-x-
If you were to be honest, you'd admit that you may have been thinking of a plan to make Moon doze off.
It was supposed to be something simple that Moon wouldn't get too suspicious about— like putting on a movie or reading him a book. It was just a taunting thing on your heartstrings with how tired they looked since you retrieved them from their room. You were hoping that maybe they had gone to sleep last night, but the ever-growing dark circles under their eyes are enough evidence against that.
So, when you remembered the rain outside, you decided to take that to your advantage.
It worked. The plan worked before you even started it.
It... shouldn't have been this easy. Not to say you are complaining! But with how stubborn Moon was about sleep, you couldn't help but be surprised when they dozed off not half an hour of sitting outside.
Shifting the coat, you hid them more out of the rain as the wind picked up pace. Little droplets had already made a mess over your porch with mud and damped both of your hair. Moon's hair became slightly frizzled up with thin locks sticking over their forehead as they slept heavily. The posture could not be comfortable, so you decided on heading inside again before the rain started to pour harsher.
Stepping in, you close the door lightly before slipping your shoes off. The rain made your skin feel tight, and you could sense mud lightly sticking there. The feeling made you cringe and you imagined Moon could not be any better, especially with his dislike of getting wet.
Walking to the couch, you try to carefully lay them down on it without jolting them up.
Maybe you shouldn't have looked a gift horse in the mouth.
Red eyes snapped open as a strangled gasp left the being just barely lying down— he shots up, almost hitting you on your forehead. A whine left them from the sudden flinch over aching muscles, voice just above a whisper. Moon, still having his hold on your shirt, looked around with glassy, wide eyes. And every time, their gaze seems to linger on something or another. Their breaths were becoming labored the more they did so, shoulders trembling as their hands tightened their hold.
You blinked in surprise, arching your back down the more Moon put weight to pull you closer, so you half crouch instead, planting a hand over their back as you speak, voice full of concern. "Moon? Are you okay, dear?"
As if now realizing your existence, Moon started to climb you up, desperately latching onto your neck. Their glassy eyes do not meet yours, they are too far off to be able to make eye contact. The act catches you off guard as you stumble to lift them up more properly, wrapping your arms safely around them as you felt Moon bury their face as close as they could against you, as if that would make the devil disappear.
Relenting, you ease down on the couch. Your hand patting over their back slowly, feeling your lips tug into a frown of worry. "Sweetheart, did you have a nightmare?" There was a noise of confirmation, and you took that as a yes, your heart tugging at you. "Do you want to talk about it then?" You ask softly, adjusting your hold over them.
Moon makes another noise, though, when they say nothing else, you take that as a no. Fair enough. Not everyone likes talking about those kind of things, especially not after they just woke up.
You hum, not slowing your movements up and down their back. "Well, how about we eat breakfast now?"
No response comes your way, nothing verbal at least. Though, you still felt Moon tighten his hold on you, whether as an acceptance, a refusal, or a plead to not leave him. You are conflicted about what to do next, so you just decide breakfast is better than none, and you begin to stand up. With Moon hugging you close like a koala, standing up is a little tricky with his iron grip, but you manage just fine.
Breakfast was already done first thing when you woke up. It was an easy omelet with tea, which all were on the table as per usual. You walk to the closest seat and try to sit Moon down.
Keyword: try.
How come such a small thing have a horrifyingly strong grip? And Moon of all? Wrapped around you like they wanted to become second skin altogether?
Your worry sparked as you tried, at least, to make Moon look at you— or up at all. But nope, he's determined to stay hidden away. Sighing softly, you relent and sit down with the other over you, having to be careful with their limp leg. Dragging the seat close, you now have both your arms free, taking the coverings of food off and setting two cups down to fill them with tea. The omelets were made into sandwiches, a habit you got from the family's normal breakfast. The thought made your stomach ache for tea, and you agree, pouring the hot liquid in the cups.
"Moon, darling," You call, resting your hands over their arms. Instead of answering, Moon simply turns stiffly to face the table, their face hidden away from you. They hastily take the steaming cup in their hands and gulp some of it down without a second thought—
You flinch as burning droplets fall from the corners of their lips into your thighs and you immediately take the cup from the other's bicolored hands before they can continue any further, hissing lightly at how hot the cup is. Sitting it back on the table, you turn Moon your way, worry painted all over your face the same tea is on theirs.
Slowly, Moon plants two hands over their mouth, as if now feeling the burning aches. You are shocked to see tears well in their eyes and you lean over to snatch the water bottle, wanting to give them something cold to relieve the burn. In all honestly, you are a little lost on what else to do other than that. Cold water just seemed like the best option right now. So with that first thought you went.
However, you are stopped when particular sharp teeth bite over your arm, making every thought in your mind take a halt. Despite the sharp edges of said teeth, they don't break skin. Rather, gnawing like a rabid cat would. It takes you a second, maybe two, to realize why. With how hot the tea was, it must have burned their gums. Biting or gritting their teeth would relieve the itchy feeling after said burn.
You knew that from the experience of trying to drink your coffee as fast as possible.
But to bite your arm?
"Moon," You call, gently prying your arm from their jaws. "Moon, sweetheart, you need to let me go," You half plead, feeling the other ease a little with a grunt of displeasure, but they still pry their mouth from you. Instead, they use their thump to press over their upper gums, feeling over the abused area as it itched painfully.
Finally having the bottle at hand, you open it and hand it over, to which Moon took a sip, stared at the hard plastic of the opening, then started to both chew and try to drink to cool their tongue down, which quickly resulted in them choking down—
You tensed, fumbling about to pat over the other's back as they coughed— the gnawing didn't stop, however, as they kept on going with their previous biting, this time not restraining themselves as they did with your arm. The bottle creaked under the pressure of their jaws, their sharp teeth leaving dents over the opening.
Shifting the alien over your lap, you carefully take the bottle from their hands, much to Moon's hissings. Their eyes still don't meet yours, too focused on the movements of your hands. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep that up," You sigh, standing up. You're more than sure that that sippy cup had a silicon tip, which would be better to save jaw pain and not spill any more water and make Moon choke because of his behavior. Of course, the other clings to you the moment you stand up, making their displeasure clear with how tight they clinched their fists over your back. "I know dear, it's okay, I promise. Let's just get you your cup, hmm?" You soothe in a gentle tone as you walk to the sink.
The sippy cup they used was on the counter since the last time you washed it, so it was within reach. Moon's grip on you was strong enough to let them hang by themselves as you quickly rinsed the cup down, then, just as quickly, wrapped an arm around them again. Heading back to the table, you sit and fill up the cup with cool water before closing the lid and handing it over to Moon. Said other grasped for it and immediately, with no hesitation at all, launches to gnaw on the tip. The silicon making a better thing to bite on, a better relief to their aching gums. The harsher they bite the more the itching goes away— though, it only seems to come back worse.
Moon grumbled, gnawing harder and only wincing slightly at the sudden stinging pain in their jaws, promoting them to slow down. When their tongue send a surge of pain, Moon drinks of the water, its cool weightless form isn't as good as biting did to make their aching gums to feel better, but it still makes their burning throat stop itching.
Morning was like this. Moon refused to look at you nor speak at all, all his focus on the poor sippy cup's tip.
At some point, you decided to refill the cup with what's left of the smoothie in the fridge, especially when they refused to eat, probably because of their aching mouth. There really wasn't anything you could do to help relieve the annoying pain, but you hoped the cool smoothie would work a little bit.
Moon more bit than drank, but it was better than gnawing on your arm.
When one in the afternoon came, you found yourself sitting on the carpet in the living room, Moon still in your arms. They had refused to speak to you since they woke up and their gaze was very distant away, as if having the ability to see through walls by any chance. Even when they took their medicine and applied cream, they still were unresponsive. This only spiked worry over you, concern eating at your edges harsher than Moon's bitings.
Sometime after breakfast, you had tried to clean their face with a towel— some dirt from the rain today had stuck there. Not to mention that maybe washing their face might wake them from their trance.
It did not.
Moon just hissed at the cloth against his face, jerking his head this way and that before burying it against your shoulder. Well... it was worth a shot.
So, with one last resort in mind, you start to dim the living room's light and closed the curtains. Sitting over the carpet after gathering a little bit of a few blankets and pillows (not as big as that movie night fort, but it was enough, especially with your arms full of a very stubborn alien). Making yourself comfortable, you open YouTube over the screen and search the first thing that came to mind.
"Moon, sweetheart, look." You urge, wanting the groaning being to look from their abused sippy cup. Red eyes fall on your hands first, seeing one point to the TV, so they follow that one.
And, well, the look on their face is unreadable, as if the mere image in front of them was ever the confusing sight. Though, slowly, as the little fruits began to dance more, Moon began to slightly uncurl their death grip from you, focusing their gaze over the moving things. The music is ever that engaging as an ananas danced and hopped from side to side. These videos were an hour long and already a part of playlists that could reach to ten hours, but it was your last resort and you'll take it.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Moon began to get more and more engrossed to the point that their cup sat in front of them as they hugged a pillow in their lap. You take your chance to stretch your limbs a little bit. Not to get you wrong, you adored these two and didn't mind them clinging to you. However, Moon's behavior is drastically odd and that only made you worried, so you were glad to see them a foot away from you at the moment.
You felt sympathy knock over the door of your heart. The first time they slept in three (?) days and a nightmare had to greet them first, rocking their grounds. They barely got an hour of sleep anyway, so that doesn't even count as sleeping.
The YouTube video kept on playing, the music changing every now and then. Moon's attention was on the moving objects and nothing else. Exhaustion crashed over them almost half an hour later as they slumped forward, eyes barely open, stubbornly still trying to keep an eye on the silly fruits.
Seeing this, you crawl closer in the dim room, watching as Moon fights tooth and nail with sleep. Their gaze is unfocusing as they yawn, tiredness aching every muscle in their body. You lean down to carefully lift them up and to the couch, not wanting to move too much. Moon whines quietly at that, scowling lightly at being moved, but they do nothing, no longer possessing any energy at all. Draping a blanket over them, you make sure it's tucked in as Moon's red eyes begin to close. And, despite their tense body, their breath still evens out. Their overwhelmed mind shuts down for the second time today, welcoming sleep with open arms.
You sigh, feeling your shoulders loosen their tension.
And at last... Mission accomplished. For now.
-x-
You think you had dozed off a little after Moon, laying in the worst position over the couch, not having it in you to move. Rain always made you sleepy, especially thunderstorms at night, and with the curtains closed, you couldn't help but let yourself doze off.
A small nap seemed to almost stretch too long if it weren't for the annoying noise from your phone. You yawned, shifting a little to get the thing from over the table. Your phone vibrates like a little maniac until you hit the green button, raising the device to your ear.
"Hah," Came the unmistakable voice of your sibling. "Helloooo?"
You clear your throat. "Hey, Max," You reply back, voice still hoarse.
"You sound like shit." They exclaimed with no shame at all, voice leveled, yet, the amusement is still there.
You open your mouth to fire something back when you feel pressure over your leg, the coldness unwavering like the touch of a cat's nose. You look down, surprise coating your face at the sight in the dimly lit room. Subconsciously, you rest a hand over the back of the small being, knowing by how much they were pressing against you that they are definitely awake. The touch only made them curl closer, trying to hide away from everything the same they did this morning.
In your half-sleepy state, you almost drop the phone when Max speaks again. "What?" You mumble in a low tone, grabbing the phone in a better grip.
Max dramatically sighs, the microphone buzzing with static as they do. "I said," They drool out, and you half imagine them playing with the fishnet gloves over their hands. "Can you look in the closet for my PlayStation?"
That makes you quirk an eyebrow. "Your Playstation?"
"The PlayStation two! You remember the one,"
"... The one where that zombie game still exists?" You ask, whacking your memory. Ah yes. The awesome game that no longer exists— or, well, the old version doesn't. "Yes? I'm not sure where it is, though. If it's still even in here, that is." You say, mumbling the last part. Your right hand still drawing circles over the tensed alien pressing against your side, hoping to soothe them a little till you finish this call.
"Uh, yeah, I searched my room last time. It wasn't there. Thought you could search the closet for me?" You could almost see them patting their eyelashes at you. Max has always been very expressive. The dark gothic makeup helps with that too.
You hum, glancing over to where the closet is. "Sure," You finally say. "I'll give it a look later."
Max cheers something before cutting the call off midway that. Well. Normal conversation with Max. It was good to hear from them regardless.
Putting your phone away, you shift to get a better look at Moon, drawing a hand over to their shoulder as you call. "Moon?" With their still clinging behavior, you were surprised, yet relieved, when they actually looked up at you. The faraway look in their eyes is gone, but there is still a figment of fear as they dart away here and there before locking with yours again. As if some unseen form was daunting them. Your expressions softened as some worry was finally brushed off your shoulders, and you felt them relax. "Were you awake because of another nightmare?" You ask, watching as Moon's features shifted to many emotions.
And yet, their answer both conformed your suspicion but also made your stomach clinch. "Another...?"
You force yourself not to make your confusion obvious. "Yes, dear. You had another one this morning." Your finger draws circles over their shoulder, a hopefully reassuring gesture.
Moon's eyes widen as they look around. The image that, perhaps, things might turn out to be unreal seemed to cross their mind. Their hands tighten over your shirt subconsciously, claws digging into the soft fabric. But no, it cannot be. He just woke up from a dream.
Before Moon could overthink that any longer, the hand over his shoulder sneaks to his chin, lifting his head upward. Moon snaps his gaze to you, watching as you examine something he cannot get a reading on. "You also accidentally burned yourself," You start, withdrawing back. "With tea. Hopefully your mouth isn't hurting as much?"
So that's why their lips and tongue felt like sand? Dry and stingy? Moon stirs his mind to try and remember— he believed he remembered breakfast, but apparently, that was more of an illusion than anything, then. A frown tugs on their face. How can't they remember? This had never happened before.
Had it? Can they be sure at all? If the memory is forgotten, then how can they acknowledge something is missing at all when they can't remember its existence?
The thought made their lungs feel heavy. How much were they forgetting? Was there anything important they forgot? Maybe their mind filled the empty space with illusions and fake images... Maybe some of the things they believed were dreams were actually real, and maybe even the other way around. Which one was better? Were they safe to assume everything they remember was real? How much was wasted at this point?
A sudden hand was over theirs and Moon flinches, looking down as your hand pries theirs away. A slight stinging pain was felt over the back of their hands and, looking more closely, pinkish crescent marks were just starting to form. Sharp claws— too sharp. Moon hadn't realized they were fidgeting till now, and the dull pain was just unnecessary. Too sharp. They need to be more careful, what if they hurt you?— Oh, heavens, what if they hurt you?! They can't do that!—
Your hand gave theirs a squeeze, gently tugging on them. "Dear, how about we continue reading your book while we eat crackers? You hadn't had breakfast and dinner is soon." You exclaim, drawing circles over their knuckles. "Perhaps something cold would help with your burns too."
Moon looks at you, and, at that moment, you are glad for his ever-unwavering gaze. It was better than the faraway look— it had almost seemed dazed. He was unresponsive, not there. The thought made you give another squeeze, feeling relieved when that got a slight reaction from Moon. You'd take their red stare over that feared look.
At last, Moon nods, shifting closer to you. That also surprised you, but not in a bad way. You aren't sure how bad their nightmares are, but if it kept them from sleeping, then it must be too vivid to live through. Either this, or there is more of a reason for their refusal. Moon had exclaimed subconsciously about how you looked "exposed" that one time he helped apply your cream, which might indicate more deeper emotions regarding them. Being exposed, therefore vulnerable, is how sleep could seem to them.
Doesn't the collar make them more tired as well?
No. You aren't thinking of this right now. You'll get to that eventually, but not now.
Moon, still wrapped in the blanket you had gotten, holds onto you more than he had done before— at least, while being fully responsive.
And, at last, the mission was fully complete. Moon finally slept, even if it wasn't much.