(Trigger warning for all of y'all that don't read the Author's Note. )

Dakota was scared. He could hear his own breath wavering, which frightened him more, which made the breaths increase. His heart was racing as if he was running a marathon, but his feet and mind willed him not to move.

But he had to do this- for his sisters.

They might not have been blood-related, but they held a special place in his heart. They were the only ones that could make his frozen heart melt. He would do anything for them.

He kept walking, hearing the sound of his footsteps bouncing off the walls of the alleyway, echoing back to him like a warning or a jeer.

He was one small block away from walking into his own torture, but he had to do it.

For his sisters.

Heart pounding, feet thudding, breath quickening- he walked to his destination. Hesitantly, but swiftly. The man didn't enjoy a late arrival.

In fact, the man was always there, waiting. He was there waiting for Dakota, when Dakota arrived.

Dakota hated his grin. His face plagued his nightmares- it was his nightmare. Every week. A price to pay for protection and food. Worth it? For his sisters? Of course it was.

For himself? He'd rather die.

The man chuckled when he saw Dakota, laughing in a smug gurgle- gagged by all the cigarette smoke that filtered through his throat. His body was littered with scars, freckles, nicks, and tags. His teeth were yellow. His body caked in grease and perspiration.

"Come closer, darlin'," he said in a thick accent- Dakota didn't know from where. Dakota was dumb. He didn't know anything. Well- he knew better than to disobey the man. "Can't uphold our deal with ya' al-da-way o'er there, can ya'?"

Dakota swallowed- and, with his saliva, many other things went down. His pride, his hope, and to his wishes- his fear. This was the worst thing about living on the street- there will always be dogs with a bigger bite than you.

"If you keep me waitin' I might call our deal off," the man threatened in a descending tone. Like an owner scolding his dog. Dakota hurried closer. "That's more like it. I love seeing ya' yungsters uphold to authority." The man snatched at Dakota's hair, holding it as a sign of dominance.

Dakota wanted to back out. He wanted to break the deal and leave. He wanted to punch that man in the face. But this was his only option. The man had an entire gang on his side.

"Now sit," the man told Dokata, and the boy sadly sunk to his knees, "If you don't do better this time, I might use your sisters instead. They're younger than you but at least they're women."

"Touch my sisters and the deal's off," Dakota growled. The man can have Dakota's pride, but he couldn't touch his family. He knew the man would do it, if he disobeyed. He knew the man's threats more than the man's name. In fact, he didn't know his oppressor's name at all.

"Fine then, darlin'," the man said, pulling Dakota's hair until he winced. "You better have learned to suck dick then. Now...you know the drill."

Dakota swallowed the bile in his throat, then unzipped the man's pants. His fear culminating.

Suddenly, Dakota felt his body shoot up. His eyes, unknowingly closed, blinked open. His heart was still racing, his breath chasing it, but his feet were restricted by blankets. He was asleep. At home. With Nick. 

He looked over to a boy still bathed in moonbeams.

And Lucas was there too.

It was just a nightmare.

No, Dakota realized. It was a distant memory- a living nightmare from his time out on the streets. It made his heart skip a beat, his breath catch. He thought it was real- he swore he felt the rough ground on his knees. He felt the sting of his hair being pulled again. He tasted the vomit rising in his throat.

No- wait- the vomit was real.

Dakota rushed to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. He heaved his roast beef up until there was nothing left to heave. Sick-feeling and scared, he rushed to Nick's room. Well, Nick and Xavier's room.

Nick was his savior. Nick was his confidant. Nick was his...mom. His dad too.

Nick made him feel safe.

After silently creeping upstairs, Dakota walked to the big doors that lead to the master bedroom. Nick and Xavier's room was quite lavish- but Dakota expected nothing less from Xavier. The businessman seemingly loved rich things more than he loved his family.

When Dakota knocked and didn't get a reply, he assumed Nick and Xavier were not doing anything Dakota wouldn't want to see. Dakota entered.

Surprisingly, Nick was awake as well. Well, if you could call it "awake." He seemed spaced-out. Sitting on the side of the bed with nothing but a lamp on- his phone sitting beside him.

"M-Mom?" Dakota asked meekly. His voice still trembled with the fear from his nightmare. He didn't have them often, but when they came, they scared him. He didn't like that it scared him, but it did.

Nick snapped his head toward Dakota, as if he had just realized Dakota was there. But as soon as he saw Dakota he asked, "Nightmare?"

Dakota nodded before walking into Nick's warm, safe, open arms.

"I'm sorry," Nick replied, hugging Dakota comfortably, "I hate that they won't leave you alone." Nick leaned and kissed him on the forehead before saying, "He can't hurt you anymore." Nick rubbed Dakota's back, which made Dakota slowly relax. He was safe. Safe from that man.

As long as Nick was there, he was safe.

They sat there together for a few moments, Nick soothing Dakota- rubbing his back, holding him close, repeating his mantra of reassurances. Until Dakota calmed to a degree.

"Why are you up this late, Mom?" Dakota asked, the fear dying in his voice with every second he was beside Nick. Nick looked away from Dakota, as if he wanted to conceal his emotions.

"Xavier's not home yet," he muttered softly, "And he hasn't called. I'm worried."

"Don't be," Dakota replied, "I'm sure he just forgot to tell you he was staying in late." Dakota noticed the bags under Nick's eyes. "How long have you been waiting up for him?"

"Three days," Nick mumbled, "Give or take." He sighed, his eyes tearing up a bit. "I love him- more than any guy I have ever been with. But sometimes I doubt his love for me...you know? Please tell me I'm being crazy."

"Sorry, but I think you're right," Dakota replied. He had never seen Nick open up to him before. It was unlike Nick to blurt out his negative feelings- especially to his kids. But Nick didn't have any friends, as far as Dakota knew. And without Xavier, who was he to turn to?

Nick wiped his tears.

"I can't sleep by myself," he admitted, looking at Dakota, "I have nightmares too, and I'm afraid of them. Xavier knows that. Do you...Do you think he forgot?"

"I don't know," Dakota replied honestly, "He does seem very busy. Maybe he got caught up and forgot about it?"

Nick nodded, wiping his face again.

"Yeah," Nick replied, "That's it." He was still nodding, as if he was still convincing himself.

"Do...you need someone to like lay beside you? I could-" Dakota offered, but was interrupted.

"No!" Nick blurted, but then took a deep breath in-and-out, "No. I'm good. I couldn't sleep while worried about him anyway."

"Okay," Dakota replied, "Um, thanks for helping me."

"Always," Nick smiled up at Dakota, giving him one last peck on the forehead before leading him to the door.  "Thank you for listening. I shouldn't have done that. You're my kid, not my therapist. I-"

"No problem," Dakota interrupted, "Always." He repeated. He would die for Nick, if he had to. He owed his mom a lot.

Nick let out a tired sigh before Dakota left, hearing Nick's door shut behind him.

Dakota was tired of Xavier being a horrible husband.

It was about time someone did something about it.

~{()}~ 

"Don't forget about our lessons!" Lucas reminded Dakota before Dakota shut the bathroom door behind him. He had so many things on his mind, he thought his mind was going to explode and overflow.

Lucas's lessons, Mr. Morgan's career list, Xavier being a horrible person, and Ethan being sad for some unknown reason.

Dakota was trying to work on one of those thoughts- the less complicated one that required no social interaction. However, so far he had only marked off one career since he woke up from a nightmare that night and couldn't sleep.

Also, he wanted to form a plan of some sort to either improve Nick's husband or beat Xavier to a pulp.

Or, he could anger Xavier enough to have Xavier start the fight- that way Nick would join too. Nick deserved to throw in some punches.

But Nick loved Xavier wholeheartedly, despite the lack of feelings that man had for Nick in return. Xavier didn't deserve it. No one deserved it. No one but Nick.

Nick would be devastated if Xavier and Dakota had a throwdown in the living room. Therefore, Dakota needed a better plan.

Dakota showered quickly, hopping out and freshening up. He noticed a white-headed, angry pimple glaring at him in the mirror- smack dab on his chin. He managed to thwart all the acne except for on his chin. Those spawned faster than rabbits, and he couldn't keep up.

After quickly getting rid of it, slathering his chin in acne medicine, he decided to head down for breakfast. He had been up ever since his nightmare, but he didn't sneak any food during that time;so, Dakota was starving.

He almost ran down the hallway in pursuit of the smell of food.

Not only was he starved from being up for hours, but he also threw up most of his dinner last night after waking up from his nightmare. Like usual, he tried not to recall the nightmare. It was easy not to think of the worst time of his life.

He saw Lucas sitting at the kitchen counter, talking and giggle-snorting to Avil, who laughed in return. Lucas was a good diversion. A pleasant one.

The other day he wanted Lucas out of his head- now, he welcomed the thought. At least, that's what Dakota thought until he remembered Lucas's offer. Sex lessons. Sex lessons from a guy. Sex lessons from a beautiful, kind guy.

Dakota didn't know what to do. He didn't want to get with a guy, sexually or anything, ever again. But- even without the lesson offer- Dakota knew he was already attracted and way too invested in everything that Lucas was. Who knows how close they would get with lessons?

Dakota decided not to think about Lucas.

He thought about Nick again instead.

He watched Nick, happily cooking breakfast as if the night before didn't happen. The only trace of his sleepiness was the prominent bags under his eyes and the coffee mug he sipped from every once in a while. Nick didn't even like coffee, Dakota recalled.

He must have been exhausted.

Nick noticed his staring and smiled in return.

"How about you and I go driving today?" he asked, "It's a nice day out. Plus, it's Saturday! No school work to do! Yay!"

Dakota didn't tell him about the career list yet. He didn't feel like adding that to Nick's concerns anyway.

Also, Dakota did not want to drive.

"Um, no thanks," Dakota mumbled into his orange juice, averting his attention to the twins fighting over the remote. 

"Boys! Take turns! Sharing is caring, remember?!" Nick yelled at them, then turned back to Dakota. "Why not?" he asked calmly.

"Because..." Dakota couldn't think of a more logical explanation than, 'I'm inexperienced.' But he learned that that was a foolish answer.

"See? What's the harm?" Nick replied, "You know, if you learn to drive, you might get your own car. If you get your own car, you don't have to ride in mine."

Dakota weighed his options. Nick needed this, he decided.

"Fine," he said grumpily. Nick smiled and fist-pumped the air. "But I won't enjoy it," Dakota continued.

Nick chuckled lightly before replying, "No one does. But you'll need to drive without me someday."

Dakota could only wonder if that day would ever come.