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“You’re a disgrace.” Don’t listen to them, it’s just a dream.
"You'll never be good enough." It’s just a dream… I’m okay...
“Why do you even try?” It’s just a-- just a dream…
“Just give up, nobody wants you anyway.” Just wake up.
“You’re weak.” Everything’s okay, wake up.
“No wonder nobody likes you.” Wake up!
“We’re all going to leave you behind eventually.”
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Just as suddenly as the nightmare had started; it was over. Seijuurou’s eyes snapped open, his breathing hard and labored, tears streaming down his cheeks. He sat up and looked around the dark, silent room frantically, as if searching for something to hold onto. Kazunari and Shintarou were both sound asleep, and he didn’t want to bother either of them with this.
“...I should just go back to sleep. It’s fine.” He mumbled to himself. With shaky hands, he attempted to wipe the tears out of his eyes. Just as he was starting to lay down, he felt a shift in the bed. “...Go back to sleep.”
“No,” It was Kazunari. He was always the one to wake up in these situations. “You’re not okay, are you?” He sounded tired, maybe even a little sick, but more than that he sounded worried. “What happened, Sei-chan?”
Seijuurou sighed. If Kazunari was up, there was no way he was getting out of talking about this. He took a deep, shaky breath in a vain attempt to soothe his frayed nerves and regulate his breathing. “I… I had a nightmare.” He admitted quietly after a long pause.
“Oh…” Kazunari sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want to talk about it at all? It might help if you do.” The black haired man shifted so he was above the covers and crossed his legs as if he was ready to listen; just in case Seijuurou did decide to talk.
“I don’t know, Kazunari.” The redhead stared down at his still shaking hands through the lingering tears. “I just… don’t know.” Inwardly, he knew he wanted to talk about it. He shouldtalk about it, but the fact of the matter was the subject upset him greatly.
“I understand,” Kazunari offered a gentle smile. “Take your time, I can stay up with you as long as you need me to.” He bent over slightly to get a good look at Seijuurou’s face and sighed sympathetically. “Oh, sweetheart… Do you need a hug?”
“...Yes, please.” Seijuurou nodded and allowed Kazunari to pull him into his lap and wrap his arms tightly around him. He rested his head on his husband’s shoulder and closed his eyes, calmer now with the familiar scent of the other man.
Kazunari smiled and began to brush through Seijuurou’s hair with his hand idly; something he knew helped calm him down. “Do you want to talk about it now, or should I wait and ask again in the morning?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“...I suppose I could talk about it now.” Seijuurou mumbled. He allowed his eyes to wander a little bit, hoping that focusing on more than one thing would make it easier to tell Kazunari about the nightmare. With another deep breath, he figured he was ready. “I guess… I guess it was something about the things I’m afraid of…” His voice trailed off, somewhat embarrassed by his own fears.
Kazunari remained silent a moment. He stared in front of him and continued to stroke Seijuurou’s hair. “...Was it bad?” He asked softly. He figured he knew what fear the nightmare had hit on--mostly based off how clingy his husband was--so he didn’t say anything about that.
“...I guess.” Seijuurou shrugged a little bit. He wasn’t exactly sure if it was bad or not. “I don’t know, Kazunari…” He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, feeling the tiredness begin to seep in once again.
“That’s alright.” Kazunari smiled a little bit. He was about to say something else, but as he looked down at Seijuurou, he decided not to. “You look about ready to fall asleep again, Sei-chan. Why don’t we call it a night? I’ll even cuddle with you to help you fall asleep again.”
Seijuurou was quiet for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes, his eyelids now very heavy. “...Yeah, let’s do that.” He mumbled, then yawned. He allowed Kazunari to shift them both so they were laying down again and wrapped his arms around him.
“Good night, Sei-chan.” Kazunari smiled and kissed Seijuurou’s forehead. “I love you.”
“Good night…I love you, too.” Seijuurou whispered and began to drift back off into a deep, dreamless sleep.