Chapter Text
Johnny gasped as he sat up in bed, feeling sweaty and cold.
Gosh he hated having bad dreams.
He hated having bad dreams about his Dad.
He hated his Dad.
He hated waking up regressed.
He hated waking up regressed because of his Dad.
He- Crap- He didn't know what to do.
It was dark, and all he could hear was screaming. Shouting. Glass breaking.
He blindly reached beside him, trying to find Kenshi. He was here tonight, he was sleeping beside him.
His Dada could help him, Dada was there for him. Dada could protect him from the loud noises and the bad, bad memories.
"Kenshi!" Johnny whispered, lightly shaking Kenshi's shoulder.
"Hm?" Kenshi hummed, not at all awake.
"Dada? Dada wake up!" Johnny panicked, shaking Kenshi harshly. "Pease wake up!"
"What the-?!" Kenshi gasped, shooting up. He didn't get much time to understand what was happening before Johnny crawled onto his lap and hid in his neck. "Wait- What's going on? What happened?"
"Scary dream!" Johnny began to cry. "It had- Had my Dad and he was yelling and-"
Johnny continued to blubber as he clung onto Kenshi for dear life. Babbling about his nightmare.
There was only once when his Father ever broke a bottle. It was a sparkling cider bottle. Johnny had broken a dish by accident, dropping it when he was trying to put it away.
It wasn't his fault, really. He was too short to actually reach the cabinets at the time. A struggle to even get a plate.
His Dad had gotten furious though, grabbing whatever he was drinking and smashing it against the table. Grabbing Johnny by the shirt collar and threatening him.
It was the first, and one of the only times, his Mom ever really stopped his Dad. Threatening to take him to jail then and there.
His Father never threatened him again with broken glass.
Fists were still mildly common though.
Johnny never really spoke about his family to Kenshi. He spoke poorly of them, hinted to what they did. But it wasn't until Johnny had accidentally dropped a plate one night that he went completely spiraling, begging them not to hurt him, sobbing in the corner as he held his injured hand.
"He's not here anymore, baby," Kenshi whispered, holding Johnny close. "Your okay, he's gone bye-bye now. You'll never see that man again if I can help it."
Johnny shook his head, clutching Kenshi's shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white. It wasn't the first time Kenshi had helped either of his lovers with nightmares. Nor the first time they woke up regressed because of it.
He held Johnny close, steadily getting out of bed. He began to pace around the room, bouncing him. He even was able to turn the lights on, which made Johnny a little bit better.
Kenshi continued to tell Johnny that everything was going to be alright. That Dada was here, and Dada would protect him.
He made sure to use a softer tone, needing Johnny to understand that he was going to be okay. There was no more yelling, no more mean words.
The tone difference from the memory vs his now life made Johnny sob harder.
But eventually, his sobs turns into soft cries and hiccups.
"'m sorry," Johnny sniffed. "'m so sorry, Kenny."
"What are you sorry about, Precious?" Kenshi asked.
Johnny's breathing went ragged for a second, choking as if he were to cry again, "W-Woke you up, and ruin your sleep, a-and made you feel scared!"
"You didn't do anything wrong, Johnny," Kenshi said, sitting on the bed. "You were ten, sweetheart. You were put into a terrible situation. You're allowed to look back and feel scared."
"But it happened so long ago!" Johnny coughed, his throat hurt from his crying. "And we no no see him anymore!"
"Just because it happened a long time ago doesn't mean it can't come back as if it were yesterday," Kenshi gently shushed him. "You're allowed to feel scared and upset over scary memories. But you are safe now, Honey. The bad man is gone and he'll never be back here ever again. Do you understand?"
"Mhm," Johnny nodded shakingly.
"Good," Kenshi kissed his forehead. "Can you read the time for me, Precious?"
". . . One," Johnny tried to read the alarm. Numbers were hard, and his vision was slightly blurry from his tears. "One, three."
Kenshi held back a sigh. One? When had Johnny woken him up? 12 something? It was probably about 1:13 or 1:30. Either way, it was incredibly late.
Although he wouldn't force Johnny go to bed just yet if he wasn't able to.
"What'll help you get back to bed, sweetheart?" Kenshi asked, rocking the both of them while they sat.
"No seep!" Johnny shook his head. "No seep, wanna stay up."
"You wanna stay up?" Kenshi asked, feeling Johnny nod hastily. "Alright, we can stay up. Do you wanna cuddle?"
"And play IPad?" Johnny asked hopefully.
Screen time was not 1 something in the morning.
But Kenshi wasn't going to nag about the rules right now.
"Of course we can use the IPad," Kenshi agreed, grabbing the IPad from Johnny's side with the nearby charger.
Johnny went back under the covers, practically forcing Kenshi back into a hug. Kenshi struggled but grabbed the half empty glass of water he had, encouraging Johnny to have some. Kenshi usually had a glass before bedtime, but never really finished it.
Johnny wanted to watch Octonauts, which Kenshi agreed with. They kept the lights on too.
"Dada?" Johnny asked quietly. "Want my teddys."
"Which one?"
". . . All of them?" Johnny looked hopeful.
All of them?
Johnny had . . . a bunch of stuffed bears. It made sense, he owned a bunch of Mortal Kombat merch, quite literally made the franchise. Some of his favorite merch sets were the teddy bears, making one based on every. Single. One. Of. His. Friends.
So there were a ton of bears.
But goodness, Kenshi was willing to find them all if it made Johnny happy.
And so he did, with Johnny's help of course. The boy refused to leave his side anyhow. He wasn't as scared anymore . . but . . .
What if Dada left! Or if Dad came and took him away? Or if Kenshi came back and he started yelling?
Why wasn't he yelling over the fact that all his teddy bears were all over the mansion? Kenshi was always lecturing him about not picking up his toys. Where was the 'I told you so'?
"I think we have them all," Kenshi said, counting all the plushies. "Wait, where's Kenshi Bear?"
"Here," Johnny said, holding the bear tightly, sitting on the bed. "I waiting."
"Waiting for what, 'Hun?"
Johnny wished he hadn't opened his mouth.
". . . For-For you to start yelling 'cause my toys were everywhere and now it's two," Johnny frowned, looking at the bed in shame. "It's late and I woke you and up I so sorry, Dada-"
"Stop, sweetheart, you've gotta stop," Kenshi gently said, kneeling before Johnny and gently grabbing his hands. "You're exhausted, your feelings are everywhere right now. Right now, it's just you and I. No big bad feelings and no big bad yelling, I promise you."
"But Dada-!"
"Johnny baby, it's okay. One, I wanna be here to help you. And two, you're going to be alright. I'm not going to yell or lecture you, I'm not your Father. I'm your Dada," Kenshi reasoned. "It doesn't matter how late it is, or how tired one of us are, you did the right thing coming to Dada for help, okay? Dada wants to help. You've done nothing wrong, Precious."
Johnny tried not to begin crying again, he really did!!
But he did, he began to blubber again, nodding at he tried to pull Kenshi into a hug. Which Kenshi happily accepted, rubbing Johnny's back.
This cry ended sooner. Much, much sooner. Kenshi was right, he did feel incredibly sleepy and his head hurt and his emotions were all out of wack.
Kenshi carried Johnny to the bathroom, wiping his face and filling his cup with sink water. Any water was good right now, and Johnny was so thirsty after crying again and again.
The bed was flooded with plushies. Kenshi tried to push them more towards the end of the bed, but Johnny teared up and insisted that they all stayed near the pillows.
Except for one, Kenshi Bear. The bear that Johnny held incredibly close to him.
"Dada?" Johnny whispered as they were snuggled back in bed. "I wuv you."
"I love you too, Precious," Kenshi smiled, kissing Johnny's hair.
Johnny didn't make it past a full episode. With how tired he was, and Dada scratching his scalp, and rubbing his back, and feeling all warm, and cozy, and safe, how could he stay awake?
Kenshi shut off Johnny's tablet and put it back on Johnny's nightstand. He kissed Johnny's temple and hugged his sweetheart closely.
Tomorrow would be a big conversation.
But tonight? Just some cuddles and love.