DUNE ONESHOTS | PAUL ATREIDES X READER

before sunrise (II) - paul atreides

SYNOPSIS: Paul is finally opening up about what is haunting him. But when his visions turn out to be true, he faces the reality of losing everything.

WARNINGS: pregnancy (paul is aged up in this), mentions of death/murder and blood, use of weapons

Many nights have passed. Many nights in which Paul has woken up over and over again, nightmares leaving him shaken to the core. Ever since his mission, he wasn't the same anymore.

"How'd you sleep, baby?" Your soft voice filled the large dining room. He hasn't woken up last night but that didn't mean he had a good night's rest.

You could see that something was bothering him immensely, you could see it in the way his shoulders were tense, in the way he had been staring at a blank spot on the other side of the room for over ten minutes now.

No answer. It was like he wasn't even present in this room.

"Paul?" Your hand gently rubbed his forearm, reminding you of your being there.

"They're coming," he cried out. "I can feel it. I've dreamt about it." His eyes were still fixed on that same spot, and his muscles were even tenser than just moments ago.

It wasn't the first time he got into one of his fits. You silently gave the servants a sign to leave the room, and they knew they'd better listen, for his meltdowns could be intense.

But for now, he wouldn't move, no matter what you said or did.

"Paul, look at me," you pleaded, cupping his face to turn it towards you, but he would still stare into the distance. "Tell me about the dream." You've been there so many times. It's always been the same situation. He'd never told you about his dreams.

Until now.

"It was... It's just like my visions. I feel like- I know it's the future. I can see the future." His voice was weak, and he still wouldn't look at you but you could see how, under your touch, he visibly relaxed with every word falling from his lips.

"Then what do you see, baby?"

"I see you." A faint smile graced his lips as quickly as it disappeared again. "You're so beautiful. You're pregnant." Now his eyes finally met yours. They seemed so full of life yet held so much sorrow.

"I-," you stuttered. You didn't even know for sure. How did he know? "I wasn't even sure yet."

"I know, babe. You're gonna be so beautiful. I didn't even think you could get any more beautiful. I'm so blessed to have you, baby," he said in awe, yet his voice turned sad as he whispered the last few words.

It almost sounded like a goodbye. It scared you. "What else did you see in your dream, Paul?"

He gulped. "It was before sunrise. I saw an army of soldiers. They were coming for you. For our baby. I've dreamed of this so many times and every time I wanted to run towards you, trying to protect you and our baby, but I couldn't. I failed. I saw them slit your throat and there was nothing I could do about it."

Tears were streaming down his face now as he looked down, almost ashamed of what he had just told you. "I tried everything, but everything failed. My Voice did, my strength did, I did."

"Just because you dreamt about it doesn't mean it's gonna come true," you tried to calm him down but that only resulted in the complete opposite. Paul shot up, the heavy chair falling over as he threw his glass against the wall.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! Everything I've dreamed about, every single one of my visions turned out to be true. Arrakis, Duncan's death, everything! There's nothing I can do to prevent it from happening, to make it stop. I can't live knowing that I'll lose you."