Multifandom Oneshots

tgwdlm ~ nightmare (hurt/comfort) ~ emma/paul

A/N : AU where they both got out of it alive and not infected. Also TGWDLM stands for The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, in case you were confused. Autistic!Paul because I said so

Emma and Paul may have gotten out of the disaster alive and uninfected, but the mental scars remained and their friends were still dead.

Nightmares plagued the both of them, leaving them often tired and developing addictions to the very thing they initially bonded over- Coffee. They moved in together, outside of Hatchetfield, and they even got to keep their names once they convinced the military that they wouldn't say a word about what had happened (NDAs were signed, lives were threatened, blah blah blah. Military doing what the military does), but thankfully they could still talk about it with each other.

Because they now lived together, they grew very accustomed to one another's quirks and needs. Paul learned pretty quickly that Emma needed her anxiety meds picked up from the pharmacy once a month, and Emma learned about all of Paul's little stims and what they implied about what he was feeling at any given time. They learned what kinds of music and foods they liked and disliked, they learned how to comfort each other for certain things, they learned... Just, a lot about each other, and it was really nice.

So, when Emma shot awake one night in a cold sweat, hyperventilating as she remembered her nightmare of her coworkers turning into those things, Paul was right with her, whispering small words of comfort. "It's okay" he said gently, carefully wrapping his arms around her as she rocked back and forth slightly. "They can't get us now. We're safe" he whispered to her, and a part of her started to believe it.

"All my coworkers are dead" Emma muttered, voice still fragile. "All your coworkers are dead. The professor is dead. Everyone's dead..."

"I know, Em. I know" Paul replied softly. "It was a really bad situation, but we're safe now, okay?" he asked rhetorically, shifting to look her in the eyes. "We're out of that town, and we're safe now. No one's gonna hurt us, and we sure as hell aren't gonna be ambushed by anymore..." he shivered. "Musicals"

Emma chuckled at that, fully leaning against his chest and just focusing on his heartbeat. "Do you think we'll ever stop having the nightmares, Paul?" she asked quietly. Paul sighed. "I honestly couldn't tell you" he admitted. "But, the good news is that we still have each other, yeah?" he chuckled. "And we aren't in Hatchetfield anymore. No one's gonna hurt us now"

"I love you" Emma muttered, her anxiety finally starting to release it's hold. Paul smiled and gave her a small kiss on the head.

"I love you too"