This is a yaoi story about Tai and Matt. A Yamachi. Tai=Uke Matt=Seme It's a pure angst with very little, if any, fluff. Which is very weird and different for me, but I was in a bad mood and I haven't written anything for a while.

I am warning you now that if you don't like boy x boy relationships you'd better leave now. You flame, I kill, understand?

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em…I'd screw up Tai-chan so much that even the censors couldn't fix it. (I hate censors) I don't own the song either and I can't really remember who does at the moment either, but it's theirs and not mine.

Anyway, enjoy the story.

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A chestnut haired boy walked slowly down the lonely streets. His shocked mind didn't register the rain pouring down around him or the biting cold cutting through the thin sleeves of his shirt. All he could feel was the one thin line of blood still trickling down the side of his face and all he could think of was what had happened only an hour ago…

*~*~*~*~*~*

The heavy wooden door burst open, as Taichi was slammed hard into it.

"Get in there you little bitch!"

Tai scrambled to get up off the floor in hopes of somehow getting away as his boyfriend stormed in, shutting and locking the door to his apartment.

"Miaki, I'm sorry!" Taichi cried. "Please, I didn't mean to! I didn't!"

Miaki grabbed Taichi's arm tightly and yanked him up off of the floor.

"Suddenly you're too good for me, huh my little Tai-chan?!" Miaki spat.

"No! Not at all!" Tai was frantic. "I didn't mean to Miaki! I promise I didn't!"

Taichi and Miaki had been walking home from the mall when Miaki suddenly spun around on Tai, dragging him back into an ally and pinning him up against the brick wall. Tai was terrified, Miaki had done this before and it had ended up with Tai going to the hospital, saying he fell down the stairs. He didn't know what Miaki was going to do this time. The older boy grabbed Tai's wrists and held him painfully to the wall as he leaned in to kiss Tai.

Still scared of what he might do, Tai acted on instinct and turned his head away from Miaki. Something he was never allowed to do.

Miaki had turned red with anger and after hitting Tai across the face once, had dragged him back to his apartment

"I'll teach you some manners!" Miaki shoved Tai back onto the floor.

"Miaki please, stop! I'm sorry!" Taichi pleaded as his boyfriend approached him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tai shivered as the temperature continued to drop. He didn't even notice as the light turned red, didn't look up when he heard the car horn.

"Taichi!"

Tai felt himself being shoved to the ground, out of harms way. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a pair of worried blue ones staring into his. Tai quickly turned his head to the ground.

"Tai…what were you doing?"

No response as Tai continued to just stare at the ground.

Yamato had seen Tai step in front of that car. Did he not see it or was he trying to get himself hurt?

'No…this is Tai we're talking about…' Yamato's mind told him. '…but…then why?'

Tai still hadn't moved or spoken.

"Taichi?"

Concerned, Matt gently gripped Tai's chin in his hand and raised his head so they were eye to eye.

Matt gasped and drew up in shock.

Tai's face was terribly cut up and as he quickly glanced over the rest of the boy, he assessed that the rest of him wasn't in any better shape. He was black and blue all over and blood was still dripping from some open wounds.

"Tai…what happened to you…?" Matt asked, shocked.

Matt looked back up into Tai's eyes and saw so much fear and sadness there that it truly scared him.

Matt's shock quickly turned to anger as he saw the tears in Tai's eyes.

"Who did this to you Taichi!?" Tai couldn't answer. He began to shake his head back and forth slowly, wrapping his arms around himself and crying.

Matt's eyes softened, this wasn't the time for questions.

Yamato pulled Tai into a hug, letting the distraught boy cry into his chest.

"Shhh…it's alright Tai…" Matt soothed. "It's alright…"

Matt finally felt the cold register in and realized that Tai was wearing only jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.

Prying the sobbing boy away from his chest momentarily, Matt pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around the brunette's shaking shoulders.

"C'mon Tai…" Matt said gently. "We need to get you out of the cold before you freeze to death…"

Tai nodded slightly and allowed Matt to help him to his feet.

Yamato wrapped his arms around Tai's shoulders, supporting him as he guided him down the sidewalk.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The two boys reached Matt's apartment. His father was still at work and would be till tomorrow night so they had the whole place to themselves.

Matt led Tai to the couch.

"Stay here okay Tai? I'll be right back."

Matt ran to the closet and got some towels, blankets, and bandages.

Yamato returned to the living room to find Tai not on the couch, but curled up in a corner of the room, knees pulled up to his chest, chin resting on his arms.

Now Matt knew there was something else really wrong with Tai. Something he couldn't see. Something beyond his physical injuries.

"Tai…" Matt whispered, approaching the smaller boy as he would a wild animal. "Tai…It's Matt, okay?" The blonde kneeled next to Tai as the boy continued to stare straight past him, unseeing, as though he were watching a scene that Matt couldn't see…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ah!" Tai cried out as Miaki's hand wrapped itself around Tai's throat.

"Did you think I would let it pass!? Huh?! Did you think that you wouldn't be punished?!" Miaki questioned the boy under him.

"Please…Miaki…please…" Tai gasped.

Miaki growled and lifted Tai to the wall, hand still around his throat.

"I warned you Tai-chan…" he said, "I told you to never, never, disobey me!"

Miaki easily threw the lighter boy backward, right into a sliding glass door.

As Taichi hit it, the glass shattered, showering his arms and back, slicing into his flesh.

Taichi lay on the floor, nearly unconscious. He cold feel the blood leaving his body and he could barely move from the pain, but somehow he knew that Miaki wasn't done with him yet.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yamato carefully took his jacket from around a still unresponsive Taichi. He had stopped crying, but tears still ran down his face. Matt examined his wounds as best as he could and winced every time he came across a new one.

Taichi was shaking and shivering uncontrollably, his face was deathly pale and his lips were blue…he was in shock.

Matt knew he had to get Tai warmed up fast.

"Tai?" Matt tried to gain the other boy's attention. "Tai-chan…?"

No response.

Matt sighed resignedly. Tai hadn't said a word since he had found him.

"Don't call me that…"

Matt's head snapped up in shock.

"Tai?!"

The brunette squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his arms. 'No…not that name…please Miaki…'

"…please don't call me that…"

Matt didn't understand. Call him what?

"What…you mean Tai-chan?"

Tai only nodded, head still in his arms.

"…please don't…"

Matt didn't know why Tai wouldn't want him to use a name that he had practically since they met, but he complied.

"Alright Taichi…I won't…" Matt moved closer to Tai to make sure he could hear him. "Tai…I need to see your wounds so I can help you okay?"

Tai didn't say anything.

Matt sighed.

"I need to take off your shirt, okay?"

Yamato saw Tai's shaking get worse.

'My god…' Matt thought. 'Tai…what happened to you…?'

Matt took Taichi's hands into his own and began to rub them gently, hoping to warm him up at least a little.

Tai looked up at him, surprised, and a bit fearful. He knew Matt. He could trust Matt…but why was he still so scared?

Yamato tried again.

"Tai…I don't know what happened to you and you're going to tell me after this is over, but right now I need to get you warm and wrap your injuries, okay?"

Tai stared, uncomprehending for a few moments, and then nodded.

Slowly, so as not to frighten Tai, Matt began to take off his shirt.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Tai opened his eyes after hitting the glass, the first thing he saw was Miaki on top of him.

"I'll make sure you never disobey me again!"

Tai's eyes went wide as he realized what was going to happen. Tai opened his mouth to scream but Miaki hit him in the stomach, effectively silencing him.

"Don't scream!" Miaki ordered. "Don't make a sound and don't fight or it'll be worse, understand?!"

Tai desperately tried to get air back into his lungs. Mikai's threats weren't registering. All Tai's mind was focused on was finding someway to stop this.

Miaki saw that Tai wasn't going to listen which only enraged him further. The older boy began hitting Taichi everywhere, punching his arms, chest, stomach, and face. So hard at times that he would draw blood.

Tai still squirmed under him, trying to get away, or find enough breath to call for help.

"Don't scream!" Miaki hissed again. "I know where you live my little Tai-chan…I know where your family is…" Miaki smirked wickedly. "You wouldn't want any harm to come to them." Tai's eyes widened at the implications. "You wouldn't want poor little Hikari to have an accident, would ya?"

Taichi choked back a sob and shook his head no.

Miaki smiled.

"Then do as I say."

Taichi obeyed, closing his eyes against the oncoming flood of tears as Miaki began taking off his shirt.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Matt barely suppressed a scream of outrage as he examined Tai's chest and stomach. Scrapes and cuts coupled with extensive bruising covered Tai's body.

Matt held back his voice, deciding not to question Tai. Instead, Matt tenderly pulled a trembling Taichi closer to him and wrapped a blanket around the smaller boy. Matt knew Tai's rain-soaked jeans were helping just about as much as his shirt had been, but Matt didn't want to scare Tai anymore than he already had so for now, this would have to do.

Matt placed Tai so his back was resting against Matt's right leg and began to clean and bandage the boy's wounds.

Yamato did this in silence for a while. When he was done, Matt got a towel and with one hand began to dry Taichi's hair while the other was wrapped around his body, trying to provide warmth. Tai flinched as Matt's fingers ran through his hair.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miaki grasped Taichi's hair in his hands as the brunette shuddered underneath him.

It took everything Taichi had to not scream out in pain as Miaki continued his assault on the brunette's small body.

Tai felt a lone tear scroll down his cheek and prayed Miaki wouldn't see it.

"Uh-uh"

Shit

"No crying, Tai-chan."

Miaki slapped Tai across the face, drawing blood from the side of his mouth. The older boy leaned down near Tai's face…

"No weakness"

And bit Tai's neck.

Tai couldn't help but cry out in pain, causing Miaki to bite harder, leaving deep teeth imprints….marking him…

That was what hurt Tai the most.

Not the physical pain, not the abuse, but that Miaki had succeeded in marking him as his property. The marks would scar and there wold be no way to get rid of them.

Miaki released his mouth from Tai's neck and began licking up the blood coming from the wound making Taichi want to throw up.

"Mine forever my Tai-chan…" Miaki sneered. "You belong to me…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Matt finished drying Tai off as much as he could, but it wasn't helping to raise the boy's temperature any.

Yamato stopped for a moment as he saw what appeared to be bite marks on Tai's neck.

Matt sighed, silently swearing to himself that he would literally kill whoever had done this to Taichi.

No one hurt someone Yamato Ishida loved. No one.

Matt only wished that he could tell Tai his feelings…but now wasn't the time for that.

"Tai…?" This time, Tai looked at Matt, which the blonde took as a good sign. "Tai, I'm gonna go get some more blankets okay? I'll be right back." Matt thought it best not to try and move Tai until he knew the extent of his injuries so he left to go gather up as many covers as he could.

Tai stayed wrapped up into himself, rocking slowly back and forth and murmuring to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I would understand
I would understand

Miaki had allowed Tai to get dressed only to attack him again as soon as he had.

"You're worthless Taichi! You're lucky you have me! Nobody else would ever want you!" Miaki screamed.

By this point, Taichi had lost the ability to talk. Whether from shock or sheer physical ability he didn't know. But all he could do now was cry, even as he tried not to.

"I don't know why I put up with you sometimes. You're an incompetent piece of trash Taichi! And you'll never be anything more."

Miaki grabbed Tai's arms and threw him backward onto the ground.

Taichi felt his head hit the edge of the coffee table and a sharp pain at the base of his skull.

He couldn't get up even if he wanted to; it just hurt too much.

Miaki strode over to him calmly as Tai's vision began to fade.

"You're nothing Tai-chan." Miaki sneered. "And you'll never be anything more than mine."

After that, Taichi's world turned black and he was left alone, beaten and used. When he woke up, Miaki was gone.

Painfully, Tai had pulled himself up and stumbled out the door. Knowing nothing more than his desire to get away before his boyfriend returned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Worthless…Miaki's right…no one wants me…no one cares…nobody cares…" Taichi raised his head a little and his eyes settled on the box cutter Yamato's father had forgotten on the counter earlier that morning when he had left for work. "No one would notice…"

Taichi slowly rose on shaky legs and walked to the kitchen as Miaki's voice rang out in his head.

/Worthless…/

Tai approached the blade.

/No use to anyone…/

And took the knife in his hands

/Unwanted…/

He placed the point above the vein in his left wrist

/Unloved…/

And drew it across his arm

"Taichi!"

Yamato snatched the blade away from the brunette and stared in horror at the large, badly bleeding wound.

"Shit Tai!"

Yamato grabbed the other boy's wrist in his hand and pressed a cloth to it, applying as much pressure as he could.

"Why did you do this Taichi?!" Yamato couldn't help but sound angry, why would such a perfect creature want to end his own life? "Answer me!"

Taichi stared into Yamato's eyes, floored by the amount of sadness and concern he saw there.

"I didn't think you cared…"

It was whispered and Yamato wasn't sure if he had really heard it.

"What?"

But before Matt could get an answer, Taichi broke down sobbing, onto the floor and Yamato caught him.

Quickly wrapping Tai's wrist up as tight as he could, Yamato took the brunette into his arms and held him there, rocking him and trying to soothe him.

"Shhh…what did you mean you didn't think I cared?" Yamato asked carefully. "I love you Taichi…you have to know that…I love you…"

Taichi's sobs died down and he shook his head slowly.

"No…he said you didn't…he said that nobody did or ever would…that everything would be better if I wasn't here…"

Yamato didn't think anyone in the world could've matched anger with him at that point.

"Who?" He growled. "Who told you that? Was it the same person who beat you?"

Taichi nodded his head as he choked down another sob.

Matt pulled Tai away for a moment so he could look at his face.

"Tell me who Taichi. Tell me who hurt you." Yamato pleaded.

Tai stuttered for a few moments and then gave Matt the answer.

"Miaki."

No one word in recorded history has ever been able to inspire such hatred as that one name did in Yamato Ishida.

Matt would murder him. He would shoot him and drag his body through the streets. This was Tai's boyfriend. He was supposed to protect him and look after him, not beat him to within an inch of his life.

"Yamato…" Taichi whispered.

"It's alright Tai…I'm here…" Matt comforted as he pulled the boy back into his lap. "I'm always gonna be here."

They sat that way for a few minutes. Matt whispering in Tai's ear that everything would be okay, and Taichi crying his heart out.

Matt absently glanced down at Tai's wrist. The blood wasn't seeping through the cloth anymore, but Matt saw a mark that wouldn't have been caused by the knife. There was a similar mark on his other wrist too. It went all the way around each arm and looked almost like a…rope…burn…

No…Miaki couldn't have…There was just simply no way…but suddenly all the pieces were falling into place. What could have traumatized Tai so badly that he wouldn't see a car coming towards him, what would make him afraid of Matt, what would make him want to kill himself…

"…He raped you, didn't he…?"

Tai cried harder and slowly nodded against Matt.

Yamato felt a tear slip down his cheek. He couldn't feel any anger. Oh, he would later, but right now all he could feel was Tai's pain and sadness. All Matt knew was that right now, Tai needed to feel loved and needed to be held. To just know that somebody was there that cared about him and would never leave him.

"I love you Taichi." Was whispered.

A moment later.

"I love you too."

Wow, that didn't end up at all as I originally planned it out to.

Okay, before anyone says anything. I know Matt should've taken Tai to the hospital and you know Matt should've taken Tai to the hospital, but apparently in this story Matt didn't know he should've taken Tai to the hospital. A medical facility just didn't fit into this particular story. Sorry.

Please R+R. Constructive criticism is always good.

Flame and I swear I'll hunt you down.

I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
I would understand