//ok this gets REALLY graphic and mentions hardcore abuse so be careful

RIN WOKE UP with a beyond-sharp pain in his chest and a screech that echoed throughout the top floor of the tower. His eyes poured with tears and breathing, breathing was foreign. He could only scream and shake as he rocked, his throat clogged. He did not hear anything but that hushed, empty voice.

"Scream for me."

LT shot up and sat there, shocked and nearly as scared as Rin was. He reached over to touch him, but Rin closed his eyes and a shot of pain rang through his nerves and body. Nothing was real. Nothing was fantasy. It just sat in the air with his blood and tears.

Rin let out another shrill screech and fell off his bed, curling up and begging to be left alone. He looked up and saw him. Not a face of warmth or comfort, sadly.

The same face that plagued his youth, he felt it all. The cold stone floor, his nails digging and ripping into his skin, the smell of plaque and arousal that plagued his childhood. He looked not at the sweet face of his love, but the disfigured monster. Him.

He heard voices and rushed footsteps come in, the noise of panic and confusion, but the outside world was non-existent. It was a shadow, if it was even there anymore. The tassels in his lace dresses and the screams of the other lads that shared the same prison was real. Not this.

He heard only sounds, not words. He didn't know what they meant. He did not know what they were talking about. He tried to ground himself back, but his face was the only thing. The burns of his iron, the stench of his own feces and urine and the deep rooted feeling of hunger and anxiety. Feeling was only in his head.

He soon understood one voice. It was soft, which was unusual for her, but he wasn't complaining. It sounded better than his.

'Rin, are you still there?"

He was able to gather back senses, lifting up his head and blinked the tears and hair out of his eyes. He saw everyone on the top floor there. LT, Raven, Coal, Web and even Leo. He loosened his body; being able to relax during this ws rare.

'Yeah." His voice was barely audible, his throat still clogged with mucus and raw. LT came closer, kneeling besides him with Raven.

"What the hell happened?" Rin never saw Web this concerned over him before. His eyes were watering and his face was soft, unlike his normally harden demnor.

Coal hid behind him, clutching Web's arms and his head was looking to the side.

'I..I had a bad dream." Rin's ears were down and he hid his face in shame. He felt like a silly child saying that; like he was a 4 year old crying to his mother about the monster in his closet. But in this case, the monster truly existed.

LT reached to touch him, but then quickly stopped himself. "Are y-you okay if I touch you now, hon?"

Rin looked up, now seeing the kind, freckled face he missed. Rin nodded and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his chest. LT wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Raven joined, rubbing his back in circles. Rin looked over, confused, and Raven sighed.

"Hey, I'm not that heartless."

"Are you calmer now, Rin?' Leo asked and tugged at his sleeves. "Do you need anything? Tea or something of the sort?"

Rin gave a soft smile and shook his head no. "Thank you for asking though."

"This is weird." Coal said and came out from behind Web. "I'm not used to Rin being so sad. It's making me sad."

Rin's eyes started watering again as he uncoiled his body, letting go of LT for a few seconds to wipe his eyes. LT pushed away the wet strands of hair that clanged on his head. Coal walked over to Rin and untied the cape around his neck.

He placed it over Rin's shoulders and smiled. "I think you deserve this, at least for the rest of the night."

"You are a hero, after all!"