Introductions

It was awkward, admittedly. I took a spot at the end of the bar as Ajax joined me on the opposite end of the line with a beer in hand. I watched Tokala swiftly work– setting down two plates, one in front of me and surprisingly one in front of the brute. “Lucio expects you to train Noah in any fields necessary for the job.” 

I quickly move to speak, “I wouldn’t need training in much, just some warmups probably." After speaking I scratched the back of my neck. Listening to Tokala recite my words to Ajax. Then man makes no move to speak or even acknowledge the words. His only movement is to take another long swig of the alcoholic beverage. 

I couldn't be bothered to make any small talk when it only had to be translated over and over again. I rest my arms on the counter as a steaming biscuit is sat in front of me. "Thank you." He nods in reply setting one in front of the grumpy man to my right. "I already have enough fucking recruits to deal with, do I really have to deal with another?" The platinum blond shakes his head washing his hands. "Why are you in such a bitchy fucking mood today? All of you have been acting like the dog was shot." 

The chair groans in complaint as Ajax stands up with a jolt, clenching the beer bottle so hard I hear it crack. "I'm not dealing with you and Nico's shit today." He grunts out storming off. "They aren't usually this bad, it's probably because of the early morning meeting." 

He shrugs and grabs the sandwich left behind and takes a large bite. I continue to observe silently but take a bite of my own food. “What was the meeting about?” I ask out of curiosity. “Nothing special, just some business plans. Lucio most likely went to finalize them.” I bob my head in recognition, chewing away at the suddenly flavorless food.

It didn’t feel necessarily safe being here. The idea of being surrounded by murderers for their self-gain war is bothersome. They didn’t kill to defend or save innocent lives they killed because a meeting didn’t go right. What I didn’t expect was how open and honest Tokala was.

My expectations were crushed meeting him. I half expected a whole bunch of heartless dicks, sticking together because it was convenient. Yet looking in depth it’s not hard to tell they’re just some dysfunctional family working to survive. Once finished with the food, I get up and move to push in both my chair and the cold one left abandoned. I grab my plate and lap the island, "You don't have to clean it, I can." I shake my head, set the dirty dish in the sink, turning on the warm faucet. "No it's alright, I have nothing better to do." My hands quickly move in reply with a soft shrug. 

A chuckle resonates behind me, "You were hired as a personal bodyguard, not a damn housemaid." I glare at the man behind before crouching down to search in the cabinet below the sink. I know most houses keep the clean materials under the sink maybe this fucking mansion is the same. Luckily I was right, both a scrub brush and a bottle of dish soap sit right in front of my eyes. I grab the supplies needed and shut the cabinet doors standing back up. "I can clean your plate if you're done." 

He huffs, setting the plate in the sink on top of mine. "Thank you, Noah, although you didn't have to do this." The blond says in a scolding manner before walking away mumbling out that he'll 'be in the living room.'

After scrubbing away at the dishes and listening to the hush of the faucet I set the plates in the shiny dishwasher. This was the first home-cooked meal I've had in ages. It was heartwarming, strangely enough, although it wasn't even made by the family. 

With a sigh, I put the materials away and dry my hands off with a towel. Wandering out to the living room I listen in on two rambling about who got more kills. "You fucking dick, you were gone how the hell would you have more kills than me?" I hear Giovanni snap angrily, "Because I'm better than you, duh."  The platinum blond replies in return. 

I couldn't help but grin, it really did seem like bickering children as the gunshots kept sounding from the speakers. Standing a couple of feet away from the couch, I watched the split-screen, the right screen had rather sloppy movements compared to the left. The left had quite precise movements and planned attacks. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was who by the bored cocky talk the second spouted. 

My shoes tapped on the floor as I made my way toward Tokala. He pauses the game, inciting some bickering from the latter. "I'm going to Lucio's office, just thought I'd let you know in case you thought I ran away." He nods giving me a thumbs up before resuming the game. Strolling away my shoes pat softly on the marbled floor of the large open ceiling room. I can’t help but glance up at the dazzling chandelier overhead. The childlike wonder wants me to reach out and touch the fractals of glass intricately shaped in tears. 

A soft smile graced my expression, the once innocent inner child making his presence known after so long. Scaling the staircase to my left, I trail down the hall of offices and miscellaneous rooms. Knocking on the door at the end of the hall with three strong knocks my employer's voice sounds, “Come in.” Twisting the knob and pushing the door open I step in. Gently shutting the door behind me– the office before me is stunning. Rich dark wood flooring polished to perfection lies in my wake. A large carpet rested squarely in the middle of the room, two comfortable armchairs sat across from a desk. Bookshelves full of books and small knick-knacks line the far right wall. The left holds a plush couch with a small table and lamp. 

I glance up at the eyes boring into my skull, the ginger sits across the desk slightly slouched over, a pen in hand. He was seated in front of a large monitor and stacks of paper surrounded him on his left. I suddenly felt increasingly more rude by the second for disturbing him from his work. “What is it, Noah?” With a swallow, my hands move, “I was just wondering what you wanted me to do on days where you don’t need my protection. Like now for example.” I didn't put much emphasis on my words feeling annoying. 

Nervously, my hand reaches up to scratch the back of my neck, my eyes flickering away from his burning orbs. "In your downtime, you can work with Ajax or help around the mansion I suppose, I didn't think of that…" He rambles off scratching the side of his jaw. My mind buzzes with thoughts, "Ajax is in a foul mood and stormed off after dealing with Tokala." It's hard to sign his name... The man in front of me sets the pen down and lets out a dry chuckle. Crossing his arms behind his head and overlapping his legs. 

"I'm honestly not surprised, the poor bastard never liked dealing with Tokala for too long, especially with all of us running on roughly 2 hours of sleep. We're all a bit moody…" His eyes shifted along the papers looking back up to meet mine. I saunter over to the chair with a slight limp, my leg trying to give out as I go. Sitting down in the chair I let out a huff, my body still on edge. 

"If it's easier to sign you could give us code names, my da—" He cuts himself off clearing his throat, "A man I used to know used code names to sign instead of spelling out our names." I knit my brows confused, what were you going to say? I ponder. 

I run a hand over my arm in thought. "Tokala could be Eagle, Ajax perhaps—" "Daddy, Daddy!" A little voice screams the sound of the door slamming open and little feet running in slamming against the floorboards. My head snaps around to the approaching child, bright strawberry blonde locks topple down her shoulders. A wide grin is spread across her face but once her gaze meets mine it turns into fright. 

I hear the creek of a chair behind me and I turn towards Lucio, awestruck. "Marcella, I told you to stay in your room." The little girl fidgets with her hands, the small orbs colored like her father's glazed over with tears. I can't help but smile at the adorable sight in front of me. She was dressed in small light blue suspenders and a yellow t-shirt. 

Standing up causes her to slightly shrink away so I crouch down. I catch the sight of a small gadget in her hair, upon closer inspection my eyes lock with a hearing aid. "Hi kid, how are you?" Her small face lights up in wonder, "You know sign language?" I nod, "I can't speak anymore because bad people hurt me." She gasps as she takes in all my scars, "Why would they hurt you?" 

"Because they were the bad guys and I was the good guy, some good guys have to get hurt. Now all of you are safe, just at the price of some getting hurt." Her lip juts out in a slight pout, "I don't need protection, I'm a big girl! Daddy says I'm strong and brave!" A grin breaks across my face, "You are definitely strong and brave." 

It's been a long time since I talked to a kid, "What's your name, Mr?" "My name is Noah, I'll be protecting you and your daddy." She claps her hands together, "Yay! That means you can play with me, right? Come play with me!" She giggles happily. I turn my head in search of permission from my higher-up. 

My eyes slightly widen at the wholesome grin on his face, "Go ahead." The girl squeals making me stand up to only be dragged away.