Tobias toyed around with the apple and put it back. He had no appetite to eat it. He was too nervous to do so.

Yes, Eniola had distracted him for long enough but he still had to talk to Luca about his decision. He did have a lot of fun though.

She was a tease and he loved a good tease.

He touched his neck gingerly. Was he really a sub? But he could be dominant in some aspects too.

He twirled lazily on his office seat.

In a fruitless effort to procrastinate, the man had taken it upon himself to clean his bloody blade that he had forgotten in the basement sink and still wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of hydrogen peroxide.

As effective as it was for cleaning, it did have a revolting stench.

What if Eniola caught the smell on him? She'd want to know everything and he had stupidly forgotten to tell her about Giovanni.

There goes being honest.

Speaking of Giovanni, Tobias had asked Alvaro to contact Gustavo and was yet to get back to him. How would he react to the news that he had tortured his half-brother?

Probably not well.

Tobias would not blame him and if he was half the sensible man that Chun Wang claimed he was, he would understand that certain things had to be done.

He pushed himself off his seat, hid his blade under a stack of files and left his office. He fought back the urge to return to his room and be with Eniola as he made his way to Luca and Ole's room.

The hallway and the elevator were dead quiet and his soft slippers padded the marble tiles. Even the loud sound from the television that always seemed to be locked on the sports entertainment channel was muted.

It spooked him in a way.

He inhaled deeply and knocked on the door.

Hopefully, he could talk to Luca without waking up Olegario.

The door opened and an unexpected face greeted him.

"Mr Ferna..."

"Foster." The detective pushed the door open so he could enter.

His eyes flew to Olegario's empty bed and to Luca who had sat up hurriedly when he saw him. For a brief moment he wondered what the boy and Foster were up to. He wouldn't.

"Evening, Jefe." Luca greeted quietly as he tried to stand from the bed. Tobias raised a hand to him, asking him to stop.

"Don't stress yourself." He turned to the blonde woman who looked extremely comfortable being with them.

He tilted his head at her.

As usual, she had to show attitude before obeying. She was extremely lucky that Eniola wanted her to stay.

Ensuring the door was locked behind him, he turned his attention back to Luca, who sat awkwardly in the bed.

Olegario was not in the room.

"How's your shoulder?" Tobias asked, making the boy look at it.

"It's fine. Thank you." He answered and Tobias just nodded.

He considered asking Lucado what he and the woman were discussing but decided against it. The boy would not dig himself a bigger grave in any way.

"I want you to go to Cadiz."

The boy's eyes that had been looking at his cast with keen interest flew to Tobias who just leaned on the wall.

"W-why?" He pitied Luca's scared eyes but sucked in a breath. It had to be done.

"I've discussed your situation with the Alvaro. And we decided the council would be judging you." He replied. "And no, I can't judge you or try to influence it. I know a lot of people who won't let you live."

He knew just one; Alvaro Carlisle Montez. If it were up to the lawyer, he would have tied his legs and arms together and just thrown him off a cliff.

"Sending you to Spain is the best I can do to ensure that you don't face death as a punishment."

He watched the boy go quiet for a few seconds before he eventually spoke up.

"I would rather die here, jefe." Tobias shook his head at the statement. "I can't face him."

Oh, that...

"I'm sure your father would be reasonable." Was all he said. Imagine if he knew the real reason your brother died. It would send the man to an early (but deserved) grave.

He studied the boy for a moment longer, convincing himself that he had made the right choice and continued talking.

"Miguel would be escorting you. The jet leaves tomorrow." The sooner the better.

He turned on his heels and began to leave the room but stopped abruptly.

"Goodluck, Lucado."

He would need it.

If he was lucky enough, he would be sent into exile. Compared to death, it was much preferred.

Tobias kissed his teeth in irritation when he saw a certain person at the far end of the hall. It seemed like she was doing nothing but from the rising and falling of her chest and tensed posture, he knew what had happened.

She had just ran away from the door.

"Foster." He called calmly, walking up to her. The woman was the least of his problems but she was an issue anyway.

"Mr Ferna—"

"Are you out of your mind, Amalie?" He queried, coming up to a closeness that was uncomfortable. Even for him.

"Sir?"

"Do not make me repeat myself." For a brief moment, her stubborn self shrunk in fear before she cleared her throat and backed against the wall.

"No."

"Then why have you been eavesdropping in all my conversations?" He asked straightforwardly and she shook her head.

He despised liars.

Tobias knew of three people that had lied to him. Two of them were dead and the third still begged for death.

"Listen here." He leaned forward, briefly inhaling a cherry fragrance from her shirt.

It was cheap detergent.

"I am not one to hurt women but do not make me reconsider my morals." He started, gently putting a strand of her straw coloured hair behind her ear. "I do not trust you and you are only here because Eniola says so. She could be nice to a fault when she wants to but if I have any reason to suspect you..." He trailed off, slightly smiling as she gulped.

He did not need to complete his threat but he did anyway.

"I would have to kill you."

She knew he had seen her go away from the basement door the moment he opened it after finishing with Giovanni. Xino had seen Eniola with her as well.

She already knew too much.

"I hope we are on the same page now, Foster??" Her nod was already enough clarification for him to let go of her chin. "Good. Have a wonderful night."

Tobias watched as she hurried down the hall and turned a corner. Making sure she was completely gone, he withdrew to the kitchen for a late night snack.

"Of course, you're here." He acknowledged the tall figure slouching over the counter and almost jumped when it made a loud thud.

"Jesus Christ, Gato." Alvaro exclaimed, turning with alarm to face Tobias. "You almost made me cut myself!"

He picked up the big knife again and positioned it in the middle of the watermelon.

"Lo siento mucho." Tobias apologized, looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. "It's one in the morning, Varo. Why are you cutting up fruits?"

Alvaro merely shrugged and cut out a small portion of the melon.

"Can't sleep. Bought some from a farmer's market and decided to make a salad for Clara." Tobias felt a small smile stretch his lips.

How cute.

"That's awfully nice of you." He replied, picking up a cube of pineapple.

"I know."

He sat at the makeshift dining in the middle of the wide kitchen as Varo continued his act of kindness. The men had pretended to not see the enormous dining room that was right outside the kitchen and decided that it was better to either eat in the kitchen, gaming or living room.

"Why are you up this late? Worried I'll sneak into Luca's room and cut him into pieces?" Varo joked as he sealed a plastic bowl with a wrapper and kept it in the fridge.

He had even gone as far writing 'Queen Of England' with his ridiculous handwriting on a sticky note and stuck it to the plate.

"Well, I won't say that it didn't cross my mind." Varo chuckled at his confession. "I just had to tell him about his meeting with the council."

The lawyer frowned at him for a moment then shook his head. "Sure... I talked to Gustavo today." He changed the topic. Typical Varo.

"Alright. What's the news?" Tobias asked as he watched Varo retie his hair into a bun and sit opposite him.

"He's in Sicily. Says he'll be landing tomorrow and would love to meet with you. He sounded pretty excited though."

Excited?

"What time? At where?" Tobias had nothing planned for the next day anyway.

"Evening, 9-ish. Now the location is a bit odd." Varo leaned into his seat and suppressed a yawn before continuing. "The Italian is having a party. A gala thingy to open his mansion in Manhattan. It's like a few minutes away."

"Sounds fun." Tobias noted and Varo nodded with a small smirk.

"Yeah, that's what I said. It's a black tie event so I don't want to see you in jeans and a t-shirt."

Tobias laughed but nodded. He had taken his trip to New York as a vacation and avoided corporate outfits at all costs.

"I haven't even told you the last part."

Tobias rolled his eyes at his best friend and gestured at Varo to continue.

"Giannini will be there." He shared a small smirk with the lawyer, both eyes matching with a small twinkle that will only be noticeable to the both of them.

"I better tell Clara to get me a suit then."

"Already done." Varo grinned. "I honestly cannot wait. It's been a while since I killed a motherfucker. I don't think I remember how to use a gun correctly."

Tobias frowned as he remembered a distasteful memory.

"But you had no problem shooting at Eniola." Varo raised his hands in defense.

"Come on, jefe. I already told you I was playing around and besides, I said I'll apologize. She didn't even seem to mind after we shared a smoke." He complained.

Tobias kept a levelled stare on him. "Give me your gun."

Alvaro face fell.

"What?" He asked, staring at the open palm in front of him. "You're serious?"

"Your gun."

The lawyer hesitated for a second before retrieving his gun from the back of his pants. "Here."

Tobias observed the gold and black highlights that lightly shone against the bright kitchen lights. It was fancy.

He cocked the gun and wiped the nozzle on the table cloth. He could still smell gunpowder on it.

"Stay still," he said, targeting Alvaro's forehead. He could see the tiniest bit of movement in his throat as he gulped but still, he wasn't scared enough.

He pulled the trigger.

Varo did not bulge.

It was boring.

Looking at the discarded magazine on the table, Alvaro grinned. "You love me too much."

Tobias narrowed his eyes before lowering the gun. If it were any other person, his current concern would be trying to get the blood stains off the walls.

"I'll apologize, I swear."

"You better." Tobias frowned. "I really do not know why she didn't tell me." He shook his head.

He had waited all night for her to bring it up but she didn't. Well he waited for the first five minutes. The thought was a hazy cloud at the back of his mind for the rest of the evening.

"Aww, she's trying to defend me." Varo mocked in a falsetto voice.

"I'm sure she already knew that you would tell me." He mentioned. "And change that tone." He felt his voice tighten at the end.

Varo's playful demeanor was gone by now.

"Sure, lo siento. I'll apologize to her first thing tomorrow." He promised for the third time and Tobias just waved it off, remembering a more pressing issue.

"Am I a sub?"

Varo's eyes widened at the question before he coughed, awfully trying to cover up a laugh. "What?"

"You heard me the first time."

"And how the fuck would I know?" He asked, laughter obvious in his tone.

"I don't know. We've done a couple of things in the past. I thought you would know."

Varo burst into a wild fit of laughter but quickly collected himself when he saw that Tobias was not joking.

"You say it like we fucked, jefe." He said, still recovering from the mad cackle. "It was only a single kiss. On the cheek... In 1997, Gato."

Tobias felt his face warm up.

The memory of a short awkward peck after the lawyer had told him he was going to London followed by him chasing him down so they could watch the sunrise appeared before him.

"We were kids."

It was true. He was only 17 then and Varo, 19. The idiot was about to leave him for university.

Tobias had left his father just weeks later as he no longer had anyone to talk to. Since the beginning, the Cuban idiot was all he had.

"We were..." His small smile never left his face. "Thank you, Varo."

Varo's dark brows furrowed in confusion as he stretched his hand to him.

"For what? Kissing you 15 years ago?" Tobias shook his head.

"No, for being with me for the past decade. Even when we lost contact and I came to America, you still reached out. Thank you for being a good friend." Varo held his gaze for a long second before grabbing his hand with both of his.

He was looking at the man who stood by him since he was born. The man who would take a bullet for him and who he would in turn do this same for.

Their relationship had stood the test of time and a lot of situations, from his father to Eisenfaust and then Felicio. It ran deeper than just members of the same mafia family. It ran deeper than blood itself.

"From the bottom of my heart," Varo inhaled deeply before speaking and clasping Tobias's hands tightly, "you are really a sub."

"Cabron." Bastard.

~~~

Literally me anytime I have to write/read a scene with Tobias and Varo: