My Mafia Host Family

It had been a nice day. Jae Sun's friends had been fun to play with. Jae Sun was witty, Taejin laidback and easy to get along with, whereas Derek required a bit of overbearing, but that was okay. Silvano had been insistent about driving him home again, so Pazhar had yet to try the bus.

Only problem was the lack of math studies. Once he got home, he headed straight up to Eliseo's room, starting to try to figure it out. But before he could figure much out, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" He said loudly, then spun around to see who would enter.

The door opened and in walked Manuel Ferrara. Wearing a suit as usual, and carrying a case with him. "Ah, Pazhar! I'm glad I caught you alone; I'm sure Eliseo would be outraged that I'm hoping to inconvenience you. I'd like you to take a look at some things. Do you mind?"

Well, he'd better be of a little use when that was possible. "Certainly not." He said with a smile, then pushed slowly to his feet.

"Ah, a model young man. If you were any younger, I'd want to adopt you." Manuel wandered over to Eliseo's bed and placed the case on it. He moved very carefully as he opened it. Inside were a series of items laid out strategically around a chalice. "I'd take these things to a professional, but I don't want to give those sharks the scent of blood until I get an idea of what I'm dealing with."

Pazhar's breath picked up immediately. That was a sacred moon chalice! They were not supposed to be placed below head level! Without thinking, he quickly snatched it, placed it on the highest shelf nearby, and closed his eyes. He forced his panting to calm down a little, and correctly recited the verse to apologise to the moon for disrespect, in Fendarian, of course.

Manuel crossed his arms and waited patiently, His brow was quirked curiously and after awhile he quietly spoke, "Well, I figured it was a religious relic. What would you suggest I do with it?"

"It is a terrible disrespect to keep it below head level when it's not held." Pazhar said in an agitated voice. "The moon won't watch this place at night if you don't respect it. Your guards won't help you."

"Sorry, I had no idea. I'll be sure to do that." After a slight pause, the older man flashed a cautious smile. "I won't be selling it, but for insurance purposes, how much are these things worth?"

Pazhar grimaced. "The worth of a sacred moon cup cannot be measured in money." He said insistently. "But for your insurance, you'll probably list the selling price. This one probably costs around 200$. If you sell it, though, there should be a priest present!"

"That is not even going to be an issue. I plan to display it in my museum; but in the big city, I always have to be prepared for a fire or for things getting stolen so I have every item insured." Manuel gazed thoughtfully at the chalice and then at Pazhar. "I wouldn't want to offend anyone, so if you would help with the display, it would be much appreciated."

Starting to calm down, the Fendarian realised he was making somewhat of a scene, and he didn't want to. He took a deep breath, and then forced a smile. "Of course. I would be happy to."

"Good. And don't worry, I'll make sure you're paid for any work you do." Manuel closed the case and then started toward the Chalice. He carefully took it off the shelf and headed toward the door. With one last glance back, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Paid? Pazhar liked that bit. Being broke was such a pain... he shrugged, letting out a sigh as he went back to his studies.

~~~~~~

It had been an uneventful evening. Pazhar had made a little headway with the mathematics, but it was still hard to get his head around. When Eliseo got home, they had their bed fun, and then went to sleep together with arms wrapped around each other.

His phone was ringing.

Pazhar groaned loudly. Who the fuck was waking him up in the middle of the night? He clumsily stumbled out of bed, moving over to his clothes to dig out the cell phone. Scowling at it as if the phone was to blame, he pushed the button. "Yes?" He asked with annoyance.

"Took you fucking long enough," came the deep response. "What the fuck were you doing, jerking off, you fucking Fendy?"

Who was that? Pazhar didn't even know, nor how he got the number. "Sleeping," he said, then yawned. "Who's this?" He asked, while toying with the idea of just switching the phone off.

"I'm the toothfairy. Now quit asking dumbass questions, kid. Here's the deal. I tried to play nice. I even offered you a reward, but you fucking blew me off, so I'm going to get real angry if you pull that shit again." The voice lowered to a harsh whisper. "There's a disk in your bag. You are going to install what's on it on any one of the Ferrara's computers, and then you are going to dispose of the disk. I don't care how. There's no reward this time, but I promise you, you will not like what happens if you defy me again!"

"Fuck off, you racist cunt." Pazhar said distastefully, then hung up on the idiot. With a sigh, he reached over to grab his bag, starting to dig through it.

There was a quiet sigh and then Eliseo climbed clumsily out of the bed. As he closed the distance between them, he ran a hand over Pazhar's back and into his hair. "Who was that?"

"Some bastard wanting me to install shit in your computers again." The Fendarian grumbled, then pulled out another disk. "Here it is. I guess your dad won't want to hear about this before breakfast, right?"

"My dad can go to hell." Eliseo yawned as he took the cellphone from Pazhar. He pressed a couple buttons and then held it to his ear while his hand continued to play with Pazhar's hair.

Pazhar gave him a puzzled glance, but was way too tired to argue, instead dipping his head down to clench his teeth over one of Eliseo's nipples.

Eliseo made a noise of surprise and then snickered. "Careful, I get worked up easily when I'm half asleep." He blinked suddenly and spoke into the phone. "Hello? ... Oh hi, I called to tell you... Shut your pie hole, I'm talking. You see, when I'm in the middle of getting fucked by a really hot guy, and some coward calls and interrupts us, I get very cranky. I am going to find out who you are, and if we catch you within a 50 mile radius of him again, He will skin you and leave you to rot alive. Have a nice night!"

Threats on his behalf? Pazhar frowned, then took the cell back and switched it off. "What did you do that for?" He asked with a sigh.

With a shrug and another yawn, Eliseo started back for the bed. "I don't like being woken up and he's too far away to shoot."

The Fendarian groaned and yawned back at him. "I wanna sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow." He climbed back into the bed and quickly got comfortable.

Eliseo grinned and snuggled up against Pazhar, resting his head on the man's chest. "If it makes you feel better, I'll lecture myself in the morning about how two wrongs don't make a right and all those other important lessons."

~~~~~~

It was time. They were fools to think Arsenio would tolerate his home being invaded and his brother corrupted by some strange man! Well, that was about to come to an end. The poison was distributed in the right food. He had the cooks distribute the food on individual dishes, instead of everyone helping themselves. It was a special day!

Arsenio took his seat at the table as he watched the cooks coming out. He smiled. Oh yes, a day of cleaning out the house of bad people always put him in a good mood. He looked at his parents, who were busy discussing a soccer game - father looked as if mother was speaking a different language entirely. Silvano seemed a little dazed, but in good spirits, as usual. And then there were the other two. Pazhar and Eliseo. Seeing his brother's eyes constantly on that intruder was disgusting.

Finally mother seemed to realise she had lost her husband. She sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "I suppose they're right when they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

The foreigner pushed to his feet, pulling out a computer disk and walking over to father. "Excuse me, but I thought I should let you know..." He said, placing the disk on the table, "I got another disk last night, and a phone call trying to threaten me into installing this."

Manuel took it and quirked a brow at his wife. His confused gaze soon landed on Eliseo. "Did you get the number of the one who called, Eliseo?"

There was a scowl and a stubborn shake of the head. "For the last friggin time, that's not my name. I don't answer to you, old man."

Fishing his cell phone out, the intruder pushed a few buttons, and then placed it in front of father.

Such an obedient bastard. Arsenio rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Oh well, it would be over soon. He watched as Manuel scribbled the number down on a notepad he took out of his pocket. "Thank you, Pazhar. Go ahead and enjoy your breakfast. I'll see what I can do about this problem."

The foreigner nodded. "Thanks." He said with a smile, then walked over and sat down next to Eliseo, wrapping an arm lightly around the other guy.

Eliseo glared at the others around the table, and then studied the food laid out in front of them. "Oh cool! You got hash browns! Can I have some?"

Oh no, that was bad! Arsenio growled at his brother, "Don't beg off the guest, it's rude!"

"Sure!" The stranger smiled, then lifted his plate and pushed a third of the dish over onto Eliseo's.

Eliseo poured ketchup over the stuff, and then took a big fork-ful. The poisoned stuff. Aresenio looked over at Father, but that old man was as clueless as ever. He couldn't let his brother die. As the food went into the mouth, Arsenio jumped up out of his chair and ripped the fork out of his brother's hand.

"Hey!" His brother grimaced and tried to reach for the fork. "What the fuck is your problem, ass?!"

"I told you it was rude! Someone has to teach you manners before you get yourself killed, you idiot!"

The foreigner quirked an oblivious brow. "You don't have to worry, Arsenio," he said calmly, "I don't mind at all. There's plenty left for me."

Realisation seemed to hit his brother. Eliseo stood up and grabbed Pazhar's plate. He walked around the table, picked up Arsenio's plate and put the poisoned one down in its place. He then walked back around and gave his companion the other plate. "There. Now I didn't take food from him. I took it from you. Everyone's happy, right?" He flashed a sarcastic smile and then took another forkful of the poisoned hash browns.

Damnit! Arsenio grabbed a firm hold of his brother's wrist to stop any more of the food from being consumed. When he was met by the daring blue gaze, Arsenio hissed through his teeth, "You've made your point. Put it down."

"I'm not making a point. I'm trying to eat breakfast."

Before another word could be said, a sharp pain shot through his leg. Arsenio shouted and stumbled back. He crouched down and held his shin where he had been kicked by those damn platform boots. Just as he was directing a look of pure anger at the punk, he saw his brother take another bite of something. Arsenio cursed under his breath and got up, grabbing eliseo's plate and smashing it against the nearest wall. "Don't fucking play with me, you little freak!"

Eliseo calmly gazed over at the mess on the wall and then frowned at Pazhar. "I wonder what his problem is."

The Fendarian grimaced. "I'm not so sure I'm hungry anymore..." He said with a sigh, then pushed to his feet and headed for the stairs.

Good riddance. If he couldn't kill him, at least he didn't have to put up with him. Arsenio smiled at the leaving man and then spoke to his brother loud enough for the foreigner to hear. "You don't need him, Vestige. He'll never belong."

"Arsenio!" Father's commanding voice boomed throughout the dining room. "We are going to have a discussion in private. Now. Eliseo, I'm sending Charles to take care of your shop. You're bound to get sick today, so you're staying home."

~~~~

Teaching young men to be killers and keep their honour and respect at the same time was proving to be impossible. Manuel was very disappointed in his two oldest. One had basically denounced his name and family, while the other was dangerously possessive, and a threat to innocent people. So far, Silvano was the only son he had raised relatively right. The only son that could recognise the distinction between brutalities necessary at work, and the gentle hand that every thing else needed to be treated with.

Manuel had lectured Arsenio about what he had done. It was unspeakable and terrible, but he knew he was at fault for teaching his son that there was always the opportunity for assassination. That talk was over, and his dejected son had gone off to work at the museum. Manuel was alone in the den, finishing off his coffee as he watched the morning news program.

He noticed someone approaching, and quickly identified Pazhar, carrying the two big bags he had arrived with. The young man offered a weak smile, putting the bags down nearby. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...?" He asked quietly.

"Of course not." Manuel looked over the bags. Well, it seemed that young man was all packed up, but that was hardly a surprise after what had happened at breakfast. "What can I do for you, Pazhar?"

The Fendarian swallowed. "Well, I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality before I left. I'm also sorry about last night, I should have been more polite and collected about it."

"You have nothing to apologise for. I may not look like it, but I am a religious man as well, so I do understand." He sighed and took a slow sip of his coffee. "I really wish you'd reconsider staying. I've spoken to Arsenio, and I do not believe he will try to hurt you again. He will be punished accordingly, of course. Besides, I'm sure Eliseo would be crushed to see you go."

"I do not want to cause any trouble..." Pazhar grimaced and shifted uncomfortably. "Arsenio is clearly not happy with me staying here, and I don't even know why."

Manuel put the coffee on the end table and stood up to face Pazhar eye-to-eye. "Arsenio is like this when he feels threatened. He won't be any happier when you're gone. He thinks he wants all his brothers to himself, but even if he had that, I'm sad to say it wouldn't be enough. You do not need to concern yourself with how he feels, but know that it is not your doing. You are not causing any trouble here at all, in fact, I am quite happy with your presence."

Appearing even more uncomfortable, it took quite a while for Pazhar to say anything. "I'm sorry," he finally said reluctantly, "but it's hard for me to feel safe here..."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. Manuel patted Pazhar on the shoulder. "I don't want you to feel that you're in danger, so I won't try to stop you. But if you're moving out, it may take a couple days to find a place. At least take some time to think about it... Is there anything I could do to make you feel more at ease? I could send Arsenio on another business trip overseas."

The Fendarian sighed and shook his head. "It's of course nice of you to offer, but I couldn't possibly accept an offer like that. But I'd appreciate if he was kept away from my food."

"Consider it done." Manuel sat back down and lifted his coffee to his mouth. "I'll have the kitchen secured and the cook that helped him this morning has been fired. I do not want people who would do something so terrible on my staff."

After squeezing his eyes shut, Pazhar took a few deep breaths. "Alright, I'll stay." He said, then picked the bags back up. "Again, I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"I should be the one apologising. Now go have a good day at school!" Manuel smiled. He felt bad for what happened. That really gave his family a bad name, but he wanted Pazhar to have some good experiences before he left.

~~~~~

js: Sure, Asian it is, unless someone complains ;-)

Lisa: Derek and Taejin in the basketball team? I suppose they, especially Derek, wouldn't last very long before getting kicked out for bad behaviour! It's not exactly their kind of crowd either.