Warning!: Mentions of death, but nothing too graphic. Also brief reference to heroin but only as a similie.

Minhyuk had been running for what felt like hours. He didn't know why or where he was going but something inside him demanded he run. His mind was blank as his feet seemed to guide him on their own. Loud smacking noises echoed in his ears with every step. His sides were aching, cramps having set in long ago and his lungs felt like they were on fire, every intake of breath akin to standing on hot coal. He looked down at his feet and was surprised to find them bare, void of boths shoes and socks. They were covered in scratches, as if the asphalt beneath them held rose bushes that he couldn't see. Strange. His feet were the only things that weren't in pain. In fact, they felt numb and cold. It reminded him of all the times he would soak his feet in ice-water until they lost feeling, whenever the swelling got too bad.

All movement in his body stopped and his head whipped up at an alarming pace to stare in front of him. His breath caught in his throat when he saw where he was. Eyes wide open and disbelieving, he watched as the world around him slowly became shrouded in darkness that was all too familiar. He'd been here before, a long time ago. It reaked of toxic chemicals, the kind they warned you about in science class, and it felt like an icebox, raising goosebumps on any patch of skin left exposed. Every time it was a little bit different but the result was always the same. This was the place that most of his childhood was made of and he had prayed when he finally entered high school that he'd never see this place again. He'd been doing so well with that too. He cursed.

He took a step forward and then another, his feet once again overpowering his mind. He didn't want to be here. The last time he "visited" this place, he had literally been shoved off of a cliff, falling face down, and found himself struggling to move as he watched his brother burn alive before his eyes. He didn't know why he was here now. Everything in his life has been going so well lately. This can't be happening again. Why now? 

He braced himself for whatever emotional torture that was to come this time, knowing full well that the victims of this place were always those he held dear to him. However, he was in no way prepared to find himself suddenly shoved onto his knees with his hands held behind his back by a painful grip as Kihyun appeared a few metres in front of him. 

'No', he breathed out, or at least he tried to. It wasn't until now that he took notice of the thick strip of tape covering his mouth. He couldn't move his jaw at all, the tape digging in and pulling on sensitive skin whenever he tried. He struggled to get out of the grip but it only served to make the faceless figure angry, earning him a sharp kick to the side. The vice grip on his wrists tightened and it felt like they were breaking. 

"Minhyuk. Look at me."

Minhyuk raised his head at the sound of Kihyun's voice, a pleading look in his eyes. He didn't know what was going to happen but the intense sickening feeling in his stomach told him that he was about to witness something worse then he'd ever experienced before. Only this time, with his hands bound and mouth out of comission, he wouldn't even be given the chance to stop it. 

He watched helplessly as Kihyun pulled something out from behind his back. It took a minute for him to register what it was but when he did, he visibly paled, fear injecting itself into his veins like heroin. He wanted to scream. He tried to scream but the only noise it produced was muffled and too quiet to hear from where he was. Kihyun lifted the gun until it was at eye level, and examined it. He looked it over and inspected it, wiping away non existent specks of dust, with an empty look on his face. Minhyuk watched in horror as Kihyun deposited a single bullet into the chamber and raised it to his temple.

"Minhyuk. Do you love me?"

Again, Minhyuk found himself trying in vain to make any kind of sound to let Kihyun know that yes, he loved him and to please not do it. He struggled harder against the bruising hold on his wrists, wanting so desperately to run to Kihyun and take the gun away from here, throw it far away. 

"If you struggle, he won't be the one to press the trigger...", a static- like voice sounded from behind him, "you will." 

Minhyuk's movements ceased almost instantly, not being able to bare the thought of taking the life of one of his most precious people. His head fell forward, a feeling of hopelessness making his entire body heavy. His arms went slack in their hold and an intense pain in his chest knocked the wind out of him. Unlike when he was running, the pain felt much worse then just pins. It was the feeling of what he could only describe as his heart being ripped out of his chest and shattering against the floor like a pane of glass. 

"Minhyuk. I need to know." 

He raised his head and tried his hardest to look into Kihyun's eyes, hoping, praying that the tears streaming down his face were enough of an answer. And for a second, when he saw Kihyun's grip on the gun falter, he thought it was. 

"Minhyuk. Why didn't you say anything?"

A sharp bang and the all too much sound of bone shattering rang throughout the place, bouncing off non-existent walls and settling in Minhyuk's ears. Minhyuk soundlessly screamed as Kihyun's small body dropped to the floor with a dull thud. The grip on his wrists suddenly disappeared and Minhyuk collapsed onto his side, face pressed against the asphalt. He swallowed back the bile that threatened to come up, as he stared at Kihyun's lifeless body through blurry eyes. 'Kihyun!'
He chanted his name like a mantra in his head before lack of oxygen due to the tape finally set in and he passed out.

******

"Minhyuk!" 

He heard his name being called but he had no idea where it was coming from.

"Minhyuk!" 

'It sound like Kihyunnie', he thought to himself. 'But Kihyun's dead.'

"MINHYUK! WAKE UP!!"

Minhyuk eyes flew open as he sat up. A cold sweat poured of his body by the bucketload, seeping through his sheets as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked around, taking in his surroundings to see that he was in the dorm. 

"Minhyukkie!" He felt a sudden weight on his body and turned his head to see the face of the very person he thought he'd just lost. His hands flew out from under the sheets as they scrambled to find purchase on Kihyun's warm, beating chest.

"Kihyun! You're okay." Minhyuk gasped, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

"Of course I'm okay babe. I heard you calling my name so I came down to check on you. You were having a nightmare. A rather bad one by the looks of it." he said gently, referring to the boy's body that was shaking beneath his touch.

"It was so real." Minhyuk said quietly as Kihyun wrapped him in a cautious embrace, scared to cause the frightened boy any harm.

Minhyuk noticed his hesitation and grabbed Kihyun's face in his hands and kissed him hard. It didn't matter to him that their teeth clashes and their noses bumped, though he would apologize to Kihyun later for it. What mattered was knowing that Kihyun was alive and safe and next to him. He broke the kiss, Kihyun's now red face, still cupped in his hands. 

"I love you." He told Kihyun seriously, looking straight into his soft eyes. "It may not be love in the traditional sense of the word like our relationship with Hyunwoo but it's love all the same, and I can't bear the thought of ever losing you. I love you Kihyun, so much. I need you to know that." 

The tears that were gathered in the corners of Minhyuk's eyes now spilled over and Kihyun was quick to brush them away and replace them with gentle kisses.

"I do know that Minhyuk. You always do a great job of showing me that every day." He smiled, rubbing a tumb along the other's cheek. "I love you too Minhyuk, very much."

Minhyuk claimed his lips once more, softly this time before breathing out a small sigh.

"I don't wanna go back to sleep." 

Kihyun took in Minhyuk's troubled features and glanced at the clock on the beside table. 7:00 am. They didn't have to be up for another hour but Kihyun figured a warm shower would be beneficial to the other right now. He looked back at Minhyuk and nodded silently, as he helped the boy out of bed and lead him to the bathroom. He turned the shower on and fiddled with the taps until it was at the proper temperature.

"Take a shower, let your body relax, I'm going to go make us something to eat okay?" Kihyun said as he reached for the door knob. He was quickly stopped however, by Minhyuking hugging him from behind and breathing into his back.

"Please don't leave me. Not yet." he pleaded, eyes squeezed tight.

Kihyun smiled softly. 

"Okay."

They undressed in silence and hopped in the shower, Kihyun making the extra effort to help the boy wash away all of his fears.

******

Hyunwoo having heard the commotion and went to see what was going on, smiled softly to himself as he listened through the door, happy that his lover's always had each other to lean on. 

He stepped away from the bathroom and made quiet work of making breakfast for the two. He set it neatly on the table so it would be ready and waiting for them when they were finished washing up and retreated back to the room he shared with Hyungwon and Wonho, giving them a thumbs up to let them know that everything was fine. After getting a brief nod in response, Hyunwoo laid back down in his bunk to sleep for what little time he had left, soothed by the knowledge that their ray of sunshine was being taken care of.

I am so sorry for how long it took me to post a third chapter, I was having a serious mental block when it came to these three for some reason. BUT! I finally thought of something, (and I also have another idea ready to write up tomorrow after work as well) so here it is! I hope you enjoyed, and I hope I didn't hurt anyone too much with Minhyuk's dream. I wanted it to be vivid enough to picture but I also didn't want to take it too far in terms of graphic nature. Hopefully I did it justice. Thank you for reading!