The Korean soldiers were…odd…to say the least.

They weren't bad but…

They were way too touchy.

He hated it when people touched him in any sort of way. It was never good, if they weren't grabbing him to threaten him, then they were grabbing him to hurt him.

He had multiple painful lessons to avoid all touch, especially from people he barely met. If strangers hurt him as a child, he had no doubt that they had no qualms against hurting a boy of his age, who was already an adult by most of the world.

And he was starting to reach his limit.

He had to swat away hands that got too close to his head, tolerate the men slapping his shoulders, and his back. He had to resist the urge to lash out when they would hold up their hands for high fives and fist bumps. Apparently, after punching Major Kang in the face and nearly getting arrested, holding out a fist to someone was a show of companionship rather than a threat.

His patience was starting to wear thin.

Desperate for some peace and silence for once, he went to the major's office in the middle of the night. As he thought, it was empty. For the first time in a month, it was going to be just him. No snoring, no sleep talking that would wake him up from his half-dozing state. He knew that he had at least three hours until the major would come into his office, and that was more than enough for him.

His exhaustion was feeding into his paranoia, the resulting anxiety from the paranoia didn't allow him to curl up on the sofa like a logical person would have. He wedged himself into the corner of the room, he was hidden from the doorway because of the large fake potted plant. But as long as he tilted his head in the right way, he had a clear view of it.

Pulling his jacket tighter around him, he fell asleep. Entering the first, proper night of sleep since he had arrived on the base.

The door was slamming open, the resulting slam and vibration jerking him awake.

"Jin!" all he heard was a voice and there was a hand reaching from the darkness for him, grabbing him before he could do anything to hit the hand away. His panic increased when he was being yanked forward, his ass and legs numb after sleeping in a sitting position for however how long. Arms were wrapping around him and the only thing he could do was scrunch his eyes closed as he prepared for the incoming hit and the incoming pain.

But…

It never came.

"Hey hey, its okay." A hand was threading through his hair, the same hand pressing his face into his shoulder," Its okay Jin. Its okay." The voice was calm, almost soothing if it wasn't for the barely present tense tone.

He was shaking.

Why was he shaking?

His arms were tight around him, but just tight enough to comfort him, allowing him to feel the firm but grounding body of Major Kang.

It…it was comforting…and warm.

No one had held him like that. Not even when he was still recovering from the plane crash, or when he had nightmares about the crash. It was foreign, but at the same time, there was something about it that just felt right. As if someone from long ago had once held him with such care.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the Major. The Major tightened his hold as if inviting him to grab on. Emboldened, He held on tighter, something tightened in his chest at the way the older man let him latch on instead of pushing him away like so many people did when he was a child.

The fingers threaded through his hair in a way that made all of the tension leave his body, the gentle side-to-side rocking combined with the Major's gentle touch made him drowsy. The panic slowly went away.

The sensation of the Major's hand on his head…

Was that what his men were trying to do every time they reached for his head? Is that what they wanted to do?

So they weren't trying to hurt him?

His eyes drooped closed.

This…this wasn't so bad. It didn't hurt

It didn't hurt at all.

Maybe all touch wasn't so bad.

He watched with a grin as Jin swatted away Han-Gyeol's hands, annoyed at the way Han-Gyeol had turned his hair ruffling motion into a two-handed motion to completely and utterly mess up his hair

The sight was enough to bring a smile to his face.

"Huh," Dae-Hyun said blandly," I thought you said you were terrible with kids."

The Major chuckled, knowing full well that his medic was referring to the fact that after the little incident in his office. Where he had run to comfort the teenager after hearing him scream in his sleep, had helped Jin realize that none of them had the intention to hurt him.

It had been almost two weeks since then, and every single one of his men had already caught on that Jin was no longer pushing them away, but was almost seeking out those small moments of physical touch. He was sure that if Jin hadn't been so socially stunted, he would have informed them that it was, in fact, okay to ruffle his hair.

After almost a month and a half, Jin finally warmed up to them.

"I think he finally realized that we're not going to hurt him."

Dae-Hyun hummed. Together, they watched with smiles on their faces as the teenager easily pinned Han-Gyeol to the mat, but they could tell that Jin hadn't done it with a painful method. Although he was rather expressionless at the moment, they could tell by the slightest crinkle of his eyes that he was enjoying himself. Jin even made the same muted expression whenever the men would ruffle his hair or knock their shoulders together.

Feeling mischievous, he walked away from the disapproving Dae-Hyun.

Silently, the Major snuck up behind Jin, striking at just the right moment.

He picked up Jin, causing the teenager to yelp. Major Kang draped the teenager over his shoulder before slamming him into the foam pads. The impact was great, the sound making it seem like he had used more force than he actually did.

It took him a few seconds for him to recognize the short-lived laughter. The laugh was unfamiliar, a laugh that he hadn't heard before. It didn't click until he could feel Jin's chest spasming under his.

It was quiet, loud enough to be different from a chuckle, but not loud enough to be considered a proper laugh.

But it was a laugh nonetheless.

Jin was smiling.

Smiling.

It felt like it had been ages since he made the boy smile with his stupid dad joke.

"Jesus Christ." Jin said between short chuckles," You're heavy as fuck sir."

He just laughed.

" Shut it you little shit."