Nothing To Be Afraid Of

Avery was sleeping on their bed, the moon streaming between the crack in their curtains. It was a fairly warm night, so they were only half covered by their blankets. Upon first glance they appeared peaceful, but if you looked closer you could see the light sheen of sweat covering them, the slight tightness to their closed eyes, the clench of fists against their sheets. A dark shadow appeared in the corner of the room, white eyes watching the figure before him. The figure stood there for a while, keeping an eye on Avery as they slept. He knew they weren't having a good dream, but it wasn't bad enough for him to intervene yet.

After a while, Avery started jerking their limbs, then slowly they started thrashing around, gripped in the throes of a nightmare. The figure moved from his corner towards the figure on the bed. As he went by the curtains, the stream of moonlight briefly illuminated his face, revealing a face covered in what appeared to be black and white face paint, his white eyes glowing brighter in the moon. He approached the bed, silent as the night, and stood next to Avery. White eyes slowly softened, and the figure sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Avery into his arms.

"It's ok. You're safe. I'm here." a soft voice whispered as a hand stroked Avery's hair. The voice whispered sweet nothings as the hand continued to stroke their hair and back. Slowly Avery relaxed, their face softening as the nightmare left her. Avery curled into the warmth, slowly waking up. Nuzzling their face into the warmth before them, they lifted their head to see who was holding her so lovingly. "There now, see? You are completely safe. I've got you." He smiled and Avery smiled back. "Thank you, Zyggy. I haven't woken up peacefully from a nightmare in a long time." Avery laid her head back down on his chest, arms snaking around his waist to cuddle him closer.

Silence reigned for a while as Avery drew comfort from Zyggy. Then they pulled back and situated themself to sit against the wall. Zyggy followed and wrapped his arm around their shoulder. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked. "Not really." Avery replied. "I kinda want to go for a walk though. Would you go with me?" Zyggy eagerly nodded and left the room so Avery could get dressed. They met him in the living room wearing jeans and an overly large hoodie. They walked outside and Avery locked the front door before they started walking down the street. The sun was just starting to come up when they entered the small town Avery lived near. Knowing that Zyggy loved food, and hearing their stomach growl, Avery grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to a nearby diner. Zyggy smiled happily, following them inside with ease.

"Welcome you two! Pick any seat in the house and I'll be with you momentarily!" A friendly voice called out. Zyggy led Avery to a seat in the corner of the small diner and after a few moments a friendly waitress came up with two menus. "Hi folks! My name is Lex and I'll be serving you this morning. What can I get you folks to drink?" Avery flips through the menu quickly and spots what they know Zyggy will love. "Can we get two hot chocolates with whipped cream and sprinkles please?" The lady nods and smiles as Zyggy bounces excitedly in his seat. The waitress leaves and Zyggy and Avery browse the menu, both searching for that perfect breakfast. By the time Lex came back with their hot chocolate, both of them were ready to order.

"Can I get the strawberry waffles with whipped cream please?" Zyggy asked with wide eyes. Lex smiled. "Do you want any sides with that?" Zyggy nodded, looked back at his menu. "Can I get extra whipped and strawberries on the side please?" Lex nodded, wrote down his order then turned to Avery. "Can I get the same thing but add bacon on the side please?" Lex wrote Avery's order down, and told them it would be out in a bit.

"So, Zyggy. What would you like to do today?" Avery asked, sitting back in her seat and relaxing. Zyggy thought about it for a moment before smiling. "I just wanna hang out with you. I'll do whatever you want to do." Avery thought about what they'd like to do for a while and when their food arrived they tucked in. After Zyggy had paid for their breakfast they started walking through the town. They peeked in a few windows before Avery let out an excited gasp. Avery went into the used bookshop and looked around, breathing in the scent of books. Browsing for a while, they found a few books they liked and brought them up to the counter. Zyggy followed them around, happy that Avery was happy and seemed to have forgotten their nightmare. But in the back of his mind, DZ stirred, not having forgotten and planning on confronting Avery later but letting them have this day with Zyggy.

After their trip into the bookshop, they wandered around some more, entering random shops and browsing, sometimes buying something, sometimes leaving the shop empty handed. After having a picnic lunch of sandwiches at a local park, they decided to go watch a movie at the theater. Spiderman: No Way Home was playing and they were both excited to see it. Buying popcorn, soda and candy at the concessions stand, they went into the theater and laughed and cried at the movie. DZ smiled briefly from the shadows, glad that they both enjoyed the day. After the movie, Zyggy took Avery into their favorite clearing in the woods, one where they were protected but could still watch the sunset. They both sat against their favorite tree and sat in companionable silence. Zyggy looked at Avery's smile before he closed his eyes. Time to let DZ and Avery have a chat. Zyggy closed his eyes and took a breath.

Avery looked over at Zyggy to thank him for the fun day and instantly knew they were in trouble when they saw DZ looking back at them. Gulping but knowing they had no choice but to stay sitting, they looked back at the setting sun and mentally prepared themself for the conversation they were about to have. They sat in silence for a while. Dz knew Avery would talk eventually, so he let them gather their thoughts. Avery took a deep breath before telling the brief version of the nightmare, knowing that he would understand.

"It was my biological father. He died when I was young but from what I remember of him he wasn't a good person. In the nightmare, he was alive and I was still living with him. He wouldn't beat me per se, but his words cut deeper than any knife could... I know he can't get me now but I still fear him coming back from the grave and taking me away..." Avery trailed off and looked at their lap. The few memories that they remembered washed over them till they heard a light growl. Avery looked to DZ who looked intensely back. "Glad you know it's not going to happen. And even if he was still alive, I wouldn't let him near you. Anything he might have said to you Is. Not. True. You remember this, Avery. You are a very strong, special young person. You have the whole world in front of you. Lots of great opportunities await and all you have to do is leave the past where it belongs. Behind you. I am here for you. Zyggy is here for you and so is Ish. You have a family with us and any time you need reminded of that just ask. Or seek us out. And remember, you don't have to talk a lot about it, but it's not good to bottle up emotion. So ask Zyggy or Ish for hugs, and I'll sit with you if that's all you want. You are not alone."

Avery smiled up at DZ, knowing each word he said was true. They did have a family here. And it was an amazing family. Avery noticed Ish, Dyrk, Munk, Host, and even Jester coming out of the tree line and smiled at each of them. Avery knew they didn't need to voice their thanks out loud. Avery knew each of them knew how thankful they were to have each of them in their life. And as Avery fell asleep later that night in bed, the silent shadow in the corner of their room standing guard, they knew they didn't have anything to be afraid of anymore. DZ would protect them and Zyggy would hug all the bad things away. And Ish, Ish would always be a constant pillar in their life. And their life would be good.