(⚠️: Mention of panic attack)

Gunfire rang through the warehouse, shouts and screams reverberating in the darkness. The acrid stench of blood and sweat thickened the air as Gemini, Phuwin, and Pond advanced through the enemy stronghold, their weapons cutting down anyone who stood in their way.

Gemini’s heart pounded—not from the chaos, not from the battle, but from something deeper, something more primal. He knew Fourth was here. He could feel it like a vice around his ribs, a relentless clawing at his soul. Every second wasted was another second Fourth suffered.

“Clear!” Phuwin called, stepping over a lifeless body, his voice sharp and alert.

“Move!” Gemini barked, storming forward and kicking down the last door.

His breath seized in his lungs.

Fourth was there, curled into the corner like a wounded animal, his body trembling so violently it seemed as if his bones would shatter. His wrists were raw, torn open by whatever restraints had held him captive. Bruises bloomed across his pale skin in vicious purples and sickly yellows. But it was his eyes that truly froze Gemini’s blood.

Wide, wild, unseeing. Hollow pits of terror that darted frantically around the room, as if even now, he expected more pain. His chest heaved in shallow, ragged gasps, each breath rattling as though it took every ounce of his strength to keep breathing at all.

Then Gemini saw him.

His uncle. A monster in human skin, standing above Fourth, his shadow looming like death itself. Rage, white-hot and blinding, exploded inside Gemini. He raised his gun without hesitation and fired.

The body crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

It didn’t matter.

Fourth flinched at the gunshot, a strangled whimper escaping his lips as he pushed himself further into the wall, his trembling hands coming up to claw at his own arms, his own skin, as if trying to disappear into himself.

Gemini barely breathed as he lowered his weapon, his voice gentler than it had ever been. “Fourth?”

Fourth’s head snapped up, and the sheer terror in his eyes struck Gemini harder than any bullet ever could.

“Don’t—” Fourth’s voice cracked, barely a whisper, but sharp as shattered glass. He shook his head frantically, his breathing turning rapid and uneven. “Don’t touch me. Don’t—don’t come near me.”

Gemini stilled instantly, his hands lifting in surrender. He watched helplessly as Fourth’s body curled inward, his fingers gripping his own arms so tightly his nails threatened to break skin. His breaths came in short, erratic gasps—too fast, too shallow. Panic attack.

Gemini clenched his jaw, willing himself to stay calm. “Fourth, listen to me,” he murmured, forcing every ounce of the ruthless, unshakable mafia heir he had been trained to be into something softer, something Fourth needed. “You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you. I swear it.”

But Fourth wasn’t hearing him. His chest rose and fell too fast, his entire body trembling as his head shook back and forth, back and forth. He wasn’t seeing Gemini. He wasn’t seeing the warehouse. He was trapped—locked in whatever hell he had endured.

Phuwin took a small step forward, but the second Fourth’s eyes snapped toward him, he froze.

“Stay back!” Fourth’s scream was hoarse, broken. His entire frame jolted as if expecting a blow. “Don’t touch me! Don’t—don’t—” His hands yanked at his own hair, his knees drawing to his chest as his body convulsed with gasping sobs.

Gemini’s breath came shallow now, too, but not from panic—from something close to devastation. He had never felt this powerless before. Never in his life. He could kill armies. He could command empires. But he couldn’t reach Fourth.

“Okay,” Gemini breathed, keeping his voice low, steady. “I won’t touch you. I promise.”

Fourth’s sobs hitched, his body still trembling violently, but his eyes flickered—just for a second—toward Gemini’s face.

“I swear to you, Fourth,” Gemini continued, softer now. “No one will ever hurt you again.”

Another broken sob tore from Fourth’s throat, his entire body shuddering as his fingers clenched and unclenched against his arms, nails digging in as if trying to ground himself. Gemini wanted nothing more than to pull him into his arms, to shield him from the world, but he forced himself to stay still.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Gemini murmured. “But I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Fourth’s breath stuttered, uneven, shallow. His nails dug deeper.

Gemini clenched his fists, heart hammering. “Fourth, you need to breathe. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Fourth shook his head, rocking slightly, lost in a battle Gemini couldn’t fight for him.

A moment of silence stretched between them, the weight of it crushing, suffocating. And then, through ragged breaths, Fourth whispered, so soft it was almost lost to the wind.

“I don’t know how.”

Something inside Gemini shattered.

“Okay,” Gemini whispered back, voice almost breaking. “Then let me help you.”

He inhaled slowly, deliberately. “Breathe with me. In through your nose.” He took a slow, steady breath, exaggerating it just enough. “And out through your mouth.”

It took time, but eventually, Fourth’s breathing steadied, the tremors in his body slowing. Then, with a choked sob, he suddenly lunged forward, wrapping his arms and legs around Gemini, burying his face in his neck as if trying to disappear into him.

Gemini froze for a split second, then cradled him closer, one hand rubbing gentle circles on the back of his head. “Shh, baby,” he whispered, his voice soft and laced with pure affection. “You’re okay now. I’ve got you. No one will ever hurt you again.”

Fourth clung to him tighter, his body still shaking, but for the first time, he wasn’t pulling away. He was holding on. And Gemini held him just as fiercely, murmuring soothing words, rocking him slightly, treating him as if he were the most fragile, precious thing in the world.

Phuwin and Pond stood frozen, watching the unbreakable, ruthless mafia heir cradle someone like a child, whispering gentle reassurances.

“Let’s go home,” Gemini murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Fourth’s head.

And this time, Fourth didn’t just look at him.

He nodded.

____