•Crowns And Arrows• [Klance]

Nighttime Terrors

His eyes wide open, he saw the ceiling of their little hideout. Keith gasped for breath, slowly coming back to his senses, when he realised he was being held. His eyes found those beautiful, blue ones where worry flowed out of. 

The Prince forced his fingers to relax and he slowly let go of Lance's shirt. The sweat, dripping over his back, stuck his sweater to his skin. He felt nauseous. But Lance was here, it was just a dream. Don't be an idiot, you've had bad dreams before. 

They weren't often this bad, or this hard to wake up from, though. The knowledge that he finally had something worth protecting made him even more scared of losing everything. And the tears didn't stop flowing from his wide, red eyes. 

"I was... You were.. Oh Lance," he cried, falling into the boy's chest and sobbing silently. Later, he would feel embarrassed. But now he just needed the comfort.

Lance hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath and tensing his muscles until his prince woke up, and his own worry slowly flowed out his body with each tear he saw falling from his crystallized indigo eyes. God, he was awake... He sighed deeply and adjusted his embrace on Keith so he'd be resting on his lap, continuing to sway him in his arms gently. 

"Shh... It's alright, it's just a bad dream," he murmured calmly, despite being terrified a few seconds ago. Keith could've really hurt himself. "You're alright, we're safe, no one's going to hurt you, darling. I'm here." He let the prince's shaky body calm down in his strong, protective embrace, letting the tears silently soak his shirt so he'd let it all out. 

"Breathe," he reminded him almost in a whisper, remembering how he clawed himself with his nails before. "Let it all out."

The feel of Lance's arms around him calmed the Prince like nothing else could have. It was just a dream... 

But how was he supposed to forget about his fears when he knew the dream was based on a real event that would happen so soon? He hád to marry Lotor. They would háve to kiss. No matter how much he despised the thought, there was no way to run from it. 

Just get through this. Lotor won't want it either, so he'll limit the time you spend together. That was the only thing keeping him together, the knowledge that this was just as terrible for Lotor as it was for him. Well, maybe not exactly as bad. Lotor would be in charge, he would have control. 

Keith's sobs slowly faded away, after which he just lay against that strong chest for a while. Lance was here. "I'm sorry for waking you," he whispered, backing off and looking at the ground between them. "I had a nightmare, it was...." Keith sighed. Just let it all out. Lance will understand. 

"I was getting married. To Lotor. And I couldn't find you and I couldn't breathe. I died, Lance." The Prince shivered and clenched his hands together. His nails had left angry red scratches on his throat and collarbones, but he hadn't drawn blood. He didn't blame Lance for letting him die in that dream. How could he? It was just... difficult. Stupid nightmares.

The hunter listened carefully, making a small grimace at how terrible the nightmare sounded. If Keith had died In the dream it probably meant he felt a part of him would die when he got married. But why wasn't he there? Keith knew he'd always be there for him, right? 

"Well... Dream Lance is an idiot," he said with a half laugh, rubbing his left eye with the base of his hand to get rid of his desire to sleep. "I would never leave you.... And as much as it butts me, I'll be there, at the wedding." It's not like he had a choice in the matter anyway. Royal weddings required the asisstance of all castle members, and that was not negotiable. 

"...I may not be able to stop it, but I'm here for you, Keith. And I'll be there as well, supporting you from afar. There won't be a second I'm not by your side, alright? You don't have to be scared," he murmured carefully, raising his hands to gently wipe the tears off the prince's reddish cheeks.