FIVE
5
Prapai was born with a smile. Vegas can tell this because he was probably the only person who remained calm on the day that his nephew was born, he is the only one who can say this with absolute certainty. He is positive that his cretin of a cousin is unable to recall anything from what happened on that day. And Porsche's constant concern drove both the medical staff and the nurse to the point of insanity.
The birth of a newborn was something that neither his cousin nor his husband had any previous experience with. In addition to using a surrogate mother. Although it is true that they were skilled with Venice, this was due to the fact that they were Venice's uncles and not his parents. And they didn't have to dive in headfirst to witness the birth of Venice. Even though Vegas was in a coma when his little brat was born, he still managed to get his hands on Pete. His brave and courageous Pete, who had dealt with everything successfully.
So when the doctors handed Kinn and Porsche their son, Vegas stood in a corner and observed everything while everyone was cooing and cuddling the new addition of the family. Everyone wanted to take the newborn in their arms. Not Vegas though. His first meet with his brat didn’t go well. Cause, their extremely awkward and happy baby Venice teared up the moment Pete handed him to Vegas. Pete had told him that Venice didn’t cry or fuss even once after the birth cry. He was a silent child and liked to watch his surroundings.
Thus Vegas didn’t really wanted to make his new nephew cry just by looking at him. So he observed from a corner. The first thing he saw when the doctor handed him was that he was small and wiggly, moving constantly as if he wanted to explore the world around him. When a baby would probably be a little calm after birth, his nephew moved constantly,he watched the baby's tiny hands and feet move around, and not in a fussy way. In a way, as if he wanted to see everything at once.
He knew just then that this little one would be a constant moving trouble for them. The second thing he noticed was his smile. He knew babies cry after birth. He remembered his own brother’s face when he and his father were sitting outside his mother’s hospital room. Macau was not crying, he was screaming.As if leaving the warmth and protection of their mother's womb wasn't something he truly desired to do. He was actually a little scared then, thinking that his brother was hurt.
However, he is willing to bet a million bhat that his nephew was born with a smile on his face. His tiny lips were curved up ever-so-slightly, and his eyes didn’t shed a single drop of water while his own parents were shedding a river.
The moment Vegas thought he had that tiny human figured out just by doing a little bit of observation on his own, he received the shock of his life as his nephew's eyes met his own. Those innocent eyes, so full of wonder, held his own gaze. As if he were taking the strange and frightening man, who isn't even close by. However, the fact that his nephew didn't start crying simply because he was looking at him was the thing that shocked him the most. He showed a smile. Gummy smile to its fullest extent. With the mouth completely open and the eyes smiling. Vegas was still off in the distance at that point. Nevertheless, the infant maintained his gaze and made attempts with his tiny hands to get his attention. Call it his illusion or whatever you want, but he knows for a fact that his nephew was making grabby hands to him.
And Vegas was not a rock to not melt at those. As a result, he made his way towards the cheerful pile where everyone was smiling or vying for his nephew's attention. It was possibly his husband at one point who first observed that Vegas was moving closer and closer to them. Porsche didn't mind then. He simply grinned at Vegas and handed over their whirlwind to him. And Vegas swore that day, no matter what he won’t let a single harm come to this smiling human.
***
When Vegas predicted that Prapai would be trouble , he was not wrong. That boy makes trouble as if he cannot leave without them. And on his way of trouble making, he usually swifts off his cousin who is probably just trying to fix his motorbikes and get to that architect university that he had taken interest lately.
So he isn’t surprised when Porsche came knocking at their door. Oh sorry, banging at their door. Vegas, Venice and Pete were eating their breakfast when they heard the shouting.They both looked at each other, confused. It was unlike anyone to come so early in the morning. He really didn’t understand why Porsche came so early.
“VEGASSSSS, YOU BETTER OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN.” He heard Porsche shouting. Alarmed , his lovely husband quikly threw him a glance as if he was responsible for angry Porsche, and went to open the door.
Vegas was sure as hell that he didn’t do anything to get an angry Porsche at their door.Then he looked at his ghost child (In the novel Vegas wanted to name Venice Red, Refer to the movie , Red Phra Khanong, where the character name Red was actually a ghost child) who looked like he wanted to bolt right away from the kitchen window. So it was Prapai then, who created this early nuisance for him.
Vegas overheard Pete rapidly opening the door in an effort to quiet down his closest friend who was becoming upset. "What the heck is going on, Porsche? Why are you yelling at such a high volume? Pete inquired, trying to get to the bottom of things.
He was unable to pay attention to what Porsche had to say because, not even a millisecond after he finished speaking, he heard thunderous footstep approaching their kitchen. As quickly as he could, Venice sought to get up and leave this place. His eyes became quite round as he did so.
Huh, as if Vegas would even consider letting him do that. "Take a seat, Venice."
"Um, Dad, I have to do this crazy thing, and I'm running out of time. See you later ok. And the significance of this cannot be overstated." Venice said him in a hurried voice as he frantically tried to exit the room as quickly as possible. It was impossible for him to do so since the instant he approached the entrance, he noticed Porsche hurrying in, with Pete close on his heels.
When Venice first saw him, he appeared to be startled, like a deer that had been caught in a headlight.
“Uncle Porsche”Venice muttered nervously. "What are you doing here?"
“You still remember me as your uncle? Where exactly are you planning on going? Huh? When I am done with your damn father, you and Prapai will have a lot of explaining to do” Porsche gave a chilly response. Venice made an attempt to outrun Porsche, but he was too fast. He took Venice by the arm and dragged him towards the dining table, where Vegas was seated looking more at ease than he had in a long time.
Vegas observed as Venice seem like his heart just sank. Venice gave the impression that he knew just what it was about.
As they approached the table, Vegas looked up with a smile ( smirk, a pretty annoying one) on his face.He had no idea what was about to take place, but he was going to take advantage of it to the maximum.Only for the reason that he is aware of the fact that Venice would be in trouble with both Porsche and Pete, at which point Pete would be too troubled to think about anything else, and Vegas would be able to whisk him away for an extended vacation somewhere across the globe. Hopefully.
“What happened? Why are you shouting so early?”Vegas asked Porsche, still sipping on his coffee. The expression on his face was intense, and Vegas could feel the heat radiating off of him before he even started to speak.
“What happened? You tell me Vegas, why the fuck do you have all of Kinn’s past flings number and full fucking documents stored in your office? And why in the fucking fuck do you still have a complete on going membership with the escort agency, with a permission that anyone from the family can visit there?” Porsche shouted, his voice breaking with anger.
He heard as Pete also gasp, shocked as he turned towards Vegas. A look of accusion on his face.Vegas was taken aback. He didn't know how to answer his questions. He had kept all of Kinn's information for safekeeping, but he never expected anyone to find out. And as for the escort agency, he had joined it like 23 years ago and hadn't canceled his membership. He didn’t see a problem, cause Kinn doesn’t visit anymore and neither does he. And he is completey honest when he said he has totally forgotten about it. Then how the fuck Porsche found out and why was he angry about it.
Porsche's face was red with fury, and Vegas could tell that he was in deep trouble. But he couldn't figure out why the exact reason Porsche was so upset for.
“Oh that thing, it was years ago and I completely forgot to cancel it and as far as I remember that specific agensy doesn’t cancel their membership as long as the patreon doesn’t tell them himself. And I am completely honest I totally forgot about it. Why? what happened?Did Kinn cheat? Don’t worry Porsche. You can still divorce him.” Vegas finished with a smirk.
He heard Porsche scoffed at that.“ As if I would have kept that bastard alive if he had cheated on me. You guys wouldn’t have found me here shouting at your door. You would have been on his funeral already”
“Then what is it” Vegas asked with confusion clear in his voice.
Porsche took a deep breath before responding. “Well because of your forgetfulness my lovely son and nephew went to your office and found those damn things and guess what they did when they found out? Yes, they went to that fucking place completely drunk out of their fucking mind and lets not forget with a hoard of sleazy looking half naked sluts on their lap trying to leach them off.”
"Wait, wait, wait," Pete interrupted. "What in the fucking hell are you talking about?"Vegas was at a loss for words. His son? His little Veggie?( also in the novel Vegas's 2nd choice for the name was Veggie) Went to a fucking escort club, with his cousin too?
Porsche rolled his eyes. “Yes, Pete.”
If Venice had something to say , Vegas hoped he better say it now because just by looking at Pete he can tell how angry he is.
Pete looked at his son, with a mix of anger and shock. "Venice, what the hell is going on?" he demanded "And you were drunk yesterday? You came perfectly fine yesterday night." He was sitting between Pete and Porsche with Vegas across from them. Venice's head was down and he was fiddling with his shirt, a nervous habit that he caught from Vegas.
Hearing his papa’s question, Venice looked up, unable to meet his father's eyes. He knew he had messed up, and he didn't know how to explain it. "I'm sorry, Dad," he muttered. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
Vegas could tell that Pete was at a loss for words. Where’s Vegas didn’t really coddle Venice and thought of him as saint , Pete was his exact opposite. When Vegas didn’t really wanted to keep Venice at first , fearing that he would turn up like his mother, his Pete, promised that he would raise him as a perfect gentleman. So Vegas can tell how much of a shock this is for his lovely pet.
Since Pete didn’t say anything, Venice took a deep breath and looked up at his father. He knew he had messed up big time.
“Papa, I know that we messed up big time, but we really didn’t mean to do anything like taking anyone home. We just wanted to get drunk since I was sad for something yesterday and Pai just wanted to cheer me up. And uncle Porsche , you know how Pai is, he somehow sneaked into dad’s study and found those escort bar documents. He probably was just curious and wanted to check it out.” Venice tried to make reason and looked at his Papa hoping that he would not get too angry .
Vegas completely understands because he knows how Prapai is from the birth. That little shit can’t stay at a place for one minute straight.
"Oh, really? But from what I saw you two looked really cozy between those naked men and women," he said with a mocking voice, causing Venice to jerk up with surprise.
Vegas saw how Venice was surprised by Porsche's comment.
“How do you know that Uncle? We really didn’t do anthing” Venice mumbled.
In all seriousness, though, how did Porsche discover this? Is there any type of problem going on? "And how in the world did you know, Porsche?" Vegas asked.
“Oh? You guys didn't look at anything on the internet today, did you? The popularity of our sons seems to be rising on just about every platform. Oh, and let's not forget about those wonderful articles about our offspring, who are, after all, brats.” The response from Porsche was caustic. Clearly making an effort to exert control over himself.
Vegas didn’t waste anytime looking up at the internet. He didn’t really need to search much because he found out pretty first.
It was a article about their sons and there's a picture attach to it. Where they both were looking completely drunk and there are some half naked man and women poarched on their lap. Not only their lap , on of them was even trying to get his hands on his nephew.
"Prapai and Venice Theerapanyakun were seen at an escort club the other night, taking after their father's footsteps not only in the family business but likely in a great deal of other ways as well."
READ THE ARTICLE TO FIND OUT MORE
Vegas continued reading the article, his eyes widening with each passing sentence. The article went into great detail about the wild party their sons had attended, and how they were the life of the party, drinking and dancing.
He couldn’t read more , cause Pete came and snatched that phone. And took a sit next to Venice again and he can see how their expression changes . Pete's reaction was one of shock and rage, whereas Venice's was one of shock and a completely different kind of dread.
“WTF. Porsche how did they get their hand to their photos”Vegas couldn't help but ask, feeling both curious and concerned. there were not many people who their son’s face. Moreover, how did they click those pictures.
“I don’t know Vegas, probably some security breach. Arm is already trying to get rid of the articles and trying to take down those damn pictures.”Porsche replied, looking worried.
“ And where is Prapai?”
“The moment we saw the pictures, kinn called Pai over and asked him about it. He told us they got those numbers from you. And I was so fucking mad that Kinn told me to talk you first. He is probably coming with Pai right now.” Porsche told them.He made a mental note to strengthen his online security and keep his personal and confidential information safe.
“Sorry uncle” among all these chaos, he heard his son’s voice.
“Seriously Venice, what were you guys thinking huh? I know Pai can be a fucking pain in the ass, but I think of you as the responsible one. And yes, I know you also have your moments but you are the eldest here. The more mature one too. If you had any major problems, you should have talked to your father, not go around with your adventure craze cousin. I know you are responsible Ven, but do you have any idea how dangerous this was?” Porsche tried to softly talk to Venice. That man really is a father, knows what to say when.
But the thing Vegas was more worried about was Pete. His poor pet didn’t say a word after seeing those pictures. Vegas stood up from his chair and went to his husband’s side and softly touched his soulder.
“Pete, are you ok?” Vegas saw as his husband turned to him. His eyes were so sad that he hadn’t seen in years.
Pete turned to Venice again who was clearly upset that his parents were angry. But his husband quickly turned towards their son and took his face in his hands .
“Venice, my little boy, did papa do something wrong” Venice was clearly shocked when he heard it. His father asked, looking at him intently.
“No, papa. What are you talking about?” he hurriedly told Pete.
“Then why was it that you couldn’t confide in me when you were sad? Why did you think you had to take alcohol to mend your sadness?”
“I wasn't thinking then, papa, dad. And I am very sorry papa that you have to think that way. It's just I don’t know what I was thinking when Pai wanted to go. It was all messed up. I promise papa , I won't do anything like this ever again. Also sorry dad, I knew that Pai went to your office but didn’t tell you. I really wanted to but you know Prapai. He literally begged me to not tell. Also uncle Porsche I know I should be responsible but I was seriously not thinking yesterday, please forgive your little Ven, just this once.”
Pete and Vegas looked at their son with a mix of emotions. They were relieved that his son was sorry for his actions but also worried about what had happened with him "It's okay, Venice. I understand. It's just that sometimes, we need to talk to someone when we're feeling down. You can always talk to me, you know that, right?" he said, ruffling his son's hair.
“Yes dad.”
Venice then looked at Porsche who was silent.
“Its ok Ven. But only this time. If I see you two again with this shenanigans be assure that this time you two would be cleaning the whole fucking compound with your bare hands. And I have a punishment for you.” Porsche said rubbing Venice’s head sofly.
“What is it?”
“Pai would be coming soon with your Uncle kinn. Help us convince him to go to UK. And stop before you say anything. Listen , your cousin needs to know responsibilities. If he stays in Thailand, he can’t learn those. Yes, he is good at business study, but those are only theoretical. He needs to deal with practical things. He won’t learn anything from staying here where he has people falling at his feet anytime, he wants. Also our business is not something that a spoiled , reckless brat can handle. Talk to him about this tonight. He would probably want to stay with you. Reason with him cause I know deep down he respects you as his big brother and will listen to you.”
Vegas knew about this. They were planning to let Prapai study oversea. Vegas wanted to talk about something but the doorbell rang again.
“Wait , I will open the door.” Vegas told Pete as he was getting up to open it.
As he opened the door, he saw Prapai and Kinn standing there. Prapai’s eyes were red, probably from crying and Kinn was looking like he aged 100 years in one day. Although he was not as touchy as Porsche and Kinn , but this was his smiling , brave little boy who was the first one to smile at him for without any reason.
So he did what he had done all those years before. He took him in his arms. And Prapai went willingly. If it was anyone else he would be very awkward. Even with Venice , he was not as free as he was with him. But this was Prapai whose smile always gave him a reason that, he was not a monster that everyone feared. He saw from the corner of his eyes as Kinn went inside throwing him a glance, leaving them alone.
“I am sorry, uncle. I took something from your office without telling you” he heard his newphew’s voice filled with guilt.
“Hmm, who do you think your uncle is, you little whirlwind. I knew it was you who went to my office and messed my organized pile, messing them up. I trusted you not to take something serious than that. And forget whatever lecture your father gave, he was more wild than you in your age. I am just happy that no one tried to harm you two but promise me no more wild outing without any security.” Vegas said still comforting him.
Prapai then looked up to him with the same eyes , same braveness he saw all those years ago.
“I promise , no more wild outing without taking any security.”
And then gave him a smile. A smile that made him a little more human than the monster he is and Vegas knows that even if this boy someday comes to him and say that he had lost all their fortune he would probably praise him for it.