𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ! [ rhysand ]

𝐢. nightmares and daydreams !

Once her heart finally settled and she could breathe once more, she slipped silently out of her bed and crept toward the door with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. 

The Institute was quiet aside from a few people here and there working on separate projects. Ana kept her eyes in front of her, ignoring the strange looks she'd get from passerby's. She had a destination and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her from reaching it. 

Finally, she came to a stop before the door not too far down the hall from her own. She hesitantly raised her fist, ready to knock, only to stop. Should she really wake them up? After all the stress of these past few days, they needed their sleep and they couldn't keep being awoken when Ana had a bad dream. She was a Shadowhunter. Bad dreams weren't meant to scare her, but make her grow. 

She lowered her hand and turned, ready to go back to her room and stare at the ceiling until she eventually fell asleep. But the sound of the door opening behind her caused her to spin around, finding a concerned Alec Lightwood looking at her with messy hair and bright eyes.

"Ana?" he asked, his voice scratchy from having woken up.

Ana frowned. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

Alec shook his head. "I was already awake working on some stuff." He noticed the blanket on her shoulders and his frown deepened. "You had the nightmare again, didn't you?" She nodded and he sighed, opening his door further. "Come in."

The blonde hesitated, looking between the hallway and the open door. Then, with a heavy breath, she slowly walked into his room, feeling awful for waking him up even though he said he was already up. She knew that was bullshit, but she admired how he tried to keep her from feeling too bad. Unluckily for him, Alec was a shit liar, which meant she could always trust him to tell the truth to her.

He closed the door behind them and sat on the bed, patting the space beside him that Ana quickly occupied. She kept her gaze focused on the wall across from her, mind reeling with thoughts as Alec waited patiently for her to begin.

This was how it went every night. She'd wake up panting and terrified from her nightmare, then come to Alec's room and talk it all out with him. Sure, she could go to Izzy, her beloved Parabatai who understood her better than she understood herself, but there were some things Ana couldn't do without fearing for her life. And waking up Izzy Lightwood in the middle of the night was one of them.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Ana sighed and looked down. "It said those same damn words," she started, her voice raw with emotion. "'You can never run. For I will always find you, Anastasia.'" She looked up, blinking back tears. "I just wish . . . I wish I knew who was saying that. There are so many people and monsters I've ran from, but hearing those words . . . right when everything was getting good again . . ."

She hadn't realized just how much she was shaking until Alec wrapped her into a tight hug. "You're right. Things are getting good again. You're back from your forced trip to Prythian, the wars are over, and everything is finally settling down." He ran his fingers through her hair as she snuggled into his embrace. "Have you ever thought that this is just underlying stress? I mean, you went through shit before coming back. Re-lived your past memories and had to make some tough decisions. Are you sure these nightmares aren't just living embodiments of the worries of your subconscious?"

Ana blinked. "That sounded way too smart for you. Have you been talking with Simon recently?" Alec hit her playfully and she managed a weak laugh. "I mean, it could be. The last time I relaxed was the day I was born . . . and even then, I was a crying mess."

"So nothing's changed much, I see." Ana rolled her eyes. "Have you tried talking to⎯"

"No."