Now that Alfred had discovered Yao existence, he would often request to join Arthur and Yao for meals. Arthur, being the long-suffering brother he was, couldn't say no. Yao, on the other hand, enjoyed seeing the brothers' interaction; it made him see a side of Arthur no one else had seen.

Alfred was busy mumbling something about his latest discovery while biting into his roast chicken.

"Alfred, don't talk with your mouth full," Arthur admonished.

Alfred shot his brother a glare at being reprimanded. He chewed his chicken and swallowed it before entering into a rant about how seagulls decimated the crabs before they were eaten and how disgusting it was.

Arthur rolled his eyes and glanced at Yao, who seemed entertained by Alfred's explanation.

When they had finished their meal, Arthur wiped Alfred's mouth with a towel, and carted him off to bed. "I'm going to read him a bedtime story – I won't be long," he told Yao.

Yao nodded and gestured for them to go ahead.

"Good night, Yao!" Alfred called as Arthur dragged him out of his cabin.

Yao stood up and cleared the dishes, placing them into a basin for the cleaning staff to collect. He thought about Arthur and how he was such a gentle person around Alfred. It was like his captain personality and this personality were two distinct characters. But he was glad that Arthur tended to adhere to this personality more often.

His thoughts drifted to his and Arthur's interactions over the past weeks. They were getting closer as their interactions began to get less and less hostile, due to Yao finally accepting Arthur as a pirate. Yao had to grudgingly admit that he was slowly falling for the scruffy pirate. That thought alone made him shake his head violently – he had to think.

Yao decided that Arthur would probably take longer than expected to read Alfred his bedtime story; he would go out to the deck to get some fresh air and think about his feelings for the captain.

As soon as Yao stepped onto the deck, he was grabbed and pushed down by an unknown force. He cried out as his head connected with the deck floor, and he was dragged to a more inconspicuous corner.

When everything had calmed down, or at least calmed down for Yao to identify his captor, he was surprised to find himself face to face with a member of the crew, Ivan.

Smirking sadistically, Ivan forced the muzzle of a gun into Yao's mouth. "If you move, darling, I'll blow your brains out," he said conversationally with a grin.

Yao gasped, and flinched at the sharp and peppery taste of gunpowder in his mouth.

Ivan turned to one of his accomplices, another member of the crew, Toris, who looked very uncomfortable with what was happening. "Here, hold the gun. And hold his hands, while you're at it."

Toris glanced apologetically at Yao and scampered over to a more comfortable position so that he could hold the gun in Yao's mouth at ease. He then grabbed Yao's proffered hands by Ivan and held them over his head.

Ivan pushed Yao's shirt up and brought his face nearer to Yao's exposed chest. He gave it a sniff and then sighed in ecstasy.

Yao shivered at the cold hands that were touching him. He didn't know where this was going, but it didn't look good.

When Ivan hooked his thumb over Yao's pants, he gasped and tried to struggle, before remembering the gun in his mouth. He froze and stared wide-eyed at Ivan, who was now so overcome by lust and hunger to care for anything.

Ivan pulled Yao's pants and underwear down. "I've wanted you since I laid my eyes on you… back on your ship," he whispered. "But of course, the captain came first. Do you know how much it pains me to see the captain and you together?" He spread Yao's legs.

Yao wanted to shake his head and say, "No, Arthur and I… we're not together!" but who was he to deny that fact? Just a moment ago, he was confused as to his feelings for the captain.

Ivan took off his own pants, revealing his large and engorged member.

Yao stared in horror at Ivan's erection. Was that going to fit? Unconsciously, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes – he couldn't struggle, he couldn't cry out to save his dignity.

Ivan lifted Yao's legs and placed them over his shoulder. He positioned his member at Yao's entrance.

Yao winced and closed his eyes, allowing a stray tear to leak from it. There was not even going to be any preparation for what was going to transpire. Ivan was just going to shove his penis in and be done with it.

"Shhh, don't cry, my darling…" Ivan cooed and brushed a hair that had fallen in front of Yao's face back. But the sadistic smirk never left his face. "I promise I'll be gentle."

Gentle? Yao wanted to snort in derision.

"Ivan!" whispered another accomplice, who was standing watch, Feliks. "Ivan! The captain…!"

But he was largely ignored as Ivan prepared to enter Yao.

There was a loud gunshot sound, and all parties whipped their heads to the source of the sound. Arthur was standing in front of them, and his face was red with anger. "What do you think you bastards are doing?" he demanded.

Feliks immediately went down on his knees. "Like, it wasn't Toris' and my fault!" he cried. "Ivan totally coerced us to go along!"

Ivan, who was now quivering when faced with the wrath of his captain, stood up, pulled up his pants and faced Arthur. "I'm sorry, captain. But he was looking so tempting…"

"Even so, that doesn't give you the right to rape him!" Arthur snarled. "What more, I have staked out my claim on him!"

Yao wanted to protest. I am no one's!

"I'm sorry," Ivan apologized, his head bowed.

"Get out of my sight!" Arthur roared. "I'll deal with you in the morning!"

Toris quickly let go of Yao's hands and removed the gun from his mouth. He rushed over to Feliks' side and left with him and Ivan.

Yao was lying on the floor of the deck, panting. The adrenaline that was coursing through his veins had not left him. He was aware that he must look pretty stupid with his pants down, but he couldn't muster the energy to pull his pants up.

Arthur made his way over to the prone figure on the ground. "You okay?" he asked Yao worriedly.

Yao nodded and wiped his eyes, as Arthur helped his pull up his pants and move to a sitting position.

"Can you walk?" Arthur asked again.

"You help me stand up and we'll find out," Yao replied, to which Arthur managed a weak chuckle.

Once he stood, Yao managed to walk back to Arthur's quarters, with Arthur's help.

He sat on the side of the bed as Arthur prepared a cup of chamomile tea for him. "It will help you calm down," he had explained.

"Thanks," Yao said softly as Arthur offered him the cup of hot tea. He clutched the cup and took a sip of the tea. Almost immediately, he felt calmer.

"Feeling better?" Arthur asked after a moment's silence.

Yao nodded and stared forward for a while. "Arthur?"

"Yes, dear?"

Yao recoiled at the term of endearment. He wasn't sure of his feelings for the captain, and here, the captain was offering loving words to him. "Don't be too harsh on Ivan with his punishment," he said softly.

"What?" Arthur was surprised. "Why?"

"Well," Yao placed the cup down on the side-table. "I don't want anything bad to happen to any one of your crew – they mean a lot to you, and I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Arthur looked thoughtful. "Alright, I'll see what I can do." He was shocked at how forgiving Yao could be – Ivan tried to rape him! Even he would feel some vengeful emotion at that.

However, Arthur was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't expect Yao to launch himself at him, hugging him tightly and sobbing as he buried his face in Arthur's chest.

Arthur was taken aback. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, as he wrapped his arms around the sobbing Asian man and stroking his back comfortingly.

"I was so scared… so scared that he was going to rape me, and there was nothing I could do about it!"

Arthur thought back to the earlier events – finding Yao with his pants down with Ivan looming over him and a gun in his mouth. It made his blood boil with anger. "Shhh…" he comforted, still stroking the Asian's back. "I won't let anyone else touch you anymore."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Yao exclaimed, his face still buried in Arthur's chest.

Arthur moved Yao so that he was facing him. "What are you sorry for?" he asked Yao gently, using a finger to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.

Yao sniffed, tears still rolling down his face as he looked at Arthur. "For crying like a baby. For being scared."

"It's okay," replied Arthur soothingly. "You're allowed to be scared. You're not a brick wall, you know."

Yao let out a watery laugh. "I'm sorry for dirtying your shirt with my tears," he told Arthur sheepishly after a long pause and he had relatively calmed down.

Arthur chuckled. "It's okay – it's a very old shirt anyway," he replied.

Yao shifted so that he was leaning his head on Arthur's shoulder. There was a moment of silence before he began speaking again. "Do you know why I was on the deck?"

"No."

"I was trying to sort out my feelings for you. I figured some fresh air would help me."

Arthur was flabbergasted. Did Yao just say what he thought he did? "And…?" he whispered.

"After tonight, I figured out one thing," Yao said, smiling, as he looked up at Arthur. "That I love you. Very much."

Arthur smiled in return. "It pleases me greatly to hear you say that," he told Yao happily. "I love you too," he added before engulfing Yao in a kiss.

Yao responded to the kiss eagerly, opening his mouth to let Arthur explore it, which Arthur did enthusiastically.

When they broke apart, Yao looked fondly at Arthur and asked, "Does that make us a couple now?"

Arthur managed a delirious grin. "Yes," he replied. "Yes, it does."