TW: Kidnapping, abuse, fear and gore.

All Free knew was inky darkness. It was heavy, oppressive, choking all of his senses at once. The air felt thick and moist, cold seeping into every bone in his body. He felt trapped and exposed at the same time. He was tired. So very tired. But some voice in his mind told him that sleeping would be a terrible idea. So instead he opened his eyes. 

At least he thought he did. He felt his eyes open, yet his vision never changed. A pitch-black void of nothingness still swamped him. Free could hear a fan blowing in the corner of the darkness, its blades rattling slightly each time they sliced the air. Something wet dripped onto the floor in rhythmic drops. He could hear his breath, echoing around the room, making it seem impossibly large. 

He didn't know if he was standing or sitting, so Free attempted to move. He found that he could not. His sense of touch slowly came back to him, and he was vividly aware that his arms were bound tightly with chains. He realized he was standing, his arms chained slightly above him at his sides. The cold of the stone wall behind him chilled him to his very soul. The cuffs of the chains dug into his wrists painfully. He let out a quiet whimper of fear and tugged at one of his restraints. The metal chain rattled, the sound painfully loud in his ears.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'd make an awful racket." A smooth, cold voice said from the darkness.

Free's body seized up. His eyes strained to see but to no avail. "W-who are you?" He choked out.

A chuckle erupted from the dark. Footsteps echoed around the room, each tap on the stone floor made Free shiver. The steps neared, then stopped no more than 10 feet from him.

"Well damn...hurts that you don't remember me. After everything we've been through together? You don't even remember the sound of my voice?"

Free wished he could run. He wanted to get as far away from this man as possible. Suggesting that he knew him...Why would he know his kidnapper? Especially if he was surrounded by darkness? The footsteps came closer, and Free could tell the man was standing right in front of him. Something cold rested under his chin, tilting his head up. The cold was coupled with a sharp feeling as if the object could easily cut him.

A knife. The man had a knife to his throat. Free whimpered again, pulling on the chains.

"Oh, how I've longed for this day. To finally get you back. After all the pain and heartbreak you caused me, I had hoped you'd come crawling back like a lost puppy begging for food, but alas, you leave it to me to take into my own hands once again."

A light came on. Not a big one, just a small bulb in the middle of the room. But it was just enough light to illuminate the man before him. Memories and deep anguish flooded Free's head as he stared into deep purple eyes. Memories of a happier time, of dancing, of feeling, of joy with this man. His short black hair fell just above his ears, now pierced with multiple silver earrings. He still had the same style as he did all those years ago, the black shirt, ripped pants, and the long black overcoat. 

Free remembered huddling under that coat, sitting on the hood of a vintage black car, nothing but love in his eyes and the smell of cigarette smoke and freedom.

He also remembered the sleepless nights, the yelling, the fighting, the make-up sex. He never felt loved during that "make-up". He felt used, and unwanted. 

"Jackson..." Free whispered, horror filling his voice. Jackson smiled.

"Ah, so you do remember me. Had to put a face to the voice, huh?" He slid the back of the knife against Free's throat, the cold steel made his breath hitch. 

"W-what do you want with me?" Free asked, struggling to keep his voice steady. 

Jackson moved closer, gliding his hand down the blond's face. Free felt as if he was about to pass out. 

"I wanted to love you again. Like how we used to, you know. The good old times."

Fear turned to anger. Free lunged forward, snarling, his face only inches from his ex's. Jackson didn't flinch.

"You never loved me," Free spat, rage filling his black eyes. "You used me! I was never your boyfriend, I was your slave! I was too naive and lovestruck to notice it then, but the day we broke up, I knew. I learned. I told myself I'd never see you again-"

"And yet here you are, chained underground with no hope of escape. Do you know what I'm going to do to you, to make you pay for thinking you could leave me?" Jackson flipped the knife around, pressing the point onto the base of Free's neck. Free yelped as a small bead of blood bubbled out of the tiny wound. He began crying, tears streaming down his face as his ex-boyfriend glared down at him with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes.

"I'm going to hurt you. I'm going to make you bleed and I'm going to enjoy watching the life fade from your eyes. Oh but don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm not a monster, Free. No, I'll ensure any wounds you get are properly handled. And then I'll hurt you again. And again, and again, and again. You'll never die, but you'll wish you could."

Free squeezed his eyes shut, pulling at the chains again. The knife on his throat dug in deeper, breaking the skin and sending jolts of pain through Free's body. He gasped, blood dripping down his chest. Jackson smiled viciously, reaching up to hold Free's hand 'lovingly'. The knife travelled down, cutting through Free's shirt and the delicate skin beneath. It never went deep enough to do any real damage, but the pain was enough for all thoughts to leave Free's head. The only thing he knew was sheer agony and hopelessness.

He shrieked, blood pooling out of the corner of his mouth as his ex continued to vivisect his body.

His shriek echoed down the halls of BC Sol. Free's eyes snapped open and he kicked off his blankets in panic. After writhing around in sheer terror for a moment, Free's logical part of his brain kicked in and told him it was only a nightmare. 

A nightmare. Yes, that is all that was. I'm fine. I'm safe. I'm in my dorm room, safe with my team. He's not here. I'm safe.

Free sat with his back against his bedframe, clutching the blanket tight in his arms. His eyes darted frantically around his room, noting down familiar items. His breathing came in short, sharp pants and his body trembled. 

Free heard footsteps running down the hall and his door slammed open, revealing the distraught forms of Valt, Chris and Rantaro. Silas stood behind him, peering over his head.

"What happened?!" Valt asked, darting in and taking one of Free's trembling hands in his own. Free transferred his vice grip on the sheets to Valt's hand, squeezing hard enough to make Valt wince. The rest of his teammates cautiously followed, standing behind Valt. Chris sat down at the end of the bed while Silas and Rantaro watched uncomfortably, probably realizing now that this would be a very intimate moment with the two people closest to Free.

Valt pulled the terrified blond in for a hug, burying his face into his neck and whispering comforting words. Free hugged back, breathing hard into Valt's shoulder. 

After a while Free's sobs and shuddering stopped. He seemed to have calmed down so Valt pulled back and looked Free in the eyes, brushing his hair out of his face. 

"Free...Are you ok?" Chris asked softly.

Free slowly nodded, taking both of Valt's hands into his own and holding them in a ball. He looked over at the rest of his friends. 

"Ya.." He responded quietly. "I think so."

"You never seemed like the type to have such vivid nightmares," Valt said, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Silence followed. Free looked down at his hands, still holding Valt's, and ran his thumb over the back of Valt's hand. 

"Yes," He said at last.

Chris smiled at them, seemingly deciding this was for the two boys alone. As close as she was with Free, there were some things he'd only share with his boyfriend. And she was ok with that. She reached over and patted Free's leg gently before nodding at the other bladers for them to leave.

"Hey uh," Silas said as he reached the door, "If you ever need us for anything, we're here for you Free."

The blond looked over Valt's shoulder and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Silas. That really means a lot to me." 

"You staying, Valt?" Honcho asked. Valt nodded and Chris led them out. 

After everyone left, Valt crawled up into Free's bed and shimmied under the covers, holding the other boy close. He kissed Free's forehead and the blond closed his eyes. 

"I had a boyfriend before I met you, Valt." Free started, his voice echoing in Valt's ears.

"Really?"

"Ya. His name was Jackson. He was your typical punk, black shirts, ripped pants, spiked belts, that kind of thing. He smoked a lot too. We met at a park one day. He was hanging out with some of his other friends, probably trading drugs or something I don't know. I was never really drawn to people like that, they scared me a bit honestly. But back then, Jackson was kind. His appearance did not match his personality at all. He saw me staring and invited me over."

Valt listened quietly, running his hand through Free's hair as he spoke, his breath warm against his neck.

"I didn't want to go over. But I did. He offered me a cigarette, I turned it down obviously, and he introduced himself and his friends. We met again a few weeks later and started hanging out. He was fun to be with, always loud, always partying, but never trying to force me to join him. One thing led to another and we started dating a few months later."

Free paused. He sighed, defeated. 

"But then things went south. I don't think he realized the effort that being in a relationship required, and he started to ignore me. His smoking got worse, and he'd snap any time I tried to get close. I didn't know what to do. Night after night we fought about everything. It lasted hours, Valt, hours. It'd go till morning if it had to. Then Jackson would fall asleep on the couch, and I'd go to bed. We lived in his friend's apartment then, since I didn't have a secure spot in BC Sol yet. His friend was always drunk and gone for most of the time, I don't think I had ever even seen him. And then Jackson would try to apologize, but he wasn't very good at it."

"His apologies were always make-up sex." 

Valt blinked. "You guys had sex?" he asked. Free laughed. 

"All the time. Why do you think I'm so good at what I do? ...But Jackson wasn't as kind and loving as you are, even during the rougher sessions. When he got me in bed, I think he stopped viewing me as a real person. He fucked me like you would a sex toy. It hurt, Valt. He didn't love me, he only used me for my body. He only wanted me because I was hot, nothing else."

"So I left him and never looked back since. But yesterday...I was cleaning out my closet and found a few old photos of us. It brought back some very bad memories and it haunted me as I slept. That nightmare I had..."

Free leaned up and looked down and Valt. His eyes were full of sorrow and exhaustion. He kissed Valt softly, lovingly, wanting to feel true love. Talking about his ex left him feeling hollow and empty. He never thought he'd feel loved in that way again. And then he remembered that he did, and the man he fell head over heels for was right beside him, holding onto him as if he'd never let go, while he spilled his heart out to him. He loved Valt so much more than he ever did Jackson. So much more. 

"It was bad. He hurt me in ways that I could never have imagined. I can't have him find me again, Valt. I know he knows where I am. Who doesn't at this point? But I can't have him knowing who I'm with. I can't let him hurt us, Valt."

Valt kissed Free's cheek. "And he won't. You're with me, now. I'm not him, Free. I would never hurt you. You changed my life for the better. And I will cherish every moment we have together, even if we never get to announce it to the world. Because the only thing I will ever need, apart from beybread, cause who could live without that-"

Free laughed against Valt's chest, rolling his eyes.

"Is you. Cause you are my everything."

Free began crying again. Not out of fear, but out of love. Who knew he'd ever meet someone like Valt? Who, at most times, was loud and chaotic and very, very extroverted, but could also be the most caring, nurturing person ever in private. Valt mellowed out around Free and Free appreciated that. But his stupidly over-romantic feelings made Free want to cry.

"I love you so much, Valt. Thank you for always being by my side."