leo ! does dubu have nightmares of her parents abusing her in roommates au? and how does chaeyoung help her? few thank you!! and have a great day ahead !!1
Combining this with your request for Roommates AU + prompt 14, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."
tw: panic attack, which i supposed would be due to underlying ptsd. implied past abuse
...
Chaeyoung was launched into consciousness by a sudden weight on her chest. She woke abruptly, her pleasant dream suddenly interrupted by visions of being pushed deep underwater. Then a tail swiped across her face, and she realized it was only their boundary-lacking fat cat deciding not to sleep with Dahyun for once.
“Georgie,” she mumbled. “Go back to bed.”
She nudged the cat off, but he dropped to the floor and crawled under the bed instead. She heard shuffling from the bed next to her and sat up. She rubbed her eyes. Was it morning? She reached for her phone – no, it was three a.m. She’d been asleep for two hours.
The moving quieted for a second. Then, a whimper. Dahyun’s feet kicked abruptly under the covers.
“Hey.. Dubs.” When there was no answer, she rolled out of bed and stood above the older girl.
Chaeyoung frowned. In the dim light, Dahyun looked almost pained. Her breathing was erratic and from her mouth, her muscles were tense, and there was sweat dripping off her forehead.
“Dahyun.” She said louder, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The reaction was immediate, and Chaeyoung wanted to kick herself for acting without thinking. Dahyun woke with a gasp, a hand clamping onto Chaeyoung’s arm. She sat up, slid herself towards the headboard, and drew her knees up to her chest so fast it was nearly one motion.
“Dubs, it’s me. Just me.” Chaeyoung whispered softly, arm still in Dahyun’s iron grip. Dahyuns eyes searched the room wildly, avoiding hers. She was beginning to hyperventilate. “Slow breaths. You’re safe, you’re with me.”
“I can’t- No, not- please-” She squeezed her eyes shut. Her nails were digging into Chaeyoung’s forearm, but she couldn’t really blame her for that. It’d been so long since she had such a vivid nightmare, Chaeyoung hadn’t even thought before reaching out to touch her. “No, no.”
“Just me, Dahyun, it’s Chaeyoung. We’re in our room in our apartment, we’re alone. It was a dream, you’re safe- Dahyun, hey, eyes open.” The girl shook her head.
“They’ll hate- they-” She choked, and a sob followed.
“Dahyun. Listen, Dubs, It’s Chaeyoung.” She tried, but Dahyun couldn’t hear her. “Can you open your eyes for me?”
There were a few painful minutes – maybe five long minutes, if Chaeyoung had to guess – where Dahyun didn’t react to anything outside of her head. All she could do was keep calm and keep talking in a soft voice, ignoring the circulation being cut off in her wrist and hoping Dahyun didn’t work herself up enough to be sick as she whispered incoherent, terrified mantras to herself.
The cries were getting weaker by the time Dahyun finally opened an eye to look at Chaeyoung. Less abject terror and more broken sadness. The panic attack was slowing.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight, the far-away gaze in her eyes, face red from crying, messy hair from covering her head. But it still broke her a little bit every time.
“Hey.” She slowly brought up her free hand to wipe a tear– at first the girl flinched, but she allowed her to place a hand on her cheek. She gently tilted Dahyun’s head to face her, rubbing her thumb lightly over her cheekbone. The grip on her arm loosened. “Just me.” She said, softer. She brushed some hair out of her face.
Dahyun finally seemed to see her, to consciously process she was there. Chaeyoung watched as the remaining fear in her eyes was replaced by something else.
“Chaeng.” Dahyun whimpered, voice barely there. Chaeyoung took it as the green light to pull her into a tight hug; she was fully awake now, not in that half-gone state that scared her so much. Dahyun was still breathing like she’d run a marathon, and shaking like a leaf, but was at least out of her head enough to acknowledge her presence. She buried her face in Chaeyoung’s shoulder, and in turn Chaeyoung put a hand on the back of her head.
“Just a bad dream, Dubs. You’re safe. You’re here. With me.” She brushed her hair back with her fingers. Dahyun’s shaking hands gripped onto her shirt. “Just a dream.”
“J-Just a dream.” She felt the girl nod, still shaky but already starting to calm herself down. “Scared.”
Chaeyoung slowly rocked them side to side.
“Nothing to be scared of. We’re in our apartment.” Chaeyoung said softly. “We’re okay. You’re an adult, Dahyun, you have people who love you and you have resources. You never have to feel that powerless again. You’re safe.”
Dahyun nodded, face still hidden.
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. I will never let anyone hurt you again, okay? You’re safe, with me, I love you, I’ll keep you safe, always.”
That seemed to help more than all the rest; her shoulders un-tensed a little.
Chaeyoung was no stranger to Dahyun’s panic attacks, and she could tell the worst of it was over. She was coming down from the adrenaline, shaking and probably a little nauseous. She’d be exhausted, but as long as Chaeyoung kept her focused on the present she’d pull out of the haze and she’d sleep for the next half a day. She made a mental note to email both of their bosses when she woke up; it’d been a while since she’d had an episode this bad and Chaeyoung was going to be there to help her through tomorrow, when she’d still be exhausted and a little scared.
She rocked them back and forth until Dahyun’s eyes drooped closed, and then lay back with her in the twin bed.
