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The hiss of a crocodile. The shock of cold water. The scrape of his hands on the rocks as he tries to swim away. The rapids are too strong, pushing him right towards an waiting dagger-toother, open mouth.
He can’t breathe. He’s coughing up so much water just to swallow it again.
It hurts. It stings.
He’s bleeding.
There’s a thrash of a tail, a splash behind him, and then it goes black.
He screams, the water turning red.
It hurts, it hurts.
He can’t tell where it hurts.
It all just hurts.
It all hurts so bad.
He breaks the surface, gasping for breath, only to be dragged under again.
His lungs burn, he thrashes, trying to get away.
There’s a weight on top of him.
He can’t move.
Why can’t he move?
He’s being shaken.
“Jisung!”
A voice. A voice said his name. He knows that voice.
His eyes fly open, taking a gasping breath, scrambling to sit up, pushing his back against the wall. He can’t breathe. His face is wet. His hair is wet. He feels hot and cold at the same time.
His eyes finally focus in the darkened room. There's hands on him, there’s eyes. He reaches out, hands grasping. He comes in contact with skin. Warm skin. Strong muscles.
“Baby, baby, it’s me,” the voice said, concerned but calm. Loud enough to cut through the haze. Demanding enough to be heard. “You’re okay, you’re okay, it was just a dream.” Jisung’s hands scramble to find his. Trembling fingers clenched tight. “It was just a dream.”
He sobs. His chest is heaving, tense and in pain. His shoulders ache.
He collapses, falling onto his hands.
He’s confused when the mattress feels wet.
Suddenly, he can feel everything.
“No, no, no, no, Dad–I’m sorry,” He looked down at his hands. Revolted and disgusted with himself. “‘m sorry, I didn’t-I didn’t mean to–”
“Shh,” Minho said, reaching out for him. “Shh, baby, it’s okay.”
Jisung sobbed as Minho pulled him into his lap. Jisung cried out, trying to push him away.
“No, baby, come’re, it’s okay,” Minho said, voice authoritative but gentle. His hold tightened on him.
Jisung gave in, allowing himself to be pulled into the older’s lap.
He curled up against his chest, wanting to be as small as possible. He wanted to be invisible. He wanted to cease to exist.
“I know, pumpkin,” Minho purred. “I love you so much. That must’ve been such a scary dream, huh?” Minho cooed. Jisung coughed, nodding. Minho carded a hand through his hair. “Oh angel, Daddy’s here, bubba, you’re safe.”
Jisung cried. Trembling and terrified, wondering why his own brain liked to torture him.
Minho was so patient and so kind. He didn’t deserve him, his touch, his gentleness.
“Pumpkin,” Minho called, stroking his face gently with the back of his knuckle, wiping away tears, Jisung glanced at him, eyes going back down to his lap in shame and embarrassment. “I know you’re upset and scared, you can keep being upset, you can keep crying, but we really need to get you cleaned up okay? Get you a nice warm shower, yeah? And some clean clothes?”
Jisung whimpered, too afraid to move. But he trusted Minho. His Appa always took good care of him. He swallowed a sob, nodding slightly.
“Ok, my little love, let’s go,” Minho said as he gathered Jisung up, the little clinging to him like a koala.
Jisung squirmed and whined when Minho stopped in front of Felix’s door, knocking.
“Hey, hey, I don’t wanna drop you,” Minho said as he went to put Jisung down on his feet. Jisung clung to him, hiding behind him as Minho knocked again. It was the middle of the night, so it took a minute for Felix to open the door.
“Hyung?” Felix asked, rubbing sleepy eyes, his blonde hair a wild mess.
“Hey,” Minho whispered, reaching back to pet Jisung’s head. “Someone had a really scary night terror and had an accident. Can you watch him while he showers so I change the bedding?”
Felix yawned and smiled.
“Of course,” he said, reaching out to gently card his finger’s through Jisung’s sweat-damp hair. “Anything for my little Jiji.”
Jisung sniffled, wiping his eyes.
“Go on, pumpkin,” Minho instructed. “I’ll be there really soon.”
“C’mon baby, let’s get you cleaned up,” Felix said, taking the little’s hand, leading him towards the bathroom.
Minho made sure they made it to the bathroom and closed the door before he went back to his room to strip the sheets. Thankfully, he had a fabric mattress topper that provided a little bit more comfort but was also removable. He stripped the sheets, blankets and the mattress topper, carrying it over to the laundry room. He stripped out of his slightly damp sweatpants and boxers, popping them in the washing machine with the blankets, leaving the fitted sheet and topper out. He wrapped a towel around his waist before he got to work on the bedding. He rinsed them in the sink before dousing the stain in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and baking soda. He left them in a heap on top of the washing machine before going back to his room, putting on an extra fitted sheet they had available.
When he was done, he headed to the bathroom to collect Jisung’s pajamas. He knocked lightly before opening the door. Jisung was sitting on the shower floor, hugging his knees, still crying as Felix scrubbed shampoo into his hair. Minho collected the heap of pajamas, quickly taking them back to the laundry room. He started that first load before heading back to the bathroom. He’d put the sheets and topper in first thing in the morning.
He went back to the bathroom, took off the towel, and stepped into the shower with the crying little. He knelt on the tile floor, behind him. The first thing he did was lean in and kiss him on the cheek from behind.
“I got it from here, Lix,” Minho said. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course, hyung,” Felix said, waving him off. “It’s gonna be okay, Jiji, I hope you feel better.”
Jisung sniffed, pushing himself closer to Minho. Felix ruffled his wet hair before rinsing off his hands from any residual soap.