Chapter Two:

"Stop stealing my clothes!"

"I'm just borrowing them!"

"You should ask me, then!"

"It's not like you're going to wear all of them!"

"Both of you are being too loud and making us late!" Youngbae exclaimed, interjecting into the argument between Jiyong and Seungri, pushing the two further apart before they could lash out at one another. He turned to their leader, "What's with you?"

"Me?" Jiyong asked in disbelief.

"He's been taking clothes from you for how long?"

"You're actually defending him?"

Youngbae turned to Seungri, "And you!"

"What about me?" the maknae asked, wide eyed.

"You should ask your hyung before taking his things."

The youngest looked like he was about to say something, his mouth opening for a moment before snapping shut. With a pout, he walked out of the room to join the others who were waiting. They had a dance practice to get to and they couldn't be late.

"Ji, you have to take it easy," Youngbae said, turning to the leader, "And stop snapping at him."

Jiyong frowned, but didn't argue.

"I know the past week's been stressful, but seriously, relax."

"Alright," the leader sighed, "I'll try. I promise."

-

Youngbae kept an eye on Jiyong and Seungri. He knew there had been tension since the whole stalker thing started happening. YG insisted on additional security and forced them to start varying their schedule in the studio more. Their leader, who was so used to patterns when working, hated the idea right away. It was no way to operate a team, a unit.

Youngbae knew his best friend would harbor a bit of resentment, whether directed toward their CEO or toward the stalker, he'll never know. But he knew that the bitterness would eventually turn to a burning anger, red hot and waiting to be let loose. Unfortunately, Seungri had a habit of walking right into that trap and he knew he would have to keep the maknae away from their leader as much as possible.

"Ri," Youngbae called the younger boy over.

"Hyung?" Seungri approached, a smile on his face.

"Come sit with me for a bit."

The younger boy furrowed his brows, a questioning look. Youngbae simply gestured to the free spot beside him, patting the wood floor. With a shrug, the maknae sat down, scooting closer until their shoulders touched.

"What is it?" Seungri asked.

"Wanted to tell you to stop pushing Jiyong's buttons," the older boy said, slinging his arm over the other's shoulder.

"I'm not pushing any buttons."

"That's not true and you know it."

The maknae pouted, his eyes watching their leader who was at the other side of the room, laughing with Seunghyun, "He always says I'm his favorite. Then he just blows up at me."

"You are his favorite. You just need to know when to give him space."

Seungri thought for a long moment, playing with the sleeve of his shirt, picking at unseen threads. Then he nodded, a rare serious look on his face, "I'll try."

With that the younger boy got up and went to join the others. Youngbae watched as Seungri hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on Jiyong's back. The leader turned to the maknae and smiled. Youngbae was glad.

That smile was a good sign.

-

Daesung was sweating profusely as he laid on the floor of the dance studio, trying to catch his breath. He glanced over at the three that were still dancing: Jiyong, Youngbae, and Seungri. How in the world are they keeping that up? he wondered as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His legs and feet ached terribly and he was so tired he could hardly move his arms.

He glanced over at Seunghyun who was sitting on one of the wall benches, panting. Obviously, Daesung wasn't the only one who was exhausted and done with the whole routine. It had been hours and all he wanted to do was fall into bed.

"One more time!" Jiyong exclaimed, clapping his hands loudly.

Resounding groans could be heard through the room, even the back up dancers seemed to be losing motivation.

"Last time and we can all get out of here!" the leader called out, waving his arms and signaling everyone to get back into position.

Daesung got to his feet and took his place, dreading the next few moments of his life.

-

"Ah, that was great!" Jiyong said as they walked toward the garage to their minivan, "I'm really proud of you guys for getting it all down in one day."

"That was nearly seven hours of work," Seunghyun groaned, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I'll reward you guys, I promise," the leader said.

As they approached the van, their new security personnel, Mark, told them to wait for him to check over the vehicle. So they waited, the routine now just a regular part of their evenings. Once they were given the all clear, they piled in, ready to get home and rest.

"Should I make tuna omelets tonight?" Seungri asked from the back seat, leaning forward so he could talk to everyone.

"That'll be nice," Youngbae answered, smiling at the maknae.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Daesung agreed, glad to not have to do his own cooking.

"I'll help with the rice," Jiyong said, obviously still glowing from their great practice session.

The fact that the leader was in a good mood put everyone at ease.

-

Seungri's cooking wasn't exactly the best, but it was familiar and filled them with comfort. The tuna omelet was easy to make and relatively inexpensive, which was why they had it in the first place. They didn't necessarily have a lot of funds when they were first starting out. Things were better now, but once in a while, they still liked going for their staples.

Seungri gave a playful cry of dismay when he wasn't able to flip the omelet in a way that made it look presentable. He apologetically handed the messy plate to Seunghyun who was giggling at the maknae's failed attempt.

Daesung grabbed a piece from the plate before they even made it to the table, shoving the food in his mouth, "It's still good!"

"Thanks, hyung!" the youngest called as he walked out of the kitchen with a tray filled with five bowls of rice. He placed each of them on the table and sat down.

As they all settled in and started eating, they fell into their familiar conversations with one another. It gave them a warm feeling of family, which was what they needed being away from their own for such long stretches at a time.

"Our maknae's really good at taking care of us," Jiyong said with a smile.

"It's my pleasure!" Seungri exclaimed, looking around the table, "My hyungs are very important to me!"

"Ah, Seungri!" the leader threw himself on the maknae. The younger boy wasn't ready to brace himself the two ended up falling to the floor in a tangled heap of flailing limbs.

"Ow! Hyung!" the maknae cried, trying to scramble out of Jiyong's hold.

Then the others were laughing, practically doubling over as they watched the two rolling on the floor like children.

-

He was trying to get up, looking for a way to escape, but couldn't move. Something was tethering him to the floor. He looked down to see that his leg was being held down by a heavy, rusted chain. The coils of links were wrapped up his calf, digging into his flesh.

He tried to pry at the chains, but they only hurt his fingers, breaking the skin, his blood making the links all the more slippery. A loud thud made him freeze. In the silence he heard footsteps.

Someone was coming.

He scrambled, trying harder to yank himself free, feeling the bones in his leg cracking as the chain pulled tighter and tighter

"No!" he cried, yanking at the restraints.

A door opened in the distance, casing a white rectangle of light into the room. In that instance, he knew he had to escape or he would die.

Tears streamed down his face, his fingernails were snapping off, getting caught in the gaps of the chains and pain radiated up through his hands, "No! No! No!"

"Hyung!"

Jiyong jolted awake, gasping for breath.

"Hyung!" a firm hand around his wrist made him recoil, pushing himself away from the presence so fast he fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a painful thud.

He scrambled up and frantically looked around the room before his eyes landed on Seungri, who was backed up against the wall as far as he could go, clutching his arm. The boy was staring at him, features full of worry.

"Ri?" Jiyong asked.

"You were having a nightmare," the maknae answered, "You were flailing so I tried to wake you."

It was then that the leader noticed the bright red marks on Seungri's arm, "Oh god, did I do that?"

"I'm fine," the younger boy said, but Jiyong was already crawling back into bed, leaning in close to examine the damage.

"I'm so sorry," the older boy said, gently placing a hand on one of the marks he knew was sure to bruise by morning.

"What were you even dreaming of?" Seungri asked, allowing the other boy to look him over.

"Can we not talk about that right now?"

For a moment, the maknae looked like he was going to protest, but he only nodded. Jiyong felt relieved at the silence he was met with. But then the younger boy was speaking again, "Hyung?"

"Hm?" the leader wondered if he should dread the next words he would hear. There was a long pause and Jiyong braced himself for an invasive question, because that was what Seungri was good at doing. "What is it, Ri?"

"D-do you want to be little spoon tonight?" the maknae asked and Jiyong could swear that even in the darkness he could see the younger boy blush at those words.

"That'd be nice."

So they laid down once more, with Seungri spooning Jiyong, holding him close. And the leader felt comfort, knowing that his maknae would be there for him.

-

Note: Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting so far! This story may have slower updates as I am focusing on Fade Away. So, I do apologize. Please enjoy and thank you again for reading!