It’s late, dark, and a warm rain is slightly drizzling; everything Yixing loves in his walks home. Yixing works as a wedding performer and usually doesn’t get off work until late. He doesn’t mind. He’s a bit of a night owl anyways. Plus he enjoys the quiet walks alone before reaching his usual chaotic home. He sighed into the mostly quiet night air at the thought of the noisy boys back home. He loved his housemates, he really did, but sometimes they were just a bit too loud when all he wanted to do was sit quietly and play his guitar. Yixing walked with his head down enjoying feeling the rain splatter on the back of his neck every so often. His quiet walk home was suddenly interrupted.

His ears perked up at the sound of a woman’s voice. It wasn’t a happy woman’s voice, but a distressed one. He picked up his pace, jogging towards the sound. It grew louder as he rounded the corner, and the scene playing out in front of him in the alley made his blood boil. Two large man were towering over a cowering woman beneath their grasp. One had a fistful of her brown tangled hair, and the other was punching the ever living lights out of her every chance he could get. Blood gushed from her lip and her nose, staining her shirt that was ripped wide open. She wailed with every hit, her voice becoming hoarse and squeaky from use.

"Please stop..." she whined loudly.

"Not a chance sweetheart." One of the burly men barked out before slapping her harshly across the cheek. Yixing winced at the sound the skin on skin contact made.

 "You crossed a line. And now you'll have to pay." Yixing couldn't handle it any longer. This wasn’t any of his business, but he wasn’t much of a man if he stood there and let some woman be beaten up by not one, but two men twice her size. He knew he had to step in.

 "Hey!"

The men immediately turned around, dropping the girl, and she immediately crumpled to the ground in a sobbing, bleeding mess. Yixing clenched his jaw and balled up both of his fists and he slowly walked towards them.

“Leave her alone. She doesn’t deserve two idiots like you beating on her.” He quickly glanced down at her, and she had her face covered with her hands as to escape the reality she was in.

“What a bunch of smack coming from a pretty boy in a suit and bow tie.” One of them teased. Yixing knew he could take these guys. They were big, but he was quick. With a blink of an eye, Yixing hooked an uppercut into the closest offender and lunged in to close the distance with the other before forcefully sticking an elbow strategically into his ribs.

“You little .” The one behind him grumbled and both of them ran towards him, but once again, Yixing proved to be too quick maneuvering himself properly to knock both of their knees out from under them and laying them down flat. Both the men went quiet and Yixing knew they would both be knocked out for awhile. He turned his attention to the girl in the corner. He walked over carefully and squatted down in front of her.

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed with her eyes still closed shoving Yixing with what little strength she had left. He only wobbled slightly but backed up a few inches to respect her wishes. She threw her arms back around her face and tucked her knees in to her body.

“Hey. Hey it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He spoke to her in a quiet calm voice, but she didn’t answer. He tried a different approach.

“My name is Yixing. What’s yours?” The girl slightly shifted revealing one puffy grey eye to the stranger in front of her. Something about his tone made her seem a bit more at ease, and not threatened in the slightest. But still, she hid her face.

“It’s Mari.” Her voice rang out much more calm and collected, but still squeaky from screaming.

“Mari.” Yixing repeated, feeling how the name slid off his tongue. “That’s a beautiful name. How old are you?”

That’s when Mari lifted her head up uncovering her face revealing its current bloody and bruised state. Yixing’s stared and his stomach churned at the thought of how anyone could possibly beat someone up so bad. Let alone a young woman. Her bottom lip was cut open and swollen, and the cut on her forehead continued to trickle blood down her cheek past her black eye. Despite being incredibly scared and hurt, Mari’s eyes still sparkled ever so slightly. Yixing liked that and he found himself wondering what she would look like when she was smiling and laughing. He wanted to make her laugh so badly.

Mari felt Yixing’s eyes staring at her and she immediately turned her face to the side to avoid him seeing the worst part of her injuries. “I’m 23. I’m not a child.” She replied with a slightly icy tone.

Yixing was surprised. She looked very small and would have guessed she was closer towards 18. Still, he continued speaking to her. “23. So just one year younger than me. Tell me, what’s a lady like you doing out so late by herself, and not in the best company I might add?”

Tears welled up in the corner of Mari’s eyes and Yixing immediately regretted asking her such a sensitive question. Unable to form words, Mari just shook her head back and forth violently and let the silent sobs run down her dirty cheeks. There was no way she was telling him about her situation.

Yixing slowly placed his hand under her chin. She jumped in fear, grabbing on to her rib cage and groaning slightly in pain. “Will you let me walk you home at least?” Yixing asked nearly in a whisper.

“I…I can’t go back there. Not right now.” She said softly. She felt Yixing’s calloused but gentle hands pull her face towards his so he could speak properly to her. His touch didn’t scare her, it didn’t threaten her. She let the man meet his face with hers and she looked up through her lashes getting her first good look at him.

He had a very handsome face. He was very neat, and well groomed. The tux he was wearing had become slightly disheveled from the fight and his wet bangs clung to his forehead and temples framing his cheek bones perfectly. He smiled at her when she was looking at him, and she noticed the dimple in his right cheek when he did so.

“Well if you can’t go home right now, let me take you to my place. My friend is a nurse. He can fix you and clean you up. We really need to do that. Don’t want those getting infected.” Yixing ever so lightly grazed his ring finger above the cut on her forehead. Mari shivered at his touch. It was as delicate as the spring wind blowing across her face. Without realizing it, Mari nodded her head in agreement.

Yixing smiled again at her and helped her up. Mari kept her head down low as she stood up. That’s when he noticed her shirt was nearly torn straight off her body. Being careful not to stare, Yixing took off his tux jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Mari looked up with wide questioning eyes, but didn’t say a word. He knew she was thankful for the protection.

“We’re not far. Are your legs broken? Can you walk?” Yixing asked before starting down to the path towards his house. Mari nodded her head and began to walk slowly and slightly behind him. Yixing could see her out of the corner of his eye, and he made sure to keep her there.

They arrived to the house just a few minutes later after walking in total silence, except for Mari’s short hisses of pain every so often. Yixing noted that Mari wasn’t much of a talker, so he figured in order to keep her calm, he should just be quiet and not ask questions. He wasn’t sure why he was helping her so much. He could have just left her. After all, he didn’t know why she was in that position. She could be dangerous for all he knew. But something felt like he needed to help her out. So he was.

Yixing’s house was relatively large looking from the outside and Mari flushed in embarrassment at the sight of it. He must have been rich. That would explain the tuxedo and well taken care of appearance and large house. She knew she could REALLY never tell Yixing about her situation now.

He opened the door for her and ushered her in. Immediately, Mari’s eyes went wide. Sitting there in the living room were 9 other men. Her eyes began to well up and she turned around quickly reaching for the door. It had been a trap. Yixing was just being nice to her so he could take advantage of her and share her with all his friends.

“I have to go.” She said as she flung open the door. Yixing grabbed her wrist to stop her. By now a couple of Yixing’s housemates were standing to see the commotion.

“Mari what’s wrong? I thought you couldn’t go home? We have to get you fixed up.” Yixing was confused at her actions. All the other boys had now crowded around the two and that’s when Mari yanked her wrist away and sank to the floor bursting out into tears.

“Mari. Mari…” He coaxed gently placing a hand on her back. She shied away from the touch.

“Please…” she whispered. “Please….I’ll let you do whatever you want to me…but please don’t hurt me.” Her body convulsed silently.

Yixing’s heart dropped straight to his stomach after hearing those words. He understood why she was so worried and now why he felt the need to help her. He sank down beside her and put his arm gently around her shoulder.

“Mari. I’m not going to hurt you or touch you inappropriately or in any way you don’t want me to. And neither are any of them.” He gestured to the 9 boys behind him. Mari looked up at him with wet eyes.

“They’re my housemates. We’ve all been friends for years. And we all live here together. I promise we won’t hurt you. Just let Tao fix you up. Please.”

Mari couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did someone want to ACTUALLY help her? When she looked up to see the worry in Yixing’s brown eyes, she knew he was being sincere. Her eyes looked down to his extended hand and back up slowly to meet his gaze. He adorned a small smile now. Mari’s glossy eyes lightened and was slightly parted, bottom lip still quivering a little. She reached and took Yixing’s hand without breaking his gaze. His smile widened as he kept his arm around her shoulder.

“Guys can you leave us for a moment, this is probably overwhelming for her.” Yixing said guiding her to the bathroom. The boys all quickly stood away nodding their head in agreement. “Tao. With us please.” Yixing commanded.

“Let’s sit you up on the counter. I’ll be careful. Your ribs are hurting right?” Mari just nodded. Yixing carefully wrapped his arms around her lower waist and lifted her on to the bathroom counter so Tao would be able to examine her better. Yixing noticed she was incredibly light. He wondered just how small she really was beneath his jacket that seemed to be swallowing her. She let out a little whimper in pain from the slight pressure in her ribs.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Yixing said with a look of sympathy as he began to wet a soft wash cloth and dab at the cuts on her face to wipe away the dried blood. Mari just shook her head.

“It wasn’t your fault.” She said still barely over a whisper.  Just then a taller male with an intimidating face and short black hair followed Yixing and Mari into the bathroom. To be honest, Mari was a little scared of this man, but his gentle smile when he introduced himself melted the worry away. After all, Yixing said none of them would hurt her. And for some strange reason, she believed him.

“Hi. I’m Tao.” He said in a strangely higher pitched voice than she imagined. He began to open up a large first aid kit to work at her injuries. “What’s your name?” He asked, just being polite. Mari didn’t answer. She didn’t feel like talking.

“Her name is Mari.” Yixing spoke up. Mari was silently thankful for it and shot him a small glance in her appreciation.

“Well hello then Mari.” His voice was soothing and she closed her eyes as he continued working on her face. A few minutes of silence passed before Tao spoke again.

“Luckily the cuts weren’t bad and didn’t require stitches. Just make sure to clean them and put new bandages on them every day okay?” Mari nodded. “Now, does anything else hurt?” Tao asked before packing away his emergency kit.

“My…my ribs. On the left.” Mari said with a flush spreading across her cheeks at the sound of her own voice. She pointed to the side that was bothering her before hiding her face to shield her embarrassment. Yixing just smiled at her expression.

“Do you mind taking off the jacket and lifting up your shirt to show me? So I can see if they’re swollen? I don’t have to touch you, I just have to look.” Tao asked with the utmost caution. “If not that’s okay. We’ll just ice them anyways, but I would like a more accurate assessment.” Yixing placed his hand on Tao’s shoulder and gave him an almost angry look.

“It’s okay.” Mari squeaked out surprising the both of them. She slowly took off Yixing’s jacket that she had been so grateful for. Her blouse underneath was torn and hanging on just by the collar and she brushed it aside exposing her torso so Tao could check her ribs. Her hand trembled as she clutched the edge of the counter with one hand, and Yixing’s jacket with the other. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited, but no hands touched her.

“There’s a lot of bruising and swelling. They’re probably cracked. You need to keep them iced for the next 24-48 hours. And not physical activity for about a week or two depending on how fast you heal.” Tao stepped back to give Mari her space. As soon as he backed up, Yixing placed the jacket back on her to cover her up.

“Thank you Tao.” He said as he patted the other male on the back.

Tao bowed as stood in the doorway. “You’re welcome. Anything for you, Yixing. You know I’ve got your back.” He smiled and turned to Mari. “It was nice to meet you. Please take care of yourself and rest a lot.” Mari offered him a small smile before he his heels and left.

Yixing waited a second before turning back to Mari. She clutched his jacket tighter when he looked at her. Seeing him in the light, he was even more handsome, and he looked incredibly charming in his white dress shirt and bowtie. His hair had long since dried and was now a bit wavy. Mari wished she could say the same for hers. Her curly brown hair was tangled and matted with dried blood, and she probably looked like a hot mess. She went to hop off the counter to leave when she felt Yixing’s strong hands help guide her off.

“I got you.” He said as he gently placed her back down on the floor. “So.” He began. “Now what?” Do you need me to walk you anywhere?”

Mari immediately became nervous. She hadn’t thought about where she’d go after Yixing helped her. She couldn’t go back home, and she didn’t have any family or friend’s she could crash with.

“I uh…I…” she clicked her tongue and looked away from the man standing in front of her. “I can just go to…”

“You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?” Yixing asked with worry in his voice. Mari shook her head so slightly that she wasn’t sure if he had seen the gesture. She didn’t know why she couldn’t just lie to him and leave. She’d been lying most of her adult life and suddenly now she couldn’t even think of an excuse.

“Please stay here.” She heard Yixing say quietly after a long awkward silence. Mari’s head shot up and her eyes went wide.

“What!?” she nearly screamed. Yixing backed away and looked startled. Had he offended her?

“I’m sorry. I just figured if you didn’t have anywhere to go you could stay here tonight at least. Let your injuries heal up a little bit.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Mari’s heart began to pound. She wasn’t sure if she felt scared, or shocked, or even happy. But she was for sure in disbelief that he would let a stranger stay in his house for the night.

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you or scared you. It’s just…it’s raining hard and you’re hurting really bad and it would kill me to know that you didn’t have a safe place to sleep tonight at least.” He said emphasizing the word safe. Her heart thumped louder against her chest. She was sure it would crack the remaining intact ribs if it continued on like that.

Mari hadn’t felt safe in a long time. She hadn’t even felt cared about in a long time. Yixing hadn’t given her a reason to not trust him. Infact, he’d done the complete opposite. Yixing was the kindest person Mari had met in god knows how long, if not ever.

“Okay.” She mumbled. “I’ll stay.” She looked away again and scuffed her mismatched sock clad feet on the floor. She heard Yixing chuckle. Not in a bad way, but in a way signaling he was happy.

“Thank you.” He said. “Let me get you some clean dry clothes, and you can take a shower if you’d like.”

Mari’s expression lightened. “Oh I’d love a shower.” She said with a content sigh in a normal volume of voice. Before she could catch herself, she was looking up at Yixing giving him a sincere smile.

Yixing felt like he melted into a puddle right then and there when she looked at him and did that. It wasn’t a big laughing smile with teeth, but it was progress. And oh, was it beautiful. He could feel the heat in the tips of his ears and knew it would spread to his cheeks if he didn’t look away soon. He left the room abruptly and came back with a pair of black sweatpants and a grey tshirt.

“I’m sorry they’re probably too big for you, but here’s a couple of towels and the door locks so you can have privacy or if you’re worried about anything. Please don’t be, no one will disturb you, but it’s there for a comfort.” He felt like he was rambling so he walked over and the water. “It takes a minute to warm up, so don’t step in too soon or it’ll burn you.” He was REALLY rambling now. So he nodded his head a bit before leaving.

Mari couldn’t help but smile to herself at his gestures. He really was very kind. And maybe, just maybe she can trust him. Even just a little bit. 

Mari stepped out of her, maybe just a bit too long, shower feeling nearly brand new. Minus the still throbbing pain in her ribs. She wrapped a towel around her body to dry off and combed her fingers through her long hair. It smelled lightly of coconuts and she found herself wondering if that’s what Yixing’s hair smelled like too. She turned around to grab thee clean clothes left for her on the counter. Upon putting them on, Yixing was right, they were too big for her, but they were comfy and warm and smelled nice. She couldn’t care less if they were too big. She rolled up the pants legs a few times so she wasn’t stepping on them and her tshirt hung off her shoulder at times.

Turning around she finally looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes welled up at the sight she saw. There were bruises on her cheeks, her lip was cut and swollen, and the big ole shiner of a black eye wasn’t so cute either. She gently brought her fingers to the purple and brown surface under her eye. She was always very self conscious of what she looked like. She had been taught that for her whole life. And now she felt horrifyingly ugly. Her good mood dropped and she placed the towel over her head so it hung hiding her face with its shadow.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she had no idea where she was to head to next. She looked left and right and headed a bit more out into the open. Maybe she could find Yixing and his room, or even Tao. She was a little scared. She didn’t enjoy being lost. When she took a wrong turn and ended up in the kitchen, she came face to face with one of the boys she hadn’t met. She pulled the towel back away from her face a bit so she could see who it was better.

“Hi. You must be Mari.” The boy said as he extended a hand. “I’m Chanyeol.” He was tall, and Mari tilted her head back to see his face. He had an infectious smile and ears that poked out a bit. She nervously took his hand and shook it. Placing her towel back over her head to hide her face more she looked down at the ground before speaking.

“Can you help me find Yixing?” Chanyeol put down whatever was in his other hand and beckoned Mari to follow him.

“Sure. Come with me. He’s just in his room.” They walked down a hallway and up some stairs before they stopped at a door that Chanyeol knocked on. Mari heard some faint music coming from the room and when Yixing told them to “come in” she saw him putting away a shiny guitar. Chanyeol left Mari with Yixing and walked off to his own room.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. There’s an extra bed that my old roommate Luhan used to sleep in before he moved back to China. You can stay there if you’d like.” Yixing gestured to the bed on the adjacent wall his was against. It was a large bed. Big enough for three if you liked cuddling. The sheets where white with a big fluffy matching duvet and mountain of pillows. It all looked very inviting to Mari so she walked over and sat cross legged on the end of the bed. From beneath her towel hood, she could see Yixing smiling at her and moving behind her.

“What are you doing?” she asked in defense mode. Yixing didn’t say anything. Mari felt the bed dip signaling he was now sitting behind her. She tensed up. A pair of hands was then ruffling the towel against her head.

“I’m just drying your hair. I don’t want you catching a cold too.” Yixing cooed calmly. Mari closed her eyes in relief. She did always love having her hair dried for her, but it had been years since someone other than herself had done so. A few minutes passed and she felt Yixing remove his hands and the towel. Mari sighed a bit at the loss of comfort. But then she realized her shield for her face was gone and Yixing was going to see how ugly she was with all her cuts and bruises.

She quickly pulled her head down as he stepped infront of her. Sensing something was wrong, he spoke up.

“Mari what’s wrong? Why are you looking down like that?” She shook her head and tucked it in closer to her chest when he kneeled down before her.

“Please don’t look at me.” She whispered. “I look so horrible like this. I’m ugly.” She heard Yixing sigh and place a hand on her knee.

“Mari. You were hurt. You’re going to have some bruises and cuts. But you don’t look horrible or ugly at all. Not in the slightest. Besides, your puffy lip gives you this really adorable pouty look.” He said with a big grin. Mari’s cheeks heated up. Had he really just said that? “Stand up. And look at me.” Yixing said grabbing her hands and lightly pulling her to a standing position.

Mari complied but hesitated looking at him. She knew he would still be looking rich and perfect and she looked like something the cat dragged in. But nonetheless, her instincts kicked in and she found herself lifting her face to meet the gaze of Yixing.

“There.” He said smiling wider. He held one of her hands above her head and did a spinning motion with his other hand. “Twirl around for me.” He was being fun and playful and Mari appreciated that. She did a slow 360 and felt her hand be dropped back to her side when she finished.

“Those clothes look really cute on you, actually. Comfy?” There was that word again. “Adorable? Cute?” Did he really think these things? She felt no malice behind his words and didn’t feel like he was just saying those things to butter her up to take advantage of her later. She gave a half smile and nodded.

“I am. Thank you.” She said those last words slowly. She realized she hadn’t thanked him at all yet. “For everything. For getting me out of that alley situation, taking care of my injuries, letting me stay, letting me borrow your clothes. Thank you Yixing.”

Yixing felt his heart flutter. That was the first time Mari had said his name. It sounded so light and beautiful coming from her lips. With that combined with the little smile she was giving him right now, he couldn’t help but blush this time. He sat back down on the bed with her.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for agreeing to let me help.

“Why’d you do it?” She kept eye contact this time instead of looking away.

“It just felt like the right thing to do. I don’t know why. But I’m glad I did. I would hate for you to be out there right now in this mess.” He gestured to the large window that showed rain drops splattering against it and the occasional bolt of lightning.

Mari scoffed. “You and me both.”

Yixing took a breath before asking his question. “Mari, what exactly happened?” He watched as the girls eyes widened and she brushed her bangs away from her face. She looked so cute that Yixing just wanted to throw his arms around her and hug her but he knew she needed her space, so he refrained.

“I uhm…” Mari swallowed hard and sighed deep before continuing. “I ran away from my boyfriend tonight. Well…ex-boyfriend now. He is abusive. Both mentally and physically. I decided I had enough and took off. When he figured out I wasn’t coming home, he sent his friends after me to bring me back. And that’s where you came in. Now you understand why I couldn’t go back home to him. I have no friends or family anymore. Yungwoo was all I had. So that’s why I stayed for so many years.” She finished her story and looked to Yixing to read his expression. She thought for sure when she looked up he would be disgusted with her, but instead, his face held worry and sadness.

“Mari, I’m so sorry.” He placed a hand on top of hers for comfort. He went silent again and just stared at her. “Please…please stay here as long as you need to. I can’t let you go away tomorrow knowing all of that. If you stay here, you’ll have 10 new friends I promise you that. And I know I’ve said it all night, but NONE of us will hurt you. So please Mari, please stay with us as long as you need.” He pleaded again.

Tears welled up into Mari’s eyes and the flowed down her cheeks immediately. After being kicked out from her parents home, and having to run away from an abusive home, having someone ask to take her in was just too much for her emotions to handle. “I…I don’t know what to say.” She choked out carefully rubbing at her tears.

“Please say yes.”

Mari just nodded. “Okay. Yes. Yes thank you Yixing!” She began to sob audibly now and Yixing put a hand on her back to rub it slightly, careful not to make her uncomfortable. When she finally calmed down she smiled up at him with her damp eyelashes. “Are you even real?” she asked with an air of happiness in her voice.

Yixing laughed at her comment. His laughter rang pleasantly through Mari’s ears and she felt the sides of twitching upward and she herself was laughing too.

Yixing drank in the sound and the beauty of it all. Her eyes formed crescents and the bridge of her nose scrunched up in laughter. He hoped and prayed that this was a side of her he would be seeing much more often. Mari’s laughter was cut short and replaced by hisses of pain.

“Are you okay?” Yixing asked.

“Mmm. My ribs. It hurts to laugh.” Mari said clenching her jaw.

Yixing stood up and pulled back the duvet and propped up a bunch of pillows against the headboard. “Come here. You get comfortable and I’ll bring you something to take for the pain okay? And some ice packs.”

Mari crawled into the middle of the bed and snuggled herself comfortable against the pillows. “Thank you.”

Yixing was taking a while to come back and truthfully, Mari was getting a little worried. But moments later, he came back in with a tray in both of his hands.

“Tao told me to not let you take any medication on an empty stomach so I brought you some Bulgogi and soup Kyungsoo made earlier tonight for dinner. I didn’t know if you’d eaten recently so I figured I’d bring you something just in case.” Yixing placed the try stand on each side of Mari’s legs and carefully set it down. “Eat up! Kyungsoo is a wonderful chef.” Mari flushed brightly, not used to someone giving her attention and taking care of her.

Yixing walked over to his desk and picked up the acoustic guitar he had been playing before she walked in and started to strum.

“You play?” Mari mentally slapped herself for asking such a stupid question. She took a bite to distract her from her embarassment. It really was delicious. She would have to thank Kyungsoo, whichever one he may be.

Luckily Yixing just smiled. “I do. I’m a wedding performer. Would you like to hear?” Mari nodded her head in excitement, mouth too full to speak.

She watched as Yixing’s fingers plucked over the strings creating a beautiful melody. She lightly swayed back and forth enjoying the music. Suddenly he opened his mouth and began singing. Mari nearly choked at how smooth and powerful, yet lulling and gentle his voice was. He was singing in English and the only words Mari caught were “chocolate” and “my lady” but that didn’t matter. All that DID matter were the sounds coming out of his mouth.

The song ended much too soon and Mari clapped. “That was absolutely beautiful. You’re very talented. I hope you’ll play for me again some time.”

Yixing grinned before he sat his guitar down. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. And of course I’ll play for you whenever you want.”

“So tell me,” Mari began wanting to keep the conversation going. “you said your roommate moved to China?”

“Yeah, that’s originally where he and I were from. Tao and  Kris too. But Kris moved back with Luhan.”

“Ahh! I knew your accent was a bit unfamiliar.”  She winked at him and asked him another question. “Tell me a little about all our roommates. Or at least their names.”

“Well, there’s me of course. Then there’s Tao. He looks scary, but he’s a big scaredy cat himself. Don’t let him fool you. Minseok, he’s a pretty chill guy. He’ll make you laugh in a heartbeat, whether he means to or not. Chen, he’s a troll. He jokes around all day. Complete goofball. Baekhyun, well...he's Baekhyun. Very boisterous. That's putting it nicely. Kyungsoo, he can be a bit intimidating, but he’s very caring. Jongin, well, he’s just precious. If you’re ever having a bad day, just go hang out with him. He dances a lot. I don’t know if you’re in to dancing but maybe you could go with him one day. Sehun, he’s the maknae of us all. He’ll tease you all day long, but he’s a good guy and only means it to be playful. Chayeol, he’s a big music guy. He’ll probably come in and play with me some days. And then there’s Suho. He’s basically our mother. He takes care of us and is even the reason we have this place. He’s the heir to a multimillion dollar company his dad owns. And that’s basically all I can give you for now. You’ll just have to stick around and see for yourself.”

Mari smiled at the last sentence. She hoped she could stick around for a while. She was enjoying it here so far.

She finished eating and Yixing took her tray away and handed her two ice packs covered in dish towels. He went to place one on her ribs when she laid down, but he remembered she was kind of jumpy when people went to touch her so he backed off.

“It’s okay. You can place it on my ribs.” She swallowed hard. “I trust you.” She whispered.

Yixing smiled at her and placed the packs gently ontop of her shirt that had the swollen ribs underneath it. He was having a hard time concentrating on anything and kept hearing her words “I trust you.” Ringing through his head. He his lips before responding.

“I’m glad you do. Please continue to trust me and allow me to take care of you for a while. I’d like that. Now lets get some sleep. You’ve had a long day.” Yixing turned off the lights and crawled into his own bed.

“Goodnight Mari. If you need anything, I’ll be right here.” The room went silent for a few moments.

“Yixing?”

He hummed in response.

“Thank you again. For everything. It means a lot to me.”

He was glad it was dark, because the smile that stretched across his face was much too large. “You’re welcome Mari. Sleep well.”

A/N: SO LONG TO WRITE. IM SORRY. This is so horrible. Idk. I rushed oo fast. I couldn't help it. @.@