Warning, this is practically only Himchan's back story. I really should rate it M for mature themes, but... nothing truly happens... so...?

Himchan walked along with Yongguk, his hands pushed carefully into his pockets as he kept a good distance between himself and the elder. “So… You know… you and your stalker friends know my name… You still haven’t even told me yours.”

“Yes I did.”

Himchan raised an eyebrow, shaking his head as he smirked just a little, “Nope.”

“Huh… could have sworn I did. It’s Yongguk…” He said, smiling softly, “And the guys that you’re about to meet, they are Yoseob and Zelo…” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Just, I guess as a warning, the apartment isn’t… much. Yoseob’s parents are always out of town on business, so they got him the cheapest apartment they could find.”

Himchan nodded a little, “It’s alright, my place isn’t exactly a five star hotel either.”

“You still live with your parents.”

Himchan puffed out his cheeks, “Shut up.”

They two felt into a semi comfortable silence, walking along the sidewalk as the nicer streets of the inner city began to fade into the more urban hood area. Subconsciously, Himchan began to drift closer to Yongguk, and the elder couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips as Himchan’s hand gripped at the back of his sleeve, the touch feather light. With a small sigh, Yongguk removed Himchan’s hand from his shirt and held it within his own hand instead, ignoring the small squeak of mild panic from Himchan.

“Himchan… Can I ask you a question?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you answer it honestly?”

“I guess…”

Yongguk let out a light sigh, “How many times have you been in that position?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own.” Himchan said defensively, suddenly trying to step away from Yongguk, the elder kept a tight hold onto Himchan’s hand though, a sort of nonverbal statement that he wasn’t going to let the brunette brush off the subject.

“How many times?” Yongguk repeated himself.

Himchan immediately seemed to freeze up, the authority in Yongguk’s deep voice catching him off guard. “It’s never been that bad before… they usually leave me alone once we get off of the school campus…” Himchan sighed a little, his cheeks burning a dark red, “They’ve never actually… gone that far before.” Himchan kept his gaze on the ground as he waited for Yongguk to say something. He half expected Yongguk to laugh at him, tell him that he was being weak for letting things get that far, for letting his peers tease and bully him in such ways.

Instead, Yongguk gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, “Well… They won’t ever get that far. Not while B.A.P is around.” He said, turning left and pulling Himchan into the apartment complex and up the stairs to the third floor. Yongguk let go of Himchan’s hand to dig out his keys before opening the door, “Yoseob! You here?” He called into the quite apartment, taking a step inward.

However, fate had much different plans as a small boy, looking to be not a day over 12, barreled down the hallway and tackle hugged Yongguk, “Gukkie hyung~ Thank god you’re home, Yoseob hyung tried to burn down the building again!”

“Liar! I did no such thing!” The bleach blonde rounded the corner next, crossing his arms with a cute pout. He stopped immediately, “Yah, why didn’t you tell me you were bringing home company, I’d have gotten take out on my way in…”

The boy that was currently still hugging onto Yongguk looked up, his eyes widening, “Channie hyung~” He said happily, “You’re even prettier in person!” He said with a giggle, launching off Yongguk to hug onto Himchan, the brunette stumbling backwards and nearly falling onto his before he managed to catch the doorframe and steady himself.

“Zelo! You can’t just go around giving strangers nick names and hugging them!” Yongguk scolded.

Zelo only hugged onto Himchan’s waist tighter and pouted, “Channie hyung isn’t a stranger… I read a lot about him, so… neh…”

“Oh, stop being such a downer, Guk… besides… the guy needs a hug, not every day you get a good kick to the balls-“

“Yah! There are kids here!” Himchan said quickly, covering Zelo’s ears to protect him from the vulgar words. “You two are going to corrupt this kid before he even knows what that means, if he isn’t already so.” Himchan moved his hands away from Zelo’s ears, kneeling down next to the boy as he fluffed up his curly hair, “It seems like you need a normal hyung to hang out with.”

It had almost been a full month since Yongguk and Himchan’s paths had crossed in that incident in the alley way, a mere two since they had met again in the coffee shop. Since then, Yongguk hadn’t let Himchan too far out of his sight. Not in the creepy way, but, he had just this feeling lingering in the back of his mind that he needed to be there. That the younger brunette honestly needed him there too.

Of course, Himchan had been annoyed at first; constantly complaining that he didn’t need Yongguk to walk him to and from school every day like some sort of nanny. He would always tell him that he could handle it by himself, he didn’t need protection. He’d even threatened several times that he’d call the police and report Yongguk for stalking, each time though, he’d grin at the elder and Yongguk would know he really was doing the right thing.

Neither of them was stupid though. Ever afternoon when Yongguk would walk up to the edge of the gated campus to meet Himchan, the hush whispers surrounded them.

“Is it true he’s part of B.A.P?”

“He’s scary enough to be!”

“Shhh! What if he hears you?”

“What would Himchan oppa have to do with a gang, anyways?”

“Hyung is an uzzlang, he’s not gang material.”

“Maybe he witnessed a crime and they are just making sure he doesn’t go to the cops?”

“That’s just stupid!”

If Himchan was bothered by the whispers, he never showed it, smiling just the same to Yongguk before breezing past everyone and acknowledging nothing. It had become routine for them, each morning, Yongguk would wait for Himchan to finish getting ready for school, Himchan would complain on the way there that he would walk himself home, and each afternoon, Himchan would wait for Yongguk at the entrance to the gated campus, a light smile on his face as he playfully complained that it took the elder long enough.

Sometimes Himchan would just go straight home, and sometimes he’d end up back at the apartment with Yongguk and would help the elder with Zelo, teaching the younger the things he was missing out since he actually wasn’t enrolled in school.

Their routine had become predictable, and that was where Yongguk had screwed up. His footsteps slowed down as he approached the gate to the school, his eyes narrowing a bit in confusion as he looked around at the empty sidewalks. He leaned back gently against the brick wall, waiting for Himchan to come out of the building, figuring that the younger had merely stayed late to talk to a teacher or something of that sort.

However, after ten minutes had passed, Yongguk found himself growing annoyed and impatient. He yanked out his cell phone, mashing in the numbers and putting the device up to his ear, all but ready to give Himchan the what for.

The nearby ringing of a cell phone caught him off guard though and he slowly lowered his own from his ear as he took slow, tentive steps to the trashcan a mere few feet away. His heart all but stopped in his chest as the cracked screen glared back at him, the harsh light of the ‘1 missed call’ message sending him into a panic.

Yongguk found himself turning in circles, trying to determine the route most likely taken, that’s when he noticed the heavy marks in the ground just off the sidewalk. The grass was trodden down, even kicked up in a few places as though someone had tried to dig their heels into the dirt. Instantly, Yongguk knew he was on the right track. He took off running; his breath coming out in sharp gasps as his eyes landed on the outdoor equipment shed that was out a good ways from the main building of the school.

Despite ever prayer and hope that his brain could think of, the second Yongguk’s hand reached for the cold doorknob he knew he was too late.

The laughter bounced around him, cold and taughting as it mocked him.

“Would you look at that… seems like the little liked it…”

Yongguk’s breath caught in his throat as his vision spotted as a choked cry was the only reply to the harsh voices beyond the door.

“What… you want more?”

And just like that, Yongguk snapped. He wasn’t sure who was in control as the door flung open with a bang, bouncing back against the wall. In the back of his mind, Yongguk couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t broken his own jaw with how much tension was in his mouth as he ground his teeth together.

“Aww, look at that… Just a bit too late there…” The sneer only set Yongguk’s blood ablaze as he stared into the eyes of the same teen he had broken the nose of the last time.

Yongguk could only see red at that point, he didn’t feel the skin splitting open on his knuckles, nor did his body registered the pain from the multiple hits that he received himself. He was unaware of the damage he was causing, and he didn’t know exactly when he had grabbed the baseball bat.

The bloodied tool hit the concrete ground with a loud and echoing ‘clang’ as Yongguk immediately stripped off his jacket and collapsed to his knees in front of the shivering brunette. He eased the younger’s arms into the sleeves, zipping it up around him to replace the tattered remains of the shirt.

The relief was barely existent as Yongguk thanked the heavens that at least the rest of Himchan’s clothes had been relatively unharmed. He winced, waves of nausea washing over him as he pulled Himchan’s clothes back into their rightful place, mindful of the fast forming bruises and deep scratches that marred the previously unblished skin. “Himchan… Can you stand up?” he asked quietly, ducking down a little lower to peer under the younger’s bangs as they hung in his eyes. He was surprised at the dead, lifeless expression that stared blankly back at him.

Knowing that he wouldn’t get any response, Yongguk let out a gentle sigh and wrapped Himchan’s arms around his neck before pulling the younger up onto his back and situating him carefully there before heading out of the equipment room.

At the last second, Yongguk stooped down carefully and picked up the bloodied bat and made his way out into the setting sunlight, letting the door shut behind him. His only focus was on each gentle breath that ghosted across his neck that let him know that Himchan was at least alive.

Yongguk wasn’t sure how he had gotten across down with a catatonic boy on his back and a bloody bat in his hands without being stopped, but he did it and soon he found himself pushing the front door to the apartment open with his foot as he made his way in.

“Yongguk… you guys are late, I sent Zelo out to go get some—my god what happened?!”

Yongguk looked up slowly, “Yoseob… It got worse…” he mumbled quietly.

Yoseob had insisted on getting Himchan cleaned up himself, leaving Yongguk to make up the bed in his own room so Himchan could have somewhere to sleep. The whole time, Yoseob continued to watch Himchan’s lifeless stare all but bore holes into the wall in front of him. Yoseob found that Himchan allowed himself to be moved and would even stand in one place if placed on his feet, which made it much easier for Yoseob to dry off the brunette and redress him. It worried him though that the younger hadn’t actually given any real response that he was okay. He had heard Zelo come home the quite whispers as Yongguk explained that something bad had happened, and Himchan wasn’t feeling well.

Yoseob carefully took Himchan’s hands and got the boy to walk out of the bathroom with him and go into the living room where he carefully lowered the boy down to sit.

Zelo immediately came over with a bowl of soup, “Are you hungry, Channie hyung?” he asked, a smile plastered on his face. It slowly began to drop as he looked to Yoseob for help.

“I don’t know what to do this time, Zelo…” he mumbled, sitting on the couch next to Himchan.

“Well… I’ll help you hyung…” Zelo handed Yoseob the bowl before rushing back to the kitchen and grabbing a chair and dragging it to sit in front of the couch. He took the bowl back and scooped up a spoonful of the soup, blowing on it carefully before holding it out to Himchan. He waited patiently, breaking into a grin as Himchan parted his lips and allowed Zelo to feed him.

It had been like this for a week, Himchan would remain seemingly unaware of the world around him, but somehow, still completely in control. Anytime Yoseob or Yongguk would try to help him, he would seemingly become totally unresponsive whether it be eating or just moving from the bed to the couch. But the second Zelo bounced over, giving Himchan one of his bright smiles, the brunette would allow himself to be moved, he’d allow Zelo to take care of him. Yongguk had been worried at first, but as time wore on, he realized what sort of comfort Zelo was providing Himchan with and soon backed off, allowing Zelo to take on most of the tasks in hopes it would help Himchan wake up and come to his senses.

That’s why when he did decide to sit out on the couch with the catatonic boy while Zelo and Yoseob left to go shopping, the hand that slowly wrapped itself around his own nearly caused him to jump out of his skin. His eyes snapped over and he was greeted with the sight of Himchan sitting next to him, head hunched down as he kept his free hand pressed over his mouth to silence any sounds that might have tried to escape as the tears stained at his cheeks.

“H…Himchan…” Yongguk breathed, pulling the younger in for a tight hug. “God… you scared us.”

“ ‘m… s… sorry…” The usually raspy voice was even more so as Himchan tried to talk past the tears.

“Shh… Don’t apologize, Himchan.” Yongguk mumbled, rubbing comforting circles on the younger’s back as Himchan finally let it all out, his shoulders shaking with the suppressed sobs.

“Y…you were… right… though…” Himchan hiccupped, rubbing at his face to try to clear away the tears.

“Still doesn’t make any of this your fault, Himchan…” Yongguk said, “Everyone needs protection… I just wish I had been there sooner…”

They sat in the silence together until the front door had been opened and Zelo came bouncing in, ready to relieve Yongguk from “Himchan Duty” as he called it. Despite Yongguk being his favorite hyung of like, all time, Himchan was becoming a very close second (not that Zelo would tell Yoseob that). He stopped in his tracks though, as he watched Himchan slowly looked towards the door. Instantly, Zelo ran full force at him, hugging onto him tightly, “Don’t ever do that again, okay, hyung…” He mumbled into Himchan’s shirt as the brunette slowly ran his fingers through his curly hair.

“I won’t, I promise, Zelo…”

Youngjae stared off into the distance, letting the story wash over him as Yongguk let out a heavy sigh. “Yongguk hyung… you did what you could for him…”

“I didn’t get to him in time though…” Yongguk said, leaning his head against the back rest of the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. “I screwed up…”

“You saved him though…”

The two lapsed into a silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

“HYUNG!! HIMCHAN IS BRINGING HOME THAT GUY FROM U-KISS!!”

Zelo came rounding the corner, Jongup on his heels as they skid into living room area, practically falling over one another.

“Aish,” Yongguk jumped off the couch, “I’m going to kill him… always making decisions without asking first…” he grumbled, heading out of the living room to meet up with Himchan and leaving Youngjae to his thoughts.

“You’ll also be under some of the best protection in the world.”

“Who says I need protection?”

“Everyone does, Youngjae.”

Youngjae looked over, watching as Zelo and Jongup followed after Yongguk as he swatted them away. Everywhere the leader seemed to turn, the maknae line was directly underfoot with questions about why Himchan was bringing another gang to their hideout leaving them in quick successions before Yongguk could even think to reply. In the distance, he could hear Daehyun and Himchan opening the padlocked gate that stood at the entrance to their hideout.

A smile crossed his lips as he remembered the gentle smile Himchan had given him that first day.

He was right… Everyone needed protection, a rock to ground themselves with in times of turmoil and self doubt, a support system to pull them back from the darkness when things got too hard.

Youngjae couldn’t help but wonder though, how deep this need to protect his new family actually ran as the thought of calling it quits on Jieun once more crossed his mind in a flurry of his own self doubt and conflicting feelings.

Aish... took a bit longer then expected, but... Himchan's back story. I'm an evil person, but... it's what makes Himchan... Himchan in this fic. I didn't mean for it to come out as SO MUCH background, but, I got carried away? (And to think this is it with 3 pages of nonsense that wasn't important cut out). 

I hope you guys enjoyed? Please don't murder me D:

Please?

Cuddles,

Lynn