to you—"
"No, you got over it." Dante spat, a wide incredulous smile spreading across his lips. He then shoved his finger against Raphael's chest and said even louder, "You were the one to magically move on after our relationship."
"It wasn't a relationship."
"All I'm fucking saying Ralphy is that we have so much history." Dante's arms fell to his sides and he tilted his head to the side, his expression growing softer. "Maybe I act entitled all the time and I know I can be rude but trust me when I tell you that I need you. So," Dante began stepping backwards with his arms in the air in defeat, "you win. If you don't want to be with me anymore, that's fine." Raphael's features seemed to have softened, but he didn't say anything. Instead, his lips tightened into a line and he looked away. "I don't have time to waste, I need to go find Nate."
"I always knew Nate was more important that I was and could ever be to you," Ralphael laughed in disbelief, pointing to his own chest. Dante rolled his eyes but before he could respond, Raphael added, "I've always been there. I've saved you countless times from death. But for some reason, you can't even spend more than five minutes for me."
Dante threw his hands on each sides, uncertain of what he was supposed to do. "The fuck do you want me to say to you?"
Raphael's eyebrows raised in disbelief, uncertain how Dante was still unable to understand what he wanted; mere appreciation of all he had done. "An apology would be nice?"
That caused Dante to snort. "All I said was the truth, you're my father's lap dog."
Raphael inhaled a sharp breath in disbelief, slowly shaking his head. After a long stare in Dante's eyes, he lowered his eyes to the carpeted floor, an incredulous chuckle escaping his lips. "You're not a very nice person."
"What the fuck do you want me to say to you—?!"
"I would've done anything for you, Dante. After what we've been through together..." He slowly shook his head as he hissed through his gritted teeth, "I already took a bullet for you." Dante had never seen Raphael this way. Most of the time, Raphael concealed his emotions, withholding a straight face as he followed Dante everywhere he went. He was always the ones comforting him, reassuring him, protecting him, trying to prevent Dante from growing angry and apologizing when he did him wrong.
But at that moment, Dante was unsure who's eyes he was staring into. They were sparkly, as if he was on the midst of tears, his bottom lip slightly quivering and it was obvious he was attempting his hardest not to let it shake. Raphael had finally shown his vulnerability, one that Dante had never seen before.
His finger pointed to the floor as he snarled through gritted teeth, in a low sharp tone, "I would've fucking taken a bullet for Nate too if that's what you wanted me to do because that's just..." He was breathless, inhaling a sharp breath as if he was barely able to breathe anymore with how these harsh word had hurt him, "...that's just how much you mean to me."
Dante heard his own heart crack; it was only then that he realized how much he had truly hurt Raphael.
"But you know what," he waved his hand dismissively, stepping away from Dante, "...not anymore."
"Ralphy, come on—"
"Not anymore," he growled before storming away from the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.