Seoul City

Ch. 26 - Nightmares

She came back quickly, carrying a large glass of water in one hand and a juice box in the other.

"Okay, you're going to drink all of this water first," she said, handing him the glass and watching him gulp it down approvingly.

"Good boy," she said playfully, "now, onto the juice. Get that blood sugar up."

"Yes, Nurse Park," he rolled his eyes, before chugging the entire box in less than a minute.

"Now, sleep," she commanded, pointing to the bed.

Taehyung slid his back down the headboard until his head rested on his pillow again, closing his eyes briefly, "I don't know if I can."

She looked like she was contemplating something for a minute, biting her bottom lip as she spaced out. After several bouts of crossing and uncrossing her arms and walking circles around his bed, she finally exhaled heavily and stood beside him.

"Move over, then," she said while lifting the blanket and climbing beside him onto his bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked in surprise, but moved over to the right side of the bed.

"Helping you fall asleep," she said matter-of-factly, turning on her side to stare at him.

Taehyung turned towards her so they were eye-to-eye, their bodies close enough for him to instantly feel warm. They just laid there for a couple minutes, silently gazing at each other – as if they'd forgotten what the other one looked like in the past 4 days.

"I thought you were still mad at me," Taehyung murmured with a small smile and a questioning brow raised.

Chaeyoung frowned at him, "I am. But, this is a special circumstance."

Taehyung's smile grew wider, reaching his eyes and making them light up with the cheery glimmer that was so characteristic of him. He used the back of his index finger to lightly stroke her cheekbones.

"I'm sorry, Chaeyoung. I should've told you-" he began, his tone full of sincerity.

"Shh," she hushed him by closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around his waist, "we can talk about that later. Try to get some rest right now, you look exhausted."

Taehyung automatically relaxed into her arms, wrapping his arms around her as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. He couldn't believe how much he'd missed her soothing voice, her soft hair, her warmth, her scent. More than anything, he missed her company. Just a couple minutes of talking to her was enough to relieve his stress, and not talking to her was like torture. He missed his best-friend, and holding her in his arms right now, he finally felt at ease for the first time this week.

"I missed you so much, Chaeng," he whispered, his chin resting on her head lightly.

She sighed deeply, "Me too."

Suddenly, she pulled her head back slightly to look into his eyes, "were you dreaming about the fire?"

With a wary look, he nodded. He hated worrying her, and wouldn't have told her about the nightmares if she didn't figure it out for herself. Every time it happened, he was almost certain that it caused her more stress than it caused him.

"Are they always about the fire?" she searched his eyes, her brows furrowing with concern, "because, sometimes you say different things. You even shout differently."

"Most of the time, they're different versions of what happened in the fire, but sometimes..." he trailed off, avoiding her eyes.

"What?" she encouraged him to continue, her hand tilting his chin to meet his gaze again.

"Sometimes, they're about the things I've done as a Griffin," he confessed, gazing into her eyes to gauge her reaction.

He was surprised when she nodded, her face full of understanding, "I expected as much," she murmured, "you're too soft for those things not to affect you."

"Did I say anything during this dream?" he asked softly, part of him dreading the answer, and another part of him curious.

She nodded, her expression softening, "you called out for your parents.... And then you just started screaming. God, I'll never forget the sound – they sounded so painful and torturous-"

Her expression had faded into a scared and helpless look, and her eyes were shining with tears. Taehyung's heart ached for being the cause of her worries. He pulled her close to his chest again and kissed her head gently.

"It was so scary, Tae," her voice was muffled against his neck, her breath tickling his skin slightly, "I never want to hear that sound again."

"It won't happen again," he said with a soft chuckle, but they both knew it was an empty promise.

"If it does, I'm putting you up for adoption," she muttered, and he could practically feel her pout against his neck, "there's no way you're disturbing my sleep like that again."

Taehyung laughed, his body shaking against hers, "deal."

Slowly, their bodies melted together, moving simultaneously with each inhale and exhale until they comfortably fell asleep until the morning – with no trace of nightmares to disturb their peace.

~*~

A/N: Sorry for the late update :( it's wedding season where I am, so I've had tons of events to attend. I'm still always thinking about this story, though! Thank you for your patience and support <3 you guys are the best motivators!