Glad You Came

In the Moonlight

Falling. He was falling. Down, down, down into the everlasting darkness -- he wouldn't stop, no matter the object his nails dug into to slow his inevitable descent. He was falling; nothing could stop him, no one could save him, he couldn't --

Brian awoke with a start, breathing heavily; at least this time it was before his dream ended with a literal bone shattering crash. His breathing was rapid, eyes darting around the room as he tried to remember exactly where he was, where he was supposed to be. Home? No, he would have heard a parent or sibling moving above. College? No, no -- he would have heard snoring, drunken students. He -- ?

"Brian?" Toby croaked from beside him, shifting around until he sat beside the other while rubbing at sleep filled eyes. "Everything ok?"

Brian did his best to quell his breathing as an arm stretched around the other's shoulders, pulling him close to Brian's side.

"Yeah," Brian muttered with a sigh, half turning to place a firm kiss atop the other's curly locks. "Sorry t' wake you."

"Mmmh, s' no problem," Toby yawned, stretching so much so as to cause his neck more than once as he did so. "Was awake anyway."

Toby backed up this notion by letting his arms drape around Brian's shoulders, face nuzzling into the other's neck as he curled into him sleepily. Brian could only hum, free arm wrapping around Toby's legs and pulling him gently onto his lap as he held the lighter frame close. He could feel Toby smile against his neck, then his frame relaxed fully as he returned quickly to sleep.

Brian sighed, pulling the covers over them as best he could as they sat there in the dim night light. It wasn't until he was carefully sliding onto his back, Toby curled tightly into his frame, that Brian remembered -- he had woken up for a reason, hadn't he? Ah, he supposed it didn't matter, he mused as he made sure the blankets were pulled to Toby's shoulders. Heat engulfed him, causing Brian to relax almost instantly under the other's weight with a lopsided grin.

No, he would worry about it in the morning; the heat that slowly began to engulf him was far too inviting for his tired frame, and soon Brian found himself lulled back into a now dreamless sleep.

***

Tim awoke to something not quite right. He squinted in the dark, trying to figure out what exactly had woken him, why something felt entirely off --

And then he quickly realized Toby was no longer in bed with them. It was just he and Brian in their oversized bed crammed full of blankets and pillows. Tim laid there for a moment, listening closely to see if maybe he had gone to the bathroom or something people normally do. But no one in this house was normal here, Tim of all people should have known that. So when there were no sounds of creaking floorboards or toilets flushing after a good few minutes of waiting, he knew Toby hadn't gone to do something normal.

Instead, he focused on the breathing he realized was coming from the middle of their bedroom at a somewhat rapid but steady pace. Tim waited for a frighteningly long moment, at first afraid it was something he didn't quite want to look at -- but the sudden ticking and hiccups made him think otherwise.

Tim shot up from his place in bed, eyes squinting in the darkness as his eyes trained on Toby's shaking frame that sat in the middle of the room. His knees were curled into his chest, kept tightly there by his arms as he stared at the carpet beneath his somewhat shaking frame. He looked like a mess, honestly, but what else was new? This was a more common occurrence than one might think. Toby was getting better, thankfully, but there were still plenty of nights like -- this.

"Tobes?" Tim asked quietly, trying his best to move slow as his legs were slung carefully over the side of the bed. "Babe? You okay?"

Toby's head shot up then, eyes locking onto Tim's and causing the dark haired man to freeze in place. He looked utterly terrified. Tim was almost too afraid to move any further, much less talk. But he couldn't just let Toby sit there all night.

"Tobes," he opted to go on softly, "just come back t' bed, alright?"

Toby seemed to examine him for a long moment, shaking frame settling slightly as they stared at one another. Tim was almost afraid the other was so gone he hadn't even heard him -- until Toby stood onto shaky legs, arms folding over themselves as he stumbled carefully back to bed. Tim allowed him to climb over his bulkier frame without fuss, helping him lie back down and get settled under the blankets without a word.

Brian seemed unaffected through the entirety of this, however instantly gravitated towards Toby in his slumber; arms wrapping around his torso as a leg was quickly draped over his waist. Tim could hear Toby give a giggle with an added hiccup as he settled onto his side facing the other two, one arm grasping onto Brian's night shirt and keeping Toby firmly wedged between them. The tears had stopped, at least; though Tim couldn't stop himself from reaching out to carefully dry Toby's cheeks before anymore fell.

"Tim?" came the quiet plea, though sounded more similar to a whine than anything.

"Go back to sleep," Tim muttered, placing a gentle kiss atop the other's forehead. "You'll be fine."

Toby hummed, even with his brow furrowed in concern. However, he allowed his eyes to close and body to relax, breathing quickly syncing up with Brian's as he fell closer and closer to sleep. It wasn't until he was sure Toby had fallen back asleep that Tim allowed himself to relax. While Toby had gotten better -- he didn't break, not like Tim and Brian; it was far worse, if anything, but they learned how to deal with it -- there were times where the voices were too much, the nightmares invading his sleep so much he'd stay up for days at a time in order not to have them.

And boy did it hurt.

Tim sighed as he rested his chin atop Toby's head, free arm wrapping around Toby's shoulders. Brian muttered something in his sleep, face finding the crook of Toby's neck to nuzzle into. Toby hummed and shifted in his own sleep but thankfully did not wake. Perhaps in the morning, everything would be alright.

But for now, Tim would wait.