Chapter Text
Age 23
There’s an important meeting in Chicago. It’s late November and between preparing for the conference and the holidays, Rabbi has been hopping around like a jack rabbit running errands, fetching people, even doing the ironing, while still having to do normal crime related jobs. He’s relieved the day they leave knowing all he has to do is drive a car. There will be two cars, one for the Capo, his son, and his right hand man with Rabbi driving, the other for the other inner circle men and muscle. Being a chauffeur is not the glamorous gangster lifestyle, but at least he’s not killing anyone. Well, not on purpose, anyway. About halfway down the 8+ hours journey, the road gets icy. He slows down, only to be yelled at for going too slow. Suddenly the car hits a patch of black ice and fishtails out of control. Next thing he knows, they’re in a snow bank on the side of the road. Being the only one not wearing dress shoes, Rabbi has to try to push the car out himself - no dice. When he gets back in, it won’t start. Luckily, the other car carrying the other men pulls up 2 minutes later.
Donatello and Ebal confer on the side of the road, then Donatello informs them of the decision: He and Ebal will squeeze into the other car, Josto and Rabbi will wait for a tow truck, which they will send when they reach a service station. Josto protests, of course; he’s the son, the heir, the future boss, he should be at the important meetings! Let the muscle heads stay with the car. The Don tells his son that he needs to show up with back up, for appearances if nothing else, and protection. Josto can come next time. When he starts to whine, Donatello silences him with a look and “I say it is so, it is so.”
After they pull away, Josto throws a full blown tantrum in the back seat. First he curses out Rabbi for crashing the car - what an idiot, can’t you even drive a car right? Then he laments the situation, how unfair it is, how his father is just trying to teach him a stupid lesson. “He probably did this on purpose!”
“You think he controls the weather? Or that he told me to crash the car on the way to a conference?” Rabbi interrupts.
“No, not that part. I mean, he’s always going on about how when he was my age he left home with only the shirt on his back and started over in a new country and worked the street - which is bullshit, I've seen pictures of the family Villa! He says I don’t know the value of hard work and sacrifice. Like I didn’t fucking sacrifice three years of my goddamn life for this family! Like knowing how to change a tire makes you Jesus or something! He’s trying to make me more ‘self sufficient,' even if it kills me! I could freeze to death out here! He’s testing me, to see how I handle it cuz he thinks I’m stupid…” The tirade goes on and on.
Rabbi tries is best to tune it out. He stares out the window, then back at Josto. As obnoxious as it is, he’s kind of cute when he’s angry - gesticulating wildly, brows furrowed, face red… his eyes are still hazel though. He has very pretty eyes - not that Rabbi pays attention to his eye color or anything…Though, if he weren’t, ya know, him , then maybe…Rabbi starts to fantasize a little about what he’d do with someone who looked a little like Josto but was definitely not.
The cursing continues. Finally Rabbi can’t take it any longer.
“Josto. JOSTO! If I suck your dick, will you shut up ?” That does the trick. He has his attention.
“What?”
“You heard me. One time offer.” Josto’s eyes light up.
“You’re serious? You’ll do it?”
“Sure, why not? If it’ll end your belly aching.” Suddenly Josto’s grievances are forgotten.
“For real? You’re not pulling my leg?”
“If that’s the part you want pulled…” Rabbi smirks.
“Um…Sure? I mean… no, not… I do want...” He’s disoriented at the speed at which this conversation turned. “Ok, so…uh…how do we…”
“Stay there.” Rabbi climbs into the back seat. Josto is already unbuttoning his trousers.
“Slow your roll,” Rabbi allays, “Ground rules…”
“Ground rules?”
“Yes, if I’m going to do this, we need ground rules. One: no pushing my head down. I go at my own pace, take it or leave it.”
“Got it, no touching.”
“You can touch, you can put your hands in my hair or on my back, that’s fine, just don’t try to control me. No thrusting up, either, I hate gagging. Understood?”
“Sure. What’s next?”
“Two: give me a little warning before you finish. And I decide where it goes. That should go without saying, but some people are rude and think they can just spurt in one’s face whenever they want.” Josto chuckles.
“No problem. Is that it?”
“One more, the most important: you’re not allowed to give me any shite about it. No complaints, no name calling, no queer jokes… the next time we fight you’re not going to throw it in my face.” Josto stifles a laugh at the double entendre. “I’m serious, Josto. If I do this thing for you, you can’t use it against me. Ever . Capisce?”
“All right, I won’t! Capisco.”
“Ok” Rabbi nods at his hand on his fly, indicating he should continue to undress himself. Josto pulls his erection out, keeping as much skin covered as possible, since it’s so cold.
Rabbi shifts around the seat awkwardly for a minute, trying to find a comfortable position of attack. He unbuttons his coat, buttons it again, leans in, leans back, takes his coat off, puts it on over just his shoulders…
“I’m not rushing you, kid, but it’s 2 degrees outside and I’ve got my dick exposed…” Rabbi glares.
“It’s been a while, I need to get my bearings…” he takes a deep breath. “This car is not ideal…”
Finally he’s ready and comfortable. He leans over Josto’s lap, balancing one arm on the far side. He holds the shaft with his other hand and licks the head. Josto shudders and mmms. Rabbi lets a little spit drop on the top and uses his pursed lips to smear it around to act as lubrication so they can slide more easily. He fits his lips over his teeth and slides down, taking about half the erection in his mouth. He begins to bob his head rhythmically, swallowing a little more every time until he has most of it. His tongue swirls against the shaft.
The visual of his comrades head in his lap is too stimulating, so Josto has to close his eyes and drop his head back against the seat to keep from climaxing right away. He’s already close and the blow job has barely started. He tries desperately to hold back. Half a dozen times over the last year he’s begged Rabbi to do this. Well, not “begged”, he would never admit to begging. More like asking, demanding, haranguing, entreating… ever since the last time they frotted drunkenly in Rabbi’s bunk bed. Every time Rabbi has said no - sometimes politely, sometimes harshly telling him to fuck off, a couple consolation prizes of a quick hand job. So now that he was finally getting what he wanted, he can’t let it end so quickly.
He’s not sure what to do with his hands. At first they just rest limply at his sides, but he needs to fidget with something to calm his mind. He runs a hand over Rabbi’s back and shoulders. There’s a little thread sticking out of the seam where he must have mended a hole because it’s a different color. Josto tugs at it and worries it between his fingers while his cock is being serviced and thinks about how he doesn’t know how to sew. Who taught Rabbi to sew? His mother? Is it something he figured out on his own? Could Josto figure out how to sew if he had to? He likes to think he could, but most likely would get frustrated and give up, like most times he tries something new… the distraction is working, it’s been a whole minute and he hasn’t cum. He just has to last a few more so as not to seem pathetic.
The mouth pulls off and the cold air hits with a stinging contrast. Josto groans when the heat envelops him again. It’s too much. “I’m gonna cum” he whines. Rabbi pulls off again and sits up for a second, Josto looks at his face. His pupils are blown and his lips are wet and puffy, even after just a few minutes. He nods and dips back down and seals his lips over the head, pumping the shaft with his hand. Josto cums in his mouth with a cry. He remains a few seconds to make sure he’s caught it all, then sits up. He holds it in his mouth while he rolls down the window and spits out into the snow. Josto catches his breath and watches Rabbi unbutton his own pants. The taller man tips his head back against the head rest and begins stroking his own cock.
“Why did you do that?” Josto asks.
“Do what?” Rabbi’s voice is more gravelly than usual, which… guh .
“Spit it out.”
“I dunno. Felt like it.” Josto knows he shouldn’t feel insulted, but…
“Last time you licked if off my fingers.” Rabbi sighs.
“That wasn’t the whole load. And that was then, this is now.”
“But…” Rabbi cuts him off
“What was the third rule?”
“I’m not giving you shit, I’m just asking!”’
“Well, stop. You’re supposed to be quiet now.”
Josto pouts. He tucks himself back in his pants carefully, oversensitive now. The windows are fogged up and the midday light is filtered in an eerie, white glow. It looks kind of magical. He looks back at Rabbi. His eyes are closed and his Adams apple juts out enticingly - Josto would like to kiss it if he thought he’d let him. He has his cock against his stomach, held between two long fingers and his thumb, rubbing slowly up and down.
“Why do you only use three fingers?”
“For christ’ sake, I know you're an expert, but don’t tell me how to wank!” He scolds, adding a muttered “Oy vey…”
“You can’t say ‘Christ’ and ‘oy vey’ in the same sentence” Josto laughs. The Irishman scowls.
“It’s just an exclamation, you can say it whenever.”
Josto curses himself, he shouldn’t have said anything. He knows Rabbi tried his damnedest to erase the Yiddish from his vocabulary, but it still slips in once in a while. After spending five of his most formative years with a Polish Jewish family, he had picked up their speech. Upon returning home, his Irish family had teased him for sounding like “a little Rabbi," which is where the nickname originated. Josto doesn’t really understand why that’s such a bad thing - the mobsters from New York use Yiddish words here and there, too, it’s just the influence of the early gangs - but Rabbi has always hated anyone drawing attention to it.
“Relax, I’m just busting yer balls.”
“You explicitly agreed not to.”
“No, I agreed not to give you shit about the blow job. Totally different subject.”
“Can you please not give me shit about anything for just one day? It’s bad enough we’re stuck in this damn car…”
“You’re the one who crashed…”
Rabbi sits up, suddenly upset and starts putting his dick back in his pants. “Can’t even keep your maw shut for two minutes…”
Oh no, that’s not what he meant to do. That was supposed to be playful banter. Josto has to do something to get back on track.
“Don’t stop on account of me!” He reconciles, ‘Go ahead and finish.”
“I don’t feel like it anymore.”
“C’mon, after the killer head you just gave? You deserve it” he placates in his most charming voice. “Here, let me…” he slides over and presses against Rabbi’s side. He sticks a hand down the front of Rabbi’s pants. “Ok?” Rabbi turns his head away towards the window but nods. Josto pulls him out again and mimics the way he was touching himself before: thumb and forefingers, light strokes up and down. Soon he starts to relax again and slumps down a little in the seat. Josto rests his head on Rabbi’s shoulder and Rabbi leans his head on top of Josto’s. He can never stay mad at the little shit. He turns slightly to bury his nose in Josto’s hair, breathing in the smell of pomade and that scent that is essentially his. Time seems to slow down while Josto lazily strokes his partner’s cock in a hazy white glow of the snowed in car.
After a while he wonders if Rabbi has fallen asleep. Almost as if reading his mind, Rabbi whispers against his scalp:
“I like it when it’s quiet.” Josto knows this is a little dig at him, but for once he chooses not to respond. Rabbi’s right, it is nice and peaceful.
Rabbi puts his hand over Josto’s and encourages him to speed up a little. He changes his grip to his whole fist and jerks faster, rubbing his palm over the head on the upstroke. Rabbi moans lightly and Josto can feel it reverberate through his skull. He’s starting to get hard again already. Rabbi slips an arm around his waist and pulls him closer. He pumps harder. Rabbi makes a rumbling sound in his throat and groans “I’m cumming.” Damn, if that doesn’t make Josto fully hard again. Rabbi whines and squeezes him tightly as the spunk drips over the back of his hand and between his fingers.
He just looks at it for minute - semi-opaque puddles on his skin. He pulls his other arm out from behind the other man and draws his fingers through the viscous mess, spreading it around like finger paint. Rabbi chuckles and holds up his hand, which has a few droplets on it, too, next to Josto’s.
“Ya want it it?” Josto wipes it off with his finger and adds it to his little collection. Rabbi shakes his head affectionately, “you’re like a little kid sometimes.” He wants to watch it dry and then scratch it off. No particular reason, just boredom and curiosity, like a little science experiment. He keeps his hand next to Rabbi’s, comparing the size. Their hands match the rest of their bodies: Rabbi’s long and thin, Josto’s shorter and thicker. Rabbi’s fingers are especially long, even for his height. He places their palms together to measure the difference - Rabbi’s are a full knuckle length longer than his. He likes them, wants to feel them inside him… no, don’t go there, Josto, he thinks.
He feels Rabbi staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing. You’re being cute, is all.”
“Shut up, I’m not cute. Grown men aren’t cute .” The taller man pats him on the head. “Stop it!” He bats the hand away.
“Gross, you’re getting cum everywhere!”
“It’s your cum.”
“That doesn’t mean I want it on my clothes! Just wipe it off already.” Josto makes to wipe it on his shirt and he catches his wrist. “Don’t you dare!” He lurches his hand around, pretending to struggle against his surprisingly strong grip. They haven’t play fought like this in a while, it’s fun. Rabbi manages to push him over to the other side of the car seat.
“Stay on your side! Stay! Staaaayyyy” he draws it out like talking to a puppy. He stills for a second then makes one more lunge. Rabbi holds him back with a pointed finger and “Hup-hup!”
They’re smiling as they settle into their separate seats.
“Are you seriously not going to clean your hands?”
“I only have the one hanky, what if I need to blow my nose later?” Josto replies nonchalantly.
“I’ll lend you mine.”
“I'm not touching your snot-rag! Just let it dry, it’s fine.” Rabbi shakes his head as if to say ‘I just can’t.’
Just then, Josto sees something out the window and the conversation is forgotten.
“A car!” He opens the door, stands, and waves his arm. “Hey!” The car drives by. He gets back in.
“Fucker.” He pouts. “How long do you think until a tow truck gets here?”
Rabbi checks his pocket watch - an heirloom from his grandfather, one of the few possessions he has from his previous life. It’s been less than an hour since they left.
“Not sure. We’re pretty far away from any towns and the roads are icy. Could be a while before they even reach a service station and even longer before the tow can get here.”
“What if they crashed, too? What if we’re sitting here waiting for a rescue that’s not coming?” Rabbi nods, he thought of that, too.
“A car will stop eventually. Folks out here in the sticks tend to be helpful.”
“That last car wasn’t!”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell ya, Josto, there’s nothing we can do, just hope for the best. Take a nap, it’ll help the time pass.”
Josto does actually feel tired after their sexual exploits. “I was going to do that anyway, not because you told me to…” He bundles his coat around him and leans against the window with his eyes closed. The car feels surreal, cold and grey. He can hear Rabbi’s breathing nearby. It’s easy to fall asleep without trying.
The next thing he knows he’s waking up to the sound of a door opening and closing with a gust of wind. Rabbi’s peeing behind the car. He looks around to get his bearings - the sun is low, it’s got to be late afternoon.
Rabbi gets back in with a “sorry to wake you.”
“Did you sleep at all?”
“A bit. You were snoring.”
“I was not. Liar.”
“I don’t really care if you believe me.” He sighs.
Josto feels a tightness on the back of his hand and remembers it’s covered in dried cum. He scratches it and watched the little flakes fall onto the floor of the car.
Rabbi is appalled. “I can’t believe you just did that. Grotty little wanker, you are.”
“Huh, you sounded really British right there.” Rabbi feigns outrage at being called British.
“How daaaarrrrre youh!” his Irish accent greatly exaggerated. Josto laughs.
“Can you say anything without an accent?”
“I can do a fake accent, but it sounds fake. I used to sit in my room and listen to the radio and mimic the announcers, trying to sound more… ya know. Like them. But it just never sounded right. Trying too hard, thinking too much. Not natural.”
“Can I hear?” Josto is excited to see/hear a new side to Rabbi.
“No.”
“Come on! I won’t laugh, I promise!”
“You would because it sounds ridiculous.”
“Now you have to! Come on .” Rabbi twists up his mouth contemplating.
“No, I’m not your performing monkey. I’m not going to embarrass myself for your amusement”
“You do all the time.” Ok, ouch, that’s a little true. But he’s not going to do it on purpose.
Then it’s Josto’s turn to go pee. When he gets back in, Rabbi is staring out the window, looking a little worried with his lip between his teeth. It’s getting darker and colder, he’s worried, too.
“Got any more smokes?”
Rabbi gets out two cigarettes and gives one to Josto. They smoke and look at the white fields that stretch out forever on 3 sides.
“What if no one comes?”
“We’ll huddle together for warmth. With two coats over us, inside the car, we won’t freeze to death. I don’t think.” That doesn’t ease the Italian’s mind, and it shows on his face. Rabbi adds, “it won’t come to that, someone will stop or the tow truck will come. Do you have a flask?”
“I didn’t bring it, figured there’d be plenty booze in Chicago.”
“I was thinking we could melt snow it in for drinking water. I’m thirsty.”
“Just eat the snow.”
“Mmhmm”
“And what even happens when the tow truck comes? Sit and wait for the mechanic? I guess we could call home for someone to come get us” he answers his own question.
After a minute, he blurts out again:
“…I can’t believe they left us here!”
“Josto, we had a deal! No more bitching.”
“I’m not bitching, I just… what if we freeze to death? Who will take over the family business when my father kicks it? It’s irresponsible, is what it is.”
“I can’t say I disagree. But there’s nothing to be done now. Just get through it.”
“This was a big meeting, all the important players will be there. It was my chance to get in, ya know? You don’t care, you’re not gonna be the boss someday. But how am I supposed to be a big shot if I don’t have friends? Nobody’s gonna owe me any favors if I don’t get to rub elbows… he’s really knee-capping me here!”
“Well, Josto…” Rabbi hesitates to bring it up, he doesn’t want to encourage more whinging, but...
“What?”
“Last time you met with another leader you asked if his wife is mulatto. Your father was embarrassed.”
“Well, she looked mulatto!”
“Josto, you can’t just say that to people, it’s insulting!”
“Not if you’re mulatto.”
“Especially if…! It’s a slur! Arrg! Josto, I can’t explain basic social skills to you. You have to learn tact.”
“All the more reason I should be there to practice!”
“You should have practiced with other people, when the stakes weren’t so high. Look, I’m done talking about this, you don’t take my advice, you just want to complain and I don’t want to hear it. You promised, we had a deal, so just… quiet now.”
Josto pouts but doesn’t doesn’t argue anymore. They both look out the window and watch the road for cars. Rabbi fidgets with his lighter.
They sit for a while without talking.
Josto can’t let the silence reign for too long.
“So what changed your mind?”
“Hm?”
“About the blow job. You always turn me down, I just about gave up asking. So what made you offer?” Rabbi shrugs.
“Just in the mood, I guess. I have been antsy lately, but no time to even have a good wank. Besides, it got you to shut up for a bit, or it was supposed to…” he gives Josto a side eye look.
“You like it?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.”
Josto hesitates for a second, like he’s trying to decide if he should admit something, then adds: “I kind of want to, but… The smell… makes me nauseous.”
“Yah, that can be off putting, especially if the man’s lacking in the hygiene department. If he’s freshly washed, though, like you are, then I don’t mind. Kinda like it, actually. Musky…”
Josto remembers something he mentioned earlier and changes the subject.
“So who’s the rude prick who jizzed in your eye or whatever?” Rabbi snorts.
“No one you know.”
“So tell me about it! You know I can keep secrets.”
Rabbi contemplates. He’s never talked about his sex life with anyone. If you can even call it that. His memories aren’t exactly happy, though he enjoyed it at the time. Some would fantasize about his experience. Most people wouldn’t understand why he did what he did. But if anyone could, maybe Josto would? Hard to say. He hates the thought of being judged, though Josto isn’t really in a position to pull moral superiority…It could be cathartic to share…
“Here’s another deal: If you can uphold your promise and not annoy me or insult me for the rest of this ordeal, then on the way home I will tell you what you want to know.”
Josto looks angry, unused to anyone denying him a request. “You know you’re not really in any position to make deals, right? I’m your boss, you work for me, you have to do what I say.” Rabbi sighs.
“I work for your father, I babysit you.”
“EXCUSE ME?” Josto shouts and reaches for a weapon that’s not there. “You think I’m a baby, huh? I could kill you right here and not a damn person would care!” That smarts more than Rabbi would care to admit.
“You could,” Rabbi uses his soothing voice, “but then you’d be alone, and you really would freeze to death. Or get lost, or get arrested again somehow…”
“I’m not helpless, you know! I can keep myself alive for a night” he grumbles. Deep down he resents that Rabbi sussed out his fear, that he desperately doesn’t want to be alone. It makes him even more petulant.
Josto decides to stretch his legs for a minute and gets out of the car. He stomps around the car and stares down the road until it’s too cold to stand.
When he gets back in Rabbi is gazing dreamily past him at the sunset. Looks romantic. It reminds him of another thing he said once.
“Hey, you ever get that kiss?”
“What kiss?” Rabbi’s voice is still a little hoarse.
“That one time, you said you’d never been kissed. So did ya? Since then?”
Rabbi turns about 3 shades of red. “None of your business” he mutters.
“Come on, you know I'm going to get it out of you eventually. Just tell me.” Josto uses his puppy eyes, which even grumpy gangsters can’t resist.
“Fine” he sighs. “I almost did, but chickened out at the last minute.”
“What happened?”
“I won’t say who, but we were on a stake out. There was this poster on the wall nearby for a some film. He said that I looked like the man on the poster and I said no way. Maybe if I weren’t so scrawny. And he says ‘I don’t think you’re scrawny, I think you’re perfect.’ And he was looking at me and I was looking at him… it was like a scene from the pictures. All I had to do was lean in. Just lean in and kiss him. But I couldn’t. I just sat there and the moment passed.”
“Why?”
“It’s too risky with a man. What if I'm reading the signals wrong? Might end up dead. I could do it if it were a girl, I know I could. I just don’t get to spend much time with girls.”
“What about Maxia and Naneeda?”
“Your sisters?!”
“Yeah, Naneeda always seemed to like you. And Maxi’s 18 now.” Josto posits. Rabbi laughs.
“When I first came here, that girl used to hide in closets and jump out and tackle me when I walked by. I was damn well terrified of her!” Josto laughs too.
“You were terrified of a 10 year old?”
“Well, I couldn't fight back, could I? She’s a girl, and tiny, and the boss’ daughter… and here I am, the enemy in the house… if anyone were to walk around the corner and see us wrestling on the ground, they would assume the worst. So I had to just let this little gremlin pummel me just in case. Jaysus, I nearly forgot about that until now…” Josto laughs even harder and when it subsides he adds:
“You could have fought back, no one would blame you. She used to do that to everyone. Her favorite was Gaetano. He was twice her size but the two of them would tear through the house like a whirling dervish.” He chuckles at the memory.
Rabbi can't’ help smiling at that visual, though he doesn’t know what Gaetano actually looked like besides the one family portrait that hangs in the hallway where he was a toddler.
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever mentioned Gaetano in front of me. What happened to him?”
“He got sent to Italy when we were kids.”
“I know that much, but why?” Josto shrugs.
“No one would tell me.”
Rabbi is dumbfounded. How can he now know what happened to his own brother?
“You never asked around, tried to find out?”
“Of course I did! My father forbade anyone from mentioning it. And you know how my dad is. ‘I say it is so, it is so.’” He does an admirable impression. “Besides, I have theories.”
“Like what?”
Josto squints his eyes, pondering if it’s a good idea to tell Rabbi about his brother. He gives in.
“Well, Gaetano… he wasn’t… he was… well, he was big, see? Real big for his age. People used to ask which one of us was older. And he was immature. Ya know what I mean? Not slow; he was bright, good in school. But he acted younger than his age. Still throwing temper tantrums like a 3 year old when he was 10. Always getting into fistfights over nothing. Ya put two and two together, see, I figure he must have hurt another kid. Maybe even killed him.”
Rabbi lets that sink in a minute. Josto then adds another “or…” Rabbi doesn't’ have to say ‘or what’, he just lets Josto talk.
“Or, ya know… what would make a father send his son away? What would embarrass the family and lead to ruin? Maybe he got caught doing hanky panky with another boy.”
Rabbi’s jaw drops a little. He takes a deep breath.
“All this time you thought that's why your little brother might have been exiled and it didn’t stop you from doing the exact same activity he got exiled for?!” Josto bristles.
“I have girlfriends! Or I did. Besides, I’m discreet!”
“You are anything but discreet!”
“Shut up, we haven’t gotten caught, have we?”
“Yet”
“Shut up! I fuck women, that’s all that matters!”
He does shut up, no longer wishing to speak to Josto. How can he be so cavalier about this? How can he not even care what happened to his brother? Doesn’t he worry about him over there across the big pond with fascists taking over? Rabbi worries about his own brother every day. Is the little brat ok with their cousins back east? Did he stay out of the family business like Rabbi hoped? Did he take out their father too late to save his brother?
Suddenly headlights appear on the road and his reverie is temporarily forgotten as he jumps out to flag it down.