Quick Author's Notes before I begin… Thank you guys so much for following my fanfic, and I know it's been a long time since I last updated, but again, thanks for sticking with me for so long and for that, I thank you guys from the very bottom of my heart. I'll promise a speedy end to this fanfic (possibly 20 chapters altogether) with a satisfying conclusion. Enjoy this chapter, and thanks! And I apologise that it's so short.

A few days after Gilbert finally spoke, Berwald received no more calls from Ivan and Gilbert was still living with him and his family. Gilbert plays video games with Peter and helps Tino clean the apartment up with him (it turned out that he's extremely good at cleaning) and is automatically appointed as Peter's babysitter, who gets to take him to school and bring him back later on. Tino's now comfortable around him, even chatting with the noisy German more than he speaks to Berwald.

Outside the strip club, Berwald and Gilbert have nothing to do with each other but as soon as they're in one of the dimly-lit rooms of the Starlight Glitter club they get down to business, no questions asked. They've learnt to draw the line and they know when to cross boundaries when it comes to their friendship or relationship.

"So when do you think Ivan is going to stop playing around with us?" Gilbert suddenly asked as they entered the elevator of the flats.

"What do you mean?" Berwald asked, tilting his head.

"Well… we've had an f-ton of sex with each other and he'll most likely have DVD footages of us doing it. Maybe he'll stop gathering so much blackmail to get you to do something else?" Gilbert wondered.

Berwald just sighed. "I don't know what he's planning, but I hope that this'll all end soon. I want my life back to normal."

"I want mine back too…" the albino grumbled, "but I don't have one anymore."

"Back in Germany?"

"Ja…"

The elevator stopped with a pinging noise and they stepped out into the brightly-lit corridor, looking at each other.

"Didn't you say you have family there?" Berwald asked curiously, "why don't you go back to them?"

Gilbert shrugged in response, looking away.

"I'm more concerned about Matthew right now…" he murmured, running his hand through his hair. "If Ivan dares to hurt him, I'll just go to the police and tell them everything about Ivan and his secret business. Matthew's really important. I don't care what happens to me."

"Ah…" Berwald nodded, thinking of the kind young man he met only once. "You know, Ivan believes that you'll do just that so he's most likely not doing anything to him."

"That bastard's better be giving him decent food or I'll have his neck wrapped around his legs and dropped into the sea…"

Matthew sat back in the chair, exhausted from struggling so much in the chains that bound his wrists and ankles to the chair. He's sure that he's inside some cupboard or something small, even though a blindfold has been tightly wrapped around his head. He kept frowning in the hopes of shifting the fabric to loosen it, but it's only giving him a headache so he tried to relax as much as possible.

He suddenly heard a door open right in front of him and a small voice greeted him. It wasn't like the scary, cheerful voice that teased his mind and gave him warped visions of threats, but it was a kind, gentle voice that put him at immediate ease.

"Uhm… I'm here with a glass of water for you. Please don't tell Ivan, but I added some vitamins in it… you haven't eaten in a while, so I thought it might help…"

Though hesitant and a tad suspicious, Matthew gladly allowed the stranger to rest the tip of a glass tumbler on his lower lip and he greedily drank up the water, which tasted like oranges. He loves oranges. He craves them now more than ever since his stomach complained endlessly after his surprise kidnapping… goodness long ago.

After he drank up every last drop in the glass, Toris took the glass away from him.

"I'll get you another glass later. Maybe I'll get you something else too…"

"…Food…?" Matthew whispered. He couldn't see the other male shake his head.

"Ivan's really strict… he says to give you water only," he explained sadly. "Oh man, I hate it when we take prisoners…"

"Does he do this to you all the time?" the Canadian asked.

"More times than I can count," Toris groaned and sat on the floor, leaning against the door frame. "My worst prisoners would be children of enemies. I wouldn't be allowed to give them food OR water at all. Some died in my care…"

Matthew gulped, but suddenly felt angry so he spoke in a calm voice. "It's not really 'care' if you're not preventing their deaths."

"I know, I know, but I have no choice. I have to balance everything or things will go out of favour between me and Ivan…"

"Why? Do you love him or something?"

He was met with silence. The blonde instantly thought that the kidnapper himself was nearby and regretted what he said, but Toris only spoke up. "Yes and no. He has my family hostage, but lets them carry on with their daily routine, not knowing about my predicament…"

"I don't understand. Why do you love him? Do you have a choice in that…?" Matthias blinked behind the restricting blindfold.

"I… don't really know anymore," Toris sighed softly and unconsciously fingered the bite marks on his neck. "We'd make love in his office, but I don't think he loves me. Like others before, I'm just a doll for him to play around with and dispose of later on. But it scares me whenever he hurts himself by accident or on purpose – I just run for the first aid kit the moment he looks like he's in pain and I stay by his side and he wouldn't say anything but stare at me…"

Matthias tilted his head back, feeling more relaxed that way. "Why would he do that?"

"Because… call me mad, or bonkers, but maybe nobody cared for him before and he's getting used to that? I wouldn't know for sure, but I know for sure that I… kinda love him," Toris blushed a little.

"He doesn't love you. He doesn't feel anything at all."

"I-I beg your pardon?" the man was taken back, staring at the Canadian.

"If he loved you, he wouldn't just do all those things to you and make you cry so much," Matthew explained, "I know. I can hear you two in the office sometime. It sounds like he really puts you through a load of pain. Did you even say 'yes' to him?"

"Hold on a second!" Toris exploded furiously, "he'd never push me too far! He's a cold-hearted brute, but he's not as despicable as all the other crooks that were killed by him! Rapists run AWAY from Ivan! They know how much he despises people like them and how murderous he gets when he finds out what kind of monsters they are! Sure, he's a human trafficker, but if there's anything that irks Ivan the most in the world, it's the thought of sexual predators wandering freely in the streets that get him into his WORST mood! He always cuts off their genitals while they're alive to put them through as much pain as possible! If it wasn't for him, my brother would've… he would've…"

The Canadian male looked forward in the direction of Toris in interest, but still startled from the outburst.

"He would've… been a slave to some rich drug lord if Ivan hadn't retrieved him safely. He had a whole gang killed because they kidnapped my brother. He went through the trouble to kill their leader too – he happened to be a business rival, so it was a matter of one stone and two birds. But to repay him, I became his personal assistant. And now I feel really close to him…"

"Huh…" Matthew murmured, "I guess… even my brother would've done the same for me…"

"Alfred?" Toris spoke up and the hostage nodded.

"He's obnoxious, and annoying, and forgets my birthdays sometimes… well, a LOT, and he's always bugging me to move to America with him, but I can't help but love him. He's a moron, a fool and an idiot who comes up with hare-brained schemes to get us dream jobs, but in the end we're just close no matter how different we are. We came to this country for better opportunities, but… pardon my language, please… it went to shit as usual…"

Toris stared at him, listening carefully. "Really? Can being so different make you close?"

"I suppose it's a special kind of kinship when brothers who argue like we do still love each other."

"But how could you two be so close if you argue a lot?"

Matthew tilted his head. "Have you ever argued with your brothers before?"

Toris shook his head. "No, I haven't… We were always told by our family that quarrelling creates rifts between family members, so we never disagreed on anything…"

"That doesn't really sound healthy… Don't you guys even discuss what's good and bad for each other? Do you even eat the same meals together?" Matthew chuckled.

Toris looked down. "Well… we just eat whatever we like at the same time and make our own meals. Our kitchen was quite small, so it took us time to get organised properly… oh, but we do help prepare each other's meals as well." Matthew couldn't quite believe him, but decided not to carry on.

"Not all families are the same, and that's that," he finished, but then another important question came to his mind. "Why am I here exactly?"

Toris opened his mouth to speak, but looked behind him in the office to see nobody around before turning back to Matthew. "Since you're the hostage, I suppose you do have some right to know…"

"Has Alfred done something to get me in this position?" Matthew asked, but then paled. "Oh my god, has he cheated a gangster out of their gambling savings?!"

"Goodness, no!" Toris hurriedly answered, and stood up. "It's… It's complicated… It's something to do with Gilbert and Berwald—"

"What?!" Matthew gasped and immediately tried to struggle out of the bonds keeping him bound to the chair, but the knots are very tight.

"St-stay put! If Ivan knows, he'll hurt you!"

"No!" Matthew yelled, chair clattering, "not until I know that everyone is safe!"

"What is going on?" an ominous voice echoed in the room and Toris almost passed out as he felt Ivan's presence behind him.

"I-Ivan!" his voice squeaked and he spun around to face the giant of a man. "It's only a mild disturbance, I'll make sure he doesn't act up again—" But he was interrupted when his boss slapped him hard across the face and made him stumble back onto the cold floor. Toris whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut, holding his throbbing cheek while willing the pain in his teeth to go away.

"Shut up, Toris," Ivan grumbled and he turned his attention to Matthew. "I DO apologise, Matthew, but my assistant won't be giving you water for a while."

With that, he took Toris by the arm and yanked him out the room, slamming the door shut.

"What did I tell you, Toris?" Ivan grumbled, circling slowly around his assistant who is lying on the floor in an agonised heap as he clutched his shoulder where it had been dislocated. Toris's eyes squeezed shut, biting back pained whimpers. "I tell you not to say too much. And what do you do? You say too much."

"S-sorry…" the Lithuanian gasped out, head bowed apologetically, but his master glared at him as his foot twitched before being lifted to rest on the assistant's shoulder, adding pressure millimetre by millimetre as each second passed between them. Toris breathed in sharply at the stabbing pain.

"Toris…" Ivan muttered darkly, "you know what the punishment is, don't you? For talking too much?" But his assistant was distracted by the pain in his misaligned bones, trying hard not to shout. Impatience snarled from his lips. "TELL. ME. NOW."

Instead of words, Toris garbled a scream as Ivan momentarily removed his foot and suddenly stamped hard on the same spot. He felt something crack beneath his flesh and his yells raised a few octaves higher.

Furious, Ivan stormed away from the agonised young man and snatched something from his cupboard. A ball-gag. He then returned to Toris's side and kicked him onto his back, kneeling on his chest to hold him down as he roughly forced the metallic object into his mouth and clipped it around his head. The buckle in the back caught on Toris's long brunette hair, harshly yanking at his scalp which made him cry into the heavy object, effectively muffling him. While resting all his body weight onto his chest, Ivan sighed in relief.

"Please don't shout," he begged in a whisper, stroking his cheek and Toris shut his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't like this either, but you KNOW I hate it when you're in pain, but how will people learn their lesson if they don't experience negativity?"

But Toris only reached over to his broken shoulder to squeeze it tightly in hopes of alleviating the pain by adding pressure, not paying attention to his master. Ivan breathed in through his nostrils to calm his own racing heartbeat. His eyes seem to moisten, but quickly blinked them away.

"Please stop manipulating me with your pain, Toris," he murmured, "I need you to be strong for me. Nobody has believed in me like you did before. You've always, ALWAYS been there for me. I even dreamed about you before I even met you. Not anyone else. I need your approval and love. I need all of you to be mine, but only if you're more honest to me. Please tell me what you told Matthew… I promise I won't get mad."

In almost a blatant display of disbelief, Toris gazed at him through half-closed eyes, mind dancing between consciousness and just blanking out from all the burning pain in his shoulder. He can't say anything with the gag in his mouth. It is physically impossible for him to convey any messages at all. He could barely breathe with the heavy man resting his knee on his chest, feeling his heart pound in panic. He's practically been rendered mute.

Ivan sighed lightly and moved to stand up. Toris breathed in quickly through his nose, chest rising and deflating quickly. His whole body trembled, trying to suppress a panic attack.

"In that case, you can sleep with your new friend until you've calmed down," Ivan muttered, reaching down to take his hand into his and drag him over to the walk-in cupboard, opening the door and practically threw the smaller male inside before slamming the door shut.

Matthew heard the shouting, the pained screams and the ominous silence when he couldn't hear their conversation, but he also heard the door to his prison open and slam shut again. And then he hears someone breathing heavily, in a mix of muffled crying and wailing. In spite of their conversation earlier, he felt his heart break for the poor young man.

"Hey…" he spoke gently, racking his brains trying to remember his name. "Toris?"

The crying didn't settle. In fact, it got worse. He only wished that he could see without the blindfold.

"Toris, I want you to listen to me…" Matthew spoke again, "please… Take a deep breath. Are you in pain?"

"Mmhm…" he finally heard the pained reply and he sighed in relief.

"Stupid question, I know…" he breathed, "can you talk?"

"N-nmmm…" came the mournful sob. Matthew gulped.

'What did Ivan do to him? Did he break his ribs? Oh my god, what if he smashed his teeth out and he cannot talk properly?' Panicked thoughts bombarded his anxiety until he felt his own eyes water.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered, throat clenching, "this is all my fault, if only I behaved more rationally…"

"Mmm…" Toris sniffled and looked up at the captive. He crawled over until his face touched Matthew's foot, tapping it with his forehead. "Mmmuuh…"

"Toris…" Matthew also whimpered, trying not to cry, but he couldn't help the loose tears running freely down his cheeks, "I… I…" He trailed off as Toris head-bumped his right foot. The captive in the chair blinked and wriggled his feet. "Toris… Can you do something for me? I want you to touch my left foot to say 'yes' and my right foot to say 'no' to my questions. Can you do that?"

To answer his question, Toris touched his left foot with his head. Somehow, a feat as small as that made Matthew feel so joyous he could dance at his on-the-spot genius idea, but restrained himself from making too much movement.

"Yes! Oh my gosh, this idea's really good!" he burbled happily and Toris sounded like he was laughing, but sharply inhaled through his nose when the sharp pain persisted in his shoulder. Matthew stopped his laughter and quickly fired another question. "Where are you hurting? Is it your… uh… Your face?"

His heart raced in anticipation of Toris's answer. He desperately hopes that his teeth haven't been damaged…

Toris touched his right foot.

Matthew relaxed, but his jaw felt tense.

"Your chest?"

Tap. Right foot.

"Legs?"

Tap. Right foot again.

"Arms?"

Hesitation. Tap. Right foot.

Cogs whirred and clicked in Matthew's mind. His hesitation spoke more than the foot-tapping.

"Neck?"

Tap. Right foot.

Just when Matthew was about to resign to minutes of guessing which body part has been hurt, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Ah-! Is it your shoulders?"

Tap. Left foot.

Matthew could just celebrate again.

"Got it! Is it your right shoulder?"

He felt Toris touch his left foot.

"Okay," the blonde Canadian muttered, "now what did Ivan do… did he break your shoulder?"

His heart broke again when Toris nudged his left foot like an injured puppy.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered, feeling upset emotions stir within him again, "is he always this violent?"

"Nnn-mm…" Toris mumbled this time, shaking his head against his feet as if it say 'so-so.' He hiccupped, fresh tears appearing again before his body shook and trembled all over.

Matthew didn't say anything for a while after that, only having the Lithuanian curled up at his feet like a lost kitten finding a source of warmth to survive until it's mother returned. But from what he knows, Ivan is all that Toris has left in this crazy world, the only person he should depend on. He's not convinced that Ivan will let him return to his family either, so he's pretty much on his own, isolated from the world he was born in and forced away. Did he even receive any motherly love? Who brought him up like this? Who gave him a childhood where he was raised on humility and kindness? Who raised him so well that even with a toxic man like Ivan around, he still retained his polite personality?

"Toris, move over, I need to lie down," Matthew mumbled, and moved his limbs, but forgot they were bound to the chair he's sitting on and cursed softly. "Scratch that… Toris, can you hug me, please? I'm feeling cold… Just your good arm only, okay?"

He still couldn't see anything, but he can picture the shocked look on Toris's face as he made that request. He didn't feel the other male touch either of his feet, but then an arm wrapped around his neck and he felt warmer. His breath hitched when Toris sat on his lap, resting his face in his bare neck.

"F-feeling better?" Matthew stuttered, feeling his cheeks heat up profoundly. Toris nodded, finally relaxing against his new friend. "A-and again, I'm sorry about your shoulder… I overreacted, but I really…" He was going to finish that with 'be with my brother again' but then he thought about Toris and his brothers. It's unlikely he'll even meet them again – Matthias, yes, but not the personal assistant. He doesn't find it appropriate to say that around Toris right now. "I really… just want to go home and eat some pancakes…"

Toris laughed into his gag, nose brushing against Matthew's jawline and he looked up at his blindfolded face, wishing that he could see what his eyes are like. He gently rested his head on his shoulder, shutting his eyes. Pain still ached in his shoulder, but sitting like this made him feel slightly better.