Reconcile › P. Parker [2]

007. goodbye vacation

"It's okay... It's okay..." Trystan cried softly. Raleigh furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at his guardian. The light brunet had a pained expression, his eyes trimmed red. Raleigh opened his mouth to say something to the man, but nothing came out. He looked down at where Trystan was holding him and realized his forearms were missing. His breath catches in his throat and in panic, he pushes away from Trystan and tumbles to the ground. Trystan holds up a hand to his mouth and shakes his head. "...Raleigh."

"No... No..." Raleigh continued to cry. He holds up his hands and looks through where his hands are supposed to be and where Tony was blankly watching him—dead.

"Raleigh." Trystan tried again, leaning forward. He lowers his hand down to him.

"Raleigh?" A hand gently pushed on his upper arm, shaking him. "Raleigh?"

The ravenet recoiled from the voice and touch, his eyes snapping open. In the panic, he slammed his back into the wall, and despite the shooting pain, he didn't acknowledge it. The sharp movement, thanks to his exhaustion and his blood pumping quickly, made his world spin for a second as he raised his head. His hands clumsily gripped onto the thin blanket that only slightly covered him and blinked away the waves. He was hoping that as the world settled, he could make out what was happening and where he was. It was nearly pitch black and if it wasn't for the dingy window to his right, then he wouldn't be able to make out the figure that was kneeling on the floor in front of him.

He tried to back further away from the body, but he was already laying on the wall. The figure moved and a pair of hands rested on his forearms. He panicked and tried to push away from him, but in his position, he couldn't move anymore and the person was holding onto him desperately, trying to keep from him hurting him or himself. The forcefulness caused Raleigh's heart to ram against his chest and the anxiety to increase, despite the fact that his brain recognized the hands and that they were only trying to calm him down.

"It's okay, Raleigh." The voice comforted with a high whisper. "It's me. It's Peter."

Raleigh sucked in a sharp breath, the others coming out shaky and uneven. Peter's voice helped calm him down instantly and as his eyes accustomed to the darkness around them, he recognized his best friend. His eyes were wide and his hair was pushed in all directions, showcasing how he just got up from sleep. With the moonlight shining slightly on their faces, Raleigh could see a red mark on Peter's cheek and wondered if he had caused it or if it was from the position Peter had been sleeping in. Still, seeing the boy he cared so much for in front of him, helped ease his nerves significantly.

"Sorry..." Raleigh apologized, letting out another shaky sigh. He carefully took back his hands from Peter's protective grip and stared down at them. Nothing unusual, good. "What happened?"

Peter's mouth fell open and he shook his head, not moving his hands from where they fell on the rollaway bed. "You... You were mumbling in your sleep and were moving around a lot. I think—I think you were having a bad dream." He explained quietly and Raleigh gulped, feeling how dry and scratchy his throat suddenly was. He didn't remember everything about his nightmare, just jumbled parts of his friends and family dying in front of him and Trystan crying out to him while he disappeared.

Trying not to think too much about it and avoid Peter's gaze, he peered over the boy's shoulder and squinted his eyes at the bed across from him. "Is Ned still asleep?"

"Yeah... He probably will be until morning." Peter met Raleigh's distant gaze. "Are you okay?"

It was quiet for a second as Raleigh tried to think of how to respond. He knew it would make Trystan overjoyed if he admitted everything to Peter, but as his mouth hung open, he couldn't find a way to make everything fall out. Instead, he bit his bottom lip and looked back down at the white blanket covering his legs. "I'm fine."