The gentle wind blew as Naofumi jolted up in bed. "Another nightmare..." Naofumi whispered softly, as he didn't want to wake up Raphtalia, who was sleeping in bed next to him. He turned to the bedside table beside him, grabbing the glass of water he had next to him. He took a quick drink before getting back into bed, facing away from Raphtalia. He laid down, listening to the sounds of night, now alone with his thoughts.
He thought back to the nightmares he had been having lately, heart wrenching situations that he didn't want to imagine, things that made him want to cry out in pain. And yet, he just couldn't get the painful thoughts out of his mind. 'W-why? Why are these thoughts coming into my head? Why now? Why can't I just be happy?'
The painful thoughts consumed his mind, as he began quietly sobbing. He tried his best to be quiet, he didn't want to wake up Raphtalia, or to make her worry. But now matter how many times he told himself to get a hold of himself, the tears wouldn't stop. After a few minutes of weeping, Raphtalia finally woke up to the sound of Naofumi's heart wrenching cries.
"Hhhmm..." Raphtalia rubbed her eyes, taking a moment to wake up a bit before processing what was happening. Her eyes widened as she looked over to Naofumi, sobbing at the edge of the bed. "N-Naofumi..?" She slowly approached him, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Hey... what's wrong..?" She asked him in a soothing yet worried tone. Naofumi continued to cry for a few moments before slowly getting up, and looking at Raphtalia.
"I-It's nothing, okay. Don't worry about me, everything's fine..." Naofumi replied shakily in an unconvincing tone. Raphtalia quickly became even more worried than before, Naofumi was very clearly not okay, so why was he trying to pretend that everything was? "No, Naofumi. You're not okay, please, tell me what's going on." Raphtalia pleaded with him, desperately wanting to help him out in whatever way she could.
"Just please don't worry about it, okay? Just please go back to sleep."
"Naofumi... there's no way I can go back to bed knowing that you're hurting..." She said, trying her best to keep her composure. "Just, please. Please, tell me what's wrong. You don't have to be afraid to talk to me." After a few moments of silence, Naofumi sighed, finally giving in. "Okay... fine... I'll tell you..."
"Please." Raphtalia pleaded in a soft voice as she placed her hand back on his shoulder. "I-I've been having nightmares... really p-painful nightmares... situations I don't even want to imagine..." He said quietly, his voice shaking. "What happened in them?" Raphtalia asked. Naofumi didn't say anything for a few moments, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "It's okay, take your time." Naofumi once again sighed, finally ready to admit to Raphtalia the painful dreams he had been having.
"Y-you... you didn't love me anymore..." Raphtalia looked over to Naofumi, unable to comprehend what he just told her. "W-what..?" He nodded. She finally understood why he didn't want to tell her, normally when he was sad, he wouldn't hesitate to tell her how he was feeling, was he scared she would get mad at him for being worried about that? "I've had so many relationships in the past, ones I deeply cherished... ones I never wished to end... You betrayed me... just like everyone else had....
I-I just—"
"That's enough now, Naofumi..." she said as she hugged him close to her. "Listen to me. I know it's hard for you to trust in people, after all you've been through. I know it must be scary, the thought of someone you love leaving you happening again. But I promise you, you never have to worry about it that happening. EVER. Naofumi... you mean the world world to me. I love you, so very much. So please, I don't want you to be afraid of me leaving you. I would never want to hurt you."
Raphtalia let go of Naofumi for a moment. She looked at him, her eyes filled up with tears as she looked at him. "R-really..? Do you really mean that..?" He asked, looking up at her. "I do. I really, REALLY do. And I hope that you can believe in that. Because that is the honest truth." Naofumi starred at Raphtalia for a few seconds, before completely breaking down.
"Uggghh... ahhh... Raphtalia..." Naofumi sobbed as he wrapped his arms tightly around Raphtalia. "I-I can't imagine being in a world with out you... all of this time, you're the only reason I was able to stay alive... I'd be hopeless without you by my side... living without you would be unbearable..." Naofumi admitted as he cried uncontrollably.
Raphtalia gently wrapped her arms around Naofumi once again, pulling him into a loving embrace. She held him for a while, letting him get out all of the negative emotions he had been holding onto for so long. After a while, Naofumi finally started to calm down a bit, and his painful cries finally started to die down. After a while, the tears finally stopped, and Naofumi fell into a peaceful sleep in Raphtalia's arms.
Raphtalia then tucked him back into bed, so he could finally get the rest he very well needed. She softly kissed him on the head, making him smile slightly in his sleep. "Goodnight, Naofumi. I love you, so very much. Please, never forget that." She softly whispered to him before falling asleep next to him.
