Chapter Text
Hyunjin could feel the straps that kept him tied down to the mattress rub against his already sensitive skin, pulling an uncomfortable whine from high in the back of his throat.
He tried not to make a sound, but it hurt. Any small shift, from his arms, his legs, his head, caused a stinging sensation to ripple through his entire body. And he could always feel it, no matter the amount of drugs the bad men dosed his bottles with, the pain just never went away.
Hyunjin was always too young in his headspace, too trusting while under to have any ability to refuse or to fight back. But he couldn't blame his younger self, and in the rare moments of clarity that he gets when he comes out of his headspace, like right now, he knew it would be a fruitless effort anyway.
His limbs were impossibly heavy and his head always made Hyunjin feel like he was underwater, which was obviously exactly what the bad men wanted. No chance for him to escape. No chance to be free.
So, the rare times he was somewhat aware, all Hyunjin could do was stare at the old, rotting ceiling and hope.
Hope that one day he would wake up in a crib that had a mattress that wasn't thread bare, that the same faces he always dreamed about would become a reality instead of his imagination, and they would save him and take him away from here. Far away where Hyunjin would just let go, be himself, and maybe, just maybe, be loved.
But that wasn't the case right now, right now, there were footsteps coming towards his door. Loud banging ones that managed to shake the floor every step, and Hyunjin held his breath.
He knew who it was, the footsteps. They belonged to a large, scary man that never failed to visit Hyunjin every day, sometimes twice a day. Whether it was to give him his singular bottle of the day, to collect him for an inspection, to hold him and just… look at him.
Hyunjin prayed it wasn't the latter, the man always had this creepy glint to his eyes whenever he unstrapped Hyunjin from his crib, and consistently squeezed him too tight or held him in an uncomfortable position on his lap for an unsettling amount of time.
The footsteps stopped in front of his door, Hyunjin biting his lip to stop any sound from coming out of his mouth as he watched the door handle begin to slowly curve down.
But, just as the door clicked to let the man in, the thud of a second pair a footsteps could be heard from outside, and they were fast ones.
The mans startled yell is all Hyunjin heard before the sound of something large and heavy slammed into the floor, causing his entire tiny room to completely shudder.
Hyunjin bit back a terrified whimper, his head starting to feel a little fuzzy as he listened to the scary sounds from just outside his door.
All he wanted to do was bring his hands up to ears to block the noises out but his arms were still trapped to his sides, so all Hyunjin could do was squeeze his eyes closed and try his best to ignore the loud unintelligible shouts.
And he stayed like that for what felt like hours, until the scuffling from outside died down and there was nothing but deafening silence with the occasional settling creak of the walls around him.
Hyunjin let out a long breath, feeling the uncomfortable dried tear tracks that had escaped his eyes from earlier move heavily every time he blinked.
From the tiny window that he could only just see from above the bars of his crib, Hyunjin spied the quickly darkening sky, which meant the bad men missed their usual time they gave him his bottle. And he was starting to get unbearably thirsty.
Because although Hyunjin knew the bottles were spiked, they were his only sustenance. The only reprieve he got from the constant, intolerable feeling of dehydration and hunger.
And even if he didn't want to admit it, sometimes it was nice to be held and fed.
Even if it was the bad men. The bad men who hit him when he cried, screamed at him when he finally lost the strong hold on his bladder, spit at him when he so much a shifted in their hold, they were the only sort of 'comfort' that he had. And so, Hyunjin couldn't help but crave it, couldn't help but sink into the arms that hurt him and take whatever they would give him.
Now, the dryness of his throat was starting to get scratchy and sore, and Hyunjin's ability to produce enough saliva as a relief was lost on him long ago, an effect from being deprived of proper sustenance for so long.
Attempting to swallow the little saliva he had, Hyunjin forced his throat to contract to get it down and sooth his throat, but it didn't work.
Instead, the overwhelming feeling that he needed to cough overcame any sort of control he had on his long warranted silence, causing Hyunjin to let out a few involuntary, and most horrifyingly, loud coughs.
The assault to his throat was over so quickly that Hyunjin still had some hope that he went unnoticed, but that hope quickly dwindled when sudden creaks could be heard on the other side of the wall.
Hyunjin felt his heart drop, knowing what was coming. He rarely made a sound, even deep in headspace his little self new that bad things happened whenever he did, but they'd heard him and nothing good ever came from it.
He watched as the door slowly creaked open, the bars of his crib too high to allow him to see who was coming into the room. He could only hope it was one of the ones that liked to get his punishment over and done with, and not one of the men that enjoyed hearing him scream and cry under their hands.
As soon as Hyunjin heard the footsteps get closer to his crib, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. It was a gamble, one that he had a very slim chance of winning but that was a chance he was willing to take.
Though, what he wasn't expecting, was the sudden gasp that came from above him and the deep, soothing voice that followed it.
"Oh, honey," the voice said, sounding like it was dripping with honey itself it was that soft.
Hyunjin peeled his eyes open slowly, confusion overriding his fear.
Kind but concerned eyes greeted him when the blur cleared, belonging to a man that Hyunjin had never seen before. He was wearing a black outfit, the word 'police' printed in big letters on a bullet proof vest that covered the mans entire upper body.
Police.
Hyunjin mulled the word over in his mind, knowing what it was but it took him a moment to fully grasp what it meant. And he was so very thankful to be out of his headspace in that moment, because when it hit him, the feeling was overwhelming.
He had finally been found.
The sudden joy that surged through Hyunjin could only be expressed outwardly by a high pitched whine and the man that had been talking in the radio strapped to his chest turned his full attention back to Hyunjin.
And oh it was nice to have those warm eyes focused completely on him, especially when they were accompanied by the equally as nice voice.
"You poor thing," the man sighed sadly as he snapped off his black leather gloves. "Let me get you out of here. You're safe with me, honey."
And that was all it took, the soft voice, the promise of safety, and that damned nickname for Hyunjin's headspace to take over—quicker than it ever had before.
~·~
Bangchan was pissed.
He was exhausted and pissed, the combination of the two causing him to be more rash in a situation where he should probably think before he does.
But there was nothing calm about this situation. Nothing that could pull Chan back into his usual calm headspace. Not before these vial, disgusting beings were all rotting in a jail cell, exactly where they belong.
Chan and his team had spent weeks worth of sleepless nights and overtime trying to locate the 'Little House' as people so graciously called it. From hundreds of tips, all they could gather was that Littles went into the house, but they never came out of it. Not to mention the concerning amount of noise complaints Chan had gotten about children screaming and crying into all hours of the night. Something that had Chan's heart in his throat anytime he worked on the case.
But finally, finally, after two months of searching, they had found it.
The building was located in a sketchy neighborhood, one that Chan new all too well from the many times he'd been called out there. It was an unsuspecting house that managed to stay slightly hidden between two large abandoned residences that Chan has had to chase squatters out of countless of times.
He'd never payed attention to it, never had so much of an inkling that anything suspicious was happening inside. And it was something that Chan couldn't help but kick himself for now. Especially knowing what was actually going on behind closed doors.
Sweet, little, unsuspecting angels taken from their homes in the middle of the night, forced to endure whatever these sick, twisted men did to them.
And Chan couldn't lie. As soon as his team had confirmed that it was definitely the house they'd been searching for, Chan had sprinted out of his house while in the middle of dinner and drove the two hours it took to get there.
His abrupt departure and rushed explanation had definitely startled Changbin and Han, but Chan new they'd understand and he promised himself he'd give them a call as soon as the mess was dealt with properly.
It was mostly a blur when Chan arrived to the house. He partly remembers giving his team some half prepared orders before storming into the house himself, ready to do whatever it took to keep get these precious babies to safety.
And luckily, they had succeeded.
Chan had brought down three of the guys himself, his only thought being the beloved face of his three best friends little, Jeongin, and how he held onto Chan's thumb whenever he picked him up, how he giggled at every funny face Chan made at him, and how angry he would be if it was Jeongin locked inside the house.
The motivation scored all three guys matching bloody faces and handcuffed wrists, as well as a trip in the back of a police car straight to the station for questioning.
The rest of the men scored no better, courtesy of the rest of Chan's team, and were all on their way to a holding cell too. Something that made Chan relieved to think about.
They couldn't hurt them anymore, and for that, Chan was grateful.
The Littles they had found were in all various states of distress and hurt, most of them so terrified that it took a long time to coax them out and into a police car.
But eventually, they were all rounded up and transported to a clinic where they could be treated for their physical wounds. The mental ones would have to be tackled later, by a team of professionals that Chan was already beginning to come up with in his head, making a note to call when he could.
Chan was just happy he could finally breathe.
The heaviness in his chest as dissipated when the last car door had slammed shut and the crunch of the tires were nothing but a sound in the distance.
All Chan had to do before he could go home was one last sweep of the house to make sure nothing was missed, something he would never forgive himself for if it were to happen.
He had been at the very back of the house and just closed a door to a filing cupboard when he heard it.
Three distant coughs.
And suddenly, Chan alert again.
Following the direction from where the sound came from, Chan stumbled across a door that was ajar, hidden partly behind a large vanity.
Pushing it open, Chan found himself in another small hallway with a door on the right wall at the very end. It was dark, and he almost tripped over a stray shoe that was in the middle of the floor but only just avoided it.
Straining his ear against the door, Chan noticed how this particular hallway looked more abandoned than the rest of the house did. Dust covered the floor and window so potently that Chan could barely see out of it.
With no other sound coming from behind the door, Chan took a deep breath, put a hand on his holster and quietly walked into the room.
At first, he was surprised to see how tiny it was. Only a few pieces of furniture able to squeeze into the space. Then he was shocked to see the crib that was forced into a corner, so plain and old looking that at first, Chan thought this entire area of the house had to be uninhabited.
But then, he walked closer, and Chan's whole world just crumbled around him.
A Little was in there. Strapped down by large black ties that went across his chest, pelvis, and legs that had Chan seething in anger immediately.
And then his eyes moved up to the babies face and Chan felt heart breaking into a million pieces.
The Little's eyes were squeezed shut, tear tracks leaking out of the corners on them as he breathed quickly, little chest moving up and down rapidly.
Devastated, Chan moved closer, gasping at the sight of the poor things bare legs that were absolutely covered in deep bruises.
"Oh, honey," he couldn't help but say, quickly radioing into the station to let them know he'd found another little, and that they should probably do a more thorough search of the house just in case.
The heartbreaking whine that came from the Little as Chan was talking was enough to have him cut himself off and look back down at the baby.
Big, wet, imploring eyes stared back at him, looking so crushed that it had Chan quickly removing his gloves and rolling his sleeves, preparing himself to get this precious cargo out of his trap.
"You poor thing," he said, already leaning over the bars but being careful not to make his movement too quick. "Let me get you out of here. You're safe with me, honey."
At his words, Chan watched as the Littles eyes filled with even more tears, face scrunching up as he whimpered.
"Sh, sh, it's okay," Chan hushed, quickly ripping the pocket knife out of his holster. "I'll be quick, honey."
Spinning the blade out, Chan made quick work of the straps that held the baby down, making sure to be extra careful when peeling them off his skin.
Chan hissed at the sight of red and irritated skin, looking so very sore that he had to use every bit of willpower that he had to not storm into the police station and rework the faces of the men responsible once again.
By now, the baby was hiccuping with a force that went through his entire body, and Chan could tell that he was trying very hard not to cry.
"Oh, baby, come here," Chan whispered before carefully grabbing the little from under his arms and pulling him up. "I've got you."
God, he was so unimaginably light and tiny, fitting perfectly into Chan's strong arms like he belonged there.
The Little was dressed in only an oversized white T-shirt and diaper, which was obviously in need of a change as soon as possible. But Chan didn't worry about that. All he worried about was the precious little thing in his arms, and how hard he was still forcing himself to not cry.
Bouncing him up and down carefully, Chan mumbled, "You can cry, Honey. No one is going to be mad."
Because why else would he, a baby, be holding himself back so much. Probably because he was scared.
And boy did that made Chan's blood boil once again, though this time, the only thing snapping him out of it was the full body shudder that rippled through the Little, small whimpers becoming louder and longer until he finally let go and let himself cry.
"Good boy," Chan sighed sadly, nosing the Little's hair as he wailed, running his hand rhythmically down his head and back. "Let it out, that's it."
Chan had to fight back tears of his own at the Little's distressed cries, small arms squeezing Chan with as much strength as he could give.
Looking down at the hand that had his shirt collar in a tight grip, Chan spied a small plastic band wrapped the thin wrist. Confused, Chan carefully rotated the band to find a name written in black, bold letters across the front.
Hyunjin.
Chan didn't know why, but the fact that this little one's name, Hyunjin, was reduced to a nothing but something carelessly scrawled onto a plastic band was his final breaking point. He had to get out of the house.
Carefully, as to not disturb the still crying Little in his arms, Chan began to slowly walking around, checking for anything he might have missed.
When he found nothing but trash in the small room, Chan made his exit, making sure to tuck Hyunjin's face up against his neck.
He was still crying hard. Loud sobs that racked his small frame and crocodile tears were wetting Chan's neck and shirt.
But, of course, Chan couldn't care less about it. In fact, he was happy about it. A crying baby was better than a silent one.
Making it outside, Chan breathed in the fresh air that hit his face as soon as he stepped out the door, a welcomed feeling after being in that suffocating house.
Hyunjin definitely agreed too, his breathing slowing a little and the loud sobs died down gradually until he was only hiccuping.
"Doesn't that feel nice, honey? Being outside of that awful place,” Chan said, talking to Hyunjin, even if the Little couldn't understand what he was saying.
And for some reason the baby enjoyed when he did it, his head burrowing further into Chan's chest if that was even possible.
Making a beeline for his car, Chan got in, baby in still snug in his arms, and called Han's phone. He knew that Han would still be awake, his boyfriend always worried whenever Chan would have to leave for work without notice, and this time he was especially thankful for it.
"Chan? Are you okay? What happened?" Han's voice was loud in the speaker, forcing Chan to hold it away from Hyunjin so that it wouldn't disturb him.
"Han, baby, calm down, everything is okay," Chan said comfortingly, patting Hyunjin's diaper clad bottom when he fussed a little. "I just need you to go and get Binnie for me, okay? Even if he's sleeping."
There was a shuffle from the other end of the phone before a new voice came through.
"I'm already awake, Chan. We've been waiting up for you to come home. What's wrong?"
Changbin's voice was tired, and Chan felt a pang of guilt run through him at the thought of his boyfriends losing sleep over him. There have even been occurrences were Chan hasn't come home for nearly an entire day, with no call or text to let them know why.
And even though there was a always a very good reason for why he couldn't text them, that didn't mean Chan didn't feel horribly guilty every time he came home to his tired, and sometimes teary eyed boyfriends.
"I can practically hear your thoughts, Channie," Changbin's huffed a laugh, "Don't blame yourself for the decisions we make, it's not your fault if we're staying up. Now—you better tell us what's going on before Hannie combusts from the stress.”
That managed to pull a chuckle from Chan, and he could only imagine Han’s retaliating pout that was bound to be plastered onto his face.
“We found it,” he said, cutting right to the point. “Ten men, one woman, surprisingly, and twelve Littles.”
“Really?” Han gasped, and Chan could tell that he'd grabbed the phone. “Channie, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you.”
Chan blushed, the sound of Changbin cheering in the background had him smiling like an idiot.
“Thank you, baby. I couldn't have done it without your daily check-ins.”
“Ya! What about my daily massages!” Changbin's indignant voice yelled through the speaker, causing Chan’s smile to become impossibly wider.
“Of course, Binnie. Not without your massages either.”
Because it's true. Without them, Chan would've lost his mind long ago. They always forced him to eat, sleep, shower, and have short breaks just to relax and recharge, and without that, Chan knows he never would've made it this far.
"I love you both. So much," he said, getting twin 'I love you too's' sung back to him.
"When are you coming home, Channie? I want to cuddle with you," Han asked, or more whined through the phone.
"Soon Hannie, I just have to deal with one last little before I can," Chan sighed sadly, rubbing Hyunjin's back. "The poor thing. He was strapped to his crib with no way out. I'm pretty sure they've neglected his changes for a while, too."
Changbin gasped and Chan knew the look of absolute horror that was bound to be on his face. Changbin loved Littles. He loved them so much that he made it his job to be around them. And as Chan had worked through this case, Changbin had been at his shoulder the entire time, praying for the Littles that were trapped.
"Poor baby, are you with him right now?" Changbin asked, sounding devastated through the phone.
"Yes, he's here with me still," Chan murmured quietly, looking down at the little one in his lap who still had his head buried into Chan's chest.
"Can we see him?" Changbin whispered.
Obliging, Chan took the phone away from his ear and requested to face time, angling the screen that they'd be able to see Hyunjin in his arms.
"He's so tiny," Changbin gasped, awe written across his face.
"I know," Chan said, adjusting Hyunjin so that he was sitting higher up in his arms. "He hasn't moved from this spot either. I don't think he's going to take kindly to being put down."
Han pouted at his words, eyes shining with tears and concern.
"Channie, you should definitely get his rash and bruises checked out as soon as possible. I'm worried about an infection."
Chan sighed at Hans words, knowing he was right but was also hesitant to take Hyunjin to a doctor. Especially now, after everything he's been through, Chan doesn't want to put Hyunjin into anymore stress unless absolutely necessary.
"I know. It's just—it's just I know he won't take well to it, being checked out by some stranger. He's been through so much already."
There was a pause from the other end of the phone, and Chan looked up at the screen to see his boyfriends sharing a look.
Then finally, after Changbin gave a hard nod, Han spoke.
"Bring him here."
Chan blinked. "What?"
"Bring him here," Han repeated, smiling a little at Chan's reaction. "I already have all the necessary supplies to treat him, just until he's ready to go to a proper check-up."
"Really, Hannie? Are you sure?"
Chan felt his chest loosen with a weight he didn't know was there when Han nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you—thank you both, so much," Chan said, smiling at them. "I'll get him changed quickly and I'll be on my way home."
"We'll be waiting," Changbin smiled back, "I'll make sure the spare room Innie stays in is clean and prepared, too."
"Yes, that would be great, Binnie," Chan said gratefully, running a hand through Hyunjin's hair. "I love you both so much. I'll see you soon."
"Love you, Chan," Han blew a kiss at the phone before waving bye, and the screen went black as he ended the call.
And then the car was silent, expect for small suckling noises that came from the little thing in his arms. Looking down, Chan caught Hyunjin's wide, trusting gaze as he sucked rhythmically on his pointer and middle finger.
"No, honey," Chan murmured, pulling his little fingers away from his mouth. "Fingers are icky."
He regretted it as soon as he did it though, because Hyunjin's bottom lip popped out into a large pout, and his eyes filled with tears as he looked pleadingly at Chan.
Chan felt his not so hard resolve crumble at the face, but he couldn't give in. He knew how bad it could be if Hyunjin caught something from putting his fingers in his mouth, and there was no way he was letting that happen.
Looking around his car, Chan struggled to find anything safe and clean that he could give Hyunjin, the baby becoming increasingly fussy the longer he took if his whines were any indication.
And then, Chan had an epiphany.
Suddenly very grateful that he was in his own car instead of his police one, Chan reached over into the glove box and pulled out the spare pacifier he kept in there, just in case Innie needed one while in his car.
It was also why Chan always had a car seat in the back, a top of the line one that had the best safety reviews because there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his honorary nephew.
Popping the case open, Chan quickly grabbed the white pacifier out and held it in front of Hyunjin's face, waiting for him to make the move.
The Little stared at it for a few seconds before leaning forwards and taking it into his mouth, giving it a few experimental sucks before positively melting in Chan's embrace.
"Oh, baby. Do you like it?"
Hyunjin didn't reply, only continued suck on his new pacifier as his eyes began to droop shut, and that was enough of an answer for Chan.
He stared at the precious sight for a moment longer, only getting out of the car when we saw how late it was.
"Shit," he muttered, the time on his phone telling him it was already almost midnight. "Let's get you changed, honey."
Opening the trunk, Chan once again thanked his lucky stars that Jeongin was in his life and was around the same headspace age as Hyunjin as he pulled out a fresh diaper from an almost full box in the corner.
Carefully, Chan pulled Hyunjin out of his warm arms to lay him down in the empty trunk, using it as a makeshift changing table.
But as soon as he arms left Hyunjin's body, the Little's almost closed eyes snapped open, loud and scared whimpers sounding from behind his pacifier. He even reached out towards Chan with his little hands, begging to be picked up.
"Sh, baby, don't cry," Chan whispered comfortingly, one hand resting on Hyunjin's tummy while the other prepared the diaper. "I'll be quick, I promise."
Hyunjin disagreed, his arms falling down to his sides when Chan didn't pick him up, breathing heavily with steady tears rolling down his cheeks.
As quick as he could while being careful, Chan shucked off Hyunjin's diaper, the baby whining loudly at the action.
"It's okay, honey," Chan whispered, throwing the dirty diaper carelessly to side then grimacing at the horrible rash all over the poor babies lower half.
Chan make quick work with the wipes, cleaning Hyunjin up as best as he could while he avoided touching the rash. Han would know what to do with it when they got home.
By now, Hyunjin was a crying mess, his pacifier having fallen out of his mouth. But the sweet boy didn't fuss or kick at all, only cried his little heart out even as Chan finished taping the diaper up.
"All done!" He cheered, scooping Hyunjin back up into his arms, the Little snuggling deep into his chest once again. "You were so good, honey."
Picking up the discarded pacifier, Chan rubbed it off of his shirt and offered it to Hyunjin again who took it into his mouth quickly, sucking on it fast to calm down.
Swaying from side to side, Chan waited until Hyunjin's breathing evened out and his weight was completely slumped against Chan's before he very slowly put Hyunjin into the car seat, being very careful to not wake him.
And thankfully, Hyunjin stayed in his deep sleep, still sucking steadily on his pacifier.
As Chan started his car engine, he couldn't help but adjust his car mirror so that it pointed directly at the Little, his heart only calming completely as he watched Hyunjin's chest move slowly up and down with each of his breaths.
Chan smiled to himself.
Everything would be okay.