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Johnny always knew there was something under his bed.
It had been there since he moved into the dorms in his freshman year. He'd heard it the very first night, when he was tossing and turning from homesickness and anxiety. It had been light tapping at first, followed by quiet giggles that stopped as quick as they started.
Johnny didn't get any sleep that night.
Late one winter night, he had tried to talk to his roommate, Yuta, about his little monster, but the other had shrugged and rolled over, barely awake enough to register that Johnny had spoken. Light snoring soon followed.
One year later, and his monster has proven to be a nuisance at best, the thought of something being under his bed bothering him more than the actual thing under his bed. The worst it had gotten was when he was cleaning up around the dorm, listening to Girl's Generation. He had tried to hit a particularly high note from Taeyeon, and bright laughter resonated from under his bed. The worst of the damage was just his pride. His little monster had even picked up the habit of finding Johnny's slippers and lining them up next to his bed every day, even if he only ever really used them in the winter.
It had been a cold spring night, when Johnny was bent over a book, pencil in hand, eyes glazing over from the late hour when he had heard,
"You have pretty eyes."
At worst, he had blushed, rolling his eyes as he assumed Yuta had decided to randomly compliment Johnny, probably trying to get something out of it. It hadn't been till five minutes later that Johnny remembered that Yuta was staying over at Win Win's apartment that night.
He dropped his pen like a hot potato and his eyes snapped over to his bed.
A light giggle sounded from underneath. "They're really pretty."
Jonny squinted, searching for any movement in the shadows. Where his eyes too tired to see properly? "... Thank you?" He hesitated, voice scratchy. "Where are you?"
The little monster laughed again. "Under here, where I've always been."
"Uh," Johnny blinked, mind blanking as he forgot to respond.
"Go to sleep, Johnny. It's late." The little monster said softly. The next thing Johnny new, Yuta was shaking him awake, sunlight shining through the windows.
The second time he spoke to his little monster, he was high off a fever, Yuta having fled the dorm as soon as Johnny had sneezed, and Taeyoung asleep on a chair next to him, looking after him while Yuta hid away, probably off with Win Win.
Johnny knocked his box of tissues that had been resting next to him on his pillow off the bed, and rolled over to watch it fall under his bed. He flailed his arm as he tried to reach it, knocking it further back with a tired sigh, leaving his arm hanging.
Once again, the little monster had giggled, but this time there was something else there. Fear? Concern? Johnny couldn't tell. He realized then that the other's laugh was quite a nice sound, and he didn't like the way his stomach twisted when he heard it like that.
"Here you go, Johnny." And the tissue box was pushed into Johnny's hanging hand. He dragged the box back up, bleary and snotting as he mumbled, "What's your name?"
He could hear the smile in the other's voice when he whispered, "Jaehyun."
And Johnny passed out.
The third time Johnny spoke with his little monster, he had reserved not to pass out T within three sentences, wanting to actually find a few things out. Yuta had gone out of town for a family members wedding, and Johnny made it the perfect opportunity to finally speak to his little monster.
He was studying late on the second night of his roommate being gone, the second having been taken up with catching up on sleep, when he checked his phone, the screen flashing a few minutes before midnight, and started clearing off his table. He put everything away before plopping down in front of his bed and crossing his legs.
"So," he started boldly, looking underneath his bed, before hesitating at seeing nothing in the shadows. Had he been hallcinating when he spoke with the other before? Had he been dreaming?
A few moments passed before he heard a voice from the shadows. "So?"
Relief washed over him, and he squinted to look for the little monster, but again finding nothing. Confused, he stated, "Where are you?"
He knew the laughter was coming before he heard it, and his lips stretched into a smile at the familiar sound. "I'm here." The other reassured him. "I always am."
Johnny frowned at that. "Why can't I see you?"
The little monster paused, seeming to hesitate before saying, "You just... Can't. I don't usually take physical form."
He frowned again, wanting something to look at, something to attach the voice to. "Okay, sure. What are you then?"
The other hummed, "I don't think theres really a word for me. You've heard of dreamcatchers, right? I'm kind of like that, I protect you from all your bad dreams."
Johnny blinked before deflating a little at that. For having lived in fear of this little monster for the better part of a year, he was hoping that the source of all his terror was a terrifying monster, or at least the bogey man, mush less someone actually protecting him. "You what?"
The other just giggled, knowing Johnny understood, before waiting for his next question.
"So..." Johnny started for the second time that night. "Can I see you?"
He heard the other's breath hitch, followed by a shaky, "Do you really want to?"
Johnny nodded, trusting his little monster to see his reply.
He scooted back, giving space to whatever would come out from his bed. What he saw, was breathtaking to put it simply. Two smooth hands covered in black sleeves poked out from the shadows and into the light, before dragging out two arms, further covered in what Johnny now recognized as one of his hoodies that had gone missing a few weeks ago. From the arms came the rest, which was without a doubt, one of the most ethereal things Johnny had ever seen. Soft black hair that evenly framed a smooth and gentle face, with two strong eyebrows, and two gorgeous eyes that Johnny was ready to spend the rest of his life staring into.
Johnny watched the other's arched lips stretch into a smile, "Could you give me a hand?"
Johnny started, before he surged forward, stretching out a hand for Jaehyun to grab onto, before helping pull the him. Johnny felt himself smile more than anything, when he noticed that he just barely stood taller than his little monster, and were those Yuta's sweatpants he was wearing?
Jaehyun coughed lightly, and Johnny noticed the prettiest blush cover his cheeks, until he realized he hadn't let go of the other's hand, and it was Johnny's turn to flush bright red, and he pulled his hand away.
"Can I... Sit?" The other hesitated, nodding at the mattress.
Johnny mutely nodded, mouth surprisingly dry. Somewhere in the back of his head, he realized that he was in bed with a gorgeous man, but he pushed that aside, focusing on hearing every word the little monster would say.
"I'm sure you have some questions." The other said. "I can answer some of them, if you'd like."
Johnny blinked as he realized that it was his turn to speak. "Okay," he mumbled, trying to pick one question to start with. "Why are you here?"
Jaehyun pursed his lips, a frown sinking into his face, and Johnny found that he didn't like when the other looked this sad. "The person who lived here before you, Hyukjae was his name, he had nightmares. Really bad nightmares. He had them so often that I really had no choice but to try and help him. But I ended up coming too late, and by the time I actually stopped his nightmares, he left. I think he graduated, he might have dropped out. I don't know how he could have focused on school when he barely ever slept." Johnny watched the other shrug with the most heartbroken look on his face. "I don't know what happened to him."
Johnny frowned, wanting to get the look off of Jaehyun's face. "So why didn't you leave?"
The other laughed, but this time Johnny could hear the sadness in his voice. "Things like me, creatures like me, we can't leave somewhere until our job is done. It usually only takes a few days, maybe a week, until we can move on. But I've been here for a while."
Johnny nodded, glancing at the clock. It was late, really late. Which was dangerous, because when Johnny got tired, he lost any filter between his brain and mouth. And it was because of that, that when he looked back at Jaehyun, saw how pretty his eyelashes fanned over his cheeks, how pretty his lips shined after he ran his young over them, that without hesitation, Johnny sighed, "You're gorgeous."
He realized what he said, and how embarrassing it was, but he was so tired, and the statement was so undeniably true, that he couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed, especially when the other broke out in the cutest blush Johnny had ever seen, with a bright smile covering his once sad face.
Jaehyun brought his hands up to cover his face, "So are you. You're really pretty." He mumbled, looking down at the blanket under him.
Johnny chuckled at the boy's flustered reaction, smile broadening when the other yawned adorably. "Are you tired?"
The other blinked a few times, before registering what the other had said. "Only as tired as you. I sleep at the same time as you, that's how I can take your dreams."
That... Made sense. Jaehyun's sleepiness had seemed to take over just as suddenly at Johnny's had.
The taller shifted, until he was leaning against his bed, almost properly laying down, before gesturing for the other to do the same.
The other hesitated for a moment, before his blush broke out again at realizing what Johnny was trying to say, and he mirrored Johnny's movements, until they were both laying down, tightly squeezed together on the small bed.
"Won't your roommate be back tomorrow?" Jaehyun asked, blush burning brightly as he shifted.
Johnny chuckled at the other's flustered face, before laughing as Jaehyun grew more embarrassed at his reaction, and ducked his head out of Johnny's sight, tucking his head against the taller's chest. "Yuta can handle seeing someone in my bed, especially with how much I've had to see people in his."
The other laughed at that, and it was the most mesmerizingly beautiful thing Johnny had ever heard.
He smiled and wrapped one arm around the other, practically laying on top of each other, before he saw Jaehyun's eyes slip closed. He beamed at how cute the other was for a moment before following the other, and closing his eyes, tightening his arms around his little monster. His Jaehyun.
His little Jaehyun.