*Possible Trigger Warning*

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Minseok to wake up to Jongdae screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night. Heaving a sigh and pulling himself out of his bed, he quickly stumbles into Jongdae's room through the dark and flips on the lamp.

The younger male is sitting straight up in bed, his hands pulling his hair, his knees against his chest, small mutterings of nonsense coming out of the man. Damnit. Minseok thinks, taking a step forward and gently sitting on the end of the bed. Jongdae jumps, in a hard breath, his eyes wide. "Hey, it's just me," Minseok says firmly, calmly, steadily, his hands in a gentl surrender between the two. "It's just me. I won't hurt you. Talk to me, Dae." Jongdae's nervous hands reach up to pick at the scar on his forehead that he almost refuses to let heal. "Hey, stop that," Minseok reaches him to stop and Jongdae only jerks farther away from the elder. 

"D-don't touch me!" he cries. A pit swells in Minseok's stomach. 

It was a bad one tonight.

"Dae, listen to me," his voice is smooth, all traces of sleep gone from him. Jongdae doesn't seem to hear it. The tremor in the younger's hands grows faster. "Dae, hey, listen. Hey," Jongdae glances at the elder who's calmed him down so many times before. "There we go. I'm right here. You're safe, you know that. Hey, hey, breathe, man. Deep breaths...there you go..Stop picking that, you're making it bleed...see there we go, I'm holding your hand no problem."   

Jongdae's eyes are frantic, wildly searchig for some sort or refuge from the panic. He grasps Minseok's hand like a lifeline, his hands slowly creeping up the man's arm. 

"Steady your breathe. Breathe in for four seconds, hold if for six, breathe out in eight. Come on, do it with me," Minseok soothes. Slowly he begins to breathe with Jongdae, and within a few minutes his breath has steadied, apart from a few remaining hitches. "Okay, I'm going to get you a glass of water," Minseok says. 

"No, I don't need it." 

The elder sighs. Jongdae was a nineteen year old man, but every now and again, these nightmares reminded Minseok of fourteen year old Jongdae: scared, somewhat needy, and refusing help. The kid was so nervous he wouldn't speak, he was jumpy and Minseok swore that Dae didn't sleep more than seven hours a week. He got Jongdae the water anyway. 

"Alright, talk, what was it?" the man asks the younger. He waits, not breaking gaze, listening. Jongdae knows just as well as the other what the doctor said. Let it out, don't keep it in.

"McCrory house," is all Jongdae lets out.

---

"Six of his ribs are broken," the doctor said. "He's lucky they didn't puncture his lungs. The bruises on his chest should heal with the ribs, the bruises on his stomach will just increase the difficulty to breathe. He'll try to hold his breath, don't let him. Over all, be gentle with him. He's very scared, he's overwhelmed, he's in a good deal of pain. Give him some space. 

"I told you not to put anyone in that house anymore! It wasn't that hard of a case to investigate!" Minseok had shouted at the two social workers.

"Mins-"

"Was this worth it? He could have died!" 

---

"You're safe, bud. They can't hurt you anymore than they have. okay?"

"I know, it's just...hard," the younger whispers, his voice trembling.

---

Minseok refused to leave his friend. Jongdae was his little brother practically. The poor kid's been through his fair share of abuse. Minseok had heard the stories from that house. He knew Jongdae went through more than physical abuse, he knew that well. The kid had been through enough.  

---

"What part of the house was in the dream?" Minseok repeats the questions the psychiatrist asked a million times. Jongdae lowers his gaze and clears his throat. A choked sob is too hard for him to suppress. Minseok says nothing, just pulls the younger close to him. 

---

They found the evidence of ual assault later. Minseok never knew how, but Jongdae confirmed it. The young boy gripped Minseok's hand so tightly it cut off his circulation when Jongdae took the stand. The elder didn't know how they managed to convinced the court to allow Jongdae to bring Minseok up with him, but they did. The boy went into graphic detail about every little thing: how the beatings felt, how they yelled at him, how he was forced to sleep in the cold basement, how they gagged him if he screamed. He kept a dry eye until he was able to step down, then he collapsed and cried into Minseok. 

---

"You're safe. It was just a dream."

"But the dream happened," Dae cries. 

"I know, Dae. I know. You're not alone." He waits until the younger settles himself into sleepy yawns. "Lie down, Dae."

"Hyung," is all Jongdae has to say. The elder does is flip on the hall light, keeps the door open, turn off the lamp, and crawls in bed behind Jongdae.

The younger is back asleep in minutes, worn out from the attack. Minseok waits until the kid is dreaming steadily before letting his own eyes flutter closed.