Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.
2043

"So it's either you party with us, or babysit Luciano." Alek offered his sister as they began to make their way out of the private jet.

"Definitely babysitting my nephew," said Natalya. "I'm not into gambling."

"Will there be any second thoughts if I remind you that Tom will be playing with us?" he smirked.

The nineteen-year-old rolled her eyes. "You need to stop assuming that I like him. Obnoxious, prude boys similar to you and Johnny aren't my type."

"But you still love us," her brother pointed out.

Natalya snorted. "Shut the fuck up."

"Walk faster, Vicky!" Jonathan grouched, nearly pushing his cousin off the steps.

"Don't you fucking touch me, you faggot!" Vicky stopped on her tracks and turned round to hit him with her Louis Vuitton handbag.

"For the sixty-ninth time, you fat-headed whore, I'm not gay!"

"Says the sassy white-haired masculist who's such a fucking pussy when it comes to having sexual contact with females—"

"Just so you know, I've slept with over ten different women and no men! And P.S. my hair is platinum blonde, not white—"

"Still homo—"

"You two need to shut the fuck up!" Natalya snapped at them, "Just keep walking and GET IN THE FUCKING CAR!"

"Woah, fine, ma'am." Vicky raised her hands in surrender and proceeded on walking along the red carpet that led to the limousine, though the bickering didn't end there as she and Jonathan continued to throw insults at one another, this time more quietly.

Upon sensing their presence to be nearing, the doors of the limousine slid open on its own, allowing the newly-arrived passengers to enter. Awaiting for them inside were luxurious, black velvet seats, some spaces having been already occupied by a gorgeous brunette and a pair of good-looking Italian siblings.

"Caro mio!" Feliciana exclaimed as one-year-old Luciano entered the limo, being carried by Varenka, one of the Plisetskys' personal maids.

"Awww, how's my baby nephew?" Catalina squealed, taking Luciano from Varenka's arms.

"Oh sure, greet only the baby, and not the rest of us." said Jonathan sarcastically.

"Unlike Luci, you're not cute." remarked Catalina.

"Whatever, bitch." the cranky Russian-American plopped down onto the seat next to Lovino.

"So have you guys decided on what hotel you'll be staying in?" Alek inquired, pressing the button that automatically poured champagne into his glass.

"We were considering checking in Venetian," Lovino replied, "but since all you guys are gonna be in Caesars, it's decided that we'll be there too."

"Oh yeah, and Luna will be with us." added Feliciana, glancing at her ex-boyfriend.

Alek was unable to suppress his smile upon hearing the news. "Awesome. And... what about little Lucas?"

"Of course, he stays in Brighton with his parents. I felt guilty 'cause he really wanted to come and gamble with us." Lovino snorted.

Alek chortled, "You should've let him come along, then."

"If only Aunt Marzia and Uncle Felix would have allowed that," said Feliciana.

+++

There weren't much activity options in the hotel room; while Luciano watched John Wick on TV, Natalya was tapping through her friends' Instagram stories. Haneul and Romeo were on another romantic date in Italy, Bella was having more bonding time with Magnus, Maxim was left to babysit Nastya, Hazelle was traveling around for her tour, and Jeanne and Cesare were currently in Paris together.

"Miss Natasha, are you sure you don't want to join the others in the casino?" Varenka asked, regarding the blonde warily. "Or perhaps I could prepare a bubble bath for you."

"No need for that," Natalya waved her hand dismissively. "I've been relaxing in the plane's jacuzzi for a long time, anyway. And I told Alek and Feliciana that I would watch over Luciano."

"You don't really have to. Varenka and I will remain right here," Another maid, Kamilla, reassured her. "You know we'll take great care of him."

Through Instagram stories, Natalya watched as Hyacinth hit a Blackjack, Jonathan threw a tantrum after being busted out of the game, Hugo passed out on the table from too much alcohol, Philip had a threesome with Emily Hughes and Jessica Diaz, Abby recorded a drunken Jim kissing Alek on the lips, and best of all, Jesse made out with the guy dressed in a Gladiator costume. Natalya had been looking for any sign of Tom's presence, and only found him one time standing next to Dragan Stefanovski.

There was a voice in her head telling her: Get out of your misery, you stupid bitch. This is one of your chances where you actually get to have fun. Your brothers planned this whole trip for you and you're just gonna let it go to waste?

"Varenka, Kamilla," She sat up and reached for her jacket. "Make sure no one else gets inside here. Not even Alek or Johnny."

Varenka responded with a small, obedient nod. "No worries, Miss Natasha. Now go have fun in the casino."

Natalya gave her nephew a quick kiss on the head before leaving the room. On the way along the corridors as she put her jacket on, she was startled by the sight of Lindsey Hartmann stumbling out of her room fully naked.

"What the fuck, Lindsey?"

"Nat! Thank God you're here!" The bubbly Californian greeted her with a quick glomp, causing the other blonde to feel extremely uncomfortable. "Do you have any condoms? Tyler and I really need some right now."

Natalya glanced at her incredulously. "You and Tyler?"

"I know!" Lindsey squealed, "I never knew he was so good at giving orgas—"

"Okay, I don't need to know that." Natalya interrupted quickly, looking awfully repulsed. "Try looking in his stupid beanie. He always has condoms and cigarettes kept in there, though he sometimes forgets that he does."

"Really? That's weird, but thank you!"

"Yeah, now go have sex with him and leave me out of this." The Russian-American girl waved a lazy goodbye to Lindsey as she proceeded to head to the elevators, still feeling bamboozled from the fact that one of her closest friends, a band member who smokes cigarettes and has quite an odd behavior, was now banging one of the most popular girls back in high school. Then again, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise, knowing Lindsey had always fancied the bad boys.

The doors of the elevator slid open, exposing to view Will Roberts and Chad Cooper shooting dollar bills from cash cannons while the 2017 classic Gucci Gang was being played on some concealed speakers.

"For fuck's sake," Natalya groaned, moving to the next elevator.

+++

The casino was surprisingly not as chaotic as she expected. Everything seemed to be in place, save for one arch table that had been flipped over by a frustrated Jonathan. Personal servants were picking up the cards, coins, and cash that had been tossed around the floor, with the hotel staff and Wendy Everglot providing help.

Realizing it was Wendy Everglot, Natalya approached her and questioned her, "So how did a minor such as yourself manage to get in here?"

Wendy turned to her, "Oh, Lizzie bribed the employees to let me in, just to keep a watch on Tom in case he does anything stupid."

"Johnny's the one who seemed to have caused most of the madness here," the older girl snorted. "Anyway, where's he now?"

"Lizzie brought him back to their room. And right now they're probably giving us possible nieces or nephews," the fifteen-year-old Brit winked.

Natalya's eyes widened in bewilderment upon hearing the last sentence. Wendy Everglot, who had always seemed so innocent...

"I'm kidding!" Wendy laughed jestingly, "They're still in college anyway, and I'm certain neither of them would fancy having a baby in their early twenties. Johnny is unlike Alek, is he not?"

"They have their similarities and differences," Natalya shrugged. "One of their most significant similarities is that they're both obnoxious assholes."

"Same with my older brothers, honestly. Speaking of which... would you like to know where Tom is?"

"Not really, I don't care where he goes. It's his business anyway, not mine." Natalya lied, answering almost hastily.

Wendy smiled. "He's in Venus Garden."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

And with that, Natalya left the casino. She snorted as she witnessed Ace who was now wearing the Gladiator costume, feeling annoyed by the fact that Katerina and Brianna were taking forever to take pictures.

"Oh my god, you've taken about sixty-nine pics already!" Ace complained, "Get it the fuck over with!"

Katerina scoffed arrogantly and moved away from him. "Have you ever learned to have some patience?"

"Oh shut up, you female rapist."

"Female rapist?" Katerina's Ukrainian accent thickened as she snarled at him. "Call me that one more fucking time, you stupid delinquent! Brianna, hold my earrings—"

"Forget it, Katya." said Brianna, linking arms with her blonde friend. "He's not worth our time."

"Bye, bitches. Hope you don't enjoy your stay in Caesars," Ace waved at the two girls as they walked off. Katerina flipped the bird at him, and he did as well - double times.

"So," Natalya walked up to him. "Tell me how you ended up wearing this."

Ace sneered. "The original guy went to get his dick sucked by Jesse. And because I'm such a fucking good friend, I'm covering up for them."

"That's nice."

"So," He exchanged glances with his ex-girlfriend, "Are you... going to be seeing that British boy?"

"Mind your own business, Ace." she told him waggishly.

"You don't mind my own business, so why should I mind yours?"

They stared at each other for a brief moment, before smiling and breaking into short laughter.

"Wow, we just reenacted our breakup." said Natalya.

"No shit we did. Now go and see that bloke." said Ace, imitating a British accent.

+++

The place was so big that it took her a while to get to Venus Garden, though everywhere she went, there would always be a familiar face. It's amazing how many rich & famous friends her older siblings had.

The sun had already gone when Natalya walked past the hedges and out into the garden. With the rows of benches and the aisle that led to the stone gazebo, it looked like a good venue for a wedding.

There wasn't anyone around but the dark-haired young man sitting next to a single shopping bag on one of the front benches.

"What might you be doing out here, my lord?" she spoke behind him in a British accent, causing him to jerk up in surprise.

"Bloody hell, Talya!" he grumbled, but was nonetheless delightful to see her. "You fucking startled me. I actually thought you were one of those impudent, skanky maids of mine."

"If they really are such skanks, you need new maids." she suggested, bending down to sit next to him.

"Oh, they're not really skanks. I just love to insult people, that's all."

"Wow, that, I can fucking relate to." she said. "So, what's in the bag?"

"One-inch dildos that are each twice the size of Derek Liu's tallywacker."

"Oh my God, you fucking moron."

"I'm kidding." Tom snorted and handed the shopping bag to her. "This is for you. Open it later."

"Oh, um... thanks." she said, putting it on the ground next to her feet, which were already aching from the stilettos.

"Anyway, this place... is where Wendy wants to get married someday."

"I thought it'd be Juno Garden, considering it's bigger."

"She likes the small things," Tom shrugged. "Perhaps she got sick of all the big, extravagant stuff."

"Well... do you feel that way too?"

"At some point I did. But I'm used to them, and I realized I should be grateful for being able to live such a luxurious life. And I'm a royal earl; there's nothing I can do to change that when I was born the son of a duke." He then gazed at her, "And, what about you? What's your say in this? I know you've gotten sick of the spotlight."

"I don't seek for a life in the middle-class, I love all the luxury," said Natalya. "But yes, being famous and all... it does get really bothersome. I never even asked for it in the first place. I was born famous because my mom was already crazy famous. Now I'm used to it, anyway. I just hate the paparazzi."

Tom sneered. "Who doesn't hate the paparazzi?"

"People who love attention, like my friend, Jesse. And my brothers' friend, Jessica Diaz." she replied.

"Hey, you two!" someone called out to them, catching the pair's attention. It was Blake. "I don't mean to intervene in the moment, but Nat - one of your brothers is getting married right now."

"What?!" Natalya exclaimed in frustration rather than disbelief, rising from the bench and grabbing the shopping bag. "Johnny that stupid idiot! The marriage is not until after Lizzie graduates! Come on, Tom, let's go!"

+++

But it wasn't Jonathan.

At that moment Blake, Natalya, and Tom arrived at the chapel, the newlyweds burst through the doors, drunkenly screaming and laughing.

"Hellu, Mr. Luna!" the groom exclaimed, throwing the bottle of holy water towards the ceiling.

"Well helloo, Mrs. Alek!" the bride tossed the bouquet. Jesse stumbled out of the doors and hastily snatched it before anyone else could.

Natalya and Tom exchanged bewildered looks.

—-

alek & luna's point of view of the vegas trip will be written next ;)))

— admin audrey