Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chay hadn’t meant to start working for the mafia. It had kind of just happened.  He’d been trying to find his brother and following the payments from the shell company paying the rent for their house had only gotten him a last name.

Theerapanyakul.

A name that seemed to connect to everything in Bangkok from what Chay had been able to find, but there’d always been an undercurrent of something else hiding under the surface. Dozens of shell companies moving assets like pieces on a chess board. A mysterious family head that hadn’t been seen in public in over a decade. Police investigations ended before they got anything too substantial. Nothing added up until Chay had found himself on the doorstep of a club that screamed danger.

Breaking into a nightclub and laying in wait for someone who looked like they knew a million ways to kill Chay may not have been his smartest idea, but it did work out eventually. Thankfully. Chay still had to find his brother. He couldn't die here.

“Your security is shit.” Chay picks up a glass paperweight off of the desk as the office door clicks open quietly. He passes it from hand to hand nervously. “Whoever runs it for you needs to be fired because I’ve gotten into emails with better security than this place.”

“Excuse me?” Chay forced himself to stay calm as the figure strolled in. Dressed in a blood-red silk shirt, Vegas Theerapanyakul looked not too dissimilar to every mafia cliché ever created, but he managed to pull it off in a way that went beyond confidence. Or maybe the cheekbones.

“I mean, I got up here and into your systems over an hour ago. I’ve been playing Dream Daddy while I waited.” Chay clicks out his game with a small bit of regret. He’d made good progress with Robert, but he doesn’t think he’ll be playing any time soon. “Which is why I think you should hire me.”

“Hire you?” Vegas says with a scoff, but Chay cuts him off before he can say more. Getting ahead of Vegas and pleading his case is the only way Chay sees himself staying alive.

“Yeah,” Chay shrugs, “I mean I’m the only person who can rebuild this, and I doubt you’d want anything less than the best. Which I am if you were wondering.”

“What makes you think you’re making it through the night let alone into a job here?” Vegas stops just before the desk, and Chay smiles up at him.

“Because I can help you get out from under your father’s thumb.” Chay shifts the paperweight to his right hand. He keeps his breathing steady as he prepares for the next stage of his pitch. “Plus I’m not stupid. If I don’t make it back to my own computer in 24 hours, then everything I found about you and your father, including his coup plans, gets sent to the major family and a dozen different journalists and cops. I’ve also backed up all of your files onto my personal cloud server. And I have this.”

This actually stuns Vegas. Clearly, he'd been expecting a dumb teenager's response. Chay leans forward and drops the paperweight back onto the desk. He turns the monitor towards Vegas and clicks open an audio file.

“It doesn’t matter what happens to Macau. He’s just as expendable as my other worthless son. If all else fails, I can always make another heir.”

“I recorded that off of your father’s phone last night when he called a number registered to Thomas Livingston.” Chay closes the audio file and pulls up a different document. “This is everything I have on him. He runs guns for the Italians, and your father is keen to go into business with him without the okay from anyone in charge. Apparently, he likes teenagers and doesn’t seem to care about what they want or consent to. Even if you kill me, could you kill your dad and this dick first? Hearing the two of them plan what they’re going to do to someone my age made me sick. Taking the two of them down with me could be counted as my sole good act in life.”

Chay leans back and lets Vegas take in everything Chay’s shown him. Livingston's file is a rush job. Chay hadn't had much time after overhearing the phone call to put anything together. Hopefully, its enough for Vegas to believe Chay enough to hire him. The next few seconds are spent in tense silence as Vegas looks over Chay’s work.

“You’re doing all of this just for a job.” It's not a question, but Chay nods anyway. Vegas stares at him letting the silence stretch out between them. “Fine.”

“Seriously?” Chay’s jaw dropped. Vegas laughed at him.

“Seriously.” Vegas lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you want me to kill you instead.”

“No, no I’m good.” Chay beams up at Vegas, who looks decidedly freaked out now for some reason. “I look forward to working with you Khun Vegas. Please take care of me.”

Chapter Text

Working for Vegas is fun. Chay has access to very expensive computers and gets to judge very scary people without dying. Case in point, every interaction he has with Vegas.

“You’re going to need to dump Tawan.” Chay lazily spins his chair around to face his boss. Vegas crosses his arms and just stares at Chay clearly waiting for more of an explanation. Chay sighs.

“He’s an idiot who’s been leaving so many clues behind that the major family is going to connect him back to you sooner rather than later. Considering the evidence he’s left on their computers, I’d hate to imagine what he’s doing in person.” Chay clicked around his computer to pull up a few different documents. “The footprints he’s leaving in their network are so obvious it definitely hasn’t gone unnoticed. The backdoor into their system is useful, but someone’s already started logging the system changes. We’ve got what we need from him. Cut him loose before he drags everyone down with him.”

“And how do you suggest I do that?” Vegas considers everything Chay’s said, and he can’t fault Chay’s logic. Tawan was always a means to an end, and with Chay, Vegas didn’t need to curry favor with his father by besting Kinn. He still wanted to do that, but he didn’t need to take risks with it anymore.

“Not my area, Khun Vegas,” Chay said with a smile.  “I can only offer my expert opinion on my job. I'd never dare to tell you what to do.”

“Of course not,” Vegas smirks. He tosses a USB at Chay, who fumbles it only to dramatically catch it just before it hits the floor. Vegas rolls his eyes as the younger celebrates. “Decrypt those and then head home. Children shouldn’t be out too late at night. Something might happen to them.”

“But, I’m sure my very scary boss Khun Vegas Theerapanyakul would hate to lose his best hacker.” Chay plugs in the drive to get to work. He tugs his headphones on and misses Vegas’ exit from the room.

X

Working for Vegas required a lot less bloodshed than Chay thought it would. Everything he’d heard in reference to the minor family’s heir had made the other seem like a bloodthirsty monster from a horror movie. And sure, Chay knew that Vegas was still a bad guy technically, but he seemed to go out of his way to protect Chay from some of the darker, bloodier areas of the underworld. There were some perks at least.

The best part of working as the personal hacker for a mafia leader who has a brother your age is that when you come home to find your house ransacked with guys in suits hiding not so subtly down the street, you at least have somewhere to go afterward. That and the pay is way more than Chay could have made working at the noodle shop down the street. Though currently, the backup housing is winning.

Which is great because it takes a while for Chay’s brain to actually start working again.

He’d done everything he could to keep Porchay Kittisawat separate from Chay the hacker. He’d deleted every trace, every trail. He’d gone scorched earth on his own life to keep his civilian identity safe because none of this was supposed to be the rest of his life. He was supposed to be able to go back to being Porchay Kittisawat. Except someone had still found him. Worse, they'd found his house.

Chay’s heartbroken to lose the house. He hadn’t left anything incriminating there. He’s not an idiot. But that’s his home. The one place that he’s sure Porsche would come back to.

By the time Chay had explained the situation to Vegas, there was little that could be done. Chay’s a secret player working solely under Vegas’s supervision. Vegas can’t send men after the people targeting Chay. He can’t even go there himself to investigate since there were probably people still waiting for Chay.

Thus begins the conundrum of where the hell Chay is going to live. If someone knows about the house, then no one in Porchay Kittisawat's regular life is an option. Chay would never forgive himself if something happened to his friends simply because they let him sleep on their couch for a few nights. With Porchay ruled out, that just leaves Chay the hacker’s contacts which are a sum total of 2: Vegas and Macau. Chay had been too focused on finding his brother to make any personal contacts.

Vegas glances at Chay’s poorly hidden meltdown before dragging the younger home. Macau needed a few more friends his own age, and Vegas clearly needed to keep an eye on his hacker to keep him out of trouble.

“Hia, how did you know I always wanted a little brother?” Macau snarks when he sees Vegas drag in Chay, clearly interested. Vegas rolls his eyes at his younger brother but doesn’t dispute his claim simply because he doesn’t feel like it right now. He needs to settle Chay’s sleeping arrangements here now, and he still needs to get back to the minor family compound to deal with the mess Tawan left behind. He'd been hoping that the idiot would take Vegas' warnings to heart and disappear, but no, Vegas had to deal with exploding warehouses and a major family on the warpath. He should have known better than to let Kinn’s old plaything work with them.

“What the fuck?” Chay whispers as Macau grabs him.

“First things first,” Macau’s smirk looks decidedly too innocent to be on someone with their last name. Vegas watches the two quietly. Whatever evil plan Macau has cooked up seems like it’s going to require supervision or Vegas’ credit card. “How do you feel about your hair?”

“My hair?” Chay flicks his eyes between Vegas and Macau before deciding that Macau is the greater threat currently. He stares Macau in the eyes and shrugs. Chay must see something in Macau’s expression that inspires trust as his hackles visibly lower. “Enough that you can’t shave it, but I’m open to something new.”

“Excellent!” Macau forces Chay ahead of him. “I’ve got some blue hair dye, and you desperately need to get rid of your innocent schoolboy look if you’re going to be part of the family.”

Chapter Text

“So what’s your last name?” Macau asks out of the blue nearly two weeks after Chay moved into their home, a secondary residence outside the city that Gun never goes to according to Macau. Chay had been touched that Vegas had brought Chay into his home instead of dumping him at one of the countless safe houses the other probably had. Even though Chay was 99% sure he’d found a torture chamber, or at the very least a really weird sex dungeon which was somehow worse, the other day and had since resolved that he was no longer going to break into locked rooms to satiate his curiosity.

“Oh, I don’t have one.” Chay puts down the pen he’d been writing with. Vegas had been ecstatic to learn that technically Chay was a university student and could be forced to study group with Macau. Most of the time neither of them actually did any work, Macau because he was only getting his degree to please his brother, and Chay because he’d taken a semester off to look for Porsche. Chay did usually end up cajoling Macau into doing his work in exchange for going out to nightclubs or whatever else Macau hated doing on his own. Vegas had granted the nights off with as close to glee as Chay had ever seen on his face after seeing the grades Macau was suddenly pulling in his Business Analytics class. Chay shuddered to think about what Macau had been bringing home before that.

Macau stares at him with a lifted eyebrow. It was easy to see the resemblance between the two brothers when they made that expression. Chay was sure he hadn’t seen so many raised eyebrows in his life. Maybe it was a Theerapanyaul thing.

“I abandoned it,” Chay settles on. Technically it’s the truth. He’d abandoned his identity as Porchay Kittisawat the day he’d decided to investigate the Theerapanyakul family. “I prefer just Chay anyway or my hacker handle.”

Macau nods, but he’s staring at Chay as if he’s solved some kind of puzzle. Chay just shrugs and turns back to his notebook. He’d been scribbling down a few song lyrics. He hadn’t touched his guitar in weeks, but it was a calming habit for him. Macau turns back to his phone, typing out a text.

“Well, if anyone asks, you can give them our last name.” Macau finally says after a minute. He’s fiddling with his family ring now. “Hia says it’s a better cover for you if any of our men meet you.”

“Okay?” Chay does not understand why it matters, but he accepts it. “Would you mind asking him when he’s coming back? I have an update on the wiretapping we put on your dad’s phone.”

“Kay,” Macau glanced at Chay with a look Chay was learning meant Macau had an idea that involved Vegas’ credit card. “Wanna go shopping? You need better clothes if we’re going to that club opening this week. The incognito hacker look isn’t going to cut it.”

“Only if we get boba.”

“Obviously.”

“Then deal.”

(Macau: so Chay’s been kicked out by his family due to being queer that’s why he had nowhere else to go when his place was found

Macau: Hia I think we’ll need to kill anyone who shows up saying their Chay’s family

Vegas: Well, we’ll torture them first. Obviously.

Somewhere in the major family compound Porsche sneezes and feels vaguely affronted. Kinn lifts a single eyebrow at him until Porsche waves him off.)

X

“The major family is beginning to suspect us.” Vegas doesn’t let Chay finish drinking his coffee before dropping that nugget of information. Chay chokes trying to process that. Macau thumps him on the back until Chay is forced to swipe at him to spare his ribs and spine. “We need to speed up the plan before they do something stupid.”

“We don’t have enough evidence.” Chay manages once he can breathe properly. And it's true. They had a lot of pieces but no coherent picture to present to the major family. “I can set up a system trawler to look for something I missed, but unless I can get my hands on Gun’s computer, there’s not much I can do. He’s smart enough to keep it off the main server, and every other method I can think of has run dry. Gun doesn’t discuss murdering his brother on the phone.”

Vegas sighs and pushes away from the breakfast table. Neither Macau nor Chay misses how Vegas is favoring his right side. Clearly, Vegas had gotten this information after a meeting with his father. Chay silently curses Tawan and Gun out. The major family hadn’t suspected them of anything until that idiot decided to leave a trail of clues behind. Chay was just glad Vegas had taken his advice to drop Tawan. Their situation would have been a whole lot worse if there was certifiable proof that Vegas had helped Tawan. As it was Chay had spent countless hours scrubbing Tawan’s presence off of their servers and CCTV to keep them ahead of the main family.

“I’ll be bringing a friend home for a little while before moving him to a separate house. Pa doesn’t want him staying at the compound or any of the usual places with the major family looking at us.” Vegas isn’t looking at either of them, but Macau and Chay know that by friend Vegas means someone he’s torturing. “Macau you’ll need to spend some more time at the compound, and Chay, we’ll move your workstation to one of my clubs. Any complaints?”

“No, but I do have one question.” Vegas waves a hand to allow Chay to ask.

“So that’s not a sex dungeon that I found?” Chay wonders aloud with a grin. It’s Macau’s turn to choke on his coffee turning a bright shade of pink. Vegas just stares at Chay for a moment before turning and swiftly exiting the room.

“That wasn’t a no!” Chay yells at his retreating back. Macau screeches from where he’s trying to become one with the table. Chay laughs and smacks his friend on the back. He thinks it was a hilarious joke. Not his fault no one else is on his level.

Now he has to go pack up all of his computers. Shit.

X

Someone has downloaded spyware on the minor family’s computer system. Someone put spyware on the minor family’s computer system, and no one told Chay about it for a week. A week! Chay had to find out by himself using a system trawler! Someone was going to die by Chay’s hand.

Having spent 2 hours yelling at Vegas that the security Chay had painstakingly built can’t do shit when the physical security lets people onto already logged-in computers anyway and then a whole day searching through every bit of data touched while also reworking the entire system means that Chay is not in a good mood. More succinctly Chay is ready to cut a bitch.

Which means it's time for the universe to test him. Clearly, today’s the best day for that.

Because during his screening, Chay came upon a set of locked files that he’d never seen before. Chay knew every single locked file on the server because they ran on his encryption programs. This group of files was different from the others with older encryption that only Gun uses according to Vegas. When Chay runs his decryption program against it to input the passcode, it comes up with one thing: Nampueng. Chay’s mother’s name.

Inside are hundreds of surveillance photos of one subject: Porsche. Porsche in a suit escorting the heir to the major family. Porsche surrounded by other bodyguards. Porsche at Hum Bar. Porsche partying with the major family's eldest sons. And worst of all, Porsche talking to Vegas.

The date stamps on those are from before Chay moved into Vegas’ house, but that betrayal isn’t the only one destroying Chay’s heart. He’d thought he’d been prepared for this. He clearly wasn’t.

Porsche was in the city. Porsche had been in the city the entire time, and he’d gone out to see his friends. Porsche had been at their house when Chay was out of town on a class trip. He’d brought Kinn there, and he hadn’t even left a note for Chay to find. He’d left a mess for Chay to find and assume was Arthee’s.

“What the actual fuck Vegas?” Chay yells. He throws the now-printed photos onto Vegas’ desk. He had trusted Vegas and Macau, but he’d also trusted Kim and look how that turned out. Chay should have known better than to trust any member of the Theerapanyakul family, minor or major. “You knew I was Porsche’s brother this whole time? Did you think I’d never find out?”

Vegas clenches his jaw barely refraining from snapping at Chay to watch his tone. He can see the anger written in every inch of Chay’s being, but he knows this anger is born from despair and betrayal. Chay’s eyes always gave away his true emotions no matter what he did to mask them.

“I didn’t know he was your brother. Your name never appeared in his file.” Vegas picks up a few of the photos. He wants to ask where Chay got these, but he knows that would come off as defensive when he’s genuinely concerned that he hadn’t noticed a tail the few times he’d been around Porsche. “If I had, I would have told you.”

“Would you?” Chay snorts derisively. He likes working for Vegas. Loves it sometimes even. He knows that Vegas isn’t the best person, but Chay’s seen him interacting with Macau and even with Chay recently. No one completely heartless could have that much love to give to others. Vegas tended to hide behind violence from what Chay had seen.

“I’ve been burned by your family before.” Chay can’t hide the bitterness he feels thinking about Kim. The I’m sorry that broke his heart and fueled his dissent into the world Porsche had dragged them into.

“I would have, but I don’t think this mistrust and anger is directed solely at me.” Vegas steps around his desk to get closer to Chay who steps back leaving a tense space between the two. He files away the little tidbit about Chay’s other interactions with his family away for a different time. “How about this? I’ll tell you what I know, and then you decide whether I’m telling the truth and can be trusted?”

“Fine,” Chay clenches his fists. He knows that he’s not really angry at Vegas, at least he’s not angry at just Vegas. The true targets of his rage aren’t here, and Vegas is simply an easy target right now. “Tell me how you knew my brother but not who I was.

“Porsche isn’t a typical bodyguard. He came out of nowhere with some story that he’d protected Kinn at some bar.” Vegas starts watching for Chay’s reaction as he carefully chooses his next words. “There’s a very specific hiring process for bodyguards protecting the major family, and my uncle completely bypassed that to name Porsche as Kinn’s main bodyguard. That got everyone’s attention.”

Chay watches Vegas for any signs of deception. He’d been around long enough to know a few of Vegas’ and all of Macau’s. So far nothing he’d said had been a lie. He’d even put a few of those pieces together already after confronting Kim. So far everything aligned.

“My father asked me to look into him, was obsessed with knowing more about him, and I did. I got close to him, flirted with him a bit, but that didn’t go anywhere because he was with Kinn. His file said he was an orphan with a younger brother with the name Pichaya. He talked to me a bit about you but never said a name.” Vegas gestured to the photos on the desk next to him. “Tawan knew you existed, but no one knew your name, at least no one willing to share it with us. He had more interest in you than I did, but that was more his obsession with hurting Porsche and Kinn than anything.”

“What about the people who ransacked my house? Was that on your order or the major family’s?” Chay interrupts.

“Technically both.” Vegas considers. “Tawan had wanted to kidnap Porsche’s younger brother to use to draw him in. I gave the okay, but the men you saw hanging around afterward were definitely from the major family. I think Tawan played with them for a week or two pretending he had you, but we’d already dropped him by then, on your advice I might add.”

Chay wants to stay angry. He wants to rage and rage until everything around him is burnt to a crisp. But he’s just so tired of this. Kim had used him and ditched him. Chay wanted to believe that Vegas was different from his cousin, everything he’d seen since moving in supported that he was, but Chay was just so sick of secrets.

“What is with your entire family’s obsession with my brother?” Chay leans against one of the chairs in front of Vegas’ desk. “At this point, it seems like the only one not obsessed with him is Macau, and I think that’s because I saw the pictures of him being pushed into a pond.”

Vegas snorts derisively and eyes Chay. Usually, if Macau was this upset, Vegas would hug him or take him to destroy something to calm him down, but Vegas isn’t sure Chay would accept a hug from him right now. There were still the unanswered questions that Vegas had about who in his family had burned Chay before as well as what the hell his father was doing following Porsche.

Chay sniffles and stares back at Vegas not backing down even as his frustration and rage finally melted into the tears he’d been holding at bay after learning about Porsche abandoning him.

“Come here nong,” Vegas holds open his arms. Chay stares at him until Vegas not so gently drags him into a hug. “We’ll figure everything out. Then you can get whatever revenge you want, whether it's against my family or your own.”

“What’s all this?” Macau pokes his head into the office out of curiosity. “Hia, did you make Chay cry?!”

“Shut up,” Vegas groans but draws his younger brother into his arms next to the other. Chay’s burrowed so deep into his arms that he’s not sure the kid’s ever coming up for air. He doesn’t hate the interaction, but he’d have a better time if Macau stopped acting like a little shit.

“Whatever,” Macau scoffs but immediately joins the hug long enough that Vegas is starting to regret allowing either of them to hug him. “Hia, as recompense for making Chay cry, you’ve got to loan us your new bike. That seems fair right Chay?”

“Definitely.” Comes Chay’s muffled reply. Vegas represses the urge to groan.

Chapter Text

Chay tends to get… obsessive. He liked having an objective, something to look into, and often found himself falling down a rabbit hole to learn everything he could get his hands on. It’d been a useful trait for school, and when he’d been WiK’s fan, there were tons of people just like him that tended to normalize his obsessive tendencies. He knew the line though. He didn’t let it take over or do something he shouldn’t.

At least he usually did.

Nampueng. His mother’s name. Chay couldn’t move past it. Porsche, that obsession of Gun’s he can vaguely understand as Porsche was a new player on the board that seemed to have gone from pawn to queen overnight. But there’s no reason to lock the files with that password. Not unless this isn’t just about Porsche.

Porchay admittedly didn’t know a lot about his parents. He’d been too young when they died, and the few memories he did have were vague based more on Porsche’s stories than reality. Porsche had been the parental figure his whole life. The few stories Porchay had were hard won as Porsche was tight-lipped about their parents. They were his favorite ghost to call on to support why Porchay needed to do so well in school and why Porsche had to sacrifice so much, but he didn’t talk about them beyond that.

There’s not much online about his parents. A few articles about their car crash but not much else. This is when arguably, Chay crosses a few lines. More than a few. Hacking government systems was technically a crime. But, since it was his own mother, it was information he was entitled to, right? He wasn’t looking for military secrets, just mafia ones.

It took Chay a few hours to narrow down the systems he needed to search. Most were a dead end, but working backward from her death to her birth eventually yielded a few results.

Nampueng Kittisawat had little paperwork to her name, but the little that did exist painted an interesting picture. The accident report, distressingly small with no possible suspects. A marriage certificate, that Chay knew of course. A degree in political science from Anantrameka University. A diploma from BOC International Academy, the same school Porchay graduated from. Not much from her childhood except one sealed file that took seconds for Porchay to crack.

Adoption records that listed her as the youngest daughter of the Theerapanyakul family.

Chay’s heart stopped. Because… that wasn’t possible. That couldn’t be true. Chay pushed away from his desk. He couldn’t sit still. He needed to think through this logically before he did anything.

He needed to tell Vegas and Macau. This didn’t help them overthrow Gun, but it was nearly as important. Except Macau was in class, and Vegas was at his therapist’s and then some meeting with the major family. They’d both come running if he called, but Chay didn’t want that. This wasn’t an emergency. It was incredibly, scarily important, but Vegas rushing out of a meeting would draw too many eyes. They couldn’t afford that right now.

Vegas was set to show up at the club to check in with Chay after the meeting ended, and Macau was meeting him back at the house for dinner afterward. Which left Chay at least three hours if not longer on his own. With no one checking on him.

Chay had a terrible idea. A truly awful, not put-together idea that was sure to end with him in trouble, but he’d also have answers to at least some of his questions.

Chay was going home.

His parents hadn’t left behind much, but there had to be some paperwork left in the office, mostly because Porsche refused to throw anything their parents’ touched out. Chay had never explored it out of respect. His house had to have some kind of clue, something that Chay could use. At the very least he could pick a few things he’d left behind.

Chay grabs his bag and heads out into the club’s main floor. Luckily, it's empty except for a few of the early staff. This club belonged to Macau technically, but Vegas ran it. Chay was safe to set up his computers here as long as he didn’t disrupt the business. He slips out the door before anyone sees him and breathes a sigh of relief. Being outside is a security risk, especially because Vegas was under surveillance from the major family these days. The less outward connection between Chay and Vegas right now the better. Plus, Vegas would kick Chay’s ass if he found out that Chay went on his side quest without any backup.

With that happy thought, Chay hops onto the bus tapping his pass as he goes to an open seat.

Technically, he’s not doing anything wrong as Vegas never said he had to stay at the club. Chay had at least three hours before Vegas called for an update. Round trip this entire venture would take nearly all of that, so Chay would be cutting it close. But he’d also potentially be bringing back information that would help solve the mystery of what the hell was going on. Overall, the pros were outweighing the cons here.

Chay gets off the bus a few blocks before his house. He doesn’t think anyone could be following him, but living with Vegas had definitely instilled a few new habits.

Chay thankfully doesn’t run into anyone he knows as he makes his way home. He has no idea how he’d explain his disappearance. He hadn’t technically told anyone that Porsche wasn’t living with him anymore. Porsche kept odd enough hours that his disappearance went largely unnoticed. Chay on the other hand had been scarily predictable. His disappearance definitely hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Chay runs into his first problem when he gets to his house.

His keys no longer work. Which, to Chay, is such bullshit. Porsche had left for months, and Chay hadn’t changed the locks on him! Chay leaves, and suddenly everything needs a new update! Even the sliding door had been changed out for French doors! Chay was going to kill whoever came up with the idea to change the locks. Breaking and entering hadn’t been a part of his schedule! If this made him late to Vegas’ check-in, Chay was going to scream.

Chay was going to have to throw a brick at a window. To get into his own house!

“Fuck this shit in particular,” Chay curses as he searches the flower bed for a suitable rock. At least he doesn’t have to worry about replacing the glass himself. Whoever had done the updates had set up a camera as well. Chay waved cheekily at the camera before he smashed his chosen rock into the glass closest to the lock. He’s just glad he decided to wear a facemask before coming here.

“Hia, we are going to have words next time I see you,” Chay muttered as he carefully sidestepped the glass. The rest of the house looked untouched, but Chay kept his mask on and hood up just in case.

The house looks abandoned. Someone had covered the furniture with sheets, and the fridge is empty. Chay shakes his head but doesn’t let himself think about the implications of that.

Chay stops by his room first. He doesn’t know how much time searching his parents’ things will take, and he doubts he’ll be let out of Vegas’ sight ever again after this escapade. So grabbing his things now is preferable.

His WiK shrine lies massacred across Chay’s desk. Chay bypasses that completely.

It doesn’t seem like anyone’s messed with his stuff at least, making Chay’s packing go a lot faster. He dumps his packed bag on his bed and heads for his parents’ office.

Porsche had taken over their parents’ room when they were kids and moved everything that hadn’t gotten donated from that room into their office. Most of the stuff in there held more sentimental value than monetary. Chay has to shove a few of his mother’s paintings out of the way before he can step fully into the room.

Chay doesn’t know what he’s looking for. There’s not going to be a helpfully labeled folder with answers to every question Chay has. There’re a few folders with property records that Chay doesn’t understand. He dumps them into his bag. Maybe Vegas will understand the numbers and legal jargon.

Chay finds his mother’s diploma stuck underneath a few of her paintings. The frame’s warped at the bottom as if someone had tried to remove the fancy parchment and only managed to damage the backing. He opens the back to pull out the parchment. A slim USB falls to the floor instead of the parchment.

Chay grabs it, shoving it deep into his bag. He hopes it holds something important and not just pictures of his mother’s university days. He’d like to see those someday, but right now he needs proof. Proof of what? Chay hasn’t figured that out yet. He wants to figure out if his mother is connected to the Theerapanyakul family. He wants to figure out why his family is so intertwined with the mafia. But honestly?

Chay wants to know why his brother left him behind. That’s the purpose of this whole thing. It's why Chay started looking into the Theerapanyakuls. It's why Chay got close to Vegas. It's why Chay is standing here looking through his dead mother’s belongings. Because maybe somewhere buried in a line of code or in a file somewhere is the reason Chay got left behind.

It's stupid to hope there’s a reason that Chay will accept, but it didn’t use to be. Porsche had been Porchay’s hero. If Porsche had given him a reason that had even a bit of truth to it, Porchay could have accepted it and could have gotten in line with what his brother wanted. But Porsche wasn’t here, and there was no explanation. Just heartbreak.

Chay tugs the hood of his hoodie off his head in frustration. The rest of the room is a mess and parsing through it will take hours. He digs up a few journals of his mother’s, but they’re from her college years, not her childhood. In fact, there’s nothing here from her childhood. Porsche wouldn’t have thrown them away which means his mother hadn’t brought anything from that family into this house.

“Mae,” Chay sighs. “What’s going on? What am I supposed to do?”

Chay’s not sure what answer he wanted from his mother, but it certainly wasn’t the slamming of the front door as someone burst into the house. They immediately bounded up the stairs.

At least someone had the fucking keys.

Chay forces himself not to startle as doors start slamming all around the house. It doesn’t seem like more than one person, but Chay doesn’t want to take any chances. He digs out the pepper spray Vegas had insisted he carry around. Macau had gotten him a medley of different colors, and Chay just hoped they worked like he’d seen on tv. Temporarily blinding his opponent was probably the only way Chay could win a fight. He was better at running and hiding.

Whoever was in the house with him seemed to have run out of rooms to barge into on the upper floors. Footsteps bounded back down the stairs. Chay held his breath as they drew closer to the office. It was one of the few rooms on the main floor with a door, so whoever was searching the house was going to be opening it sooner rather than later.

Chay froze as the door slammed open in front of him. His heart dropped as he stared at the last person he ever wanted to see in this house again.

“Porchay!”

Kim didn’t look like WiK anymore. His hair was sloppily tossed up into a half-ponytail, and Chay’s pretty sure that he’s never seen Kim look quite so sleep deprived. He looked so happy to see Chay as if he hadn’t crushed Chay’s heart in his pretty hands the last time he’d seen Chay.

Chay lifted his hand and sprayed Kim right in the face. Payback.

Chapter Text

Kim’s nightmares always start like this: he’s staring at the front door of Porchay’s house from the street. He can see Porchay inside quietly living his life unaware of Kim’s presence. This is the only enjoyable part of the nightmare.

The next part tends to vary. Masked men descend upon the house as Kim just watches. Porchay is startled and unable to fight back. Kim just watches. Porchay screams desperately finally making eye contact with Kim. He begs Kim to come save him, screams that this is all Kim’s fault, him and his family, he tries to run.

Kim can’t move. No matter how he struggles, and he always fruitlessly struggles. He’s forced to just stand there watching, a witness to Porchay’s abduction in all its varied ways.

Sometimes the kidnappers cut Porchay’s throat right in the yard for Kim to watch. Sometimes they speed away in a van, Porchay’s screams disappearing with it. Other times Porchay just walks up to Kim holding one of the kidnapper’s guns. He forces the gun into Kim’s hand and raises it to his forehead. He begs Kim to pull the trigger saying that he’s so scared and hurt, that he should make the pain end. When that never works, he berates Kim saying that Kim as good as killed him already so he should take responsibility and kill Porchay himself.

The dreams always end the same way. Porchay just staring at him, bloody and bruised, as Kim cries watching him. He never speaks at the end, but his eyes say everything he screams at Kim on the worst nights.

Kim doesn’t sleep much anymore.

At least he’s not the only one though. If Kim feels like his entire world has ended, then he can take some solace that Porsche is crumbling right along with him.

Kim had been there that day. He’d been there to yell at Porchay. It had seemed so important then. He’d missed his audition to the music department and had deferred admission to the computer science faculty, and Kim had been so angry that he was letting his life fall to pieces in his quest to find Porsche, something Kim should have paid closer attention to but hadn’t. He’d been so scared that something would happen to Porchay if he kept digging, and he’d been right.

Kim hadn’t seen the kidnappers until it was too late, too caught up in his righteous anger. He’d stormed in on them ransacking the house, and everything had flipped on its head. The men had overwhelmed him and knocked him out. When Kim had come to, there was no one there and no clue where they’d gone.

Tawan hadn’t had Porchay, had never had Porchay, but he still strings them along for weeks until finally, Kinn puts a bullet in his head. The Italians don’t have Porchay. The Yakuza don’t have him. The other Thai mafia families don’t have him. It's as if Porchay just stopped existing that day as if he was punishing everyone who’d abandoned him by simply leaving.

Finding Porchay quickly becomes Kim’s sole reason for living. He can’t stop, can’t live in a world that lost Porchay. He’ll find Porchay, or he’ll get justice for Porchay and join him.

Korn takes to his youngest son’s obsession with surprising grace. He welcomes Kim home with a wide, knowing smile that Kim wants to punch off. Kim still hasn’t completely ruled out that Korn doesn’t have Porchay squirreled away somewhere in the compound and is just watching everyone tire themselves out instead of helping as usual. He just doesn’t have any evidence to prove that this is all Korn’s fault. And the compound is big, but Kim’s gone over nearly every inch with no luck.

Kim hates the compound. It’s his father’s castle where his word is law and his secrets choke. But it’s the only place Porsche will use as a base. Because he’s an idiot.

Kim purposefully doesn't think about how organizing Porchay's return in the house of Kim's father, the one man who'd benefit most from Porchay's return, was just putting Porchay in even greater danger. If Korn doesn’t have Porchay, the search is just giving him reason to drag Porchay into his clutches. Porchay would make a truly valuable piece in his game. Given the blanket support they've received, Korn knows this too.

Porsche doesn’t. He’s too trapped in his own grief. Kim can’t believe how selfish Porsche has been this whole search. Porsche had disappeared for months and hadn’t contacted Porchay once. Bodyguards received a weekly call, and Porsche had not once used that privilege, too entranced by Kinn to remember that he had a younger brother desperately missing him. If Tawan hadn’t lied to them and pretended to kidnap Porchay, Porsche would have never thought about Porchay or his safety.

Porsche still barely thinks about Porchay. Everything is about him, about how upset he is, how he can’t stand this. He glares at Kim whenever he sees him placing all of the blame on Kim’s shoulders rather than seeing the series of moves that brought them here, of which Porsche was a key player in most. Kim knows his role, knows what he did, but he wants to rip Porsche’s throat out every time he insinuates that Kim is solely responsible.

Kim bites back the thousand biting remarks he has for Porsche and where he can shove his concern for Porchay as well as his attitude. Porsche’s hands are not as clean as he willfully pretends to be. Kim hates hypocrites. If Porsche sends one more pointed comment his way instead of actually helping, Kim can't be held liable for whatever happens next.

This is why Kinn carefully makes sure the two of them are never alone. 

When it became clear that Tawan didn't have Porchay, had never had Porchay, Kim had pivoted. Porsche had crumbled. Kim had screamed and screamed at him when the other refused to do anything for days as if Porchay was already… Whatever. Kim hated Porsche, but he still needed him to function for this search now that the rest of the family was involved. Kim couldn’t work on his own now, and no one had wanted to do anything until Porsche was up to it.

Kim takes to spending his nights at the Kittisawat house and his days at the compound. He rarely sleeps, but being surrounded by Porchay’s things helped as he started to run out of people to investigate. Seeing his room with the destroyed shrine kept him motivated. He fixed the broken doors, replaced the locks, and installed cameras and a security system. He buried his humanity in those walls and his heart with the one person who wasn’t here that should be.

Staying there also let him hold onto the delusion that Porchay would just walk in one day safe and sound. He’d scream at Kim, yell at him for breaking his heart, but Kim would take it. He’d take anything so long as Porchay just came back safe and sound.

When Porchay confronted him about his family and his motives, Kim had known that the jig was up. He’d allowed himself to fall into complacency, deluding himself into thinking that he could have Porchay separate from his family. He’d thought breaking Porchay’s heart would keep him safe, keep him away from Kim and the darkness he calls family. He’d never expected that darkness to reach out and grab Porchay, but he should have. He should have foreseen it.

The search turns into a waiting game as Kim meticulously investigates and dismisses every lead. Time drags on in between

Kim’s on his way to check out a promising lead that Arm had dug up when his phone starts ringing. Without thinking he turns the car towards the Kittisawat house. That tone hooks directly into the security system at the house, and everything in Kim screams that this was it. Something had finally changed.

Kim pulls up the security footage on his phone as he cuts through the city. The alarm on the front gate had gone off. Kim feels his heart stutter as he watches a lone figure wave cheekily at the camera before smashing a rock into the new doors Kim had installed. The figure has a mask over their face and a hoodie obscuring their head, but Kim knows that it's Porchay.

Kim presses the gas pedal to the floor ignoring every speed limit. His heart feels like it's trying to beat itself out of his chest the closer he gets to the house. After months of searching and Kim’s most unrealistic dream was coming true. Porchay was back. Kim was going to see his Porchay again.

Kim practically crashes into the house immediately sprinting to the stairs. He thinks he drops his keys in the doorway he’s not sure. That doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding Porchay. Porchay’s not in the living room. He’s not in his bedroom. He’s not in Porsche’s. Kim wants to scream as he frantically searches every inch of the house. Porchay has to be here. He has to be.

Kim slams open the downstairs office door, and after months of searching, he finally sees Porchay again. He’s beautiful. The late afternoon sunlight streams in through the windows delicately landing on Porchay, creating a halo around Porchay’s body. Kim takes in every detail, every difference that time had wrought on his Porchay.

He’s taller now, taller than Kim. His hair is dyed blue. It suits him, Kim thinks as he drinks Porchay in. It stands out against his beautifully unharmed tanned skin. A mask covers most of his face, but Kim would recognize him anywhere. He’s so beautiful, beautiful and alive.

“Porchay!” Kim says reverently. He wants to pull Porchay into his arms and just hold him, listen to his heartbeat until Kim can heal the broken pieces of himself. He wants to thank every god and spirit out there that had kept him safe and whole. He wants to never leave Porchay’s side ever again.

Porchay stares at him. Kim goes to speak once more, but Porchay lifts his hands and sprays Kim in the eyes. Kim curls up in pain as he recognizes the smell of pepper spray. He can’t fault his angel for this. He’d probably been scared.

Porchay vaults over Kim, sprinting up the stairs. It takes Kim a minute to get his bearings and follow him out of the office. By the time Kim has stumbled to the stairs, Porchay is brushing past him heading for the street.

“Porchay wait!” Kim goes to grab Porchay, but his vision is still fucked by the pepper spray. He misses Porchay and nearly tips over trying to correct himself. “Stop, please!”

“Fuck off Kim!” Porchay snarls, and Kim could rejoice at hearing his voice. He heads for the street with Kim right on his trail. “Stay away from me!”

“Please!” Kim ignores the burning in his eyes. “Wait!”

“Screw you, Kim,” Porchay holds up his pepper spray again. “I will spray you again, don’t think I won’t! Back off!”

“Okay, Porchay,” Kim raises his hands up and steps back to the front gate. Porchay shifts back a few steps backward.

Suddenly a car roars down the road stopping just in front of Porchay and Kim. Kim can’t make out the driver, his eyes burning as he tries to get them to focus.

“Get in!”

That’s Macau. Kim would recognize his cousin’s voice anywhere, but how the hell is he here?

“Porchay, don’t!” Kim lunges forward trying to open the driver’s door. He can’t let Macau run off with Porchay. But, he’s too slow. Porchay jumps into the car and speeds away without a second glance.

Kim wants to scream. He’d been so close Porchay was right there, and he’d run away. Kim forces himself to breathe and pulls out his phone.

“Kinn, I need you to track Macau’s car. He’s got Porchay with him.”

Chapter Text

A car fishtails in front of the house placing itself firmly between Kim and Chay. Macau boots open the passenger door.

"Get in!" Macau screams. Chay dares a glance at Kim as he dives into the car. Kim’s eyes are wide, and the sunlight really isn’t doing his complexion any favors. He looks worse than he did in the house.

"Porchay don't!" Kim lunges forward, trying to wrench open the driver’s door, but Macau's too quick. He slams the gas before Chay even closes his door.

"What the fuck is all of this shit?" Macau glances down at Chay's bookbag and duffle. Chay shoves them down into the footwell as he turns around to watch Kim disappear behind them. He’s pulled a phone from somewhere, and now he’s yelling into it. Chay chooses not to think about the despair on Kim’s face. He doesn’t have the time right now. Later, he will think about it. Later he will be having a full-blown meltdown if he survives Macau’s driving.

"It's my shit!" Chay tries not to feel defensive about his stuff, but Macau eyes him.

"You went back for poor people's shit? Seriously?!" Macau sends their car across a busy intersection just as the lights turn red. Chay grabs the dash cursing Macau and his ancestors. "Put your fucking seat belt on! Who raised you?"

"It's not poor people's shit!" Chay jams his seat belt on. "And at least I know how to read traffic lights!"

"Oh really?" Macau cocks his head at Chay. "I bust out of class to come save your ass from my craziest cousin, who shouldn't even know you exist let alone that I know you I might add, and you're gonna backseat drive?"

"There's no backseat in this car!" Chay holds tight to his seatbelt. "And I didn't ask you to save me! I had it handled!"

"Handled?!" Macau shifts gears and cuts down a side street. "If you call nearly getting kidnapped by Kim handled, then you need to relearn the definition!"

"How the hell did you even know where to find me huh?" Chay glares at Macau. "Are you tracking me?"

"No," Macau scoffs. "You're too predictable to bother tracking. Waste of a tracker anyway."

"You're just saying that because you know I'd find it instantly." Macau rolls his eyes at Chay's snipe. "Then how the hell did you know where to find me?"

"Angel called Hia when you slipped out of the club. The only place you'd go in the city without giving us a heads-up is your old house. He called me because I was closer. What we didn't expect was a fucking clusterfuck of a situation that involved Kim!" Macau glances in the rear-view mirror and cuts across two lanes of traffic.

"Shit," Chay cursed. Angel was the manager of the club and the sole person who knew that Chay was someone important to Vegas. He hadn't seen her on the main floor when he'd slipped out, clearly, she'd seen him.

"Yeah, shit is right." Macau shifted gears again and revved the engine. He glanced back in the side mirrors before turning right. "You so owe me for this by the way. Like, kill a man owe me for this."

"It's not that serious." Chay rolled his eyes. "Don't be dramatic."

"Dr-dramatic?!" Macau braked nearly sending Chay nose first into the dash if not for the arm Macau threw out to save him. He shifted into reverse speeding backward now with his head turned around. He hooked a left down a side street, still backward. "I am not being dramatic. If anything, I'm being insanely calm for this situation!"

"This," Chay gestured to all of Macau. "This is calm?"

Macau glared at Chay before cutting the wheel to settle them into a parking spot tucked between two cars just big enough to hide them but small enough to see around. Three black cars sped by down the street they’d just been on seconds later. Chay recognized them as major family security cars. They weren’t exactly subtle with their legion of Maserati’s.

Chay huffed and crossed his arms. Macau gestured for him to wait. Two motorcycles screeched past them. Macau looked at him with such righteous glee that it made Chay consider jumping out of the car and taking his chances that way. Shame Macau had already engaged the child’s lock.

"I see your point." Chay gritted out looking out the passenger window. "Now would you please get moving?"

"No."

"No?!"

"No."

"Macau," Chay glared at the other. "What do you want?"

"For this?" Macau gestured to the car around them as well as the street in front of them as another black car drove down the road. "An explanation."

"You're joking. We do not have time for this." Chay huffed. "I'll do your homework for a week."

"No, that I can get for something cheaper. This, this is real shit. So, either give me a reason why my most trigger-happy cousin is tearing up Bangkok to follow us, or we sit here for the rest of our lives. Or until the major family finds us, whichever comes first works for me." Macau shrugged nonchalant.

"Macau," Chay stares the other dead in the eye.

"Chay," Macau mirrored. The two stared at each other for a minute straight, neither willing to break until finally, Chay had to blink.

"Ugh, you're so annoying." Chay finally relented. He groaned. "Fine, I went there to see if my mom left anything connecting her to your family. Kim busted in while I was looking. I think he saw me breaking the window open to get in on a camera someone installed."

"And why does Kim give a fuck? He hates showing that he's just as involved in the family as the rest of us." Macau seemed intrigued as Chay sighed and buried his face in his hands mumbling. "I'm sorry I didn't catch that. Speak up."

Chay allowed Macau to pull his head out of his hands.

"We kinda... dated for a little bit. He was using me to find info on Porsche until I found out who your family is and confronted him. He was a massive dick about it too, and kept stalking me after breaking my heart."

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Macau screeched, and Chay quickly covered his ears to protect himself from Macau’s caterwauling. “He-you-WHAT?!”

“It was all fake. He never even liked me.” Chay muttered, but Macau was still spluttering next to him. “I was just a target to him.”

“Is that why he looks like shit?” Macau tilts his head considering. “I’ve never seen him look so sloppy. Usually, he’s fucking untouchable. It’s annoying really.”

“He looks like shit because I pepper sprayed him,” Chay pauses. “No, actually, he did look bad when he busted down the door. The pepper spray may have made him look worse though.”

Macau bursts out laughing, and Chay was starting to get concerned for his friend’s mental health. Such varying outbursts in such a short span of time couldn’t mean anything good. Maybe he should get Vegas to drag Macau to therapy. It’d helped Vegas.

“Oh, we are so dead,” Macau leans back wiping at his eyes. “I can’t wait to tell Hia. He’s going to shit a brick.”

“We,” Chay starts, “Don’t have to tell him. Technically. We could just not. Not works for me.”

“You want to not warn Hia that the entire major family knows that you’re with me right now and are actively hunting us. Right now.”

“Actively means right now,” Chay is not sulking. He’s not. He’s had a very hard day, and that’s not even counting the revelation that Chay’s kind of the cousin to the Theerapanyakul family.

“We’re going back to the club. If Hia murders us, I at least want a drink first.” Macau backs the car and sets off into Bangkok at a breakneck speed.

“Yeah, we’re all going to need drinks once Vegas hears about everything.”

“Could you not say cryptic, mysterious shit for five minutes?”

“Pay me.”

“Hia’s your boss, not me. Plus, you’ve been adopted anyway. He’s just waiting to give you the family ring.”

“And you tell me that now?!”

“Say cryptic shit, get hit.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t, I’m too awesome to hate. And you can't hate your new big brother when I'm saving your ass.”

“Macau just drive the car.”

X

When they arrive at the club, Chay disappears into his computer room. Macau gives him space, and Chay's grateful for that. He loves how easily Macau knew to give him space to process this whole day.

Perhaps Chay's one big fatal flaw is that he loves too much and too deeply. He remembers how much he'd loved Kim and love like that doesn't just disappear, not really. It can fade and transform, but Chay's had so few people he's truly loved and let into his heart that he's not sure he can bear fully tossing Kim away.

Porsche... Porsche is different. He's been there Chay's whole life as brother and parent. Their relationship had never fit into a box the way most siblings could. Chay is angrier at Porsche than Kim and feels more heartbreak over Porsche. Because technically Kim never owed Chay his secrets. Chay had eventually dug everything up, burying himself in this world in the process, and Kim, in an act of protection, had answered everything in the worst way. But at least he'd been there. He'd been there to answer Chay while Porsche had flown off and actively avoided his younger brother.

Chay knows Kim regrets his actions, knew it from the moment Kim had dragged him out of that club months ago, Chay's first attempt at finding Vegas. He’d just been too angry then, the wounds too raw. He'd seen the fear in Kim's eyes when he saw that breaking Chay hadn't sent him away from the underworld but into its embrace. He saw the regret and joy when Kim broke into the house and found Chay waiting after months of silence. And as fucked up as it was, at least Kim was showing up. That's the first step, right? 

Porsche had never shown his face, had never called. He'd never made it known to Chay that he regretted abandoning his baby brother. Without that, Chay wasn't willing to forgive him. He couldn't start down that path alone, and he deserved better than being the one to initiate it. 

X

The club Arm tracks Macau’s car to is a minor family front. One of Macau’s if Kinn remembers correctly. That’s both good and bad. Macau stays out of family business, and a club he owns would be the closest to neutral territory they can hope for. However, Vegas is notoriously protective of his younger brother, and by now, he’s certainly been informed that the major family is targeting someone with Macau. The club could quickly turn into a kill zone if this isn’t handled correctly.

“We can’t go in guns blazing. Not only would there be significant casualties on our side, but we risk harming the target. Porchay willingly went with Khun Macau, so we have to assume the minor family has offered him some form of protection.” Arm taps something on his tablet drawing up security footage taken from near the club. “If he’s with Macau, there’s no way of ensuring a bloodless extraction.”

Kinn stares at the security footage Arm had pulled showing Porchay ducking into the club. He feels Porsche go stiff next to him as Macau throws an arm around Porchay’s shoulders smirking as he says something. Porchay smiles at Kinn’s youngest cousin and laughs at whatever he said. He turns towards the security camera, and Kinn watches his smile sharpen as he stares down the camera until he disappears from view. The video restarts, replaying over and over again as Arm details the physical security of the nightclub. Which Vegas seems to have upped recently. Interesting.

Porsche stares at Porchay like a man possessed. Kinn feels his heart break for Porsche. He knows the agony Porsche had been through the last few months, killing himself with his guilt and grief. Porchay was an innocent, Porsche had worked so hard to ensure that. Watching his missing younger brother walk into the arms of the minor family must be hell.

Kinn turns his attention to his own younger brother. Kim’s attachment to the younger Kittisawat had been a surprise at first and a concern as time drew on. Kim was even more determined to bring Porchay back than Porsche was, and he was running himself into the ground doing so. He’s started to worry Tankhun. Kinn’s usually untouchable and cold little brother has never looked worse. His hair hung limp around his face where it had escaped the ponytail Kim had carelessly thrown it into when the meeting had begun. His skin as pale exaggerating the deep circles under his eyes. Kinn isn’t sure when the last time Kim slept was.

“Which leaves a diplomatic solution.” Kinn doesn’t sigh as he speaks, but he wants to. He knows no one will like that, and predictably Porsche and Kim both erupt.

“Like hell am I bargaining with Vegas for my baby brother!” Porsche’s eyes burn, and if it were any other situation Kinn would find his lover irresistible. This however is starting to test his patience.

“I’m getting Porchay back.” Kim stares at Kinn dead-eyed. “If you can’t get this done, I can.”

“Enough!” Kinn slams a fist down onto the table. He doesn’t like acting like the family head around these two preferring to let the two of them take charge of this investigation, but Kinn will not stand for their insubordination on this. “This is about more than one person, no matter how important Porchay is. We have no idea how long Porchay has been with them or what he’s been told. We can do this logically, or we can do it without either of you.”

“Kinn!” Porsche growls, but Kinn has made up his mind.

“Do you want to risk Porchay getting shot? Or worse?” Kinn looks at both Porsche and Kim. Porsche flinches as Kim clenches his fists. “That’s what I thought. So, sit down and listen!”

 Begrudgingly both Kim and Porsche sit down, and Kinn sighs. He turns to Arm.

“You’ve already gotten access to the security cameras? We’ll need to know every inch of the club before we go in.” Kinn settled back into his seat. “We can go in tonight. Vegas knows we’ll want Porchay back as quickly as possible, so it's better to get to him before he has time to plan something.”

“Apologies Khun Kinn but we have not been able to get access to the security cameras inside the club. We have everything outside of the club, but the firewalls protecting the club’s network are beyond what we can crack in the limited time we have.” Arm bows in apology, but Kinn just waves him away. He doesn’t like the idea that’s just sprung up in his head.

Porchay was incredibly smart, Porsche had the school reports to prove it. He’d figured out Porsche’s connection to the Theerapanyakul family through online banking records according to Kim. He’d managed to stay off of their radar for months, and Kinn had put his best people on the investigation. Someone had programmed a virus for Tawan to use on the compound’s security system. Someone had beefed up online security at Macau’s club. Macau was clearly close to Porchay.

“Kim,” Kinn looked to his little brother. “What faculty did you say Porchay got into? The one he deferred enrollment for?”

“Computer science.”

“Kinn, why is that relevant?”

Kinn sits and thinks. Computer science. That could make sense. Someone new had joined Vegas’ side to work computers for him clearly. Porchay was now connected to Vegas, had been for a while it could be assumed. It would explain everything.

Fuck. Neither Porsche nor Kim was going to like this.

“Arm, look through all of the footage you can of that club. See if you can find the first time Porchay went to that club.” Kinn ignores the confusion on Arm’s face as well as the outraged questions from Porsche and Kim. He dismisses Arm to do his bidding and turns to face his lover and his brother. At least Tankhun was up in his room with Pol. Kinn wasn’t sure he could handle Tankhun’s energy alongside Kim and Porsche’s rage.

“What the hell Kinn?” Porsche glares at him as Kim does his best impression of the grim reaper staring at Kinn.

“I believe Porchay is working for Vegas as a hacker.” Kinn waits for the outburst, and he can’t say he’s disappointed. He allows the two to work through the information. Kim seems more accepting, but Porsche looks close to a panic attack. “Porsche, look at me, breathe my love.”

Porsche stares at Kinn, the fear clear in his eyes. Kinn understands he does, but right now he needs to snap Porsche out of it. He helps Porsche breathe, ignoring his younger brother’s very interested stare. He’ll deal with Kim, maybe even force him to take a nap, in just a moment.

Once Porsche calms down, Kinn stands up to address the two.

“Someone new has been helping Vegas. Someone computer savvy given how Tawan infected our systems with a virus, and now we can’t get access to Macau’s club? Who we know Porchay is close enough to run to. Porchay who appears to be great with computers. The pieces are beginning to form a clear picture, Porsche.”

“No that’s not possible.” Porsche shook his head. “Porchay’s a good kid Kinn. He would never do something like that. He would never work for someone like Vegas.”

Kim scoffed at Porsche’s naivety. Kinn placed himself between Porsche and Kim. They didn’t have time for one of their knockdown, drag-out fights. Kinn had a few hours before he had to enter the viper’s nest to bargain for a dangerous new piece of the game, and he didn’t have time for their unending animosity for each other.

“Porchay may be a good kid, but he’s also desperate.” Kinn gently grabs Porsche’s arms trying to convince him. “He was looking for you but found Vegas first. Vegas isn’t above using a kid, not when he knows how important that kid is. We can get him back, but I need you to work with me.”

Kinn turned to stare beseechingly at his younger brother. Both of you. Kim huffed and crossed his arms. Kinn accepts it for the unsaid fine that it is.

“We’ll call Vegas and say we need to reschedule this afternoon’s meeting for tonight. He’ll know what we’re up to, but that’s not what’s important.” Kinn rushes out before Porsche could interrupt him. “What’s important is seeing Porchay and convincing him to leave Vegas willingly.”

“Of course, he’ll come with us. He’s my baby brother Kinn!” Porsche shakes his head, and Kinn can see Kim gearing up to spit poison at Porsche.

“He attacked Kim and ran, Porsche. He has his own reasons for working with Vegas. We just have to give him a better choice. Okay?” Kinn cups Porsche’s cheek. Porsche nods his hand gently reaching up to hold Kinn’s wrist. Kinn draws him to place a soft kiss on his forehead allowing Porsche to melt into his hold.

Kinn turns to look at Kim, who Kinn notices for perhaps the first time looks so lonely. Kim had been an island for so long that Kinn had stopped seeing him as anything but. Except right now, Kinn’s strong little brother looks fragile, broken even, like he needs Kinn’s protection for the first time in their lives.

So that’s what Kinn will do. He’ll protect Porsche and Kim from everything that could hurt them, and he’ll do anything he has to in order to make them happy.

“We’ll get him back. I swear to you.” Kinn doesn’t look away from his brother, and Kim’s tired eyes go wide watching him back. Kinn is startled to realize that his baby brother looks near tears. “We’ll bring him back to you.”