When Rogue awoke, the sun was starting to set, and Sting was face-down next to him, his face creased from the pillow and his mouth open in a soft snore. The two single beds had been shoved together to make an awkward larger bed, and Sting hadn't released Rogue's hand all day. As soon as Rogue shifted, Sting woke up, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"How're you feeling?" He mumbled, stretching upward and wincing. Rogue could see the deep purple and black bruises along Sting's ribs, and he raised a gentle hand up to touch them. Sting froze for a moment, then gently lowered his arm and took Rogue's hand back into his own.

"I'm alright," Rogue replied, and he's surprised to find that it's true. He hurt everywhere and felt exhausted, but he'd slept better in the last few hours than he had in years. It was probably because here, he wasn't watching his door in fear, hoping that Sting didn't stumble in with a black eye or a limp because of something he did. Here, Sting was beside him, holding his hand, and while he was bruised and battered, he was safe.

"Yo! You two hungry?" They both looked up to see Natsu and Gray standing in the door, bags of takeout in their hands and grins on their faces. Rogue felt his stomach growl and nodded, then winced as Sting helped him sit up. The pink-haired woman entered the room behind the two boys, and elbowed Natsu out of the way so that she could come examine Sting and Rogue.

"You need to take it easy." Her voice was harsh but her eyes were kind as she examined Rogue again, lifting the bandages and testing his range of motion. He didn't like her touching him – Sting was the only one allowed to touch him – but he forced himself to sit still. "No running, climbing, and NO FIGHTING." She glared at Natsu as she said the last bit, and he grinned at her innocently.

When Porlyusica was done examining Rogue, Natsu handed him a steaming bowl of noodles and dumplings, and he dug in, humming appreciatively. Gray and Natsu hopped up onto another bed and sat cross-legged across from each other, sharing from a container of sushi.

"May I take a look at your injuries?" Porlyusica looked at Sting and he froze, ready to shake his head. Rogue gently reached out and touched his lower back and Sting relaxed a little.

"Do it for me," Rogue murmured, and if Natsu's hearing wasn't as exceptional as it was, he wouldn't have heard it. "I'm worried about you." Sting swallowed heavily and then nodded at Porlyusica, sinking down onto the bed again. She helped him remove his jacket, waiting patiently as he tried to cling to it. When he finally shrugged it off, he could hear Natsu and Gray's soft gasps, and he hung his head in shame.

Sting's back was covered in scars. Natsu could tell that while some of them were quite old, many were recent, and most were not from the dragon slayer battle. Dark bruises in various shades of healing decorated his upper back, shoulders and chest. Natsu felt a deep rage stirring in his stomach – with Sting's exceptional healing powers, it would take an incredible amount of force to cause that kind of damage.

Porlyusica swallowed. "Are they all from-"

"Yes." Sting cut her off without looking at her and dug his fingers into the mattress. Rogue sat up closer to his friend and placed a gentle hand on his hip as Porlyusica ran her hands over the bruises, pressing in some places and eliciting softs gasps of pain from Sting. Natsu moved to get up but Gray grabbed his hand and shook his head, then turned to the duo.

"Do you want us to lea-"

"No." Sting shook his head vehemently. "It's fine."

"It's NOT fine!" Natsu wrenched his wrist from Gray's grasp and jumped to his feet, hands clenched at his sides. "That bastard – and nobody said anything, not even your guild, what kind of friends are those?" Sting didn't answer, just lowered his head and closed his eyes. "Why didn't you leave?!"

"I TRIED!" Sting turned to him and snarled, pushing Porlyusica's hands away from his chest. "You don't think I thought of that? Of course I tried to leave." He breathed heavily. "First time I tried I was – I was eleven." Natsu's sharp intake of breath made Sting laugh mirthlessly. "Yeah, some of us didn't have a family. Jiemma took me in when n-nobody else would, but he expected s-so much of me and I was just a k-k-kid." Sting's words stuttered as he choked on the emotion behind them. "So I tried to leave and he f-found me with a f-family that took me in. And he-" Sting squeezed his eyes shut and collapsed back on the bed, letting out a sob. "He KILLED them! He killed them all, even the little boy that was only eight. It was my fault, if I hadn't run I-"

Sting's outburst was interrupted by a pair of strong arms around his shoulders and a scarf in his face. Natsu gripped him tightly, and after a moment Sting relaxed and let his face fall onto the broad chest in front of him.

"It wasn't your fault," Natsu whispered. He let go of Sting's shoulders and crouched down on the ground in front of the taller boy. "You were just a kid, and he was a monster. I'm sorry." Rogue moved his hand from Sting's hip to around his shoulders, and Porlyusica stood and backed away from the boys, smiling softly as she left the room. Gray moved over to join Rogue and Sting on the bed, resting so that his knee knocked gently against Sting's.

"I did so many things that I didn't want to do," Sting whispered, burying his face in his hands. Natsu squeezed his knee.

"Jiemma used me to make Sting compliant once he was older," Rogue explained softly, rubbing comforting circles on the non-injured areas of Sting's back. "I joined when we were thirteen. The first time Jiemma hit me, Sting just about killed him, and Jiemma realized that he had what he needed to keep Sting in line." Rogue looked down and swallowed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Rogue," Sting whispered, turning and burying his face in Rogue's neck. Rogue reached up and stroked his hair gently. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe."

"You did, Sting," the dark-haired boy whispered, "look at where we are. We're safe now."

Sting continued to cry, and the other three boys maneuvered themselves onto the bed so they were all touching him comfortingly – Rogue's hand in his hair, Gray's hand squeezing his, and Natsu's hand making circles on his back. Eventually, he fell asleep to their touch, and Rogue's comforting mantra of, "We're safe, I love you."