Chapter 2: I See.
Luca sat at the table as Rosa spoke. She was listing off some information about the family business and how their rivals were trying to gain a larger foothold in the Southport district, the Ricci's were trying to encroach on the Wharfside Market and Giovanni, Luca's father, didn't like it. Naturally.
Luca also wasn't really listening. He mainly ran the nightclub and mainly helped with backdoor liquor distribution and washing the families money through some 'secret' gambling parties he held. So, listening to Rosa drawl on about the Southport territory dispute was not at the top list of his priorities. Honestly neither was the family business right now. Alex was.
Since they'd hooked up, for some reason, he was all Luca thought about. It had been a few days and he wanted back into Alex. He wanted to take Alex back into his mouth, feel him grow between his lips. Savor the taste of his tightness once again. Luca wanted to-
"Luca!" His fathers voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw almost everyone was looking at him. Everyone was in the big meeting room in the west wing of the Moretti Estate, his uncle and aunts, older brothers, a few cousins and the families inner circle along with a few trusted officers.
"Yes sir!" Luca focused on his father's face and voice that said:
"Are you paying attention? Did you hear me?" Giovannis deep voice asked his son impatiently.
"Uhm, no sorry sir. I was distracted. The club. There's an event coming up. Sorry." Luca fumbled for explanations. "Sorry," He repeated. "what was the question?"
"It wasn't a question." His father said. Luca straightened up and Giovannis dark eyes pointed at his son. "I was telling you I need you to help your brother, Marco, move some guns coming in this weekend."
"Yes sir." He nodded.
"We need to make sure they're taken to the storehouse immediately after they get off the boat. We can't let Alessandro's men get them." Giovanni looked over to Joe, the head of security for the family, and nodded his chin at him.
"Right, so, we'll have two decoys with heavy presence at the Blackwater Docks, but that's not where they're gonna be coming in." Joe took over. "We're actually gonna have the shipment delivered in Riverside at the Steelbridge Docks. The Hales are getting a new shipment of art and sculptures for the Gardens up in Veridian so we'll be smuggling the guns in their shipment." He explained the game plan and went on about it, describing the job Luca and Marco would be doing this Friday.
Yay, can't wait.
Luca thought to himself. He liked being a part of the family, helping with the operations, he just wished it could wait until he didn't have things to do. He did actually have a club to run and Friday was a busy day for Velluto. But there was no telling Dad 'no'.
"So everyone understand?" Gio asked the table. Everyone nodded and he dismissed them. "Not you Luca, I need to talk to you." Everyone left and his brother Marco gave him an 'Ooh, you're in trouble' look. He stuck his tongue out at his older brother and fought not to give him the finger. "Boys." Their father warned.
"Sorry pop." Marco said, patting his shoulder as he left. Gio patted back. Luca sat back down.
"What's going on dad?" Luca asked.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked.
"Nothing." He responded. He didn't think anything was. Other than his absentmindedness during this meeting.
"Nothing? Hm." Gio shrugged lightly. "Nothing he says." He rubbed his hands together, rings lightly clanking. "Nothing...he lies to his own father. He's trying to give me a heart attack."
"I'm not lying pop." Luca tried to assure.
"I'm your father, I know when something is wrong. The last three days, your head, it hasn't been here. It wasn't at Sunday dinner, your mother, she worries and now me-" He put on that old Italian father act, rambling, trying to coax it out of him.
"Dad, I'm fine." Luca assures his father again. "It's just the club, lot's going on." His father leans over the table.
"Luca," He started softly. He used his dad voice instead of his boss voice. "What's going on? Don't lie to me." His dad had always made sure to be a father, not just the 'head of the family' and the 'boss'.
"Everything's fine dad. I've just been busy." Luca didn't think his father would like to hear about his sex-capades.
"With?" Gio asked, when Luca didn't answer, he continued. "You know Matteo keeps very good tabs of comings and goings from the penthouse."
"Dad." Luca goes red.
"Look, it's your business you're an adult and I don't care what you do, but when it starts to effect the family is when it becomes mine." Giovanni explained. "Is that why you haven't been focused the last few days?"
"Dad!" Luca was mortified. He'd given him the sex talk at fourteen, then again two years later when he came out as gay. It had been awkward both times.
"What, if you want to sleep with a twink that's fine. I don't care, but you need to remain focused and devoted to the family." His father raised his hands, trying to be supportive.
"He wasn't a twink." Luca didn't know what to say right now so he said that.
"I don't know the terms, I heard it on a tv show." His father chuckled.
"Dad, I'm focused. Friday I'll be on game and my head will be here." Luca promised.
"See it is." He both warned and advised. "I'm happy to see you happy, just make sure that happy doesn't cause issues." Another advisory warning. It was his way of saying 'don't get some fling involved or let them know too much. Rumors can fly about the Moretti family, but you better not confirm them'.
To the outside world, the Moretti's were a powerful family of trade and industry, rising to power in the early 1900's when they moved to Northbridge after coming from Italy. Luca's father was first generation and proud of it. He worked just as hard as Luca's grandfather had to keep the family in power and to expand the business. In recent years they'd even started more legitimate ventures. Like Luca's club, his brother Marco and his wife opened a restaurant, and Tony owned a few deli's and café's around town. They of course also operated as laundry mats to clean the families money, but hey, the businesses themselves were legit in essence.
"I'll be fine pop." Luca stood and went over to his fathers side, patting his shoulder. "Thanks for the advice." He said giving him a squeeze, he squeezed back.
"Anytime son."
"And just so you know, Tony would be considered a twink." Luca explained so his father wouldn't misuse the term again.
"I see." He nodded slowly. Luca chuckled as he walked out of the room and went to go see his mother before left to go open the club.
*****
"Here, have some more potatoes." Linda, Alex's mother passed the bowl over to Emily, his sister.
"I'm fine mom." She passed them James, their father, who passed them back to Linda, who put them back down in front of Emily.
"How's work?" James asked his children.
"Fine, there's this absolute cunt named Regina who just started." Emily swallowed another bite of her food.
"Language." Linda warned.
"Saved another life today." Alex joked. Sort of, he'd administered Narcan to a junkie who was running around the street ranting about a vampire trying to suck his blood from his junk. "Guy was worried about bloodsuckers." He had another bite.
"Is that what they call them now?" Emily smiled an insinuation.
"Emily." Linda was annoyed at her children's potty mouths.
"Emily please." James agreed with his wife. Alex and his sister laughed quietly to each other.
"What about you guys?" Alex asked.
"Oh, just another day at the library really. Quiet, the way I like it." Alex's father was a librarian over in Old Town in the university library.
"My students don't know how to read. They're twenty and don't know how to read." Linda said with a flat voice and expression, she was a professor who taught history. "That's not actually fair. They can read, just badly and slowly." His mother went on. "Anyway, anything knew in your lives?" She asked her children.
"Alex met a guy." Emily ratted.
"No I didn't." Alex said. Not technically the truth or a lie. He had met a guy, but not in the context Emily meant. They'd only hooked up once, though Alex hoped they would again tonight after the club. Cody and Jane would go with him. He was going to invite Emily too, but she'd decided to be a brat.
"Oh, that's nice. I'd like some grandchildren." James smiled at his children expectantly.
"Keep wishing." Emily mumbled.
"Well we've only gone on one date." Alex lied. The sex was great.
"Make it two, you're not getting any younger." Linda urged. They were both very worried that their millennial children were never going to get married and produce grandchildren for them to spoil.
"I'll have a child when I can afford a home." Emily stated.
"We're doomed." James said, taking another bite of dinner. The family laughed lightly and continued their conversation. Alex loved these moments; it almost made him regret moving out, but he loved having his own space and he'd found a steal of an apartment on Riverside.
"This was nice, but I've got to go. I want to relax and shower before I go out with my friends." Alex announced, standing up. "Thanks for dinner mom." He walked over and kissed her forehead and she reached up to hug him. "By dad, love you." His dad responded with his mouth full and a nod.
"Where's my invite?" Emily asked.
"It must have gotten lost in the mail, sorry byeeee." Alex laughed as he made a quick exit and made his way out of the house and to his car. His phone dinged. It was a notification from
Nightfling
.
