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There’s a hand patting his face. Taemin identifies it as Kibum’s. Almost ignores it because he doesn’t think that can be true. But he can’t help but ask.
“Hyung.”
Taemin’s the slightest bit loopy. It’s probably the sleep deprivation and blood loss. When the pressure on his face doesn’t fade away he tries again.
“Hyungie. Hyungie hyung.”
He opens his eyes.
Kibum’s concerned face swims in front of his view. It’s so familiar Taemin could cry.
“Taeminie.” Kibum breathes out, hands coming to cup his cheeks.
Taemin nuzzles into them, ignores the slightest sting from his movement. It’s been so long since he was touched kindly.
It’s odd that this feels so real. And he doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Still…
“Hyung, shoulders.”
They ache. But that’s probably because he’s been hanging from them for a while. And his back has been a lost cause for longer.
Being whipped isn’t fun.
There’s a flash of light, and then the pressure around his arms is let up.
Taemin collapses. Doesn’t have time to brace himself. Is surprised when he’s caught by careful hands. There’s brief relief before his shoulders come back online, and then the only thing Taemin can register is the ache.
Bone deep and overwhelming. Almost whiting out all his other senses, and Taemin barely registers the hands checking him over, moving his arms so that they’re still in pain, but at least it’s slightly less.
Huh. This hasn’t happened before. Even in his dreams.
He opens his eyes again, sees Kibum still there.
“Kibumie-hyung.”
Taemin’s still the slightest bit doubtful. But hyung is there, furrowed face and shaky hands and wide, worried eyes. And when Kibum holds him, warm skin against his, so familiar it makes his breath catch, he lets himself believe it.
All at once his body melts, tension releasing, exhaustion catching up to him. If hyung’s here it means Taemin’s safe, that it’s going to be okay. He can rest. And if he isn’t then at least Taemin won’t be as crushed when he wakes up, will keep this as a nice dream to remember. He’s so tired. His eyes get heavy.
Kibum pats him, hard. Taemin groans.
“Taeminie, stay awake. You have to stay awake.”
He doesn’t want to. He should get to sleep, unconsciousness at least means a break from the pain.
He tells Kibum-hyung that. Or at least tries to. The expression on hyung’s face tells him he might not have succeeded.
Kibum’s eyebrows crease further as he looks Taemin over. But before he can say anything they hear a series of sounds, like several large explosions. That, and the accompanying heat wave that floods the room tells Taemin Minho-hyung’s also nearby.
“Minho-hyungie.”
Kibum says something. Taemin blinks at it, only hears the rush of blood in his ears. Half dozes off before he remembers Kibum’s words. Oh right. He should probably stay awake. He always tries his best to listen to his hyungs, even when they’re giving dumb advice.
Taemin shifts his position, bites back a cry of pain as he remembers why he stopped trying that a couple days ago. He should lift his head and try to see the room he’s in, he’d honestly not paid it much attention till now, too focused on other things. But raising his head would take too much effort. And though he’s long gotten used to the pain he still fears it.
Kibum-hyung catches his attention again with a call of his name.
There’s silence for several moments, or maybe there are noises that he tunes out. Taemin shivers as the cold from the floor seeps into his skin, and within a few moments he’s shifted more onto Kibum’s body.
He welcomes the warmth even with the painful jar of his muscles. Hears Kibum say more words that he doesn’t listen to but enjoys hearing. Hyung has such a comforting voice.
He closes his eyes, just for a moment. But then the noises turn frantic and Taemin opens them once more, squinting at the bright light before it dims with another flare from Kibum-hyung. Hyung strokes his hair back, his skin cool against Taemin’s forehead. His hands then rest on Taemin’s face, cupping his cheek, absentmindedly rubbing some dirt away while he maintains eye contact and Taemin’s too tired to tell hyung it’s useless, he’s covered in far worse and he hasn’t had what most would consider a shower in ages.
But he does soak in the touch, stares back at Kibum-hyung. Loses focus multiple times as he fights to stay awake, every blink almost turning into him dozing off.
He doesn’t know what they’re waiting for. His dreams never ended like this. If they were going to leave they should have done it sooner, otherwise it will end badly. But Taemin can’t do anything right now, and Kibum-hyung seems unwilling to.
Then Jinki-hyung is there.
Between one second and the next his eldest hyung is kneeling next to him, and there’s already calm washing over Taemin, a soothing balm, steady as a slow moving river, deep and relentless as the ocean.
Even in his dreams he’d never managed to get Jinki’s presence right.
When he meets Jinki-hyung’s eyes, Taemin starts crying.
“Taeminie,” hyung says, and at the sound of his voice, a sob gets caught in Taemin’s throat. He’s so relieved.
“We’ve got you, Taeminie, you can rest.”
Taemin doesn’t even bother thinking about the contradicting commands. All he knows is that Kibum-hyung and Minho-hyung are here. And now that Jinki-hyung is here he knows this is real. He’s safe.
Taemin sleeps.