What if instead of discovering Mutsuki’s wall of knives by awlking in while he was out, Mutsuki came home briefly, fell asleep, had a nightmare, and Urie came in?

Ooh I like the way you think, Nonny-Mouse.

Urie’s up late exercising. He hopes that if he gets strong enough, he’ll be able to control his next frame-out. 

“Please! Sensei!” Mutsuki’s scream pierces the Chateau.

Urie dashes up the stairs, heart pounding. Where is Mucchan? What’s wrong?

Mutsuki wails from behind his door, which is conveniently locked. Urie smashes his way in.

“Agh!” Mutsuki sits upright, eyes wide. 

Just a nightmare. Urie takes a deep breath to control his heartbeat. “Mutsuki?”

Then his eyes focus on the room. The same picture lines the wall, over and over again. 

He steps closer. Yoriko…? smiling with a blue-haired girl. 

Every picture is nailed to the wall with a knife through the blue-haired girl.

“Get out!” cries Mutsuki. His voice rises. “Please!”

“What is this?” Urie looks at him.

“It doesn’t matter! I love him and he loves her!” Mutsuki shrieks.

“Takeomi?” Urie feels cold. God no.

Mutsuki pauses for a moment. “No! Sensei. I love him and he loves that ghoul. That bitch Touka stole him from us!” He breaks into tears. “She stole him from us. It’s her fault!”

Urie is stunned. Mutsuki…loves Sasaki?

Of course he does. He wouldn’t love Urie. 

“I can’t. I need him.” Mutsuki curls up on his bed. “And I keep dreaming over and over of him hating me and rejecting me for her. And sometimes his face is Torso’s and I hate myself even more.”

Urie blinks. He walks over to Mucchan’s bed and sits beside him. Tentatively, he places his hand on Mutsuki’s back. “You’re okay. You’re safe here. You’re loved.”

“Don’t lie!” Mutsuki scrunches his eyes shut.

“I’m not.” Urie draws Mutsuki closer to him. What would he most like to hear? “I’m here. I’m not going to abandon you. None of us will. We love you and we accept you for who you are.”

Mutsuki cries harder, but he takes Urie’s hand.

“You are loved,” Urie says, as uncomfortable as the phrase feels. It’s true. He does love Mucchan. “Shh. It’s okay.”

Mutsuki grabs Urie in a hug so tight he can barely breathe. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Never,” Urie promises. 

Mutsuki feels exposed and grotesque, but Urie is holding him and keeping him safe. For a moment, even without Sensei, he feels home again.