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A fresh start, some quick cash, just another job. That’s all this was supposed to be. He really should never have taken Jack’s advice.
Unfortunately he came to that conclusion a little too late, specifically the time it takes to get kidnapped too late. Xia Fei’s clothes were taken - which was rude in of itself considering his rather strong dislike for spending money on clothing - and replaced with this horrendous shirt that apparently couldn’t button all the way. He hated feeling exposed. He felt like a prop again. He knew it would only get worse.
He was being rather unceremoniously dragged through the villa, past corridors and doors and other filthy men eyeing him up like a piece of meat. He wanted to go home, or perhaps die. Trying to keep himself quiet, he didn’t feel like receiving a beating again, his arms still ached from the pulsing bruises decorating them so he simply followed the man in front of him but occasionally tripped when he’s shoved from the other behind him until they stood before a door.
Watching it opening was a tense moment, he wasn’t sure what was behind him. Was it somewhere to be tortured, to be photographed in compromising conditions, have his body sold ? He wouldn’t move, a sick feeling sinking into his gut encouraging his anxiety to go into overdrive and freeze in place. I hate you, oh he couldn’t wait to say that to Jack. If they survived.
The door slid open, creaking as if the cinematic nature of the moment was to stress him out but instead of anything specifically terrifying he was met with a rather simple form style room. His tensed posture relaxed slightly, up until the man in front stormed into the room and kicked one of the beds. The noise caused him to jump in his skin, apparently it caused the same to someone else who sat up straight in the bed, looking around until he locked eyes with Xia Fei. So apparently he got a roommate, a surpassingly pretty roommate. What. He shouldn’t be thinking that when he was probably also a victim of these traffickers, what was wrong with him?! It wasn’t like the man before him wasn’t gorgeous, but his first thought? Really? What the fuck, Xia Fei!
He purged the thoughts from his mind as quickly as he could, considering he was shoved far harder than usual and hit the floor with a pathetic thud.
“BEHAVE, GET IN THE ROOM!”
He quickly listened to the barked orders, scampering into the room and over to the bed on the right side of the room at record speed, fear is a good motivator. He didn’t dare move from where he made himself somewhat comfortable on the bed, didn’t speak and wouldn’t until the men left.
“You two keep an eye on each other, if either of you try to escape you will both become dog food, got it?!”
He nodded solemnly, he wouldn’t have taken the threat too seriously considering he got along with dogs quite well prior but considering he’d seen one of the hounds tearing at someone’s leg before he was dragged inside.. he didn’t dare dispute it. The man across from him wasn’t offering up any verbal answers either it seemed, so after a couple minutes the man left the room, slamming the door so aggressively he feared it might come off its hinges.
So he was alone now. Sort of. Alone with a man he’d never met who was staring at him like.. actually, for once the person before him seemed to be looking at him as an equal. Another human. Not a prop, or meat, or something to be owned. He seemed gentle, probably in the same position so he could try this, maybe having someone in his corner would be handy.
“Hey, I’m Xia Fei,” he offered. Not particularly sure what else to say to someone you’re being stuck with in captivity. The other didn’t respond, simply looking him over before laying down. Xia Fei watched in defeat as the stranger rolled onto his side and yanked the blanket around themselves like a cocoon. He was going to get something out of them, surely, “I know people, we’re gonna be okay,” he tried. That got a scoff at least. He was getting closer. “I don’t want to be here, I doubt you do, if you trust me I can help you get out.”
He watches as the other rolled onto their back, eyeing him from the side before sighing. No response. Maybe he was tired?
Now that he thinks about it.. he is also exhausted. He ends up kicking his shoes off and laying down, considering he has no change of clothes - gross - and pulling the blanks over himself. At least the bed was somewhat comfortable, no worse than a shitty motel, “goodnight.”
He wasn’t expecting a response, he didn’t expect much at this point. He tried to close his eyes, to wish sleep upon him, maybe a pleasant dream where he could be happy, free with Vein and Cheng Xiaoshi.
He’d only closed his eyes for a minute when he heard it, a soft yet raspy voice came from the other side of the room as if words didn’t often leave that throat, “A Yuan.”
He blinked, rolling over, “what about yuan?”
He came to immediate eye contact with the other, who had apparently also rolled to face him and was now staring at him. They each blinked at each other lost, up until the other started laughing. Xia Fei wasn’t quite sure why. It took longer than he would have liked for the other to stop laughing. After a minute he pointed at himself, “I’m A Yuan.”
The blonde stared at him, “you’re named after a currency?”
The two continued to stare at each for a while before A Yuan laughed again, a little more enthusiastic this time to the extent of leading Xia Fei to laugh alongside him. After such a terrible day, being able to laugh was nice, for a second he felt although he was far safer than he actually was.
“Yeah yeah dumb question, sorry,” he got out eventually despite the laughter only faulting slightly. He felt far more relaxed now than he did, smiling slightly at the dark haired man. “I like your piercings. I wanted snake bites for a while.”
The other smiled back, pointing at Xia Fei’s face and nodding. The blonde assumed he was gesturing to his eyebrow piercing, which was definitely a nice change of pace, he often got told it didn’t fit his aesthetic, “thank you.”
After a couple more quiet yet pleasant minutes of relaxing the other rolled over, burrowing back into his blanket cocoon. Something about the habit was rather endearing to Xia Fei, he copied it to some extent in an attempt to feel some sort of safety.
“Goodnight A Yuan.”
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
He must have been there for weeks, not that he was overly certain, some days he was stuck in the room all day and he’d stopped counting days a while ago. Other, much worse days, he was taken to the hotel up the hill to work as a host. He’d rather have taken another beating or worse than be left in a room with women and men who wanted to touch more than he consented to - that being, at all. He didn’t want any of the attention, not the crude nicknames, not the touching all over and not the attempts to get in his clothes. He couldn’t push them off, couldn’t reject them, he found that out the hard way the first time he’d been stuck there and got beaten within an inch of his life. His legs were still sore to walk on, ankle twisted unfortunately from his attempt to get away from the beating.
He never fought again though, it was easier to zone out, let the world happen around him and not to him. It was as if he could float outside his body, his mind could go somewhere else whenever there were hands on him. Whenever someone was talking dirty to him. His only complaint with the defence mechanism his brain had chosen was by the time he was returned to his room, his mind was stuck elsewhere and his body worked on little to nothing.
He’d sit on the floor until his mind returned, the bed felt too close to the red couch in the hotel so the hard floor was somehow better for getting his mind back.
He didn’t know when he’d gotten back, when he zoned back in somewhat, looking around the room hesitantly until he landed on A Yuan beside him. Not touching, just looking at him with a concerned expression. He tried to smile, which he assumed didn’t work particularly well as the man got up and grabbed a blanket.
“Yuan-?” He watched him for a moment until a blanket was dropped on top of him, trapping him completely in darkness. After a minute of staring rather blankly into the abyss he’d been plunged into, he pulled the fabric down and simply wrapped it around himself. Hiding his rather revealing clothes and giving him some semblance of privacy.
The other was staring still, though sat beside him again. He tried to offer a smile to which Xia Fei reciprocated in a rather half hearted manner.
They sat like that for a long while, staring across the room without talking. Waiting for exhaustion to hit, only to lean against the other when he yawns. For the first time since he’d been taken here, physical contact didn’t make him disgusted, he didn’t feel like he was being violated by being near another person. He panicked upon feeling A Yuan tense beneath him, had he crossed a line? He moved to sit up as quickly as possibly only to feel an arm around his side. He blinked down at him, with the other blinking back.
Something about it was so relaxing, a comforting moment that reminded him of when he’d lay with Cheng Xiaoshi playing video games rather than when he was stuck against a woman as her personal ash tray. It was almost peaceful. In any other situation it would be, but where they were, with who was nearby. The anxieties of their situation wouldn’t do much to help the atmosphere.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Little did either of them realize, within a week they'd be in Guidu. Vein’s house was exactly what one would expect, the place of a rich man who was trying to appear normal and somewhat failing, but the beds were far comfier than anything in that horrific villa, the food was edible and better yet they were allowed to eat whenever they felt like it. The duo had taken quite the liking to that particular privilege, Vein’s snacks had taken a severe hit which he couldn’t even complain about considering the underweight figures of the freshly rescued men now living in his home desperately needing some extra meat on their bones.
Xia Fei remained as vocal as ever, to the extent Vein might assume he didn’t actually have the ability not to speak if it wasn’t for stumbling upon their late night quiet blanket forts. A Yuan was silent with anyone besides Xia Fei the majority of the time, but he was protective in his own right - putting himself between Vein and Xia Fei the first time they’d all met until Xia Fei let them know it was okay.
They still tended to sit on the floor some days, blankets around them - multiple this time, some even fluffy - and trying to relax. Vein didn’t interfere during such times, he’d occasionally stand at the door and watch them sit silently and fidget with each other's hands. There was something so sweet about it, two people broken by the same environment building each other up.
Healing is a slow process, a process that would interfere with Vein’s plans but whenever he saw his little brother genuinely smile with his dark haired companion he couldn’t find it in him to care. He could give them space, they deserved it.
The first time Xia Fei’s lips brushed A Yuan’s skin they’d both tensed, forcing their mind out of the fog of the past to brush lips. It was gentle, barely a second, but it was their choice. They wanted to kiss so they had, neither party forced, it was beautiful.
Well up until Xia Fei ruined the moment by yelping, “Your piercings stabbed me!”
A Yuan wasn’t particularly sympathetic to his woe’s, laughing quietly before leaning in for another quick peck.
On second thought, Xia Fei could get used to the piercings.