"matthew! Im home!" alfred yelled.

"hold on! I'll be out there in a second." Mattew called from the kitchen. Arthur looked around the living room. Alfred left up the stairs. Matthew came out of the kitchen.

"uh hello im matthew." Matthew said holding out his hand.

"I-im Arthur k-kirkland." Arthur said nervously.

"oh alfreds been talking nonstop about you for the past two days." Matthew said remembering the name. "and worrying." Matthew said.

"oh uh well then." Arthur said. Alfred jumped down the stairs.

"hey this is Arthur and that's Gilbert." Alfred said to matthew pointing to each person as he said their name. "uh mattie we just got Arthur out of the hospital." Alfred said whispering into matthew's ear.

"oh so that's where you've been." Matthew said surprised.

"uh what?" Arthur said confused.

"oh nothing." Matthew said. "so where are you staying tonight?"

"uh we had forced Arthur to sleep here tonight." Gilbert said.

"oh wow well then." Matthew said surprised.

"he can sleep in my room and I'll sleep on the couch." Alfred suggested.

"oh I wouldn't want anyone to sleep for a second in that pigstye." Matthew said.

"oh." Gilbert giggled. Arthur started looking around the room thinking alfreds embarrassed face was the cutest thing.

"I'll sleep on the couch so you two love birds are still close." Matthew teased.

Alfred and Arthur's faces grew bright red.

That night Arthur fell asleep on the couch and alfred carried him up the stairs.

"well I'll take that as an invatation to leave." Gilbert said standing.

"see you tommarrow." Matthew said.

"bye!' Gilbert said walking himself out the door.

"he's sound asleep." Alfred said quietly walking down the stairs.

"why was he in the hospital?" matthew asked.

"well he fainted under stress so his boyfriend took him to the hospital. The doctor said he didn't even stay all of an hour." Alfred said shaking his head.

"wow sounds like he was in a hurry." Matthew said.

"yea you haven't even seen the bruises." Alfred said rubbing the back of his neck.

"why? Are they bad?" matthew asked.

"about ten times worse than mine where." Alfred admitted.

"wow and I thought yours where bad." Matthew said.

"yea some where made apparently from being hit against the wall and being hit by a skillet." Alfred said.

"what? That's terrible." Matthew said.

"yea im not even going to tell you the worst of it." Alfred said rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"whats the worst? I mean what could be past that?" matthew asked.

"I didn't know until he told me but its pretty bad." Alfred said.

"oh common." Matthew begged.

"mattie im not telling you if you want to know your going to have to ask him I mean its not mine to tell you." Alfred said.

"ok." Matthew said.

"well im getting to bed." Alfred said getting up.

"ok night bro." Matthew said lying down on his palet.

In the middle of the night alfred woke up to sobbing coming from across the hall. Alfred tip toed in matthew's room. Alfred looked in the door to see Arthur curled up in a ball trying to comfort himself. Alfred walked in and grabbed his arm gently. Arthur turned around and wrapped his arms around alfred's neck.

"h-hes going to get m-me." Arthur sobbed into the crook of alfreds neck.

"shhh-sh-sh no he isn't and im going to make sure of it." Alfred said soothingly.

"h-hes going to h-hurt me." Arthur kept crying.

"stop thinking like that, he's not going to get you while I'm around." Alfred said looking at Arthur's face. "I will not let him hurt you do you understand?" alfred asked.

Arthur nodded his head.

"I understand alfred." Arthur said putting his forehead to his chest.

"I love you Arthur." Alfred said holding Arthur close.

"I-I love y-you too." Arthur sobbed clutching handfuls of the back of alfred's shirt.

Arthur fell asleep in alfreds arms but the nightmares never came.

Arthur woke up aceptionaly tired and in alfreds arms. Alfred had fallen asleep on the wall still holding Arthur after last nights nightmare.

"alfred?" Arthur asked. Alfred woke up and looked at Arthur's face.

"good morning." Alfred said smiling. They stared at each other for the longest time.

"what time is it?" alfred asked. Rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know I just woke up too." Arthur stated stretching. Arthur sat up and a feeling of dread washed over him. "shit." Arthur said rubbing his face.

"what?" alfred asked.

"we have to go over to my house." Arthur said.

"oh yea." Alfred said. "I had the same feeling the morning I woke up and stood up to him." Alfred got up and knelt in front of Arthur.

"what was his name?" Arthur asked tiredly.

"ivan, he was Russian." Alfred said grabbing Arthur's hand.

"damn vodka lovers." Arthur joked.

"yea well after today its all over and he's going to realize what he lost." Alfred said kissing Arthur's knuckles.

"what happens if he hurts you?" Arthur said.

"then lets all three of us go Gilbert and I can hold him off while you pack." Alfred reasoned.

"I couldn't I'd be to worried about you two." Arthur shot it down.

"common two awesome guys like us?" alfred said making it sound like they where indistructable.

"ok but if something happens I don't care what happens to me you just get out." Arthur said.

"im not going to leave you with that ass." Alfred insisted.

"please don't alfred." Arthur begged.

"no I refuse to leave you in a place that can kill you. I love you and im not going to leave you in danger." Alfred said kissing Arthur's hand again.

"I refuse for you to be in danger." Arthur said rubbing alfred's hand.

"im not going to leave you alone." Alfred said.

"alright but were taking Gilbert two against one is better and less people are bound to get hurt." Arthur said clutching alfred's hand.

"ok im going to call him right now." Alfred said getting up.

"alright." Arthur said. "do you have any clean clothes I can wear?" arthur asked just realizing he slept in his clothes.

"uh no I don't but you can grab something while were there." Alfred stated getting dressed himself.

"the sooner we finish this the better." Arthur said. Alfred picked up the phone and called Gilbert and Arthur walked down the stairs.

"good morning Arthur." Matthew said making pancakes.

"good morning matthew." Arthur said sitting at the bar.

"so todays a pretty big deal Im guessing." Matthew said putting a small stack in front of Arthur.

"uh yea im getting all my stuff and moving out of that hell hole." Arthur said leaning back in his chair.

"oh wow." Matthew said so surprised he almost dropped the maple syrup. (that's right he almost dropped his most favorate thing in the world)

"what?" Arthur said then he remembered he wasn't at home and he pulled his shirt down and slouched over the table. "I-im sorry." Arthur apologized.

"you don't need to its not your fault they're there." Matthew stated.

"b-but it w-was rude." Arthur said grabbing his arms.

"I don't know a rule that says you cant accedentaly show your bruises." Matthew said sitting next to Arthur and about to put a hand on Arthur's shoulder when he flinched. "you have no reason to be scared anymore, alfred is a great guy the only reason he would hurt someone is if they hurt someone he cared for." Matthew said. "and he's a great secret keeper, which brings me to a question." Matthew said leaning on his elbows that where on the table.

"what's your question?" Arthur asked.

"what is so bad that alfred cant tell me?" matthew asked.

"w-what do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"I was asking about what happened to you last night and he almost told me something but once it almost slipped he cought himself and refused to tell me. He said if I wanted to know I should ask you." Matthew said playing with the wood. "unless you don't want to tell me because its none of my business anyway." Matthew said exusing him.

"he raped me." Arthur put it plainly.

"oh my gosh I see why he wouldn't tell me himself. Its not your fault you know?" matthew said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I-It was forever ago and it happens a lot its not like im the first." Arthur said.

"that's true and it may have been a while ago but that doesn't mean its no phycologicly damaging." Matthew said. "im a phycologist I see people who talk about stuff like this everyday but not rape." Matthew said.

"w-well I started to go see a theripist about it but h-he didn't like it." Arthur said looking down.

"you should have cut this off a long time ago." Matthew pointed out.

"yea and I was going to but then he would start treating me like a real person again." Arthur said rubbing his arm.

"he's a manipulator." Matthew pointed out again. "a deadly combination how did you meet this guy?" matthew asked his phycologist skills kicking in.

"uh we met at a park I was babysitting my niece." Arthur said.

"really?" matthew asked not really believing him.

"uh yea by the swings actually." Arthur said looking back. "we where friends for six months and that's when the beating started." Arthur said.

"this all started before you got together?" matthew asked.

"well yea, I knew something was up I just thought it was testaerone. Then he told me how he felt and he convinced me to be with him." Arthur said trying to get through it quickly.

"tell me how you got raped, you don't have to put detail into it." Matthew reassured him.

"well that was back when Gilbert and him where still friends with the both of us, and they where drinking buddys along with Francis' friend Antonio, Antonio didn't like me very much and according to Gilbert they where joking about it or atleast he thought they where and Francis came home drunk. I was a little concerned for him because he could barely walk and I tried helping him upstairs when he started keeling over and knocked me into a picture. He started yelling and screaming 'why the hell did you break the damn picture!' and I tried to apologize to him but he wouldn't listen so he grabbed me by the hair and right on the second floor in the open he raped me. He just left me there when he went to work the next day. And I just laid there for god knows how long." Arthur said the grip on his arm starting to hurt.

"wow that's terrible." Matthew said touching Arthur's shoulder. "did he ever do that again?" matthew asked his voice sounding concerned.

"n-n-n-no." Arthur lied.

"you don't have to lie about it Arthur their not going to hurt you and he cant touch you." Gilbert said walking in the door. "you never where a good liar." Gilbert said putting Arthur in a head lock in a friendly way.

"thank you Gilbert." Arthur said.

"don't worry alfred tested 95% in protective skills." Matthew said winking. Arthur was confused by this, what did alfred testing high in protective skills have to do with him? And why would alfred care about him anyway? Just at that moment alfred came down the stairs slower than expected and he was rubbing his eyes and sniffiling.

"are you ok?" Arthur asked walking up to alfred and grabbing his arm.

"uh yea im fine." Alfred said still rubbing his eyes. His voice sounded like he had been crying.

"are you crying?" Arthur asked.

"no of corce not." Alfred said blowing off the question. Arthur grabbed the hand that was rubbing his eyes and lifted his chin to look at him.

"where you?" Arthur asked gently. Alfred looked into Arthur's emrald green eyes. His eyes are so beautiful he didn't diserve any of this abuse. How could he do such terrible things to you? Alfred thought. Alfred nodded and grabbed Arthur's hand. "why?" Arthur asked putting a hand on the side of alfred's neck.

"your really bad at telling storys." Alfred joked. They both chuckled.

"ok you three I expect all of you to be alive when alfred calls me and that includes Francis." Matthew said.

"aw man! Cant I just kill him a little?" Gilbert joked.

"nope no killing will be done by anyone I know today." Matthew said sounding motherly but in a joking way.

"awwww." Gilbert and alfred said in unison.

That's right cliffhanger! Im so mean! I take months and months to update then I leave you guys this cliffhanger….. so evil…. Anyway im sorry about not updating so quickly…. High school is a bitch…. And mine is at jr. collage leval so that only makes it worse…. I was working really hard on this and my grades are failing so be greatful….. its so sad that I cant even stay up till one a.m. anymore… sad face. Thanks to the people who reviewed! And I have one more chapter left im going to work really hard on it and write the little dickens off my fingers to get it to y'all!