《stray together》

The Scars That Remain

⚠️ Mentions of abuse ⚠️

In the dark underground parking lot, Changbin had the sun visor pulled down, using the dim light and mirror to carefully put on a face mask and ensure his features were concealed. A bucket hat covered his hair, and his dark baggy clothing hid his body. After pinching the nose of the mask to secure it, he closed the visor.

When it came to being assigned missions, Chan always provided the necessary information, so Changbin had thoroughly reviewed it prior to arriving. Changbin wasn't thought of as being a ruthless killer in the group, though he did have plenty of blood on his hands. But he had no reservations about the mission he was given, either. Knowing that every person on the list was somehow involved in CSAM, made it very easy to want them dead.

The first person Changbin was going to handle was one of the simplest, as the apartment complex had numbered parking spots, so he just had to sit and wait for a car to pull into the specific number.

It was just a waiting game, sitting in the parking lot until his target arrived.

Things had been progressing for Lino and Han in their shared therapy sessions. Finally reaching a point that they both sat shirtless, facing opposite of each other. It was a huge accomplishment for Lino, willingly being exposed in the vicinity of someone else, and then trusting Han to do the same.

"What's on your mind?" Lino asked, threading the fluff of his comfort pillow between his fingernails.

Han leaned forward, grabbing his ankles and stretching his back. He felt a lot of tension in his chest, and the stretch seemed like it could help give room for his lungs to work properly. "Uh... I guess.. boundaries?" He swallowed, quickly picking back up to not leave room for misunderstanding, "Like– there's no pressure, obviously, but I probably spend too much time worrying about what is or isn't okay. If I'm crossing a line... Like– I know we are... you know... but the things I did with Jin Seo– obviously it's different, and I knew that! I don't want you to think that I expected—"

"Sung, calm down." Lino interrupted, immediately catching on to Han's anxious rambling. "What you say doesn't have to be perfect."

With a long exhale, Han felt a huge weight lift from his soul. "Sorry.. I just– I try to be careful with everything you've been through.."

Even though Han couldn't see it, a soft smile crept across Lino's face. "I know. I just don't want you to constantly worry about it. Remember, I'm doing all of this to be more 'normal', where people don't have to tiptoe around me."

"Right." Han nodded, more to himself than anything, "So, what I was trying to get at, was asking what our boundaries are, now that things have shifted between us."

"For example?"

Heat started to trail up Han's body at the question, making his neck red and his cheeks blush. "Like.. holding hands. Or in what situations I can wrap you into a hug... or..." He paused, hesitant on continuing.

"Or... kiss?" Lino guessed, receiving an affirmative hum in reply, "All of those I'm okay with. I trust you, Sung."

In one of his side mirrors, Changbin could see a car slowing down near the parking spot he was monitoring. The moment the wheels turned in order for the car to pull into that specific numbered spot, it confirmed that Changbin's mission was about to commence. He wasn't about to scare an apartment complex with the sound of gunshots, so he already planned to take care of things quietly.

See, Changbin wasn't necessarily known for his violence in the group, in fact, he was the least violent out of any of them, minus the newest addition of Han. It could be in part to his own past, but unlike Han, he wasn't afraid of violence. Changbin could throw a punch, if needed. And wouldn't be phased if he received one either. Perhaps it was due to the way he just had to suck it up to survive his foster father, or because he had talked through his experiences with his brothers, and done some much needed healing.