Leafy tossed and turned but she couldn't block out the howling wind or the heavy rain that bashed her windows.
She hated storms, especially at night. She didn't mind light rain during the day but storms were just too loud and got in the way of things, some people found them soothing but for her they were just annoying and she hated to admit it but rather scary.
CRASH.
Leafy jumped in fright as the loud sound caught her off guard and she winced as she realised she would now have to deal with thunder on top of everything else.
She buried her head in her pillow in an attempt to block it out but the storm was close and it was a fruitless effort.
She just wanted to sleep, she was so tired but her body just wouldn't let her, her head ached and she was cold, it was like some horrid presence above decided that she shouldn't be allowed to sleep peacefully.
Her eyes watered and she began to cry ever so slightly, not because she was sad but because she felt it was an appropriate time to be a little dramatic.
She sighed deeply as she gave up and curled into the fetal position, trying to ignore everything around her.
...
"Hey, you okay?"
Leafy turned to see Firey standing in the doorway, looking just as tired as her, wearing a red sports jersey and black basketball shorts, he had clearly been in bed himself.
"Yeah, I'm fine just trying to sleep," she said as she adjusted herself to an upright position.
"Is the thunder keeping you up?" he asked.
"Well yeah, but I can deal with it, it's all good," she shrugged.
"You still scared of it?" he smiled.
"Oh, you remember that," she said, slightly embarrassed.
"Of course I do, I didn't just forget everything while I was gone," he scoffed.
Firey walked in and sat at the foot of the bed, not going anywhere near Leafy.
"I remember, a week after our wedding there was a really bad thunderstorm and you just clung to me for the whole night," he laughed quietly.
"Oh, I forgot that," Leafy said sheepishly.
"Don't worry, what I'm trying to say is I'll do it again, I'll sit here and talk to you, to try distract you from it," he offered.
"Really, I think that might help actually," she said thoughtfully.
"I'll stay as long as you want me to, okay?"
"Thank you, Firey,"
For the next while, the two sat together talking about anything that came to mind, people, events, stupid stories, anything and everything and soon the storm began to ease up.
Leafy would hopefully be able to fall asleep now that the thunder was gone, Firey wished her goodnight and got up to leave.
But, she didn't want him to leave, he hadn't been in this room for almost five years and having him in it again felt nice, she wanted him to stay.
"Firey, wait," she called to him.
"Hm?" Firey stopped just outside the door, listening.
"I want you to sleep with me,"
She knew it came out wrong the moment she said it.
Extremely embarrassed, she smacked her hand over her mouth as she began to blush profusely.
Firey was just as shocked as her, with a very confused expression on his face.
"No, no, no! That is not what I meant by that!" she exclaimed.
"W-what I meant was that, I want you to sleep beside me, nothing else," she explained awkwardly.
Firey snickered at her, folding his arms over his chest as she glared at him.
"Oh my god, you're so pretty but so clueless sometimes," he laughed.
"Hm, maybe I don't want you here tonight," she huffed, turning away.
"No, I'm sorry, I was just being tired and stupid," he defended, still laughing slightly.
"Aren't you always?" she replied primly.
"Hey, that's just mean!" he accused.
"Oh calm down and get in," she said as she rolled her eyes and scooted over to make room for him in the bed.
"You sure?" he asked, uncertainly.
"Yep, that's where you used to sleep and you paid for the bed so it's technically yours," she shrugged.
Firey settled under the sheet, feeling a sense of familiarity wash over him as he nestled into the comfortable mattress.
This was his spot, the left-side of the bed that used to be apart of his everyday life felt so rare and special to him now but it was just as lovely as he remembered it.
He was comfortable, he was warm, he was safe, he hadn't felt these things in a bed in years.
Another pleasant surprise was that he found himself falling asleep without much difficulty, it was two in the morning and maybe that added to it but he liked to think it was being in a nice space is what did it.
His thoughts were interrupted when Leafy rolled over to him, snuggling herself into his chest.
"Warm," she sighed happily.
Firey rested his chin on her head, feeling Leafy latch onto him like a koala, history repeats itself.
"How are you now?" Firey asked.
"Still a but spooked but I'll live,"she shrugged.
"Yeah, it'll be alright now," he nodded.
"To be honest, it's embarrassing being scared of storms, I never thought I'd outright admit it," she confessed.
"You shouldn't be embarrassed by things like that, it's a reasonable fear I think,"
"But it just feels silly, you know? Like I'm a mom, I can't be scared of things like this,"
"But it's totally normal, like I'm-" he cut himself off, thinking of his next words. "I'm scared of the dark, actually,"
Leafy was surprised by this, she couldn't lie, as far as she knew all that Firey was scared of was water, she never knew the dark bothered him.
"I didn't know that, how long have you been afraid?" she asked.
"Ah, it started while I was gone," he sighed.
"What happened?" she questioned.
"You know I can't say anything, Leafy," he said.
Leafy looked hurt but didn't pressure further.
"Okay, all I can say is bad things happened, there was a lot of darkness and I never saw what was coming at me," he said in an emotionless tone.
"I was scared, no, I was terrified. I never knew what would happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it,"
"Oh, Firey," she whispered, gazing sadly at him.
"I don't like closing my eyes, that's why I don't sleep," he stated.
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't sleeping? I would have tried to help," she insisted.
"I was embarrassed, I didn't know what you'd say, I mean, it's being scared of thunder makes sense, loud noises can scare anyone but for a grown adult to be scared of the dark, it's just weird," Firey shrugged.
"No it's not, bad things happened in the dark and now your mind doesn't like it, it's perfectly valid," Leafy said.
Firey remained silent, thinking about what she was saying.
"I think it's fine to be scared of the dark and besides you said its okay for me to scared of thunder so it should be okay for you to be scared of the dark," Leafy smiled.
"You said, you'd comfort me when I was scared and I can do the same for you," she said, pulling him closer so they were face to face.
Firey looked into her eyes, endulging in the gorgeous mix of greens and hints of yellow, like the canopy of a forest when the sunlight shone through.
They stayed like that, in a blissful silence, staring at each other, Leafy kept a soft smile on her face as she ran her fingers through Firey's hair, trying to figure him out.
What had he seen? What had been done to him and what had he done?
She hated not knowing, she hated being left in ignorance by someone who was supposed to trust her but she knew that all she could do was go along with it.
He was hurt and memories of hurt don't go away just like that, despite her underlying distrust that had been brewing since his return, she still loved him, though it wasn't ideal.
She sighed as she watched his peaceful face grow tired once again and begin falling back into the clutches of sleep.
She was a bad person, messing with the emotions of a scarred man.
...
"You can sleep here from now on, if you want,"
The flame haired man opened his eyes slightly, searching for any signs of joking from the woman in front of him before she rolled into her side.
"Really?"
"Yeah,"
He reached out and held her close, Leafy could feel the smile on his face and although she wanted to do the same, she remained turned away from him, unable to look him in the eyes, all she did was hold his hand lightly.
And just like that, all of her rules had been broken, rules she had set to protect herself.
All of them were gone and she felt a horrible pit-like feeling in her stomach.
"Please don't make me regret it," she whispered silently.
================================
Now the story is getting somewhere heheheheh the next few chapters will be angsty.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter
XOXO
LeafCake