Chapter Text
It had been a rough couple of weeks with Vegas and Pete being busy with work all the time. They would both wake up at 6 A.M. and be in their office all day or return home past midnight. More often than not I would only have meals with Macau and sometimes Porchay and Kim would tag along since Macau and Porchay had become good friends. Kim and I had also become great friends and I saw him as a younger brother even though he is only a year younger than me. Ever since I came to this house 6 years ago I became in charge of the guards and staff, alongside some of the finances. I had even made a schedule for the guards since the small group of cleaning ladies often complained about having to clean the mansion and clean up after 50+ grown men. The guards would clean up after themselves and would occasionally help the cleaning ladies. Over the years I had become close with the guards and staff in the house, it wasn't easy in the beginning but after some time the guards and staff warmed up to me and they became my second family as well as the Theerapenyakun men. I often helped them with their wounds after missions and sewed up their clothes because of how often they were would rip and we were having to buy new clothes and suits quite often.
I remember how closed off the guards were when I first showed up and how they only seemed to do their job of protecting Vegas, Pete, and Macau simply because they were being paid to do so. I wanted the guards to actually want to protect the most important people in my life without making it seem like it was a chore or a hassle to do so. A year after moving in I started setting up monthly meetings with the guards in order to check in with them and see if they had any complaints which I would try to fix and talk to Vegas and Pete about it. Some of the guards made excuses to not come but after an accident while on a mission I made it a rule.
The mission happened three years after i moved in, it was a simple one, a group of 15 guards had to go to a meeting with vegas to close a deal with a client, turns out it was a trap for vegas and he got shot, thankfully it was only him arm but he was still hurt and taken to the hospital. When Pete and I heard about what happened we rushed over to see if Vegas was okay. Once I was sure Vegas wasn’t severely hurt I told Pete I would go back to the compound to see what had happened and that I would bring some food, Macau, and some clothes since neither of us were going to leave Vegas alone in the hospital.
When I got to the compound I called the 15 guards to my office. I asked for a debrief on the mission and Nop went on to explain how only he and 2 other guards were allowed to be with Vegas the whole time. The two guards were James and Mark who had trained under Nop for 5 years so they were some of the best guards we had.
“Do either of you want to explain why my lover is hurt and in the hospital when you both had trained under Nop for five years. I expected to see Vegas safe since not only was Nop there but also two of the best guards we have along with 12 other guards with the sole reason of guarding and protecting Vegas.”
“It was my fault, lady Haruu.” It was James who spoke up after a few minutes of silence.
“I haven't been sleeping well lately and my grandmother is sick so I have been thinking about that for the past few months.”
“When did she get sick?”
“Three and half months ago lady Haruu.”
“Have you ever attended any of the meetings since I started having them?”
“No i have not lady Haruu.”
“And do you know why I started having said meetings in the first place?”
“No ma’am.”
“Mark, you've been to all the meetings, do you mind telling me what the meetings are for?”
“The meetings are to check in with how we are doing and if we have any worries or complaints we can tell you and ask for help if needed.””thank you Mark, now James if you would have gone to a single meeting you would have been able to tell me about your grandmother and I would have helped. And about your sleeping problem we would have found a solution so you could be well rested. The lives of vegas theerapenyakun, pete phongsakorn, and macau theerapenyakun are the most important to me and i will not have my guards unable to do their jobs over matters that can be fixed.now everybody leave, eat clean yourself up and get some rest there will be a meeting tomorrow at 12 P.M. I want everyone there and if I find out anyone is missing there will be consequences.”
“Yes lady Haruu”
“Nop ,James, please stay.”
I waited until everyone left before speaking.
“James do not worry about your grandmother. I will have her checked in at a hospital and she will be taken care of. You will also be punished for putting the life of my love in danger, nop will take care of your punishment and he will do anything he deems necessary. You are one of the best guards and I trust you will never allow this to happen again, just like how I care for the people important to you. I expect you to care and protect for my lovers and Macau. You are dismissed james.”
“Thank you so much lady Haruu and I promise this will never happen again. I will guard khun vegas, khun pete, khun macau and yourself with my life.” James bowed and left, now only me and Nop were the only ones in my office.
“Nop, I want you to be honest with me. Do you think I did the right thing? Was I too lenient on him? Should I have been harsher on him?”
“No lady Haruu i think you handled the situation quite well, things like this can happen to anyone, even myself. It is also really nice that you care about everyone's well being. Going as far as taking the time once a month to meet up with the guards to hear them out is not something a lot of people in your position would do. Believe me when I say that ever since you joined the family and came to this house almost all of the guards have become more loyal to the family. A Lot of them admire you and are thankful for everythings that you do for them. Sometimes I think that the guards are more loyal to you than they are to khun Vegas and khun Pete.”
“Thankyou nop you know what they say. A fearful man would kill for you, but a loyal man would die for you. Everything I do is to protect the three most important people in my life. They saved me from hell on earth and welcomed me with open arms. I will forever be grateful to them. Making sure the guards want to do their job and keeping my family safe is the least that I can do.”
“Even when the people you love and vow to protect start putting you aside?” I laughed at what he said, it was the reality of what started to happen between vegas, pete, and I.
“I guess you also noticed, and to answer your question. Yes Nop if one day they decide they no longer want me and forget about me i will still protect them from the shadows. I knew that I wouldn't be as important to them since they have each other, so I will enjoy the love and care they have for me while it lasts. Now enough of this go rest, I will be going back to the hospital and I will take Earth and Mix since Pete went without a guard.”
“As you wish lady Haruu I will call for them to get ready and meet you in the car.” With that nop left and I thought about what he said.It wasn’t the first time someone had pointed out that vegas and pete had slowly changed.