A/N – Don't ask. I don't know what inspired me to write this. Must be my disturbed brain :(

"Stay safe, aru," Yao smiled and kissed his lover on the lips.

"You too," Arthur replied with a gentle smile. "Don't overwork yourself too much."

Yao chuckled. "I think you should be telling yourself that," he chided.

Arthur winked at Yao. "I won't, provided you don't."

"It's a deal then," replied Yao as he planted yet another kiss on Arthur's cheek. "Good bye."

"See you in the evening," said Arthur as he turned around and left for work.

However, Arthur did not see Yao in the evening.

"Yao?" Arthur called as he entered the silent house. It was dark and he had to squint to get a bearing of where exactly in the house he was. Arthur's hands fumbled for the light switch and switched on the lights, illuminating the room.

Everything seemed to be in order.

The only strange absence was Yao's presence from the house.

Arthur decided not to dwell on it, as Yao may have been forced to work overtime and would be back late. So he had his dinner, watched a bit of TV and retired for the night.

When Arthur woke up the next morning, he rolled over in bed, half-expecting to playfully scold Yao for leaving him alone the previous night. However, Yao's side of the bed was empty. It didn't even look like Yao had come home and slept that night.

Arthur's eyes widened as the implications of this dawned upon him.

Arthur quickly got out of bed and hastily threw on some clothes. He would go to the police station before work and lodge a missing persons report – he knew that a person had to be absent for at least 24 hours before being legally classified as missing, but the unusual absence of his lover made it important that investigation was to be started promptly.

Arthur made his way to the police station and provided them with the information they needed to locate Yao. Then he went to work; however, he could not concentrate on what it was he was doing as Arthur was worried about Yao. His boss even sent him home early, claiming that he was a nuisance in the office in his current state.

On his way home, Arthur decided to stop by the police station again to check on the progress of their investigation. However, there was no news of Yao's whereabouts and the police told him to check back the next day. Nonetheless, the police told Arthur that if there was no news of Yao in five days, it was not a question of where Yao was, but a question of where his killer had dumped his body.

Arthur froze at that statement. Nevertheless, he willed himself to remain calm.

Arthur trudged all the way home. As soon as he opened the door, tears of frustration filled his eyes and he collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

Arthur really hoped Yao was alright.

Three days had passed since Yao disappeared, and Arthur was getting frantic with worry. He was snappy, and barked at anyone who dared cross his path. Even his colleagues daren't speak out against Arthur, lest he yelled at them.

On the fourth day, Arthur went out of his house to get the newspaper.

As Arthur made his way to his mailbox, he saw a figure slumped on the ground outside his house. The figure was leaning on Arthur's gate and seemed to be unconscious.

Arthur carefully approached the figure. He hoped it was not some homeless person seeking shelter. He had enough on his mind right now what with Yao being missing, and could not be dealing with such people!

"Hey," Arthur said cautiously to the figure and knelt down beside it. The person had long hair that was covering his face. Come to think of it, the long hair reminded Arthur of Yao's… "Are you alright?"

Arthur sighed. What was he thinking? There was no way an unconscious person could hear him.

"Hey," Arthur repeated and he reached out to shake the person. As he did so, Arthur's hand brushed some of the person's hair back to reveal his face, and to Arthur's shock and surprise, he found that it was Yao.

"Yao!" cried Arthur as he gathered the unconscious man into his arms. He observed Yao carefully – his clothes were torn and there were burnt marks on his arms. The skin on his wrists was chafed raw – it was as if something had been rubbing on them excessively. It looked like Yao needed medical attention immediately.

Arthur quickly carried Yao into his car. He placed the unconscious man gently into the passenger's seat and buckled the seatbelt around his body. Arthur then got into the driver's seat and drove off to the hospital.

Once they got to the hospital, Yao was immediately carted off to have a full-body examination so that the medical staff could fix any problems that might present themselves. Arthur, on the other hand, was impatiently pacing around the hospital waiting room.

Moments later, Yao's brothers, Kiku and Hong Kong came running into the waiting room. As soon as they spotted Arthur, they bombarded him with questions.

"How's brother Yao? Is he okay?" was the first question out of Kiku's mouth.

"How did you find him?"

Arthur looked at them wearily and began explaining how he went out to get the newspaper and found Yao.

"You mean, the kidnapper just left him there?" asked Hong Kong incredulously.

"It would seem so," replied Arthur. "I don't know his intentions, though."

"How's brother?" Kiku asked again. His question was still unanswered.

Arthur shrugged and glanced at the room Yao had disappeared into. "I don't know. He was still unconscious when he was wheeled in. There were a lot of burnt marks on his arms, though…" Arthur muttered.

Kiku winced. "They burnt him as well?!"

Hong Kong placed a placating hand on Kiku's arm. "Relax, brother. We like, won't know for sure until we know what happened."

Kiku huffed and sat down on one of the chairs. He rested his chin on his hand.

Meanwhile, Arthur looked sadly at Hong Kong. "I'm sorry," he said. "If only I had taken better care of Yao…"

Hong Kong managed a smile. "It's not your fault. No one wants this to happen," he said.

A doctor came into the waiting room. "Are you the next of kin of Yao Wang?" he asked Arthur.

"Yes, I am," replied Arthur. "What's wrong with Yao?" he then asked a little frantically.

By then, Kiku had gotten out of his seat and approached the doctor.

The doctor looked at the three men apologetically. "I don't know how to say this, but… He has a torn anal passage, most likely due to the insertion of large objects into his anus. I suspect he was raped repeatedly."

At that, Arthur collapsed onto a chair. The doctor placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"We are stitching up his anal passage right now," the doctor told them. "Also, there are signs that he has been abused – there are bruises all over his torso, and burns on his hands and legs. But nothing some medication and a few days of rest won't cure."

Hong Kong nodded. Well, that sounded good.

"He's severely malnourished, but since he isn't awake to take in any food at the moment, we'll put him on an IV to get the essential nutrients into his body," the doctor added. "Once he wakes and is capable of eating, we'll take him off the IV."

"Okay," replied Hong Kong.

"As for his psychological state… we won't know for sure until he wakes up," the doctor told them. "I suspect that he will be traumatised, but I don't know the extent to which he will be traumatised and how he will react to it. Nevertheless, I am to be alerted once he wakes up – I have told the nurses that."

Kiku shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you very much, doctor," he said.

The doctor smiled at him. "No worries at all. Let me know if you need anything," he said before exiting the waiting room.

Once the doctor was gone, Arthur buried his face into his hands. "Oh god… he was raped… and I couldn't do anything about it!"

Hong Kong didn't know what to say to console him. He glanced at Kiku, who also had a distressed expression on his face. Hong Kong moved to sit down beside Arthur, and ran his hand comfortingly up and down Arthur's back.

Yao let out a muffled cry as the palm of a hand came into contact with his cheek and his head snapped to the side. He glared defiantly at his captor, not being able to speak due to his mouth being plastered shut with sticky tape. Yao didn't want to lose this battle even though he obviously didn't have the upper hand. Yao had learnt that his captor's name was Ivan and that he was quite a cruel man, having broken the arm and leg of a subordinate earlier.

Ivan smirked and observed Yao as he lay before him. Yao's hands were handcuffed above his head to the headboard of the bed and no matter how much he squirmed and moved, he was stuck in that position.

"Let's have some fun, da?" Ivan said cheerfully, eyeing Yao hungrily.

As Ivan ran his hands up and down Yao's chest and moved to unbutton Yao's shirt, Yao gasped and struggled with renewed fervour.

Ivan sighed. "I knew you'd fight back," he said disdainfully. Ivan removed the cigarette he was smoking out of his mouth and pressed the rod on the skin of Yao's hand.

Yao yelped as the cigarette burnt him. He tried to move his hand away, but they were held firmly by the handcuffs.

Ivan pressed the rod of the cigarette onto Yao's hand a few more times, forcing Yao into submission until Yao gave up struggling and lay pliant on the bed. Yao was breathing heavily by then. He did not want to submit to Ivan, but Ivan was forcing him to do so.

"Now that's a good boy, da?" Ivan grinned and began to unbutton Yao's shirt.

Yao could feel tears in the corner of his eyes. This man was going to violate him, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Yao wanted to preserve his body for Arthur, but it looked like it was impossible right now.

As Ivan unbuckled Yao's belt and undid his pants, a tear found its way out of Yao's eye. 'I'm sorry, Arthur,' thought Yao. He shivered as Ivan pulled down his pants and the cool air brushed his nether regions.

Yao attempted to kick out, but Ivan only smiled cruelly and held Yao's legs in place.

The rape was a painful affair. When Ivan thrust into Yao, he choked out a scream through the gag. Finally, a rough but steady rhythm was set, with Ivan's heavy breathing filling the room.

Tears streamed down Yao's face and Ivan ran his tongue over them, licking them away. "You are mine now," Ivan whispered, as he lost himself in the realm of pleasure.

Finally, Ivan climaxed with a loud cry as he spilled his seed into Yao.

Yao's head was turned to the side as he sobbed in humiliation.

After a few moments, Ivan got up and pulled his pants up. He opened the door, where his subordinates were waiting. Ivan gestured into the room. "He's all yours now," he told them. "But be sure to be gentle with him."

Yao's eyes widened as he realised what Ivan had given permission to his subordinates to do – they were going to gang rape him! He tried to protest feebly when one of Ivan's subordinates hovered over him, leering suggestively, while the others waited for their turn to have their way with him.

An ugly smirk decorated the man's face as he lowered himself onto Yao…

"NO!" cried Yao as he sat up.

Yao half-expected to find himself in the dirty, smelly bedroom where Ivan and his subordinates had raped him. So he was surprised to find himself face to face with the white ceiling of a hospital room.

"Yao?"

Yao looked to his side. Arthur was looking worriedly at him. "Arthur, aru!" he cried, launching himself on the Englishman.

"Yao," repeated Arthur as he engulfed the Asian man in a hug. "I missed you," he murmured into Yao's ear.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" bawled Yao into Arthur's chest.

"It's okay, it's okay," comforted Arthur. "Shh… I'll go inform a nurse that you're awake, she'll tell the doctor," he told Yao.

Yao sniffed and wiped his eyes. He resumed his position on the bed. How was he going to explain to Arthur that he had let another man bed him? Even worse, many other men. Granted, it wasn't consensual, but still…

Arthur returned moments later. He took Yao's hand and kissed it. Yao flinched. "Kiku and Hong Kong are just getting a bite – they'll be here later. Mei and Yong Soo can't get off work just yet, but they'll be here."

Yao's eyes widened. "My siblings know about this, aru?!"

"Yao, you've been missing for three days," Arthur told him. "They are bound to know. Besides, I think they have the right to know."

Yao nodded silently. When Arthur took Yao's hand again, Yao promptly snatched it away.

"Yao?" Arthur asked him worriedly.

"Don't touch me, aru," whispered Yao, staring at the bandages on his hands with wide eyes.

"Why?"

Yao looked at Arthur, his lower lip trembling. "Because I'm not pure anymore!" he cried. "I let other men violate me!"

Arthur cringed at the bluntness of Yao's words. "I know, love," he said as he brought Yao's face to face his. "The doctor told me. But I don't care. What matters is you're safe and alive."

Yao opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the doctor entered the ward. "Good morning, Yao," he greeted with a smile. "You've been out of it for more than a day."

Yao stared blankly at the doctor.

"Okay, first, I need to check your vital signs – you don't mind me checking your blood pressure?"

Yao glanced uneasily at Arthur, but nodded anyway.

The doctor took Yao's hand, but when he did so, a look of pure terror came across Yao's face. He almost snatched his hand back, but one look at Arthur's worried face made Yao clench his teeth and close his eyes.

The doctor noticed Yao's discomfort. "Does it hurt when I take your blood pressure?" he asked Yao.

Yao shook his head; his eyes were still tightly closed. "No…" he replied with a small voice. "It's just that… you're touching me…"

"Oh," the doctor quickly retracted his hands. "I'm sorry – I won't take your blood pressure then," he told Yao with a gentle smile. He had seen lots of victims of rape and Yao's reactions were perfectly understandable. "You seem fine anyway. Why don't I check your temperature and your respiration rate – they do not involve me touching you."

"Okay, aru," Yao said softly.

The doctor placed a thermometer underneath Yao's armpits and observed Yao as he breathed in and out. When he was done, he recorded Yao's temperature and respiration rate onto a clipboard. "Well, everything looks fine. But be careful with how much you move – you've just had a minor surgery yesterday, and we don't want you to break the stitches."

"Thanks, doctor," Arthur said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," replied the doctor. "We're keeping you here because of the surgery, and we want to monitor any sort of illnesses you may have contracted," he told Yao. "Call me if there's anything wrong – the nurses have my pager number." With that, he left Yao's ward.

Yao clutched the blanket of his bed, trembling slightly. His knuckles were becoming white.

"Yao?" Arthur scooted closer to Yao. "Are you okay?"

Yao looked at Arthur with terrified eyes. "Yes, aru," he replied. "I just can't face… strangers… right now, I think…"

Arthur moved to take Yao's hand, but at the last minute, decided against it. "Are you hungry?" he finally asked.

Yao shook his head. "Just… just stay with me, aru?" he asked Arthur in a small voice.

"Sure thing, love."

Yao looked at Arthur with wide eyes. "Could you… could you perhaps… hold me, aru?"

Arthur nodded. He moved so that he was sitting on the bed, and wrapped his arms around Yao's tiny body. Arthur was careful not to disturb the bandages on Yao's arms, as he whispered comforting words into Yao's ear.

A few days later, Yao was discharged from the hospital. He was given a clean bill of health and had not contracted any STDs from his rapists.

Yao stepped into his home as Yong Soo carried the bag with Yao's clothes into the house. "I'll just dump this into the washing machine," Yong Soo announced.

Arthur glanced at Yao and gently took his hand, leading him to the sofa in the living room. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Yao shook his head as he stared into the distance. "I'm okay," he said softly.

Yong Soo reappeared from the back of the house. "Well, I have to go to work now, da-ze," he told Arthur and Yao. "I'll see you guys later?"

Arthur nodded. "Thanks, Yong Soo," he said as he waved to the young man.

Arthur then turned his attention to Yao, who looked utterly exhausted. Despite him being in the hospital and having plenty of time to rest, Yao had not been resting well at all. Every time Yao closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his mind would replay the rape he experienced, and he would jolt awake. After a while, Yao figured that he couldn't go to sleep (not without Arthur holding on to him anyway, and Arthur was not always around), and would spend his nights staring blankly at his hands.

"Would you like to take a nap?" Arthur asked Yao.

"Will you stay with me, aru?" Yao looked at Arthur.

Arthur had decided to take the day off work in order to make sure Yao was settled into home. "Yes," he replied, smiling. "I will," he encircled his arms around Yao's shoulder.

Yao leaned his head on Arthur's chest. "Thank you," he sighed.

Moments later, Yao was out like a light.

Yao was being fucked doggy-style. His hands were released from the headboard of the bed, but were still handcuffed together in front of him.

Yao made a muffled sound through the gag, and as his rapist's cock brushed his prostate, Yao cried out. Tears of humiliation streamed down his face. When would this ever end?

"My turn," growled another of Ivan's subordinates as he pushed the man who was fucking Yao aside. The latter scowled at him and pulled out of Yao.

The other man didn't waste a minute. He figured Yao had already been prepared by his colleague and thus, his hole was open and nice for him to shove his penis in.

As he impaled his cock deep within Yao, Yao screamed at the intrusion. This man was much bigger than the last and as Yao was painfully stretched, more tears leaked out of his eyes.

"Hey, you know what would be entertaining?" the first man chirped up.

"What?" grunted the man who was now fucking Yao.

"Filling both his holes," replied the first man. "It would be amusing."

"It's up to you," groaned the other man. He was now so lost in pleasure that he couldn't care for anything else. "Fuck, he's so tight…"

The first man made his way to Yao's face and pried off the sticky tape on Yao's mouth. Yao dazedly looked at him.

The man leered and said, "Open up, darling," before shoving his cock into Yao's mouth.

Yao choked on the large organ that was now filling his mouth. He desperately sucked on the man's cock so as to prevent it from choking him to death.

Finally, both men came together. Yao winced at the bitter taste of come in his mouth. Nevertheless, he swallowed it, not being able to spit it out as the first man still had Yao's mouth filled with his penis.

The other man pulled out of Yao's backside. "That was amazing," he said, patting Yao's ass lightly. "We'll do it again tonight."

The first man finally removed his length from Yao's mouth. Yao collapsed onto the bed. He silently prayed that that was the last time he was going to be raped until they returned for the night. Yao could feel some sort of warm liquid trickling down his thigh, but whether it was his blood or semen, he didn't know.

They two men left the room, and Yao silently cried, curling himself into a ball. How was he going to explain to Arthur what had happened? It was a known fact that Arthur was a possessive man, and when he found out that Yao had had sex with countless other men, even if it wasn't consensual… Arthur certainly wouldn't stand for it – he would be furious. Yao didn't want to think about it. That is, if he ever saw Arthur again…

Yao started as he felt a pair of cold hands grab his backside. His head whipped around and Yao came face to face with Ivan's purple eyes.

Ivan smirked at Yao. "Missed me?"

Yao let out a yelp as Ivan flipped him around and started running his hands over his naked body.

Ivan inserted two fingers into Yao's already raw anus and moved them in and out, sending agonising sensations throughout Yao's body.

Ivan withdrew his fingers, smirking and reached into his pocket. He turned Yao around and pulled out a large vibrator with a tail attached to it and forced it into Yao's posterior orifice, causing the Asian man to scream as the object stretched him further.

Yao glanced southward and to his horror, found a tail dangling between his legs.

Ivan beamed. He admired Yao's backside, ignoring Yao's frantic attempts to dispel the vibrator from his anus using his bound hands that could barely reach behind him.

"Face me," Ivan ordered.

Yao stiffened. He turned his head around slowly to look behind at Ivan meekly.

"Come on, da – I haven't got all day," growled Ivan.

Yao inhaled, readying himself for the worst. He painfully swivelled his body around, fully aware of the object that was currently filling him.

"Crawl towards me," commanded Ivan. "And bark," he added as an afterthought.

Yao's face flushed in humiliation, he slowly crawled towards Ivan on all fours. When Ivan held out his hand to halt Yao, he stopped and looked at Ivan.

Ivan looked back at Yao expectantly.

"Arf," said Yao humourlessly.

Ivan smiled in satisfaction. He then ran his hand through Yao's hair. "That's a good boy, da?" Ivan then removed his pants and placed his erect cock in front of Yao's face. "Suck it," he told Yao.

Yao's eyes widened in revulsion. But he didn't want to anger Ivan, lest he was put through more torture. Yao opened his mouth and took in Ivan's length.

For a long while, the room was silent save for the sucking sounds coming from Yao's mouth and Ivan's moans of pleasure. Finally, Ivan came into Yao's mouth and he pulled his length out with a soft 'pop' sound.

Relieved, Yao managed to spit out Ivan's essence onto the bed.

Slightly insulted that Yao had not swallowed the result of his climax, Ivan switched the vibrator on, and Yao's body was consumed with unbearable pain as the vibrator mercilessly vibrated within him. Yao's body jerked and his back arched. He cried out for anyone, just anyone to save him from this horror…

Yao's eyes snapped open. He found that he was alone on the sofa, so that probably explained why he had such a nightmare.

Arthur had left a note on the coffee table.

Dear Yao,
Went out for a while to get something to eat. Will get you something too. I love you.
Love,
Arthur

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Yao got up from his position on the sofa and went to answer the door. Kiku was standing by the gate with a basket of fruits.

With a smile, Yao went out and opened the gate for Kiku to enter.

"Brother!" Kiku cried, engulfing Yao in a hug. Involuntarily, Yao flinched – he still didn't feel comfortable being touched by anyone but Arthur.

"Kiku, aru," Yao tried to grin at his brother. "What brings you here?"

"Can't I be concerned about my brother?" Kiku asked innocently.

Yao laughed and led Kiku into the house. Once they were in the house, Yao turned to Kiku and asked him, "Would you like anything to drink?"

Kiku placed the basket of fruits on the coffee table. Then, he put his hand on Yao's arm. "It's okay," he replied. "You should rest." He looked around. "Where's Arthur?"

"Oh, he went to get something for us to eat, aru," Yao replied as he sat down on the sofa.

"He left you here alone?!" cried Kiku.

"Well," Yao scratched his head. "I was asleep, and only just woke up."

"He still shouldn't have done that," Kiku grumbled.

"Kiku," Yao placed his hand on Kiku's lap. "I'm fine, aru."

"What if your kidnapper comes back and does off with you again?!" exclaimed Kiku.

Yao sighed. Trust his siblings to be so overprotective of him. "I wouldn't simply open the door, would I, aru? Besides, they didn't kidnap me at home…" he muttered.

Kiku frowned. "Then where did they kidnap you?"

Yao glanced at his brother. "On my way to the lab, aru," he replied. "A car stopped beside me, and the door opened… it hit my back and I fell to the ground, aru. Before I knew it, someone had shoved a chloroform-soaked cloth in my face and I fell unconscious."

Kiku was listening intently.

"When I woke up, I was handcuffed to a bed, aru. You know what happened next."

"Oh, brother…" Kiku murmured sadly as he gently took Yao's hand. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Hey," Yao smiled at Kiku. "It's not your fault – shit happens sometimes, aru."

"Well," Kiku reached out for the basket of fruits he had brought. "Would you like me to cut up some fruits for you? Which fruits would you like?"

Yao chuckled softly. "Surprise me."

Kiku smirked. "Okay then," he said, bringing the basket of fruits to the kitchen.

At that moment, Arthur returned. He unlocked the door and his eyes widened when he saw Yao sitting serenely on the sofa. "You're awake?"

"Yeah," Yao shrugged. "When you left, I kinda had a nightmare, so I woke up, aru."

"Oh," Arthur crooned as he bent forward and kissed Yao gently on the head. "I'm sorry for leaving."

Yao smiled at his lover. "Well, it was time for me to wake up anyway – I've been sleeping too much, aru."

"Well," Arthur took a seat next to Yao on the sofa and brought out a container from the plastic bag he was carrying. "I bought you some har gow and shumai," he told the Asian man.

"Thanks," said Yao, taking the pack of food and the wooden chopsticks that were provided. "And yourself, aru?"

"Oh, I ate on the way back. I was hungry," Arthur admitted sheepishly.

Yao gazed at Arthur endearingly. "Thanks for everything."

Arthur stroked Yao's hair. "You don't have to thank me – I love you. I would do anything for you."

Yao frowned and took a piece of har gow. "Even after I have been raped, aru?" Yao asked softly before he put the har gow into his mouth and began chewing it.

"Especially after what has happened," Arthur murmured, kissing Yao on the forehead. "The days without you by my side were a nightmare – I was worried sick about you, and I couldn't function!"

Yao was determined not to let the matter rest. "But I'm not pure anymore, aru! I wouldn't be able to say I've only ever had sex with you!"

"So?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I don't care."

"But you should!" Yao slammed the chopsticks down and turned away from Arthur, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. "I'm dirty, aru! Sullied! I'm damaged goods!"

"Hey, hey…" Arthur turned Yao around to look at him. "Look at me," he told the Asian man. Yao looked at Arthur as tears leaked out of his eyes. "I. Don't. Care. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, and a rape doesn't change that fact."

"But…"

"Shh," Arthur placed a finger on Yao's lips. "Don't think anymore, okay? I love you and that's final."

Yao nodded meekly.

Arthur smiled and leaned forward to kiss Yao on the lips. His finger brushed away the tears that had fallen down Yao's face.

At that moment, Kiku exited from the kitchen holding a platter of fruits. "Oh, hi Arthur!" he greeted the Englishman cheerfully.

"Oh, Kiku, you're here too?" Arthur was surprised to see the young Japanese man.

"Yeah, I came to see how brother was doing, and I brought some fruits for him as well," Kiku explained. "Want some?" he held out the tray of fruits to Arthur.

"Thanks," said Arthur as he took a slice of honeydew.

Yao's recovery went as smooth as could be after he was raped multiple times by multiple people. Nevertheless, Arthur stuck with him through it. After a month, Yao still could not bear anyone but Arthur touching him, but could now deal with light touches on his arm.

As for the level of intimacy Arthur was allowed with Yao, Arthur restricted it to at most only light kisses on the lips. No matter how much he wanted to go further, Arthur knew Yao was not ready.

Yao was encouraged to report his ordeal to the police. After taking his statement, the police officer in charge of interviewing him told Yao that they've had various reports of Ivan's crimes. Apparently, they didn't only extend to rape – he was involved in fraud and cheat, just to name a few. But Yao wasn't too worried about arresting Ivan; he just wanted to forget about it and get on with life.

Yao even saw a counsellor once a week in order to talk out his experience and fears, as per the doctor's suggestion. He found that these sessions helped him in dealing with his reactions towards the regular aspects of life, such as his anxiety, anger, fear, guilt and shame. The counsellor also re-taught him how to interact with people, given that after he was raped, Yao was afraid of strangers.

Yao had also returned to his work in the lab. He claimed that working kept his mind off things, and Arthur encouraged it, not wanting Yao to slip into a depression. However, Arthur now drove Yao to and from work instead of letting him walk alone – Arthur would not allow another episode of this to happen again. Needless to say, Arthur did not let Yao out of his sight if he could.

One day, while Yao was having lunch alone, a blonde bespectacled young man approached him. "Yao?" he asked.

Yao looked up at the man and smiled. "Hello," he greeted. "Do I know you, aru?"

The man chuckled nervously. "Not really, but maybe I can explain. Can I sit down?"

"Sure," Yao gestured to the empty seat opposite him.

As the man took a seat, he introduced himself. "My name is Matthew. I used to work for Ivan."

Yao's blood froze at the mention of that name. "I… Ivan?" he stammered.

Matthew hung his head. "I was there when he… uh, kidnapped and raped you, but trust me – I didn't do anything to you!"

Yao expression was blank. "I know, aru. I didn't recognise you," he said. "Thanks."

"Anyway," Matthew ran a hand through his hair. "You must be wondering how you ended up at the front gate of your home, considering Ivan wasn't as hell going to let you go willingly."

Yao looked thoughtful. "Yes, I had wondered, aru."

"It was me," Matthew told Yao. "I did it."

Flashback
Matthew crept into the room where Yao was being kept. It was midnight, and everyone had gone home.

Matthew had seen the way his colleagues and Ivan raped the poor man, and frankly, was disgusted by it. They treated Yao like a piece of meat, fucking him until he was unconscious. Most of the time, they even continued fucking his unconscious body.

Matthew gazed piteously at the naked figure sprawled on the bed. There was a mixture of dried blood and come on his inner thighs. Matthew shook his head. He reached out towards the side-table, took the keys and unlocked the handcuffs that held Yao to the headboard of the bed.

Matthew looked around the small, dirty room, trying to locate Yao's clothes. He found them in a corner, tossed aside as if they were garbage. Gingerly, he picked up the clothes and hastily dressed Yao in them. They were torn, but as long as it covered the essential parts of Yao's body, Matthew was satisfied.

Matthew then carried Yao's prone body to his car. He had a vague idea of where Yao lived, so he was going to bring him home. But Matthew didn't know how exactly he was going to contact the people whom Yao lived with and pass Yao to them. He figured that he would think about it later.

Matthew placed Yao in the backseat of his car. He got into the driver's seat, and as quietly as he could, turned on the engine and drove off.

After driving for a while, Matthew finally reached Yao's residence. The light in a bedroom upstairs was turned on, indicating that someone was indeed home. But how was he going to do it without revealing his identity?

Matthew dragged Yao out of his car and placed him on the ground, leaning on the gate of his home. It wasn't entirely safe, but it was the only choice Matthew had so that no one would know he had let Yao go.

Matthew drove off hesitantly, silently praying that Yao would be found in the morning and taken care of. He would drive back in the morning and check.
End flashback

Yao was speechless. "So you saved me, aru?"

Matthew smiled bitterly. "I couldn't bear to see them torture you any longer," he said. "After that, I left them."

Yao nodded. "Yeah, you did say you used to work for Ivan…"

The bitter smile did not leave Matthew's face. "Yeah, he promised me a lot of money, and at that time, I was desperate. But to see the misdeeds he gets into… I guess, I was in too deep before I knew it. Ivan had merely glimpsed you through a shop window, and he decided that you were to be his – you won't believe the number of people who have become his victims. Some have died, some, like you, have been rescued, but Ivan has eluded the law for everything he's done ever since."

Yao smiled at Matthew. "Thanks for saving me," he said. "And thanks for telling me – it gives me closure, I guess, aru."

Matthew grinned and got up. "In any case, I'm glad to see that you are recovering well," he told Yao.

"I'm glad to know you have yourself an honest job right now," countered Yao.

"Well, good bye, Yao," Matthew said. "I wish you well."

"Thanks, aru," replied Yao with a smile. "You too."

When Arthur got home that night, Yao was waiting for him in the living room. Yao had gotten a colleague to drop him home from the lab so as not to trouble Arthur. As soon as he heard Arthur unlock the door, he shot up and raced to the door. Once Arthur had opened the door, Yao launched himself onto the Englishman.

"Oof!" Arthur cried as he staggered back. He managed to catch his balance, having to support both his weight and Yao's weight now. "What's with you, Yao?"

"Nothing, aru!" Yao sang. "I'm just really happy to see you."

"That's good to know," Arthur chuckled. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten?"

Yao shook his head. "I'm famished, aru!" he exclaimed.

"Let's go get something to eat, okay?"

"Alright, aru!" chirped Yao happily. "Let me go get my wallet."

Arthur reached out to grab Yao's hand. "Nonsense! I'm paying!"

Yao yanked his hand away from Arthur's. "Who said I'm paying for food?" he retorted cheekily.

Arthur smiled and sighed. "Okay," he replied as he gazed at Yao's retreating back. It looked like Yao was recovering well, and it was only a matter of time before his lover was as good as new.

When Yao returned, he had a smile on his face. "Shall we go, aru?" he asked.

Arthur grinned in reply. He took Yao's hand and kissed it gently. "Let's."

Later that night, Arthur and Yao were lounging on the sofa, watching TV together. Yao was snuggling against Arthur, and Arthur had his arm wrapped protectively over Yao.

"So…" Yao began unsurely, entwining his fingers with Arthur's. "Want to do something tonight, aru?"

"Hm?" Arthur absent-mindedly said. "Like what?"

Yao shrugged, but was blushing. "Something intimate?"

That got Arthur's attention. He glanced at Yao. "Are you sure?"

"I think so, aru," Yao said shyly. "I don't think I'm ready for penetration just yet, but other than that, I think I should be fine."

Arthur looked at his lover intently before planting a kiss on his lips. "Okay, but if I go too far, you need to tell me."

Yao nodded. He honestly didn't think Arthur could go overboard, but didn't tell Arthur that. Yao felt safe and comfortable whenever he was with Arthur, and that was what mattered.