Cross-Dressing to Hook a Cold Godfather from the 20th Century

[Money-minded, flirtatious, cheeky bottom x cold, restrained, hard-as-nails godfather top]

[Yutang x Hesse Colombo]

1.

Yutang wakes up to find himself in New York in the mid-twentieth century.

The world is at peace, jazz is sweeping the streets, Prohibition's aftershocks have yet to fade, and suited thugs roam the night.

The old Godfather has just been assassinated, and the new Godfather has yet to take over. The Colombo family is rife with undercurrents.

Yutang has transmigrated into the margins of a classic Godfather novel as a poor Asian student who can barely make ends meet. The main characters' struggles have nothing to do with him.

Prices in New York are absurdly high. Yutang works three jobs a day, scraping by with his shaky English and barely enough to get by until he turns twenty.

At the theater where he works part-time, a performance is about to fall through when the leading lady suddenly falls ill. The boss successfully buys Yutang's services for a hundred dollars, puts him in a dress, and sends him onstage to fill in at the last minute.

After the performance, Yutang happily counts his money backstage.

Bad news: Hesse Colombo, the future Godfather and the most powerful character in the book, has suddenly come looking for him.

Worse news: The Godfather loved "her" performance and says he fell in love with "her" at first sight.

Yutang: O.o

What kind of twentieth-century horror story is this?

As a good young man raised under the red flag, how could he date a Mafia boss? No way!

But the next day, the theater boss tells Yutang, "The actress named Lillian ran off with her lover, and Hesse has already paid a deposit for three full months, specifically asking to see you perform."

The boss begs Yutang, "Tang, you're the only one who can save me. Just play Lillian for three months, and I'll give you seventy percent of the fee for every performance!"

Yutang, who's been worrying about rent and tuition: $_$

The refusal he'd been preparing dies on his lips.

Who could turn down such an incredible windfall?

2.

Yutang begins his days playing Lillian.

Hesse shows up every night at eight sharp to watch him perform.

The man wears a perfectly tailored black Italian suit, a cigar flickering between his fingers. His sharp, cool gaze settles on Yutang's thin clothing.

The whole theater is filled with a dangerous, icy air.

Yutang assumes Hesse will be an aloof, difficult man of power. He never expects things to become increasingly strange.

Hesse treats him to fine coffee, showers him with cash to fund his education, tells him about his time in the Marines, takes him to Hollywood movies, and even introduces him to the Colombo family...

Three months later, Yutang packs his things, ready to leave after a job well done. But under the moonlight, Hesse says to him with utmost seriousness:

"Lillian, if you're willing, you'll be the Godmother of the entire Colombo family one day."

Help! That's not how the story goes!

Wasn't he just a minor character? How could he end up as the Godmother?

Besides, Yutang likes men. He can't keep deceiving Hesse!

On the day Hesse invites him to attend the family's "Godfather's baptism" as his date, the real Lillian returns to the theater. Relieved beyond words, Yutang packs his things that very night and leaves, cutting off all ties with Hesse for good.

3.

Hesse Colombo is cool, restrained, ruthless, and merciless.

The adopted son of old Colombo, he controls New York's shipping lifeline. One word from him can shut down the Port of New York, and one signature can decide how hundreds of thousands of people make a living.

People both respect and fear him, calling him "Mr. Little Colombo."

After his father dies, Hesse sends the killer to prison, but remains gloomy day after day.

One day, a friend recommends that he go see a theater performance to take his mind off things.

When an Oriental girl in a velvet gown steps onto the stage, Hesse's breath catches. He doesn't even notice that his cigarette has burned down to his fingers.

No one knows that Hesse has a serious thing for legs.

He likes them long, slender, graceful, and softly rounded, with a pale pink flush at the joints. A firm pinch of the flesh would leave a hazy, delicate mark.

Hesse has never seen legs that suit his tastes so perfectly.

A man who never goes to the theater watches the entire performance. Then he books Lillian's shows for the next three months and launches an ardent pursuit of her.

Hesse is used to getting whatever he wants and planning everything down to the last detail. He's certain Lillian belongs to him.

But when he's about to propose to her at an important baptism ceremony, Lillian suddenly disappears.

After looking into it, he discovers that Lillian was someone else entirely.

Not only was the name fake, but the gender was, too.

He goes to the apartment where the other person lived, only to find it already empty.

Hesse Colombo laughs in anger.

4.

After graduating, Yutang moves to Lower Manhattan, at the southern end of Manhattan Island. Thanks to his outstanding grades and abilities, he becomes an intern at The Wall Street Journal.

Almost a year has passed since he and Hesse parted ways. Yutang believes Hesse has long since forgotten about him.

Now he's ready to go all out for his dream of becoming a journalist!

One day, the editor-in-chief gives him a profile assignment:

"There's a shipping group in Manhattan. It belongs to the old Colombo family, and the new head of the family is now in charge. He's cut out all the gray-market businesses and helped the police take down the four major families. Go cover him."

The Colombo family? There are plenty of Colombo families in New York. Surely it can't be the one he's thinking of.

Clinging to that hope, Yutang walks into the new head's office.

Instead, Hesse pins him against the desk.

The man wraps an arm around Yutang's slender neck, forcing him to look up. His voice is hoarse, touched with a hint of crazed obsession:

"Tell me, do I have to pin your legs to my shoulders to keep you from running away?"

With his weak spot exposed, Yutang says guiltily, "You've got it wrong. Please let me explain..."

Click.

Before the misunderstanding can be cleared up, Hesse's belt comes undone.

[*The story is set in the mid-twentieth century, and some plot elements are dramatized with reference to the era. It does not promote or glorify illegal activity. Yutang ultimately becomes an independent journalist through his own abilities, realizing his personal worth through his ideals as a journalist and his own hard work.]

Theme: Labor is glorious!