Hi, here's another chapter :) Just a little shorter than usual, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging again and I had a little free time. Hope you enjoy and leave a comment <3

BY THE WAY I'M NOW ON 216 SUBSCRIBERS WHICH IS AMAZING TO ME AND I LOVE YOU ALL <3

Tao’s POV

I’m woken in the middle of the night by a sound so quiet that, for a while, I think I’ve imagined it, but when I hear it again I’m sure. I slowly release my grip on Kris’s hand and pull off the sheet covering me. To be honest I feel like utter crap right now and everywhere hurts but something feels off about this, so I forcefully pull myself up into a standing position before silently heading over to the door that separates this room from the kitchen.

I press my ear against the wood and listen hard. I can make out a man’s voice, the one who’s jacket I’m wearing I expect, and by the sound of him having a one sided conversation I guess that he’s on the phone.

Dread settles in the pit of my stomach when I hear the words “yes they’re here, they're asleep, when they wake up I won’t let them leave.”

I back away slowly, not willing to risk being caught, and head back over to the sofas. I climb back under my blanket and slip my hand back into Kris’s, smiling despite the situation at how I feel him relax at my touch. I close my eyes and feign sleep as I hear the door open and my heart rate speeds up. There’s a moment of silence and I guess he’s checking if we’re still asleep, before I hear him moving quietly past us and on up the stairs.

I relax slightly when I hear him go into a room upstairs and close a door behind him.  I wait a few minutes to be sure that he’s not going to come back downstairs before I sit up and squeeze Kris’s hand, trying to gradually wake him up. It doesn’t take much to wake him, even considering his exhaustion, but I still gently place my hand on his lips as he stirs in order to prevent him from making any noise. When I’m convinced he won’t give us away I remove my hand and explain to him in whispers what I heard.

He seems more angry than shocked, probably at himself for taking this risk from what I can tell, but he still squeezes my hand and stands up, reaching to grab our stuff and, as I stuff a blanket into the bag we’ve got, he sends a quick text to his dad before his phone battery runs out and we’ll have to turn mine on.

Once we’re ready we tiptoe out into the hall, heading for the front door and trying to unlock it silently. It takes us a while to find the right key, but eventually we do and we open it without a sound before slipping out and closing it gently behind us. According to Kris’s phone it’s nearly 05:00 and it’s still dark out, so we sneak off up the drive and onto a road at the side of the house gardens.

We decide to follow the road for now; aware that our kidnappers can’t be too close just yet, even with a car because they were only phoned a short while ago.

It’s early afternoon by the time we reach a road with a sign pointing to a city that we’ve actually heard of, and we use my phone to ring Kris’s dad, telling him where we’re headed. He’s still in Korea coordinating the case and he informs us that his men are only a few hours away and that we should head there as fast as we can in order to be met there.

We agree, even though we’re tired, and start walking at as fast a pace as is maintainable. I try not to complain even though my back is incredibly sore and painful, but I can tell that Kris is definitely aware, and all the little things he does to try and make this easier for me are really touching.

We can barely believe our luck when, one and a half hours later, after a minor panic attack at the sound of a car, a police car pulls up next to us and the officer rolls the windows down.

“Are you two ok?” he calls out, “where are you headed?”

His eyes widen when he sees the state we’re in as we turn to face him, and after a moment of consideration he motions vaguely, “get in; I’ll give you a ride.”

We climb in gratefully, still wary but aware that if we can’t trust a policeman then who can we trust?

We explain a little of our situation to him as we head for the city, but leave out most of the details, unwilling to involve him in this. He decides to simply take us to the police station and let us wait there until Kris’s father’s men get here to us somewhere safe. For now I simply let myself enjoy the feeling of sitting down and resting my tired body.

It’s a little overwhelming to be surrounded by so many people in the police station after what we went through, and I find myself shifting closer and closer to Kris as time passes until eventually he pulls me against him with a gentle arm around my shoulder. I snuggle close gratefully, blocking out everything else around us and forcing myself to focus on his warm presence beside me.

I try not to think about what happened to me back there, reminding myself that I did it to protect Kris, but it’s hard to force back the flashbacks and I think Kris can sense my stress as he starts running his fingers through my hair soothingly.

It’s another hour later before our help arrives. Kris helps me up when he sees them, obviously recognising the men from his father’s company. They greet us politely, scanning us over to check for any obvious damage before beckoning for us to follow them. We thank the policeman for his help and then they lead us out and straight to a large car in which they drive us to an upper class part of the city, where they shepherd us into a huge hotel and then straight on up into the penthouse.

It’s a bit of a shock to be walking into such a luxurious room after spending what feels like forever in a cold, damp, cellar.

They show us to the bedroom which has an en suite bathroom and give us a duffel bag of clothes before leaving us in privacy for a while. I’m grateful that they’ve given us some space, and massage my temples in an attempt to sooth the stress I’m feeling.

Kris notices and beckons for me to follow him, heading into the bathroom and helping me take my jacket off. We brush our teeth and he then proceeds to help me undress, much like he did all that time ago when I was in a wheel chair, before stripping himself too.

We help each other wash, too tired to even entertain any inappropriate thoughts, both well aware that neither of us are in good enough condition to do anything right now, and scrubbing away the grime of our experience.

It feels amazing to be clean again, although my back is very sensitive, but the feeling of the water washing away all the dirt and sweat and blood is too soothing to pass up. I let myself relax for the first time in a long time as Kris runs his hands through my hair, lathering up the shampoo. He puts a slick hand on my hip, gently pushing me back under the warm stream of water, and thoroughly washes out the last unwanted remnants of filth from my hair.

I smile at him, a proper smile, for the first time in ages, and carefully switch our positions before returning the favour, just revelling in the hard to accept knowledge that we’re safe in here.

We take our time, simply enjoying being together after being so close but separated for so long. He presses gentle kisses to my damaged wrists and I push my lips softly against his when I see the tears forming in his eyes. “I’m so sorry Tao, how can I ever repay you for what you went through because of me,” he murmurs brokenly against my mouth.

I shake my head slowly, forcing him to meet my eyes, “I love you,” is all I say for the moment, and I enjoy the happy shock that fills his gaze before continuing, “we’re in this together. We need to help each other recover from this; do that and I don’t need anything more. We’ll make those people get what they deserve and then work through this, just like every time before.”

He nods slowly, trying to blink back the tears and I pull him to me, pressing my chest against his and kissing him hard, trying to convey what I’m feeling; a mix of pain, relief, fragility and love. He kisses me back with just as much, if not more passion, trying to show how grateful and sorry he is.

After a while we separate, aware that we can’t stay in this tranquil environment forever. Before I can reach out fully to turn the shower off, he grabs my hand along with my attention, saying “Tao, you should know, I love you too.”

I feel a smile break out on my face and I squeeze his hand gently before pressing a soft kiss on his damp cheek and switching off the water. We finish up in there and head out into the bedroom, wrapped in soft dressing gowns, to find some sleep clothes.

Once Kris is dressed and I’ve got my lower half covered, he heads to the door and calls someone in. He’s a small, kind looking man who proceeds to properly treat the damage on my body; thankfully almost none of the cuts have reopened since Kris treated them last night. He also gives me some painkillers, for which I am immensely grateful, and recommends that we both eat something and then sleep.

“We’ll leave very early tomorrow morning,” he says to both of us, before turning specifically to me and saying, “we’re going to your house where you can both stay with your parents whilst Kris’s dad sorts a few things out. Also Kris,” he says turning to Kris and leaving me to reel in pleasant surprise, “your mother will be heading over to Tao’s home to see you, she’s been in a state since you were taken and is really worried about the both of you.”

When he leaves after filling us in with the details of our plans, we’re left to absorb all the information. I’m left with an uncomfortable feeling of mild dread at the though of having to face my parents after this. I’ll have to pretend it wasn’t as bad as it was because there’s no way either of them will be able to hear the truth without feeling heartbroken. At the same time though, the thought of being in their comforting presence is extremely appealing after all this.

After we’ve eaten food ordered up from room service, we curl up in bed together, finally, and settle down to sleep as our exhaustion catches up with us. Kris is extremely gently as he wraps his arm around my waist and takes care not to aggravate my tender back. I tilt my head up, pressing a soft kiss to his neck, touched by his tenderness, before snuggling down and gradually drifting off, grateful for his presence which greatly reduces the feeling of foreboding I have of having nightmares.

I fall into a welcome sleep, as the painkillers kick in, to the sound of Kris’s heartbeat and gentle breathing.

Hi, hope you enjoyed, leave a comment if you liked it :) I'm hoping the fluff cheered you guys up a bit after the horrible few last chapters (which I sincerely apologise for and believe me I didn't enjoy either)
I'll try not to make you wait too long for the next update, but no promises, college is being a pain >_< well mainly chemistry actually....

I love you all, thank you for being patient

<3 <3 <3