Pesci was fully aware of just how badly he had messed up — a small tear in the fabric covering his left leg was proof enough. Even after they went back and he had a chance to mend it, the seams would remain as a painful reminder of that one time when he somehow managed to get Beach Boy's hook caught on his own clothing.
The moment he spoke in a thin voice, almost on instinct, as if that would diminish the magnitude of his mistakes, he knew immediately he was about to be snapped on, too. Pesci cowered in fear and shame, his eyes feeling wet all of a sudden. For an instant he envied the fate of their unlucky target — he, too, would love to shrink down to nothing and and disappear from Formaggio's furious glare.
At the mention of Prosciutto, the younger man sniffled and made an effort to pull himself together. Not only he couldn't bear to hear Prosciutto spoken ill of, but also he knew he wouldn’t approve of Pesci staying quiet instead of speaking up for himself after being offended. Prosciutto had put his trust on him, so any insult to Pesci’s competence was also an insult to his judgement.
“F-Fra said my Beach Boy will be essential for the team!” he retorted, although it didn’t sound near as intimidating as he had intended. The mere idea of talking back to Formaggio was scary and his whole posture kept betraying the confidence he tried to convey into his words. “It’s just— it’s hard to master.”