Donghae lay on his side, curled protectively around Eunhyuk/Hyukjae, who were snuggled as closely against his chest as they could get. It would take some time to get used to, the fact that he was responsible for, well anyone but Heechul when he got drunk, let alone a tiny incubus and his human, and that sometimes they needed to be referred to as them, and sometimes him. He still wasn’t comfortable with Ryeowook, but he had to admit the multi-natured demon with the stomach-turning dietary habits was an invaluable source of information, since he needed a crash course in how to care for the little incubus and his human, and about demon kind in general.

                It was a bit hot for Donghae’s taste under the thick blankets, but Eunhyuk/Hyukjae had begun to shiver, which he knew was actually a good sign, that they were warming up enough to respond to being cold. So he endured it, trying to give as much of his own body heat to his charges as he could. He’d been relieved to see Eunhyuk manage their formula so far, even if he wasn’t really awake or responsive. Actually, it was probably a good thing to an extent, since he most likely would’ve freaked out with what Donghae had had to do to them when they didn’t even know each other. He wondered who could be so cruel to beings so defenseless, then decided he was better off not knowing. He’d have his hands full helping them heal, then setting them up on their own if they didn’t want to stay with him and Heechul, or at Feed Your Demons with the others.

                He must have fallen asleep at some point without realizing it, since the next thing Donghae knew was Ryeowook gently nudging him awake.

                “I’m sorry to wake you Donghae, but it’s time to try and get another bottle down those two. Have either been responsive at all yet?”

                “Not as far as I know, beyond practically trying to crawl under my skin. They did start shivering shortly after you left, which I figured was good since at least their body was responding. They feel much warmer now finally, and seem less tense.”

                “Once one of them is properly awake and understands where they are and what’s going on, you’ll have to help stretch out their muscles. From the looks of it, they haven’t walked properly in a while, most likely because they were just so weak. Whoever did this better hope they don’t get caught.” Ryeowook grinned wickedly, tapping one of his fangs with a claw, a clear indication of what would happen if he ever caught up with Eunhyuk/Hyukjae’s abusers. Ordinarily Donghae would shiver, but he couldn’t help but agree with whatever the multi-natured demon came up with.

                When Eunhyuk woke next, sightless eyes open and properly aware of his surroundings, he thought he was still dreaming. He felt clean, and more importantly warm. Not just the sporadic heat he sometimes felt when he and Hyukjae were with Master, but demon-comfortable warm, that he hadn’t really felt since he’d gotten separated from his batchmates. They were also lying on something soft and had warm, soft, sweet-smelling things piled on top of them.

                It wasn’t until Eunhyuk tried to sit up to figure out where they were that he realized that the hot thing at their back was a human who had been holding them. He had a brief moment of panic, until he remembered from his half-awake state from before that this presence was Donghae, their rescuer.

                “Hyukkie? You’re awake? Hold on a second. Let me help you sit up. Do you remember what happened to you?”

                Eunhyuk let himself be assisted to a sitting position, only to feel Donghae at their back supporting them a moment later. He thought about the human’s question. Did he remember what happened? If they weren’t blind due to Master’s treatment of them, he’d be remembering in screaming Technicolor he’d heard one of Hyukjae’s foreign clients say once when they first bonded. As it was, he didn’t want to think about how it had felt, especially with New man who had called them it. Even Master had called them he.

                “So you’re finally awake. Can you speak Little One? Donghae here has been awfully worried about you and Hyukjae since he and his stepbrother found you on the road. If you don’t want to talk about it yet we won’t force you, but can you let us know you hear and understand?” Even with the gentle, coaxing tone, Eunhyuk recognized the wrong-feeling presence and tried to scoot further away, only to be wrapped in Donghae’s arms.

                “I’m pretty sure that means he understands you Ryeowook. Didn’t you say before that young or weak incubi have an instinct to hide from older, stronger demons?” Eunhyuk felt Donghae nuzzle his hair after speaking to the wrong one. “It’s okay Hyukkie. Ryeowook might make you feel icky but he’s the one who’s teaching me how to take care of you. He makes me feel icky too, and I’m human. My name is Donghae.”

                Eunhyuk swallowed hard. He really wanted to say something to Donghae, but his mouth and throat felt really dry so he wasn’t sure he could.

                “They could probably use a drink first, as dehydrated as they were and they’ve mostly had formula the last three days instead of plain water. Try it, but go slowly so they don’t choke” the wrong presence said.

                Eunhyuk felt Donghae move a bit, only to have a fresh-smelling, room temperature water bottle held to his and Hyukjae’s lips. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d drunk anything but the cold, stale water Master used to give them, and found it incredibly hard to sip slowly instead of grabbing the bottle and chugging it as fast as he could.

                After drinking, Eunhyuk tried to talk again. It took a while, especially since he wasn’t really used to it since even before his and Hyukjae’s rescue he almost never said anything for fear of a beating from Master, but he was finally able to croak out “where are we?”

                “At Feed Your Demons Hyukkie” Donghae said, cuddling Eunhyuk, and by extension Hyukjae closer. “It’s a club that caters to demons and humans, but Ryeowook also patches up injured demons since the local hospital isn’t any help. It was the only place my brother could think of to bring you after you fell out of that car. He’s sleeping with the owners so that’s how he thought of it.”

                “Jungsoo and Leeteuk are like you and Hyukjae Eunhyuk, a human/incubus bonding. My lovers Jongwoon and Yesung are the same way. I also have a human lover named Kyuhyun. Once you’re up for it, we’ll introduce you to everyone else, slowly” the wrong voice, Ryeowook said.

                “And my brother Heechul, and my fishies and froggies. Do you like watching things swim around Hyukkie?”

                Before Eunhyuk could formulate an answer for Donghae about not being able to see, Ryeowook spoke again.

                “Little One, look at me please.”

                Eunhyuk tried to pinpoint where the other demon was, only to have him sigh. “You’re blind, aren’t you Little One?”

                Hanging his head in shame, Eunhyuk slowly nodded. Would they be thrown away or sent back to Master now? No, it would be their new owner, New man.

                “Donghae, I don’t want to try touching him yet. He’d just pull away. Can you hold his head up for me so I can take a look?”

                Eunhyuk felt his head gently pulled up and cradled in soft hands. “Okay Little One, open your eyes as wide as you can for me please.” The blind little incubus tried, knowing their eyes just didn’t open that big.

                “You’ve got a pretty thick film, but it’s most likely reversible Little One. Really abused and neglected young incubi will develop it to protect their eyes. Now that you’re safe and getting fed properly it’ll dissolve, slowly. I’ve got some eye drops that will help, but it’s mostly just going to take time. You’re way too young to be on your own or even bonded Little One. Why aren’t you with your batchmates?”

                Eunhyuk hung his head again. “I got lost and couldn’t find the others and there weren’t other demons to ask for help getting back. Then I met Hyukjae and he offered to bond to protect and feed me. Now I try to protect him.”

                “Well, it’s a true bond anyway. I was afraid you’d botched it because of your age, but that’s exactly how a bonding works. I assume you keep him asleep most of the time so he doesn’t know what’s happening?”

                Eunhyuk nodded slowly, ashamed of what he had to admit to Ryeowook, and Donghae who still held him and Hyukjae. “We ended up like this because of me. Hyukjae was a street kid who sometimes sold himself if he couldn’t beg or steal. I wasn’t getting much from his clients so he offered himself to someone who was looking to keep a boy. He thought that meant better food and a warm place to sleep for both of us in exchange for , but…” the little incubus trailed off, too choked up and ashamed of himself to continue.

                “But instead you two were treated as a slave, to be used and abused by whoever that let near you. I skimmed your thoughts while you were mostly unconscious, but I only looked for your name and demon type since you know one of the first things they teach the younglings is reading people’s minds is very rude and invasive, which is why we know about you and Hyukjae. The rest wasn’t that difficult to figure out. You’re a mess of scrapes and bruises, nothing but skin and bones, and, well I’m sure you have some idea of what else they’ve done to you. I smelled two when Donghae was getting ready to clean you up, but there have been more than that, weren’t there Little One?”

                “Yes, but I’m not sure how many. After a while, the pain made it too difficult to count.” It took everything he had left for Eunhyuk to admit he had no idea how many men had used him and Hyukjae.

                “It doesn’t matter. We will find him, and he will be begging for death long before I’m done. Keeping any type of demon as a slave is one of the highest offenses against demon kind, especially a youngling. Keeping a human for the same purpose is the same in the human world, and whoever this was did both. No one will bat an eye when I get my claws on him. Can you tell me his name and where he lives?”

                “We only knew him as Master. He’s tall and fat and wears expensive suits and shiny shoes and is probably in his 40’s. He lives at the other end of the country, but we’ve been staying in a hotel for the last few weeks. He’d just sold us to New man, the one who damaged us when I managed to get the car door open and fling us out into traffic. I know killing yourself or a human is wrong, but I couldn’t let him hurt Hyukjae anymore, and I don’t know what he looks like since we were already blind.”

                “No one is blaming you Little One. You did the only thing you could for your human. There’s no shame in that, wanting to spare him pain. Now you can just concentrate on healing while we track them down. Now, do you think you could manage some food?”