"Yao!" Arthur came running excitedly into the kitchen, where Yao was making some stew for his crew.

"Yes, Arthur?" Yao turned his head and looked questioningly at Arthur.

"Guess where we are?" Arthur could hardly keep his excitement.

"On the sea, sailing to god knows where?" Yao deadpanned.

Arthur chuckled. Oh, how he adored his lover's sense of humour. "We're in the seas of Japan, near China!" he informed Yao excitedly.

China? That meant that Yao was near his home! After two years, he was finally near his home!

"You know," Arthur began sheepishly. "I know I kind of took you by force, and I've changed my mind about keeping you, so if you want to go home…"

Yao looked at Arthur incredulously. "Go home? But you are my home!" he exclaimed. "I can't live without you!"

Arthur looked unconvinced. "But you hate pirates!"

"No…" Yao murmured gently. "I love this particular pirate." He stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Arthur's cheek.

That caused Arthur to blush a bright red.

"But," Yao continued. "I would love to pay a visit to China, if you don't mind."

Arthur could only nod at Yao's request.

As they had a pirate ship, they had no official clearance from the Chinese government to dock, so Arthur and Yao had to get onto Chinese shores on a small boat.

As soon as they reached the shore, Yao got out of the boat and observed his surroundings. "Nothing much has changed," he muttered, mostly to himself.

Arthur merely smiled.

Then Yao took his hand and led him into a village. "Come," he said excitedly. "I'll show you my family!"

On the way to Yao's home, they passed by many villagers who seemed to recognise Yao. They gasped in astonishment at seeing him, but greeted him warmly nevertheless. If they found it weird that he was accompanied by a white man, they didn't say anything.

They reached a rather lavish house. "My father was a government official. When he passed away, I inherited his post," Yao explained to Arthur. "Thus, we live in a rather large house."

Arthur nodded in understanding.

Yao stood in front of the gate and called, "Kiku! Yong Soo! Mei! Hong!"

Almost immediately, the head of a young girl poked out. "Brother Yao!" she cried as soon as she saw the Asian man, running to embrace her brother. She had tears in her eyes as she embraced a surprised Yao. "I thought I would never see you again!" she sobbed. She then turned around towards the house. "Hong! Yong Soo! Kiku! Guess who's here?"

A sleepy teenager then appeared by the door. "Damn it, Mei, if it's one of your friends here to play with my hair…" he stopped short at the sight of Yao, before he, too, sprinted towards Yao and embraced him.

"Hong!" Yao gasped. "You've grown so big!"

Hong puffed out his chest proudly. "I've been eating my rice, like you advised!"

Kiku and Yong Soo came out together. Once they saw Yao, they tore towards the Chinese man, hugging him together.

Arthur recognised Kiku by his face – he had threatened to take Kiku back instead of Yao. Nevertheless, he smiled happily at this small family reunion. It was touching how Yao was doted on by his siblings.

"You!" Kiku exclaimed as he caught sight of Arthur. "You are the one who took brother Yao away from us!"

Arthur shrank back as Kiku advanced on him.

"No! Wait!" Yao rushed to stand in between an angry Kiku and Arthur. "Arthur is my partner," he explained hurriedly. "I love him."

All four of Yao's siblings stared at him, flabbergasted. "You… and him?" Yong Soo managed.

Yao nodded slowly. "I hope that does not change your perception of me. I still love you all…"

Suddenly, all four of his siblings leapt onto him. "No," Mei exclaimed. "You are still our big brother!"

"And we're glad you've found someone who loves you and will take care of you!" Hong finished happily.

Kiku glared at Arthur fiercely. "You will take care of brother Yao, won't you?"

Arthur crossed his heart. "With my heart and soul," he replied seriously.

Yong Soo laughed cherrily. "Then welcome to the family!" he cried.

"That's another thing," Yao began unsurely. "I have returned, but I won't be staying here anymore. I've decided… I've decided to follow Arthur in his voyages."

Kiku smiled softly at his brother. "Whatever you decide, we'll support you wholly," he told Yao.

"I'll come and visit you all whenever we get near Chinese waters – like today!" Yao quickly reasoned, not hearing what Kiku had said.

"Love," Arthur placed a hand on Yao's shoulder. "Kiku has said that they support you," he told the Asian man.

Yao looked at his siblings one-by-one. "Really?"

"Yeah," Hong said. "Besides, you said you'd visit us whenever you're nearby."

Yao felt tears gather in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't believe his siblings were so supportive of him. He hugged them all tightly. "I thank God that he's given me you all as my siblings," he whispered.

They spent the day just hanging out and eating Chinese food. Yao introduced Arthur to some of their local delicacies, such as suckling pig, which Arthur thoroughly enjoyed. Arthur vowed to return and have another helping when he had the chance.

The day soon ended, and Arthur and Yao had to return to the ship. They said their goodbyes to Yao's siblings; each of them teared up when they had to say goodbye to their brother. "I'll be back sooner than you can imagine," Yao assured them. "Meanwhile, be good for Kiku, okay? He's in charge now."

Yong Soo stuck his tongue out at Kiku. "But he's so bossy!" he whined.

"Well, he has the right to be bossy!" Mei countered.

Yao ruffled the hair on Hong's head. "I expect to see you've grown even more the next time I return," he told the small Asian boy.

Hong nodded enthusiastically. "I will!" he exclaimed. "I will eat all my rice, and I'll grow up to be strong and to be able to scour the world like you!"

Kiku stepped forward. "Take care, brother. I'm glad you've found someone to love and who loves you as well," he said to Yao, smiling. "However, if he ever hurts you…" with that, Kiku shot a glare at Arthur, who recoiled in fear at the death glare Yao's brother gave him.

Yao grinned and placed a hand on Kiku's shoulder. "He won't. I'm sure of that."

"I guess it's goodbye for now," said Kiku solemnly.

"Goodbye," replied Yao, as he took Arthur's hand and walked away.

"Bye, brother!" cried Yong Soo, Mei and Hong.

Yao waved as he and Arthur walked out of sight.

"You have a wonderful family," Arthur commented when they reached their boat to sail back to the ship.

"Yeah," Yao replied, smiling. "Our mother died right after Hong was born, and our father was rarely at home, so we learnt to depend on one another."

Arthur grunted as he gave the boat a push towards the ocean. "I see that they are very fond of you as well," he said. "I wish Alfred was like that towards me…"

"Oh, he is," Yao remarked mischievously and got into the boat. "You just don't see it."

"Really?" said Arthur in wonderment. "Usually, he's just a pain in the ass."

Yao giggled. "That's because you spend so much time with him," he told the captain.

Arthur snorted as he took the oar and rowed them back to his ship, where another new journey would begin. He was glad Yao was by his side this time – it could be very lonely being a pirate.